StreetScooby 5 #1 August 15, 2011 Going on vacation for a week, and looking for some good books to read. Anyone have suggestions? Thanks.We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #2 August 15, 2011 Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,635 #3 August 15, 2011 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dreamdancer 0 #4 August 15, 2011 'sirens of titan' by kurt vonnegut jr...stay away from moving propellers - they bite blue skies from thai sky adventures good solid response-provoking keyboarding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freethefly 6 #5 August 15, 2011 Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25439 I read it for the first time back in the 70s. I'm currently reading it again. Great book. For a synopsis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looking_Backward"...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #6 August 15, 2011 Are you looking for a fun fiction series to escape with or a political thriller? Or something non-fiction?--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #7 August 15, 2011 Quote Are you looking for a fun fiction series to escape with or a political thriller? Or something non-fiction? I'm pretty much open to anything. As long as someone thinks it's a good book, I'm going to take a look at it. I've never really been big into fiction. As soon as I perceive it violating the first law of thermo, invariably I lose interest We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,409 #8 August 15, 2011 >I've never really been big into fiction. As soon as I perceive it violating the first law > of thermo, invariably I lose interest In that case I'd recommend John J Nance. He writes aviation fiction and is a professional pilot; his fiction is remarkably accurate. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #9 August 15, 2011 Shalimar the Clown, by Salman Rushdie. The plot reads like a fantasy/adventure story, Rushdie's prose is brilliant, and it's not too long - perfect for a "vacation book". Most public libraries should have it, if you don't want to buy it. Here's Wiki review; but spoiler alert! - don't read the end of the review. The element of surprise is important throughout the story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalimar_the_clown -------------------- Lincoln by Gore Vidal is excellent, too, if you like historical fiction. I can personally attest it does not violate the First Law of Thermo. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #10 August 15, 2011 Quote Quote Are you looking for a fun fiction series to escape with or a political thriller? Or something non-fiction? I'm pretty much open to anything. As long as someone thinks it's a good book, I'm going to take a look at it. I've never really been big into fiction. As soon as I perceive it violating the first law of thermo, invariably I lose interest Vince Flynn, the Mitch Rapp series is a lot of fun. I'm a huge fan, they are quick reads and a nice distraction. Although recently I've been on a big zombie kick, alternating a fiction between every other non-fiction or so. For that I would recommend starting with Day By Day Armageddon.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,063 #11 August 16, 2011 Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James BradleyNobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969912 0 #12 August 16, 2011 I've been rereading some Russian favorites lately. Crime and Punishment by Fyoder Dostoyevsky is really good, but kind of a long slog. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is a very good short novel. "Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ." -NickDG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #13 August 16, 2011 Any novel by Marcinko scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyrad 0 #14 August 16, 2011 Born to run. Great book regardless if you run or not. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Run-Hidden-Ultra-Runners-Greatest/dp/1861978774/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313482158&sr=8-1When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyrad 0 #15 August 16, 2011 Snap!! Haha! (I posted before seeing what everyone else had posted) When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #16 August 16, 2011 Great minds think alike ..... and fools seldom differHi J - how ya doing? (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #17 August 17, 2011 Thanks for all of the suggestions!We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #18 August 18, 2011 Quote The Art of Racing i the Rain by Garth Stein. I've read it three times just to be sure i like it. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennedy 0 #19 August 18, 2011 Born to Run Any of the first seven Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn Marcinko's Seal Team Six book. (not the fiction sequels) Marine Sniper (about Carlos Hathcock) Starship Troopers Freakonomics Gang Leader for a Day Wingnuts Idiot America Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity The Ten Things You Can't Say in America (haven't read but have heard good things and they're on my amazon list) Free Lunch Perfectly Legalwitty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyrad 0 #20 August 18, 2011 Born to run, great book. Marine Sniper very good interesting book.When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maxwellman23 0 #21 August 19, 2011 The Bible I am ALIVE! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiver30960 0 #22 August 19, 2011 For a long but easy and fun read: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. The plot is good but nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fact that it (mostly) takes place in Mumbai, India. What makes me read this book again and again and again is how incredibly he describes the Indian culture and people. I've never before read a book that makes me want to ditch everything, buy a backpack and go spend a year slumming in India. Simply awesome. And it's a thick book so it'd probably last you the whole week. Another good read, but probably too short to be of value on a trip: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It's an commentary on the Vietnam War written in 1975 (IIRC), presented as first-rate, make-no-excuses scifi. A book (and author) that I love but would not recommend for the faint of heart: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. VERY graphic WRT sex and the human condition; but this guy writes with a style you just won't find anywhere else. Don't say "I saw Fight Club and it sucked." Trust me, this author is definitely his own animal. Elvisio "keeper of the archives" Rodriguez Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #23 August 19, 2011 Quote The Bible Kennedy already suggested that one. (Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity)HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennedy 0 #24 August 19, 2011 Zing!witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lost_n_confuzd 0 #25 August 19, 2011 Gates Of Fire - Steven Pressfield Any book from the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series by David Baldacci Maybe not your cup of tea, but On Combat by Dave Grossman is a good read. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites