What are you reading?
 

Ok, in the hope of something slightly more cerebral than "what are you using to destroy your braincells", here's a thread for discussing what you're using to *inspire* them instead! ;)

So what are you reading at the moment? And what's good/ bad/ worth recommending/ worth avoiding about it?

For me it's currently "The Truth" by Terry Pratchett.

A story from the Discworld, Pratchett takes another of his hilarious satirical side-swipes at the lunacies of this world (helped, no doubt, by his experiences of working as a journalist before he started writing fiction).

As usual his plots and characterisations are spot on, the writing is excellent, humorous without being forced, touching without being sentimental and his observations are sharp and witty without being laboured.

If you've ever read Discworld and enjoyed it, you'll love this one, if you haven't, it's a good place to start because you don't really need to have read the earlier stories to understand the background.

Definitely recommended!

Re: What are you reading?
 

A bit belated, but i'm reading "The Salmon Of Doubt" by the late, great, Douglas Adams. It is a collection of articles he published before his death, and includes some chapters he was working on just before he died. He was the guy that wrote "The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy". Extremely funny. i'm about 1/4 the way throught it atm. Definitely recommended so far, so is HHGTTG. If you really have an aversion to books it was converted to radio, TV and DVD.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Erm, while the book you're currently reading is technically different, is this thread supposed to be different from what's the last book that you read?

Re: What are you reading?
 

I am currently reading this

Re: What are you reading?
 

I'm currently reading a book called Masters Of Death by Richard Rhodes.

Basically its about the SS Einsatzgruppen ( Special Action Squads ) and how they shot hundreds of thousands of Jews and 'Communists' in Poland and Russia. Not a nice subject, but interesting in a slightly disturbing way. :erm:

Re: What are you reading?
 

My psychiatric report :rofl: I'm officially suffering from PTSD, quite a weird feeling reading about yourself :erm:

Re: What are you reading?
 

"The Amber Spyglass", the third in a trilogy.
Before I got that & partially read "The Famous Five - five go to mystery moor".

While at the same time reading website design & dreamweaver use books, but these are harder to read on the bus.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Clifford the dog : The Runaway Rabbit....

It's wicked - I wonder if they are going to find the rabbit again.

Clifford is trying to entice it back by hanging a carrot from his tail - I DO hope it works.

Re: What are you reading?
 

A Short History of everything - Bill Bryson
Separation Purification and Identification - Open University
SXR205 - Exploring the Molecular World Study Guide - Open University
Nutrition and health - Our Chemical environment - Open University
Maskerade -Terry Pratchett.

Do you think that counteracts the couple of pints I had last night? ;)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Are we not kind of discussing this here:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...highlight=book

Re: What are you reading?
 

Well, we might be reading something else now. I, for instance, am reading this week's Private Eye.

Re: What are you reading?
 

It's ok everyone - They found the rabbit and it's safe back in its cage.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Phew, glad everythings ok, have been fretting here

Re: What are you reading?
 

:D My boy enjoyed it too :D

Re: What are you reading?
 

im reading what u lot just wrote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: What are you reading?
 

Hmm, well a) I didn't find that thread when I looked to see if this topic had been done before and b) this is not just a list of books, but an invitation to tell others a bit more about it than just "I'm reading X" :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Recursive error in post #4...! :D

Re: What are you reading?
 

Yes, I've read that, it's got some fascinating stuff in and the sample chapters hint at a book that would have been great fun had he finished it :(

Re: What are you reading?
 

Well ok then - as it happens I'm reading Starship Troopers (The original Heinlein one) (bedside reading)

Also - Do androids dream of electric sheep (downstairs loo :))

And - Airship 9 (upstairs loo :))

And - The Dark Half (work :))

Re: What are you reading?
 

Ok, so tell us a bit about them and why you're reading them! Are they good? Bad? Indifferent? Well written...?

Re: What are you reading?
 

I'll read just about anything (hence the F5 book) as long as it takes away the boredom of 80 minutes of bus journeys every day.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Ok - in order...

Starship troopers - Very good book - but a bit on the old side, I've always had a thing about Heinlein (Ever since reading Space Cadet) - I'm reading it (again) Because I wanted to compare it with the films.

