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  1. #451
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    It's been out for a few years now, but just got around to reading Dead Wake by Erik Larson. I thought it was pretty good. His books tend to be a bit formulaic.

  2. #452
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    I managed to catch David Sedaris in Reno the other night (he spoke/read for about an hour) and then when I got home I rummaged through a coupla boxes and came up with 2 of his books, so I may go on a mini-Sedaris bender once I finish The Bachman Books (early Stephen King novels written under a pseudonym), which I am currently making my way through..

    I've also been plugging away on all the post-Fleming James Bond novels. I'm deep into the John Gardner run, which has been hit and miss, but overall enjoyable.
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

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

  3. #453
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cravenmorhead View Post
    The River by Peter Heller is very good (though I'm also a fan of the rest of his work). Makes me want do a Canadian/Boundary Waters river trip.
    I got around to reading this. There were some pretty lyrical description of the wilds in the beginning that I really dug and enjoyed. And then the book went to shit. too many gear catalog-esque listicles, improbable poorly fleshed characters (amusingly I don't think the main two were - they were just the sort of callow youth that anyone who's posted here should recognize, unsurprisingly reviewers disagreed), improbable action, overall poor plotting and an ending that was improbable, ill-described and unsatisfying. Fundamental problem is it's a book that's exactly the wrong length - it should have been left as a smaller, tighter short story or maybe a novella, or it should have been expanded.
    Last edited by dunfree ; 09-15-2019 at 10:45 PM.

  4. #454
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    The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson. Great book for everybody. The title already explains the main plot



  5. #455
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobz View Post
    Just finished Blake Crouch's Dark Matter. It's your basic existential sci-fi relationship thriller. I really enjoyed it.
    +1 -- the audio version.

  6. #456
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    “Money Land” by Oliver Bullough. I’m about 1/4 into it; very good so far. Its a history of how “offshoring” money became a thing; how it works; and why it’s pretty much ruining western democracy as we know it. And why it’s pretty much impossible to stop.

    Worth a read if you’re into the history of money and financial systems.

  7. #457
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive View Post
    “Money Land” by Oliver Bullough. I’m about 1/4 into it; very good so far. Its a history of how “offshoring” money became a thing; how it works; and why it’s pretty much ruining western democracy as we know it. And why it’s pretty much impossible to stop.

    Worth a read if you’re into the history of money and financial systems.
    I started this Wed since I have 100% success with your book recs and seconding that it's excellent so far. also timely
    find myself highlighting galore
    skid luxury

  8. #458
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    Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

    Been mentioned a few times upthread, but deserves rementioning. Pulitzer Prize winner about surfing and life. The guy’s an amazing writer.

  9. #459
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    Quote Originally Posted by babybear View Post
    I started this Wed since I have 100% success with your book recs and seconding that it's excellent so far. also timely
    find myself highlighting galore
    Glad you like it! My copy has a lot of dog-eared pages. Lol

  10. #460
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    Has anyone read The Terror by Dan Simmons? This one has been on my list for many years, but I just finally started it. I'm probably only about 50 pages in so far (and it's something like 800 pages), but I think it's going to be really good. It's historical fiction based on Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition in the mid 1800s with a supernatural element thrown in.

  11. #461
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    I enjoyed it enough that I lent it out. It's better than the one he did about climbing Everest. There was/is a show based on the terror that I think people like.

  12. #462
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    THE HIKE - Drew Magary
    This was a random purchase at the local used bookstore (Grassroots in Reno). The bright cover grabbed my attention along with the NPR pullquote likening it to "early, good Chuck Palahniuk..." (though, admittedly, I don't see that connection at all!).
    Within the first few chapters it gleefully mashes up elements of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Jack and the Beanstock, Hansel and Gretel, The Wizard of Oz, Kafka, and The Incredible Mr. Limpet, and Robert Frost, amongst other allusions...
    The writing can be clunky in spots, but the overall absurdity and genuine WTF? moments keep things moving briskly.
    It's like a grown-up version of Ready Player One (it is a quest story, though instead of videogame and modern pop culture references it utilizes classic lit and folklore) aimed at the married man with kids approaching a mid-life crisis. Granted, I am neither married nor have kids, but it still resonated as it is ultimately about getting older and harboring regrets.
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

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

  13. #463
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    Feb 2020
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    I decided to read the cycle of books The Wheel of Time.
    To be ready for the release of the series which will be announced by the end of the year

  14. #464
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    "Deep Survival"
    Laurence Gonzales

    https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival...dp/0393353710/

    Some reasonably heavy psychology and biology. All in all a fascinating look into why people make dumb moves in risky situations. Examples provided are super-pertinent for the TGR crowd including avalanches.

