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01/04/2009 07:04:46 PM · #1
I know there's a movie thread...but I'm more a book person anyways and am always looking for new books!!

Last book I read was Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon...definitely worth a 10/10, fabulously written and the two main characters are really amazing! It's about two wanderers -- a Frank and an African -- in 950 AD. Really really good. (ETA: Illustration link showing two main characters)

ETA2: The whole book is actually on the New York Times website as a serial...yay!

How bout you??

Message edited by author 2009-01-04 20:25:22.
01/04/2009 07:06:47 PM · #2
Just After Sunset

Latest Stephen King short story collection.

This one seems like an afterthought really and I think would have been served better had they waited for maybe a half-dozen more stories to add to it. There's one really fantastic story, and then the rest are barely attention-worthy.

4/10.
01/04/2009 07:19:15 PM · #3
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

6/10

This is a book about the possible things that would happen to Earth if humans all of a sudden vanished. It's a non-fiction book, considering the fact that humans would have to disappear. I thought the idea was great and there was a lot of research that must have gone into this book, but it was pretty dry at parts. It turned out to be more of a history book than a fun read, at least for me. Nonetheless, very interesting.

Message edited by author 2009-01-04 19:19:55.
01/04/2009 07:35:21 PM · #4
Blind Faith by Ben Elton (on the Sony e-Reader I got for Christmas). The story of one man's pursuit of privacy where religious law requires everyone to share everything via blogs, streaming video etc. It is a very clever book, it established links to those erosions of liberty we take for granted every day and ramps them up to their logical conclusion.

The end was a little bit predictable and the book itself was a bit short, but it is certainly worth a read. It makes quite a lot of references to British popular culture so I'm not sure how wide its international appeal might be.
01/04/2009 07:38:49 PM · #5
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
9/10

A typical high school assigned book, but a very interesting and fun way to approach it. I dunno, if your really looking for something like this though.

Its about a boy and a girl who have been friends for their whole lives, Sarah got her face severely burned when she was a toddler, and the main character is fat, and thats why their friends, because everyone treats them differently.
then it delves into dark history of the two, and the ending is superb.

01/04/2009 07:47:32 PM · #6
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

A must read for anyone who wants to communicate more effectively, teachers, speakers, presenters, leaders of any type.

I recommend this book without reservation.
01/04/2009 07:56:37 PM · #7
Oil on the Brain: Petroleum's Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank
Lisa Margonelli

An excellent read for anyone interested in the economics and geopolitics of oil. In the wrong hands, this could be dry material, but the author has a great sense of humor and doesn't take herself too seriously. It reads like a travleogue -- she spends a week at a gas station, then follows the chain backwards -- distribution, refinery, strategic reserves, a Texas oil well. She eben visits the NYMEX trading floor. In the last half of the book she covers in detail her trips to five petroleum states: Venezuela, Nigeria, Iran, Chad and China. Not typically smething I would read, but fascinating and enlightening stuff all the same...
01/04/2009 07:57:06 PM · #8
I love to read books, but my ADD prevents me from finishing an entire book in a reasonable amount of time! I'm currently reading 5 books right now!
The last one I finished was, Stop That Girl! I gave it a 3/10. It was a great book until the end, it was a huge dissapointment! On the other hand, the book I finished right before it was, Hawkes Harbor. That rates a 10/10!!! Very far from The Outsiders and Rumble Fish, but I have yet to read an S.E. Hinton book that dissapoints me!!
01/04/2009 08:12:53 PM · #9
ishmael, by daniel quinn.

104/10. thats not a typo. seriously the most amazing book i have ever read. its really not for the closed minded type, as you may not enjoy what you learn. this book made me think constantly and i couldnt put it down. this will completely change the way you view human history and the culture we have here on this earth. you wont look at the world the same way.
01/04/2009 08:27:28 PM · #10
Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed, Jim Al-Khalili, 10/10

The Snake Stone, Jason Goodwin, 8/10
01/04/2009 08:29:33 PM · #11
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

It was the last in a trilogy :) I waited FOREVER for it to come out. Was not disappointing either. Not like Brisinger by Christoper Paolini. His was supposed to be the last in a trilogy but ended up dragging through yet another book :-/ Now I gotta wait on that one! Grrrrr!

Edit for fat fingers

Message edited by author 2009-01-04 20:29:55.
01/04/2009 08:35:43 PM · #12
Wow. There's a real non-fiction trend here. Seems to be that way in general lately too. Maybe it's because the fiction lists seem to be the same ol' same ol' formulaic junk lately. If I see another Kellerman/Koontz/Grisham/etc. novel on the best selling list, I'm going to scream. hehe.
01/04/2009 08:46:40 PM · #13
Originally posted by K10DGuy:

Wow. There's a real non-fiction trend here. Seems to be that way in general lately too. Maybe it's because the fiction lists seem to be the same ol' same ol' formulaic junk lately. If I see another Kellerman/Koontz/Grisham/etc. novel on the best selling list, I'm going to scream. hehe.


lol try working in a library!!! The fiction section is mostly romances and that kind of book.

