OT: Read any good books lately?
- Thread starter RuBird
- Start date
There is a pinned thread on the CE Board that does this but I can understand if someone does not want to venture over there. LOL
That being said this is usually what I throw out there for a quick, easy and interesting beach read:
Amazon product ASIN 034540730X
David Brinkley shares his recollections of how Washington DC transformed from a sleepy little southern town at the beginning of WWII to what we know it as today.
That being said this is usually what I throw out there for a quick, easy and interesting beach read:
Amazon product ASIN 034540730X
David Brinkley shares his recollections of how Washington DC transformed from a sleepy little southern town at the beginning of WWII to what we know it as today.
I've been trying to read books I didn't read when I was supposed to. Mostly I'm remembering why I didn't read them in the first place. But here's the recent list:
A Portrait of the Artists as a Young Man James Joyce Did not love this. A couple sections were OK, but mostly pretty pretentious. Of course, not Joyce's best work.
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald First three or four pages (until he gets into the story) are just awful. After that, it's not a bad story, but not great and the ending is as contrived as anything I've ever read. Fun Fact: Fitzgerald's full name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (guy who wrote the words for the national anthem).
A Farewell to Arms Hemingway Just about 2/3 of the way through this and I'm enjoying it.
Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro Picked this up because the guy won a Nobel Prize for literature. The book is kind of sparse and dry, but it took you to a different time and place, and I love that in novels.
My Antonia Willa Cather I freakin' love Willa Cather. This book, O! Pioneers, and Death Comes for the Archbishop are great at taking you to places and times you've never been to. Interesting woman.
Calclulus Made Easy Silvanus P. Thompson Wait! What?! Yep. Calculus Made Easy, written by this guy in 1910 is great! If you bailed on calculus in high school and want to know what it is all about, this is the book for you. It's actually funny as well. You can get it for free from the Gutenberg Project.
And my alltime favorite read is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore. Funniest book I've ever read. Warning: Massively sacriligous.
A Portrait of the Artists as a Young Man James Joyce Did not love this. A couple sections were OK, but mostly pretty pretentious. Of course, not Joyce's best work.
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald First three or four pages (until he gets into the story) are just awful. After that, it's not a bad story, but not great and the ending is as contrived as anything I've ever read. Fun Fact: Fitzgerald's full name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (guy who wrote the words for the national anthem).
A Farewell to Arms Hemingway Just about 2/3 of the way through this and I'm enjoying it.
Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro Picked this up because the guy won a Nobel Prize for literature. The book is kind of sparse and dry, but it took you to a different time and place, and I love that in novels.
My Antonia Willa Cather I freakin' love Willa Cather. This book, O! Pioneers, and Death Comes for the Archbishop are great at taking you to places and times you've never been to. Interesting woman.
Calclulus Made Easy Silvanus P. Thompson Wait! What?! Yep. Calculus Made Easy, written by this guy in 1910 is great! If you bailed on calculus in high school and want to know what it is all about, this is the book for you. It's actually funny as well. You can get it for free from the Gutenberg Project.
And my alltime favorite read is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore. Funniest book I've ever read. Warning: Massively sacriligous.
America's unknown "Battle of Thermopylae" and the unmarked graves in Brooklyn
Washington's Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution Paperback – March 21, 2017
Amazon product ASIN 0802126367
Marbleheaders from MA knew the secret to navigating dangerous waters and were key in NY/NJ actions
The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware Kindle Edition
Amazon product ASIN B08M12FQ85
Washington's Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution Paperback – March 21, 2017
Amazon product ASIN 0802126367
Marbleheaders from MA knew the secret to navigating dangerous waters and were key in NY/NJ actions
The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware Kindle Edition
Amazon product ASIN B08M12FQ85
"Rise and Kill First" by Ronen Bergman
A history of Israeli counter intelligence and counter terrorism. Excellent read that highlights the failures as much as the successes.
A history of Israeli counter intelligence and counter terrorism. Excellent read that highlights the failures as much as the successes.
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Good Point! People should definitely buy both of the books below, and also give away many as gifts!
