Read any good books lately?

[dennis thompson]

Well winter is here and I am reading a couple of good books
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett- first time I have ever read historical fiction and it's excellent
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly - a murder mystery, also very good
so what are you reading?

what have you read that you can recommend?

thanks

[Rich Enders]

The Pentagon's New Map by Barnett. An illuminating analysis of US and global security post 9/11.

[Moses Yoder]

Tonight I am going to raid the fridge, make a pot of decaf, and read my gilt edged leather bound 1913 edition of "Pilgrims Progress."

[Larry Edgerton]

"The Power of Habit" and "Empire of Debt"

[Tony De Masi]

"Unbroken" without question. Not sure the movie will do it justice.

[John Conklin]

"Unbroken" without question. Not sure the movie will do it justice.

Tony, the movie is OK, but nowhere near as good as the book. I feel that Angelina Jolie tried too hard to make it her 'masterpiece' and that another director might have kept it closer to the book. Maybe it was the Coen brothers as writers that did it, don't know. Worth a watch, but not as good as I was hoping for.

Right now I'm reading "Crazy Horse and Custer" by Stephen Ambrose and am totally enjoying it.

[Howard Garner]

Well winter is here and I am reading a couple of good books
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett-
what have you read that you can recommend?

thanks

Any of Ken Follett's books. Don't forget the follow on to Pillars

Thomas Perry and the Jane Whitefield series

Almost anything by Jeffery Archer

Howard Garner

[Kevin Bourque]

Anything by James Michener. Hawaii was amazingly well written. I'm also a huge fan of Chuck Palahniuk.

[Tony Zona]

Clan of the Cave Bear
Jean Auel

[Jim Becker]

I read two to three books a week and am very thankful for my Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription! LOL I bounce between a number of genres including historical fiction, action including spy/military and science fiction. I like getting into series where the story continues from book to book, too.

[Frederick Skelly]

Just finished Tuchman's "The Guns of August". That was a monumental work, though very readable. Seems appropriate, as 100 years ago the western world was in the throes of WW-I. If you want a good overview of that sad, wasteful war, I highly recommend it. Aside- I found myself wondering when (or if) WW-II would have occurred if a certain Austrian corporal had died in the First World War, instead of living to help cause the Second War, 20 years later.

On a far happier note, I'm also reading James Krenov's "A Cabinet Maker's Notebook". That book is just as inspirational as you hear it is. Another good read.

[Harold Burrell]

There is a Book that I Believe you wouLd Enjoy...but the TOS might prohibit me from mentioning it. ;)

[Shawn Pixley]

I am reading "Taiko" and "How Not To Be Wrong." I confess to being a math nerd. I just finished "The Genius Of Japanese Carpentry."

Any more I read books on my iPad using the Kindle App.

[Shawn Pixley]

I read both "Unbroken" and "Crazy Horse and Custer." Both good books.

[Rick Potter]

Harold,

Someone once told me that B I B L E stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth ;).

[Jerome Stanek]

I like Ken Follett also John Grisham

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Dennis, presently reading The Guns of August

I've reserved Factory Man by Beth Macy, at my local library. (I download it to my e-reader).

It's woodworking related, and should be very interesting for American forum members as it is about American woodworking companies and outsourcing.

Regards, Rod.

[Jim Matthews]

Robopocalypse.

Start to finish - less than three hours.
432 pages and I couldn't put it down.

It scared the bejabbers out of me.
Solid writing, involving characters, standard plot line
(beginning, middle and end) and a horrifying, plausible premise.

[Howard Garner]

I like Ken Follett also John Grisham

Finished John Grisham's Sycamore Row a few weeks ago. A great read and a very interesting ending.

[Jerome Stanek]

Finished John Grisham's Sycamore Row a few weeks ago. A great read and a very interesting ending.

Just finished that one 2 weeks ago always a great read. Really like his A Time To Kill

[Jim Koepke]

It is almost embarrassing to mention my latest reading material, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.

