POZ Community Forums
Off Topic Forums => Off Topic Forum => Topic started by: naftalim on July 17, 2006, 02:01:41 pm
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I am a voracious reader and love books. It would be nice to discuss books you have read that could interest others. For example, someone directed me to Khaled Hosseini and his book The Kite Runner. Absolutely wonderful and touching. I am now readiing Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.
Also, a book I loved by a Canadian autoir is Life of PI by Yann Martel.
I mostly read non-fiction, but also enjoy good fiction, by authors like Salman Rusdie, Tom Robbins (man that guy has to have is brain wired differently)
So, can we form an AidsMeds book club?
Naftali
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The Redwall series by Brian Jacques. The Warriors series by Erin Hunter. The Wild Road by Gabriel King.
They're.... all about animals. :D
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I love the idea of a book club! As long as we pick books that have been in print long enough to be in the library, I can't afford new books very often.
I am so thankful that my local library re-opened last week, after being closed for renovations for TWO whole years. Oh and thanks for the suggestions, I will look for those books.
Alan
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Hi Naftali
I've just finished reading Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins. I know what you mean about his brain being wired...I've never seen such a myriad of mind blowing/imaginative similes and metaphors produced line after line and page after page! My friend bought me Jitterbug Perfume a few months ago, I devoured it and was hooked...I ended up buying all his other books! It took me ages to read Roadside Attraction though cos my concentration hasnt been great these past few months and TR is not the man to read if you're not concentrating!
Late last year I read Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez...one of my favourites! A bit of a long heavy read but once you get into it you have to know how things map out.
I'm currently reading Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization by Bruce Thornton. Not quite the Robbins rollercoaster ride but still very interesting so far...
In the past year or so my childhood love of books has been reborn. I've got soooooo many books on my To Read pile(s) and I just keep buying as I see things I want/fancy. Ah well, lucky I have lots of free time...happy reading!
Melia :)
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Hi Naftali,
I tend to read quite a bit too and also re-read the books I love. without any logic here are the ones that come to mind:
Pedro Paramo - by Juan Rulfo
Le notte difficile - Dino Buzzati
Buddha Da - Anne Donovan
A good man is hard to find - Flannery O'Connor
A fortune teller told me - Tiziano Terzani
and I am curently trying to make sense of "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Capra
Pat
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This looks like an interesting read. Of course, you being in France, there had to be one book about love ;D
A fortune teller told me - Tiziano Terzani
As for A good man is hard to find - Flannery O'Connor has the sequel "A hard man is good to find" come out in France yet?
Naftali
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A book that I would recommend is A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/jordanmichigan/mw.jpg)
and Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (which is currently being turned into a movie with an all-star cast).
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/jordanmichigan/ab.jpg)
I have a lot of other books that I've read - I have a penchant for nonfiction.
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An excellent idea!
My favorites are:
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson - Mitch Albom
A Woman of the People - Benjamin Capps ( no wise-cracks please ;D )
Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, Magic's Price - Mercedes Lackey (3 books, excellent gay love story in a science fantasy setting)
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I recently finished "Stranger at the Gate" by Mel White. Very powerful reading for anyone struggling to tend to some old wounds of Christianity vs Homosexuality.
I'm much more attracted to fiction. Every now and then I'll have a piece of nonfiction catch my eye.
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- "Tuesdays with Morie" is a must read I think.
In the same vein you will probably soon find another book by Tiziano Terzani, called " Un ultimo giro in giostra" in italian(roughly translates into: "one last spin on the merry-go-round"; it has been translated in german and my guess is that the english translation will be out soon. I recomend Terzani to anyone who is into travel writing. Try: http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/books/default.aspx?id=6458 (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/books/default.aspx?id=6458).
Natali, poor Flannery obviously had enough of a hard time trying to find the man and I am not sure she succeeded :'(; her novels are quite dark but she made wonderful descriptions of life in the rural south of the US, racism and other topics. She sure could write!
Other than that one of my favourite "new" author is Colm Toibin :The Blackwater Lightship(shortlisted for the 99 Booker prize), The Master, The story of the night.
Thank you for starting this topic!
Pat
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Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (which is currently being turned into a movie with an all-star cast).
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/jordanmichigan/ab.jpg)
I'm in the middle of reading this book. It's interesting but pretty disturbing if this is at all an accurate account.
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I love to read. my favorite of all time is "The Talisman" by Stephen King. I usually only read fiction.. Cristy
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I think most of these are likely to be available in libraries:
Just about anything by Truman Capote, including Answered Prayers, The Dogs Bark, In Cold Blood, Collected Stories, The Grass Harp, etc.
