Books - What are you reading?

[cardboard_killer]

I am doing my once-every-decade re-read of The Lord of the Rings, and thought that this video was pretty cool, although I don't agree with his ranking. I grew up on a combination of the early Ballentine covers and the later Ballentine covers JRRT illustrated covers.

 

  

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by cardboard_killer

[busdriver]

On 1/3/2023 at 4:37 PM, cardboard_killer said:

I am doing my once-every-decade re-read of The Lord of the Rings...

 

I first read TLOTR in the summer of 1974, the whole scene where the lads meet Strider at the Prancing Pony remains my favorite scene. It got me hooked on the books. As a reader of the National Lampoon in college, I naturally had to read the Harvard Lampoon's parody, Bored of the Rings. To this day I still refer to Frodo and Sam as Frito and Spam. I'll have to put the original in my queue.

 

Enjoy the read 

Edited January 6, 2023 by busdriver
typo

[[CPT]Pike*HarryM]

[cardboard_killer]

A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940-1945: Volume 5 - From the Fall of Rome to the End of the War 1944-1945 is (finally) on sale at Amazon US for $4.99.

 

[Trooper117]

Good stuff, I have all the other four volumes, and the voucher I got for Christmas has just paid for this vol 5... (your post was a good reminder, thanks)...

[Bonnot]

On 1/3/2023 at 11:37 PM, cardboard_killer said:

I am doing my once-every-decade re-read of The Lord of the Rings,

I'm doing the same with the Horatio Hornblower  serie : no planes but lots of Ships of the Line to tiny Corvettes....

...and how many times Clostermann,  indeed   ?

[cardboard_killer]

On 1/17/2023 at 5:29 AM, cardboard_killer said:

A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940-1945: Volume 5 - From the Fall of Rome to the End of the War 1944-1945 is (finally) on sale at Amazon US for $4.99.

 

 

warning, the kindle version is not working. Don't buy.

[busdriver]

27 minutes ago, cardboard_killer said:

warning, the kindle version is not working. Don't buy.

 

Bugger, I hadn't checked the formatting and my 7 day window expired yesterday. Lesson learned. Maybe they'll get the hint and fix it with my "As of 25 January 2023 DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE VERSION" warning in my review (if they publish it).

 

[edit] Yep they published my review, I wasn't the first to complain.

Edited January 26, 2023 by busdriver

[cardboard_killer]

8 hours ago, busdriver said:

I hadn't checked the formatting and my 7 day window expired yesterday.

 

I was in the same boat, but called and got a refund anyway. I was on the phone getting the refund when I posted my warning. My review is also up, saying the same thing.

[busdriver]

1 hour ago, cardboard_killer said:

 

I was in the same boat, but called and got a refund anyway. I was on the phone getting the refund when I posted my warning. My review is also up, saying the same thing.

I managed to get them to return and refund my purchase via chat (that’s not easy to find). Thanks for the heads up. 

[spreckair]

Ragged Rugged Warriors by Martin Caidin.  How I wish I could fly a sim that covered the war in the Pacific from before Pearl Harbor (China) through to Midway.  The desperate air war that was raging over the Philippines and New Guinea in 1942 is really a great read.

[Koziolek]

In the absence of PTO module...

[easterling77]

7 hours ago, Koziolek said:

In the absence of PTO module...

This book got me interested and the short description says "first hand interviews fith the Pilots"?

 

Then I will grap this book ? Thanks for the tip

[Bremspropeller]

@busdriver and other nightfighter / Ju 88 afficianados:

 

https://www.crecy.co.uk/junkers-ju-88

 

Looks promising.

[[CPT]Pike*HarryM]

Interesting account...

[[CPT]Pike*HarryM]

Finished it^. My wife's mom emigrated to the US on this ship. Interesting life this guy had between the wars, occupied Europe (trapped in Amsterdam), then dealing with communist takeover of Poland before escaping to the west.

[cardboard_killer]

[cardboard_killer]

Ordered from the library, but no idea how long it will take for them to add it to the collection and then get it to me.

 

[cardboard_killer]

 

Hmmm, not sure if it's brilliant or tedious yet.

[cardboard_killer]

[Irishratticus72]

A lot more fun and facts than I had thought.

[CanadaOne]

Just finished this (below). What marvelous writing. No superfluous text or tedious storytelling. Everything spelled out in clear energetic prose. More history books should be written like this. 

 

I read a book about the Somme and after fifty-pages you wanted to slap the author and tell him to get on with it. "And then private Binkly of 4th Lancanshire moved forward, his left foot taking the first step. After his left foot left the ground, his right foot made contact with the dry earth. Upon lifting his right foot for the next step, his left foot, as it had done previously, came down upon the ground. This was followed, as so many times before that fateful day, by his right foot making a solid step upon the countryside."

 

What a total snoozefest of wasted words that book was. 

 

 

This book had none of that ****. This book was solid, a page turner.

 

[Chief_Mouser]

Just started these two. One 'real', one on Kindle so I can read it on my phone on the bus.

 

 

[CanadaOne]

2 hours ago, Chief_Mouser said:

Just started these two. One 'real', one on Kindle so I can read it on my phone on the bus.

