Black Swan is on my list this week...very excited. Resisting kindle...
I hear you on resisting the kindle. On the plus side, I put the kindle app on my iPhone and have read non stop ever since - commuting, waiting at a doctor appointment, etc. But, two problems I'm struggling with are 1) I can't share my books with my wife and I'm reading some really great ones and 2) there really does seem to be a limited selection of books available for download. Kinda wish I had spent my money on something others can read later on.
That said, reading Ultramarathon Man on the kindle app right now. Very interesting
BTW - Try downloading Kindle on your iPhone (free) - buy a cheap book (9.99) and see if it works for you. No need to spend the $200+ and carry an extra device.
WHEN do you people have time to do all this reading!!!!?
haha- Nemo- I don't always. I like to read a little something before I go to sleep. Even if it is just a page. Sometimes I get my self into trouble though, when I pick up a good book, can't put it down, or stop thinking about it..( I also get into trouble with Facebook and the forums) Need to start putting limits on myself.
@Nemo, I'm kind of a cheater I listen to a lot of them on the ipod, since I spend a lot of time driving. I do read some of them as well. I don't have cable or satellite.
Finished "Making Jack Falcone." Dude needs and editor, the writing was kinda all over the place. Worth the Kindle price though.
Reading "Water for Elephants," looks pretty good so far.
Tom Glynn, Dave Ambrose, et al, I _just_ bought this on Amazon: "The Complete Guide to Climing (by Bike) in California" and will let you know what I think. I have stacks and stacks of road maps, offroad maps, touring books, etc from reseaching moto-adventures. Very curious to see what this book recommends for climbs, putting them on my list, and ticking them off over a couple summers. I dig stuff like this.
Saw the Facebook post with the 100 mile climb out of Santa Barbara. My daughter goes to UCSB; may have to "visit" her and take my bike. Not sure how I would get back to the hotel after climbing 13,000 feet though
Saw the Facebook post with the 100 mile climb out of Santa Barbara. My daughter goes to UCSB; may have to "visit" her and take my bike. Not sure how I would get back to the hotel after climbing 13,000 feet though
Could flip it and make it an EPIC double. Mostly downhill but you'd probably end up climbing another 3k = 200mi and 16-17k of gain...I'd be up for it in the fall, not summer. Get's hot out there and this stuff is REMOTE. I've moto'ed out there...nuthin' for miles.
Could flip it and make it an EPIC double. Mostly downhill but you'd probably end up climbing another 3k = 200mi and 16-17k of gain...I'd be up for it in the fall, not summer. Get's hot out there and this stuff is REMOTE. I've moto'ed out there...nuthin' for miles.
I'd be up for a fall ride. She goes back around the second week of September. Funny, I was looking at the map and wondering how far apart those small towns were and hoping they all had gas stations that sold gatorade and chocolate bars.
The ride is here 13K up, 7 down, so a double would get us 20K up, shattered legs and a lot of cold beer at the end!
+2 on What I Talk About When I Talk about Running. I picked it up because of Al's reco in this thread. What a beautiful read! One of the striking things about this book is how Murakami credits so much of how he is as a writer to his running. I think sometimes it is difficult to express that this crazy hobby of ours is a little more important than vdot scores and shiny bikes. (And we know it is.)
Three months since I last posted to this thread, and I've read two books worthy of recommending in that time. Both are by Pulitzer Prize winning authors, both are serio-comic renditions of a specific time and place in mid 20th century America.
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. A drug soaked accidental detective/surfer in the South Bay area of LA in 1970 successfully solves a rather meaningless but hilarious set of crimes. I lived there then, and I suspect Pynchon did too. He nails the time and place perfectly. Compared to his other novels, this one actually seems comprehensible.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Set during WWII in NYC, and again in 1954 "Levittown" on Long Island. A young Jew escapes from Prague on the eve of the war, lands with his cousin in Brooklyn, and uses his talents as a magician and artist to become a star in the world of comic book superheroes. This book is hilarious, engrossing, and mesmerizing. Given everything else I do, it usually takes me a LONG time to read a book; these 630 pages went by in a week. And I was trying to go slow to make the fun last longer.
