iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Book Review

Started by Roxie, January 22, 2008, 12:05:30 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Roxie

One of my favorite things is a good book.  I could live forever without TV as long as I had something interesting to read.  I read everything....books, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, and even the cereal box. 

My favorite books of all time are:

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Grapes of Wrath
Charlottes Web
Catcher in the Rye
Bless the Beasts and the Children
Because I Loved Him (the story of Lilly Langtry)
Love is Eternal (Mary Todd Lincoln's story)

I really enjoy non-fiction or fictional reading about the Civil War and the West.  I've just finsihed reading "Lonesome Dove," which won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction.  That book has got to go in the above list under the Grapes of Wrath.  Outstanding reading. 

What's your favorite fiction or non-fiction book?  Do you have a favorite subject? 

I'm always looking for books that I'd like to read, and I trust y'all more than some review!
Say when

Tom

I've always been a reader too.  Lately, I've gotten away from short stories and I've never been one to have the patience for  novels, but will still read one.  My all time love goes back to the period when I was discovering Science Fiction.  I guess I was about 10 and picked up Jules Verne.  Mysterious Island just blew my socks off.  Now and again, I will still re-read it.

20,000 leagues under the sea was another good one and it's hard to beat Tom Sawyer and Hucklberry Finn.  WWII books targeted for 12 year olds was also a favorite.  I will read one for nostalgia's sake even today. They were series like Red Randall and Dave Dawson by R. Sidney Bowen.

As I've aged, I've turned to history and research books.  I like to look at war maps of the War of Northern Aggression and the world wars.  I enjoy reading the strategy of Generals from modern times to as far back as can be identified. 

I love to read and re-read anything about wood, trees, turning, building, sawing and whatever.  Never would I have imagined, at the age of 5, that I would spend hours perusing graphs on wood movement.

I like airplanes too.  My favorite books are picture books with descriptions from pilots and their anecdotes.

Lately (last 15 years), I 've really enjoyed reading family geneology.  We have some interesting stuff in our family, but I enjoy other people's stories too.  DonP just entertained me with a long IM about his family in Scotland back in the day when Bruce was walking the roads and the vikings were raiding the towns.

One of the most interesting subjects I've picked up lately is the controversial book "1421`- "The Year the Chinese discovered the World"

I find that my age allows me to critique the history books from my youth.  I have read some of them and a lot of the ones from the 70's and 80's.  What a bunch of baloney.  No wonder our children think the United States is such a terrible place.  The authors who have been responsible for the recording of the history have painted a very bleak picture that puts Americans at the bottom of societies sea.  If they can't hold their head up after reading something like that, how do we expect them to believe that the great American experiment is a winner.

I started "Alaska" one time....  about twenty times, and James Michener can't holdl my attention.

I favor books that move, get to the point and leave me with something besides fluff.

Band of Brothers was difficult to put down, but there are stories of our nations heroes that are as difficult to put down as that.  My Uncle was at Inchon and Chosin Reservoir.  My dad was at Pelilieu and my Uncle at bougainville, Guadalcanal, Guam and  Iwo Jimo.  Any history of those days is a gold mine.

Because of the History Channel,  I've been reading up on the Battle of Leyte Gulf.   There was a sea battle envolving Taffy 3 and the destroyer Johnson that everyone must read.

The Internet is full of interesting and informative reading if we would take the time to look for it.

Not taking anything away from other countries, but the world would be in a much different state if it hadn't been for England, Australia, Canada and The United States of America.  All of their efforts make for good reading. :)

Fla._Deadheader

 Second Oldest Profession.  ;) :) :) :) :)

  7 book Foxfire Series  :) :)
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Onthesauk

When I was preschool, my older Sister use to read the Wizard of Oz books to us younger ones every night before bed.  Probably what got me started.  In the seventh grade I read 117 books on the civil war, (kept a list,) drove the city and county librarians crazy.  Favorite author is probably Steinbeck, favorite book is probably Sweet Thursday.

