Topic: Books Thread

[BlindJoe]

This thread is meant to be a place for you to post anything about books. For example, What are you reading now? , What are your favorite books? Book recommendations, reviews etc.

I'll start it off,

Currently reading "Atlas Shrugged", started it during the summer and haven't had much time to read it since school started, looking forward to reading it again over winter break.



Have at 'er

[kirkn]

Currently reading fiction - the third book in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, titled The Well of Lost Plots. 

It's an outstanding series.  A cross between Bridget Jones, The Twilight Zone, Indiana Jones, and yer English Lit class!



Now THIS is my kind of open-forum thread....

[fuzzybutt]

i've been re-reading lillian jackson brauns series "the cat who.............." i also just finished "without remorse" by tom clancy, he's my favourite writer

[KeithTurk]

Burt Levy wrote a series about racing sporty cars in the early days...

Last open road is the first ... it's freaking exceptional...

K

[alltherightpills]

So this is the thread where we prove that not all bikers are knuckle-dragging Philistines, eh?

I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.  It's a kind of a coming of age/adventure western, but incredibly spare and dark and desolate.  It is really, really good.  I haven't read anything else by him, though I've always wanted to.  He wrote No Country For Old Men and The Road which won the Pulitzer in 2007.

I am also reading Righting the Mother Tongue by David Wolman.  It is a general history of the convoluted evolution of spelling in the English language, and so far it has been quite fascinating.   

I just picked up a bunch of the James Bond books from the library tonight for reading over Christmas. 

And if you haven't read Ewan Mcgregor and Charley Boorman's Long Way Round do yourself a favor and read it this winter.  It's a good companion to the TV series and I think it's good medicine for not being able to ride. 

[kirkn]

I've read and collected the paperbacks of all the LJB "The Cat Who..." books over the years.  

I'll tell ya, they've really degenerated in the last 3 or 4 books, IMHO.  Not much in the way of plot, just a lot of 'small-town-isms' and everybody either owns or loves cats.  Sigh.  I think she's just going thru the motions anymore.  

...sez the critic.  



I also like the 'alphabet' series by Sue Grafton - A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc.  

Ditto the Bernie Rhodenbarr series of 'Burglar' books by Lawrence Block - Burglar in the Rye, The Burglar in the Library, etc.

Ditto the original James Bond stories by Ian Fleming.

Ditto the sci-fi stories by David Eddings.

And, my favorite author - Agatha Christie.  I own 'em all, except a few of the 'lesser' plays she wrote.

[kirkn]

Oh, and the couple of books by Rush's drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.  Ghost Rider is a really good motorcycle travel book, but the whole 'reason for the book' is the death of his daughter and his wife in the course of a year.  Pretty grim...

Roadshow - Landscape with Drums on the other hand is an excellent motorcycle travel book whose 'backstory' is the Rush 30th anniversary tour.  A really great read for any motorcyclist and bonus points if you're a Rush fan.


Oh, and the Leanings and Leanings II books by Cycle World columnist Peter Egan.


Monkey Butt by Rick 'Super Hunky' Sieman.

And, funnily enough, the entire Harry Potter series...

Gee, I gotta stop....   

[MCRider]

I just finished re-reading "Rebuilding the Indian" by Fred Haefele. True story about a guy in his early 50s like so many of us restoring an Indian Chief, could just as well have been a CB. laced with stories of real life as well.  Recommended.

[754]

This month I bought,
The Harley Reader
&
The Art of the Motorcycle engine.. by Pierce.

The Reader is quite good, pick it up once in a while and read a few more stories. First thing I  noticed looking through it in the bookstore was a really cool story by Craig Vetter.. briefly he got the first Yam 350 twin in the States, broke it in and went to Daytona to kick ass... till he raced an E-Glide at an abandoned airstrip and got waxed so bad he kept on going..LOL.. which was not what he thought would happen.. shows some stunts that rider would do and they were pretty impressively hairy for 1967..

The Engine book is nice but when I bought it, went for coffee and read damn near the whole thing.. it is split between a bit of a story about shooting the engine image and the bike or owner, and rest of each page is the story of doing the book. I think it has great pictures to show people but I wont read it often..

