Book Thread

[1369]

Idea came from over at the Politics forum as a place to post recent books you've read, a brief idea of what they were about, whether or not you liked them, etc.

I'll start it off with a few from the past year or so:

Non-Fiction

Guns, Germs and Steel; The Fates Of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
Basically a history book on certain societies and their fates put in readable laymen terms. A long read, but very interesting.

No True Glory: The Frontline Account Of The Battle For Fallujah by Bing West
Like the title says, an account on the two (one aborted) battles for Fallujah. A good read, showing what went on, warts and all.

The Gift Of Valor: A War Story by Michael Phillips
Story of a young Marine who was awarder the Medal of Honor and his journey home. Not a long read, but an outstanding story.

West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief by Steven Kotler
Lyme disease and a legend gets a reporter back into the water and starting a journey on what exactly faith and belief really are. This one made me think as well as just enjoy the read.

In Search of Captain Zero: A Surfer's Road Trip Beyond the End of the Road by Allan Weisbecker
Autobiographical account of an old drug smugglers journey south of the border to find his old smuggling buddy. Tight storytelling. I really enjoyed this one.

American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly
Ivy league kid goes to China to train with the legendary Shaolin monks. Good read.

The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
And older book (1988) that's part history book, part travel narrative and another part I'm not too sure of. I started and stopped this book a few times while I was traveling, but a good read.

Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by Mark Bowden
Pablo Escobar pissed off the U.S. and they went after him. He didn't make it. The author also wrote "Black Hawk Down". Easy read and written to finish quickly.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
I read this after reading the account in "Outside" magazine. A well written story about what must have an unreal ordeal to encounter.


Fiction

Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Epic opener to a good book and series "I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the Army."

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
A damn sight better than his latest, "Spook Country"

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The book was a brilliant mind-fuck that still resonates with me close to a year after I read it.

The Electric Church by Jeff Somers
A relatively predicatable storyline in my opinion, but tight writing and narrative make it a good ride.

[JoeChalupa]

My oldest just bought home "To Kill a Mockingbird" and it was great to be able to share my experience of reading such a classic back in 1976. I haven't had the chance to read anything new lately.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Last few I've read:

Non-Fiction

Bias by Bernard Goldberg
Interesting look at how MSM frames the news and who gets to tell it.

One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick
Ivy league grad joins the military and describes his tours in Afghanistan and the first three weeks in Iraq. Excellent look at the day to day battles, from within and from the enemy, our soldiers go through. Cynicism throughout.

Generation Kill by Evan Wright
HBO did a good job, but the book was much better, IMO.


Fiction

Michigan Roll by Tom Kakonis
Old book I found in my apartment in Italy. Ex-con/old college professor trying to piece his life back together gets into trouble with not so nice people. Who would've thunk it? Dark, funny but lacks a little depth. Worth the read, though.

[1369]

If you're a SF fan, I'll give you one to stay way away from:

Empire by Orson Scott Card

I picked it up because I really liked Ender's Game and the books of that universe, and thought the premise about a revolution in the United States in the near future was interesting. Wow, was I ever wrong. I never knew about Card's political leanings, but I don't think to say that if you melded Karl Rove, Bill O'Rilley, Rush and Ann Coulter together this guy would be so far to the right you'd need a telescope to see him is that far off.

I seriously think he wrote this just because he was pissed off at the democrats and the "liberal media" and his publisher had him on a deadline for a book.

If you find this on the freebie rack at Goodwill, put it back and move on.

[1Parker1]

The Last Lecture-By Randy Pausch. It's a followup to the former Carnegie Mellon professor who died a few months ago from Pancreatic cancer after he gave his now Internet famous speech on life lessons he's learned. :tu

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

Forgot about this one probably because it really isn't a book, more of a loosely bound collection of random essays. Funny at times, but I really didn't like the way Klosterman reached to make a lot of his pop culture references/jokes. I'd imagine if you're a rabid Road Rules/Real World/pop culture fan, then you'd absolutely love this book. Myself, I really don't need a deeper understanding of the show, Saved By the Bell.

Mediocre at best and much better served bought out of the bargain bin.

And I'll be starting The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbarbo shortly.

[balli]

Seven Seconds or Less, just because I recently read it for the second time in as many years and it was still pretty compelling. I actually thought Jack McCallum butchered the writing a little bit. His prose mechanics were often poor and he sometimes rambled confusedly in trying to reveal a subtle point. No matter though, the subject matter was the backbone of the book and the subject matter was great.

