Thread: What do you like to read?

Right now, I'm rereading the Confessions of St. Augustine.

I read a lot of science fiction.

Dune and Lord of Light are my two favorites.

I could reread either of those anytime.

Originally Posted by Oglethorpe

I typically enjoy very long, painful, boring books. Nonfiction, mostly. History, economics, physics, etc.

If they are boring and painful why do you enjoy them? Are you suggesting they may be long, painful etc. to others, but not you?
There are some great books out there, especially on history.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

If they are boring and painful why do you enjoy them? Are you suggesting they may be long, painful etc. to others, but not you?
There are some great books out there, especially on history.

I was being facetious. I find them incredibly interesting, but most people look at me like I have six heads.

Mark Twain. Hadn't read Twain in...gasp, 40 years! Easy to see why he is acclaimed as one of America's finest authors. Easy reading at its finest.

Of your selections, I really liked Dune, Moby Dick, Killer Angels....and for the occasional Clancy, Grisham etc.

Sitting under 20"+ of snow here...so uncorking the bottle, getting the book and waiting for my made from scratch pizza to cook.

Best to all.

[QUOTE=aroliver59;538400]Historical fiction is my favorite.Michael Shaara won a pulitzer prize for "The Killer Angels",a civil war story based on actual events told from different officers and soldiers perspectives.He passed away unexpectedly and his son Jeff Shaara took to writing in the same style and is VERY good at it.He has written several more and they are all GOOD. [QUOTE]

+1 on the Shaara' worls. Jeff Shaara's two-book seris on the Revolution, Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause are equally good. I also enjoy historical non-fiction. Two that come to mind are David McLellan's John Adam and the companion book, 1776 . Washington's Crossing by John Ferling is another.

Pretty much Anything by Terry Pratchett, I've re-read most of his books).

And other than that...pretty much anything. Although my bookshelves hold mostly Sci-Fi andFantasy books.

I prefer the books that I read to have nothing in common with my day to day life. I read for escape. Therefore, the books I read normally have following key ingredients: horses, swords, and some form of magic.

Currently working on the latest Wheel of Time book.

Vince Flynn? Ugh! Ambien does the same trick and it's so much more fun.

Hard boiled crime/Noir/etc. - I read the classic authors - Chandler, Doyle, le Carre, Poe... The "Big Book of Pulp" is a great buy IMO. Most of it is good, some of it ain't so bad... For about $15 you get ~1500 pages of pulp fiction so it's a good deal.

New stuff in that (kinda) area: Daniel Silva was good with "The Unlikely Spy" (WWII spy book), he had a little crap series in the middle then started with the Allon series which had some high points. John Lutz is pretty good, if you don't mind reading about people being skinned or field-dressed. Victor Gischler has a few good ones - cheeky. Cormac McCarthy is pretty awesome. There's a reason his books keep getting turned into movies... If you've never read it and like this kind of stuff, "American Psycho" by Brett Easton Ellis was a fun read, though some of the parts were tedious.

True Crime: that's a tough one. My favorite still is "I: The Creation of a Serial Killer." Careful though - the rape and murder scenes are pretty graphic and written in the first person. After a while, reading the words, "I choked her until she passed out then revived her a few more times while...." Well, let's just say it can get to you. (Interesting factoid: Long haul truckers call the sleeping area in their rig the "Coffin." This guy certainly made that literal...)

Classic Philosophy (and good for HNSB, too, I think): Rawls' A Theory of Justice is pretty standard fare. Peter Singer is kind of interesting utlitarianism, too. Of course, Plato and Aristotle have a lot of writing out there that's just about mandatory. Descartes, Kant, and Neitzsche are also pretty standard.

I know I missed stuff, but I can't find my Kindle.... Ugh! Vince Flynn... I think that ruined my day...

Paul,
You will not be allowed into the workshop with that attitude. In fact I'm going to download all of the Vince Flynn audiobooks so we can listen to them as we work.