What are you currently reading ?

[Russell Phillips]

Just stated The Red Effect by Harvey Black. It's a Cold War turned hot thriller set in the 1980s. I've read good things about it, and it's a good read so far.

[wurrukatte]

Iron Gray Sea by Taylor Anderson. 7th in his Destroyermen alternate universe thingy.

W

[mellis1644]

Low level hell - by H Mills.

Really great Vietnam helo scout pilot book.

[sixsideddice]

book 6... Game of Thrones ^^

[Ithoriel]

"A Memory Of Light" (14th and last book in the Wheel of Time "Trilogy") by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan

A Marmite series if ever there was.

[HPFlashman]

Just finished " The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence" by Martin Meredith. A wonderful but depressing book on the development of Africa from the Colonial states upped and left and up to and including the beginnings of the "Arabian spring".

Excellent primer on the continents near/contemporary history.

[ronan]

"les cadets de Saumur" ( French cadets in Saumur 1940 ->  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saumur_%281940%29 ) I don't know if there is an english version..
It's not far from here, I will visit the places indicated


and the osprey "World War II Battlefield Communications"

[fsn]

Why is it (and I'm not getting at anyone here) that if you see someone whose first language is not English reading in English, you think "well, that's very clever", but if you see someone whose first language is English reading in foreign, you think "show off"?

Or is it just me? 

[Hertsblue]

Picked up a copy of Kipling's Stalkey & Co for 60p at the local village fete. Haven't read it for years. Finally found out why Arthur Lionel Corkran was nicknamed "Stalkey". (In the schoolboy slang of the period it means cunning, devious.)

[fsn]

Book 5... Game of Thrones

book 6... Game of Thrones ^^

I think we all know how that ends!

[ronan]

Why is it (and I'm not getting at anyone here) that if you see someone whose first language is not English reading in English, you think "well, that's very clever", but if you see someone whose first language is English reading in foreign, you think "show off"?

Or is it just me? 

Hello
I'm not sure I understood what you meant.   

[fsn]

What I meant is that we are better at appreciating a non-native English speakers speaking English than we are native speakers speaking foreign. I suspect it's a jealousy thing. Possibly because there are so few English speakers who are bi-lingual.

Foreign speakers who talk English are coming into "our" environment and we can welcome them. English speakers speaking foreign is more unusual.   

[Techno]

Possibly because there are so few English speakers who are bi-lingual.

Certainly compared to other nations !!
We're lucky......We just have to speak slowly and LOUDLY for the rest of the World to understand. ......At heart I think the British (including me) are somewhat lazy regarding other languages, which is why as fsn suggests, we think those that can are smart a**es.

Seriously though (for a change)....I always assume that our friends overseas learn English as a 'first choice' for a (their) foreign language, whereas over here, you're never sure whether to go for French, German, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic.....etc etc.

So....You folk who don't have English as your native tongue, is my assumption correct ?
IS English the first choice for a foreign language ?
There must be quite a number of countries as well, where there are at least two different languages (not including English) spoken within a single country.
But it's a very small World nowadays, isn't it ?......I love the fact that we've got folk on the forum from almost every corner of this planet !!

Cheers - Phil.

[Fenton]

......I love the fact that we've got folk on the forum from almost every corner of this planet !!

Including the remoter parts of Wales

[Matt J]

Bought a couple of forum member recomendations for holiday reading - Vulcan 607 and Beevor's Normandy.
Managed to read Vulcan 607 while away and found it a cracking book. Now rippig through Beevor at a rate of knots and again not disappointed.

As to the language debate, just got back from the south of France (Carcassonne) and was vey reassured by the fact that every Fench person I spoke to had as much grasp of English as I have French! I hate nothing more than going abroad attempting the lingo and being dissed by perfect English responses.

[Leon]

I always feel quite embarassed on holiday, when my entire vocabulary consists of 'Ola' and 'Gracias'.  Even using those two feels like a bit of a sham... like I'm pretending I've got this wealth of Spanish at my fingertips... 

[fred.]

Thats because you are on holiday in France...

[fsn]

 

[Leon]

Thats because you are on holiday in France...

[HPFlashman]

Dette var da en underlig diskusjon...