Need Book Recommendations

[1369]

My aunt from Dallas came by over the weekend for an early Christmas and bestowed on me a gift card from Barnes and Noble. I'm going to be taking over a project outside of Corpus which means I'll be away from the family during the week and home on weekends and I'll have plenty of time to read during the evenings. No Swank or Penthouse Letters recommendations as those will only make things around the apartment greasy, cause me to get Carpal Tunnel, and my eyesight will only get worse.

First aquisition will be Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War by Evan Wright. A first hand account of First Force Recon's assault into Iraq by an embedded reporter for Rolling Stone.

I've been thinking about starting the Ender's Game series as well.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

[MannyIsGod]

Only because I want to beat Jekka to it....

American Gods by Neil Gaihman

[Spurminator]

If you haven't read it (but you probably have...)

Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0553274325/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-2894492-4838558#reader-page)

[1369]

Well, here is what I ordered over lunch:

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
Douglas Adams

Alas, Babylon
Pat Frank

Neuromancer
William Gibson

Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw
Mark Bowden

Ender's Game (Ender Series #1)
Orson Scott Card

The Pepperdogs
Bing West

Sharkman Six
Owen West

Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II
Robert Kurson

American Gods
Neil Gaiman

Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War
Evan Wright

[Jekka]

Only because I want to beat Jekka to it....

American Gods by Neil Gaihman

Damn you.

[KEDA]

did you order Poohs book???

[deepsouth]

Try

Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson

Point of Impact
Stephen Hunter

or some Jeffery Deaver

[1369]

Finished two of the books I ordered over the holiday weekend.

Generation Kill was a really engrossing read (I started it yesterday afternoon and finished later that night). I found that the Marines that the author was writing about seemed a little "over the top", but I could see where being cramped in an unarmored HMMWV for two months while all the time tear assing through the bush blowing the shit out of everything that moves can cause things to get a little surreal. Best quote from the book is by the Ripped Fuel tweaked out driver of Wright's vehicle, L/Cpl Person:

"You know that feeling before a debate when you gotta piss and you've got that weird feeling in your stomach, then you go in and kick ass?" he says. "I don't have that feeling now."

A machine gun rattles up on the riverbank.

"Stand by for shit to get stupid," Person says, sounding merely annoyed.

He also goes on a hilarious rant on how the war is being fought on behalf of NAMBLA because places like Thailand are cracking down on kiddie sex and NAMBLA needs fresh meat.

Ender's Game was a pretty good read although I found two teenagers being able to influence world events via the internet a little hard to swallow, and the hero of the story a little unbelieveable, but all in all a good read. If you're into military science fiction, then I'd suggest Starship Troopers by Heinlein first.

Next up is Neuromancer.

[Mark in Austin]

I thought Ender's Game was good, but series gets more and more tedious, and less and less interesting as you go on, in my opinion.

If you're still looking for new stuff too, check out Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko - founder of Seal Team Six. The first book is a real autobiography - I really enjoyed it. The rest of the Rougue Warrior books are fiction "inspired by" real events.

Also, I found The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria an incredibly interesting and thought-provoking read.

[MannyIsGod]

I've actually wanted to read Starship Troopers because I heard it was pretty interesting. Hey, I love the movie.

[AlamoSpursFan]

If you're still looking for new stuff too, check out Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko - founder of Seal Team Six. The first book is a real autobiography - I really enjoyed it. The rest of the Rougue Warrior books are fiction "inspired by" real events..

I wholeheartedly concur with the above suggestion. Demo Dick is one of my favorite people on the planet.

http://seals.longboys.net/RichardMarcinko.jpg

I recommend anything by Michael Connelly if you're looking for a good cop story. And you can't go wrong with Clive Cussler.

[1369]

I read "Rogue Warrior" when it first was published after watching the 60 Minutes piece on Demo Dick. His other works of fiction are good reads as well. If you like Marcinko's fiction, I highly recommend "The Monkey Handlers" by G. Gordon Liddy.

Manny, the POS that was the Starship Troopers movie in no way should be considered to be even remotely close to the book. The book itself deals more with society and service than shooting aliens. That book remains one of my all time favorites.

Deepsouth, I've read both "Point Of Impact" and "Snow Crash", good reads.

Another one that slipped under the radar is "Vertical Run" by Joseph Gardner.

I didn't get to "Neuromancer" last night, rather I read "Sharkman Six" by Owen West. Good work of fiction about the early days of "Operation Restore Hope" in Somalia.

[MannyIsGod]

Yeah, I know it's totally different, and I want it for the society aspects of the story. But com'on, that movie was just fucking COOL man. I think the director went over the top to make a bunch of facist resemblences to the humans in that movie, right down to the Nazi uni's.

[1369]

The way Heinlein portrays Federal Service and the requirement to serve to allow one to have a voice in the government does border on facisim. I think that is one of the more intriguing aspects of the book, but it also explores placing society above one's owm self interests.

Well, it did have one redeeming quality.

Dina Meyer in the shower....

http://www.screensavershot.com/persons2/dina.jpg

[CosmicCowboy]

currently reading:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/guide.jpg

VERY well documented and interesting read...

[MannyIsGod]

Well, maybe the Puritns didn't...but...

I can't really disagree with the rest of that. Looks interesting.

[CosmicCowboy]

The title and cover makes it look like some bullshit propoganda bash book (to sell better I presume) but it really is a serious work...refers and quotes extensively from the original documents and direct quotes from the players...it really makes you realize how our current federal government is exactly NOT what the founding fathers and constitution envisioned...