Recommend Books

[mmmc_35]

I need book recommendations. I read/listen to a lot of literary works. With apps like audible I am able to "read" books I never had time for. I listen to a lot podcasts or books. I also like actual reading, but time has made that less of a reality. I recently listened to "thinking fast and slow". Its not a page Turner but the science behind though it great.

My recommendations for others.

My favorite book

Catch 22
It's a fantastic book. Seriously read it. War and peace, Count of Monte Cristo, dont touch Catch 22 in my opinion. I really think highly of the dark humor and the great characters. I cant state how great the book is.

The book I read the fastest

A long way gone memoirs of a boy soldier
Good easy read of war in Africa. Vice did a documentary about General Butt Naked a while ago. This is a story of similar child soldiers. I didn't put the book down

[dplank]

Endurance by Alfred Lansing - amazing.

The Good War by Studs Terkel also

Something more contemporary - Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko was fascinating

A quickie and all time fav of mine, Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway - on the off chance you haven't read it you really should you won't regret it.

[Boris13c]

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

essentially an anti-war novel written in the 30's relating to soldiers and the horrors of war ... you can change the dates and locations and it captures the essence of the fates of the modern day disposable soldier as well

[UOK]

I read a lot of historical fiction and piles and piles of one-off books from BookBub kindle discounts.

Read the first two books of the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel and they were pretty good. Might delve further, but I hear they don't improve in quality. We'll see.

Shogun by James Clavell is excellent. It's a huge book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Made me want to learn Japanese.

If you're into fantasy, I definitely recommend the Kingkiller Chronicle books by Patrick Rothfuss, which are great if you want to love the first two books only to realize he will absolutely never finish the third and final book.

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb was very good, but if you get into it there are probably a dozen other books set in that world. I chose to stop after these three.

There's a lot of great action westerns out there, but I found some "dollar store" ones on Kindle that I really enjoyed and are a mindless, pleasant read. "Rogue Lawman" series by Peter Brandvold is great. This Brandvold guy churns out like 30 action western books a year with various characters; no idea how he does it. The Rogue Lawman one is my favorite of the three or four I've read.

[wab]

I have made myself a promise that I'm going to read more in 2021. I was an avid reader about 8 years ago and I just kind of trailed off.

[Otis Day]

Damn, I wish I had the desire to read books. I have read here and there but not consistent at all. I just read, "The Side Hustle, From Idea to Income In 27 Days". I realized the shit I do, that might necessarily work.

I read magazine articles. I guess they are shorter and I can finish faster. I have a reading comprehension problem. I usually have to read a page, in a book, twice to make sure I am getting what they are writing about. That frustrates me and kind of keeps me away from books.

What I have read and enjoyed are books about musicians/bands. I really enjoyed Don Felder's book, "Heaven and Hell: My Life In The Eagles."

The "Jesus Family Tomb" was also interesting.

Good for you guys that read regularly, I admire that.

[mmmc_35]

I lately use audible and skip turning pages. I can work on a car, exercise, or hid from the family all while "reading" a book.

I personally cant get into the fantasy genre. I have tried eith the lord of the rings and game of thrones. Not my thing I cant get into the movies either.

I have read quite a few books, I tried to read "the classics" on a few deployments. I currently rotate non fiction, "a learning book", and fiction. I make sure to get a smart person book when I can.

I'll download some of the above.

[RichH55]

I have made myself a promise that I'm going to read more in 2021. I was an avid reader about 8 years ago and I just kind of trailed off.

Might I suggest

Leno - Story of a Hero by Charles Leno

[UOK]

If you’re a kindle user, bookbub is a site that mails you daily discounts for ebooks based on categories you curate. The highest amount is $2.99, but the majority are either $1.99 or free. There’s rarely a bestseller legend in there, but it’s not bad. I read probably 20+ books a year, so it’s nice to have a daily feed of possibilities, even if 50% are books I read a chapter of before realizing it’s probably crap.

