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Author Topic: The book club: Recommend a book  (Read 3821 times)
illhumanoddity
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« Reply #15 on: September 19, 2007, 04:40:57 PM »

"Another Roadside Attraction" by Tom Robbins.

Off the wall, some heavy concepts written in a light style, may be a little offensive to people who are too serious about their religion.

A hippie girl trains fleas, one of the characters is a monkey, and Jesus gets vaporized.


Highly recommended.
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bringbackwigs
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« Reply #16 on: September 20, 2007, 04:16:36 PM »

That sounds awesome.
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luckyxstar
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« Reply #17 on: September 20, 2007, 05:47:39 PM »

I say if you have a free afternoon, grab coffee and Alan Lightman's book
"Einstein's Dreams," it's imaginative and heavy illustrations and thought.  A bit abstract, so it may not be everyones cup of tea.
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CedarPride
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« Reply #18 on: September 21, 2007, 12:28:16 AM »

I notice that most like fiction books a lot (like vampires and Sci Fi and stuff). I never was a fan of this no matter how well written a book is. As soon as I read the summary and it is this much fiction, I immediately lose interest.

BTW, I don't like this much fiction in movies either
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« Reply #19 on: September 21, 2007, 12:32:57 AM »

Vampire books are the only fiction I read. I prefer history or biographies. I actually, I prefer non-fiction vampire books.
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CedarPride
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« Reply #20 on: September 21, 2007, 12:55:40 AM »

Vampire books are the only fiction I read. I prefer history or biographies. I actually, I prefer non-fiction vampire books.

There are non-fiction vampire books?  Grin

How do you define that?   
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« Reply #21 on: September 21, 2007, 02:49:25 PM »

Well, as non-fiction as a fictional idea can be. Research on vampire sightings, the history of the myth, etc.
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jpn of Seattle
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« Reply #22 on: September 24, 2007, 09:09:02 PM »

I'll second the recommendation for The Kite Runner. Really great insight into Afghan society and culture. I'm just over half way through and it's really getting absorbing--don't give away how it ends!

It's a fictional account, but written by someone who grew up in Afghanistan. Like all good novels, although it's a fictional account, you can learn much from reading it. If the author is really good, you can learn as much or more reading fiction as you can reading non-fiction, IMHO. How can you read, say, John Steinbeck and not feel more fully...conscious? human?...for having read it?

I also just finished The Worst Bad Time, by Timothy Egan, about the Great Dust Bowl. I had no idea...
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gomper7
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« Reply #23 on: September 27, 2007, 07:28:22 AM »

The Kite Runner,

And the follow up (not sequel) A Thousand Splendid Suns

Both by Khaled Hosseini. 


I have never heard about these books. Thanks gomper. They really seem interesting  :)I am definitely intrigued now

They are not based on true stories though are they?



Sorry cedar, missed this earlier... But jpn answered.  They are fictional, although there are some parallels between the life of the protagonist of the Kite Runner and the Author's life, so I am left to wonder how much he drew from his own experiences. 

And despite jpn's warning, I am going to tell you about the ending of the Kite Runner......

It ends.....

...
...
...
On the very last page   Tongue

ok, clearly I have not had enough sleep.
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« Reply #24 on: September 29, 2007, 01:45:15 AM »

Pioneer DVD manual
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gomper7
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« Reply #25 on: September 29, 2007, 09:20:28 AM »

trully you lead an amazing and exiting life    Tongue
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Major Zee Lee
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« Reply #26 on: September 29, 2007, 01:28:42 PM »

I notice that most like fiction books a lot (like vampires and Sci Fi and stuff). I never was a fan of this no matter how well written a book is. As soon as I read the summary and it is this much fiction, I immediately lose interest.

BTW, I don't like this much fiction in movies either

Houm... don't like fiction books? Well, you're just the second weirdest person I've met in what books are concerned.

First was that guy who had grown aboard ships, essentially (lived with dad and dad was a sailor), and who spoke Vietnamese, Thai, Greek, a bit of German, English and French (was Canadian), and he never read any book that was not a information-rich, factual one. Not fantasy, not sci-fi, no fiction at all. Never had read a novel. OTOH, he would enjoy fiction in films, but thought that devoting more than two hours to a fiction was a waste of time... why spend days reading a book when a film tells the same story in a couple hours?

Anyway the purpose of fiction is evasion, and evasion is a privilege/need of people whose lives don't include wars... to say so. Wink
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« Reply #27 on: September 29, 2007, 01:31:57 PM »

A lot of people don't like fiction books.

My view is, if I'm going to spend time reading a book, I might as well learn something.
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« Reply #28 on: September 30, 2007, 02:31:25 PM »

Out of the Ashes series by William W Johnstone

Maybe it will wake up some of these liberals to where this country/world might go if they cont their misguided beliefs.
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Ahkenaten
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« Reply #29 on: October 02, 2007, 09:50:14 AM »

Quote
I'll second the recommendation for The Kite Runner. Really great insight into Afghan society and culture. I'm just over half way through and it's really getting absorbing--don't give away how it ends!

It was good.



A good book, a very good book is "I, Claudius" by Robert Graves. The surreal and amazing life of the stuttering, stammering lame man whom everyone ignored, only to become the unwilling emperor. Nero and his mother tried to erase this history by burning what he thought was the only copy. There was another, found nearly 1900 years later. This coupled with the prophecy at the beginning of the book makes for a real attention grabber, and pulls the reader into the past as though they played a role in the story:

"Who groans beneath the Punic Curse
And strangles in the strings of purse,
Before she mends must sicken worse."

...a reference to Rome.

"Ten years, fifty days and three,
Clau, Clau, Claudius shall given be
a gift that all desire but he."

...this was off by 1 year.

"To a fawning fellowship
He shall stammer, cluck, and trip,
Dribbling always with his lip."

While family members squwabbled and poisoned each other and banished each other in a effort to vie for the "throne", Claudius went unnoticed since how could a lame person ever become emperor?

"But when he’s dead and no more here,
nineteen hundred year or near,
Clau, Clau, Claudius shall speak clear."
[/b]
Long after the Julian-Claudio dynasty had been settled in terms of it's histoy, this work comes in to change everything we thought we knew.

It's a very good book that really puts you in the time and shows us how people back then were easily as clever and sophisticated as today or even more so.



Ahk
« Last Edit: October 02, 2007, 09:53:03 AM by Ahkenaten » Logged
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