Same author - "The Collapse of the Third Republic" about France in 1940 is also superb.
Same author - "The Collapse of the Third Republic" about France in 1940 is also superb.
One hopes that the 7 habits do not include, "Only reading and focusing on 1 book at a time."
Wait - - - is that 7 Habits or 7 Hobbits?
Big Don
Sr. Grandmaster
Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism By Billy Waugh
A Korean War vet on the front lines (and behind them) in Afghanistan?! This guy is BAD *** personified.
A Korean War vet on the front lines (and behind them) in Afghanistan?! This guy is BAD *** personified.
"The Making of Modern Britain" by Andrew Marr. Very well written; informative historically without being overly 'dusty'.
Here's a synopsis (not penned by me):
In "The Making of Modern Britain", Andrew Marr paints a fascinating portrait of life in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century as the country recovered from the grand wreckage of the British Empire. Between the death of Queen Victoria and the end of the Second World War, the nation was shaken by war and peace. The two wars were the worst we had ever known and the episodes of peace among the most turbulent and surprising. As the political forum moved from Edwardian smoking rooms to an increasingly democratic Westminster, the people of Britain experimented with extreme ideas as they struggled to answer the question 'How should we live?' Socialism? Fascism? Feminism? Meanwhile, the Suffragette movement was taking shape as the popularity of the music hall soared. It was also a time that witnessed the birth of the media as we know it today and the beginnings of the welfare state. Beyond trenches, flappers and Spitfires, this is a story of strange cults and economic madness, of revolutionaries and heroic inventors, sexual experiments and raucous stage heroines.From organic food to drugs, nightclubs and celebrities to package holidays, crooked bankers to sleazy politicians, the echoes of today's Britain can be heard throughout.
Here's a synopsis (not penned by me):
In "The Making of Modern Britain", Andrew Marr paints a fascinating portrait of life in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century as the country recovered from the grand wreckage of the British Empire. Between the death of Queen Victoria and the end of the Second World War, the nation was shaken by war and peace. The two wars were the worst we had ever known and the episodes of peace among the most turbulent and surprising. As the political forum moved from Edwardian smoking rooms to an increasingly democratic Westminster, the people of Britain experimented with extreme ideas as they struggled to answer the question 'How should we live?' Socialism? Fascism? Feminism? Meanwhile, the Suffragette movement was taking shape as the popularity of the music hall soared. It was also a time that witnessed the birth of the media as we know it today and the beginnings of the welfare state. Beyond trenches, flappers and Spitfires, this is a story of strange cults and economic madness, of revolutionaries and heroic inventors, sexual experiments and raucous stage heroines.From organic food to drugs, nightclubs and celebrities to package holidays, crooked bankers to sleazy politicians, the echoes of today's Britain can be heard throughout.
This is all in ONE book???
Aye. I would heartily recommend it as a starting point for someone beginning an in-depth study of British C20th history. It cannot be anything other than skimming the surface of certain selected subjects but it puts me in mind of the "Connections" series (done by Raymond Burke in the 70's) in the way that it links events together.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
Dawn of the Dreadfuls, by Steve Hockensmith. Prelude to Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
takadadojokeith
Orange Belt
Currently reading Barbara Stoller Miller's translation of the Bhagavad Gita
Omar B
Senior Master
Iron Man 2 novelization - Alexander Irvine from a script by Justin Theroux
I'm usually a big fan of novelizations since when I go to a blockbuster I usually like getting the story out of the way ahead of time and just stare at the awesome visuals (from a drunken or otherwise altered state). What Irvine has done though is pretty awful. It's quite apparent upon reading that his knowledge of Iron Man and the universe extends only to the first movie and the script of the second one. The characters have almost no background, they are rarely ever described physically. The suits themselves are never even described further than saying Mark 2, 3, 4 or 5, he just assumes the reader should know.
His descriptions of things are completely wrong, like calling something an "MMA elbow strike" as if MMA were a style not a sport. I do karate, that's a style, we have elbow strikes, Muay Thai is also a style that has elbow strikes, describing something as MMA elbow strike shows a lack of knowledge of MMA as a sport that is comprised of many disciplines and as such has many ways of of doing elbow strikes. Sorry, the martial artist in me always gets his dander up when people talk about martial arts while obviously know nothing.
My sister took the book and is reading it too, because like me she also studied Literature in college and will read just about anything. The main weakness of Irvine's work is that if you go in having no knowledge of Iron Man before reading, you'll leave the book in just about the same state. Descriptions, characterizations, setting hardly exist. I work in publishing and the number one rule is to treat your audience as if they are seeing the subject matter for the first time, describe, richly describe.
If you want to read an Iron Man type story written well I suggest Dale Brown's Act Of War and it's sequel, Edge Of Battle.
