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The BOOK Thread

I'm just finishing REAMDE by the Snowcrash guy, Neil Stephenson.

Freakin great book.
 
Butch said:
I'm just finishing REAMDE by the Snowcrash guy, Neil Stephenson.

Freakin great book.
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LOVED that book. I get why some Stephenson fans didn't, since it was a break from him navel-gazing upon intellectual breakthroughs of differential equations and non-euclidean space, but To me it delivered just as well on the front of how he describes action and the affect it has on each of the character's perceptions and reactions.
 
TylerW said:
I've been enjoying Ready Player One - its a fun lighthearted read, but I swear, if I have to read one more instance of "______, Of course! ______ was Halladay's favorite ______" I'm going to throw the book at someone.
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I was just nearing that same point of total disgust when I got to the end of chapter 19 and saw that his OASIS passphrase was "No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful."

At that point, it became the best book ever.
 
Just finished Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul's "The Jungle" - Latest book from the Oregon Files series. Pretty entertaining with some pretty good twists.
 
Currently reading "Are You My Mother?" by Alison Bechdel; it's really emotionally intense. (You should read her "Fun Home" first.)

I'm also in the middle of "Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance 1950-1963" by Kevin Starr. There are seven books in his "Americans and the California Dream" series, and you must read all of them.

Recently finished "In One Person," John Irving's latest. You'll like this one if you liked "Garp."
 
I just finished Auster's "Sunset Park." I read it in one sitting. I highly recommend it.

Currently rereading Lois Lowry's "The Giver." It's something I read as a kid that I'm enjoying again, kind of like "1984" for young adults.

Also excellent, "Forty rules of love," by Elif Shafak. Her novel "Bastard of Istanbul" was also super readable and GOOD.
 
someone mentioned this book a year or two back but it's worth mentioning again- I don't usually read fantasy but this book is a really, really good read! There's also a sequel..
 

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Started Snow Crash and I'm really enjoying it. I knew it would be good based on recommendations made here, but so far its even better than I had hoped.
 
Coastal Coyote said:
Started Snow Crash and I'm really enjoying it. I knew it would be good based on recommendations made here, but so far its even better than I had hoped.
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You're stoked. Way. And read Diamond Age when you're done, see if you recognize the brief reference to YT.

I'm about 2/3rds of the way through REAMDE and I'm unimpressed. Thus far it's been a fun story, but 900+ pages into a book I'm looking for something to awe me... even just a little.
 
the Black Company by Glen Cook.

i like this dudes writing style. he doesn't spoon feed.
 
Beauregard said:
You're stoked. Way. And read Diamond Age when you're done, see if you recognize the brief reference to YT.

I'm about 2/3rds of the way through REAMDE and I'm unimpressed. Thus far it's been a fun story, but 900+ pages into a book I'm looking for something to awe me... even just a little.
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Just finished Reamde. A good story, entertainingly written, but some of the near-impossible coincedences tax your suspension of disbelief.

He does do a great job of using technology as part of the story vehicle - something few writers do well.

I had dug up a copy of Snow Crash based on reading this thread, and thought it was great, if a bit dated (understandably so). Which is what led me to Reamde.

I'll have to get Diamond Age...
 
Have any of you tried Quicksilver or others of his from The Baroque Cycle? I loved Snow Crash and generally like historical fiction, so I thought these might be good.
 
Just read East of Eden again, having read it many, many years ago. It took growing up, but now I realize the true genius of Steinbeck. Going to go through his catalogue again.

Also, re reading Man in Full by Tom Wolfe. What a great read. Has a lot of east bay action, including Santa Rita.
 
I really wish I could get into reading fiction like many of you do. I've tried over the years but I find I just don't have the interest. Instead, I stick to biographies and such. I'm a sponge when it comes to military history or just history in general and really enjoying reading up on it. As of late, I should be finishing up Colin Powell's newest this week...

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and then moving on to this recommendation...

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:thumbup for "Shop Class." White collar work is not the be-all and end-all.
 
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I just found this thread. I haven't been much of a book reader since jr. high, I prefer shorter writings like essays, poems, and barf posts.

2 books I plan on getting soon are:

The Long Walk: A story of war and the life that follows - it's the memoirs of a Gulf War EOD commander - comes out today I believe
Life after Murder - a journalist interviews 5 convicted murderers

These relate to our journey inside and how to live for tomorrow with what you have done or experienced yesterday.

I think I'll add Shopclass as Soulcraft, too
 
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