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Any Great Books?
July 25, 2008 | Stephanie32

Posted on 07/25/2008 3:01:11 PM PDT by Stephanie32

(My first thread, hope I'm doing this right!)


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: bookclub; bookreview; books; firstthread; godsgravesglyphs; readinglist
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To: Stephanie32
3 fiction novels I have read and enjoyed this year.

"Some Danger Involved" by Will Thomas
Private investigator in London, late 1800s. Kind of Sherlock Holmesian with a bit more violence and humor.

"Dissolution" by CJ Sansom
Henry VIII is confiscating the land, churches and valuables of the Catholic church. Murder is afoot. The best hunchbacked dwarf lawyer in England, Matthew Shardlake, (who works for Oliver Cromwell) is sent to investigate.

"The Religion" by Tim Willocks.
The siege of Malta, 1575 ad., The Knights Templar v. Suleiman the Magnificent. Very violent and bloody. Had that "wow" factor for me.

41 posted on 07/25/2008 4:21:53 PM PDT by dynachrome (Henry Bowman is right)
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To: swarthyguy
Any Jim Thomson will do (as would any early Hammett or Leonard, including his noir-westerns like HOMBRE).

A friend of mine started a small imprint called Hard Case Fiction. He recycles forties-fifties lurid crime novellae and mixes them with new writers. Pretty good stuff.

A really good long read is the Berlin Noir trilogy by Phillip Kerr (March Violets, The Pale Criminal & German Requim). They are available in one volume. The series covers a Berlin detective pre-war, war years and post war in a dirty, dangerous Berlin. It's his best work by far. I take it off the shelf every four years or so and am constantly surprised by it still.

42 posted on 07/25/2008 4:22:51 PM PDT by wtc911 ("How you gonna get back down that hill?")
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To: Dr. Sivana
'My Grandfather's Son -- Clarence Thomas (a must read)'

I got that for my grandson. We drove to Dallas to see/hear Justice Thomas. My grandson was thrilled, and loved the book. He wore his Gitmo t-shirt under another shirt and jacket.

43 posted on 07/25/2008 4:24:19 PM PDT by mathluv
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To: mathluv

I think Plague Ship was written by Jack DuBrul....just using Cussler’s characters. I read it last month.


44 posted on 07/25/2008 4:26:25 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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To: Stephanie32

Lonesome Dove.
Shogun.


45 posted on 07/25/2008 4:29:22 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: Stephanie32
I've been reading Patrick Robinson and Stuart Woods

By Robinson I really Liked Shark Mutiny, Barrcuda 945 and Scimitar SL-2 they are about Terrorism, Iran, China, Oil they are similar to Clancy but not so technical.

By Stuart Woods

I liked The Short Forever, Two Dollar Bill, Dark Harbor which revolve around a former cop Stone Barrington they are kind of like James Bonds meets Robert Parkers Spenser

and also by Woods a book called Beverly Hills Dead which I liked because it takes place in the late 40's and mixes in fiction and old hollywood so the detective might be out to dinner and at the next table was like Errol Flynn or some other actual person that was alive at that time although it is still fiction.

46 posted on 07/25/2008 4:29:27 PM PDT by edzo4
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To: Stephanie32

Fiction:

The “Flashman” series by George Macdonald Frasier;

The “Polesotechnic League” series by Poul Anderson;

Anything written by Robert E. Howard;

“Dune” by Frank Herbert;

The “Eric John Stark” stories and novels by Leigh Brackett; and

“Dorsai” by Gordon R. Dickson.

Nonfiction:

“Foreign Devils on the Silk Road” by Hopkirk, Peter.


47 posted on 07/25/2008 4:30:32 PM PDT by dominic flandry
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To: Stephanie32

“Jesus of Nazareth” by Pope Benedict XVI. One of the best books of all time, and the best book on Jesus that I’ve ever read, and I’m not Catholic.


48 posted on 07/25/2008 4:31:21 PM PDT by Boagenes (I'm your huckleberry, that's just my game.)
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To: BurbankKarl

DuBrul is listed as co-author. I like his books, too.


49 posted on 07/25/2008 4:32:10 PM PDT by mathluv
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To: Stephanie32

Since you’re a woman, if you’re tired of the leftist indoctrination in most fiction today, you’ll enjoy some classics in women’s fiction by Mary Stewart, 1960’s, especially “Airs Above the Ground.” There’s also an Arthurian trilogy.

And there’s always “Rebecca” by Daphne DuMaurier. She was a great writer.

