When did you last read a good book whilst living in Thailand?

[sharktooth]

On 5/10/2019 at 9:26 PM, tutsiwarrior said:

 

 

one reads different things for different purposes...I've been reading a lot of the Michael Connolly Harry Bosch series not because I like detective novels but for the vivid descriptions of Los Angeles...the underbelly with the low life bars, the whores and the taco trucks, the homesickness is gloriously excruciating...

 

 

I recommend James Ellroy for that genre.

[tutsiwarrior]

16 minutes ago, sharktooth said:

I recommend James Ellroy for that genre.

James Ellroy is very good in that dept as well but from the verisimilitude of the cop's perspective Michael Connelly is better for what i like...having grown up around LA the sense of nostalgia is greater than with Ellroy...plus Ellroy goes farther back than Connolly whose stuff is more current...

 

'gimme a cheeseburger...' 'no cheeseburgers, senor policia...tacos, burritos and chimichangas...'

 

 

 

[GarryP]

10 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

James Ellroy is very good in that dept as well but from the verisimilitude of the cop's perspective Michael Connelly is better for what i like...having grown up around LA the sense of nostalgia is greater than with Ellroy...plus Ellroy goes farther back than Connolly whose stuff is more current...

 

'gimme a cheeseburger...' 'no cheeseburgers, senor policia...tacos, burritos and chimichangas...'

 

 

 

Want to go back a bit longer. Elmore Leonard wrote some great crime novels, many of which were made into films. 

[tutsiwarrior]

17 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Want to go back a bit longer. Elmore Leonard wrote some great crime novels, many of which were made into films. 

oh yeah...Elmore Leonard's classic dialog defines most crime writing these days...in one novel set in Mississippi a villian orders a co' cola, not a coca cola...got that one spot on...I was born in Nashville but grew up in LA and I useta observe when visiting the grandfolks back in Tennessee...

 

'that tutsi is an awfully quiet boy' and me gran who was always close to me heart 'quiet? naw...he's just observing...' 'here, tuts...you want some cottage cheese with a nice freshly sliced peach?' and then I melted into my grandmother's arms...

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by tutsiwarrior

[Nyezhov]

2 hours ago, sharktooth said:

Mobi and some pdf

I think I can read Monbis, whatchoo got big boy? Any hot stuff?

[Briggsy]

"Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

"All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque

And in case you omitted this classic

"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller

Oh, and I have to add this wonderful novel

"Ship of Fools" by Katherine Anne Porter

 

All of the above 4 novels are accessible to the general reader; anyone can enjoy them. The second one can be a bit grim.

[Wilsonandson]

The story of Musk's life when he was bright child who was bullied in class, and abused by his father within the interior of those rough conditions, and therefore the violence of social policy African country. Musk still thrived academically and attended the University of Pennsylvania, wherever he paid his own method through faculty by turning his house into a club and throwing large parties.

[nausea]

 

On 5/7/2019 at 9:15 PM, ghworker2010 said:

Please recommend 1 book that you 'could not put down' because it was that good.

The world's your oyster, basically. Yeah, I was taken with Papillon, I understand it's a distillation of many people's experience. As for a book I'd recommend - ooer, it depends where you are in life, and your particular tastes; what I can say is that you have like 300 odd years of English language novels to choose from, many of them translations; enough for one person's lifetime; and then you go back further - Shakespeare, Chaucer. OK, put me on the spot, I'd suggest ... . 

[zig]

Some random favorite authors and books:

Terry Pratchett

Frank Herbert - Dune series

Herman Hesse

Axel Munthe

Stephen King

Jorge Luis Borges

[RocketDog]

18 hours ago, zig said:

Some random favorite authors and books:

Terry Pratchett

Frank Herbert - Dune series

Herman Hesse

Axel Munthe

Stephen King

Jorge Luis Borges

Good list zig. Hesse stood out at once. Journey to the East, Siddhartha are both worth reading more than once. I'm afraid The Glass Bead Game was simply too arcane and beyond me though.

 

Stephen King is a feast that goes on forever..

 

Again with the Sci-fi but:

 

Stephen Baxter, Greg Bear, Charles Sheffield, David Brin.

