Jim
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Post by Jim on May 17, 2012 22:32:48 GMT
Interesting, thanks for that. The Light and Darkness War - I vaguely remember reading (some of) that, wasn't it serialised in one of the Marvel UK anthology titles? |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 17, 2012 22:38:56 GMT
Yes it was in Meltdown along with Nightbreed, Akira and The Last American.
What a stonking line up of comic goodness.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on May 18, 2012 7:03:14 GMT
Yip. Only lasted 5 issues, alas. I preferred it to Overkill or Havoc.
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 18, 2012 9:38:37 GMT
As did I.
Andy
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 18, 2012 18:54:27 GMT
The HC of Cow Boy arrived today. Written by Nate Cosby and drawn by Chris Eliopoulos. First chapter available free - cowboycomic.net/Fantastic stuff, great book design and some bonus strips from several folks - Roger Langridge amongst them. Well worth getting. Andy |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 18, 2012 16:09:05 GMT
Batman: Death by Design by Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor.
One of the nicest looking books of the year. Great pencilled artwork by Taylor and it's set early on in Batman's career so has a nice golden age feel to it.
Andy
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 25, 2012 22:28:21 GMT
Finally gotten round to reading Grant Morrison's Supergods (kindly loaned to me by Nick).
Thoroughly enjoyable analysis of his own career and life with the trends in mainstream Anglo-American comics.
Andy
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kayevcee
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
The Weather Wizard
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Post by kayevcee on Jun 25, 2012 22:40:08 GMT
Not to mention some fascinating insights into the will of the five-dimensional beings that look down on us as we look down on our creations on the comics page.
-Nick
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 25, 2012 22:44:21 GMT
That too.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 26, 2012 7:15:26 GMT
Not to mention some fascinating insights into the will of the five-dimensional beings that look down on us as we look down on our creations on the comics page. -Nick What? -Ralph |
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Jul 16, 2012 15:27:50 GMT
The Shrink and the Sage by Julian Baggini and Antonia Macaro. Self-help aimed at people who would usually look down on self-help. Baggini is a philosopher and Macaro a psychotherapist, and they alternately give their takes on common problems. It's one of those books which boils down to mostly common sense, but it doesn't hurt sometimes to have that stuff reinforced.
It leans largely on Aristotle; I read The Nicomachean Ethics last year (I highly recommend) and this is not far off being a modern take on that.
Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne-Jones. A magically-gifted orphaned boy from London on the run from strange beings is taken in by an academic-turned-magician (it's hard to describe) in the country, awakening the latter's childhood memories. It's hard to summarise without spoiling and going into detail. Suffice to say it's really charming; give me Wynne-Jones over Rowling or Pullman any day.
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Aug 25, 2012 21:40:59 GMT
From Here to Infinity by John and Mary Gribbin. I picked it up in a sale at the Royal Observatory, and it's a really quite nice introduction to astronomy / space science. A lot of stuff I knew already but also a lot that I'd forgotten and a refresher is always good. The little one likes space stuff at the moment, so I feel some responsibility to know these things better even if she is a bit young.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 1, 2012 20:11:05 GMT
Also reread 2010 & 2061 while on holiday. Fab books, love them.
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 1, 2012 20:20:40 GMT
I have very fond memories of them, though the long extracts from 2010 in 2061 did tax me somewhat. Still love it though. The less said about 3001 the better.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 1, 2012 21:32:25 GMT
3001 lacks structure and plot. It paints a picture of the world Frank finds himself in but the plot ........... taked ages to show up and just stops.
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 1, 2012 21:41:10 GMT
It was not a story that needed to be told. The monoliths didn't need to be explained more than they already were.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Sept 1, 2012 22:00:40 GMT
It was not a story that needed to be told. The monoliths didn't need to be explained more than they already were. -Ralph By Zeus, just look at that velociraptor doing the gardening! |
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Post by legios on Sept 2, 2012 19:03:18 GMT
I have never read 3001 - read the first three on several occasions (as well as "Fire Alarm", the short story that is at the root of it all) but never felt that there was a pressing need for anything after 2061. (Also, it has never been in a library anywhere I have lived since it came out). Liked the book version of 2010 more than the film - the latter has its charms, but one of my favourite parts of the book is all the stuff with Tsien and the poor doomed Chinese scientist.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 3, 2012 18:23:21 GMT
I like the film...... but the book is better.
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 3, 2012 19:10:33 GMT
It does disturb my brain that 'the year we make contact' is now two years behind us!
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Sept 6, 2012 5:52:01 GMT
Currently just over 300 pages through the 850+ pages of the Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings. Amazing how such a large body of mythology could have slipped past my radar for so long. Anyone else have any experience of it?
Also got a book of Native American folk tales on order to enjoy during my break.
Martin
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 6, 2012 18:18:08 GMT
I...I actually have never heard of it.
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Sept 6, 2012 18:30:03 GMT
I...I actually have never heard of it. -Ralph Nor had I until this year's Beyond the Border festival. But it is apparently to Iran what the Iliad and the Odyssey are to Greece, the Arabian Nights to the Arabian peninsula, and the Arthur legends to Britain. Pre-Islam Zoroastrian stories compiled after the coming of Islam, basically. There's some pretty good stuff in it. Martin |
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 6, 2012 18:43:35 GMT
Really? Good grief. I feel a bit daft for at least not having a passing awareness of it.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Sept 6, 2012 19:18:34 GMT
I have a vague sense of having heard it mentioned at some point, but nothing more substantial than that. It has rather passed me by as well.
Karl
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Sept 20, 2012 10:44:29 GMT
Just finished Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, a birthday present from the other half.
I overall quite enjoyed it, though it is a bit repetitive and lacks humour. I read Epictetus last year, and while it had much in common it was a bit less dry. I'm not convinced Stoicism is for me, but I could probably do with a bit more of it - my reactions to certain events at work in recent times have been far from Stoic and probably did more harm than good, and I could see parallels in what was written here. So hopefully some lessons to learn.
Fancy something a bit science-y next.
-Jim
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Sept 20, 2012 16:50:53 GMT
In the pantheon of Roman Emperors, Marcus Aurelius is one of the rare ones who probably did more good than harm to the world around him.
Martin
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Sept 20, 2012 22:01:14 GMT
He does seem to exhibit many of the traits you would hope for in a leader but never really see.
I wouldn't want to invite him for dinner though.
-Jim
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Post by Shockprowl on Sept 29, 2012 21:13:37 GMT
This year I shall be mostly reading.....
SHAZAM!!!
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Nov 27, 2012 22:42:53 GMT
A day spent in waiting rooms means I finished another book at last! The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch. As an impressionable student I read his Fabric of Reality and immediately started to evangelise it, lending it to friends and colleagues - and I kind of want to do the same with this.
Amazing book, remarkable scope. I have no problem admitting there were bits which sailed clearly over my head, so there is some element of taking his word for it, but it is a very compelling argument for scientific thought and progress and a good overview of all sorts of seemingly unrelated topics and ideas. Pushed the right buttons for me, one of the most interesting books I've ever read.
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