Books You Are Reading Now Or Highly Recommend.

[eek]

At the moment I am reading a book called "All over the Map" by Morgan McFinn.

It is a somewhat humorous take on a middle aged mans travels in S.E.Asia and some areas in Europe. The humour is generally dry, sarcastic, and witty but also has some really touching moments. Not a 'heavy' read, but really enjoyable.

One quote I found poignant (while he is in Phnom Penh):

"It never fails to amaze me how the laughter of those miserably worse off than myself always seems to arouse a certain peculiar sense of envy. What is it that they know that i dont know? What are the insights onto the nature of Man that are solely available to those who, by no fault of their own, must endure icarnate misery and deprivation? And how is it that these insights seed such barren soil to raise a crop of laughter?"

So, what are you reading at the moment, or highly recommend and why? (or even the most awful read and why!)

I will post more recommendations if interest is shown in the thread.

[tijnebijn]

I am reading 'The Secret ' . It is about 'attraction ' for everything one want ,material, love everything ,but most important how to do it to get it ,from experts in life.

Is a best seller in the States right now . And is a very interesting read .The woman writer's name slips my mind now , but take a google on it .

[pumpuiman]

"South" by Earnest Shackleton.

A book describing the famous explorers adventures while trying to reach the South Pole.

It is a true to life account taken directly from his logs.

His ship and crew trapped for nearly a year in the ice pack, having to abandon ship when it is crushed by the ice, an 800 mile voyage in a small skiff in the most horrific seas and weather on earth. Reaching salvation, only to find a snow covered mountain in his path.....that he must traverse to save his crew.

An incredible story of survival, leadership, and endurance. One of the most inspiring books I have ever read.....you can't put it down.

[uptou]

being one of the best known american poets i'm sure you are aware of this but,one of the best books ive read is,ham on rye by charles bukowski,which i think is fair to say a semi autobiographical novel.possibly the ultimate bum philosopher.if follows the early life of henry chinaski growing up in the great depression,who gets regularly beaten by his father,& suffers with severe acne & boils.he has a very low veiw of humanity,& is constantly pointing out the hypocrisy of his parents & the people around him.the novel is kind of a dirty version of, the catcher in the rye,another classic.

quote from ham on rye-"i was just a fifty cents terd swimming in the green ocean of life".

[mcgriffith]

Currently reading "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser. A bit of a thick read; much more suited to my father's generation I think. Next in the lineup is "Thailand Confidential" by Jerry Hopkins. Caught some buzz about it here on TV, went by Gecko last night and bought a used copy from our friend UG.

PS Love Charles Bukowski...

[fruittbatt]

Great topic, Eek!

Currently ....Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters dark, hilarious, philosophically big without being ponderous.... And before that E. Annie Proulx's The Shipping News , Heart Songs...and after this Michael Ondaatje's latest Divisadero....

and if you can spin the topic long enough I'll tell you about it.

Agree with McG that UG and his neighbour both have enough good lit to keep me off the streets mostly

[Grover]

A couple of weeks ago I finished this book, "The Sorcerers Crossing - A womans journey". It is a book about shaman spirituality from a feminine perspective, and how the author learned from her teachers. I'd give it 4 and a half stars out of 5.

[uptou]

papillon is a great read.i actually only saw the movie all the way through for the first time a couple of days ago .great movie but ends to soon.as if they couldnt fit in the rest of the great story of the book.

status anxiety,by alan de botton,was another goodun for me.about why people need to be seen to be doing well.traces back in history to the possible causes.

around ireland with a fridge,by tony hawkes.surprisingly about a comedian who makes a drunken bet with his mate that he can hitchike around the circumference of ireland with a small fridge.funny,but british humour,some may not get it.

[farangsay]

Two amongst many that had something special :

"Agents of Innocence" David Ignatious.

It's dated now (Arafat in Beirut , birth of Black September) but very relevant to today's obsession with the "war on terror".

A review : http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/09/25/120500.php

"California Fire and Life" Don Winslow

I remember reading somewhere that Winslow did for insurance investigators what Grisham did for lawyers.

The thing I remember about this is the pace of the writing.

A review : http://www.januarymagazine.com/crfiction/fireandlife.html

[BFD]

Defintely agree with many of the books mentioned here, particularly Bukowski. In fact, just about anything written by him is worth the time (and I've read everything he's written).

I just finished 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts, and I highly endorse it. It's a messed-up semi-autbiographical novel of a man who escapes from prison in Australia and flees to India. There, he becomes a passport forger, a drug dealer, founds a free clinic in a slum, fights as a Mujaheddin freedom fighter for the Afghan army, and attempts to unravel the secrets of the origin of the universe. Not exactly a quick read at 900 pages, but it flies by relatively quickly.

Currently reading Freakonomics by Stephen Leavitt and Pale Fire by Nabokov. Freak is good, but Pale Fire is something approaching genius.

