Book Thread number ?

[geezer]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Fiddler in the Subway: probably the greatest anthology of newspaper writing ever. Seriously, it's awesome.

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Recent Reads


Heat Lightning by John Sandford This is the second Virgil Flowers book and involves someone who is killing people and leaving them with lemons in their mouth at War Memorials around Minnesota. This book has a lot of non stop action and several nice plot twist as Virgil tries to stop the killer before they can complete their mission. Nice further development of Sandofrd's new series.

Rough Country by John Sandford The Third Virgil Flowers novel involves a murder at a prominent resort. Flowers follows the investigation through various sex and music scenarios as people involved with a local band turn up dead. Not quite as many twists and false leads as the typical Sandford novel but a good read.

Mary Mary by James Patterson This Alex Cross novel from Patterson starts with Alex Cross on a much needed vacation when he is called away to deal with a serial killer killing Hollywood Stars. Some nice twist and turns and a good effort from Patterson. Better than some of the Cross novels right before this one but not as good as the earlier ones. Nice ending.

The Protégé by Stephen Frey This is an okay high finance thriller by Frey but he wraps up the plot way too quickly at the end. Hedge Fund manager Christian Gillette is back in this one and he is threatened on many sides by enemies both old and new. David Wright Gillette's protege is being blackmailed by these enemies will he betray his mentor or save him?

The Power Broker by Stephen Frey This is another Christian Gillette novel which picks up roughly where The Protege left off. Christian is on the short list to be the Vice presidential choice for Jesse Wood an African American running for president but he has been targeted by a super secret power group known as The Order, think Skull and Bones. Like many of Frey's novels this would have benefited from an extra 75-100 pages as the plot seems rushed and the ending happens quickly.

The Athena Project by Brad Thor This is Thor's first non Scott Harvath novel, though he makes a token appearance, following the adventures of The Athena Project female Delta Force operators. This book follows the adventures of a four person team in Eastern Europe as they seek to stop a group from using a revived Nazi superweapon to deliver bombs across the United States. Not the best effort from Thor. I see potential for the series as the characters are compelling but didn't enjoy the story line too much in this one.

[St. Clown]

Re: Book Thread number ?

So I cashed in a bazillion or so points from my credit card company and got a $100 gift card. I used it to buy a Kindle, the cheapest model they offer. I'm curious to see the free book selection they have to offer.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Book Thread number ?

You're going to like Medium Raw and In Defense of Food. You might also want to check Food Matters by Mark Bittman out. Bittman is like Pollan, only a bit more practical.

Medium Raw was pretty good. Especially enjoyed the stories of his little run-in with Sandra Lee, and how his outlook on life changed after his daughter was born.

Dark Side of Disney is pretty hilarious. Basically an unofficial guidebook to an R-rated Walt Disney World vacation, but actually does have some legit travel tips as well.

Unwasted has been entertaining. Not your typical non-fiction about a recovering alkie, since it focuses more on the difficulties of the author's recovery process than her wild and crazy drinking stories.

[RinkRatEO]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Hey guys,

I know I created a separate thread for this - and turned last week's Hobey Watch into a promotional tie-in - but I figured it wouldn't hurt to self-promote a bit more.

My debut novel, Robert's Rules of Karaoke, was released on Sunday as an e-book by TheWriteDeal (www.thewritedeal.org).

What's it about, you ask? Well...

Twenty-something New Yorker Rob Olson wants what any young man would―a great woman who can appreciate, not only his hockey addiction, but his Friday night Karaoke habit. A consummate planner, Rob lives by rules, especially the ones he and his best friend Chuck come up with for their favorite past-time, like “Robert’s Rule of Karaoke No. 24: Never take on Freddie Mercury. You and Freddie both lose.” But when Rob meets Liz, a free-spirited artist with the self-assurance to stand up to his overbearing mother and to his best friend’s naysaying girlfriend Gia, it’s the end of his world as he knows it. Whether he’ll end up feeling fine is another question altogether.

I'm also pleased to let you know that there's a big college hockey thread running through the book, with BU, BC, Harvard, Cornell and Wisconsin all figuring significantly in the story, with a small shout-out to North Dakota as well. I hope you'll all give it a read, and that you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

I've also set up a site for the book at http://www.robertsrulesofkaroke.com , which will include additional content related to the story (i.e. musical commentary and some hockey talk). From there, you can also get links to the RROK page on Facebook, the Twitter feed, the RROK playlist on Spotify and the Pandora station.

