Thanks for the replies everyone! and usmccds, I just may take you up on that man, I will take every book you don’t want!
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Just forget the film even exists. The book is a magical realism masterpiece, up there with anything by Garcia Marquez in my humble opinion. For me it was the type of book that when it ended, I wished it hadn’t.
Currently on book 8 of 11 in the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffrey Deaver. Definitely worth a read if you like crime/mystery novels. You don’t necessarily have to read them in order. The Coffin Dancer and The Vanished Man were my two favorites so far in the series.
The Legend of Drizzt series is really good if you are a fan of D&D or Fantasy novels.
Big fan of most of Chuck Palahniuk’s books. His new stuff kind of sucks but Invisible Monsters, Survivor, and Lullaby are all good and relatively quick reads.
Inferno from Dan Brown was probably my favorite in the Robert Langdon series. Followed a slightly different formula than the other books in the series.
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
P.S. I work for the Publishing company in our area and probably have 200 books I’ve yet to even touch. You’re more than welcome to your pick of the lot. My wife wants to get rid of a lot of them anyway. [/quote]
0_0 What you have books to give away. WTF man[/quote]
You’re welcome to them also. You’ll just have come get them…[/quote]
0_o thats it, I will get a job site up there just to get these books.
But I demand a dinner of steak and beer![/quote]
Lol, of course!
[quote]Alpha wrote:
Thanks for the replies everyone! and usmccds, I just may take you up on that man, I will take every book you don’t want![/quote]
Sounds good man just let me know.
I would say “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” and “The Metamorphosis” are really good, quick reads.
Edit: And hell I’ll throw in “Flight” by Sherman Alexie and “Things Fall Apart” as well.
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, about Michelangelo Buonarotti. The author lived in Italy for many years, worked in a stone quarry, and apprenticed himself to a sculptor in order to research the book. He also had all of Michelangelo’s letters (495 of them) translated into English.
[/quote]
Agree, aside from the fact that a simple mistranslation had the master painting the Sistine Chapel on his back, when he had not.
The very best book I’ve read on Michelangelo is Ross King’s “Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling.”
Hemingway’s classic novella, “The Old Man and the Sea”
Anything hemmingway
Tuesdays with Morris
Just finished three cups of tea (recommend if you are at all ignorant on the shit that’s happening in the Middle East)
I am a big history freak and read almost exclusively non fiction and bios
But hemmingway is my one author that I’ll read fiction for.
As well as the Kite Runner series
[quote]CLUNK wrote:
Hemingway’s classic novella, “The Old Man and the Sea”[/quote]
That’s about 50 pages long. Wouldn’t you get bored real quick if that was your only book? Personally, I’d go with an epic historical text. Maybe Livy’s Ab urba condita or Gibbon’s Decline and Fall or Mommsen’s History of Rome.
[quote]BeefEater wrote:
I would say “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” and “The Metamorphosis” are really good, quick reads.
Edit: And hell I’ll throw in “Flight” by Sherman Alexie and “Things Fall Apart” as well.[/quote]
Kafka is freaking depressing. I hate reading his stuff.
I’m on the second volume of “the last lion” and it’s incredibly edifying, but also really long.
“The Rape of Nanking” while depriving me of sleep was very eye opening.
Haven’t read any good fiction recently.
The autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz, King’s IT and the entire Calvin and Hobbes collection would all contend for the top spot.
It’d probably come down to Malcom or Calvin and Hobbes. I’ll say this, after reading X again I’d be inspired to find my way off that island.
If you like bodybuilding and weighlifting, nothing beats Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors both volumes are great.
48 Laws of Power By Robert Greene - classic read on human dynamics. Could’ve been written in 60 pages but still a good read. Of course not really important if you’re alone on a desert island
[quote]Alpha wrote:
So i know there have been many, many threads about books started here on this forum but here is another one…
For 2015, I have set a goal of reading 100 Books. i just completed the 6th today and have a decent reading list already set up, but not 100 books worth.
My question is, what is your favorite book? If you were stranded on a desert island and only had one book to read for the rest of your life, what would it be? (Porn mags don’t count, it has to be an actual book)
You can only choose one. I am vacillating between fiction and non-fiction, so all recommendations are welcome.
Thanks in advance, everyone.[/quote]
Alpha you fuck, good to see you back here.
This book - Lives in Ruins by Marily Johnson - is brand new and amazing.
One of the best books I have read in a long, long while.
[quote]SexMachine wrote:
[quote]CLUNK wrote:
Hemingway’s classic novella, “The Old Man and the Sea”[/quote]
That’s about 50 pages long. Wouldn’t you get bored real quick if that was your only book? Personally, I’d go with an epic historical text. Maybe Livy’s Ab urba condita or Gibbon’s Decline and Fall or Mommsen’s History of Rome. [/quote]
Alpha’s goal was to read 100 books this year. Did I miss the part about choosing only one book?
Why toss a small masterpiece aside for an ungainly tome of lesser emotion?
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
[quote]Alpha wrote:
So i know there have been many, many threads about books started here on this forum but here is another one…
For 2015, I have set a goal of reading 100 Books. i just completed the 6th today and have a decent reading list already set up, but not 100 books worth.
My question is, what is your favorite book? If you were stranded on a desert island and only had one book to read for the rest of your life, what would it be? (Porn mags don’t count, it has to be an actual book)
You can only choose one. I am vacillating between fiction and non-fiction, so all recommendations are welcome.
Thanks in advance, everyone.[/quote]
Alpha you fuck, good to see you back here.[/quote]
Hahaha thanks man, I really don’t post much of anywhere except for in my log. The responses to this question have been awesome though!
If you’ve got a Kindle and electricity you can read Mexican Heat written by me. If you’re an unlimited member it is free to download until Sunday. I’ve got a print on demand version coming soon. It’s a short story, just under 100 pages, the first book of the Four Ways to Die series. I like to describe it as an action movie on paper. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R3KEL2I
Can’t go wrong with Robert E Howard’s Conan. I always keep one collection handy.
Mark Mazower’s Hitler’s Empire is a pretty deep look at how them Nazi’s conquered, ruled, and failed miserably. In the 100 pages I’ve already read it’s less military related and more social/political, learned a lot so far.
I’m not sure about favorite but “Endurance: Shackleton?s Incredible Voyage” is an amazing book. It’s about a guy who attempts to be the first to cross Antarctica in the early 1900s. Basically they get stranded and they end up fighting and surviving in Antarctica for going on 2 years. It is the most amazing story of perseverance, courage, and leadership I’ve ever read AND it’s a true story.
It’d be one hell of a book to have if you were on a deserted island.
Since this has seemed to get away from just one book on a desert Island, I’ll chime in with what I’ve read recently.
The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker was excellent and mostly about listening to your instincts to judge or predict violent or dangerous situations. I highly recommend it.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. While I don’t agree with everything he believes, he does make some very compelling and beautiful arguments about human’s place and role in the word. Even if you don’t agree with him, it is worth the read.
The Paleo Manifesto by John Durant. I just finished it and loved it. It is not so much about “don’t eat grains or you’ll die” and reads like a history of the human race. He details (some speculation some fact) what life was like during different eras of history and how things have changed for better or for worse. It is light read but enjoyable.