It is a compilation of short reads on many subjects. It had the reference to "Funeral March of a Marionette" in a post of mine. Also the quote about the pig and the bagpipes. I like some books with short sections that can be picked up, opened anywhere for a good read. I have a few on baseball and some on American History.

Other than that I do have a lot of other reading material about including my Rodale's Encyclopedia of Herbs, the Toolbox Book, the Workbench Book and a few others.

jtk

[Jim Becker]

There is a Book that I Believe you wouLd Enjoy...but the TOS might prohibit me from mentioning it. ;)

The TOS does not prohibit you from mentioning this particular book in the context of this thread. It just asks that there be no religious (or political) discussion as a matter of policy.

Jim
SMC Moderator

[paul cottingham]

The TOS does not prohibit you from mentioning this particular book in the context of this thread. It just asks that there be no religious (or political) discussion as a matter of policy.

Jim
SMC Moderator

Well, wheres the fun in that?
As an aside, I just read Oak, the Frame of Civilization, The Wheelwrights Shop and the Village Carpenter in quick succession. Fantastic books about early craft. I am waiting for the Artisan of Ipswich to arrive by mail. Any book by Connelly (The Burning Room, mentioned above) is great. Even my retired cop friends like how Connelly writes cop fiction. He is a retired newspaper reporter who covered LA's police beat for years.

[Joe Tilson]

I like the Bible first, then Tom Clancy. He was very prophetic of what is happening in our country today. The Bible tells us about everything from beginning to the end of our pilgrimage on this planet.

[John Sanford]

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. It has a very interesting premise, and the guy is a very good writer.

American Gun by Chris Kyle.

I'm also moseying through Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton.

And Calvin Cobb, Radio Woodworker is on deck.

[Charles Wiggins]

Right now I'm reading "God of the Untouchables."
http://www.amazon.com/God-Untouchables-Dave-Hunt/dp/096281279X

[Harold Burrell]

The TOS does not prohibit you from mentioning this particular book in the context of this thread. It just asks that there be no religious (or political) discussion as a matter of policy.

Jim
SMC Moderator

Yeah...I know. I was just trying to be cute. :o

[Justin Ludwig]

Currently reading A Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn. I've been reading too much non-fiction lately. I need to decompress and read something mindless.

Pillars of the Earth was a phenomenal book.

[Julie Moriarty]

I recently finished "Rowing The Atlantic" by Roz Savage. An amazing feat, no doubt, but her writing style didn't grip me.

Recent reads: "The Burning Room" by Michael Connelly. I love his "Lincoln Lawyer" books. I've read all his Harry Bosch books but like the LL books better.

"Unbroken", for the second time. I wanted to read it again before I saw the movie. But that may be why I felt the movie fell flat on its face.

"Flight 232", a very thoroughly researched book about the miraculous survival of so many from that plane crash. I walked away realizing there's a very thin line between success and failure in jet engines. Don't read this just before flying anywhere.

"In the Kingdom of Ice", about the quest to sail to the North Pole back when it was believed there was a Polar Ocean at the top of the earth. All you had to do was find a way past the ice ring that surrounded it.

And until I find my next read, I'm absorbing a couple of books by Nigel Calder, "Marine Diesel Engines" and "Boat Owner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual". I'm considering buying a sailboat and making my dream come true.

[Brett Luna]

My reading waxes and wanes and I'm in a lull right now. The most recent book of note that I read was, The Martian by Andy Weir. I recommend it even for those who aren't necessarily fans of science fiction because the trappings of the genre take a distant back seat to the human story. The writing style is a bit gritty so fair warning to those put off by coarse language. It starts in chapter one, paragraph one.

[John Pratt]

Meat: Everyhting you need to know
by: Pat LaFreida.

I am by no means a "Foodie" in the common sense, but I do like to read books about food and try new recipes while learning about the science of food at the same time.

[Art Mulder]

This one is kind of trendy this past year, but I really really REALLY enjoyed "The Martian" by Andy Weir.

"A science fiction novel, the story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars and must improvise in order to survive." (From wikipedia)

It starts with a boom and hardly slows down throughout the book.

[Andy J Smith]

I enjoyed Some Luck by Jane Smiley.