 

 

This is a great thread and a delightful break from Thai bashing or defending, or the road carnage. I've pretty much given up on even opening or skimming those topics.

[tutsiwarrior]

On 5/12/2019 at 8:33 PM, Briggsy said:

"Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

"All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque

And in case you omitted this classic

"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller

Oh, and I have to add this wonderful novel

"Ship of Fools" by Katherine Anne Porter

 

All of the above 4 novels are accessible to the general reader; anyone can enjoy them. The second one can be a bit grim.

+1 for Ship of fools...a cousin gave me that to read many years ago and it was fascinating...worth a read...Katherine Anne Porter was also good with the short stories...

 

speaking of short stories has anyone mentioned Wm Trevor yet? excellent stuff...as well as John Cheever, Charles Bukowski, Raymond Carver, etc...Carver took Hemingway's minimalism an extra step with excellent results...one of my favorites...

 

in his drunken fantasy Bukowski gets into the ring with Hemingway and beats the shit outta him 'don't get all depressed, pal...nothin' to commit suicide over...' he probably expected to receive the Nobel as well (just like tutsiwarrior and then they said to me 'tutsi you turd, you like liquor and pussy too much so don't expect to receive anything but a kick in the pants') insensitive brute...

 

 

[essexman]

I can recommend this book.  3 nights in Thailand, based on a true story.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1095719327/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

Or a very good thriller Pattaya Dangerous, by the same author.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756F8G7L/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3

[nikmar]

i found a second hand copy of Wind in the Willows.

 

Holy s**t, where has this book been all my life. Beautifully written

[trevor67]

On 5/8/2019 at 9:52 AM, smutcakes said:

Jesus, Papillon was the go to book for every traveler 30 years ago, you are seriously behind the times. Another one you may enjoy would be Shantaram which seems another staple of travelers. You might also like the Don Winslow stuff like Power of the Dog, The Cartel and the new one just out The Border.

 

Personally i prefer the easy reads these days especially as they bring new books out fairly regularly. I seem to wait for new releases, by Baldacci, Hiiasen, James Patterson, Mark Gimanez etc- pretty average stuff but readable, readily available and they churn them out at a good rate.

Power of the Dog and Cartel were great....just started the third one....Thanks for the excellent recommendation.

[helloagain]

I dont enjoy reading books so never. I like my computer mags

[OneMoreFarang]

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

It's like poetry.

 

Some other recommendations:

Ken Follett - Pillars of the Earth and the follow up books

Stephen Leather's Nightingale books (which should be read in the correct order)

Einstein - Walter Isaacson

Most Gerald Seymour books. Many of them start very slowly and it takes forever until something happens. But at the end you can't put them down anymore. "Killing Ground" and "Holding the Zero" are part of my favorites.

[malibukid]

nothing since i have been in Thailand since they have no English book stores here.  Asia Books is a joke.  love Barnes and Nobles in L.A. with their liberal policy, where you can sit in a comfy chair and read the latest fiction or non-fiction on any subject.  yes a real book.  thought about a kindle, but not the same thing.  miss the library back home which is well stocked and endowed.  

Edited August 9, 2019 by malibukid

[Pilotman]

when I moved here from the UK, I brought with me the bulk of my book collection, over 500 books, mostly but not entirely none-fiction.  I had been collecting books for years and keeping them for my retirement.  I now have a good library that keeps me entertained.  I also have an Amazon  Kindle which I use extensively. Reading is one of life's greatest pleasures. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Pilotman

[animalmagic]

I read a fantastic book, by a brilliant new author, just last week for the fifth time...….proof reading is a bitch! 

I have an idea for the sequel. ????????

[Dexlowe]

In recent times my attention span has diminished - old age, internet, torrents etc to blame. While travelling recently, though, I picked up Colin Forbes "The Cell". It was so badly written ( how does this guy get published?) that I had to read it to the end to see if it could get any worse.  Anyway, it revived my reading desire a little, and now I'm about to read John Pilger's "Distant Voices".

[Laza 45]

12 minutes ago, malibukid said:

nothing since i have been in Thailand since they have no English book stores here.  Asia Books is a joke.  love Barnes and Nobles in L.A. with their liberal policy, where you can sit in a comfy chair and read the latest fiction or non-fiction on any subject.  yes a real book.  thought about a kindle, but not the same thing.  miss the library back home which is well stocked and endowed.  

