What Are You Currently Reading?

[easternfronts]

Pretty interesting insight into LE in Portland written by Vietnam War veteran, Kent Anderson.
I haven't read his first novel "Sympathy For The Devil" but this story is solid and doesn't leave you in the dust.
Mostly seems to be adapted into some version of his life after reading into his history.
Picked up for two quarters at the local thrift, a decent page turner while parked at the desk.

 

[JohnBender]

On a bit of a Sci-Fi / 80's Cyberpunk kick and am currently reading Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, and I am pleasantly surprised. I just finished The Forever War written by Vietnam vet Joe Haldeman and it was easily one of my favorite scifi military books of all time. Possibly top 15 overall. Highly recommend either. Before that was Neuromancer by William Gibson. That one took a little bit to grow on me but I ultimately enjoyed it a lot.

 

[Isiah6:8]

Reading The Dark Tower series, just finished The Gunslinger. Interesting how King says after re-reading the first book he felt compelled to go back and edit it due to it feeling to him as being written by someone too young. So much so he felt compelled to apologize to people who brought the book up. I’m interested to see how the way he tells a story changes given the series was written over a couple decades.

 

[NatureNinja22]

Currently listening to "Level Zero Heroes" by Michael Golembesky on audible, and I just finished listening to "Never Quit" by Jimmy Settle.

 

[Devildoc]

Mean Biserial, mean item difficulty, and score distribution in testing and assessment. Riveting. Cannot put it down.

 

[CDG]

Just got hooked on a new fiction series. The Gray Man series by Mark Greaney. If you like the Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn, then I would bet you will enjoy this series as well. Highly recommend for entertaining summer reading.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Just got hooked on a new fiction series. The Gray Man series by Mark Greaney. If you like the Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn, then I would bet you will enjoy this series as well. Highly recommend for entertaining summer reading.

Thank you!

 

[Polar Bear]

ShadowSpear forums.

 

[digrar]

Just got hooked on a new fiction series. The Gray Man series by Mark Greaney. If you like the Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn, then I would bet you will enjoy this series as well. Highly recommend for entertaining summer reading.

He's done about half a dozen of the last Tom Clancy books, out of the 3 or 4 guys they've used, he's been the best one. I have some of his own stuff on kindle, but haven't got to it yet.

 

[AWP]

I just finished Dingo Firestorm by Ian Pringle about Operation DIngo during the Rhodesian War. Great book, covers not only the Op itself, but provides some background on the major players and the Rhodesian War. Solid book, worth a read.

 

[NightTrain]

Just got hooked on a new fiction series. The Gray Man series by Mark Greaney. If you like the Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn, then I would bet you will enjoy this series as well. Highly recommend for entertaining summer reading.

Long story short, don't mess with the Gray Man. @CDG If you like Gray Man and Vince Flynn, try Barry Eisler's John Rain or Ben Trevon series.

 

[Marauder06]

https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Strate...=1529250838&sr=8-1&keywords=on+grand+strategy

 

[NikNifSik]

Just started "Own the Day, Own Your Life' by Aubrey Marcus. Not too bad, a bit long winded at times but I have been able to take a few different things and put them into my daily routine. I'll give an update when finished.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Just got hooked on a new fiction series. The Gray Man series by Mark Greaney. If you like the Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn, then I would bet you will enjoy this series as well. Highly recommend for entertaining summer reading.

Holy shit was that good! Now I need to track down the rest.

 

[AWP]

Jet Age Man by Earl J. McGill. The book's about B-47 and B-52 operations during the Cold War. The -47 has always fascinated me so reading a pilot's perspective on flying the plane, the -47's accident rate, losses, and his own near misses was enlightning. I just finished the B-47 part and he's transitioned to the -52.

 

[Dienekes]

Nothing like a good re-read of a great story after some years. I recently re-read Shogun. I'd forgotten just how damn satisfying that big novel is.

Holy shit this book is phenomenal. It's 1150 pages of pure genius. I am 500 pages in, and it is by far the best book I have ever read. Don't get me wrong, I've read plenty of books from bore-you-to-death-nerd-stuff to SOF-porn. I'm not as well read as many on this board, but I get around. It is truly a work of art. The sheer number of characters and the skill it takes to give even the insignificant ones such quality would put this book as a solid read, but the intermingling of so many different Machiavellian plots is something I would think would take an entire saga. No lie, it is really tough to put down even after hundreds of pages. On top of this, the author masterfully weaves the clash of two totally different cultures. Finally, its historical fiction closely resembling the end of the Warring States period in Japan (really only the names are changed) which likely required mind-boggling amount of research. James Clavell is a literary genius and deserves all the awards for this book.

On a practical note, anyone interacting with different cultures would do well to read this book.

BLUF: Shogun could be described as The (reluctant) Last Samurai meets Game of Thrones

 

[Gunz]

Holy shit this book is phenomenal. It's 1150 pages of pure genius. I am 500 pages in, and it is by far the best book I have ever read. Don't get me wrong, I've read plenty of books from bore-you-to-death-nerd-stuff to SOF-porn. I'm not as well read as many on this board, but I get around. It is truly a work of art. The sheer number of characters and the skill it takes to give even the insignificant ones such quality would put this book as a solid read, but the intermingling of so many different Machiavellian plots is something I would think would take an entire saga. No lie, it is really tough to put down even after hundreds of pages. On top of this, the author masterfully weaves the clash of two totally different cultures. Finally, its historical fiction closely resembling the end of the Warring States period in Japan (really only the names are changed) which likely required mind-boggling amount of research. James Clavell is a literary genius and deserves all the awards for this book.

On a practical note, anyone interacting with different cultures would do well to read this book.

BLUF: Shogun could be described as The (reluctant) Last Samurai meets Game of Thrones

Yeah, it's amazing historical fiction and just a brilliant novel in so many ways. His other early novels, Tai Pan and King Rat are also exceptional...but of lesser scope than Shogun.

I say "early" novels because after the phenomenal success of Shogun his publishers demanded more and his later work seems rather rushed and lacking in the richness of character and detail that makes Shogun so incredible.

Interesting man, too. Wounded by machine gun fire in Malaya and captured, he spent most of the war in a notorious Japanese POW camp, the basis for his novel King Rat.

Glad you are enjoying Shogun. There are very few works of fiction that I would so highly recommend. You live this book.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Glad you are enjoying Shogun. There are very few works of fiction that I would so highly recommend. It is a novel you just don't read, you live in it.

I have never read this.

 

[racing_kitty]

I haven’t read the book, but I do remember watching the week-long miniseries based upon said book when I was a child

 

[Gunz]

I haven’t read the book, but I do remember watching the week-long miniseries based upon said book when I was a child

The network mini-series was a big mistake. There's no way they could convey the richness of that novel to the small screen with subtitles and a girlie-man like a Richard Chamberlain playing a total badass like Blackthorne. The book has incredible violence, obscenities, sex, torture, not to mention intricacies of thought that can't be conveyed to a screen.

In the book you know what all the Japanese Samarai are thinking, and each one is weaving some secret tapestry of deceit, plotting for power, revenge or political gain. Indeed feudal Japan in 1600 was every warlord for himself. The women in the novel are also shrewd samarai, with their own deceits.

It is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read.


https://www.amazon.com/Shogun-Asian-Saga-James-Clavell/dp/0440178002


“A tale surging with action, intrigue and love . . . a huge cast . . . vast and dramatic . . . stunning . . . savage . . . beautiful . . . an extraordinary performance.”—Publishers Weekly