My Name is Red, Other Colors and The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk: Nobel Winning Turkish Writer, pretty heavy on visual/historical description & intellectually dense content, but in the guise of the mystery genre. So, his work is as compelling as any mystery, sometimes political, but always dense and dark in substance and character.
http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/01/24/1/a-conversation-with-orhan-pamuk

I picked it up because I really liked Ender's Game and the books of that universe, and thought the premise about a revolution in the United States in the near future was interesting. Wow, was I ever wrong. I never knew about Card's political leanings, but I don't think to say that if you melded Karl Rove, Bill O'Rilley, Rush and Ann Coulter together this guy would be so far to the right you'd need a telescope to see him is that far off.

I seriously think he wrote this just because he was pissed off at the democrats and the "liberal media" and his publisher had him on a deadline for a book.

I didn't know that Orson Scott card was propagating his right wing views, but it doesn't surprise me. I do know that he's a fervent mormon of the worst type and the term mormon is more or less synonymous with blowhard conservative idiot. I read Ender's Game years ago, and it was decent, but no more of that dude's writing for me.

[u2sarajevo]

The Road is awesome. They are filming a movie based on it right now, I am scared they will screw it up. If you like McCarthy you should read Sutree also.

I just finished reading 'The story of Edgar Sawtelle'. It's one that is hard to put down.

I am about to start 'The Hunger Games'. It was released last month and a friend recommended it.

[1369]

I didn't know that Orson Scott card was propagating his right wing views, but it doesn't surprise me. I do know that he's a fervent mormon of the worst type and the term mormon is more or less synonymous with blowhard conservative idiot. I read Ender's Game years ago, and it was decent, but no more of that dude's writing for me.

The other Ender's books are good (Speaker For The Dead, Shadow Of The Hegemon, Ender's Shadow, etc.), but outside of that realm I don't think I'll go there.

[Creepn]

SHOGUN was the best book I ever read in my life. I'm waiting till I forget major parts of the book so I can re-read it again someday.

I thoroughly enjoyed Kane and Abel too.

[JudynTX]

I'm reading Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer.

[Bender]

I recently read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

I first read it back when it came out back around 1990 or whenever.

To kill a mockingbird, as mentioned by Chalupa, was one of the best I've read also...

[1369]

And a couple of autobiographies/biographies.

Since I've done some diving and like reading about it:

Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II by Robert Kurson
There's a tight knit bunch of East Coast technical wreck divers and someone comes up with some coordinates of an unknown wreck. Then they discover it's a WWII era submarine that's not on any log. Engrossing read on the culture of divers there and the quest to be the "first".

The Helldivers' Rodeo: A Deadly, X-Treme, Scuba-Diving, Spearfishing, Adventure Amid the Off Shore Oil Platforms in the Murky Waters of the Gulf of Mexico by Humberto Fontova
I picked up this book on a whim when I was working in Florida a couple of years ago and was getting back into diving. A fast paced, high intensity read that put the hook into me to want to try my hand at spearing the rigs.

[leemajors]

i'm in another graham greene frenzy. heart of the matter currently.

[baseline bum]

From Chocolate to Morphine, a great book about weed, coke, coffee, beer, acid, and all the other drugs people like to use.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

The Road is awesome. They are filming a movie based on it right now, I am scared they will screw it up.

People are going to absolutely hate the ending, even more so than the one in No Country for Old Men.

[MrChug]

I'm going with "A Catcher in the Rye"

http://img431.imageshack.us/img431/9586/holden8nd.gif

[Ginofan]

I'm reading Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer.

I just finished the series (kind of), and they were quite good for the audience they are aimed for. I didn't finish reading the last book because I thought Meyer just went batty in what she wrote happening to the main characters...I don't want to spoil it but I'll just say there was so much more she could've done with her characters than what she did.

[1369]

I'm reading Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer.

Is it chick lit?

[Sp Ginobili 20]

I'm going with "A Catcher in the Rye"

http://img431.imageshack.us/img431/9586/holden8nd.gif

My favorite book by far.

[leemajors]

My favorite book by far.

his books about the Glass family were much better imo.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Back from the dead...

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Government trying to build super soldier and it goes horribly wrong. Shocking, right?

An odd book. Cronin can write and the first third of the book had me hooked, but then the gears are shifted and it loses much of the momentum. Ended up feeling like a filler episode of Lost.

And at almost 900 pages, about 3-400 pages too long for my liking.

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Zombies, yay. Crack g'ment agency trying to track down culprits/terrorists behind this new zombie virus.

