What book did you just read and how was it?

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#2998804 20-Nov-2022 15:40

The Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze.

It's a positively magisterial comprehensive analysis of the Germen war economy in World War 2. It brings together two of my pet interests - economics and military history. More than a few common myths about how things worked are comprehensively rebutted, using data and detailed research. For anyone with an interest in that period of history, I highly recommend it.

I'm not about to start a similar book on the British war economy.

blackjack17

1705 posts

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#3025367 22-Jan-2023 10:13

Have just finished the Talisman and Black house by Stephan king and Peter May.

Have to say I preferred the talisman as I didn't like the narrative voice of the Black house, just seemed odd. The books were good, The Black house shouldn't be seen as a sequel more like a separate book with the same main character and very much tied in with the gun slinger series.

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k1w1k1d

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#3025418 22-Jan-2023 10:36

Freezing Order by Bill Browder.

Very interesting book on money laundering by the current Russian leader and his mates.

TLD

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#3025422 22-Jan-2023 10:57

I love discovering a decent series as it gives you many hours of listening (I only do audiobooks nowadays). You know the regular characters and locations and you have a reasonable guarantee that you are going to enjoy the book before you start it. I regularly abandon a book several hours into it is not working for me. I am currently working my way through Jeff Carson's David Wolf series. David Wolf is an ex army ranger who know works as the sheriff of a small town high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He has lots of problems of course, but has worked through them so far (I am reading book five right now).

I also pay attention to best seller ratings as they generally )but not always) indicate whether a book is going to be an enjoyable read (Listen — I still can't work out whether 'read' is an acceptable adjective when it comes to audiobooks).

Other books I have recently read, or at least started:

The Jack Ryder series by Willow Rose — I couldn't get into these books. They are not terrible, but I couldn't face the thought of an entire series so I gave up well into book one)

Anthony Horowitz — who does the Alex Rider young adult books — latest 'The Twist of the Knife' is unusual in that he writes himself into the plot. He is a playwright who is framed for a murder, and has to prove his innocence with help from a private detective who is an eleven on the Asperger's scale. I'd give it a 4/5 but I very much doubt I'll ever feel like reading it again.

The Bourne Evolution by Brian Freeman. Hey, it's Jason Bourne. You know exactly what to expect and you are not disappointed. I can remember reading my first Jason Bourne book way back in the early 1980s (I would have been about 30 years old). I could hardly believe believe how good it was and I could not put it down. That resulted in my boss finding me hiding behind a cupboard with my face in the book, and a severe bollocking after which I found a better hiding place and finished the book.

Trevor Dennis
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#3055626 27-Mar-2023 22:22

The Strange Death of Europe by Douglas Murray.

A truly eye opening book. Very well researched and very well written. And a bit alarming.

gehenna

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#3055635 27-Mar-2023 22:49

I'm a few chapters into Leviathan Wakes having thoroughly enjoyed The Expanse tv series recently.

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#3056362 29-Mar-2023 22:40

The Second World War Diaries of Housewife 49

(Also known as Nella Last’s War)

Certainly up there as one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read. In WW2 the British government ran a programme called the Mass Observation Diaries. They got normal people to write diaries as a means of assessing morale.

So the book is a series of extracts written by Nella Last, a 49 year old housewife in Barrow (who writes a great deal more eloquently than many people do today!) and I’ve found it utterly fascinating.

I knew a few people who’d lived through the war and fought in it but this is really the only detailed commentary from Joe Public’s perspective that I’ve read. My mother had German PoWs working on the farm and my grandfather commanded anti aircraft batteries on the South coast of England but neither of them ever spoke about it in the way Nella does.

It’s a fascinating book. The fortitude and grit people demonstrated in their daily lives then have the effect of contrasting with a lot of behaviour we see these days and portraying it in a fairly poor light.

As social commentary on a very significant event I think it’s well worth a read and I wish I’d come across it earlier.

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TLD

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#3056366 29-Mar-2023 23:20

I've been enjoying J.D. Kirk's D.I. Jack Logan books. He is a no nonsense, very Scottish, cop with an endearing team of detectives that you can really get into. Well into the series I found a spin off series about sacked detective Superintendent Robert Hoon is completely over the top, swears constantly, and has a hilarious way of describing things and people. It's one of the best few books I've listened to in a good while.

Note the 'listened to' bit, as narrator Angus King takes it up a level with his accents and voices. When I checked the books out on Goodreads before starting them, a female reviewer described them as hilarious, and that is right on the money.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

Paul1977

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#3057179 31-Mar-2023 15:12

gehenna: I'm a few chapters into Leviathan Wakes having thoroughly enjoyed The Expanse tv series recently.

