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boutte

boutte

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I used to read a couple of books a weeks but since I discovered computers and the internet (around 1995) I probably read less than 20 books a year. I wonder how common this is.

Anyway I've decided I need to start reading more and would like to get some recommendations. Anybody got any can't miss lists. I like both fiction and non-fiction and am partial to military history but would like to hear any suggestions regardless of genre.

Thanks in advance.

By the way, I just finished re-reading Lonesome Dove and would definetly recommend it to anyone who likes adventure or western novels. It's one of my favorites eventhough I'm not all that in to westerns.
 
boutte said:
I used to read a couple of books a weeks but since I discovered computers and the internet (around 1995) I probably read less than 20 books a year. I wonder how common this is.

Anyway I've decided I need to start reading more and would like to get some recommendations. Anybody got any can't miss lists. I like both fiction and non-fiction and am partial to military history but would like to hear any suggestions regardless of genre.

Thanks in advance.

By the way, I just finished re-reading Lonesome Dove and would definetly recommend it to anyone who likes adventure or western novels. It's one of my favorites eventhough I'm not all that in to westerns.
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+1... I was an avid reader all my life until I got an internet connection. As far as recommendations- I'm not sure if your tastes would be similar to mine since I'm not really inot military history or westerns, but since you asked- and for anyone else who might be looking for something a little different, but very well-written, the best book I've read in the last few years is called "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." It's by a guy named Dave Eggers, and the basic premise is that it's his true story of when he was in his early 20s and both of his parents died of cancer within six months of each other, and he had to raise his 9 year old brother. Sounds depressing- and a few parts are- but it's really funny and clever. His follow up "You Shall Hear Our Velocity" is pretty good, too- though not as good as the first, IMO..... Oh, and I've been trying to finish Bill Clinton's "My Life" for literally 3 years now, but it's reeally long and I ususally only pick it up a couple times a year. What I've read of it is pretty good, though. :)
 
boutte said:
I'm still wading through that. I'm kind of burned out on SK lately. Have you read The Stand? Great book.
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i haven't read the stand.....i will one of these days.....i go on reading binges for months at a time.....right now, i am off the wagon....tme to get back on soon

dean koontz has good books that are fairly quick reads.....and dan brown's stuff was all pretty decent
 
Lawrence Taylor's biography was actually one I really enjoyed, no seriously. It was pretty crazy and makes you think differently about him.

Brigitte Gabriel's "Because They Hate, A Survivor of Islamic Terrorism Warns America" was a very good book. Very thought provoking and emotional. All Americans who love this country and are concerned with our future should read this book.
 
boutte said:
I used to read a couple of books a weeks but since I discovered computers and the internet (around 1995) I probably read less than 20 books a year. I wonder how common this is...
Click to expand...

Mr. Blue Sky said:
+1... I was an avid reader all my life until I got an internet connection...
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It's very common, I would think. I'm exactly the same way. I know that I spend entirely too much time on the internet that could be better put to use reading books the way I used to.

I don't know if you're much into sci-fi, boutte, but Asimov's Foundation and Robot series are excellent. Amazingly, Asimov ties these two separate stories, published over a span of decades, together in the end. It's a lot of books to read, though.

As far as Stephen King, he is one hell of a character developer, but I've always been disappointed with his novels in the end. At least to me, it seems like he figures he's got to end the book somehow after he's run out of characters to devote whole chapters to. I enjoy his short stories a lot more.
 
A few books I've enjoyed over the last few years:

A Perfect Heresy by Stephen O'Shea
A history of the Cathars. It examines the origins of their sect and how the Catholic church destroyed them and began the Inquisition. Fantastic detail and historical storytelling.

The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones
Ostensibly a mystery novel, it really is a character study of a lonely woman in Japan, surrounding a murder investigation. Well written, with excellent use of subtlety and emotion to enhance the minor plot design (the murder of the protagonist's friend, of which she is a suspect). I couldn't put this one down.

Dragon's Eye: A Chinese Noir by Any Oakes
A detective novel set in China. It's not atypical regarding the main character. He's hard bitten, cynical and even though he believes in the Chinese system, he's a bit of a rebel. The interest for me was the integration of political intrigue within the story of a murder investigation. It's dark and graphic, but it is definitely one you'll have a hard time putting down.

The Spanish Tragedy by Raymond Carr
A well told history of the Spanish civil war. It is a scholarly work that isn't written for a review committee. It has tons of details of the who, what, when, where and why of the players of this 20th century drama. Excellent insight into, and analysis of, the politics of Spain that lead up to the war. It can be a cumbersome read at times, but it is worth the effort if you have any interest in history.
 
Demon Haunted World.

Anything at all by Robert Heinlein. Especially his later stuff, like Job and Time Enough for Love.
 
If you like mystery fiction, definitely check out Harlan Coben's books.

Right now I'm reading "Reclaiming History" by Vincent Bugliosi (on the JFK assassination). But I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a big assassination buff because it's over 1,500 pages.
 
If you enjoy US history then I'd recommend any of David McCullough's works. There's nary a clunker in the bunch IMO.
 

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