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What was the last book you read?

Has anyone read "In other rooms, other wonders" by Daniyal Mueenuddin. It was on the NY Times best seller list and got great reviews from critics.

Its a series of short stories based around characters from all classes of life who are all linked with eachother in some odd ways, mostly from rural Punjab and Lahore. I am not a big fiction reader but the writing is very engaging and honest. Highly recommended.
 
Summit : Vittorio Sella : Mountaineer and Photographer : The Years 1879-1909 (Click the title for link to Amazon)

This book is mainly a picture book, drawing on the amazing collection of photographs taken by the Italian climber/photographer Vittorio Sella. He's pretty much defined the genre of mountain photography with his body of work. It's really mindboggling what he achieved. He was a climber in the days of heavy and cumbersome climbing equipment, and to top it all off would also haul his 40 pound camera up with him. Heavy glass negatives had to be taken up and a lot of times basins and fluids and chemicals and whatnot as well to do all the film development work.

His results just speak for themselves. In 1909 an Italian team came to the Karakoram mountains for an exploratory mission and brought 50-year old Sella with them. By that time he had 30 years of experience with taking pictures high up on mountains. The photographs he took a hundred years ago are still widely considered the single best collection of photos of any mountain range by anyone. One in particular, a panoramic shot of the Baltoro glacier with K2, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum IV all visible in the background, is just absolutely breathtaking. No descriptions can do justice to it and unfortunately I can't find a copy of it online.

Great photos and if you like mountains/landscape photography then definitely check this out.
 
Just finished reading the Millennium trilogy. These books were written by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. He died in 2004, shortly after he had finished writing the three books and had submitted them to his publisher. The books are:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Don't really read that much fiction but these are great. Real page-turners all of them. If you're into murder mysteries, spy games, etc. definitely check these out.

All three have movies based off of them as well. I've seen the first one - which got me into the books - and it's really good too.
 
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Two novels I would reccomend.

Blood Meridian - A novel by Cormac McCarthy, the greatest American novelist currently alive. The plot is slow and meanders a lot without ever reaching a climax. Therefore, it takes some effort to read. But the meanders are more engaging than any plot twist writers like Dan Brown can dream up. The language is poetic and the spectrum of characters is wonderfully developed. If you give it time you will enjoy the greatest piece of English language fiction in the last 40 years.

The Desperate Journey - by Kathleen Fidler - The first novel I ever read in primary school. It sparked my interest in reading so I would recommend it to anyone who is not an avid reader and would like to give reading a try. The exciting yet sombre plot tells the tale of a Scottish family trying to rebuilt their life after being evicted from their homes during the highland clearances.
 
d0gers said:
Thanks to all that recommended A Case of Exploding Mangoes on this thread. Great satire. Really enjoyed it.

Next in my queue is A Thousand Splendid Suns.
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Your welcome :D

Thousand Splendid suns us also excellent like i said before...have you read 'The Kite Runner'?
 
Can anyone recommend a good political book ? Preferably something about Afghanistan-Pakistan.Not necessarily a biography.
 
Mohsin said:
Your welcome :D

Thousand Splendid suns us also excellent like i said before...have you read 'The Kite Runner'?
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Yeah I read Kite Runner a while ago. Great book. Then when ATSS came out I bought a copy and gave it to my mother. Just never got around to reading it.
 
d0gers said:
Thanks to all that recommended A Case of Exploding Mangoes on this thread. Great satire. Really enjoyed it.

Next in my queue is A Thousand Splendid Suns.
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Case of Exploding mangoes is good .

'Moth Smoke' is another book I would recommend , by Mohsin Hamid (of Reluctant Fundamentalist )
 
jusarrived said:
Case of Exploding mangoes is good .

'Moth Smoke' is another book I would recommend , by Mohsin Hamid (of Reluctant Fundamentalist )
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I read Moth Smoke 8-9 years ago. It really made me miss Lahore.

Reluctant Fundamentalist is a couple of books down the queue. Looking forward to it.
 
