yoda Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I've just started The Big Short: Inside The Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis. It looks like it could be a cracking read. Finally finished this. It took me a while to get into it, and because my knowledge of the financial markets is limited I did spend a lot of time researching things I wasn't sure on. However when I got into it, it became difficult to put down. It's shocking, funny, interesting and almost unbelievable. My only criticism is that it's quite dry at times, and sometimes I was having to re-read entire chapters I think I'll start Moneyball now. I liked his style in The Big Short and Moneyball appears to be interesting 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 The Vikings by Else Roesdahl and The Cold War: Teach Yourself by Carole Bryan Jones. The first was out of interest and a pretty good brief overview of several aspects of Viking culture; the second was because I had to for work, and it was good for what it was. It goes over the key aspects at a very low level, which was all that I needed. Now reading Voltaire's Candide ou l'Optimisme, which I'm enjoying so far. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I bought 'the Third Anti-Christ' as part of Asda's 2 for £7 book deal without realising it was the final part of a trilogy so borrowed this from the local library. I would probably never have given this a 2nd look otherwise but it ended up quite an engrossing and very enjoyable read. Basically it's a race to find some lost Nostradamus prophecies set among France's Gypsy population. 8/10 Finished the above yesterday morning and started reading this from the author of 'the Godfather'. American Intelligence Officer sets out to avenge his torture and near death at the hands of seven Gestapo officers. I was really looking forward to this after reading the inside cover but it really is very disappointing. The book isn't long enough to give any real depth to the characters and the manner in which the American manages to extract his revenge is all too simple and unbelievable. I bought 'The Godfather' earlier in the week and I'm hoping it's far better than this. 4/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonds2002 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy last week Brilliantly written dystopian vision. Unsympathetic it really hihglights some of the worst aspects of humanity against the backdrop of a fathers love for his son. Cant recommend it highly enough 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Now reading Voltaire's Candide ou l'Optimisme, which I'm enjoying so far. Finished this as well as Quantum of Tweed: the Man with the Nissan Micra by Conn Iggulden. This was one of the 'short reads' series and came up on my Kindle recommendations; it's the story of an average Joe who, through a series of coincidences, becomes an assassin. Only really bought it because it was cheap and I'm a fan of Iggulden's historical fiction, but enjoyed it well enough. Now reading Une Vie by Guy de Maupassant. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) Finished this last Sunday ... Iraq veteran Spero Lucas finds things or to put it another way, he recovers stolen property. a crime boss hears of his successes and hires him to find his packages of drugs which have gone missing. Lucas is a new character for Pelecanos and I'm sure we will see a series of books featuring him. Typical Pelecanos I suppose, still set in Washington DC with a lot of the same themes as previous books but that's no bad thing. 7/10 - Finished reading this last night ... Don't really think this one needs any introduction. 8/10 Edited March 19, 2012 by mighty meadow 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOGI IS GOD Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) "Beyond the Corporation" - David Erdal A public interest book written about the benefits of co-operative ownership by the man who turned Tullis Russell, the papermakers in Glenrothes, into a co-operative business. Looks at the economic benefits of co-operative ownership in businesses such as John Lewis and Mondragon in Spain. The book argues that the generic business model that currently goes unquestioned is inherently flawed for creating long term economic progress. 8/10 Edited March 19, 2012 by YOGI IS GOD 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 "Beyond the Corporation" - David Erdal A public interest book written about the benefits of co-operative ownership by the man who turned Tullis Russell, the papermakers in Glenrothes, into a co-operative business. Looks at the economic benefits of co-operative ownership in businesses such as John Lewis and Mondragon in Spain. The book argues that the generic business model that currently goes unquestioned is inherently flawed for creating long term economic progress. 8/10 That sounds interesting - is a "dry read" though? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkfish Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 That sounds interesting - is a "dry read" though? Nope it's a good read, lots of examples and doesn't wallow in theory. It has a very compelling central idea, that nothing incentivises and motivates more than ownership. Employee ownership as a concept has a lot of merit, and despite sometimes being dismissed as lefty nonsense, is actually very capitalist. I'm surprised it doesn't get talked about more given the economic situation. I'm off my soapbox now. It's a good book! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspy Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Just finished reading Fredrick Forsyth's "Odessa file" after seeing the film. It was a great read and totally different from the film. I've quickly moved on to Christopher Reichs's "The runner" which is proving to be another excellent read. Both are well worth a look. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckles Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Just finished reading Fredrick Forsyth's "Odessa file" after seeing the film. It was a great read and totally different from the film. I've quickly moved on to Christopher Reichs's "The runner" which is proving to be another excellent read. Both are well worth a look. Agreed..... I particularly enjoy Forsyth's early stuff . If you haven't already read it, try his " Dogs of War "....most of the material for this was gathered while he was a BBC correspondent in Biafra . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qosrush Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 BRONSON. Not an avid reader of books and this one didn,t really make me want to go and pick up another one. From about chapter four it became quite repetetive, he gets carted from one jail to another , beats up a couple of screws, gets stuck in solitary. If the book is supposed to make you sympathise with him it didn,t work for me.2/10. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrison Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Finished The Count of Monte Cristo recently. Outstanding storytelling and very rewarding, it's a classic for a reason. Also read Of Mice and Men for the first time before going to see the play at the Lyceum; I'm not sure it's possible to read it without a tug at the old heartstrings. Now dividing my time between I, Robot - I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Asimov's stuff - and Tom Sawyer. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullywee Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 'one day in the life of ivan denisovich' by alexander solzhenitstyn excellent read. it's basically the story of, wait for it, one day in the life of a prisoner in a 1950s soviet labour camp. a lot of it is quite shocking, especially the conditions the prisoners were living in, the length of the sentences and overall acceptance by the prisoners that they will never see their homes again. there's no real storyline as such, but it's extremely readable and won the 1970 Nobel Prize to boot. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOGI IS GOD Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 That sounds interesting - is a "dry read" though? I'd say it's a book you can dip in and out of, it's not an economics book, more of a series of case studies of companies that are co-operatively owned. There are a lot of interviews with people who support the co-operative model and a few short chapters on the evidence for the economic benefits of co-operative ownership and the consequent benefits for the welfare of workers. I'd highly recommend it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lau03143 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 The Child Taker. It was a kindle free book, so thought, might as well. It was ok. Quite average throughout, but the ending was quite good. 6/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Dog Blood - David Moody. Part of a trilogy. It's about a post-apocalyptic type scenario where 1/4 of the human race turn into "Haters" and pretty much try to kill the "Unchanged" rest. It's actually quite good. 7/10. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Dog Blood - David Moody. Part of a trilogy. It's about a post-apocalyptic type scenario where 1/4 of the human race turn into "Haters" and pretty much try to kill the "Unchanged" rest. It's actually quite good. 7/10. 'Mon the haterz..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Anyone read 'Fooled by Randomness' and know if it's any good? Was think of getting it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmothecat Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 The Human Stein by Philip Roth. It was alright, interesting idea behind it and fairly well written, nothing special though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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