What Books Are People Reading Now ?

[Ulysses G.]

I LOVE every book by Vince Flynn. He published 14 GREAT political thrillers before dying of cancer at a very young age. Start with "American Assassin" if you can. It sets up the other books, but was written after many of them and you can read them without it.

[Ron19]

Deleted

Edited October 12, 2014 by Ron19

[AYJAYDEE]

i hate books why read when you can get the dvd or blueray,its the 21st century now, book are things of the 1900s,cop on buy a dvd player. books

How sad so much pleasure missed

He seems to think there's a movie made for every book written, and even if there was, there's no substitute for exercising the imagination as only a book can do.

i expect there is for the type he's interested in

[Ron19]

FOR SURE! They do not get much better than Wilbur Smith.

I always thought he was my favorite author, till a buddy turned me on to H. Ryder Haggard.

Haggard wrote King Soloman's Mines & played a part in S. Africa's history. He also wrote about 25 other fiction novels, all of which are fantastic.

I'm quite certain Wilbur Smith took a lot of inspiration from Haggard, yet both are very unique from one another.

Another great is Edgar Rice Burroughs (the guy that invented Tarzan). His Barsoom series about John Carter on Mars was excellent (the women never age & do not wear clothes :=).

If you go to gutenberg.org you can find the Haggard & Burroughs novels for free online there as the copyrights expired years ago.

The People Of The Mist by Haggard has to be my most favorite book of all time. Keep in mind, Haggard was writing in the late 1800's so his style is a bit different. Whereas Wilbur Smith will grab you by the nuts in the first 2 pages, it takes Haggard a good 20-30 pages before you get hooked......then you can't quit. The guy's like heroin once you get into his books a bit.

I just read a non-fiction book called Son of Hamas by Yousef Mousab. You see that guy on CNN every once in a while.

Thanks for the tip here regards gutenberg.org. After not reading a book for over a year with having too many things on my plate I have downloaded two books by Haggard King Soloman's Mines and The People Of The Mist. Have not looked at either of them as yet but will do so soon.

[Konini]

He seems to think there's a movie made for every book written, and even if there was, there's no substitute for exercising the imagination as only a book can do.

i expect there is for the type he's interested in

I remember as a 12 yeat old being disappointed in the film version of Lord of the Flies in an extended English Literature class. I'd read it a year earlier and while far too young to grasp all of the nuances (and being girl!) I still found the book so much better, and that's probably one of the better screen adaptations.

Someone asked me last year if I'd seen the new Wuthering Heights - why on earth would I? But I did curl up in bed with it shortly afterwards, having been reminded of it. I hadn't read it for 15 or 20 years (I like giving the classics an airing from time to time, to remind myself that no matter how progressed we are, there still aren't that many truly great writers out there - lots of good, even very good, but not so many great).

[giddyup]

He seems to think there's a movie made for every book written, and even if there was, there's no substitute for exercising the imagination as only a book can do.

i expect there is for the type he's interested in

I remember as a 12 yeat old being disappointed in the film version of Lord of the Flies in an extended English Literature class. I'd read it a year earlier and while far too young to grasp all of the nuances (and being girl!) I still found the book so much better, and that's probably one of the better screen adaptations.

Someone asked me last year if I'd seen the new Wuthering Heights - why on earth would I? But I did curl up in bed with it shortly afterwards, having been reminded of it. I hadn't read it for 15 or 20 years (I like giving the classics an airing from time to time, to remind myself that no matter how progressed we are, there still aren't that many truly great writers out there - lots of good, even very good, but not so many great).

For a great contemporary author you can't go past John Updike (recently deceased), his Rabbit series are brilliant, and Tom Wolfe's the Bonfire of the Vanities another great novel. I'm sure future generations will revere these authors as much any from the past.

[champers]

He seems to think there's a movie made for every book written, and even if there was, there's no substitute for exercising the imagination as only a book can do.

i expect there is for the type he's interested in

I remember as a 12 yeat old being disappointed in the film version of Lord of the Flies in an extended English Literature class. I'd read it a year earlier and while far too young to grasp all of the nuances (and being girl!) I still found the book so much better, and that's probably one of the better screen adaptations.

Someone asked me last year if I'd seen the new Wuthering Heights - why on earth would I? But I did curl up in bed with it shortly afterwards, having been reminded of it. I hadn't read it for 15 or 20 years (I like giving the classics an airing from time to time, to remind myself that no matter how progressed we are, there still aren't that many truly great writers out there - lots of good, even very good, but not so many great).