Currently Reading:
Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson
The Four Imams by Muhammad Abu Zahra

Just Read:
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Road to Mecca by Muhammad Asad
World War Z by Max Brooks

Reading for the past 5 years:
Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Recommended books:
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Restaurant at the end of the Universe by Douglas Adams
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings
Sahara by Clive Cussler (Also Atlantis Found and many others).
 
Fasana-e-Azaad by Pandit Ratan-nath sarshar if some one is urdu reader.
 
think its time to bump this thread ... i dunno how many of you here are anti piracy but poor people like me cant afford to buy books every second day ... so i resort to downloading them

i am currently in my vacations before 7th sem classes commence from aug 2nd ... so i was wondering if some of you can come with suggestions about which books to read and post a download link or something !!!! many thanks in advance folks :)
 
"Fundamentals of Aerodynamics" John D. Anderson
Boring I know, but that was the last book I read!
 
^^ i wouldn't want to spend time on that book in my vacations when i just finished stuffing my (temporary) memory with mechanical vibrations , heat and mass transfer , finite elemental analysis and the likes all through the exam season bro !!! :( :(
 
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment

It was my last book that I had read last year.

I actually cried when I finished reading the book. I had tears in my eyes. It was unusual for me as a Pakistani. Trust me, I had never read any books in Urdu never mind in English. It was a lengthy novel took me one month to finish it off. But worth the effort.

Highly recommended by one of my polish penpals that I have been communicating with since 2003. Back then my English was not up to the mark for attempting such a rich vocab filled novel.
 
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asad100101 said:
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment

It was my last book that I had read last year.

I actually cried when I finished reading the book. I had tears in my eyes. It was unusual for me as a Pakistani. Trust me, I had never read any books in Urdu never mind in English. It was a lengthy novel took me one month to finish it off. But worth the effort.

Highly recommended by one of my polish penpals that I have been communicating with since 2003. Back then my English was not up to the mark for attempting such a rich vocab filled novel.
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100% agreed ... brilliant book ... moved me to tears as well ... highly recommended
 
by the way can someone help me get an ebook of moth smoke ??? mohsin hamid ... i have heard a lot about this book and really want to read it
 
Just finished re reading the entire "His Dark Materials" series. I was moved to read them again after being terribly disappointed by the movie adaptation which I only recently watched as well. Absolutely superb trilogy and definitely one of my favourites of all time. Pullman is a genius of a writer and I wholeheartedly recommend these books to all readers
 
Sheikh said:
I agree that Dubliners is an excellent starting point for reading Joyce, but I think Ulysses is Joyce at his best. Portrait is fantastic too (as is its genesis Stephen Hero) but Ulysses just blew me away and literally changed my life.
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Tried to read Portrait and stalled about halfway. Found all the references almost impenetrable.

The last book I read was Blood Meridien by Cormac McCarthy, a horribly violent western about a group of Americans paid to destroy the local American Native army and prove it with scalps taken, but finding it easier to slaughter Mexican villagers instead. Americans at their absolute worst. Beautifully written but sickening.
 
Any new entries to this fine thread?

Have a little free time coming up and would love to read something worthwhile. :)
 
I am currently reading "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen. One of the best books Ive read in a long time. It's a story of a typical middle class, educated and new age mid western family. Its powerful and emotional stuff with some dry wit and dark humor.

Recently finished "Obama Wars" by Bob Woodward. A great insight into the makings of the Afgan war policy and the internal bickering and manauvering between the various factions of the US power structure.
 
Recently read:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy -- John le Carre cold war spy novel featuring George Smiley

Barack Obama - Audacity of Hope

Muhammad Ali - His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser

Would strongly recommend the Ali bio by Hauser. The definitive book on the subject that uses the 'witness' technique to present a warts and all commentary on the sporting, political and religious experiences of (in my opinion) one of the greatest (sporting) personalities of all time.
 
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The monk who sold his ferrari -- Robin Sharma.

Who moved my Cheese? -- Spencer Johnson.

Both of the above self help books. And common sense really. They give you a deja vu feeling that you have read/heard this before. Never the less, they are light, enjoyable reads.
 
kingusama92 said:
Any new entries to this fine thread?

Have a little free time coming up and would love to read something worthwhile. :)
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OMG if you haven't read "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", I suggest you read it! It sounds right up your street! It is an amazing book :)
 
i am currently reading Dan Brown's "The lost symbol"

Very interesting and njoyable story.
 
Stewie said:
Are those still a fad these days? Teen vampire romance novels are dime a dozen these days and young girls just fall for them hook, line and sinker.
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lol -
I'm over them now, but still recommend them..
Obviously they appeal to a certain age group
 
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Yeah. I am sorry for sounding judgmental. I dont blame you. I was 23 or so when I picked up the first Harry Potter book after I watched the movie and I have to admit I got into it despite the fact they were "children's books" and I still love them.
 
Stewie said:
Yeah. I am sorry for sounding judgmental. I dont blame you. I was 23 or so when I picked up the first Harry Potter book after I watched the movie and I have to admit I got into it despite the fact they were "children's books" and I still love them.
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Lol, I didn’t mind - so no need to say sorry :)
 
I have pinpointed two books that I will be reading over my break.

Moth Smoke
Under the Dome

I'll be giving the "Reluctant Fundamentalist" a go, if I enjoy "Moth Smoke" by the same author.
 
Count dracuala
Stoker bram :D

Twilight was terrible
Sookie Stackhouse novels r better, thats if anyones interested im vamps, weres, and shapeshifters.

Another great read is Ideals and Realities of Islam by syyed nasr
 
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I was recommended this book a few years ago but never actually got a chance to read it.

"The international Jew" .... by Henry Ford (Founder of Ford motors)
 
Recommend a book thread.

Just reading One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Great book describing a typical, brutal day in a Soviet labour camp for a prisoner.
 
Stumps said:
Have you read Angela's Ashes, Deadly Venom?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela's_Ashes

It's a really good book - nowhere near as harrowing as First They Killed My Father, of course.
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Nope but I'll look out for it when I next drop in at the box shop. Currently I'm going through the 33 strategies of warfare by robert greene, Alistair campbells diaries - prelude to power and a noam chomsky bok whose title I cant remember. No idea when I'll finish them because of uni work cant read as much I want to :(

After I get through those I will pick up Angela's Ashes
 
Best ones so far this semester:

The Black Album by Hanif Kureishi
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Would recommend them to anyone, though Conrad takes a bit (a lot) of getting in to.
 
Hando said:
could anyone recommend me a really good thriller novel
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the lost symbol : dan brown
Angels and Demons: Dan Brown
The girl with the dragon tattoo
Qatil Haseena :D just kidding :P
 
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Great Expectation
The Alchemist
Catch-22
1984
Animal Farm
Talent is Overrated---Everyone should read this....should be mandatory for everybody.
 
Muhammad (peace and blessings upon be Him) by Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din).
 
Whippy said:
Best ones so far this semester:

The Black Album by Hanif Kureishi
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Would recommend them to anyone, though Conrad takes a bit (a lot) of getting in to.
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I will second the Black Album...Intimacy by Kureishi is a good read too...

Need to reread Heart of Darkness..didnt know it was about Leopold II when I did it at GCSE...King Leopolds Ghost is a good read if one prefers non fiction...its the best account of what happened in Congo...

Currently reading a couple books...Murder in Samarkand...for those who dont know...its by Craig Murray a former ambassador who was sacked because he complained about Islam Karimov's use of torture...

Also reading Confessions of An Economic Hit Man which was recommended to me after I watched 'The International'...
 
The last book I read was 'Five point someone'. One of the most entertaining books I have ever read. You will never look at Punjabi's and South Indians the same way :))
 
Whippy said:
Best ones so far this semester:

The Black Album by Hanif Kureishi
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Would recommend them to anyone, though Conrad takes a bit (a lot) of getting in to.
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Have had Lord Jim on my bookshelf for over 20 years. Never got into it. Have heard good things about Heart of Darkness though.
Hando said:
could anyone recommend me a really good thriller novel
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James Patterson is supposed to be a good writer. Not big on thrillers but remember reading a few books by Fredrick Forsyth that were pretty good - The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol and No Comebacks, a collection of short stories. He's a right wing nut, but has written some good books though. The Day of the Jackal is reputed to be a cracker.
ice5968 said:
Great Expectation
The Alchemist
Catch-22
1984
Animal Farm
Talent is Overrated---Everyone should read this....should be mandatory for everybody.
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Excellent books. Another couple of pearlers from Orwell are Down and Out in Paris and London and the first half ofThe Road to Wigan Pier. However, the second half of The Road to Wigan Pier is just political theory.

