Thanks for the SF recommendations. I grew up on Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, et al, as well as Tolkien and other fantasy stuff. I was the kid always reading a book in the back of the class, not paying attention, but would smoke all the verbal/language stuff. Math...I got by.
Anyway, true story: in 5th grade (I think, maybe 3rd) I got a D in conduct one quarter . My mom made me:
Read "Last of the Mohicans" and the "Deerhunter" by Fenmore Cooper. Not exactly punishment for a kid like me
Write a book report on each
Present the reports, and apologize, to my teacher.
I think I maybe eeked out a C in conduct the next quarter
+ 1 on the Neal Stephenson Recommendation. If it's strictly Sci-Fi you like, start with Snow Crash and Diamond Age. If you like his wide-ranging intellect and scattershot writing style, then go to the heavier stuff, Cryptonomicom and the Baroque Trilogy - they each have about 900 pages. For more sophomoric laughs, the Big U and Zodiac will make you an NS completist. Assuming, that is, you can get thru Anathem - I still haven't, and I've read everything Thomas Pynchon has written. (Speaking of whom, try Inherant Vice, his most accessible, and shortest book in decades, about a hippie gumshoe in Venice Beach, 1971.) Oh, one more free association: "Dog Gone It" - a detective novel, written in the first person from the PI's canine sidekick's viewpoint.
For a Sci-Fi-ish fast read, try "Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shreyngart. iPads carried to their logical conclusion, purchased immortality (almost, not quite), and a Chinese economic takeover of the US, complete with a corporatized civil war are featured in the background of this May-September love story between children of immigrants, she Korean, in her 20s and he Russian, in his 40s. They git it on despite his obsession with actual, physical books.
Almost done with The Wave by Susan Casey. Loved it, nice mix of the science of big waves and how they relate to the changing climate and big wave surfers and their quest for riding the big one. Very cool.
My reading about drug abuse has taken a turn towards Afghanistan. The Men, The Mission, and Me: Lessons from a former Delta Force Commander. If you like books on leadership, the military, wars, and being creative it is a great book. While only about 30% of the book takes place post 9/11 this guy operated in some pretty bad places and provides some pretty cool insight into the special operations community. First in: How 7 CIA Officers Opened the War on Terror in Afghanistan by Gary Schroen. If you've read Kill Bin Laden, or Jawbreaker a lot of the stuff repeats it self. It is still a good book. Between my ipod audio books and the ones on my kindle I've now read enough about Afghanistan the information is starting to cross in my head.
In the Fantasy category: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
I have read quite a few of the Tolkien-inspired epic quests... so many in fact that I became a bit burned out on the genre. However, this is perhaps the best one I have read.
@Rich: I was that same kid... the cool thing is that my high school had an actual class on Tolkien & C.S. Lewis...
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition. First edition was all pre-2001, this has a few extra chapters about post 2001 taliban 'life'. Very interesting, author also wrote Decent into Chaos which was equally as good. Neat thing about this was it was released right before September 11th, so not a lot of saber rattling about how prophetic a person he/she was (which tends to happen with these things). Couple this with all the other Afghanistan stuff I have been reading and I am just depressed as all heck with our chances of coming out of there better than we went in (forgetting completely the life of the average afghan)
Half way through: Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad. OMG if half of what this book talks about is true I am totally freaked out. Holy cow. Really interesting read but I am totally going to start sweeping the house looking for bugs hehehe
I picked up Name of the Wind on Art's recommendation. Read it, enjoyed it, and bought the second book which came out in early March. Both good books but I think the author has dug himself into a hole with plot lines that haven't moved anywhere, etc. Still, good reads.
Then I found some cheap scifi books on Amazon for the Kindle:
"Run" and "Meridians" by Michaelbrent Collins (what's up with that first name, parents couldn't just pick one? ) Good reads, though I enjoyed Run better.
One beef I have with all of the books above is what I'm now call "metaphor heavy writing:" using metaphor after metaphor to describe anything. I gets old and ridiculous after a while. "Meridians" have some doozy that had me rolling my eyes.
Picked up "2184" by Martin Parish. Excellent book, would make an interesting movie.
Then I picked up "The Frozen Sky," a short story by Jeff Carlson, for $.99. About the discovery of intelligent life under the ice on Europa. Good story and I'll probably read more of his stuff.
