Books

hutch wrote:
anybody have any thoughts on George Washington biographies? what is a good one? I'm not talking about a "rah rah rah he was the greatest man ever" type bio either..

This one looks good for you.

ggw wrote:

hutch wrote:
anybody have any thoughts on George Washington biographies? what is a good one? I'm not talking about a "rah rah rah he was the greatest man ever" type bio either..

This one looks good for you.

umm no glen beck

and i am pretty sure that will be a ra ra one

i'm reading chernow's gw bio right now..its good but not a knockout like hamilton one (that is a must). i read ellis' last year…that is a good one… and short

i can't believe douglas freeman's 7 volume one is out of print… i have managed to acquire vol 3 of that one but not sure about tackling it

I just read Questlove's book and there is a story about Prince roller skating with Eddie Murphy, a hotel party with Tracy Morgan and a shout out the club in it.  It was entertaining-quick read.

Apparently, The Roots manager considers the best show the Roots ever played to be at the 9:30 Club and Questlove missed it for his sister's wedding.  Anyone remember seeing the Roots in the late 90s/early 2000s  at the club without him?

re reading the entire dark tower series.  so good.  got to the wolves of the calla years ago, and tried reading it recently but had totally forgotten the story of the books before it, so i decided to reread the entire series up to that point.  also reading the classic piece of literature, known as infinite jest.  good god.  brilliant.  love that book.  too bad the best artists kill themselves.  i think satan makes them do it, just because, he can.

the terror, by dan simmons.  great read abounding with wonderful descriptive characterizations of the inner turmoil of not knowing what is out amongst the unexplored . . . and everything you never thought you wanted to know about sailing through the artic ice in the late eighteen hundreds.

I been reading a ton lately…. my current book which I will finish tonight unless I do what I should and go to bed is Buddy Guy's autobiography When I Left Home..

I'm really enjoying it…Buddy's stories about Mud, Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells, Little Walter, Chess, the Stones etc… are just wonderful…..its a real easy read.. I think the book could have been a lot longer…also could have used a proofread before publishing but I'm loving it… also , now I understand Buddy Guy's live show a bit more…. I never realized he had sort of pioneered that bit about playing his guitar while walking around the club way back in the 1950s….yes he did get it from Lightnin' Slim but still…

making me hungry to see him when he rolls by the State Theatre again..even thoughthe show will be the same as always….a bit too much talking, too many stories etc… but boy I love his sound when he jams

while reading it i been listening to a cd of some sides he cut in the 60s for Chess…. stuff that went ignored at the time but its pretty killer….

Let it come down by Paul Bowles


I found it pretty amazing…certainly a better book for me than the sheltering sky


he's about the only beat writer I can stomach…. is he a beat writer? does it matter?

I want to read hiis other two novels.. I know i have one with all his short stories somewhere around here..

it did make me want to smoke some kif bad…

has anybody read the original dune?  it is my next adventure . . . but people tell me it is so darn difficult to truly comprehend at complete enjoyment, as if the intelligence requirements outweigh the acceptance you are fully understanding what you are reading.

The Dune series is great.  I love the core series, and also the expanded universe stuff his son helped write based off of his notes. 

And no, it is not difficult to comprehend.  What it is, is one of the greatest Sci-Fi sagas, that takes the reader across space over a span of thousands of years.  It is a series about religion (especially as using religion as propaganda/population control), science, Giant sandworms, Messiah…

It is easy to get into if you love sci fi.

It is also one of the only series I will DEFINITELY reread over the next few years.

Hexenjagd wrote:
The Dune series is great.  I love the core series, and also the expanded universe stuff his son helped write based off of his notes. 

And no, it is not difficult to comprehend.  What it is, is one of the greatest Sci-Fi sagas, that takes the reader across space over a span of thousands of years.  It is a series about religion (especially as using religion as propaganda/population control), science, Giant sandworms, Messiah…

It is easy to get into if you love sci fi.

It is also one of the only series I will DEFINITELY reread over the next few years.

Doesn't this belong in the geek thread?  I mean I come here to discuss books and it is like "No!!!".

atomic wrote:

Hexenjagd wrote:
The Dune series is great.  I love the core series, and also the expanded universe stuff his son helped write based off of his notes. 

And no, it is not difficult to comprehend.  What it is, is one of the greatest Sci-Fi sagas, that takes the reader across space over a span of thousands of years.  It is a series about religion (especially as using religion as propaganda/population control), science, Giant sandworms, Messiah…

It is easy to get into if you love sci fi.

It is also one of the only series I will DEFINITELY reread over the next few years.

Doesn't this belong in the geek thread?  I mean I come here to discuss books and it is like "No!!!".

To be fair, it IS a book and not a graphic novel, and they have been pretty good about keeping their nerdcrap in the nerdcrap thread. Fair play as posted.

I'm reading this book.

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World

http://www.amazon.com/The-Geography-Bliss-Grumps-Happiest/dp/044669889X


It's a fun read, so far.

I'm reading Five Days at Memorial.  It's a really tough read, but a book worth reading.  Crazy what happened.

My favorite book of last year was The Goldfinch.  Loved it.  One of the best books I've read in a while.

I also enjoyed Where'd You Go, Bernadette?  Just as a light fun read!

K8teebug wrote:
My favorite book of last year was The Goldfinch.  Loved it.  One of the best books I've read in a while.

I just finished this two days ago. Hadn't heard of it until it won the Pulitzer. Really good.

Enon by Paul Harding was my fav 2013 work of fiction, but they'll never award consecutive Pulitzers to a fiction author. 

atomic wrote:
Doesn't this belong in the geek thread?  I mean I come here to discuss books and it is like "No!!!".

Well, it is a book series.  If we were talking about the movie, mini-series, or video games; those would have been more appropriate for the nerd thread. 

Have you never read Dune atomic?  You are missing out.

(my favorite of the book covers)


Dune, like a lot of literature, has aged well.  I would much rather read an old book, than watch an old movie.

I'm not familiar with Dune but is it more evidence that you're really 12?

It is not a children's book series. You admit you know nothing about it, so why make the assumption that it is for children and that I must be a child?

Finishing this:



Starting this:

ggw wrote:

Starting this:

There was a Talk Of The Town piece in this weeks New Yorker about him. It's on my non-fiction pile; let me know how it is when you finish.

yeah also covered on NPR..its the IT book right now….apparently it all came together based on one of Balzac's novels..

I can live with that..