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The New Coffee Room

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  3. What are you reading now?

What are you reading now?

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  • B bachophile
    25 Jan 2022, 09:49

    @george-k is that the posthumous one? I’m waiting for a relaxed vacation to read that. The last le carre ever. Maybe this summer

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    George K
    wrote on 26 Jan 2022, 21:46 last edited by
    #435

    @bachophile said in What are you reading now?:

    @george-k is that the posthumous one? I’m waiting for a relaxed vacation to read that. The last le carre ever. Maybe this summer

    Not a bad story. THere's a lot of "building the foundation" stuff for the first ¾ of the book. In typical Le Carre fashion, you don't know who's important, and who's not.

    The last ¼ is absolutely riveting, with great descriptions of an interrogation discussion with one of the principals and depiction of really interesting spy craft.

    Up next: More Bosch (#5 - "Trunk Music")

    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

    1 Reply Last reply
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      George K
      wrote on 27 Jan 2022, 22:52 last edited by George K
      #436

      I love, LOVE, Ben MacIntyre's books ("Operation Mincemeat").

      Started this today...

      Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 4.53.31 PM copy.jpg

      "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

      The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

      G 1 Reply Last reply 28 Jan 2022, 22:09
      • G George K
        27 Jan 2022, 22:52

        I love, LOVE, Ben MacIntyre's books ("Operation Mincemeat").

        Started this today...

        Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 4.53.31 PM copy.jpg

        G Offline
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        George K
        wrote on 28 Jan 2022, 22:09 last edited by
        #437

        @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

        I love, LOVE, Ben MacIntyre's books ("Operation Mincemeat").

        Started this today...

        Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 4.53.31 PM copy.jpg

        Bumping this for @Renauda who might find it interesting.

        "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

        The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

        R 1 Reply Last reply 19 Feb 2022, 21:10
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          George K
          wrote on 30 Jan 2022, 21:09 last edited by
          #438

          Finished this this morning. Probably one of MacIntyre's best. It's up there with "Mincemeat" and the Gordoyevsky story. The afterword is written by John Le Carre. Le Carre had occasion to meet the guy who confronted Philby in Beirut in 1963, and had several interviews with him.

          Le Carre also received an invitation to meet Philby in Moscow.

          He declined.

          So, as long as I'm doing spies, I thought I'd give this another shot. I started it when it first came out, but lost interest.

          alt text

          So far, it's VERY James Bond-like. Interesting, perhaps unrelated opening, flashback to past missions, etc.

          Oh, and it was written by someone I knew, back in another life.

          "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

          The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

          G 1 Reply Last reply 3 Feb 2022, 00:32
          • G George K
            30 Jan 2022, 21:09

            Finished this this morning. Probably one of MacIntyre's best. It's up there with "Mincemeat" and the Gordoyevsky story. The afterword is written by John Le Carre. Le Carre had occasion to meet the guy who confronted Philby in Beirut in 1963, and had several interviews with him.

            Le Carre also received an invitation to meet Philby in Moscow.

            He declined.

            So, as long as I'm doing spies, I thought I'd give this another shot. I started it when it first came out, but lost interest.

            alt text

            So far, it's VERY James Bond-like. Interesting, perhaps unrelated opening, flashback to past missions, etc.

            Oh, and it was written by someone I knew, back in another life.

            G Offline
            G Offline
            George K
            wrote on 3 Feb 2022, 00:32 last edited by
            #439

            @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

            So far, it's VERY James Bond-like. Interesting, perhaps unrelated opening, flashback to past missions, etc.
            Oh, and it was written by someone I knew, back in another life.

            Yeah, it was okay.

            Not "blow me away I want MOAR" away, but a pleasant-enough waste of a few hours where you don't feel like you wasted a few hours.

            Nice twists in the last ¼ of the book.

            I was going to start this (and got about 10% of the way through it), but got, well, not bored, but "I'm not ready for this again," so I gave up - for now.

            61cParSJTJL.jpg

            I think I'll do some more Bosch instead.

            "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

            The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

            G L 2 Replies Last reply 4 Feb 2022, 13:45
            • G George K
              3 Feb 2022, 00:32

              @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

              So far, it's VERY James Bond-like. Interesting, perhaps unrelated opening, flashback to past missions, etc.
              Oh, and it was written by someone I knew, back in another life.

              Yeah, it was okay.

              Not "blow me away I want MOAR" away, but a pleasant-enough waste of a few hours where you don't feel like you wasted a few hours.

              Nice twists in the last ¼ of the book.

              I was going to start this (and got about 10% of the way through it), but got, well, not bored, but "I'm not ready for this again," so I gave up - for now.

              61cParSJTJL.jpg

              I think I'll do some more Bosch instead.

              G Offline
              G Offline
              George K
              wrote on 4 Feb 2022, 13:45 last edited by
              #440

              @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

              I'll do some more Bosch instead.

              image.jpeg

              Halfway done. Another good tale. Eleanor Wish returns, and Lt. Billetts is introduced.

              "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

              The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

              1 Reply Last reply
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                kluurs
                wrote on 4 Feb 2022, 16:52 last edited by
                #441

                Haven't posted in here in a while - currently reading The Education of Henry Adams - a memoir that could be written by Aqua if he were living back in the 19th century.

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                Read recently

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                1 Reply Last reply
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                  George K
                  wrote on 8 Feb 2022, 12:57 last edited by
                  #442

                  5172dBvaxAL.AC_UY436_QL65.jpg

                  "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                  The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                  1 Reply Last reply
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                    G Offline
                    George K
                    wrote on 9 Feb 2022, 00:04 last edited by
                    #443

                    Almost finished with "Endurance."

