Book Recommendations?

[Justin]

I thought we should start a thread about good books.

I just started reading Freakonomics. It's an interesting read thus far...

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a 2005 non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics.

Overview

The book is a collection of economic articles written by Levitt, an expert who has already gained a reputation in academia for applying economic theory to diverse subjects not usually covered by "traditional" economists; he does, however, accept the standard neoclassical microeconomic model of rational utility-maximization. In Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner argue that economics is, at root, the study of incentives. The book's topics include:

• Chapter 1: Discovering cheating as applied to teachers and sumo wrestlers (See below)
• Chapter 2: Information control as applied to the Ku Klux Klan and real-estate agents
• Chapter 3: The economics of drug dealing, including the surprisingly low earnings and abject working conditions of crack cocaine dealers
• Chapter 4: The controversial role legalized abortion has played in reducing crime. (Levitt explored this topic in an earlier paper entitled "The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime.")
• Chapter 5: The negligible effects of good parenting on education
• Chapter 6: The socioeconomic patterns of naming children

[Dave]

I've always been a Stephen King fan myself. This summer, I read the seven novel series "The Dark Tower"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Dark Tower

"The Dark Tower" painting by Michael Whelan
The Gunslinger (1982)
The Drawing of the Three (1987)
The Waste Lands (1991)
Wizard and Glass (1997)
Wolves of the Calla (2003)
Song of Susannah (2004)
The Dark Tower (2004)



The Dark Tower is a series of seven books written by American author Stephen King between 1970 and 2004. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror and western elements. They describe a gunslinger's quest toward a tower whose nature the books call both physical and metaphorical. King has described the series as his magnum opus. Besides the seven novels that compose the series proper, many of his other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. .
The series was chiefly inspired by the poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, whose full text was included in the final volume's appendix. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of The Gunslinger, King also identifies The Lord of the Rings, the Arthurian Legend, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as inspirations. He identifies Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character as one of the major inspirations for the protagonist, Roland Deschain. King's style of location names in the series, such as Mid-World, and his development of a unique language abstract to our own (High Speech), are also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's work.


Overview




In the story, Roland is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers and the last of the line of "Arthur Eld," his world's analogue of King Arthur. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West but is also magical. While the magical aspects are largely gone from Mid-World, some vestiges of them remain, along with the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on", and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams — mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Even the Sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals and age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries.
For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each

1. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
2. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
3. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
4. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) - Locus Award nominee, 1998[1]
5. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) - Locus Award nominee, 2004[2]
6. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) - Locus Award nominee, 2005[3]
7. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004) - British Fantasy Award winner, 2005[3]

[rhatzy]

The 5000 year Leap. The principles and beliefs of the founding fathers in their own words and how it helped them write the constitution of the US.
as you read it, you see how much it is still relevant today and forever. These guys were geniuses. Fast read.

Mark

[Cindylou]

I'll pass on Dave and Justin's books, but your book Bob sounds like something I would pick up. Justin, my hubby read your book a few years ago and really liked it.

[dalhousie]

I like Alexander McCall Smith books. He has a particular way of writing & it's nothing too heavy going, just easy reading which is what I want when recovering from surgery. There are different series. I like the Isabel Dalhousie novels, 44 Scotland Street & the No 1 Ladies detective agency. Here's a link to his website

Alexander McCall Smith - Official Site

[KBear]

I just read the Twilight series (4 books). I really didn't think they would be something that I would enjoy. Several friends told me how good they were, so I read them. I read all 4 (400-600 pages each) in 5 days. I just couldn't put them down they were so good.

I'm usually a non-fiction reader. I am currently reading Revelation, The Great Physcians Rx For Health & Wellness and The Case For Christ.

Justin- I really would like to read that book, I have heard excerpts from it and it sounds really good.

I got an idea! Scary huh? We could do a book pass for those who like to read. Mail them to the person who wants to read them and they mail them back when they are done. Media mail is really cheap... it takes a bit longer; but is 1/2 the price.

[Cindylou]

Good Kathy.

[Pain-In-Fl]

I just got done with this book by Jimmy Buffett, it was very good, if you like adventure.

Sandy

[Justin]

[QUOTE=KBear;5207]I just read the Twilight series (4 books). I really didn't think they would be something that I would enjoy. Several friends told me how good they were, so I read them. I read all 4 (400-600 pages each) in 5 days. I just couldn't put them down they were so good.[quote]

Tiffany got started on these and read them all in a few days like you did. She is a complete read-aholic now!

I got an idea! Scary huh? We could do a book pass for those who like to read. Mail them to the person who wants to read them and they mail them back when they are done. Media mail is really cheap... it takes a bit longer; but is 1/2 the price.

This is a great idea! :thumpup:

Keep the book recommendations coming everyone!

[KBear]

I guess we could make a "library" on here with all of our books we would be willing to loan out. Then others could 'check them out'.