What BOOK are you reading right now?

one of the books i am reading is the biography of german chancellor(reichskanzler) bernhard fuerst von buelow , who was the german chancellor from 1900 to 1909 .
he learned his trade under bismarck and served under emporor
wilhelm II until a disagreement with the emporor caused him to resign .
it's interesting to read that the middle-east - mainly the ottoman empire -
already played a major role in the politics of the major european nations .
even though germany and austria were allies , they tried to outflank each other when it came to the middle-east .
similarly the french , who were england's ally , would on occasion side with the germans - as in the proposed building of the baghdad railway .
plenty of intrigues - as always !
hbg

Have you got a copy, and can you lend it me please?

Of course!

Would you like to borrow my copy of 'Emulsioning for Beginners'?

:wink:

x

Goody, thanks. (note to others, Smorgs and I live about 5 miles apart)

We went into the library yesterday to order a copy, and they hadn't got one anywhere on the system! (which covers about 20 libraries in our area)
They have got the Dawkins book, which my wife wanted, bu there are 13 people on the waiting list for that.
So I'm pleased to report anyway, atheism and agnosticism (or at least a desire to learn about same) are alive and well around these parts.

I've just been given 'Absent Minds' - a history of intellectuals! I must be one because when it arrived through the post, I couldn't remember if I'd ordered it or not... but actually it was a birthday present.

end of the year book reading!
Hello, all- Happy New Year.

I finished reading the always interesting Elaine Pagels' book The Gnostic Gospels and lately, I've been inhaling the mysteries of Boris Akunin-4 have been translated into English (I was turned onto to them by a Russian friend!) and they feature a wonderful main character, Erast Fandorin (these take place in the late 19th Century Russia!).

Not only are they fun books and a great character, but each one of the three I've read has a shifting narrator-very different idea.

In the first (The Winter Queen), the 3rd person narrator closely follows the young Erast. In the second (The Turkish Gambit), a spirited "modern woman" is the 1st person narrator who has followed her fiancee to the battlefields in the Russian/Ottoman wars. The one I'm reading now (Murder on the Leviathan) shifts 1st person accounts among the members of a particular salon on a luxury liner--except for Erast!
Very fun books.

Listening, Lois.


A friend and I have discovered a, what can I call it, an artifact of an older time, the time being just a few years ago. It was at first glance a sort of deserted looking house, and upon entering, a multi room compilation of old paperbacks. I was rolling my eyes at first, two rooms full of romances, or so it seemed, but then it got more interesting. So, I'm reading an old Len Deighton and an old Le Carre (Campbell). Just about right for my mood. Also picked up two books by my old boss, Leonard Goldberg, medical thriller scarers, with some characters nearly recognizable as some composite of us. I bought two of those in case I didn't have copies, why, godknows. Er, he's sharper than his thrillerbooks.

an autobiography of PG Wodehouse, my sister gave me for christmas

it's very interesting so far

Kara

I'm now up to page 147 and am finding it both an enjoyable & informative read. A good range of characters marching along with the union soldiers through Georgia. The only way for some folk who have lost everything to survive. Some are going to survive, better their lot. Others lives will be ruined, or at least changed forever. The descriptions of the devastation to towns, homes & peoples lives is terrible. I'm quite intrigued by General Sherman & his (very different) private & public faces. (Not knowing all that much about this period of US history. Apart from Gone With The Wind, of course! :wink: )
It is quite a melancholy, poetic read in parts. Should work well on audio.
I'll keep you posted.

Wild Fire by Nelson de Mille. It seems three US cities are about to get hit with 3 atom bombs, by an insane American, just so we can send the signal to retaliate with our own bomb to the Middle East. Some of this novel is built around truth. Enlightening, I guess.

A biography of Jane Goodall

djjd. how is the Wodehouse? He is undoubtedly one of my favourite authors, I so envy his way with words.

good , ole p.j. - still one of my favourites . i must have read most of his books at least twice .

three books on the go :

1) an oldie : major thompson lives in france and (second part of book) major thompson and i , by pierre danois .
two wonderful stories on how major thompson - who has married a french woman - views the french - and in particular his friend mr . taupin .

the second book deals with mr. pochet and his visit to england - and trying to find mr. thompson whose address is :
major w. marmaduke thompson ,
...the tower
......rough hill road
.........marlborough heights
............ploughbury
...............hampshire

but when he asks a local for direction is told : "you're looking for the castle , then ? " ; "no , the tower !" ; "yes, that's it ! " .
it's almost like an early version of 'faulty tower' - lots of laughs !

2)edwin newman on language : strictly speaking and a civil tongue .
newman rakes politicians , newscasters and himself over the coals for the misuse of the english language .

3)beau brummell by ian kelly ; subtitle : the ultimate man of style .
beau and his friends sure knew how to live ... and eventually die of syphilis .

it'll keep me entertained for a few days .
hbg

Amy Tan - The Joy Luck Club

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai.

Have been looking forward to this one for a while! Very impressive beginning (on chapter 7).

Still picking away at this anthology (ossoB, who's the painter? ) - it's great subway reading. Just finished a segment by Vita Sackville West about her travels in Persia. It was taken from Passenger to Teheran.

Upstairs, I'm reading



another anthology, but it's too heavy to carry around (got it in the Boxing Day sales for $2.50 - a very very happy-making score). Gotta love Jamaica Kincaid on knitting.

Oh that sounds interesting, soz.

I think I might do a bit of a Google search & see what I can find out about it!

I read that - I warmed to the author straight away - did you know she plays in a part-time rock band with Stephen King and other authors?

Tis true

Starts with G, is about six letters. OK, now I'm gonna look it up. Gorgeous paintings.




Or maybe that's C...


That's it, Jean-Batiste Chardin

French rococco painter

Another by him:

Meantime, I'm reading Tailor of Panama by John le Carre' (David Campbell).
Too many damn words, but they do set a scene.