Books... What are you reading? And what do you recommend?

too larry said:

Back in the day, when I still read...

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I still think that's part of the larger problem with society in the world today: we grow up and stop reading. All we have left is the anger and hate we see every day. We lose touch with that part of us that dreams, fears, understands, wonders, loves, overcomes and more.

We become one dimensional. We digress to the animals of old we used to be when we stop reading.

TacoMac said:

I still think that's part of the larger problem with society in the world today: we grow up and stop reading. All we have left is the anger and hate we see every day. We lose touch with that part of us that dreams, fears, understands, wonders, loves, overcomes and more.

We become one dimensional. We digress to the animals of old we used to be when we stop reading.

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Half the upstairs of my house is library. And there isn't enough shelf space. I have books boxed up in the floor needing a spot to go into. I used to read for days on end, not getting outside very often. At one point I started reading Westerns so I could have new books to read. I read all the local public libraries dry. Then I started writing, so I only read as research. {there was 3 years I didn't read anything published after 1725, so as not to pollute my thinking on Bathe Towne North Carolina in the Spring and Summer of 1718}

When I stopped writing, I didn't really get back into reading like I had before. I do keep a few books at all of my camps, and a couple in the car. Since Mamma died, I'm not waiting in Doctor's offices, so the only time I have time to kill is when I'm getting my car serviced.

Now I hike. No anger or hate, but I do digress to the animal once in a while. Living off Goop and GORP wraps for days will do that to you.

I do agree reading is important to learn who you are. Novels especially. Makes you think about all sorts of shit you wouldn't otherwise. But just not watching shit TV will go a long way to making you smarter. The only TV I consume is F1, Seminole Hoops and Doctor Who. {and I'm a year behind on Doctor Who}

I have thought about audio books on my mp3 player to listen to on the trail, but so far I haven't done it.

I've never done the audio book thing. My father swears by them because his eyes (along with just about everything else) are gone...but I've not tried one yet.

I might have to take the leap sooner rather than later.

TacoMac said:

I've never done the audio book thing. My father swears by them because his eyes (along with just about everything else) are gone...but I've not tried one yet.

I might have to take the leap sooner rather than later.

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I can't do the audio book, like reading the news, it has to be a newspaper to count. Maybe on a trip or something but I doubt it.

my friend gave me the dark tower audio book set. thats the only one i ever listened to, and i didn't listen to all of it, but i did like it. i was already reading it at the time, and he wanted me to get done faster so he could talk to me about it. i listened to it while i was working or goofing around the house, cut the time to read the whole thing by about a third, as i read about 5 times faster than he talks..if you're a slow reader it could probably cut the time it takes down by half or more.
of course, one of the reasons i read is to pass time....
the voice actor makes a big difference too, the guy who did the first 4 books passed away, and they got a new guy for the last 3 (king narrates Wind through the Keyhole himself)
the first guy was great, he really made you see the separate characters, without being ridiculous, which is a lot harder than it sounds. the second guy didn't suck or anything, but he wasn't as good as the original narrator

i'm about to fill in the holes i have in my Dune collection, and read the whole....30ish...book series from start to finish.
i read the original series when i was a kid, and fell in love with it. Herberts son and his partner have done a great job carrying it on.
the story of the Butlerian Jihad is great, and tells you the origin of many of the "schools" the Suk , the Bene Gesserit, the Ginaz, the Mentats... it tells you how the Fremen get to Arrakis, and how the feud between Harkonen and Atreides gets started, all on top of the huge man/machine war going on in the background.
the House books are equally awesome, telling the stories that lead up to the original series.
i haven't read much after the original series, but there are at least a dozen more books, ending (at the moment) with Sandworms of Dune, which is supposed to be an effort to resettle space with sandworms and make the spice available again.
that's my recommendation for me, anyway

Roger A. Shrubber said:

i'm about to fill in the holes i have in my Dune collection, and read the whole....30ish...book series from start to finish.
i read the original series when i was a kid, and fell in love with it. Herberts son and his partner have done a great job carrying it on.
the story of the Butlerian Jihad is great, and tells you the origin of many of the "schools" the Suk , the Bene Gesserit, the Ginaz, the Mentats... it tells you how the Fremen get to Arrakis, and how the feud between Harkonen and Atreides gets started, all on top of the huge man/machine war going on in the background.
the House books are equally awesome, telling the stories that lead up to the original series.
i haven't read much after the original series, but there are at least a dozen more books, ending (at the moment) with Sandworms of Dune, which is supposed to be an effort to resettle space with sandworms and make the spice available again.
that's my recommendation for me, anyway

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I have several of them, but I couldn't get into them. Read a couple, but it never really clicked with me.