Thumbs up for Water for Elephants. Really enjoyed it.
Tom, you gotta get a copy of Climbing in California. It arrived yesterday, me and the boys passed it around during my meeting of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club. It ranks all of the climbs in Cali (hundreds of them) using the same system as the Tour. Pretty cool, but a couple in my back yard are in the top 10 hardest. The hardest, per his ranking, is Onion Valley outside of Independence, on the 395. I'm scheming some road trips to hit this and many of his climbs in the south, east, and western Sierras.
Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh. PhD Student @ the University of Chicago lives among a crack dealing street gang for 7 years. A great read. Engine 4 where I'm assigned is in a very poor neighborhood and has several of these high rise housing projects so it kind of gave me a glimpse behind the curtain. Granted, I work in Des Moines and not Chicago.
Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutrell, couldn't put it down. Story of a 4 man SEAL team who got ambushed trying to kill or capture a Taliban war lord. Every other SEAL was killed, Lt. Michael Murphy won the Medal of Honor and was subsequently killed during one of the firefights. I heard it is being made into a movie. Pretty much everyone I've turned onto this book has loved it. I like to read before I go to sleep, this book is not conducive to that.
Thumbs up for Water for Elephants. Really enjoyed it.
Tom, you gotta get a copy of Climbing in California. It arrived yesterday, me and the boys passed it around during my meeting of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club. It ranks all of the climbs in Cali (hundreds of them) using the same system as the Tour. Pretty cool, but a couple in my back yard are in the top 10 hardest. The hardest, per his ranking, is Onion Valley outside of Independence, on the 395. I'm scheming some road trips to hit this and many of his climbs in the south, east, and western Sierras.
Read Water for Elephants long time ago. Great book. I walked into a box book store looking for the Climbing in California Book. They didn't have it so it's an online order. Probably tonight
Finished "Timbuktu" a week or so ago. Thanks, someone for the recommendation!
Just finished "The Book Thief" . Written for the late teen market, it's actually a great read for us old folks too. Picked it up to scan at the local book store and the owner gave it two thumbs up, as did many a reviewer.
Now I'm going back through this thread looking for a great read or two. Think it's going to be, "What I talk About When I talk About Running"
Just finished reading The Help. It reads like a thriller. After living for a while with my very wealthy college roommate at her estate in LA, replete with the maids and ironesses and gardners, etc, the book rings all to true. I really enjoyed it.
Okay, so I'm a little late to join the conversation... I'm currently reading Pillars of the Earth. Maybe a couple of hundred pages in - really liking it so far. I've also started What the Dog Saw (Malcolm Gladwell of Blink fame) but the DB brought Pillars to the hospital when I was trapped there for a week in January so Gladwell got sidelined...
My recent notable reads: Born to Run and Trizophrenia (super cute and lots of fun - everyone on EN should own this, read it, and have their DHs and DWs read it, too)
Other good reads: +8 (?) on Atlas Shrugged and Fountainthead. Loved Freakonomics and Blink (Gladwell). I thought Banker to the Poor (Yunus - won the Nobel Peace Prize a few years back) was quite thought provoking; it's about microlending/the Grameen Bank which started in Bangladesh and has since gone global with great success. Oh, and of course the Harry Potter series! +2 on 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I read it last spring - I think that's one I'll read every few years. Fast Food Nation was also pretty eye opening - particularly when you watch Supersize me (I need to rent Food, Inc).
In queue: A friend is reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and that one is on my list, too. I've got another Gladwell, Outliers, in line too.
Becky, I have NetFlix and you can watch Food, Inc instantly through them. I watched it this weekend...and will likely never eat again.
Food Inc is scheduled to be broadcast on PBS nationwide this month- so check your local listings (and thanks to Linda P who provided that little tidbit on FB. I'm hoping I can convince Joe to watch it with me).
Just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This is a fictional story about the occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans during World War II. A very easy read as it is set up as letters back and forth between the island residents and a writer that wishes to write a book about what the island residents endured.
I'm almost finished with The Road. It's a story about a father and his young son as they make their way through a post-apocalyptic America. I'm surprised that I liked it as much as I did since it's completely different than my usual read.