Lately I've been going for more older books...Charles Williams, Lewis, etc. Stuff people don't normally read. One of my favorite fantasy authors is Patricia McKillip, who writes beautifully complex books.
01/04/2009 08:47:58 PM · #14
Originally posted by Jessi:

Originally posted by K10DGuy:

Wow. There's a real non-fiction trend here. Seems to be that way in general lately too. Maybe it's because the fiction lists seem to be the same ol' same ol' formulaic junk lately. If I see another Kellerman/Koontz/Grisham/etc. novel on the best selling list, I'm going to scream. hehe.


lol try working in a library!!! The fiction section is mostly romances and that kind of book.

Lately I've been going for more older books...Charles Williams, Lewis, etc. Stuff people don't normally read. One of my favorite fantasy authors is Patricia McKillip, who writes beautifully complex books.


McKillip? Fantasy? Why has that name escaped me? I'm a huge fan of good, complex fantasy so I'm going to have to seek her out now.
01/04/2009 08:50:41 PM · #15
Originally posted by K10DGuy:

Originally posted by Jessi:

Originally posted by K10DGuy:

Wow. There's a real non-fiction trend here. Seems to be that way in general lately too. Maybe it's because the fiction lists seem to be the same ol' same ol' formulaic junk lately. If I see another Kellerman/Koontz/Grisham/etc. novel on the best selling list, I'm going to scream. hehe.


lol try working in a library!!! The fiction section is mostly romances and that kind of book.

Lately I've been going for more older books...Charles Williams, Lewis, etc. Stuff people don't normally read. One of my favorite fantasy authors is Patricia McKillip, who writes beautifully complex books.


McKillip? Fantasy? Why has that name escaped me? I'm a huge fan of good, complex fantasy so I'm going to have to seek her out now.


She's absolutely incredible -- my two favorites are The Riddlemaster of Hed and Alphabet of Thorn. Most of her books are out of print; try your local liberry. ;) PM me and let me know what you think!!!
01/04/2009 08:55:30 PM · #16
I've quit reading most prose decades ago. Last thing I read was a little thing called The Moon is the Number 13 by Charles Olson. I only read what I reread. News, that stays news, old Pound would have said.

I can't tell you what it is about, as it isn't about anything. What is a tree about or a road? Most folks, I'm sure would be irritated by a recommendation. posthumous, I'm sure, would enjoy it -or already does.
01/04/2009 09:16:18 PM · #17
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. Very light, humorous. First one of his books i've read, but i'll try more. 7.5/10
01/04/2009 09:18:54 PM · #18
Originally posted by TCGuru:

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

It was the last in a trilogy :) I waited FOREVER for it to come out. Was not disappointing either. Not like Brisinger by Christoper Paolini. His was supposed to be the last in a trilogy but ended up dragging through yet another book :-/ Now I gotta wait on that one! Grrrrr!

Edit for fat fingers


I was about 3/4 of the way through Brisinger when i told my hubby there was no way he could wrap up the plotlines in the remaining bit. I'll have lost interest in the series by the time the next book is completed.
01/04/2009 09:18:55 PM · #19
Bowl Food

399pp including index, published by Murdoch Books (Australia & UK)

Rating 7/10

Soups section is superb, Pastas only so-so, but the Curries section rescues it.
A literally delicious read, goes well with any wine.
01/04/2009 09:19:40 PM · #20
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business Life by Alice Schroeder.

Interesting and easy read about the life and loves of Warren Buffett. As I understand it the only authorized bio of Warren.
Rating: 7 out of 10. Gets a little long and redundant with details of financial dealings.

Before this one though, I did read, A Team of Rivals by Dorris Kearns Goodwin 10/10
01/04/2009 09:21:35 PM · #21
The Innocent Man, John Grisham: 8/10

I'm not a usual reader of Grisham's stuff but this is his first non-fiction book. It's about a man wrongly convicted of murder and the laziness and sheer ignorance of police officers and their methods in USA and the methods they adopt to obtain a confession, even with zero evidence to provide a solid case but instead use shock tactics to beat the jury into a guilty verdict.

A good book that puts the police and the entire US CJS in very very unflattering light.
01/04/2009 09:27:36 PM · #22
Audrey Hepburn's Neck - Alan Brown 10/10

An incredible, two-sitting, less-than-24-hr read.

01/04/2009 09:58:59 PM · #23
J-Pod - Douglas Coupland

I thought this was a great book. Very fun to read, but also weird. Not sure if it will appeal to a lot of people, but I really enjoyed it. Kurt Vonnegut is another one of my favourite authors, so it gives you an idea of my tastes.

8/10
01/04/2009 10:14:19 PM · #24
Peter F. Hamilton
The Reality Dysfunction
probably 7/10 /.. likly read book 2 & 3 some time ..
in the middle of a bunch of scifi short stories / many i've read before
also (differnt room)
Max Brooks
The Zombie Survival Guide
not as good as "World war Z" but still funny
01/04/2009 10:33:31 PM · #25
The logic of Life - Tim harford

The book uses rational economic theory and behavioral economics to explain the logic behind some of our everyday choices and decisions. The book is light in reading, and offers a great perspective into a lot of topics such as crime, office politics, poker, divorce rates etc. Definitely recommend.
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