Read, read, read!!!! education, imagination, humour

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Some of the nonsense contained herein may be very loosely related to The Sisters of Mercy, but I wouldn't bet your PayPal account on it. In keeping with the internet's general theme nothing written here should be taken as Gospel: over three quarters of it is utter gibberish, and most of the forum's denizens haven't spoken to another human being face-to-face for decades. Don't worry your pretty little heads about it. Above all else, remember this: You don't have to stay forever. I will understand.
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onager
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BaroqueHyena
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Onager, are the books anything like the show? I've been meaning to give 'em a try sometime, I see them in the bookstore all the time.
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Big Si
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Finally started this and it's been well worth the wait 8)
Wyrd bið ful aræd...

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czuczu
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I tried reading a couple of Beevor books but wan't that impressed - Cornelius Ryan covers a lot of the same ground with a lot more colour and detail.

Recently finished:

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Very good even though I primarily read the footnotes first time through.

Next:

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Quiff Boy wrote:
James Blast wrote:this way madness lies Boss
the mountains of madness?
A story I have read over and overagain,across the last twenty years.I have been a Lovecraft fan for over half a century,the aforementioned story,The Rats In The Walls,The Call Of Cthulhu etc etc Fantasic stuff.
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we fall to rise
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James Blast
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Big Si wrote:Image

Finally started this and it's been well worth the wait 8)
The Land Leviathan won't disappoint either. I felt The Steel Tsar was dragging and I'd been there before but today (around 60 pages in) it took off. MM really is/was a damn fine writer of science fiction.

of course this rediscovery of WotA and its other twa parts are aw doon tae yirsel :notworthy: :D :notworthy: :D :notworthy: :D :notworthy: :D
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czuczu wrote:I tried reading a couple of Beevor books...
It may be childish, but that makes me snigger.
czuczu wrote:Image
I really enjoyed Greek Street. Apparently the series has been cancelled, though - there might be one more trade collection after this one, but that's it. :(
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Oh come on Mark, Ozzy doesn't even know he's Ozzy :lol:
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On the pile to read this month are 3 novels by Arturo Perez-Reverte: The Fencing Master, The Club Dumas, and The Flanders Panel. Never read anything by Perez-Reverte, but heard good things about him and his intellectual thrillers.

Also coming up are Ink by Hal Duncan. I enjoyed Vellum, the first book in the The Book of all Hours series (think Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius meets China Mieville), so I'm hoping this continues the goodness.
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I really enjoyed The Club Dumas; it's quite funny in places. More than anything, it reminded me of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum.

All I'm reading right now are academic philosophy books.
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sultan2075 wrote:I really enjoyed The Club Dumas; it's quite funny in places. More than anything, it reminded me of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum.
Foucault's Pendulum is an all time fave of mine, so I'm looking forward to The Club Dumas even more now
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sultan2075
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lazarus corporation wrote:
sultan2075 wrote:I really enjoyed The Club Dumas; it's quite funny in places. More than anything, it reminded me of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum.
Foucault's Pendulum is an all time fave of mine, so I'm looking forward to The Club Dumas even more now
I guess I'd describe it as a less ponderous and more lighthearted version of Foucault's Pendulum. In fact.... Eco himself makes a very brief appearance

That's a very minor detail in the small text. I've done that so you can avoid it if you'd like.
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after all you lot waffling on about him i figured i'd give it a whirl

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enjoying it so far 8) 8)






using the kindle app on the ipad, no less :oops: ;D
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LouLou
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Quiff Boy wrote:after all you lot waffling on about him i figured i'd give it a whirl

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enjoying it so far 8) 8)
;D :notworthy: :notworthy:

good place to start. unlike excession, which was the first culture book i read :lol:
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Excession is one of my favourites. Especially going back through afterwards and working out what order everything happens, and who is working for which Mind.

Anyhoo: CR: Malory's Morte d'Arthur
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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LouLou
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markfiend wrote:Excession is one of my favourites
same here :)

but it's not the best introduction to the Culture imho, partly because of the exchanges between the Minds and partly because of the nonlinear narrative style. the sheer number of characters can be a tad ovewhelming too.

Consider Phlebas aside, The Player of Games could also be a good intro to the Culture because it's more easily accessible than the other books. and it's got one of my favourite Culture characters, flere imsaho ;D (i'd rather not say any more in case i give away any spoilers)
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No you're probably right. :lol:

Probably the best thing to do is read them in publication order.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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markfiend wrote:No you're probably right. :lol:

Probably the best thing to do is read them in publication order.
that was the theory i as working towards :)

although i do think i've read a culture book a long time ago... maybe early/mid 90s... 'the player of games' sounds vaguely familiar so it could have been that one, but i can't remember anything about it now :|
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The Culture novels (in order of publication)

Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
The State of the Art (Short story collection: only 3 stories are Culture-based)
Excession
Inversions (not labelled as a Culture novel by Banks but (Spoiler) two of the characters turn out to be Culture Special Circumstances agents)
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail (the new one I've not read yet)
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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Meat Whiplash
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hmmm...
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