For a great contemporary author you can't go past John Updike (recently deceased), his Rabbit series are brilliant, and Tom Wolfe's the Bonfire of the Vanities another great novel. I'm sure future generations will revere these authors as much any from the past.

I read Bonfire of the Vanities almost 25 years ago and when the film came out; with Tom Hanks & Melanie Griffith; it was panned by the critics. I decided not to see it and I couldn't imagine how the book could possibly be made into a film.Might I add Thomas Kennealy to your short list? His Schindler's Ark was made into a great film (that's Spielberg for you). Oh.... and Norman Mailer & Philip Roth.

[SpokaneAl]

I really enjoy the Games of Thrones series of books and while impatiently waiting for the next book to come out, I have watched the HBO series. It is magnificently done, but I do wonder how people can follow all the nuances without having read the books beforehand.

[Ulysses G.]

I read Bonfire of the Vanities almost 25 years ago and when the film came out; with Tom Hanks & Melanie Griffith; it was panned by the critics.

I could never understand all the negativity. Of course the book was better. It usually is, but I thought the film was not bad.

[Ulysses G.]

I really enjoy the Games of Thrones series of books and while impatiently waiting for the next book to come out, I have watched the HBO series. It is magnificently done, but I do wonder how people can follow all the nuances without having read the books beforehand.

I couldn't, which is why I stopped watching after the first season. For some reason, I just don't like reading fantasy novels, so I have no interest in reading the books either.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[giddyup]

I really enjoy the Games of Thrones series of books and while impatiently waiting for the next book to come out, I have watched the HBO series. It is magnificently done, but I do wonder how people can follow all the nuances without having read the books beforehand.

I couldn't, which is why I stopped watching after the first season. For some reason, I just don't like reading fantasy novels, so I have no interest in reading the books either.

I'm with you, I gave up on fantasy after reading Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit back in the 70's. Enjoyed them at the time, but my tastes have changed. I tried watching Game of Thrones but couldn't finish the first episode.

Edited October 13, 2014 by giddyup

[DMC1]

I LOVE every book by Vince Flynn. He published 14 GREAT political thrillers before dying of cancer at a very young age. Start with "American Assassin" if you can. It sets up the other books, but was written after many of them and you can read them without it.

I read American Assassin within the past 2 months also. What is the next book in the series? I have quite a few of them already to go on my Kindle. I think I preferred it slightly to Jack Reacher.

[jaywalker]

Another great is Edgar Rice Burroughs (the guy that invented Tarzan).

I loved the Tarzan series and Wizard of Oz series when I was a very young kid. They had a lot to do with my love of reading.

Yeah Burroughs is great. I read somewhere that he's the guy that coined the term 'Pulp Fiction'.

I had a SUPER BORING contract once, doing project management in Kuwait at a tank farm = I had to sit in my car with the AC blasting wide open 10 hours a day & watch 25 Indians all day to make sure they didn't blow the place up.

I'd download lots of books from gutenberg.org, copy/paste them into Word & increase the font quite a bit as my eyesight is poor, and read them on my laptop for 8 out of those 10 hours a day (I had a car charger).

Who's the guy that wrote How The West Was One? Louis L'Amour???

It was about 900 pages long & I read it when I was about 9 years old, cover to cover. It definitely got me hooked on reading. I recall it made my childish hands hurt to hold it for so long every night : =).

They came out with a TV mini-series of it in 1962 (I just looked it up), starring James Arness of Gunsmoke fame. I saw it many years later. I need to find a copy of that, as it was almost as good as the book. The book is for sale on Amazon.

[Ulysses G.]

I read American Assassin within the past 2 months also. What is the next book in the series? I have quite a few of them already to go on my Kindle. I think I preferred it slightly to Jack Reacher.

You don't really have to read them in order, but you could start with the first one in chronological order:

http://www.vinceflynn.com/chronological-order.html

[Ulysses G.]

I really enjoy the Games of Thrones series of books and while impatiently waiting for the next book to come out, I have watched the HBO series. It is magnificently done, but I do wonder how people can follow all the nuances without having read the books beforehand.

I couldn't, which is why I stopped watching after the first season. For some reason, I just don't like reading fantasy novels, so I have no interest in reading the books either.

I'm with you, I gave up on fantasy after reading Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit back in the 70's. Enjoyed them at the time, but my tastes have changed. I tried watching Game of Thrones but couldn't finish the first episode.

