Master Index of Archived Threads


Recommend a Book

Centerfield Jun 18 2007 01:23 PM

Not to be confused with the other book thread. This is for the cream of the crop...the ones you would recommend to a friend. My recommendation is Capote's In Cold Blood. I was reading A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger (the guy who wrote A Perfect Storm) and Capote's book was recommended to me. Junger's book was ok, Capote's is fantastic. It's tracks the murder of a family starting with the last to see them alive and takes you through the trial of the killers. Fascinating stuff.

Willets Point Jun 18 2007 01:56 PM

For lighter fare, read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. It's hard to describe this book in a few sentences. This is the first in a series about a detective named Thursday Next. She lives in England in 1985, however this is an alternate universe where time travel is possible, people travel by airships, and the entire populace is obsessed with literature. Thursday works in the literary detectives division and is on a big case where someone is changing the great works of literature from within the books. It may sound weird, because it's not really sci-fi, and not really a detective novel, and not really like anything I've read before. The other books in the series are great too, with the fifth book coming out next month.

Sandgnat Jun 18 2007 02:27 PM

The one I am always quick to recommend is Christopher Moore's Lamb, The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal Not only because I enjoy Moore's satirical style (think Carl Hiaasen and Tom Robbins) but because the idea for this book was so interesting and original. If you have ever read, studied or know anything about the bible, you probably know that there is the birth of Jesus and all of his acts after his 30th birthday. Between his birth and his years 30 and on there is nothing. Well, this book fills in that gaps with intelligent humor. Moore never strays from the fact that Joshua (Greek translation of Yeshua bar Jehovah, son of God) is the Son of God but brings humor to Joshua's life and gives the reader a fictional look at the human side of Jesus. What do you do when you are just a typical teenager growing up in Nazareth with your best friends Biff (Levi bar Alphaeus, son of a stonemason and a made up character )and Maggie [Mary of Magdala] and you start to realize that you are anything but typical? No book has ever made me laugh as hard or think "what if" so much. If I could recommend a second one, it would be the one I just finished reading, Joseph J. Ellis' Founding Brothers The nice thing about this book is it is extremely readable which makes it appealing to anyone who has even a faint interest in US history, and yet provides the serious scholar with an insightful historical analysis. How Ellis accomplished both of those goals in only 250 pages is beyond me, but it worked and it led me to also just read and finish His Excellency by Ellis as well. FB is not your typical history snoozefest.

Willets Point Jun 18 2007 02:40 PM

Both great books 'Gnat!

Mr. Zero Jun 18 2007 06:07 PM

Everyone I've recommended "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" to has become a Haruki Murakami fan. So read at your own peril.

Willets Point Jun 18 2007 07:18 PM

I actually read that last year. Sharpie & I have some comments on the book in this thread. Look for the posts on March 28 & May 8.

Elster88 Jun 18 2007 07:27 PM

I'm going to start with the first two and work my way down. I've been needing something new to read for a while.

Mr. Zero Jun 18 2007 08:57 PM

The new Murakami is quite good too. "After Dark". A short novel, all the action takes place in one night. Not that there is that much action... Also, one of my favorites from the last few years is "Any Human Heart" by William Boyd. Boyd's an excellent writer. This one is written in diary form and it tells the story of a 20th century British gent who finds himself Zelig-like, in the middle of a number of important historical events. From the Spanish Civil War and WWII to the Modern art scene to the Baader Meinhof gang. Sounds silly trying to explain it here but its really, really well done, entertaining and moving (he says, sounding like a cover blurb). Even has an index. I stake my non-existant reputation on it.

sharpie Jun 19 2007 07:13 AM

I agree with Mr. Zero regarding the new Murakami. Two other writers who I also like quite a bit have written unusually short books this year. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan is quite good (and painfully sad in the manner of Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (another writer whom I like a lot but who hasn't recently published a short book). Jonathan Lethem's You Don't Love Me Yet is a short book that was a big disappointment, one good scene and the rest was filler. This seems to be the year that people who usually write long books instead write short books

Edgy DC Jun 19 2007 01:56 PM

I disagree with you all. You for one reason. You for others. And don't think you're off the hook either, Mister. The book I pimp is Handling Sin. I've pimped it here before so I'll save you the synopsis.

