As there seems to be more and more material getting published which is of interest to the modeller, are we now at the point where we should consider a Book Forum on the site?

Now, first of all, I'm NOT trying to usurp the History Forum - rather to suggest something which would complement it beautifully .

The thought came to me after I published the first historical fiction review on the site - which I suppose was a kind of 'test-bed' to see how well it was received. The response has been positive and while I would see 99.9999% of the books on the forums as being non-fiction, I would envisage some space being given over to works of fiction as well...

Simply,I see it as yet another step in the continued 'evolution' of the site... I now hand it over to my fellow and trusted members of the 'peanut gallery' to express their opinions.....

Please note: This is only a suggestion - the final decision will be taken by others much higher up the food-chain... :-) ...Jim

From one nut to anutter :-) :-) :-) I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea. As long as the focus remains on:

• Military reference books
  
• Modeling manuals
  
• Historical based novels
  

I think this will also be a good place to keep all those Osprey and Concord reviews...

Being a BIG bookfan, I wouldn't mind a book forum.

I think that a book forum could generate more book reviews, which could be usefull to most modelers.

Room for non hobby related books would be OK by me.

Howdy Jim,

As I stated (and offered) in another thread started by DJ. The idea of a Book related Forum is a dandy idea IMHO. And as far as I'm concerned, a major butress that has been missing from the site. As can be easily seen by the recent response level to 210cav's 'What are you reading' thread, the active populace of the site is a prime source of learned readers and, if I dare say, amateur military historians that should be 'plumbed' for their advice and opinions on both established titles, and new release's.
Heck, if for no other reason than the fact that new hardcover books are now in the $40 to $50 range, should a Forum be started. Because, every dollar saved at the newstand is jusr another dollar saved for more kits!!

Tread.

Oh, and jimbrae. As I also said to DJ, if there's any way I can help or lend a hand with this cause, please don't hesitate to ask. Being a voracious reader (my family as well) it would indeed be a pleasure.

Thanks Tread (and the rest) for the support... I will now go and sacrifice a couple of goats and see if the Gods of Cyberspace will grant my request. On the other hand,I could just put a thread in the Staff Forum....Jim :-)

I can't see a reason not to have one, or even a separate thread for them.

"...I will now go and sacrifice a couple of goats and see......."

If it helps any, I've got a couple of chickens left over from the local 'Santa Ria' festival........

Tread.

As long as it is not a "ROO" being sacrificed I don't mind. :-)

I got a couple of aussie ones I can review if this forum gets off the ground.

Hey....no worries there mate. I think a prerequisite for 'sacrificial' offering is at least some form of virginity.

No offense....but the chance's of an Australian Rooster being a 'virgin' are the same as a British Bulldog not having had his run of the local 'offerings'........
My apologies to all for being so....graphic. But 'Roo was the one to start this 'walkabout'....!! :-) :-)

Tread.

I would like to see a book forum. I think it would help me determine which books I would like to have in my own library. It would also be nice to use to discuss any errors we find in our reference material.

Well ZzZGuy, you seem to be the only dissenting voice here.. The reason for suggesting a book forum is simple - all of us use a vast amount of reference material, and it is useful to have a specific forum where we can exchange titles, ask for sources etc. It's sometimes easy to miss a reference within another thread whether it be aviation, armor or naval modelling. It's a bit like the argument over TV - if you don't want to use it or watch, there is an off-switch or simply don't opt-in to it... Jim

Well we need something to read on the John don't we? Might as well be a good book! LOL :-) :-) :-)

I find that books tend to have hidden depths that a post on an internet forum doesn't. Yes, Armorama.com has changed many of our modelling lives for the better, but so has Shepard Paine's "How to build Dioramas" - in fact possibly even more so!

There are also a lot of books out there that are not as good as the above mentioned publication. In SA books are pretty expensive (For the regular price of an Osprey Men-at-Arms series book, I can get 2-3 sets of Dragon or Tamiya figures). A book forum will greatly assist me (and many other modelers in similar situations to me) in deciding whether to spend the money on buying a book that may prove useless, or buy a kit.

I would like to suggest that if this forum goes ahead, it be a forum, like the Junk Drawer or the History forum, that Armorama'rers have to voluntarily join. That was if you have no interest is seeing those posts, you don't have to. I think that'll suit most ppl...

Jim i am a full supporter of the book forum idea.
No words needed to say why in my opinion.
Also i declare that i ll be happy to review for the forum some of the modelling books i have in libtary and may show interest .

Go for it we are here

Costas

Do you mean add a new section to the Big A or start an outside forum board?

I think it would a great idea except that it may get out of control. I mean today someone will post "What is the best book for Shermans?" then 3 months later the same questions get asked again. I don't know if there would be some way to sticky certain topics so they don't get repeated over and over and over.

Organization would be critical

Ok, I know this is a bit .. But seeing as we are discussing books.. I highly recommend two books. The first being Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson.

Its a non fiction account of the discovery and finally, the identity of a german U-boat off the coast of New Jersy. Really interesting read..

The second is, Under pressure written by A J Hill...Another non fiction work based on the accidental sinking of the American sub S-5 in 1920, if I recall the date correctly.. A rather smallish book, a quick read to be honest, but very interesting.. I highly recommend both to any and all that enjoy a bit of history..

http://www.divenow.nl/shadow_divers.htm


http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0743236777-3

Mojo