stacks of books piled by your bedside

[808shooter]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I started with the World at War series post-Civil War and got up to 1918, I think. I didn't read "Guns of the South" about the future-worlders supplying the South with AK-47s, but that's not part of the series anyway.

If you liked the alternate history aspect of the storyline, you may want to check out Marching Through Georgia, (I forget the second books name) and Stone Dogs by SM Stirling. About the Loyalists in post Revolutionary USA fleeing to South Africa where over the next 150 years they dominate Africa and become a world power to challange Nazi Germany and the USA. Very dark and disturbing read but also hard to put down.

I read almost all of Turtledoves alternate history storylines way back when but I always preferred the Draka series. I think all three books were later consolidated into a novel called "The Draka" or something.

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

My son has been ill this week (stuffy nose, coughing, vomiting, the usual stuff this time of the year), so I've been home with him spending a lot of time watching TV and reading books. We've just begun a really unusual book titled Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park. It chronicles the various ways people have died at Yellowstone. So far we've covered death by hot springs, bison, avalanches, and rocks. Some of the stories are scary and gruesome, and I've asked my son several times if he's wanted me to stop, but he is absolutely fascinated by these accounts.

[Marco]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I just finished reading Where the Wild Things Are to my little ones. Man, that book sure seemed a whole lot better when I was a kid. Growing up sucks sometimes.

Don't have much time to read for pleasure, but I did finish Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. It's about The Battle of Thermopylae, a story set in ancient Greece, about 300 Spartan soldiers that held off a narrow pass against millions of Persians for 3 days. It's pretty good stuff. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Those in the military would definitely appreciate it, and maybe even be inspired by it.

[shaveice]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Don't have much time to read for pleasure, but I did finish Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. It's about The Battle of Thermopylae, a story set in ancient Greece, about 300 Spartan soldiers that held off a narrow pass against millions of Persians for 3 days. It's pretty good stuff. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Those in the military would definitely appreciate it, and maybe even be inspired by it.

oh yeah. that's a classic in case anyone hasn't read it. at amazon, 522 people posted comments about the book and average rating is 4.5 out of 5! that's pretty impressive.
http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Nov...e=UTF8&s=books

for those who like frank miller's stuff (e.g. sin city), you might wanna check out his version of the story...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156...862637-7601634

[Marco]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

oh yeah. that's a classic in case anyone hasn't read it. at amazon, 522 people posted comments about the book and average rating is 4.5 out of 5! that's pretty impressive.
http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Nov...e=UTF8&s=books

for those who like frank miller's stuff (e.g. sin city), you might wanna check out his version of the story...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156...862637-7601634

Yeah, it was a fun read. As for Frank Miller's graphic comic, "300", did you know they're making it into a movie? I used to have the URL for the trailer but don't anymore; it looks pretty sick. Completely done in CGI, and has that "Sin City"-like feel to it.

I'm really into ancient Greek history, and also Arthurian history, so next book I get a chance to start, I'm either looking to find a fictionalized account of the Trojan War, or I might pick up The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell. It looks like it got great reviews on Amazon.

[shaveice]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Yeah, it was a fun read. As for Frank Miller's graphic comic, "300", did you know they're making it into a movie? I used to have the URL for the trailer but don't anymore; it looks pretty sick. Completely done in CGI, and has that "Sin City"-like feel to it. .

yup, you're right and here it is:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/

[Adri]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Every Grain of Rice: Portraits of Maui's Japanese Community by Rita Goldman and The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain.

[amethyst9]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

'Inheritance' by Lan Samantha Chang

This was a pick of a book club I was in last year. They now meet at a time not convenient for me. It was one of my favorite books I read during the time I was in that group. Another fav was 'Dreams From My Father' by Barack Obama.

This month my new book group is reading 'Inheritance', so I'm re-reading it, not something I normally do. The main parts of the book are set in China from 1930 to 1949. Not everyone who lived through them talks about those times, so for those of us who know people who lived in China during that era, it's very moving.

There are some ideas I want to explore more fully and may be able to understand better on the second read. Among them are the roles that family members take on and how they change. And also the ideas of duty and love within a marriage or a relationship outside of marriage. And about whether and when it's better to 'let go' of the past. And about the baggage we inherit from our family legends and history. And how to find the gems of our heritage among all the emotional rubbish.

[amethyst9]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Oh. If you guys want a good trilogy, check out Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy. I absolutely loved these books. Really loved them.

