The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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Just finished All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Was excellent.
 
Bucking Bronco said:
Anyone read The Martian?

I have begun it but might turf it.

I feel like it might be the sort of book that is better as a movie ala Forest Gump and The Godfather.
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I read it a little while back, the movie stays pretty close for the most part and so you won't miss out too much if you do skip it but its not overly long and a pretty easy read, from memory it only took a few days to finish, and even having seen the movie I definitely enjoyed it.

Without giving too much away there's more detail and science to Whatney's solutions as you'd expect and the drive to the Ares 4 is given more explaination and time.
 
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Toump Ass said:
9780385354356


******* awesome. Don't gaf about classical music but finding this book incredible all the same.
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Currently on Book 2 of IQ84 by Murakami. Obviously loves his classical music to the point that it becomes a little distracting in the plot sometimes.
 
Recently finished "Slayers & Vampires" a reminiscence of "Buffy" and "Angel" T V shows done as a series of interviews with cast, crew, writers etc. Interesting for a fan such as myself but a bit to much of a hagiography for the casual reader.
 
Just finished The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Completely overated dross IMO.

Also finished Time Out of Joint and Bob Murphy's Leather Soul since last posting here. Both were decent enough for what they are.

I've been pretty slack in reading this but the last month or so has seen me creep back towards the mark of 1 book per month for the year, which I consider a pass mark only just. I would like to be reading about 2 books per month ideally.
 
gaskin said:
I have now started on The Wheel of Time series. With so many books, I'm hoping this turns out to be as good and enthralling as Malazan was.
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There's plenty of The Wheel of Time fans who s**t on it and that's why I'll probably never read it. If those people are finding fault...
 
Bomberboyokay said:
There's plenty of The Wheel of Time fans who s**t on it and that's why I'll probably never read it. If those people are finding fault...
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I am almost finished the 3rd book and I can probably see where they are coming from. I found the first 2 books fantastic but this 3rd one focuses mainly on the main female protagonists from the 1st 2 books and it is a hard slog. I just don't find them interesting characters at all and one of them really irritates me. The next book is supposed to be great from what I have seen.
 
I read Burke & Wills by Peter FitzSimons

The German Becker was a tragic character within the story, a naturalist and artist, commissioned by The Royal Society of Victoria to collect, record, and study the environs of Australia.

But shortly into the expedition, a subtle message was sent by The Royal Society of Victoria to the expedition leader, Robert Burke, that the expedition was now a state of origin race between the Victorians led by Robert Burke and the South Australians headed by John Stuart as to who can reach the north coast first.

Burke became annoyed at Becker at this point in the journey for two reasons;

1) Having a naturalist wanting to paint pictures and collect s**t all the way to the Gulf of Carpentaria, stalled the expedition of The Royal Society of Victoria, which had a purview to map and characterise the blank interior of Australia. But this had now changed to be a vulgar race; the new mission was to get in and out of the blank part of the map as quickly as possible. Like a horny young male impala rooting another impala during the breeding season.

2) Burke also looked at Becker, a rotund 50-odd year old German nerd as a liability. Not in the usual sense of the word, that the camels and horses couldn’t carry Becker’s weight, but in the sense that if an old fat guy could make the expedition from ye olde Melbourne town all the way to The Gulf of Carpentaria, anyone could do it. It wouldn’t be worth the 60,000 pounds spent on the journey and the prestige given to it.

So sacrificing the speed afforded to an expedition burdened with several wagons, a marching band, two pianos and a 30 foot paper-mache-ed replica of the Venus de Milo, Burke ordered Becker to walk the whole way; in the expectation that the old guy would give up.

So here’s Becker, in hitherto unexplored terrain, commissioned with characterising the uncharted territory, made instead to walk to the Gulf in an effort to beat the South Australian Stuart. This is dystopian s**t right here. Becker, with schoolboy fantasies of catching bugs in nets, pinning butterflies, pickling small animals in jars, and drying plants between paper, in a vast unexplored southern continent, made to be part of a common footrace and mere spectator to the environs.

Apparently making people walk wasn’t suiting the speed Burke wanted to travel at, especially as he wanted to make the Gulf by sun-up, so Burke leaves the wagon-laden supply party behind at Menindee, including Becker, under the leadership of some random guy Burke found along the way. This random guy waited around for some time... then some more time... then a few more moments before...

One random day later, at the discretion of this random guy, off they go, setting off in the hope of making Coopers Creek for the burdened supply party to supply the advanced party led by Burke, who left them months ago. And to continue with the expedition to race across Australia...

Interlude
Rewind somewhat, and the expedition was ordered to throw out all the barrels holding limes, as the wagons were struggling to make the necessary pace

Fast forward to somewhere only halfway between Menindee and Coopers Creek, at a place that rhymes with Timbuktu, and we find the members of the supply party dying of scurvy. To make matters worse, to relieve themselves, members of the supply party drink some non-potable water.