I'm about halfway through Babylon's Ashes which corresponds with season 6 (final season) of the TV series. Looking forward to getting past it and into (what is for me) uncharted territory.

I'd recommend reading the many novellas as well. I've been reading it all (novels and novellas) in publication order.

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#3057342 31-Mar-2023 21:13

Chip Wars by Chris Miller.

Mostly it’s a history of silicon production with a bit of light geopolitics at the end. It’s worth a read if you’re interested in the subject and the realities of global supply chains.

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#3057360 1-Apr-2023 01:51

I got a new kindle basic to replace my aged 7 year old paper white. The experience has come a long way, it’s so much more responsive.

afe66

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#3057857 2-Apr-2023 15:46

Terry Pratchett a life with footnotes.

I've been a great fan of his from late 1980's and remember going to book signing in Dunedin in 1991.

I really enjoyed learning more about his life and his writing.

The author was his personal assistant who ended up typing a lot of books even before his illness and this come through in the book. While most of the book was not written by Pratchett, his humour is present through all of it.

Highly recommended.

blackjack17

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#3064405 17-Apr-2023 08:01

Seveneves by Neil Stephenson

Basic premise is the moon is destroyed by an unknown agent and life on the planet will be destroyed by the meteor fallout. Looks at what humanity can do to save sufficient people and genetic material off planet until the earth can be made safe again after the meteors run their course in around 5000 years.

Loved the first 2/3s of the book, got really into the story to the extent that I would resent having to put the book down. Last 1/3 kind of lost me and the ending was just like was that it?

Year one trilogy by Nora Roberts (Year one, Of blood and bone, and The rise of Magicks).

Humanity is nearly wiped out by a supernatural virus (Like The Stand), and people start developing magic. People align as good (the light), or bad (the dark), or anti magic (purity warriors) or government (bad). The world goes to hell. Very one dimensional. Good guys are all self sacrificing heroes and the bad guys all evil rapey bad guys. But I actually really enjoyed it, no deep thinking involved, flew through the books. Popcorn reading.

Did not expect I would enjoy it as Nora Roberts is better known for her romance novels.

The ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman

A man goes back to a small town that he grew up in and encounters some memories that he had forgotten. The story is told mainly through the eyes of the boy. Loved it. Relatively short at a couple of hundred pages, I woke up early one morning while hiking and read the whole book before the others were awake. Could not recommend it highly enough.

No Plan B Andrew/Lee Child

Was slog. Normally Reacher books easy to read and you can fly through them. This one just didn't catch me. Too unbelievable, he has become almost a caricature of himself

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#3064411 17-Apr-2023 08:52

TLD:

I love discovering a decent series as it gives you many hours of listening (I only do audiobooks nowadays). You know the regular characters and locations and you have a reasonable guarantee that you are going to enjoy the book before you start it. I regularly abandon a book several hours into it is not working for me. I am currently working my way through Jeff Carson's David Wolf series. David Wolf is an ex army ranger who know works as the sheriff of a small town high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He has lots of problems of course, but has worked through them so far (I am reading book five right now).

I also pay attention to best seller ratings as they generally )but not always) indicate whether a book is going to be an enjoyable read (Listen — I still can't work out whether 'read' is an acceptable adjective when it comes to audiobooks).

Other books I have recently read, or at least started:

The Jack Ryder series by Willow Rose — I couldn't get into these books. They are not terrible, but I couldn't face the thought of an entire series so I gave up well into book one)

Anthony Horowitz — who does the Alex Rider young adult books — latest 'The Twist of the Knife' is unusual in that he writes himself into the plot. He is a playwright who is framed for a murder, and has to prove his innocence with help from a private detective who is an eleven on the Asperger's scale. I'd give it a 4/5 but I very much doubt I'll ever feel like reading it again.

The Bourne Evolution by Brian Freeman. Hey, it's Jason Bourne. You know exactly what to expect and you are not disappointed. I can remember reading my first Jason Bourne book way back in the early 1980s (I would have been about 30 years old). I could hardly believe believe how good it was and I could not put it down. That resulted in my boss finding me hiding behind a cupboard with my face in the book, and a severe bollocking after which I found a better hiding place and finished the book.

Thanks for the recommendation. Happily the entire David Wolf Series are on Kindle unlimited.

afe66

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#3064441 17-Apr-2023 09:47

I've been enjoying Alastair Reynolds scifi audio books. Probably huge physical books but can be upto 20hrs worth so get your money's worth.

Many are inuded in premium membership so I don't have to use one of my monthly subscriber credits too.

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