A new book I like so far - Page 8

stealyourface · #71 02-10-2007, 03:00 PM

Just finished Crime and Punishment.

really really well written, thought provoking book.

I am about to start Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen. I got it as a gift and have heard some good things about it.

cking · #72 02-11-2007, 02:53 AM

Alot of history buffs here, im a huge one myself. A book i've had forever and just finally got a chance to read was "1776" by David McCullough and it's an excellent following of Washington and the American revolution.

Another book i read awhile back that had a simmilar style (using old letters to retell events, often almost as if it was a fiction book written in 3rd person omm.) Anyway it tells the story of The invaision of North Africa and was supposed to be the 1st part of a 3 part series on the whole war... man wish i could remember the title, would love to see if the others were released

DeuceKicker · #73 02-16-2007, 01:04 PM

Am I the only person who was thoroughly unimpressed with Blood Meridian?

He seemed to gloss over important scenes, giving them one or two sentences, then spend the next page and a half describing the vegetation.

On the other hand, one of McCarthy's sentences aint no joke. This book may hold three of the top five spots for longest (runon) sentence in english literature.

I ended up not finishing the book--rare for me.

jba · #74 02-16-2007, 01:42 PM

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I'm about halfway through A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It's terrific.

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well I finished this book and it was so damn good I just whipped through A Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburned Country in the last week. Despite having zero interest in the Appalachian trail, hiking, Australia, or travel books in general, this guy writes incredibly interesting books and I'd probably read anything he wrote. Highly recommended.

jba · #75 02-16-2007, 01:44 PM

also, I saw a reference to 1776: great book. I felt a little let down when the book actually ended in 1776. Would appreciate any recommendations on further reading on Revolutionary War, Washington, federalists, etc.

plaster8 · #76 02-17-2007, 03:40 AM

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just finished the informant by kurt eichenwald: tells the story of the largest price fixing scandal ever - involving archer daniels midland and the executive who turned to expose it. reads like fiction because it is so outrageous. there are two parts to the story - the price fixing itself and the informant, marc whitacre, who turns out to be a complete psycho. eichenwald does the most thorough research of anyone i've ever read - his level of access allows him to recreate stories in such an exacting way. this book ruled.

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All of Eichenwald's stuff is great. His Enron book, "Conspiracy of Fools," reads like a thriller. I just finished "Serpent on the Rock," which is about limited-partnership scams in the 1980s. Great stuff.

I read all of the book threads, but a title I've never seen mentioned is "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science" by Atul Gawande. It's remarkable.

Event Duality · #77 02-17-2007, 03:56 AM

Here's one I read a while ago, but it was a very good read. It is about a successful businessman in the 70s, and how he let his love of Quaaludes ruin his life. It is remarkably tragic, and a great read.

Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream

I'm not sure how easy/difficult it would be to find, but if you can find a copy, I promise you it is worth the price.

lapoker17 · #78 02-17-2007, 06:35 AM

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All of Eichenwald's stuff is great. His Enron book, "Conspiracy of Fools," reads like a thriller. I just finished "Serpent on the Rock," which is about limited-partnership scams in the 1980s. Great stuff

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word. i've read them all. he's the best investigative journalist i've ever read. (james b stewart is second.)sick, sick, research.

fishfather · #79 02-22-2007, 01:04 AM

George RR Martin--Tolkien for adults; a great story teller and creater of characters.

Tom Robbins--Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates--indulgent and irreverent.

Yann Martel--Life of Pi--interesting meditation on life in general

Robertson Davies--Fifth Business, good on time, place, and character

NajdorfDefense · #80 02-22-2007, 10:04 PM

Den of Thieves by James Stewart, and Predator's Ball by Connie Bruck are still the standard by which all investigative financial writing are measured. They cover similar stories and people in the 1980s Junk Bond & Insider Trading free-for-all.

It's amazing to see how blatantly the Feds crushed Drexel and forced them into bankruptcy because they didn't like one guy. Oh, and a then little-known local DA named Rudy.

Bruck's book has some really outrageous stories about the parties these guys used to throw.

Girlfriend 44 by Mark Barrowcliffe is a great read and a lot of fun, about dating and being a young guy, etc. I think it's being made into a movie. 'funny and nasty' as the blurb says.