OT: - Good books | Page 3 | The Boneyard

OT: Good books

tomtom80 said:
Lots of good suggestions here. I’ve read most of all of McCullough stuff. For in depth history he is amazing. If you like history, Doris Kearns Goodwin has great options including Team of Rivals(Lincoln); Ron Chernow(Alexander Hamilton); Civil War buffs should look at Jeff Shara.

For fiction, 2 of my Favorites are Shantaram by David Roberts ( Bombay ) and Trinity by Leon Uris( Ireland) for amazing character development and cultural drama. For lighter stuff, anything by Michael Creighton ( JURASIC) or Dan Brown (Davinci Code) is a good bet.
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Shantaram is one of the best novels I’ve ever read.
 
Papillon is a great book. (A fantastic movie as well, starring Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen.)
 
alphasigko said:
Gosh, I read one book after another and have so many to suggest. This is a starter List:

I Heard You Paint Houses (The story of the demise of Jimmy Hoffa)

Endurance (A true story of survival while stranded in Antarctica)

The Devil & The White City

In the Garden of the Beasts

The Beatles (one of the best reads about one of the best bands ever)

The House of Pain (the story of Oxycondin)

The Romanovs

Mao: The Untold Story

Operation Solo (an unbelievable ture spy story)

Rival Rails (the OTHER transcontinental railroads)

Undaunted Courage (The Lewis & Clark expedition)

Jerry Garcia: An American Life

Each of these is a great read.

I could go on for pages...hope you pick up one or two and enjoy!
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Endurance! That blew me away.
If you like musical autobiographies, I’d add Life, by Keith Richards, to the list. Well written, upbeat, and a very fun ride.
 
Shogun by James Clavell
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
 
If you haven't read Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers I would highly recommend it, even if you have seen the miniseries. Unbroken and Seabiscuit are better than the movies as well. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash is another good read. A lot of it will be familiar though if you've seen "A Christmas Story". It's what in spired it, but covers much more than just a winter. It's more of a collection of short stories about Ralphie and his family. I also enjoyed Benjamin Hall's Saved about his rescue and recovery from his ordeal int he Ukraine. I'm just starting Eruption which Michael Crichton had started but never finished and was finished by James Patterson.
 
A few mentioned here, Shogun and Lonesome Dove, were among my favorites.

Years ago at my school teachers were asked to post a sign with our favorite book titles. There were a few of us that picked A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANEY. I read it (and a few other John Irving books) in the late 80s … I may just reread now that I’m thinking about it.
 
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Wholeness and the Implicate Order by David Bohm. A physicist describes the imperceivable essence that lies beyond and gives rise to our perceived reality.

Yeah, no forget it. Sorry.
 
98Uconn said:
Loves that series.. aside from Whirlwind.. I can’t give up on it, but I’ve been reading it for months a few pages at a time because it really bores me. The rest of that series is fantastic though.
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Agreed on Whirlwind...i read it during a 2 month solo trip across Europe and it took the whole trip to finish it.
 
El Obrero said:
Endurance! That blew me away.
If you like musical autobiographies, I’d add Life, by Keith Richards, to the list. Well written, upbeat, and a very fun ride.
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Yes... I read that as well... A real "guy's" book! So much fun learning about the early years of the Stones!
 
Spaceman213J said:
If you haven't read Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers I would highly recommend it, even if you have seen the miniseries. Unbroken and Seabiscuit are better than the movies as well. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash is another good read. A lot of it will be familiar though if you've seen "A Christmas Story". It's what in spired it, but covers much more than just a winter. It's more of a collection of short stories about Ralphie and his family. I also enjoyed Benjamin Hall's Saved about his rescue and recovery from his ordeal int he Ukraine. I'm just starting Eruption which Michael Crichton had started but never finished and was finished by James Patterson.
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Band of Brothers was outstanding and so was the TV series.

Ambrose wrote several other great books:

Undaunted Courage (a complete history of the Lewis & Clark Expedition)

D-Day (really a must read to understand all that happened there)

Nothing Like It In The World (not is best work, but he details the construction of the 1st Transcontinental RR)
 
LIuconn said:
www.goodreads.com

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appal…

The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine a…
www.goodreads.com www.goodreads.com
Working through this one. Easy reader
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Other Bill Bryson’s works worth considering - “A Short History of Everything”and “In a Sunburned Country”. Both are a lot of fun - he gives a layman’s take on everything so it’s easily understood but likely a bit under-explained.
 
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All about your interests and the time you can commit to reading. Shout out to Shogun but wanted to suggest some books not already mentioned.
The Fountainhead/Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Origin/Lost Symbol/DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Centennial/Hawaii by James Michener
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury
Golf in the Kingdom by Michael Murphy
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
 
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Umami Zen said:
All about your interests and the time you can commit to reading. Shout out to Shogun but wanted to suggest some books not already mentioned.
The Fountainhead/Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Origin/Lost Symbol/DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Centennial/Hawaii by James Michener
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury
Golf in the Kingdom by Michael Murphy
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
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I loved “The Fountainhead”. I discovered it at a cottage that I was renting and I couldn’t put it down. A good book to read when I want that “don’t give a shoot”attitude like Howard.

Also the same name as a good local band. I wonder if Kenny and Artie were inspired by the book.
 
