Golgo-13 Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 Have any of you guys read any good books lately? I recently picked up "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown and was blown away. So much so that I quickly read his other book "Angels and Demons" right after it. Right now I'm reading "The Devil in the White City" which is a story about the World's Fair in Chicago around the turn of the 20th Century. It's kind of two stories wrapped into one, one story is about a serial killer who lived there during the time and supposedly was far worse than Jack the Ripper. The other story is about the main architect who did the near-impossible in putting together the fair. It's a work of non-fiction, but reads like a novel and is very interesting. I'll let you know how it was when I finish. Anyway, I was just wondering what you guys have been reading lately and if you had any good book reccomendations. Grassy @ss (thanks in Spainish.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 Escholz... based on what you just wrote, read the book "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr... It is a turn of the century serial killer novel that blew me away, I've read it three times. I love to read when I have time, lately I haven't had much... But some of my favorites are: Without Remorse by Tom Clancy- its a cool stand alone book that tells the back story about one of the characters in his other novels. The Stand by Stephen King- long but way cooler than the movie I'll try to think of some other's I have too.. Jim Marrs also wrote two interesting books that I like that may interest you depending on if you have interest in the topics.. Both books are written in a non opinionative way, the author gives the facts and lets you make up your own mind. The chapters are short and not connected, you can read from the index and skip around if you want. Crossfire- about the JFK assassination Alien Agenda- about UFO's, CIA psychics, and other paranormal stuff. Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris are all better than the movies. Much more detail and suspense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsbadd Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 I am reading "Last man standing" by Baldacci now, it rocks. I will look into some of the titles mentioned above . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 What is the DiVinci Code about?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golgo-13 Posted May 1, 2003 Author Share Posted May 1, 2003 Originally posted by codeorama What is the DiVinci Code about?? Here is the synopsis from the website: "While in Paris, Robert Langdon learns the curator of the Louvre has been murdered, his body surrounded by bizarre ciphers. As Langdon and French cryptologist Sophie Neveu attempt to decipher the clues, they realize the riddles are connected to Da Vinci's works and may be linked to a mystery that stretches deep into the history of the Catholic Church." Very "un-down-putable." I gave it to my nephew, who is the king of all bookworms, and he read the thing in a night. We're talking 300 pages, plus. Thanks for the other reccomendations, I will look into them. I have always wanted to read "The Stand" but have never gotten around to it. That one interests me more than any of his other books for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 Thanks, I can take on a 300 pager in one night with no problem. It sounds cool.. The Stand is excellent... Be sure to check out The Alienist, it is a seriously awsome book, definately my favorite bar none. The Sequel, The Angel of Darkness was pretty good too, but not as good as the first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 I just finished the Last Refuge of Scoundrels, which was really pretty good. I also recently read a book called Wicked: The life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. If you like satire (which I do) it was a really great revision of the Oz story in adult form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 I'm in the middle of 'The Glorious Cause' by Jeff Shaara, the guy who wrote 'Gods and Generals' and 'The Last Full Measure.' It's about the Revelutionary War, and how George Washington managed to take a few thousand untrained farmers and defeat the greatest army of the most powerful empire in the world. Pretty interesting stuff for history buffs like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchogs Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 it took me awhile, but i couldn't put down cat in the hat. it pits the agents of order and chaos against one another. I've just started another seuss book... green eggs and ham. kinda a freaky horror story about a stalker with a meat fixation so far. i'll let you know how it ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golgo-13 Posted May 1, 2003 Author Share Posted May 1, 2003 Originally posted by dchogs it took me awhile, but i couldn't put down cat in the hat. it pits the agents of order and chaos against one another. I've just started another seuss book... green eggs and ham. kinda a freaky horror story about a stalker with a meat fixation so far. i'll let you know how it ends. good one :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchogs Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 seriously, i've been reading the orsen