For years have read masses of current fiction and I too could live without TV or movies if I had all the books I wanted.  As I get older, I tend to read more history and analysis type books, maybe simply the time to think more about who and what we are.  One of the better ones of the last couple of years was "The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry.  Jared Diamond books are slow reading but great for putting current events into perspective.  I've got most of John D. MacDonald's books and 2/3rds of Louis L'Amour's.  Elizabeth George is one of my favorite mystery writers, (but make sure you read them in order.) 

I keep a list of authors I like, add them as I find them.  Use a good used book store that takes my old ones in and gives me credit.  I go in every month or two with a couple of shopping bags of books and my list and am set to go for another 60 days.

Years ago in college I got into a heated argument with a professor over "Literature."  He maintained that only the classics were real literature and worth reading.  I maintained that it didn't matter what you read as long as you were reading.  Still feel that way. ;D
John Deere 3038E
Sukuki LT-F500

Don't attribute irritating behavior to malevolence when mere stupidity will suffice as an explanation.

Gary_C

Roxie

I have also read a lot of books, but years ago and not recently. My problem is I usually can't put them down and will read till all hours of the morning and get very little sleep.

One of the better books I recall is Michener's "Cheasapeake." It is a bit long and like most of his writings seems to be just a bunch of stories till he weaves them all together in the end. Sometimes Michener's books need to be read twice.

I would put "Cheasapeake" waay ahead of "The Grapes of Wrath" as I thought that was too depressing. :)
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Weekend_Sawyer


I really liked the James Herriot series of books. The first one was "All Creatures Great and Small" about an English vet. Truley great books.
I also have a full set of Foxfire books and enjoy them.

When I was a young boy, Mom introduced me to the Beverly Cleary books about Henry Huggins. Then she moved me to C. S. Lewis and Narnia and I have been an avid reader ever since. She would say "You are never alone when you have a good book". By the way, she liked Taylor Caldwell.

One of the best books I ever read and still have a copy of is Bambi. Not the Disney character but the book the character came from.

I read constantly. I don't sleep well if I don't read for atleast 1/2 hr before bed.

Currently I have been reading everything by Larry Mcmurtry, Of which Zeke and Ned is the best. Lonsome Dove came in a close second. Karl Hiassen is good, Janet Evanovich kept me turning pages and usually a good military history book keeps me up at night... I could go on and on

It's not that I like to read, it's that I am truley addicted to it. When I get low on books I start visiting frends and relatives to look through their bookshelvs. I beleive that's what Mom wanted.
Jon
Imagine, Me a Tree Farmer.
Jon, Appalachian American Wannabe.

thedeeredude

Dante's Divine Comedy  One of my absolute favorites.  Also A Christmas Carol by Dickens.

Dave Shepard

I, too, am an avid reader. My "nightstand" is a bookshelf with three shelves, hardly any room for the DanG alarm clock. :D I have four other bookshelves in my room, and every other room in the house is stacked with books.


Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Don P

Lightning took out the dish years ago and we never got it fixed, we get one local channel if were in the mood. The shelf behind the computer is endangering the floor with wood type books. I've been collecting them since I was about 15,  I've got Dad's and my father in law's collection as well.

Over the weekend I finished "Ironclads and Columbiads" about NC's coastal war. Also read "Confederacy of Dunces", it either hit too close to home or was just depressing, not sure which, most people think its hilarious. Things I hate are the "what if" books, I have a hard enough time keeping facts straight to have somebody clouding the facts. Also googled up and read Menanders,"The Curmudgeon" over the weekend, the first episode of I Love Lucy.

