what books are you reading?
- Thread starter pnj
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Blue Latitudes - the travels of James Cook. Pretty good. Lots of history and facts about the explore James Cook. Pretty humorous at times as the author Horwitz retraces Cooks travels through the south pacific isles. Fun read.
What do you like... fast/easy reading? Thought provoking? Drama/romance? Murder mystery?
Fiction/non-fiction?
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is one of my all time favorites, but it's not for everyone.
Robert Ludlum does some good, fast, easy reading stuff. I usually pick one of his books up for vacations and such.
Fiction/non-fiction?
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is one of my all time favorites, but it's not for everyone.
Robert Ludlum does some good, fast, easy reading stuff. I usually pick one of his books up for vacations and such.
What kind of reading are you looking for?
Your question is the same as asking whats the best tires for mountainbikes?
Your question is the same as asking whats the best tires for mountainbikes?
I'm reading The world is Flat by Thomas Friedman and also The Beak of the Finch, forgot who wrote it, but it's about Darwinism and the Galapagos Islands.
Ha! I just finished that yesterday! Good book, and a quick read.stosh said:I just finished A Walk In The Woods.
I f'ing loved it! Easy read, funny, great if you love the outdoors. It's got a great undertone of political satire in it as well.
stosh said:
As an experienced backpacker and hiker, I found Bryson's ineptitude generally annoying.
I did however enjoy this book quite a lot:
"A short history of nearly everything"
stosh said:
That's a great read! Bill Bryson is so funny.Yeah well he didn't claim to be an experienced back woods hiker.jdschall said:As an experienced backpacker and hiker, I found Bryson's ineptitude generally annoying.
I did however enjoy this book quite a lot:
"A short history of nearly everything"
I'm going to read another one of his books soon. Thanks for the advice!
Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus' Germania
Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life
Robert Hellenga's The Fall of a Sparrow
Ben Mizrich's Bringing Down the House
Jimmy Buffett's A Pirate Looks at Fifty
Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life
Robert Hellenga's The Fall of a Sparrow
Ben Mizrich's Bringing Down the House
Jimmy Buffett's A Pirate Looks at Fifty
'Deadeye Dick' & '1984'
The idiot friend he hikes with is so funny. I've read another book of his. Can't think of what it was though.stosh said:
Illusions by Richard Bach
This book is amazing, it's a real short read but it's so good. I give it two thumbs up.
This book is amazing, it's a real short read but it's so good. I give it two thumbs up.
stosh said:
True. But he could have sought out some reliable advice before starting out. He pulled the the equivalent of going to Walmart to buy a bike the night before trying to ride a century, and then had the nerve to write a book to complain about how it didn't work out. Sure some funny stuff happened but only because he was an idiot about the whole thing. It just rubbed me the wrong way I suppose. No biggy.
Nick Middleton (another travel writer) does the samething. He goes to these crazy far out places for the 'experience' and then bitches about how he's getting eaten alive by mosquitoes or something.
The Lord of the Rings is a good multi-week read. I'm reading it again right now.
I read a bunch of science stuff, but also a bunch of random shiz. current reads:
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P Feynman
Lucifers Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry by Frank Close
in the queue to be read:
Antimatter: The Ultimate Mirror by Gordon Fraser
The Hole in the Universe: How Scientists Peered over the Edge of Emptiness and Found Everything by K. C. Cole
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P Feynman
Lucifers Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry by Frank Close
in the queue to be read:
Antimatter: The Ultimate Mirror by Gordon Fraser
The Hole in the Universe: How Scientists Peered over the Edge of Emptiness and Found Everything by K. C. Cole
How is that going so far? I have read nothing by Aurelius to this point...jonKranked said:
Another good one I read recently:
Those Damn Rebels - The American Revolution as Seen Through British Eyes by Michael Pearson
The old axiom "history is told by the victors" is typically true and most Americans see the revolution only from the winning side. Pearson tries to go back and figure out what the British were thinking during what they considered a 'civil war' not a revolution.
Those Damn Rebels - The American Revolution as Seen Through British Eyes by Michael Pearson
The old axiom "history is told by the victors" is typically true and most Americans see the revolution only from the winning side. Pearson tries to go back and figure out what the British were thinking during what they considered a 'civil war' not a revolution.
i'm reading a short history of nearly everything now.jdschall said:As an experienced backpacker and hiker, I found Bryson's ineptitude generally annoying.
I did however enjoy this book quite a lot:
"A short history of nearly everything"
have you read "i'm a stranger here myself?" that's a good one too.
i just picked up "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius," which will be after a short history.
its not exactly a book per se. Its more of his journal that he keep over the course of his life, consisting mostly of philisophical reflections(as an emporer of ancient rome, he was studied under some of the best philosphers of his time). So you can just hop around and read small portions of it. I'd really recommend it.llkoolkeg said:
I finally finished Shantaram - almost 1000 pages. It's a true story about a guy that escapes prison in Australia and flees to a life in Bombay where he joins the mafia. It didn't need to be that long.
oh i also recently finished atlas shrugged by ayn rand. very long, but very good.
Cool...I'll check it out. A Pirate Looks at Fifty is much the same thing in a beatnik kinda way.jonKranked said:
that was a VERY good read actually. I highly enjoyed it and would recommend it.llkoolkeg said:Cool...I'll check it out. A Pirate Looks at Fifty is much the same thing in a beatnik kinda way.
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Beautiful writing.
Hilarious bits.
Heart Wrenching (and no, it's not a chick book)
Catch-22
anything by Chuck Palahniuk, but Invisible Monsters is my favorite
Beautiful writing.
Hilarious bits.
Heart Wrenching (and no, it's not a chick book)
Catch-22
anything by Chuck Palahniuk, but Invisible Monsters is my favorite
Very good book. Have you read The Fountainhead or Anthem? Both are great.jonKranked said:
Right now I'm reading Guns, Germs, and Steel - interesting book.
fountainhead yes, anthem no.nmjb said:
Just finised Into The Air by Jon Krakauer
Recently read Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
Started reading Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman (psy interests me)
Recently read Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
Started reading Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman (psy interests me)
reflux said:
How was that? I've been meaning to pick it up.
Now reading "The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order" by Samuel P. Huntington.
Before that "1984" by George Orwell and "Stupid white men" by Michael Moore.
In between books like these I like to read stuff like "The Lord of the rings" and "The DaVinci code".
Before that "1984" by George Orwell and "Stupid white men" by Michael Moore.
In between books like these I like to read stuff like "The Lord of the rings" and "The DaVinci code".
Just finished Heart of Darkness and assorted short works by Conrad. Youth is amazing.
In the middle of This Is It by Alan Watts, an amazing collection of philosophical essays that everyone should read. If you havent discovered Watts yet, he was one of the most sane authors to come out of the 60's.
In the middle of This Is It by Alan Watts, an amazing collection of philosophical essays that everyone should read. If you havent discovered Watts yet, he was one of the most sane authors to come out of the 60's.
Surprisingly well-written, but not on par with Into the Air. I was captivated by his story when it hit the news a few years ago. Seriously though, who wasn't? At the very least, the book was worth reading to clarify what exactly happened, and to gain insight into just how he managed to survive it. Btw, he combines his previous adventures into the book, and cleverly ties them into the story of his accident.jdschall said:
Yes, I would suggest it.