"Off Piste" with your books...
- Thread starter Stalker62
- Start date
Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
Well I have two of them here. I forgot to mention The Little Train which is a favourite with Pine Martine (3) and obviously YPM has fallen into Harry Potter. They have IKEA book cases.
Nice bookcase. If only we were permitted to store our non rail equipped rifles behind such gourgues timber & glass with crushed velveteen lining!
K
Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
Well Mrs PM's father was a cabinet maker. He made this. He never put any books on it though, he didn't really have any. I like to think we have put his work to good use though. There's a little shelf that slides out in the middle on which to consult reference books, which is a really nice design touch from a guy who just didn't do that...
See my previous reply!Hmmm. This really is an interesting thread - sadly probably only to anyone of a certain age! Can you even imagine any of the sub-40 year olds evenbeing able to readhaving a book never mind a book collection? And as for a bookcase………
Pity really.
And the odd fine hammer gun.
Fosbery Holster
Well-Known Member
Reader’s wives for me
A polygamous reader - how curious!
Fosbery Holster
Well-Known Member
Monogamous…….boring !
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So, I used to have a great collection of books. Many with that penguin on the spine. A collection that started in my youth and included such classics as cowboy books by Louis L'Amour and that well known Melton Mowbray cowboy, J. T. Edson. But house moves and for reasons of space, I'm at present restricted to a couple of shelves which I use to store reference books, mostly on (predictably) shooting, reloading, D?IY vehicle maintenance (something I do less and less as I age). Highlights include:
The Small Shoot by David Hudson
The River Cottage Meat book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
A couple of Hairy Bikers' cook books (the more used cook books live on a shelf in the kitchen)
Collins Gem Guide on Birds (and another on dogs)
The British Cavalry Sword by Charles Martyn
Modern Reloading Second Edition by Richard Lee
A couple of Lee Enfield books
Honda CBF1000 '06-'10 by Haynes
And so on.
I pretty much have a book on the go all the time, the great majority are fiction of one sort or another and, again fighting the good fight on space, they are usually on my Kindle (off to wash my mouth out now).
Anyway, favourite authors include Linwood Barclay, Harlan Coben, Bernard Cornwell, John Grisham, Peter May, Nevil Shute, Robert Goddard, Thomas Hardy, D. H. Lawrence and many more. As you can see, my tastes vary between mass market easy reading thrillers through historical novels and 19th and early 20th century classics. As the original quote from the 16th century says "there is no disputing about tastes", which later morphed into "there's no accounting for taste" a few hundred years later.
Anyway, my bath is drawn now, so I shall repair to that.
The Small Shoot by David Hudson
The River Cottage Meat book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
A couple of Hairy Bikers' cook books (the more used cook books live on a shelf in the kitchen)
Collins Gem Guide on Birds (and another on dogs)
The British Cavalry Sword by Charles Martyn
Modern Reloading Second Edition by Richard Lee
A couple of Lee Enfield books
Honda CBF1000 '06-'10 by Haynes
And so on.
I pretty much have a book on the go all the time, the great majority are fiction of one sort or another and, again fighting the good fight on space, they are usually on my Kindle (off to wash my mouth out now).
Anyway, favourite authors include Linwood Barclay, Harlan Coben, Bernard Cornwell, John Grisham, Peter May, Nevil Shute, Robert Goddard, Thomas Hardy, D. H. Lawrence and many more. As you can see, my tastes vary between mass market easy reading thrillers through historical novels and 19th and early 20th century classics. As the original quote from the 16th century says "there is no disputing about tastes", which later morphed into "there's no accounting for taste" a few hundred years later.
Anyway, my bath is drawn now, so I shall repair to that.
That was a good recommendation; interesting book by an interesting person. Do you have any other recommendations along the same lines?@Stalker1962 - can't see if you have it, but 'Dead Center' by Ed Kugler is an excellent read.
Also - any Peter Senich books on sniping? Worth a look if you can find them.
How far off piste do you want to go?
Sci Fi? Try some Ian M Banks (Use of Weapons will really mess with your head) or Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time is the best).
