First off, x2 on Susan's rating of The Boys in the Boat. Great story! And for someone who grew up in the PNW, the book does a wonderful job evoking the place - the rain, the landscape, the ethos of the people. Just finished The Goldfinch. It was long, needed to be more thoroughly edited, but boy did I love that book! I read a lot and this has got to be my favourite book of the year so far. Wonderful characters and a story that I just couldn't put down. Highly recommend it.
I'm churning through books on my Audible account and need some new recommendations. Anybody have any recommendations?
Some of the recent ones I have "Read" and liked are:
Natural Born Heroes - Great Read by the author of Born to Run weaving together a fitness aspect of using things like Parkour, body control and harnessing connective tissue to be a more efficient runner... And a Band of guerrilla fighters in Crete during WW2 trying to fend off the Nazis. hint, they were efficient runners who survived on little to no food.
The Sports Gene - Disputes the 10,000 hours path to greatness and claims that many people are simply genetically more inclined to excel at their given sport. (i.e. a very high percentage of the 7 ft + people on this planet are or have been professional basketball players... Or the difference between world class sprinters and endurance runners bone geometries)
Ready Player One - If you're a child of the 80's and are into Technological fiction and nerdy puzzle solving quests, this book was much better than I expected (There's a movie out now but as the saying goes, it's not as good as the book).
Cryptonomicon - Written in the late 1990's. If you're into Code breaking of WW2, Super math stuff, running parallel with crypto-hackers trying to encrypt data and salvage treasure, this was pretty good.
Endure: Mind, Body... Alex Hutchinson explores the latest Science of Endurance.
Win Bigly - Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) describes how Trump won the election, not because he's crazy, or that we're all crazy, but because Trump is actually a master persuader.
Elon Musk - Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future - Fantastic biography (sort of) of Elon Musk's back story and life (so far).
Sapiens - narrative of humanity's creation and evolution that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human".
Scar Tissue - Anthony Keidis (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) life story. If you're a Chili Pepper fan and want some background of many of their best songs lyrics, or just want to peak into the life of somebody who took A LOT of drugs then you'll probably like this one.
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman - If you're a mathy, sciency, engineeringy, nerdy type (like me) just read this book (from 1985). You're welcome.
Publisher's Summary:
With his characteristic eyebrow-raising behavior, Richard P. Feynman once provoked the wife of a Princeton dean to remark, "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" But the many scientific and personal achievements of this Nobel Prize-winning physicist are no laughing matter. In addition to solving the mystery of liquid helium, Feynman has been commissioned to paint a naked female toreador and asked to crack the uncrackable safes guarding the atomic bomb's most critical secrets. He has traded ideas with Einstein and Bohr, discussed gambling odds with Nick the Greek, and accompanied a ballet on the bongo drums. Here, woven with his scintillating views on modern science, Feynman relates the defining moments of his accomplished life.
I'm lucky if I have time to read 2 books per year. So far this year I've read one which means I'm on track! I only read nonfiction and if you have any interest in world affairs this book on political geography is superb!
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World Paperback– October 11, 2016
@John Withrow Thanks for reviving this thread! Always looking for another good read.
In the sports genre, I have recently read and really enjoyed a couple of books.
You mentioned Endure by Alex Hutchinson. It was a very thought-provoking book. I'm still pondering the mind over matter stuff. My favorite was the breath-holding people that basically fought off their brains signals of "You are about to die".
Another good read was North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachia Trail by Scott Jurek. If you liked Wild, the story of someone walking the Pacific Coast Trail, you'll like this one as Scott attempts a Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the 2K Appalatia Trail. Part soul searching, part race details.
Chasing Excellence by Dan Bergeron shows what it takes to train the best Crossfit athletes in the world and apply the lessons to your life. Developing mental toughness and sticking with the plan.
In the great literature category, I look for books on the big lists like the NYT fiction list and Amazon lists.
Some of the better ones I've read lately:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Growing up in Germany around the time of WWII. Great read.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. A fictional account of real historical facts. Kids taken from their birth parents in the 1930s and given to adoption agencies then sold off for large sums of money. This story follows two paths, from someone in the current day trying to figure out their grandmothers past and a journal of a child participant documenting the process happening to her.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. A Russian Aristocrat at the time of the Communist revolution is sentenced to house arrest in a hotel for the rest of his life.
In the tough provoking category I always like Malcolm Gladwell. His "David and Goliath", was written a few years ago, but I just read it recently. He is a great storyteller and his typical theme of looking at something from a different angle makes for a fun read.
In the history section, I read a 20+-year-old book recently called "Citizen Soldiers" by Stephen Ambrose that tells the story of the US Army from Normandy to the fall of Germany. Truly inspiring.
In the nutrition category "Salt Sugar Fat" by Michael Moss. tells the story of the rise of fast food in the US. Fascinating read and shows that changing our dietary habits is no easy task.
In the short story category, I recently started a paid subscription to Outside Magazine and now get the magazine, emailed newsletters and other things sent to me. The magazine has fantastic short reads on a huge variety of topics related to the outdoors, health, nutrition and such. They have some great short videos too. Lots of inspiring articles to read.
+1 on All The Light We Cannot See - Intelligent, wide ranging, gripping story set in northern France during WWII, featuring a blind french girl, a young German infantryman, and how their lives intersect around...radio signals. Deserves the awards it won.
Currently reading “Natural Born Heroes,” by Christopher McDougall, the author of “Born to Run.” Very interesting story. Looks like Scott Jurek’s “North” will be next. Lots of EN’ers reading it.
A few other good ones: "Shoe Dog" by Phil Knight, the CEO, and Founder of Nike. Tells about the founding of Nike. Quite the story and worth the read!