With aching limbs, exhaustion and liquid farts the naturalist Becker is dying. Within his tent his German compatriot of a similar name, Beckler, attempts to ease his suffering.

But Becker now has his moment. He can paint.

Becker, the German artist, explorer and naturalist, dying in his tent from a concoction of scurvy and dysentery, surrounded by his own filth and flies, inspired and lucid, paints.

Not long afterwards he dies.



Peter FitzSimons book is both a fantastic and tragic tale and take on The Burke & Wills expedition and I highly recommend it. Four and a half stars out of five!
 
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RupieDupie said:
I read Burke & Wills by Peter FitzSimons

The German Becker was a tragic character within the story, a naturalist and artist, commissioned by The Royal Society of Victoria to collect, record, and study the environs of Australia.

But shortly into the expedition, a subtle message was sent by The Royal Society of Victoria to the expedition leader, Robert Burke, that the expedition was now a state of origin race between the Victorians led by Robert Burke and the South Australians headed by John Stuart as to who can reach the north coast first.

Burke became annoyed at Becker at this point in the journey for two reasons;

1) Having a naturalist wanting to paint pictures and collect s**t all the way to the Gulf of Carpentaria, stalled the expedition of The Royal Society of Victoria, which had a purview to map and characterise the blank interior of Australia. But this had now changed to be a vulgar race; the new mission was to get in and out of the blank part of the map as quickly as possible. Like a horny young male impala rooting another impala during the breeding season.

2) Burke also looked at Becker, a rotund 50-odd year old German nerd as a liability. Not in the usual sense of the word, that the camels and horses couldn’t carry Becker’s weight, but in the sense that if an old fat guy could make the expedition from ye olde Melbourne town all the way to The Gulf of Carpentaria, anyone could do it. It wouldn’t be worth the 60,000 pounds spent on the journey and the prestige given to it.

So sacrificing the speed afforded to an expedition burdened with several wagons, a marching band, two pianos and a 30 foot paper-mache-ed replica of the Venus de Milo, Burke ordered Becker to walk the whole way; in the expectation that the old guy would give up.

So here’s Becker, in hitherto unexplored terrain, commissioned with characterising the uncharted territory, made instead to walk to the Gulf in an effort to beat the South Australian Stuart. This is dystopian s**t right here. Becker, with schoolboy fantasies of catching bugs in nets, pinning butterflies, pickling small animals in jars, and drying plants between paper, in a vast unexplored southern continent, made to be part of a common footrace and mere spectator to the environs.

Apparently making people walk wasn’t suiting the speed Burke wanted to travel at, especially as he wanted to make the Gulf by sun-up, so Burke leaves the wagon-laden supply party behind at Menindee, including Becker, under the leadership of some random guy Burke found along the way. This random guy waited around for some time... then some more time... then a few more moments before...

One random day later, at the discretion of this random guy, off they go, setting off in the hope of making Coopers Creek for the burdened supply party to supply the advanced party led by Burke, who left them months ago. And to continue with the expedition to race across Australia...

Interlude
Rewind somewhat, and the expedition was ordered to throw out all the barrels holding limes, as the wagons were struggling to make the necessary pace

Fast forward to somewhere only halfway between Menindee and Coopers Creek, at a place that rhymes with Timbuktu, and we find the members of the supply party dying of scurvy. To make matters worse, to relieve themselves, members of the supply party drink some non-potable water.

With aching limbs, exhaustion and liquid farts the naturalist Becker is dying. Within his tent his German compatriot of a similar name, Beckler, attempts to ease his suffering.

But Becker now has his moment. He can paint.

Becker, the German artist, explorer and naturalist, dying in his tent from a concoction of scurvy and dysentery, surrounded by his own filth and flies, inspired and lucid, paints.

Not long afterwards he dies.



Peter FitzSimons book is both a fantastic and tragic tale and take on The Burke & Wills expedition and I highly recommend it. Four and a half stars out of five!
Click to expand...

i was thinking of buying the audio-book of this, just finished my last book tonight and deciding on a couple, and that is one of them
 
mattyb2607 said:
i was thinking of buying the audio-book of this, just finished my last book tonight and deciding on a couple, and that is one of them
Click to expand...

You won’t be disappointed, when you learn of this back in School you got the sanitised State Education approved version of events. FitzSimons research and insight presents it from a different and more thorough perspective.
 
RupieDupie said:
I read Burke & Wills by Peter FitzSimons

The German Becker was a tragic character within the story, a naturalist and artist, commissioned by The Royal Society of Victoria to collect, record, and study the environs of Australia.

But shortly into the expedition, a subtle message was sent by The Royal Society of Victoria to the expedition leader, Robert Burke, that the expedition was now a state of origin race between the Victorians led by Robert Burke and the South Australians headed by John Stuart as to who can reach the north coast first.

Burke became annoyed at Becker at this point in the journey for two reasons;

1) Having a naturalist wanting to paint pictures and collect s**t all the way to the Gulf of Carpentaria, stalled the expedition of The Royal Society of Victoria, which had a purview to map and characterise the blank interior of Australia. But this had now changed to be a vulgar race; the new mission was to get in and out of the blank part of the map as quickly as possible. Like a horny young male impala rooting another impala during the breeding season.