I am just finishing David McCullough's The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge. It is a terrific story and a truly amazing engineering feat, especially when you consider that the original bridge was built in the 1870s - 1883.
I have read several of McCullough's books, including my previous favorite, Truman, and I believe this one is as good or better.
Comments
I hear you on resisting the kindle. On the plus side, I put the kindle app on my iPhone and have read non stop ever since - commuting, waiting at a doctor appointment, etc. But, two problems I'm struggling with are 1) I can't share my books with my wife and I'm reading some really great ones and 2) there really does seem to be a limited selection of books available for download. Kinda wish I had spent my money on something others can read later on.
That said, reading Ultramarathon Man on the kindle app right now. Very interesting
BTW - Try downloading Kindle on your iPhone (free) - buy a cheap book (9.99) and see if it works for you. No need to spend the $200+ and carry an extra device.
D
haha- Nemo- I don't always. I like to read a little something before I go to sleep. Even if it is just a page. Sometimes I get my self into trouble though, when I pick up a good book, can't put it down, or stop thinking about it..( I also get into trouble with Facebook and the forums) Need to start putting limits on myself.
Gotta scoot
two hours a day on the train.
Finished "Making Jack Falcone." Dude needs and editor, the writing was kinda all over the place. Worth the Kindle price though.
Reading "Water for Elephants," looks pretty good so far.
Tom Glynn, Dave Ambrose, et al, I _just_ bought this on Amazon: "The Complete Guide to Climing (by Bike) in California" and will let you know what I think. I have stacks and stacks of road maps, offroad maps, touring books, etc from reseaching moto-adventures. Very curious to see what this book recommends for climbs, putting them on my list, and ticking them off over a couple summers. I dig stuff like this.
Saw the Facebook post with the 100 mile climb out of Santa Barbara. My daughter goes to UCSB; may have to "visit" her and take my bike. Not sure how I would get back to the hotel after climbing 13,000 feet though
Could flip it and make it an EPIC double. Mostly downhill but you'd probably end up climbing another 3k = 200mi and 16-17k of gain...I'd be up for it in the fall, not summer. Get's hot out there and this stuff is REMOTE. I've moto'ed out there...nuthin' for miles.
I'd be up for a fall ride. She goes back around the second week of September. Funny, I was looking at the map and wondering how far apart those small towns were and hoping they all had gas stations that sold gatorade and chocolate bars.
The ride is here 13K up, 7 down, so a double would get us 20K up, shattered legs and a lot of cold beer at the end!
Sorry, Rich, but that's hilarious!
har, har
What I talk About When I talk About Running - excellent read really nice writing.
Kitchen Confidential - great fun, hilarious read.
The overworked Anerican - frightening given that it was written in 1992 and things have only kept going down the same unsustainable path.
A Voyage for madmen - this could have been sub stitked how not to prepare for a single handed sailing race around the world.
Three months since I last posted to this thread, and I've read two books worthy of recommending in that time. Both are by Pulitzer Prize winning authors, both are serio-comic renditions of a specific time and place in mid 20th century America.
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. A drug soaked accidental detective/surfer in the South Bay area of LA in 1970 successfully solves a rather meaningless but hilarious set of crimes. I lived there then, and I suspect Pynchon did too. He nails the time and place perfectly. Compared to his other novels, this one actually seems comprehensible.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Set during WWII in NYC, and again in 1954 "Levittown" on Long Island. A young Jew escapes from Prague on the eve of the war, lands with his cousin in Brooklyn, and uses his talents as a magician and artist to become a star in the world of comic book superheroes. This book is hilarious, engrossing, and mesmerizing. Given everything else I do, it usually takes me a LONG time to read a book; these 630 pages went by in a week. And I was trying to go slow to make the fun last longer.
Thumbs up for Water for Elephants. Really enjoyed it.