Do Androids dream of electric sheep? - Again reading it to compare to the film - it's ok I guess so far - but I've only just started it - so I'm going to reserve judgement until I get more into it

Airship 9 - A classic 'end of the world' book - one of my fave genre's, I do like it I must admit. But I think the airship in question is going to be toasted soon :)

The Dark Half - More Stephen King - possibly my fave author - It's an interesting story and not as long as most of his books, Not as good and involving as something like The Stand - but a good read non the less.

I always try to read the book before I see the film if I can (is there is an original) Normally I find the book a lot better (with the exception of The Tommyknockers - where I found the TV Film a LOT better than the book)

Re: What are you reading?
 

It's a bit different, isn't it?!

It's a bit different, isn't it!!

I've not heard of this one, who's it by? How about a quick intro? (But no spoilers!)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Now reading: The Skylark of Space by EE Doc Smith. (To be followed by the rest of the Skylark series)

Ok, so I've read it before and it's a wonderfully ridiculous piece of Space Opera, but it's also so much fun!!

There's acts of derring do, a mighty thewed hero, a hissable villain, damsels in distress, noble extra-terrestrials and evil aliens and some *totally* incredible weaponry!

If you want stuff that makes you think (apart from thinking "what the...?!" :D ) then this probably isn't for you, but if you're looking for something that will let you take your mind off the hook and just lay back and enjoy the ride then this series of books is the equivalent of a "Summer Blockbuster" movie!

Re: What are you reading?
 

Both film books are a indeed a LOT different :) - Starship troopers is a lot better than the film. So far do androids dream of electric sheep seems a tad worse than the film - but it may pick up.

Airship 9 is by Thomas H Block - HHHmmm - a quick intro...

Lots of nukes go off - everyone dead apart from the airship and a russian warship (it's worth remembernig this was written well before the cold war ended) and some scientists in the antartic.

It's not a brilliant book - but I like the 'end of the world' type book.... Amongst my best types of this book are 'Z for Zacharia' and 'Children of the Dust'

There is a review here - but it MAY give too much away I guess.

http://www.sfreviews.com/docs/Thomas...hip%20Nine.htm

Re: What are you reading?
 

The thing is, DADoES is *completely different* from the film, apart from a few character names and some other bits and pieces, there's virtually no relationship between the two.

With ST, however, there are relationships, but they're practically all for the bad, apart from they managed to get the "moral philosophy" right.

Hmm, not really the style of reading I go for. Too depressing!

Re: What are you reading?
 

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction", by Jon Stewart


V funny :rofl:

Re: What are you reading?
 

Completely forgot about this thread :)

I'm now reading Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption again :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

I've literally just got my hands on The Iron Council by China Mieville.

I'm going to savour it.Good fantasy is so hard to find these days. :)

Edit: Forgot to say I finished Going Postal By Terry Pratchett last week.So wonderful and a nice sideways swipe at the internet. :D

Incog.

Re: What are you reading?
 

have just finished "the lake house" by james patterson. very strange book. it's a bit of a sci fi thriller... but good book

now reading "the reading club" by elizabeth nobel

Re: What are you reading?
 

Ellis Peters cadfael chronicles
just finished tad williams "the war of the flowers"

Re: What are you reading?
 

I'm reading 'The Scatterlings' by Isobelle Carmody.

its just a SF book I picked up in an Oxfam shop, for taking on holiday, that I never got round to reading.

Its about a girl who wakes up in a wrecked police flyer, with no memory of who she is, on a planet with a two tier society, i.e. an underclass, whom she meets after finding it was their sabotage that crashed the flyer.....

she also keeps hearing 'voices' in her head - thats the first 50 pages, its been quite good, so far. :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Re-reading the same copy of Pratchett's 'Moving Pictures' I bought at Reading station on the way to my Oxford interview in 1991 (I failed).

One of the best satires on free-market capitalism I've read. Working for ntl, a lot of it was painfully familiar...

Re: What are you reading?
 

the sunday times

Re: What are you reading?
 

Just finished 'Teach Yourself Art History' by Grant Pooke & Graham Witham - and I've been trying to read Tom Jones by Henry Fielding for the last year :erm:

Re: What are you reading?
 

Make the effort - it's one of my all-time favourites and a great read.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Thought I'd ressurrect this one..

I'm presently reading a book I found in the depths of my daughter's room.

The World's Greatest Rock'n'Roll Scandals by David Cavanagh.

