Great Books Thread

by Open mind 119 Replies latest social entertainment

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  edmond dantes

  Too many to list right now but I have just read The Thunder Bolt Kid by Bill Bryson it's about growing up in America in the fifties - brilliantly funny. Read all of his books and think they are great .He is an amazing travel writer as well ,another one of his laugh out loud books is called A Walk In The Woods. Which is about walking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine,through some of the most arresting and celebrated landscapes in America - the Smokey Mountains,Shenandoah National Park,The Berkshire Hills of Massachuetts and the Great North Woods of Maine.

  If you need cheering up read Bill Bryson.
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  sammielee24

  I loved Angeles Ashes..the writing style was superb in describing life as it was and with humour.

  Stories from Ellis Island speak for themselves and are fascinating.

  Across the Waters is probably my all time favourite. It's a compilation of stories from immigrants to Ontario 1820-1850 and it goes into detail about what our ancestors experienced in trying to make it to Canada.

  Dr Johnstons London - good overview of what days past were like - including the gin put in the babies milk so they would sleep and the lead used in face powder which would ultimately leave the user worse off.

  The Lost Boys and Home Children - break your heart stories of all those kids whose governments and agencies found so easily expendable and whose lives were forever changed by forced moves. I worked with a woman whose mother was sent to Canada from England at age 6 - told her parents had died. It was very sad as we traced back her family.

  On order now is White Cargo, a story of white slavery. For anyone in England who has read this book let me know what you think, it isn't rated in the USA and it's a 5 week wait for the book to come in here .....

  sammieswife.
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  RunningMan

  The White Hotel - D. M. Thomas

  Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut

  East of Eden - John Steinbeck

  Anything by Stephen King, James Michener, Douglas Adams.

  Greatest quote: "He didn't understand women - not the way that comedians don't understand women, but the way the poor don't understand the economy." - Pete Dexter, "God's Pocket"
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  jeanV

  why we believe what we believe, great book a must read for all JW.

  not completed yet but great so far, mistakes were made but not by me and don't believe everything you think. very similar to why we believe what we believe analysing how our mind works and typical mistakes and bias that influence our thinking and behavior.

  Sorry but I did not find unusual suspects that special. probably because my expectations were so high due other people recommendation. still it is a good movie, definitely worth watching.
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  bluebell

  i just read The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

  i really enjoyed it
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  choosing life

  Have you ever posted on a thread so you can find it later for a link or something else? Basically I want to save this thread so I can have a nice selection of good books to choose from as I know there are many great minds here. Thanks for the sugesstion, all of you.

  Recently, I have read a few books that I really liked.

  1) 1984 by George Orwell (actually a reread, but great when leaving the borg)

  2) Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

  3)The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom (not what it sounds like)

  4) To Kill A Mockingbird (another reread and one of my all time favorites)

  Reading The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle right now. I just started, but I am already impressed.
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  Amber Rose

  Do you find Alex Trebek attractive? What does Drew Sagan think about this?

  Not particularly. Drew knows I am a goofball anyway. I did a google image search for either Alex Trebek or Jeopardy, I can't remember which one or why but it probably had something to do with my Farher-in-Law because he's always talking about Jeopardy. Anyway, when I did the search that picture was the first one to come up. I thought it was really funny to find a "sexy" picture of Alex Trebek so I saved it on my computer. Then one day I thought, "Why am I keeping this all to myself? Why not share this silliness so that others may be puzzled too?" Thus, it became my avatar.

  Po-tee-tweet!
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  tall penguin

  I love Paolo Coelho. The Alchemist was already mentioned so I'll recommend two others by him.
  
  Veronika Decides to Die--about a young woman who tries to commit suicide, fails, ends up in a mental hospital with heart failure and only a week to live.
  
  Eleven Minutes--an incredibly erotic book about the sacredness of sex as experienced by a young woman who decides to try prostitution.
  
  The beauty of Coelho's writing for me is how well he writes women. He's very sensitive to the art of being a woman and the divine nature of the feminine. I'd love to spend some time in his presence. I'm sure we'd have much to discuss.
  
  tall penguin
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  SacrificialLoon

  The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark - Carl Sagan
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  Twitch

  I read a book once

  Cosmos - Carl Sagan

  I just might read another,......