I'm now reading "The Mission, the Men, and Me." Very good read, excellent writing with some great life/business/thinking/planning lessons.
Finally, I have "The Thank You Economy" by Gary Vaynerchuk cued up next. PnI have read/follow Gary's stuff. Most of the marketing stuff we do is focused on giving away content in exchange for permission to continue to have a conversation with that person, hopefully leading to a $ relationship. Curious to see if there's anything we can learn.
As I enjoy my last month of non-tri hobbies (I have some great moto rides schedule through about May 5th, then plan to put the bike away so I can train and not get hurt) and look at a summer of Ironman training, I see myself falling into the schedule of living like a pro: train, eat, sleep, read, train, eat, get skinny, sleep, repeat. Not the most exciting way to spend the summer...but I should get in a lot of good reading!
I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and thought it was an absolutely terrific page turner. The initial part that others complained about seemed to be a perfect lead-in to a fine literary ride. Now I am almost finished with The Girl Who Played with Fire, which is an even better tale, and cannot put it down.
I am already looking forward to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest – the final book in the trilogy.
The main character; Lisbeth Salander, is a very likeable, vulnerable, socially challenged human, and I find myself caring about her in a concerned, grandfatherly manner as she moves from one scrape to another during the roller coaster ride of a story.
I just finished Unbroken and The Upside of Irrationality. Both were great reads. Highly recommended! Got to spend a Saturday with Dan Ariely a few weeks back...just fascinating stuff. Hoping to figure out how to apply it to my work...use people's worst instincts about making decisions about money and "trick" them into actually making good decisions! Just started a book about healthcare that Ariely recommends. I'm totally fascinated by why our healthcare system costs 2X what any other country pays but doesn't get any better outcomes and only covers 80% of the people. Not trying to start a political debate, to me it's just a fascinating question. I've read Checklist Manifesto (Rich) too...it's really, really good.
I put down Checklist Manifesto during my SciFi/Fantasy binge. Not sure when I'll pick it up again as I have another SciFi book on the Kindle, will start tonight.
Also read Unbroken...great read! Next time you're feeling sorry for yourself in anything triathlon related and think you're having a tough day, think again about this book. WOW!
@Rich next military reading binge you go on, let me specifically reccomend The Men, The Mission, and Me: Lessons from a former Delta Force Commander. By Pete Blaber, some good stuff I think you might like.
@Rich next military reading binge you go on, let me specifically reccomend The Men, The Mission, and Me: Lessons from a former Delta Force Commander. By Pete Blaber, some good stuff I think you might like.
Yep, already read it and enjoyed it! Even at my junior officer, operator level I saw a LOT of that planning inertia he talks about: the 96hr planning process, a focus on executing a plan vs a mission, stuff like that. The military does a lot of things very well but it also carries a lot of baggage the farther up the chain of command you go. We said that promotion to major came with a frontal lobotomy...
But at the small unit level, when stuff has to happen very quickly, that's when it gets fun.
Triathlon story:
I did the very first LA Triathlon, in 2000. Point to point race, with rental trucks full of our T1 gear showing up at the finish...about 2-3hrs after most of us were done, with no one in charge and no obvious process. Was a cluster for about 15' until 3x Marines jumped up on the truck, quickly organized the civilans on the ground -- assigning jobs, issuing orders -- and got it all done in about 15'. Pretty funny to see.
Pale Demon by Kim Harrison. Much darker take on the world of witches, vampires and the nonhuman world than Charlaine Harris, but with a similar slutty factor. It's book 9 in the series. Each book title is based on a Clint Eastwood movie title.
Just finished "Three Cups of Deceit" by Jon Krakauer on how the Three Cups of Tea series, and it's author Greg Mortenson, is kind of a sham. Interesting but also sad...
@Patrick, interesting, hadn't heard of this book. Krakauer is generally a great writer, so I'll have to pick this up. I thought Three Cups of Tea was a great book, but also have to agree with / laugh when the military says, sometimes bad guys just need to be shot.
I missed the 60 Minutes peice on Three Cups of Tea but have been loosely following it this week in the news. It's a shame because regardless of what's true or not, the fundraising of his charity is going to take a huge hit = fewer schools will be built.
I just finished reading Stieg Larsson's magnificent Millennium Trilogy. The three books were absolutely some of the finest fiction I have read in a long, long time. The tales were riveting and absolute ripping page turners from start to finish.
