Time for a new book - any suggestions?

**fool** · 02-29-2016, 10:53 PM

Originally Posted by Diamond Joe

Definitely give Unbroken another go man.. The early part of his life (beginning of the book) was a little bit slow, but once you get to the war... hang on to your seat. you will not want to stop reading, I promise you

"Heist" was good, I blew through it in one day on the beach (vacation in Clearwater!) Story of the morons behind the Loomis Fargo heist (17+ million) in the late 90's. Pretty good, super easy reading, great summer/beach book..

A great book that I didnt mention earlier, was brought to memory by the Iceman comment about "boys in the boat" - as far as really bringing an era to life. "Close to Shore" by Michael Capuzzo (Sp?). Its the story of the 1916 shark attacks off the coast of New Jersey that captivated/terrorized the country and was the inspiration for the movie "jaws". It brings the early 1900s to life beautifully, with sweltering New York tenemants, bathing suits that were actually suits (no skin!!), and "tough guys" who were tough because they could SWIM haha. Great, great book - it vividly brings a really interesting (to me anyhow) period in US history to life and is an amazing true story that I'm sure not a lot of people know much about. Highly recommended

Awesome: will do, Joe! Just came back to this thread to find another Kindle book...

**The AD** · 03-01-2016, 10:28 AM

I just started "The Last Season" and can already tell it's going to be good. Thanks to whoever it was that recommended it!

**Diamond Joe** · 03-15-2016, 09:13 AM

Just finished "Ishmael" based on the recommendations of some peeps in this thread, and I must say it was an eye opening book. Not the easiest read, not necessarily a "page turner" but its an important piece of modern literature, for sure.

Part philosophy, part theology, part history, 100% important and pertinent to us as a human species. Everyone should read it

**Diamond Joe** · 03-19-2016, 09:33 AM

I got two more book recommendations:
"Gates of Fire" by Stephen Pressfield - a historical fiction about the battle of Thermopylae (the famous "last stand" of 300 Spartans against an invading Persian horde) Great book, easy read, very entertaining. Up there with my all-time favs

"Triangle - the fire that changed America" - Like "Boys in the Boat" and "Close to Shore", it brings the early 20th century to life. This tragedy was the catalyst for a number of enormously important changes in American life most notably in the suffrage movement and workers rights. The worst disaster in NYC history (up until 9/11), 146 people (123 women) perished in a fire due in large part to locked exit doors and a tiny one-person fire escape that collapsed under the weight of people trying to escape. The NYFD was unable to save anybody due to their ladders being several stories too short, so many of the deceased died jumping to escape the flames. This book details life as a poor garment worker in NY in 1911, and how the fire changed the course of the political landscape as well as labor relations and womens rights. A hugely important event in US history, the book is excellently written and a riveting and sometimes horrifying read. Highly highly recommended.

**SkiBall** · 04-03-2016, 02:02 PM

Power of The Dog, and the The Cartel by Don Winslow. Read POTD first though, but they are related. Takes on a lot of the shit that has been going on in Mexico and how complicit the good old USofA is in this so called war on drugs that is in essence a war on the poor. A lot of things that have actually happened retold in a fictionalized format. Good reads and really pulled me in.

**delco714** · 04-03-2016, 07:51 PM

Must of Been mentioned..But the Martian was awesome

**Buster Highmen** · 04-05-2016, 01:22 PM

"So Anyways..." - Autobiography of John Cleese with focus on the events leading up to and including the instantiation of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Exceedingly well written, interesting, frank and occasionally scathing.

**snapt** · 04-05-2016, 01:39 PM

The Dog Stars, despite the schitzo writing style that was hard to get used to, it turned into a pretty good story. Making the most out of the apocalypse is how the reviews described it. Kind of a Cormac McCarthy meet Barbara Kingsolver if you will...

**babybear** · 04-05-2016, 03:44 PM

a few good reads recently- "90% of everything" about the maritime shipping industry. http://www.amazon.com/Ninety-Percent...ds=rose+george

Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter- follows the scrap industry. really really good. learned a lot

wrapping up my Mark Kurlansky kick I recently finished Birdseye: Adventures of a curious man. really enjoyed it (kinda motivating too bc he just kept solving basic problems of life/society)

now into "The Men who Stare at Goats" (haven't seen the flick yet) the book is quite entertaining and I'm rolling through it quickly

started Ted Koppel's new book "Lights Out" but am doing along with Goats above bc sometimes lights out is a touch heavy -(it's subtitled A Cyber Attack, A nation unprepared, Surviving the aftermath)
my take-away so far- basically you city people are fucked

**The AD** · 04-06-2016, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

"So Anyways..." - Autobiography of John Cleese with focus on the events leading up to and including the instantiation of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Exceedingly well written, interesting, frank and occasionally scathing.

Didn't know about this book. Thanks for the recommendation. It's now on my list...