Fantasy? Try some Guy Gavriel Kay. Start with Sailing to Sarantium or Under Heaven. Or if you prefer your fiction dark, bloody and morally ambiguous, try Joe Abercrombie and start with 'The Blade Itself'.
War non-fiction? I assume you've read The Forgotten Soldier, by Guy Sajer? Is not, well worth it. Also try Dispatches by Michael Herr.
War fiction? Have you read HH Kirst's Gunner Asch books? Gunner Asch goes to war is the best.
And if you really want to challenge yourself, have a go at George Monbiot's Feral.
Sci Fi? Try some Ian M Banks (Use of Weapons will really mess with your head) or Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time is the best).
Fantasy? Try some Guy Gavriel Kay. Start with Sailing to Sarantium or Under Heaven. Or if you prefer your fiction dark, bloody and morally ambiguous, try Joe Abercrombie and start with 'The Blade Itself'.
War non-fiction? I assume you've read The Forgotten Soldier, by Guy Sajer? Is not, well worth it. Also try Dispatches by Michael Herr.
War fiction? Have you read HH Kirst's Gunner Asch books? Gunner Asch goes to war is the best.
And if you really want to challenge yourself, have a go at George Monbiot's Feral.
I try to re-read 1984 once a year. As a warning to humanity.
Am going to start ‘Do Androids dream of electric sheep?’ shortly...
levigsp
Well-Known Member
I have books on various subjects, some on fishing, shooting and other fieldsports.
A lot on genetics, and animal husbandry.
Cook books. history, wildlife, geology and few strange ones like hoard from the east, John wyndham fiction, Beowulf etc etc
And books on Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt Queen Vic etc.
Books in English, Polish, old German, Slovak, Hebrew.
A lot on genetics, and animal husbandry.
Cook books. history, wildlife, geology and few strange ones like hoard from the east, John wyndham fiction, Beowulf etc etc
And books on Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt Queen Vic etc.
Books in English, Polish, old German, Slovak, Hebrew.
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
I spend about 3 hours a week commuting and rather than waste it singing (badly) along to music I downloaded the Libby app and used my library card to log in and download audio books for free.
I decided to choose factual books well outside my usual comfort zone in an order for a bit of self development rather than just enjoyment to while away the time.
The last one I listened to was White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, something I would have disregarded without consideration before as woke nonsense. It was definitely well out my comfort zone but it was a real eye opener listening to concepts so alien to me and my up ringing. Well worth it in my opinion just to consider such a polar opposite view point and actually listen to it and not dismiss it out of hand.
Rasputin
Well-Known Member
Have a real mix
Economics/finance
Old cartoon books in French German from when I was a kid
Wilbur Smith/Corbett style books
Pratchett/LOTR fantasy
Cook books
Bit of Forsyth
Fishing/Natural world
Flying/Motorbikes
Not sure what else but I know there’s no crime, autobiographies or religious books.
As much as I love the ease of reading on my phone or iPad I do miss the hardbacks.
Economics/finance
Old cartoon books in French German from when I was a kid
Wilbur Smith/Corbett style books
Pratchett/LOTR fantasy
Cook books
Bit of Forsyth
Fishing/Natural world
Flying/Motorbikes
Not sure what else but I know there’s no crime, autobiographies or religious books.
As much as I love the ease of reading on my phone or iPad I do miss the hardbacks.
These are great. Also anything by Alastair Reynolds, especially Diamond Dogs, the Revelation Space series, or for @Stalker1962 maybe The Prefect.
For some off-piste stuff around booze and fermented food try Sandor Ellix Katz: The Art of Fermentation and Michael Tonsmeire: American Sour Beers
nun_hunter
Well-Known Member
I'm only just sub 40 but love my Kindle. It takes up less space than an entire bookcase and is easier to read one handed but doesn't smell as good as an old book.Hmmm. This really is an interesting thread - sadly probably only to anyone of a certain age! Can you even imagine any of the sub-40 year olds evenbeing able to readhaving a book never mind a book collection? And as for a bookcase………
Pity really.
