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Book Recommendation time...
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 2010-12-16 10:00 PM |
 Subject: Book Recommendation time...for the cold winter. Need to fill up the kindle with some good stuff. I like everything from S King fiction to historical non fiction to adventure... Last few books I've read Game Change Tiger The Golden Spruce Life of Pi Beatrice & Virgil Matterhorn War Unbroken The Wave Where Men Win Glory The Dome Once Around Born to Run Any good books you can recommend?  |
| 2010-12-16 10:26 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
Melon Presser  52116   | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... you can't dangle literary poptart bait in front of my nose and expect me not to bite i'll try to suggest a few titles likely to be available but still a bit off the beaten path sorry my shift keys are busted kiran desai - 'hullabaloo in the guava orchard' or 'the inheritance of loss' [i think she's one of the best of the south-asian genre writers] simon winchester - anything, but for you 'krakatoa' [this is a smart smart smart man, sure you've read some of his before if not already 'krakatoa', but anything he writes will give you an education and is yet a delightfully accessible, engaging read] ian ayres - 'super crunchers' [fun look into quantitative prediction and human behavior] neil shubin - 'your inner fish' subtitle 'a journey into the 3.5-billion-year history of the human body' [from an anatomy/physio standpoint and just a good read, fascinating] paul hoffman - 'the man who loved only numbers' [delightful biography of Erdos, one of, probably the world's greatest mathematician and quite a character] eta -- 'cold winter' bwa ha haaaa nice chris, nice Edited by TriAya 2010-12-16 10:29 PM |
| 2010-12-16 10:28 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
Extreme Veteran 378  Seattle | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... Hey Chris, the best book I've read recently was City of Thieves by David Benioff. Basically - Russian kid growing up in WWII Stalingrad tries to survive alone in the city after leaving his family... gets in trouble... has to get out of it. It's written in a way that's sad and darkly funny at the same time. If I was going to compare it to one book from your list, it would probably be Life of Pi. Cheers. |
| 2010-12-16 10:37 PM in reply to: #3251859 |
Extreme Veteran 3177 | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... Just finished weird hikes by Art Bernstein. stories of some interesting occurrences from his many hikes around the US. He is a hiking guide book author, mostly for hikes in the north California/Pacific Northwest. His writing is interesting and I found it entertaining enough to finish it in a few days (mostly during my commute by train) This time of year I also like to read Jack London's less well known works - Can't find my anthology to name them all now but search for him and you will find good ones. Lastly for a comical and slightly irreverent science read - Dr. Tatiana's sex guide for all creation. My strict Lutheran College had that as one of the course books for a Biology course. I still enjoy re-reading it every year or two. |
| 2010-12-17 12:18 AM in reply to: #3251843 |
| On your right | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery in Ireland - Pete McCarthy. Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole. Too Fat to Fish - Artie Lange Wraeththu - Storm Constantine (this is a trilogy published in one big book, I've not had much luck finding them sold on their own) |
| 2010-12-17 7:38 AM in reply to: #3251843 |
Elite 2733 Venture Industries, | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (great book. post apocolyptic journey of a father and son through a bleek landscape. It's not the typical end of world schlock. Really Really GOOD book. The movie staring Vigo Mortensen is good too) "To End All Wars" by Ernest Gordon, Autobiography about the authors time spent as a prisoner of war in a Japense POW camp and being used as forced/slave labor to build bridges and roads through the Burmese jungle. It's about his redemption and his ultimate forgiveness of his Japenese captors. This is one of my favorite books because of what I got out of it on a personal level. |
| 2010-12-17 9:22 AM in reply to: #3251843 |
Resident Curmudgeon 25290 The Road Back Gold member | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... Just finished Stieg Laarsen's Dragon Tattoo trilogy, very entertaining, recommend it highly. |
| 2010-12-17 9:34 AM in reply to: #3252006 |
| Master 1946 Memphis, TN | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... Brock Samson - 2010-12-17 7:38 AM "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (great book. post apocolyptic journey of a father and son through a bleek landscape. It's not the typical end of world schlock. Really Really GOOD book. The movie staring Vigo Mortensen is good too) "To End All Wars" by Ernest Gordon, Autobiography about the authors time spent as a prisoner of war in a Japense POW camp and being used as forced/slave labor to build bridges and roads through the Burmese jungle. It's about his redemption and his ultimate forgiveness of his Japenese captors. This is one of my favorite books because of what I got out of it on a personal level. The Road was my suggestion as well. Every father who has a son should read this book. |
| 2010-12-17 9:41 AM in reply to: #3252170 |
Expert 1037 Portland, OR | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... the bear - 2010-12-17 9:22 AM Just finished Stieg Laarsen's Dragon Tattoo trilogy, very entertaining, recommend it highly. I'm reading the 2nd one right now! I very much enjoy when the author takes multiple perspectives in a book and tells different "stories" that line up in the end. I don't actually have any new recommendations, but I love peeking into these threads to see what I should download on my Kindle next...  |
| 2010-12-17 11:18 AM in reply to: #3251843 |
Elite 2729 Puyallup, WA | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... I'm going to add "The Other Shulman" by Alan Zweibel. Alan Zweibel was one of the original SNL writer's and the book is funny. It's about a man's journey to run the NY Marathon and is written in 26.2 chapters. |
| 2010-12-17 11:22 AM in reply to: #3251843 |
Pro 4578 Vancouver, BC | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... Every time a book thread comes up, I recommend Paul Theroux. Dark Star Safari was probably my favourite. |
| 2010-12-17 12:14 PM in reply to: #3252380 |
| Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... jeng - 2010-12-17 9:22 AM Every time a book thread comes up, I recommend Paul Theroux. Dark Star Safari was probably my favourite. Also realyl like him. I read that book last year, and really enjoyed it. One of my favorite books that I've read at least twice was Paddling the Happy Isles of Oceania. I just downloaded the Great Railway Bazaar last night. I also read the Road a couple years back, hard to say I enjoyed it, but it was very good. One of the few books that brought me to tears. I can still remember exactly where I was when I finished reading it (doesn't hurt that I was in a hammock in the Ecuadorian Amazon basin at the time....) To all, great recommendations, keep em coming. I always find the CoJ crowd has varied and interesting books on their list. As for Larsen's Girl With series, I swear I must be the only person that didn't like the Dragon Tattoo. I have downloaded the first chapter of the second one though, just to see if I can get into it. oh and yanti, thanks for reminding me about Indian lit. Only book I've read was God of Small Things and loved it. Just went snooping on amazon and didn't buy a desai book yet, but did see an interesting book called The White Tiger that I bought. http://bestsellers.about.com/od/readingrecommendations/tp/india_books.htm Edited by ChrisM 2010-12-17 12:16 PM |
| 2010-12-17 12:31 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
Regular 147 | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... If you like "war" stories --I've read a lot of biographies on the Iraq/Afganistan war and the best was Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. |
| 2010-12-17 12:38 PM in reply to: #3252491 |
Melon Presser 52116 | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... ChrisM - 2010-12-18 1:14 AM oh and yanti, thanks for reminding me about Indian lit. Only book I've read was God of Small Things and loved it. Just went snooping on amazon and didn't buy a desai book yet, but did see an interesting book called The White Tiger that I bought. http://bestsellers.about.com/od/readingrecommendations/tp/india_books.htm ha ha interesting i actually recommended 'the white tiger' in a previous coj book thread not too long ago ... very dark, very different, very good, and yet isn't hard to read at all, quite the opposite fwiw, funny, i couldn't get into stieg larssen either ... and i am a girl with a dragon tattoo |
| 2010-12-17 12:49 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
Veteran 478 Chicago Area | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... I'm kind of a Science geek. One of the best books I've read was A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Gives a wide spectrum on all sciences from anthropology to string theory, the history of them and where we are at now. A great read for any science geek. |
| 2010-12-17 2:21 PM in reply to: #3252558 |
| Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... Bmel - 2010-12-17 10:49 AM I'm kind of a Science geek. One of the best books I've read was A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Gives a wide spectrum on all sciences from anthropology to string theory, the history of them and where we are at now. A great read for any science geek. Read it (understood most of it). Bryson's In a Sunburnt Country is one of my favorite books. Maybe I'll re read that |
| 2010-12-17 3:53 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
Champion 7821 Brooklyn, NY | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane Lush Life, by Richard Price |
| 2010-12-17 4:13 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
| Master 2083 Houston, TX | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... ChrisM, I am unfamiliar with the books you gave as examples, but I am chomping at the bit to read "Room: A Novel" by Emma Donoghue. I've only read a few pages of it because I just haven't had the time. This is a new book. "In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which she has tried to craft a normal life for her son. When their insular world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the consequences are piercing and extraordinary. Despite its profoundly disturbing premise, Emma Donoghue's Room is rife with moments of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the most desolate circumstances. A stunning and original novel of survival in captivity, readers who enter Room will leave staggered, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time." Otherwise I go with the classics. A Christmas Carol is good for this time of year. Edited by jgaither 2010-12-17 4:21 PM |
| 2010-12-17 4:51 PM in reply to: #3252524 |
Master 1862 San Mateo, CA | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... nanners5888 - 2010-12-17 10:31 AM If you like "war" stories --I've read a lot of biographies on the Iraq/Afganistan war and the best was Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. I just read the "The Good Soliders" and I recommend it. It's a very quick read, but very graphic though. Also, if you're into historical non-fiction, Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day" is an excellent book, too. |
| 2010-12-17 8:37 PM in reply to: #3252805 |
Master 1843 Roswell, GA | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... jmk-brooklyn - 2010-12-17 4:53 PM Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane Lush Life, by Richard Price So how was Freedom? So many differing reviews, a lot of them negative. I've been afraid to pull the plug and purchase. |
| 2010-12-17 10:55 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
Champion 6931 Bellingham, Washington | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... The Last Man on the Mountain by Jennifer Jordan. About the 1939 ascent of K2 and the death of Dudley Woolfe. The Last Stand of Custer and battle of the LittleBighorn and Sitting Bull by Nathaniel Philbrick. Not sure if I got the titles correct. Excellent books and maps. |
| 2010-12-18 12:12 PM in reply to: #3251843 |
 Master 1324 Rochester, NY | Subject: RE: Book Recommendation time... A more sports focused book might be Dara Torres' , "Age is just a number". Its short and entertaining. Not high fiction by any means. If you want something a bit more serious, perhaps try "Sex at Dawn". Its about how we developed as a species and the sex lives of our ancestors and modern day impact. It brings in the role of culture. It really talks about various amounts of physiological, anthropological, and other types of science data to discuss how we are wired and what we feel. Let me give you a hint. We are not monogamous creatures. A very long way from that, actually. I found it rather entertaining and informative. |
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