Well, I don't see any threads related to other book, so, here's one for all those readers to share their opinion... If you have anything to ask, or you wanna share the nice book you read, anything readable is welcomed

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So I'll start first with books that I have read

Title
The Warren Buffett Way by Robert G. Hagstorm

Review
This book is about the life of the famous investor named Warren Buffett. The books start the story by telling how he started investing in his early days. Some may mistaken this book as an investing book, well, not really, though they do include some details about his investing/balance sheet. But generally, what the book tells is the general rules that Warren Buffett applies throughout his entire life as an investor. Besides, the book also mentions how he analyze a certain business/management, and im my opinion, some of the guideline shown on the book can be applied to real life at well. All in all, for those who loves investing/financial or for those who wish to learn more about this person and the stories behind Berkshire Hathaway, this is the best book around.

*Side note: Warren Buffett is the only person listed within the top 5 of Forbes 400 and he is the only person that achieved this rank based purely on investing.

Title
The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko

Review
First off, this book revolves around most of the millionaires around US (not famous names like Bill Gates, this book is all about the stories of people who has a net worth more than 1 million). This book is not sharing how lavish is the life of all the millionaires or anything like that. In fact, this book explains well the concept of UAW (under accumulator of wealth)/PAW (prodigious accumulator of wealth). Besides, they explain from the surface to the core why some people with the same level of income can be wealthy whereas some are living lavishly, but poorly. All in all, this book is very suitable for people who have average income, yet, they want to retire comfortably as a millionaire.

Title
Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T Kiyosaki

Review
Well, alot of us have read this book and it's one of the best seller. However, personally after reading the book. I felt that the book is abit highly overrated as an investing book. The fact is, it's not really an investing book. The reason I said this because throughout the book, it feels more like an inspiration rather than investing. However, the book does mentions some basic in investing and personally, this book is worth the read for those who are blur and new about investing.

Current book I'm looking at is The Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M Weinberg... I would like to say thank you to dreamer101 as "The Millionaire Next Door" and "The Secrets of Consulting" are both recommendations of his

hmm for me .. hmm

currently i'm reading a book PlaneScape:Torment The Novelization
compiled by Richard Rhyss....

this is a novelization of the GREATEST CRPG.. Planescape:Torment.

i found this book on the internet.. so i downloaded, print and bind it to be a complete novel... very nice read especially if you played thegame before..

give it atry..

kuman

For those who like the Fantasy genre, give David Eddings a try. The Belgariad and Mallorean epics are worth a read. Same goes for Redemption of Althalus.

Although, I must say his latest works are getting a tad too formulaic with recycled characters (just different names )

Oh, somehow, I can't find too much interest to read fictional books... Borrowed Da Vincci from my sis and it has been lying on my table since then... hahahahaahahahahha

Da Vinci code is a decent enough book, although sometimes I find it a little far-fetched. While we're on the subject of fiction, James Patterson is also a good read. I like how he potrays every scene as a chapter, so you'd probably get up to chapter 100+ in his books, with some chapters even being just one page long.

lol, digital piracy. I want! Can you PM me the link to get it? Torment was one of my all time favourite games.

Anyway I'd like to introduce an entire series of books, by one George R.R. Martin. Its called The Song of Ice and Fire, and currently its up to the 4th book of a planned six. The titles are:

A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Sea of Swords
A Feast for Crows

The series is one with two major plotlines. The first deals with the politics of the kingdom the series is set in, and focuses mainly on the Stark family. The kingdom used to be ruled by the Targaryens, who had dragons as pets, but the dragons died out, and the last Targaryen king was semi-insane. This led Robert Baretheon and his best friend Eddark Stark to lead an uprising that saw Robert installed as king. The political intrigue starts when Robert decides to pay a visit to Stark many years after the war...

Behind this political plot lies a more shadowy threat. The kingdom is protected from the north by a huge wall made completely of ice. Beyond the wall are the wildlings, giants, and the 'others'. Some say that the long winter is coming, that the wall will fall, and the others will come again.

Well, I can't really give away too much of the plot, because if Martin is good at one thing, its making readers go 'omgwtf I can't believe George did this' when he reveals his plots.

One word of cautuion if you read this series. Don't get too attached to the characters, they die easily...

If you want to check out more on the books, visit the authors site at http://www.georgerrmartin.com/

oh......

eh eh, dun mention about piracy anymore... ok ok ? It's illegal by law and wrong in this forum

Well, I really can't find the "inspiration" to purchase fiction based books as somehow, I always have the thoughts that it doesn't worth the value as real life books can be kept and referred to in the future, as for fiction books, it's just not worthit for my case...

Argh, and I still can't find that "feeling" to start reading them.... (fiction books)

Allan Folsom is an excellent fiction read - The Day After Tomorrow (no relation to the movie) and Day of Confession. Both thrillers with murder, spies, killings, the regular stuff. I like his style of writing although the ending is a bit 'abrupt' and too satisfying

http://www.twbookmark.com/books/52/0446600415/

For non-fiction, I've just read 'Bono in conversation with Michka Assayas'. Gives an insight into the band's early years till now, his work in Africa, why he's a poverty activist and so on. Good bedtime reading, it comes across very sincerely and you get a genuine sense of respect for the man.