You’ve probably read “The Shell Seekers” by Rosamunde Pilcher. If not, DO.

I wish more women would respond to your question because I’m just about read out on the good books.


50 posted on 07/25/2008 4:38:18 PM PDT by kitkat (EX DEO LIBERTAS (From God, liberty))
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To: wtc911

>>Berlin Noir trilogy by Phillip Kerr

Haven’t read the first one, IIRC. Will chase it down, but that is a engrossing read.

Alan Furst’s Trilogy of NightSoldiers, A PolishOfficer and DarkStar are really good too; Europa in the twilight between the two big wars, but many small declared and undeclared ones going on.

I recently found Mary Renault and her novels about Ancient Greece, including her Alexander Trilogy, starting with Fire from Heaven.

Gotta go, could spend too much time exchanging good reads.


51 posted on 07/25/2008 4:40:07 PM PDT by swarthyguy (Osama Freedom Day: 2500 or so since September 11 2001! That's SIX +years, Dubya.)
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To: Tanniker Smith
Ender's Game was going to be my first suggestion
52 posted on 07/25/2008 4:45:54 PM PDT by Teacher317 (Thank you Dith Pran for showing us what Communism brings)
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To: dynachrome

“You will have to sail up to the Downs, eating the bread of affliction from your cable-laid baubles, and wetting it with the tears of your misery.”


53 posted on 07/25/2008 4:46:49 PM PDT by LongElegantLegs (Come then, War! With hearts elated to thy standard we will fly!)
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To: Stephanie32
Let's see...Natan Sharansky’s “Fear No Evil” was one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read.

If you can stomach it, Romeo Delaire’s “Shake Hands with the Devil” is a General's account of the genocide in Rwanda during the 90s (when Mad Albright would not say the word “genocide.").

For fiction - anything from David Gemmel, especially “The Rigante” series beginning with “Sword in the Storm.”

Also, Orwell's “1984” and “Animal Farm” are always worth your time.

54 posted on 07/25/2008 4:47:26 PM PDT by Grizzled Bear ("Does not play well with others.")
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To: LongElegantLegs

I bow before your superior qouting ability!


55 posted on 07/25/2008 4:51:16 PM PDT by dynachrome (Henry Bowman is right)
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To: Stephanie32
Despite not being sure what you like or have read, I have a few suggestions.

Non-Fiction - The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. He won a Pulitzer for it, and it is incredible.

Science Fiction - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote three books in the late 70's and early 80's that I consider to be great. The Mote in God's Eye, Lucifer's Hammer and Footfall

Recently I read 7 books by Ian Douglas, who appears to be a pseudonym for William H. Keith, Jr. It's actually three trilogies (only one book is out in the third), and greatly enjoyed them. They are called The Legacy Trilogy, The Heritage Trilogy, and the Inheritance Trilogy (only one book out). I'm looking forward to book 2 of the latest trilogy wheneven it comes out.

Freehold and The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson paint an interesting picture of a UN dominated future where one colony refuses to knuckle under to the UN iron fist. Freehold can be downloaded free from the Baen Free Library. Lot's of good Bolo books by Keith Laumer and others who have picked up the franchise for a few stories or even a book.

As you can see I'm a bit heavy into Science Fiction. If you haven't explored that genre, you will find a lot of good stuff. Most of the movies are BS.

56 posted on 07/25/2008 4:51:53 PM PDT by 6ppc (It's torch and pitchfork time)
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To: dynachrome

Or maybe “quoting” would work better.

defective spelchek again.


57 posted on 07/25/2008 4:52:02 PM PDT by dynachrome (Henry Bowman is right)
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To: DeLaVerdad
HAHAHA! "Are you on the write forum?"

Yes, I'm on the "write" forum. You know the one that values neural frontiersmen.

Simple people do not care to have the apparent "complexity" of their lives made simple.

[And FWIW, I knew about ET's writings years before Oprah 'discovered' him.]

Good luck. Be.

58 posted on 07/25/2008 4:58:01 PM PDT by Daffynition
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To: Stephanie32
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (better known for Tarzan). Amazing Science fiction, social commentary as well as a rousing swashbuckling cliffhanger story.
59 posted on 07/25/2008 4:59:28 PM PDT by allmendream (If "the New Yorker" makes a joke, and liberals don't get it, is it still funny?)
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To: Stephanie32

The Good Terrorist, by Doris Lessing.


60 posted on 07/25/2008 5:00:33 PM PDT by GSWarrior
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