RealityChuck Jun 20 2007 07:35 AM

Gee,Willet's Point and Sand Gnat have already mentioned two of my favorites. I'll go with a great one, Ken Grimwood's overlooked classic, Replay. The cover tells it all: What if you could live your life over again? And Again? And again? And again? Grimwood sets up a great situation and then does amazing things with it. It's a compelling read; I read it in a day. BTW, it should be spelled "Gerry Arrigo" with a G, not a J.

Willets Point Jun 20 2007 09:14 AM

So it's not like Groundhog's Day?

RealityChuck Jun 21 2007 11:29 AM

Groundhog's Day was released seven years after Replay. It's clear they were ripping off the novel and, though entertaining, the movie is nowhere near as good.

Rockin' Doc Jun 24 2007 11:10 AM

This was suggested to me by a friend a few years ago. I have since returned the favor to several of my friends. A wonderful story of friendship.

Centerfield Jun 26 2007 09:54 AM

="sharpie"]Two other writers who I also like quite a bit have written unusually short books this year. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan is quite good (and painfully sad in the manner of Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (another writer whom I like a lot but who hasn't recently published a short book). Just finished On Chesil Beach. Very sad, very moving. The story will stay with you for a while.

iramets Jun 26 2007 01:08 PM

Doris Kearns Goodwin's TEAM OF RIVALS is an amazing read--halfway through it, and if the rest sucks, it's still a great book on balance.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 26 2007 01:18 PM

I too endorse Team of Rivals Also, I recently finished Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden. A good account of the 1979 - 1981 Iran hostage crisis. Not a lot of new stuff, but it was a good refresher. Bowden wrote this book at the right time: it's far enough in the past to get historical perspective, but recent enough that many of the people involved are still alive and were able to talk to the author.

Willets Point Jun 27 2007 01:18 PM

iramets wrote: Doris Kearns Goodwin's TEAM OF RIVALS is an amazing read--halfway through it, and if the rest sucks, it's still a great book on balance. I'm about 4/5's of the way through it. It's still good.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 27 2007 01:30 PM

I had heard that Goodwin was going to let Joe Morgan write the last couple of hundred pages, but, fortunately, she changed her mind and finished it herself.

MFS62 Jul 02 2007 07:40 AM

Maus http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/holocaust/spiegelman.html (scroll down) I just finished the first and am about to start the second. Later

Centerfield Aug 27 2007 02:38 PM

="Sandgnat"]The one I am always quick to recommend is Christopher Moore's Lamb, The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal Not only because I enjoy Moore's satirical style (think Carl Hiaasen and Tom Robbins) but because the idea for this book was so interesting and original. If you have ever read, studied or know anything about the bible, you probably know that there is the birth of Jesus and all of his acts after his 30th birthday. Between his birth and his years 30 and on there is nothing. Well, this book fills in that gaps with intelligent humor. Moore never strays from the fact that Joshua (Greek translation of Yeshua bar Jehovah, son of God) is the Son of God but brings humor to Joshua's life and gives the reader a fictional look at the human side of Jesus. What do you do when you are just a typical teenager growing up in Nazareth with your best friends Biff (Levi bar Alphaeus, son of a stonemason and a made up character )and Maggie [Mary of Magdala] and you start to realize that you are anything but typical? No book has ever made me laugh as hard or think "what if" so much. Just started it based on this recommendation.

Edgy DC Aug 27 2007 02:49 PM

Hey, not so hasty. There's one account of pre-teen Jesus.

Centerfield Oct 08 2007 10:36 AM

Lamb was really good.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 15 2008 10:11 AM

Here's a thread that might be worth bumping. So I'll bump it.

Fman99 Jul 15 2008 10:45 AM

For those of you looking to read one of the classics, I'd recommend Dostoyevski's "The Brothers Karamazov." It is, at its heart, a murder mystery and quite suspenseful. Not for the light-hearted beach read, but still worth absorbing. Slightly more jovial, but also excellent, is Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "One Hundred Years of Solitude." His best work.