. I realize everyone has their own taste, but if you know of abook that you think would universally appeal to, well, me, please let me know the title and author.
I'm in the mood to buy more books on amazon.
I like travel books and those that have at least something to do with the outdoors and nature, but I'm open to pretty much everything.
Can you recommend a really great book?
June 11th, 2012 at 12:57 am
June 11th, 2012 at 01:42 am 1339378951
For experimental fiction, I love two authors, Percival Everett and Laird Hunt. Probably my favorite books by them are "Glyph" and "The Impossibly." Strange books, but really funny and entertaining and poignant in places. Just have to be read and enjoyed; too hard to explain.
In true adventure, I loved Shackleton's book about his failed travels (but amazing survival) in Antarctica, I think it was called "South." "In the Wake of Madness" and "In the Heart of the Sea" are amazing stories of hardship aboard whaleships (the latter is the story of the Essex, which 'Moby Dick' was based on).
For true crime, I thought "The Adversary" by Emmanuel Carrere was one of the best I've read, about a French "doctor" who lives an elaborate lie until it all unravels. "The Suspicions of Mr. Wicher" is great because it's about a Victorian-England detective and really goes into that culture and the birth of the detective as cultural icon.
As for expose or analysis, I like books that dig into the underside of industries, such as "Fast Food Nation" and "Nickel and Dimed." However, I also like books that probe odd corners of history. One of my very favorites in this area is "The Fasting Girl," which examines a Victorian-era American woman who claimed to fast for decades, and also really gets into the cultured that enabled such an outrageous claim to be taken half-seriously (and let the claimant become a minor celebrity).
June 11th, 2012 at 02:14 am 1339380849
June 11th, 2012 at 02:30 am 1339381823
And I really, really like The Hunger Games. I like sci-fi, and I like stories that the more you think about them, the more you see more layers of meaning.
June 11th, 2012 at 02:33 am 1339382003
June 11th, 2012 at 03:40 am 1339386015
June 11th, 2012 at 05:02 pm 1339434123
I also love Alexander McCall Smith's writings -- he has several series going, all good.
June 11th, 2012 at 06:29 pm 1339439358
June 11th, 2012 at 10:23 pm 1339453423
Check out the reviews on Amazon if you're curious.
June 17th, 2012 at 10:14 pm 1339971249
June 22nd, 2012 at 02:32 am 1340332376
June 22nd, 2012 at 10:27 am 1340360852
Thus far, i have to say i've been somewhat disappointed with the book. It is somewhat inspiring, but not as much as I'd hoped. I don't feel I've learned anything really new yet.
When i decided to buy it (with gift cards, so no out of pocket) what interested me was reading about actual people's individual stories of how they came to simplify their lives.
But somehow it seemed to me the author genericized those stories, perhaps to appeal to as a large an audience as possible. I know she used pseudonyms for most of the people to protect their identity, but aside from that, the individual stories seemed diluted somehow and not as interesting/authentic as i had anticipated.
While i'm sure she intended to leave out extraneous details, it almost seems like the people she's described are more "conglomerate" personalities representing several different people she decided to roll into one becus they were similar, rather than individual people.
Just my initial take. But i was delighted to see your name there!
June 22nd, 2012 at 04:55 pm 1340384127