Anyone here is a fan of John Grisham? He is one of my favourite authors.

I just finished Taipan by James Clavells. Quite a good book although it might be hard to understand the dialogues at first glance.

I'm not really in touch with much fictional books...

A book I heard that is very famous is the Memoirs of a Geisha ... Anyone read this?

Read all except 'A Painted House' and 'Skipping Christmas'. Both are sitting on my shelf though

Honestly, I think his standard has dropped somewhat - or maybe expectations were unjustly high. The Firm was an absolute classic, I liked The Brethren and The Rainmaker as well.

i always dig those books from the

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

especially when i read about Zhuge Liang...it makes me read over and over again...

now reading Mental Intelligence by Tony Buzan...

I used to like John Grisham's books alot. Lately tho he has been depressing me. I for one like happy endings, but books like The Summons and King of Torts don't exactly end on a high note.

I like some of James Clavell's books too. King Rat was wuite good, and Shogun was magnificent. I couldn't finish Noble Gouse tho, it was boring. If you like James Clavell's books you may want to try Wilbur Smith. I recommend Birds of Prey.

okay, I really need to change my reading preference and request for a different christmas gift this year...... hahaha.....

Perhaps when some of you are done reading a great book, throw in a brieft review maybe?

Haha, it'll help clueless ppl like me to make a choice during purchase....

what would you like to learn ?

being a millionaire ?
mind mapping
IQ stuff
Learn about Courting Woman...
Learn about Love
business
marketing...

maybe you state then i might be able to help you...
i have a mini library at home...hehehe

Haha... Me?

I read here and there, I have random choices but most of them are real life related

Perhaps you can just randomly pick a few off your shelf and give a brief review about it and share it with the rest of the crowd and enthusiasts here ???

^ well, if u have a great imagination dan brown's angel and demons will be a great read.. one of the more interesting ones that i have read lately.. the places described. the locales in rome, the CERN lab in geneva.. damn, they make me feel like going there

dishwasher : yep agreed, the summons doesnt have a satisfactory ending for me.. i'd prefer the firm or the client any day

edit : badawi, how was the last juror for u? i found one at the 2nd hand bookstore at my place, hardcover copy at a slightly higher price compared to the paperback, immaculate condition.. bought it but never made it thru the 2nd page.. no time

This post has been edited by ckwei: Oct 22 2005, 01:05 PM

sure sure....
i will take picture of the book and then post here ok ?
and give you a review

Hmm, I thought it was okay, I like his writing style irregardless - its simple to read, humouress yet satisfies you. Story line was a bit shallow. 'The Broker' which was out early this year is a better read IMO. Awaiting his next book which should be out early next year

any of u guys like calvin & hobbes? i read it everyday on star newspaper..
i juz got a book recently.. so nice to read..

Sigh. I used to read ALOT. been missing out on some great books lately

Yeah me too. Long time don't read new book. .
I read all kind of book but mostly crime. BTW King of tort by John Grisham also don't have satisfactory ending . Is The Last Juror is the story of suing tabacco company? Read to many Grisham's book until confused.

Newspaper read it everyday, magazine only if I going somewhere and juz need something to read'

I prefer book anytime but it takes more time to read...

Hehehe ... Yeap, I love Calvin and Hobbes too .... It's a very nice read .... I didn't buy any of the books but I did borrowed them from my cousin before ... Another one I like is Dilbert ... It's a very sarcastic comic hinting on alot of real issues .... hahahahahaha ...

Talking about Calvin and Hobbes, I heard there's a new collectors edition compilation of ALL the strips that ran. Its printed in color on glossy paper. I went to MPH Midvalley today but didn't see it. Definitely a must buy

Have you checked at Borders @ Berjaya Times Square ?

Books that i have read : Trump (No such Thing As Over Exposure) & Michael Dell

Both of these books are actually about their lives, how they became successful and beyond and if you are interested about Business Operations it will be good to read about Dell.

Geminist can you recommend some Business books for me to read , i have been looking around but couldn't find one. Thinking of getting "The Toyota Way" or "Steve Jobs", will it be a good choice?

Oh, the Toyota Way is a fine choice ... I bought this book too ... Already read the preface of the book ... It's about the lean management/production of the toyota system and also the 14 management principles used by the Toyota ... Well, FYI, Toyota is the first company that developed the JIT system so it's worth the read

Another two titles you can anticipate is both The HP Way and The Google Story

Both of these books are yet to be published but I'm sure they'll be a good read ...

You might want to look at the Rich Dad's series "Cashflow Quadrant" too ... As cashflow is one of the most important issues in all companies ... With the recent news of Ford/GM's first tier supplier filing a chapter 11 bankruptcy, the importance of cashflow is more visible ... As even with such strong foundations, they can go bankrupt ...

Here's the news if you wish to read it ...

