Favorite Books...

[TORX]

I used to read a lot but lately I haven't been able to find a good book. Im more into non-fiction, adventure type books. My most recent ones -

Courting the Diamond Sow, by Wick Walker, which is about a kayak expedition down Tibet's uncharted Tsangpo River, very good book.

In a Sun Burned Country, by Bill Bryson, which is about touring Australia and checking out all the small towns and Australia's history.

What are some of your favorite books or most recent ones you have enjoyed, and what are they about?

TORX

[SCW]

History?

I just started (then put down) an extremely boring book about Jim Bridger from the 1960's. One of my favorites is the book "Undaunted Courage" by Ambrose, a biography of Meriweather Lewis. Another good one although a little more dry is the Journals of Lewis and Clark as edited by DeVoto. It's more the story and action, without much of the dry scientific naming of critters, classification and other stuff that takes up 12 volumes of the complete works.

WWII books include Eagle against the sun, fantastic book about the war in the pacific. I would like to read more about early American explorers, such as Bridger, Fremont, Weber, Powell, and maybe even some about early west criminals. That is good history where you can actually go to the sites and see where they lived. Civil war is OK for that too, but for some reason the Civil War bores me a little.

[mdl]

I'm afraid you are all going to make fun of me for what I read so I'm not falling for the trap.

:roflmao:

[old_man]

Rocket Boys aka October Sky
Lost Moon by Jim Lovel
A Brief History of Time

[anodyne33]

Desert Solitare - Ed Abbey "Frist park ranger at Arches NP"
Into Thin Air - John Krakauer "Everest gone horribly wrong"
A Walk in the Woods - John Krakauer "Hippie dies in Alaskan outback"
40 Watts From Nowhere - Sue Carpenter "Biggest pirate radio station ever"
So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star - Jacb Schlichter "Semisonic drummer's autobiography of their heyday"

[GSequoia]

I'm afraid you are all going to make fun of me for what I read so I'm not falling for the trap.

:roflmao:

The books that XJGuy was supposedly on the cover of?

[Geepfreak]

"The Buffalo Commons" by Richard S. Wheeler

Yes I know it's an eviros wet dream. But I really enjoyed the book,,,
Not what some want as a reality (http://www.gprc.org/Buffalo_Commons.html)

[XJEEPER]

http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/P/0394800168.01._SS400_SCLZZZZZZZ_V1126125420_.jpg

[Ironmen77]

"Retreat, Hell!" by Jim Wilson

"With the Old Breed" by E. B. Sledge (Great book!)

"One Bugle, No Drum" by Stephen Howarth

"Black Berets and Painted Faces" By: Gary A Linderer

[TORX]

Great responses I wrote down a lot of the ones you guys listed. SCW, history expedition type books are always interesting to me. I think a book on the Powell expedition would be a good one.

XJEEPER :laugh3:

Keep the lists coming

TORX

[Kejtar]

Amber by Roger Zelazny
Bourne Trilogy by Robert Ludlum
Song of Ice and Fire and the Sword series by George RR Martin

to name a few

[wall04]

It looks like there's a good list going but I wanted to throw in "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing. It's about the Shackelton expedition. I couldn't put it down.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078670621X/sr=8-1/qid=1154581282/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7777981-4711168?ie=UTF8

[WVXJ]

If you like history, Howard Zinn's, "A Peoples History of the United States" is a good one. I'm also a big fan of Noam Chomsky, the human computer, who retains a ridiculous amount of history and knowledge in general, see any of his works, which are much more known and loved outside the U.S.
Some outstanding fiction is being written by David Foster Wallace, "Infinite Jest", "Girl With Curious Hair", etc., as for adventures..................
"Another Roadside Attraction" by Tom Robbins or anything by Kurt Vonnegut.......or Stephen King..........or Hunter S. Thompson.............or John Stienbeck......

[karstic]

Great responses I wrote down a lot of the ones you guys listed. SCW, history expedition type books are always interesting to me. I think a book on the Powell expedition would be a good one.

XJEEPER :laugh3:

Keep the lists coming

TORX

Get it in first person. Just read his account of the expedition.

