Book Thread number ?

[Deleted member 3166]

Re: Book Thread number ?

"A Stolen Life" and "Those Guys Have All the Fun:Inside ESPN" both arrived in the mail today for my hubby.
"A Stolen Life" could be a tough read, he and Jaycee Dugard are roughly the same age and he grew up 45 minutes from where she was taken.
I have a much easier read, going back through "Harry Potter"

 

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

My Reads for the week


Trader of Secrets by Steve Martini like the last two books by Martini this one does not involve Paul Madriani in the courtroom but in a global thriller. Once again the Mexican assassin Liquida is trying to murder him his friends and family. In his quest to find and stop Liquida Madriani comes into contact with a global conspiracy set in the Mexican Jungle to reign terror upon the Earth. Okay read but would much prefer that Madriani stay in the courtroom.

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen This is the first Rizzoli and Isles book, well Rizzoli because Maura Isles does not appear in the book. Women are being raped murdered and mutilated throughout the Boston area and Jane Rizzolli is on the task force in search of the killer. Thrilling action as Rizzoli tries to stop the killer from claiming another victim placing herself in the path of danger. This series gets better as the books progress but this is still a good read.

Yankee for Life My 40 year Journey in Pinstripes By Bobby Murcer This was about what I expected a nice overview of Bobby Murcers playing and broadcast years with the New York Yankees and his battle with brain cancer. Worth reading for the Phil Rizzuto chapter alone.

 

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Read Doug Glanville's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Game-Where-Stand-Ballplayers-Inside/dp/B004MPRWGO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312201310&sr=8-1">The Game from Where I Stand: A Ballplayer's Inside View</a> - enjoyed it a lot. He's very well-spoken (the book definitely had a different feel than other "jock" books) and the book was interesting.

edit: am I missing something or can you not rate a book on Amazon anymore without writing a review?

 

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I read "Eat, Pray, Love" and hated it. I found the main character completely self-obsessed - one of those people that likes to sit around and feel sorry for herself when her life isn't actually that bad, but she's more interested in being a ridiculous drama queen and dragging everyone down with her, and she's one of whose women who "become" whatever man they're dating. The more I read her descriptions of herself, the more I hated her.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Checked these out from the library:

"Ratio"- Ruhlman: Basically explains the necessary ratios for cooking, such as "3-2-1" pie dough, 3:1 for a vinaigrette, etc.

"Life, On The Line"- Grant Achatz: Achatz's memoir, including the story of Alinea and how he came back from cancer.

 

[MattS]

Re: Book Thread number ?

In the past couple of weeks I finished reading tow books...

Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I never thought the story line of this book sounded good which is why I never read it before, but since it was one of three books on the list of the top 25 Scifi books ever written that I have never read I figured I should give it a go. It was a waste of my time. The story was way too contrived and way too long. It could have been half the length and it would have been more enjoyable.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Another horrible book. How this one gets good reviews is completely beyond me. The story is something that a 10 year old kid would come up with. The racing parts are complete BS. And I have to wonder if the author has ever owned a dog in his life as some of the things the dog does are things a dog would never do.

After striking out on these last two books, I am hoping for better from Discovery! Unearthing the New Treasures of Archaeology. It about the most significant archaeology discoveries of the past 15 years.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I never thought the story line of this book sounded good which is why I never read it before, but since it was one of three books on the list of the top 25 Scifi books ever written that I have never read I figured I should give it a go. It was a waste of my time. The story was way too contrived and way too long. It could have been half the length and it would have been more enjoyable.

Long, I can understand. Contrived? What did you find to be contrived?

You might find Fall of Hyperion a little more to your liking. The change of viewpoint may be a bit jarring (and unexpected considering that Hyperion leaves off mid-story), but the way I remember it, it moves a lot more quickly. It's still pretty dense, though, and it's a real challenge to wrap your head around everything that's happening philosophically and story-wise, particularly the interaction between the present of the story and the far future.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I finished off the rest of Monk's Beckstrom books that have been published, and will likely be buying the next one shortly after its release in November.

Next up for me was Spin State, by Chris Moriarty. I thought it was outstanding. Part noir detective, part cyberpunk, part hard SF. And it has a bibliography of resources for information on the quantum science underlying lots of the hard SF bits!

 

[bronconick]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I read Butcher's Ghost Story this week. Enjoyed it. A slow down novel after the last one. Not a great writer per se, but he always has a dozen or so quotable lines.

 

[MattS]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Long, I can understand. Contrived? What did you find to be contrived?

You might find Fall of Hyperion a little more to your liking. The change of viewpoint may be a bit jarring (and unexpected considering that Hyperion leaves off mid-story), but the way I remember it, it moves a lot more quickly. It's still pretty dense, though, and it's a real challenge to wrap your head around everything that's happening philosophically and story-wise, particularly the interaction between the present of the story and the far future.

It felt like Simmons thought he had to take every aspect of any great quest Fantasy or Scifi novel and jam it into the story whether it advanced the plot or not. Religion..check. A misfit group on a quest..check. A mysterious monster...check. Etc. It felt to me like he made a checklist of items to make sure were in the story and put them in there not matter what.

At any rate I certainly would not have it in the top 25 SciFi novels of all time. Certainly not with the likes of Dune, Ender's Game, The Forever War, etc.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Book Thread number ?

It felt like Simmons thought he had to take every aspect of any great quest Fantasy or Scifi novel and jam it into the story whether it advanced the plot or not.