General Motors

IMHO, Cashflow Quandrant provide a basic insight into how cashflow works and it's not such a bad read

*FINALLY, someone who shares the same interest as I do .... hahahahahahaha

My mom works at Plazay Berjaya so whenever I'm there, I'd run over to Borders. I can spend hours there because they allow free reading and there are comfortable seats. I even bought a couple of great glossy-paper fully-coloured cookbooks from the bargain corner. oh, and I read 3/4 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince there.

Haha, I went there once only .... Since I'm not staying at KL, I vist the MPH nearby my house in Ipoh ...

Well, the one time that I went there... lost $$ already since I bought some books there.... hahahahahahahaha ....

MPH is good too

lol. I used to spend alot on books too. now no $$$

Finished reading "the moon is a hard mistress", a truly 1337 book.

Anyone here read the foundation, dune, robots or ringworld books?

Haha me too you are the first person that shares the same interest as me, as far as i am concern.But the Toyota's book is abit expensive, it costs around 90++ hard to get my father to buy it for me , yea they are the master of JIT and Kaizen they have perfected it thanks to Taaichi Ono. I heard that there are a lot of car manufacturer's now days are making its employees to study TPS(Toyota Production System) as a requirement.Hmm, dont know how true is it.

According to Fortune magazine it will take Toyota 2 years to overtake GM to be the largest car manufacturer in the world as Toyota is currently in second since they outstrip Ford.

So the book that u recommend is "Rich Dad" is it, i will get it from Boaders. . Ohh and i heard that the "Jack Welch" book is interesting too, it talks all about management, as he is the former CEO of General Electrics. You might wanna get this too..hahaha

This post has been edited by crystal_kit85: Oct 23 2005, 01:54 AM

Yeap, true that the Toyota achievement in the TPS is now adapted in alot of places including the Lean production system and the JIT system.

The Toyota Way cost around RM99 from MPH the last time I saw it... I got mine here at amazon.co.uk and it cost me 11 GBP to get it, so it's rather cheaper compared to the one in MPH ... Well, you can always read it for free by asking them to unwrap the wrapper for you and you can pick a spot to read ... hahha... That's what I do often if I do not want to buy that book ... But seriously, some of these books are worth keeping so it's worth paying the price ...

Jack Welch of GE, well, his books are everywhere, but, I shall withold my opinion about him for now since I have little knowledge about this person....

About Toyota, yes, their achievements are impressive, but the achievement shown by Nissan by rebounding to be one of the top dogs from debts are indeed impressive too ... I have my sight on this book "Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan by David Magee" but I'll just get it later, since I still have two books which I haven't read yet ... And they're lying on my shelf ...

For Rich Dad's series, well, I do recommend both the Cashflow Quandrant and Guide to Investing ... For the rest of the books, well, they are not really my cup of tea ... (besides, I read some of them standing in MPH every week to an extent the lady working there recognizes me edi ... haha ... )

Besides Fortune, I do recommend you to browse Forbes too ... I just realized the existance of this magazine when I was visiting a dermatologist and I saw this magazine outside ... hahaha ...

Oh yea, since you like finance so much, The Millionaire Next Door (thanks to the recommendation of dreamer101) is a very good read ... It's about personal finance and I written some of the opinion I have regarding this book ... I got this from Borders @ Berjaya Times Square for RM55.90 ... It suits your budget and it's worth reading if you like to understand more about personal financial management ...

*Well, parents are more lenient when their kids are pestering for books .... But since you love books so much, you can save the money yourself and buy them

Foundation and Robots by Asimov and Dune by Frank Herbert? Yep, all in my collection. I haven't had the pleasure of reading the ringworld saga tho. Sad tho whats happening to the Dune saga. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson is butchering the series.

Strangely, noone mentioned the Wheel of Time saga by Robert Jordan. Considering how famous this series is, I'm sure there are those among you guys who've read it. Book 11 just came out (available as hardback in MPH) and book 12 is suppose to end the story. Just how Jordan's going to finish the series when so many things still need addressing is beyond me.

crystal_kit85 and geminist do u mind me asking what do you guys do for a living or are studying? i myself find fortune very interesting, but will only get to read it when i return to my hometown cos it's too exp here and my dad subscribes to them magazines, like almost every single one of the business mags XD .. the part that i cant afford to miss in fortune is the stanley bing's column

crystal_kit85 other than forbes that geminist recommended, u could try out economist too, but it might be abit dull, compared to fortune

This post has been edited by ckwei: Oct 23 2005, 11:09 AM

Everyone loves the story of worms and their golden paths, the ultimate tyrrany, to bring forth the ultimate freedom.

Haha, I'm still studying ... All of these stories that I found out (some are by reading where they link the book to another stories), I just know about some of the surface stuff only, I don't know much about the details ... That's why I'm interested and willing to spend money to get books that tell me these details...

Hahaha, I'm not really very rich, for these magazine, I don't subssribe to them la, I'll just read on the website of Forbes ... hahaha ...

i see.. so what are you majoring in? if ur anywhere near penang i may be able to lend u some back issues of fortune and other mags if u want.. but i'd have to dig them up first

do watch out for stanley bing's column on the last page of fortune every month though, a witty guy, head of a fortune 500 company, with his real information witheld

This post has been edited by ckwei: Oct 23 2005, 02:08 PM

Hahaha, thanks for your kind offer...

