speaking of libraries- fav book or author

[farmwriter]

Ryder, seeing as you are a Son of the South, you may or may not appreciate the depiction of black maids in this book. I find the split is about 50/50; especially among those who were close to their maids. Overlooking that, though, the book is a nice read and has some good humorous moments in it. There is a fair amount of controversy over it. It is being made into a movie, if it has not already happened. I will go and see it. I like to compare books to their movies, although I am frequently disappointed in the movies.

If I know there is a book and a movie, I always try to see the movie first for that very reason.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I would say I have one book I never tire of reading and that is Proverbs.

 

[alisonb]

Has anyone read James Clavell's King Rat?

 

[Lammie]

I have ordered the book My Father At 100 by Ron Reagan Jr. Looked interesting.

And for those of you who crave non fiction and quality control in whatever you do, I recommend The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. An easy read and a good one. I don't normally go for books like this, but I really liked this one and I think that the principles in the book can be applied to every profession. Even farming and ranching.

 

[Lammie]

And if you are looking for a really really really good book for the kids or grandkids, I highly, highly recommend The Uglified Ducky by Willy Claflin. It is SO funny and SO good. I haven't read anything about the author, but I gather from reading it that it would be good if done in a cajun accent. It is a book that begs to be read aloud. And I won't be a spoiler, but it is about a moose that falls asleep near a duck nest and the mama duck tries to raise it as a duck.

I love children's books. This one has been voted as the favorite by the students at the elementary school two years in a row. The illustrations are cute, too.

Also, along those lines, is a book called Chicken Big by Keith Graves. Very funny, good illustrations and a good out loud read to the young 'uns.

 

[ga.prime]

Has anyone read James Clavell's King Rat?

I read "King Rat" but it was probably 25 years ago. Don't remember much about it except that I liked "Shogun" better. How'd you like "King Rat"?

 

[alisonb]

I enjoyed it, probably read it about 25yrs ago as well. What I found interesting at that young impressional age was the interplay and manipulation between characters for survival and just how far the human will go when under stress (mental and other) under trying circumstances.

 

[Victoria]

I have so many favourites. I think my overall favourite genre is historical fiction and my favourite author in that genre is Sharon Kay Penman. That woman is an amazing writer. Just amazing. She has also written historical mysteries which are not as good as her historical fiction.
For a good laugh I like Rene Gutteridge, she is a Christian author and her Boo series although silly, is hilarious.
I also enjoy Randy Alcorn, both his Christian fiction and more theological stuff. His books Heaven and If God is Good are must reads.
One book that my mother tried to get me to read for years and I refused and ended up loving - Follow the River. That one will stick with me for life.

 

[ga.prime]

I enjoyed it, probably read it about 25yrs ago as well. What I found interesting at that young impressional age was the interplay and manipulation between characters for survival and just how far the human will go when under stress (mental and other) under trying circumstances.

Sounds like a good analysis! I especially enjoy novels like "King Rat" and "Shogun" not just for being well written stories but because of their historical context.

 

[GMN]

Mary Higgins Clark, is one of my favorites -and JA Jance, for the lighter side of life, Betty Neels-I'm always searching for a good book, I love to read.

 

[dun]

Recently, about a dozen books ago, found an author that I really enjoy, Robert Vaughan. Some of his stuff is too current to be of interest, but his semi-historical stuff is really enjoyable.

 

[Rafter S]

Dun,

Thanks for waking this thread up. I enjoy reading, and can't remember a time when I didn't. I skimmed back through all the earlier posts and was mildly surprised to see that science fiction wasn't mentioned. Am I the only one that likes it?

 

[ranchersswiss]

One of my favorite authors is Robin Cook. A lot of his books have been made into films - Coma, Foreign Body, Invasion, etc.

Robin Cook

 

[lavacarancher]

Larry Flynt???? :hide: :hide:

Cal

At least there were pictures! :shock:

 

[3waycross]

Don't know if ya'll have heard about Robert Redford and Jane Fonda making a new movie in Southern Colorado but it is going to be made about the last book written by one of my favorite authors, Kent Haruf. He writes about rural Colorado and does it very well. His books are kind of dark but very good. I recommend his book Plainsong for starters.

........and no I don't like Jane Fonda so don't bother with the Hanoi Jane remarks....

 

[City Guy]

I read" Life of Pi" and liked it a lot. Refused to see the film because it was obvious from the trailers that they shifted the focus from Pi's relationship with ALL 3 animals and made it a stand off with only the tiger. That completely ruined the story.
Also recently read a non-fiction book "Double Cross" by Ben MacIntyre, about the English secret service spy network leading up to the Normandy Invasion. Difficult to believe how easy it was to dupe the Nazis. The story has a very sad, but inspirational ending. Have started to read his second book "Operation Mincemeat" about the Allied Invasion of Italy.

 

[Bestoutwest]

Not sure that's a fair question, but here's some interesting books I've read in the past year:
The Martian: Don't watch the movie, read the book. The science is spot on according to several accounts I've read.
Gallow's Curse and Owl Killers: Set in medieval England. Based on historical superstitions of the time. Very dark, but fun reads.
In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower: Both by the same guy. Excellent reads about American history.

It's nice to see some discussion on books on here.

 

[City Guy]

The most important sentence of a story is the first one. Here is one of my favorites:

"During the whole of a dull, dark and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country: and at length found myself, as the shades of evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher."

It's difficult to beat Poe for setting a mood.

Anyone else have a favorite?

 

[Dave]

It is interesting that I opened this thread and someone is asking about Rat King. I had long since forgotten that book. It was a good book that I read what seems like a lifetime ago. There are so many good books and authors which I have read that over time I have forgotten. The one that sticks with me is Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls. It sticks with me because that is the book which got me into seriously reading for pleasure. It would have been in 1974 based on where I was living when I read it. There has been a small mountain of books that I have read since then.

 

[john250]

David McCullough: The Wright Brothers
In 2016 we take flight for granted. These guys figured it out.