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Favorite Books?

tommy_ed

Android Expert
What does everone read on here? Make sure to write a description of the books, maybe that way we might find something new to read! Ill start:

I have a lot of favorites -

"Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

"The Frontiersmen" by Alan Eckert, also "Wilderness Empire" and "Blue Jacket" by the same author
-All three are about the expansion through america's wilderness and native american lands. The author studied letters, diaries, newspapers, gvt. records, etc. of the time and compiled it into a narrative.

"Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose
-You may have seen the HBO miniseries. It follows Easy Company, 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne from boot camp to VE day in World War Two.

"20,000 Miles South" by Frank and Helen Schreider
-Another nonfiction.. a couple in the early fifties who take an old WW2 army jeep, fabricate it into an amphibious vehicle, and drive it from alaska all the way down to the southernmost tip of south america. Pretty amazing story.

"The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon" by David Grann
-Another true story of Col. Percy Fawcett, a famous explorer in the 20s who was obsessed with finding the lost city of El Dorado (city of gold) in the amazon.. he ends up dissapearing. Over the years following over a hundred people go in search of him and never return.

"The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk" - nonfiction narrative describing Vilhjalmur Stefansson's 1913-1914 attempt to reach the north pole. The ship gets stuck in ice. Stefansson leaves on a hunting expidition across the ice and doesn't return. Captain Robert Bartlett takes leadership and they all travel across the ice to "wrangel island" a rocky little island in the arctic. Eventually Capt. Bartlett and one of the Inuit guides take a small party of sled dogs and make it to alaska to send for releif. Keep in mind the temperatures range around 0 to -50 degrees (that's right NEGATIVE 50) and for a few MONTHS it is completely dark 24/7. It was over a year from the time the ship got stuck in the ice to the time the crew was rescued, 11 people died either in the journey over the ice or when they were stranded on the island.

"I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell" by Tucker Max
-google it

"My Horizontal Life" by Chelsea Handler
-more drunken sexcapades, this one from a female perspective

as you can see, I mostly like nonfiction :)
 
We need to start a book club. :D

I am really big on books that are in a series, so I will list the entire series for some of mine. I am also really into horror (I know it is shocking).

Necroscope by Brian Lumley (15 books), Lumley is one of the those authors that walks the fine line between being an absolute genius and totally insane. The Wiki

The Dark Tower by Stephen King (7 books), This series incorporates quite a number of King's other works into it. Using characters, events and locations during the entire series. The Wiki

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (12 books), If you've never read any of it, you probably should. The Wiki

The Godfather by Mario Puzo, Most everyone has seen the movie, but many have never even looked at the book. While the movie does follow along with the book very closely there are a number of things left out of the movie that are great to read.

The Stand by Stephen King, The super Flu has come and only a few remain alive.

I am Legend by Richard Matheson, Seen the movie? This is so much better.

Under and Alone by William Queen, The true story of an ATF agent going undercover in an outlaw motorcycle gang.

Super System by Doyle Brunson, The poker players bible.

Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro, Another book that just about every poker player needs.
 
"Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

Awesome.

Admittedly, I don't do as much pleasure reading as I should. I've spent the majority of my adult life w/ my nose stuck in textbooks & journal articles. That being said...

The Harry Potter series - does this need an explanation?

The Odd Thomas series Dean Koontz - about a young man w/ some incredible gifts...like the ability to see dead people.

Like OTD I'm a sucker for Stephen King, as well. I've read a handful but don't really have a favorite. Maybe "It" if I was pressed.
 
Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson - Great characters and although the initial book starts off rather sluggish, it turns out to be quite the amazing book.

Deception Point by Dan Brown - Love love love those conspiracy theory thriller type books

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry - Historical thrillers? Hell yes.

The Bourne Series by Robert Ludlum - I'm entertained by anything that involves Jason Bourne snappin necks and cashin checks.
 
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

I've read all of them at least twice except for the new one "Gathering Storms" by Brandon Sanderson. I refuse to buy the hardback so I'm waiting for it to go to electronic book format or at least paperback.

The Bourne Series by Robert Ludlum - I'm entertained by anything that involves Jason Bourne snappin necks and cashin checks.

I have the Bourne Sanction sitting on my desk right now but just can't get into it. It starts out kind of ho hum and I lost interest fast.

One of these days I'll get around to finishing it up.

BTW - I'm big into sci-fi, lost world, planetary sword & romance type fiction. I also love all the old works like Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series and Robert Howard's Conan the Cimmerian.
 
More Bourne lovin' here. Luv the movies, Books are even better IMO if thats possible
 
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

I've read all of them at least twice except for the new one "Gathering Storms" by Brandon Sanderson. I refuse to buy the hardback so I'm waiting for it to go to electronic book format or at least paperback.

