Looking for new books

[Brewtacular]

Two wonderful books I have read recently

 

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Amazing book that reveals how much misinformation surrounds the Mongols and the influence they have had. and the influence they have had.

 

First They Killed My Father

True story about a girl growing up in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Extremely gripping story.

[cweber39]

And I run the checkout desk,

 

So then, why we would bother getting a card, if you are the keeper of the keys? Just put a whole bunch of books in a dry-cleaning bag,

and say someone is coming in to pick up the Historical Society's dry-cleaning. (I'm just kidding, unless I'm not).

 

FTJ- I am going to pick up Manhunt, it looks great.

 

Awesome, I'd be very interested to hear your take on the book. No one in my social circles has read it.

FTJ I read Manhunt earlier this year I thought it was excellent.

 

I like the Wal-Mart Effect it was different and a good read.

[Fatter than Joey]

FTJ I read Manhunt earlier this year I thought it was excellent.

 

Fantastic

[RU Rah Rah]

I would recommend Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me). Social psychologists writing about how and why people engage in self-justification when they clearly screw up.

[JimH5]

The Clemente biography by David Maraniss isn't brand new, but it's an EXCELLENT book. Best baseball book I've read in a long time. And in the acknowledgments section, he mentions that his son Andrew is a HUGE Brewers fan, so Andrew, in case you're also a poster on this site, your dad knocked one out of the park on that one. I'm a huge Clemente fan now. Another good one that's newish is The Big Bam by Leigh Montville.

 

And The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century is a great book--not just about Ford himself, but the entirety of American life at the turn of the last century. A good one.

[parkside21]

I want to be smart like you guys, ::sigh::

 

I have a tough time reading and sticking with it....I dunno, sometimes I just think reading isn't for me...but when I actually finish a book (after several months), it makes me feel good. I recently read Tim Kurkjian's book, I recommend it, but it took me 3 months to read and it's like 220 pages of silly stories about baseball, I felt like I should have knocked that out much sooner. My girlfriend will literally sit down and read a 400 page book in one night..I don't get it, it would take me 6 months to do that. Anyways, all this historical nonfiction stuff has me interested....anything good that you might have read that's than say...250 pages? I'm heading out to the library later today, I usually just pick up movies, but I always see nonfiction books on topics that catch my interest and I look at it, but then I'm not gonna lie, a book 400-500 pages kind of intimidates me and I just put it back knowing I'll never read it. Anything sort of shorter anyone can recommend? It'd be much appreciated.

[homer]

I just started Confederacy of Dunces. The guy who wrote it killed himself in the early 70's and then his mom found the manuscript like 10 years later and somehow got it published. It ended up winning the Pulitzer. Really funny so far but knowing what you know about the author it takes on a different tone I think.

[parkside21]

Homer, I've actually read that, one of the few books I've read in the last ten years (see above post, ha)...it was kinda quirky and funny, I liked it. It was supposed to have been made into a major movie (check IMDB), but I think it's been put on hold for a few years now...

 

edit: I guess he wasn't as young as I thought he was when he wrote it, looks like he was in his mid 20's to early 30's. Here is info from Wiki about the failed movie ideas:

 

There have been repeated attempts to turn the book into a film. In 1982, Harold Ramis was to write and direct an adaptation starring John Belushi and Richard Pryor, but Belushi's death would prevent this. Later, John Candy and Chris Farley would be touted for the lead, leading many to ascribe a curse to the role.