Really appreciate that....

I'm currently quite far away from you ... So I guess it's impossible for now...

I'm doing my final year for pure mechanical engineering now in UK

BTW i am Crystal_kit85, i have accidently used by bro's acc to reply..Haha same as me i am currently a student as well, finishing my Diploma year by next week, i have read both Fortune and Forbes magazine. Forbes u can browse it through the web but unfortunately for Fortune u need to pay. Nevertheless, i am currently doing Business With Information Technology course planning to major in Management in Degree year since the management course would be my cup of tea.

Geminist, i prefer Business Operations where they will teach us about JIT, Lean manufacturing, Kaizen, Six Sigma, Supply Chain Management and etc. It's very interesting job knowing that you can actually help the company to reduce its defective rate by applying these methodology but on the other hand, with the culture in Malaysia it is hard to apply all of these due to the following reason:

A) Multiracial country----> different mentality
Transportation in Malaysia is not up to par
C) Traffic congestion and beyond

If you are interested in Six Sigma, you can read up on Motorola because they are the Father of Six Sigma and they have got the Malcolm Balridge award.

This post has been edited by Biscuit: Oct 23 2005, 10:58 PM

Hmm.... About reducing defective stuff ...

I believe Quality Management plays a more important part ... I remember reading the story of Pontiac .... For their new factory, they asked the Quality Guru, which is Edward Deming in in order to help them perfect out everything, reduce their operation cost and defective products ...

As far as I know, JIT, Lean Management, Kanban and etc ... They are similar methods to increase the productivity of a manufacturing plant by reducing the waste that are associated with their product ... To make it short, it's like to improve efficiency and maximize their cashflow ...

That's what I know Could be wrong ... hahahaha ...

i recommend;

'the saga of darren shan'

it consists of 12 books and i stayed up almost everyday to finish them. lol.
it made me cried too.

Haha, last time the Americans doesn't appreciate Edward Demings contribution and he was left out, after that he went to Japan and taught the Japanese about Total Quality Management (TQM), as a result of that, the japanese has gain so much from it and they are now the Guru of Quality. Only after that the Americans were so regret on what they have done and tried to lure him back to help them.

Hahaha... Yea, so from his interviews, you can hear that he doesn't really like the US .... But the Japs did awarded both Juran and Deming a royal award ... (Forgotten the name) ....

before deming went to japan, japan's products su(k so much that they tried to con people into buying their stuff buy setting camp at a village called Usa.. so the products that came from that place was 'Made in Usa' read that from the forture 500 special japanese innovation edition or something XD

Well, you can't deny the innovationi that the Japs have...

Before Japanese started implementing QC and TPS, it is said that their cars can rust within one year ... haha ...

Hmm, I'm thinking of borrowing the Edward Deming book "Out of the Crisis" from the library later next week when I'm having my break .. It's rather expensive to buy ... haha ...

If only u can photostat the book and sell it cheap to us..haha

Haha, I can't do that here... I'll get myself busted for photostating books ... It's illegal

Quarter way reading the book "The Secrets of Consulting" ... Very interesting, will share the details when I'm done...

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Seriously wanted to cry here, left the bookmark on my bed, and I took a nap without knowing... Now the bookmark broken edi .... (It's a wooden bookmark with design carved on it) ... It's a gift from an old friend

Ah, recently I had the pleasure of borrowing several books written by Clive Cussler from a pal.

Several notable books from him are Sahara, Atlantis Found, Valhala Rising, Raising the Titanic (or is it Rising? - Didn't read that one) and others.

If the title of Sahara sounds familiar to you, it's because it has been made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz and Steve Zahn.

However, as most people would have it, reading the book would be more satisfying than watching the movie, other than the fact that most of the time filmmakers butcher and reattach the plot into their own way, making the storyline not as extravagant as the book. Sahara is an example of that.

The Synopsis

1996, Egypt. Searching for a treasure on the nile, Dirk Pitt thwarts the attempted assasination of a beautiful U.N. scientist investigating a diseas that is driving thousands of North Africans into madness, cannibalism and death. The suspected cause of the raging epidemic is vast, unprecdented pollution that threatens to extinguish all life in the world's seas. Racing to save the world from environmental catastrophe, Pitt and his team, equipped with extraordinary state of the art yatch, run a gauntlet between a bilionaire industrialist and a bloodthirsty West African tyrant. IN the scorching desert, Pitt finds a gold mine manned by slaves and uncovers the truth behind 2 enduring mysteries. Now, admist the blazing, shifting sands of Sahara, Dirk Pitt will make a desperate stand in a battle the world cannot afford to lost.

My take on this book
When I read the 1st book with Dirk Pitt as the hero with his sidekick, their skills, luck, intelligence and the way they always get out of trouble becomes so good, it's unbelievable. Makes you wonder if these 2 guys are more superhero rather than human. However, as you continue to read on, you'll marvel at the plot and the development of the storyline which is rather extensive. Clive Cussler happens to be good at that, and makes you want more of his books, even with some unbelievably good heroes.