"The Death of Expertise" by Tom Nichols. One of the better non-fiction books I've read in a long time! It discusses the rise of anti-intellectualism, the problems with platforms like Google, FaceBook and others along with many other topics. It's a wake-up cry for civil discourse, personal education and willingness to engage with expertise.
"The Great Alone" by Kristen Hannah. Typical Oprah type book recommendation about a dysfunctional family (of course!). Vietnam vet comes home, moves his family to Alaska and the tale begins. Great read!
Got to see Alex Hutchinson, author of the "Endure" book, this evening at a local running store for a book signing event. Got the book (it was already on my wish list) and got it signed. Can't wait to read it!
Comments
I am reading The Boys in the Boat. Agree with notes above that it is taking a while to get started, but am really enjoying it.
I also started reading the "Uncle Eric" series by Richard Maybury. Pretty interesting so far....
Some of the recent ones I have "Read" and liked are:
Natural Born Heroes - Great Read by the author of Born to Run weaving together a fitness aspect of using things like Parkour, body control and harnessing connective tissue to be a more efficient runner... And a Band of guerrilla fighters in Crete during WW2 trying to fend off the Nazis. hint, they were efficient runners who survived on little to no food.
The Sports Gene - Disputes the 10,000 hours path to greatness and claims that many people are simply genetically more inclined to excel at their given sport. (i.e. a very high percentage of the 7 ft + people on this planet are or have been professional basketball players... Or the difference between world class sprinters and endurance runners bone geometries)
Ready Player One - If you're a child of the 80's and are into Technological fiction and nerdy puzzle solving quests, this book was much better than I expected (There's a movie out now but as the saying goes, it's not as good as the book).
Cryptonomicon - Written in the late 1990's. If you're into Code breaking of WW2, Super math stuff, running parallel with crypto-hackers trying to encrypt data and salvage treasure, this was pretty good.
Endure: Mind, Body... Alex Hutchinson explores the latest Science of Endurance.
Win Bigly - Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) describes how Trump won the election, not because he's crazy, or that we're all crazy, but because Trump is actually a master persuader.
Elon Musk - Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future - Fantastic biography (sort of) of Elon Musk's back story and life (so far).
Sapiens - narrative of humanity's creation and evolution that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human".
Scar Tissue - Anthony Keidis (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) life story. If you're a Chili Pepper fan and want some background of many of their best songs lyrics, or just want to peak into the life of somebody who took A LOT of drugs then you'll probably like this one.
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman - If you're a mathy, sciency, engineeringy, nerdy type (like me) just read this book (from 1985). You're welcome.
Publisher's Summary:
With his characteristic eyebrow-raising behavior, Richard P. Feynman once provoked the wife of a Princeton dean to remark, "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" But the many scientific and personal achievements of this Nobel Prize-winning physicist are no laughing matter. In addition to solving the mystery of liquid helium, Feynman has been commissioned to paint a naked female toreador and asked to crack the uncrackable safes guarding the atomic bomb's most critical secrets. He has traded ideas with Einstein and Bohr, discussed gambling odds with Nick the Greek, and accompanied a ballet on the bongo drums. Here, woven with his scintillating views on modern science, Feynman relates the defining moments of his accomplished life.Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World Paperback– October 11, 2016
In the sports genre, I have recently read and really enjoyed a couple of books.
You mentioned Endure by Alex Hutchinson. It was a very thought-provoking book. I'm still pondering the mind over matter stuff. My favorite was the breath-holding people that basically fought off their brains signals of "You are about to die".
Another good read was North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachia Trail by Scott Jurek. If you liked Wild, the story of someone walking the Pacific Coast Trail, you'll like this one as Scott attempts a Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the 2K Appalatia Trail. Part soul searching, part race details.
Chasing Excellence by Dan Bergeron shows what it takes to train the best Crossfit athletes in the world and apply the lessons to your life. Developing mental toughness and sticking with the plan.
In the great literature category, I look for books on the big lists like the NYT fiction list and Amazon lists.
Some of the better ones I've read lately:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Growing up in Germany around the time of WWII. Great read.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. A fictional account of real historical facts. Kids taken from their birth parents in the 1930s and given to adoption agencies then sold off for large sums of money. This story follows two paths, from someone in the current day trying to figure out their grandmothers past and a journal of a child participant documenting the process happening to her.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. A Russian Aristocrat at the time of the Communist revolution is sentenced to house arrest in a hotel for the rest of his life.
In the tough provoking category I always like Malcolm Gladwell. His "David and Goliath", was written a few years ago, but I just read it recently. He is a great storyteller and his typical theme of looking at something from a different angle makes for a fun read.
In the history section, I read a 20+-year-old book recently called "Citizen Soldiers" by Stephen Ambrose that tells the story of the US Army from Normandy to the fall of Germany. Truly inspiring.
In the nutrition category "Salt Sugar Fat" by Michael Moss. tells the story of the rise of fast food in the US. Fascinating read and shows that changing our dietary habits is no easy task.
In the short story category, I recently started a paid subscription to Outside Magazine and now get the magazine, emailed newsletters and other things sent to me. The magazine has fantastic short reads on a huge variety of topics related to the outdoors, health, nutrition and such. They have some great short videos too. Lots of inspiring articles to read.
"Shoe Dog" by Phil Knight, the CEO, and Founder of Nike. Tells about the founding of Nike. Quite the story and worth the read!
"The Death of Expertise" by Tom Nichols. One of the better non-fiction books I've read in a long time! It discusses the rise of anti-intellectualism, the problems with platforms like Google, FaceBook and others along with many other topics. It's a wake-up cry for civil discourse, personal education and willingness to engage with expertise.
"The Great Alone" by Kristen Hannah. Typical Oprah type book recommendation about a dysfunctional family (of course!). Vietnam vet comes home, moves his family to Alaska and the tale begins. Great read!