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sungam
Jun 25, 2008, 10:36 PM
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Okay, maybe somez of you don't like me or feel not fwends with me. It's okay.
Still, anyone got a good read out there that's quick, light hearted, and easy reading?
Just finished the prisoner of zenda, classic read.
-MagnuS
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macherry
Jun 25, 2008, 10:40 PM
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i'm currently reading non-fiction:
Three Cups of Tea by greg mortenson
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Arrogant_Bastard
Jun 25, 2008, 10:50 PM
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Horton Hears a Who should be right about at your level. Plus, I believe they recently made a movie about it, so if you can't get through it all, you can just watch the flix.
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pbnjonny
Jun 26, 2008, 12:53 AM
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If you haven't read them yet, anything by Jules Verne is quite good. I've read through The Mysterious Island and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the past few weeks.
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c4c
Jun 26, 2008, 1:01 AM
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macherry wrote: i'm currently reading non-fiction: Three Cups of Tea by greg mortenson
me too.
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happiegrrrl
Jun 26, 2008, 1:07 AM
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"Fire on the Mountain" by Edward Abbey. I just finished it. Damn, that man can write. What an incredible coming of age story.
Or, if you want to take the more direct route, go with "The Monkey Wrench Gang"(same author). There are a small number of climbing-related scenes and the one where Hayduke escapes the law with his Jeep, while seemingly cornered on a high plateau, is(edit)pee in your pants hilarious.
(This post was edited by happiegrrrl on Jun 26, 2008, 2:15 AM)
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macherry
Jun 26, 2008, 1:16 AM
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c4c wrote: macherry wrote: i'm currently reading non-fiction: Three Cups of Tea by greg mortenson me too.
very inspirational book
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notapplicable
Jun 26, 2008, 4:25 AM
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Hmmm, the only thing I've read in the last few months that might fit the bill would be "Garden Of Eden". Some argue that Hemingway's inability to self edit prior to publication (death will do that to a fella) makes it a lesser work.
I disagree completely, it's classic Hemingway to be certain but there's also a tenderness and eroticism there, not often seen out side of his short stories. Not his best novel but one of my favorites for being heart breakingly honest and self effacing, while somehow lacking the bravado hes so well known for.
I recommend.
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c4c
Jun 26, 2008, 11:41 AM
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macherry wrote: c4c wrote: macherry wrote: i'm currently reading non-fiction: Three Cups of Tea by greg mortenson me too. very inspirational book
I am only into it to where he is getting the materials to the first school location, but it is very inspring. Especially since part of the mission of Climbing for Christ is to do the same type of work.
Another good one that I read recently is called "Same kind of different as me" It is about a friendship between a homeless man and a rich art dealer. good.
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edge
Jun 26, 2008, 11:51 AM
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happiegrrrl wrote: "Fire on the Mountain" by Edward Abbey. I just finished it. Damn, that man can write. What an incredible coming of age story. Or, if you want to take the more direct route, go with "The Monkey Wrench Gang"(same author). There are a small number of climbing-related scenes and the one where Hayduke escapes the law with his Jeep, while seemingly cornered on a high plateau, is(edit)pee in your pants hilarious.
The Monkey Wrench Gang is a "must" read. Desert Solitaire, also by Abbey, is yet another classic.
My all time favorite book, and one that laid the architecture for my formative years, is "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S Thompson.
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notapplicable
Jun 26, 2008, 11:56 AM
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edge wrote: My all time favorite book, and one that laid the architecture for my formative years, is "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S Thompson.
YES! Read this^^.
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bender
Jun 26, 2008, 12:01 PM
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"how to shoot yourself in the face"
by I Sprey Freely
a primer for the weak and timid
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bizarrodrinker
Jun 26, 2008, 12:02 PM
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A Clockwork Orange is one of my favorites.
To the OP...The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series is easy, hilarious and fun to read. Its six short books (bout 250 pgs each).
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getout87
Jun 26, 2008, 12:05 PM
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A walk in the woods by bill bryson is what I am currently reading, as well as a collection of Thoreau. I second the hitchhiker's guide books, Douglas Adams is amazing and hysterically funny.
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edge
Jun 26, 2008, 12:23 PM
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getout87 wrote: A walk in the woods by bill bryson is what I am currently reading,
I got that for Christmas, and was very disappointed. It starts off OK, but how can you write a book about hiking the AT if you do not, in fact, hike the AT?
Bryson missed the best section of the trail.
