Good Books to read?

[sirex]

Anyone read anything good/interesting lately? Any suggestions? What are some "must" read books? Im trying to read some of the "western cannon" books any good recommendations on where to start?

[HavocSteve]

Christie Blatchford - Fifteen Days

Grounded in insights gained over the course of several trips to Afghanistan, and drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews not only with the service-men and -women but with their commanders and family members as well, Cristie Blantford creates a detailed, complex and deeply affecting picture of military life in the twenty-first century.

"This book will open your eyes to this brutal war and it is worthy of our brave young men and women. It is a tough book written by a tough broad who tells it like it is. I could not put the book down" - Don Cherry

"Fifteen Days resonates with truth... with context, texture and candour." - Rosie Dimanno, Toronto Star

"This is not a book about geopolitics, it's about soldiers and soldiering in the cauldron of combat, and equally, if not more, about the impact of those experiences on the families and friends left behind... Compelling, gut-wrenching and, unfortunately, real" - Major-General Lewis Mackenzie (Ret'd)

My girlfriend picked this book up for me because I applied for the Armed Forces to serve my country. This book is a MUST read if you agree or disagree with the war, it is truly about the people who go day in out to help better the lives of others. I myself have teared up on some parts of this book because of how real this book is. Truly a must.

It's only 22$, but one of the best 22$ you've spent on a book. Has many picture of the actual soldiers that have passed and some of the wreckage that they have endured.

[sirex]

Have you read Johnny Got His Gun? Thats one ****ed up book.

[magnus]

noy what you are looking for but if you havent read any i recommend Paolo Coelho.
All his books are good with the Alchemist being the most famous.
Just thought i mention it even if its nothing like what i think you may be after.

[sirex]

Ya, Ive read that, infact I own a copy of it.

Personally I think it is a little over rated, but overall it has a good message.

I am into any book that has a good message.

[magnus]

Have you read Veronica decides to die though?
Or 7 minutes?
He has a whole range of books with a hidden message.
I loved all of them!

[Bullet Ride]

Originally Posted by HavocSteve

"... It is a tough book written by a tough broad who tells it like it is... - Don Cherry

as annoying as Don Cherry is I love him for lines like this lol.

[bmwm5lover]

He came and left: The emotional journer of a cock sucker - John Cocksmith

Best book you will ever read, period. Or hey, this might be your autobiography...


Seriously though, if you want to read some funny fiction books based on real events just to pass the time and have a laugh, read the |Chelsea Handler stuff. It's hilarious.

[Boots R]

jurassic park or congo

i dont care how old they are, those books are great

[sirex]

Originally Posted by bmwm5lover

He came and left: The emotional journer of a cock sucker - John Cocksmith

Best book you will ever read, period. Or hey, this might be your autobiography...


Seriously though, if you want to read some funny fiction books based on real events just to pass the time and have a laugh, read the |Chelsea Handler stuff. It's hilarious.

looks like someone should read more ^^

[HavocSteve]

Originally Posted by Bullet Ride

as annoying as Don Cherry is I love him for lines like this lol.

Ahahah yea, the book is intense. One guy gets a axe in the head, which really happened while he was talking with Afghan locals, others get a rpg launched at them while protecting a school that's built in Afghanistan.

[nonlocal]

LOL at some of these suggestions when the OP said they were trying to read more of the "Western Canon"...

I'm sure history will remember the current-events-profiteering Afghanistan book where one dude gets an axe in the head as one of the greats of Western literature.

If you are really trying to read some of the Western Canon I'm sure you will get a better reading list from English Lit 101 course pages or wikipedia or whatever.

As for less canonical stuff from the last 100 years or so... heh... I've been re-reading Heart of Darkness. Not really one of my personal favourites but it does stand the test of time and stay relevant... and has some great passages.

I love Don DeLillo... Not his recent work so much-- although perhaps in 10 years I will realize how prophetic it is-- but the 80s and 90s stuff is without peer. I recommend White Noise as a starting point and everybody who isn't scared off by 800+ page tomes should read Underworld. Beatiful, beautiful book.

Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre is a really enjoyable read, and everybody loves laughing at school shootings, right?

I finally read Franzen's "The Corrections" and really enjoyed it too, for the most part. Really really touching at times, very funny at others.

[2slow2race]

if you like soccer,

i just read The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime by Declan Hill.

crazy book about match fixing in the world of soccer.

[DANIMAL]

Originally Posted by Boots R

jurassic park or congo

i dont care how old they are, those books are great

Michael Crichton is a hell of an author. Try 'Prey' or 'Timeline'. Although his work is really more 'fast food' fiction.

[HavocSteve]

I think I've only read like 4 books in my lifetime. 2 for like grade 8 book reports and then the "Fifteen Days" which my gf bough for me because I applied for the Canadian Forces. So in order to keep me reading (which I hate to read), speaks volumes about how well this book is. My next book on my list is "The Sacred Balance" by David Suzuki, meet him in person in Ottawa for green week by Uni of Ottawa so I bought a book so the old man can sign it for me ahah which he did so I guess I should at least read it.