I agree that this is a good series. When people talk to me about Harry Potter, I recommend this series. I just really like Pullman's writing style. And I love Lyra. I've read other books by him as well, they're often designated YA.

[amethyst9]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I'm making my way through a bunch of Diane Mott Davidson's books. It's fun but not too strenuous reading ~ murder mysteries involving a caterer and as a bonus, the books include recipes for the dishes mentioned in the stories.

I enjoy this series. I feel like I know her family by now. I guess the characters are what makes them appealing, plus Goldie's catering career.
I've tried a few of the recipes. These are set in Colorado.

A new writer I enjoy for light mystery reading is Laura Childs. Her series are set in Charleston, SC and involve the owner of a tea shop, Theodosia Browning. Again, the characters are fun - and one of the characters is the city of Charleston. Plus, there are recipes. I love tea and tea shops.

My favorite mystery writer is Marcia Muller. Her detective series is centered around Sharon McCone. These are grittier than the two series mentioned above, and set mostly in San Francisco. I enjoy Muller's writing style.

Most of the time I don't read mysteries, but when I do, I look for these three author's latest books.

[amethyst9]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I just finished "The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk, and I have to say I don't understand what all of the hype was about--this book has sold around 4 million copies. While she certainly writes beautiful prose, and her protagonist was pretty well developed, her other characters are black & white (no pun intended!), and she tries to draw out more from the simple storyline than is really there. In all, this book is boring.

I've just started "The Intuitionist" by first-time novelist Colson Whitehead.

I read 'The Intuitionist' for my book group, but didn't make it to the discussion. I had mixed feelings about it. I guessed the 'secret.' The writing drew me in, but I'm not so sure about the story. Whatever underlying message was there (and I think there is one) was almost pulled off, but it didn't entirely work for me. Maybe if I had made it to the discussion, I'd understand what I missed and what I need to remember about the book.
What did you think ?
I'd say it's worth a try to read it, it's better than most current fiction writing.

[amethyst9]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

The Intuitionist is about a black female elevator inspector. I just finished it last night. There is so much you could say about it, I don't know where to start. Just trying to categorize this book is difficult--it has aspects of science fiction, fantasy, literary... Hard to explain it. Basically, it is an allegory. There are a lot of layers to the text. I didn't love the book, but I was amazed with the originality and the presentation. I'd give it 3.75 out of 5 stars.

I've got Teacher Man on hold at my library--I'm actually #60 out of something like 300 holds. One of these days it'll finally be mine to read.

I've just started Our Lady of the Forest, which will then be followed by Gentlemen and Players.

I do enjoy reading a lot of Young Adult fiction. Just a few months ago I finally read Enders Game, which I loved. Another one I just can't say enough good things about is Looking for Alibrandi. And the book Twilight was a great read.

Oh, I just posted on about 'The Intuitionist' - sounds like your 'take' on it was similar to mine. It was quite a feat for such a young writer.

'Ender's Game' is a classic. I'm not into science fiction, but love this book. It really talks in it's way about how we educate our youth. I have a son who is something like Ender, but I guess we could all identify with him in some ways.

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

amethyst9: You might enjoy this website, seeing as you are also from the Seattle area. I'm so grateful to have so many well-stocked, highly-frequented libraries here--and it's fun having Nancy Pearl from our neck of the woods. You can hear her on NPR every so often giving her latest book recommendations.

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Currently listening to a wonderful Young Adult book with my son--The Cloud Chamber by Joyce Maynard. Although I'd like to say I borrowed the audiobook for him, the truth is a lot of the books I've enjoyed this year have been YA novels. Something about the simple coming-of-age theme that really appeals and speaks to me. Weird.

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I'm finally starting The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon this week. This comment by a Washington Post reviewer is the reason I just had to read it:

Before everything else, Carlos Ruiz Zafón's European bestseller is a book about a mysterious book, and its even more mysterious author. Try to imagine a blend of Grand Guignol thriller, historical fiction, occasional farce, existential mystery and passionate love story; then double it. If that's too hard to do, let me put it another way: If you love A.S. Byatt's Possession, García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, the short stories of Borges, Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Arturo Pérez-Reverte's The Club Dumas or Paul Auster's "New York" trilogy, not to mention Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame and William Hjortsberg's Falling Angel, then you will love The Shadow of the Wind.