Books you are reading

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Ive got a couple of books that I am reading-

The Maharajahs Box-Christy Campbell-this is about Duleep Singh, King of Lahore. Among other tings is describes how how the Kohinoor diamond was "gifted" to Queen Victoria by a 10 year old!

Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed.
 
George - I am curious. Do you read more than one book at a time and switch between them per your convenience? Personally I am a one-book-at-a-time person :).
 
Vortex

My earlier email-post no 7 on this thread, explains it- I normally read one at a time.

Recently I got a set of books and deviated from my normal reading habits. I will finish the ones that I am reading and go back to my usual reading habits. I find that with thicker books it is not easy to retain one's interest all the way to the end-300-400 pages is the max for me now-when I was younger a 600 page read was nothing for me.

I read very fast, and typically over the last 40+ years I have averaged reading around 3-5 books a week. During the past 4-6 months this has slowed down mainly due to watching videos/movies/documentaries etc. I avoided the IPL.

George
 
3 to 5 books a week is simply phenomenal, George! Way to go.

And you showed your resolve by avoiding the IPL :). Even though I dislike a lot of what goes with the IPL, the cricket in it meant that I was still watching it.
 
I just finished 'The caliphs house' by Tahir Shah. Its highly recommended for people who loves to see the lighter side of things. Its about a british born afghan moving to morocco with family. hilarious!
 
GeorgeO said:
I read very fast, and typically over the last 40+ years I have averaged reading around 3-5 books a week. During the past 4-6 months this has slowed down mainly due to watching videos/movies/documentaries etc. I avoided the IPL.

George
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Way to go! I did than in my teens - that too after packing in 4 hours of sports and 6 hours of school!!

Not in the last few decades though. But you know George, this thread prompted me to reopen all my half read books and make a serious effort at finishing all the books I buy.

I usually read books like I sip wine these days ... rarely front to back, a few pages in between, sometimes go back a few chapters if the context is not clear, then maybe the whole book from the start again ... and if the ideas are brilliant, I let it bake in my mind for months or years ... wonder if anybody follows the same habits :)

Regards
 
Gobble: I find in most cases I get the max pleasure from reading any book at one or two sittings-I leave the wine tasting habits for wine;)


Picked up two books today from Blossom on Church Street-I've read both but hey no harm reading them both again.

Rickenbacker is an outstanding autobiography of an ace flier from the First World War. Eddie Rickenbacker, and was a big bestseller a few decades ago. This is for a friend.

The other book which I had enjoyed some years ago, is for my sons to read-Ken Follet's On Wings of Eagles.
 
GeorgeO said:
over the last 40+ years I have averaged reading around 3-5 books a week.
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Oh WOW !!! Please share some ideas on how you manage to do that. At present I can do 1 book in 3-5 months :eek:hyeah:

gobble said:
I usually read books like I sip wine these days ... rarely front to back, a few pages in between, sometimes go back a few chapters if the context is not clear, then maybe the whole book from the start again ...
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Same here gobble. I happened to realise last night that i have close to 50 books which i have half read. Darn !! i have resolved to finished them all in 6 months if Georgeo offers some tips.
 
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Sachin

Simple..You need to have time on your hands!

More seriously, I have been going through some personal issues that have give me time to introspect, read, listen to music, and have a little more time or read than I normally have. I suspect that when I go to the US next month, reading time will get sharply curtailed, though I have a few books that I want to buy which may or may not be available here.

Plans in the US/Canada include taking in the Canadian GP at Montreal, travel to the Bay Area for about 7-8 days, and a 4th of July trip to Seattle/Vancouver. Golf, fine dining, shopping, wine tasting are all on the agenda.

Don't worry, as you grow up many/all these goodies will also come your way.BTW, someone guessed my age as 63, hey I'm a young 57 yr old baba, don't write me off prematurely.

Cheers
 
Continuing this thread

I read an interesting book The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management , a hedge fund, while here.

I have ordered two books, one has just come Life In The Balance" by Thomas Graboys-looks very interesting. Its written by Dr Graboys, a top cardioloist who discovers he has Parkinsons.

Ive got 2 more books The 900 Days by Harrison Salisbury(abt the seige of Leningrad), and another one called Between Silk and Cyanide, about WW ll code breakers.

