Polks Book Club

Systems

I read pretty much all the D&D books as a kid (fantasy) and even went back recently and picked up more.

But my all time favorite (better then R A Salvatore) was the original Dragon Lance chronicles.

I've probably read them 10 times over the past 15 years.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragonlance-Chronicles-Trilogy-Gift-Set/dp/0786926813/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9867446-5228054?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187132795&sr=1-1

Weis and Hickman


Good ol Tasslehoff!!! I actually have a firend who named his daughter after "Raistlin" in the book. Kinda cool if you ask me.


I'd pretty much have to agree with most others here:

Dan Brown (love his books and I heard Angles and Demons will be made a movie (tom Hanks?)

Of course Harry Potter is a must (which make the movies look like crap)

In the Sci-Fi side: I enjoyed the Star Wars books by Timothy Zahn, specifically his first trilogy or what happens after Return of the Jedi.

I liked Leonard Nemo's autobiography "I am spock"... I don’t know how I got lucky but I bought this book at a Berns and nobles for like $3, opened it up and it was signed by him. I confirmed by comparison on his signature and it sure is the real thing!!!

Of course LOTR is a must have. I actually eventually got the whole thing on "audio CD" and even enjoyed it more. Again, the book makes the movie look goofy

bert26

I have particularly enjoyed the whole Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester.

Also of note was The Dumas Club by Arturo Perez-Reverte (made into The Ninth Gate) and Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. They were both a bit on the ponderous side but I couldn't put them down.

I used to really be into anything Tom Clancy but the newer stuff started to feel like movie pitches to me....

And let's face it - it's really hard to top Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
Interesting thread. I'm half way through volume 2 of the Civil War by Shelby Foote. The siege of Vicksburg and the battle for Port Hudson are looming.
Ken

jflail2

Zombie is dead on with "The Things They Carried."

For other war books, I'd recommend Dispatches, Band of Brothers of course, D-Day another good Ambrose read, and Sympathy For the Devil (which is fiction, but written by a 2 tour SF vet, so I'm sure there's some truth shining through in those stories...)

Other goodies are anything by John Steinbeck (my personal favorite "everyman" author, and I'd recommend East of Eden 1st), and Ernest Hemingway (For Whom the Bell Tolls is an obvious 1st here, but The Sun Also Rises is about as good.)

snow

lanion wrote: »

Best Fantasy Series ever:

Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin first book is A Game of Thrones...

this is for people who are sick of LOTR knockoffs. Very political. It reads like a historical fiction of European royal families but there are increasing fantasy elements as time goes on.

Actual Literature Books:

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is a very interesting novel I read recently. I can't say too much about it without spoiling it, but if you like very creative non-annoying modern lit with a touch of sci-fi, it is very good.

Anyway, best books I have read recently.

I cant argue with you about the George R. R. Martin books because I havent read them, but I found the Shanarra series by Terry Brooks to be the best fantasy material I have read thus far.

Other authors I like are.

Stephen King
Robin Cook
Dean Koontz
David Baldacchi
Robert Ludlum
John Grisham
Alex Hailey
Irwin Shaw
Sidney Sheldon
Tom Clancy
Max Brand

And many more that I cant think of off the top of my head but pretty much anything by these authors is a good read.


REGARDS SNOW

Billm57

lanion wrote: »

Best Fantasy Series ever:

Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin first book is A Game of Thrones...

this is for people who are sick of LOTR knockoffs. Very political. It reads like a historical fiction of European royal families but there are increasing fantasy elements as time goes on.

good stuff..i i dont really like fantasy type books..but i really like this series
also the Dune novels..not the lame prequels his kid is churing out but the original series
also reading Manhunt..good account of the Lincoln assassination

