What are you reading this summer?

[E]

On a submarine bent of late...

Several fiction and non-fiction sub books lately. Just finishing up Hostile Waters (about K-219 ... see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_K-219).  Last book was Submarine Commander by Paul R. Schratz, covering WWII and a bit of Korea. Etc.

[vonRocko]

I'm currently reading a German soldiers memoir of the eastern front titled: In Deadly Combat by Gottlob Herbert Bidermann.

[Jevhaddah_Slitherine]

Notes of a Russian Sniper :Author Vassili Zaitsev

Very Good book, I didnae ken he wiz a sailor man [X(]

Cheers

Jev

[SuluSea]

I'm rereading the ERB's Barsoom Series. [:)]

[sol_invictus]

In my current stack on my nightstand are Peter the Great by Massie, The Battle of the Frontiers Ardennes 1914 by Zuber, The Price of Glory by Horne, Tannenburg The Clash of Empires by Showalter, Breakthrough The Gorlice-Tarnow Campaign by DiNardo, and The Road to Serfdom by Hayek. That should keep me busy for some time.

[MikeBrough]

3 books on the go just now.

Bloody Victory by William Philpott is a new history of the Somme. So far (page 160), he's covered the lead up, the opening phases of the war, the armies and the plans and we're just about to start the bombardment. Excellent reading. It's mostly closely-written narrative with just a smidegon of personal accounts. I find this old-fashioned approach much more interesting than the current trend for oral testimony masquerading as history.

There's one photograph included of General Rawlinson sitting at his field desk, working on his papers. A battered briefcase, a makeshift in-and-out-tray, a bottle of glue (the old white stuff you used at school) and a massive map on the wall behind his shoulder. For some strange reason, the whole thing seems really evocative to me. I believe Rawlinson was around my age when the photo was taken - I hope I don't look that old.

I'm also reading Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes, picked up in a charity shop for £1.50. Not like his previous fare (science pushed beyond its limits) but a nice, fast read. It's suffering from a lack of editing (Crichton died before he had a chance to polish the text) and it has every pirate cliche in the book. But, I'm enjoying it, possibly for those very reasons.

Last on the immediate-list (the main to-be-read-piles will keep me going for a few years yet), is Richard Dawkins' The Greatest Show on Earth. I've dipped into the first couple of chapters and it's... OK. I'm deferring judgement for a chapter or two.

Just cashed in £100 worth of 50ps and 20ps at the bank and I'm using that as an excuse to treat myself to another addition to the tbr pile. Now to spend a couple of hours on Amazon. Bliss.

[anarchyintheuk]

Talleyrand: Napoleon's Master. Pretty good so far.

[JudgeDredd]

I haven't read a fiction book in well over 10 years (well...not true fiction [:D] some historical stuff can be regarded as fiction)

I wonder if I'm missing something? [&:]

[joeblack1862]

Joe Abercrombie:
Before They Are Hanged

[MikeBrough]

ORIGINAL: Joe Black

Joe Abercrombie:
Before They Are Hanged

I picked that up in Waterstones today but I put it down again in favour of James Ellroy's Blood's a Rover.

I've read that Abercrombie's series is fantasy-for-adults. Would you go that far? I've been looking for a grown up fantasy for years. David Gemmell was close. So was Stephen Donaldson. Close, but no Clinton s*x-toy.

[joeblack1862]

ORIGINAL: MikeBrough

ORIGINAL: Joe Black

Joe Abercrombie:
Before They Are Hanged

I picked that up in Waterstones today but I put it down again in favour of James Ellroy's Blood's a Rover.

I've read that Abercrombie's series is fantasy-for-adults. Would you go that far? I've been looking for a grown up fantasy for years. David Gemmell was close. So was Stephen Donaldson. Close, but no Clinton s*x-toy.

