The Book Thread...for readers and wanna be readers

[Hotsauce]

I dont recall ever seeing a thread of this magnitude on the Huddle, so I figured I would start one.  I found myself looking for a good book to read for my upcoming vacation, but realized I don’t know what to look for. I tried browsing book covers, but was a bit overwhelmed. 
 

This thread is simple. Have you read a good book??? —-> share it here!  Did you read something that changed your life?  Is there a book that is so entertaining, you can’t put it down?  Did a book scare you so bad that you couldn’t sleep at night? 

Want some pie?  Write a brief review, or if your fingers are feeling extra jazzy, rate the book from 1-10 (10 is the best, 1 is the worse).

Personally I enjoy, but this thread is not limited to; True Crime, Inspirational/motivational, horror, suspense, fictional... I also have ADD and need something that stays interesting and is easy to follow. 

Also, and this should go without saying, please no spoilers!

[TheRumGone]

House of Leaves if you wanna be terrified

[Harbingers]

The Almost Nearly Perfect People & Super Sushi Ramen Express. Both Michael Booth.

The first is a bit more political. Second is an excellent culinary tour of Japan.

 

[Captroop]

If you're looking for good vacation reads, I really enjoyed both Camino Island by John Grisham, and the Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille. Both are just delightfully brisk and fun island heist vacation thrillers. Both are written by extremely polished veteran writers and compelling storytellers.

Camino Island is just a straight up indulgence, clearly written by Grisham while he was on vacation. On it's surface, it's an investigation into a theft of a historic manuscript by an eccentric book thief; think the Thomas Crown Affair set in a lazy beach town. But really it's just an excuse to hang out with interesting side characters, and fantasize about the laid back life of semi-retirement among the elite of the literary world.

The Cuban Affair has a little more meat on the bones. The story hangs on a heist to try to smuggle several million dollars out of Cuba, but again is more of an excuse to day dream about sailing, sex, fishing, and enjoying cold cocktails on hot days on the playa. But that's backed up by genuine suspense, paranoia, intrigue, and some extremely compelling action sequences that played out so vividly that when I think back on them, I feel like I saw them in a movie.

If you're headed to the shore for Memorial Day weekend, both would be great reads to knock out while you're there.

[Harbingers]

1 minute ago, Captroop said:

If you're looking for good vacation reads, I really enjoyed both Camino Island by John Grisham, and the Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille. Both are just delightfully brisk and fun island heist vacation thrillers. Both are written by extremely polished veteran writers and compelling storytellers.

Camino Island is just a straight up indulgence, clearly written by Grisham while he was on vacation. On it's surface, it's an investigation into a theft of a historic manuscript by an eccentric book thief; think the Thomas Crown Affair set in a lazy beach town. But really it's just an excuse to hang out with interesting side characters, and fantasize about the laid back life of semi-retirement among the elite of the literary world.

The Cuban Affair has a little more meat on the bones. The story hangs on a heist to try to smuggle several million dollars out of Cuba, but again is more of an excuse to day dream about sailing, sex, fishing, and enjoying cold cocktails on hot days on the playa. But that's backed up by genuine suspense, paranoia, intrigue, and some extremely compelling action sequences that played out so vividly that when I think back on them, I feel like I saw them in a movie.

If you're headed to the shore for Memorial Day weekend, both would be great reads to knock out while you're there.

Both are excellent.

[Hotsauce]

39 minutes ago, Captroop said:

If you're looking for good vacation reads, I really enjoyed both Camino Island by John Grisham, and the Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille. Both are just delightfully brisk and fun island heist vacation thrillers. Both are written by extremely polished veteran writers and compelling storytellers.

Camino Island is just a straight up indulgence, clearly written by Grisham while he was on vacation. On it's surface, it's an investigation into a theft of a historic manuscript by an eccentric book thief; think the Thomas Crown Affair set in a lazy beach town. But really it's just an excuse to hang out with interesting side characters, and fantasize about the laid back life of semi-retirement among the elite of the literary world.

