best of cc.com READING LIST

[Alpine_Tom]

quote:

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Originally posted by sk:

I am several chapters into The Poisenwood Bible. So far it seems realy dry. are you saying it gets better cause if you can tell me that, I would be more likely to pick it back up.

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I read The Poisonwood Bible (okay, I books-on-taped it, I don't know the right verb) this spring, and it did start a bit slow, but it got better and better. In the end, I quite liked it. After that I read "Prodigal Summer" which was even better, and went ahead and finished out the rest of her novel output. I think "Prodigal Summer" is her best, but the rest (The Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven, and Animal Dreams) are all worth reading, particularly with the rainy season approaching.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

"I read this recently and don't get all the hoopla about Vonnegut. In my opinion, this book was...basic. It's the only book I've read by him."

 

Well, Breakfast of Champions might not make a good first Vonnegut read. Seems like there were a lot of inside joke type of things in there that might not mean much if you hadn't read any of his other work. Dunno, DFA just found himself cracking up at all the ridiculous shit in that one. Try Hocus Pocus or Cat's Cradle. Deadeye Dick was pretty good, especially since it has nothing to do with dicks.

 

"See the * fly the airplane!"

[allthumbs]

Sometimes A Great Notion, Kesey

[nolanr]

I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one that has heard of David James Duncan. Agree w/ all of the above. Brothers K and The River Why are two of the best books I've ever read. I've read several Ed Abbey books, I like his collections of essays and short stories better than his novels. For whatever reason I liked Hayduke Lives! better than The Monkey Wrench Gang. Both of the aforementioned Timothy Egan books were good. Also read The Power of One a long time ago, remember that being good. Finally for an original idea, Ivan Doig is pretty good, especially his historical fictions about Scottish immigrants in Montana (no sheep jokes ) English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair. Can't think of the author, but Watership Down was a pretty unique and interesting book. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller was absolutely hilarious. And I've enjoyed all of the books about Polar exploration I've read, not quite the same as climbing literature but you get the same spirit of adventure and some real bad ass dudes that faced some daunting challenges.

[E-rock]

I'll second DFA's recomendation of the Monkey Wrench Gang, if you've spent any time in the Utah Desert then you've probably fantasized about doing exactly what Ed Abbey describes.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

quote:

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Originally posted by Greg W:

That was the last straw, motherfucker. I called some friends; watch the skies over your home for black helicopters. You no longer exist, Trask will assume your identity until we can plausibly fake your death; in the meantime he will be banging any and all your female friends.

 

Goodbye

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You got something against Samuel L. Jackson, mothafucka?

[RobBob]

I forgot to say: anything by Roald Dahl. As a parent, his refreshingly dark kids' stories like Matilda and Charley and the Chocolate factory were good. But his adult books and short stories are excellent. My Uncle Oswald, Switch Bitch, etc.

 

E-Rock suggested Water Method Man (Irving). Read it if only for the chapter "One Long Mother of a Day," the funniest damn thing I ever remember reading.

 

Best recent non-fiction book: Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. This is both the saga of a ship going down during a hurricane in the 1800s with unbelieveable survival stories, and a modern drama of a young man's success story. Thick, but you will not put it down once you start it.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

quote:

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Originally posted by RobBob:

I would put On the Road, Electric Koolaid Acid Test, and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas all in the same group to read half-drunk or stoned one weekend. Fear & Loathing was my favorite book at age 23...I don't know how old you are today. Hunter Thompson's short stories are also entertaining.

 

DFA's list was good, except for that Edward Abbey one...don't read that anarchist shit!

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Let's see, here. Hippie culture and wanton, substance-abuse-fueled mayhem and destruction are OK. Environmentalist mayhem, bad. Got it.

 

Seriously, though, The Monkeywrench Gang is a great book, even if you disagree with the central premise (i.e. destroy the apparatus that destroys wilderness). You've got a stellar cast of characters, from a Mormon bishop to an alcoholic ex-Green Beret. Much of the dialog and the book's events are hilarious, especially those involving Mormons. There's great scenery, road tripping, gun fights, sex, lots of beer, car chases and escapes, lots of F-words, stolen cop cars, explosions, and vandalism. Hell, the chapter introducing Hayduke is worth the price of the book.

[sk]

Imagica by Clive Barker was an exceptional book. I read it some time ago (before kids) and powered the whole thing in a week.

 

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis were great, I read them as a kid and read them to thing 1 and things 2 just recently. They are sort of "ment" for children but as an adult there are many layers of meaning in the stories.

 

Read the Hobit and the Lord of the Rings if you have not done so already.

 

I strongly believe that WINTER is the perfect time to immers yourself in russian lit. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was long and heady, but truely a wonderful book. Anna Karenin Is good so far but I have yet to finish that one (slacker )

 

I thought the Electric Koolaid Acid test was great.

[Uncle_Tricky]

Budding Prospects -- TC Boyle

The River Why and The Brothers K -- David James Duncan

A Fools Progress -- Abbey

People of the Deer -- Farley Mowat

The Revolt of the Cockroach People -- Oscar Zeta Acosta (Acosta was Hunter S. Thompson's "samoan attorney" in Fear and Loathing.)

