What Book Are You Currently Reading ?

**Batman** · 01-27-2017 02:24 AM

I've always wanted to read Mein Kempf, my mate said it took him fucking ages to get through and it was one of the hardest slogs he's ever had with a book

just been out and bought

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

If human beings disappeared instantaneously from the earth, what would happen? How would the planet reclaim its surface? What creatures would emerge from the dark and swarm? How would our treasured structures--our tunnels, our bridges, our homes, our monuments--survive the unmitigated impact of a planet without our intervention? In his revelatory, bestselling account, Alan Weisman draws on every field of science to present an environmental assessment like no other, the most affecting portrait yet of humankind's place on this planet.

oh and on a side note El Kabong, I asked them if they had The Black Death by Robert Steven Gottfried and they couldn't find it at all on their system so I'll have to browse amazon for it

El Kabong · 01-27-2017 03:48 AM

Originally Posted by Batman

I've always wanted to read Mein Kempf, my mate said it took him fucking ages to get through and it was one of the hardest slogs he's ever had with a book

oh and on a side note El Kabong, I asked them if they had The Black Death by Robert Steven Gottfried and they couldn't find it at all on their system so I'll have to browse amazon for it

I too have wanted to read 'Mein Kempf' just because you hear everyone refer to it so often and I know of exactly 0 people who have actually read it. The psychology nut I am I think it would provide insight into the person Adolf Hitler and not the image or figure of him...perhaps a clearer picture can be formed, it's also possible that the person could muddy the waters a bit as well. I most certainly understand how it could be a slog to get through as I attempted to make my way through 'Triumph of the Will' (it would fucking take one to finish that in one sitting....whoa boy what a bore) several times....which allowed me to see Hitler give speeches, have them translated, and then to process them while attempting to understand how life was in post World War I Germany....it's a big ask. I watched that not because I'm a Nazi or a Hitler-phile, but because I wanted to see with my own eyes hear with my own ears, and attempt to grasp at what point did everyone collectively go "Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to us right now"

Yeah Amazon has 'The Black Death' it's a neat little book very insightful....imagine entire towns turned into ghost towns....easy to imagine in America's wild west when the gold runs out or a railway cuts your town out of the movement of people, but just entire towns in Europe left like people had been raptured, horses, cattle, and dogs gone feral. Grass left to grow up high....had to be very spooky out there if you traveled (many in that age did not).

**Batman** · 01-27-2017 08:54 AM

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Originally Posted by Batman

I've always wanted to read Mein Kempf, my mate said it took him fucking ages to get through and it was one of the hardest slogs he's ever had with a book

oh and on a side note El Kabong, I asked them if they had The Black Death by Robert Steven Gottfried and they couldn't find it at all on their system so I'll have to browse amazon for it

I too have wanted to read 'Mein Kempf' just because you hear everyone refer to it so often and I know of exactly 0 people who have actually read it. The psychology nut I am I think it would provide insight into the person Adolf Hitler and not the image or figure of him...perhaps a clearer picture can be formed, it's also possible that the person could muddy the waters a bit as well. I most certainly understand how it could be a slog to get through as I attempted to make my way through 'Triumph of the Will' (it would fucking take one to finish that in one sitting....whoa boy what a bore) several times....which allowed me to see Hitler give speeches, have them translated, and then to process them while attempting to understand how life was in post World War I Germany....it's a big ask. I watched that not because I'm a Nazi or a Hitler-phile, but because I wanted to see with my own eyes hear with my own ears, and attempt to grasp at what point did everyone collectively go "Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to us right now"

Yeah its a bit like when I read The Clansman (the book that inspired birth of a nation) it wasn't because I was a sympathiser or agreed with any part of the book, more because I wanted to see how they thought and how long it would take me to think ''Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to me right now''

I imagine that Mein Kempf would be a helluva struggle and I get the feeling it would be one I never managed to finish, I can't image that I'd get away with reading it on the bus either

**brocktonblockbust** · 01-27-2017 09:06 AM

Mein Kampf

**Beanz** · 01-27-2017 09:39 AM

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Originally Posted by Batman

I've always wanted to read Mein Kempf, my mate said it took him fucking ages to get through and it was one of the hardest slogs he's ever had with a book

oh and on a side note El Kabong, I asked them if they had The Black Death by Robert Steven Gottfried and they couldn't find it at all on their system so I'll have to browse amazon for it

I too have wanted to read 'Mein Kempf' just because you hear everyone refer to it so often and I know of exactly 0 people who have actually read it. The psychology nut I am I think it would provide insight into the person Adolf Hitler and not the image or figure of him...perhaps a clearer picture can be formed, it's also possible that the person could muddy the waters a bit as well. I most certainly understand how it could be a slog to get through as I attempted to make my way through 'Triumph of the Will' (it would fucking take one to finish that in one sitting....whoa boy what a bore) several times....which allowed me to see Hitler give speeches, have them translated, and then to process them while attempting to understand how life was in post World War I Germany....it's a big ask. I watched that not because I'm a Nazi or a Hitler-phile, but because I wanted to see with my own eyes hear with my own ears, and attempt to grasp at what point did everyone collectively go "Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to us right now"

Really?

What a complete surprise

El Kabong · 01-27-2017 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by Beanz

Really?

What a complete surprise

**Batman** · 02-20-2017 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by Batman

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

I was gunna go out on the piss today but I've decided to stay in and get this finished, I've only got about 70 or 80 pages left, I've been pretty underwhelmed by it to be honest, after high expectations it's fell a little flat. I think I was hoping to have it more from the investigation point of view although it is nice to read something which focuses mainly on the criminals perspective.

Also a bird at work has recently got into reading and she bought a load of Ian Rankin books online, they delivered them twice to her so she gave the second lot to me for free

I'm actually looking forward to reading a bog standard crime thriller so I might actually get started on one of these later

**Batman** · 02-20-2017 10:24 AM

Finished In Cold Blood, I wasn't exactly thrilled by it, I found large parts of it pretty drab, I might revisit it at some point in the future because I kind of get the feeling I'll enjoy it more second time around but as for now, yeah I was pretty underwhelmed.

Anyways, I'll be starting this tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to a good old fashioned bog standard crime thriller, I used to read a lot of James Patterson and Jeffrey Deaver when I was younger but I got sick of them, hopefully this will be a nice throwback

And in Edinburgh, of all places, I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?

That sort of thing is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of the many policemen hunting the killer. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve.

**Master** · 02-21-2017 11:06 AM

This is what I am reading at the moment.

**Gandalf** · 02-21-2017 08:43 PM

Originally Posted by Batman

Finished In Cold Blood, I wasn't exactly thrilled by it, I found large parts of it pretty drab, I might revisit it at some point in the future because I kind of get the feeling I'll enjoy it more second time around but as for now, yeah I was pretty underwhelmed.

Anyways, I'll be starting this tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to a good old fashioned bog standard crime thriller, I used to read a lot of James Patterson and Jeffrey Deaver when I was younger but I got sick of them, hopefully this will be a nice throwback

And in Edinburgh, of all places, I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?

That sort of thing is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of the many policemen hunting the killer. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve.

I have never been keen on Capote either. In fact I don't really see the point in fiction anymore. I am acutely aware of the limits of my time here on earth and I am desperately trying to read up on the lives of people that have always interested me, but didn't get around to reading about them properly. I'm looking for knowledge and connection. I am a very limited and disconnected person. I am looking for threads and all there are are broken strings.

El Kabong · 02-22-2017 07:56 AM