  15. #465
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper View Post
    Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

    Been mentioned a few times upthread, but deserves rementioning. Pulitzer Prize winner about surfing and life. The guy’s an amazing writer.
    One of the best books I've read in a while. I actually listened to the audio book, which is read by the author. Funny thing is, his surfing buddy Brian Di'Salvatore is somebody I knew when I lived in Missoula, but I never had any idea about his surfing past until I read this. Anyway...yeah, great book. I've always loved surfing literature, but my wife even liked Barbarian Days and she has no real interest in surfing.

  16. #466
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    sounds boring but was so good Rain: A natural and cultural history
    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    every chapter was interesting. I was bummed when I would get too sleepy to read
    skid luxury

  17. #467
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    Quote Originally Posted by dookey67 View Post
    THE HIKE - Drew Magary
    I read it too, and liked it. Kind of random, escapist, and not exactly deep, but a good fun read.


    I'm about 9/10 of the way through Neal Stephenson's latest, Fall. I'll say more when I wrap it up, but let's just say that I'm probably not going to recommend it all that highly. Started good; the first 1/3 seemed like a great set-up and had some great characters and plot-diversions (summary: billionaires initiate a project where their brains are to be preserved after death as neural network data, which leads to a widespread business where dead people get to live another life, or lives, within a vast quantum computing simulation).

    The second half (which, key factor, is as long as a more typical whole novel) settles into extended meandering accounts of life in bitworld. At some point, I said, "ah, where he's going with this is that life after death will suck, mainly because humans will just bring along with them all the worst aspects of collectivized human nature"... but then he backed off on the dystopian power struggles, and now I'm not sure where it's headed. More later!


    (Oh, and I read Deep Survival a long time ago; good stuff. Along similar lines, and also excellent, was Bone Games, by Schultheis.)
    Last edited by bobz; 02-11-2020 at 12:15 AM.

  18. #468
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    The Overstory was just recommended to me. I don’t like fiction, so I’m dubious; anyone read this?

  19. #469
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    I really liked The Overstory. Converging storylines and a compelling subject. Good read.
    crab in my shoe mouth

  20. #470
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    Overstory was a bit of a plod to get through for me....he is a GREAT writter some of the time...I was a little disappointed, myself, but great reviews....IMHO, Chet

  21. #471
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    Fall - Stephenson -was crappy. I. Think the rise & fall of DODO was better if you like old Stephenson

  22. #472
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    Why can't I get through a Raymond Chandler book? The guy has a great reputation. I guess I just don't like the genre. Just quit halfway through The High Window, which is the second or third time I've tried Chandler. Probably didn't help that I had The Outsider by Stephen King waiting on the nightstand. I've heard that's his best in years and I wanted to get to it.

  23. #473
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    Quote Originally Posted by yeahman View Post
    Why can't I get through a Raymond Chandler book? The guy has a great reputation. I guess I just don't like the genre. Just quit halfway through The High Window, which is the second or third time I've tried Chandler. Probably didn't help that I had The Outsider by Stephen King waiting on the nightstand. I've heard that's his best in years and I wanted to get to it.
    Naw, I think Chandler can be tough. I have started The Big Sleep several times and still have yet to finish it.

    For the crime/mystery/pulp genre give Jim Thompson, Charles Willeford or James M Cain a try...or anything on the Black Lizard imprint.
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

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

  24. #474
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    I read 'A Gentleman in Moscow' recently. It's an odd book, I liked it a lot.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  25. #475
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    Oct 2003
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    Qualityland by Marc Uve Kling....some good humour and a easy read while at the same time well written enough to keep my attention... Mobituaries by Mo Rocca... A non fiction book that is also easy and enjoyable to read...and... The latest from Bill Bryson.. The Body.... I like everything he writes.....and .. I am trying to get a copy of Diary Of A Somebody by Brian Bilson... He is my favorite poet and this is his first novel... ..check out his Instagram or Facebook !!!!!!!!!.....But for some reason Amazon doesn't sell it... And I don't know if it has been published in the USA yet...
    what's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?

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