Time for a new book - any suggestions?

[JMO]

I've got my work cut out for me. Book reviews to come shortly.

[hev]

I am kind of a Bill Bryson whore. His new one At Home is proving up to his usual standards and I'd recommend to anyone if you like funny non-fiction.

[fool]

Good to hear, hev. I just heard about his new book but I haven't heard much about it overall.

[maloneSTAR]

wow, In search of captain zero sounds unreal, i'm definitely going to have to pick up a copy of that.

here are a couple of random recommendations:

The Music Lesson, by Victor Wooten. Great bass player, plays with Bela Fleck. Definite read for any musician or anyone who likes music.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. You've probably already read this, but it's a very entertaining account of the author's experiences in the restaurant industry.

Lamb: the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal by Christopher Moore. If you're not insane, and are capable of laughing at religion, this book is hilarious.

[Singel]

Three Day Road by Joseph Broyden. Don't know if it hits the OP's targets, but its a damn good read - am currently on the follow up "Through Black Spruce"

[Helldawg]

This was pretty rad...

http://enterthepassage.com/

Not "vampire" as in twilight or any of the "blood" series types. Think more like dark-seekers from I Am Legend. Could not put it down. Gonna be a trilogy too.

[Chowda]

Red Summer - Bill Carter

[Crampedon]

"My first summer in the high Sierras" -John Muir

" Fishless days, angling night" -Sparse Gray Hackle

"Where the rivers all run North" -Sam Morton



If you never read Cormack McCarthy, try the Crossing, Cities of the plains, All the pretty horses...

[Crampedon]

I am kind of a Bill Bryson whore. His new one At Home is proving up to his usual standards and I'd recommend to anyone if you like funny non-fiction.

He can be hilarious! I was flying somewhere cracking up over and over again... When he falls asleep on a train in Italy in-between two peasant women... "they were wonderfully soft"

[Grange]

I recently finished Stone Cold by David Baldacci. I didn't realize as I started it that it is part of a series however as I was reading it became obvious. The first book of the series is called the Camel Club. The series is fiction and is a kind of like a spy/thriller type story.

[Jer]

I've been reading The Gnoll Credo by Spats. Really rad so far. If you like books that deal with the wackiness of the human condition, I would recommend it.

edit: Jeez Louise - I see it's already been mentioned. Oh well - bump.

x3 on The Last Season. Morgenson sorta comes off as an elitist semi-douchebag and I can completely identify with him. I think anybody who loves nature and doesn't really dig humans could.

For a first Cormack McCarthy read, I'd say Child of God. Not too long and gets right to the heart of it.

[Dr. Crank]

Good non-fiction read, set in BC's coastal rainforest. One of the better books I've read in the last couple of years.

[fool]

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. You've probably already read this, but it's a very entertaining account of the author's experiences in the restaurant industry.

Just finished the sequel, Medium Raw, and it was great.

[spook]

not related to anything you asked for but mark twain's autobiography recently came out and is supposed to be interesting.

[Spats]

I've been reading The Gnoll Credo by Spats. Really rad so far. If you like books that deal with the wackiness of the human condition, I would recommend it.

edit: Jeez Louise - I see it's already been mentioned. Oh well - bump.

Bumps are fine Did you hang on until the end? It's a wild ride, and a lot of people are forced to interpret it as a metaphor.

Moving on:

Out of the old book pile..."Brighter than a Thousand Suns", Robert Jungk -- a history of the people who made the first atomic bombs, the moral conflicts they went through as they figured out what sort of power they had, and both the politics and logistics behind the atomic weapons program. Fascinating reading...it really gives you a sense of the times. More importantly, it really gives you a sense of what it must have been like to make such fundamental discoveries of a destructive power so much greater than anything previously know.

[advres]

"The 4-Hour Body" by Tim Ferriss. If you are into fitness or just looking for a quality read about a guy being a human guinea pig for the last 10 years of his life, it is a solid read.

I am back down to my college weight following his diet and exercise regiment since the Monday before Christmas and have taken 2" off my waist, 1/2" of both thighs and a 1/4" off my arms. I highly recommend it.

[Jer]

Bumps are fine Did you hang on until the end? It's a wild ride, and a lot of people are forced to interpret it as a metaphor.

Just finished it last night. You need to write more. Good fiction is hard to find.

Many of the Gnollish words reminded me of Pashto, speaking of which:



Kickass boigraphy of sorts about a very rad cat.

[Spats]

Just finished it last night. You need to write more. Good fiction is hard to find.

I'd love to write more books...but it's not the writing, it's the getting published. The more people you and everyone else tell about TGC, the more it'll sell, and the more likely they'll want more books from me

(Present efforts noted and appreciated. Thank you.)

Many of the Gnollish words reminded me of Pashto

You're right: some of the vowel sounds, in particular, sound more like Pashto than American English, due to gnoll physiology. The syllabic patterns have a lot in common with Polynesian.

There's actually a lot of background on Gnollish that I didn't include in the book because it would be a distraction to the narrative, but which will no doubt be explained as time goes on.

If you want to dig deeper, feel free to ask questions on the forums so we don't totally derail this thread: http://www.gnolls.org/forums

[bennerlur]

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Fantastically macabre, but if you can stand it, it's a great book. The story follows scalphunters as they pillage the desert, beautiful wilderness descriptions.

[up an down]

griftopia by matt taibbi

[maloneSTAR]

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Fantastically macabre, but if you can stand it, it's a great book. The story follows scalphunters as they pillage the desert, beautiful wilderness descriptions.

I just picked this up the other day, as well as All the Pretty Horses. Gotta finish my current book (The Beach by Alex Garland, you may know it by the movie with Leo, it kicks ass so far) but they're next on the list.

[The AD]

I just finished Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. Yes, the books are extremely popular, but don't let that deter you. I thought all three were worth reading, albeit with a few portions that drag a little. I thought the climax in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest was great. It's interesting how the story goes from fairly straightforward "who done it?" fiction in the first book to Ludlumesque spy thriller by the third.

[hev]

I fully enjoyed the Millenium trilogy and would recommend as a fun light read. Kind of interesting with all the Julian Asange stuff going on as well.

[advres]

I just finished Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. Yes, the books are extremely popular, but don't let that deter you. I thought all three were worth reading, albeit with a few portions that drag a little. I thought the climax in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest was great. It's interesting how the story goes from fairly straightforward "who done it?" fiction in the first book to Ludlumesque spy thriller by the third.

My mother just recommended these to me. Gonna have to pick them up.

[doughboyshredder]

Just finished RUN by Michaelbrent Collings. It's a pretty original book. Pretty much has you saying WTF is going on till the very end. One of those books that you can't wait to get back to, and hate to have to put down.