Originally posted by turtlexI was thinking about setting up a kind of RHP book club thread, but u beat me to the punch.
Read any good books lately?
I'm looking for something good to read. I read a lot, so am looking for some suggestions.
Spiritual:
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Philosophy/Politics/Social Sciences:
The Culture of Make Believe by Derrick Jensen *****
History:
The Twentieth Century by Howard Zinn
Politics:
Anything by John Pilger, Noam Chomsky or Greg Palast
War:
The Sorrow Of War by Bao Ninh
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip
Social Sciences/Consumer Issues:
Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence. (you may have trouble getting this in america due to pressure from walmart)
Fantasy:
Magician by Raymond E Feist (There are a load of good books in this series, but Magician is the first)
Song of Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin
Fiction:
River God by Wilbur Smith
Recommended authors: Graham Greene and Irvine Welsh
If anybody has read and enjoyed any of these books, and knows of others that you think I may enjoy, please let me know.
Hope this helps turtlex.
D
Originally posted by Ragnorak
I was thinking about setting up a kind of RHP book club thread, but u beat me to the punch.
Spiritual:
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Philosophy/Politics/Social Sciences:
The Culture of Make Believe by Derrick Jensen *****
History:
The Twentieth Century by Howard Zinn
Politics:
Anything by John Pilger, Noam Chomsky ...[text shortened]... of others that you think I may enjoy, please let me know.
Hope this helps turtlex.
D
Definitely helps a lot.
I've recently read "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time" by Mark Haddon. I can recommend this highly.
"Beyond Belief: The Secret Gosepel of Thomas" was very good.
"Microserfs" by Douglas Coupland and "Generation X" are two of my favorite contemporary novels.
"The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi" was great fun. I read it after reading "The DeVinci Code".
Jon Krakauers books "Under the Banner Of Heaven: A story of violent faith", "Into the Wild" and "Into Thin Air" are all excellent reads.
Robert Silverberg's series of Marjipoor books are good - my favorite being "Lord Valentine's Castle".
Classics - I would have to say "To Kill A Mockingbird".
"Highliners" is an excellent novel about the commerical fishermen in Alaska.
"The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" was good.
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is one of my favorites, too.
I just finished, "Cowboy Way: Seasons on a Montana Ranch".
The book "God Is a Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism" was very interesting and eyeopening.
Originally posted by turtlexThese are some books I've really enjoyed reading. Some are more obscure than others. My favorite author is Mordecai Richler, so although I've only listed my two favorites, just about anything by him I would recommend.
Hey All - Started talking about this in another thread and thought I'd bring it to it's own....
Read any good books lately?
I'm looking for something good to read. I read a lot, so am looking for some suggestions.
"Barney's Version" Mordecai Richler
"Joshua Then and Now" Mordecai Richler
"A Tale of Two Cities" Charles Dickens
"The Pillars of the Earth" Ken Follett
"Treblinka" Jean-Francois Steiner
"A History of Russia and the Soviet Union" David MacKenzie and Michael Curran
"The Tao of Pooh" Benjamin Hoff
"Weaveworld" Clive Barker
Originally posted by Decanter
These are some books I've really enjoyed reading. Some are more obscure than others. My favorite author is Mordecai Richler, so although I've only listed my two favorites, just about anything by him I would recommend.
"Barney's Version" Mordecai Richler
"Joshua Then and Now" Mordecai Richler
"A Tale of Two Cities" Charles Dickens
"Th ...[text shortened]... MacKenzie and Michael Curran
"The Tao of Pooh" Benjamin Hoff
"Weaveworld" Clive Barker
I read "Weaveworld" some years ago. Not the easiest book to get into, but very good given the chance.
Originally posted by turtlexYeah, Barker's stuff is a bit of a tough go sometimes, but I find his descriptive work worth the effort. He can paint quite a scene in your head if you take the time to play along.
I read "Weaveworld" some years ago. Not the easiest book to get into, but very good given the chance.
The History of Russia is actually a textbook from University that I never bothered to read while in school, but one day out of boredom picked it up and then couldn't put it down. Fascinating stuff those Ruskies...
Treblinka is a very difficult book to read but I'd also consider it a very important book. I'd like to see some war-mongers and horror movie fans forced to sit down and learn how vile reality is.
As for Richler, I can't say enough good things. Barney's Version is one of my all-time favorites, and I consider Joshua Then and Now to be a work of art.
Thanks so much. I've made a note of your suggestions.
I think a lot of the time, there should be a list of required readings for the worlds officials, leaders, etc.
The book - "IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation" is one of those books that I feel all CEO's and CIO's should be forced to read before purchasing any computer equipment. It's so very well documented.
Originally posted by turtlexIf that's the kind of book you think is important, then I can't stress how much you'll enjoy 'The Culture of Make Believe'. Probably the best researched book I've ever read.
Thanks so much. I've made a note of your suggestions.
I think a lot of the time, there should be a list of required readings for the worlds officials, leaders, etc.
The book - "IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation" is one of those books that I feel all CEO's and CIO's should be forced to read before purchasing any computer equipment. It's so very well documented.
D
Currently reading Absolution Gap (Alastair Reynolds), an excellent sci fi space opera (part of the brilliant Revelation Space series).
Just finished reading Emporer: The Gates of Rome (Conn Iggulden). I got this book as part of a free offer from Amazon and it had been sitting around at home for months, so I thought I ought to give it a go. What a pleasant surprise! This was a great read - a fictional account of Julius Caesar's childhood and early years in Rome. I'm definitely going to continue with this series.
Also just read Pompeii (Robert Harris), another good read, though not quite as good as his previous books.
I've read "Dune" a couple of times and the LOTR and Hobbit books. Also, read "Fight Club" and enjoyed that as well.
Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming!
Edited to Add - from the other thread :
bbar recommended Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
hopscotch recommended Perfume by Patrick Susskind.
darvlay recommended American Tabloid by James Ellroy.
I used to read a lot of sf/fantasy, and can recommend:
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
The Dying Earth series - Jack Vance
Philip K. Dick's better works, inc. VALIS, Ubik, The Man in the High Castle, Time Out of Joint
Black Easter/The Day After Judgement - James Blish
A Voyage to Arcturus - David Lindsay
On a more literary note:
Graham Greene (The End of the Affair, A Burnt Out Case, The Quiet American, Monsignor Quixote, Our Man in Havana and many more)
Franz Kafka (The Trial, the Metamorphosis etc)
Albert Camus (The Plague, The Outsider, The Fall etc)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Notes from the Underground, The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot. Crime and Punishment is apparently a classic, but i haven't yet read it.
enough for now...
enjoy!
george orwell 1984 and animal farm are both good, also liked bram stokers dracula, mary shelleys frankenstein, robert louis stevensons dr jekyll and mr hyde, oscar wildes the portrait of dorian gray.
isaac asimovs robots and foundation series were excellent. so was stephen donaldsons gap series. rated arthur c clarkes rama rama. these are sci fi.
then stephen donaldsons the chronicles of thomas covenent the unbeliever is an excellent fantasy set.
the best of course is tolkiens the lord of the rings.
jarryd the tolkien clan.