Other books that I have recently read and enjoyed:
Seabiscuit
Cod, The Fish That Changed The World
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sungam
Jun 26, 2008, 12:39 PM
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bizarrodrinker wrote: A Clockwork Orange is one of my favorites.
bizarrodrinker wrote: To the OP...The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series is easy, hilarious and fun to read. Its six short books (bout 250 pgs each).
My main problem is that I just ran out of discworld books. :-(
-MagnuS
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getout87
Jun 26, 2008, 12:42 PM
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edge wrote: getout87 wrote: A walk in the woods by bill bryson is what I am currently reading, I got that for Christmas, and was very disappointed. It starts off OK, but how can you write a book about hiking the AT if you do not, in fact, hike the AT? Bryson missed the best section of the trail. Other books that I have recently read and enjoyed: Seabiscuit Cod, The Fish That Changed The World
Ehh,I was a little dissapointed when they skipped basically the entire Smokies (just read that last night, so no spoilers!), but it's still an entertaining book, which is why I got it. I really enjoy his writing style, and he makes me laugh my ass off, so I'm a big fan.
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happiegrrrl
Jun 26, 2008, 1:44 PM
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I liked the book too, and I guess he did a better job at the AT than the majority of people do, right? I don't know that the book was so much about hiking the At but about what he found in his experience, and an attempt at light-handed education on land stewardship.
I had never heard of that town burned out from the coal mine - what a FREAKY place that must be. I have to say, though, that I felt going through that section of the trail(the who area around it, where it was so un-woodslike) would have been the section to bail out of, in my mind....
Desert Solitaire - Yes, a wonderful book as well. But then, anything Abbey wrote is great. "Heyduke Lives" gets criticism, but I think it's unwarranted, considering the dude was enjoying a painful death in the writing of it. One wonders what would have come next, had he been able to continue....
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edge
Jun 26, 2008, 1:48 PM
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happiegrrrl wrote: "Heyduke Lives" gets criticism, but I think it's unwarranted, considering the dude was enjoying a painful death in the writing of it. One wonders what would have come next, had he been able to continue....
When I first read it, I really didn't like "Hayduke Lives" at all. However I just re-read it a couple of months ago, and enjoyed it for what it was, another chance to climb inside Abbey's head and revel in his unique perspective.
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reno
Jun 26, 2008, 3:55 PM
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Just finished "White Spider" by Heinrich Herrer. First ascent of the Eiger Nordwand, and some history and discussion of other climbs on the same face.
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krillen
Jun 26, 2008, 4:06 PM
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"Breakfast of Champions" has a real real quirk to it. I read the entire thing over two short flights, and could have finished it much earlier had I not tried to stretch it out.
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notapplicable
Jun 26, 2008, 4:07 PM
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Read "Outer Dark" by Cormac McCarthy a few months back. Its short and reads well but by no means is it light hearted, kinda sad actually. It has a real rawness and stylistic commitment that I thought was great and pretty rare. He had to have know when writing it, that it wasnt going to be a best seller but he didnt flinch.
If you want to laugh this aint the book but its a classic early work from a great American author.
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Arrogant_Bastard
Jun 26, 2008, 4:09 PM
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bizarrodrinker wrote: To the OP...The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series is easy, hilarious and fun to read. Its six short books (bout 250 pgs each).
If anyone who likes dry British wit hasn't read these, it should be at the top of the list. I spent more time LOL-ing while reading those books than this site, which says a lot.
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notapplicable
Jun 26, 2008, 4:16 PM
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getout87 wrote: edge wrote: getout87 wrote: A walk in the woods by bill bryson is what I am currently reading, I got that for Christmas, and was very disappointed. It starts off OK, but how can you write a book about hiking the AT if you do not, in fact, hike the AT? Bryson missed the best section of the trail. Other books that I have recently read and enjoyed: Seabiscuit Cod, The Fish That Changed The World Ehh,I was a little dissapointed when they skipped basically the entire Smokies (just read that last night, so no spoilers!), but it's still an entertaining book, which is why I got it. I really enjoy his writing style, and he makes me laugh my ass off, so I'm a big fan.
I read this before I hike a stretch of the AT (Southern terminus thru NC) and thought it was pretty good. Made me laugh.
He did miss some good stuff in the Smokies though. It snowed and inch an hour for 14 hours and every shelter was packed so we just walked on through it and pitched a tent after it stopped snowing around midnight. The picture in my profile was about three hours in, after 10 more that beard was gnarly. Good times.
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traddad
Jun 26, 2008, 4:17 PM
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Two books I thought were great summer page turners so far:
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
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