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I'm continuing to read about the Civil War. Grant has just spent two days on a river boat drunken bender. A reporter friend shielded him from other officers in the army by bringing him back into camp in an ambulance. General Pemberton, under siege Vicksburg, is pleading with General "Fighting" Joe Johnston, who is in Jackson, MS., to assemble an army and break the siege.
Ken

shack

Kenneth Swauger wrote: »

Hello,
I'm continuing to read about the Civil War. Grant has just spent two days on a river boat drunken bender. A reporter friend shielded him from other officers in the army by bringing him back into camp in an ambulance. General Pemberton, under siege Vicksburg, is pleading with General "Fighting" Joe Johnston, who is in Jackson, MS., to assemble an army and break the siege.
Ken

I'm sure it is excellent as Foote was an excellent writer and historian. I generally prefer to read a book but in this case I would be hard pressed to read the book when the visuals afforded by Ken Burns' documentary put it right there in front of you.

[Deleted User]

Hey Shack,
I agree completely, the Burns' documentary was excellent, I've watched it three times. In fact it's because of it that I thought I'd read the three books. They are close to 900 pages each so there's a trememdous amount of detail. I can hear Shelby's Southern drawl in my mind as I read it. Plus the Burns' piece didn't go into the war in the western states, very much. Less photographs for them to use, I guess.
Ken

snow

It appears that J.K. Rowling is writing a detective novel. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070819/ap_on_en_ot/people_rowling;_ylt=Ar_gCRLu4nOFjT8iANIRN2onHL8C It should be interesting to see how she does in this genre.


REGARDS SNOW

shack

I thought this would be an interesting thread to resurrect....mainly to see if any of you can actually read....;)

The week before last I finished

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson



A very funny book that was hard to put down.



Just this morning I finished....

Heart Of The Comet by Gregory Benford and David Brin



David Brin is one of my favorite SF authors. He holds a Doctorate in astrophysics and was a NASA consultant...so his writing...while "out of this world" has a great deal of fact in the foundations. I really like how "good" SF not only explores space, science, the future, etc...but often is commentary about the human and social condition. This one was interesting.

zombie boy 2000 wrote:

Speaking of sci-fi..
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I just picked this one up last week, along with the "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman. I have heard good things about both books. I tend to read more in the winter when it gets dark earlier and I don't spend as much time outside.

Norm Apter

Cool thread. Thanks for the bumping it to the top.

Over the summer, I was interested in exploring the Vietnam war. I read the following three monographs, each of which is highly recommended for those interested in this subject.

Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History
David Halberstam, The Best and the Brightest
Daniel Ellsberg, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

I then moved on to Fast Food Nation (I'm a bit behind the times) and plan to follow that up with a few books by Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto).

But now I'm running with two very different types of works: Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the Sixties and a work of fiction, Ha Jin's Waiting.

fatchowmein

Finally got around to reading and finishing this series in the past couple of months and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I tried starting the series a few years back but had trouble getting through the first 60 pages of book 1. If you start and find your interest waning just push on through as book 1 does get better as it introduces the magical world although it feels a bit amateurish, not to knock on Rowlings magnificent work. This series gets better after each book as the kids get older and the story template goes beyond the end of summer vacation/fall term/Xmas holiday/spring term/summer vacation format.

The movies are fun to watch but a lot of detail is left out due to time constraint. If you've only seen the movies, I highly recommend the books. A lot of things in the movies assumes you've read the book.

Looking forward to the Deathly Hallow (part 1: Nov 2010; part 2: July 2011). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0926084/trailers

bobman1235

I recently finished a book called "The Confessions of Max Tivoli". It's essentially a ripoff of Fitzgerald's "Benjamin Button" story, but the characters and story are completely different (just the same premise of a person aging backwards).

Anyway, an amazing book. A truly heartbreaking story from beginning to end, beautifully written. Strongly recommended.

jflail2

I'm not affiliated with any particular religion, but I have greatly enjoyed what I've read of "Living Buddha, Living Christ" as the author does a good job in relating the 2 religions, and what you can pull from all religions in regards to generally living a good life.