Easy summer read and I liked it. So much so that I'm halfway through the sequel, The Dragon Factory.

Up next, zombie love continues with World War Z by Max Brooks.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

I'm reading Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Its about the Everest expedition gone wrong in 1996 and its really great.

[AlamoSpursFan]

Since I've done some diving and like reading about it:

Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II by Robert Kurson
There's a tight knit bunch of East Coast technical wreck divers and someone comes up with some coordinates of an unknown wreck. Then they discover it's a WWII era submarine that's not on any log. Engrossing read on the culture of divers there and the quest to be the "first".



I read this one last year. Just stumbled on it while waiting for Mrs. ASF to buy some teacher related stuff at Borders. I've never been diving, but I was completely engrossed. One of the best reads ever. Someone (NOVA?) made a documentary about this which can be found on YouTube. I'd post a link, but I'm on dialup at the moment. Search "Shadow Divers" and you should find it.

I'm currently finishing up Greg Gutfeld's Bible of Unspeakable Truths. Freaking hilarious. Gutfeld rocks.

Next up is Michael Connelly's 9 Dragons.

Another fascinating book I found while killing time at Borders is In The Heart Of The Sea: The Tragedy Of The Whaleship Essex which basically follows what happened to the crew of the ship Moby Dick is based on after the attack.

[Jekka]

I've gotten into the John Connolly mystery/thriller series about Detective Charlie "Bird" Parker lately - really good stuff. The Unquiet was flat out creepy.

[symple19]

Non-fiction: Stones into Schools, by Greg Mortenson. http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ1Dz6XDTrxE8Cw4BVkZdMdnVN0BC-N5X0tx8iBewoRAKZVv9Y&t=1&usg=__cc_g7JknGcsavpwj2UaIh8E_o3U=

Mortenson's Central Asia Institute is founded on the belief that basic education, especially of girls, is the most effective way to fight militant Islamism and promote enlightenment and social progress generally

This book is amazing, chronicling Mortensons successful efforts to build girls schools in some of the most inhospitable areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. At times it reads like an adventure story while also detailing the difficulties in running an NGO in a war-zone. His associates (from a former Taliban to a Pakistani with a mangled hand) make up a band of the most unlikely people to ever get together to build schools. Really reminded me that there are some very worthy causes out there, few more important than educating women. Highly recommended





Fiction: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSQHsMioqyUBqxbI8yGbBLhn1XuueoEa DFu10NShzc3f2iZilo&t=1&usg=__a63CJm16qI2wBgCkUfFubA8YghE=

An epic tale of serial murder and corporate trickery spanning several continents, the novel takes in complicated international financial fraud and the buried evil past of a wealthy Swedish industrial family.

Some of the best characters I've read in a long time. Lisbeth Salander is without question my favorite. A punk-rocking, hard partying genius with a photographic memory. Doesn't take shit from anyone and is a whiz with computers. Ends up forming a team with a disgraced journalist to solve a mystery.

Larsson is magnificent at layering the book with multiple plot lines and then bringing them together. As good of a novel as I've read in recent memory.

This work is the first of his Millenium trilogy. Sadly, Larsson died in 2004, leaving these gems behind. Can't wait to read the other two.

[midnightpulp]

White Ninja, by Eric Lustbader
Jesus' Son, by Denis Johnson

[DJ Mbenga]

Anne Moody " Coming of Age in Missisippi"- Absolute classic. easy read, what a wonderful amazing story she had to tell. Great primary source of the civil rights movement and youth involvement.

Kevin M. Kruse "White Flight: Atlanta, and the Making of Modern Conservatism"- Not exactly a history of the rise of the new right, more of a civil rights movement history. basically people framed their opposition to housing in new terms that avoided overt racism and instead was worded in property rights etc.

Jane Dabel "A Respectable Woman: The public roles of African American women in 19th century New York"- Think black women didnt do shit during that time period? wrong. discussion of gender roles and family in this period. Women were more like the breadwinners of the black families than their white counterparts.

Eileen Luhr "Witnessing Suburbia: conservatives and christian youth culture"- want to know about christian metal? dudes who look like motley crue preaching about the bible? read it.

Michel Foucault "The HIstory of Sexuality: An Introduction"- My head hurts from reading this.

[balli]

I recently read Dune for the first time. It was pretty cool.

Non fiction wise- I just wrapped up Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla. Which was fairly heavy on the technical jargon, but incredibly interesting nonetheless. Dude was crazy. Maybe an alien.