The book I am reading currently

killmastern3 said:
The Martian - 5/5. Read this before watching the movie. This is such a refreshing book to read. Focuses on the positive side of human nature. Really really enjoyed it..
David Weber - On Basilisk Station - 4/5.
Stephen Hunter - Point of impact - 4/5. "Shooter" movie is based on this book. Book is much better, of course.
Trevanian - Shibumi - 4/5.
Jason Hough - The Darwin Elevator - 3.5/5.
Jeff Edwards - Sea Of Shadows - 4/5,
Jeff Edwards - The Seventh Angel - 4/5,
Jeff Edwards - Sword OF Shiva - 4/5 (Its about USN interfering(as usual) in a war between India and China),
James H Cobb - Sea Strike - 4/5,
Nelson Demille - Plum Island and the Lions's Game - 3.5/5,
John Ringo - Ghost - 3.5/5,
Eric Thomson - No Honour in Death - 4/5 (Excellent Sci-fi),
Matthew Reilly - Great Zoo Of Chine - 4/5 (Love all of his books esp. Shane Schofield),
James Rollins - Order of The Sanguines series(3 books) - 3.5/5,
Blake Russell - Jet - 3.5/5.

Read these and lots more i cant remember in the past few months.
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Looks like you have kept yourself busy ;)
 
^ thread updated after 4+ months. :)
Nice to see the huge list.

ps: this year is almost a dry year for me, book wise. Hardly bought any book and read just 4 mediocre books. :(
 
There is nothing better than a book to while your time away :).

Tony Park - The Prey & Silent Predator - 4/5,
Lee Child - Make Me - 4/5 (Big fan of Reacher. All 20 done :).

These were over the weekend and today.
 
Read 2 books in Jesse Mcdermitt series by Wayne Stinett. Decent books. 3.5/5.

Slightly OT, anybody here using Kindle Unlimited? Have registered but i find a lot of good books missing.
 
killmastern3 said:
Slightly OT, anybody here using Kindle Unlimited? Have registered but i find a lot of good books missing.
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I'm using Kindle Unlimited, but for hobby books such as drawing, painting & learning the guitar. It's decent for those sorts of books.

But I imagine for popular fiction/bestsellers, it's not all that great. The major publishers don't seem to be on board & KU is more suited to those who are prepared to go through a few bad books in hopes of discovering a few good writers.

Since you are such a voracious reader, you might want to check out the free ebooks on openlibrary.org. There are many still-in-copyright ebooks available for free, & you might just find a few gems while casually browsing through the collection.

Cheers, & good day!
 
got kindle unlimited for my parents coz it had a book by an author they knew which was selling for Rs 199. I browsed through the catalogue and couldn't find anything I cared for but it was still worth it :D
 
Dongri To Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia
- Hussain Zaidi

I would rate it 4/5 easily. Lot of content.

This was some real good investigative journalism. Anybody who loves a thriller + underworld stories, should give this a read. The fact that this is the history of Mumbai's underbelly unfolding, it becomes even more engrossing. The ending could have been better.

@eternoMind @hotshot05
 
Spacescreamer said:
Dongri To Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia
- Hussain Zaidi

I would rate it 4/5 easily. Lot of content.

This was some real good investigative journalism. Anybody who loves a thriller + underworld stories, should give this a read. The fact that this is the history of Mumbai's underbelly unfolding, it becomes even more engrossing. The ending could have been better.

@eternoMind @hotshot05
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Do read Black Friday by same author. Bloody good, 10/10. Better than D2D.
 
David Weber - Honor Harrington series (1-4) - 3.5/10. Decent sci-fi with good character development, politics and space warfare!!. 9 more books to go in the series :(.
David Weber - Dahak series (1-2) - 4.5/5. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Space warfare in an epic scale!!
David Weber - In Fury Born - 4/5. Well written sci-fi with a touch of mythology.
Joshua Dalzelle - Black Fleet Trilogy - 3/5. Decent.
Thomas Deprima - A Galaxy Unknown series (1-10). Timepass and fun.
 
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Spacescreamer said:
Dongri To Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia
- Hussain Zaidi

I would rate it 4/5 easily. Lot of content.

This was some real good investigative journalism. Anybody who loves a thriller + underworld stories, should give this a read. The fact that this is the history of Mumbai's underbelly unfolding, it becomes even more engrossing. The ending could have been better.

@eternoMind @hotshot05
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I agree that the content is generous. But the narrative style didn't appeal to me at all. He tried to tell the story as a STORY, when in fact a much colder/factual/non-fiction tone was what I was really looking for. One too many filmy quotes, rendezvous and encounters for me. I found that highly distracting. And although I know this is too much to ask for, would have loved had the police/government figured more in the book as to their part in the rise of the mafia and their role in subduing it in the early 2000s. These aspects are covered but not to the extent I had hoped for. May be Zaidi talks of those and other aspects in one of his other books, all of which I have lined up but haven't read till now owing to the slight disappointment with D2D.

But I will pick them up nevertheless once I am done with Gladwell's works as I completed Outliers only yesterday. Intend to finish his other books as I find his arguments fascinating even though he can seem to be cherry-picking the samples to base those very arguments on at times. Most of his examples deserve deeper attention and I really like the way he dissects success.

On a side note, would like to share something. My grandfather was one of the hordes of Tamil men who landed up in Mumbai in the 60s. He rose up in life doing odd jobs while family (with my dad the eldest of four children) was back in TN. Once he established himself, my father (just out of his teens) joined him in Mumbai to try and make something of life. Being well-known and respected in the community back then, grandfather's counsel was sought often and many a times the issue landed at the doors of Varadarajan's house, who was the defacto voice as far as disputes among Tamils was concerned. He attended quite a few meetings at Varada's home and it is through his anecdotes shared with my dad that I can vouch for the clout and muscle this Mudaliar enjoyed in Mumbai back then. This is just to say Zaidi's research and sourcing is top notch.

P. S. - Please don't misconstrue this as being in awe of Mudaliar and his fellow Mumbai Mafioso!
 
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eternoMind said:
I agree that the content is generous. But the narrative style didn't appeal to me at all. He tried to tell the story as a STORY, when in fact a much colder/factual/non-fiction tone was what I was really looking for. One too many filmy quotes, rendezvous and encounters for me. I found that highly distracting. And although I know this is too much to ask for, would have loved had the police/government figured more in the book as to their part in the rise of the mafia and their role in subduing it in the early 2000s. These aspects are covered but not to the extent I had hoped for. May be Zaidi talks of those and other aspects in one of his other books, all of which I have lined up but haven't read till now owing to the slight disappointment with D2D.
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This is one issue which i also have with the book. But maybe that is how the books get sold in India.
We have a penchant for a bit of a drama here and there (atleast there were no 3X zooms thrown in..)

Thanks for sharing a slice of anecdotes from your life. A self made man is always the best possible hero we can come across in life :)
 
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