Book suggestions? Non-fiction or fiction, anything.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is second. It's a family story told from the viewpoint of the dog. So many emotions!!!
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
I just finished The Book Thief and it might be my new favorite book. It takes place in Nazi Germany, and Death is the narrator. The writing is excellent.
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is second. It's a family story told from the viewpoint of the dog. So many emotions!!!
I second that suggestion! Wonderful book.
A Higher Call: Adam Makos
I am a sucker for WW2 books and this one takes the cake. Gives a little seen perspective through the eyes of a German pilot. Absolutely fascinating and all true. They actually met after the war, the story is wild.
"Five days before Christmas 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a twenty-one-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly, a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber's tail - a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber in the squeeze of a trigger. What happened next would defy imagination and later be called 'the most incredible encounter between enemies in World War II.' This is the true story of the two pilots whose lives collided in the skies that day: the American - Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown, a former farm boy from West Virginia who came to captain a B-17 - and the German - Second Lieutenant Franz Stigler, a former airline pilot from Bavaria who sought to avoid fighting in World War II."
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
+1
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is my all-time favorite.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is second. It's a family story told from the viewpoint of the dog. So many emotions!!!
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is second. It's a family story told from the viewpoint of the dog. So many emotions!!!
I second that suggestion! Wonderful book.
I must be the only guy in the world who didn't like this book. It fell into cliche after cliche, and in general was just a depressing read the whole way through. I felt like it compared best to an after-school special. And I love dogs, and I race cars.
Fiction: The Count of Monte Cristo...A thousand pages and I've read it 6 times.
Fiction: The Count of Monte Cristo...A thousand pages and I've read it 6 times.
Me too...in French. Not trying to be a topper, just thought it was a funny extra.
I second a lot the choices here: Dan Simmons, Bill Bryson, Neal Stephenson, etc.
I would add Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin (and all of his other books), and Sailing to Sarantium buy Guy Gavriel Kay (and all of his stuff).
Fiction: The Count of Monte Cristo...A thousand pages and I've read it 6 times.
Me too...in French. Not trying to be a topper, just thought it was a funny extra.
Fiction: The Count of Monte Cristo...A thousand pages and I've read it 6 times.
Me too...in French. Not trying to be a topper, just thought it was a funny extra.
Dear god... I've had that book since 2006. Been trying to finish it since 2006. While I don't mind it, he just goes into so much detail on everything that the story just drags on and I lose interest again... Maybe it's time to pick it back up. I'm only about 2/3's through!
Fiction: The Count of Monte Cristo...A thousand pages and I've read it 6 times.
Me too...in French. Not trying to be a topper, just thought it was a funny extra.
Dear god... I've had that book since 2006. Been trying to finish it since 2006. While I don't mind it, he just goes into so much detail on everything that the story just drags on and I lose interest again... Maybe it's time to pick it back up. I'm only about 2/3's through!
I subscribe to a podcast called CraftLit. They combine crafting discussion (knitting and such) with audio book classics and discussion. I just skip the crafty parts, which is easy because they say when the book talk begins at the beginning of each episode. They're currently doing The Count of Monte Cristo. You may try that! I'm really enjoying it, having never read it before.
But, it's slow going, as it's an episode a week, covering 1-2 chapters each week.
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
+1
another +1
Great thread. It is reminding me of favorites and giving me ideas for new things I want to read.
I second the recommendation for Terri Pratchett's Discworld series -- fabulous books and I am still mourning his too-early passing. Also, Bill Bryson. My favorite of his is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, but I have enjoyed them all.
Other favorites:
The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller
The Martian, by Andy Weir
The In Death series by J.D. Robb (there are 30 plus books in the series and I really recommend starting with the first -- Naked in Death
The Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
Like you I read it a few years ago so it's hard for me to remember exactly why I liked it so much, I just remember that I did. I agree that much of it seemed like common sense so perhaps I enjoyed how all that common sense was well organized and articulated in the philosophical framework of stoicism.
I also was intrigued by his comparisons of stoicism to zen Buddhism and how they differ.
+1
another +1
I read this a few years ago and didn't really feel that I got much out of it (except the description of Seneca's gruesome death . . . that was kinda fun). It just seemed to mostly outline common sense. What exactly did you guys find so awesome about the book?
I'm digging the Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss. The storytelling is just amazing, and manages to be a little bit philosophical. Be warned though, it's an unfinished trilogy. And book 3 is taking a while. I have faith that the wait will be worth it, but there's always risk with an unfinished series.
Ready Player One - Ernest Cline - Amazing nostalgia for Gen X nerds
Best book I've read so far, hands down has got to be The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.(https://lh4.ggpht.com/XB17SS1H6JOCV9YXe383DVKSVXlaI5cqtxKIEEHJ1U0MZC9SoqC-NY6xn_Vr50qSSivr=w100)
The book is an allegorical novel which follows a young Andalusian shepherd in his journey to Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding treasure there.
The book is an international best seller and if you have read it, you know why! Anyways, off to do more reading now :)
I just finished The Book Thief and it might be my new favorite book. It takes place in Nazi Germany, and Death is the narrator. The writing is excellent.
I absolutely love this book too.
I'm also a big fan of The Count of Monte Cristo and Pride and Prejudice.
Best book I've read so far, hands down has got to be The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.(https://lh4.ggpht.com/XB17SS1H6JOCV9YXe383DVKSVXlaI5cqtxKIEEHJ1U0MZC9SoqC-NY6xn_Vr50qSSivr=w100)
The book is an allegorical novel which follows a young Andalusian shepherd in his journey to Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding treasure there.
