Home

TheSinner.net

What are people reading now

This message board is for discussing anything in any way remotely connected with St Andrews, the University or just anything you want. Welcome!

Re:

Postby beeny on Sun Jul 02, 2006 4:19 pm

Well, I read all these posts...

Seriously, I'm reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. It's amazing. Absolutely fantastic.

[hr]

'But what do I know? I'm a bear; I suck the heads off fish.'
'But what do I know? I'm a bear; I suck the heads off fish.'
beeny
 
Posts: 349
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:41 pm

Re:

Postby little headache on Sun Jul 02, 2006 4:50 pm

Quoting Paranoid from 14:39, 2nd Jul 2006
Just finished Freakonomics though, and that was brilliant! Read it in 2 days!


It's so legendary, isn't it? Keep trying to get people to read it, but I think they think I'm crazy. I really want to read the Undercover Economist now.
little headache
 
Posts: 176
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 11:24 pm

Re:

Postby Pan on Sun Jul 02, 2006 5:57 pm

I've just finished "Life of Pi" and now I've moved onto Wyndam's "Day of the Triffids"

[hr]

"Last time you gave me a pie, I cut into it, and birds flew out of it, hitting me in the face and chin. I was confused. It was a trick pie"
Pan
 
Posts: 437
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 10:48 pm

Re:

Postby sweet on Sun Jul 02, 2006 7:10 pm

Quoting exnihilo from 20:51, 1st Jul 2006
The works of H. Rider Haggard. A reread, but well worth it. Also Old Goriot by Honore Balzac.


Does Old Goriot get any more interesting? I got through a pleasant few page of description but I'm afraid that it didn't grab me. Oh the shame, not feeling terribly intellectual at that admission ;) ... But if you recommend it I'll pick it up again.

Currently I'm on some Ben Elton: High Society. One of his characters argues that all drugs should be legalised and controlled by the government. "The war on drugs has been lost" and legalisation and control would (somehow) put evil drugs dealers into honest employment and sort out many of the problems of modern britain... Still maybe he has a point? Hehe one for another thread. Anyways it's entertaining and thought-provoking so I'd recommend it even if you find Elton to be a bit of a twat in his stand-up comedian guise, as I do.
sweet
 
Posts: 409
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 10:46 am

Re:

Postby Nick82 on Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:14 am

Quoting little headache from 17:50, 2nd Jul 2006
Quoting Paranoid from 14:39, 2nd Jul 2006
Just finished Freakonomics though, and that was brilliant! Read it in 2 days!


It's so legendary, isn't it? Keep trying to get people to read it, but I think they think I'm crazy. I really want to read the Undercover Economist now.


Another huge fan of Freakenomics which I have just finnished rereading. Such a good book to dip back into when you feel like it.
Nick82
 
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 7:41 pm

Re:

Postby [James] on Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:28 am

Quoting Malcolm from 18:51, 1st Jul 2006
Life Of Pi, never actually read it.

It's an extremely good book, well worth the hype it got. I thoroughly recommend it.


I read Yann Martel's other books last summer - Self and The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios - and they're both excellent. Don't expect them to be similar to Life of Pi though. Self is an extraordinarily headfucked book, for want of a better word, but the writing is beautiful and it's thoroughly gripping.

[hr]

http://www.auditmypc.com/freescan/antispam.html
[James]
 
Posts: 413
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re:

Postby novium on Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:16 am

Although I read in the economist that there were serious errors in their analysis or something.
Quoting Nick82 from 01:14, 3rd Jul 2006
Quoting little headache from 17:50, 2nd Jul 2006
Quoting Paranoid from 14:39, 2nd Jul 2006
Just finished Freakonomics though, and that was brilliant! Read it in 2 days!


It's so legendary, isn't it? Keep trying to get people to read it, but I think they think I'm crazy. I really want to read the Undercover Economist now.


Another huge fan of Freakenomics which I have just finnished rereading. Such a good book to dip back into when you feel like it.


