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PSurprise
05-20-2015, 04:52 PM
Well, we're getting into the summer reading season. Does anyone have any books they'd like to review/suggest/feed to the dog/burn? I'm going to be reading Tai-Pan by James Clavell on a suggestion from a coworker. Anyone have any thoughts on this one? I would love to hear your ideas on any fiction and non-fiction that you've read recently or are planning to read. Thanks!

Bob Green
05-20-2015, 05:02 PM
I'm going to be reading Tai-Pan by James Clavell on a suggestion from a coworker. Anyone have any thoughts on this one?

Clavell's books are fantastic. As soon as you are done with Tai-Pan, read King Rat followed by Noble House.

cspan37421
05-20-2015, 05:16 PM
Three nonfiction books I really enjoyed last year, and were much better than expected:

The Code Book, by Simon Singh. Fermat's Enigma is also by him and also excellent.
At Ease, Dwight Eisenhower.
Wild, Cheryl Strayed.

I just recently finished (Duke's own) Henry Petroski's The Pencil; his stuff is always more interesting than it seems that it will be (not just in relative terms! Interesting overall too). Am working on So, Anyway ... by John Cleese, and so far, very entertaining.

I read very little fiction, but have really enjoyed many of Neal Stephenson's early to mid-career works (Diamond Age, Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon). He lost me in his Baroque Cycle trilogy, but I might take another look at him for works like Reamde, Anathem, etc.

weezie
05-20-2015, 07:44 PM
The Narrow Road To The Deep North, by Richard Flanagan. Won the Man Booker, partially based on his father's experience during WW2 as a POW in Burma.
Incredible book.

Bob Green
05-20-2015, 08:13 PM
The Narrow Road To The Deep North, by Richard Flanagan.

I'm going to check this one out. James Hornfischer's Ship of Ghosts was awesome. Some of the USS Houston survivors ended up working on the Burma - Thailand railroad. Houston was sunk in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in early March 1942. The Houston POWs went from Java to Singapore to Burma. While in Singapore, they were at Changi Prison, the setting for Clavell's King Rat. Clavell was a POW at Changi during WWII.

devildeac
05-20-2015, 09:56 PM
Clavell's books are fantastic. As soon as you are done with Tai-Pan, read King Rat followed by Noble House.

This is heartily endorsed. I read these about a decade ago over a 6-12 month period and thought it was a fabulous experience.

devildeac
05-20-2015, 09:58 PM
Almost finished Rebel Yell by S. C. Gwynne. It's nearly a 600 page story about Stonewall Jackson with heavy emphasis on his Civil War battles.

Bostondevil
05-20-2015, 10:14 PM
For summer reading - if you've never read anything by Jasper Fforde, I recommend trying him. I like all his stuff but I usually tell folks to start with The Big Over Easy. Offbeat British humor at its finest. Jack Sprat of the Nursery Crimes Division investigates the murder of Humpty Dumpty.

Ultrarunner
05-21-2015, 12:14 AM
John Parker wrote the go-to cult classic in 1978. He is set to release a book, Racing the Rain (http://www.amazon.com/Racing-Rain-John-Parker-Jr/dp/1476769869), that is probably much better, but one that some runners are going to dislike. I had an opportunity to review (http://www.paulduffau.com/blog/category/racing-the-rain-review-john-l-parkers)it at my blog (and watched it get picked up by Track and Field News, which is always nice.)

On tap for the next couple of months or so are the entries for the Hugo Awards, Devil's Advocate by Morris West, and along with Weezie, The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Non-fiction, I need to finish Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore and The Big Con by David Maurer.

I'll have to take a look at that John Cleese . . . There's a great video on his Philosophy of Creativity (http://www.openculture.com/2013/09/john-cleeses-philosophy-of-creativity-creating-oases-for-childlike-play.html)

luburch
05-23-2015, 03:36 PM
John Parker wrote the go-to cult classic in 1978. He is set to release a book, Racing the Rain (http://www.amazon.com/Racing-Rain-John-Parker-Jr/dp/1476769869), that is probably much better, but one that some runners are going to dislike. I had an opportunity to review (http://www.paulduffau.com/blog/category/racing-the-rain-review-john-l-parkers)it at my blog (and watched it get picked up by Track and Field News, which is always nice.)

On tap for the next couple of months or so are the entries for the Hugo Awards, Devil's Advocate by Morris West, and along with Weezie, The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Non-fiction, I need to finish Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore and The Big Con by David Maurer.

I'll have to take a look at that John Cleese . . . There's a great video on his Philosophy of Creativity (http://www.openculture.com/2013/09/john-cleeses-philosophy-of-creativity-creating-oases-for-childlike-play.html)

Once a Runner is the greatest running book every written, IMO. Ordering Racing the Rain now.

Ultrarunner
05-24-2015, 12:36 AM
Once a Runner is the greatest running book every written, IMO. Ordering Racing the Rain now.

I'm meeting him in Eugene for the Pre Classic next week. I'll pass it along. If you're in the PNW, he's doing some book events out here.

91devil
05-27-2015, 05:42 PM
Surely this has been mentioned in past summer reading threads, but Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes is the best book I've ever read. A terrific Vietnam War era book based on Marlantes' service (with names changed).

An epic read.

Blue in the Face
05-27-2015, 05:56 PM
Surely this has been mentioned in past summer reading threads, but Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes is the best book I've ever read. A terrific Vietnam War era book based on Marlantes' service (with names changed).

An epic read.
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