I've onlt browsed G,G, & S (which he won the pulitzer for).

It's just more about the environmental choices that different civilizations made in history and its role in those respective societies' respective "collapses".

It's not as doom and gloom as I'm making it sound though. He's optimitstic that we are better informed than our predecessors to confront these choices.

It definitely is a great page-turner. I'd put it right up there with the other fantasy series by a guy named R. R.

Did you read it?

Great historical book that is off the charts good.

Dave

errr.... JRR, perhaps??

Damn good book. Takes a little while to get through it though, that's for sure.

Well, I just started The Winter King last night, and so far it's not grabbing me. Granted, I only read for about thirty minutes, but I don't care for the first person narrative style. Hopefully it picks up.

If you don't care for first person, I withdraw my suggestion of Wolfe's New Sun books. Wolfe writes almost exclusively in the first person.

You might enjoy Harry Turtledove's "Darkness" cycle. It's basically WW2 reintepreted into a fantasy-style war in a different world. It's a fun, but kind of long romp.

Actually, I'm not sure if I like the first person style or not. I can't remember the last book I read that was written in it, if ever (maybe Bio of a Space Tyrant by Piers Anthony?).

I'll have to see how I feel about it after I finish this book. 100 pages are hardly enough to form an opinion.

Either way, I appreciate the recommendations.

I just started reading a new book. It's a memoir and it is literally fantastic. This is no joke, the title of the book is called: Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. It's by Nick Flynn.

It was named one of the Top 25 books of 2004 by the NY Public Library and won the Pen/Martha Albrand Award for memoir.

It's about Nick and his father- whom he never met until he was working as a caseworker in a homeless shelter in Boston. It's a great book about a son discovering the father he never had in the worst possible of places. Heartbreaking and honest.

They're not easy reads either. Deep books.

Just started Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn by Evan Connell.

Good read, but a bit annoying. You will quickly learn that the author has no concept of linear time.

I've noticed that. It seems sort of stream-of-consciousness right now.

I have that one around here somewhere. I've heard good things and have been meaning to add it on to my to read stack. Let me know how you like it.

"Guns of the South" was pretty good, but I must say that I really dislike Turtledove's writing. I read a couple of books of his about the aliens invading Earth during WWII, and while I liked the concept, I found myself often getting jolted from the story by the recurring thought of "No one would really say something like that."

No kidding. Wolfe writes for the re-reader. I've been through them a few times and am still puzzling out the "real" story. I got a pretty good grip on it the first time, but it's like archeology.

I've read most of his works. He seems to love to tell you 2/3 or so of a story, and leaves the rest of the story as an exercise for the student.

Ever read his 5th Head of Cerberus? It's basically a murder mystery, where he takes us through the whole investigation with the "detective". He gives the conclusion, but leaves it to you to figure out how the clues lead to that conclusion.

Try the sequel the Book of the Long Sun. His main character Patera Silk is even more intriguing than old Severian. The follow-on the Book of the Short Sun is possibly the most cryptic thing he ever wrote, but again, well worth the effort and a fantastic capstone to the series.

Next up, I'm going to try his "Latro" novels. I'm told they are about a Greek Soldier (400-500 BC or so) who has a peculiar amnesia. Every morning, he reads the scroll he added to the day before to learn who he is and what his life is about.

Wolfe has a serious fetish about memory.

I like some of his work, others not so much. I'll agree that his prose can be clunky, to say the least. I read him more as a literary candy-bar.

In the Darkness cycle, the "fantasy" motif disguises his shortcomings pretty well, and shows a pretty wicked sense of humor (for starters, it's the Blond-Haired Blue Eyed folk being sacrificed to fuel some pretty horrific sorcery).

Guns of the South was very enjoyable. Probably my favorite of his. He wrote it because he was talking to another author (Judith Tarr) who was complaining the cover art for the new novel she wrote was "as anachronistic as Robert E. Lee holding an Uzi". One thought led to another.... ROFL

Just finishing up Effendi : the second arabesk by, Jon Courtenay Grimwood it’s the second book in an offbeat trilogy.

It’s a noir cyberpunk set in an alternate universe where the Ottoman Empire still exists, the first book was called after Pashazade.

In the truck I’m listening to Roving Mars by Steve Squyres. Squyres was the principal scientist on the Mars rover mission. Really interesting to see all of the politics and ups and downs that collimated in the two rovers getting to Mars.

Next on my shelf is Flush by Carl Hiaasen, it’s a juvenile book but my son brought it home and I try and read everything written by this guy.

One of my favorite "beach read" authors as well. I finally convinced my wife to read him, and I took a lot of enjoyment out of listening to her giggle and laugh as she read it next to me at night in bed (and yes, perverts, the book was the source of her humor).

Now she has about a year's worth of reading material, since he's written so many freaking books. I think I may have a couple of his that I haven't read, but I'm pretty close to exhausting the supply. I even read all of his Miami Herald articles that are collected in an anthology.