A History of Warfare -- John Keegan

Beyond the Vertical -- Layton Kor

Of Men and Mountains -- William O. Douglas

[Paco]

Some GREAT South African Literature:

 

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

-a great story about a boy named Peekay growing up in South Africa.

 

and

 

My Traitor's Heart by Rian Malan

-an incredible account and reflection of South Africa during Apartheid and the years up to its end

[E-rock]

I know this is getting out of hand...

 

But there's another great book about societal outcasts and their struggles with mormons.

 

"The man who fell in love with the moon" by Tom Spanbauer describes the struggle between the inhabitants of a Brothel in a small Idaho town and the mormon authorities. It's an extremely difficult book to read, because the scenes of violence completely overpower you. I cried like baby all over the pages. But then again I'm a sensitive little ninny white boy who doesn't have a very high opinion of mormon culture.

 

I think T.S. lives in Portland or Eugene now.

[Anna]

Agreeing with Darhma Bums and On the Road by Kerouac, for sure............

 

Ishmeal by Daniel Quinn-READ IT!

 

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Kesey

 

Slaughter House Five by Vonnegut

 

Dancing with Mosquitos, can't remember author but VERY good

 

I also like every book I've read by Robbins, Abby and Ambrose

 

And who can forget Call of the Wild by London!

 

Reading A Language Older Than Words...enjoying it immensely!

[monkeyboy]

1984 George Orwell...You will never look at security cameras the same.

[salbrecher]

quote:

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Originally posted by monkeyboy:

1984 George Orwell...You will never look at security cameras the same.

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I second this book.

[salbrecher]

quote:

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Originally posted by monkeyboy:

1984 George Orwell...You will never look at security cameras the same.

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I second this book.

[terrible_ted]

Okay, the easy ones are taken, but y'all need to expand your horizons a bit. The protagonist of Dharma Bums, Jacky Ryder (sp?), was modelled after a truly amazing PNW icon: Gary Snyder. Go read any of his books of poetry (gasp!). Maybe you'll find a short vignette that captures more of the North Cascades in 57 words than many complete novels.

 

Mid-August from Sourdough Mountain Lookout

 

As long as I'm putting in a plug for poetry, you semi-literate typo-plauged CCers may find a recognizable landscape in e.e. Cummings. This'll get your engine racing...

 

shebeingBrand

 

I've found Kundera has grown less entertaining and more pedagogic in recent years, although "Slowness" was entertaining.

 

David Sedaris is hilarious. Get anything and laugh your ass off.

 

Lydia Davis: "Break it Down" is a dreamy and mesmerizing collection of short stories.

 

I didn't see Philip Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" - the creepy inspiration for "Blade Runner."

 

"The Blind Watchmaker" (Richard Dawkins) is a clear explanation of Darwin's TOE and draws upon hundreds of beatifully rendered descriptions of the natural world.

 

G.G Marquez, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" has the greatest opening sentence of any novel, in the opinion of many, including myself. The rest of the book ain't bad either...

 

While CC'ers may get a woody from Nabokov's "Lolita" - a short must-read - my vote for best Russian short fiction goes to pretty much anything Pushkin wrote.

 

Accidents in North American Mountaineering is about the limits of my tolerence for the "climbing literature," so I can sympathize there...

 

-t

 

[ 09-21-2002, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: terrible ted ]

[sexual_chocolate]

"semi-literate typo-plauged..."

 

No one is immune....

[terrible_ted]

Hmmm...

 

You wouldn't believe it was a semiotic plug for Foucault's Pendulum?

 

Looks like I picked up a computer virus. I could have sworn that plague was bacterial...

 

Where's the bleech?

 

-t

[eric8]

Rubicon One by ??? is a good fiction book that takes place during the cold war.

 

I also second jon's recommendation for Elegant Universe.

[payaso]

Aztec by Gary Jennings

lots of sex blood and guts with an historical context. yeah baby

[mtngrrrl]

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck

Black Boy, Richard Wright

My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok

Woman at Point Zero, Nawal El Saadawi

Anna Karenin, Tolstoy

Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut

The Border Trilogy, Cormac McCarthy (not in the same class as the rest, IMO, but beautiful writing.)

[Dr.Hook]

The Godforsaken Sea, forgot the author but tells the story of the Vendee Globe, a single handed (yes solo) yachting race around the globe- if I recall correctly the top sailers do it in under 100 days, disqualification if you head to shore. I thought sailing was for pussies until I read this. Much nautical info and gripping to say the least.

[dbconlin]

This one's a little old, but yes THE POISONWOOD BIBLE gets better the further you go.

 

Has no one out there read any SALMAN RUSHDIE?

 

And I must add, THE SNOW LEOPARD, by Peter Matthieson.

[haireball]

Guns, Germs, & Steel (can't recall the author, offhand) - read this along with the Old Testament, and you'll have an even better idea of how we got where we are today...