My phone has a largish screen and I have Kindle on it.. It took awhile to get used to but I like it now.  I always have my current book with me.. well.. my Kindle books anyway.. I do sometimes get a paper copy which I do prefer.  Amazon has a huge library.. most are available on Kindle.. some are cheap.. a few are free.. but probably average around $10 US.. If you enjoy reading try Kindle.. a free download.. 

[ricklev]

Although I only download books from this site that are in the common domain and therefore completely legal, it is interesting to note that many of the cited books are available.

 

http://gen.lib.rus.ec/

[malt25]

On 5/8/2019 at 2:19 PM, edandpranee said:

Mitchner, Anthony Gray, James Cavelle, Wilbur Smith, James Patterson, Eric Lustbader, Nelson Demille, John Grisham, 

Brad Thor, Jack Silkstone, Clive Cussler, Anne Rice and Ken Follett are some of my favorite authors I've read while in Thailand.  I might also add altho I forget the author"The girl with the Dragon Tattoo"  it's the first of 4 books.  I read on a Kindle and download my books from Amazon

 

"The girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is one of the few movies that is almost as good as the book.

[malt25]

28 minutes ago, malibukid said:

nothing since i have been in Thailand since they have no English book stores here.  Asia Books is a joke.  love Barnes and Nobles in L.A. with their liberal policy, where you can sit in a comfy chair and read the latest fiction or non-fiction on any subject.  yes a real book.  thought about a kindle, but not the same thing.  miss the library back home which is well stocked and endowed.  

So you don't know about Dasa book cafe ? I can thoroughly recommend.

[Laza 45]

I am constantly reading.. always have a book or sometimes 2 on the go.. I was recently lent a copy of Empire of the Summer Moon.. an excellent read..

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/chi-books-review-empire-summer-moon-gwynne-story.html

 

Other recent reading I would recommend.. Paul Threroux  Hotel Honolulu.., My Secret History & My Other Life (in that order)...St Jack is good too.

 

I re-read A Passage to India ..Forester.. and really enjoyed it again after so many years.. led me to Room With a View...which I also enjoyed..

 

Reading Henry James.. Portrait of a Lady and Christopher G Moor's 'Rooms' at the moment.

[OneMoreFarang]

31 minutes ago, malibukid said:

nothing since i have been in Thailand since they have no English book stores here.  Asia Books is a joke.  love Barnes and Nobles in L.A. with their liberal policy, where you can sit in a comfy chair and read the latest fiction or non-fiction on any subject.  yes a real book.  thought about a kindle, but not the same thing.  miss the library back home which is well stocked and endowed.  

You could order books from your favorite shop online...

But then you have to pay for them. Sitting and reading them for hours for free is not an option. So bad.

[giddyup]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

You could order books from your favorite shop online...

But then you have to pay for them. Sitting and reading them for hours for free is not an option. So bad.

Plenty of free torrent sites where you can download thousands of books in epub form to either read on a tablet or Kindle. Youtube also has many books to download for free.

[Laza 45]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

You could order books from your favorite shop online...

But then you have to pay for them. Sitting and reading them for hours for free is not an option. So bad.

Why should you get them for free?  Authors do the work for our enjoyment... and their profit..

[OneMoreFarang]

17 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

My phone has a largish screen and I have Kindle on it.. It took awhile to get used to but I like it now.  I always have my current book with me.. well.. my Kindle books anyway.. I do sometimes get a paper copy which I do prefer.  Amazon has a huge library.. most are available on Kindle.. some are cheap.. a few are free.. but probably average around $10 US.. If you enjoy reading try Kindle.. a free download.. 

Try a real eBook reader with E-ink screen. It's basically like reading a real book. With a couple of advantages:

- it's lighter than many books.

- the small think contains hundreds or thousands of your books

- you can change the font size - which is great for all of us who are getting older and want just a little bigger font.

- and you can read it anywhere, including in the sun without any backlight

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

Why should you get them for free?  Authors do the work for our enjoyment... and their profit..

For the same reason I get my movies for free.