I also enjoy books on tape. Our commutes are usually about 30-45 minutes so its a good time to listen. The Herriot series, fiction, mysteries. We've been listening to a history of western civilization class lecture series of 32 cd's lately. I was writing down stuff to google tonight, we were listening to some interesting stuff from Polybius that Thomas Jefferson was reading while the discussion of our government's form was going on. (This was cool, in one assembly, after the people caucused, they voted by dropping a stone into a clay jar. A white stone was positive, a black stone was a negative vote. The root of being "black balled"), after that group's votes were tallied they had one block vote which was then cast among the other 192 groups, sounds kinda familiar.  Reading for tonight; http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ANCIENT/polybius6.html

Tom, you owe me a good story, didn't realize I went "long"  ;D

Oh, Ferrol Sam's, "Christmas Gift", or any of his books

Bibbyman

I only read non-fiction.  Its real frustrating going to the book store and seeing isle upon isle of fiction, mysteries, "alternative life styles", romance, and how to make hats for cats books and only finding a few feet of non-fiction books.  Most of them are not on topics I'm interested in.

Years ago I did search out old hunting and adventure books in used book store and when the library had sales of old books.   I probably have a collection of a couple of hundred old hard bound books.  Some are probably collector's items.  I don't know.

One of my all-time favorite adventure books is "The Rivers Run East" by Leonard Clark.  It was about his run down the Amazon River in the early 50's looking for Eldorado.  Each page was a near death experience.   Steven Spielberg couldn't direct a movie as exciting.

Then I have the whole series by African big game hunter Peter Capstick – first and best known "Death in the Long Grass". 

I have the Osa Johnson book "I married adventure".  A Kansas girl that rommed the world taking pictures and movies of cannibals and pigmies and such with her husband Martin Johnson.  I believe he wrote a book titled "Adventure".

I have "Hell, I was there" by Elmer Keith.   He was the inventor of the .44 Magnum and wrote many books about guns, hunting and shooting.  He wrote a lot of Outdoor Life and other outdoor magazines until joining Guns and Ammo.  His book, "Hell, I was there" is his story of growing up at the end of the wild frontier era of the 1880s in Montanan and northwest.  He was born in western Missouri and remembers his dad talking to Frank James at the horse race trick.  The book goes on from there to WWII and after.

Another gun writer I enjoyed was Skeeter Skelton – handgun editor for Shooting Times and Texas Sheriff.   He also wrote a series of kid stories called "Me and Joe" based on his growing up in a small Texas Panhandle town and his adventures with his best friend Joe.  His writing style was much like Mark Twain's.

I have many other African hunting adventure such as "Bell of Africa",  "Hunter" and "Trader Horn".

I have couple of feet of shelf space on the Lewis and Clark expedition.  Also many other books on and by frontier explorers such as Jim Bridger, Freemont,  Hugh Glass, Daniel Boone, etc.

Lots of other books on Indian life – especial the Osage tribe as they were the resident tribe of our area.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Slabs

Roxie

May I recommend a look into two series of historical novels by John Jakes.  The Kent family chronicles (though only referred to as such by publishers) and a two book series on the Crown family.  Remember "novels" stories based on history is what you'll find there.

And for the rest of you guys, you've had some great suggestions for my future reading authors and subjects. 

Thanks.
Slabs  : Offloader, slab and sawdust Mexican, mill mechanic and electrician, general flunky.  Woodshop, metal woorking shop and electronics shop.

Sprucegum

I was a science fiction fan til they into fantasy more than hard science. Now I like anything by Wilbur Smith(African adventure), Bryce Courtney(Kiwi or Aussie historical fiction). I also like Michner's early works.

The best writer of them all has to be James Clavel - the whole Japanese Shogun series  :P  :P  :P  :P

EDIT:
Thanks Slabs , I almost forgot John Jakes' Kent Family - that was a long read  :D

SwampDonkey

Lord of the Flies

Canterbury Tales

Beowolf

Homer's writings

Books on History, always enjoy Peter C. Newmans books because they aren't dry. His books are getting hard to acquire and some should be used in high school in my opinion.

Atlantic Forestry Magazine

Short Stories

Wood Working books
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Dave Shepard

SwampDonkey, some of those titles suggest to me that you are either a glutton for punishment, or spend way too much time snowed in. ;)

There have been a ton of great books, and authors, mentioned. I especially like Mark Twain, P.H.Capstick, A.C.Doyle, and James Herriot. Many of my books are related to trees in one form or another, whether planting, felling, or working with wood.

