The Green and Gold Rugby Book Club

[kambah mick]

A good war novel is "The Cruel Sea" by Nicholas Monserrat which was first published in about 1951. Great book and great tale of the battle of the Atlantic.
On the non fiction front I have just finished "Nemesis" by Max Hastings, the famous war historian. Paris Tah, if you want a good account of the WW2 in France with an emphasis on the Resistance of the Dorgogne region and the murderous activities of the SS, get a copy of "Das Reich" also by Max Hastings. In fact anything by Hastings is usually good stuff if you are interested in History with a good narrative.

 

[Jethro Tah]

Paris Tah. Several years ago I read a book on Vietnam by Michael Herr (or possibly Hess) and I think it was titled "Despatches". It was a fantastic book but may be difficult to find nowadays. I will have a rat around my library in which the books are packed three deep and see if I can find it. If so I will contact you and arrange a loan if you like.

You are too kind. For anybody else, you can find a copy of the book in these Australian libraries.

On Remembrance Day, lest we forget.

 

[Swat]

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss... If you like rubbish fantasy like Jordan, Martin or god forbid Goodkind, even if you've never read a fantasy book you should read this, one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read.

 

[Cutter]

Thanks for the tip Cutter, I'm a hundred pages in and can't put it down. Although I do wish I hadn't looked up the Wiki entry here before starting as the question over authenticity does take the shine off it a bit. Either way, it's still a cracking story.

Glad you're enjoying it.

I've just read the wiki entry. Thanks for linking to it. It didn't put me off it - I read it in the spirit that Sajer says he wrote it being an emotional response to an horrific period.

If you've not read Tim Bowden's biography of Neil Davis "One Crowded Hour", it is well worthwhile too. It's not a straight book about war, but it is compelling.

 

[Godfrey]

Just discovered this thread - great idea! Cool to see there are a few Cormac McCarthy fans here. I'm actually a collector of his books with first editions of all but a few titles, so a big fan myself. My favourites of his are Blood Meridian and Outer Dark, however I adore all of them.

Fans of George RR Martin may also enjoy Robin Hobb in the fantasy realm. Start with the Farseer Trilogy.

I'm currently alternating between non-fiction, fiction and graphic novels with some reason favourites being"A Demon Haunted World" by Carl Sagan, "Maus" (an absolute must read) and currently "Nausea" by Sartre.

 

[Godfrey]

I should add, if you are looking for very cheap books visit bookdepository.co.uk. Another good site is abebooks.com for rare books, first prints and the like.

 

[Gnostic]

For the fantasy nuts try:-
Patrick Rothfuss - series waiting on third book Well written from a different perspective than the usual style. I wont do spoilers.
Peter V Brett - Another worth a look for something with original ideas though again waiting on the third book.

Also try the usual suspects if you are new to the genre, Robert Jordan (Brandon Sanderson) Wheel of time and of course Tolkein.

 

[Swat]

I also recommend Joe Abercrombie and JV Jones (sword of shadows trilogy)

 

[en_force_er]

I should add, if you are looking for very cheap books visit bookdepository.co.uk. Another good site is abebooks.com for rare books, first prints and the like.

I've recently started trying not to buy books from the book depository. The cost is more at a local bookstore but the industry in this country really is waning and needs financial support.

I'd hate to not be able to peruse local bookstores after a Sunday afternoon coffee (Melbourne kid right here).

 

[Cutter]

Fantasy nuts should read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

 

[Swat]

Only if followed by enders shadow...

 

[bryce]

I got a copy of The Slap sent over for Christmas. I read it in a few days, so obviously I found it a page turner. I enjoyed it, but it left me a bit unsatisfied, although that was probably the author's intention. Also, is it just me or are nearly all the characters so unlikeable? I don't mind flawed characters, as we all are flawed in some way, but this seems to go beyond that. And is drug use, adultery and violent/hateful sex really this common is suburban, middle class Australia?

Other people read it?

 

[Sully]

No I tried to watch the series but couldn't relate to it at all.

 

[Swat]

I couldn't get into the slap at all. I know you can knock some sense into a person and you can beat a person senseless but where do you draw the line? Also, does anyone need a babysitter?

