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Matt Reed Byrne Robotics Security
Robotmod
Joined: 16 April 2004 Posts: 32221
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 11:26am | IP Logged | 1
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Not comics, but books. Fiction. Non-fiction. Coffee table. Art. Whatever. What are you reading now or have read recently that you recommend to the board? THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins - Already a hit with the teen crowd, this is going to blow up once Lionsgate ramps up production of the film. I found this book to be wildly fun and entertaining. Yes, it's another Young Adult (YA) book, but it's definitely got something for everyone. What I enjoy about it is the female protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. She's written in such a way as to really believe that she's a 16 year old girl fighting for her life in the annual Hunger Games, which pulls a male and female contestant from each of the 12 districts to compete in a fight-for-your-life nationally televised event. Win and you are forever immortalized, your family set for life. Lose and you are no longer among the living. Fast paced, exciting action, characters you care about and relationships that feel real, this first book in a three-book series is a ton of fun to read. I got the other two books as gifts, so they're next on my reading list. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN by John Ajvide Lindqvist - Exceptional book upon which the equally exceptional Swedish film is based. Having seen the movie before reading the book, I was a little concerned that I had seen and learned everything there was to know about the story. I was wrong. There are entire stories and characters excised for the film, understandable as the story needed to be trimmed for a feature. The writing is fantastic, the characters compelling, and the story itself feels fresh in an age where it seems even the most lame vampire story will get exposure (I'm looking at you, TWILIGHT). Highly recommended even if you've seen the movie. THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi - Non-fiction account of the gruesome serial killings that occurred over a 15 year stretch in and around the city of Florence, Italy. Not only is it a straightforward and compelling look into the investigation, but it's also a look into the Italian judicial system. Spezi is a journalist who was present at the discovery of the first Monster killings and Preston is an American novelist drawn into the crazy conspiracy theories cooked up by an aggressive Chief Inspector and prosecutor. As the story goes into more detail, I can't count the number of times I was absolutely flabbergasted at the contrivances, absurdities and lengths to which people at the highest levels of law would go to substantiate them. Their one and only source? An extremely conspiracy-minded blogger who inexplicably was able to bend the ear of prosecutors and who nearly ended up destroying many lives in the process. So what's been on your reading list?
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John Byrne
Beam Me Up, Scotty!
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 110280
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 11:30am | IP Logged | 2
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Michael Palin's 1969/79 diaries, "The Python Years" at lunch. Almost finished this one, in fact.For bedtime reading, finally getting around to "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young", a non-fiction book about the War (one battle in particular) in Vietnam. Floating around, to dip into when I feel the urge, I am also rereading "M*A*S*H".
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Ryan Maxwell Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 12236
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 11:31am | IP Logged | 3
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I'm working my way through most of the Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz again. Medieval fantasy, swords, magic and all that. I've read them all before at least once and always enjoy revisiting them. So many of the main characters are killed off, there's one heartbreaking book after another.
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Paul Kimball Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 21 September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1694
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 11:50am | IP Logged | 4
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Rex stout's "the final deduction"
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Paulo Pereira Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 24 April 2006 Posts: 15541
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:00pm | IP Logged | 5
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The LORD OF THE RINGS.
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Michael Tortorice Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 15 November 2008 Location: United States Posts: 2903
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:01pm | IP Logged | 6
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Just finished FAHRENHEIT 451. I've never read it before, and that's a shame because I really liked it. I also found it terrifying; its amazingly close to where we are now.
Currently, I've gone back to Edgar Rice Burroughs, A PRINCESS OF MARS. Its been at least twenty-five years since I've read any of the John Carter books. I'd forgotten how much I loved them.
Edited by Michael Tortorice on 07 January 2011 at 12:52pm
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Mike Purdy Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 29 April 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1434
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:04pm | IP Logged | 7
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Just finished Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. Loved it. I am now reading The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson and I find it to be very entertaining.
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Robert Bradley Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 20 September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 4199
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:05pm | IP Logged | 8
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THE MENTAL FLOSS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
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Thomas Moudry Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 5052
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:07pm | IP Logged | 9
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Just finished The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury, and now I'm dipping into Sh*t My Dad Says. I just started The Templar Salvation.Over Xmas, I re-read The Poisonwood Bible, Hamlet, The Great Gatsby, and The Body of Christopher Creed because I'm teaching all of them this semester.
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Michael Cross Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 October 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1304
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:07pm | IP Logged | 10
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JB, i read Hal Moore's We Were Soldiers Once, and Young a few years ago. Great read about the encounters in the jungle, going into so much more details and battles than of course the movie ever did.
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Kevin Brown Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 31 May 2005 Location: United States Posts: 7460
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:08pm | IP Logged | 11
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Right now, I'm in the middle of reading the PENDRAGON series by D.J. MacHale. Just about to begin book 8. Next up, hopefully, will be the DRESDEN FILES series of books.