True dat, on the re-read. I'm re-reading His Wizard Knight novels as we speak, and if you're interested in 'fantasy' these are mo' bettah than the various Urth books. Duty, courage, fidelity are hidden in amongst the knighthood adventures. Wolfe is probably the most 'moral' writer we have these days in any genre. You just don't notice it as you read it, only later when you're thinking, "I wonder if he meant..." yes, he probably did.
I just re-read the Latro books again last month for the umpteenth time, there's a 3rd volume for those due out in October of this year. It'll be called Soldier of Sidon. One tip for you while you read the Latro stories...keep a copy of Herodotus 'the Histories' near by for reference. It won't hurt to have Bullfinch's mythology handy as well. Worth all the effort, they're my alltime favorites of all his books.

Thoughts on memory and how understanding affects it, as well as the 'unreliable narrator' are Wolfe's claim to fame. I saw a recent photo of him, he's no spring chicken. Let's enjoy him while we've got him. A national treasure, even if he can't be everyone's cup of tea.

didn't realize tha reading was high brow, but currently reading Moby Dick, The Big White Lie and the christopher shinn collection of plays.

I've enjoyed the series. However tastes may vary wildly with authors, so I can't swear <b>you'll</b> enjoy the remaining books. I did really enjoy the Dragon on the Border and the Dragon at War. Didn't especially enjoy The Dragon and the Djinn. It had a lot of good parts, but was a little slow in the middle.

Dickson is an acquired taste from what I've seen. I really, REALLY liked his "The Way of the Pilgrim", but even that had some slow spots in it.

Although, for just sheer insanity, "Earthman's Burden" and "Hoka", which he co-wrote with Poul Anderson, are worth the efforts to track down at a used-book store.

Thanks for the tip on Latro. You also might like:

Robert Borski's Solar Laybrinth, and his newer work The Long and Short of It. While I don't agree with all of his conclusions, he has some fascinating idea. He makes a fantastic case the main character of the New Sun isn't really Severian...but Father Inire. :hmmm:

"Attending Daedalus" is also a nice analysis of the Urth cycle, though the author eludes me at this time.

No spring chicken indeed. He's absolutely an acquired taste, but I believe him to be one of the finest authors writing today. Those looking for a quick "kill the bad guy, grab the treasure, and take over the kingdom" book will be disappointed. Thankfully.

Good point about his morality. To borrow a pharse from another author, Wolfe went a long way towards convincing me over the years that Religious Conservatism did not directly equal mean spiritedness. For that, I have a lot of gratitude.

That may be the issue. His Wolf and Iron was in with the books I bought and I only made it half way through before giving up because it was soooo boring. I felt like I was reading a textbook on wolf behavior.

I'll get back to the Dragon series and see how it goes. Thanks.

Im reading a book called Gulag by Anne Applebaum.

The Camel Club by David Baldacci

The World is Flat.

Excellent book about America, India, Globalizalition and outsourcing.

Certainly not highbrow fare, but...
 

His books do make you laugh out loud, which makes you wonder how could Hollywood take a very funny book called Strip-Tease and just take all the humour out of it.

No kidding. I had never even made the connection that the movie was based on his book until I'd read a few of his books and saw some blurb that listed him as the author of the book upon which the movie was based.

Strip Tease is one of the few books of his I still haven't read. I think the reason I've put it off is because the movie wasn't very funny. I'm sure the book is great, though. I'll have to check it out from the library, now. I'm needing something new to read.

State of Fear

Michael Crighton(sp)

I just finished The Things they Carried" by Tim O'Brien.


great read

Good work, and solidly researched. I also suggest Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipleago.

Island by Aldous Huxley.

Old, but interesting enough.

MM
~~:shrug:

Aztec.... by Gary Jennings

Excellent historical read if you're interested in the Aztec society at all. Very good read....

Ghost Rider-by Neil Peart

2nd time I have read it-great book!

ROFLROFL

Kind of like you. Except for the "interesting" part.

There's a Christian author, Roger Elwood, who wrote a book called Angelwalk. EXCELLENT book. There's a trilogy based on it as well that includes Angelwalk, Fallen Angel, and Stedfast Gaurdian Angel.

Violets are Blue - James Patterson An Alex Cross novel

I'll look for them on Amazon. :thumb:

You MUST read Angelwalk in order to fully understand the other two.

I see; kinda like the "Left Behind" series.


Thanks for the tip.

That was a great series.

:thumb:


Fixed your post. :D

Kind of, but not really. You don't have to read Fallen Angel to understand Stedfast Guardian Angel or vice versa. They are both based on Angelwalk, only from different characters prespectives.

Potato, potahto

Smartazz. ROFL

ROFLROFLROFL


Why yes, yes he is thank you.

Sounds good. That is a neat way begin a series.

Just picked up Summerland by Michael Chabon

BUMP
 

It took me about a month and a half to get through Alexander Hamilton (I basically only read on the train on the way home from work, and the book is 800 pages long). I know I was pimping this on another thread a couple of days ago, but I wanted resurrect this one.

Since then, I've read Devil in the White City, a book which weaves together the stories of Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition and a serial killer who operated in Chicago at the same time. An interesting, although somewhat disjointed, read.

And a couple of minutes ago, I finished Biggest Brother, a biography of Major Dick Winters from Band of Brothers. Excellent companion to BoB and goes much more in depth. I highly recommend it. What an amazing guy.