A fascinating read(even if slightly out of date) and as you can guess not a lot of laughs.Until that is I reached the section on Keith Moon.Quite a few laugh out loud moments here.

Like this one at a gig in San Francisco.

:rofl:

Re: What are you reading?
 

At the moment, an illustrated World Atlas. Its got loads of facts and photos too so I am dreaming of places I want to travel off too some day.

Re: What are you reading?
 

I'm working my way through a box of old Sci-Fi books, that I rescued from the attic. The current one is 'Cycle of Fire' by Hal Clement, next will be 'Hothouse' by Brian Aldiss.

Re: What are you reading?
 

War and Peace.



...not

Doctor Who - The Monsters Inside

And

Visual Basic .NET in 21 Days

Re: What are you reading?
 

Sci-Fi kevin j andersons "a forest of stars" number 2 in series
aliens, earthlings, space gypsys etc

:) fits in with my sig I suppose:D

Re: What are you reading?
 

Crikey !!! You are keen !!!
Best of luck to you.
Programming used to drive me mad that I never want to ever go near it again.

Re: What are you reading?
 

I've just finished Dan 'The Da Vinci Code' Brown's Angel and Demons - a fantastic thriller on how Christianity and science can co-exist and even inter-mingle.

I thoroughly recommend it!

Re: What are you reading?
 

"Darwin's Children" by Greg Bear

Re: What are you reading?
 

after reading 'touching the void', i've just been recommended about a dozen more mountaineering books... fascinating stuff!

Re: What are you reading?
 

A thread located online a forum on my 17inch tft screen about what are you reading.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Only a 17" TFT? Never mind.

I'm reading "The Supernaturalist" by Eoin Colfer. Very different to the Artemis Fowl books. An orphan from a future orphanage which specialise in medical testing escapes death and the orphanage only to find he can see blue creatures who are feeding on the life force of the injured and dying is told he is a "spotter" by a group (called the supernaturalists) who go round killing the blue creatures avoiding lawyers and the police who generally turn up (in that order) about 30 seconds after the group who so far have managed to escape the dreaded cellophane wrap!!!!

Just read "The Asti Spumanti Code" very silly parody.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Last three books I've read:

'Are you Dave Gorman?' - bit of a silly book, basically two mates going round meeting + photographing people called dave gorman because of a 'drunken bet'
(seems more likely that it was an idea for making some money)

'The Da Vinci Code' - was ok, seems to be a lot of untruths, but enjoyable all the same.

currently reading 'The ragged trousered philanthropists'

Seems very relevent to society today - would thouroughly reccomend!

Re: What are you reading?
 

Now reading the second of The Catchestist books by Alan Dean Foster,'Into the Thinking Kingdom'.

Re: What are you reading?
 

At the moment Torpedo Juice by Tim Dorsey :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

just started reading Last Man Standing by David Badacci.... hard to get into but good once you have started :tu:

not one that i can't put down though.... but handy for hot summer nights when you can't sleep :p:

Re: What are you reading?
 

At the moment I need something I can pick up quickly as I :Sprint: to the loo for what seems the 10th time.... :D

Re: What are you reading?
 

Currently on the second to last chapter of a 1000+ page book on the CompTIA A+ certification. All about complex PC details that you'll never need to know except to pass the exam.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Can't read recently, just lose concentration after a few sentences :(

Re: What are you reading?
 

It was all that revision young grasshopper...Don't worry about it.Just chill until your results... ;)

Re: What are you reading?
 

"A Hat Full of Sky" by Terry Pratchett which has just come out in paperback.

Actually I'm re-reading it (again!) because I read it three times when it came out in Hardback (twice to enjoy and once for annotations) and I've already read the paperback once and I'm reading it again because it's such a damn good book!! :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson

I've read a whole succession of Bryson books lately, each one better than the last. Not sure about this one yet though, he seems to have strayed from a tried and tested formula and I'm not sure it's working.

Re: What are you reading?
 

May I respectfully suggest this . :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

I sat outside at work today and read The Golden Apples of The Sun by Ray Bradbury today.

I also finished my copy of Star Wars III

Re: What are you reading?
 

Well, some things last. I read that about 40 years ago.

Re: What are you reading?
 

