📖 What are people reading?

[Brother Meredith]

My folks used to have a collection of rare breeds! 😉

 

[twisted moon]

It's the first 6 months of World War 2 in the Pacific.

i think some of us might use different dates.

 

[ManicMan]

i think some of us might use different dates.

Now you've come over to win this little lot for us, have you? Still, better late than never.
I mean, the war's only been on for two and a half years, innit? It's an improvement on last time.

--Dad's Army Series 6, Episode 2 'My British Buddy'

^_^;

No offense to Knight Gal of course,

 

[Knight Girl]

i think some of us might use different dates.

The title quotes Isoroku Yamamoto, who said "I will run wild for six months" if ordered to attack the USA. The book covers the 6 months from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway.

 

[Fighelm]

Torrential rain here today, so reading it was! While flicking through an early Asimov, then some Wendell Berry words (RIP 1932-2026), I got distracted by an old classic WHFB2 scenario when shifting through stuff. Nothing like a humorous backstory to lift yer spirits!...'felled by a poisoned cod piece as he dressed for dinner...'

 

[symphonicpoet]

Reading this right now. It's the first 6 months of World War 2 in the Pacific. Cleaver writes in a very lively style.

I haven't read that one, but I quite enjoyed First Team and Shattered Sword. If you've read those, how did it compare? Haven't read a good history in a while. Might have to look that up.

 

[symphonicpoet]

i think some of us might use different dates.

The trouble is that a "world war" isn't terribly well defined, since they tend to grow out of related, but unconnected conflicts. (Are we in the middle of a third one? Probably not yet, but it's alarmingly close.) If one wishes to count the invasion of China, and I'm sometimes tempted, the war was more than four years on at that point. But it's not clear whether that's a part of the same war as the European war until one of the participants from that is fighting Japan. Japan occupied French Indochina in 1940, but that went largely unprotested in either France or, so far as I can tell, Indochina. (There's not much about it in Vietnamese war museums, and nobody in the family talks about it. If I can ever improve my Vietnamese enough I mean to research it more, but I have looked a little.)

Anyway, the bulk of the Western powers got directly involved on December 8, when Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies and British far Eastern possessions, and that's probably as good a start date to the war in the Pacific as any. Even now, the Second Sino Japanese War is often treated as separate from WWII. The war in the Pacific was clearly related, but not closely connected, and only the US and UK really had the resources and interests to coordinate the two theatres.

 

[ManicMan]

Generally, it's seen as becoming the Second World War in 1939, but I'm happy to include all the after math battles from WW1 as part of a war which started with Archie Duke being killed and just had highs and lows in combat until the end of the Vietnamese civil war which ended in 1977. (I know, like alot of countries, they had TONS of Civil Wars but talking about that one which was.. roughly 1955 to 1977).

But things are soo rough it's a pain. I hate it when people keep making a big Deal about the End of WW2 being when the Germans gave up... forgetting they war as a bulk kept on for some time after that until Japan gave up.. but as I said, I'm happy saying it went on to 77.

Anyway.. ^_^ sidetracking

 

[Eric]

Archie Duke being killed

Did poor Archie actually die? I thought it was just the ostrich that was killed because he was hungry? (for the uninitiated)

 

[symphonicpoet]

Generally, it's seen as becoming the Second World War in 1939, but I'm happy to include all the after math battles from WW1 as part of a war which started with Archie Duke being killed and just had highs and lows in combat until the end of the Vietnamese civil war which ended in 1977. (I know, like alot of countries, they had TONS of Civil Wars but talking about that one which was.. roughly 1955 to 1977).

But things are soo rough it's a pain. I hate it when people keep making a big Deal about the End of WW2 being when the Germans gave up... forgetting they war as a bulk kept on for some time after that until Japan gave up.. but as I said, I'm happy saying it went on to 77.

Anyway.. ^_^ sidetracking

Oh, I'm not disagreement with that, but it said specifically WWII in the Pacific, which either began in 1941 or 1937. Sorry. I'm sidetracking myself. I don't think any US historian would say WWII in general began with Pearl Harbor. But the Pacific War is such a different animal. My grandfather always got bent with people suggesting it ended with the German surrender, seeing as he was busy getting shot at at that time. Similar problem. The two are certainly related, but somewhat disconnected.

 

[Fighelm]

Anyway.. ^_^ sidetracking

Derailing warning ⚠️ Books, dear Manicman, get back to the books...

 

[Michael Stockin]

 

[Brother Meredith]

This evening’s reading pile whilst my daughter gets to sleep…

 

[Fighelm]

This evening’s reading pile whilst my daughter gets to sleep…

Aha! Witch hat.. My daughter has the first one. She read it in about twenty minutes on Christmas day

 

[Fimm McCool]

Just finished listening to the audiobook of Ellantris. Not particularly a Brandon Sanderson fan, nor is it an amazing book but it has some interesting ideas.

 

[symphonicpoet]

Merchanter's Luck was pretty darn good. Follow on to Downbellow Station. Same universe. Different characters. Good read.

 

[Brother Meredith]

Aha! Witch hat.. My daughter has the first one. She read it in about twenty minutes on Christmas day

Thought my 8 year old daughter would like it too, but she got upset about the mother getting turned to stone… 😢

 

[Fighelm]

Thought my 8 year old daughter would like it too, but she got upset about the mother getting turned to stone… 😢

Yes, it's difficult to know what to pitch at that age. Girls tend to be avid info gatherers/readers! My daughters turned 16 so a bit easier now, but was difficult. Waterstones manga section is often confused on which (age appropriate) graphic novels should be in which section. Found volumes of 'Attack on Titan' in the young person's bit before and the art is pretty 'graphic', much like the anime that came later. 😕

 

[twisted moon]

If one wishes to count the invasion of China, and I'm sometimes tempted, the war was more than four years on at that point.

i tend towards the japanese invasion of manchuria school of thought.

Derailing warning ⚠️

i think i must acknowledge responsibility for this one.

Merchanter's Luck.

i clearly need to reread this one, as i can't recall anything about it (to the extent i didn't list it in the downbelow station related works i have read).

 

[Gr3ysc4l3]

Hi all, not sure if this fits as a proper reply to the question but I couldn't resist...

I've found this White Dwarf #191 yesterday in my old collection and I've completely forgotten about it... I brought this baby home from the 1995 Games Day in Birmingham (I was 18 and comming from Holland by bus...) Forgive me if it seems like showing off, I'm still in awe myself...