GregTivo wrote:Snowdoggie wrote:+2 Its a feel good book for racing and dog lovers for sure.Spitsix wrote: Just finished "The art of racing in the rain". really enjoyed it.+1 on the Art of Racing in the Rain. A dog named Enzo explains the Zen of high performance driving, and life. http://www.artofracingintherain.com/ "That which you manifest is before you!"
I had to bump this because I just finished the book. Damn......just just DAMN!!!...... I mean that in all the best ways of course.
Since this thread was last active, I have another to add to the mix:
Driving Like Crazy: Thirty years of vehicular hellbending. Celebrating America the way It's supposed to be--With an oil well in every backyard, a Cadillac Escalade in every carport, and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve mowing our lawn by P.J. O'Rourke. Yeah, thats the whole title. Its pretty much just a bunch of his old articles edited some and thrown into one place, but a very enjoyable read.
O'Rourke describes it as: "a collection of car journalism from 1977 to the present, a sort of social history..."
As a bit of a tangent, I've had great luck with some graphic novels.
Alan Moore ("Watchmen", "V for Vendetta", "From Hell", etc.) is a freaking genius. One of the few artists in any medium who you realize his stuff is brilliant and that there is more to it if you just spend time digging a bit deeper without feeling like he's being pretentious. Some of the best endings in storytelling. "Watchmen" was... wow. It gave me shivers.
I also really enjoyed reading "Hellboy" comics over the summer. Fairly simple and classic comic book story lines. They're generally short and wrapped up by the good guy beating the snot out of his enemies, but they're brilliant in their simplicity. The artwork is great, and the stories draw so deeply on mythology that they just work. Simple enough that anyone can read them, but with enough behind the surface that anyone can enjoy them. Like the literary equivalent of a good burger. Just plain good.
Never been a big reader, and fiction books have pretty much always been for school.
I think the only fiction I have actually finished and enjoyed was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Dunno why, but where I normally only read enough of a book to wing it this one I finished very early.
Never really enjoyed reading. And while I do it plenty, I have always had enough stuff I needed to read that when I sit down with a book it is usually with the intention to learn something.
From an enjoyment point of view the next book on the list is probably Carol Smiths Engineering to Win. That guy is a pretty entertaining read.
good bump!
my favorite author so far is Charles Stross and I'm very surprised he hasn't been mentioned. If I had to pick a single title, I would probably reccomend "Accelerando" as quintessential of his ability to constantly present new ideas with prose, setting and plot to stand up there with all the great writers. seriously, any of you who're into any of the sci-fi, fantasy, spy-thriller or horror genres owe yourselves a read. he mix and matches all those genres so I'd recommend leafing through whatever you can get your hand on at the local library and picking the one that sounds it suits you best. you'll make your way through the rest eventually 
for pure space opera, I have to give the nod to Peter Hamilton. Weber is a close second but for pure reading enjoyment I'll go with Hamilton.
"The Old Man and the Sea" is a classic I'll turn to periodically as well. First read it in the 4th grade and it's been a favorite ever since. It always speaks to me of the importance of attitude when perservering and the courage to try again.
another +1 for Cuckoos nest - I actually really enjoyed the classics they made us read in school - lord of the flies, Cuckoos nest, 1984, a tale of 2 cities, of mice and men, old man and the sea, streetcar named desire, Flowers for Algernon...
I also like Koontz novels...and Stephanie Meyers - haters and children, please feel free to respond.
Pretty much anything Vonnegut ever wrote is allright by me, but Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse stand out.
kisses. I'm re-reading all of his stuff right now. I had forgotten how good God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and Sirens of Titan were.
I have been flying a lot lately and Palahniuk's stuff is really great for a quick 3-5hr read. Fight Club is the most obvious and its good but I just ripped thru:
- Rant
- Pygmy
- Lullaby
- Diary
All of them were really interesting and while the writing style is repetitive at times, the content is really original. This guy manages a dark sense of humor (LOL worthy stuff) while weaving a lot of satire and good storytelling. It reminds me of Vonnegut (that could be because it says so on the cover of one book... and now I think that because I am a media tool).
Wally wrote: Nothing Like it in the World: The Men who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869 By Stephen Ambrose.
Just read this a few month ago - it's not bad but I prefer 'Empire Express' by David Haward Bain. He's not that great a writer but the book is much more detailed with regards to all the shenanigans that went on. His book 'The Old Iron Road' (where he takes his family to travel out along the route of the original transcontinental railway) is also a pretty cool read.
For those who like science fiction, I'd also like to recommend Peter F. Hamilton.
I just re read "The Last Stand Of The Tin Can Sailors". I t is one of the best WWII naval histories that I have read. It is about the battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944. A small force of escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts take on a fleet of Japanese battleships, cruisers and destroyers. This book should be read by high school history classes.
