It’s time Eppy starts reading again. Please list your top 5 books.

[Eppy99]

I’ve never been an avid reader. I love books, I buy them all the time but they just sit on my shelf collecting dust. I love learning, I hate putting in the effort.

I diagnosis this problem has a few roots:

1) I’m ADD (no seriously, been diagnosed!)

2) I fall asleep when reading....I now wonder if this is tied to my sleep apnea which is fairly under control now with my cpap.

3) This ties in with my ADD, but it doesn’t help there’s tons of distractions and competition for my attention. I’m 46 and for more than half my life we’ve had the internet (peegs, ESPN, porn, dating sites, instant messaging, twitter, Facebook, news, podcasts, etc.)

4) I got married and had kids- self explanatory

So when I was younger I enjoyed reading books, again I never was a proficient reader but I made a much greater effort. I think I’m ready to turn a new leaf. I’m actually considering getting rid of my smart phone and finding a dumb one. I’m completely held hostage by it and I don’t see that changing unless I make the first move.

I’ve already given up watching most TV. I still watch a little sports and occasionally the news but that’s it. I’ll tease myself and look at all the listings but I struggle with making decisions when there’s too many options so I just turn off the tv and go to sleep.

So this winter if I give up the smartphone i conceivably will have much more time on my hands. I’d already like to devote more time to my guitar but I’d also like to see if I can try reading again.

Ok, that was a way too long intro to request your book requests. Assume I’ve read nothing because that’s close to the truth. I want your all time classics. If you can’t cut it down to 5 feel free to expand or categorize.

Here’s to A better EPPY! TIA

 

[Eppy99]

 

[Eppy99]

 

[Warison]

1. Catcher in the rye
2. Encyclopedia Brown
3. Season on the brink

 

[Eppy99]

1. Catcher in the rye
2. Encyclopedia Brown
3. Season on the brink

Funny, this may be the only list where I’ve read all of them. Probably didn’t read the entire series of Encyclopedia Brown. But I loved them when I was a kid.

Catcher in the Rye is probably on my top 5 list. I read it for the first time while hiking up to Everest Base Camp in Nepal. I think I read it like three times on that trip.

 

[kkott]

I read a book not long ago from the Amazon Prime free monthly thing, and it was great. Think it was called Beneath a Scarlet Sky. Supposedly a biography of a kid who grew up in Milan during WW2. I think the subject probably embellished the story, but it's a damn good one. Recently reread it and it was great the second time too. Another one I read off Amazon was about the U of Evansville teams after the plane crash (We Will Rise?). I didn't think it was earth-shattering but really enjoyed it because it was a basketball story from IN. Pistol was good on Maravich. And, one I stumbled across on a Borders discount table down here in NC: Getting Open, the Bill Garrett Story. Hard to beat a book about IN and IU bball.

I've liked about every Erik Larson book I've read too. In order, from memory: In the Garden of Beasts, Dead Wake, Thunderstruck, Isaac's Storm and Devil in the White City. I assume it's new, but in looking I see a book I've not read: the Splendid and the Vile. Obviously about Liz Hurley and our current President.... oops, was that out loud? Good luck, and let us know what you read and your review.... and bewbs.

PS. Also a couple Bill Bryson books: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid and A Walk in the Woods. Thunderbolt Kid may be the funniest book I've ever read. Never had a book that made me laugh out loud so frequently.

PPS. Guess I can't follow directions!

 

[kkott]

Her husband should buy her the abridged edition: How to Help your Husband Get Head.... He'd find it much more fulfilling!

 

[Hoopsdoc1978]

Anything by Cormac Mcarthy.

1. Blood Meridian.
2. Outer Dark.
3. Suttree.
4. Child Of God
5. The Road.
6. No Country For Old Men.

Those would be my top 6.

 

[sdhoosier]

1. November 22, 1963 by Stephen King

2. The Stand by Stephen King

3. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher

4. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

5. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni


I do quite a bit of reading...those are 5 good ones....I've enjoyed most of S. King's books other than his short story collections.

 

[kkott]

1. November 22, 1963 by Stephen King

2. The Stand by Stephen King

3. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher

4. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

5. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni


I do quite a bit of reading...those are 5 good ones....I've enjoyed most of S. King's books other than his short story collections.

I should read the book, but I enjoyed the Netflix 11.22.63.

 

[sdhoosier]

I should read the book, but I enjoyed the Netflix 11.22.63.

I didn't see the movie but I LOVED the book...

 

[hookyIU1990]

I doubt you'd like much of anything I'm reading right now or have read recently, unless you're an econ or history nerd.

The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality | Mises Institute

In 1954, after a lifetime of serious theoretical work in economic science, Mises turned his attention to one of the great puzzles of all time: discovering why

mises.org

The Causes of the Economic Crisis, and Other Essays Before and After the Great Depression | Mises Institute

Stimulus or laissez-faire? That's the essential debate about what to about financial crisis in our time. It was the same in the 1930s.In this world before and

mises.org

Austrian economics was barely mentioned during my time in Bloomington, so I've been reading more and more of the Austrian School economists.

hmmm. Amazon links don't work.

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge
This was the basis for part of the Ken Burns War Series

Listening Point by Sigurd Olsen
I've really been enamored by the north woods of Minnesota and Ontario since a solo canoe trip 6 years ago.

Crow Killer, New Edition: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson by Ray Thorpe
I love the movie Jeremiah Johnson, so this was a great read.

 

[sdhoosier]

I doubt you'd like much of anything I'm reading right now or have read recently, unless you're an econ or history nerd.

The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality | Mises Institute

In 1954, after a lifetime of serious theoretical work in economic science, Mises turned his attention to one of the great puzzles of all time: discovering why

mises.org

The Causes of the Economic Crisis, and Other Essays Before and After the Great Depression | Mises Institute

Stimulus or laissez-faire? That's the essential debate about what to about financial crisis in our time. It was the same in the 1930s.In this world before and

mises.org

Austrian economics was barely mentioned during my time in Bloomington, so I've been reading more and more of the Austrian School economists.

hmmm. Amazon links don't work.

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge
This was the basis for part of the Ken Burns War Series

Listening Point by Sigurd Olsen
I've really been enamored by the north woods of Minnesota and Ontario since a solo canoe trip 6 years ago.

Crow Killer, New Edition: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson by Ray Thorpe
I love the movie Jeremiah Johnson, so this was a great read.

Just downloaded Crow Killer, New Edition: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson....

Like you I loved JJ the movie so anxious to read this one.

 

[El Drado]

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
• How to Switch Defenses Mid-Posession: Tom Crean
  

 

[hookyIU1990]

• How to Switch Defenses Mid-Posession: Tom Crean

I shit you not, I had a coach in jr. high who would have us switch between man and zone based on whether the score was odd or even. And then to make it even more confusing to a bunch 12 & 13 year olds, depending on how much time was left in the the odd and even quarters, that would dictate if the odd/even decision was our score, the opponents score or the total score. Almost as bad as the mid possession change...almost.

 

[Eppy99]

So wanted to follow up on this idea of getting rid of the smartphone. Apparently there’s a name for this, a digital detox. I hadn’t heard of it but I think im in need of dialing it down.

I’m curious if any one has successfully done this, perhaps this is the wrong crowd to be asking since we’re communicating online.

I think I’d be fine with giving up my apps,
Losing gps would suck, email i hate reading anyways, would be some pain in not being able to look something up quickly. I think what I’d miss most is my ability to access music from my collection and Spotify. Oh and I don’t really care about the camera, it’s not as if I was carrying around a Polaroid pre-cell phone.

I’m actually wishing I just had a iPod again. I suppose I could keep the phone and turn off the cellular ability and use it in the car with the hotspot to acceSs Spotify..,hmmm

any thoughts?

 

[T.M.P.]

Rogue Heroes - Ben McIntyre.

Non-fiction... this is the true story of the SAS in WW2, it reads like a fiction because every trope ever used by WW2 special ops movies actually happened in real life with the founding of the SAS. These guys romped through North African deserts,in modified jeeps, far behind enemy lines, destroying German airfields... and were so effective the Germans put bounties on their heads. It's a great read.

The Baroque Cycle (3 books)
Fiction - Interesting, funny, thoughtful and weird.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle

 

[Eppy99]

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
• How to Switch Defenses Mid-Posession: Tom Crean

I may pick up Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Sounds like something I could use about now.

 

[UncleMark]

Foundation Trilogy

 

[Bulk VanderHuge]

In no particular order:

To Kill a Mockingbird
Sometimes a Great Notion
The Stand
Loose Balls
Catch-22

(PS. The Dark Tower series)

 

[Bulk VanderHuge]

1. November 22, 1963 by Stephen King

2. The Stand by Stephen King

3. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher

4. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

5. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni


I do quite a bit of reading...those are 5 good ones....I've enjoyed most of S. King's books other than his short story collections.

Why not his short stories? Some of them are very good.

 

[MyTeamIsOnTheFloor]

Books to read quick and get back in the habit:

The Firm, then To Kill A Mockingbird

Then something hard to read, like Dickens. “A Tale of Two Cities” is topical again.

Or Tarzan. The first sentence is a mile long.

Then some modern trash recommended above.

 

[Bulk VanderHuge]

Books to read quick and get back in the habit:

The Firm, then To Kill A Mockingbird

Then something hard to read, like Dickens. “A Tale of Two Cities” is topical again.

Or Tarzan. The first sentence is a mile long.

Then some modern trash recommended above.

Good call on "A Tale of Two Cities".

 

[sdhoosier]

Why not his short stories? Some of them are very good.

I don't know, the novellas I have read I didn't enjoy as much as his novels. I just finished "Infested"...meh...

Others were The Sickness, Four Past Midnight, Flight or Fright and 1922. Don't get me wrong there were some good stories mixed in there but I just tend to enjoy his novels much more. I did really enjoy Hearts in Atlantis but the stories were interconnected and everything brought together in the last story.

I saw you mentioned Catch 22. I haven't read that since I was a kid. I am going to put that one on my list to read.

 

[iubud]

I’ve never been an avid reader. I love books, I buy them all the time but they just sit on my shelf collecting dust. I love learning, I hate putting in the effort.

I diagnosis this problem has a few roots:

1) I’m ADD (no seriously, been diagnosed!)

2) I fall asleep when reading....I now wonder if this is tied to my sleep apnea which is fairly under control now with my cpap.

3) This ties in with my ADD, but it doesn’t help there’s tons of distractions and competition for my attention. I’m 46 and for more than half my life we’ve had the internet (peegs, ESPN, porn, dating sites, instant messaging, twitter, Facebook, news, podcasts, etc.)

4) I got married and had kids- self explanatory

So when I was younger I enjoyed reading books, again I never was a proficient reader but I made a much greater effort. I think I’m ready to turn a new leaf. I’m actually considering getting rid of my smart phone and finding a dumb one. I’m completely held hostage by it and I don’t see that changing unless I make the first move.

I’ve already given up watching most TV. I still watch a little sports and occasionally the news but that’s it. I’ll tease myself and look at all the listings but I struggle with making decisions when there’s too many options so I just turn off the tv and go to sleep.

So this winter if I give up the smartphone i conceivably will have much more time on my hands. I’d already like to devote more time to my guitar but I’d also like to see if I can try reading again.

Ok, that was a way too long intro to request your book requests. Assume I’ve read nothing because that’s close to the truth. I want your all time classics. If you can’t cut it down to 5 feel free to expand or categorize.

Here’s to A better EPPY! TIA

My Favorite book is "The Long Knife". It tells the story of George Rogers Clark from the planning phase of his mission to defeat the British at Vincennes and Kaskaskia and includes the end of his life. It also describes his defense of St Louis for his Spanish friend. I try to read it every winter. I like to imagine the difficulty of a march across flooded Southern Illinois.

It isn't just a historical record of his military service. The known facts are filled in with the day to day struggles and activities his men would have faced. You get to know the men in his unit and Clark comes to life as a leader. of men in the harshest conditions. The descriptions of the places his men camped remind me where I used to hike and camp growing up.

There is a group that takes a 15 mile hike on the anniversary of the capture of Fort Sackville in Vincennes. I want to take part in the march to look for the small hill described in the book where Clark camped while approaching the city. It was a dry spot in the middle of a flooded flat landscape.

 

[Hoopsdoc1978]

I doubt you'd like much of anything I'm reading right now or have read recently, unless you're an econ or history nerd.