I always enjoy reading a book that written by someone who can tell a good story. While not "literature" per se, I enjoy Jerry Bareneks books as well.


Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Faron

Lonesome Dove is one of my all time favorites.  Both the prequel and sequel disappointed me.  "Battle Cry of Freedom" is a good Civil War history.  I'll read a weather report written by Mark Twain.  The "Hunt for Red October" by Tom Clancy  is a good read.  Roxie, my wife recommends "Christy" by Catherine Marshall.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.  Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote. - Ben Franklin

Corley5

Anything by Stephen King.  John Sanford's "Prey Series" is good too.  I've read some of Clive Cussler books over the past year and I like them.  Books from the Dirk Pitt series and NUNA Files were among those I've read.  J.R. Tolkein will always be the best  :) :) 
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Dave Shepard

I want to read Lord of the Rings. I have heard the movies leave a lot out. I need to get me to the library! :D


Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

faronskid

As a kid I remember Dad(Faron) laying in the floor reading the encyclopedias for fun.  Now my oldest son does the same thing, he's so much like his grandpa.  Dad did instill a love of reading in both my sister and myself.  I have read a lot of great books but none has had an effect on me like the book "23 Minutes in Hell."  It is a very short book but one that can really impact your life. 
5 rugrats = no dull moments here

Roxie

Now I've got some titles and authors to locate!   8) 

I think the book that affected me the most growing up was "The Diary of Anne Frank."  I also remember that "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens was required reading in school, and I couldn't put it down. 

Many years ago, I read Stephen King's "It" and couldn't sleep.   :D  When I saw the movie, I was so dissapointed.  I guess my imagination of 'It' would have been impossible for a movie producer to replicate. 

Say when

scsmith42

Roxie, I tend to read everything by authors that I like.  There are literally hundreds of books in my basement and on my shelves.

Some favorite authors....

John Katzenbach - his talents are varied.  "Harts War" is one of his best.
Tom Clancy - I've enjoyed all of his books (other than the net war series).
Stephen Coonts - aviation related - great author.  His "flight of the Canibal Queen" had be in stiches - but it's kinda a guy's book).  I've read all of his other wooks too.

Mitch Album has some good reads -  "The five people that you meet in Heaven" and "Tuesday's witih Morrie" will both touch your heart.

James Heriot - ditto the others comments.

William Bennet - America, the last best hope - GREAT READ.  It's a history book w/o the revisionist history.

Stephen Ambrose's history books are great.  I recently read Clarance Thomas's autobiography, and really enjoyed it (My Grandfather's son).  Also have read the Reagan Diaries, Michael Deaver's book on Reagan (A different Drummer), David Baldacci's books, John Grishom's books,

Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" is a must read if you want to understand the other side of the global warming discussion.  The other books by Crichton are also riveting.

Nelson Demille's books are great reads. 

American Soldier by General Tommy Framks is fascinating.  As is Colin Powell's autobiography.  General Schwarzkopf's "It doesn't take a hero" is dated, but still a great read about his career and the first Gulf war.

Nicholas Sparks - an incredible author that will touch your soul.  Every time I read one of his books I treasure my wife even more.  He's written around ten books.

Walter Issacson's book on Ben Franklin offered some fascinating insight into this great man.

The mystery books by Dick Francis are great (typically horse related) and remind me of James Herriot's works.  There are fifteen to twenty books in his series. 

James Clavell's books (the series) are also vibrant and will keep you rooted.  They are large, and take a while to wade through.  There are around seven or eight of them as I recall.

Robert Ludlum's books are also great.  His "the Road to Gandolfo" is absolutely nuts, irreverant and will have you laughing out loud!  Ludlum is prolific - I probably have twenty of his novels.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is riveting - I stayed up until the early morning hours reading it.