Anything y Hunter S. Thompson.
My Favorite Heinlein has always been "Time enough for love"
I cannot beleive this thread has gotten to 4 pages and no one has mentioned Christopher Moore
If you only read one of his books make it Lamb
I started with "Island of the sequined love nun" and laughed my ass off the whole way through.
"The stupidest angel" is a christmas/zombie horror comedy goldmine.
In my teenage years my favorite book was "The world according to Garp" I should re-read that to see if I like it as much 20 years later.
ditchdigger wrote: If you only read one of his books make it Lamb
Okay, that looks hilarious. I've just reserved it at the library.
Keith wrote: Neal Stephenson. Every time I want a great read, I go back to Crytonomicon.
I'm going to read that next. 'Snow Crash' and 'Zodiac' were equally brilliant, but I really struggled to get into 'The Diamond Age'.
ditchdigger wrote: My Favorite Heinlein has always been "Time enough for love"
Really? I'm a huge Heinlein fan, and I worked up to it by following the pre-training schedule prescribed by an even huger Heinlein fan, and I still got made pretty uncomfortable by it without getting much payoff in the form of new perspectives. I guess I'm just too hopelessly old-fashioned to enjoy a book about incestuous time travelers.
I'll recommend another book. It's not a favorite, or particuarly well written, but for this lot, the subject matter is quite appropriate.
http://www.amazon.com/Racing-Safely-Living-Dangerously-Motorsports/dp/0892725184/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286122790&sr=8-1
The guy is a nutter... His story is insane, and I he did some good.
quick read but enjoyable.
I really enjoyed Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford.
FWIW - I heard Patrick Dempsey purchased the moive rights to Art of Racing in the Rain. He races Mazdas and I hear he acts in one of those shows my wife watches.
The Last Convertible -Anton Myrer
Bob Greene, Lewis Grizzard, Michael Connelly,David Baldacci,John Lescroart,Philip R. Craig, Frederick Forsythe, Dick Francis, Mario Puzo etc.
Tons of Reader's Digest condensed books...
Just finished reading CROSLEY (interesting bio about the Crosley brothers), and True Compass by Edward Kennedy.
Haven't seen George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series (Songs of Fire and Ice) mentioned here. Outstanding fantasy with great politics and Machiavellian diplomacy mixed in.
Jhumpa Lahiri has written some of the best novels I've read recently for making me think and feel (Unaccustomed Earth, Interpreter of Maladies).
Roadster: How (and Especially Why) a Mechanical Novice Built a Sports Car from a Kit by Chris Goodrich - good read for people who think building a Locost is a good idea. Author builds a Caterham - more of a 'why to' than 'how to.'
RedS13Coupe wrote: Never been a big reader, and fiction books have pretty much always been for school. I think the only fiction I have actually finished and enjoyed was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Dunno why, but where I normally only read enough of a book to wing it this one I finished very early. Never really enjoyed reading. And while I do it plenty, I have always had enough stuff I needed to read that when I sit down with a book it is usually with the intention to learn something. From an enjoyment point of view the next book on the list is probably Carol Smiths Engineering to Win. That guy is a pretty entertaining read.
Good author, great series of books! Big bump up by anything by him. Educational and enjoyable.
Wish i had time for voluntary reading, but with school I've been stuck reading "A History of Archaeological Thought" by Bruce Trigger. Not exactly a compelling plot, but it's very informative?? I have a truck load of car books on the way, though... can't wait to not have time to read them until January...
My problem is if I read a book and like it, I find all the other books by the same author.
Leon Uris Novels based on history: Trinity -- if you're curious why the Catholics and Protestants are having at each other in Ireland.
Tom clancy -- all of 'em.
Chesapeake - James Michner
Shogun - TaiPan - Noble House by James Clavell
Sylmarillion - Tolkien
Neal Stephenson Cyptonomicon is amazing, but the Baroque Cycle is out of this world!
Alastair Reynolds This guy is amazing! Revelation Space trilogy.
John Steinbeck esp. Winter and Tortilla Flats
Ayn Rand Where is Galt's Gulch when you need it?
William F. Buckley, Jr. The best cold war spy series ever - Blackford Oakes
Tom Clancy, too. hmmm.. guess I like really long books.
tjthom wrote: Neal Stephenson Cyptonomicon is amazing, but the Baroque Cycle is out of this world!
I couldn't get through Cryptonomicon; he went off on too many tangents. Got the sense that he had too many "clever" ideas that he felt he couldn't leave out, even though they didn't advance the storyline.
I stopped reading when I got to the multi-page passage that was just the excerpt from an inconsequential characters online diary rambling about... I think the topic was perverted sexual fantasies/practices, but it was a couple years back.
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