Tom, you gotta get a copy of Climbing in California. It arrived yesterday, me and the boys passed it around during my meeting of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club. It ranks all of the climbs in Cali (hundreds of them) using the same system as the Tour. Pretty cool, but a couple in my back yard are in the top 10 hardest. The hardest, per his ranking, is Onion Valley outside of Independence, on the 395. I'm scheming some road trips to hit this and many of his climbs in the south, east, and western Sierras.
Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh. PhD Student @ the University of Chicago lives among a crack dealing street gang for 7 years. A great read. Engine 4 where I'm assigned is in a very poor neighborhood and has several of these high rise housing projects so it kind of gave me a glimpse behind the curtain. Granted, I work in Des Moines and not Chicago.
Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutrell, couldn't put it down. Story of a 4 man SEAL team who got ambushed trying to kill or capture a Taliban war lord. Every other SEAL was killed, Lt. Michael Murphy won the Medal of Honor and was subsequently killed during one of the firefights. I heard it is being made into a movie. Pretty much everyone I've turned onto this book has loved it. I like to read before I go to sleep, this book is not conducive to that.
Read Water for Elephants long time ago. Great book. I walked into a box book store looking for the Climbing in California Book. They didn't have it so it's an online order. Probably tonight
Just arrived in the mailbox "The Complete Guide to Climing (by Bike) in California" . Mount Diablo, check, Sierra Road, check. Couple hundred more rides to go!
Finished "Timbuktu" a week or so ago. Thanks, someone for the recommendation!
Just finished "The Book Thief" . Written for the late teen market, it's actually a great read for us old folks too. Picked it up to scan at the local book store and the owner gave it two thumbs up, as did many a reviewer.
Now I'm going back through this thread looking for a great read or two. Think it's going to be, "What I talk About When I talk About Running"
Just finished reading The Help. It reads like a thriller. After living for a while with my very wealthy college roommate at her estate in LA, replete with the maids and ironesses and gardners, etc, the book rings all to true. I really enjoyed it.
Okay, so I'm a little late to join the conversation... I'm currently reading Pillars of the Earth. Maybe a couple of hundred pages in - really liking it so far. I've also started What the Dog Saw (Malcolm Gladwell of Blink fame) but the DB brought Pillars to the hospital when I was trapped there for a week in January so Gladwell got sidelined...
My recent notable reads: Born to Run and Trizophrenia (super cute and lots of fun - everyone on EN should own this, read it, and have their DHs and DWs read it, too)
Other good reads: +8 (?) on Atlas Shrugged and Fountainthead. Loved Freakonomics and Blink (Gladwell). I thought Banker to the Poor (Yunus - won the Nobel Peace Prize a few years back) was quite thought provoking; it's about microlending/the Grameen Bank which started in Bangladesh and has since gone global with great success. Oh, and of course the Harry Potter series! +2 on 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I read it last spring - I think that's one I'll read every few years. Fast Food Nation was also pretty eye opening - particularly when you watch Supersize me (I need to rent Food, Inc).
In queue: A friend is reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and that one is on my list, too. I've got another Gladwell, Outliers, in line too.
Becky, I have NetFlix and you can watch Food, Inc instantly through them. I watched it this weekend...and will likely never eat again.
Food Inc is scheduled to be broadcast on PBS nationwide this month- so check your local listings (and thanks to Linda P who provided that little tidbit on FB. I'm hoping I can convince Joe to watch it with me).
Hmm... maybe that will help me drop this 8 pounds that's been nagging me a few months now!
Thanks, Nemo, I'll keep my eye out for it (actually, will set my tivo)
Just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This is a fictional story about the occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans during World War II. A very easy read as it is set up as letters back and forth between the island residents and a writer that wishes to write a book about what the island residents endured.
Now I am starting The Mystery of 2012
I'm almost finished with The Road. It's a story about a father and his young son as they make their way through a post-apocalyptic America. I'm surprised that I liked it as much as I did since it's completely different than my usual read.
I have read several of McCullough's books, including my previous favorite, Truman, and I believe this one is as good or better.
Currently reading Born to Run, Dead in the Family, and Talent is Overrated. Up next is some Jack Daniels and Outliers.
Current read: Cutting for Stone
Just finished: The Ethical Assassin
Planning to start- Names My Sisters Called Me
Still reading - 2012