Stuff It - 02 June 2009 04:53 PM

I haven’t read that one. I will have to check it out - the reference to Hunter Thomson makes it intriguing - anyone seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

 

I just finished the book and it was interesting. I loved 1984, and as for another pick, I recently read A Confederacy of Dunces and it was pretty amusing.

http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Beautiful-Web-Design/dp/0975841963

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design (Paperback)
by Jason Beaird

About halfway through Walter Mosley’s ‘A Red Death’.  My copy looks like a well-thumbed yellowing paperback from 1991.  Smells good though   Great story so far.  Another ‘Easy Rawlins’ mystery…

Been into reading a lot the last few weeks and have finished Memoirs of a Geisha & The Kite Runner, both great reads.

Just started The Road, and it is intense. I don’t scare easily but while reading it in bed late at night, my husband turned on the TV - not knowing the volume was kinda loud. Scared the bejeezus outta me.

The Kite Runner was a wonderful book -  the only book that ever made me cry.

if you’re a dog-lover, Art of Racing in the Rain

trip.threat - 25 June 2009 04:47 PM

Been into reading a lot the last few weeks and have finished Memoirs of a Geisha & The Kite Runner, both great reads.

Just started The Road, and it is intense. I don’t scare easily but while reading it in bed late at night, my husband turned on the TV - not knowing the volume was kinda loud. Scared the bejeezus outta me.

I loved those books too.  I read Kite Runner when it first came out and I thought it was a memoir until the Taliban scene.  This post reminded me of a book I read many years ago called Life and Death in Shanghai.  It was a great memoir.

Sunshine - 26 June 2009 07:16 AM

trip.threat - 25 June 2009 04:47 PM

Been into reading a lot the last few weeks and have finished Memoirs of a Geisha & The Kite Runner, both great reads.

Just started The Road, and it is intense. I don’t scare easily but while reading it in bed late at night, my husband turned on the TV - not knowing the volume was kinda loud. Scared the bejeezus outta me.

I loved those books too.  I read Kite Runner when it first came out and I thought it was a memoir until the Taliban scene.  This post reminded me of a book I read many years ago called Life and Death in Shanghai.  It was a great memoir.

It did read like non-fiction, and there’s not much in the book I’d find far-fetched, even the stadium scene. I also picked up Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author.

ohnelly - 29 May 2009 04:16 AM

I just finished The Glass Castle.  It was a good read; it sucked me in pretty quickly and I finished the book within a week (I’m not a particularly fast reader, nor do I have a ton of time to devote to reading).  The book was kind of like Amy Tan books - painfully tragic but somehow inspiring…this was even more so since it was a memoir.  It was shocking and difficult to read but captivating.

I just finished this in three days - a new record for me.  It was wonderful.  Thank you for the recommendation!

Im going to post some of my favorite books of all time an then you can decide if its something you might be interested in:

1. In the Eye of the Sun - by Ahdaf Soueif
2. In the Distant Land of my Father - by Bo Caldwell - takes place in the 30’s in Shanghai and moves over the next 25 years or so to Pasadena Ca.
3. The Devil in the White City - by Erik Larson - Some of you may have read this already, but its about the Chicago Worlds fair from 1893, and it talks about the architects that helped to create it, almost all of whom became luminaries of architecture later in their careers.
4. Almost anything be Emile Zola - But most favorably L’assommoir (the dram shop)

All of these are available via Amazon or most bookstores with the exception of L’Assomoir which I believe is currently out of print. However used copies are easily found and shouldn’t be too expensive.

Also anyone that likes reading about Elizabethan history; I can recommend tons of books about Henry VIII, and any or all of his wives, most notoriously Anne Boleyn. Just ask, I have read at least 12 books on these topics in the last year.

Is that the Philippa Gregory series? Those are fun reads. Thanks for the other recommendations

Just recently finished A Thousand Splendid Suns and Flash Forward. Picked up the latter when I saw the preview for the series coming out this Fall on ABC. The concept was cool, the book, meh - I have better hopes for the show.

Just picked up Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and I have Almost Moon by the same author waiting…

trip.threat - 24 August 2009 03:26 PM

Is that the Philippa Gregory series? Those are fun reads. Thanks for the other recommendations

No there are many novels about the Elizabethan period much better and less… cheesy than Phillippa Gregory. But my preference has been for actual history books. Margaret George did a great one. Allison Weir is very respected as well.

GraceOMalley - 24 August 2009 03:39 PM

Margaret George did a great one. Allison Weir is very respected as well.

I’ll be looking into those. The Gregory books piqued my interest in the Tudor family, but it would be nice to read a series that I didn’t feel compelled to hide from my book club Not that there’s anything wrong with them, or Maeve Binchey, for that matter… but still.