For what it’s worth, I never saw myself as a kindle person, always preferring a proper book, but it’s been a revelation. No more unnecessary light when my wife is trying to sleep or drive, no more awkwardly large or small books taking up space in a bag. Hundreds of books all in a nice little gizmo.

[dplank]

If you’re a kindle user, bookbub is a site that mails you daily discounts for ebooks based on categories you curate. The highest amount is $2.99, but the majority are either $1.99 or free. There’s rarely a bestseller legend in there, but it’s not bad. I read probably 20+ books a year, so it’s nice to have a daily feed of possibilities, even if 50% are books I read a chapter of before realizing it’s probably crap.

For what it’s worth, I never saw myself as a kindle person, always preferring a proper book, but it’s been a revelation. No more unnecessary light when my wife is trying to sleep or drive, no more awkwardly large or small books taking up space in a bag. Hundreds of books all in a nice little gizmo.

Been thinking about buying a Kindle. Also prefer the paper but I just don't buy books often and a Kindle might open me back up to reading more since I can just download them. And reading on my iPad SUX.

[UOK]

If you’re a kindle user, bookbub is a site that mails you daily discounts for ebooks based on categories you curate. The highest amount is $2.99, but the majority are either $1.99 or free. There’s rarely a bestseller legend in there, but it’s not bad. I read probably 20+ books a year, so it’s nice to have a daily feed of possibilities, even if 50% are books I read a chapter of before realizing it’s probably crap.

For what it’s worth, I never saw myself as a kindle person, always preferring a proper book, but it’s been a revelation. No more unnecessary light when my wife is trying to sleep or drive, no more awkwardly large or small books taking up space in a bag. Hundreds of books all in a nice little gizmo.

Been thinking about buying a Kindle. Also prefer the paper but I just don't buy books often and a Kindle might open me back up to reading more since I can just download them. And reading on my iPad SUX.

It's different. The Kindle is "e-ink" which is, for all intents and purposes, just like reading a book. It hits your eyes much differently.

Get a case with a flap for it and you can hold it like a book.

[Grizzled]

I've always been a big book guy but bought a Nook a couple of years back. Lightweight, stores thousands of books if you want to buy that many, can read in bed with the built-in backlight without bothering the wife. With the pandemic, it's very convenient and safe to download books over the Internet. You can do it even if out of town. Been reading the Jack Reacher series (over 20 published), it ain't brain surgery but they're enjoyable. Tom Cruise playing Reacher is a bit of a joke, he's 6'5" 250+ lbs in the book. Re-read a lot of Ray Bradbury in the past few months, the man was a wordsmith. "Something Wicked This Way Comes", "The Illustrated Man", "The Martian Chronicles". His writings are both somewhat dated in that many stories are of a time gone by 100 years ago. Then others are somewhat futuristic with inventions such as a playroom for kids which is like the Holodeck in Star Trek but was described in the '40s. I enjoyed The Camel Club the Memory Man series by David Baldacci. Never was much of a mystery reader until I got the ereader, I guess there's a lot of mysteries available in libraries.

[mmmc_35]

Anyone ever read "The Gulag Archipelago"? Thinking of making it my next real book I buy.

[Grizzled]

Just started 'Rage' by Bob Woodward. Oh boy....

[Fumblebuck]

Nothing better then a great book.

Two of my favs
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry. Once past the first 100 pages of character intro, etc it is amazing.
The Power of One - Bryce Courtney

[Grizzled]

Robopocalypse and Robogenesis by Daniel H. Wilson. You'll get rid of all your "intelligent" devices after reading it.

[pus]

"Peter the Great, His Life and World" by Robert K. Massie.

I learned as much from this biography as any history course I ever took. It's a fascinating read that is not for the faint-of-heart. From youth to death, nothing about his life was sugar-coated and the book does reflect that.

Maybe GOAT of all the Russian rulers, if there could be such a thing?

[mmmc_35]

That will get put on the list pus.

Info the Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn is fantastic. It's long, but a pretty easy read/listen.