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  • #31
    Re: Best book you have read ?

    Originally posted by 4F45504747485C5A290 link=1264408206/2#2 date=1264417237
    If you like crime, I highly recommend anything by Peter Temple. Currently reading his latest, "Truth", but "Broken Shore" is probably his best.
    Im also currently reading Truth and agree with the above, although Im just interested in his writing and not in crime as a genre.  I actually think that the first 2/3 of The Broken Shore is THE great Australian novel (far better than anything Tim Winton has written).  

    Unfortunately I felt it fell apart towards the end where it focused on solving the crime (which was very predicable) rather than the characters and sense of place that is so strong in the early part of the book.

    SF wise I really enjoyed Pattern Recognition by William Gibson a few years ago.

    In terms of all time favourites, I’d probably say ‘The Outsider’ by Albert Camus.  

    It’s interesting that (at least my) reactions to books seem to be influenced by my life and situation/circumstances at the time.  

    For many years I would have said my two favourite books were ‘Foucault’s Pendulum’ by Umberto Eco and ‘Amercian Psycho’ by Bret Easton Ellis.  However when I re-read them ten or so years later I was somewhat disappointed as neither had the resonance or impact of my initial reaction to them.  

    I like Eco’s ‘Name of the Rose’ as well (which is kind of a crime book).


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    • #32
      Re: Best book you have read ?

      Originally posted by 794B49445F79260 link=1264408206/30#30 date=1268183888
      Unfortunately I felt it fell apart towards the end where it focused on solving the crime (which was very predicable) rather than the characters and sense of place that is so strong in the early part of the book.
      Yes, unfortunately he has a tendency to do that in several of his books: the somewhat predictable conclusion or the fortunate escape. Having read/heard some of his interviews, he admits finding it hard to finish. He is second to none on story and character development and has been justifiably awarded. Search abc.net.au for transcripts and podcasts.

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      • #33
        Re: Best book you have read ?

        Hi all

        For Sci-Fi I cant go past the classics by H.G. Wells; The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Dr Moreau and many others. Wells also wrote many sociological & political novels. Also Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea & Journey to the Centre of the Earth), Olaf Stapelton (First and Last Men and Last Men in London) Mary Shellys Frankenstein, and Bram Stokers Dracula.

        Some I read a long time ago that I remember;
        G. Viereck (My First Two Thousand Years), C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Voyage to Perelandra, That Hideous Strength), William Golding (The Inheritors). And add Oscar Wilde.

        For poetry I really like Edgar Allan Poe (The Raven) .

        Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
        Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
        While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
        As of someone gently rapping, rapping, at my chamber door,
        " Tis some visitor, I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
        Only this and nothing more.

        Mike

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        • #34
          Re: Best book you have read ?

          I love Dan Browns books, especially Angels and Demons. Perfect with cup after cup of coffee while trying to finish a book in one single night.

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          • #35
            Re: Best book you have read ?

            Woohoo! Sci-fi/fantasy anonymous indeed! This is great ^^

            For alternative history stuff, The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick is good read. Discworld books by Terry Pratchett is a cracker of a series. So many books, so little time! Naked Lunch by Williams S Burroughs, Travels in Hyperreality, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson, just to name a few

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            • #36
              Re: Best book you have read ?

              Anybody here ever read "The Kite Flyer" and "A Hundred Splendid Things"? I forgot the authors name (not American), but I heard its really nice.

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              • #37
                Re: Best book you have read ?

                Am currently reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and enjoying it so far. Planning on heading o/s for a while and will have a good reading list while Im away. Couple of Dawkins books (God Delusion, Greatest Show on Earth, Blind Watchmaker and Selfish Gene), Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdi, and Catcher in the Rye.

                One of my more enjoyable reads was "Surely youre joking Mr Feynman", an autobiographical book of Richard Feynman (my favourite physicist). Enjoyed a Brief history of Time, Schrodingers Kittens and The Case of the Missing Neutrino, all on physics.

                Also have Heston Blumenthals "The Fat Duck Cookbook", which has a good bit of history about the science of food and his journey.

                My wife absolutely loves the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo etc.), and it sounds pretty good by all accounts.

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                • #38
                  Re: Best book you have read ?

                  Originally posted by 747F65772821100 link=1264408206/36#36 date=1272544634
                  Am currently reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
                  Ive read Ayn Rands Fountainhead which I thoroughly enjoyed. A pity about the movie though.

                  Im currently on the second book of the Millenium trilogy and Larsson deserved all the accolades he has received. Saw the Dragon Tattoo movie last weekend and very much enjoyed that. Theres a Hollywood version planned but Im worried they are going to make a meal of it.

                  I also recommend just about any book by Bill Bryson. Get hold of "A Short History of Nearly Everything" - science explained more in laymans terms but still great reading

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                  • #39
                    Re: Best book you have read ?

                    For my 0.02AUDs worth, Alistair Reynolds is a fabulous author in the SF genre. Prolific with the big epic - e.g. Century Rain - but also writes brilliant short stories, epitomised by "Zima Blue" and "Minlas Flowers".

                    Pulitzer winning (non SF) Michael Chabons "Gentlemen of the Road" is great too. Heard it first as a talking book, to keep me awake on a drive to/from Albury - roadside "coffee" stops were very unsatisfactory for this purpose - but then re-read it in the traditional way.

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                    • #40
                      Re: Best book you have read ?

                      anything by chuck palahniuk is worth reading

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                      • #41
                        Re: Best book you have read ?

                        Originally posted by 5E535F525F695B360 link=1264408206/35#35 date=1272527645
                        Anybody here ever read "The Kite Flyer" and "A Hundred Splendid Things"? I forgot the authors name (not American), but I heard its really nice.  
                        Both worth a read IMO, recently read also and recommend "A fine Balance" and both "Pillars of the earth" and sequel "World without end" same story different characters but I enjoyed both.
                        "We need to talk about Kevin" is out there but worth a read.
                        And I agree anything by "Bill Bryson" will bring a smile to your face.

                        Chris

                        ps: Its "A hundred splendid Suns"

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                        • #42
                          Re: Best book you have read ?

                          Originally posted by 796E6F7164656E3A393A0B0 link=1264408206/40#40 date=1273386595

                          ps: Its "A hundred splendid Suns"
                          Oops, thanks for correcting that.

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                          • #43
                            Re: Best book you have read ?

                            Id have to say Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Its quite a different book from many others, but its one of few books I actually read twice

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                            • #44
                              Always come back to Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky the harrowing poverty and relentless spiral to murder is so absorbing, on (not much) lighter note thoroughly enjoyed the millennium triology and am currently reading Jo Nesbo

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                              • #45
                                Thread revival jonster :-)

                                Personally*hated* "life of pi" with a passion. Enjoyed the first half (boy/tiger/boat), then it got more hallucinogenic, then the ending felt like a cheap trick with a heavy dose of religion thrown in, certainly didn't make me want to believe in god, which was the promise at the outset. Blurrgh.

                                I like Tom Robbins, "Skinny legs and all", or "fierce invalids home from hot climates" are good examples.

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