Just finished "Have a Little Faith" by Mitch Albom Currently working on: The Power of Less by Leo Baubata Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk The Bible Future: What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
We've just got different tastes. You've got Ender's Game listed as one of your top 10 Best Books Ever read and I found it almost unreadable.
Just starting Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem I've been on a kick recently reading novels about New York City.... go figure
Obviously no personal offense meant. I definitely agree that everyone's tastes are different. Just giving a different account of that book, especially since you recommended it so much. Probably a bit over the top with my dislike of it, but I really disliked that book. I've talked about it in other threads. Once again, I mean no animosity towards anybody's taste in books, movies, music, etc. But if we're recommending books to read, we should be able to give different ratings based on our opinions. Some books people will love while others will hate it just as viscerally. To clarify, I wouldn't call Ender's Game one of the top 10 best books ever written. It is one of my 10 favorite. At least it was until Card went off on his anti-gay crusade.
Yeah, I'm thinking I'll pick that one up eventually - I read on Brandon's blog some time back that he has plans for some uber-work epic with some insanely ridiculous ideas and complexity. Think Wheel of Time on steroids.
Here are 5 highly entertaining books that I've read recently: The Basketball Book by Bill Simmons - Simmons is detail oriented, very knowledgeable, and has a great sense of humor. He's a Celtics homer, and he literally has a footnote on every single page, but it's a must read for any true fan. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - The imagery in this novel was unbelievable, as McCarthy paints an elaborate picture in the reader's mind with his descriptions of the post-apocalyptic world. I couldn't put this book down. It's now a major motion picture. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - Krakauer's personal account of his ascent of Mt. Everest with a team of professional climbers, clients, and sherpas. Too Fat To Fish by Artie Lange - An in-depth look at the shenanigans and hooligan ways of comedian Artie Lange, who's a raging drunk and drug abuser. His stories had me laughing uncontrollably, as he talks about losing his virginity to a hooker, snorting cocaine on the set of Mad TV, and much more.
The Lovely Bones Unfortunately, my mom bought it for me for Xmas and almost watched for me to begin reading it. It's written through the lens of an adolescent, but I like the plot. Only Clutchfans may know my reading list! :grin:
Do you most of you purchase these at brick and mortar places like B&N or order online from Amazon? Also, are these real books or electronic versions like Kindle?
I buy most of my books at used book stores. I keep a list of books I really want and pick them up as I find them. Brand new releases I usually get from B&N because I want it right that moment.
I just finished The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac. I highly suggest reading it before it gets too dated. Now, I'm on The Book of Basketball and The Art of a Beautiful Game. Next? I'm thinking American Gods, Dune, The Breaks of the Game, or Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door. Any of those stick out?
I'm a frustrated wannabe author. My older sister is a published writer of romances, but I was always seen as the fellow who would be the writer in the family. That was what she thought and several other old friends and relatives, who had read short stories I wrote decades ago for fun, but here I am, faced with reality. Yet I look at how many posts I have here, with a per word average I can guess pretty well, having written them, and were those words added up, placed on pages, and meant something besides the gibberish of eight years, it could have amounted to a fair sized novel. What a depressing thought.
Start with Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander, then read the 18 other parts of what is really one grand novel of the Napoleonic Wars. J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, and then read Lord of the Rings. Read Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels. Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. Ken Follett's The Eye of the Needle. Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass. Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse-Five. Jack McDevitt's The Engines of God. Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. Frank Herbert's Dune. Issac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy. Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom. Steven Saylor's Roman Blood. Dean Koontz's Watchers. Walter Jon Williams' Dread Empire's Fall. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. John Varley's Titan. Steven King's The Stand (unabridged). These are a few I've really enjoyed and most I have read more than once. Great? That's for the reader to decide.
I'm pretty much into self help b.s. Currently... Speed-Reading for Professionals - H. Bernard Wechsler and Arthur H. Bell, Ph.D. Harrington on Hold' em Volume 1 Strategic Play - Dan Harrington; Bill Robertie
I spent a long time plowing through the first 10 books of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Fun stuff and pure pulp fiction goodness. There's nothing groundbreaking about them, but I laughed and found them amusing and a good ride. They sometimes bog down in the mundane when the series delves into political struggles among various members of supernatural entities. Still I would recommend them if you're into these kinds of books (modern vampire\werewolf horror mixed with a smart ass wizard private eye). I just finished up The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. It was wonderfully written, and it had an intriguing tale. This book handled some weird material and told it in a fascinating way. The main character is an ass, and he deals with being through some hellacious 3rd degree burns. I learned a lot about burn recovery, 12th century Gerrman books, and other assorted sujbects. The whole time I kept wondering how it would end and tie everything together. If it could have done so, this would have been an all-time classic. Unfortunately it fell apart in the last act with some long boring dream sequences and a muddled, confusing end. Still, the book was masterfully written, and the story although a bit lacking for me is still a vivid tale that was quite memorable. I look forward to seeing what Mr. Davidson will write in the future. Up next is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. I stopped reading this when my son was born last July, and I've been meaning to pick it back up every since. I'm looking forward to finally seeing how this book turns out.