Happy reading!

Thanks,

Elliot Olshansky

[REDaero91]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Got a Nook Tablet for Christmas, enjoying it so far! It's nice to have books right at my fingertips, and definitely will save me from carrying around 20lbs worth of them on trips!

Just finished The Help, which was very good. I wish it would have gone on a little past where it ended, though. Not sure if I'll see the movie-anyone done both and have an opinion?

[manurespreader]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just read " Unbroken" by laura hillenbrand and " Six Frigates" by toll. both real good.

[aygwm2]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just read " Unbroken" by laura hillenbrand

Read it...and agreed, very good!

[aygwm2]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just finished The Help, which was very good. I wish it would have gone on a little past where it ended, though. Not sure if I'll see the movie-anyone done both and have an opinion?

Read the book, saw the movie...both very good. They did a great job editing the book for the movie; and, of course, it's a bonus having read the book because you can fill in the blanks. But, the movie stands on it's own and was adapted quite well. Recommend you see it.

[REDaero91]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Read the book, saw the movie...both very good. They did a great job editing the book for the movie; and, of course, it's a bonus having read the book because you can fill in the blanks. But, the movie stands on it's own and was adapted quite well. Recommend you see it.

Thanks!

[FreshFish]

Re: Book Thread number ?

That is what 10 generations of "clean your plate, there are hungry kids in Africa" will do.

My Mom only tried that one once...I was young and naive and when she said that, in all earnest seriousness, I went and got an envelope so that I could mail the food to the hungry kids in Africa. I wasn't being sarcastic either, just being literal.

[FreshFish]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I've noticed several people mention that they prefer non-fiction. Here are three absolute classics that I recommend to anyone who wants a basic literacy in economics:

The first section of The Alpha Strategy by John Pugsley. Absolutely mind-blowing in its clarity and directness. The second section, meh, don't bother.

The first section of The Joyless Economy: an inquiry into human satisfaction and consumer dissatisfaction (though I believe the revised edition has a new subtitle) by Tibor Scitovsky: "Scitovsky's ground-breaking book was the first to apply theories of behaviorist psychology to questions of consumer behavior and to do so in clear, non-technical language. Setting out to analyze the failures of our consumerist lifestyle, Scitovsky concluded that ...." review from Oxford University Press website. I have not read the 1992 version, if the updates are as good as OUP says, it may be worth it for me to track one down.

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. It is quite ironic that Milton was viewed as the quintessential liberal of his time (my book jacket says so!).....shows you how far liberals have migrated since then! JFK was viewed as a liberal then too; now Joe Lieberman, who fits the JFK paradigm quite well, is nearly too conservative to be welcome among the Democrats (I guess that makes Joe a DINO in more ways than one!).

While Friedman and Pugsley may be viewed by some as also having a political bias, that doesn't affect the clarity of their writing in these particular books, nor the accuracy of the information containted therein, though some may chafe a little at Pugsley's word choices while others may cheer.

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Recent Reads


The Wolf at The Door by Jack Higgins This is another Sean Dillon novel from Higgins. In this one the members of the Prime Ministers private army have been targeted for elimination along with Blake Johnson. A typical fast paced action packed thriller from Higgins. Nice backstory about Daniel Holley, which closely mirrors Dillon's own, who I expect will pop up again as a future nemesis.

Chosen Prey by John Sandford This Lucas Davenport thriller from Sandford focuses on a serial killer who leaves creepy nude portraits of his women before killing them. A chance find leads the police to the killer's graveyard in the woods as they try to find "the artist" before he kills again. Some nice action and a couple of good twists and turns. Not the best in the series but not the worst.

Broken Prey by John Sandford An excellent Davenport novel from Sandford. Women are getting killed and "scourged" across Minnesota and Davenport is called in to find the killer. Some great twist and turns and surprises. Also loved Davenport working on his 100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era list throughout the book.