I mostly like lighter fantasy/espionage/horror novels. If you want a fantastic, interesting, thought provoking novel: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco is amazing. He also wrote The Name of the Rose.
 
HCCForever said:
I loved “The Fountainhead”. I discovered it at a cottage that I was renting and I couldn’t put it down. A good book to read when I want that “don’t give a shoot”attitude like Howard.

Also the same name as a good local band. I wonder if Kenny and Artie were inspired by the book.
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I know/knew one of their road managers that went to Middlebury with them. He was pretty tight with Art-who BTW-was a pretty decent BB player in HS
 
Umami Zen said:
I know/knew one of their road managers that went to Middlebury with them. He was pretty tight with Art-who BTW-was a pretty decent BB player in HS
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I didn't know that about Artie. I believe he is still around. Kenny passed away in 2018. He was a SVP with a career in finance. I used to follow that band in my youth and beyond.
 
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Taco said:
Other Bill Bryson’s works worth considering - “A Short History of Everything”and “In a Sunburned Country”. Both are a lot of fun - he gives a layman’s take on everything so it’s easily understood but likely a bit under-explained.
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Glad I read through all the suggestions..
Another recommendation for pretty much everything by Bill Bryson and especially 'Short History', lots of very interesting stuff in there and a pretty easy read.

Also the Ayn Rand books.

For something not already suggested; The Chemist, by Stephenie Meyer

Stranger To The Ground, A Gift of Wings, & Biplane, by Richard Bach. I also liked his 'Illusions, Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah'.
 
WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, by Doris Kearns Goodwin: A true story which takes place in the 1950's in a suburb of NYC. She tells the interaction with her family, while growing up, but mainly how her father made her a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.
 
Monte said:
WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, by Doris Kearns Goodwin: A true story which takes place in the 1950's in a suburb of NYC. She tells the interaction with her family, while growing up, but mainly how her father made her a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.
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"The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn is a much superior read. I know, my father lived it, grew up in Brooklyn a huge Dodger fan in the 40's and 50's. Never set foot in Yankee Stadium 1 or 2, only went to 3 because his grandsons (my sisters' kids) are Yankee fans . . .
 
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While I've read a lot of history and historical bios, I tend to favor fiction as I appreciate imagination, character development, and the ability to write compelling dialogue. I adored "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and rank that as the best Irving I've read. And while I've read plenty of spy/military thrillers from LaCarre, Clancy, Child, et.al., I love me a engaging story with quirky characters with humanity. Probably the one that sticks out is "The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler. I would also recommend Tyler's "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant", with the caveat that I probably enjoyed it because of my interest at the time in opening a food business, but it is (to me) a brilliant portrayal of a really stubborn guy trying to hold on to what matters to him and simply not understanding why the world doesn't see things as he does.
 
dvegas said:
"The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn is a much superior read. I know, my father lived it, grew up in Brooklyn a huge Dodger fan in the 40's and 50's. Never set foot in Yankee Stadium 1 or 2, only went to 3 because his grandsons (my sisters' kids) are Yankee fans . . .
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Right! I've them both. Saw my first game in Brooklyn in 1950.
 
Monte said:
Right! I've them both. Saw my first game in Brooklyn in 1950.
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Jackie Robinson lived on Cascade Road in Stamford. Member at Rockrimmon Country Club. I bet he knew about Worthy Patterson.
 
dvegas said:
"The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn is a much superior read. I know, my father lived it, grew up in Brooklyn a huge Dodger fan in the 40's and 50's. Never set foot in Yankee Stadium 1 or 2, only went to 3 because his grandsons (my sisters' kids) are Yankee fans . . .
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A corresponding really good read is "Perfect" about Don Larson's Perfect game in the "56 WS.
 
tomtom80 said:
Lots of good suggestions here. I’ve read most of all of McCullough stuff. For in depth history he is amazing. If you like history, Doris Kearns Goodwin has great options including Team of Rivals(Lincoln); Ron Chernow(Alexander Hamilton); Civil War buffs should look at Jeff Shara.

For fiction, 2 of my Favorites are Shantaram by David Roberts ( Bombay ) and Trinity by Leon Uris( Ireland) for amazing character development and cultural drama. For lighter stuff, anything by Michael Creighton ( JURASIC) or Dan Brown (Davinci Code) is a good bet.
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I recently read The Boys in the Boat, and I agree it is an excellent read, far better than the movie.

Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels is an excellent book on the battle of Gettysburg. I particularly enjoyed the sub story on the 21st Maine. It is historical fiction, but it is based upon the letters and books by the actual participants. Jeff Shaara is his son. His biography on Teddy Roosevelt is excellent as well.

While we are talking about historical fiction, let me mention Patrick O'Brian's outstanding Master and Commander series. I found myself without a book as I headed off to vacation so I grabbed this off the shelf and read it probably for the fourth time. It is still excellent. Excellent character development, a multitude of integrated subplots seamlessly woven into the main plot, excellent self-effacing humor all part of a gripping adventure with characters you care about. The series is 20 or 21 books long. I've read through it twice and probably will go back for a third time. It's that good. The movie starring Russell Crowe is very good as well, but it is actually based on Far Side of the World which is a leader novel in the series.

Agree with you too that Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals is a outstanding book that gives great insight into the Lincoln cabinet and into some of Lincoln's most famous speeches, which are a hybrid between his rating and Stanton's flowery prose of the time.
 
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