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Hey there poindexter. Read any good books lately?

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I’m trying to decide what to read next, I’ve narrowed it down to these six titles. Any thoughts or suggestions?
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Bury my Heart or Red Dragon. Red Dragon reads better than film adaptation was able to do.
 

Hakiroto

Member
I'm currently reading 1984 and have recently read the following:

 

Tenaciousmo

Member
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I just finished the Kitchen, From Nicolas Freeling.
It recounts the author's professional journey as a cook throughout his carreer from restaurant to hotels in the late 1950s to 1960s. I read it because Anthony Bourdain mentioned it in kitchen confidential. gonna be reading the cook book here and there because it is more of a recipe thing. - Edit - From The first few pages of the cook book, I'm enclined to try some of it, he had a few good ideas in what i read like not mashing your potatoes for a shepherd's pie, making a contrast of textures instead of having just one "Baby food like" texture as he puts it.

I Enjoyed the kitchen book, but i wouldn't say enough to recomend it. I found it similar to Down and out in London and Paris, but slightly worse.

I had hoped some of the books I ordered wouldve come in before i finished it. I still got a bunch of books in my cupboard at work so gonna be reading from those.
 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
pauljeremiah pauljeremiah You may be able to help me out with this one. I'm searching for a book that I've forgotten the title and author. I can give you what I read based on memory.

Around September 2009 I was in the hospital for about 2-weeks. The staff was handing out books and I read a book on economics and part of a short fiction novel. The economics one I remember; I forget the short novel but here's what I remember:

The title of the book was something along the lines of "So and so??? at the Sit and Bull or Sit and Sit...something like that." The story talks about a small truck stop-inn in a small village in the West. It's set in like the 80's possibly or early 90's. The story tells about a trucker or some kind of guy who was tall with a tough persona but good heart. There was some mean guy who is chasing around a young woman (orphaned I believe) who is Native America. He corners her in an old school bus and tries to assault her but she escapes to the tall cool guy. The tall cool guy is much older but starts protecting her like a daughter.

I never finished the novel because I was discharged from the hospital the same day.
 

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
pauljeremiah pauljeremiah You may be able to help me out with this one. I'm searching for a book that I've forgotten the title and author. I can give you what I read based on memory.

Around September 2009 I was in the hospital for about 2-weeks. The staff was handing out books and I read a book on economics and part of a short fiction novel. The economics one I remember; I forget the short novel but here's what I remember:

The title of the book was something along the lines of "So and so??? at the Sit and Bull or Sit and Sit...something like that." The story talks about a small truck stop-inn in a small village in the West. It's set in like the 80's possibly or early 90's. The story tells about a trucker or some kind of guy who was tall with a tough persona but good heart. There was some mean guy who is chasing around a young woman (orphaned I believe) who is Native America. He corners her in an old school bus and tries to assault her but she escapes to the tall cool guy. The tall cool guy is much older but starts protecting her like a daughter.

I never finished the novel because I was discharged from the hospital the same day.

I'm not familiar with that book, but maybe if you use this link you may be able to find it. I hope you do find it as David Mitchell said "an unfinished book is an unfinished love affair"
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I'm not familiar with that book, but maybe if you use this link you may be able to find it. I hope you do find it as David Mitchell said "an unfinished book is an unfinished love affair"
Well, I couldn't get much with that webpage (they wanted Patreon donations to submit a post). Then, one word popped into my head and it was the ugly word "holler." I always attribute the word holler to colloquial English. The "Sit and..." part was all part of a different memory. Regardless, I found the book. I was 23 in 2009 and maybe it was more interesting to my younger self. I'm going to buy it on Kindle books because I no longer live in the U.S. and buying U.S. prints is hard down here.

Real title: The Honk and Holler Opening Soon

 
I tried doing the audiobook version of “Where the Crawdads Sing”. I just can’t do fiction in audiobook form. So I moved onto Kevin Hart’s “The Decision”. Really enjoying it so far. Almost done actually.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I tried doing the audiobook version of “Where the Crawdads Sing”. I just can’t do fiction in audiobook form. So I moved onto Kevin Hart’s “The Decision”. Really enjoying it so far. Almost done actually.
What's your opinion on audio books? I mean, are you able to form the story in your imagination the same way or does having a narrator do the work get distracting? I'll admit that it can be fun to listen to an audio book of something I've already read...but it's hard for me to get into someone character acting unless they're really good.
 