When it's all said and done (after all four novels), I think it's fairly certain that there's very little that doesn't either help to fill out the universe of the stories or advance the plot (and the universe that the plot takes place in is essential to that plot, and to the philosophical questions it raises). I can't argue with you about the paint-by-numbers thing, though... it's something that's certain to be a personal reaction to the story that you either have or you don't. You did, I didn't.

At any rate I certainly would not have it in the top 25 SciFi novels of all time. Certainly not with the likes of Dune, Ender's Game, The Forever War, etc.

YMMV, obviously. I haven't read Forever War, but I think I'd put the Hyperion pair (Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion) ahead of Dune and Ender's Game. Hyperion alone does a masterful job of laying out the world and the rules of the game, but it's only half the story.

 

[MattS]

Re: Book Thread number ?

YMMV, obviously. I haven't read Forever War, but I think I'd put the Hyperion pair (Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion) ahead of Dune and Ender's Game. Hyperion alone does a masterful job of laying out the world and the rules of the game, but it's only half the story.

Blasphmy!! I would find it impossible to put any SciFi book above Dune.

If you are a SciFi fan then you should read The Forever War. It is very good (I wonder if Hyperion doesn't take a lot of the time lag story ideas from this book). Once you have read The Forever War then move on to Starship Troopers if you haven't read that. (Very, very, very, very different from the crappy movie). They contrast each other in an excellent way.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I have read Starship Troopers, and I enjoyed it. I thought it was an interesting thought experiment, albeit one that would almost certainly be impractical in the real world due to problems that Heinlein handwaved away.

 

[MattS]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I have read Starship Troopers, and I enjoyed it. I thought it was an interesting thought experiment, albeit one that would almost certainly be impractical in the real world due to problems that Heinlein handwaved away.

True enough.

Now definitely read The Forever War. The way the books contrast each other is excellent. It's a pretty quick easy read.

At one time these two books were "required" reading for Marine officers. I don't know if that is true anymore. Probably not.

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I recently started Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, since I spent many hours packed on airplanes today I had time to get into it. I'm about 200 pages in and so far I enjoy it. Still have 800 pages to go though.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I do most of my reading on the bus, and therefore take a while to read books. It certainly doesn't help that the rebuilt I-35W makes traffic go much faster now, too.

At any rate, I'm almost done with the Bourne Identity. This is one of the few times I'll say it - the movie was better. The book's not bad, but there are just some truly implausible things going on in the book that I don't like. How Bourne ends up with the Marie St. Claire woman in the book is beyond ludicrous. Actually, that's my biggest complaint on the book. The other part is the drawn out pace to the story. While it's a quick read, there's just too much of the woe-is-me factor coming from Bourne.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I recently started Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, since I spent many hours packed on airplanes today I had time to get into it. I'm about 200 pages in and so far I enjoy it. Still have 800 pages to go though.

I have found that airport reading is quite the worthwhile activity. I've upped my flying activity in the last few years, and you can plow through a book or two at the least on a round trip.

That being said, I expect to be finished with the Kerry Fraser book, the Lincoln assassination book, and probably the Motley Crue biography by the time my next flying venture happens. Any suggestions for a book or two? I'd ask for suggestions that fall under the following, in general:

1. Non-fiction
2. Not necessarily biography/auto-biography; Ken Dryden's "The Game" and Fraser's book are more anecdotal, telling stories about their career/views on the sport they were a part of. However, I have fully enjoyed Rebecca Lobo's/Bob Probert's/Jim Kelly's autobiographies, and love mob novels (Wiseguy, Gotti: Rise and Fall).
3. Political events, domestic and foreign. Some examples may include the Bolshevik Revolution, dynasties of China, presidential...situations (except JFK, that's overdone, IMO), etc.

Non-fiction is pretty much required. I don't enjoy fiction that much at all. I prefer movies for that.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I have found that airport reading is quite the worthwhile activity. I've upped my flying activity in the last few years, and you can plow through a book or two at the least on a round trip.

These days, the exclusive genesis of my reading is air travel. I've lived an airplane trip away from my parents for the last thirteen years and I'm a fast reader, so that still means I read quite a few books in a year. And sometimes, as with Monk's Beckstrom books or a recent re-reading of Endymion and Rise of Endymion, I'll get started reading something in transit and finish it after I get home.

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I have found that airport reading is quite the worthwhile activity. I've upped my flying activity in the last few years, and you can plow through a book or two at the least on a round trip.

For my early morning flights, of which I usually have one, I only read about 10 pages before I decide to take a quick nap. For flights during the day I usually read straight through unless there is a piece of **** baby (which should be banned from airplanes) crying its annoying little *** off, then I put the book away and listen to music. Some books I fly through fast enough to get one done on a round trip flight, but books like I'm reading now, with many characters and several interlocking stories that 1000 pages long, that doesn't work out too well.

No suggestions for you. I very rarely read non-fiction.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

If it's a morning flight, I gotta read my newspaper, then delve into a book. Even if the book is complex (the first book that got me back into reading was "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman; great book), I plow right through it. I'm a fast reader, and still retain everything. I think the Gaiman book I got through during a RT to CO Springs.

I guess most fiction I prefer to take in visually. I liked the Gaiman book because he referred to quite a few places I've seen, so I could visualize what he was talking about (most notably The House On The Rock). If you hadn't been there, I don't think you could really feel the surroundings and such. Of course, since then, I haven't picked up a fiction book, but oh well.