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Jason Mark Hickok Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 08 February 2009 Location: United States Posts: 10477
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:13pm | IP Logged | 12
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Reading TARZAN OF THE APES at the moment.
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Joe Smith Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 29 August 2004 Location: United States Posts: 5620
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:18pm | IP Logged | 13
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CRESCENT DAWN by Clive Cussler -for CoffeeSTORIES- ALL NEW TALES EDITED BY NEIL GAIMAN & AL SARRANTONIO - by Various -for breakfast COOKING DIRTY by Jay Sheehan -for dinner
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Gil Dowling Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 03 June 2004 Location: United States Posts: 1069
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:20pm | IP Logged | 14
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I recently finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire. I thought they were good.
I just started re-reading Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen Donaldson. I haven't read since it came out in 1987-ish. I always list it as one of my favorite series (with its companion book A Man Rides Through) and I'm hoping it will be as good with reading it today.
The Hunger Games sounds interesting, something my wife might like.
And I heartily recommend the Dresden Files as well as Jim Butcher's fantasy series the Codex Alera.
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John Leach Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 1825
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 12:21pm | IP Logged | 15
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LIFE by Keith Richards, I'm about a third of the way through. Honestly, it was kind of boring until he met Mick, now it's picked up.
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Kevin Brown Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 31 May 2005 Location: United States Posts: 7460
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 1:03pm | IP Logged | 16
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CRESCENT DAWN by Clive Cussler -for Coffee ************************** I just finished that the week after Christmas. I enjoyed it, even though it was not Cussler's best. I'm finding that I'm enjoying his Oregon Files novels a lot more lately.
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Clint Ludwick Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 17 April 2007 Location: United States Posts: 1954
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 1:05pm | IP Logged | 17
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Ranger Handbook...
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Michael Arndt Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 26 April 2004 Posts: 8333
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 1:07pm | IP Logged | 18
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The Big Rich by Bryan Burrough The Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine
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William Lukash Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 17 May 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1405
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 1:11pm | IP Logged | 19
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Collapse by Jared Diamond. Why some societies fail and other succeed. Heavy emphasis on environmentally fragile environments and poor resources management. Upstream Metropolis by Various. Hisotry of Omaha, Nebraska. I made it to the 50's and lost interest. I need to finish it.
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Jamie Grey Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 02 December 2007 Location: Wales Posts: 1006
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 1:12pm | IP Logged | 20
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Stephen King "Needful Things" - thoroughly enjoying it.
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Marc Foxx Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 5311
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 1:27pm | IP Logged | 21
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Just finished "Pirate Latitudes" by Michael Crichton.I've also been downloading and reading public domain stuff in iBooks...the first couple of "John Carter, Warlord of Mars" books as well as the first couple of "Tarzan" books. When "The Wizard of Oz" was on over the holidays, I was inspired to start "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Read that as well as "The Marvelous Land of Oz" (I had the Marvel Treasury edition when I was a kid) and am now reading "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz".
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Rick Senger Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 7953
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 1:51pm | IP Logged | 22
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Just finished FIDALI's WAY, a novel about an American ex-patriate lawyer turned hiker who gets caught up in murder and wartime intrigue in Central Asia. Also reading THEY CALL ME BABA BOOEY, the latest Howard Stern staffer autobiography. Always reading a Doc Savage (currently FEAR CAY) and also just read Sterling's Gold, a compendium of wit and wisdom from famed 50s / 60s ad man Roger Sterling.
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Brad Brickley Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 29 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 8254
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 2:03pm | IP Logged | 23
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Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I'm about a third through it now. I'm trying to read more classics in addition to the bio's I normally read.
I've been on this book for a few months now. I go in phases where I read a lot and then where I read just a little. I'm starting to pick up the pace now.
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Michael Hogan Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 1753
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 2:05pm | IP Logged | 24
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Finished these since Christmas:U Is For Undertow by Sue Grafton False Impression by Jeffrey Archer Mr. Monk Gets Cleaned Out by Josh Goldberg Darwin Awards: Countdown To Extinction by Wendy Northcutt Long Lost by Harlan Coben Murder Inside The Beltway by Margaret Truman
I'm working on: Hell's Gate by Stephen Frey Days That Changed The World by Hywell Williams
On deck: Hell's Corner by David Baldacci Arctic Drift by Clive & Dirk Cussler and about two dozen others I just never got around to reading
Edited by Michael Hogan on 07 January 2011 at 2:07pm
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Kevin Hagerman Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 15 April 2005 Location: United States Posts: 17066
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Posted: 07 January 2011 at 2:06pm | IP Logged | 25
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Just finished Pirate Latitudes by Crichton, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Still working on Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra. Very dense read - Cleopatra is history's mystery woman, and the more I read this the less I "know" about her!
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