This is better than Gemmel in my opinion. It is funnier and highly cynical. The characters are well developed and usually flawed, like all of us [:)]

The pretty Girl with the strong character (who is an alcoholic), the brother who is one of the stalwart heroes (but beats her up). And Inquisitor Glotka... superb. It is adult in this way, not much sex toy [:D]

[mikkey]

I have three new books this summer:
Stephen Bungay: The Most Dangerous Enemy (A History of the Battle of Britain)
Evan Wright: Generation Kill
Frederick Forsyth: The Fist of God

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: D.Ilse

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

World War Z....gotta finish that one.

you know I was kinda let down by that one esp with all the hype it gets.
The Audio Book is cool as it has a full cast of well known hollywood actors, but really the Book Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne is soo much better and more gripping than WWZ.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Day-by ... don+bourne

Plus the next chapter of Armageddon comes out tomorrow, which is the day after the bday.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Beyond ... don+bourne

I am disappointed with it as well. I'm about 2/3rds through it and it's just now starting to heat up. Slow starter for sure. I'm hoping it picks up the pace, if not, it'll never get finished.

[martok]

I just finished up A Mighty Fortress, the newest book in David Weber's "Safehold" series, last week. I'm currently reading Bernard Cornwell's The Burning Land, his latest entry in his "Saxon Tales" series. Once I finish that off, I'll be diving into Weber's Mission of Honor (can't wait!).

[rhondabrwn]

My daughter bought me a Kindle which has revitalized my reading - I carry it everywhere.

Just finished The Passage by Justin Cronin (damn, didn't know it was the start of a trilogy when I started it, now I have a cliffhanger ending and who knows how long before the next volumes are written!).

Just started a space opera series - Dauntless: The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell. It's a fast, easy read and I can download the next volume instantly to the Kindle.

Finished all of the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries by Charmaine Harris (HBO TruBlood is loosely based on these books)

I bought three new Ender novels in paperback since I have everything else in the series. Haven't read them yet.

Oh yea, the final volume in the Harry Turtledove World at War series is on the Kindle... paperback has been out of print so getting on the Kindle is a lifesaver to end my frustration.

Did I say I love my Kindle? [:)]

[SlickWilhelm]

I'm currently reading Return to Bull Run:The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas by John J. Hennessy

I was avoiding reading about the ACW for many years, but finally took the plunge about a year ago. I've been hooked ever since.

[Fallschirmjager]

My Kindle has been going constantly this summer. I bought all three books of the lateStieg Larsson Millennium Trilogy and am enjoying them so far.
I also have Spies of the Balkans which is a WW2 historical fiction that is a detective novel/spy novel hybrid. It is really good.
And I just finished up A Week in December by a British author and I greatly enjoyed that as well.
Basically I look over the Kindle recommended books and bestsellers and find the interesting books and download a sample chapter. About 60% of the sample books I end up buying.
The Chickenhawk book mentioned earlier in the thread sounds interesting and sure enough I found it in the Kindle store and downloaded the sample.
Thanks for the suggestions so far.

[Quellist]

ORIGINAL: RedArgo
I just finished The Three Musketeers. I didn't really realize there were more books after that, other than the Man in the Iron Mask, so I downloaded 20 Years After and eventually I'll get that one then the last one.

While I don't know if this is the case with the current English translations, the modern translations of The Three Musketeers to my native language has been shortened and mangled in general. I have an edition from the 1940s that's 3 x 300 pages so unless your version has a page count in that area you might be missing out on the full experience!
(Just a heads up [:)])

I just started the new David Weber Honor Harrington book Mission of Honor yesterday.

Ouch, Weber... I still haven't forgiven him for the bag of crap that is The Shiva option. And that that universe had so much potential and that the first part of that two-parter might have been the best I've ever read in that sub-genre didn't help either.

[Matto]

Really nice historical fiction, where Munich pact was not accepted and Hitler attacked Czechoslovakia. Wehrmacht was not prepared and after military coup was Hitler killed. And then Stalin attacked Europe in 1942 ... really interesting and well written book ... unfortunately just in Czech ...

[PunkReaper]

Really nice historical fiction, where Munich pact was not accepted and Hitler attacked Czechoslovakia. Wehrmacht was not prepared and after military coup was Hitler killed. And then Stalin attacked Europe in 1942 ... really interesting and well written book ... unfortunately just in Czech ...

Drat I was just about to read that but you told me the ending.......