Recommend a book

[BienTeVeo]

I'm trying to read Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. Very slow going, as it were. I have never felt so stupid in my entire life.

 

[ElQueso]

That's pretty heavy stuff (ok, maybe a forced bad pun, probably no one would have even caught it if I had not pointed it out - no one knows how much a cosmic string really weighs ), the concepts at least, for someone not strong in physical sciences, although Hawking does a great job, I think, of making it halfway understandable.

I was watching the Three Musketeers the other day (well, not really watching - I like noise in the background while I work, but noise I control) and got to wondering about the original books. I went to the iTunes store on my iPad and found that there were a couple of English translations of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers in public domain. I was never much one for the classics when I was younger, always seemed too dry and wordy, many of them. And I wanted to be a writer. Heh. And look at how I write on the forum!

But in recent years I find myself going back and reviewing some of the things I never cared for. I'm reading The Three Musketeers and seriously enjoying it. Character development doesn't much exist, plot is kind of nebulous except that I know the basics of the story, which helps a lot to know where it's going more or less. However wordplay and historical references and a bit of action and intrigue, I'm finding it quite interesting.

 

[French jurist]

Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen. Can a man understand that much how women think?
http://en.wikipedia....lle_du_Seigneur
One of the major novels of the XXth century (top 5 if we consider only the French litterature, that's for sure). Until chapter 34 (if I recall) it can be a weird read like lengthy but after... fasten your seatbelts


The Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary is also a book that I've loved
http://en.wikipedia....f_Heaven_(novel)


American litterature (aside of the "classics), I've liked:
- My Dog Stupid, John Fante
- A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole

Japanese litterature (since many examples appear in this thread):
- House of the sleeping beauties, Yasunari Kawabata

More political:
- The letters George Orwell wrote during the 15/20 years after WW2 (quite incredible how he can describe the situation we live nowadays).

And so many more...

 

[fridrix]

May I suggest my own Chase of the Condor, which investigates possible connections between a couple disappeared in Buenos Aires (César Amadeo Lugones and María Márta Vázquez Ocampo de Lugones) in May 1976 and a pair of unidentified murder victims found in South Carolina, U.S.A., three months later . . . just released for the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ASQ80P8/

There's also a blog: http://chaseofthecondor.blogspot.com/2012/04/match.html

 

[polostar88]

Wodehouse
hours and hours of fun, and FREE on kindle...

 

[BienTeVeo]

Wodehouse! The other night I fell into How Right You Are, Jeeves. Hilarious. Laughed so hard my wife kicked me out of bed.

 

[BienTeVeo]

- A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole.

I love this book. Should read it again. If there's anyone out there who hasn't read it yet, just do it. It is the antidote for everything that ails you.

 

[camberiu]

Let me give out a few recommendations:

Guide to the perfect Latin American idiot - Have you ever wonder why Cristina got re-elected or why Argentinian politics are the way they are? This book will answer all of your questions, and more. Funny yet spot on, I can't recommend it enough.

Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas - Any Star Trek fan should read the amazingly clever and funny satire. The author effectively breaks down the 4th wall with the reader. I laughed out loud several times while reading this book.

Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark - Few books influenced me as much as this one. It is amazing how Carl Sagan is able to grab a bunch of very complex concept and make them so easy and simple to understand that even I could grasp it. Light in tone but deep in meaning, this was the book that woke the skeptic in me.

The Millionaire Next Door - The best book about money and our relationship with it I ever read. This is not a "how to get rich" manual, but a detailed analysis of what it really means to be financially wealthy and who the true millionaires in American are. The results will surprise most of you.

 

[Vagrant Violet]

Am super-crunched for time but MUST respond (no time for details, just trust me on this!):


"Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl

"Veronika Decides to Die" by Paulo Coehlo

"The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein (a "kids book" that every adult should read. Not just for their kids. For themselves, too)


Far too many others to name. These are non-negotiables. Don't question me, just go. Get off the computer and buy them and read them. NOW. No time to lose.

 

[mjohnstone]

If you like reading sagas:

by Diana Gabaldon:
Outlander,
Dragonfly in Amber,
Voyager,
Drums of Autumn,
The Fiery Cross,
A Breath of Snow and Ashes,
An Echo in the Bone,
and to be released in the fall 2013 Written in my own heart's blood