Any Great Books?

July 25, 2008 | Stephanie32

[Stephanie32]

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

[LongElegantLegs]

There are few books as quote-able. :-P

[supremedoctrine]

Here’s a very eclectic mix, off the top of my head.
None of them is in any way related to any other-——
FICTION: A High Wind in Jamaica Richard Hughes
Soldier’s Pay Wm Faulkner
The Fox in the Attic RIchard Hughes
Light in August Wm Faulkner
The Car Thief Theodore Weesner
V. Thomas Pynchon
ANY fiction, poetry or other
writing by our best writer DENIS JOHNSON
Denis
NON FICTION THE Supreme Doctrine Hubert Benoit
(the best single book I have read, hence my FR
handle)
Black Spring Henry Miller
Because I Was Flesh Edward Dahlberg
(both autobiographies)
Diary of a Madman August Strindberg
THe Thief’s Journal Jean Genet
ANYTHING BY HAROLD ROSENBERG (art &culture
criticism
ANYTHING BY MARK STEYN
Anything by Saul Bellow.
Anything by Jacques Ellul
JESUS NOW Malachi Martin

[abb]

In my lifetime (I’m 58) there are only two books that I read in one sitting. That is, when I picked them up, I didn’t put them down until finished.

The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton
The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty

For detective fiction, there is nothing better anywhere than the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald.

Military history: Challenge for the Pacific; Guadalcanal, the turning point of the war, by Robert Leckie. I can still recall passages from that book some forty years after reading it.

[Publius6961]

OK here's two.

Fiction, Double Take Catherine Coulter
For people who are not offended by pottymouth dialogue, Invisible Prey, John Sandford

[Califelephant]

The Aubrey/Maturin series, by Richard O’Brian. It will consume your life until you finish it. Seriously.

I'll second that.

I'm reading Hot Water by P.G. Wodehouse, creator of Jeeves and Wooster. Wodehouse is one of the best humorists in the English language.

[kalee]

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.

[Xenophon450]

The Civil War, three part series by the late Shelby Foote. It may take you awhile though. Although if you have an affinity toward the Civil War, it is a labor of love. Just for clarification, it is nonfiction, a historical narrative of the entire war.

[Free Vulcan]

HELL YES! Best book I’ve read in a long LONG time!

[ottbmare]

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. Not a cheerful read but a beautiful one, real literature. It's about World War I, and what love means. Not a chick book, though, don't get me wrong.

[Publius6961]

Does anyone have any recommendations for any really great books that you've really enjoyed lately? Fiction or nonfiction.

You could be a nice person and give us a clue of the genre you enjoy, or if depends on your mood.

Some months I read entirely fiction, others just non-fiction.

And then there's the categories
Classic Literature?
Philosophy?
Politics?
Art?
Spy novels?
Action adventure?
Medical?
Science Fiction?
Humor?
Ancient History?
Recent History?
Historical novels?

So many books, so little time.

[Pearls Before Swine]

I found his Berlin Diary on sale and read it this spring. Very interesting reading...

I'll have to find it. Another one he wrote is "The Collapse of the Third Republic" which tells the story from the French side. It is written ten years later (1970). Very interesting as to what was going on in France, which was considered to have by far the strongest army in Europe until about 1936 or 1937.

[Radix]

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

 

You might find this book interesting when contrasted with certain elements of Atlas Shrugged.  I think that if you read it, you'll probably see why there is IMO a connection, (and validation) of Rand's almost prophetic work. The business about the modern Montana Economy early in the book is what compares mostly, I think.

[Lynne]

Pillars of the Earth was long, but fantastic.

[kitkat]

Thanks, Publius. I’ve made a note of the books you recommended.

[Auntie Mame]

Love love love “The Power of Now.”

[Auntie Mame]

Agree, “My Grandfather’s Son” was fantastic. Have you read “Blacklisted by History?” Really good, too.

[Ax]

If you’re interested in Africa at all, Wilbur Smith is your man. His works range from ancient Egypt (”River God’) and any number of novels on the early days of the Europeans settling in Africa.

[ottbmare]

I loved Cryptonomicon, but Stephenson's later book(s), the Baroque Cycle Quicksilver, Something I Can't Remember, and The System of the World are better. These are about the development of science and economics in the seventeenth century. That sounds dry, but it's fascinating and funny, splendidly done. Stephenson is brilliant.

[choirboy]

I’m on jury duty and I’ve re-read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn) and A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter M Miller, Jr) so far. I just started The Everlasting Man (G K Chesterton). All three are great reads!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

For light murder-cop-mystery reading, anything by Robert B. Parker. Like popcorn, to me. (Spenser for Hire, Sunny Randall series, etc.)

For deeper murder-cop-mysteries I like Michael Connelly or Dennis Lehane of ‘Mystic River’ fame. ‘Gone, Baby, Gone’ is really good.

One can NEVER go wrong with any of the “Travis McGee” mysteries by John D. MacDonald. (They all have a ‘color’ in the title.) Start with the first one to watch Travis age; but he’s pretty timeless. And make note of any music he’s listening to; I love his taste in music. I wish he were real; I wish he were mine, LOL!

My favorite author is Shirley Jackson. If you’ve not read ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ treat yourself. I read it at least once a year, usually in the winter. She also wrote ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ a CLASSIC haunted house tale.

May seem goofy to some, but I get a lot out of Sarah Ban Breathnacht ‘Simple Abundance.’ It’s in a page-a-day format and I’ve really gotten a lot from that book over the years; have read it many times and refer to it often.

What I’m reading these days:

The latest Sunny Randal series by Robert B. Parker, ‘Blue Screen.’

‘More Home Cooking’ by Laurie Colwin. A GREAT Food Writer who died way too early of cancer.

‘Rhoda’ by Ellen Gilchrist. I’ve heard that I’ll fall in love with her character Rhoda; we’ll see. ;)

‘Reader’s Digest Complete Sewing Guide.’ Now that my son has moved out, his old room is now my sewing room. Since I haven’t done ANY sewing other than curtains and mending of kids’ clothing for the past decade, I’m brushing back up on my skills. :)