[hr]

sed tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.
Neither the storms of crisis, nor the breezes of ambition could ever divert him, either by hope or by fear, from the course that he had chosen
novium
User avatar
 
Posts: 2646
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:04 pm

Re:

Postby Paranoid on Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:13 am

Well the book states from the very start that there is life and there is economics, which is something I totally disagree with. But as a slightly off-edge almost conspiracy type book its great. If anything it provides a different view of things, and in the end EVERY theory is going to have its critics in the world of economics.

These guys even say you cant flaw the stats, but never seem to mention flaws such as the EMH encountering the .com bubble etc.

With regards to the 256 pages in 2 days comment, you don't get much time to read books in my line of work (unlike my student days), so to read that amount in my precious time off is quite a compliment in my book (pardon the dreadful pun!)


Whats the undercover economist? I'm looking to read Stetson's 'Unmasking the KKK' now. Was absolutely fascinated by the account given in Freakonomics, has anyone read it? any good?

[hr]

..I've got this pain down all the diodes on my left side...
..I've got this pain down all the diodes on my left side...
Paranoid
 
Posts: 1261
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2003 10:01 pm

Re:

Postby Kizzy on Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:44 am

I read freakonomics as a non-economist that has an interest in it - and it was fascinating, not necessarily for the economic principles, but for the way he analyses his material. Interestingly enough, both it and the undercover economist were recommended to me by a schools debater who read them not for the facts but as an example of how to analyse, and then dramatically improved - now all my kids read them (although I haven't actually read the undercover economist yet). Interesting stuff anyway.
Kizzy
 
Posts: 431
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2002 11:53 pm

Re:

Postby Mehmsy on Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:15 pm

The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick.

For a second time. :P

Once that's done, I plan to get my hands on China Mieville's The Scar, and Iron Council.

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37106593
Mehmsy
 
Posts: 480
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:47 am

Re:

Postby quarterstaff on Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:57 pm

the rise of political lying by peter oborne

tis ok, but a bit too self-confident for the tory apologia it really is. entertaining and excellent criticism of blair, however... hardly unbiased, despite the author's best attempts.

the british army TAM (tactical aide memoire)

interesting if you are a military geek, or a management student, i think.
unfortunately i am neither.


and i just finished Robert Heinlein's "stranger in a strange land" which was one of the most perfect novels i have ever read. sublime.

[hr]

god damned mongolians!
god damned mongolians!
quarterstaff
 
Posts: 637
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 10:57 am

Re:

Postby jennyo on Mon Jul 03, 2006 8:47 pm

The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brien
The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

Also I just bought a copy of Beowulf but have yet to start it. I just finished reading Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton -- the book that The 13th Warrior is based on -- pretty interesting if you did medieval history and had to read Giraldus Cambrensis and that sort of thing. What I didn't realise until I read the afterword, though, is that it's a retelling of Beowulf as if it were a real event recorded in a contemporary document. Kind of cool (for the history geek in me).


[hr]

Did you know that lollygagging promotes communism and causes sterility?
Do those under a risk of death by metor run some thus-far indefinite risk of longrun meteorisation?
- David Bean
jennyo
 
Posts: 601
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2003 3:23 pm

Re:

Postby Paranoid on Tue Jul 04, 2006 5:52 am

Michael Crichton is probably one of the best authors I have had the pleasure in reading!

Timeline, Sphere, Prey, Andromena Strain, even Jurrassic Park...all brilliant!

[hr]

..I've got this pain down all the diodes on my left side...
..I've got this pain down all the diodes on my left side...
Paranoid
 
Posts: 1261
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2003 10:01 pm

Re:

Postby mackie on Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:15 am

Brick Lane by Monica Ali. It's not as good as I hoped, but I'm only 1/4 through it so hoping it get's a bit better. Also reading My Heart Is My Own by John Guy, which is for my dissertation, but it's sooo good!
mackie
 
Posts: 131
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2004 11:37 am

Re:

Postby orudge on Tue Jul 04, 2006 2:20 pm

I ended up picking up "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" the other day to read on my flight back from California. As the grammar pedant that I often am, I'm finding it quite interesting, despite the fact that it is basically just a book about grammar. Amusingly written, and also handy if you don't know where to put your apostrophe's.