scott card books lately. a parent of one of my students got me hooked. nothing too meaty, but good reads. i guess i like them because i teach at a military middle school (the book has kids taking on military roles in a futuristic global government against alien invaders). the last series that i was into was the vince flynn books. he's similar to clancy and ludlum. spy/terrorism stuff. i've got a soft spot for that stuff- had it since i read the borne identity when i was a kid. my favorite stuff, though, is by ayn rand. atlas shrugged and the fountainhead are awesome. my next book will probably be a book on a medical condition that my mom is suffering through (post-polio syndrome). apparantly it's going to explain a lot about what she is going through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 I read Ender's Game a while ago and enjoyed it. If you like that try his seventh son which is a look at Native American History with a little magic thrown in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yomar Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 I HATED the DaVinci Code, writing doesn't come more canned than that, what a piece of crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 Ender's Game is amazing. I think we are still a few years away from the movie. Ender's Shadow was very amazing as well. Speaker of the dead is a great book, but I did not like Xenocide and I only read Children of the Mind halfway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golgo-13 Posted May 2, 2003 Author Share Posted May 2, 2003 Originally posted by Yomar I HATED the DaVinci Code, writing doesn't come more canned than that, what a piece of crap Did you finish it? Why don't you give us some of your suggestions for less "canned" reading.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 I probably average 2 books a week. I'll concur on Without Remorse. It's Clancy's best by far. Grisholms newest is fairly predictable but an enjoyable read. If your into a good fast paced book, check out "The Pledge". Not the Nicholson movie, but a story about a fraternity cover up. Good stuff. Cant remember the author though. I've been hooked on Biographies lately. John Adams was fantastic. And if you want to just get mad as hell, read Noam Chomsky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yomar Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Originally posted by escholz Did you finish it? Why don't you give us some of your suggestions for less "canned" reading.... I pretty much stick to non-fiction. The most interesting part of the Da Vinci Code was the backdrop of Da Vinci and Templars and Mary Magdalene, but there are tons of books that focus directly on these subjects, without the cheesy cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. In regards to contemporary fiction, I haven't read much, I picked up the Da Vinci Code because every sales person in the book store couldn't stop gushing about it, I now believe it was a marketing tactic because the book simply wasn't that good. My favorite fiction I read when I took a Russian literature class in college and my favorite author was Dostoevsky, but Tolstoy and Gogol and Pushkin were all good too. I probably wouldn't have reacted as strongly to the Da Vinci Code if it wasn't for the raised expectations due to the bookstore's unabashed praise, but I wouldn't have read it either. Essentially I saw it as a cop out, he took a very interesting aspect of history, the Catholic Church's suppression of other religion, and used the strength of that story to carry his book, spinning what I regard as a pretty uninspired fiction around it. I liked the premise, but not the story or writing style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyalligator Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 I read between 4-8 books a week. Anything from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series to Mike Lupica. Mike Lupica is an analyst on ESPN and he has written 3 or 4 books about sports, they are very funny and interesting and of course fiction. Recently I just rad the James Patterson book, Four Blind Mice which was a pretty good continuation of his series. Other authors I've recently read include Carl Hiassen who writes truly witty books along with Robert Parker/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golgo-13 Posted May 2, 2003 Author Share Posted May 2, 2003 Originally posted by Yomar I pretty much stick to non-fiction. The most interesting part of the Da Vinci Code was the backdrop of Da Vinci and Templars and Mary Magdalene, but there are tons of books that focus directly on these subjects, without the cheesy cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. In regards to contemporary fiction, I haven't read much, I picked up the Da Vinci Code because every sales person in the book store couldn't stop gushing about it, I now believe it was a marketing tactic because the book simply wasn't that good. My favorite fiction I read when I took a Russian literature class in college and my favorite author was Dostoevsky, but Tolstoy and Gogol and Pushkin were all good too. I probably wouldn't have reacted as strongly to the Da Vinci Code if it wasn't for the raised expectations due to the bookstore's unabashed praise, but I wouldn't have read it either. Essentially I saw it as a cop out, he took a very interesting