Help me pick out a book to read. (1 Viewer)

[Allen W]

Non Fiction:
By Stephen Ambrose Undaunted Courage about the Lewis and Clark expedition and Nothing Like it in the World about the building of the transcontinental railroad right after the civil war. He's also written several excellent books about D-day and WWII.

Fiction:
I really enjoy novels by Tom Clancy, especially Red Storm Rising and Rainbow Six. Ken Follett has some great novels such as The Pillars of the Earth and Night over Water.

 

[KyleK]

Dune by Frank Herbert
A classic, epic sci-fi, and in my opinion the best science fiction book ever. I suggest reading this and then watching David Lynch's much-maligned 1984 adaptation. Heck, even if you don't like it, you might enjoy the soundtrack by the rock band(!) Toto.
Ain't it Cool by Harry Knowles
I know many HTF members hate Harry's guts, but you gotta admit, this guy loves film passionately and it shows. His book is often amusing and gives some great insight into the studio process, paticularly test screening, although it is not limited to that.

 

[John Kilduff]

"Crazy From The Heat" by David Lee Roth
"The Dirt" by Motley Crue
"American Rhapsody" by Joe Esterhazs
"Inside Oscar" by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona
"Inside Oscar 2" by Damien Bona

Sincerely,

John "Sleaze and disease...two great tenets of literature" Kilduff

 

[Darren Lewis]

Jeff, if you're still looking for something I'd recommend trying Clive Cussler. His Dirk Pitt character is a good old-fashioned hero. I personally wouldn't recommend his latest book (Valhalla Rising) if you've never read his stuff before. Sahara is due to be made into a film soon.
Darren

 

[Jeff Pryor]

The 'Left Behind' series.

 

[Blu]

Terry Goodkind rocks!
I fell in love with the characters and always was saddened when the book ended but knew it was a great ride!
Great series!

 

[Marty Christion]

How about something related to Home Theater? I really like this book; it's a very entertaining read about all the politics involved in getting HDTV in America. You can get it used from Amazon for like $4. Get the paperback edition, since it has a little extra info at the end.
Defining Vision: The Battle for the Future of Television (Harvest Book)
by Joel Brinkley

From Amazon "High-definition, all-digital TV is on the way and--someday--may actually arrive. But the story of how this multibillion-dollar business was conceived, why cynical broadcasters jumped on the bandwagon, how a competing Japanese standard sent congress into a panic; how U.S. companies researched, jockeyed, lobbied, spied, and bribed to set the HDTV standard; and how the government's tax greed almost unraveled the whole mess after a decade of expensive development, is one of the great American muddles of our time. Joel Brinkley covers the brilliant engineering, the corporate gyrations, the clumsy interventions of government, and the Cassandra voices of the press, that finally, and against all odds, led to the creation of a workable HDTV standard"

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...685090-1802447

 

[PS Nystrom]

I read a book every couple of months at the least. My recent favorites include:


Debt of Honor, Tom Clancy
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
A Dangerous Fortune, Ken Follet
Alive, Piers Paul Reed
The Brothers K, David James Duncan
The Partner, John Grisham
Begin to Exit Here, John Welter
Thunderhead, Child and Preston
Shogun, James Clavell
Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger

I read Catcher in the Rye simply because I'm 26 years old and hadn't read it yet. It was an amusing and quick read, but I don't get why exactly it has acheived the must-read status it has.

To provide a bit of balance to the above, here's a list of stinkers I wouldn't recommend!:

Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy
Hammer of Eden, Ken Follet
The Summons, John Grisham
Gai-Jin, James Clavell
Timeline, Michael Crichton

Happy reading,
Pieter

 

[Scott McGillivray]

Gee, I just can't put a big enough vote in for the fanta-historical series by George R. R. Martin called "A Song of Ice and Fire" .
So far, this entails three amazing books:
"A Game of Thrones"
"A Clash of Kings"
"A Storm of Swords"
and a fourth to be released this year (soon, I hope).
It really has been the best series of books I have ever read!!!
(How is that for gushing praise?)

 

[Darren Lewis]

Scott, you should chat with this guy on my site

 

[Micah Cohen]

Keep this going, eh?

Lately I've been stuck in a bad bad habit. As a used-bookstore type person, I am ashamed to say that in the last few months I have been ordering non-stop from amazon.com ordering "used" books from my "books needed" list that are selling for under $3, to which amazon used sellers usually tack $3-$3.50 for shipping... Meaning that I have been paying more for shipping recently than for books... Don't do this. Go to your local used bookstore.

One of the first books on my list was "Red Hourglass," the one Julie K mentioned right up front. Excellent!

I'm surprised no one mentioned John D. MacDonald's 21 Travis McGee novels -- all excellent, hard-boiled fiction reads! Or Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn/Chee "southwestern" mysteries, supremely evocative of the place and the people, and smashing good reads. Or, James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels, which evoke New Orleans with the same intense style.

Gotta get back to the bookstore...

MC

 

[Matt Gordon]

I'll second the Carl Hiassen recommendation.


Matt

 

[Mark Shannon]

Sphere By Micheal Crichton
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The Lost World by Michael Crichton
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

 

[Darren Lewis]

Jurassic Park is an excellent book, probably Crichton's best to date. I was a bit disappointed when I read The Lost World, kind of felt it was written because a sequel had to be written to maximise the market.
Have you read Prey, his latest released at the end of last year?

 

[Nathan_R]

Two books read recently:
Non-fiction:
The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work by Joanne Ciulla. Great book on how we got to where we are as a working society. "When you're on your deathbed, will you wish you'd spent more time at the office?" Good introduction on definitions/etomology of work, history of labor/work/profession, and how modern workers are snared by the electronic leash (cellphones, afterhours email, mandatory voluntary events, etc).
Can you tell I'm bitter?
Non-fiction:
As far as entermainment industry books go, I would not recommend Disney: The Mouse Betrayed. The first half was interesting, but the second part was an overly moralistic, almost amateur attempt to make a point. Wish I only had to pay for the first 100 pages. :frowning:
Best regards,
~~Nathan

 

[Khoa Tran]

I second Fast food nation

Stupid White Men by Michael Moore

 

[Dan D.]

Jeff, Grisham's books always struck me as if they written to be screenplays, which of course most of them were. This makes for a generally fast-paced and enjoyable thriller. If you like this style, check out some of the books by Stephen Hunter. Hunter is actually a well-known Washington Post film critic and has a decent following, yet his books haven't been turned into movies.

Personally, I think his best books deal with a character called Bob Lee Swagger, a former sniper in Vietnam. These are:

Point of Impact
Black Light
Time to Hunt

Also excellent are the books dealing with Swagger's father, a lawman in the '50s midwest.

Hot Springs
Pale Horse Coming

An interesting note is that the books are not written in the chronological order in which their events occur, but you should still read them in the order published.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

I recommend The Boomer Bible by RF Laird. Not a religious text, but a work of satire.

 

[Malcolm R]

Gee, guess which John Grisham book I just started reading.
To the stinkers list, I'd add Dean Koontz's One Door Away From Heaven. I love Dean Koontz; he's long been one of my favorite authors. But this was the most boring, drawn-out, uninvolving book I've read in years.
I can usually read 2-3 books a week. But ODAFH was three months of pure literary torture (once I start a book, I have to finish it no matter how long it takes...must be my version of OCD).

 

[Chris Knox]

I cannot believe no one has recommended a single Stephen King book...

GAK!