First Ray Bradbury book I've ever read. I got given it to me by my dad - there was another one (who's name escapes me at the moment). I'm going to read that tomorrow.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Off the top of my head there's Fahrenheit 454, The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Well it was none of those - I do know it's another short story one. I'll post it tomorrow when I've read it :)

'I sing the body electric' - apparenty (I Just called my dad :))

Re: What are you reading?
 

Ah what happy hours I spent as teenager reading Bradbury.Some of his stories were as creepy or creepier than Roahl Dahl was later. ;)

Re: What are you reading?
 

:dozey: I know the feeling....... loperamide from the chemist, ask for non POM(prescription only medicine) and you can get a box of 30 for about £3. I use at least 2 day:erm:

I leave my book of the moment in the loo;)

Re: What are you reading?
 

The one I enjoyed within the book I read today was about some women who were doing some embroidery but got wiped out :(

And the one about the chinese emperor who finds a man who has built a flying machine - but kills him.

MMMmmm - It was a good book anyway.

I'm looking forward to the other one tomorrow.

And I've seen the film farenheit 451 - didn't know it was one of his - I'll have to look out for that now.

Re: What are you reading?
 

i'm reading the da vinci code at the moment, only two chapters through so far.....

Re: What are you reading?
 

"Homicide - A Year on the Killing Streets", by David Simon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...880788-8264625


Excellent "true-crime" book, which was the inspiration for the brilliant "Homicide: Life on the Street" US TV cop show.

The book is based on reporter David Simon's experience of following the detectives in Baltimore PD's Homicide Unit for a year. Well worth reading :tu:

Re: What are you reading?
 

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett.:LOL:

About a country which lives by the word of the prophet Nuggan who seems to call almost everything an abomination. The ruler is a Duchess who no one has seen for years. The latest recruits into the army all share the same secret but you will have to read the book to find out more. (or watch my sig for a quote).:D

Re: What are you reading?
 

Upon my oath...! ;)
__________________

Recently read:

"The Laptop of the Gods" - Peter Chippendale.

The critic quotes say things like "This will appeal to Pratchett and Monty Python fans alike" and "[it] is Terry Pratchett before he became unreadable".

Well it's rather ironic because I don't consider Pratchett to *ever* have become "unreadable" (in fact he's become even *more* readable), whereas this book, for me, definitely *was* unreadable!

I got about 30 pages into it and just gave up which is something pretty rare for me (about the only other book that ever caused that effect was the first Gormenghast book).

The problem is that Peter Chippendale doesn't seem to know when to leave a joke well enough alone and instead labours it on and on, taking what should be a quick one liner and dragging it out into half a page or more of tedious re-workings that's sadly reminiscent of "pun cascade" thread.

There just wasn't anything sufficiently redeeming to make me want to continue reading.

The Excalibur Alternative - David Weber

An English nobleman and his men are on their way to the Battle of Crecy when they are kidnapped by Aliens and taken off to fight for them.

At this point anyone who has read "The High Crusade" by Poul Anderson will be thinking "hold on, haven't I heard this somewhere before", well, yes you have.

Whether it was deliberate or not, there are certainly some very noticable similarities between the stories and whilst the plot ends differently (although not particularly surprisingly), there's a strong sense of deja-vu all the way through.

Still, even if you have read The High Crusade, it's a fairly entertaining and well written book and whiles away a few hours.

Re: What are you reading?
 

I recently read that as well, it's not bad.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Has anyone read any of the "Ronan The Barbarian" books by James Bibby?:rofl::rofl::rofl:

As funny as TP IMHO but such a shame he only wrote 3 Ronan books and one other (same world though). You can only get the first book second hand now.:mis::cry:

Re: What are you reading?
 

I weakened and bought the da vinci code today (seeing as everyone seems to be going on about it a lot)

I hope it's good.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Just finished Simon Greens latest Nightside offering called Hex and the City.Very laconic humour as usual.. :D

Re: What are you reading?
 

Strata by Terry Pratchett, but to be honest I'm finding it rather difficult to get into. not a slick as his newer material. There seems to be a lot of chopping and changing. Good book though

Re: What are you reading?
 

A Short History of everything - Bill Bryson

Just an amazing book that covers all the things that I never really got hold of at school and subsequently have wondered about, but never been able to easily find out about.