                    A very well-told tale which never, ever gets boring.

                    It reminds me of "Unbroken," the story of survival of the airmen of a downed B-24 in WWII.

                    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                    J 1 Reply Last reply 18 Feb 2022, 04:26
                    • G Offline
                      G Offline
                      George K
                      wrote on 10 Feb 2022, 18:24 last edited by
                      #444

                      415plL81oaL.SX331_BO1,204,203,200.jpg

                      "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                      The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • G Offline
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                        George K
                        wrote on 11 Feb 2022, 22:47 last edited by
                        #445

                        Loved this book. It's, perhaps, one of the more "obscure" LeCarre books. It has all the players you've loved in the past. Guillam, Smiley, Control...

                        And yes, the back story of Mundt, Leamas, and Liz.

                        Full of flashbacks, flash forwards, etc. Gotta pay attention.

                        Gonna re-read "From the Cold" just to enjoy the basis of this story.

                        "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                        The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • G Offline
                          G Offline
                          George K
                          wrote on 11 Feb 2022, 22:48 last edited by
                          #446

                          But...before I jump into more LeCarre...a short story to keep me engaged.

                          41eZqlPaFBL.jpg

                          Ben Patton is a genuis, a mathematician and a man on the verge of a scientific discovery that could change the world -- if the math he's invented for it works. Ben's secret to his success: A muse, Hestia, who helps him, cares for him and in many ways is the love of his life, as muses so often are for those they inspire.

                          Hestia is Ben's secret -- but Hestia has secrets of her own. As the two of them race toward the completion of their work, Ben discovers the price of having a muse, and learns that the world can change, in ways he does not expect.

                          A tale of science and fantasy, from New York Times best-selling author John Scalzi.

                          I love Scalzi.

                          "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                          The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • G Offline
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                            George K
                            wrote on 12 Feb 2022, 12:52 last edited by
                            #447

                            Short novella. Very not-Scalzi in terms of content (not Sci-fi); very Scalzi in terms of humor and snark.

                            image.jpeg

                            "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                            The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • G Offline
                              G Offline
                              George K
                              wrote on 12 Feb 2022, 23:15 last edited by
                              #448

                              OK that was fun, and very, very different. Nice twist at the end.

                              Started this today. Several people on FB have commented that "Consider Phlebas" is not Banks' strongest work. If you recall, I gave up about 75% of the way through, having gotten bored with it.

                              So, to give Banks another shot I started this today (about 40% of the way through it).

                              image.jpeg

                              The Culture — a human/machine symbiotic society — has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy.

                              Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game. . . a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life — and very possibly his death.

                              Yeah, in the same "universe" as "Phlebas," but a much, MUCH, better story.

                              "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                              The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              • G Offline
                                G Offline
                                George K
                                wrote on 18 Feb 2022, 00:17 last edited by
                                #449

                                More Bosch

                                image.jpeg

                                "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • G Offline
                                  G Offline
                                  George K
                                  wrote on 18 Feb 2022, 00:19 last edited by
                                  #450

                                  Oh, between that and the Banks book, I did LeCarre's "Spy Who Came in From the Cold." I enjoyed "A Legacy of Spies" so I thought it might be fun to revisit the premise of LeCarre's penultimate book.

                                  "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                  The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  • G George K
                                    9 Feb 2022, 00:04

                                    Almost finished with "Endurance."

                                    A very well-told tale which never, ever gets boring.

                                    It reminds me of "Unbroken," the story of survival of the airmen of a downed B-24 in WWII.

                                    J Online
                                    J Online
                                    jon-nyc
                                    wrote on 18 Feb 2022, 04:26 last edited by
                                    #451

                                    @George-K said in What are you reading now?:

                                    Almost finished with "Endurance."

                                    A very well-told tale which never, ever gets boring.

                                    It reminds me of "Unbroken," the story of survival of the airmen of a downed B-24 in WWII.

                                    Glad you enjoyed it. Awesome book.

                                    Only non-witches get due process.

                                    • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                      George K
                                      wrote on 19 Feb 2022, 21:00 last edited by
                                      #452

                                      Just finished "Angel's Flight," the Bosch book.

                                      It was not my favorite. It had a really nice twist about ⅔ of the way through, but the ending was a bit of a disappointment.

                                      Up next - more Iain M Banks:

                                      51RHThKGOEL.AC_UY436_QL65.jpg

                                      "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                      The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • G George K
                                        28 Jan 2022, 22:09

                                        @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

                                        I love, LOVE, Ben MacIntyre's books ("Operation Mincemeat").

                                        Started this today...

                                        Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 4.53.31 PM copy.jpg

                                        Bumping this for @Renauda who might find it interesting.

                                        R Offline
                                        R Offline
                                        Renauda
                                        wrote on 19 Feb 2022, 21:10 last edited by Renauda
                                        #453

                                        @George-K said in What are you reading now?:

                                        @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

                                        I love, LOVE, Ben MacIntyre's books ("Operation Mincemeat").

                                        Started this today...

                                        Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 4.53.31 PM copy.jpg

                                        Bumping this for @Renauda who might find it interesting.

                                        Read it a few years ago. Really good. A genuine page turner.

                                        Elbows up!

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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                                          G Offline
                                          George K
                                          wrote on 23 Feb 2022, 01:13 last edited by
                                          #454

                                          Return to "Dune."

                                          About 100 pages in...so far, meh.

                                          It seems like the desire to spin-out spin-offs is causing the ability to write creative stories is winning. The words that kept coming to me as I started were "cash cow."

                                          image.jpeg

                                          "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                          The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                          G 1 Reply Last reply 27 Feb 2022, 02:20
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