Zappa's incredible book on his dad:
Amazon product ASIN 0316525456
My book on the bad boys in the history of art:
Amazon product ASIN B08GJ8D15B
Anything by Ken Follett. I'm currently reading The Evening and The Morning.
Historical Fiction about England in the year 997 and the prequell to The Pillars of the Earth.
Historical Fiction about England in the year 997 and the prequell to The Pillars of the Earth.
Huge fan of Robert Coram’s biographies. Stories about heroes who , for one reason or another , fought against the inflexibility of the military and paid the price
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Is the best of all
Just a fascinating individual - he created the OODA loop, which is in use by many companies today.
from the description:
John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history. Some remember him as the greatest U.S. fighter pilot ever -- the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds. Some recall him as the father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft -- the F-15 and F-16. Still others think of Boyd as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu. They know only half the story.
Boyd, more than any other person, saved fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command. His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights. He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed. Later in life, he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency. And in one of the most startling and unknown stories of modern military history, the Air Force fighter pilot taught the U.S. Marine Corps how to fight war on the ground. His ideas led to America's swift and decisive victory in the Gulf War and foretold the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Is the best of all
Just a fascinating individual - he created the OODA loop, which is in use by many companies today.
from the description:
John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history. Some remember him as the greatest U.S. fighter pilot ever -- the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds. Some recall him as the father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft -- the F-15 and F-16. Still others think of Boyd as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu. They know only half the story.
Boyd, more than any other person, saved fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command. His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights. He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed. Later in life, he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency. And in one of the most startling and unknown stories of modern military history, the Air Force fighter pilot taught the U.S. Marine Corps how to fight war on the ground. His ideas led to America's swift and decisive victory in the Gulf War and foretold the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Sing Backwards and Weep by Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees was interesting but sad. Like many in the Seattle music scene, Lanegan was a heroin addict. The band dynamics and stories about other bands and musicians made it a good read.
I just finished "Killing the Rising Sun" by Bill O'Reilly. I learned more about WW2 in that book than any history class. I have enjoyed his other "Killing" books too.
I read a lot of:
Eric Larson - historical non-fiction. Devil in the White is his best IMO
Tom Clancy - military spy thrillers (fiction) - so many to recommend
Nelson DeMille - spy and detective thrillers (fiction). Charm School or The Lion good to start with
Great book I read about a year ago Red Notice by Bill Browder. Non-fiction, current and completely in the news lately with Putin actively trying to crush this guy. Very good read.
Favorites all-time would also include Endurance (the story of Shackleton) or City of Thieves by David Benioff (WWII story takes place in Russia)
Eric Larson - historical non-fiction. Devil in the White is his best IMO
Tom Clancy - military spy thrillers (fiction) - so many to recommend
Nelson DeMille - spy and detective thrillers (fiction). Charm School or The Lion good to start with
Great book I read about a year ago Red Notice by Bill Browder. Non-fiction, current and completely in the news lately with Putin actively trying to crush this guy. Very good read.
Favorites all-time would also include Endurance (the story of Shackleton) or City of Thieves by David Benioff (WWII story takes place in Russia)
“All the Light we cannot see” by Anthony Doerr. WW2 historical fiction. Very well done.
A great choice. I'll recommend Under a Red Sky (Sullivan). This covers WWII Northern Italy. It is based on a true story, but is considered to be greatly embellished. Still, a great read.
"Rock Me on the Water: 1974-The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television, and Politics" by Ronald Brownstein
Couldn't put this one down, it was brilliant. Showed - through pop culture - the turning point coming out of the social upheaval of the 1960s how the battle between what the country was and what it was about to become was unfolding.
Haunted Border by Patrick Dearen. Very different type of Western. My two favorites from him are Apache Lament and Dead Mans Boot.
Just finished "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir. If you liked "The Martian", you'll love this.
A book that came out in the 1990s that I read a long time ago, “The Fifties” by David Halberstam. Its a sweeping and very readable history of the 1950s. It focuses on the decade from a cultural, social and political basis and debunks many of the myths of that decade. It points out how many of the issues and trends that started during the 1950s were very connected to the upheaval of the 1960s. Also , more recently two very interesting and entertaining music memoirs , “My Cross To Bear” about the life of Gregg Allman and “Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen. Two very illiminating portraits of very different but talented musicians. Both books are a lot of fun to read.
