What books are we reading at the moment ?

[Tim Hall]

As Terry Gilliam said "Marcus du Sautoy isn't big, but he certainly is very clever"

Recreativo Hackney have prime numbers on their shirts.

Anyway, yes Music of the Primes is good. When I get stuck, or have to re-read a passage, I imagine it in his voice.

I got Finding Moonshine from the library. Excellent stuff. Although dealing with all those dimensions was another brain stretching exercise.  I nearly went on holiday to Granada to see The Alhambra just because he goes on about the 17 different symmetries the Moors used in its decoration.

Music of the Primes has just got to Reimann is doing stuff with zeta functions in 4 dimensions.  It's hard, but satisfying, work.

Du Sautoy did the Royal Institution Christmas lectures in 2007. Or was it 2006?  Anyway, I have them as avi files somewhere.

[Andrij]

"Watching the English — The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour" by Kate Fox.

A definite 'must read' for anyone who has moved to the UK.

[Greenbank]

Marcus is great on the radio.  I imagine his written style is easy to read.  Didn't he write 'The Nothing That Is'?

Google suggests that was Kaplan. But thanks as I hadn't seen that book...

du Sautoy did the Royal Institute Christmas Lectures in, umm, 2006. Somewhere round here I have part of it on DVD thanks to my dad (another maths geek). Ah, yes, it was obviously a maths night on TV:

9.05 Go Forth And Multiply (Ethiopian Multiplication)
9.10. The Music Of The Primes (du Sautoy)
10.10 The Life Of Phi (da Vinci/Fibonacci)
10.15 Breaking The Code (about Enigma)
11.45 Dreaming The Impossible (about Escher)
11.50 Horizon (Fermat's Last Theorem)

[EDIT] Random fact: In the same evening in Cambridge (Carols at King's no less) I saw both Andrew Wiles and I was almost run over by Hawking.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid by Hofstadter is lying around somewhere although it takes a while to digest it...

[Greenbank]

Du Sautoy did the Royal Institution Christmas lectures in 2007. Or was it 2006?  Anyway, I have them as avi files somewhere.

I'd be interested in getting those from you (as I only have one of them). I could post you a suitably sized USB stick if that'd work?

[Mrs Pingu]

A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon. I can't decide about it.

It did get on my wick a bit as well, but then I find thatsort of Frank Spencer-ish type reading hard work.

I'm reading Alastair Reynolds 'The Prefect' having just finished 'Galactic North' by the same author. Good stuff.

[Tim Hall]

I'd be interested in getting those from you (as I only have one of them). I could post you a suitably sized USB stick if that'd work?

I'll burn them to DVD, but as avi (converting to DVD format on this machione takes approximately forever).

PM me your address.  On second thoughts, I've got an online storage thing. I can upload them to there.

[Frenchie]

On second thoughts, I've got an online storage thing. I can upload them to there.

I'd be interested as well.

[Regulator]

The Marmaduke Pickthall bilingual translation of The Qur'an - a fantastic illustrated version.

[Hummers]

I am reading 'The Reivers' by Alistair Moffat.

It is a 'factual' book relating to the raiding activities of the mafioso style families that lived in the Borders (England/Scotland) between about the 13th and 17th centuries. It also paints a vivid picture of the Borders as a sorry pawn in the macinations of various regents and these raping, pludering, murderous outlaws (outlaws and monarchs) over 500 years. As we will have spent about 4 days split between Northumberlnd and Edinburgh, this has been a useful companion. Moffat intersperses (sometimes) dry historical information with 'did you know' facts, lightning what can become depressing reading.

Mrs H has just finished reading 'Wife in the North' by Judith O' Reiley. A diary of one woman's experience of moving to glorious Northumberland from London. The book has prompted many "laugh out loud moments" from Mrs H. You know, when you have to put down your book and ask 'what's so funny' or choose to ignore your sniggering spouse. I am picking this up after I have finished reading The Reivers as no doubt I will need cheering up.

H

[Flying_Monkey]

I am just about to read After Dark by my namesake, Murakami Haruki...

