Okay, here's a thread to spread the word on whatever good books you've read. Please give a brief description, but no spoilers. I've been reading escapist fantasy lately. Three different series, which I'll identify by the first book in the series: His Majesty's Dragon. Author: Naomi Novik. Set in the time of the Napoleonic wars, but with flying dragons who think and talk. The real hero of the series is a dragon. Five books in the series so far, and a sixth is on the way. Very imaginative and well-written. Entirely unlike any other dragon books. Temeraire, the dragon, has thoroughly modern ideas on politics, rights, and economics, much to the chagrin of his handler/captain, who is a loyal subject of the king. This book is free on Kindle, because they know you'll want to buy the rest of the series. The Golden Compass. Author: Philip Pullman. Parallel universes, magic, talking polar bears who wear armor. Again, imaginative and well-written. The movie is crap, even though Nicole Kidman is in it. Forget the movie. Read the books. Serial. Authors: Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch. Not for the faint of heart! Two serial killers, one who picks up hitchhikers, and one who hitchhikes, meet each other, and the result is pretty bloodcurdling. The authors wrote alternating chapters, but neither got to read the other's earlier chapters, so not only do the characters not know what they're getting into, but the authors don't either. Darkfever. Author: Karen Marie Moning. Spoiled young southern belle learns that her sister was killed in Dublin, Ireland, and goes there to demand that the police find and punish her killer. But she finds that Dublin has been overrun by murderous faeries intent on taking over the world, and that she is one of the few who can see them, and is drawn into the war to save the world. Intensely erotic, and highly adventurous. Very good writing. Very exciting. Warning: The last of the planned five novels is not out yet. Once you read the first, you will want to keep reading to the end, but you'll have to wait for the end to be published. This book is free on Kindle, because they know you'll want to buy the rest of the series. Okay, your turn: Tell us about a good book or three. Don't forget a brief description, but no spoilers.
gee daniel, was wondering how long after you got your Kindle that you would be posting this. the last 4 books i have read all have to do with the future of the world in relation to sustainable energy, sustainable food sources, sustainable environment and finally a sustainable economy which kinda blends in parts of the above 3
You will be bored by this Daniel, but I like Autobiographies. Michael J. Fox is my most recent. I find him to be a very genuine person, who has grown as a person despite his disability. I love his outlook on life and people. Also the proceeds from the sale of his books, yes I bought not borrowed his books, go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research.
I loved reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I think it's still a top 5 nonfiction bestseller. It profiles successful people and give some surprising explanation of why they are so successful. It's very readable. I loved learning about the early years of Bill Joy and Bill Gates. After reading this I thought, if I just work hard on something and put my effort and time into it, I can be awesome. It also made me notice how much of my life I've wasted so far.
The Journal of Beaver Island History, volumes 1, 2, and 3. Volumes 4, 5, and 6 have been published, but I still need to get copies. I suppose I could borrow them from my brother, but with books like these, you really want your own copies. Tom
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. I found the book very thought provoking, starting with the twist expressed in the title - we know the speed of light, what's the speed of dark? The book is written from the perspective of 35yr old autistic man and this is but one of the questions he raises. He's learned to live independently, has a job and the company he works for has an experimental procedure to 'cure' autism. Should he do it? It's a journey of self-awareness and so much more. It's the best book I've read in a long time. http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/0345481399?tag=priuschatcom-20
Titles, please. It's not about what might or might not bore me. This thread is not about me. This is a thread to suggest good books to whoever might be interested. Looks like folks here are into serious books more than killing time with escapist fiction. I used to read more serious stuff than I've been reading lately. Keep the book suggestions coming. No limits, except that they be books you like and think someone else might enjoy as well.
Echoes Of An Alien Sky by James P. Hogan. Those familiar with Hogan's "Giant's Star" series will probably enjoy this novel, set in a future where humanity is extinct on the Earth. Venus has evolved into a life-supporting planet, and Venutians are exploring the ruins on Earth. While this novel could be construed as an attempt to legitimize Creationism as a science (due to the attempts to justify a different, compressed evolution timeline than what is accepted) I enjoyed it anyway. If you like sci fi and fantasy, by all means check out www.baen.com/library/ - many books available from Baen publishers, free for the download in a variety of formats. I read Microsoft Reader versions on my notebook, generally. But be careful - they give away the beginnings of series, and you'll get hooked and want to buy the remaining ones! Hmmm - guess that's why they do it!
For Daniel and anyone reading his first post... it seems that His Majesty's Dragon is no longer free And i wanted to check it out (for free, of course!) before paying any money for an author i hadn't read before. Oh well, at least i could get the free sample for it! And now for my recommendation: Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson. First book in a 3 book series. Each book in the series is then broken down into two books, more or less alternating chapters between two related story lines. The books take place in the 1700's, and focus on the rise of modern science, bringing in as major characters historical figures such as Newton, Hooke, and Leibniz. The two story lines are very different - one told from the perspective of a contemporary and friend of the above characters, and the other told from the perspective of a swashbuckling, down on his luck vagabond. In the beginning, the stories seem very divergent, but as the books grow, they connect together more and more, merging into a single coherent picture of time period.
Stephenson's "Snow Crash" was the best of the Cyberpunk novels IMHO. Sci fi seems to have moved on beyond Cyberpunk, and Neal seems to have left sci fi behind for more "reality" based historical novels. I'll have to check out his latest - thanks!
An easy quick read if you like dogs and auto racing. You might shed a tear or two. http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/0061537969?tag=priuschatcom-20
Let me comment here--I am in the grueling process of reading this book. While interesting and well written it is long and dense. My wife is a voracious reader, usually takes her 2 days to read a book that takes me 2 weeks. It's taken her over a week to read this tome and she's still not done! Now, the information contained within is interesting and is something we should all consider, but I would rather have a version about 1/2 as long. I had to take a break half-way through to read some 'real' fiction, I'll get back to it and finish eventually...maybe when my 1/2 beef (organic, free range, grass fed local raised) arrives next month.
I read that and I found it a little hard to not have a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" attitude because in many places, it isn't terribly easy to source organic food efficiently (note: I used to subscribe to a CSA, and I really am a big fan of organic, locally-sourced supply chains). It certainly makes you more aware of the "supermarket pastoral" marketing that's used on you in say (just because they're mentioned in the book, but spans most all supermarkets) Whole Foods. The flat-out most useful thing related to making food decisions is the following list: EWG's FoodNews :: Full List I find myself using it in the grocery store/farmers market all the time to decide if the organic/conventional is worth it.
i found it very compelling. that is THE reason why all the beef that has passed thru my freezer in the past 3 years has been locally-raised and grass-fed. granted the guy i get beef from does not have the complete end to end setup like that guy in VA, but he still does pretty good. besides being better for you, the benefit to the environment is alarming. raising beef cattle is the 3rd largest producer of greenhouse gases. grass-fed beef still produces a lot of methane but at a greater than 60% reduced rate. buy it locally and that makes it an even bigger benefit the mushroom segment was a bit tough and i will admit, i actually only got thru parts of it. (that part happened when Ry was born, so kinda lost track of a lot of stuff) and i will never look at corn the same way again.... (ok, did have corn on the cob for dinner, but its in season and dirt cheap and very very good)
No question it's compelling and informative and enlightening...just dense and long. There were dozens of tidbits I'd nudge my wife and read to her, the numbers are amazing..how much foreign oil it takes to get a steak to our table, the amount of corn we use and why. I recommend it as a read, but just be prepared. It's not one you curl up in bed with and enjoy!
