mjmooney Posted August 6, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 6, 2013 (edited) Reading "Das Reich" at the moment,very interesting. Have found out stuff that I didnt know about before.A good read. Which one? Max Hastings? Good book. The opening scene of the "World at War" DVD shows Ouradour-sur-Glane as it was left. Edited August 6, 2013 by mjmooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Yes, I have the Max Hastings one but what`s this about a DVD ? all I have is the book. I am up to chapter 5 "Tulle:The liberation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 6, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 6, 2013 This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 The opening scene of the "World at War" DVD shows Ouradour-sur-Glane as it was left. That place left a bigger impression on me than Auschwitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 (edited) Anybody else use the BookTracker app in Facebook? I put most of my reads in there, but I still forget a few. Here's my last couple of years worth, as recorded (definitely some missing!): I'll have to try this as I buy dozens of books but it takes me ages to get around to reading them ... In the meantime I buy the bloody thing again on impulse if I walk into Waterstones or somewhere .... Least if I use this i can cross reference to see of I already have it even if I haven't actually read it... Just finishing Stella Rimington latest ( spy thriller , she was head of MI5 so seems to write with good authority) and then undecided on Conn Igguden 5th book in the Emperor series or the latest Brad Mezrich one about online Poker ... To read next ps.... Are those your ratings MJ ? Edited August 6, 2013 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 If only there were some kind of algorithm, maybe, to work out, from your publicly announced book club, which of you were cylons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Cylons as in Battlestar Galactica ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 My former flatmate (Bluenose who turned out to be a despicable person...surprise) explained to me that the reason he'd never heard of Graham Greene was because he was "working class". What the hell kind of excuse is that? Like working class people don't read books...must be a Bluenose thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 7, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 7, 2013 Tony - those are indeed my ratings. It also allows you to attach a mini-review, which I used to do in the early days, but haven't been bothering with lately. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I have a lot of WW II DVD`s ( as I am into that ) I think I might have "The World at War",sounds familia.I do know that I have "World in Flames" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 7, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 7, 2013 The World at War (1973–74) is a 26-episode British television documentary series chronicling the events of the Second World War. At the time of its completion in 1973 it was the most expensive series ever made, costing £900,000.[1] It was produced by Jeremy Isaacs, narrated by Laurence Olivier and includes a score composed by Carl Davis. A book, The World at War, was written by Mark Arnold-Forster, and released in 1973, to accompany the TV series. Since production was completed, The World at War has attracted acclaim and is now regarded as a landmark in British television history.[2] Following the time of its completion, and as the Second World War remained fresh in many people's minds, the producer Jeremy Isaacs was considered ahead of his time in resurrecting studies of military history.[3] The series focused on, among other things, portrayal of the devastating human experiences of the conflict; how life and death throughout the war years affected soldiers, sailors and airmen, civilians, the tragic victims of tyranny and concentration camp inmates. Wikipedia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 When you put it like that,I remember,I watched that documentary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 A song of ice and fire, I'm on book 4 now. So addictive and immersive. Oh snap! Also on book 4. It's the weakest book of the series so far though I am enjoying it on the most part, but **** me the chapters set on the Iron Islands are a slog aren't they? Just started book 5 now. I think book 4 gets better as it goes on, but personally, I started to really like the character driven nature of the book. Although I agree the Iron Isle chapters are a little slow, because really the politics of them have not truly featured heavily until then, although you do sense it has some significance for the future. In terms of characters, they don't get much better than the Lannisters. Tyrion, Jamie and Cersei all fascinate me, but Tyrion most of all. A general spoiler- nothing specific in here. I also like how cheap life is made to feel in GoT. Gallant deeds end in death and dismemberment and allies deceive, backstab and murder each other for power. And the ones that 'play the game' the hardest often end up losing biggest. It's a constant reminder that anyone can die in GoT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchVillaLova Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 One of my all time favorites. Had to read it for school when I was fifteen and I absolutely hated it. Gave it another chance a few years later and it blew me away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted August 9, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 9, 2013 Just picked up a book that had languished for at least a couple of years in the to-read stack, Guesstimation. It's a great work of common sense thinking about quantitative information by a physics professor and a math professor.The first question they tackle:If all the humans in the world were crammed together, how much area would they require if we gave every family unit a house and a yard (i.e. a reasonably sized plot of land)?I'll slightly update the solution for more recent data and my commentary.The population of the world is a tad over 7 billion ("tad" being about 0.1 billion, thus ignorable (yes, I'm aware that I'm effectively ignoring the population of the UK, Ireland, and France, but again, that's basically insignificant...)) or 7 x 10^9.Next we need to estimate about how many people are in a typical family unit. The norm in the developed West is about 3, but elsewhere it's more. I'll deliberately overestimate and use a figure of 3 people per family unit. There're thus about 2.3 x 10^9 family units that we need to find plots for.Now to come up with a reasonable plot size. A square plot is definitely smaller than a football field (100m) to a side and larger than a house (10m), so call a typical plot about 30m to a side, or 1000 m^2.Therefore you'd need 2.3 x 10^9 x 10^3 m^2 x 1 km^2 / 1x10^6 m^2, or 2.3 x 10^6 square kilometers (i.e. 2.3 million square km).That's about a quarter of the land area of the United States, or about a third of the contiguous US or the area of the US more or less east of the Mississippi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 (edited) Read Iain Banks' 'The Quarry'. Thought it was OK. I thought it dealt with a life cut too short rather well, but the 'videotape' plot device wasn't needed and overall it lacked a bit of... edge. Also read Elroy's 'The Big Nowhere' which was fanfuckingtastic and absolutely, unrelentingly brutal. Need more brutal hard boiled crime! Edited August 11, 2013 by CarewsEyebrowDesigner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 11, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 11, 2013 Also read Elroy's 'The Big Nowhere' which was fanfuckingtastic and absolutely, unrelentingly brutal. Need more brutal hard boiled crime! Absolutely this. Have you read "The Black Dahlia"? The "L.A. Quartet" in sequence is: The Black Dahlia The Big Nowhere L.A. Confidential White Jazz Nothing else quite like them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Aye, I read The Black Dahlia before The Big Nowhere, so I'll pick up L.A. Confidential and White Jazz next. Dudley Smith is a grand bastard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLN Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Has anyone here read The Black Swan? Nothing to do with the Aronofsky film. I'm just off to buy a book and this one has jumped out at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 20, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2013 Has anyone here read The Black Swan? Nothing to do with the Aronofsky film. I'm just off to buy a book and this one has jumped out at me. Looks like the jury is well and truly divided: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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