BigBooper

Member
What's your opinion on audio books? I mean, are you able to form the story in your imagination the same way or does having a narrator do the work get distracting? I'll admit that it can be fun to listen to an audio book of something I've already read...but it's hard for me to get into someone character acting unless they're really good.
For me, I can still visualize it in my imagination, but the narrator keeps going even if you'd like to pause for a second to absorb what's happening. For extremely detailed writing, I just can't absorb it and move on that fast, so I read the actual book.
 
What's your opinion on audio books? I mean, are you able to form the story in your imagination the same way or does having a narrator do the work get distracting? I'll admit that it can be fun to listen to an audio book of something I've already read...but it's hard for me to get into someone character acting unless they're really good.

My opinion is that non-fiction books work great (for example “Can’t Hurt Me”). Fiction however, is really tough to do. I have a hard time imagining the settings and following along with the dialogue between characters. I need to read it myself and give the characters voices based on my own imagination.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
My opinion is that non-fiction books work great (for example “Can’t Hurt Me”). Fiction however, is really tough to do. I have a hard time imagining the settings and following along with the dialogue between characters. I need to read it myself and give the characters voices based on my own imagination.
I think I could give non-fiction a try. Biographies of war can sometimes get me tired just reading them.
 

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
What's your opinion on audio books? I mean, are you able to form the story in your imagination the same way or does having a narrator do the work get distracting? I'll admit that it can be fun to listen to an audio book of something I've already read...but it's hard for me to get into someone character acting unless they're really good.

I actually used audiobooks to get me back into reading. I used to just devour books all through my teens and early twenties, and I just stopped reading around the age of twenty-six for reasons that still escape me. And it's only been in the last eighteen months or so that I got properly back into reading. I used audiobooks basically to teach myself to read again by reading along as I listened to them, as weird as a concept as that may sound it did work.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I actually used audiobooks to get me back into reading. I used to just devour books all through my teens and early twenties, and I just stopped reading around the age of twenty-six for reasons that still escape me. And it's only been in the last eighteen months or so that I got properly back into reading. I used audiobooks basically to teach myself to read again by reading along as I listened to them, as weird as a concept as that may sound it did work.
I imagine it's working for many, though. I have a free subscription to Amazon audible which I haven't used yet. I think I'll give it a try. I'm starting a new job soon and won't have much time after that. Recommendations for a guy who likes horror novels (like Stephen King, Clive Barker, etc), mystery, suspense, and science fiction? Some less common titles.

Also, I recommend reading the Triplanetary / Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith.

For those of you who want a short scare...I recommend reading: "Who Goes There?" by John Campbell Jr. ( "The Thing" is based on this story)

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Tenaciousmo

Member
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That was a quick read.
Satirical piece on woke-ism
Bought it a while back and it had been sitting on my shelf at work.

I bursted out laughing a bunch of times.
As a fat dude the term "people of girth" sent my sides flying. I'm not sure i would recommend to everyone but it was a good time.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
OIcYQOy.jpg

That was a quick read.
Satirical piece on woke-ism
Bought it a while back and it had been sitting on my shelf at work.

I bursted out laughing a bunch of times.
As a fat dude the term "people of girth" sent my sides flying. I'm not sure i would recommend to everyone but it was a good time.
I get that it's a book on satire but any info on where woke-ism comes from? Do they say? Maybe I don't want to know.
 

MastAndo

Member
SSpUPy1.jpg


I've been trying to make it a point to read more, and was all set to hop into Dune, but my attention span for that kind of material just isn't what it used to be...so I figured I'd go with something a little lighter first. I'm about a third of the way through, and it's pretty funny stuff. It's not quite what I was expecting though, as it's VERY loosely based on reality, but it's still an entertaining read. Norm can spin a yarn, and in a way that only he can.
 

Tenaciousmo

Member
I get that it's a book on satire but any info on where woke-ism comes from? Do they say? Maybe I don't want to know.
It's based mostly on twitter identity people and social justice warriors.

It does talk about it's influences, like some feminist book writer, same thing for the racism part. I do not remember all the names said.
 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Reading The Financial Times Investing by Glen Arnold.

Talks you though the basics and advanced stuff in Stocks and touches on P2P Lending, Taxes and how to avoid them as well as what to watch out for in Financial Statements.