Must find new book tomorrow.

Reading "Podcasting for Dummies" by Tee Morris and Evo Terra.

Oh yeah, and some Star Trek e-book called <i>S.C.E. #63, "Echoes of Coventry"</i> by some hack named Richard C. White. Just came out a few weeks ago. He obviously has pictures of the editor or something.

Forgot to mention Angels & Demons (I knew I was missing something for that long a time period).

Much, much better than Da Vinci Code. I wish they'd made A&D into a movie. Of course, nobody trying to make a movie from one of Dan Brown's books will ever even sniff the inside of the Vatican now. :D

Just started The Zenith Angle by Bruce Sterling. So far it's pretty good although it's a small departure from his cyberpunk roots. It's a novel about a computer security guy who leaves a high paying job in private industry after 9/11 to help fight the information security aspect of the GWoT.

Want a really trippy read along the lines of Neil Gaiman?

In Silent Graves by Gary A. Braunbeck.

It's a horror thriller that I happened upon and was completely unable to put down. The visual imagery is very unique and the writer's imagination is spellbinding. Really grabs you.

Read some of the reviews in the link to get a better idea..... they are obviously better at reviewing a book than I am.

Anyway, check it out.... It's a one of a kind book....

I really liked Cormac McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men". If you haven't read any of his stuff before, this is a good one to start with.

History of Dead Languages
written in Sanskrit and Latin


Military Blunders of the British Empire

What are you tellin' us 4th....that you can't read so only do videos?
The thread is about reading.
That's a video.

Damnit! No wonder I can't get the pages to turn! :cuss:

Not very high brow, but I'm currently reading "Velocity" by Koontz.

I've have finished every Grisham I can find...

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Are you at the part yet where the French accuse him of doping?

I've got an unusual situation of having two books going now, which breaks a longstanding Rain Man rule.

At the gym, when I'm on the exercise machines, I'm reading "The Know-It-All", a light non-fiction book about a guy who is trying to read the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

At home, I'm reading "Lost in Tibet", a non-fiction book about a U.S. transport plane crew that got off course and crashed in Tibet during WWII. The book includes stories of the crew, but also discusses the political implications of their arrival in Tibet on Sino-Anglo-Tibetan relations.

Cool. You'll love it.

Yeah I got past that part and I'm now to the part where the French Drug Testing Agency was actually altering the test results.

"The Secret Man" by Bob Woodward

I'm curious about that stuff since I'm a journalism major. I just finished "All the President's Men". I've learned a lot about what it takes to be a good reporter than those books. The scope of Watergate was huge, and Woodward and Bernstein had to be persistent.

I think I'll go looking for Gates of Fire at lunch.

I'm re-reading "The Game, penetrating the secret society of pickup artists" by Neil Strauss. Without a doubt the most fascinating book I've ever read.

"The Rantings of a Single Male, Losing patience with feminism, political correctness and basically everything" by Thomas Ellis. Hilarious anti-feminism book.

I am about half way through with Ted Bell's Assasin

My dad picked it up probably a year ago and gave me first shot at reading it, then shortly after decided he was ready for it and confiscated the damned thing. I just started to get back into it a couple of days ago. I decided that I not only needed to finish reading it, but to get back into reading again. I used to read all the time, now, very rarely.

World War-Upton Sinclair

Do the Wolds win or lose? ;)

I'm reading more as well. It used to be that I'd only read two or three books a year. So far this year I've already read five or six, and the next one is hold at Borders, so I'll start it tonight.

What is really sad is that I will start books, and then never finish them. I probably have 7-8 books partially read dating back 4-5 years. I don't know what has gotten into me, I use to tear through a Clancy novel in about a week, and that was in my early teens, very early teens. I guess the older you get the more distractions life has for you....

I'm about 60 pages into this and it is excellent. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumb:

I also picked up American Sphinx, which I'll read next. I guess I'll take Banyon's advice and give that weasel Jefferson a chance. :D

Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. It's cool so far.

Finally finished the Little Friend by Donna Tartt, which was a huge dissapointment to me after the Secret History, which I loved. The Little Friend seemed to be way too much east coast intellectual trying to explore and 'honor' Southern tradition. She's no Flannery O'Connor, that's for sure.

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson was before that, and it was excellent. Also very interesting in light of the recent "wire tapping" brouhaha. It will give you a unique insight into data mining and the way pattern analysis works.

Picked up Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth, due to his ubiquitousness in that best American novels of the last 25 years. I'm underimpressed. Maybe I'm just not east coast Jewish enough, but the novel was just... irritating. I've got 3 Roth novels checked out, so I'm hoping one of the others hooks me a little better. That's about it for me on the literary front.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

Great mix of personal memoirs, historical facts, and fiction. It's actually 2 stories at the same time, about the search for a still living Dracula. Not hokie at all.

Just finished The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff.

Okay ... not exactly "high-brow" (it's basically Taoism for Dummies) but it was interesting and a good, light read.

And after reading about 300 books in college (I have a Literature Degree) I'm all "high browed" out ... even now, ten years later.

MM
~~:shake: