books to read

[childhood]

I’ve been meaning to read some books from that series for like the last decade, my closest record shop has a bunch of them, but I haven’t yet. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them though.

I put off reading Dune for a long while, cause for some reason I thought it was part of a long series of books (I think I was confusing it with the Foundation series), but now I’m finally reading it and it’s amazing, I love it.

[Alan]

I read a review of the In on the Killtaker one, and they said that the book was full of typos, which is a red flag, imho. If you don't have a good editor, then that will show and be irritating af.

[brycickle]

I put off reading Dune for a long while, cause for some reason I thought it was part of a long series of books

It is though. And now you're locked in.

[childhood]

Oh...my brother gave me some bad info I guess. That's great though.

Really need to check this book out:

[ungzilla]

Expand Quote

I put off reading Dune for a long while, cause for some reason I thought it was part of a long series of books

[close]

It is though. And now you're locked in.

it's fine as a stand alone book though, it kinda drags when you're reading like the 6th frank book and you're like i don't give a fuck about the 600th ghola of [spoiler] and goddamn his son cannot write for shit i hate these prequels

[Peter Zagreus]

Accurately endorsed.

[Andrefosho]

My last reads.

I like food, cooking and fascinated by the high gourmet restaurant kitchen environment. This was a good read to improve my own cooking and better appreciate what the cook has done for my meal when I'm eating out.



This entertained me during a business trip spending 6 hours in a car. I guess the book is even better when someone has already been in Budapest.

[sometimeperhaps]

Anyone have any recommendations on biography books? Gotta get a gift so someone. Ideally in the sports, business, interesting person/event category.

[brycickle]

The Ron Chernow bio on U.S. Grant is really good.

[20matar]

I'd like to read the "definite" book on Dwight Eisenhower. Do you have any reccomendations on books about him? Focusing on the presidency, if possible.

[FROTHY]

I just read this random spooky book and I was pretty impressed. If anyone likes Steven King kind of mindless reading, this one isn't bad. It painted a lot of strong imagery in my head and gave me weird dreams.

Since I finished that book, I started focusing on reading the Bible, mainly for educational reasons. I read the Quran recently and want to compare.

[123ABC]

James Eames
Kings of the wyld
Bloody rose

Action fantasy comedy

[botefdunn]

Anyone have any recommendations on biography books? Gotta get a gift so someone. Ideally in the sports, business, interesting person/event category.

I got you

[hangontoyourego]

Expand Quote

Anyone have any recommendations on biography books? Gotta get a gift so someone. Ideally in the sports, business, interesting person/event category.

[close]

I got you

[AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice]

Still reading Knausgaard's My Struggle: Book Six and it's good so far. It gives you a lot of perspective on his project and answers a lot of important questions: How did it affect those around him? Did Knausgaard really remember every detail he put into the first five books? What does the relationship between memory and reality look like? From all I've heard, he's also going to ponder on the question of why he made such an obvious connection to Hitler's Mein Kampf in his project's title. I'm not there yet though.

Has anyone read anything by Virginie Despentes? I read a review of The Life of Vernon Subutex and I'm thinking about picking up a copy once I'm done with the monster that is Knausgaard.

[Alan]

Just started reading this. It's a memoir by a women involved in the Algerian liberation movement. Really interesting so far.



https://www.versobooks.com/books/2736-algiers-third-world-capital

[BuckyFellini]

Anyone ever read any of these 33 1/3 books? They've got a whole bunch and cover tons of classic albums that I love. I'm not a big reader, but I love these kind of musical history stories and these don't look too daunting to get through.

http://333sound.com/33-13-series/

Not sure if you're still looking into these but I've read a few. They're pretty good overall. Usually about 100 pages or so. Definitely good for a quick, casual read. They are all by different authors (mostly) so the books differ from each other depending on each author's approach and writing style. Not all go into much detail in terms of the actual recording of each album though, so sometimes they can be a little lacking in that area if you're interested in the actual recording process.

I've read these:



I'd say my favourites are:

Paul's Boutique - So cool reading about how they made that album, moving to LA and working with Matt Dike and the Dust Brothers. Seemed like it would have been such a rad time in general.

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables - This one is really well written. The author talks about the political and social environment in three areas: SF, California, and the US as a whole. So that serves as the backdrop to the DK story which gives really good context to everything.

Bizarre Ride - Have to shout out this one simply because it's one of my all time favourite albums so it was just cool to finally learn the story. 


There are a couple like the Nirvana and Pixies books where I didn't really learn anything new. Also the Nick Drake book is pretty lacking but I don't think there is a lot to work with for him and it also spends way too much time talking about a goddamn VW commercial with one of his songs.

[BuckyFellini]

Read In The Distance by Hernan Diaz recently which I picked up after reading SFblah's recommendation in this thread so thank you for that suggestion - great book. 

That lead me into reading Butcher's Crossing by John Williams which I really liked. Not sure if this book has already appeared in this thread but I also recommend this one for anyone who's a fan of Cormac McCarthy's westerns. It was written in the 1960s so very likely even served as inspiration to McCarthy as it tackles a couple similar themes. It takes place in the 1870s and is about a Harvard student who drops out of school to move out west and live on the frontier. He arranges to go on a buffalo hunting expedition and some gnarly shit happens to his group (not Blood Meridian-level of gnarliness, but what is, really).



