Official Book Thread - What You're Reading & Everything Book Related (merged)

#477
#477
duckman398686 said:
Catcher in the Rye- 7.5/10
i had always been curious about checking it out. thought it was pretty good.

On Rocky Top: A Front Row Seat to the End of an Era- 7/10
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JD Salinger -.5 vs. Captain Pudding Strike?

C'mon now. I was an English major. That line can't be right.
 
#478
#478
duckman398686 said:
i think i've found a suitable book for you harry. it seems to be geared toward your type of audience. i think i've got a cover of it somwhere.






that's right......


the-gas-we-pass.jpg
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If you are into that sort of literature, here is another selection:

walter_the_farting_dog.jpg
 
#480
#480
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. Not bad, but not great. Kind of hard to follow as there are two simultaneous story lines that he jumps back and forth on from chapter to chapter.
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#481
#481
I finally decided to read the Harry Potter series. My kids are getting old enough that they will probably read them soon and I want to be an informed parent.

Finished the first book yesterday, on to book 2.
 
#482
#482
Just finished All the Pretty Horses getting ready to start No Country for Old Men.
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#484
#484
No that's next on my list. I discovered "The Road" and loved it. I'm slowly working my way through his stuff. Would you recommend Meridan or Suttree next?
 
#485
#485
Hey, books! My strong faith in the readers of VN has been tested, but has not yet been abandoned! It truly is good to know you all are still turning pages and giving feedback on the books you're reading.

Reading Grand Canyon: A River At Risk by Wade Davis. Just got it yesterday and looked through all the images, but have not yet got into the text of it. Looking forward to it, looks like it'll be a good one!
 
#487
#487
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I miss real bookstores. I felt dirty for purchasing this gift of creation at Border's......
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#488
#488
tri_vol said:
No that's next on my list. I discovered "The Road" and loved it. I'm slowly working my way through his stuff. Would you recommend Meridan or Suttree next?
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Either. They're both equally good in different ways. I'm partial to Suttree because I grew up in Knoxville. Knoxville in the '50's/early '60's is the setting. Blood Meridian..super horror blood 'n guts stuff.
 
#489
#489
Probably read Sutree next then. I like reading stuff where I can relate to the location.
 
#492
#492
tri_vol said:
Probably read Sutree next then. I like reading stuff where I can relate to the location.
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Just finished rereading Suttree and still as good as ever. Funny how you forget some things from one read to the next. Also, reread Child of God-by McCarthy. It's more of a long, short story, but not boring, than a book. About 205 or so pages.
 
#497
#497
I'm a huge sci-fi/fantasy reader. Just finished a trilogy by Russell Kirkpatrick named "Fire of Heaven." Very well written. You can tell he modeled it after Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings", with it's strong references to fictitious geography. Worth the read if that's down your alley.
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#498
#498
vader said:
My proposed reading list. Comments and suggestions welcome:

Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
A Death in the Family - James Agee
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
Thin Red Line - James Jones
1984 - George Orwell
Animal Farm - George Orwell
The World According to Garp - John Irving
The Cider House Rules - John Irving
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
The James Fenimore Cooper "Leatherstocking Tales"
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
A Man Without a Country - Kurt Vonnegut
A Connecticut Yankee in Kin Authur's Court - Mark Twain
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S Lewis
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Deliverance - James Dickey
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Snows of Kilamanjaro - Ernest Hemingway
Helter Skelter - Vincent Bugliosi
Reclaiming History - Vincent Bugliosi
Blackhawk Down - Mark Bowden
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I've read most of these. If you skip any of them, start with dropping the Irving novels. Instead add another gem by Vonnegut. Cat's Cradle is clearly his masterwork and I have read EVERY book he has ever written, even his short story collection, Welcome to the Monkey House.

Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey is a man's book. I personally believe it is the most underrated American novel. The character development, relationship struggles, and symbolism are on the level of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. A remarkable novel by an American individual.

Another book that you might want to add just for the sheer unique quality of writing and imagination is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Let me know how the list goes.

I'm currently reading a new classic by David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest. I'm only 100 pages in, but it's looking to be one of the best I've read in a few years.

:salute:
 
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#499
#499
kiddiedoc said:
Anyone with suggestions for a book to take on vacation? I really enjoy philosophy and/or books that "make you think." If nothing else, I may take on "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."
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Pirsig can be cloying at times, but the overall journey and philosophy of "quality" discussed in the novel make it worth the first read and will eat at you every couple of years to read again...

Don't get anywhere near his second book, Lila. Blech! Unfortunately, I have a personal code (thanks, Hemingway) that will not allow me to start and subsequently finish a book. He was truly a one-book wonder.

:rock:
 
#500
#500
utvolpj said:
started Ben Franklin's biography last week. He's quite an interesting guy
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Worth reading?

On a side note of things disussed, is a kindle worth the cost? My wife thinks that long-term it'd be cheaper for me, but I just don't know.
 
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