[Mach-5(50)]

just started Armageddon In Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut. i read A Man Without A Country a few weeks ago. i find it brilliant, what can i say.

i am not a big reader, and Vonnegut has always been easy for me to read and keeps my attention. the satirical wit keeps me entertained too.

later,

ryan

[fuzzybutt]

I've read and collected the paperbacks of all the LJB "The Cat Who..." books over the years.  

I'll tell ya, they've really degenerated in the last 3 or 4 books, IMHO.  Not much in the way of plot, just a lot of 'small-town-isms' and everybody either owns or loves cats.  Sigh.  I think she's just going thru the motions anymore.  

...sez the critic.  




I also like the 'alphabet' series by Sue Grafton - A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc.  

Ditto the Bernie Rhodenbarr series of 'Burglar' books by Lawrence Block - Burglar in the Rye, The Burglar in the Library, etc.

Ditto the original James Bond stories by Ian Fleming.

Ditto the sci-fi stories by David Eddings.

And, my favorite author - Agatha Christie.  I own 'em all, except a few of the 'lesser' plays she wrote.

i think, and this is only my opinion, if LJB were still alive she'd be 98, maybe 99 now years old. since "went up the creek" i think theres someone else writing these books now. things like when homer tibbitt and elizabeth hart died, there was nothing made of it and they were 2 major characters. Remember the first one in the series was done in the mid-late 60's .the wife and i are both huge fans

[mark]

... i also just finished "without remorse" by tom clancy, he's my favourite writer

That was probably his best novel. well, maybe a tossup between WR and Red Storm Rising.

Light amusing entertainment for knuckle dragging Philistines - Barry Sadler's 'Casca' series.

[Shenanigans]

A Confederacy of Dunces has been good so far. The way it depicts the characters and language of its setting (New Orleans) really stands out. It had an interesting story to publication too. I am about half way done with it.

Schrödinger's Rabbits. is good over view of how strange quantum theory really is. Its not bogged down by the details so its a good even for The casual reader.

For the longest time I put off reading Les Miserables. When I recently got around to it, it became my favorite book. It is pretty much a must read for anybody.

Eon by Greg Bear is pretty good for anybody that loves Sci-Fi novels. Its not exactly deep and enthralling with its characters but its a decent read.

The Longest Ride: My Ten-Year 500,000 Mile Motorcycle Journey is also a must read for the bike division. Its story is almost more of a travel log book.

[Ecosse]

Although I like reading I think I lack the attention span. But here's the last I've read and would recommend.

Skunk Works by Ben Rich. About Lockheed's Skunk Works; U-2 stealth fighter, etc...

Cannonball! by Brock Yates.

Enzo Ferrari by Brock Yates.

I've bought but have yet to read Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. Heard it was good, saw the author in an interview and seemed it good choice.

[Soos]

RADIX, by A.A. Atanasio...
EXCELENT read if you like things futuristic things like THX1138, Logans Run, dune, etc.


Re-reading it at the monent... for the 6th? 7th? time?



l8r

[Demon67]

My problem for reading is the house I am torn between finishing the house and having reading material about because the last time I picked up a book I read it in 3 days and nothing got done the book that caused the problem was Ian Rankins book the Naming of the Dead one of the "Rebus" series the only problem with the series is I think that I've just about read all of them. Pretty well any of Rankins books are a no put down until finished but Rebus is my hero.
Bill the demon.

[tramp]

reading uncle toms cabin
love the classics

[alltherightpills]

A Confederacy of Dunces has been good so far. The way it depicts the characters and language of its setting (New Orleans) really stands out. It had an interesting story to publication too. I am about half way done with it.

Schrödinger's Rabbits. is good over view of how strange quantum theory really is. Its not bogged down by the details so its a good even for The casual reader.

It took me a while to get into A Confederacy of Dunces but once I did I loved it.

Have you read The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene?  It is a layman's guide to string theory and a fantastic read.  He also did a 3 hour special on PBS (I think you can watch it on their website.)