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt will tweak your interest with some thoughts and insights that make sense, but are not necessarily intuitive.

"Tuxedo Park" by Jennet Conant is an interesting history book about Alfred Loomis - a Wall Street Tycoon that had a special interest in science an physics and changed the course of WWII.

Louis L'Amour is an old favorite.  His "Jubal Sacket" is a book that I re-read every few years.

Herman Wouk's entire series are superb.  You may remember "The Winds of War" TV series a number of years back.  This was based upon some of his novels.

Ditto the comments on the Clive Cussler books.

I could go on and on... these are just a few authors from my upstairs bookshelves!

Scott
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Weekend_Sawyer


Hemmingway.

We read him when I took American Literature in high school. One of the few classes I was able to ace. We had a long debate weather he was insane or just eccentric. I argued for eccentric.
Imagine, Me a Tree Farmer.
Jon, Appalachian American Wannabe.

OneWithWood

Last good non-fiction book that really got me thinking was Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Daniel C. Dennett. 
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

asy

Hmmmmm Books...  Yummm...

My "new house" (still in planning stage) has a library, which I feel will be my favourite room. :)

OK. As for favourites...

I have QUITE a few of them....  I'll go with the top of the list:

My favourite book ever is: The Merchant of Venice, by W. Shakespeare.

Second has to be : Time's Arrow, by Martin Amis. It's just brilliant, It will make you think and think long after you've finished it and really can't be appreciated in just one reading. you can read a prasae of it HERE. It's truly magnificent.

I guess equally good in my opinion is the Harry Potter series. I've read them all many times, and still laugh and cry in places.

Someone mentioned Clive cussler, I've read many of his books and they're good for light adventure. :)

Also, Rox, I agree with you about The grapes of Wrath, I've read it 12 times, although not in the last few years.

Another favourite I haven't re-read in years is: The Wife of Martin Guerre. A sad and historical novel, only short, but huge impact.

Someone else mentioned Steven King, My favourite of his is: The Stand. It's harrowing. The last STeven King novel I read was the Langoliers, and I enjoyed that one. I read the whole thing while I was in labour with my son. You KNOW if you can read a Steven King novel while in labour it's a looooooong labour.  :-\ :'(

I'm reading a fantastic book at the moment, but I feel really sorry for the author, seems her surname was the result of the leftover letters of a bad scrabble game...  The book's called: "The Time Traveller's Wife" and the author is "Audrey Niffenneger".  It's about a couple, where the man has a new genetic disorder called a 'chronoabnormality', where he time travels within his own life-time, with no control over where or when he goes. The book is written as a timeline of his wife's life, from the age of 6, when he first goes back to meet her. They have a whole relationship (quite appropriate, nothing sordid) but when they meat 'in real time', he has no memory of it because it hasn't happened to him yet. So they have quite an interesting relationship. She knows his future from when they meet, but he doesn't. Anyway, it's great, but I'm only half way through...

I'll think of some more later.

asy :D
Never interrupt your opponent while he's making a mistake.
There cannot be a crisis next week. ~My schedule is already full..

limbrat

I like fiction the one that started me reading is Night Fall a short story by Asimov. I inherited a small libary from my dad of classic sci fi he was a member of the Doubleday book club for years.  My most treasured is a first addition of Tarzan Of The Apes i had to go get a copy of it to read. The last book i finished was The Lovely Bones and right now im rereading A Confederacy Of Dunces. May Ignatius J Reilly live forever.
ben

Corley5

I enjoyed Homer's "Illiad" and "Odyssey"  I was forced to read them in high school and didn't find an appreciation for them.  Later in a world lit class in college I read them again along with Dante's "Inferno".  They were much better the 2nd time around  8)  I even kept the copies rather than selling them back at semester's end. 
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Patty

Reading the the best escape in the world. I try to read an hour or so before I go to work in the morning. Right now I am reading Dean Koontz's book, "Brother Odd"  it is the third in his sequel about Odd Thomas. I just finished Koontz's book "Seize the Night". I like his humor and writing style. Another one I finished last week is Steinbech's "Of Mice & Men", it was well written but also kind of depressing...
I like all the law stories written by John Grisholm, but the off topic one's of his are not so good, like "Bleachers".

