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Post by Kahlessa on Oct 6, 2007 7:44:44 GMT -5
Welcome Palspar I haven't heard of James Clavell but I will check him out. James Clavell is known for his six novels called “The Asian Saga”. They are: King Rat (1962): Set in a Japanese POW camp, 1945 Tai-Pan (1966): Set in Hong Kong, 1841 Shogun (1975): Set in feudal Japan, 1600 Noble House (1981): Set in Hong Kong, 1963 Whirlwind (1986): Set in Iran, 1979 Gai-Jin (1993): Set in Japan, 1862 I would start with Shogun; I still think that’s his best. Then Tai-Pan, which is about the founding of Hong Kong. The reasons Clavell only wrote six novels is that he researches them so extensively. His books are very long, but his writing is tight and the story moves. I don’t mind if a long trip so long as I’m enjoying the journey. There was an excellent miniseries made of Shogun. It’s available on DVD.
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Post by Kahlessa on Oct 13, 2007 11:45:40 GMT -5
I’m reading A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters. It contains three stories about Brother Cadfael and tells how the former crusader ended up becoming a monk.
I discovered Brother Cadfael through the TV dramatizations of the books starring Derek Jacobi. Now I’m reading the books and enjoying them immensely.
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Post by Kahlessa on Oct 24, 2007 21:32:45 GMT -5
I just finished Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. It’s the combined stories of Guglielmo Marconi, who developed the first wireless telegraph, and Hawley Crippen, a British murderer who was captured due to the use of the wireless aboard ships. It was very well-written, but not quite as good as Larson’s previous book Devil in the White City. The two stories in Thunderstruck didn’t mesh as well as the two in Devil in the White City.
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Jiet
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by Jiet on Nov 3, 2007 15:12:34 GMT -5
I recently finished reading "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. Very good read.
If anyone is looking for a good mystery writer then I highly recommend Harlan Coben. Writes with good sense of humor but he leaves the reader with plenty to ponder at the end of it all.
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Post by Kahlessa on Nov 4, 2007 1:03:38 GMT -5
If anyone is looking for a good mystery writer then I highly recommend Harlan Coben. Writes with good sense of humor but he leaves the reader with plenty to ponder at the end of it all. I haven't read any of Harlan Coben's books, but I know from working in a bookstore that he's a very popular writer. We keep a number of his books in stock and after what you've said, I think I'll read one sometime soon. Any suggestions for which one to start with?
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Jiet
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by Jiet on Nov 14, 2007 2:27:56 GMT -5
If anyone is looking for a good mystery writer then I highly recommend Harlan Coben. Writes with good sense of humor but he leaves the reader with plenty to ponder at the end of it all. I haven't read any of Harlan Coben's books, but I know from working in a bookstore that he's a very popular writer. We keep a number of his books in stock and after what you've said, I think I'll read one sometime soon. Any suggestions for which one to start with? Sorry Kahlessa, I was a little busy the last week. I like the Myron Bolitar series and I recommend starting at the beginning with Deal Breaker to get the best of the series. I have a different favorite every few weeks - currently it is One False Move. A few weeks back it was Back Spin. If you don't want to start a series then "The Innocent" is a good one.
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Post by Kahlessa on Nov 14, 2007 10:41:57 GMT -5
Sorry Kahlessa, I was a little busy the last week. I like the Myron Bolitar series and I recommend starting at the beginning with Deal Breaker to get the best of the series. I have a different favorite every few weeks - currently it is One False Move. A few weeks back it was Back Spin. If you don't want to start a series then "The Innocent" is a good one. Thanks, Jiet! It's so good to have you back!
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Post by Lukaran on Nov 17, 2007 14:37:23 GMT -5
I'm reading "Rhett Butler's People". It's not a sequel to "Gone with the Wind"; it's Rhett's story. There's a lot of things that happen to him that we only hear from his telling them in "Gone with the Wind". In this book, we get to experience Rhett's life through his eyes.
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Post by Kahlessa on Nov 21, 2007 19:15:28 GMT -5
Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq by Larry Diamond. The author is a Stanford University professor and democracy expert who was personally asked by Condoleezza Rice to serve as an advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. Diamond opposed going to war with Iraq, but "supported building the peace." This book is his inside examination of what went wrong in Iraq.
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Post by Kahlessa on Dec 2, 2007 19:50:08 GMT -5
I’m reading the Star Trek: Next Generation novel Before Dishonor by Peter David. It takes place after the crew of the starship Voyager returned home and it involves Seven of Nine and the Borg. I’m a huge Star Trek fan plus I love anything Peter David writes. His Star Trek: New Frontier series is fantastic!
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Post by Eleanor on Dec 4, 2007 12:53:38 GMT -5
I'm reading "Rhett Butler's People". It's not a sequel to "Gone with the Wind"; it's Rhett's story. There's a lot of things that happen to him that we only hear from his telling them in "Gone with the Wind". In this book, we get to experience Rhett's life through his eyes. I want to read that! Let us know if it's any good.
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Post by Kahlessa on Jan 8, 2008 9:32:46 GMT -5
I’m rereading the book Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes in Leadership by Richard Farson. It’s a very insightful book and useful for anyone to read, not just managers. Michael Crichton wrote the forward to it. Richard Farson’s website is www.wbsi.org/farson/home.htm Check it out sometime, it’s a very interesting site. From his website: Dr. Richard Farson, psychologist, author, lecturer, and educator, is president of the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute (WBSI), an independent, nonprofit organization he helped found in La Jolla, California, devoted to research, education and advanced study in human affairs. Among his current responsibilities, he heads the development of WBSI’s pioneering International Leadership Forum (ILF), an Internet-based think tank composed entirely of highly influential leaders from business, government, academia, science, journalism, literature and the arts, addressing the great policy issues of our time.
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Post by Kahlessa on Jan 11, 2008 9:24:29 GMT -5
Now I’m reading Sovereign Ladies: Sex, Sacrifice, and Power—The Six Reigning Queens of England by Maureen Waller. I’ve always loved history, especially English history.
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Post by Eleanor on Feb 5, 2008 12:49:07 GMT -5
I'm reading John Grisham's new novel, the Appeal. Any Grisham fans here?
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Post by Kahlessa on Feb 8, 2008 9:17:49 GMT -5
I'm reading John Grisham's new novel, the Appeal. Any Grisham fans here? Yes, I like some of John Grisham's books a lot, though some of his I'll never read again. I'll read The Appeal after my mother finishes it. I'm reading Next by Michael Crichton again. It's easily the least linear of all of Crichton's novels. But it's very interesting and raises some provocative questions about genetic engineering and the patenting of genes. I'll be creating a fascinating facts section about Next soon.
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