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Oops, I guess only about 70pgs in. I guess I am slower than I thought.About 100pgs into The Stand...
Oops, I guess only about 70pgs in. I guess I am slower than I thought.About 100pgs into The Stand...
The last few are definitely not up to par with the first dozen or so but I still look forward to them. I need to read the Nora Kelly spin off ones still.I recently read Blue Labrynth, and I am start to sour on the series a bit. Too much focus on silly family stuff. Still decent, quick reads, but just not as excited to get the next book as i was a few books ago.
I have Old Bones sitting on the shelf too.They last few are definitely not up to par with the first dozen or so but I still look forward to them. I need to read the Nora Kelly spin off ones still.
Just got done reading Acid for the Children a memoir by Flea of RHCP fame. So, it was pretty good. I like non fiction. It was kind of crazy. I actually believe he wrote it because it isn't written well (from a literary standpoint) and is kind of a collection of short chapters that represent random memories of his childhood. The book covers basically his childhood up to the RHCP first show. It doesn't get into the RHCP years. At the time I started reading it... it was perfect because I just wanted something really easy to read that wasn't too deep. It was cool to hear about his early days meeting and hanging out with Anthony K. I guess I would say one thing I was surprised about was the amount of drug use.Green Lights by Matthew McConaughey- Fun book about his out look on life and how he got to where he is. Lots of laughs in this book and possibly some gems for life. I will say I want to go back and watch a few of his movies now that I have read where he was in life and how he got to that point.
I’ve been thinking about making diving more into Waugh a goal of mine in 2021.Slow on my reading recently. Loved Scoop by Evelyn Waugh- hilarious satire of the foreign correspondent era.
Starting on White Noise now.
I have been wanting to read it for awhile and just never got it. I read on Twitter Noah Baumbach is adapting it into a movie for Netflix and that kind put it on my mind so I grabbed it from the library.I’ve been thinking about making diving more into Waugh a goal of mine in 2021.
It has been a long time since I read White Noise (currently collecting dust on my book shelf), but I remember liking it.
I think just Brideshead and The Loved One. It has been awhile for both though. Scoop has been on my radar.I have been wanting to read it for awhile and just never got it. I read on Twitter Noah Baumbach is adapting it into a movie for Netflix and that kind put it on my mind so I grabbed it from the library.
What have you read from Waugh? It was my first. Until I looked at the book jacket, I thought Waugh was a woman.
I think that might be the one where King goes on and on about milkshake bubbles, I might be off on my Stephen King books but I think that's the one. Long book, has its moments.About 100pgs into The Stand...
Quite the take here.I think that might be the one where King goes on and on about milkshake bubbles, I might be off on my Stephen King books but I think that's the one. Long book, has its moments.
Scoop was great and a really easy breezy read. Quite funny. I assume you liked Loved One and Brideshead. Which would you recommend?Don Quixote said:I think just Brideshead and The Loved One. It has been awhile for both though. Scoop has been on my radar.
ETA: I just looked at my bookshelf and I have Decline and Fall in my Waugh section too, but I can't remember anything about it. I don't know if that's because I bought it but never read it, or read it and found it forgettable (or if I'm just getting old).
I did enjoy both. Brideshead Revisited deserving of its reputation as one of the best novels of the 20th century. I think The Loved One is similar to what you describe in Scoop, as a breezy satire (although this one deals with the funeral industry in 1940s Hollywood).Scoop was great and a really easy breezy read. Quite funny. I assume you liked Loved One and Brideshead. Which would you recommend?
Oh man, was I supposed to read that already?Almost ashamed to say this, but at 48 years old, I’m reading the Lord of the Rings for the first time.
SavingFinished "The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution" today. Good story of how a bunch of PhDs in physics and math and computer science used machine learning and advanced computer models to trade. Pretty good detail of all the characters involved and their personalities. Lots of challenges and adversity along the way, both business wise and in his personal life. 66% average annual returns (before investor fees) in their Medallion fund since 1988. Better than Buffett and Dalio and Soros. Simons never took a finance class in college.
Others recently finished:
"Learn to Earn" by Peter Lynch
"Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt
Both just very basic, introductory level books in investing and economics.
I couldnt find the original quote- What book is this please?When I started it, I was apprehensive since WW2 stories are a bit like beating a dead horse at this point. I was impressed with how it was able to still be unique and find a corner of the war that I hadn't really seen before.
All the Light We Can Not See. It’s fiction about a blind girl in occupied France, a German boy and a NAZI art collector.I couldnt find the original quote- What book is this please?
All the Light We Can Not See. It’s fiction about a blind girl in occupied France, a German boy and a NAZI art collector.
