What are we reading?

Started by Martok, March 05, 2012, 01:13:59 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

Gusington

You're on a tear Toonces. (And) I don't even think you're drinking (yet).


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

MetalDog

He missed a ) at the very end.
And the One Song to Rule Them All is Gimme Shelter - Rolling Stones


"If its a Balrog, I don't think you get an option to not consent......." - bob

Martok

LOL Toonces.  That was quite...biting.  Well done, sir.  ;D 


Have just started Noir by Christopher Moore.  I haven't read any of his stuff in a while, but I can already tell I'm in for a zany ride, which is par for the course with him. 



Quote from: Toonces on July 02, 2020, 08:45:07 PM
I picked back up First Man in Rome by McCullough; I'm determined to finish this book (I understand (from others) that it's really good.)
I'll vouch for that (it's good).  :)  McCullough does a nice job of bringing historical characters to life, and making them relatable. 

"Like we need an excuse to drink to anything..." - Banzai_Cat
"I like to think of it not as an excuse but more like Pavlovian Response." - Sir Slash

"At our ages, they all look like jailbait." - mirth

"If we had lines here that would have crossed all of them. For the 1,077,986th time." - Gusington

"Government is so expensive that it should at least be entertaining." - airboy

"As long as there's bacon, everything will be all right." - Toonces

JasonPratt

I would make a joke about that writing style -- but I can't because (as anyone familiar with my efforts will already recognize) I do that, too.   :coolsmiley:

I will say in my defense, that I made a conscious absolute choice to NEVER use parentheses in my novel series. Split-infinitives, fine; parentheses, no. I do use dashes (or double-hyphens) with some regularity, and other far more goofy punctuation and even grammatic quirks -- such as meta-paragraphs and the intentional omission of punctuation at the end of some lines to aim for a subtle breathed-out emotional exhaustion effect. But no parentheses.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Lotti Fuehrscheim

#5104
I am currently reading a Dutch novel 'The Eye of the Basilisk'.

The protagonist is a Roman nobleman, born around the sacking of Rome by the Ostrogoths. He joins the army and becomes a centurion in the artillery, and is deployed during the Battle of the Catalaunian Planes, where he is involved, on the eve of battle, in a drinking party with Burgundian noble warriors, who launch themselves by ballista over the enemy lines. He is knocked out by the recoil of one of the things while trying to prevent this. So he missed out on the greatest battle in history.

Returning to Rome with a troop of injured soldiers, he is recruited by Pope Leo, a youth friend who he met at an elite brothel. They form a diplomatic mission to Attila who is threatening Rome. This results in a drinking match that caused the ultimate death of Attila.

It is a very funny book, but one story still haunts me, when Pope Leo tells about that time during the siege by the Goths when his family hasn't had a meal in days, there is suddenly a lot of meat, but his slave wet nurse has disappeared.

Toonces

^ Damn, that sounds really interesting.  Is it in English?
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Toonces

Quote from: MetalDog on July 02, 2020, 10:28:47 PM
He missed a ) at the very end.

Oh bite me.   >:(   :coolsmiley:

So I went surfing today and on the way back I passed that used book store that closed up.  He still had a bunch of books out, although considerably fewer than before, and there was nobody there so I decided to just drop in and pick through the leftovers.

Holy cow am I glad I took a few minutes to stop.  Among the really good picks, I got a copy of Catton's Grant Takes Command (which I've already started reading) and Alison Weir's Elizabeth I.  I grabbed a bunch of others but I don't remember all of them right now.  They're all a little bit stinky, like Airboy couldn't read them for sure, but I've still got young lungs and can take the mold abuse.

What an absolute shame about that store, though.  I hate to see something awesome like that come to an end, you know?
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Gusington

There's a store like that in Columbia County about an hour north of me that my buddies and I go to when we're in the area in an old barn. It's stocked to the gills with 1000s of used books and I have routinely left there with books worth hundreds for some ridiculous amount like 10 or 20 dollars. I really hope it never closes.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

MetalDog

Quote from: Toonces on July 03, 2020, 09:07:33 PM
Quote from: MetalDog on July 02, 2020, 10:28:47 PM
He missed a ) at the very end.

Oh bite me.   >:(   :coolsmiley:



I was just trying to add to the fun.  But you did though :P ;)



And the One Song to Rule Them All is Gimme Shelter - Rolling Stones


"If its a Balrog, I don't think you get an option to not consent......." - bob

Gusington

Just started The Pope and Mussolini - The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David Kertzer.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

airboy

Quote from: Gusington on July 04, 2020, 07:26:21 PM
Just started The Pope and Mussolini - The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David Kertzer.

Does this include material from the newly released documents?  A Pope's private papers get sealed for a certain period of time after their death, and his papers passed the deadline a year or two ago.  If they don't include those papers, then the book is probably out of date already.

Gusington

Book was published in 2014 but on the back flap it does include 'seven years of research based on the recent opening of the Vatican archives covering Pius XI's papacy.'


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

airboy

I could have the deadline wrong.

Gusington

Either way I just read about 60 pages of it and Kertzer is a great writer. If you have even an iota of interest in the subjects you will enjoy it.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

ArizonaTank

Quote from: Myrmidon on May 09, 2020, 06:43:17 AM
My current audio book is Wars of the Roses by Dan Jones, which really brings to life the conflict and what led up to it.  For any interested in the topics, the same author's more recent published books The Templars and Crusaders do a great job of approaching the topics academically but in a very accessible and easy to read(or listen) manner.

Wars of the Roses was a good recommendation; Thanks! Just finished it. The book is mostly about the nobles of course. And, it was a very brutal and vicious time of history to be a noble. Plenty of folks lost their heads just because they had a few drops of the wrong blood in their veins. I would have liked a little more description of the battles, and a little more social history...but that is being picky.  I found the book to be interesting and entertaining.

The period is full of plot twists, treachery and probably more than a hundred major characters. The author does a great job in keeping them straight, but I still think I will have to read it again soon...just so that the complexity sinks in.   
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.