I enjoy Clancy's books, but you really have to focus to keep all the story lines straight. I read all of Tolkein's books  in junior high, and just reread them again recently. Talk about an escape from reality! They were awesome. The Harry Potter books are fun, and I have enjoyed each of them, but they are a blatant ripoff of Tolkeins book I think.

So much to read, so little time!
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

logwalker

I read mostly history and science now but have read my share of western and classic fiction. One history book that is a great story is "The Prize" by Daniel Yergin. It is about the middle east oil countries and all of the political dealings between the British and the Americans with the Arab Sheiks. Every kid in school should read it. There is a video set of it also at most libraries.

The book I am reading now is "1491". it details the history of the Indians of North and South America before Columbus arrived here and it is quite a read. There is much new information just in the last 20/30 years. Surprising and very interesting.

Another wonderful series is one by Gale Ontko. History of the Western US from the time the Spaniards arrived until it was settled by the pioneers. Amazing story mostly about the Shoshone Indians and their superior horse stock. General Crook, from civil war fame, came west to try and make some order here and was extremely impressed with the Shoshone. He called them the "best light cavalry in the world. It is a 5 book set and is very well researched. Ontko died a few years back but he claimed to have researched the subject for 60 years. He grew up on a ranch in Central Oregon and was fascinated as a young boy with the Indian history. The final book of the series is "And the Juniper shall grow fruit". It is about the cattle/sheep wars in the northwest in the late 1800's. The fruit referred to are the sheep herders. Quite a story, the one they never told us in school.

Joe
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

Roxie

Those all sound great!

A really good Western History book is "Keep the Last Bullet for Yourself," the true story of Custer's Last Stand, by Thomas B. Marquis.  There are maps and pictures, but the picture I like most was taken in 1920 and it shows Dr. Marguis talking in sign language with Turkey Leg, who was seventeen years old when he participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  Dr. Marquis takes an unpopular stand on the "true" story of the battle, as evidenced by the book's title. 

It's a fascinating read.

Say when

WDH

"Mountain Man" by Vardis Fisher.

This is the book that the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" was based on.  He also wrote another book called "The Mothers" that is about the Donner Party that was trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Handy Andy

  Hey, Tom and Don, My family was once a highland clan, if you have somethin good, how about sharin it?  I enjoyed the lonesome dove movies, guess I better go see if I can find the books.  Hate to admit it, but my wife bought Harry Potter, and I was lookin for somthin to read one nite, and that was all she had, so I read it.  That Jo Rowling is a genius.  Jim
My name's Jim, I like wood.

Tom Sawyer

Any of the Russian Greats (Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky) are worth the work to read.  Dostoyevsky's 'Brothers Karamazov' is especially excellent.  Lots of work to get through, but you will be changed.

Tom

Don P

Jim, I sent you a pm  :)

Since it seems a few of us enjoy history I just finished a good book by "Josephine Tey" (Elizabeth MacKintosh) titled "The Daughter of Time".  It is a good mystery with quite a bit of basis in fact. Set in the time of Richard III, the basic moral is to show how we and especially victors, tell stories that become our collective history, whether they are in fact the truth or not. Doesn't take long to read and is well written, I only put it down when she made me go to work  :P

asy

I'm currently half way through 'The Book Thief', as previously mentioned, but I have the next three books lined up...

They are:  The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory, about Mary Boleyn's relationship with Henry VIII.

Then is: Dissolution, by C.J. Sansom. It's another Historical Fiction set in 1537, and is about some of Cromwell's men and Henry VIII.