I read a biography on every President a few years back. I think I tracked in this thread. After Washington, go for David McCullough’s John Adams.Should have also said I want to read a biography on every president. Looking back, I probably should not have started with George Washington. He was such a baller than I haven't been able to finish any other presidents. Maybe I should just skip right o Benjamin Franklin.
Done and NICE!I read a biography on every President a few years back. I think I tracked in this thread. After Washington, go for David McCullough’s John Adams.
On a side note, I placed in a presidential trivia contest sponsored by the Washington Post’s Presidential podcast the other day.
Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. Miniseries on HBO was based on this excellent book.Ive got 10 credits to burn and could use some recommendations please. I will list what I think my likes are and some books ive enjoyed...(Also read = listened to)
Steven King got me into books but ironically, I don't like his stuff anymore. I like his writing, but I don't like anything that involves the supernatural, especially when it comes to fiction. For me, supernatural events or powers to often give authors entirely too much protection to merely explain things away with an infinite number of excuses.
I like history. Non fiction.
Interested in reading classics but they have to be somewhat of an easy read - I tried to read the original Moby **** and it was unreadable.
I loved:
With the old Breed - E.B Sledge.
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Washington By Ron Chernow
Liked A lot:
Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand
The Martian By Andy Weir
Ready Player One By Ernest Cline
Okay but stuck with it just to stick with it
The Gunslinger - Stephen King
Guilty pleasure
I like Graham Hancocks stuff. Im permanently stuck down a rabbit hole that leads to anything about ancient advanced technology, advanced civilizations, "real" possible alien contact. Im interested in real theories and speculation but not conspiracy.
Again, 10 credits to burn, there are no wrong suggestions. Thanks in advance.
"Devil In The White City" - Erik LarsenIve got 10 credits to burn and could use some recommendations please. I will list what I think my likes are and some books ive enjoyed...(Also read = listened to)
Steven King got me into books but ironically, I don't like his stuff anymore. I like his writing, but I don't like anything that involves the supernatural, especially when it comes to fiction. For me, supernatural events or powers to often give authors entirely too much protection to merely explain things away with an infinite number of excuses.
I like history. Non fiction.
Interested in reading classics but they have to be somewhat of an easy read - I tried to read the original Moby **** and it was unreadable.
I loved:
With the old Breed - E.B Sledge.
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Washington By Ron Chernow
Liked A lot:
Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand
The Martian By Andy Weir
Ready Player One By Ernest Cline
Okay but stuck with it just to stick with it
The Gunslinger - Stephen King
Guilty pleasure
I like Graham Hancocks stuff. Im permanently stuck down a rabbit hole that leads to anything about ancient advanced technology, advanced civilizations, "real" possible alien contact. Im interested in real theories and speculation but not conspiracy.
Again, 10 credits to burn, there are no wrong suggestions. Thanks in advance.
Finished books 2 and 3 in the trilogy recently. Really enjoyed them.That's great, DQ! Thanks for the shout out.
Since this is our reading crew, I'll broadcast the news (please forgive the self-promotion).
Very happy to announce that FINAL RECKONING was officially released on Dec 4th. Phew!
This book wraps up the Hostile Takeover Thrillogy. If you've read the first two books (Hostile Takeover and Second Son), I hope you enjoy this one and find it a satisfying conclusion to the story.
Beyond the thriller trilogy, if anyone is interested in a shorter, family-friendly Christmas story, please feel free to check out The Three Christmases of William Spencer. This was my first book and hit #1 on Amazon's holiday book sales once upon a time.
And if you want something completely different, Tango Six is a screenplay I wrote a year ago. It's an action adventure (similar vibe of action and humor to what you'd find in an Indiana Jones movie...but with fewer bullwhips). Not many people read screenplays, but if you like that sort of thing, please give it a shot. Who knows? Maybe one of these days it'll get picked up by a studio and become a real movie (um, if anyone happens to know a studio exec, I'm open to an introduction...).
Thanks for the personal messages some of you have sent. Very glad you like the writing. Hope you enjoy the new one!
Destiny of the Republic:by Candace Millard is a fascinating book about James Garfield and his assassination.Should have also said I want to read a biography on every president so any recommendations on those would also be cool
Looking back, I probably should not have started with George Washington. He was such a baller than I haven't been able to finish any other presidents. Maybe I should just skip right o Benjamin Franklin.
Thanks, @Poke_4_Life! Very glad you enjoyed the books.Finished books 2 and 3 in the trilogy recently. Really enjoyed them.
I would like a series based on the NYC 'retired' detective that's now going to have his own investigation company. Please and thank you.
I'm following you on Amazon now, so I look forward to future offerings.Thanks, @Poke_4_Life! Very glad you enjoyed the books.
The trilogy is complete but the door is certainly open to revisit a character (or two) in a future thriller, and that particular gentleman likely has more stories to be told.