I really enjoyed The Hobbit and the first book in the Lord of the Rings, but, to me, it was all the same - boring - after that. I have given up on it twice part way through the second book in the trilogy.

[giddyup]

I really enjoy the Games of Thrones series of books and while impatiently waiting for the next book to come out, I have watched the HBO series. It is magnificently done, but I do wonder how people can follow all the nuances without having read the books beforehand.

I couldn't, which is why I stopped watching after the first season. For some reason, I just don't like reading fantasy novels, so I have no interest in reading the books either.

I'm with you, I gave up on fantasy after reading Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit back in the 70's. Enjoyed them at the time, but my tastes have changed. I tried watching Game of Thrones but couldn't finish the first episode.

I really enjoyed The Hobbit and the first book in the Lord of the Rings, but, to me, it was all the same - boring - after that. I have given up on it twice part way through the second book in the trilogy.

I think you enjoy certain books at different time in your life. I have gone back to read books that I loved in my 20's only to find that they didn't have the same appeal anymore. I used to read SciFi voraciously when I was young but can't be bothered with it now.

[Ulysses G.]

I read a lot of crap sci-fi in my teens and I have no use for it now, but I still like the good stuff when I find some.

[champers]

Just read A Lady in Berlin (author Anonymous), a diary written during the occupation of Berlin at the end of WW2. Covers the topic of mass rape by the Russian invaders and the daily life experiences of a beaten population at the mercy of the victors. A compelling book.

[champers]

I read a lot of crap sci-fi in my teens and I have no use for it now, but I still like the good stuff when I find some.

Try Oryx & Crake and then read The Year of the Flood, both by Margaret Attwood. Sci Fi, but not Sci Fi. Ingenious, thought provoking and very funny in parts.

[giddyup]

I read a lot of crap sci-fi in my teens and I have no use for it now, but I still like the good stuff when I find some.

Try Oryx & Crake and then read The Year of the Flood, both by Margaret Attwood. Sci Fi, but not Sci Fi. Ingenious, thought provoking and very funny in parts.

J G Ballard is like that. Try The Crystal World or the Drowned World, in fact anything he has written is brilliant.

[giddyup]

I read a lot of crap sci-fi in my teens and I have no use for it now, but I still like the good stuff when I find some.

Try Oryx & Crake and then read The Year of the Flood, both by Margaret Attwood. Sci Fi, but not Sci Fi. Ingenious, thought provoking and very funny in parts.

Thanks for putting me onto Margaret Atwood. I'm reading Oryx & Crake and really enjoying it.

[i claudius]

Just finished sycamore row by John Grisham and started meltdown by Ben Elton

[Ulysses G.]

I read a lot of crap sci-fi in my teens and I have no use for it now, but I still like the good stuff when I find some.

Try Oryx & Crake and then read The Year of the Flood, both by Margaret Attwood. Sci Fi, but not Sci Fi. Ingenious, thought provoking and very funny in parts.

J G Ballard is like that. Try The Crystal World or the Drowned World, in fact anything he has written is brilliant.

I really liked The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and I loved J G Ballard's semi-biographical novel: Empire of the Sun. It was one of my favorite books and favorite films as well. I tried to read "Crash" and didn't like it and that put me off him. Maybe I'll have to give Ballard another try.

[giddyup]

I read a lot of crap sci-fi in my teens and I have no use for it now, but I still like the good stuff when I find some.

Try Oryx & Crake and then read The Year of the Flood, both by Margaret Attwood. Sci Fi, but not Sci Fi. Ingenious, thought provoking and very funny in parts.

J G Ballard is like that. Try The Crystal World or the Drowned World, in fact anything he has written is brilliant.

I really liked The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and I loved J G Ballard's semi-biographical novel: Empire of the Sun. It was one of my favorite books and favorite films as well. I tried to read "Crash" and didn't like it and that put me off him. Maybe I'll have to give Ballard another try.

I didn't enjoy "Crash" that much either, but try Cocaine Nights, Crystal World or The Drowned World.

[SpokaneAl]

I recently read Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King and really enjoyed it.

[GarryP]

The Hit by David Baldacci.

[i claudius]

Sycamore row by John Grisham

[Timinuk]

Secret Seven

[DMC1]

Eating Smoke by Chris Thrall. Former British serviceman gets involved with crystal meth & working for the Triads in Hong Kong, mid-nineties.

[stat088]

Silent Partner by Jonathan Kellerman.