Yay for Iain Banks fans!  Complicity typically makes my recommended books list.  I tore through most of the Culture series (including Matter, the newest one) a couple of months ago.  Made me rethink whether or not Brave New World should retain its title as my personal utopia. 

I usually suggest

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson (Diamond Age is also quite engaging)
Shibumi - Trevanian (very slow start but so worth it)
Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein (because everyone should learn what grok means)

I’m currently reading Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution and Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, and though required reading for a philosophy class I’m taking, if you’re even vaguely interested in the subject matter, they’re well done.  Genome is great for bridging the gap between the science and day to day life, and Posthuman Future recognizes the trends toward Huxley’s dystopia in our society.

I’m going to pick up a copy of The Road, thanks for the suggestion. 

Soylent Green Is People - 01 June 2009 11:25 PM

There’s always “Still Life With A Woodpecker” by Tom Robbins. Odd, but not as odd as Hitchhiker’s Guide.

“The Martian Chronicles” is another classic book suggestion.

I can’t watch Mystic River without wanting to shoot the villains, so in order to preserve my Plasma, I turn the channel.

I was in HS during that period of time and these days I have a lot less patience than I did then. I have to say that I could never abide by the issues around the “mystic river” incidents. If for no other reason than because as the family of the girl that that happened to There is no excusable way to talk or remark on that woman’s death.

I just finished Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye.  It is generally considered his best book.  I can believe it.  This book was so enjoyable.  This is one of those books where you imagine Bogart playing the PI.  If you like this genre at all, you must read it.

badcandy - 24 August 2009 08:12 PM

Yay for Iain Banks fans!  Complicity typically makes my recommended books list.  I tore through most of the Culture series (including Matter, the newest one) a couple of months ago.  Made me rethink whether or not Brave New World should retain its title as my personal utopia. 

I usually suggest

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson (Diamond Age is also quite engaging)
Shibumi - Trevanian (very slow start but so worth it)
Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein (because everyone should learn what grok means)

I’m currently reading Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution and Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, and though required reading for a philosophy class I’m taking, if you’re even vaguely interested in the subject matter, they’re well done.  Genome is great for bridging the gap between the science and day to day life, and Posthuman Future recognizes the trends toward Huxley’s dystopia in our society.

I’m going to pick up a copy of The Road, thanks for the suggestion. 

Check out:

Broken Angels - Richard Morgan
Old Mans War - John Scalzi
Anything by Peter Hamilton/Alastair Reynolds
Enders Game - Orson Scott Card
Deaths Head - David Gunn
Spin - Robert Charles Wilson

It’s short, but Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places:  Disneyland Version is wonderful!  Anyone who comes to my house gets trapped on the couch with it until they’ve read it cover to cover

.

I’m currently reading Methland by Nick Reding. So far, I’m enjoying it.

Anyone read Lost Symbol yet?  I picked it up the day it was released and still haven’t finished it, mostly because it’s really failed to draw my interest.  Enjoyed almost every other Dan Brown except for Deception Point.

acpme - 09 October 2009 08:36 PM

Anyone read Lost Symbol yet?  I picked it up the day it was released and still haven’t finished it, mostly because it’s really failed to draw my interest.  Enjoyed almost every other Dan Brown except for Deception Point.

Its boring. Dont bother. I read it, and then looked at it again recently thinking “hey!”  Oh. Ive read it, what was it about again? bleh.

I’m on a history kick, and am in the middle of “From Colony to Superpower: US Foreign Relations since 1776.” by George C. Herring. It is gripping. One thing it provides unique insight on is the origins of executive privilege. Recent examples with the previous administration are nothing compared to some of the shenanigans of past Presidents.

‘The Help’ by KathrynStockett.  Great book about black/white relations in Mississippi in the 60’s.  Black women were asked to cook, clean and raise the babies of their white employers, but still considered them “unclean” and made them use a separate garage bathroom!  Great ending - you will love this book.

GraceOMalley - 10 October 2009 12:14 AM

acpme - 09 October 2009 08:36 PM

Anyone read Lost Symbol yet?  I picked it up the day it was released and still haven’t finished it, mostly because it’s really failed to draw my interest.  Enjoyed almost every other Dan Brown except for Deception Point.

Its boring. Dont bother. I read it, and then looked at it again recently thinking “hey!”  Oh. Ive read it, what was it about again? bleh.

seriously… i still enjoyed some of the books but every one of his books - including the ones where Robert Langdon isn’t the protagonist - can be summarized as following.  just switch the variables as needed.

Robert Langdon is called to famous location X for reasons he doesn’t know.
Oh no, a prominent person is dead!
Robert Langdon must solve the mystery, which appears to involve Secret Society.
But Director So-in-So in charge of the investigation is skeptical and appears to be undermining.  So-in-So can’t be trusted?
Let us seek the assistance of Helpful Friend then…
Wait it wasn’t Secret Society after all and Helpful Friend was behind it all along!