**Garth Bimble** · 11-17-2016, 11:39 PM

Just finished Warren Miller's "Freedom Found". Hard to believe but he's 92! I know his movies don't get much run around here and he hasn't been directly involved for awhile. One of his kids bought the company and then Bonnier got it and fucked it all up so I haven't seen one in a long time but I guess another kid bought it back from Bonnier so hopefully that's a step in the right direction. Book is OK, it's amazing how he managed to do all that he did...one of the dumbest businessmen I've ever seen and the whole "original ski bum" is a crock of shit but there are still some great stories and let's face it...there's a good chance this place wouldn't be here without him.

**garyfromterrace** · 11-18-2016, 01:23 AM

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Phil Dick.

**nogophers** · 11-23-2016, 08:02 AM

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. It was well-written with good character development. Not as dark as the Fargo TV series he produced and wrote.

**babybear** · 11-23-2016, 08:42 AM

Sapiens A brief history of humankind was excellent- reads quite easily despite the somewhat boring sounding title-
really enjoyed it
https://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Human...ywords=sapiens

Also All the Shah's Men about the 1953 CIA coup in Iran was a good one that helps to understand the nuances of our current relationship with Iran/ ME
(also another good one by the same author Stephen Kinzer is "The Brothers" about the Dulles bros -one head of the CIA and one Sec of State in the 1950's)
https://www.amazon.com/All-Shahs-Men...e+shah%27s+men

also had heard of this book for awhile but just read it and it was amusing- The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

and Beast in the Garden was a pg turner for me- about Mtn lions making their comeback in the West- focused on Boulder CO. scared the hell out of me but also learned a ton
https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Garden-...+in+the+garden

**hatchgreenchile** · 11-23-2016, 08:52 AM

"The Power of Off", great read. All about how we've become slaves to technology, and how we truly utilize it for our betterment and not become mindless screen whores. Highly recommended!

Just started "The Last Volcano", about Thomas Jaggar and how his travels led him to Kilauea to start the Volcano observatory.

**Crampedon** · 11-23-2016, 10:46 AM

Not gonna search the whole thread but I liked " All the Light you cannot see"

WWII story, but not war, more about people. Great read.

- I found an obscure one last summer- " for Oil and buggy whips" about whaling captains from Mystic, these guys were a tough crew. One got ripped off by another captain after rescuing a crew from a boat crushed in the ice pack and brought an Inuit and his wife to CT. to testify in like 1820.

**groundcontrol323** · 11-23-2016, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by b-bear

Beast in the Garden was a pg turner for me- about Mtn lions making their comeback in the West- focused on Boulder CO. scared the hell out of me but also learned a ton
https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Garden-...+in+the+garden

Great read, definitely relevant as Boulder is only a couple hours away from me. We had three Mountain Lions hit by cars last summer, their numbers are definitely on the rise. Hate to admit it, but reading this had me a little more cautious every time I stepped into woods for a summer or two. Like watching Jaws for the first time as a kid, and then going to the beach.

**bobz** · 12-01-2016, 05:12 PM

If you want something lightweight and wickedly funny, check out Will Not Attend, by TV comedy writer Adam Resnick. It's a collection of essays about various episodes in his extreme-oddball life.

**Marshall Tucker** · 12-07-2016, 12:05 PM

Not earth-shaking stuff, but extremely regional (southeast) currently reading "prince of frogtown" Rick Bragg. anything he writes is just incredible IMO. Looking foward to The Swamp Fox.

**brutah** · 12-09-2016, 11:13 AM

"The Brief History of Seven Killings" by Marlon Jones was super entertaining. Very violent book about reggae, 1970s/80s Jamaica, the CIA and the cocaine drug trade. Story is told from the first person narrative from many characters, which can get hard to follow at times (similar to as I lay dying by faulkner) and reading patois as a white boy can be difficult and fun. Page turner for sure. Definitely something I recommend for the not faint of heart. Also this book isn't brief and way more people get killed than 7.

**cravenmorhead** · 12-09-2016, 11:54 AM

Barbarian Days of Surfing was my favorite book of the year. Great surfing stoke; story arc of surfing dirtbag/traveler eventually gets old.

**iceman** · 12-29-2016, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by Cravenmorhead

Barbarian Days of Surfing was my favorite book of the year. Great surfing stoke; story arc of surfing dirtbag/traveler eventually gets old.

Just finished it. Excellent book. A lot of parallels in there for the aging powderhound (or human being in general). A worthwhile read for sure.

**NoPostholio** · 12-29-2016, 08:45 PM

The dark tower series - Stephen king

Read the gunslinger years ago, and it never really grabbed me even after reading prob every book he had before that.
Needed a book recently and thought I would give the series another look since movie adaptation is due soon.
Anyhow, 8 books have kept me busy the last couple of months, and they are fantastic in a lord of the rings western that totally delivers.

I think it is right up there in argument as his best writing.

Seveneves - great near science fiction book where earth is destroyed, and mankind has to survive. And women save the day.

Aurora - multi generational space flight over thousands of years to get to a goldilocks system. Very cool AI subplot.

Saturn Run - written by a dude that rights like crime novels. He teams up with a tech expert to write this story of a race to saturn to try and beat the Chinese there. Really good book that gets heavy in the science and geo politics