Books

[indianasmith]

I like Elizabethan English.  It was a more elegant, more poetic, more . . . passionate language than the stubby, abbreviated, illiterate swill that passes for dialogue in most of the movies we watch.

Even 19th Century English was more elegant than our language today.  Sometimes, after reading what my 8th graders, in mockery of the English language, call "essays", I have to sit down and read something by Winston Churchill just to remind myself of what the English language used to be.


"And so the glory of the world becomes less than it was."

[Patient7]

I'm thumbing through, Hey Idiot!  it is just filled with a bunch of summaries of actual stories of people doing extremely stupid things.

[asimpson2006]

For the last week I've been reading The Godfather and it's a really good book.  It's a lot more in depth than the movie is, I'm about half way, and I hope to finish it by the weekend, or the start of next week.

[KYGOTC]

Were starting Dr. Jekal Mr Hyde in school.

[Patient7]

Were starting Dr. Jekal Mr Hyde in school.

I've been meaning to read that.

[CheezeFlixz]

I'm re-reading the Foxfire series. You never know we might have to go back to living off the land and killing our own meat ... what a minute I already do that.

[asimpson2006]

After finishing The Godfather on Saturday, I decided to start reading Iceman a autobiography written by Chuck Liddell.  From what I have gotten through so far, it is pretty good.

[Hammock Rider]

If you liked "The Godfather" then you should check out "Boss" by Mike Royko. It's about how Richard Daily rose to power as mayor of Chicago. The reason both books go together is both title characters used frighteningly similar methods to obtain and then maintain power even though one character is a power hungry scoundrel who rules his empire through illicit means and the other is a mafia kingpin

Seriously the similarities are amazing. People talk about how "The Prince" is the ultimate guide to gaining power but either of these books works pretty well too.

[asimpson2006]

If you liked "The Godfather" then you should check out "Boss" by Mike Royko. It's about how Richard Daily rose to power as mayor of Chicago. The reason both books go together is both title characters used frighteningly similar methods to obtain and then maintain power even though one character is a power hungry scoundrel who rules his empire through illicit means and the other is a mafia kingpin

Seriously the similarities are amazing. People talk about how "The Prince" is the ultimate guide to gaining power but either of these books works pretty well too.

I will keep that in mind, when I buy a new book or two in the near future.  I started a new book last night so, it's going to be a while until I finish it, then I'll probably get "Boss".

[Spiff]

Currently reading Massacre At Montsegur a history of the Albigensian crusade. After that it'll be back to Barrington J Bayley for something wacky with an abrupt ending. All the while keeping a beady eye on the somethime in the future of this year when Kraken by China Mieville will appear.

[asimpson2006]

Currently reading Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000.  I more less surprised that I am reading since I can't stand Scientology at all.  It is fine so far, but it just sems so dragged out at times.

[KYGOTC]

Currently reading Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000.  I more less surprised that I am reading since I can't stand Scientology at all.  It is fine so far, but it just sems so dragged out at times.

I was meaning to get into "Battlefeild: Earth" but Ive heard bad things.

[indianasmith]

I kind of enjoyed Battlefield Earth when I read it years ago. But I was young then.

Just finished Harry Turtledove's SETTLING ACCOUNTS: THE GRAPPLE - an alternative history of World War II, with the Confederacy murdering millions of blacks in concentration camps while the U.S. Army throws the last CSA forces out of Ohio and begins pushing into Tennessee and Kentucky, and physicists on both sides work desperately to complete the first atomic bomb.  The next book is the last in the series; just waiting for the paperback to come out!  He sure has a way of making you think how things might have been.

[asimpson2006]

I was meaning to get into "Battlefeild: Earth" but Ive heard bad things.

I know the move is awful, I'll make sure I have a few drinks in me before I watch it.  I got some slack for telling a co worker I was reading it, but that's about it.

[Killer Bees]

Killer Instinct
by Joseph Finder

I initially picked this book up because the author's name is Joe (the name of my last boyfriend who I'm still not quite over).  Stupid reason, but there you have it.  Also, it was cheap.

It's the story of an electronics sales guy, Jason, who gets into a minor car accident and gets a tow to the mechanics.  The tow driver, Kurt, is an ex Special Forces guy who got a dishonourable discharge for punching his commanding officer.  So out of gratitude Jason gets Kurt a job at his company in their security department.

Once Kurt gets the job, he starts feeding Jason insider's background info on various employees at the company which gives Jason just the leg up he needs to make through the shark tank of electronic sales.  Then seemingly random bad things start happening to anyone who is in Jason's way of making it to the top.

Too late, Jason realises that Kurt is making these things and tries to stop him, but Kurt is having none of that.  So Jason tries to out fox the fox and keep himself and his newly pregnant wife out of harm's way.

I didn't like these characters at first.  Told in first person by Jason, he seemed to be arrogant and pushy and self absorbed and his wife is the epitome of rich girl fallen on hard times who pushes her husband up the corporate ladder so that she can play at lady of the manor.

But I did like Kurt.  Even when he started going psycho, I was rooting for him.  The book was simply written which I liked but Jason seemed like too much of a dumb arse to stay alive to the end.  Kurt, however, was menacing and nasty without being a stereotype.  I read this book in one day, courtesy of boring times here at work.

If you want something easily digested, then read this book.  But Shakespeare, it ain't.

I'd give it 3 our 5 stars