[karstic]

Flag of Our Fathers

[BSD]

Non-Fiction
John Dittmer "Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi"
John Reader "Man on Earth"

Fiction
Zora Neal Hurston "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
C.S. Lewis "Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold"

[Fish'nCarz]

I'm really into Christopher Moore right now. Great, sarcastic, funny, flows fast.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
A Dirty Job: A Novel
Island of the Sequined Love Nun
Practical Demonkeeping
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0
Bloodsucking Fiends
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

And anything by John Gierach-

Another Lousy Day in Paradise
Trout Bum
Sex, Death and Fly Fishing
etc.

[TORX]

More responses are always good!

I picked up Undaunted Courage last week. Pretty amazing book, it goes into detail but stills makes it interesting without boring you. I think I have learned more about their expedition in the past week than all the US history classes Ive taken put together.

Fact: Did you know they had bronze cannon mounted on their Keelboat? In 1804 it would have been the largest weapon to date ever taken up the Missouri.

SCW thanks for recommending this

Keep your favorites coming ~

TORX

[IXNAYXJ]

Ayn Rand
She will change your life. Fountain Head. Atlas Shrugged. Anthem. We the living.

The other most important book of my life was One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

In sharp contrast was 'Unsafe at any Speed', by Ralph Nader (one of the worst people on the planet, IMHO).

Clive Cussler has long been one of my favorite authors.
Check out Vince Flynn...he's my new favorite...seriously bad-ass!

-----Matt-----

[IndyXJ]

Currently reading-

Cell---Stephen King
Ghost Rider-----Neil Peart of RUSH

[MENEZES]

The one im reading now is "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, Im enjoying the novel so far!

[zthang43]

I liked the John Rain books by Barry Eisler.
Jack Whyte has a good series of Arthurian novels starting with "The Skystone"

[red91]

The Diary of Ann Frank

The curious incedent of the dog in the night time

Your Sig line and you

How to be an a-hole and allienate your coworkers


2 out of the 4 might be real :D

[Timber]

Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy by Noam Chomsky.

Complete Prose of Woody Allen

Several Thomas the Train books to my boys.

[xjj33p3r]

The Alphabet of Manliness - Maddox
Going After Cacciato - O'Brien
Survivor - Palahniuk
T2 Series (3) - S.M. Sterling

[Gil BullyKatz]

The Forever War Joe - Joe Haldeman

Chickenhawk - Robert Mason

Watchmen - Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons

Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller

[BSD]

The Alphabet of Manliness - Maddox
Going After Cacciato - O'Brien
Survivor - Palahniuk
T2 Series (3) - S.M. Sterling


Just finished "Going After Cacciato" last weekend. I really enjoyed it. Had a reverse "Heart of Darkenss" feel to it (I.E. the closer they get to Paris the more "human" they become) as well as an ALice in Wonderland feel (the way you are never sure if it is a dream as well as some of teh experiences) In general themes, I found it very simialr to other grunt accounts of warfare (With the Old Bree, Mother May You Never See the Sights I've Seen, Ordinary COurage: THe Revolutionary Adventures of Joseph Plumb Martin).
GAB

[JohnX]

I know its been said already...but Into Thin Air is one of the best books I have read. I liked it enough that I looked for other books by Krakuaer...Into the Wild....Excellent adventure about a young mans adventure all over the country and eventually to Alaska.

[TORX]

Bump... :read:

I have a library trip planned for today and that reminded me of this thread.

Who hasn't shared their favorites yet?

TORX

[rocklandxjer]

tom clancy
any of his books really, but executive orders is the best. very long about 1400 pages, but it is amazing.

[01XJLIMITED]

Moby Dick. Herman Melville. Outstanding descriptive narrative about the history of whaling in the US. One of the best books ever written.

Hawaii. James Michener. A fantastic historical novel about the creation and inhabitation of the Hawaiian Islands. Includes a really cool history of surfing.

[98XJSport]

Ive read far to many to even have a favorite. But the ones I like to mention that few know about are the local ones. Lost on a mountain in maine, a true story about a guy on mt. katahdin, or pines and pioneers, a historical rendition of the settlement in the river valley where I live.

[UNCC_99XJ]

Currently having to read The Seven Habbits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey....I didn't think I was gonna get into this book at all, and there alot of parts that are really boring, but there are some part that really stop and make you think and say "hey that really does work!"

Still not too sure why i'm required to read it and i'm majoring in Engineering....but ohh well.