2226 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

The Labors of Hercules. A fun idea for a Poirot short story collection.

[darkpath]

I just finished The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCully and recommend it without reservations. I was surprised by how strongly I'd been influenced by the various films made from the material, such that I was constantly surprised in the book as the films differ strongly from the literary source, which I had not expected.

[Qwerty]

Just started Crooked House.

[TortillaFactory]

Currently embroiled in Alan Moore's Watchmen, the only graphic novel on Time magazine's list of "100 best novels from 1923 to present." I'm not typically a fan of the format, but since delving into the world of John Constantine, I've been more open to comics as a literary format. Though similar in feel to the Hellblazer series, Watchmen is superior in many ways - it's a tour de force of both art and writing, combining the best of film and literature in a truly riveting piece of work. I have no doubt the (supposedly) upcoming film adaptation will ruin it entirely, but in the meantime I'll enjoy the unsullied glory that is Watchmen. I can heartily recommend this to all mature readers - it's very heavy stuff, but well worth it.

[tigerheart]

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Good so far (only about a third of the way in.)

Just read 'the burglar on the prowl' by Lawrence Block (a fantastic, sardonic crime thriller with the protagonist a bookseller and part-time burglar in New York, and 'Licence to Thrill - a Cultural History of the James Bond films' - guess you could call that preparatory reading for November...

[Number 6]

BATMAN: The Complete History by Les Daniels

[Roebuck]

''As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela'' by Mark Thomas. Basically keeping the format of his Channel 4 TV shows, Thomas highlights the UK government's relationship with the international arms trade. Much of it, like the chapter where a group of school kids buy an Israeli projectile launcher and ship it to Ireland labelled as agricultural equipment, is played for laughs in a kind of Ealing comedy way. Other stuff, such as Tony Blair using a 2002 peacemaking trip to India as an opportunity to promote the sale of British warplanes, is so sickening you wish it were a joke. Mark also describes how easily state of the art small arms, legitimately sold to foreign governments, can end up back here in the hands of drug dealers. Highly informative. Deeply disturbing.

[Marc402]

Curently Reading J.K Rowling's "Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince"
I interupted it though to read Agatha Christie's "The Pale Horse" (as my mom was reading it to and we would watch the televised novel from '97 together)
But i'm back into Potter now;)

[Qwerty]

A Pocket Full Of Rye by Agatha Christie. One of her best so far, IMO.

[TortillaFactory]

Wading through Edgar Allen Poe's stuff. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" really isn't all that good. Poe never had Conan Doyle's flair for writing mystery, or even for writing, period. Yeah, I said it. He goes about it in a very haphazard way. I like his poetry much better.

[Robert Watts]

The Maltese Falcon.

[Marc402]

A Pocket Full Of Rye by Agatha Christie. One of her best so far, IMO.

thanx for the tip!
I have it in my collection (albeit in a dutch translation)
I'm so used to reading in english now
I'll read it after i finish Halfblood Prince

[Jericho_One]

At the moment, finishing "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk.

[TortillaFactory]

At the moment, finishing "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk.

Great book, great writer. Two thumbs way up.

[Qwerty]

A Pocket Full Of Rye by Agatha Christie. One of her best so far, IMO.

thanx for the tip!
I have it in my collection (albeit in a dutch translation)
I'm so used to reading in english now
I'll read it after i finish Halfblood Prince

Enjoy. Definitely one of her best Marple novels.

[Johnboy007]

A Time to be Born - John Vornholt

[killkenny kid]

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Tennessee Williams.

[Simon]

Howard Hughes - his life and madness.

[spynovelfan]

Gotta love WATCHMEN, TF.

Just read LUNAR PARK by Bret Easton Ellis. Brilliant, and gave me a few ideas for the dormant NO MORE YESTERDAYS. Also an odd book I found on my mother-in-law's bookshelf called DOUBLE LIVES by Stephen Wall. Short stories, all loosely linked by themes, which were grief, loss of love, happenstance and the like. Very well written, but somehow not quite there.

[Qwerty]

They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie. Kind of a slower start to one of her novels, but it really gets going after about 40 pages in. Interesting to see Marple appear right at the beginning.

[darkpath]

Active Directory for Dummies

sigh Ah well, something will have to pay for the PPK and P99...

[TortillaFactory]

So, I am into comics now. It's time for me to resign to my geek status.

I'm reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. Every time I start a new one, it takes some time to get used to the artwork...this isn't something I'm used to, with regular books, and it's one reason why you should only read 1 graphic novel at a time. Switching between Hellblazer and LXG, for instance, can be disconcerting. The style of Sandman is more slapdash than, say, Watchmen and more cartoon-like than early Hellblazer, but I've taken a liking to it. Good story, very compelling, very interesting characters.

[Agent 76]

going to read:

[Roebuck]

'Quintessential Tarantino' by Edwin Page. Could well be the most uninspired book of film criticism ever written. Page covers all Tarantino's movie and TV work to-date as director/writer. Lazily, he thinks it's enough just to pr

[Qwerty]

Spider's Web by Agatha Christie, and adapted by Charles Osborne. The last of the three Osbourne Christie-play adaptions and just as enjoyable as the other two so far.

Very easy to read though, in my opinion (which is kind of a disappointment). Perhaps its the format.

[Skudor]

Scipio by Ross Leckie. Pretty heavy stuff, but very interesting. Finished Hannibal by the same author last week. Recommendable for anyone who likes ancient history.

[Qwerty]

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie.

More than halfway through, and a little disappointing. It just doesn't seem to move much plot-wise.

[Johnboy007]

Star Trek: Titan - The Red King - Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin

I find it amusing that the homosexual officers are always the first to die. They're the new red-shirts, I guess.

[Roebuck]

'Metro Girl' by Janet Evanovich. It's the first of a new series featuring Alex Barnaby, wannabe racing driver whose search for her missing brother draws her into a hunt for sunken treasure, the recovery of a cold war era WMD, and a plot by a Cuban army officer to oust Castro.
Best known for her twelve books about reluctant bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Janet's stories are for readers seeking out a little dumb fun. Never taking themselves too seriously, they read like prospective screenplays for fast moving Hollywood action/comedies. (In short, if you're turned off by films starring Sandra Bullock as a wacky FBI agent, then Evanovich probably isn't the writer for you.)

For a taster, excerpts from 'Metro Girl' and the new sequel are posted on Evanovich's fan friendly website (worth visiting just to checkout the 'Hamster Bond' gunbarrel).
http://www.evanovich.com/

[Scottlee]

Just finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

I thought it was the least impressive book in the series so far. Too depressing and morbid, and lacking the inspiration of the previous books.