I was recommended 2 books by a nephew one called Too Big To Fail, and another called Omnivores Dilemma, all about how the food industry here in the US has gotten transformed.
 
As I said somewhere in this thread I am only in to Michael Crichton..... So

Just completed "Airframe" half way down with another Michael Crichton classic "The Andromeda Strain"

Airframe .... Superb .... by the end you will be knowing almos half the technicalities of a Boeing .... lol Michael Crichton ... he is too good .....

Let me complete The Andromeda Strain
 
Have just finished Robert Ludlum's -The Ambler Warning.....Have almost finsihed reading Ken Follet, Robert Ludlum and Frederick Forsyth......Have 2-3 books of each author to read before I look for another author with the same story telling skills...

Just love the spy world of the CIA, Spetznaz, Mossad and the MI5/MI6....Really envy their lives....so much of adventure, sex at every turn and getting the better of the bad guys before ending up fishing with a nice little cottage in the countryside...

Someone please guide me to similar authors please....
 
^^Jeffrey Archer ..... Though they are more of Political Thrillers .... Robin Cook ..... Medical thrillers (I have read three of his Novels ... COMA, Brain and OutBreak all outstanding thrillers .... Dont stick to one genre try these as well .... along with Michael Crichton ..... He is awsome
 
panditji said:
Someone please guide me to similar authors please....
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try 'not a penny more not a penny less' by jeffrey archer. a crook top shot businessman cons away a million usd from 4 guys, all from different walks of life.
each one of them uses his skill to get back the money plus the expenses in 4 con-jobs. not a penny more not a penny less.
a must read.
 
panditji said:
Have just finished Robert Ludlum's -The Ambler Warning.....Have almost finsihed reading Ken Follet, Robert Ludlum and Frederick Forsyth......Have 2-3 books of each author to read before I look for another author with the same story telling skills...

Just love the spy world of the CIA, Spetznaz, Mossad and the MI5/MI6....Really envy their lives....so much of adventure, sex at every turn and getting the better of the bad guys before ending up fishing with a nice little cottage in the countryside...

Someone please guide me to similar authors please....
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Give James Rollins a try. Also do try Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child novels. They write together. In my mind, far more involving than the usual suspects such as Ludlum and Follet.
 
GeorgeO said:
Continuing this thread

I was recommended 2 books by a nephew one called Too Big To Fail, and another called Omnivores Dilemma, all about how the food industry here in the US has gotten transformed.
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Too big to fail is a great one. It brings to light the weeks and months before the recession, and is an interesting insight into greed and fear. The book, infortunately is also too long to read.

thevortex - I am waiting to see your thread announcing 'Selfish Gene' or "Greatest show on earth"
 
panditji said:
Have just finished Robert Ludlum's -The Ambler Warning.....Have almost finsihed reading Ken Follet, Robert Ludlum and Frederick Forsyth......Have 2-3 books of each author to read before I look for another author with the same story telling skills...

Just love the spy world of the CIA, Spetznaz, Mossad and the MI5/MI6....Really envy their lives....so much of adventure, sex at every turn and getting the better of the bad guys before ending up fishing with a nice little cottage in the countryside...

Someone please guide me to similar authors please....
Click to expand...


You may enjoy reading Mario Puzo if you like the mafia/gangster genre.

One author I do not recommend is Tom Clancy.

John Le Carre has written some good spy books, but many of his books are quite difficult to read (at least for me).

Please also try to get hold of Vengeance. This is supposed to be a true story written by an ex-Mossad "hitman". This was also recently made into the movie by Spielberg called Munich.

Another book that you may like is My Life In The Mafia, again a true story written by a senior Mafia guy, one of the rare ones to break his oath of secrecy.

One book that is in a completely different genre, but one that I will really strongly recommend is The Immortals Of Meluha. Simply put, this book is brilliant, both in terms of concept/imagination, and also in its storytelling. I normally find Indian writing very formulaic, boring, and overrated, but this one book completely makes up for all the other crap I have read. Basically, the author has completely rewritten Indian history, of how things were 5000 years ago. His version is conceptualized so incredibly well that it is almost believable.

Edit: You can now buy books online from Landmark. They have free shipping too.
 
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My all time fav book is Notes to myself-Hugh Prather most of novels by Archer,Wallace,Shelson & Eric Segal (who can forget Love Story & The Class):)
 
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