This is a really good topic.

BFD!

Edited June 25, 2007 by BFD

[kopite]

just read this. mega. the fact that he was bigger than anyone in the world when it comes to importing drugs is astounding. the man came from the most deprived estate in europe/uk.

he's worth 180+ million

[meom]

The Pleasure Ring by Kitt Gerrard. Not exactly of high literary standing but funny none the less.

Short introduction follows:

" The Kingdom of Pernia, 1785. It's the fortieth day of Amande's preparation - forty days of sexual abstinence, rousing her nubile body to a frenzy of carnal anticipation. Tomorrow she faces the ultimate test - the Ordeal by Climax. But tonight she lies on a quilted bed in an Arabian palace contemplating revenge on the woman who has corrupted her..."

[Jimjim]

A couple of years ago I read "Another Quiet American" by Brett Dakin. It's an extremely interesting nonfiction account of living in Laos, learning the language, and working for the government. It's made up of several different essays on different but similiar topics.

[kopite]

just read this. mega. the fact that he was bigger than anyone in the world when it comes to importing drugs is astounding. the man came from the most deprived estate in europe/uk.

he's worth 180+ million

i did post a pic but its not showing,

"cocky" curtis warren. you can buy it on ebay for 8 uk inc P&P

[Jet Gorgon]

Excellent thread, Eek!

Freakonomics is a good read, as BFD noted. Thanks for tips on Rukowski. I shall indulge meself.

Perfume has become a classic, and I recommend another nose-related gem called The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr. It's a true account of scientist Luca Turin, who is striving to discover how we smell -- he thinks it's vibrations not molecular shape. (Think I got that right.) His perfume reviews in the book are seriously funny, and Burr's writing is also excellent. I found one review, but it may be Luca's co-writer; it gives you the gist anyway:

KenzoAmour (Kenzo)

classic floriental • $$ • availability: limited

What saves KenzoAmour from falling into the sticky caramel death trap that gums up other vanillas is that its loyalties lie not with cakes and cookies but with something more low-key: rice pudding. While this may make Amour seem fit only for the toothless, its soothing, softly powdery vanilla-woods sweetness stays from dinner until breakfast. Isn’t it nice to know Amour lasts?

Now in paperback.

Somerset Maugham has always been a fav, especially The Moon and Sixpence, and his Asia travelogue has maintained its freshness despite its age (I hear Bendix revving up to add Graham Greene).

[teacup]

BTW...great topic!

Even though I’m a thai but 99% of my books are in English and my most favorite has to be…..”Rich Dad – Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki (about 16.00 US dollars)

The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent years in school but learned nothing about money (using and investing in the right ways). The result is that people learn to work for money…but never learn to have money work for them! This book is teaching you to take responsibility for your own finances. You’re either a master of the money game or a slave to it!

Received this from my family and sure is a Great book!.....highly recomm

[endure]

Young Bloods by Simon Scarrow - a historical novel about the early lives of Napoleon Bonaparte and Arthur Wesley/Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.

[Who, me ?]

Alaska....James A Michener

Not a new one, but very interesting

Before, it was Bernard Werber...L'arbre des possibles

BTW.....Excellent thread topic !

[Grover]

This is an oldie but a goldie I finished reading about 3 weeks ago, "Language in thought and action". I really liked the third chapter, "Reports, Inferences, Judgments" as much of the material in that chapter is relevant (for instance) to some of the heated discussion threads on this forum.

[Ulysses G.]

Just finished the last Harry Potter in time for the new one.

I like Bukowski too and I also just finished the one that they made a movie about with Matt Dylan as Bukowski (Factorum?). My favorite is "Women".

[bendix]

Somerset Maugham has always been a fav, especially The Moon and Sixpence, and his Asia travelogue has maintained its freshness despite its age (I hear Bendix revving up to add Graham Greene).

Actually, I'm not reading Greene at the moment. He's taking a break (although I did just find a first edition of his collected letters to the press, believe it or not).

I currently have 3 on the go. I just finished Evelyn Waugh's Diaries, so I've moved onto Humphrey Carpenter's 'The Brideshead Generatioon', a sort of collective biography of Waugh and his friends like Harold Acton, Graham Greene, Brian Howard and John Betjeman and the Mitfords. Great stuff.

For light relief I'm re-reading Donna Tartt's Secret History. A perfect counterweight to the Carpenter book.

And I'm also reading Wittgenstein's Poker, a great account of the meeting between Wittgenstein and Karl Popper at Cambridge in the forties, and a meeting that changed the face of modern western philosophy.

[suiging]

If you wish to escape to another level of reality ( if you can't get into Bedlem )

Try Neil Gaimen............Neverwhere.

Excellent work about someone finding himself by slipping through the cracks of London to a darker more sinister world. Great stuff.