 

[Badger]

I recently purchased Union - The Heart of Rugby. A brilliant coffee table book with 150 rugby related photos accompanied with the thoughts and views of Martin Johnson, John Kirwan, Joel Stransky, Nick Farr-Jones and Phillipe Sella. The photos and text are categorised into the following: Pride, Honour, Passion, Pain, Team, Heroes, Courage and Glory. It's becoming one of my favourite books. A worthy addition to any rugby fan's bookshelf.

 

[suckerforred]

I recently purchased Union - The Heart of Rugby. A brilliant coffee table book with 150 rugby related photos accompanied with the thoughts and views of Martin Johnson, John Kirwan, Joel Stransky, Nick Farr-Jones and Phillipe Sella. The photos and text are categorised into the following: Pride, Honour, Passion, Pain, Team, Heroes, Courage and Glory. It's becoming one of my favourite books. A worthy addition to any rugby fan's bookshelf.

Actually picked this up at the RWC. All of the photos in the book were in an exhibition in Auckland. And yes I would agree - bloody good addition to a rugby fan's bookshelf. My Mum even read it while she was here over Christmas

What I have read lately:

Bam's book - Openside - Interesting, but I need to talk to him now as I have lots of questions.
Rocky Elsom's biography - again interesting, but didn't answer the questions that I was hoping it would.
Inside the Wallabies - Good. But have a feeling that the author might have thought that he has been treated badly by the ARU somewhere along the line.
Nick Farr Jones's biography - just confirmed that Peter Fitzsimmons really is a bloody good story teller.
The Devil and the White City - History about the 1893 Worl Expo in Chicago. Good read
The Bishops Code - interesting Oz based mystry. Could be a bit difficult to get hold of as it was published a while ago. I left mine in the Best Western New President holtel in Auckland. Finished it there.

Current wading through Colleen McCollugh's 'Life without the boring bits'. Reserving judgement.

Yes wide a varied reading. But better then the CPA professional development that I will be back into soon....

 

[Badger]

Actually picked this up at the RWC. All of the photos in the book were in an exhibition in Auckland. And yes I would agree - bloody good addition to a rugby fan's bookshelf. My Mum even read it while she was here over Christmas

I originally heard about the book when I came across the exhibition in Auckland during the RWC. What I really enjoyed about the exhibition, in addition to the photos, were the videos shown on the big screen which explained what went into the selection process to get to the final photos and the thoughts of some of the photographers. The photos sent in by the public were also great.

I thought Inside the Wallabies was a slender volume for a book (about 250 pages) that was suppose to cover the Wallabies from 1908 to present (date of publication Aug 2010). Being a relatively new rugby fan, I didn't get as deep an appreciation for the history of the Wallabies as I expected. As for the author, he is referred to as "Grumbles" Growden which is apt if you have read some of his stuff in the Fairfax press.

 

[suckerforred]

I thought Inside the Wallabies was a slender volume for a book (about 250 pages) that was suppose to cover the Wallabies from 1908 to present (date of publication Aug 2010). Being a relatively new rugby fan, I didn't get as deep an appreciation for the history of the Wallabies as I expected. As for the author, he is referred to as "Grumbles" Growden which is apt if you have read some of his stuff in the Fairfax press.

Agreed, thought it was a bit light on, but was looking for a different point of view. Have not read any of his stuff in the press that I can recall, but perhaps 'Bitter & Twisted' might be a better nickname. Have 'The Rise and Rise of Australian Rugby' sitting on the shelf that I have not read yet for another point of view. Some years ago I read John Eales's bio as well and that gave an interesting insight into the change from the amature, through the shamature, to the professional era. When I read Farr-Jones's bio I found it interesting that this was not really mentioned, even though it was only towards the end of his career.

Does anyone know if there are any other Rugby histories out there? Not necessarily Aust wide, but perhaps focusing on one or other of the provinces.

 

[Godfrey]

Just formed a book club for Graphic Novels. Anyone here read them? Books like Maus, Persepolis, Watchmen and Blankets are personal favorites.

 

[redstragic]

Just formed a book club for Graphic Novels. Anyone here read them? Books like Maus, Persepolis, Watchmen and Blankets are personal favorites.

Comics are a passion. Love the ones you mention, the Sandman, Preacher Arc's are epic. Having said that The Killing Joke by Alan Moore is genius. Of the current lot Scalped, Fables and DMZ are my Favourites