steppenwolf- herman hesse
“Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand are the two best books I have ever read, and I average two books a week minimum. I am somewhat conflicted in saying that as I am a Christian and Ayn was a atheist. However, I have never encountered a mind as clear and concise, devoid of mysticism or doubt for that matter. Her vision is Utopian in nature but her reason astounds me.
“Catch 22” by Joseph Heller is one of the funniest books I have ever read. It was probably twenty years ago, but I remember being alone and laughing till tears came to my eyes.
For pure fantasy and escapism, the “Lord of the Rings” series is hard to beat.
No one can beat Stephen King for character development. Especially in his earlier works. You almost feel as if you are in the character’s head.
The “Dune” books are some wonderful sci-fi.
I will add more as I think of them.
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Kama Sutra gets my vote, that is an awesome read[/quote]
fucking win
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Makavali wrote:
russianmuscle wrote:
given my new nootropic obsession, i’m taking advantage of the effects and going out to read more… are there any books you guys recommend, books that you are thankful to have read? non-bodybuilding related, and my preference is non-fiction.
Non-fiction? I recommend the Bible, which has one of the best villains of all time. God.
ya kno, i’ve thought about this for a bit
the bible says the devil is a great deciever right?
so what if HE wrote the scripture and put them on eath in attempts to get people to commit unholy acts. ya kno, like paraphrasing some of God’s actual words but tweaking them to get people to sin?
[/quote]
Telling people to stone unruly children to death isn’t my definition of “tweaking”. God is pretty sadistic/masochistic/genocidal/racist/etc.
[quote]SolidGround wrote:
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies[/quote]
This book is amazing…those native Indians never stood a chance against our bugs.
Also, Unleashing The Warrior Within–Richard “Mack” Machowicz…He’s the dude that hosts Future Weapons on discovery channel. You may think he’s pretty cheesy on the show but his views on how to achieve your goals in life are excellent and no fluff.
Young Stalin.
Intersting shit
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace (although I’d wait until the fall to read it otherwise people will think you’re one of those dickheads reading it as a part of the infinite summer blog).
The Strain - Del Toro - rethinking of the vampire story. I read it straight through in 3 hours. Brilliant.
And 2nding the Chuck Palahnuik, but just don’t read a bunch of his books one after another. You start thinking the way he writes - that doesn’t wind up well for anyone.
Non-fiction: read a good history of the First World War (John Keegan’s is outstanding). Amazing how many of our current conflicts and situations are related to the outcome and the events of that catastrophe.
[quote]Makavali wrote:
Ct. Rockula wrote:
Makavali wrote:
russianmuscle wrote:
given my new nootropic obsession, i’m taking advantage of the effects and going out to read more… are there any books you guys recommend, books that you are thankful to have read? non-bodybuilding related, and my preference is non-fiction.
Non-fiction? I recommend the Bible, which has one of the best villains of all time. God.
ya kno, i’ve thought about this for a bit
the bible says the devil is a great deciever right?
so what if HE wrote the scripture and put them on eath in attempts to get people to commit unholy acts. ya kno, like paraphrasing some of God’s actual words but tweaking them to get people to sin?
Telling people to stone unruly children to death isn’t my definition of “tweaking”. God is pretty sadistic/masochistic/genocidal/racist/etc.[/quote]
AND
why would an almighty being create an entire world who’s only purpose is to worship and tell others how cool he is?
[quote]Makavali wrote:
Ct. Rockula wrote:
Kama Sutra gets my vote, that is an awesome read
fucking win[/quote]
have you actually read it for its nonsexual teachings?
“Unlimited power” -Tony Robbins. Great shit. I just ordered the CD version. So I can listen to it as well and realy get the shit down.
The Road; McCarthy, Cormac
Lone Survivor; Luttrell, Marcus
The Book of the New Sun–Wolfe, Gene
“Moby Dick”. All the elements of a great novel.
“Where The Red Fern Grows”. Everyone tells me it is a kids book but I didn’t read it until I was 45 and it is one of my favorites. If you don’t get a little misty at the end, you’re a heartless bastard.
If you have kids and want to read to them at night, “Andy Buckram’s Tin Men”.
“The Last Nine Innings” pretty good baseball book.
“All Quiet On The Western Front” Story told from the perspective of a German soldier during WW1.
“Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu” experience of the French in Viet Nam.
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Makavali wrote:
Ct. Rockula wrote:
Kama Sutra gets my vote, that is an awesome read
fucking win
have you actually read it for its nonsexual teachings?
[/quote]
I was raised Hindu, of course I did. I read the Vedas too.
[quote]nadz61 wrote:
“A spot of bother” & “The curious incident” - by Mark Haddon
“Life of Pi” - by Jan Martel
“Catch 22” - by Joseph Heller
Anything by Kurt Vonnegut
The Mario Puzo Godfather books
I thoroughly enjoyed the above books![/quote]
x2 on everything. Particularly Kurt Vonnegut. It really is worth checking him out. Nobody else writes like him.
Nobody else writes like him.
Nobody else writes like him.
He uses a lot of repetition.
Etc.
So it goes…
Tietam Brown by Mick Foley
Bruiser: The tales of a street sweeper By Unknown
The Books of Blood (all three volumes) by Clive Barker
The Body by Stephen King
Apt Pupil by Stephen King
Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
[quote]bambooshoots wrote:
The Road; McCarthy, Cormac
Lone Survivor; Luttrell, Marcus[/quote]
Cormac McCarthy is terrible. The Road was close to the worst book I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot of shitty books. How in the hell it won a Pulitzer prize is beyond me. Then for god knows what reason I tried to read All The Pretty Horses. I made it through about 8 pages before I wanted to shoot myself.
As for book recommendations…
Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead were both good reads.
American Psycho and Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (I’ve heard his other books are good too but haven’t read any yet.)
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follet
Blink, The Tipping Point, and Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Ernest Hemingway is great.
Kurt Vonnegut is great.
I hope they serve beer in hell.
not because it’s going to be made into a movie but because it’s an awesome book, fuck the movie.