Roger A. Shrubber said:

i'm about to fill in the holes i have in my Dune collection, and read the whole....30ish...book series from start to finish.
i read the original series when i was a kid, and fell in love with it. Herberts son and his partner have done a great job carrying it on.
the story of the Butlerian Jihad is great, and tells you the origin of many of the "schools" the Suk , the Bene Gesserit, the Ginaz, the Mentats... it tells you how the Fremen get to Arrakis, and how the feud between Harkonen and Atreides gets started, all on top of the huge man/machine war going on in the background.
the House books are equally awesome, telling the stories that lead up to the original series.
i haven't read much after the original series, but there are at least a dozen more books, ending (at the moment) with Sandworms of Dune, which is supposed to be an effort to resettle space with sandworms and make the spice available again.
that's my recommendation for me, anyway

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Man, I read the first 4 Dune books back in high school and loved them. Went and saw the movie when it first came out as well. I was a huge Frank Herbert nerd back then.

I didn't even know there were more books.

Damn...I'm glad I found this thread. It's raining good shit up in here.

read the butlerian jihad series and the house books first, then re-read the original series, the original books will have so much more body with the background those books give you

A book I had read long, long ago, but reread at the start of this current war in Afghanistan is The Horse-Men by Joseph Kessel. It should be mandatory reading for any armed forces going to that part of the world.

too larry said:

A book I had read long, long ago, but reread at the start of this current war in Afghanistan is The Horse-Men by Joseph Kessel. It should be mandatory reading for any armed forces going to that part of the world.

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Good book, these also

Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History - Dr Thomas Barfield
Heroes of the Age - David B Edwards
Before Taliban - David B Edwards
The Logic of Violence in Civil War - Stathis N Kalyvas
On War - General Carl von Clausewitz
Afghanistan: A Russian Soldier's Story - Vladislav Tamarov

couple of nuggets of wisdom in these new survival books:

Lost and stranded : expert advice on how to survive being alone in the wilderness / Timothy Sprinkle.

Extreme wilderness survival : essential knowledge to survive any outdoor situation short-term or long-term, with or without gear and alone or with others / Craig Caudill.

I laughed. I cried. I pooped my pants.

My Latest:

Final strike / William S. Cohen.

The healing powers of tea : a complete guide to nature's special remedy / Cal Orey.

Spy schools : how the CIA, FBI, and foreign intelligence secretly exploit America's universities / Daniel Golden.

The Watergate : inside America's most infamous address / Joseph Rodota.

Darkest hour : how Churchill brought England back from the brink / Anthony McCarten.

In another post I had mentioned the following books on the Battle of the Coral Sea. Been a while since I read them. Any books by Willmott are outstanding, detailed. He interviewed some of the surviving Admirals who participated in our war in the Pacific WW2.

The barrier and the javelin : Japanese and Allied Pacific strategies, February to June 1942 / H.P. Willmott

The first South Pacific campaign : Pacific Fleet strategy, December 1941-June 1942 / by John B. Lundstrom

Blue skies and blood : the Battle of the Coral Sea / Edwin P. Hoyt ; introd. by Ernest M. Eller.

BarnBuster said:

couple of nuggets of wisdom in these new survival books:
Lost and stranded : expert advice on how to survive being alone in the wilderness / Timothy Sprinkle.

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For the first millisecond I saw the author as "Timothy Treadwell" & thought, "Yeah, I'm taking survival advice from him"

My Bi Annual subscription to Minnesota Volunteer magazine. Everyone should check it out, even if you don't frequent MN. Almost sent @Singlemalt a subscribe letter but, I reckon we aren't that close.
Dad subscribed in the 70's. Life long membership. He can't read the small writing so he's been forwarding them to me for awhile. Solid read. They go back to the 30's or 40's. Every Issue is on the website.

ganjames said:

Right now I'm reading Under The Dome by Stephen King. And let me tell you, I hate Stephen Kings writing... I think he's a mediocre writer at best that just won't quit typing up his bullshit ideas.

I really like Augusten Burroughs, he has a way of keeping my attention.

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I am not really a Big SK fan but I liked under the dome and many other titles from him, I wish I could write 1/10th as well. but he is not even close to my favorite author. I like pretty much everyone though.

BarnBuster said:

I've been reading C.J. Box for a while, he's known primarily for his fictional Joe Pickett adventures (Wyoming Fish and Game warden). His latest had a terrifingly real description of a grizzley bear charge. @GreatwhiteNorth a series I'm sure you'd like.

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Love The Pickett Series

King either hires ghost writers, or he has multiple personalities, and they're all at least sociopathic. very few books of his fall in the middle ground, i either think they're great, or great big turds.

The Outdoorsman said:

My Bi Annual subscription to Minnesota Volunteer magazine. Everyone should check it out, even if you don't frequent MN. Almost sent @Singlemalt a subscribe letter but, I reckon we aren't that close.
Dad subscribed in the 70's. Life long membership. He can't read the small writing so he's been forwarding them to me for awhile. Solid read. They go back to the 30's or 40's. Every Issue is on the website.

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I just checked it out, thanks. Read the article on SE Mn brookies; I fished there back in '82, was a fantastic trip and lots of fun, besides the fishing. Got chased by a bull, stumbled across a huge patch of escaped hemp, and more lol. Thanks Outdoorsman