I've read the first one in this series. It was really good. My buddy said it is the best series he has ever read
 
I have the Bourne Sanction sitting on my desk right now but just can't get into it. It starts out kind of ho hum and I lost interest fast.

One of these days I'll get around to finishing it up.


Ahhh man, you gotta read it. It kicks up shortly after the first 100 or so pages. I've read them all, by the way. BEST SERIES EVERRRRRR! :D

More Bourne lovin' here. Luv the movies, Books are even better IMO if thats possible

+1
 
I've read the first one in this series. It was really good. My buddy said it is the best series he has ever read

You have to read the rest, it just keeps getting better and better as the series goes on. By the time you get to book 3:The Dragon Reborn, you'll be hooked, I swear.
 
You have to read the rest, it just keeps getting better and better as the series goes on. By the time you get to book 3:The Dragon Reborn, you'll be hooked, I swear.

I have no doubt that I will lol. It's been so long since I've read the first one, that I'll have to read it again. I should really start studying for my CPA so I am afraid to get sucked into a >12,000 series
 
im a huge fan of LOTR and the shannara series of books.

Currently im reading wicked which isnt too bad.

a Scanner darkly was good too.

outstretched shadow trilogy was a good read as well

The drizzt series.
 
All the Tom Clancy novels.

The Saga of Seven Suns by Kevin J. Anderson

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

2001, 2010, 2061, 3001 by Arthur C. Clarke

The Robot series and the Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

Star Trek and Star Wars books for light but entertaining reading.
 
Older - The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

Newer - Hyperion (and the rest of the series) by Dan Simmons
or, When Gravity Fails (and the rest of the series) by George Alec Effinger
or, A Fire Upon the Deep & A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
 
Another vote for The Dark Tower. Read through the first four several times and the whole series twice since the release of the final book. It doesn't get better than this, IMO.

I tried The Wheel of Time and actually made it through quite a few of them but I never finished. Can't recall why...

I just started The Way of Kings by Brian Sanderson. I wasn't expecting much but I was hooked within the first 50 pages.
 
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Christopher Moore!

While the Bible may be the word of God, transcribed by divinely inspired men, it does not provide a full (or even partial) account of the life of Jesus Christ. Lucky for us that Christopher Moore presents a funny, lighthearted satire of the life of Christ--from his childhood days up to his crucifixion--in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This clever novel is surely blasphemy to some, but to others it's a coming-of-age story of the highest order.
 
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Christopher Moore!

While the Bible may be the word of God, transcribed by divinely inspired men, it does not provide a full (or even partial) account of the life of Jesus Christ. Lucky for us that Christopher Moore presents a funny, lighthearted satire of the life of Christ--from his childhood days up to his crucifixion--in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This clever novel is surely blasphemy to some, but to others it's a coming-of-age story of the highest order.

OMG you beat me to it! Hands down, the funniest book I've read!

Other books I enjoy:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

The Colour of Magic (and the rest of the Discworld books) - Terry Pratchett

Besides british comedy, I enjoy anything by these authors:

Dennis Lehane
Isaac Asimov
Ray Bradbury
And many more...
 
We're trying to get a Books subforum going, it'd be great if you can put your support for the idea. If Phases sees enough of the members are interest, he might create a subforum for us book lovers

+1 to the Dark Tower septology :D My favourite work by him and I love how he combines scifi and western beautifully. Found it humourous how he threw himself in the plot as well. Interesting fact, it took King 23 years before he completed the series

Favourite series that I own:
Song of Ice and Fire - by George R. R. Martin - septology - 4th book out:
Medival fantasy and has been adapted by HBO. Series a bit more on the mature side and deals with a lot of throne intrigues and exploits. It's quite 'graphic' with the fightings (love it) and there are a bit of sex, incest and rape througout the series. One thing I'd caution is that Martin is very slow with his works :(

Riftwar Cycle (9 different trilogies and quartets) - Raymond E. Feist:
Fantasy - if you love LOTR, then this is a must read. You can tell that Feist is a Tolkein fan from his work, but he spins the story off differently.

I have some other books, but too busy at the moment :)
 
Favourite series that I own:
Song of Ice and Fire - by George R. R. Martin - septology - 4th book out:
Medival fantasy and has been adapted by HBO. Series a bit more on the mature side and deals with a lot of throne intrigues and exploits. It's quite 'graphic' with the fightings (love it) and there are a bit of sex, incest and rape througout the series. One thing I'd caution is that Martin is very slow with his works :(

One of my coworkers started reading this series last week. He said it's the best book he's ever read
 
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