Veey good read.
It's a wise read. I like to read into economics every now and then, too. There are "motivational speakers" who talk finance and will try to charge for classes or courses just to learn the basics in the book you're reading. I seldom ever feel cheated by a good book.
 
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I've been trying to make it a point to read more, and was all set to hop into Dune, but my attention span for that kind of material just isn't what it used to be...so I figured I'd go with something a little lighter first. I'm about a third of the way through, and it's pretty funny stuff. It's not quite what I was expecting though, as it's VERY loosely based on reality, but it's still an entertaining read. Norm can spin a yarn, and in a way that only he can.
Norm's movie Dirty Work is great btw. Also the Norm Show had me laughing quite a bit.
 

-Arcadia-

Banned
thread is heating up, nice to see so many users reading

-Arcadia- -Arcadia- get itt and tell us what yeh been reading

Last month's Evilore book club, lol, as well as another Shanarra book, as I really enjoyed the first. I've been a bit pressed for free time lately, and spending a bit too much of it on Gaf, lol, so I haven't read too far into either, but really like what I've seen on both.

With the former, reading a historical account like this, from a person who lived centuries ago, is really fascinating to me, as I haven't really done anything of the sort since school.

It actually kind of threw me, seeing the foreword be dated 1500 and something, if I recall right. You read this account that sounds decently modern, relate to the person a bit, and realize you're reading the narration of a person who's been dead for 500 years.

Not at all a shock to you guys that do this regularly, but I've always been stuck in the fictional world, loving stories too much. I'm really glad to get out of my comfort zone with this one though, and it was a great pick for this.
 
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Grinchy

Banned
I'm still having some fun with the Dark Tower series. I decided to read the 8th book between the 4th and 5th books, since it takes place that way chronologically.

So now I'm a ways into the 5th, Wolves of Calla.
 

TrainedRage

Banned
I'm still having some fun with the Dark Tower series. I decided to read the 8th book between the 4th and 5th books, since it takes place that way chronologically.

So now I'm a ways into the 5th, Wolves of Calla.
I still can’t believe how dirty they did those books with that god awful movie. WTF were they thinking??? I bet that turned so many people off to the series. Which is a shame because they are epic as fuck.

Should have been given the Lord of the Rings treatment imo.
 

Grinchy

Banned
I still can’t believe how dirty they did those books with that god awful movie. WTF were they thinking??? I bet that turned so many people off to the series. Which is a shame because they are epic as fuck.

Should have been given the Lord of the Rings treatment imo.
I'm glad I never watched it. Under the Dome was a really fun book too, but if I had watched that trash TV show, I probably never would have read the book.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I still can’t believe how dirty they did those books with that god awful movie. WTF were they thinking??? I bet that turned so many people off to the series. Which is a shame because they are epic as fuck.

Should have been given the Lord of the Rings treatment imo.
It may have worked as a mini-series if they filmed in the late-70's-90's. They sat on the series too long. There are maybe 3 Stephen King film adaptations from the 2000's-onward which I think were okay.

I've only ever made it up to the third book in the Dark Tower series but I recall reading the entire Green Mile book series (I had like 6 mini novels) in my high school cafeteria. Also recall reading "Cycle of the Werewolf" around that time, too.
 

BigBooper

Member
I'm still having some fun with the Dark Tower series. I decided to read the 8th book between the 4th and 5th books, since it takes place that way chronologically.

So now I'm a ways into the 5th, Wolves of Calla.
I read The Gunslinger and hated it because it seemed like King was trying to prove how literary he could be, including a multitude of adjectives and adverbs that really slowed that book down. I bought a collection of the first 4 books, but stopped after the first because of the flowery language.

Do the others seem as dense as the first book? Did you notice that at all? I've never felt that way about any other King book I've read.
 

Grinchy

Banned
I read The Gunslinger and hated it because it seemed like King was trying to prove how literary he could be, including a multitude of adjectives and adverbs that really slowed that book down. I bought a collection of the first 4 books, but stopped after the first because of the flowery language.

Do the others seem as dense as the first book? Did you notice that at all? I've never felt that way about any other King book I've read.
The first book has a few cool moments in it, but it is a horrible first impression. It's a really rough read and I barely got through it. I read the original version, though. From what I understand, he revised it many years later and specifically cited flowery language and improper use of too many adverbs :messenger_tears_of_joy:

I don't know which version you tried, but the first one (original) also had to have some inconsistencies corrected since it was written so long ago and King wasn't really all that sure where he was taking certain things and characters. The 2nd book reads completely differently and was a lot of fun. The other books will reference information from the first one in a way that also gives them context, so it wouldn't be that crazy to skip the first one completely.
 

