What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Need book recommendations (1 Viewer)

Captain Cranks

Captain Cranks

Footballguy
I've got 3 audiobook credits I need to burn.  I don't have anything specific I would buy, so throwing it out to you all for recommendations.  I'd like one motivational/self help book, one historical fiction or non-fiction, and one novel.  I'm not a reader so there's a good chance I haven't read some of the greatest books ever written.  Don't gloss over the obvious.  Whatchu FFA readers got? 

 
I think Catch 22 is the about the best and funniest book ever written. Based on reactions here, you will either absolutely love it or hate it. 

 
I go with authors so anything by....

Lee Child

Robert E. Howard

H.P. Lovecraft

Louis L' Amour

James Patterson

James Lee Burke

Kurt Vonnegut

Harlan Ellison

Sax Rohmer

Ambrose Bierce

Edgar Allan Poe

Lord Dunsany

Max Brand

Luke Short

J.T.Edson

Zane Grey

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Over a 1000 books right there.

 
Captain Cranks said:
I've got 3 audiobook credits I need to burn.  I don't have anything specific I would buy, so throwing it out to you all for recommendations.  I'd like one motivational/self help book, one historical fiction or non-fiction, and one novel.  I'm not a reader so there's a good chance I haven't read some of the greatest books ever written.  Don't gloss over the obvious.  Whatchu FFA readers got? 
Click to expand...
Self-help:  The Bogleheads Guide to Investing

Non-Fiction (military - all fantasic and move faster than, say, The Guns of August)

  • "Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March" by Zamoyski
  • "Retreat from Kabul" by Macrory
  • "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway" by Parshall and Tully
  • "Neptune's Inferno" by Hornfischer
  • "We Were Soldiers" by Moore and Galloway


Bio:

  • "Goodbye to All That" by Robert Graves (autobiographical)
  • "American Brutus" by Kauffman (about John Wilkes Boothe)


Novel

  • "Snow Crash" by Stephenson (sci-fi)
  • "Cry the Beloved Country" by Paton (apartheid SA)
  • "The Stand" by Stephen King (apocalyptic, nicely done, will keep you busy)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ilov80s said:
What kind of movies or things are you interested in?
Click to expand...
I like psychological thrillers.  Mulholland Drive and Memento are some of my favorites movies.  

I'm an atheist but enjoy learning the history of religion, especially Christianity.  A historical fiction book written about the times of Jesus would be a good fit (I'll go ahead and say "The Bible" to save some of you fellow atheists the keystrokes.)

As for self-help, probably something related to motivation or life hacks.   

 
Captain Cranks said:
I like psychological thrillers.  Mulholland Drive and Memento are some of my favorites movies.  

I'm an atheist but enjoy learning the history of religion, especially Christianity.  A historical fiction book written about the times of Jesus would be a good fit (I'll go ahead and say "The Bible" to save some of you fellow atheists the keystrokes.)

As for self-help, probably something related to motivation or life hacks.   
Click to expand...
I would recommend In Cold Blood. It basically invented the true crime novel. It's a full study of a mass homicide at a Kansas farmhouse and gets into the minds of the killers, victims, investigators and towns people. It's fantastic. 

 
I think what I would look for in an audiobook are a bit different than what I would for traditionally.  For a novel, you may want one with a full cast reading to make it easier to pick out the different characters, but I don't know what the best ones for that are.

I've listened to more audiobooks in the history space.  David McCullough has a good voice, and I've listened to some of his on Audiobook.  You can't go wrong with most of his books.  "The Wright Brothers" is a recent book of his that I liked (although that one I read).  

 
If you're looking specifically for audio books you might consider something that you may have been interested in but avoided because it would be a chore to actually read, e.g. Atlas Shrugged.

 
Captain Cranks said:
I like psychological thrillers.  Mulholland Drive and Memento are some of my favorites movies.  

I'm an atheist but enjoy learning the history of religion, especially Christianity.  A historical fiction book written about the times of Jesus would be a good fit (I'll go ahead and say "The Bible" to save some of you fellow atheists the keystrokes.)

As for self-help, probably something related to motivation or life hacks.   
Click to expand...
The "In Cold Blood" rec is a good one for pyschological thriller.  As your movies scream film noir to me, you could also look into some of the hard-boiled detective novels that many of the early film noirs were based on, like Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.  

On early religion, kind of a contrarian book, but I liked Gore Vidal's Julian.  It's a historical novel about Emperor Julian the Apostate, who tried to the stop the spread of Christianity and restore Hellenism.  

Not sure how the audiobooks on those are though.

 
Captain Cranks said:
one historical fiction or non-fiction
Click to expand...
Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind  by Yuval Noah Harari is a must read for all. This will greatly reshape the way you look at the world and your perception of the history of our species. Or at least, that was the effect this book had on me. 

NYT Review

He's got two follow up books that are excellent as well , Homo Deus & 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (I haven't gotten to this one yet)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
proteus126 said:
Self-help:  The Bogleheads Guide to Investing

Non-Fiction (military - all fantasic and move faster than, say, The Guns of August)

  • "Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March" by Zamoyski
  • "Retreat from Kabul" by Macrory
  • "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway" by Parshall and Tully
  • "Neptune's Inferno" by Hornfischer
  • "We Were Soldiers" by Moore and Galloway


Bio:

  • "Goodbye to All That" by Robert Graves (autobiographical)
  • "American Brutus" by Kauffman (about John Wilkes Boothe)


Novel

  • "Snow Crash" by Stephenson (sci-fi)
  • "Cry the Beloved Country" by Paton (apartheid SA)
  • "The Stand" by Stephen King (apocalyptic, nicely done, will keep you busy)
Click to expand...
Great list.

 
Has anyone read David McCullough's "The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West"?

I have read a few of his and enjoyed them. Thinking about getting this one for some summer reading....

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Senor Schmutzig said:
Has anyone read David McCullough's "The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West"?

I have read a few of his and enjoyed them. Thinking about getting this one for some summer reading....
Click to expand...
I have not, but I will add that to my reading list "Books that would sound incredibly boring to teenager me, but now sound pretty damn cool"

 
Couldn't find a designated book thread, so I'll use this one. Never been a big book person, except what was required to study and read for school and my career. In my middle age, I've just started reading some recreationally for the first time and really enjoying it. Just finished the Sky King Ranch 3 book series and absolutely loved it. Really felt like I was there with the characters every step of the way.
 
flapgreen said:
Couldn't find a designated book thread, so I'll use this one. Never been a big book person, except what was required to study and read for school and my career. In my middle age, I've just started reading some recreationally for the first time and really enjoying it. Just finished the Sky King Ranch 3 book series and absolutely loved it. Really felt like I was there with the characters every step of the way.
Click to expand...
Book thread here: https://forums.footballguys.com/threads/whatcha-readin-now-book-books-reading-read.69953/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Joe Bryant
5 Practices For A New Year
Replies
0
Views
353
Joe Bryant
Joe Bryant
TheIronSheik
Scary books
2
Replies
52
Views
1K
supermike80
supermike80
Joe Bryant
  • Poll Poll
Writing A Novel Without Experience Of Issue - Cancel Culture
2 3
Replies
108
Views
6K
Ilov80s
Ilov80s

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top