The Marble Faun - Hawthorne
The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
A Moveable Feast - Hemingway (non-fiction account of Paris in 1920s)
Postwar - A History of Europe Since 1945 - Tony Judt (History comes to life)
Generation Kill (non-fiction) Author's account of being with one of the first Marine squadrons into Iraq. Vividly comes to life.
Shadow Divers - amazing account of discovery and identifying WWII German sub which sank off the coast of NJ.
Anything by Alan Furst whose most recent is The Foreign Correspondent. I recommend reading them in order of publication. There are about 10 of them, all involving pre-WWII Europe and some during the war. Amazing knowledge of history integrated into engrossing human situations.
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I've read a couple listed so far, THe Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It's glorious fiction that really, really made me wish it was true (I read it when I was recovering from PCP and it's a great reaffirmation of life) and Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Right now I am reading Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy, a story that takes place in Western Texas during the early '50's.
Last winter Little Steve (FEARLESS) sent me a copy of Fly Away Peter by David Malouf. He's an Australian author.
So you see I've recently read a fairly electic list of authors, Canadian, Brazlian, American, Austrialian. And with us being from all over, this could make for an interesting mix.
I think a book club would be a great idea. So what's our next step? Find a book to read, I guess, uh? By the way, I agree with Alan. I also am a firm believer in libraries so lets try to use them as much as possible.
robt
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I might read Wicked twice a year. Also love Anne Rice's Blood and Gold.
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I'm not much of a reader besides the daily paper and gay erotica. Sorry that's just me :) My hother half reads alot and has a huge Stephen king collection. He is currently reading Marley & Me and often reads me excerpts from the book. We had a yellow lab until this past November and we can relate totally to the story.
http://marleyandme.com/
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I finished Running With Scissors. This is one of the few autobiographies I've read where I didn't like the person telling the story. Still, it was very entertaining and a good quick summer read. I would recommend it to people who are interested in mental illness or just the bizarre.
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I have a few favorites authors.
Agatha Christie
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Arthur Conan Doyle
Tony Hillerman
Isaac Asimov
Yep, I'm a murder mystery and sci/fi fan.
I use reading, like movies, to escape the day-to-day, kind of a respite from reality.
HUGS,
Mark
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Hey Guys, this is fun.
Mark..... I have one for you. Chrome by George Nader. It is a Gay Sci Fi book which takes place in the Southwest of the United States. There is nothing quite so fun as to read Sci Fi that also turns you on.
Medicine Woman Lynn Andrews. and also any of the rest of her books, which deal with being a Medicine Woman in the Native American cultures.
There are so many more, but these two for now.
In Love.
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I would slo like to recommend
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Here is a description
Life isn't fair--here's why: Since 1500, Europeans have, for better and worse, called the tune that the world has danced to. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond explains the reasons why things worked out that way. It is an elemental question, and Diamond is certainly not the first to ask it. However, he performs a singular service by relying on scientific fact rather than specious theories of European genetic superiority. Diamond, a professor of physiology at UCLA, suggests that the geography of Eurasia was best suited to farming, the domestication of animals and the free flow of information. The more populous cultures that developed as a result had more complex forms of government and communication--and increased resistance to disease. Finally, fragmented Europe harnessed the power of competitive innovation in ways that China did not. (For example, the Europeans used the Chinese invention of gunpowder to create guns and subjugate the New World.) Diamond's book is complex and a bit overwhelming. But the thesis he methodically puts forth--examining the "positive feedback loop" of farming, then domestication, then population density, then innovation, and on and on--makes sense. Written without bias, Guns, Germs, and Steel is good global history
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Books I have read over and over and over:
Coming Up for Air (Orwell)
A Confederacy of Dunces (Toole)
Down and Out in Paris and London (Orwell)
Murder Inc. (Turkis/Feder)
Eight Men Out (Elliot Asinof)
Animal Farm (starting to see an author trend here?)
From Here to Eternity (Jones; even better than the great, great movie)
And a recent GREAT read:
Tough Jews (Cohen; an excellent recounting of the '30s Murder Inc. arm of the Syndicate in the Brownsville area of Brookyln mixed in with, of all things, the author's memories of growing up Jewish)
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ALL of Louis L Amour novels.
His Sackett novels, The Walking Drum, Last of the Breed and another one that had to do with an "opening" in a wall into another world.
Wish I could get the hard-back copies of some of these again. Lost "The Wlaking Drum", Last of the Bree" and another one years ago. I tried the paperbacks, but the print is too dang small.
Also, Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon, Iscac Asimov (Foundation Series).
