What are you reading?

12,195 Views | 45 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by TheRevSFA
nacluth
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I'm on the hunt for some good books. Do you know of any? I usually make it through about 10 print books a year and about 40 audiobooks (listen while working). I'm pretty broad as far as genres though science fiction and history/biography top the charts. If you know of any winners, let me know. I would love to check them out.

Ryan
Kinnaird Guitars
djsfw57
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THE GENESIS CODE by John Case is one of the best books I have ever read. It's a mystery that I had completely figured out before the last chapter. I was wrong. About everything. It was a thrill actually to find a book that could completely trip me up. Great writing, very strong character development. I could smell, hear, and visualize things the entire book. Don't see that very often from authors.

Here is a blurb from Amazon:

A phone call in the dead of night brings Joe Lassiter shattering news. His sister and young nephew have died in a fire in their home near Washington, D.C. Yet Lassiter soon learns a chilling fact: His loved ones were brutally murdered before the blaze was set. . . .


The mysterious suspect's identity only raises more questions. Then Lassiter uncovers another crime--another innocent mother and child murdered. The more he unearths, the larger the web of conspiracy grows, as his search for answers leads him on a dangerous international chase toward a truth that will shock him--and the world--to the very bone. . . .

https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Code-John-Case/dp/0345422317/ref=la_B001HMU5NC_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517607264&sr=1-1
TallTexan
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I've got a few:
  • Same Kind of Different as Me
  • El Paso by Winston Groom
  • Last Days of Night- It's a fictionalized version of the current wars.
  • Empire of the Summer Moon- Great book on the end of the Comanche nation before they moved to the reservation
  • Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- A fun listen
  • Love Does by Bob Goff is great

I've heard Edstile is a big fan of the Nicholas Sparks books.
nacluth
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TallTexan said:


I've heard Edstile is a big fan of the Nicholas Sparks books.
This explains so much. Thanks. I'll check them out though HHGTTG for me was a much better read than listen.
Ryan
Kinnaird Guitars
TallTexan
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Never read HitchHiker's, but enjoyed the Stephen Fry Audible version. Is that the one you listened to?
TallTexan
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TallTexan said:

Never read HitchHiker's, but enjoyed the Stephen Fry Audible version. Is that the one you listened to?
Should note, listened to it on a roadtrip from Texas to Seattle, so the scenery may have helped. YMMV.
INiedrauer
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Staff
I've really enjoyed Duty by Robert Gates. One of the more shockingly objective political books I've read. Opinionated, extremely so at times, but not in a partisan way.
-
Isaac Niedrauer
@INiedrauer


nacluth
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Picked up The Genesis Code. It looks fun. I should mention that I'm in the middle of teaching a Theology of Genesis class at my church, but I'm pretty sure that I can enjoy a fun mystery. Thanks.
nacluth
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I did listen to the Stephen Fry version. It was probably one of those things where the books were some of my all time favorites from my youth, and it just didn't sound right in his voice. Adams does have a tendency to be repetitive and recursive in his writing, and listening to it made it more obvious to me.

I'll check out El Paso soon. I enjoyed Forrest Gump. I actually read it before seeing the movie, but haven't read anymore of Groom's stuff. Thanks.
nacluth
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Cool Isaac. I don't even want to ask how old you were when Gates became Secretary of Defense, but I'm sure it will be interesting. Politics isn't typically my game (probably because there's never winners), but I'll put this in the queue. Thanks.
SFA Jack Fanatic
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nacluth said:

TallTexan said:


I've heard Edstile is a big fan of the Nicholas Sparks books.
This explains so much.
Say what?

SFAXE93
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With Santa Anna in Texas by Jose Enrique De La Pena
The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes
The Conquest of New Spain by Bernarl Diaz
Long Remember by MacKinlay Kantor
The Evolution of a State or Recollections of Old Texas Days by Noah Smithwick
TallTexan
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SFAXE93 said:

With Santa Anna in Texas by Jose Enrique De La Pena
The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes
The Conquest of New Spain by Bernarl Diaz
Long Remember by MacKinlay Kantor
The Evolution of a State or Recollections of Old Texas Days by Noah Smithwick
These sound really good.
SFAXE93
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I was a history minor at SFA and two of those books (Fuentes and Diaz) were required reading for the History of Mexico class I took back in 1992, and they still sit on my book shelf today.

I wish I could remember the professor's name, even though I do remember Dr. Richman, Dr. Davis, and of course the late Archie P. McDonald.
nacluth
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edstile said:

nacluth said:

TallTexan said:


I've heard Edstile is a big fan of the Nicholas Sparks books.
This explains so much.
Say what?
I was going to make some smart aleck remark about your confession, but then I checked the leaderboard on the contest and decided to keep my mouth shut.

