Reading List

[sailaway21]

What are you currently reading?

Since there is already a sailing related reading thread, responses should be non-sailing related.

Please state the full title, author, whether the book is in print or out of print, fiction or non-fiction, and give a brief synopsis of the plot or theme of the book. If the book is out of print, please explain where you acquired it. And, of course, feel free to write your own review of the book.

Discussions of books should stay on the topic of the book in question. Tangential discussions should be moved to "I'm an ass, and full of crap".

[sailaway21]

The subtitle of this book is, "The end of the world as we know it".

Steyn is a Canadian writer living in the US and has a regular newspaper column as well as a monthly column in National Review. His humor is ascerbic, but does not detract from the very serious posits he makes.

Probably the best description of the book is the back cover blurb by John O'Sullivan, editor at large for National Review:
"Mark Steyn is the funniest writer now living. But don't be distracted by the brilliance of his jokes. They are the neon lights advertising a profound and sad insight: America is almost alone in resisting both the suicide of the West and the suicide bombing of radical Islamism. Our best chance for survival is that Mr. Steyn has done our thinking for us-and made it entertaining. Laugh? I thought I'd die."

Steyn's thesis is that the US almost alone is resisting the jihadists and radical Islam as well as the radical social policies of Yurrup. One of his central points is that Islam is going to triumph via breeding alone. European countries are below replacement birth rates and their need for labor, and tax-payers, is being met by immigration, much of it Islamic and much of that jihadist. The US, almost alone, is replacing it's native population from within and this has startling contrasts with other western countries. If you like PJ O'Rourke, you'll love Steyn.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

The subtitle of this book is, "The end of the world as we know it".

Steyn is a Canadian writer living in the US and has a regular newspaper column as well as a monthly column in National Review. His humor is ascerbic, but does not detract from the very serious posits he makes.

Probably the best description of the book is the back cover blurb by John O'Sullivan, editor at large for National Review:
If you like PJ O'Rourke, you'll love Steyn.

If he is as humorous as PJ then worth a read whatever your political standpoint.

[tdw]

Recent Reads.

Other than the maritime stuff my reading is mainly history and crime fiction.

Crime Fiction
Michael Connelly - Echo Park
Henning Mankel - Depths
James Lee Burke - Crusaders Cross

All three somewhat superior crime fiction as distinct from thrillers from three writers who never disappoint .

Disapointment
Jonathan Raban - Surveillance. (one of my favourite authors but this is not up to his usual standard.)


History
Antony Beevor - The Battle for Spain

The Spanish Civil War, even after all these years, remains one of the most passionately debated conflicts of modern times. Many see it as the opening round of the Second World War. Some supporters of the Republic still believe that a victory of the left in Spain would have defeated fascism and saved Europe from the horrors to come. Nationalists, on the other hand, argue that the civil war, almost a world war by proxy, was in fact the opening round of the Cold War between western civilisation and Soviet dictatorship. This book charts not only the course of the war in a fresh light, but illuminates the vicious infighting on both sides. The hopes and fears of a whole generation foundered in disillusionment and despair at the collapse of the Spanish Republic, under the onslaught of General Franco's forces supported by the Nazi Condor Legion and Mussolini's intevention with ground and air forces.

All of the above are recent releases. Beevor's book is a revised version of a 1982 edition.

[sailingdog]

Two excellent books I'd recommend to anyone:

Marley & Me, by John Grogan (even Dogsailors would like this book )

Picked this one up on the recommendation of a blogger I know. It is about the world's most incorrigible dog and life with him as part of the family.

The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz

I've had the book for years... and recently re-read it after buying another copy to give to a friend. An interesting book based on Toltec mythologies and thought.


Some other books I've read recently and would recommend to scifi fans

Armaggedon Reef, by David Weber (which has some sailing related material in it btw)

Another book I picked up, and like many of Weber's books, it is a scifi military history book. Although it takes place in the future, it involves a cyborg trying to overthrow a religious oligarchy using "Age of Sail" technology. One innovation the cyborg introduces is the triangular sail. Weber's description of the sailing battle tactics is excellent IMHO.

Variable Star, by Spider Robinson/Robert Heinlein

Acquired the book as a gift, and it is a book based on an unfinished Heinlein manuscript that Spider Robinsom was asked to complete. Like many other books, it is basically about a man, a woman and the lies and truths that separate them, and how affects them both. Very well done, with a twist ending.


Finally, here's a cookbook that I'd highly recommend.

Growing Up in A Korean Kitchen: A Cookbook, by Hi Sooshin Hepinstall

Unlike most cookbooks, this one is not merely a book of recipes. It talks about many of the dishes and their context within the Korean culture. The recipes are very good and authentic. It covers a wide range of recipes as well, from basics like how to make your own sauces; to main entrees like Bulgogi and Jab Chae; to desserts, like the malted rice drink often served at Korean restaurants. I know the author and her family quite well.

[camaraderie]

The Baroque Cycle Trilogy by Neal Stepenson...
A trilogy beginning with QUICKSILVER...4000 pages of fun with geat history and depth of character development. Stephenson is a great writer with an incredible mind. A summary....

Daniel Waterhouse possesses a brilliant scientific mind -- and yet knows that his genius is dwarfed by that of his friends Isaac Newton, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and Robert Hooke. He rejects the arcane tradition of alchemy, even as it is giving birth to new ways of understanding the world.
Jack Shaftoe began his life as a London street urchin and is now a reckless wanderer in search of great fortune. The intrepid exploits of Half-Cocked Jack, King of the Vagabonds, are quickly becoming the stuff of legend throughout Europe.
Eliza is a young woman whose ingenuity is all that keeps her alive after being set adrift from the Turkish harem in which she has been imprisoned since she was a child.
Daniel, Jack, and Eliza will traverse a landscape populated by mad alchemists, Barbary pirates, and bawdy courtiers, as well as historical figures including Samuel Pepys, Ben Franklin, and other great minds of the age. Traveling from the infant American colonies to the Tower of London to the glittering courts of Louis XIV, and all manner of places in between, this magnificent historical epic brings to vivid life a time like no other, and establishes its author as one of the preeminent talents of our own age.

[werebeagle]

TDW

I recently discovered James Lee Burke, and fell in love with his writing style. I just finished the Robicheaux series, and last night started Cimarron Rose, the first of the Billy Bob Holland series.

[Giulietta]

I have been enjoying the Douglas Courier....I am sure the best paper in Wyoming..200 issues a week...

Did you know that Mr. Dean Wade had 3 cars??? and Mrs. F. Wander installed a new phone in her basement, with adsl connection??

Wow...the World will never be the same....funny..the girl that works in MacDonalds at day time..works at subway in the evening...job security...

I can scan and send to those less fortunate not t get a copy...

[tdw]

Originally Posted by werebeagle

TDW

I recently discovered James Lee Burke, and fell in love with his writing style. I just finished the Robicheaux series, and last night started Cimarron Rose, the first of the Billy Bob Holland series.

They are all good but when you you have finished the crime fiction do read White Doves at Morning. It's an historical novel set in the time of the Civil War. Burkes daughter, Alafair, has also written a number of novels that are also pretty good.

[tdw]

I can't , or won't come up with a specific title to recommend but was prompted by the fact that his latest book has just been released in OZ. Banks writes under two names. Iain Banks for his literature and Iain M Banks for his Sci-Fi. All of it is highly recommended although his writing has an inherent britishness about which might be a little difficult for those not of English (and I don't mean just English speaking) background to get there heads around. If you like Sci-Fi then his is some of the most intelligent writing in the genre.

Along with Paul Auster Banks is probably my favourite living writer of non crime fiction.