In the end, I craved for more books written by this author from the Dirk Pitt series. Don't be fooled if the movie version of the Sahara seems a lil flat, the book version will guarantee a more extensive plot, more action and heart stopping moments.

OMG! People who speak the same language!! Thank you god!

Eddings is pretty much light stuff. Not that intricate his stories. Rather straight forward. But good for beginner fantasy readers The Belgariad and the Mallorean are really good reads. Couldn't put the book down But one would notice that both the series are somewhat close to that of the Redemption of Athalus. Characters and stuff. But not to say that it's not a good book

OMG! This is the first person i've actually heard of someone talking about the Song of Ice and Fire! Cool!

Dude, where did you get the latest book? I went to Kiniokuniya and couldn't find it. A Feast for Crows? I'm not sure i've heard it. I remember the third or fourth book got two parts to it. Right? Mind sharing where you got the book?

Erm...I noticed no one mention the Death Gate Cycle? And the Dragon Lance series?

A Feast for Crows came out like, 2 weeks ago. I don't think its even out in the US yet. Harper Collins released it in UK early. You can try ordering it from Amazon, they are already shipping it. Note that its not out in Malaysia. I've asked around and the response I get is "what? A song of what?"

Anyone here ever seen the paperback version of "The Two Swords" on sale in Malaysia? Its a Drizzt Do'Urden book by R.A. Salvatore. I've been looking for it like mad but all I see are the hardback versions. My mother always taught me that hardbacks are not worth buying because they are heavy and hard to read in bed and they are also more expensive... ok my mother didn't teach me that. I'm digressing here. Bah. So anyone seen this book yet?

Salavatore? Difficult to find. Fantasy in general is difficult to find. Heck, even Dragonlance, one of the more popular ones can't easily be found. Try kinokuniya or Borders. If they don't have it, i doubt that any other place would.

Thanks for the info bro. I just checked the site..I might order it Or get my friend to ship it back for me

Anyhow, long live fantasy! w00t!

Er.. MPH ? found about 13 on the website. Or go hang around MidValley MPH.

This post has been edited by wodenus: Oct 30 2005, 12:20 AM

I figured you might read Pratchett. You and chewxy probably Ringworld is always fun

Just finished Airframe by michael crichton. bought the book for 3 years but never touch it before. meaningful not a great story.

Crichton's new book 'State of Fear' is an extremely good read IMO, not because of the story, but because it gives you a real look at the global warming issue. Sure sure, Crichton is just trying to justify Bush's rejection of the Kyoto Agreement blablabla... you know what? He provides the facts, which are utterly believable.

Anyway I have every single book by MC. I'm a big fan of his

I am still stuck with 5 People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom. He is also the author for Tuesdays with Morrie

Both of the books are very very interesting.. unfortunately, I dont really remember much indepth infomation about Tuesdays with Morrie.

Other books I completed are Rumor of War by Philip Caputo and The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang.

Rumor of War is very interesting. It talks about Caputo's experience in the Vietnam War. Caputo was a Lieutenant and was serving in the troop as the front man also also the person who counts the dead body. He called himself "The Officer of the Dead". He draws statistics and charts out the casulties. He reports the lost of both sides of the war (VC or American). He also talked about how the war affects him psychologically. The way he compose this book is very military. The way he writes it is like how a soldier would write in a diary.

The Rape of Nanking is banned from Malaysia. I do not know why (Tell me if it is unbanned). The book is about the horror how the Japanese troop invaded Nanking (One of the last standing city). It writes how the Japanese troop torture and tricked the citizen to surrender but then have a large massacre. The way the Japanese torture the Chinese is really really gruesome. The more you read it, the more you feel the pain of the victims. It makes you wonder why does the Japanese soldier do that for? In contrast, the book also writes about 5 foreigners helped to build Nanking Safety Zone to help the citizen. Because people are so badly tortured (both male and female), no one is safe from the Japanese Soldier. Men are used as bayonet target practises and women are used for military prositution. Female from age 8-60 are raped. Women who got pregnant from the rape commit suicide. The dead bodies were so much that the Yellow River (I think) was flooded with blood.

Both book are very very eye opening. Worth the read. Really worth the read..

Sounds like fun.. but is it worth the read ? Crichton is always interesting, but after Congo (which wasn't really bad, but it lacked the magic and wonder of Jurassic Park) I stopped reading his books. It was just so flat.

Anyone read Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club" ? does it sound familliar to you ?

This post has been edited by wodenus: Oct 31 2005, 02:18 AM

Crichton? Try timeline. Damn good read that. Brings you into a different world. And his explainations are really believable. The movie puts the book to shame though...

I thought airframe was a good read too The ending didn't have much of a twist, but heck, it's the journey that matters right?