I, too, loved the Millenium Trilogy. Couldn't put those books down. My husband had the same problem though that a number of people wrote about - got in about 100+ pages and just gave up. I did NOT have that problem.
Other stuff that hasn't been mentioned that I have read recently and liked: The Postmistress - intermingled stories of New England doctor, small town postmistress, and radio journalist covering the London Blitz in 1941. Really good. Just about finished The Help - loving it! Thunderstruck by Eric Larsen - intermingled stories of Marconi (radio inventor) and an English doctor who murders his wife. The Glass Castle - memoir of a woman growing up in an entirely dysfunctional family. Halfbroke Horses - the story of the same woman's grandmother who was a truly adventurous soul growing up and living in the American west in the early part of the last century.
The best book I've read recently, hands down, is Cutting for Stone. Being in the medical field probably makes it more relevant for me, but it's a great read in general - made me want to go to Ethiopia and be a surgeon!
Finished Three Cups of Deceipt last week. Interesting, sad, good read. Important lesson for anyone sitting on a Board.
This week was Unbroken. All I can say is thanks for the recomendation. Wow! What a story. Totally amazing and incredible to believe the guy is still alive and kicking, not to mention he seems to be in pretty good spirits.
Just finished Hangman's Daughter. Another good read. Story takes place in the 17th century and tells a tale of someone born in to the executioners profession and how they work to unravel a murder mystery/ witchcraft plot. Translated from German. Highly recommended!
I finished Catching Moles A Practical Guide by Jeff Nicholls. I run a very small side gig, when I'm not being a fireman/paramedic or part time paramedic where I trap people's moles when they invade their yards hence the book. Pretty boring book unless you have moles ruining your yard. I finally had some business cards printed. Currently reading Lawn Geek: Tips and Tricks for the Ultimate Turf From the Guru of Grass by Trey Rogers. Not doing Ironman this year I thought I would at least have a nice looking lawn. Sort of a labor of love. Also reading The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB. It is taking me forever to get through it. The weather has been nice, I've been outside.
Unbroken is excellent. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it because I didn't have the stomach for the ongoing torture the protagonist faced. Absolutely incredible what he withstood. I thought the time at sea was bad enough, but then to be "rescued" by the Japanese and then to go from horrible situation to a more horrible one was more than I could even read about. Her other book Seabiscuit was terrific too.
Unbroken is excellent. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it because I didn't have the stomach for the ongoing torture the protagonist faced. Absolutely incredible what he withstood. I thought the time at sea was bad enough, but then to be "rescued" by the Japanese and then to go from horrible situation to a more horrible one was more than I could even read about. Her other book Seabiscuit was terrific too.
@Ann - I just finished Unbroken. I would highly recommend you go back and finish it. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it is WELL WORTH finishing.
On a side note, one of the guys that I work with in Texas told me that he had just taught a student with the last name Zamperini. He, too, had just finished the book....coincidence.. perhaps? Anyhow, he asked the Lieutenant if his grandpa was an Olympian. A confused look for a moment, and then, "No, he was my Great Uncle." Small World.
Al, you're not the only one. I loved that trilogy. As you read, it only keeps getting better.
I went on a sci-fi bender recently, and read the entire "Foundation" trilogy by Asimov. Don't know how I never came across that before, but it was sensational. Can't remember the last time I read a trilogy that quickly.
I'm currently reading David Brooks' "The Social Animal" . I'll give a complete review when I finish, but I'm really enjoying it so far. Very thought-provoking.
@Mike -- If you like the Trilogy, then you will probably enjoy the four other books within the Foundation universe: http://www.vavatch.co.uk/books/asimov/. They add a whole new dimension to his writing. If you really get hooked, the pre-prequels are also good as well (that is where R. Daneel is introduced).
@Mike You at least want to read Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth (written 30 years after the original trilogy), but there are a whole bunch of books in the Foundation Universe.
Finally read Water for Elephants and loved it. Great book. I don't read many fiction books but this one was one of my favorites. Did anyone happen to see you can now lend on your kindle? I would be happy to share some of my books, I looked and estimate 60 percent of them are eligible to lend if anyone is interested.