Also highly recommend Mark Kurlansky...Cod: A biography of the fish that changed the world.

Never underestimate a book about the history of a fish.

Edited June 26, 2007 by suiging

[eek]

Not new, but i recommend 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon.

Any synopsis i try to give wouldnt do this book justice. You see through the eyes of an autistic boy who is on a mission to find out who killed a dog. It becomes a tale of self-discovery as he finds out things about himself, his family and the world around him. His perspective of life is so unique that its surreal experiencing his thoughts and reactions to things. Somewhat sad and funny.

[hUsh]

Not new, but i recommend 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon.

Any synopsis i try to give wouldnt do this book justice. You see through the eyes of an autistic boy who is on a mission to find out who killed a dog. It becomes a tale of self-discovery as he finds out things about himself, his family and the world around him. His perspective of life is so unique that its surreal experiencing his thoughts and reactions to things. Somewhat sad and funny.

really good thread!

BTW, eek I am reading that book right now and so far enjoying it Next will be Bukowski..

I'd recommend, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood... i'm overwhlemed by this book--novel within a novel, richly detailed mutligenerational family saga... a bit tragic but somehow she manages to make it lovely... well written!

[ercorn]

I am reading `The Rise and Fall of the third Reich` William L Shirer,If your interested in Europeans history its a must.

The film that Matt dillon did about Bukowski was great have not read anything from him yet,wife reads alot of his stuff though,

`The world according to Garp`by Irving worth a read as well.

regrds Ercorn

[Xangsamhua]

Somerset Maugham has always been a fav, especially The Moon and Sixpence, and his Asia travelogue has maintained its freshness despite its age (I hear Bendix revving up to add Graham Greene).

Actually, I'm not reading Greene at the moment. He's taking a break (although I did just find a first edition of his collected letters to the press, believe it or not).

I currently have 3 on the go. I just finished Evelyn Waugh's Diaries, so I've moved onto Humphrey Carpenter's 'The Brideshead Generatioon', a sort of collective biography of Waugh and his friends like Harold Acton, Graham Greene, Brian Howard and John Betjeman and the Mitfords. Great stuff.

For light relief I'm re-reading Donna Tartt's Secret History. A perfect counterweight to the Carpenter book.

And I'm also reading Wittgenstein's Poker, a great account of the meeting between Wittgenstein and Karl Popper at Cambridge in the forties, and a meeting that changed the face of modern western philosophy.

Agree with Bendix - Wittgenstein's Poker is a great read if you like the personal stories behind the great thinkers. Bryan Magee's Confessions of a Philosopher is a good one if you like that sort of thing. Quite a bit in there about his friendship with Popper.

[Xangsamhua]

I am reading `The Rise and Fall of the third Reich` William L Shirer,If your interested in Europeans history its a must.

The film that Matt dillon did about Bukowski was great have not read anything from him yet,wife reads alot of his stuff though,

`The world according to Garp`by Irving worth a read as well.

regrds Ercorn

The first two parts of Richard J. Evans' trilogy on the Third Reich are very good. They are "The Coming of the Third Reich" and "The Third Reich in Power". The third book in the trilogy is still to come. "A Small Death in Lisbon" is a Gold Dagger winning novel about SS smuggling into Portugal in the Second World War and the postwar aftermath. Elie Wiesel's "Night" is a must-read very short account of a teenager's experiences in a Nazi concentration camp.

[sbk]

I just finished reading "Lying Liars and the Lies they tell" by Al Franken who is, apparently, running for office in his native Minnesota. Good luck to him. Its quite good, very interesting with lots of cited sources, and pretty funny too.

[bendix]

Agree with Bendix - Wittgenstein's Poker is a great read if you like the personal stories behind the great thinkers. Bryan Magee's Confessions of a Philosopher is a good one if you like that sort of thing. Quite a bit in there about his friendship with Popper.

I was looking at the Magee book at the weekend in Siam Paragon. You've convinced me to buy it. Thanks.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, Karl Popper. He's taught me everything i don't know in the world. He's made me certain about my uncertainty, mistrustful of my truths and suspicious of facts.

No wonder I'm confused . . . .

[LivinLOS]

Last month..

Jupiters travels.. Superb for those that like adventure.. Makes you want to go out and buy a motorbike and rucksack.

Copping free.. Bizarre combination of Hunter Thompson and Elmore Leonard.. Meth addled circus freaks.. The snake lady.. ass raping clowns on ether.. A wild ride and true tears on cheeks, stomach aching belly laughs.. Best find of the year so far.

A game as old as empire (a follow on from confessions of an economic hitman) not as good as the earlier work but very interesting chapter about the Hitman scheming for Iraqs oil wealth over the union of iraqi workers.

Currently stuck in 'through our enemy's eyes' really interesting but making slow going.

Purfume and Freakenomics also in last few months.. Both already mentioned.