Reading Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan. Real-life economic scenarios explained clearly for the average Joe (e.g. goverment & economy, federal reserve, trade & globalization). Easy on the brain-cells...fun read so far. Only complaint is the book's too short...I want more!! *sigh* Can't wait to get started on this pile:

Fiction
-- Sailing to Sarantium
-- Lord of Emperors
-- The Last Light of the Sun
-- Anansi Boys
-- 5 Discworld titles

Non-fiction
-- The Working Poor: Invisible in America
-- Affluenza
-- The Consumer Society
-- Dealing with People You Can't Stand
-- The Science of Vampires

Authors I like: Guy Gavriel Kay, Jack Vance, Raymond Feist, Alan Alford, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Jane Austen, The Bront� sisters and George Eliot.

So where do you get your books ?

I am considering getting this two books too, seems very inspirational and deep..hehe.

Kinokuniya mostly because I love the comics section...can kill two birds with one stone. Once in a while I'll check out Borders.

My friend is a big fan of Neil Gaiman. How are his books? Anansi Boys is by him no? Whats all this about "God is dead, meet the kids?"

I have a copy of Anansi Boys but haven't got to it just yet (still reading other stuff). If you've never read anything by Neil Gaiman before then I wouldn't recommend starting on this just because the author has a slightly offbeat style that needs getting used to...viz. "God is dead, meet the kids".

Better for you to begin with Good Omens (co-authored by Terry Pratchett) and Neverwhere. If you like his style, only then proceed to Anansi Boys. Otherwise, you'll be lost and might not appreciate Gaimen's genius.

Since your friend is a Gaimen fan then you should have no problem acquainting yourself with all the abovementioned books for free...so you have nothing to lose.

i dun know whether there is any Micheal Crichton fans here. Anyway, i am one of his fans. I almost finish all of his books without realization. I like his style b'coz bside reading u actually get educated from his books (all the facts he stated look real to me). However, you must learn to exclude the fictional stuff lar. 'The Andromeda Strain', 'Timeline' grips me the most. I finished reading those books within two days for each book respectively. Despite of that, i am quite disappointed with his new books 'State of Fear'.

oops, now onli i noticed there is such other MC fans here. Yeah i like airframe too, i was pwned by the ending.

I like the facts but the storyline is flat in this book coz there is almost no twist in the story. However, it is onli my opinion

Eddings books are fun to read, but the endings in Belgariad and Mallorean fell flat, I prefer the Elenium and Tamuli is muich better.

Belgariad was what got me into reading novels:P Have read most of his books, except "The Rivan Codex" and his 1st book, forgot the name

Wheel of time was quite a good read, until i stopped at 9 , hard to keep up with the story cos he keeps laying the chicks and it's still not complete Forgot what happened in 1-8 when 9 came out..

Death Gate cycle was quite good and Darksword, Rose of the Prophet too!

Terry Pratchett books quite funny and imaginative but sometimes hard to get his jokes.

Raymond E. Feist's books are quite good, i liked the Riftwar saga a lot, Serpentwar also not bad, although i'd like Pug to be more involved.

Frank Herbert's Dune is excellent! book #2 as well, but i think the story was getting rather muddled in part #3- Paul getting killed so easily and his son becoming a monster... dunno whether to get book 4-6 liao any suggestions?

I'm also quite a fan of Jeffrey Archer. I especially recommend As the crow flies and The prodigal daughter.

Other authors i like: Stephen King (Shawshank redemption and The green mile), Tom Clancy (only read all the novels until the moment Jack Ryan became president).

Hey, I like Jeffrey Archer too! Its just that his books tend to run along the same plotlines. However his excellent writing and humor makes up for this.

Stephen King is a very very good author. I feel that he tends to be longwinded but man can he describe things. Definitely one og my favourites.

And Tom Clancy, lol, I also read all his books, up til Jack Ryan became president. After Executive Orders I kinda lost interest in ole Tom's 'US Superpower Crushes Everything in Righteous Fury' ideas.

Hey bruised, we got almost the same taste in books! The belgariad and mallorean I believe is a good fantasy book for virgin-fantasy readers. It doesn't delve to deeply into details, not unlike (Archer loves that phrase, notice that in most of his books) the shannara series. The Death Gate Cycle however, has too much detail in it that the casual fantasy reader would just close the book in confusion Darksword I must say is a good intermediate book, for those phasing from light fantasy to more hardcore fantasy

I must ask this, do you read the Dragon Lance series? Particularly those by Weis and Hickman. A really good read! I couldn't put the book down once I started it The best thing about these series is that the heroes aren't the larger than life type. They border on being the anti-hero (especially Raistlin, may Nuitari guide his path ). A must read for fantasy fans!

Prachett? Plain bizzare. His jokes, more oft than not, requires a deeper understanding of the language and of cynical humor. Pretty deep some of his jokes. But his stories are just plain bizzare. The discworld series. The weirdo grimreaper being santaclaus. How weird can you get? lol

Archer! One of my more favourite authors As the crow flies is a good inspirational book Kane and Abel is really good. Not to mention Shall We Tell The President? Old but gold

It's true that his plots tend to run along the same lines. The fourth estate, kane and abel, as the crow flies. It's one way or the other about accumulating wealth and the dirty politics behind them. But let's not forget A Matter of Honor. Good plot and different story line there

Stephen King, good author yes. BUT omg do i hate his endings. He builds up the story so much, then gives a really really dissapointing ending. Leaving the readers hanging. Dolores Clairborne (not sure if spelling is right), Tommy Knockers. Sigh. Ending is really....but the story itself, WOW. Great. I actually was scared when i read tommy knockers when I was in form 2

Title
The Secrets of Consulting (A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully) by Gerald M. Weinberg

Special thanks to dreamer101 for recommending this book

Review
They don't publish this book anymore, so I got this book at a rather high price which is around 19 GBP ...