[ryder60]

I always have 4-6 books on the go.  I'm retired and I get to start my day by reading at my desk and follow by writing a bit, even if only journalling.  I did like McCarthy and I had a great soft spot for Kurt V. as a person.  I listened to some of the 'Cat Who' stories when commuting to work and back.  They were easy listening and entertaining.  My current bedtime read is Les Miserables.  I had to struggle though it in the eighth grade and hated it but now I'll confess that Hugo is a great writer.
Every year I re-read some Faulkner, and theology of Tillich and Neibuhr (either brother) and Langdon Gilkey.  Presently I'm reading Thomas Merton's 'Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander', for the 3rd time, as well as 'The Essential Augustine'.  I also have Hedges essays 'War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning', and Wendel Betty's 'The Way of Ignorance' on the go and I just finished Michael Novak's 'The Experience of Nothingness' so I'll begin G K Chesterton's 'Orthodoxy' tomorrow.  Recently I gave $50.00 for Michail Polyani's "Personal Knowledge' but haven't found the guts to start it yet.
I love to talk about books and how they fit into our contemporary times.

[MacM2010]

Oh boy, a book thread... I'm an English teacher/grad student, so you may regret getting me started.

I just began Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detectives, which is going quite well.  Now that school's out, I can read things I actually am interested in, which is a novel concept for me.  After that would be his new one, 2666, which takes place in a fictionalized Cd. Juarez, Mexico, about 40 miles south of where I'm writing.  They're having a good time trying to quell the drug violence down there (they found a beheaded man hanging from a highway overpass last month), so I'm not sure when I might visit.  But I'm excited to read the book.

[fuzzybutt]

i forgot, just about anything by Hunter S Thompson. i'm getting ready to start reading the great shark hunt.

[alltherightpills]

Oh boy, a book thread... I'm an English teacher/grad student, so you may regret getting me started.

I just began Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detectives, which is going quite well.  Now that school's out, I can read things I actually am interested in, which is a novel concept for me.  After that would be his new one, 2666, which takes place in a fictionalized Cd. Juarez, Mexico, about 40 miles south of where I'm writing.  They're having a good time trying to quell the drug violence down there (they found a beheaded man hanging from a highway overpass last month), so I'm not sure when I might visit.  But I'm excited to read the book.

Are you in a Master's or Ph.D. program?  What's your time period?  My wife is an Early Modernist and is just starting her dissertation at Iowa.  She too relishes the opportunity to read things that aren't either academic or in her time period.  As of late that has meant that she's been reading a lot of YA novels because they are all plot and fun to read. 

ryder60, have you read any Kathleen Norris (Amazing Grace, The Cloister Walk, Dakota?)  She is one of my favorite theological writers.  She doesn't do straight theology per se, she is more of an essayist/reflective writer.  She and Buechner usually do a good job of bringing me back to a place where I can constructively think through theological issues.  Have you read Gilead by Marilynne Robinson?  The main character is a minister at the end of his life writing a letter to his young son.  It won the Pulitzer in 2005, and it is quite good. 

[Rocking-M]

Glad y'all started this, I need some more reading material for the winter.

some of the most memorable reads this year,

The Terror (0ne heck of a novel based on the Historical HMS Terror and Erabus of the Franklin Expedition)

Across Arctic America, Rassmusen  a good anthropological read of his trip from Greenland to   Siberia. (early 1920's)

Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follet (11 century through 13th in England, novel) makes a fellow
damn glad he was not around in England then, but makes a fellow glad he's of, what the English called them,
Barbarian Scots descent.

[Demon67]

Yes but we barbarians will rise up again.
Bill the demon.

[firecracker]

Currently slogging my way through the radio broadcast by John Galt in Atlas Shrugged.  Enjoyed the book so far, but trying to sneak in some reading time, combined with, what, 30-40 pages(!) of monologue, is killing me.

Love the Dick Francis novels.  Fun, quick reads.  I was introduced to them by a friend that described them as always being "about horses and..." as is - This one's about horses and blowing glass.  This one's about horses and knives.  This one's about horses and computers.
etc.

Usually finish them in a day.  That's my kind of escapism.