2) Burke also looked at Becker, a rotund 50-odd year old German nerd as a liability. Not in the usual sense of the word, that the camels and horses couldn’t carry Becker’s weight, but in the sense that if an old fat guy could make the expedition from ye olde Melbourne town all the way to The Gulf of Carpentaria, anyone could do it. It wouldn’t be worth the 60,000 pounds spent on the journey and the prestige given to it.

So sacrificing the speed afforded to an expedition burdened with several wagons, a marching band, two pianos and a 30 foot paper-mache-ed replica of the Venus de Milo, Burke ordered Becker to walk the whole way; in the expectation that the old guy would give up.

So here’s Becker, in hitherto unexplored terrain, commissioned with characterising the uncharted territory, made instead to walk to the Gulf in an effort to beat the South Australian Stuart. This is dystopian s**t right here. Becker, with schoolboy fantasies of catching bugs in nets, pinning butterflies, pickling small animals in jars, and drying plants between paper, in a vast unexplored southern continent, made to be part of a common footrace and mere spectator to the environs.

Apparently making people walk wasn’t suiting the speed Burke wanted to travel at, especially as he wanted to make the Gulf by sun-up, so Burke leaves the wagon-laden supply party behind at Menindee, including Becker, under the leadership of some random guy Burke found along the way. This random guy waited around for some time... then some more time... then a few more moments before...

One random day later, at the discretion of this random guy, off they go, setting off in the hope of making Coopers Creek for the burdened supply party to supply the advanced party led by Burke, who left them months ago. And to continue with the expedition to race across Australia...

Interlude
Rewind somewhat, and the expedition was ordered to throw out all the barrels holding limes, as the wagons were struggling to make the necessary pace

Fast forward to somewhere only halfway between Menindee and Coopers Creek, at a place that rhymes with Timbuktu, and we find the members of the supply party dying of scurvy. To make matters worse, to relieve themselves, members of the supply party drink some non-potable water.

With aching limbs, exhaustion and liquid farts the naturalist Becker is dying. Within his tent his German compatriot of a similar name, Beckler, attempts to ease his suffering.

But Becker now has his moment. He can paint.

Becker, the German artist, explorer and naturalist, dying in his tent from a concoction of scurvy and dysentery, surrounded by his own filth and flies, inspired and lucid, paints.

Not long afterwards he dies.



Peter FitzSimons book is both a fantastic and tragic tale and take on The Burke & Wills expedition and I highly recommend it. Four and a half stars out of five!
Click to expand...

Furthermore, “Becker’s tale” becomes a metaphor for modern Australia and Australians. You have some very accomplished, able, and intelligent Australian people, as part of a country that is being driven forward and directed by the mad and incompetent. These incompetent people also don’t have our welfare in mind but are only acting for their own personal glory and desires.

Modern Australia is the same tragic tale; only when a person is ready to die, half senile, after a life of futile work and suffering incontinence into their adult diapers, can they finally pay off their house and live the dream... albeit temporarily... because then they die.
 
Bucking Bronco said:
Anyone read The Martian?

I have begun it but might turf it.

I feel like it might be the sort of book that is better as a movie ala Forest Gump and The Godfather.
Click to expand...


Kind of related...

Just finished listening to the audiobook version of Flowers for Algernon. Utterly brilliant, really enjoyed it..... but I do wonder how much the performance of the narrator added to my enjoyment, compared to if I’d read it myself.


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RolandF1 said:
Its an interestingly polarizing book. Those who love it relate to it, those who hate it cant stand those personalities who love it.
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Agreed, an interesting case where some love it and others hate it (a film like The Collector depicts this rather well).

I think I read Catcher too late. It is brilliantly written and observed to an extent, but on the whole I felt it had limited value, hardly a book I'll remember. I'm certainly not the personality type of the protagonist, so not one of those who connect wholeheartedly with it (my mother reportedly loved it way back), but I can still appreciate it to a degree, it's fairly readable. Call me part of the its okay camp.
 
Dogs_R_Us said:
The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn. Fascinating biography of Jim Jones and Peoples Temple. He was an egomaniac but did a lot of good before things went sideways.
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If you enjoy it get a copy of The Raven. It's written by one of the reporters who was there when s**t went down. Brilliant account of his life, and his murdering.
 
Just finished Milkman, this year's Booker winner.

Astounding writing, not hugely accessible, but one of those books where when you "get" the voice, you can't stop and it stays with you.
 
RupieDupie said:
You won’t be disappointed, when you learn of this back in School you got the sanitised State Education approved version of events. FitzSimons research and insight presents it from a different and more thorough perspective.
Click to expand...
Until I read that book,I never realized that one guy made it back.Just finished FitzSimons 'Batavia',the blood spilt on those pages is hard to fathom.
 
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