Any Great Books?

July 25, 2008 | Stephanie32

[Stephanie32]

(My first thread, hope I'm doing this right!)

[kitkat]

I thought of another good one this morning. Since romance books are on your menu, “A Knight in Shining Armor” by Jude Deveraux, is definitely one of the best.

Don’t let the title scare you away. This is WAY above the usual romance books.

[supremedoctrine]

Thanks.
I would start with Edward Dahlberg, a very eccentric American writer born in 1900, who wrote a lot of highly quirky books very few people read, was always obscure, but also wrote one masterpiece, his autobiograpy, at about the age of 60, Because I Was Flesh. (title taken from the Bible)
This is simply one of the great American books, period.

[Amityschild]

Favorite read of all time (the last book of the series is very relevant to current days re: propaganda in the news, often quoted by conservative writers):

C.S. Lewis - Space Trilogy

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Awe, Man! You make it sound like I have to WORK to find “Enlightenment!”

Can’t I just lay around all day watching my cat? ;)

[henkster]

Having finished Gordon Rhea’s Civil War series on Grant’s Overland Campaign and Noah Trudeau’s “The Last Citadel; The Siege of Petersburg,” I am now reading “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin, combination biographies of Lincoln, William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates. Just got started in it. No real opinion yet.

[wtc911]

Yes, we got into Foyle's War when it was on. The Berlin Noir Trilogy is really much more a Police-Detective series that happens to be set in 1933-1947 Germany. The war is a backdrop it is not causal of any of the action. That's what makes it so interesting, that and the depth of daily living detail that Kerr paints onto the page.

My one complaint is that Kerr rushed the ending of the first two. He created a thoroughly engrossing world and then crammed what should have taken fifty pages into twenty. The last of the trilogy avoids this error.

These were very early works for Kerr. After reading them I sought out all his other work...none of it approaches the quality of these...very disappointing.

[rbmillerjr]

Confederacy of Dunces

[allmendream]

Sci Fi is a great genre, but like any other it is just a vehicle to tell a great story and/or convey a great message. Just finished watching the first three seasons of Battlestar Galactica, and it constantly used Sci Fi as a vehicle to explore the questions of what it means to be human and the theme that it is not enough just to survive, one must preserve the conditions that make us worthy of living. Edgar Rice Burroughs similarly uses the notion of alien races and a different planet to explore the theme of constant war over diminishing resources on a dying planet; the concept of racial differences and how for John Carter it didn't matter if you were green, red, white, black, or yellow- it was the content of your character not the color of your skin; and the natural results of Communism being a degraded existence filled with loathing for your fellow beings, the separation of families to evince total loyalty to the State; and the value of kindness to animals.

[saminfl]

C.J. Box has written eight mysteries about Wyoming game ranger Joe Pickett. They are absolutely great. He has also written a non-Joe Pickett mystery called "Blue Heaven." It was really suspenseful.

Craig Johnson writes about a Wyoming sheriff. Craig's books are really good. The third was the best.

I am not from Wyoming and have only driven through it once on I-80, but I love mysteries taking place in Wyoming. At least I think the authors do a great job describing the countryside and the people.

Gregory Bean has also written 4 mysteries concerning a Wyoming lawman. I have read each of them twice.

[Interesting Times]

Shadow Warriors - Ken Timmerman's superb book on how leftists entrenched in the CIA and the State Department have systematically lied about and leaked classified information to subvert the War on Terror and attack the Bush Administration.

[T Minus Four]

“How do I sense the tide that’s rising, desensitizing me from living in the light of eternity?” Mandisa with Tobey Mac on the Portable Sounds CD

[Madison Moose]

I recently finished two excellent books by Roger Crowley.

The first is “1453”, which is about the Siege of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks and the end of the Byzantine Empire. The second is called “Empires of the Sea”. It is a kind of follow up, looking at the clash between Christians(primarily Spain) and Muslims(primarily Turks) in the Mediterranean during the 16th Century.

Both are very well written nonfiction that read like novels.

I'd also throw out “Causes Lost, Won, and Forgotten” by Gary Gallagher. The main theme is how the Civil War has been portrayed in movies since Birth of a Nation.

[Califelephant]

“Have you read Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K Jerome? Very funny. It reminded me of Wodehouse.”

Hilarious! I loved that book. If you like that, you might also like “You Know Me, Al” by Ring Lardner.

[Radix]

"Pillars of the Earth was long, but fantastic."

 

I actually read that one twice.

 

You'd likely enjoy the "sequel " World without end" which concerns events 200 or so years later in the same area.

 

Nice read.

[NittanyLion]

I’ve been reading some of the classics lately, and would recommend trying that approach. To name the latest: Anna Karenina, 1984, Crime and Punishment, and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

[Radix]

"But what the author didn’t count on is that many of the older mines that were shut down are viable with the increased prices of metals. Many of the towns are experiencing a second wind."

That is really interesting. I had not thought of that.

Are you familiar with that Jared Diamond book, "Collapse"?

I had it for about 2 years before I actually read it a couple of months ago. I learned a few things.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I loved “The Lonely Silver Rain.” I have all of the Travis McGee novels on my Wish List at Amazon.com. I’ll own First Editions of them all one day. It is my mission! :)

“Just Another Sunday” was a good one, too. About crooked creeps in the pay-for-play world of Tele-Vangelism.

MacDonald wrote tons of TV and movie screenplays, too...many from his own novels.

Quite a prolific and talented man.

Have you ever read John O’Hara? If not, start with “Appointment in Samara.” Man, I love that book. Very “Gatsby-esque” but SO much more.

[Chickensoup]

Hi Diana,

I have read them all. MacDonald also has an interesting book about his two cats you might enjoy. I do not remember the title. but it was a look into the lives of the author and his family.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks! :)

[HavaLyon]

I was told I ought to post my nonfiction book review blog link on this post. So here I am. :-) I have been on FR before, but it's been a while.

Anyway, I work for the local library part-time, and also blog part-time. My website is Nonfiction Lover, where I try to update at least 5 - 6 times a week. I read a wide variety of nonfiction books, and have recently added a weekly Friday Fun post, where I review children's books on Fridays. So for the parents in the group, that might be interesting.

But the rest of the week, I review regular nonfiction books. Some of the books you guys may enjoy that I've reviewed:

Moment of Truth in Iraq - A great book that I rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.

Debunking 9/11 Myths - A fantastic book that I rated 5 stars, a rarity for me.

Of course, I don't do all serious books - today, I read and reviewed a Dave Barry book and thoroughly enjoyed it. ;-) If it's a nonfiction book, I can review it for my site, so I'm going to be checking out the suggestions on this thread to see if there's any interesting ones I need to check out. I saw some on the list that I already have checked out but haven't read yet, so I'm excited to get to them.

Hava