The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality | Mises Institute

In 1954, after a lifetime of serious theoretical work in economic science, Mises turned his attention to one of the great puzzles of all time: discovering why

mises.org

The Causes of the Economic Crisis, and Other Essays Before and After the Great Depression | Mises Institute

Stimulus or laissez-faire? That's the essential debate about what to about financial crisis in our time. It was the same in the 1930s.In this world before and

mises.org

Austrian economics was barely mentioned during my time in Bloomington, so I've been reading more and more of the Austrian School economists.

hmmm. Amazon links don't work.

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge
This was the basis for part of the Ken Burns War Series

Listening Point by Sigurd Olsen
I've really been enamored by the north woods of Minnesota and Ontario since a solo canoe trip 6 years ago.

Crow Killer, New Edition: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson by Ray Thorpe
I love the movie Jeremiah Johnson, so this was a great read.

With the old breed is an awesome read. Amazing what those kids went through. And they were just kids.

 

[hookyIU1990]

With the old breed is an awesome read. Amazing what those kids went through. And they were just kids.

My Helmet for a Pillow (Robert Leckle) and Red Blood, Black Sand (Chuck Tatum) are 2 others. Incredible accounts about the war in the Pacific. You read those 3 books and realize that you and 99% of everyone else really don't have anything in life worth complaining about.

 

[Eppy99]

Honestly two of my favorite books are dog stories, Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows. Not ashamed to have cried reading both.

 

[Sope Creek]

Honestly two of my favorite books are dog stories, Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows. Not ashamed to have cried reading both.

You might try to find a copy of All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Light_We_Cannot_See.

Elegantly written, and a good story line to boot.

 

[IUJIM]

Anything by Cormac Mcarthy.

1. Blood Meridian.
2. Outer Dark.
3. Suttree.
4. Child Of God
5. The Road.
6. No Country For Old Men.

Those would be my top 6.

Read 1, 5 and 6. Haven't read the other 3. Am I to assume they are as good?

 

[Sope Creek]

My Helmet for a Pillow (Robert Leckle) and Red Blood, Black Sand (Chuck Tatum) are 2 others. Incredible accounts about the war in the Pacific. You read those 3 books and realize that you and 99% of everyone else really don't have anything in life worth complaining about.

Prine:

 

[UncleMark]

My Favorite book is "The Long Knife". It tells the story of George Rogers Clark from the planning phase of his mission to defeat the British at Vincennes and Kaskaskia and includes the end of his life. It also describes his defense of St Louis for his Spanish friend. I try to read it every winter. I like to imagine the difficulty of a march across flooded Southern Illinois.

It isn't just a historical record of his military service. The known facts are filled in with the day to day struggles and activities his men would have faced. You get to know the men in his unit and Clark comes to life as a leader. of men in the harshest conditions. The descriptions of the places his men camped remind me where I used to hike and camp growing up.

There is a group that takes a 15 mile hike on the anniversary of the capture of Fort Sackville in Vincennes. I want to take part in the march to look for the small hill described in the book where Clark camped while approaching the city. It was a dry spot in the middle of a flooded flat landscape.

If you like that you should check out James Thom. (Is his the "Long Knife" you're referring to?)

James Alexander Thom: books, biography, latest update

Follow James Alexander Thom and explore their bibliography from Amazon.com's James Alexander Thom Author Page.

www.amazon.com

 

[Cortez88]

Anything by Cormac Mcarthy.

1. Blood Meridian.
2. Outer Dark.
3. Suttree.
4. Child Of God
5. The Road.
6. No Country For Old Men.

Those would be my top 6.

All great. But man. Do you want the poor guy to drink himself to death?

 

[Eppy99]

All great. But man. Do you want the poor guy to drink himself to death?

Thanks for looking out Cortez.

 

[Sope Creek]

Honestly two of my favorite books are dog stories, Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows. Not ashamed to have cried reading both.

Well, if those are your two favorite books then I'd suggest that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance might not be your cup of tea . . . unless you're ready for an examination regarding "Quality" . . . .

