Books

I was literally about to open a thread on this topic. I just finished (about an hour ago) "We Were Liars" by Lockhart. A really great book that is a light read but with very thought-provoking themes. I enjoyed every bit of it and finished it in less than a day.

thanks Parker, I've read just about everything Lincoln&Child have written an I'm looking for a New author.

I listen to audio books while I draw. Some recent books I've liked are:

A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving (fiction). Seems like people either love or hate John Irving. I love him, so I enjoyed this novel.
Far From The Tree, by Andrew Solomon (non-fiction). This one deals with raising a child who is very different from you, looking at various "horizontal identities." I found it really moving.
Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith (historical fiction). This one is an intense thriller that takes place in the Soviet Union, before the break up (1960's I think).

I'm always looking for good suggestions, so thanks for posting this thread, Drew!

I also like John Irving Julia! I have read Owen Meany and most of his other but it has been quite awhile. I recently finished reading The Book Thief by by Markus Zusak and then I read his older book I Am The Messenger which was sort of different. Then I read Lila by Marilynn Robinson which I had seen on a book list. It was unusual also, almost like Grapes of Wrath type of story. I love all of Lisa See's books which have themes about China and Chinese immigrants. Shanghai Girls and Finding Joy were especially good. For mystery/crime stories I enjoy Harlen Coben. Next I want to read the 2nd book of Ken Follet's trilogy Winter of the World, I have read the WWI story Fall of Giants. They are rather long.

Drew,

Give me 3 names of authors you like, fiction and I'll give my suggestions. Here's a site that I use all the time,when I run out of authors:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

Historical fiction, none better than Bernard Cornwell.
Great writing great dialogue: Robert B. Parker
Beautiful writing: Louise Penny
Easy fast read: Lee Childs
Western stuff: CJ Box,Craig Johnson
Stieg Larsson-ish:Lars Keplar

And so on and so on,

Give me a few hints............

Rich

A few of my faves:

Curt Vonnegut: The Sirens of Titan, Cats Cradle, God Bless You Mrs. Rosewater, etc

Cormac McCarthy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Child of God, Suttree, Cities of the Plain, The Road, etc

Carlos Castaneda: The Teachings of Don Juan, Journey to Ixtlan, A Separate Reality

Jack Kerouac: On the Road, Dharma Bums

Richard Bruatigan: Trout Fishing in America, The Confederate General From Big Sur, In Watermelon Sugar

Herman Melville: Moby Dick


Dave Gordon
http://dgportfolio.net

The Emperor of all Maladies. - a fantastically well written history discussing cancer research and prevention.

Many folks are reading "Being Mortal". I am not yet. It is supposed to be the great read from
late last year. Basically until you hit age 30 your peak, life is great. After that all you are doing on
planet earth is pushing off sickness and death. Good luck with that.

An oldie and one of my favorites, "Perfectly Legal". This actually makes reading
about the tax code interesting. The opening sentence names Bill Gates tax attorney and discusses his abilities within
the law. It is far too political to discuss here. The author is one
of the NYT best writers, David Kay Johnston. He has written a few great books based on
his area of expertise.

I was reading the MIT.edu front page for the latest scientific brake through papers over the last few
years, not a book mind you, but some great reading. We can now make steel without any CO2 emissions.
We can make liquid metal batteries that are brilliant. The company doing this is Ambri.com
We are learning a lot about graphene, which we now can
make into the perfect water desalination filter, holes 1 nm large. Only the H2O can pass, nothing else. The
process of making 4 trillion holes per cm sq has been found. Graphene is transparent, one atom thick and stronger
than steel, flexible as well. There is a Materials database, know as the Materials Project, that has 58k different compounds
for study in academia. As of now only a few hundred materials are used by humanity. This will open up a new materials
age. I have read on the MIT site that PV, Photovoltaics, Solar cells in other words, are developing as a tech at a rate only
second to computer chips. This according to a study of all techs as Wright's law and Moore's law applies to them. Wright's law
is about industrial returns as output increases. Then there was the study last year of water resources for the year 2040. With the
burgeoning world population it will be impossible to support any energy source that needs much water. Water will be needed
for farming, manufacturing, sewage, cooking and related consumption. This means we need to leave fossil fuels and nuclear behind.
There have been battery brake throughs in asymmetric lithium ion batteries and in flow membraneless batteries. Fuel cells are
now being better developed. As I am saying, we are about to experience a materials revolution, like the information revolution,
and the industrial revolution.


Dave

Are you reading real books or what I call, tongue in cheek, 'fake' ones? (eBooks lol) I just bought some real paper books from the charity store, among them, Under the Dome by Stephen King. Oh I love this author. I have read nearly all of his now, along with James Herbert (Rats fame) and Shaun Hutson (Slugs fame) not forgetting Terry Pratchett (Discworld) and Dean Koontz Plus, of course, all the classics, the Bronte's, Dickens, Hemingway, etc, the list is endless....Poe being a particular fav

My bf hates having real books at home as he is a clean freak (how we got together I will never know) and says they catch dust. However, once I pointed to his collection of cars (admittedly under glass) and action men, (not under glass) I have finally won and we are adding book shelves shortly.

When I was younger I owned over 15,000 books, all shelved or boxed. These past few years have been the first time I have not had a home library.

