[SA Chris]

Arup Associates are awesome.

I'm sure at least one poster will disagree

Geeky fascination with engineering pioneers too, found book about I.K. Brunel fascinating, and at one point went about photographing all his works in the SW when I was down there "working".

[Somebody's Fool]

Not sure if anyone's recommended this before:



Funny as fuck.

[hongkongstuey]

Actually in the same vein as Andy's Oppenheimer biog is "Ove Arup: Master Builder of the 20th Century". He was the structural engineer who's work allowed for some of the greatest buildings of the C20th and an amazing man. You can't quite believe your engrossed in the life of a structural engineer.

we all got dished out copies of this at work the other year - never did quite manage to finish it...

[Joepicalli]

Just read "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel: this year's Booker prize winner. I'm Not normally a fan of the the Booker (or modern "literary fiction" in general), but this just hurts: the narrative is compelling, the subtle equation of the problems of the past and those of today, while keeping the narrative entirely within the Tudor mindset is brilliant.
Thomas Cromwell is a mixture of George Smiley  and James Bond.
The implied sex is really kinky.
Moral ambivalence is the the order of the day: just like today.
What more do you want?

[andy popp]

Got that for my mum, might have to pinch it back. Am in the middle of a short story binge: Carver and Cheever. Brilliant. Also Nabokov. Have Wells (H.G.), Herzog (Maurice), Sebald and Poe lined up in short order. There is never enough time.

[superfurrymonkey]

Joe Sacco’s latest volume of comic book journalism, “Footnotes in Gaza,” is a detective story drawn from the Greek tragedy of Palestinian-Israeli history. It is a search for the truth about a bloody 50-year-old incident almost obliterated from historical memory. Rigorous journalism and moral and philosophical musings are wrangled into an explosive feast of a comic book.
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/eunice_wong_on_footnotes_in_gaza_20100108/

[Falling Down]

James Ellroy, Blood's a Rover. His third and final installment of the American Underworld trilogy.  Short review here on da blog.

[SA Chris]

I am currently reading my way through all the Christopher Brookmyre books I can get my hands on cause I think is ace.

Just read A Tale Etched in Blood and Dark Pencil, and really enjoyed it. Good story and many of the schooldays sections rang very true.

Had read Snowballs Chance in hell before, but thought this was better.

Read a couple of books by South African author Deon Meyer recently - Devil's Peak and Blood Safari. Former is better, but both good.

[account_inactive]

Have also tried to read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell recently with much the same result...

Could've been brilliant but waffled and dragged and ultimately disappointed me.

I had the same experience.  Like reading Pratchett

[Jaspersharpe]

This looks good:

http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2010/03/01/the_big_short/index.html

[Jaspersharpe]

Finding myself with nothing to read the other day I asked the Mrs to recommend something she'd read recently. After rejecting a few she reluctantly suggested this:



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thirteenth-Tale-Diane-Setterfield/dp/0752875736

Saying "It's not too much of a chick book, you might like it." "Hmmm. I thought, looks ok I suppose and the reviews are good."

Three pages in and I was lost in it. Three sittings later I'd finished it. So well written (simply but beautifully), the compelling, almost gothic story is at times secondary to the theme. That of how stories, characters and words themselves are such an important part of every life.

Not what I was expecting at all!

[robertostallioni]

Anybody read this?

[Falling Down]

Another vote for Wolf Hall. A brilliant piece of literature and a really engaging read.

[Dr T]

I've recently read "Found you Little Wombat"
very good but I think the target audience is slightly younger than the usership of this thread.

[Eddies]

So far so good.

I read this first, and really enjoyed it....got me into the whole Italian Renaissance thing.

[SA Chris]

Is the book based on the game, or vice versa.

[Eddies]

The book is based on the game, if you enjoyed the game you will like the book

[saintlade]

Anybody read this?

Yes, quite involved reading but thought it was pretty damn good. Seems to get labelled as a horror novel but there's a lot more to it than that. The strange typography and formatting I thought were a little gimmicky at first but lends itself well and helps at times keeping track of the stories within stories and footnotes within footnotes. Also read his Only Revolutions which is a lot shorter but very lyrically dense. Come to think of it I think my quote thing on here is from House of Leaves.

[Richie Crouch]

Currently battling through Don Quixote which is pretty amusing so far but long winded to say the least! I'd love to see a series of film adaptions, it's all a bit Pythonesque.

[SA Chris]

The book is based on the game, if you enjoyed the game you will like the book

Given the track record of such ideas, hope you will understand my cynicism.

[Eddies]

There is only one way for you to find out!

[Falling Down]

If you forget to put a bookmark in do you have to start again from the beginning?

[Jaspersharpe]

Only if you haven't done the downclimb that day.

[Fiend]

Jeffrey Ford - The Portrait Of Mrs Charbuque. Very good book from a very good surreal fiction / semi-fantasy writer. Intriguing and well done with some nice perky dialogue.

[andy popp]

Currently battling through Don Quixote which is pretty amusing so far but long winded to say the least! I'd love to see a series of film adaptions, it's all a bit Pythonesque.

Its worth persisting Richie. Moby Dick next?