In addition to these, I have just bought a book called "Look me in the eye" by John Elder Robison. It's an autobiography written by a man with Asperger's Syndrome. It seems pretty good from the little bit of reading I did. My son has ASD so I'm looking forward to this one. Actually, I'll probably read this one first as my Mum will want to borrow it and I'm seeing her in a few weeks...

There are a few others on the list and ready to go, but I'll report on those later.

asy :D
Never interrupt your opponent while he's making a mistake.
There cannot be a crisis next week. ~My schedule is already full..

Patty

 :P  This morning I finished a great book.  My son suggested I read it, because he enjoyed it so much. The book is called "Marley & Me" written by John Grogan.  This book had me laughing outloud ! What a pleasure to read.

I gotta tell you though, you probably won't enjoy it much unless you own or have owned a pet; especially a laborador retreiver.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Paschale

To start off, I agree with Corley5:  Tolkein will always be my favorite.  I reread the trilogy every three or four years and enjoy it everytime.  The Silmarillion is a good read too.  I grew up loving C.S. Lewis too, and will always put him right up there with Tolkein.  Most everyone just thinks of Narnia, but I really enjoy his science fiction trilogy and Till We Have Faces.  I like all of his non-fiction too.

I usually have about ten or so books going at once, though 95% of them these days are non-fiction.  I was one of those kids who had to have his books taken away from him since I would read constantly.  Loved all of those great Robert Louis Stephenson classics, Treasure Island and the like plus a lot of the other adventure books that are classics:  Count of Monte Cristo (the abridged version), Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe.  Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great writer too (Young Goodman Brown!), and so is Poe for that matter.  Loved the Jules Verne books as a kid too.

My favorites growing up in high school were science fiction and fantasy.  Terry Brooks, Stephen Lawhead stuff, Asimov's Foundation trilogy for example.  Ender's Game by Owen Scott Card is GREAT!!!  Plus the early Tom Clancy's really were a favorite of mine.  I used to like reading Michael Chrichton, Ken Follett and Clive Cussler stuff during the summer--easy reads and good rides usually, though I don't consider them great literature.

I really like F. Scott Fitzgerald--one of my favorite authors.  I really like his short stories.  Same goes for J.D. Salinger.  One of the best books I've ever read was A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving--that's perhaps the most powerful book I've read in the past ten years.  Huxley's A Brave New World is also a great book--that's got plenty of underlined sentences in it.

I love the short stories of Flannery O'Connor too--anyone familiar with her?  And I second the vote for To Kill a Mockingbird.  And I'm with Asy too--I like pretty much anything by Shakespeare.

It's funny I'm talking about fiction so much, because mainly what I read these days is non-fiction.  I got burned out by fiction.  I think the Asimov Foundation series did me in, honestly.  I was glued to those books, and there was always one more to read and after awhile I felt chained to the books--I couldn't put them down, and they took a serious time commitment and when I finished them, I really felt burned out.  Took me by surprise.

If I know a fiction book is definitely going to be great, I'm willing to sit down and invest the time.  When I was a kid, I didn't have as many competing things for my time, so if a book was only so-so, I didn't mind.  There are few things that I like least than investing serious time into a novel and then realizing it was only mediocre.  I think that's why I enjoy non-fiction so much.  I always pick a book with a topic that interests me, can read it in doses, and if it's uninteresting, I know there's always another book on the same topic that I can easily pick up.  Strange I suppose, but I do think that's the primary reason I don't enjoy fiction as much.  And the same reason why I think I've gravitated to short stories--less time invested.

As to non-fiction, most of my reading these days is food related:  about how to become a food writer, the science of cooking, biographies of great chefs, anthologies of food writing, memoirs of great chefs and the like.  Plus of course a new cookbook now and again.  I like a book that will fill my belly!

I appreciate the recommendations in this thread--it might just get me reading some fiction again.
Y'all can pronounce it "puh-SKOLLY"

Patty

I just finished an AWESOME book that I highly recommend. IT was written by Clarence Thomas (as in the Supreme Court) as an autobiography. The name of the book is "My Grandfather's Son"   If you ever get the chance to read it, do so. It is a real eye opener.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

WDH

If you like fiction and are a history buff, try reading "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara.  It is about the battle of Gettysburg. 