Having said that, I will confess that my next book (the current work-in-progress) is completely unrelated to the Hostile Takeover Thrillogy. It's going to be a mystery with plenty of humor, not quite as serious as the trilogy (though I did try to integrate enough humor in those three as well to prevent them from being "dark" since I prefer light moments even in "serious" thrillers).
Thank you again - and to all our FBGs who have given the books a whirl - I really appreciate you guys.
I have that one but thank you!Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. Miniseries on HBO was based on this excellent book.
Thank you!"Devil In The White City" - Erik Larsen
Thank you!Destiny of the Republic:by Candace Millard is a fascinating book about James Garfield and his assassination.
I read "SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam" by John Plaster a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Top secret unit with missions that were pretty gnarly to say the least.Ive got 10 credits to burn and could use some recommendations please. I will list what I think my likes are and some books ive enjoyed...(Also read = listened to)
Steven King got me into books but ironically, I don't like his stuff anymore. I like his writing, but I don't like anything that involves the supernatural, especially when it comes to fiction. For me, supernatural events or powers to often give authors entirely too much protection to merely explain things away with an infinite number of excuses.
I like history. Non fiction.
Interested in reading classics but they have to be somewhat of an easy read - I tried to read the original Moby **** and it was unreadable.
I loved:
With the old Breed - E.B Sledge.
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Washington By Ron Chernow
Liked A lot:
Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand
The Martian By Andy Weir
Ready Player One By Ernest Cline
Okay but stuck with it just to stick with it
The Gunslinger - Stephen King
Guilty pleasure
I like Graham Hancocks stuff. Im permanently stuck down a rabbit hole that leads to anything about ancient advanced technology, advanced civilizations, "real" possible alien contact. Im interested in real theories and speculation but not conspiracy.
Again, 10 credits to burn, there are no wrong suggestions. Thanks in advance.
Plaster was a SOG veteran. Wrote the book back in the 90s. The unit was top secret and denied to have existed for a number of years. Great read."SOG recon and Hatchet Force operations were the most successful economy of force in US history, pulling away tens of thousands of NVA from the battlefields of South Vietnam for rear security duty in Laos and Cambodia. At one point each American Green Beret operating in Laos was tying down six hundred NVA defenders, or about one NVA battalion per SOG recon man in the field.
SOG recon men consistently killed more than one hundred NVA for each lost Green Beret, a ratio that climbed as high as 150:1, which MACV documented in 1969. This was the highest documented kill ratio of any American unit in the war, exceeding the average by a factor of ten, and quite likely is the highest such ratio in US history."
Great read. Ended up finishing the last few pages today. Great detail of Desert Storm, but also of his time in Vietnam. Great details of a remarkable career.Started General H. Norman Schwarzkopf's autobiography this week. 500 pages long, about a quarter of the way through it. Well-written. Didn't know his mom was a severe alcoholic which obviously really impacted the family.
I finished Midnight’s Children, but a bit of a slog. It had enough to hold attention and was original, but it felt a bit over the place and like Rushdie was just trying to fit as much modern Indian history into one book even if it did not advance the story.I decided to pull Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children off my shelf. I started it years ago, but never finished it and thought I’d try again. I’m so far just remembering why I never finished it. Something about Rushdie’s writing style that just does not click for me. Just feels overly long and rambling.
That was the plot of RP1 too.Finished the audio version of Ready Player 2. Pretty meh as it was painful to get through certain parts. Felt like the author wanted to force in as many pop culture references as he could. I'm not going to watch a John Hughes movie for quite a while...
Understood, but it felt like he was trying to one up himself this round. Not only the pop culture stuff, it was just poorly written overall. He was very repetitive on certain points and it just didn't seem very streamlined.That was the plot of RP1 too.
Felt the same way. (My review back a few pages) RP1 was fun for me, good story with the pop culture references placed well . RP2 seemed like a pop culture lesson with very little story.Understood, but it felt like he was trying to one up himself this round. Not only the pop culture stuff, it was just poorly written overall. He was very repetitive on certain points and it just didn't seem very streamlined.
Exactly. The first one felt more balanced and the references felt part of the story. this one felt very forced and repetitive.Felt the same way. (My review back a few pages) RP1 was fun for me, good story with the pop culture references placed well . RP2 seemed like a pop culture lesson with very little story.
The Four Winds was kind of mediocre. I preferred The Nightengale as far as Hannah novels go.I’m currently on Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds. It just came out earlier this month. I’m probably the only dude who would pre-order a Hannah novel, but whatever. I enjoyed “The Nightengale” from her. The Four Winds has a Grapes of Wrath type plot, but from a woman’s perspective (and Hannah is not Steinbeck).