 

 

 

 

You're going to need a happy pill after reading those. 

 

I should try one of those Kindles. Obviously paper rules, but if the convenience of the device lets you and gets you to read more, it's a great idea. 

 

Off to Amazon.

 

Edit: Holy ****! Just checked on Amazon for Kindles. I thought they were $75 or something. Some of them are $350+. ?

 

Better watch some reviews and figure out what's what.

 

 

.

Edited March 8, 2023 by CanadaOne

[Chief_Mouser]

21 hours ago, CanadaOne said:

 

 

You're going to need a happy pill after reading those. 

 

I should try one of those Kindles. Obviously paper rules, but if the convenience of the device lets you and gets you to read more, it's a great idea. 

 

Off to Amazon.

 

Edit: Holy ****! Just checked on Amazon for Kindles. I thought they were $75 or something. Some of them are $350+. ?

 

Better watch some reviews and figure out what's what.

 

 

.

 

You don't need to buy an actual kindle. Any smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC etc will do. My original Kindle had the 'paperwhite' display which allows you to see the screen in bright sunlight and such and was really good. The one that replaced it is little more than a half-size tablet and not worth bothering with.

[CanadaOne]

1 hour ago, Chief_Mouser said:

 

You don't need to buy an actual kindle. Any smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC etc will do. My original Kindle had the 'paperwhite' display which allows you to see the screen in bright sunlight and such and was really good. The one that replaced it is little more than a half-size tablet and not worth bothering with.

 

 

You, sir... are correct. ?

 

I was looking at the Kindles on Amazon and then I remembered I had an Amazon Fire 8 tablet sitting in a drawer. Bought it on sale and it cost almost nothing. And it has the Kindle app on it. I also have a Samsung tablet. Both, though, are a bit big for comfortable reading. I guess the thing with the Kindle is that it's light enough and maybe has better screen for reading. I'll wait for the next Amazon sale and grab one when they're 50% off.

 

[Bonnot]

I am an old fashioned paper reader but I appreciate the kindle for storing so much in a small space : all Forester's or O'Brian at finger's tips .....

and you can order and load a book in minutes in the middle of the night if you have the Amazon account _ We live in a terrible period but there are some some compensations to forget it for a while !

 

The War Diaries, reedited last year,  adds to the mixed feelings I'd on Waugh : I most enjoyed the Men at Arms trilogy but the diary is a real companion and a good insight on one of the most known british author - so British- and so controversial , good reading !

[Dogbert1953]

Just finished, James Holland - Brothers In Arms.

 

[CanadaOne]

22 hours ago, Bonnot said:

I am an old fashioned paper reader but I appreciate the kindle for storing so much in a small space : all Forester's or O'Brian at finger's tips .....

and you can order and load a book in minutes in the middle of the night if you have the Amazon account _ We live in a terrible period but there are some some compensations to forget it for a while !

 

 

Watched a bunch of videos about Kindles and I can buy some of the reasons for it over a tablet. No distractions, better to read on, no light in your eyes, and some others.

 

What's hard to get past is the physical aspect of a book. That glorious feeling of thunking down a 800 page book on the table and having that glorious "I read that!" feeling. And if it's a hard cover, maybe hitting someone with it as a further show of dominance. 

 

You just don't get that with a Kindle. 

[Trooper117]

Just now, CanadaOne said:

What's hard to get past is the physical aspect of a book.

 

I thought the same... but when you find yourself working on a ship for months at a time, flying around the world to meet those ships on a regular basis, 3 big novels to read take up a lot of space and weight in your day sack.

I realised that I could have shed loads of novels to take with me if I bought a Kindle, plus it didn't weigh much, and despite my misgivings, I now don't travel anywhere without it... Once you have used the thing you will soon just get totally absorbed in the story you are reading, and you'll forget it isn't a real book.

If it wasn't for that 5 years working away on the ships, I probably would not have bought one... but I'm so glad I did.

[CanadaOne]

3 hours ago, Trooper117 said:

 

I thought the same... but when you find yourself working on a ship for months at a time, flying around the world to meet those ships on a regular basis, 3 big novels to read take up a lot of space and weight in your day sack.

I realised that I could have shed loads of novels to take with me if I bought a Kindle, plus it didn't weigh much, and despite my misgivings, I now don't travel anywhere without it... Once you have used the thing you will soon just get totally absorbed in the story you are reading, and you'll forget it isn't a real book.

If it wasn't for that 5 years working away on the ships, I probably would not have bought one... but I'm so glad I did.

 

That's the best Kindle ad I've read so far. ?

[Irishratticus72]

3 hours ago, Trooper117 said:

 

I thought the same... but when you find yourself working on a ship for months at a time, flying around the world to meet those ships on a regular basis, 3 big novels to read take up a lot of space and weight in your day sack.

I realised that I could have shed loads of novels to take with me if I bought a Kindle, plus it didn't weigh much, and despite my misgivings, I now don't travel anywhere without it... Once you have used the thing you will soon just get totally absorbed in the story you are reading, and you'll forget it isn't a real book.