Well, don't be fooled by the appearance of this book ... It is not only meant for consultants, they also prove to be a good read for non consultant ...

The book is filled with different interesting laws which we can relate to our everyday life and not only on consulting ... Besides that, I find this book to be very interesting and hillarious to read at times as the author is very down to earth with his writing and for all of the laws/situations, he relates them with actual things and as well as situation we encounter everday ...

All in all, I give a 5/5 to this book as it is indeed a very interesting book and for those who wants to know more about consulting and how to talk to people efficiently, this is one of the best book around ...

Next book I'll be reading is The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries

I am a Salvatore fan and Drizzt, i believe is one of the most famous fantasy characters . Well, i got a the Icewindale Trilogy and The Path Of Darkness from Isohunt, The Legacy Of The Drow from Kazaa and I bought all the books for The Hunter's Blade Trilogy including The Two Swords from Singapore. I must say, the ending was pretty disappointing...

Most of David Eddings books are pretty much recycled. The main character in the Mallorean bears so much resemblance to Sparhawk... I only read the Tamuli though and i did not complete the Mallorean, did not find it quite interesting.

I'd recommend The Jester from James Patterson. That is one hell of a good read. . Angels and Demons from Dan Brown is good too.

Please do not tell us how you got the books via illegal means etc etc. If you do love Salvatore's books you would have no problem spending money buying them.

Anyone here read Stephen King's Dark Tower books? The Gunslinger woohoo! To think he dragged out the series for that long. Glad its finally over (I think).

I feel kinda isolated here

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Yea, I didn't realized this but Scyth3_, please do not mention how you get the books ... Please try and support original publications ya

lol, it is because we are talking mostly about fiction here and yours is mostly non-fiction. Dan Brown's book for da vinci's code and angel and demon is good but for digital fortress, i am kind of disappointing coz the story is almost predictable.

Title
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries

Review
This is a rather small and simple book, or more like a handbook. There's no fancy terms inside nor nicely drawn graphics ... It's really a simple book ...

Anyways, just as the title, the book mentions all the 22 laws in branding and with each different laws, a real life example is given and compared ... As we all know the real world/brands well due to exposure, we can understand the contents pretty easily ...

This book is not enough to make you a branding guru, but reading this book will give you an insight as to how branding actually works and what doesn't work in branding. Moreoever, some of the common mistakes made by megabrands are told here too in the books ..

After reading this book, you'll realized what you see in a brand everyday has alot of meaning behind them, they exist for a reason, not just for fun ..

All in all, this is a must read book for those who like to know more about branding

Edited: Currently reading "Common Sense On Mutual Funds by John C. Bogle" ... This book is quite thick, so might take a while before I can digest it

The Two Blades, I finally got it. After only importing the hardcover version for the past 5 months, now they have it in paperback. One night of good reading coming up. Tata.

looks like there's Drizzt and dragonlance here , i got most of the books on Drizzt except for icewind dale trilogy, which i planning to get soon

i was kinda disappointed with the ending of the hunter's blade trilogy as well, the ending was left hanging just like dat, hopefully the next trilogy will be better

btw u can easily get forgotten realm books in kino, klcc, they have most of it except for the two swords

i have also collected most of the main books in the dragonlance series, even book the annotated hardcover for dragonlance chronicles, i find the new characters is not as interesting as the first few books though,

i can say i'm a fan of Micheal Crichton as well.... the first book that really grab my attention is SPHERE. i read it a couple of times already until the book become "lunyai" aka "lembik" aka "hancur". Its the book i bring along during my study time a couple of years back and now i still have them in my car.
although the movie rendition of that novel is a bit let down (in my view ).

another one must be TIMELINE. the whole idea of time travelling is very intriguing... again.. the movie rendition is a SO-SO only...

and Jurassic Park, Congo, Andromeda Strain etc...

i still havent read the State of Fear. maybe i'll try to get it soon..

kuman

Nice book, where you get that book? MPH?
Well branding books are normally very expensive.
Try reading books from Ogilvy too. They are the popular media houses which have many ideas to share.

Ooppss. Sorry bout that. Just got a little excited after finding out there is a thread about books. Well, anybody care to recommend any nice fantasy books? Oh and how is the new Harry Potter? Nice?

Finally someone who shares the same hobby XD

I got the book online from amazon.co.uk ... I'm a lazy bugger so I avoid shopping as much as possible ... hahaha ...

Erm, this book cost me around RM50 if you convert back to ringgit, but most ppl would find it to be pricy as the book is just around 1 - 1.5 cm thick .... It's really like a handbook ...

