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I last read Michael Palin's biography Sahara, it's very well written and there is some good humour in the book too!
I bought this book after having watched the BBC series. His encounters are documented in a vibrant, chatty style, which made me laugh out loud in places. There are some superb colour photographs too which make the book even better to read!
Overall, a good read.
I finished The Diamond Girls in a car ride. OK, it was a pretty long car ride. I had to go to work with my mom from about 9-3. And I had read about 20 pages previously.
So now I'm back to the Bond books and have read the first chapter and part of the second of Goldfinger. It hasn't been all that interesting so far. Apart from the fact that Bond decided that he was going to get drunk that night!
Quoting darenhat:
Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams' final entry to his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 'trilogy'.You can tell Adams changed quite a bit as he wrote later on in his life. While his unique brand of humor remained the same, it seems as if his writing was laced with a bit more sincere and serious observations of the world around him.
I have to confess that Mostly Harmless is my least favorite in the series. I remember reading in some interview that Adams was never very sure about the character of Trillian and who she really was, so her involvement in MH seemed very out of place and unbelievable to me. Still, the whole bit about Arthur as the sandwich maker demi-God never fails to bring a smile to my face. The ending completely boggled me at first, but I don't mind it so much now.
Just finished Ken Follett's The Key To Rebecca, as recommended to me by Willie Garvin a couple of years ago ! You see WG, it may take me a while but I do get round to them eventually 
I really enjoyed the novel and could see Ken writing a good Bond book.
Recently finished a book entitled "In Search of the Mountains of Noah" by Bob Cornuke and David Halbrook. It chronicles the many different adventures the author had while searching for Noah's Ark. I heard the author Cornuke speak at a breakfast gathering and he had some incredible tales to tell. From a secular point-of-view the book is certainly intriguing, but the ending packs some real emotional punch for earnest Christian readers.
Last edited by darenhat (12th Jun 2005 21:38)
the Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Bodysnatching in 1830's London, is quite an interesting read and is nowhere as lurid as the title might suggest. I don't really consider myself to be particularly morbid and/or bloodthirsty, but this book really draws your attention in to the poverty and social conditions of early industrial age England and examines the effects of the "resurrection men's" finding of fresh corpses, or Things, for medical schools. I highly recommended it.
My Name Is America: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty. I couldnt put this book down, and finished it in like in like 5 hours. It's a journal by a Marine that was in the Vietnam War. I thought this would be the proper time to read it becuase after all tomarrow is Memorial Day.
Recently, I haven't really had that much time for reading and so unfortunately I can't remember the last book that I did manage to read. 
Recently began, Her Majesty's Secret Service - by Christopher Andrew.
Saw it on my father's shelf, and couldn't resist.
Alfred Hitchcock: the Complete Films is not exactly the most analytical book out there on Hitchcock's works, but it nicely spans the entirety of the great director's career. It does give a lot of interesting background on his earlier films, though, and there are quite a few nice stills and promo photos from each of his films. Recommended for someone who is somewhat familiar with his works and wants to know a little more about his films.
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
A couple of years ago I began re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia, this time in the later chronological ordering. The Horse and His Boy, which was the fifth book if I remember correctly, is now the third. This book always had the least impact on me in the series. For some reason Edmund, Lucy, and Susan seem very unfamiliar to me in this book...like friends who have drifted away and don't speak to you anymore.
I just finished YOLT and TMWTGG, now it is time to buy and read all the others. 
I just read The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw. All in all, it is a good book and I like how it doesnt just focus on the WWII experiences.
A New Hope by George Lucas. Great novel.
Bangkok 8 by John Burdett. Great hero/anti-hero, a half-breed Thai vice cop, son of a Thai prostitute and an American GI. Reads like Gorky Park.
Again, not sure. I started Silverfin, but now my mate has convinced me to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so that I will be fully prepared when the 6th one is released.
Out of the Flames takes a look at the life and work of Michael Servetus and the impact of his discovery of blood circulation to the heart and lungs and his revisionist Christianimi Restitution (sorry if I spelled that incorrectly) on history. There are also lots of side trips into European history of the 1600's and the schism within the Protestant church between Calvin and ohers. It's definitely an interesting read even if you don't consider yourself to be a theologian or historian.
Currently reading No Deals Mr. Bond by John Gardner, recently finished Colonel Sun again, and also started reading for the second time the amazing yet you really have to be dedicated to read novel called House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. The last one is a book that is worthy of a cult following as it is quite amazing in structure -yet really works if you stick with it and can be bothered to use a mirror sometimes whilst reading it. Has to be one of the most eery books I've ever read.
Me too DFXX. I used to think she was the only good author in this world, but now I know she is second behind Dean Koontz. I've read all 46 of his books, so right now I'm reading Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, it is a little better than the movie, and the movie was great.
While I am a huge fan of Vladimir Nabokov, his playfully cryptic prose can cause any reader's head to run around in circles upon reading some of his work for the first time. Such is the case with the Eye, a semi-satirical take on the detective novel and commentary on the nature of the intertwined relationship between identity and memory after death. There are a lot of existential moments concerning the multifaceted nature of the unchanging self (etre en soi, sorry about the lack of accent marks). Wait a minute, Nabokov had a beef with Sartre, so I'm probably going to have to reread this again before I really figure out what's going on. But if you're interested in philosophy and absurdity you'll probably like this novel.
Last edited by Tracy (2nd Jul 2005 17:58)
I have just finished reading Bullitt the novel which was written by Robert L. Pike is what the famous film of the same name -starring Steve McQueen was based on. It was a really enjoyable hard boiled detective novel -its a quick read and enjoyable -the film is quite different from the original in many ways but the you can see that this novel is the main influence for it.
I also recently read The Silver Mistress -a Modesty Blaise novel by Peter O'Donnell - as ever this was a great escapist romp with Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin working in tandem against formiddable odds. Top drawer stuff.
I'm returning to Fleming now and reading Goldfinger for the first time in years! 
Bran Mak Morn: The Last King - by Robert Ervin Howard.
Filled with classic adventures like Worms Of The Earth and Kings Of The Night - always go to my head like wine.
Last edited by Alex (8th Aug 2005 17:46)
John Irving - Untill I find you
Once more a brilliant book by the master of weirdness. I love all the weirdness he puts in his books and I couldn't stop reading this 800 page book. And after finishing the last page I wanted to email him and telle him hey were is the rest......
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte
For school....
Hammer Of Eden by Ken Follett - enjoyable enough.
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