Mind you, being totally honest, I don't get time to read much anymore. Not working here and trying to paint AND the two pups, plus the online courses I'm now doing and the cookery I have started to experiment with....oh and knitting lol

Anyway, I am watching this thread and will grab some of the books mentioned, even if they have to sit on my shelf for a year before I get time to read them lol

I'm an author... you can always read mine if you're stuck for something to do :)

Author name: Karen J Jones

Me too, Abbie! I love paper books, but when I bring one home my neat freak husband looks at our (full) bookshelves and then looks at me as if to say "My dear wife, is this what we need? another book to collect dust?" but he is always actually says "What'd you get, Love?" then says his goodbyes because he knows he is second in my life in the presence of a new good book :)

I love John Irving too, Julia. I've read all his books except the new one, In One Person-I have it, Just haven't had the time to read it. My favorite is Cider House Rules, and I loved A widow for a year too. Don't bother with Until I Find You-I actually wanted my money back there, it was awful.

The last book I read was East of Eden. It is breathtaking, I really don't know how I did not read it when I was younger, a few other books I adore are, Empire Falls, Middlesex, and anything by Elmore Leonard, of course, Get Shorty is my favorite there.

David-"the MIT.edu front page" that is a great Idea! I really love reading Scientific American too.

I apologize if I will have broken a rule regarding what I am about to do...

I have never done this before...and I hope you will forgive me for promoting my own book.
It is loosely based on a true story. It is my first novel. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

You can read a summary of it here:

The Conversation

Thank you for considering "The Conversation"

Anthony, please message me the link so I don't lose it and I will buy a copy ASAP.

Sebastian Faulks - Birdsong. A moving and poignant novel of life during the first world war. It made me think.
Sebastian Faulks - Charlotte Grey. Harrowing book about life in France during the second world war.

Abbie...
Check your FAA e-mail
Thank you so much!!

So many books, so little time - choosing books for someone else is an art-form in itself!

However, by way of blatant "paying it forward" I will recommend the excellent first novel from my friend, Sonja Yoerg, Housebroken

- Richard Reeve
reevephotos.com

Herman Hesse - Siddhartha; Roger Zelazney - Lord of Light

@ Abbie - opposites attract. I was reading 5th level when I started school - way back when, my wife isn't a reader at all - "I" live in a library - and we've had 'discussions' about all these "old paper books". I'm a fairly eclectic reader: real history (before the U.S. Civil War), sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, even religion on occasion.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions.
I have a tendency to latch on to authors I really like and read thier work over and over.

Here's a few authors that I have read reperepeatedly

Non fiction
James Gleick
Bart D. Ehrman

Fiction
david baldacci (not camel club series)
Lee Child (Jack Reacher series )
Herman Hesse
Douglas Preston
Lincoln Child

Roy, isn't it heaven, sitting in an old comfy chair with a good book and several pages to go? Nothing like it.

I also have a house full of books, and have been trying to pare them down. It is hard. I need book cases with glass fronts since I am not good about dusting! I also have some books I treasure that belonged to my parents and grandparents. I will not be getting rid of those.

I have been trying to just read books from the library in recent years and quit buying them. How many of you readers use an e reader? I have enjoyed my kindle. It is great for taking along several books when traveling, or reading a long book in bed at night since it is so light weight.

Drew,

david baldacci (not camel club series) .............Michael Connely "Lincoln Lawyer" or his Harry Bosch series.
Lee Child (Jack Reacher series ) ..........Robert Crais (Joe Pike) series or anyhting from Robert B. Parker,"Spencer,Jessie Stone or Appaloosa
Ken Bruen....."Jack Taylor" series, dark,disturbing Irish cop,with issues.........
Deon Meyer.....South African author mystery/thriller stuff
Douglas Preston,Lincoln Child ...........Harry Turtledove, beats both of these guys. Harry has the "What If's" series of books like "Atlantis" or a bunch of WWII books about Germany winning and England loosing. Prolific writer. His "Gap" series will remind you of a better version of some of the Child/Preston books.

Let me know if you want more Use the Fantastic Fiction link: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/michael-connelly/

Rich

To say my wife is a voracious reader is a huge understatement. She likes murder mysteries. I on the other hand, tend towards non-fiction usually dealing with art subjects,"self-help" (oh what a dirty word today LOL) or how the mind works (which certainly can include the creative process) including Richard Bach's writings beyond Johnathan Livingston Seagull which are numerous.

#1 is "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Dr, Maxwell Maltz and "The New Psyco-Cybernetics" (updates the original written in 1960)

"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

"Running From Safety" and "Hypnotizing Maria" by Richard Bach

"The Present" by Dr. Spencer Johnson

"The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri

Bill Tomsa

http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/

I just came across this cute quote, not author was listed. -- Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it!

Ann,

That's why I ALWAYS have the Stephen Hawking book, "A Brief History of Time", with a book mark around the 3/4's space in the book, with me in my travels, grocery store,post office,etc.

Rich

@Gretchen, I think I've read most of John Irving's books. For me it's a toss up between A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Cider House Rules. They're both really good books, but I think A Prayer for Owen Meany might appeal to a broader audience. His books do tend to be controversial. I read (listened to) In One Person. I really liked it, but I can see where it's not for everyone. He takes you to strange places, which makes his books interesting to me. If you enjoy In One Person, you might try Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

I forgot The Tell-Tale Brain, by V.S. Ramachandran (non-fiction). This one explores synaesthesia and other curious facts about the human brain. This book inspired my piece titled "Buba and Kiki."

Your Inner Fish - by Neil Shubin NON fiction

Thanks all!