Another good historical novel is "Andersonville" by McKinley Kantor.  It is about the infamous Confederate Prison Camp at Andersonville, GA. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

asy

Hey Patty, thanks for resurrecting this thread!

Well, I finished "the Book Thief", which was just fabulous. I really enjoyed it.

I *was* going to read the other Boleyn girl next, but, another book found me in a bookshop and snuck in first.

It's John Elder Robison's Autobiography "Look me in the eye". It was amazing. He's an Aspie (Aspergers syndrome) and is the brother of Augustin Burroughs (author of "Running with Scissors")

It talks about how he comes to terms with his Aspergers, and how he learns to survive in a world that runs by different rules. Really made me understand things about my Son and Ex husband that I hadn't realised.

Simply a lovely book. Highly recommended to anyone who either likes a good read, or very especially, has someone in their lives with Aspergers.

Definately someone I'd love to have dinner with sometime.

asy :D

PS: Have now started the Boleyn girl book! hehe
Never interrupt your opponent while he's making a mistake.
There cannot be a crisis next week. ~My schedule is already full..

SwampDonkey

Things Fall Apart


I remember this book in high school, we had to write a critical analysis of it. Kinda sticks in your head like "Lord of the Flies" which we also read. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Weekend_Sawyer


I have red 2 very good books recently.

Blaze by Stephen King. He really knows how to keep me awake at night. I just can't seem to put it down until its done.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, A young readers book but I'm young at heart... right  ;)
If you liked my side of the mountain you should try this one. It's not a long read, I red it one sunday when I should have been working around the house ;D

Jon
Imagine, Me a Tree Farmer.
Jon, Appalachian American Wannabe.

ibseeker

Back in 1965 I was in the 3rd grade and our old black and white TV blew a tube. My Dad took my older brothers and me down to the Piggly Wiggly and tested the tube on their tube tester. It was good. So Dad took the TV and put it in the back of the truck so that a friend at work could fix it. A week or so later during a rain storm Dad took the TV out of the pickup truck and unfortunately dropped the TV while walking up the porch stairs.....actually dropped the TV!!!
Well that was the end of TV in the Jones household for about 5 years. I was miserable, hated reading and was bored stiff. Then my Dad brought out "Old Yeller" and that was it. A boy and his dog and all that excitement, I was hooked!

I wish I had started a list of authors and books that I've read. I can't tell you how many times I'll start in on a book and figure out by the end of the chapter that I read it before! Sometimes I just keep reading....having a bad memory isn't always a bad thing.

Like Corley and Paschale, I'm a huge JRR Tolkein fan. Read everything I can get by him.
Frank Herbert's Dune series was really good and his son, Brian has done some fine work writing prequels.

Just finished Wilbur Smith's Triumph of the Sun about the fall of Khartoum.

If you like good science fiction, Larry Niven's Ringworld series is great...well, the first one is good the rest is ok.

My wife says I read too much but I can't stand watching the garbage on TV that she likes...reality shows! Yeah, right like there's anything real about them.

The comment in an earlier post about reading the breakfast cereal box really hit home, I knew stuff most grade school kids never learned....nor did they need to!

Reading is the western world's form of meditation.

The best secret about reading that I've relearned is the Public Library. Since all the used book stores closed down, it's the best source for free reading.

I love reading to my niece's. Their children's books are so fun and it's easy to make funny voices for different characters and raise and lower my voice to get them excited or draw them in close during the exciting parts. Plus how can you not love it when a 4 and  6 year old plop down next to you on the couch with a book and want to snuggle up and have you read to them?

Here's a must read: Glenn Beck's "An Inconvenient Book"....very relevant and a nice counterpoint to Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"
Chuck
worn out poulan, Stihl 250SC, old machete and a bag of clues with a hole in the bottom

Thank You Sponsors!