A version adapted by Steven Soderbergh and Scott Kramer, and slated to be directed by David Gordon Green, was scheduled for release in 2005. The film was to star Will Ferrell as Ignatius and Lily Tomlin as Ignatius's mother. A staged reading of the script took place at the 8th Nantucket Film Festival, with Ferrell as Ignatius, Anne Meara as his mother, Paul Rudd as Officer Mancuso, Kristen Johnston as Lana Lee, Mos Def as Burma Jones, Rosie Perez as Darlene, Olympia Dukakis as Santa Battaglia and Miss Trixie, Natasha Lyonne as Myrna, Alan Cumming as Dorian Green, John Shea as Gonzales, Jesse Eisenberg as George, John Conlon as Mr. Claude Robichaux, Jace Alexander as Bartender Ben, Celia Weston as Miss Annie, Miss Inez & Mrs. Levy, and Dan Hedaya as Mr. Levy. However, due to difficulties pertaining to the publisher's rights, the film never actually began production.^[5][/sup]

[cubfan1126]

I'll second that early post regarding Vince Flynn.

 

Another excellent historical fiction is Map of Bones by James Rollins - similar to DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons by Dan Brown but the hero has many more close calls.Same kind of double twist at the end.

[Fatter than Joey]

I just started Confederacy of Dunces.

 

'tis good

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is the one I'm wrapping up right now - very good adaptation of the Hamlet story...

 

Then jumping into The Book of Calamities...

[homer]

Interesting about the movie version of COD. I have been picturing Phillip Seymour Hoffman as I read it.

[lcbj68c]

I have an autographed copy of "Holding Court; Reflections on the Game I Love" by Dick Vitale that I am giving away. It is Fall Cleaning time and I have not had a chance to pick up and re-read this book for a very long time. I'd like to give somebody else the chance to read it if they want. Long story short, I was pumping gas into Dick Vitale's vehicle on Siesta Key in Sarasota, Fl back in 1998. He was driving a Chry. Sebring Convertible and he took the time to strike up a conversation with me while I was pumping his gas. I was 15 or 16 at the time and he was kind of surprised that I noticed who he was. Back then, I was really impressionable by Vitale and Uecker and had a desire to go to school for sports broadcasting. I told him about it and he stated that he would bring me by one of his books. I kind of thought "sure whatever" and never expected to see him again. However, about a week and a half later he came walking into the conv. store and gave me an autograph copy of his book, talked with me for a few minutes and didn't even make a purchase. I've read the book probably a half dozen times, but not in the past few years. If anybody is interested, I'd like to pass it along.

[Godspeed]

I was pumping gas into Dick Vitale's vehicle on Siesta Key in Sarasota, Fl back in 1998. He was driving a Chry. Sebring Convertible

Hilarious. It's so poetic that the king of broadcasting inanity drives the official car of Michael Scott. All is right in the world.

By the way, interesting anecdote, but my shelf is full.

 

[lcbj68c]

There were too many Michael Scott's in Wikipedia. Can you explain a bit further, I don't get what you were trying to explain.

[Godspeed]

There were too many Michael Scott's in Wikipedia. Can you explain a bit further, I don't get what you were trying to explain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...ichael_Scott_(The_Office)

[DougJones43]

Wanted to try and revive this thread. On the first go-around, the focus was non-fiction books. This time, I'd like some recommendations for good fiction books.

 

I recently finished Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and while I was disappointed by bits of it, overall I thought it was quite good and I was very entertained. I absolutely loved the fourth installment in the series, Wizard and Glass. So anyway, for anybody who has read those books, that's what I'm going to use as a frame of reference for what I enjoy reading and what I am looking for: Fiction/Fantasy/Suspense type tales, at or around the reading level of a Stephen King. Also, I really prefer stories that don't carry any heavy-handed moral or political messages.

 

Thanks in advance!

[JimH5]

I'm about 80 percent through "A Well Paid Slave", the Curt Flood book.

 

It's very interesting, though it's full of legal stuff which is a little difficult. Still an important book to understand baseball and labor relations and Marvin Miller/Bowie Kuhn/Flood.

 

He was a compelling guy.

 

Highly recommended, if you're up for some significant stuff on the laws and courtroom activities.

[eanelson4]

It's more recent history than anything, but I thought "American Soldier" by General Tommy Franks was a solid read.

[PlayerHader]

Read "Light in August" by William Faulkner.