This is NOT an attempt to start a religious discussion, so please don't. Just a good read.

shepx2

McLoki wrote: »

If you are into Fantasy -

The Sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind is very good.
1st, 2nd and 6th books are my favorite.

I also like R.A. Salvatore and his many Drizzt series books. (They are set in the Forgotten Relms land about a Drow elf.)

Michael

+1 on the Goodkind series. Never met anyone who read Wizard's First Rule who didn't love it. (Including my wife, who doesn't like fantasy books)

comfortablycurt

I'm currently reading "Searching For the Sound:My Life With the Grateful Dead" by Phil Lesh(the Dead's bassist).

I just started it the other day, but so far it's providing a really cool insight into how the Dead came to be.

Sherardp

Curious George does New York

shack

Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy: The Porpoise Driven Life



I'm a fan of Buffett's music and his writing. Just now starting it but I can already tell that it gets a little deeper than "Why Don't We Get Drunk (And Screw)".

George Grand

More like "Let's get drunk and go down to the museum and screw."

The Coldest Winter by David Halberstram. Us in The Korean War. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was the greatest horse's **** of all time. Hands down.

bobman1235

Pretty much anything Halbertram writes is nearly impossible to put down.

George Grand

Yup. I may have set a speed record with that one.

Systems

Wow, bringing back a thread from a most hated person on here......

Anyway, this is what I'm reading over Christmas Vacation, got it for a present...

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-7-Secrets-Paul-Thurrott/dp/0470508418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261757755&sr=8-1

shack

Since I just got back from vacation...I have a few more to add.



I had never read any of Haldeman's SF novels. This is one of the best "short" (214 pages) SF novels I've read in a while. One of those "could not put it down till finished" books. I will certainly look for more of his work.



Unfortunately this will probably be the last Michael Crichton book I will ever read (at least for the first time) since he died in 2008. He has been one of my favorite authors for quite some time and I have read all of his books. This manuscript was discovered after his death and published. Most of the book is classic Crichton...ie: fiction based on lots of factual data...but the ending fell flat for me. Almost like he wasn't quite finished with it. I would certainly recommend it for anyone interested in pirate lore in general and especially if you like Crichton's work.



Another first time SF author for me. Like lots of SF it is a bit of a "morality play" and very interesting. The time frame of the book was the early 70's which was my college years, so the book had a great deal of recognition and relevance for me. I will also look for more of Silverberg's work.

If you are looking for something new and have not read any of these books...I would not hesitate to recommend them all.

j allen

The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett is quite entertaining.

Also, the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell.

mdaudioguy

shack wrote: »

I thought this would be an interesting thread to resurrect....

Maybe we can get the OP unBANNED too!

polkfarmboy

I highly recomend stephen king's TheDreamcatcher ....I cant believe why morgan freeman got the part of a white supremadist general for the crappy movie that it got made into

stephen king's The green mile is another example of a great book crappy movie

shack

mdaudioguy wrote:

Maybe we can get the OP unBANNED too!

Why bring up crap (serious or not) that will just stir up emotions in an up to now decent thread?

shack

After reading Bill Brystons humorous book about hiking the Appalachian Trail...I decided to read a factual decription of a thru-hikers journey this past winter.





This was a book that I truly hated that it came to an end. The writer was so good in his description that I almost felt I was hiking with him and wished there was more trail to travel. It has made me consider the possiblity to attempt this (possibly as a section hiker) sometime between now and the time I die. Probably won't...but you never know.

mdaudioguy

shack wrote: »

Why bring up crap (serious or not) that will just stir up emotions in an up to now decent thread?

Ok, please allow me to offer up something a little more serious then. I'm a big fan of David McCullough. The Great Bridge was one of the most fascinating "history" books I ever read. I'm currently in the middle of The Path Between the Seas. For me, there's just so much non-fiction that I feel I have no time to waste on fiction.