Book Thread number ?

[REDaero91]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Got a Nook Tablet for Christmas, enjoying it so far! It's nice to have books right at my fingertips, and definitely will save me from carrying around 20lbs worth of them on trips!

Just finished The Help, which was very good. I wish it would have gone on a little past where it ended, though. Not sure if I'll see the movie-anyone done both and have an opinion?

 

[manurespreader]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just read " Unbroken" by laura hillenbrand and " Six Frigates" by toll. both real good.

 

[aygwm2]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just read " Unbroken" by laura hillenbrand

Read it...and agreed, very good!

 

[aygwm2]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just finished The Help, which was very good. I wish it would have gone on a little past where it ended, though. Not sure if I'll see the movie-anyone done both and have an opinion?

Read the book, saw the movie...both very good. They did a great job editing the book for the movie; and, of course, it's a bonus having read the book because you can fill in the blanks. But, the movie stands on it's own and was adapted quite well. Recommend you see it.

 

[REDaero91]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Read the book, saw the movie...both very good. They did a great job editing the book for the movie; and, of course, it's a bonus having read the book because you can fill in the blanks. But, the movie stands on it's own and was adapted quite well. Recommend you see it.

Thanks!

 

[FreshFish]

Re: Book Thread number ?

That is what 10 generations of "clean your plate, there are hungry kids in Africa" will do.

My Mom only tried that one once...I was young and naive and when she said that, in all earnest seriousness, I went and got an envelope so that I could mail the food to the hungry kids in Africa. I wasn't being sarcastic either, just being literal.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I've noticed several people mention that they prefer non-fiction. Here are three absolute classics that I recommend to anyone who wants a basic literacy in economics:

The first section of The Alpha Strategy by John Pugsley. Absolutely mind-blowing in its clarity and directness. The second section, meh, don't bother.

The first section of The Joyless Economy: an inquiry into human satisfaction and consumer dissatisfaction (though I believe the revised edition has a new subtitle) by Tibor Scitovsky: "Scitovsky's ground-breaking book was the first to apply theories of behaviorist psychology to questions of consumer behavior and to do so in clear, non-technical language. Setting out to analyze the failures of our consumerist lifestyle, Scitovsky concluded that ...." review from Oxford University Press website. I have not read the 1992 version, if the updates are as good as OUP says, it may be worth it for me to track one down.

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. It is quite ironic that Milton was viewed as the quintessential liberal of his time (my book jacket says so!).....shows you how far liberals have migrated since then! JFK was viewed as a liberal then too; now Joe Lieberman, who fits the JFK paradigm quite well, is nearly too conservative to be welcome among the Democrats (I guess that makes Joe a DINO in more ways than one!).

While Friedman and Pugsley may be viewed by some as also having a political bias, that doesn't affect the clarity of their writing in these particular books, nor the accuracy of the information containted therein, though some may chafe a little at Pugsley's word choices while others may cheer.

 

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Recent Reads


The Wolf at The Door by Jack Higgins This is another Sean Dillon novel from Higgins. In this one the members of the Prime Ministers private army have been targeted for elimination along with Blake Johnson. A typical fast paced action packed thriller from Higgins. Nice backstory about Daniel Holley, which closely mirrors Dillon's own, who I expect will pop up again as a future nemesis.

Chosen Prey by John Sandford This Lucas Davenport thriller from Sandford focuses on a serial killer who leaves creepy nude portraits of his women before killing them. A chance find leads the police to the killer's graveyard in the woods as they try to find "the artist" before he kills again. Some nice action and a couple of good twists and turns. Not the best in the series but not the worst.

Broken Prey by John Sandford An excellent Davenport novel from Sandford. Women are getting killed and "scourged" across Minnesota and Davenport is called in to find the killer. Some great twist and turns and surprises. Also loved Davenport working on his 100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era list throughout the book.

Lords of Sipan a Tale of Pre-Inca Tombs, Archaeology and Crime by Sidney Kirkpatrick A good book detailing how a Peruvian Archaeologist helped save an ancient Mochan tomb from tomb raiders. The raiders had started to plunder the tomb but with minimal help and a lot of pluck Walter Alva is able to save the site and find the first intact Mochan royal burial. The parallel story line is covering the smuggling and sale of Peruvian artifacts to well heeled Western investors.

