Who here reads?

jeremykeys · Post by **jeremykeys** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:52 am

Just out of curiosity, who here reads and if so, are any of you into sci fi
Or fantasy?
I'm not at all into social media, this is as close as I get on this forum. Not on Facebook and have no interest in tweeting.
When I'm not working or doing music or trapped in front of the TV, I like to read.
Oh, and sip on beer or single malt whisky.

What do you people like to do?

Jeremykeys.

Bald Eagle · Post by **Bald Eagle** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:58 am

Read technical manuals ... Synths and computers ... And sip on single malt scotch.

BobTheDog · Post by **BobTheDog** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:05 am

I read a huge amount. I'm too old for social media and TV is mostly rubbish.

Currently working my way through the nooks by a guy called Haruki Murakami I don't know how I missed his books before, he is fantastic. If you are interested start with this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0099 ... detailpage or this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Sheep-Chas ... bc?ie=UTF8

I also read loads of technical books, which are not quite so interesting!

Oh and I also like whiskey, I'm an Islay man.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:38 am

Murakami is very cool! His style is more magical realism than fantasy though.
I have a bunch of single malts in the cupboard

I don't know if you enjoy older or more recent fantasy and sci fi but of what I've read I would really recommend;
Fantasy:
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn Series
Brandon Sanderson - The Stormlight Archive (ongoing, book one is The Way of Kings)
Patrick Rothfuss - The Kingkiller Chronicles (ongoing, book one is The Name of the Wind)
Anything by Pratchett, such a shame he passed away, but he left us a great legacy. I've enjoyed almost every Discworld novel I've ever read, and that's about 20 of them.

Sci-Fi:
Tad Williams - Otherland series (book one is City of Golden Shadow)
Orsson Scott Card - Ender's Game series (and the shadow Ender/Bean series)
Greg Bean - Eon (single book)

Other ones like Hunger Games and Divergent were kinda nice too, like a Big Mac or a Whopper are not a very nice meal but can still be tasty under the right circumstances

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:30 am

Currently reading Lord of the Rings after a long lay-off. Also love the Tolkien Eldar days stuff. The Children of Hurin is a brilliant story.

My favourite SCI-FI is by Alastair Reynolds, particularly the Revelation Space trilogy. Quite a compelling and dark vision of the future....

Peter Hamilton as well.

I'm also reading Mort out of respect for Pratchet; which is my favourite book of his and probably the last one I read! The idea of Death having a mid-life crisis is still funny.

I also read a paper daily, to get behind the sound bites of news you get on TV (which I watch very little of).

My poison is usually a nice glass of Aussie Red when reading!

jeremykeys · Post by **jeremykeys** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:41 am

Awesome !my Terry Pratchett collection is well over fifty books. I'm a huge fan of Larry Niven, in the middle of a William Gibson collection and last night sipped on Lagavulin, Bowmore and Glenmorangie. I was up quite late reading.

Peter Hamilton is fantastic. He's certainly not for neophytes.
I've also read pretty much everything written by Robert A. Heinlien, Asimov and Arther C. Clark. The classics!

andrew_culture · Post by **andrew_culture** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:25 am

Derek Cook wrote:
My favourite SCI-FI is by Alastair Reynolds, particularly the Revelation Space trilogy. Quite a compelling and dark vision of the future....

Having read through the Iain M Banks Culture series three times I've now moved onto the Revelation Space trilogy. I can't believe how easy Reynolds is to read! And I slogged my way through the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons!

jeremykeys · Post by **jeremykeys** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:54 pm

Right now I'm read an Ian Rankin. I really enjoy his "Rebus" books. And very sips, I've been drinking the Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye whiskey.
Apparently it was ranked the number one top whiskey of 2016 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. I'm just glad I can by the so called "best" whisky in the world at my local store. Fro less than $35!

andrew_culture · Post by **andrew_culture** » Tue Aug 16, 2016 9:48 am

jeremykeys wrote:Right now I'm read an Ian Rankin. I really enjoy his "Rebus" books. And very sips, I've been drinking the Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye whiskey.
Apparently it was ranked the number one top whiskey of 2016 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. I'm just glad I can by the so called "best" whisky in the world at my local store. Fro less than $35!