Just started reading Warlock by Oakley Hall. Another "revisionist western". Only about 100 pages in but enjoying it so far. Based on a few real events mixed in with fictional events (one of the main characters is at least partly based on Wyatt Earp). This one was written around the same time as Butcher's Crossing.

[Coastal Fever]

Just finished Grapes Of Wrath and shit, that’s gonna be a tough one to follow up.

[oyolar]

Still reading Knausgaard's My Struggle: Book Six and it's good so far. It gives you a lot of perspective on his project and answers a lot of important questions: How did it affect those around him? Did Knausgaard really remember every detail he put into the first five books? What does the relationship between memory and reality look like? From all I've heard, he's also going to ponder on the question of why he made such an obvious connection to Hitler's Mein Kampf in his project's title. I'm not there yet though.

Has anyone read anything by Virginie Despentes? I read a review of The Life of Vernon Subutex and I'm thinking about picking up a copy once I'm done with the monster that is Knausgaard.

I'm about 180 pages into the Hitler essay and the first 100 pages are super rough.  Took me about a week of consistent reading to get through them.  They were a slog, but I don't want to taint your perceptions so we can talk more about it later on.

I haven't read anything by Viginie Despentes, but the new Pretty Things translation is on my to read list.

[Sundaynuggets]

I’m reading “On writing well” by William Zinser right now. I picked it up in an effort to improve my writing but am continuing with it because its just a really enjoyable book. It seems that sometimes it doesn’t really matter what someone is writing about if the writing itself engages you

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060891548/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5SdlCbPCT48R8

[Bumpovertrash]

just finished no country for old men. Its one of my favorite movies and now one of my favorite books.

[Peter Zagreus]

just finished no country for old men. Its one of my favorite movies and now one of my favorite books.

Actually the one instance I can think of where I liked the movie more than the book. Obviously McCarthy is great, though.


Reading Nabokov for the first time in earnest and, damn, this is a good book. I'm flying through it.
However, I was thumbing through a collection of interviews Nabokov gave over the course of his life, and at times he comes off as deeply pretentious. The first line of his introduction is something like: "I think like a genius; I write like a distinguished writer; I talk like a child." Next to insufferable. Doesn't diminish his work, though.

[Yushin Okami]

This was great

[oyolar]

Expand Quote

just finished no country for old men. Its one of my favorite movies and now one of my favorite books.

[close]

Actually the one instance I can think of where I liked the movie more than the book. Obviously McCarthy is great, though.


Reading Nabokov for the first time in earnest and, damn, this is a good book. I'm flying through it.
However, I was thumbing through a collection of interviews Nabokov gave over the course of his life, and at times he comes off as deeply pretentious. The first line of his introduction is something like: "I think like a genius; I write like a distinguished writer; I talk like a child." Next to insufferable. Doesn't diminish his work, though.

I fucking love Nabokov.  He is super full of himself though.  Apparently he could pull it off in person (at least for some people) and he'd often play it up in interviews and stuff, but it's definitely a prominent part of his personality.  I can see why given how intelligent and accomplished he was and his family background but it is jarring to learn.

[behavioralguide]

That lead me into reading Butcher's Crossing by John Williams

ha reading that one aswell now, not too far in yet but good read

Also 'reading' joe sacco's 'safe area gorazde' about the bosnian war (92' - 95')

which I can really reccomend

[Alan]

Seconded on Sacco. His other stuff is ace, too.

[Peter Zagreus]

Seconded on Sacco. His other stuff is ace, too.

Thirded! Safe Area was one of the first, and still one of the best (of the few) graphic novels I've read. I work in a book store and, incidentally, as I don't normally work in the comics/graphic novel area, I stumbled upon this thing today:

The cover art and packaging piqued my interest, so I picked it up and read about a quarter of it on my lunch break, and so far I'm really digging it (it's remarkable how often judging a book by its cover works out for me). I feel dumb for not knowing anything about Cerebus before today. It's a big deal in the comics world.
Also, reading something written from a female perspective (Jaka, eponymous) is doing me some good. I don't do that enough.

*Edit - I've done a little reading now and, ironically (given my last statement), there's been a lot of controversy surrounding the author's views on the man/woman relationship and feminism. I'll keep reading...

[HyenaChaser]

Read In The Distance by Hernan Diaz recently which I picked up after reading SFblah's recommendation in this thread so thank you for that suggestion - great book. 

That lead me into reading Butcher's Crossing by John Williams which I really liked. Not sure if this book has already appeared in this thread but I also recommend this one for anyone who's a fan of Cormac McCarthy's westerns. It was written in the 1960s so very likely even served as inspiration to McCarthy as it tackles a couple similar themes. It takes place in the 1870s and is about a Harvard student who drops out of school to move out west and live on the frontier. He arranges to go on a buffalo hunting expedition and some gnarly shit happens to his group (not Blood Meridian-level of gnarliness, but what is, really).



Just started reading Warlock by Oakley Hall. Another "revisionist western". Only about 100 pages in but enjoying it so far. Based on a few real events mixed in with fictional events (one of the main characters is at least partly based on Wyatt Earp). This one was written around the same time as Butcher's Crossing.

Butcher's Crossing is great. Super good western story

[alonelikeastone]

If you happen to be an introvert read Quiet by Susan Cain