If it wasn't for that 5 years working away on the ships, I probably would not have bought one... but I'm so glad I did.

LOL, "Sack".

 

[Lusekofte]

20 hours ago, Trooper117 said:

 

I thought the same... but when you find yourself working on a ship for months at a time, flying around the world to meet those ships on a regular basis, 3 big novels to read take up a lot of space and weight in your day sack.

I realised that I could have shed loads of novels to take with me if I bought a Kindle, plus it didn't weigh much, and despite my misgivings, I now don't travel anywhere without it... Once you have used the thing you will soon just get totally absorbed in the story you are reading, and you'll forget it isn't a real book.

If it wasn't for that 5 years working away on the ships, I probably would not have bought one... but I'm so glad I did.

I travel a lot by plane and by car in my work. And sitting waiting in crane. I found sound books fitting. 
I can choose a good one for flights and calm days at work and nice weather driving. If snow storm or busy a lighter one 

[cardboard_killer]

The first month I had a kindle, I was camping in the mountains and felt like a new book one night, ordered it, and was reading it two minutes later. Back when 3G was standard on kindles. It's an upgrade now. Last year I bought the higher end kindle, the Oasis. I bought it on a Christmas sale, and with a trade in of my previous kindle, got it for about 130 USD. It is a great device. Reading on a dedicated kindle is much less fatiguing than reading a tablet. I have a tablet I use as well, mostly for pdf books or books with maps/images.

 

If you do get a kindle, make sure to buy a very good case. The key aspect to a good case for me is the ability to hold the kindle with one hand effortlessly. That means the cover bends back completely, and has a strap through which I can put one hand and support the kindle without any need to use my other hand. Secondarily, the case should be able to stand the kindle up so I can read it while at a table hands free. This is a picture of what I bought:

 

[busdriver]

@cardboard_killer were you invited to be a participant in the Kindle Rewards (Beta)? I just checked my points balance for the first time. Pretty cool, a 5% return on Kindle purchases for future Kindle books.

 

 

On 1/31/2023 at 3:44 AM, Bremspropeller said:

@busdriver and other nightfighter / Ju 88 afficianados:

 

https://www.crecy.co.uk/junkers-ju-88

 

Looks promising.

 

Just got an email from the Book Depository that the title has been published and shipped for distribution.  Should have my copy in two weeks or so. FWIW Book Depository's free shipping to the States and discount price works out to be half the purchase price plus shipping from Crecy.

 

[edit] The book arrived on Monday 20 March.

Edited March 23, 2023 by busdriver

[busdriver]

Battle of Britain fans thinking about this title...

 

 

I'd say give it a pass. I found no discussion of tactical leadership or at least nothing that I would typically consider tactical leadership. There's not much in terms of graphics (three maps of this quality in the Kindle edition)

 

 

And some out-of-focus (on my PC monitor and iPad) pictures...

 

 

I had to resubmit my review at Amazon because I initially included a link to Simon Parry's vastly superior multi-volume project.

[DD_fruitbat]

On 3/8/2023 at 12:05 AM, CanadaOne said:

Just finished this (below). What marvelous writing. No superfluous text or tedious storytelling. Everything spelled out in clear energetic prose. More history books should be written like this. 

 

I read a book about the Somme and after fifty-pages you wanted to slap the author and tell him to get on with it. "And then private Binkly of 4th Lancanshire moved forward, his left foot taking the first step. After his left foot left the ground, his right foot made contact with the dry earth. Upon lifting his right foot for the next step, his left foot, as it had done previously, came down upon the ground. This was followed, as so many times before that fateful day, by his right foot making a solid step upon the countryside."

 

What a total snoozefest of wasted words that book was. 

 

 

This book had none of that ****. This book was solid, a page turner.

 

 

If you're interested in the First world war, I can not highly enough recommend the Lyn Macdonald books, all of them are incredibly good, particularly 'They called it Passchendaele' and '1915 The death of innocence' Full of eye witness accounts which she skilfully weaves together into the broader situation.

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by DD_fruitbat

[Bonnot]

All good reading,  do you know this one : M Middlebrook , very simple and clear style, he also wrote good ones on Bomber Command and USAF raids...

 

 

[DD_fruitbat]

19 hours ago, Bonnot said:

All good reading,  do you know this one : M Middlebrook , very simple and clear style, he also wrote good ones on Bomber Command and USAF raids...

 

 

 

Not read those, will keep my eye out for them ?

[Gingerwelsh]

following a post by Lusekofte, I realized I new little about the Shorts Stirling, which operated from my local airfield, Downham Market.

 

This book changes that.

 

 

It was a handfull on the ground. Prone to swinging on takeoff and landing due to the masking effect of the fuselage on the tail.

A heavy push on the stick was needed to get the tail up as early as possible.

In the air it was a different matter.

Highly manoeuverable, it could turn inside most fighters and was pleasant to fly.

Hampered by its short wing, it couldn't get much above 15000' fully loaded.

 

Here it is demonstrating a swing at RAF Downham Market.

The building is the ops room, which it partly demolished.

Many of these brick structures are still in use on the site at Bexwell.

 

 

 

 

..

Edited March 24, 2023 by Gingerwelsh