The Glade 4.0

Okay, well, really only one book. I intend to read the latest Wheel of Time book in the next month or so. I'm thinking I'd like to read something in the classics but I'm not set on that. Actually, I'm open to something political but if it is, it needs to knock my socks off.

So lay it on me.

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The Dude abides.

Quick read: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer.

Better read: Truman by David McCullough

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Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

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Moby Dick!

If you're going for a classic, might be a fun and manly way to start. Everyone's seen the movie and knows the story, but how many folks have actually read the book?

(Actually, I found it impenetrable, but that's another story. )

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Go for classics from other cultures!

The Tsurezuregusa (or Essays in Idleness, the title of the prominent English translation) is about the only classic of any culture I have read and actually enjoyed and found particularly interesting.

Kind of short, though, as far as these kind of things go. It's also not a novel. It's more a collection of random musings from this old Buddhist monk dude who is awesome. They range from trivial amusing things to neat philosophical things. If it's a different experience you're after, this could fit well, especially if you are at all interested in Buddhist stuffs (and definitely more the philosophical side of Buddhism, at that).

There is a full-text pdf available online but it's of a pretty old translation that reads a bit awkwardly. Wikipedia can give you the link if you or anyone else wants to go that path. I'd suggest your local library, however, which will most likely have the Essays in Idleness translation which is good.

Other than a thick tome or two, I am going to suggest mainly series of books, as I am a bibliophile when I actually stop and read.

Goëdel, Escher, Bach by Hoffstadter for a deep read...

Dresden or Sookie Stackhouse series for lighter reading...

Big Nerd Ranch has some good OS X / iPhone programming primers if you want to read and tinker with code...

Oscar Wilde and ... for historical murder/fiction in the style of Sherlock Holmes/Agatha Christie.

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Once, I was a ranger
Then, I was a warlock
And a mage
And a paladin
Now, I seek to be myself

Under The Dome by Stephen King...

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Raell Kromwell

One new, one classic.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher (first book in the Dresden Files series)
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

"The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay (South African orphan turned boxer in WWII....somewhat reminiscent of Good Will Hunting)

"The Agony and The Ecstasy" by Irving Stone. Awesome "biography" of Michealangelo.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Joseph Campbell - The Hero with a Thousand Faces and/or The Hero's Journey

James Joyce - Finnegan's Wake and/or Dubliners

James Fenimore Cooper - The Leatherstocking Tales (Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, etc.)

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

I'll echo FarSkee in pushing Dresden Files.

But make your second The Stars My Destination.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Screeling, there isn't a bad read on the page. Give yourself a break and read as many of them as possible.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a better option.

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For shame, Micheal.
Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses

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Well, I found out that Terry Goodkind's final book is already out. So I picked that up used. Still trying to find a used copy of the latest Wheel of Time book. And I'm not going to be able to take summer school this year so that should give me another month for one more book. I'll have to do some looking into these then, although Brave New World has me the most interested at this point.

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The Dude abides.

Mine are both quick reads. Two books in 2 or 3 weeks, easy.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Weeks? Weeks?! WEEKS?!!

...

*sighs*

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I can get through a good book in a matter of hours... a 2 week vacation would require a suitcase full of just books

If all I was gonna do was read on the beach that is.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Well, I'm working on the assumption that he's either not a fast reader, or doesn't get a lot of time to read even when not in school (or both).

I mean, we're talking about the guy who was originally scheduling 3 books for the summer, and has, upon making the decision to not take a summer semester, upgraded that to 6.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I'm a slow reader.

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The Dude abides.

So am I. Quick reads. Trust me.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Hm, I'm a quick reader, finding the time to read is the problem. I go through two or three books a week usually, even then.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

The first thing I'm going to do when I leave my current job to go back to school (creating a little bit more free time) is to begin reading again. I haven't read a book from start to finish in at least 7 or 8 years.

I was thinking about starting the Wheel of Time series, as daunting of a task as that may be. I've also heard things about the Dresden Files.

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Ender's Game

The Alchemist

Tao of Jeet Kune Do

1984

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Ron Paul 2012

Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith.

Fantastic.

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Holy shitsnacks!