Book Recommendations

[jbarntt]

Hi c.d,

I am in need of a good book to read. Does anyone have a recommendation? My tastes are pretty eclectic. I enjoy both fiction and non-fiction and a variety of subjects.

c.d.

I recently read "To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, and couldn't put it down. If you've never read it, give it a shot. Fiction doesn't get much better, IMHO. Easily available new and used.

A couple of good sci-fi/horror mixup novels are Jack Williamson's "Darker than You Think", and Fritz Leiber's "Conjure Wife", both from the mid 1940's. Both still pack a real wallop today.

For a non-fiction book, consider Walter Russell Mead's "Special Providence", a book about American foreign policy from 1789 to 2002, when published. Very readable and Mead is an expert on the subject.

Best,

jbarntt

[dougie]

Now I have to read 'The Road to Nab End' as well, dammit.
dougie, can't help but chuckle that relatively Lancashire is just up the road a bit. How far can you go in England after all?

plang

I cant answer your question...ive never been farther than the assylum gates..tried to escape a few times in the laundry basket, but i got nabbed. If I ever get out ill find out for ya.
regards

[belinda]

Another one I love is Anna Of The Five Towns By Arnold Bennett

And if you haven't read The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy you absolutely must

[plang]

Now I have to read 'The Road to Nab End' as well, dammit.
dougie, can't help but chuckle that relatively Lancashire is just up the road a bit. How far can you go in England after all?

plang

[dougie]

Here is a modern "classic" William woodruffs "The road to Nab End"...sub titled "an extraordinary northern childhood"....non-fiction..autobiography....extraordinarily well written, funny in places, sad in others .407 pages and in truth if the book had been 1407 pages long,it still wouldnt have been long enough for me. A true classic.
regards

[plang]

I'm off to the library tomorrow to borrow 'The Great Gatsby'.
Mind you, if I find it trite or anything you will be hearing from me, you all.

[Mayerling]

Certainly enjoyed THE GREAT GATSBY, but I still think that the last couple of paragraphs of Fitzgerald's THIS SIDE OF PARADISE were magnificent and they marched across the reader's brain.

A similar effect happened to me when I read Louis-Fernand Celine's JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF TIME. Hate Celine's fascist politics, but boy can he write.

As far as 19th Century fiction goes my two favorites for first place are
Crane's THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE and Flaubert's MADAME BOVARY. The latter though has one aspect that makes me have to give pride of place to Crane - Flaubert wrote in French, and I have only read BOVARY in English.
I am certain I miss much as a result.

Also anything by Henri Beyle (Stendhal) particularly THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PALMA and his various books of reminiscenses.

Jeff

[plang]

The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant.
A true life story that is unfolding still at this very moment.
A golden spruce and a white raven that met their demise in the same year in the same place.
This is a truly fascinating tale, but it is real! And it is happening now.

(non-fiction. Vintage Canada/Random House)

[c.d.]

Hi Mari,

Yes, Gatsby is a classic. I read it in college and thought it was good. I reread it a couple of years ago and it was even better. A true classic.

c.d.

[Canadian Mari]

Since I'm new (again, and mostly lurked prior to the great crash) before I annoy anyone in the Ripper threads...
One of my all time favourite books;
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. My English class read it in grade 11 and since then I've read it at least once every year. It's not happy or uplifting, but I think it has some valuable things to say about human nature, and about friendship. You might, as I did, find yourself saying things out loud, trying to be helpful. They never listen, though!
I'm so pleased to be here, reading all your thoughts.

[Mike Covell]

A few years ago I read "Bravo Two Zero" by Andy McNab which was a great book.

I followed this up with Chris Ryan's "The One that got away" which is based on his account of events, and his escape into Syria.

Another version of events surfaced in Michael Asher's "The Real Bravo Two Zero" which showed how events may have actually transpired. It is a great read also.

This week I finished Mike Coburn's "Soldier Five" which is his version of events.

All four books are well worth reading, inspirational, and raise the question of wether or not war is justifiable.

[joelhall]

Hi Joe,

I also really liked "Flags of Our Fathers" which traces the lives of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima before and after the war.

c.d.

ive not read that yet but its on my list

[Celesta]

Hi C.D.,

Thanks heaps. I will pick it up the next time I'm in Borders or Sam's. It sounds good. I love elephants!

I also want to read Flags of Our Fathers. Need to finish With the Old Breed first.


Celesta

[c.d.]

band of brothers by stephen ambrose

Hi Joe,

I also really liked "Flags of Our Fathers" which traces the lives of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima before and after the war.

c.d.

[c.d.]

Was there a cockatoo involved?

Actually three or four.

c.d.