True confession time: I actually have read a lot of Nicholas Sparks books (sappy chick lit for those who don't know). Message in a Bottle his first bestseller came out right as I was going to college, and my stepmom started reading his stuff. She would send them to me, and since they typically were only a couple hours read, I read most of them.

However, one the strangest occurrences happened when she pre-ordered his Three Weeks with my Brother book for me back in 2006. It's a memoir told in diary entries about a trip around the world with his brother following some tragic events in their family. I guess I received it the day it was released, and because I had nothing going on, I started right away. The dates of the diary in the book were mainly from 2005, but as I read into the book they got into 2006. Soon (I was reading in September) they got to August and I had plenty of pages left. I kept thinking, "I'm going to turn the page, and it's going to be today he's writing about." It was a freaky feeling. The final entry was written 9 days before I received the book. I can't imagine what had to happen between author, editor, publisher, printing, and Amazon to get a book to me in 9 days for a bestseller like that book. But it happened.

I'm not a big Nicholas Sparks fan, but he has an efficient machine behind him - not unlike Isaac and the Sawmill.
nacluth
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SFAXE93 said:

I wish I could remember the professor's name, even though I do remember Dr. Richman, Dr. Davis, and of course the late Archie P. McDonald.

Was it Dr. Abernethy? I know he lived in Mexico for a while.
SFAXE93
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I can't recall the name, but I would know the face if I saw him.

He wore glasses and had a kind of beard goatee going.
djsfw57
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Hope you like the book. I look forward to your thoughts.
TallTexan
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nacluth said:


I'm not a big Nicholas Sparks fan, but he has an efficient machine behind him - not unlike Isaac and the Sawmill.
Hear that Isaac? You're the next Nicholas Sparks!
Txjack
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I personally love sports biographies...my two favorites were by Dave Dravecky, pitcher for the Padres and Giants in the 80's who discovered cancer in his arm. He had half his deltoid muscle removed because of it but still made a comeback to the mound...then wrote a book about it, "Comeback". The cancer eventually returns, he has to have his arm amputated. He then wrote the book "When you Can't Comeback".
Both books are great testimonies of overcoming struggles through faith. I use to reference these constantly when I was teaching a high school/college sunday school class at my church.
nacluth
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Thanks. I like biographies too. I'll look into that one.
nacluth
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djsfw57 said:

Hope you like the book. I look forward to your thoughts.
Just finished the Genesis Code. It was a fun, engaging mystery. I would be interested to know how you thought it was going to end as it played pretty straightforward to me, however, that did not take away from its enjoyableness.

It did have a descriptive tone that made you think the author had experienced many of the places and subjects that were written about. The only complaint was the author left most of the underlying explanation until the final third of the book where it could have been spread throughout to keep the pace even. But, this is minor. The ending finished quickly and with resolution that's not always given in pulp fiction. It's probably always going to be judged against the later Da Vinci Code which was a quicker pace but ultimately less pleasurable to read. Thanks again for the suggestion!

Any more ideas (from anyone) appreciated.
Ryan
Kinnaird Guitars
cboothe09
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The Yankee Years by Tom Verducci and Joe Torre was good. Don't like the Yankees but it was an interesting read. The Big Miss is good. Written by Hank Haney on his time as Swing Coach for Tiger Woods. A lot of insight to Tiger.
Sports from Hell by Rick Reilly is also a fun read.

If you liked the TV show Dexter, it is based off of books. I have a couple and they aren't bad.
TallTexan
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Found this list on Reddit I thought some of you might be interested in.

Essentially, people picked there favorite genre, and then selected 3 books for beginners, 3 for veterans, and 3 for experts. Fascinating list.

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/846k3z/pick_three_books_for_your_favorite_genre_that_a/?utm_source=reddit-android
nacluth
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I thought I would strongly recommend For The Glory by Duncan Hamilton. It's the biography of Eric Liddell who won the 400m Olympic gold in 1924 in world record time. He was the subject of the film Chariots of Fire.

This quality recounting of his life is by the renowned British sportswriter Duncan Hamilton who does not add sentimentalism to Liddell's life, but let's the power of the man's life resonate with the reader.
After Liddell's gold, he went to the mission field in China until the Japanese invasion found him in an internment camp. I found it to be a gripping tale of service and integrity.