Comments
Thanks for the SF recommendations. I grew up on Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, et al, as well as Tolkien and other fantasy stuff. I was the kid always reading a book in the back of the class, not paying attention, but would smoke all the verbal/language stuff. Math...I got by.
. My mom made me:
Anyway, true story: in 5th grade (I think, maybe 3rd) I got a D in conduct one quarter
I think I maybe eeked out a C in conduct the next quarter
+ 1 on the Neal Stephenson Recommendation. If it's strictly Sci-Fi you like, start with Snow Crash and Diamond Age. If you like his wide-ranging intellect and scattershot writing style, then go to the heavier stuff, Cryptonomicom and the Baroque Trilogy - they each have about 900 pages. For more sophomoric laughs, the Big U and Zodiac will make you an NS completist. Assuming, that is, you can get thru Anathem - I still haven't, and I've read everything Thomas Pynchon has written. (Speaking of whom, try Inherant Vice, his most accessible, and shortest book in decades, about a hippie gumshoe in Venice Beach, 1971.) Oh, one more free association: "Dog Gone It" - a detective novel, written in the first person from the PI's canine sidekick's viewpoint.
For a Sci-Fi-ish fast read, try "Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shreyngart. iPads carried to their logical conclusion, purchased immortality (almost, not quite), and a Chinese economic takeover of the US, complete with a corporatized civil war are featured in the background of this May-September love story between children of immigrants, she Korean, in her 20s and he Russian, in his 40s. They git it on despite his obsession with actual, physical books.
First in: How 7 CIA Officers Opened the War on Terror in Afghanistan by Gary Schroen. If you've read Kill Bin Laden, or Jawbreaker a lot of the stuff repeats it self. It is still a good book. Between my ipod audio books and the ones on my kindle I've now read enough about Afghanistan the information is starting to cross in my head.
I have read quite a few of the Tolkien-inspired epic quests... so many in fact that I became a bit burned out on the genre. However, this is perhaps the best one I have read.
@Rich: I was that same kid... the cool thing is that my high school had an actual class on Tolkien & C.S. Lewis...
Continuing on my semi history interest, finished:
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition. First edition was all pre-2001, this has a few extra chapters about post 2001 taliban 'life'. Very interesting, author also wrote Decent into Chaos which was equally as good. Neat thing about this was it was released right before September 11th, so not a lot of saber rattling about how prophetic a person he/she was (which tends to happen with these things). Couple this with all the other Afghanistan stuff I have been reading and I am just depressed as all heck with our chances of coming out of there better than we went in (forgetting completely the life of the average afghan)
Half way through: Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad. OMG
if half of what this book talks about is true I am totally freaked out. Holy cow. Really interesting read but I am totally going to start sweeping the house looking for bugs hehehe
-Dave
I've been a readin' fool lately...
I picked up Name of the Wind on Art's recommendation. Read it, enjoyed it, and bought the second book which came out in early March. Both good books but I think the author has dug himself into a hole with plot lines that haven't moved anywhere, etc. Still, good reads.
Then I found some cheap scifi books on Amazon for the Kindle:
"Run" and "Meridians" by Michaelbrent Collins (what's up with that first name, parents couldn't just pick one?
) Good reads, though I enjoyed Run better.
One beef I have with all of the books above is what I'm now call "metaphor heavy writing:" using metaphor after metaphor to describe anything. I gets old and ridiculous after a while. "Meridians" have some doozy that had me rolling my eyes.
Picked up "2184" by Martin Parish. Excellent book, would make an interesting movie.
Then I picked up "The Frozen Sky," a short story by Jeff Carlson, for $.99. About the discovery of intelligent life under the ice on Europa. Good story and I'll probably read more of his stuff.
I'm now reading "The Mission, the Men, and Me." Very good read, excellent writing with some great life/business/thinking/planning lessons.
Finally, I have "The Thank You Economy" by Gary Vaynerchuk cued up next. PnI have read/follow Gary's stuff. Most of the marketing stuff we do is focused on giving away content in exchange for permission to continue to have a conversation with that person, hopefully leading to a $ relationship. Curious to see if there's anything we can learn.
As I enjoy my last month of non-tri hobbies (I have some great moto rides schedule through about May 5th, then plan to put the bike away so I can train and not get hurt) and look at a summer of Ironman training, I see myself falling into the schedule of living like a pro: train, eat, sleep, read, train, eat, get skinny, sleep, repeat. Not the most exciting way to spend the summer...but I should get in a lot of good reading!