I will give you examples:

How did the universe begin and what is "out there"?
How did the earth come to be like it is?
What is above and below us
Geology - what's that all about?
What was Einstein on about?
Particle physics. Huh?
How did life and then humans evolve?
Is there life on Mars? Ziggy plays guitar. Isn't it? Wasn't it?

Bryson writes in a way that enables really complicated subjects to be conveyed in just enough detail for you to get a basic handle on the.
How he does it is genius.

If you fancy know a little bit about loans of things. Read this book.

Re: What are you reading?
 

The thing about Strata and Dark Side of the Sun is that, like with The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, Pterry was very much "finding his feet" with his writing style and developing the concepts that would later appear in the Discworld stories of today. It's interesting spotting precursors of what was to come.

Just read:

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin

Hmm, I'd heard good things about RR, but this one was pretty disappointing.

Ok, he had some nice ideas, but I felt they were rather shoved together without much regard for the whole

Some of the jokes felt very laboured and occasionally he drops into "unnecessarily crude" mode for a bit for no good reason that I could see apart from to use a rude word or make a dirty joke.

Not very impressive overall.

Re: What are you reading?
 

The magic cottage, it is a horror story and not bad so far

Re: What are you reading?
 

I'm reading the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, I expected it to be a bit more challenging but so far it's a bit obvious, hope it improves.

Re: What are you reading?
 

"Dead Run" PJ Tracy

http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Search/Q...059850,00.html

Re: What are you reading?
 

I'm just about to start the Da Vinci Code - so I hope it lives up to my expectations.

I'm sure it will be much better than The Night of the Triffids - which I'm reading at the moment.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good sequel (I've read it before this is a re-read). But it is a tad predictable and not a patch on the original :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Nursing, hopsital and home as I have to scrub up on some of my techniques.

Re: What are you reading?
 

The Bourne Identity....and then will carry on to the next two Bourne novels. Thats what I'm going to read on hols.............

Re: What are you reading?
 

I'm reading "The Burning Girl" can''t remember who its by and some daft psychology book about how SKinners box was actually a good thing to happen !!


YES ok I am strange !

Re: What are you reading?
 

Bourne Identity
Bourne Supremacy
Bourne Ultimatum
Bourne Legacy

;)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Tnx for that. I would like to add that it's a good thing they didn't put the 4th novel in with the other 3 in my edition 'cos it's heavy and thick enough as it is. Amazon really ought to indicate if a book you are about to buy from them is 2 inches thick and weight a few kilos! :disturbd:

Re: What are you reading?
 

Andy MacNab Bravo 2 Zero. If you have not read it get it as its amazing.
Chris Ryan The one that got away. Please read both books.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Most recently I've read "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell" by Susanna Clarke and "Rats and Gargoyles" by Mary Gentle.

The first one was an excellent book. It's her first novel and a weighty tome (possibly a bit too weighty, I think there could have been a little more editing done) but none the less it's a fascinating read.

It's set in a parallel 19th Century Britain, one where magic had existed, but had fallen out of use (there are still people who call themselves "magicians", but most are simply gentlemen who read about the subject and write articles without actually *doing* any magic! :) ). Then along comes Mr Norell of the title who *does* do magic, but seems intent on keeping all the books of magic in his own hands and not sharing them with anyone and, indeed, stopping anyone else from even attempting magic.

There's a lot of background to it, where the north of England used to be ruled by John Uskglass, The Raven King and who also ruled The Faerie Lands and it's detailed and well constructed.

Apart from, as mentioned, it being a little over-written, the writing is very good, there are no major anachronisms that drop you back into the 21st Century and there's some good humorous bits that aren't forced or laboured.

Overall it's a very good fantasy story and well worth a read.

The second book, Rats and Gargoyles, however, is another one of those rare books that I just gave up on because I just *couldn't* keep reading it, which is a shame because I'd previously enjoyed another Mary Gentle story called "Grunts".

But R&G is annoying. It's written in short sentences. The book doesn't flow. It's broken up and jerky. Every time something starts, it stops. What's even more annoying is that when someone starts talking or doing a bit of plot exposition, it's suddenly interrupted by a description of their aching feet or the clothes they're wearing or them scratching their bum that starts to drive you nuts after a while.

It's got a nice Fantasy background and there are some interesting ideas in there, but they're buried under the weight of a rather bad writing style.

Not one I'd recommend.

Re: What are you reading?
 