For the Glory: The Untold and Inspiring Story of Eric Liddell, Hero of Chariots of Fire
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143110187/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pp5ZAbGW7DJ9T

Also if anyone listens to audiobooks, because of the way Audible works, I can send you the book for free if you would like to listen to it.
Ryan
Kinnaird Guitars
TallTexan
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nacluth said:

I thought I would strongly recommend For The Glory by Duncan Hamilton. It's the biography of Eric Liddell who won the 400m Olympic gold in 1924 in world record time. He was the subject of the film Chariots of Fire.

This quality recounting of his life is by the renowned British sportswriter Duncan Hamilton who does not add sentimentalism to Liddell's life, but let's the power of the man's life resonate with the reader.
After Liddell's gold, he went to the mission field in China until the Japanese invasion found him in an internment camp. I found it to be a gripping tale of service and integrity.

For the Glory: The Untold and Inspiring Story of Eric Liddell, Hero of Chariots of Fire
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143110187/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pp5ZAbGW7DJ9T

Also if anyone listens to audiobooks, because of the way Audible works, I can send you the book for free if you would like to listen to it.
That sounds like an excellent book.
Gazette1
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"Critique of Pure Reason" by transcendentalist Imannuel Kant.
nacluth
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Gazette1 said:

"Critique of Pure Reason" by transcendentalist Imannuel Kant.
I read this in one of my philosophy classes (admittedly with a lot of other books so I could use some brushing up). Kant has a lot of good stuff and was a great counter to most of the skepticism of the modern age (speaking philosophically not temporally). While I agree that experiences are pivotal in our reasoning, I don't go as far as he does along the ideas of rationality creating reality in morality. (Everyone's yawning I can tell). Just to agree, I will share one of my favorite quotes: "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument." - Leonard Ravenhill.
Ryan
Kinnaird Guitars
TallTexan
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Thought I'd revive this thread with a suggestion. I've been reading Paddling the Wild Neches, about a trip a guy took in the 90s canoeing the river. And I thought it was going to be nerdy, filled with scientific data, but it's actually been a pretty pleasent read.

It's a good look at the ecology, history, & state of the river. I think a lot of times I forget what a treasure our local "Naturehood" is, with the Neches, Angelina, & extensive forests. But it really is incredible. It reminds me a lot of Southwestern Virginia, with a lot of natural beauty, though it rarely has the jaw dropping features of say, the smoky mountains or western forests. East Texas has a quiet, serene beauty, and that's awesome to me.
nacluth
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Thanks, that does sound good. I've canoed a couple East Texas rivers but never the Neches. A good traffic way for the Caddos.
BigJack85
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I just read Mitch Alboms follow up on "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" called "The Next Person You Meet in heaven". A good relevant story in today's disconnected times. My personal favorite of his is "For One More Day". If your a baseball fan it may have some meaning.
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
TallTexan
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We've never canoed much outside of State Parks. Planning to change that when the weather warms up.

I've been devouring books on East Texas history since I got back. Most focused around Palestine, but starting to expand. If I come across anything else that it a good read, I'll be sure to post it here.
SFAXE93
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"Killing Jesus" by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard and "The Man who Killed Kennedy The Case Against LBJ" by Roger Stone

Also finished

"Ponzi's Scheme" by Mitchell Zuckoff
"13 Hours in Benghazi" by Mitchell Zuckoff
"Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches" by S.C. Gwynne
"The Men on the 6th Floor" by Glen Sample and Mark Collom
SFAJack_76
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nacluth said:

Thanks, that does sound good. I've canoed a couple East Texas rivers but never the Neches. A good traffic way for the Caddos.
The Neches River Rendezvous is not a bad way to see one section of the river. I have done it several times with our son, several times with our daughter, and once ( ) with my wife. Since our son and DIL moved to N.Y., it has been a fun way to spend some quality time with my daughter. Depending on river flow, it takes 2-3 hours. Varying experience levels of canoeists/kayakers participate from very experienced to many not so experienced. If you don't have a boat, there are canoes for rent through a couple of outfitters. They have put it on enough times that it is reasonably organized, but be patient since it is being run by volunteers. Scouts help people to get in the river and out. It was flooded out three years in a row and nearly cancelled last year for really low water. The link says to register with the linked form, but that is from last year. I don't believe they are taking reservations yet. Until the years of having to cancel, it always sold out fairly quickly.

https://www.visitlufkin.com/events/annual-events/neches-river-rendezvous/

The author of the book, Richard Donovan, is from Lufkin. Several years ago, his wife was in the real estate business and helped us buy our first home.
TallTexan
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Thanks 76, I'll have to keep an eye out for the Neches River Rendezvous signups. That seems like a great way to get out on the river and get some first hand experience without jumping into the deep end right off the bat.
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