"What book are ye reading ritemeow?"

Trevor Kerber wrote:

Slaughterhouse Five went way over my head. I found parts of it funny, and parts of it where I was too lost to get much from it. 

I have read it several times and I believe this to be the idea. Are you as lost as Billy Pilgram? Maybe it’s a glimpse into what it’s like to be him, unstuck in time.

I liked the book ^ Striking out lately though. When I start skimming it's over. 

It's helping me feel superior to my fellow humans

I enjoyed his son Martin's book. Zone of Interest not sure of title, gaining some traction as a film lately.

Cory N wrote:

About 90% of the way through Moby Dick. I know a ton of people who know of the story but nobody I know had actually read it. I decided to give it a go. I’m a slow reader and it’s almost 1000 pages so I’ve been reading it for a while. I grew up on Cape Cod so the whaling references and talk about Nantucket and New Bedford were awesome and unexpected for me. I’ve really grown fascinated by whales and whaling. What a wild time. I definitely recommend the book if you can get over the old English.

If you've gotten into whales, whaling, and Natucket, the following is a must read. Would recommend to anyone into survival stories. Warning: Cannibalism 

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Hank Caylor wrote:

My Wife's a dam safety engineer for the State so she ordered this right away(the Colorado River is her jam), thank you for the suggestion!!

I'm just finishing Gulag by Anne Applebaum and have a fat Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution by Freidrich Katz on deck. Mmmmm history books mmmm..

If your wife is a dam safety engineer and the Colorado river is her jam I couldn't recommend the Emerald Mile more. Would also recommend to anyone into rafting or adventure stories in general.

Emerald Mile - The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon

You have to put yourself in Billy Pilgrim's shoes and know enough history about WW2 to get Slaughterhouse Five. 1984 should have been called 2004 IMO, Orwell's future predictions were spot on but a few years off. The Ministry of Truth and The Ministry of Love remind me a lot of names drug and chemical companies use now for all their products. 

John Steinbeck, The Grapes Of Wrath.

Peter Garnsey wrote:

If you've gotten into whales, whaling, and Natucket, the following is a must read. Would recommend to anyone into survival stories. Warning: Cannibalism

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Having grown up on Cape Cod and being surrounded by whaling culture, it’s super cool to read these stories that talk about that area. It’s a  history I never really understood growing up despite being surrounded by restaurants with whaling harpoons on the walls. I read the Wikipedia page about the Essex when I was reading Moby Dick, looking forward to reading this book! Thanks for the recommendation!!

Trevor Kerber wrote:

Kitchen Confidential was enjoyable and a good genre break from my usual sci-fi. 

Slaughterhouse Five went way over my head. I found parts of it funny, and parts of it where I was too lost to get much from it. 

Somehow I've made it this far without reading 1984, so that's where I'm headed now (~70 pages in)

Slaughterhouse is a classic but perpetuated bad history. I don't blame him as his reference was the propaganda he was fed as a POW. But the figure of 100,000 civilians killed in Dresden came from Joseph Goebbels. The figure is more like 25,000. It was also a vital staging center for troop deployment to the Eastern front.

Just finished Stranger in a Strange Land. It sure was... something. I'm glad Heinlein was able to inspire other writers with ideas that clearly show up in Dune and Foundation/Galactic Empire, but it fell flat for me. 

Ooh just found this thread and now I have lots of good stuff to add to my reading list! Some recent favorites of mine:

Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow- Werewolves, gangs and LA, pretty fun read

Three-Body Problem series, Cixin Liu- Everyone's favorite scifi recently, and yeah it was pretty good

Native Air, Jonathan Howland- Kind of about climbing except not really

The Expanse series, James S. A. Corey- Nearish-future scifi, and sorta long series, cool concepts though

Kook, surfing memoir

The Boer War, Thomas Pakenham

Gallipoli, L.A. Carlyon

And currently finishing Batavia's Graveyard, Mike Dash

Kevinmurray wrote:

John Steinbeck, The Grapes Of Wrath.

Perhaps the best book ever.

Haven't read anything particularly good, lately. Having a hard time even concentrating enough for much of anything, lately, sadly. But, hoping to get back in gear.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Trying to get my 19yr old to read it too.

Hank Caylor wrote:

The Boer War, Thomas Pakenham

Gallipoli, L.A. Carlyon

And currently finishing Batavia's Graveyard, Mike Dash

First two books are the first major chapters in Churchill's war life. Not sure how much he's mentioned in The Boar War but really interesting stuff.

Since last time:

Dune and Dune: Messiah

Nearly halfway through Children of Dune.

Just finished Heart of Darkness (Conrad).  Somehow I never had a chance to read this classic until now.  It packs quite a punch.

Just finished No Time for Sergeants. Rare case of the movie was better.