Books. For the literati among us.

[FootyLovin]

I freakin' hate wasting my time on bad books when there are so many great books to read. Yet I've picked up a few stinkers lately. So let's share. Here are a few I've read in the last couple of years that I wish I could read again for the first time.

Title. Author. Genre. Commentary.

• Americanah. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Fiction. I love Adichie's books which generally center on Nigeria. This one crosses over covering Nigeria and America and an immigrant's view of race relations. Fantastic.
• Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. Haruki Murakami. Fiction. Be warned that this is a bit long and could have gone at a faster pace, but was a generally fun, fascinating, fantastical journey.
• Lexicon. Max Barry. Fantasy. Great fun read you don't want to put down.
• A Dog's Purpose. W Bruce Cameron. Fiction. If you love dogs, you'll love this. Perfect touching fiction told from the perspective of man's (and woman's) best friend.
• Ready Player One. Ernest Cline. Science Fiction. If you love eighties culture - movies, TV, music, video games - you'll love this nostalgic romp. Read it quick before they make the movie.

Before I list another 10-20, let's see if there is even interest in this thread. Let me know.

 

[JCMore]

The Martian. Andy Weir. Science Fiction. If you liked the movie the book was ten times better. (As always) literally could not put it down. (I wouldn't let anyone else touch it for fear of losing my place)

 

[Gene]

I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. In no particular order of importance, my list of favorite authors pretty much reads as the usual band of suspects: King, Clancy, LeCarre, Higgins, Forsyth, et al.

About 3 (maybe 4?) years ago, I heard a radio interview with a Candice Millard. She wrote a book titled: "Destiny of the Republic" which dealt with the assassination of James Garfield. It piqued my interest enough to check the book out of the library and I really found it fascinating.

I read a second book she had published ("The River of Doubt") which told the story of Theodore Roosevelt and an expedition he undertook of an unexplored part the Amazon River. Man, I was hooked and as a result I've read pretty much nothing but Presidential biographies the last 3 or 4 years.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is another fabulous author who I recommend. IMHO, her best work was "Team of Rivals", which I believe was the basis of Spielberg's "Lincoln".

Right now I'm about halfway through "James Madison, A Life Reconsidered".

If there's one thing I've taken away from reading all these biographies over the years is that absolutely nothing has changed in this country over the past 240 years or so. Nothing.

 

[Syed Ashrafulla]

I'll pop in as I remember them, but two that spring to mind are "Birds Without Wings" by Louis de Bernieres and "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman.

Edit:

Birds without Wings is historical fiction around when Turkey turned to religious violence. The point of view is an idyllic town that was ignorant of the world around it until the world imposed its turmoil onto the town.

Thinking, Fast and Slow is a semi-psychological book which explains the theory that our mind has a system 1 (that is quick, emotional and requires little energy) and a system 2 (which is deliberate, thoughtful and requires much energy). The book is a summary of 40(?) years of research on how these systems cause many of the "irrational" behaviors in humans.

 

[CP_Scouse]

Curious George.
-HH Grey
- the entire series is based off the curosity of a simple chimpanzee. The whole concept of seeing the world from a curious perspective as opposed to a materialistic perspective is something Grey tackles quite well. Plus the pictures are nice.

(Yes thats a joke)




Tao Te Ching
-translated by Stephen Mitchell
- i respect this book more than the bible. I mustve read it like 5 times. Simple to read and gives life meaning through simplicity and the detering away of materialistic wants.

 

[mgarbowski]

Some Non-Fiction to start:
The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction this book is barely 100 pages long and well worth it even if you weren't that interested in the French revolution. It obviously can't cover much detail but it hits the big picture very well and explains how this event shaped history worldwide for hundreds of years. Did I mention it's short? Few books offer more bang per page.

Alexander Hamilton

This is the bio that inspired the musical. Not short. It's the book that has always come into my head when someone asks for a recommendation long before the Broadway show. Well written and Hamilton is a fascinating figure. Born a bastard in the Caribbean, he attaches himself to one successful mentor after another until he becomes G. Washington's most trusted advisor, which kept him mostly out of combat in the Revolution (he would have preferred more action). And then he shaped the country as treasury Secretary, and founded the NY Post and The Bank of NY both of which continue today. Major rivalry with T Jefferson, with lots of petty nastiness.

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States Book 6) I don't know if it's the best Civil War single book history but it's the one I read and I liked it. Mostly plays things down the middle; towards the end when he discusses the effect of the war on subsequent events you can tell he has a moderately left outlook but regardless whether you like that it doesn't come off strong.

