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  1. #651
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    Quote Originally Posted by yeahman View Post
    Been reading A.B. Guthrie's Big Sky series lately. Interesting stuff, different than I expected. Dark. Good writer though.
    How does it hold up? I'm always reticent to read a 70 year old Western. Often feels like I've read the same story over and over.

  2. #652
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    I don't remember if I mentioned it at the time, but I read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Now I'm about halfway through the second book in his Kingbridge series called World Without End. It's a massive book, around 1,000 pages but a great read. It's set in a cathedral town in England in the 1300s.

  3. #653
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    Quote Originally Posted by jbrock View Post
    How does it hold up? I'm always reticent to read a 70 year old Western. Often feels like I've read the same story over and over.
    Good question. The books are definitely not in the typical Western mold. But certain aspects are dated, I suppose. The mountain men routinely refer to themselves by the n-word, which is odd and probably wouldn't be done today by a white writer, but I can only assume this is an authentic representation of the language they used. I just finished "Fair Land, Fair Land," and it was probably the weakest of the three I've read so far, but I still liked it. I don't regret reading the books. Maybe because I live here and like to visualize and imagine all this country before white people took over en masse. And a big part of the books is the characters lamenting how more and more people are coming West, which is kind of funny because it's absolutely no different than people in Montana feel today, myself included. I'd say start with "The Big Sky" and see what you think. Also consider reading "Fools Crow" by James Welch, about the same Montana country but told from an Indian's point of view. Having read that book added a lot to my perspective of the A.B. Guthrie books.
    Last edited by yeahman; 01-14-2022 at 06:43 PM.

  4. #654
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    Oct 2006
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    I'm in the middle of too many books especially after Christmas but the ones in reading fastest are these two. The order of time is kinda dread inspiring, I just find it hard to think about some of the bigger topics about the universe and how insignificant I am. Kinda reminds me of how an ex thought learning about the eventual heat death of the universe was comforting. Still, it's pretty good and not too dense.

    The marine history is fucking fascinating and it's linking civilizations and history in ways I never thought about. It also made me realize how short human history is. I'm only 200 pages in but at least at the moment I'd recommend it.

    Since I like flyoverland's idea, if anyone wants either one when I'm done I'll mail them to you. Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #655
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    Dec 2005
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    That marine history one looks great - has been added to my list thanks

  6. #656
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    My favorite book of the last 20 years is, Into the Heart of the Sea. Basically the true story of the Essex based on officer logs, and the science of food and water deprivation. The Essex is the whaling ship that was rammed by a whale in the pacific, and became the basis of Moby dick. Excellent read.
    I am currently reading paper books again, been a few years. Reread the foundation trilogy. Now I'm abot halfway into the three body problem trilogy. I liked the first book, the three body problem. Very well written, i knocked it off in a day and a half, so yeah, i was hooked. Very creative sci fi story line. I am now more than halfway done with the second book, the dark forest. Also excellent so far. I keep staying up too late reading. Happy to have that problem again.
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  7. #657
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    Dec 2005
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    “In the Kingdom of Ice” is also a good book if you liked “Into the Heart of the Sea”

    Those three body books look interesting

  8. #658
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    The three body books are great. Recommended.

  9. #659
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    I’m about halfway through this. I’m enjoying it, although I’d hoped for (expected?) some more depth in the archaeological discussions.



    The marine history is in my reading list now, too.

  10. #660
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    Knocked off the second book last night. Excellent. What an ending!
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  11. #661
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    Looking forward to diving into the "body" series, thanks for the recs guys. Will also look for the 1491 books. Here to extoll the virtues of Project Hail Mary though...

    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy View Post
    Mostly through " Project Hail Mary" from Andy Weir who wrote " The Martian "
    Soo good
    Simular in style but not story

    Quote Originally Posted by iggyskier View Post
    ^ Highly recommend. Enjoyed it more than The Martian (which was great).

    For those with a history bent, 1491 has been great thus far (about 2/5 through).
    I'm going to go out on a limb and say Project Hail Mary is the greatest piece of science fiction since Foundation, Dune, Fahrenheit 451. Yep I'm putting Weir in there with Aasimov, Herbert and Bradbury. I'm no rocket biologist but Weir's science seemed plausible, his humour made me literally laugh out loud, and the pace of the tome was lightening fast. I could not put this down (couldn't literally, as wife had it on a 6 day loan, which was fine because that was more than enough time). The ending was satisfying, though there is certainly room for another book or two in a series (I sure hope he does that, I want more of Rocky and his people!).

    Read this book!
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  12. #662
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    Loved both of these books. These were the kind of stories that I hated to finish.

    This book is a historical fiction that takes place in Whatcom County, Washington and other parts of the Puget Sound area in the late 1800s. Annie does have a stilted way of writing but once I got used to the cadence I enjoyed the style.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    “Remarkable. . . . A deftly woven narrative saturated with violence, hardship, and triumph. Readers will be richly rewarded, for by the end of this deeply felt novel it is hard to let the frontier town and its people go.” — San Francisco Chronicle

    This New York Times bestselling novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard is a mesmerizing evocation of pioneer life navigated by European settlers and Lummi natives in the Pacific Northwest during the last decades of the 19th century.