Lucky you! I've always been amazed that Scottish whisky is cheaper in Scotland than it is here in the UK!

jeremykeys · Post by **jeremykeys** » Tue Aug 16, 2016 12:00 pm

andrew_culture wrote:
jeremykeys wrote:Right now I'm read an Ian Rankin. I really enjoy his "Rebus" books. And very sips, I've been drinking the Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye whiskey.
Apparently it was ranked the number one top whiskey of 2016 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. I'm just glad I can by the so called "best" whisky in the world at my local store. Fro less than $35!
Lucky you! I've always been amazed that Scottish whisky is cheaper in Scotland than it is here in the UK!

It's certainly not cheap here in Canada. Decent single malts start at close to $60.

Joe Gerardi · Post by **Joe Gerardi** » Tue Aug 16, 2016 12:42 pm

Almost done with "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors."

It 's the true story how a bunch of Destroyers, Destroyer Escorts, and a handful of airplanes defeated and turned back one of the largest fleets of Japanese warships at the Battle of Samar off Leyte. Called one of the greatest mismatches in history, 6 escort (Jeep) carriers, 3 destroyers, and 4 destroyer escorts of the US Navy held off a fleet of 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 11 destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The main combatants on the US side were the Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts- the carriers had to flee, but they got their licks in as well.

The heroism, the unbelievable sacrifice those men made is almost beyond description- The DDs and DEs just turned and faced an incredibly larger force, knowing they would die, and held their ground against the 2 biggest battleships ever devised by man. Hell, it was a lopsided fight if the IJN just sent in their destroyers against the US...

Wonderful read.

..Joe

nitecrawler · Post by **nitecrawler** » Tue Aug 16, 2016 12:57 pm

I am in the middle of "The Apache Wars" the hunt for Geronimo, the Apache kid and the captive boy who started the longest war in American History by Paul Andrew Hutton. Since I live in former Apache country in the Sonoran Desert currently; it makes for an enjoyable and informative history lesson. Three different cultures: U.S. soldiers and miners, Native American Indians and Mexican/Hispanic settlers in play competing for the land and its natural resources. Brutal but honest in its assessment. More of a coffee drinker here when reading. I save my beer drinking for the 19th hole.

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:03 pm

Sounds interesting.

I'm currently re-reading "Failure is not an option" by Gene Kranz, which is his memoirs of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo programme. It's still a fascinating read.

jeremykeys · Post by **jeremykeys** » Wed Aug 17, 2016 1:40 am

For me it's really comforting to know that people still like to read. My wife and I are avid readers. Many of my friends think we're strange in that we only have 1 TV. An old Sony Trinitron. We refuse to have one in the bedroom. It weighs more than a fridge!

We also only have the most basic cable we can get. We do get Net flicks if we want to watch some things though. On the plus side, our living room looks like a library! One and a half walls are floor to ceiling books. Most shelves now are two rows deep.

Joe Gerardi · Post by **Joe Gerardi** » Wed Aug 17, 2016 12:42 pm

Not just read, but I will only read physical books: none of that electronic crap for me! I love the feel, the smell of books.

And you're not alone on TV. I have ONLY Netflix- no cable, hell, not even rabbit ears to get off-air signals, and only one TV in the house- in my living room.

Granted, it's a 55" HD smart TV, but I do love my movies. There's something about "They Were Expendable," or "Only Angels Have Wings" seen on a big screen.

Between flying my planes, playing violin and keyboards, taking my telescope out, reading, and shooting, I have little time for TV.

After all- it's not called the boob tube for nothing. (And I don't mean for the porn channels!)

..Joe