What have you been reading lately?

[David]

We've had TV, film and music threads; I reckon it's about time we had one devoted to the art of the written word.

I bought an old copy of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 in Clunes on the weekend and finished it yesterday. I'd only read one of his other books (Cat's Cradle, years ago), but had really enjoyed it.

Slaughterhouse 5 is very different. It's a partially historical account of the bombing of Dresden, which Vonnegut himself experienced as a prisoner of war. Although that's what the book is ostensibly about, it's really little more than a framing device; a satirical science-fiction fantasy about time travel and alien abduction, for instance, weaves throughout. Despite what you might think, all of this is written in a fairly acidic and blackly comic tone.

Cat's Cradle feels like the more complete novel, but I'd recommend Slaughterhouse to anyone on the lookout for a good book to read. It's very funny, and expresses many of my own dearly-held philosophical views in an engaging and accessible manner. It's occasionally didactic, but cleverly so:

[Nick - Pie Man]

I've just finished reading your post. I am looking forward to reading this one in a couple of seconds..

[watt price tully]

Good one David. I've been thinking about this thread for a while, glad you posted it.

Let me say 'Nicks" before that is posted here.

Must say I've been slack lately but time to get back to my crime novels - I miss them.

Well there you go, NTP done it

[Tannin]

I plan to learn to read any day now.

[think positive]

you mean there are other things than Nicks, facebook and the tv guide?

[Proud Pies]

Well, we've had the 50 Shades Trilogy over the past 12 months, and yes, I've read them......

but, I was given this book recently and I think it's hilarious

Fifty Shades of Mr Darcy
A Parody

by William Codpiece Thwackery

[David]

[Proud Pies]

[stui magpie]

Reading a book Tannin loaned me, Future Eaters by Tim Flannery.

It's an "Ecological history of the Australasian lands and people"

Very interesting.

[Proud Pies]

and I've just purchased a couple of Peter FitzSimonds books

A Simpler Time and Eureka. Haven't started them yet, gotta finish the parady book first.

[Kingswood]

Nassim Taleb - Antifragility.

[Kingswood]

but I have a bad habit of trying to read too many things at the same time

So I'm nearly done with Carl Sagan's Cosmos and also reading a nice little graphic novel about how the economy works (its called Economix). Easiest explanation I've found so far

[think positive]

OMFG...really?

[Tannin]

I recently finished re-reading The Prize by Daniel Yergin. It's a fascinating history of the oil industry, with particular attention to the growth of Standard Oil (now Esso-Exxon, Mobil, Caltex, and several others) which had 85% of the entire market sewn up at one stage, and was the main reason the Americans brought in their anti-trust legislation around the turn of the 20th Century), and the genesis of the other majors, especially Royal Dutch Shell and BP.

The first section (up to about 1910) is riveting, the second one (how Royal Dutch Shell, British-Iranian which became BP, and Gulf got started) almost equally so.

His treatment of the rise of nationalism and the gradual assertion of sovereignty by governments over their own liquid assets is also essential reading.

On the down side, he spends way, way too long on a half-baked reprise of WW2, and on a couple of other side issues, but you can skim these chapters. He manages to give non-American events and companies about half as much attention as they should get, which for an American is pretty good, and although he makes his living consulting for oil companies and obviously tends to see things from their side, he is civilised and moderate about it, and always very well informed.

The book won a Pulitzer Prize, deservedly so in my view. Highly recommended.

[The Prototype]

The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music 1972-1993 by Nick Kent.

As well as the last few chapters of Kurt Cobain by Christopher Sandford.