aspect of history, the Catholic Church's suppression of other religion, and used the strength of that story to carry his book, spinning what I regard as a pretty uninspired fiction around it. I liked the premise, but not the story or writing style. I know where you're coming from as far ast the cliffhangers go. I guess I viewed it more as entertainment with some interesting facts sprinkled in and enjoyed it more because of that. Also, I picked it up on the second or third day of it's release having not heard a thing about it, so I went into with zero expectations one way or another. I have only read a little Russian literature. The Brothers Karamazov is one of the greatest works of literary genius every published. If you think about it FD covers just about every subject you can think of. Love, death, family, anger, revenge, finances, etc. I respect that you are into the "deeper" classical stuff, I like it too, but I also enjoy being overtly entertained every now and then too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brave Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Reading "The Lion's Gate" right now. Very good book about a terrorist loose in America. Written in 2000, but some of the stuff in it is of particular interest since 9/11. Best books over the last year: - Gates of Fire. Spartans vs. Persians. Thanks for the tip, Om. - Bringing Down the House. MIT students/faculty work as card-counting teams to rake in millions from casinos all over the country ... until they get caught. Super story! - Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds: The Tragedy & Triumph of ASA Flight 529. Follows a commuter plane and it's occupants before, during and after crashing. - Beach House. Fiction by the author of Prince of Tides. Pat Conroy writes beautifully, though this book may be of more interest to the ladies. Next up: - The Last Full Measure. History of the Minnesota volunteers famous for their suicide charge at Gettysburg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeCarl Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 I'll second that about Pat Conroy. The first 150 pages of The Lords of Discipline is just about as compelling as writing gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montilar Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 I'll voice an opinion that Card's best two were Ender and Speaker for the Dead. The sequel's are not bad at all, but he had the perfect ending at Speaker for the dead. (Yet wanted to continue telling the story... (and rake in the money). If you like Orson Scott Card, You might try David Brin's uplift books. Start with Startide Rising and then The Uplift War. Excellent Sci-fi. He created a universe that could of equaled Asimov's Foundation universe. Or in my opinion, been the sci-fi equivalent of the Jordan wheel of time fantasy books. Unfortunately he came back to the uplift universe after taking a hiatus and the sequel trilogy (IMO) was no where near as good as the original two. (he pulled the ending of the sequel trilogy out of his @ss IMO. But I'm sure someone somewhere thought better of it than me.) (It's not unfortunate that he came back the universe; it's unfortunate he came back and wrote what he did.) But the sequel trilogy isn't necessary to read the first two. The first two stand alone. If you are not familiar with Brin, he also wrote "The Postman" earlier in his career. (kevin Costner butchered it into a movie. and I say that liking the movie.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 Hmmm looks like I have some reading to do based on some of these sugestions. Hve a ocuple going right now. Clancy's Into the Storm, John Eisenhower's The Bitter Woods about the Battle of the Bulge, and part of the New Jedi Order series Heroes Trial. Waiting in the wings is Colin Powells My American Journey and Stephen Coont's Combat series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candy Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 I will recommend to everyone a book called "An Incomplete Education" by Judy Jones & William Wilson. It is an amazing work that gives very readable short synopses on everything from political systems to the foundations of psychology to art history to literature and on and on. It is incredibly informative, and is written with a dry and sharp wit in the middle of all that learning that just makes you laugh out loud. Well I did, anyway. :laugh: After that I suggest Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Yes, you might find it in the Romance section, and some of you more macho guys might not like the cover art but I tell you these books are fun. They are great semi-historical fiction (old Scotland) full of time travel twists and turns, amazing battle scenes, smart humor, and lots and lots of sex. See? Now you are interested aren't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earl Posted May 5, 2003 Share Posted May 5, 2003 i am currently reading "Cat's Cradel" by kurt vonnegut. classic vonnegut. if you would like to laugh out loud as you read i would recommend any vonnegut book, "Catch 22" Joseph Heller, and "Confederacy of Dunces" john kennedy toole. Those are my favorite books of all time. i've read both at least 4 times and i still laugh histerically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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