[hr]

http://www.owenrudge.net/
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37103734
orudge
Administrator

User avatar
 
Posts: 1513
Joined: Sun Sep 18, 2005 11:43 am
Location: St Andrews, Fife

Re:

Postby ascii on Tue Jul 04, 2006 7:12 pm

Quoting Paranoid from 06:52, 4th Jul 2006
Michael Crichton is probably one of the best authors I have had the pleasure in reading!

Timeline, Sphere, Prey, Andromena Strain, even Jurrassic Park...all brilliant!


Disclosure and Rising Sun are two other Crichton books that I recommend.
ascii
 
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2006 6:38 pm

Re:

Postby sabra_girl on Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:28 pm

Got bored of 'Empire Falls' again so decided to revisit Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' which I started back in 2002. It's really good - I love McEwan and still think 'Enduring Love' is one of the best books I've ever read. I highly recommend him.

[hr]

"There are not very many desires in life which we can actually meet. For instance, 'I want to meet the love of my life'. Probably not today! But 'I want a cup of coffee.' That I can do!" Chris Thile (Nickel Creek)

I assassin down the avenue.
"There are not very many desires in life which we can actually meet. For instance, 'I want to meet the love of my life'. Probably not today! But 'I want a cup of coffee.' That I can do!" Chris Thile (Nickel Creek)
sabra_girl
 
Posts: 429
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2003 3:21 pm

Re:

Postby Mr Comedy on Tue Jul 04, 2006 11:01 pm

Post Captain - Patrick O'Brian.

Not enough sailing for my tastes. Just finished "The Lonely Sea and Sky" by Sir Francis Chichester. A shocking amount of the books that I read are fairly nautical, as I just enjoy boats.

I've also recently read "The Last Casualty" by Ben Elton, which is enjoyable, if not predictable and massively typecast. Totally pointless and badly written sex scene too.

[hr]

"I am in no way interested in immortality, but only in the taste of tea. " -Lu Tung
"I am in no way interested in immortality, but only in the taste of tea. " -Lu Tung
Mr Comedy
 
Posts: 2922
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 5:43 pm

Re:

Postby Paranoid on Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:55 am

Forgot about Disclosure! Luckily I read the book before seeing the god-awful film. It's very well written.

I've finished Chopper now, moved onto The Elephant and the Flea by Charles Handy. Read the first chapter and starting to get the impression that I should have read it back at uni before I joined an elephant!!

Quoting ascii from 20:12, 4th Jul 2006
Quoting Paranoid from 06:52, 4th Jul 2006
Michael Crichton is probably one of the best authors I have had the pleasure in reading!

Timeline, Sphere, Prey, Andromena Strain, even Jurrassic Park...all brilliant!


Disclosure and Rising Sun are two other Crichton books that I recommend.


[hr]

..I've got this pain down all the diodes on my left side...
..I've got this pain down all the diodes on my left side...
Paranoid
 
Posts: 1261
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2003 10:01 pm

Re:

Postby jennyo on Wed Jul 05, 2006 4:09 pm

Quoting Mr Comedy from 00:01, 5th Jul 2006
Post Captain - Patrick O'Brian.

Not enough sailing for my tastes.


Well, for those of us who don't know how to wear and what the best bower is, there's plenty of sailing. Awesome series though.

[hr]

Did you know that lollygagging promotes communism and causes sterility?
Do those under a risk of death by metor run some thus-far indefinite risk of longrun meteorisation?
- David Bean
jennyo
 
Posts: 601
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2003 3:23 pm

PreviousNext

Return to The Sinner's Main Board

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests

cron