[JT]

Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie.

It's very funny and quite informative too - my knowledge of so-called Northern places in Lancashire and Yorkshire is sketchy as, to me, they're in the midlands.

[spindrift]

Trashy beach read is "No Time To Say Goodbye"- a mystery thriller that you could finish in a day. Very gripping.

I bought a load of review copies from work- "Hellraisers, about O'Toole, Burton, Reed and Harris, Cityboy, 17 by the KLF's BIll Drummond and Sex Lives Of The Rich And Famous.

My summer reading's invariably lowbrow.

[tiermat]

Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie.

It's very funny and quite informative too - my knowledge of so-called Northern places in Lancashire and Yorkshire is sketchy as, to me, they're in the midlands.

If you like that then try finding "The Diary of a Rock and Roll Nobody" By Marc Radcliffe, an excellent read.

Currently reading "The Kite Runner", having just finished "The Blood Of The Rose" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" (spot a pattern here?)

[clarion]

A book by Mark Radcliffe?  Is the opening line:

'Err ummm wurrwurrwurr ummm err' ?

[Tim Hall]

I'll burn them to DVD, but as avi (converting to DVD format on this machione takes approximately forever).

PM me your address.  On second thoughts, I've got an online storage thing. I can upload them to there.

Well uploading seems to be slower than a slow thing, wrapped up in slow string. Been going all night and only 14% complete.

Anyone who wants these PM me your postal address in I'll burn them to DVD as .avi and bung them in the post.

Meantime, the upload trickles on.

[harrumph]

Fredy Perlman: "Against His-story, Against Leviathan!"

[Andrij]

I doubt anyone here is remotely interested to know that I am reading  A Concise Grammar of Slovak by George Carcas, ISBN 1897999100.

What is unusual and perhaps interesting is that this 36 page book has been printed on demand, ie. when he has an order for one of his books he prints it on his home printer. £5.95 sounded steep for a 36 page book but I now appreciate that labour is a major part. It is a clever way of keeping books available that have too low a demand for a publisher to commit to a large print run.

Oh yes, and by the way, I am finding it fascinating and very helpful. It is well written.

This is where a site like Lulu.com - Self Publishing - Free is usueful.

[padbeat]

Working my way through Stalin: the Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore, which is truly excellent, but I keep having to refer to the Dramatis Presonae at the front to check who people are. There's a horrible confusion of nicknames, patronymics, endearments and so on. I think a worthwhile Annex would be a short description of how Russian names are put together!

And when that all gets a bit heavy and I need to take a break, I've just bought Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape: The Remarkable Life of Jacques Anquetil which is altogether lighter, though not so well written.

[Captain Zep]

Working my way through Stalin: the Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore, which is truly excellent, but I keep having to refer to the Dramatis Presonae at the front to check who people are. There's a horrible confusion of nicknames, patronymics, endearments and so on. I think a worthwhile Annex would be a short description of how Russian names are put together!

Ah-ha! I have this ready to read in the teetering pile at my bedside.  My brother-in-law gave me this for my birthday last year, but I'd just finished Stalin by Robert Service, so was Stalin-ed out for a while.  I have quite a few books about Soviet history 

[andygates]

I'm STILL chewing through Against the Day.  We've left the trackless Taklamakan to witness the Tunguska event, but was Tesla involved?

[rogerzilla]

Christopher Brookmyre's "Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks", because I know him and I proof-read one of his previous novels (I even got a credit on the title page  ).

[CathH]

Just finished Tess Of The D'Urbervilles (again).  It doesn't get any better, does it?   

[rogerzilla]

Moral: treat your wife like sh!t, and if it all goes pear-shaped, you can always have her younger sister 

On repeated re-readings, Alec d'Urberville actually comes out as the goody.

[padbeat]

Christopher Brookmyre's "Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks", because I know him and I proof-read one of his previous novels (I even got a credit on the title page  ).

Just finished that one, and thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Palinurus]

Recently finished Vasily Grossman's "Life and Fate". Just started "What is the What" by Dave Eggers, a lucky find at the local library.