I'm usually a big fan of novelizations since when I go to a blockbuster I usually like getting the story out of the way ahead of time and just stare at the awesome visuals (from a drunken or otherwise altered state). What Irvine has done though is pretty awful. It's quite apparent upon reading that his knowledge of Iron Man and the universe extends only to the first movie and the script of the second one. The characters have almost no background, they are rarely ever described physically. The suits themselves are never even described further than saying Mark 2, 3, 4 or 5, he just assumes the reader should know.
His descriptions of things are completely wrong, like calling something an "MMA elbow strike" as if MMA were a style not a sport. I do karate, that's a style, we have elbow strikes, Muay Thai is also a style that has elbow strikes, describing something as MMA elbow strike shows a lack of knowledge of MMA as a sport that is comprised of many disciplines and as such has many ways of of doing elbow strikes. Sorry, the martial artist in me always gets his dander up when people talk about martial arts while obviously know nothing.
My sister took the book and is reading it too, because like me she also studied Literature in college and will read just about anything. The main weakness of Irvine's work is that if you go in having no knowledge of Iron Man before reading, you'll leave the book in just about the same state. Descriptions, characterizations, setting hardly exist. I work in publishing and the number one rule is to treat your audience as if they are seeing the subject matter for the first time, describe, richly describe.
If you want to read an Iron Man type story written well I suggest Dale Brown's Act Of War and it's sequel, Edge Of Battle.
:lol: No braid tugging these days. Nynaeve grew out of that. As to plots progressing, well, yesss, ... ish
I just have too many decades invested in reading this series to give up now - I will make it to the end dammit!
I looked back onto the first couple of pages of this thread. In 2003 I put a post on there about Book 10 as "not worth it" or somesuch.
Not that things have improved much as I'm not so patiently waiting for George RR Martin's next book. I am convinced that he too will die before this series is complete. Arggh.
Omar B
Senior Master
I'm also waiting on GRRM, but he's more concerned with the TV series than with finishing his own story now. But I guess once the show starts running he'll have to, because they'll need an ending! http://winter-is-coming.net/
I am finishing up "Fault Line" by Barry Eisler. Not even close to his "Rain" series, but still better than many other thrillers.
One of my students gave me "the Cleric Quintet" by Salvatore. I haven't read him in probably a decade, though I remember some of his early work as being pretty good back in my gaming days. I liked the first book, thought the second was interesting, after that it was all downhill. The last book didn't need to be written.
I started reading "On Combat" by Grossman. Fantastic book.
One of my students gave me "the Cleric Quintet" by Salvatore. I haven't read him in probably a decade, though I remember some of his early work as being pretty good back in my gaming days. I liked the first book, thought the second was interesting, after that it was all downhill. The last book didn't need to be written.
I started reading "On Combat" by Grossman. Fantastic book.
dancingalone
Grandmaster
You guys reading Robert Jordan or George RR Martin should check out Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's slated to be published in the US in early May, but I got a hold of a publisher's proof. Thumbs up from me.
I like most of his books. If you like well-written literature with some fantasy elements, you'll like his writing. His best books seem to be the stand alone single novels like Tigana or Lions of Al-Rassan or A Song for Arbonne.
I like most of his books. If you like well-written literature with some fantasy elements, you'll like his writing. His best books seem to be the stand alone single novels like Tigana or Lions of Al-Rassan or A Song for Arbonne.
Not so much a book I am reading as a TV series I am re-watching (on DVD) for about the fifth time.
Watching "Stargate" again and got to a certain episode (again!) which seems to catch me by surprise every time.
It's a two-parter called "Heroes" and as well as catching me by surprise each time I watch the series it also reduces me to floods of tears every time
.
It's the story where Dr. Janet Frasier gets killed and it seems I have no stiff-upper-lip or dignified English reserve where she is concerned ...
Watching "Stargate" again and got to a certain episode (again!) which seems to catch me by surprise every time.
It's a two-parter called "Heroes" and as well as catching me by surprise each time I watch the series it also reduces me to floods of tears every time
.It's the story where Dr. Janet Frasier gets killed and it seems I have no stiff-upper-lip or dignified English reserve where she is concerned ...
Not so much a book I am reading as a TV series I am re-watching (on DVD) for about the fifth time.
Watching "Stargate" again and got to a certain episode (again!) which seems to catch me by surprise every time.
It's a two-parter called "Heroes" and as well as catching me by surprise each time I watch the series it also reduces me to floods of tears every time
It's the story where Dr. Janet Frasier gets killed and it seems I have no stiff-upper-lip or dignified English reserve where she is concerned ...
I managed to watch all of the Stargate series on Hulu over the past 6 months or so. Most of it is good, and doesn't take itself too seriously, and yet here and there is a standout show where they really do it well, and "Heroes" was definitely one of them. That last scene just got me.