Lords of Sipan a Tale of Pre-Inca Tombs, Archaeology and Crime by Sidney Kirkpatrick A good book detailing how a Peruvian Archaeologist helped save an ancient Mochan tomb from tomb raiders. The raiders had started to plunder the tomb but with minimal help and a lot of pluck Walter Alva is able to save the site and find the first intact Mochan royal burial. The parallel story line is covering the smuggling and sale of Peruvian artifacts to well heeled Western investors.

Strange Battles of the Civil War by Webb Garrison Jr. If you are not a Civil War nut this is probably better for you. Short overviews of Civl War Battles. Not more than 10 pages or so per battle so not a whole lot of detail.

Satchel The Life and Times of An American Legend by Larry Tye An excellent biography of Negro League legend Satchel Paige. Nice accounts of the Negro League. A good look at how Barnstorming tours were organized and Satchel's battles against teams led by Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller. Satchel was also baseball's first free agent playing for whoever paid him the most. In addition to the Negro Leagues, he played in the California League, Mexican League, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and numerous tournaments around the country. It also covers his disappointment at not being the man to break the color barrier and then his subsequent call to the big leagues in 1948 with the Cleveland Indians.

The Bin Laden An Arabian Family in The American Century by Steve Coll An excellent history of the Bin laden family from their leaving of Yemen to Saudi Arabia to their present day status as the construction company of choice for the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. The book mainly covers the life's of Osama's father Mohammed and his eldest brother Salem who became the leader of the family after his father's death. Interesting for those interested in the history of Saudi Arabia as well as it offers excellent insights into the life and rule of the Royal Family. it also offers some insights into Osama Bin Laden's early life and conversion to radical Islam.

Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile III An excellent book on the American political side of the Cia's proxy battle against the Russians using the Afghan's. The book tells how for the most part single handedly got additional funding and weapons for the mujahadeen using horsetrading and calling in favors. Told mainly from the American political perspective it doesn't deal a whole lot of what was going on in Afghanistan except when it directly effected Charlie Wilson.

Rage by Jonathan Kellerman This Alex Delaware novel by Kellerman follows a murder committed by two children years before. One of the murders was killed in juvenile hall the other was just released and calls Dr. Delaware to talk. He never makes the meet with Dr Delaware and later ends up dead. Delaware and Milo Sturgis search to find out who might have murdered him, the father of the child murdered 8 years ago or something else. A good effort from Kellerman.

Dark Horse The Surprise Election and Murder of James A Garfield An excellent book detailing the 1880 nomination, election and the short amount of James Garfield's Presidency. It focuses mainly on the blood feud between Republican politicians James Blaine, who ends up being Garfield's Secretary of State and Roscoe Conklin the NY Republican political boss who strikes a "political bargain" with Garfield allowing him to carry New York and win the Presidency. The part covering Garfield's presidency shows how he tries to walk the line between Blaine and Conklin with not so good results. Scattered throughout the book are pieces with Charles Guiteau who would assassinate Garfield. He works, well really hangs around, at the Republican HQ throughout the election coming into contact with many Senators and Congressman including Garfield's Vice President Charles Arthur. Once Garfield is elected he haunts the White House and State Department seeking his due. It's amazing how many people came into contact; Garfield, Garfield's wife, Blaine, Arthur and many others but no one really marked this odd little man as dangerous. Finally he believes that Garfield has betrayed the Stalwarts, Republican supporters of US Grant, and must be eliminated. Garfield lived for quite a while after his death and probably died from poor medicine.

The Disciple by Stephen Coonts An excellent book by Coonts in this book CIA operative Tommy Carmellini is in Iran trying to find out when and how many nuclear missiles that Iran has. Non stop action as Carmellini and his boos at the CIA Jake Grafton try to stop Iran from launching nuclear missiles all across the Middle East.

[USAFA Bulldog]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I read lots of SciFI, which constantly reminds me that I have very little knowledge of science.

Currently working on Alastair Reynolds Chasm City. It's in the Hard SF, so there's huge sections of stuff I don't understand.

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Picked up that Super Mario book mentioned earlier in the thread, but that's going to wait because of some heavier reading in the meantime.

The Alphabet of Manliness by Maddox (the guy who runs/ran The Best Page In The Universe and I Am Better Than Your Kids sites)
The Bro Code by Barney Stinson (haven't seen the show yet, but this book was recommended, and I previewed it on Amazon; hilarious)


Like I said, heavy reading.