Halberstam wrote "The Reckoning" in the late 80's about the US and Japanese auto industries that was excellent.
I will second Skillet's book - tremendously good read if you are even mildly interested in art history.
@NorthernKnight recommended a book on The Troubles in Northern Ireland a few months ago that reads like a murder mystery but is shockingly real. Scrupulously researched, best book on the topic I have read.
Say Nothing
Just finished “Spearhead” by Adam Makos. Follows the tankers of the 3rd Armored Division as they chased the Nazis from France to Germany. Excellent research and writing.
Also recently completed “How To Avoid a Climate Disaster” by Bill Gates. He does a good job of laying out what’s at stake and what is needed to get our Carbon emissions down to where we can limit further impacts. He stays away from politics. He points out a wide variety of innovations and development needed to get us there in a timeframe of a few decades. I came away from this book with a better understanding of the issue but with less optimism that it can be adequately addressed.
Also recently completed “How To Avoid a Climate Disaster” by Bill Gates. He does a good job of laying out what’s at stake and what is needed to get our Carbon emissions down to where we can limit further impacts. He stays away from politics. He points out a wide variety of innovations and development needed to get us there in a timeframe of a few decades. I came away from this book with a better understanding of the issue but with less optimism that it can be adequately addressed.
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One of my favorite books of all time is Murderer's Row: The 1927 New York Yankees by G.H. Fleming. It's the story of the season told through the reprinting of contemporary sports columns of the day.
They just announced that Fletch is being rebooted with Jon Hamm if you've never read the series. The new film is based on the second book, Confess, Fletch, which introduces the Inspector Flynn character, also the subject of a series of books by Gregory MacDonald.
They just announced that Fletch is being rebooted with Jon Hamm if you've never read the series. The new film is based on the second book, Confess, Fletch, which introduces the Inspector Flynn character, also the subject of a series of books by Gregory MacDonald.
Just finished "The Black Swan" two weeks ago, and it is a brilliant account of the nature of uncertainty, confirmation bias, and weak logic. It is in the top five books I've ever read.
In the mode of Skillet, I published this trilogy (to Kindle) some months ago, which was a long time in the making. It's not a religious book per se, more of a thought experiment based on a few premises. Here's the link for the curious among you. :-)
"When Dance Gets In Her Bones" is another book I recently published (Amazon Kindle, Nov. 2020), for those of you with a dancer in the family. Here's the link.
I almost forgot about this one! For those interested in starting your own life coaching practice or career, I wrote this as a primer on what the profession entails. It's on Amazon Kindle--here's the link. :-)
I finished "Killing the Mob" earlier this summer and found it just ok. Part of the problem for me was the book focused more on providing trivial details about a wide range of historical figures without much continuity in story line.
I'm currently reading "Washington's Spies" by Alexander Rose after watching the AMC drama "TURN" earlier this year which it was based upon. So far it's been interesting to appreciate just how much the drama kept true to history. My only negative with the book so far is his writing style tends to read much like an encyclopedia.
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And for the coup de gras, I re-published this last year, after it having first been published in hardcover in 1998 (International Scholars Publications). I rewrote parts of it to soften the tone, which was originally a bit combative. Religious topics are typically controversial, and this is no exception, but there's a lot of research in it for those who want to explore the topic. Here's the link. :-)
Did he push fake meat and preach about not eating real meat?
With this esteemed group, is the question, "Wrote any good books lately?". Been reading the "Comoran Strike" series by J.K. Rowling under a pseudonym. Good detective stories
Two fantasy novels that I read recently and enjoyed both.
The Blacktongue Thief (Buehlman)
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dinniman)
I was worried the second book was going to be really stupid, but was really well written and totally hilarious. If you like Douglas Adams and ever played D&D, a surprisingly great book.
The Blacktongue Thief (Buehlman)
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dinniman)
I was worried the second book was going to be really stupid, but was really well written and totally hilarious. If you like Douglas Adams and ever played D&D, a surprisingly great book.