    The Living is a tale full of gold minors, friendly railroad speculators, doe-eyed sweethearts, shifty card players, and 19th century adventures that will stay with you long after you close the book.






    This book is also a historical fiction about a murder that took place in Spokane (Pend Oreille) Washington in the 1940s. The intresting twist is that it starts in modern times as non-fiction, tells the story (both fiction & fact) and closes where it opened.

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    In 1935, Spokane, Wash., was in the sixth year of the Great Depression. Unemployment was high. Civilian Conservation Corps workers were arriving in droves from the East for the Grand Coulee Dam project. Crime was rampant, and a series of creamery robberies had the town on edge. Then, on Sept. 4, the Pend Oreille County town marshal investigating these crimes was murdered. The mystery of George Conniff's death went unsolved until 1989, when Tony Bamonte, sheriff of Pend Oreille County and a graduate student, inadvertently uncovered information that generations of police had conspired to keep hidden. Egan ( The Good Rain ), Seattle bureau chief for the New York Times, lumbers occasionally, but his account of the reopened investigation generally resonates with regional color. Bamonte's investigation of the killing started as scholarly research, but stepped up when "a convergence of conscience and coincidence" suggested that the marshal had been shot by a cop protecting colleagues associated with the robberies. In a deathbed confession, a cop revealed that the Spokane police were involved in more than "a conspiracy of small corruptions." Egan evocatively resurrects the scenes and raw insensitivities of '30s police life in the region, from Mother's Place, the diner where cops plotted their heists, to the Hotel de Gink, where transients stayed.
    Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
    When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something. To do something." Rep. John Lewis


    Kindness is a bridge between all people

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  13. #663
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    Sep 2006
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    I had no idea that the main Mountain Goats man, John Darnielle, wrote novels...

    This one sounds cool (as do his others):

    https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/boo...its-dark-heart
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

    https://www.blizzard-tecnica.com/us/en

  14. #664
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    Just finished listening to A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson, read by Bill Bryson. Great experience hearing him read about his time hiking the Appalachian Trail. I was laughing so hard a couple times I was worried I was going to crash my car.

    I love going to the library and browsing the audiobooks because I never have anything specific in mind, but always seem to find something that I've heard of or been curious about. I probably never would have thought to read this book, but listening to it was great.

  15. #665
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    Name:  Screenshot 2022-01-28 at 11-53-56 Unrequited Infatuations A Memoir Van Zandt, Stevie 97803069254.png
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    Enjoyable memoir even if you are not a Springsteen fan.
    I have been in this State for 30 years and I am willing to admit that I am part of the problem.

    "Happiest years of my life were earning < $8.00 and hour, collecting unemployment every spring and fall, no car, no debt and no responsibilities. 1984-1990 Park City UT"

  16. #666
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    in a freezer in Italy
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    I just finished The Book of Eels by Patrik Svensson. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Part history, part biology, part memoir and with a substantial helping of philosophy, you will definitely learn some things in this book that you didn't know, and by the end maybe even feel some stuff you haven't felt. I was emotional at the end. It's a book about eels, but it's not just a book about eels. Far from it.

  17. #667
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    Sep 2006
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    As if I need more books...My latest haul:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I started Wolf In White Van this past Tuesday. Reminding me a bit of Bridge to Terabethia...

    My local (as in Reno) used bookstore sells unstickered PBs for $1.99 and unstickered HBs for $3.99.
    These six books cost me $26.94 before tax (that's still cheaper than the average new HB).
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

    https://www.blizzard-tecnica.com/us/en

  18. #668
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    Nov 2005
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    Cherry is a hell of a book. It's not cheery, though: hide the razor blades.

  19. #669
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    Dec 2005
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    Watched most of cherry tonight. I can't handle the drug movies. So rugged.

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  20. #670
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    Sep 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by basinbeater View Post
    Watched most of cherry tonight. I can't handle the drug movies. So rugged.

    Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using TGR Forums mobile app
    I started the novel yesterday.
    Only a few chapters in, but so far it's reminding me of a cross between The Basketball Diaries and Less Than Zero...
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

    https://www.blizzard-tecnica.com/us/en

  21. #671
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    Aug 2013
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    Colorado
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    Thanks for the recommends Dookey. Just started Cherry. Whoa…

  22. #672
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    Seattle
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    I can't believe some of you old farts are still reading printed books.

  23. #673
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    Quote Originally Posted by The AD View Post
    I can't believe some of you old farts are still reading printed books.
    Printed books are the vinyl of the literary world....
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

    https://www.blizzard-tecnica.com/us/en

  24. #674
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    Sep 2001
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    Orangina
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    Just finished McCarthy's Border Trilogy for maybe the 5th time.

    All the Pretty Horses is in my top three books of all time. So beautiful and haunting, it's hard to believe it wasn't written 100 years ago. I didn't love Blood Meridian nor The Road. Great books but a bit much for me.

    But AtPH is something else entirely. A must read if you enjoy westerns, Americana, Mexican culture or just incredible prose.
    "All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring."

  25. #675
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    Dec 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by dookeyXXX View Post
    Printed books are the vinyl of the literary world....
    More popular than vinyl though. I work for a book publisher and our ebook sales plateaued at about 20 percent years ago. Still sell mostly paper books, and book sales have held up well overall.

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