Anybody read Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, a superb novel by Paul Torday or The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid?

Final recommendation : The Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai.
 
Just written an essay on Heart of Darkness. wow wow wow. It seems impenetrable at first but it is genuinely a work of art the more and more you look into it.
 
Read Charlie and the chacklate factory a great book recommended to everyone +5
 
Whippy said:
Just written an essay on Heart of Darkness. wow wow wow. It seems impenetrable at first but it is genuinely a work of art the more and more you look into it.
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read that in History 101 in univ, excellent book.
 
Alright coming guys, ive got till mid September free...i need some good books.
Anything along the lines of the Kite runner or Thousand Splendid Suns would be awesome!
 
For anyone interested in history and specifically Pakistan’s birth, I would recommend Freedom’s Cry written by Ian Talbot.

Historical narratives on Pakistan’s creation have tended to focus on elite actors. It is a story often told with the masses left out. Talbot’s book in marked contrast shines a light on the multitudes of people who participated in the Pakistan movement and experienced partition.

He injects a human perspective by focussing on the role of ordinary people in the achievement of Pakistan and the harrowing experience that many Muslims faced at the time of partition.

The final chapter ‘Hurmat Bibi’s story’ is especially poignant. It brings out what Pakistan meant to ordinary people and the immense sacrifice and suffering that people had to endure.

The role of Islam comes through very clearly not only in inspiring the masses to struggle for Pakistan, but also how it could offer redemption for those people who lost so much when they migrated to Pakistan. As the author explains, “the journey to Pakistan was, for many Muslims, a true hijrat. The self-awareness and renewal which it brought transcended the sufferings.”
 
Finished reading Crucifixion or Cruci-fiction by Sheikh Ahmed Deedat. Interesting and very informative read.
 
What book are you reading nowadays?

In the world of multi-media entertainment, books still maintain their relevance, despite having lost a bit of popularity. The attention span of people keeps decreasing and with it the reading habit keeps going down, as well. Unlike movies, books take some time and effort on the part of the reader to be finished. Which is why I always prefer to read reviews of books or take recommendation from somewhere to be absolutely sure that the book is not trash.

Are you a fiction person or a non-fiction one? Are you adept at reading e-books or do you only prefer reading printed books?

Please discuss and review the books that you're reading nowadays and also you favourite authors, books, reading habits and also memories related to specific books.
 
Let me start off -

Currently, I am reading - The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Accent of Money by Niall Ferguson, simultaneously.

I'd rate both books quite highly and among the best books I've ever read. For someone who isn't formally educated in economics, commerce or any finance related subject, Accent of Money is a great read which describes the genesis and history of the current financial system that we are a part of.

The Brothers Karamazov is exactly the kind of fiction I personally prefer. Dostoevsky is a genius and has great understanding of human brain. The way he describes the outer behaiviour and the inner thinking of many different characters is amazing. It's the kind of book where the actual incidents and where they lead to unfolds slowly and at times, take a back-seat, whereas the way the things unfold is more enjoyable.
 
a bit too slow-paced, author is a bit busy marveling at the ways of the subcontinent rather than tell his story.

and the chapters are reaaaally long :facepalm:
 
It's a big book too. I'm always a bit wary before starting a book with more than 800 pages. Because if you leave it in the middle you have to start again from the beginning because you wouldn't remember everything that happened before.
 
Shantaram is a brillaint book, sometimes in the middle the author might reflect a bit on the mind-but never theless a very good book.

I found it fascinating reading an outsider's view of India...

Dr SF- i dont think in Shantaram you will have the issue of retracking the events.

AZ where are you now in the book?
 
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