BigBooper

Member
The first book has a few cool moments in it, but it is a horrible first impression. It's a really rough read and I barely got through it. I read the original version, though. From what I understand, he revised it many years later and specifically cited flowery language and improper use of too many adverbs :messenger_tears_of_joy:

I don't know which version you tried, but the first one (original) also had to have some inconsistencies corrected since it was written so long ago and King wasn't really all that sure where he was taking certain things and characters. The 2nd book reads completely differently and was a lot of fun. The other books will reference information from the first one in a way that also gives them context, so it wouldn't be that crazy to skip the first one completely.
Cool. I'll have to give others a try. It's funny that his criticism was the same. Thanks
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I read The Gunslinger and hated it because it seemed like King was trying to prove how literary he could be, including a multitude of adjectives and adverbs that really slowed that book down. I bought a collection of the first 4 books, but stopped after the first because of the flowery language.

Do the others seem as dense as the first book? Did you notice that at all? I've never felt that way about any other King book I've read.
if we're talking Stephen King out-of-context of before he got his angle, read: Strawberry Spring (NightShift short story). It's one of his first magazine published stories from 1968. It's not King at all but I think some criticism and more exposure in the 70's helped him to get the angle he has. That one story, though...The writing is cheap and he would have never become famous if it was written as an early book.
 

Tenaciousmo

Member
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Read a bunch of comics today I had in my backlog.

1- Dark Souls: Age Of Fire
Incredibly better than the previous one I read, you follow one of the knights of Gwyn.
loved the art and story had a good pacing. I recommend this one over the other dark souls comic. (Bloodborne comics are leagues above tho.)

2- Pearl
"Amazing" tattoo artist gets involved with the yakuza.
The art is good, premise was interesting but it fell short. I don't know why but it feels sluggish to read, it's awkward with its pacing and sadly the art part didn't carry me through half of it. I might go back to it later. but for now it is a skip.

3- Doctor Radar
Set in 1920's France, a scientist is murdered and we follow the detectives trailing Doctor Radar.
The art was both appealing and off-putting at first, it certainly took me a few pages to get the hang of it. short and sweet read, would love to see if there will ever be more to it. certainly a recommendation on my part.

4- A Strange And Beautiful Sound
It is a story about a monk Leaving the monastery he's at to go to a will reading.
I love this one, the art is AMAZING, one of the best looking Graphic novel I've read in a while, I love the story, it takes you through a simple and beautiful story. There is this aura of melancholy and beauty to it that those simple lines cannot express. I think it might be a new favourite for me.
 

BigBooper

Member
Any Crichton fans out there? Which books were your favorites. These were my 4 favorites.
I read Jurassic Park and liked it from what I remember. I won Timeline in an internet contest back around 2000 along with the PC game. The book was pretty good, but the game was not.

I also heard the audiobook of The Andromeda Strain. It was not very good. The narrator wasn't very good, which was part of it, but the story is also dated compared to a lot of it's contemporaries.

I need to give Jurassic Park another try, or maybe it's sequel.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I read Jurassic Park and liked it from what I remember. I won Timeline in an internet contest back around 2000 along with the PC game. The book was pretty good, but the game was not.

I also heard the audiobook of The Andromeda Strain. It was not very good. The narrator wasn't very good, which was part of it, but the story is also dated compared to a lot of it's contemporaries.

I need to give Jurassic Park another try, or maybe it's sequel.
Jurassic Park the book is intense. It had to be partially rewritten for the screenplay due to how violent the book can get. All of the deaths in the book are twice as violent and the movie would have gotten an R-rating if it had been written remotely like Crichton's original.

Another big change from book to movie...
Hammond gets eaten by raptors trying to save his grandchildren toward the end of the book. The movie wrote the arc around Hammond and dealt Muldoon the death Hammond was supposed to have.
 

Rest

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
Mage Against the Machine.

Crappy title, great book.
 

BigBooper

Member
Finished up Golden Sun from the Red Rising trilogy. It was good all the way through, except the ending reverse? deus ex machina. It wasn't so bad that it would make me angry, but I had the feeling that if this was written 30+ years ago, this book and it's sequel would be put together into one book.

Ah well, it was good enough that I've jumped into the third book now.
 
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