If you're into alternative cultures (in this instance the use of peyote for religious/psychological purposes), then you might look into the Carlos Castaneda trilogy, starting with The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. If you read the trilogy (i.e., the first three books of those linked below) and understand it, let me know . . . I'd be interested to hear what the hell I was reading about all those years ago. https://www.thriftbooks.com/series/the-teachings-of-don-juan/37401/.

 

[Hoopsdoc1978]

Read 1, 5 and 6. Haven't read the other 3. Am I to assume they are as good?

IMO, Outer Dark is 1A to Blood Meridian when it comes to Mcarthy novels. It is just fantastic. And like Blood Meridian, it leaves a LOT of questions unanswered. Were the 3 strangers literal or allegorical? Were the crimes they committed actually committed by Culla?

Suttree is a completely different style. It’s more of an autobiographical tale of Mcarthys time in Knoxville, but it’s a great read in its own right. A lot of the people mentioned in the book actually existed and were acquaintances of his. There’s a website called searching for Suttree that goes into detail about this. I highly recommend visiting it if you read the book.

Child Of God is just a gritty story that covers ground that’s hardly ever covered in novels. Murder, necrophilia, etc. Written in Mcarthys unique style.

All of these are absolutely fantastic reads.

I’ve read all 6 of the books I mentioned multiple times. Mcarthy has ruined me for any other author.

 

[Bulk VanderHuge]

IMO, Outer Dark is 1A to Blood Meridian when it comes to Mcarthy novels. It is just fantastic. And like Blood Meridian, it leaves a LOT of questions unanswered. Were the 3 strangers literal or allegorical? Were the crimes they committed actually committed by Culla?

Suttree is a completely different style. It’s more of an autobiographical tale of Mcarthys time in Knoxville, but it’s a great read in its own right. A lot of the people mentioned in the book actually existed and were acquaintances of his. There’s a website called searching for Suttree that goes into detail about this. I highly recommend visiting it if you read the book.

Child Of God is just a gritty story that covers ground that’s hardly ever covered in novels. Murder, necrophilia, etc. Written in Mcarthys unique style.

All of these are absolutely fantastic reads.

I’ve read all 6 of the books I mentioned multiple times. Mcarthy has ruined me for any other author.

You have convinced me. I know of this author, and have seen the movie NCFOM, which I enjoyed.
Which novel would you suggest I read first?
And thank you for the head's up.

 

[Hoopsdoc1978]

Outer Dark is considerably shorter but Blood Meridian is probably better.

BM is probably a more difficult read because of its epic scope and overwhelming violence, but that’s what makes it better, IMO.

You can’t go wrong with either one.

 

[Bulk VanderHuge]

Outer Dark is considerably shorter but Blood Meridian is probably better.

BM is probably a more difficult read because of its epic scope and overwhelming violence, but that’s what makes it better, IMO.

You can’t go wrong with either one.

Thanks again.

 

[sglowrider]

I’ve never been an avid reader. I love books, I buy them all the time but they just sit on my shelf collecting dust. I love learning, I hate putting in the effort.

I diagnosis this problem has a few roots:

1) I’m ADD (no seriously, been diagnosed!)

2) I fall asleep when reading....I now wonder if this is tied to my sleep apnea which is fairly under control now with my cpap.

3) This ties in with my ADD, but it doesn’t help there’s tons of distractions and competition for my attention. I’m 46 and for more than half my life we’ve had the internet (peegs, ESPN, porn, dating sites, instant messaging, twitter, Facebook, news, podcasts, etc.)

4) I got married and had kids- self explanatory

So when I was younger I enjoyed reading books, again I never was a proficient reader but I made a much greater effort. I think I’m ready to turn a new leaf. I’m actually considering getting rid of my smart phone and finding a dumb one. I’m completely held hostage by it and I don’t see that changing unless I make the first move.

I’ve already given up watching most TV. I still watch a little sports and occasionally the news but that’s it. I’ll tease myself and look at all the listings but I struggle with making decisions when there’s too many options so I just turn off the tv and go to sleep.

So this winter if I give up the smartphone i conceivably will have much more time on my hands. I’d already like to devote more time to my guitar but I’d also like to see if I can try reading again.

Ok, that was a way too long intro to request your book requests. Assume I’ve read nothing because that’s close to the truth. I want your all time classics. If you can’t cut it down to 5 feel free to expand or categorize.

Here’s to A better EPPY! TIA