Strange Battles of the Civil War by Webb Garrison Jr. If you are not a Civil War nut this is probably better for you. Short overviews of Civl War Battles. Not more than 10 pages or so per battle so not a whole lot of detail.

Satchel The Life and Times of An American Legend by Larry Tye An excellent biography of Negro League legend Satchel Paige. Nice accounts of the Negro League. A good look at how Barnstorming tours were organized and Satchel's battles against teams led by Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller. Satchel was also baseball's first free agent playing for whoever paid him the most. In addition to the Negro Leagues, he played in the California League, Mexican League, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and numerous tournaments around the country. It also covers his disappointment at not being the man to break the color barrier and then his subsequent call to the big leagues in 1948 with the Cleveland Indians.

The Bin Laden An Arabian Family in The American Century by Steve Coll An excellent history of the Bin laden family from their leaving of Yemen to Saudi Arabia to their present day status as the construction company of choice for the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. The book mainly covers the life's of Osama's father Mohammed and his eldest brother Salem who became the leader of the family after his father's death. Interesting for those interested in the history of Saudi Arabia as well as it offers excellent insights into the life and rule of the Royal Family. it also offers some insights into Osama Bin Laden's early life and conversion to radical Islam.

Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile III An excellent book on the American political side of the Cia's proxy battle against the Russians using the Afghan's. The book tells how for the most part single handedly got additional funding and weapons for the mujahadeen using horsetrading and calling in favors. Told mainly from the American political perspective it doesn't deal a whole lot of what was going on in Afghanistan except when it directly effected Charlie Wilson.

Rage by Jonathan Kellerman This Alex Delaware novel by Kellerman follows a murder committed by two children years before. One of the murders was killed in juvenile hall the other was just released and calls Dr. Delaware to talk. He never makes the meet with Dr Delaware and later ends up dead. Delaware and Milo Sturgis search to find out who might have murdered him, the father of the child murdered 8 years ago or something else. A good effort from Kellerman.

Dark Horse The Surprise Election and Murder of James A Garfield An excellent book detailing the 1880 nomination, election and the short amount of James Garfield's Presidency. It focuses mainly on the blood feud between Republican politicians James Blaine, who ends up being Garfield's Secretary of State and Roscoe Conklin the NY Republican political boss who strikes a "political bargain" with Garfield allowing him to carry New York and win the Presidency. The part covering Garfield's presidency shows how he tries to walk the line between Blaine and Conklin with not so good results. Scattered throughout the book are pieces with Charles Guiteau who would assassinate Garfield. He works, well really hangs around, at the Republican HQ throughout the election coming into contact with many Senators and Congressman including Garfield's Vice President Charles Arthur. Once Garfield is elected he haunts the White House and State Department seeking his due. It's amazing how many people came into contact; Garfield, Garfield's wife, Blaine, Arthur and many others but no one really marked this odd little man as dangerous. Finally he believes that Garfield has betrayed the Stalwarts, Republican supporters of US Grant, and must be eliminated. Garfield lived for quite a while after his death and probably died from poor medicine.

The Disciple by Stephen Coonts An excellent book by Coonts in this book CIA operative Tommy Carmellini is in Iran trying to find out when and how many nuclear missiles that Iran has. Non stop action as Carmellini and his boos at the CIA Jake Grafton try to stop Iran from launching nuclear missiles all across the Middle East.

 

[USAFA Bulldog]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I read lots of SciFI, which constantly reminds me that I have very little knowledge of science.

Currently working on Alastair Reynolds Chasm City. It's in the Hard SF, so there's huge sections of stuff I don't understand.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Picked up that Super Mario book mentioned earlier in the thread, but that's going to wait because of some heavier reading in the meantime.

The Alphabet of Manliness by Maddox (the guy who runs/ran The Best Page In The Universe and I Am Better Than Your Kids sites)
The Bro Code by Barney Stinson (haven't seen the show yet, but this book was recommended, and I previewed it on Amazon; hilarious)


Like I said, heavy reading.

 

[REDaero91]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Starting Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre. Saw a preview for the upcoming movie, was intrigued, discovered it was a book, added to list!