Modern Times Revised Edition: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties (Perennial Classics) Outstanding history of the 20th Century, first written through the 80s and then updated. Has a definite Anglo-American conservative outlook, but again whether you agree with him, the book is very worthwhile and you can adjust accordingly.

The Great War and Modern Memory Super WW One history.

Young Men and Fire Not history, but a great non-fiction story. This is the author who wrote the book A River Runs Through It, made into the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt movie. It's about a forest fire in 1949 Montana that killed most of an entire squadron of smoke jumpers. The author worked in the forestry service as a young man and this happened later, towards his middle age. The story fascinated him for 3-4 decades and when he was old he decided to devote his efforts to investigating what happened and telling the story, weaving in elements from his own life as well.

 

[mgarbowski]

PS: I make tons of spelling and typing errors here and as a rule never correct the mistakes of others as I appreciate the courtesy I get in return. But having the word "literate" misspelled in the title of a thread about books will drive me nuts for eternity. FootyLovin for all I know it was a joke but please fix.

 

[Kenny]

• Lexicon. Max Barry. Fantasy. Great fun read you don't want to put down.

I read this a few weeks ago, it was GREAT. Couldn't put it down literally from page 1. Sort of like the DaVinci Code, but well-written and really funny instead of porrly written and stupid

 

[FootyLovin]

PS: I make tons of spelling and typing errors here and as a rule never correct the mistakes of others as I appreciate the courtesy I get in return. But having the word "literate" misspelled in the title of a thread about books will drive me nuts for eternity. FootyLovin for all I know it was a joke but please fix.

Funny. Just recently I commented on another thread that I suspect people rarely understand my humor.

I thought you were among those who got me, man.

 

[FootyLovin]

Love the suggestions. Was also going to mention The Martian JCMore.

I'm particularly seeking fiction these days.

Gene can you suggest a preferred book to start with for each of Forsyth, Higgins, LeCarre, Clancy?

I'll say that for my money, you can't do better than It if you are starting on King.

 

[Angela Miller]

There's this Book Out There Called I THINK THEREFORE I PLAY ! It's about the Italian Midfielder that currently plays for the soccer team in NY called NYFC by the name of Andrea Pirlo. Anyone who may have heard about or interested this team or this man may like this book . The original Italian version is called PENSO QUINDI GIOCO. I have both copies the pictures are different. Well Folks Keep Reading and Have a nice day!!

 

[danger]

A couple novels that spring to mind:

The Flamethrowers, by Rachel Kushner (fiction). Set in the mid/late-70's, and straddles both NYC and Italy, tying together different strands of art and foment with a good mix of motorcycles and humor.

The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson (fiction). Fascinating and at times funny novel that pulls back the curtain on propaganda and state power in North Korea in a way I think it would be difficult for non-fiction to accomplish.

 

[Gene]

Gene can you suggest a preferred book to start with for each of Forsyth, Higgins, LeCarre, Clancy?

CLANCY: "The Hunt for Red October"
LeCARRE: "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold"
FORSYTH: "The Odessa File"
HIGGINS: "The Eagle Has Landed"

 

[mgarbowski]

Funny. Just recently I commented on another thread that I suspect people rarely understand my humor.

I thought you were among those who got me, man.

Well I did say I thought it was intentional, but it doesn't matter in this case. Just one of those things. Still bugs me, but it's your thread.

 

[kylelovescrayons]

Great thread idea ... i mean i was gonna post one similar a few times but never did ...

a few I love and will continue adding to ...

A Personal Matter Kenzaburo Oe - Fiction, An author with similar existential tendencies to Murakami writes about the birth of his own developmentally delayed son, but as if it is fiction. I try to read it every few years to put life into perspective. Short book but not a super quick read due to content

Shadow Country - Peter Mathieson - Historical Fiction - Originally 3 serperate books - tells the story of a shooting in the frontier of Florida first from various narrators perspectives, then fast forward to the son of the murdered man trying to piece together his family history, and finally from the murdered man himself. SUPER GOOD!!!

Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolf - Fantasy/Sci-Fi fiction - 4 books that are all quick reads. Generally sold as two volumes - Shadow and Claw, then Sword and Citadel - an incredibly disorienting and original take on the standard heroes quest. As soon as I finished it - I needed to read it again - Incredible story depth that I didn't initially note on first read.

 

[Lasker]

Great thread idea! I'm going to stick with fiction for now:

Zodiac - Neal Stephenson - an "eco-thriller" about a very clever environmental activist in Boston. The book is named for the yellow inflatable boat favored by the protagonist. This was Stephenson's 2nd book, before he made it big with Snow Crash. Just a fun, fast, read that (unlike a lot of his later books) doesn't take itself too seriously or go on far too long. I generally enjoy Stephenson and even though this is obviously less ambitious than his more recent efforts I still think it holds up well.

Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers - Sometimes credited as the very first spy novel (1903). Two young englishmen sailing in the Frisian Islands off the north coast of Germany discover evidence of a German plot. A rather large amount of sailing and tide related exposition slows it down a bit but if you have any interest in sailing/the sea that just makes it more enjoyable.

The Peripheral - William Gibson - I am a huge Gibson fan, have read most of his books and I think this is his best since Neuromancer. As usual you'll be pretty confused for the first third of the book or so. He isn't to everybody's taste but for me he is one of the best prose stylists in sci fi, and probably even beyond. Pattern Recognition and the rest of the Sprawl trilogy (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa overdrive) are also very good.

The People in the Trees - Hanya Yanighara - One of the more disturbing (fictional) books I've ever read. A young scientist accompanies an expedition to a Pacific island and discovers that the natives have some very strange rituals and that some have unusually long lifespans. Attempts to exploit the discovery for personal, scientific, and commercial purposes bring devastating changes to the island. I felt the ending that destroyed some of the book's ambiguity was a little disappointing, but thats a minor complaint.

The Night of the Owl - Leonardo Sciascia - A northern Italian policeman tries to untangle a Mafia murder in Sicily. He succeeds, up to a point. All of this Sicilian author's mysteries are wonderful but this is my favorite, maybe even beating out the Chandler and Hammet classics for my favorite mystery novel. Written with great economy and wit.

Responding to others - I enjoyed "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" more than "The Spy who Came in From the Cold" but the emotional punch of the latter is something I don't think Carre has ever equaled since. "The Flamethrowers" has been sitting on my bookshelf for awhile, this could be just the push I need to give it a try.

 

[kylelovescrayons]

Zodiac - Neal Stephenson

Super fun fast read - found it on my kindle, didn't remember downloading it or getting it from a friend, blew through it. Does it feel a tad dated now to you? Still a great read.

 

[Lasker]

Super fun fast read - found it on my kindle, didn't remember downloading it or getting it from a friend, blew through it. Does it feel a tad dated now to you? Still a great read.

Glad you liked it - and glad someone else knows it exists. I think it deserves a higher place in the Stephenson canon Apparently he himself thinks it is one of his better books.

Now that you mention it, it is a little dated, though it didn't bother me when I was reading it. The words "Yuppie" and "Wicked" probably appeared more often than they would in a book written today. And I guess heavy industry dumping chemicals into the water is not really at the forefront of the american environmental movement anymore. But those are both details. If anything dates it, it would be the assumption of a deep cultural rift between the countercultural types and "yuppies", that is, before the counterculture became totally co-opted and absorbed by brands. I'd like to say the low-key undercurrent of sexism dates it but that seemed to be, if anything, less obtrusive than some of Stephenson's more recent works.

What were you thinking of?

 

[Ulrich]

Top five best fiction book ever (and I haven't found the other four yet) is The Magus, by John Fowles. A wonderfully descriptive book that takes place on a Greek isle with an English ex-pat as the protagonist. Without saying too much, it's a monsterous journey down the rabbit hole.... Alice can't even keep up.

I've had to buy the book 3 times because friends refuse to give it back.

 

[kylelovescrayons]

Glad you liked it - and glad someone else knows it exists. I think it deserves a higher place in the Stephenson canon Apparently he himself thinks it is one of his better books.

Now that you mention it, it is a little dated, though it didn't bother me when I was reading it. The words "Yuppie" and "Wicked" probably appeared more often than they would in a book written today. And I guess heavy industry dumping chemicals into the water is not really at the forefront of the american environmental movement anymore. But those are both details. If anything dates it, it would be the assumption of a deep cultural rift between the countercultural types and "yuppies", that is, before the counterculture became totally co-opted and absorbed by brands. I'd like to say the low-key undercurrent of sexism dates it but that seemed to be, if anything, less obtrusive than some of Stephenson's more recent works.

What were you thinking of?

I agree no one seems to be aware of this book.

I think you may have articulated my thoughts better than me. The book just had a feel to it that it was a touch out of time. Not yet a book I was reading that was set in a time period (I'd guess late 80s?) nor was it a book that held up to modern times. Like so many horror movies - "What if they just had a cell phone?" kind of a thing. In no way did it take away from my enjoyment. The book just felt odd. I also went into with no frame of reference or what to expect. Yeah maybe it is the use of the word yuppie, or the expected collapse of eco bad guys. I also think (based on greenpeace) that many of these organizations simply are bigger and more complicated than the story let on. Again that was part of the character's charm - that he convinced so many that he was powerful when really he had little means.

The sexism just felt like a character trait to me.

That's all I got.