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Post by Hedo69 on Jan 12, 2005 13:38:02 GMT -6
Thanks Jake!! I love the title ;D.
Ok, I know you guys have a book (or two) you love, whether it be just the joy of reading it, the political statement it makes or for reasons known to only you. Which one (or more) is it?
Here is a one to start with:
1. Stranger in a Strange Land-Robert Heinlein. Is a good good read and makes a strong statement about the world we live in.
Deborah
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Post by Chicago Jake on Jan 12, 2005 13:53:14 GMT -6
I love Stranger In A Strange Land! I totally grok that book. In fact, I love most of Heinlein's stuff. And he was an engineer, too, ya know! Here's my addition to the list:
2. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole. After trying for years, unsuccessfully, to get it published, he killed himself in despair. His mother finally got it published, and it won a Pulitzer. Funny and poignant story of the seedier parts of life......Jake
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Post by Hedo69 on Jan 13, 2005 8:37:34 GMT -6
I have heard of it, but have never read it. I like getting these sort of recommendations as there are times I will hit the book store or Amazon and order some classics I haven't read or some that people say I GOTTA READ. I will add this to my list.
The classic I read this past summer which I absolutely loved. My daughter had it for required reading so I picked it up one day. This was read floating in the pool with a beer in hand:
To Kill a Mockingbird. I now understand why it is a classic. Excellent story from a child's perspective of an extremely racial time in the US.
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Post by danimal on Jan 13, 2005 11:33:22 GMT -6
My vote is "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" by Spider Robinson...It is the closest thing to the DennyP's Hedo group in literary form that I have come across.
Its a feel-good book...maybe a little sappy at times, but I tend to be a cynic, sometimes so much so that it makes me sick. Sometimes I need an escape to a reality where people are actually NICE to each other, even if that reality is in the pages of a book.
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Post by Hedo69 on Jan 13, 2005 22:36:11 GMT -6
Well Danimal, isn't that one of the greatest joys of reading? Seeing a slice of life different from your own through someone else's eyes? I feel like I have experienced so much just by reading.
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Post by The Last Season on Jan 14, 2005 8:15:19 GMT -6
For basketball fans, Phil Jackson's "The Last Season" is definitely a must-read. He takes you on a behind-the-scenes ride of the LA Lakers' near-championship run with a team laden with four future Hall of Famers, and tells the story behind the eventual break-up of the best team in basketball this decade.
If you're a Kobe Bryant fan (dwindling by the moment, I heard), you may not like what Phil Jackson has to say about him... read the book and you'll see a different Kobe than what his marketing people portray him to be.
It's a very nice read and captures all the drama of the Lakers' soap opera-like 2003-2004 season.
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pkatcher
Member
A friend in need is a pest
Posts: 51
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Post by pkatcher on Jan 15, 2005 12:11:30 GMT -6
Among my favorite books not generally noted in such discussions is by The Great Bridge by David McCullough. It's the epic story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, a dangerous and inspiring enterprise, which took 14 years to complete (1869-1883) and culminated in perhaps the greatest engineering marvel of its time -- a time when Trinity Church was the tallest structure in Manhattan (at roughly 280 feet). The reviews on Amazon.com are lengthy and passionate, a testament to the impact this book has had on readers. The best pay-off, after finishing the book, is to walk across the bridge and feel it, remember when it was not taken for granted (P.T. Barnum led a herd of elephants across it in 1884 to prove its safety to a still-skeptical public), gaze toward the crowded Manhattan skyline and marvel at all that's happened under its watch. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge*** Hey, Jake, best of luck with the forum. |
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Post by hardwork-DJ on Jan 17, 2005 19:27:01 GMT -6
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom This author gives a new spin on the afterlife. I found it a quick and enjoyable read  ~DJ~ |
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Post by danimal on Jan 18, 2005 11:27:52 GMT -6
Well Danimal, isn't that one of the greatest joys of reading? Seeing a slice of life different from your own through someone else's eyes? I feel like I have experienced so much just by reading. You're absolutely right...Guess that's why I enjoy reading the WWW Trip reports (hint hint guys....) |
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Post by Christinko on Jan 22, 2005 9:24:28 GMT -6
Check out the old standard by Tom Robbins .... Jitterbug Perfume. It's my favorite book of all time because:
It's playful, it has lots of history and religious references without being didactic, sex abounds, women are treated with reverence, the metaphors will make you breathless, and you want to know how this guy lives so many hundreds of years and whether Pan fade from sight entirely.
Robbins is an artist with the English language and his story-telling ability is finely honed. Granted his more recent novels (Half asleep in Frog Pajamas and that newer one, brain fart, show he's getting tired and horny in a roll-your-eyes way in his dotage, but the earlier stuff is brilliant.
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Post by Lady Irie on Mar 20, 2005 10:00:02 GMT -6
Although these have been out for a while, here are my additions to the "MUST READ" on the Fiction List. For a while I was addicted to books that re-told stories in the voices of lesser characters which gives an interesting and thought provoking perspective to something you only thought you knew.
THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant; The story of the Bible told from the point of Dinah, daughter of Jacob & sister of Joseph. Basically a woman's perspective of the Bible the issues women faced and how they nurtured and supported each other.
CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER by Gregory Maguire; The story of Cinderella is retold from the perspective of one of the ugly stepsisters. (I thought his prior book, Wicked was just so-so)
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Post by Chicago Jake on Mar 20, 2005 10:18:20 GMT -6
There's also a version of Lolita told from Lolita's viewpoint. ("Lo's Story" or something like that.) I haven't read it (or the Nabokov original) but it sounds interestiing.....Jake
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Post by Irish Eyes on Apr 30, 2005 17:08:54 GMT -6
These kinds of books are my favorite - an old tale told by the viewpoint of another character. I LOVED Wicked - it was an epiphany for me - THEY WERE HER SHOES!!! having belonged to her sister, she is next of kin! And she was home minding her own business when Dorothy and her ragtag mob invaded intent on killing her!!! I also like the civil rights allusions. I didn't like as much his next, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, but it was not without its virtues.
Ahab's Wife (Sena Jeter Naslund) is another - Not really a retelling of Moby Dick, but a periphial story. Very good.
For a real tearjerker read Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. He usually writes murder mysteries so this is quite a departure for him, but very good.
And, hedonites as most of us are, let's not forget Henry Miller and Anais Nin for pure debauchery!!! Henry and June - great book, great movie.
Also, The Naked Truth about Hedonism (any and all versions).
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on May 3, 2005 9:37:39 GMT -6
Also, The Naked Truth about Hedonism (any and all versions). I'm waiting for the movie. |
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Post by Lady Irie on May 3, 2005 19:56:58 GMT -6
I'd rather see the Broadway Musical. ;D
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Post by Irish Eyes on May 9, 2005 19:40:34 GMT -6
Well then we've gone full circle - i.e., The Puppetry of the Penis, which WAS an (off?) Broadway show, and many of us had the fortune of seeing the Hedodude interpretation of such!
Hey Doug - What time is it?
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Post by Trying to remember on May 20, 2005 21:23:04 GMT -6
Didn' he loose his watch at last year' Reunion ??
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