The book is an international best seller and if you have read it, you know why! Anyways, off to do more reading now :)
I tried to read this, as everyone recommends it. I just couldn't get into it.
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic JoyI just searched my library for the audio book of this. It returned just one title as relevant: Sexy Forever by Suzanne Somers. What do you all think - close enough?
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic JoyI just searched my library for the audio book of this. It returned just one title as relevant: Sexy Forever by Suzanne Somers. What do you all think - close enough?
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic JoyI just searched my library for the audio book of this. It returned just one title as relevant: Sexy Forever by Suzanne Somers. What do you all think - close enough?
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic JoyI just searched my library for the audio book of this. It returned just one title as relevant: Sexy Forever by Suzanne Somers. What do you all think - close enough?
Self Improvement: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic JoyI just searched my library for the audio book of this. It returned just one title as relevant: Sexy Forever by Suzanne Somers. What do you all think - close enough?
LOL! The two are almost interchangeable. ;)
Great thread, gang!A bit of preamble: Over the last year and a half I have been using Goodreads because I really like that I can drop a book onto my "to read" list any time I see an interesting recommendation and then just scroll through the list when I have finished or given up on the last round of books ordered from the library. The MMM forums, especially this thread, have been a good source of book recommendations; I just check through this subforum and a handful of other threads and drop anything intriguing onto my Goodreads list. I've found a few duds here and there, along with a big pile of good reads.
The Sparrow, by Maria Doria Russell. It's about what happens if the first response to extraterrestrial communication is a space mission by Jesuits who attempt to visit the ETs' planet. Hauntingly told.
On a deeper level, the novel explores the unintended disasters available when two cultures meet each other. I'm not religious, but found the subtle spiritual speculations in the book to be fascinating as well. My ex who mediates between cultures for a living said it was the best book on the topic she'd ever read. My ex is gone, but her recommendation was superb.
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.
Really? That's been on my to read list for a long time. What made it so impactful?I remember one passage where he's describing a master plumber explaining why you have to vent a toilet properly, because if you do it wrong, "the house will smell of shit."
Fiction:
#A timeless tale with mustachian theme and pitfalls. Won a Pulitzer for a reason.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Self Help:
#This is the book that got me started in systematically being a better person.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Non-Fiction:
#Bill Gates lists this as his favorite book of all time. I think it should be mandatory reading and is the perfect antidote to the 24-hr news cycle induced stress.
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker
I think Catch 22 has now kicked Moby Dick out of my top spot.
Similar in vein to Steinbeck's Travels with Charley is Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon.
I'm digging the Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss. The storytelling is just amazing, and manages to be a little bit philosophical. Be warned though, it's an unfinished trilogy. And book 3 is taking a while. I have faith that the wait will be worth it, but there's always risk with an unfinished series.
Be still, my beating heart. I recently made the mistake of rereading the first two books - Being reminded of precisely how fantastic they are tore open all my old wounds of waiting for Book 3. Rothfuss needs to quit pushing that publication date back.
Oh, additional recommendation, in case anybody is a fan of autobiographies: My Wicked, Wicked Ways by Errol Flynn. His life pre-Hollywood was just one adventure after another - some of them have been proven untrue, but he's such a charming and charismatic storyteller that you don't even care. I mean, this is the guy who met and wooed his third wife at his own statutory rape trial. Clearly not a saint, but entertaining as hell.
The Chronicles Of Narnia By Lewis.
"The last episode of The Kingkiller Chronicles series release date is August 20, 2020."
https://gizmoblaze.com/2020/07/13/doors-of-stone-release-date/
Maybe for real this time?
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Easily
"The last episode of The Kingkiller Chronicles series release date is August 20, 2020."
https://gizmoblaze.com/2020/07/13/doors-of-stone-release-date/
Maybe for real this time?
Nope. I've been waiting for nearly 8 YEARS for Book 3. Gah!
It's darkly amusing to see posts about that trilogy, years apart, still waiting for that 3rd book... I doubt it will ever come out. Rothfuss is either too depressed to finish it, or too worried that the end result won't be perfect enough. His own editor mentioned (last year, I think) that she hadn't seen a single word of Book 3 in 7 years. O_o If he publishes it and the reception is less than stellar, he'll lose fans. If he doesn't publish, and continues to promote his inefficient charity (it's better to just give $ directly to Heifer International), or sell trilogy-related jams and soaps (true story!) and replica swords, he'll keep raking in that money while more and more people get sucked into the fan club by their well-meaning friends...
"The last episode of The Kingkiller Chronicles series release date is August 20, 2020."
https://gizmoblaze.com/2020/07/13/doors-of-stone-release-date/
Maybe for real this time?
Nope. I've been waiting for nearly 8 YEARS for Book 3. Gah!
Same. I even re-read books 1 & 2 in anticipation. For the fourth time.
Oh well, still enjoyed them.
Kim Stanley Robinson continues to knock it out of the park with "The Ministry for the Future." Add "New York, 2140" if you're really into the climate change theme.
Kim Stanley Robinson continues to knock it out of the park with "The Ministry for the Future." Add "New York, 2140" if you're really into the climate change theme.
KSR is simply the great most imaginative writer ever. Okay, each book takes many months to read because they are so dense. I read a few pages and have to put it down and think. He's not writing page turners, but page thinkers.
Yes, Ministry for the Future was unbelievably good. I'm from the midwest and the chapter about the wild animal migration.... phenomenal. The science, finance, philosophy, economics, landscape.... it vibes with me. I used to go to a lot of his talks in Davis, it was amazing to hear him speak live and answer questions.