Harder than woodpecker lips, it is!

S

stevomiller

Joined
May 4, 2001
Messages
1,553
The D-2 that is used in my new Queen skinner that is! Previously I have not cared for my diamond hones too much, except for doing major rework on my knives. They have now found their purpose in life, and it is sharpening this beast and its little brother!

Another off topic post: Last night my wife gave me a book called "The Last Kingdom" by Bernard Cornwell. This book ROCKS!!!! It is a historical novel that deals with Danes and their invasions of England in the mid 800's AD. I will say no more (even though I am already half way through), except "READ IT" !!!!

stevo
 
"harder than Chinese arithmetic"

The book sounds interesting. I just finished "Timeline" by Michael Creighton. Impossible to put down- a high-tech company creates a kind of time transporter, using quantum physics-powered computers. They learn middle ages skills like swordfighting & riding to go back to 1396 France to effect a rescue mission... great picture of (brutal & short) life back then.


Ad Astra
 
Ad Astra said:
"harder than Chinese arithmetic"

The book sounds interesting. I just finished "Timeline" by Michael Creighton. Impossible to put down- a high-tech company creates a kind of time transporter, using quantum physics-powered computers. They learn middle ages skills like swordfighting & riding to go back to 1396 France to effect a rescue mission... great picture of (brutal & short) life back then.


Ad Astra
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Didn't they do a very so-so movie of that last summer or the summer before? Creighton's books are great the movies they make them into are either boring or smell of elderberries.

Jake
 
Every month or so I place an order with Amazon.com, and have a bunch of books sent to me in Italy. I'd very much appreciate any input on what books are highly recommended by you guys for my next order!

Thanks! :cool: :)
 
Help us dial in Dan, what are some books you've particullarly enjoyed in the past (quoth the former bookseller)?
 
I am currently reading Cornwell's Stonehenge. He's my this-year's favorite author, Read the Grail Quest trilogy - I highly recommend it. Start with The Archer's tale, then Vagabond, then Heretic - in order for it to make sense. You will know more about the Hundred Years War than any of your friends, I guarantee.
Gallows Thief was fun, too. I red somewhere that he's writing the history of England as historical novels. Great characters, complex plot twists, surprises, and best of all...good triumphs over evil in the end.

Another terrific under-rated and quite prolific author is Alan Furst. Intrigue and espionage set in pre-WWII Eastern Europe. Very insightful looks at an era that most Americans know little about (where the hell is Bucharest?). Also great last pages.

:D
 
Bri, thanks for the heads up on those other novels. I saw this huge list inside the dust jacket of my book and said "where do I start next??!". Have you happened to read "The Last Kingdom" yet? :confused:

On to the woodpecker lips, do any of you other folks have Queen's with the D-2 blades?
 
I like all Crichton’s books I’ve read and “The Last Kingdom” sounds intriguing… My last “care package” from Amazon included “The 80/20 Principle” by Richard Koch, “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown, a used copy of “The Transcendental Temptation” by Paul Kurtz, Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Feast of the Goat," “I Am That” by Nisargadatta Maharaj, "The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini, and “The Conscientious Marine Aquarist!”
:)
 
Stevo
Haven't. Haven't dug into the Sharpes novels either. I guess they're a cult thing like the O'Brien sea stories.There seems to be about as many, too. I found out about Cornwell on a sword forum, and decided to take a chance on The Archer's Tale.

Kismet turned me on to Frederic Brown (The Case of the Dancing Sandwiches ;) ) Some of his '40's and 50's stuff is finding its way back into print.
 
Drdan said:
I like all Crichton’s books I’ve read...)
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"Prey" is a must read, and I would totally recommend "Timeline" as well. Don't know if they made a bad movie out of it but the book was great. "Prey" is about nanites getting out of control and replicating in the wild... neat.

uh, maybe we should start a book thread.


Ad Astra
 
speaking of "prey;"

John Sanford's "Prey" novels are addicting, if you like contemporary crime stuff. A little creepy sometimes, but pretty well done.

He's got another short series of novels about a thief/artist/tarot reader. Nicely done.

AND, if you haven't indulged yourself, start collecting Mario Puzo's books, and read them FOR THE WRITING, not just the plot. He was a marvelous craftsman. Long ago and far away, I used to do a business lunch lecture thingie on "Management, the Godfather style." Kinda fun. Would have been better if I looked the Mafiaso type.

FOOL'S DIE is probably my favorite of his.

and then there's............
 
I enjoyed "Prey" during a recent TDY...perfect for keeping one engaged during flight and had to finish it when I got there, couldn't leave it for the return flight.

.
 
Nocturne for a Dangerous Man

Stranger in a Strange Land

Two recently read, good books.

John
 
John?

Your mention of Stranger in a Strange Land evoked

Manchild in the Promised Land is indeed one of the most remarkable autobiographies of our time. This thinly fictionalized account of Claude Brown's childhood as a hardened, streetwise criminal trying to survive the toughest streets of Harlem has been heralded as the definitive account of everyday life for the first generation of African Americans raised in the Northern ghettos of the 1940s and 1950s. When the book was first published in 1965, it was praised for its realistic portrayal of Harlem -- the children, young people, hardworking parents; the hustlers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and numbers runners; the police; the violence, sex, and humor. The book continues to resonate generations later, not only because of its fierce and dignified anger, not only because the struggles of urban youth are as deeply felt today as they were in Brown's time, but also because the book is affirmative and inspiring. Here is the story about the one who "made it," the boy who kept landing on his feet and became a man.

A vivid, terrible, wonderful book.
 
I love how this thread turned into a book discussion. great stuff! :D

It is not the type of book that I normally read but it was recommended to me by a friend and I truly enjoyed it: Isabel Allende's "The House of the Spirits".
From Amazon:
"Isabel Allende is an accomplished and talented author, an artist with words.
The multi-generational story of the Trueba family is used to weave an intricate tale of Chilean history, from the early turn of the century through the upheaval and revolution of the 70's.
While the background is Chilean historical fiction, the real depth of the story are the unique individuals of the Trueba clan.
The patriarch of the family possesses a wild, volatile, uncontrolled temper and a deep obsessive ability to love through possession.
The woman of the Trueba family are amazingly unique and sincere and at times seemingly untouched by the day to day realities of life.
The House of Spirits is a story of strong love, acceptance, betrayal, class prejudice and dreams. It is a story of how one family deals with all these issues and after all the dust has settled, those left standing realize the importance and depth of family bonds.
Allende's novel is a touching familial tale that transcends both time and location and opens your eyes and heart to the possibilities life offers."


"The Alchemist", Paulo Coelho
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
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good stuff and a pretty short read. I couldn't put it down and ended up reading it through and through one night in a hotel room I don't remember where.

I've always been a Dark Tower "Trilogy" fan too. :)

And a second vote for the works of Mario Puzo! I have always admired his writing.

Last, it would be wrong not to mention the perennial "Heretics of Dune". A finer work was never written!
 
I appreciate receiving all your suggestions. :cool: It's great to deal with Amazon when I need my literary fixes! :D
 
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