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To all avid readers,
Naguib Mahfouz, egyptian 1988 litterature Nobel Prize winner died two days ago. For more on him:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1988/mahfouz-bio.html (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1988/mahfouz-bio.html)
Pat (who liked his writings)
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Great Idea!
Having Had A Bad Year Of Choosing New Books I
Decided To Re-read My Favorites,Its Been Fun.
I Had To Begin With John Irvings A Son Of The Circus,
Im Now On James Clavells Shogun And
Have Lined Up Charles Pallisters The Quincunx Next.
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Just to contribute (i just joined forums last week so i am a bit late)... the books i read and love are
1. Veronika decides to die - Paulo Coelho
2. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
3. A desperated scream - Carlos Cuahutemoc
4. The art of happiness - Howard C Cutle & Dalai Lama (i just started)
They are all about human self motivation, self development, enjoying life and making your dreams come true.
Hugs from sunny Ecuador
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I'm currently reading Island at the Center of the Earth (http://www.randomhouse.com/features/island/) which someone else on this board (who I believe no longer posts after CSI forum objections) recommended to me on another "Book" thread that once existed. It's quite good for those here interested in history.
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For those who love good fiction, I read one I really enjoyed a couple of weeks ago:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
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::notes subtle name dropping::
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Wise Blood Flannery O'Conner
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-John Huston: An Open book GREAT AUTOBIOGRAPHY
-Tom Clancy : “ A hunt for a Red October “ and others
-William Gibson ( father of SF cyberpunk ) ALL
http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/index.asp (http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/index.asp)
- John Coleman : The story of comitee of 300 and others
http://coleman300.com/ (http://coleman300.com/)
-Keith Devline : Maths gene
-Michel Faber : Under the skin and others
-Michael Baigent & Richard Lee ALL
http://www.cathar.info/prioryofsion.htm (http://www.cathar.info/prioryofsion.htm)
-Antoine De Saint Exiperry ALL
-Jack London ALL
-Daniel J. Boorstine ALL
-Giorgio Vasari (Autobiography of Reinesance Painters)
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/giorgio.vasari/vaspref.htm (http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/giorgio.vasari/vaspref.htm)-Sun Tze
-Archeological books………………
and soooooooooooo many others
Al
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My favorite book has to be "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, I have bought multiple copies of this book and passed them out to people I love.
As of lately I have enjoyed the books of Joseph Campbell, I find that I am in search of my Bliss.
I have to agree that the Marianne Williamson book "A Return to Love" is also very good.
"Giovanni's Room" by James Baldwin is a wonderful classic.
I have found that there is a wealth of wonderful gay authors out there that have written about gay issues that are intelligent and thought provoking for example Paul Monnette has a wonderful use of metaphor and language as does Edmund White.
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"Giovanni's Room" by James Baldwin is a wonderful classic.
Agreed!
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Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore: http://trashotron.com/agony/reviews/moore-practical_demon.htm
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn : http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0446391301/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-6762410-2241401#reader-link
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316776963/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-6762410-2241401#reader-link
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil by John Berrendt : http://www.randomhouse.com/features/midnight/
A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: http://www.curledup.com/dunces.htm
Tropic Of Cancer by Henry Miller: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=6823611&wauth=Henry%20Miller&matches=477&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title
Tropic Of Capricorn by Henry Miller: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=6823617&wauth=Henry%20Miller&matches=490&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title
Subterraneans by Jack Kerouac: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=6437176&wauth=Kerouac%2C%20Jack&matches=191&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title
On The Road by Jack Kerouac: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=4843785&wauth=Kerouac%2C%20Jack&matches=454&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title
The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=4843785&wauth=Kerouac%2C%20Jack&matches=454&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=4320395&wauth=Franz%20Kafka&matches=254&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title
I could do this all day.... But I can't.
One more. I just can't helpmyself...
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell: http://www.amazon.com/Anarchist-Cookbook-William-Powell/dp/0974458902/ref=pd_sim_b_2/103-6762410-2241401
The Story Of O by Pauline Reage: http://www.amazon.com/Story-O-Pauline-Reage/dp/0345301110
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One I HIGHLY recommend: "Going Home-Jesus and Buddha as Brothers" by Thich Nhat Hanh. This author was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr.
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I use to read all the time, I don't know what happened. I have read and loved....A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, wasn't it? It's been awhile but also like The Count of Monte Cristo, thought the movie was excellent. I have also read books by Jackie Collins, Stephen King, and of course, The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, would like to read the Witch Chronicles, forgets the proper name. I also have read a bit of New Age stuff by Raven Silverwolf, Buckland, and Scott Cunningham....