I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and thought it was an absolutely terrific page turner. The initial part that others complained about seemed to be a perfect lead-in to a fine literary ride. Now I am almost finished with The Girl Who Played with Fire, which is an even better tale, and cannot put it down.
I am already looking forward to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest – the final book in the trilogy.
The main character; Lisbeth Salander, is a very likeable, vulnerable, socially challenged human, and I find myself caring about her in a concerned, grandfatherly manner as she moves from one scrape to another during the roller coaster ride of a story.
I put down Checklist Manifesto during my SciFi/Fantasy binge. Not sure when I'll pick it up again as I have another SciFi book on the Kindle, will start tonight.
Also read Unbroken...great read! Next time you're feeling sorry for yourself in anything triathlon related and think you're having a tough day, think again about this book. WOW!
Yep, already read it and enjoyed it! Even at my junior officer, operator level I saw a LOT of that planning inertia he talks about: the 96hr planning process, a focus on executing a plan vs a mission, stuff like that. The military does a lot of things very well but it also carries a lot of baggage the farther up the chain of command you go. We said that promotion to major came with a frontal lobotomy...
But at the small unit level, when stuff has to happen very quickly, that's when it gets fun.
Triathlon story:
I did the very first LA Triathlon, in 2000. Point to point race, with rental trucks full of our T1 gear showing up at the finish...about 2-3hrs after most of us were done, with no one in charge and no obvious process. Was a cluster for about 15' until 3x Marines jumped up on the truck, quickly organized the civilans on the ground -- assigning jobs, issuing orders -- and got it all done in about 15'. Pretty funny to see.
I missed the 60 Minutes peice on Three Cups of Tea but have been loosely following it this week in the news. It's a shame because regardless of what's true or not, the fundraising of his charity is going to take a huge hit = fewer schools will be built.
I just finished reading Stieg Larsson's magnificent Millennium Trilogy. The three books were absolutely some of the finest fiction I have read in a long, long time. The tales were riveting and absolute ripping page turners from start to finish.
Other stuff that hasn't been mentioned that I have read recently and liked: The Postmistress - intermingled stories of New England doctor, small town postmistress, and radio journalist covering the London Blitz in 1941. Really good. Just about finished The Help - loving it! Thunderstruck by Eric Larsen - intermingled stories of Marconi (radio inventor) and an English doctor who murders his wife. The Glass Castle - memoir of a woman growing up in an entirely dysfunctional family. Halfbroke Horses - the story of the same woman's grandmother who was a truly adventurous soul growing up and living in the American west in the early part of the last century.
two thumbs up for The Help! Great read.
This week was Unbroken. All I can say is thanks for the recomendation. Wow! What a story. Totally amazing and incredible to believe the guy is still alive and kicking, not to mention he seems to be in pretty good spirits.
Just finished Hangman's Daughter. Another good read. Story takes place in the 17th century and tells a tale of someone born in to the executioners profession and how they work to unravel a murder mystery/ witchcraft plot. Translated from German. Highly recommended!
On to Cutting for Stone!
Currently reading Lawn Geek: Tips and Tricks for the Ultimate Turf From the Guru of Grass by Trey Rogers. Not doing Ironman this year I thought I would at least have a nice looking lawn. Sort of a labor of love.
Also reading The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB. It is taking me forever to get through it. The weather has been nice, I've been outside.
@Ann - I just finished Unbroken. I would highly recommend you go back and finish it. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it is WELL WORTH finishing.
On a side note, one of the guys that I work with in Texas told me that he had just taught a student with the last name Zamperini. He, too, had just finished the book....coincidence.. perhaps? Anyhow, he asked the Lieutenant if his grandpa was an Olympian. A confused look for a moment, and then, "No, he was my Great Uncle." Small World.
Joe
I went on a sci-fi bender recently, and read the entire "Foundation" trilogy by Asimov. Don't know how I never came across that before, but it was sensational. Can't remember the last time I read a trilogy that quickly.
I'm currently reading David Brooks' "The Social Animal" . I'll give a complete review when I finish, but I'm really enjoying it so far. Very thought-provoking.
Joe
@Mike
You at least want to read Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth (written 30 years after the original trilogy), but there are a whole bunch of books in the Foundation Universe.