The Cuban Affair has a little more meat on the bones. The story hangs on a heist to try to smuggle several million dollars out of Cuba, but again is more of an excuse to day dream about sailing, sex, fishing, and enjoying cold cocktails on hot days on the playa. But that's backed up by genuine suspense, paranoia, intrigue, and some extremely compelling action sequences that played out so vividly that when I think back on them, I feel like I saw them in a movie.

If you're headed to the shore for Memorial Day weekend, both would be great reads to knock out while you're there.

I really appreciate your recommendations and your write up!  Thanks

[PanthersATL]

I liked American Gods (especially in combination with the Starz series).

Quick background: it's a battle between the "old gods" (like... REALLY old, like Odin) and the "new gods" (technology, media) in the battle for Americans' devotion.  

And since the Starz program was cancelled after three seasons before getting to the final portion of the story, you can't rely on TV to give you that closure that the book will give you.

Which... could be interpreted as the battle between "old god (books)" vs the "new god (TV)".   

Anyway, I found it a good read

[PanthersATL]

Something a little lighthearted?

The Oral History of The Office is an interesting look behind the scenes of what it took to conceive, write, produce, film the TV show.

[RenoCarolina]

Good thread. I just started Blood & Treasure , Daniel Boone and the fight for America’s first frontier Bob Drury & Tom Clavin.  Amazingly detailed history of not just Boone and his family but of the indigenous tribes that were in the way. But it is not an easy read.

I’m a sucker for non fiction and love everything by Jon Krakaur :  Into Thin Air, Into the Wild and even Under the Banner of Heaven. 

[Paa Langfart]

Older book which I just reread after about 30 years and I was not disappointed.  The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Montserrat.   Fictitious tale of the battle of the Atlantic written by a Brit who lived it in real life.  Well written, lots of action, a small bit of  romance for those interested in that.  Highly recommended.

Edited May 26, 2021 by Paa Langfart

[PanthersATL]

On 5/25/2021 at 11:02 AM, Captroop said:

If you're looking for good vacation reads, I really enjoyed both Camino Island by John Grisham,

So far, hasn't disappointed.  Heist stuff is fun Thx for the suggestion

 

if you want more heist stuff that's a bit older, there's a collection from the same author, all different types of heists:  11 HARROWHOUSE,  18MM BLUES,  and 19 PURCHASE STREET (and others by Gerald A Browne) are all kinda fun

[Davidson Deac II]

I tend to prefer historical books.  Just finished reading Target Tokyo, the story of the Doolittle raid. It is one of the better books I have recently read.   Goes into a lot of details that are generally overlooked.  Such as the Japanese homeland reaction to the raid, the savagery with which they treated the Chinese in areas where the American flyers crashed, and the Russian treatment of the aircrew that landed in Russia.   

Edited May 29, 2021 by Davidson Deac II

[Harbingers]

38 minutes ago, Davidson Deac II said:

I tend to prefer historical books.  Just finished reading Target Tokyo, the story of the Doolittle raid. It is one of the better books I have recently read.   Goes into a lot of details that are generally overlooked.  Such as the Japanese homeland reaction to the raid, the savagery with which they treated the Chinese in areas where the American flyers crashed, and the Russian treatment of the aircrew that landed in Russia.   

I'll have to look that one up.

[captfluoro]

I've been reading the "Killing" series by Bill O'Reilly. I've read Killing Crazy Horse, Killing Lincoln and Killing Patton and am currently reading Killing Kennedy. Just good history books, no political or social slant, just factual accounts of these people's lives leading up to their deaths. Plus they don't just focus on the person in the title. Lincoln's book had a lot of material about Grant and Lee and the battles of the civil war as well as very detailed stories about John Wilkes Booth. I'm finding out that the older I get the more interesting history becomes. They are easy reads with a really informative but relatable writing style.