TSF Book Club

NTA

Battle Ground
Why the Liberal Party Shirtfronted Tony Abbott
 
I'm not particularly into political journals, but this one was sent to the wife for subscribing to the Australian (for some article about the bloke with a Tesla battery) long after the subscription ended.
 
It basically looks at the politician who is Tony Abbott, and why he was effective as an opposition leader but fuck all use as a national leader. Pretty much what everyone suspected: he's a fucking numpty who thought everyone loved the 1950s, despite being whipped by Peta "Mad Tits" Credlin. Though the book is fairly staunch in the belief that Tony and old Vinegar Tits never got it on, so that's something.
 
Anyway, its a really good look at why politics is fucked due to a bunch of out-of-touch party spawn who put the party above everything, including the electorate.
 
But I'm glad I didn't pay for it.

Tim

Hotel California: Singer-songwriters and Cocaine Cowboys in the L.A. Canyons 1967-1976
By Barney Hoskyns
 
Entertaining, gossipy, and agreeably trashy look at people behind the Laurel Canyon sound. Almost a companion piece to Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.

JC

If you liked that one Tim you should try Zero to Sixty, the Neil Young bio by Johnny Rogan. IMO it's a much better read than Shakey which came out a couple of years later, as Rogan is much more interested in the music than Jimmy McDonough seems to be.

Tim

Cheers man, might check it out.
 
I need to find a good book about Steely Dan, and one about "yacht rock".

JC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Tim" data-cid="573708" data-time="1461148704">
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Cheers man, might check it out.
 
I need to find a good book about Steely Dan, and one about "yacht rock".
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Eminent Hipsters by Fagen himself. Very funny, but you'll still know very little about the music. You'll never find out what the Custerdome is. Avoid the Brian Sweet biog. It's like an Albert Goldman bio - lots of conjecture that the author couldn't possibly know.

Mokey

Just released my 5th book into the wild. This one is quite different - a collection of 10 contemporary erotic short stories called Ladies First.
 
Significantly more filthy than anything else I've done, so if menages, group stuff etc makes you squeamish, DO NOT GO THERE.
 
Otherwise, buy your socks off (or encourage your sexy times partner too), and earn my undying gratitude.

jegga

Good luck with the new book, mrs Jegga says I'm not allowed to buy them though.

dK

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mokey" data-cid="576062" data-time="1462055529">Just released my 5th book into the wild. This one is quite different - a collection of 10 contemporary erotic short stories called Ladies First. 
 
Significantly more filthy than anything else I've done, so if menages, group stuff etc makes you squeamish, DO NOT GO THERE. 
 
Otherwise, buy your socks off (or encourage your sexy times partner too), and earn my undying gratitude.</blockquote>
Illustrated?

Mokey

Heh. The words paint a picture in your head!

dogmeat

The brain is without a doubt the body's most sensuous organ

jegga

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="dogmeat" data-cid="576189" data-time="1462100182">
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The brain is without a doubt the body's most sensuous organ
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</blockquote>
 
I'm more of a boob man myself but whatever floats your boat I guess.

Paekakboyz

But brain can be used to think about boobs... this reminds me of...
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='

'>

</a>

gollum

For everyone who has been waiting 15 years for one of my favourite books to be made into a movie. Altered Carbon is coming as a TV series -
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.blastr.com/2016-5-13/joel-kinnaman-star-new-netflix-cyberpunk-sci-fi-series-altered-carbon'>http://www.blastr.com/2016-5-13/joel-kinnaman-star-new-netflix-cyberpunk-sci-fi-series-altered-carbon</a>

dogmeat

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="dK" data-cid="559487" data-time="1455846897">
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Just finished a very good trilogy by Miles Cameron, The Traitor's Son Cycle. If you enjoy Sword Fantasies with a mix of Medieval European History (of sorts) then this would be a great start
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13616278-the-red-knight?ac=1&from_search=1&from_nav=true'>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13616278-the-red-knight?ac=1&from_search=1&from_nav=true</a>
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17737893-the-fell-sword?from_search=true&search_version=service'>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17737893-the-fell-sword?from_search=true&search_version=service</a>
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23129080-the-dread-wyrm'>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23129080-the-dread-wyrm</a>
 
I have read a lot of Cameron's Historical fiction (written under Christian Cameron) which would appeal to people who enjoy Conn Igglugden. He has 4 main series
1) the Tom Swann short novellettes are Kindle only books, set around the late Medieval Era and the encroachment of the Ottoman Empire into to Eurpoe
2) the Tyrant series, which is based on a post-Alexandrian Mediterranean world
3) the Long War series, which explores the Persian invasion of Greece, around the Battel of Plataea
4) the William Gold series, about the stories of a donat of the Order of St John and his adventures in France, Italy and now the Crusades to fight the Saracen
 
All great reads for the nerds among us
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Thanks for this DK. I read a Tom Swann when you first posted this and found it a bit meh, but had forgotten that I (must have) got The Red Knight at the same time.
 
Wow - just wow. How had I not discovered him for myself? Totally endorse your recommendation. Good characters real feel to his writing, writes a good battle and despite a lot of majick (sic) it does seem quite well grounded in the Plantagenet period.
 
It's like a modern chivalric romance

taniwharugby

Operation Mayhem - Steve Heaney MC with Damien Lewis.
 
A black ops British squad is dropped into a village in Sierra Leone to try and slow the progress of the RUF intent on taking the Freetown Airfield.
 
Just another tale of some woeful decisions made higher up the chain that leads to putting lives at risk unnecessarily on the front line, good read though with one of the Pathfinders squad (Steve Heaney) being involved in writing with renowned war and conflict reporter Lewis.

jegga

Still got Bloody heroes by Damien Lewis here if you want it TR

taniwharugby

am heading down to my library today to take the above back, I'll see if they have it, otherwise I'll get you to send it up ;)

jegga

Sweet as

mariner4life

jegga i finished Catastrophe. First half -2/3rds is pretty awesome. I though he ran out of stuff to talk about at the end, given he wrote a book that big about 5 months of a conflict.
 
The explanation of the lead up to conflict was awesome. The details of the early battles was great, and then how it basically just broke down in to 4 years of sitting 100 yards from each dying.
 
As usual, scathing of the English military, but dispels a few myths i had of that time.
 
Good book though, will actually dig out another WW1 book i have to read a bit more.

jegga

M4l , that's interesting . I haven't finished it yet I keep going back to it after I get distracted by something else. At the moment I can't put this down 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanns_and_Rudolf'>https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanns_and_Rudolf</a> 
It fascinating to read how one of them gradually became a mass murderer and the other man went back to his old life and what he did was forgotten till it was mentioned at his funeral .

The Silver Fern

TSF Book Club