Oh, I will look out for Ogilvy .. .Thanks for your advice ..

I got another 2 book from the Ries too ... Positioning and the Laws of Marketing ... But I'm still reading the book on mutual funds now ... haha... Might take one or two weeks before I finish it ...

What other books you read? Mind dropping in a review or so?

You can try A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

It is a very very good book. 7 installments all in all.. The latest release is A FEast for Crows. Being a fantasy book, it is of course, set in the medieval times and tales of the Throne, houses, betrayal, revenge and exile unfolds.

I strongly recommend it if you are looking for a fantasy book.

The new Harry Potter is not too good... it repeats the quidditch matches and tells old stories anew. It is like one of those TVB series where they are trying to lengthen the episodes.. =)

Ok so no harry potter for me. Those books sounds nice. Got a review on it? Are they available in most bookstores or only a selected few? I ask a lot don i...

I sort of reviewed A Song of Ice and Fire a few pages back, look it up.

Hey, Scyth3_, the Song of Ice and Fire isn't really for beginner fantasy readers. And it's not so much of fantasy than politcs actually. It's a really grim book...and if you wanna start reading fantasy, it might not be a really good idea. Not to say the book isn't good (the book is DAMN good mind you).

Why not give The Belgariad and The Mallorean a try? It''s by David Eddings. The story is the traditional fight between good and evil, fulfilling one's destiny and stuff But it's a good read

Or you could try the Shannara series. Although the book might get boring at the times. Try the Sword of Shannara. One of the first few fantasies I've read

I'm reading mr midnight.. that story is so not scary...

hrrmm..I tought this topic suppose includes magazine as well? Any suggestion?

Pls give some info about the mag as well..So i can determine the mag suits my interest onot.

Wheel of time fan here. Been stucked at book 9 for the past 2 years. Read a lil' bit, sleep, read, sleep. With book 10 at my book shelve and book 11 out, I wonder when i'm goin to finish it.

Dan Brown's books are pretty much the same in the way how it starts his novels and how it unfolds. Yeah, i find Da Vincci code in captivating because it was the first book i read but when i got Angels and Demons, i stopped reading it halfway. boring~

Woot another Edding's reader. I'd recommend reading The Redemption of Althalus first to get a feel of whether you enjoy Edding's brand of sarcastic wit though. The Belgariad starts off a little slow, but picks up towards the end. The Mallorean though, was a thrill ride from the very beginning.

After you're done with the Belgariad and Mallorean, you can even get Belgarath The Sorcerer, Polgara The Sorceress and the Rivan Codex to get a further glimpse into the world of Belgariad and Mallorean.

Wow, a true blue Edding's fan! Haha

Yeah, as jhcj said, might wanna start with the Redemption of Athalus. At least it's only one book But don't be suprised of the similarity of the book to the Belgariad. If you're a critical reader that is. I actually love his sarcastic wit Although sometimes he overdoes it. The Redemption of Athalus was co-written by his wife though right? So the writing style might differ a bit, though not by much.

Erm..Incase someone wants to jump to the Mallorean before reading the Belgariad, please be informed that the Mallorean is an extension to the Belgariad, so might not be a good idea to read that first than the Belgariad

Ah fantasy...try books by Robin Hobb...only 3 trilogies complete so far and one new series in the making...

The Farseer Trilogy
The Liveship Traders
The Tawny Man

All three trilogies are set in the same world, in a connecting timeline, with event consequences spilling over to the next trilogy...The best part of the whole series of nine books is that the main characters are all imperfect, are struggling with their own personal problems, and can be downright pitiful at times - None of those glorified hero crap.

Personally, I recommend them to everyone. But the last trilogy and the ending to the series contradicts the mood and empathy set by the earlier books. You can probably give that a miss and end with what the first two trilogies give you, but it isn't as bad as I make it seem. You'll probably want to read it after you finish the first two trilogies anyway.

Characters are well-designed and contribute a lot to the mood of the whole series. The first and last trilogy are written in first-person perspective, and a very good effort at it I might say. And if you do read it, do yourself a favour and read it in order.

What I think of other books mentioned here:

Dan Brown - Overrated, all four books have the same style (ableit an enjoyable style)

David Eddings - Love him, light and funny

Frank Herbert - Dune series too political, only the first book is good. Goes downhill beyond that.

LOL...I think it works the other way around. List your interests first-lah. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of magazine titles available in Malaysia. We're book-readers, not mind-readers.

Anyway, if no one here wants to help you, just do a websearch. Most (USA & UK) magazine publications have websites. Check out their archived articles and then you'll have an idea as to whether or not the mag caters to your interest. God helps those who help themselves...hehe

I read/buy only 2 mags a month...the UK and USA editions of MacWorld, a publication devoted to users of Apple computers/products.

I used to rob Cleo Mag from my sister to read each month ... It's rather interesting reading that mag ...

Recently, I subscribed to Fortune Mag as they are running a 60% off promotion for students studying in the university ...

Haven't get my hands on a copy ... So can't comment much for now