I've noticed Jonathan Strange in Borders a few times, but never decided to actually pick it up.

I think I might now, after your review :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. Didn't think I'd like his books but I've not put it down!!!!

Re: What are you reading?
 

Just a request (and not just directed at you, Shaun :) ) but rather than simply putting a title and "read it" or "I've not put it down" a bit about the book (genre, style, good characters/ plot/ writing?) would be nice.

Thanks :)

Re: What are you reading?
 

Well, currently reading "One Shot" by Lee Child.

It's a whodunnit/thriller about an ex US military sniper who goes into a small US city and kills 5 random people in cold blood.

Characters: All of the Lee Child novels I have read have been about the adventures of an ex us military policeman called "Jack Reacher". This book is no exception, so obviously, the Reacher character is well defined. However, the author has the ability to create a believable (IMO) character in a few words, and he does this in this book.

Plot & Writing: Obviously, I can't give away too much here. Partly because I haven't been reading it long, so don't know a lot. Partly because I don't want to put people off. There are quite a few twists in the plot, but it is well written and quite easy to follow. Lee Child also has the honour (in an earlier book: The Visitor) of being the only whodunnit auther to have totally led me to the wrong conclusion about a character. I won't say too much about that book, apart from the fact that the murderer is in the book, pretty much from the start, and has motive (again pretty much from the start) yet it is not obvious who it is.

If you want to find out more about the Reacher character (why he is like he is), I would also recommend you read another book by Lee Child called "The Enemy".

As a side note, I did read somewhere that, although he is now based in the US, Lee Child is English and actually started out as a scriptwriter for "London's Burning". Can't verify this though.

Re: What are you reading?
 

Blenheim by Charles "Guess who I've got buried at the bottom of the garden" Spencer. The battle, not the house. Actually, he hasn't made too bad a job of it; quite an interesting style. Obviously, him not being a professional historian, there's probably nothing particularly new in it, so he's tried to inject a bit of originality by quoting from the diaries of various of the participants.
__________________

And if I may put a plug in for the one I read before this. Dark Star by Alan Furst. Too be honest, I got it out of the library on spec; I'd never heard of the author before, but he is first rate.

It is a spy novel, but that is like saying that Romeo and Juliet is a Mills & Boon romance. It concerns AndrÃÃâ€*’© Szara, a Pravda journalist between the wars who becomes entangled in Soviet intelligence infighting and ends up as part of a Russian spy ring. It has enough plot twists to satisfy the most discerning of readers of spy novels and a protagonist who totally engages your sympathies. Oh, and you get a load of information on how Russian spy rings operated thrown in free of charge.

Highly recommended.

Re: What are you reading?
 

I was thinking "Dark Star - Bombed Out in Space with a Spaced Out Bomb" novelised by Alan Dean Foster and then going "Uhhh... :confused: what's that got to do with spies...???" :dunce:

Re: What are you reading?
 

The Demon in the Freezer: The Terrifying Truth About the Threat from Bioterrorism - Richard Preston

Basically it talks about Anthrax (the events after the scares in America) - and smallpox - and how sooner or later, someone, somewhere is going to use smallpox as a biological weapon, and depending on what they've done with it, it may or may not just tear through the vaccine.

I don't think he's got a great style of writing, but it's an interesting read..

Re: What are you reading?
 

I've got a couple of Richard Preston books I'd recommend :)


1) "The Hot Zone" - true story of an Ebola outbreak in a monkeyhouse in the US. Very good, & scary as it's true.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...589911-8934238


2) "The Cobra Event" - fictional story about a bioterror incident in the US. Excellent read.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...589911-8934238



And, in a similar vein to "Demon in the Freezer":


"Biohazard", by Ken Alibek.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...589911-8934238


"Germs, the Ultimate Weapon", by Judith Miller et al.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...589911-8934238


"Plague Wars - A True Story of Biological Warfare", by Tom Mangold & Jeff Goldberg.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...589911-8934238


All very interesting.

Re: What are you reading?
 

*shuffles away from Matt slowly*

:erm:

Re: What are you reading?
 

What? You've got the snuffles?

OMG
:Sprint:

Re: What are you reading?
 

:LOL:


I'm a molecular biologist, & I find this stuff interesting... :shrug:

Re: What are you reading?
 

Whereas, I'm just a lone nutcase :)