 

[erin]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I finished "Game of Thrones" & have moved onto "A Clash of Kings". Still re-reading "Naked" as part of a book club thing w/a friend, that was delayed due to me not having power for nearly a week during the whole Snowtober thing & some other things. Good stuff, though.

Yikes, I'm not around here much (still love Goodreads & update it frequently). All 3 of these are finished, plus I read "A Storm of Swords" & am in the midst of "A Feast for Crows" as well as reading "The Letters of Frida Kahlo: Cartas Apasionadas" as a VERY light, but a super interesting read alongside the Martin series.

 

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Puppets-Kay-Holz/dp/1412096847">House of Puppets</a> by Kay Holz. It's about a girl who grew up in the South, moved to CA and wants to become an artist, but is struggling with family issues. I enjoyed it, although it focused a lot on the artistic process. In the interest of full disclosure, Kay Holz is my aunt, and it's very loosely based on her life, so it was a little more interesting for me.

Still trying to work my way through my bookshelves before returning to the library.

 

[duper]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. It is quite ironic that Milton was viewed as the quintessential liberal of his time (my book jacket says so!).....

One of the few things I remember from Capitalism and Freedom is a forward that Friedman had written many years later addressing this issue. As I recall, he believed that society had reversed the true meaning of the words "liberal" and "conservative" so that people who called themselves conservative were in fact economically liberal, and that is why he was a liberal. In other words, he was a conservative who was a language stickler, and so insisted on being called a liberal which he felt that, in the classical sense, he was. Now, while that is all I remember, that doesn't mean that I am remembering it correctly.


This looks to me like a fascinating novel.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Book Thread number ?

God, if You're Not Up There, I'm *****ed by Darrell Hammond. Basically the SNL star's autobiography, where he cops to heavy drinking, self-mutilation, being diagnosed with borderline and multiple personality disorders, etc.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: Book Thread number ?

One of the few things I remember from Capitalism and Freedom is a forward that Friedman had written many years later addressing this issue. As I recall, he believed that society had reversed the true meaning of the words "liberal" and "conservative" so that people who called themselves conservative were in fact economically liberal, and that is why he was a liberal. In other words, he was a conservative who was a language stickler, and so insisted on being called a liberal which he felt that, in the classical sense, he was. Now, while that is all I remember, that doesn't mean that I am remembering it correctly.

It seems to me that there is no contradiction between "liberal" and "conservative." If one were to draw a scale from left to right and put "liberal" on the left, then on the right one would put "totalitarian" or "reactionary."

Similarly, if one were to draw a scale from right to left and put "conservative" on the right, then on the left one would put "radical."

This formulation neatly captures the tension of US politics: imagine a two-axis graph with, say, radical <--> conservative from left to right, and liberal <--> totalitarian from bottom to top. Then the political center in US is in the lower right hand corner, or as many have said, the political center is socially liberal and economically conservative.

 

[aygwm2]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Starting Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre. Saw a preview for the upcoming movie, was intrigued, discovered it was a book, added to list!

Le Carre (David Cornwell) is the master of espionage fiction. Philip Roth said that _A Perfect Spy_ (personal favorite) was "the best English novel since the war." Recommend any of the Smiley novels called the "Karla trilogy": _Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy_, _The Honourable Schoolboy_, and _Smiley's People_.

A good starting point for Le Carre is _The Spy Who Came in from the Cold_.

 

[erin]

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Completed "A Feast for Crows" & will start "A Dance with Dragons" soon.

Such a different vibe in Crows from the first 3 books. I enjoyed it, though.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Went back to my childhood and reread Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein last night; I really need to add Falling Up and A Light in the Attic to my collection as well.

 

[Carter]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Went back to my childhood and reread Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein last night; I really need to add Falling Up and A Light in the Attic to my collection as well.

You ever read any Kate Seredy? A wonderful writer of children's books back in the forties and fifties. Easily my favorite childhood book was "A Tree for Peter" by Seredy, and her full page illustrations are just beautiful. The book has a decided spiritual influence (which I decidedly don't), but I loved it all the same. Was out of print and rare for years and years, but was available again a few years ago. Best place to grab a copy is probably abebooks.com