Books To Read
I thought it would be nice to have a thread where we could recommend and review books not dog related. That is if anyone has time to read after a day of chasing a nihon ken or 10.
I'm wondering if anyone here has read Nefertiti: A Novel by Michelle Moran. It looks very interesting to read though I doubt it's historically accurate.
As for me, I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. Not a new book for me but I don't mind reading the same books again and again. The storyline goes a little too slow for me but it is an interesting book. Haven't had a chance to watch the movie yet though a lot of my favorite actors are in it.
I'm wondering if anyone here has read Nefertiti: A Novel by Michelle Moran. It looks very interesting to read though I doubt it's historically accurate.
As for me, I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. Not a new book for me but I don't mind reading the same books again and again. The storyline goes a little too slow for me but it is an interesting book. Haven't had a chance to watch the movie yet though a lot of my favorite actors are in it.
Comments
Another great book is An Innocent Man by John Grisham. I'm not a fan of his, but this is first non-fiction book about an innocent man on death row.
All time faves?
1. Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
2. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
3. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Other recommendations:
1. My Sister's Keeper
2. The Kite Runner
3. A Thousand Spendid Suns
4. The Plot Against America - Philip Roth
5. The Namesake
6. Wild Swans - The Three Daughters of China
7.The Genius Factory - REALLY interesting non-fiction
8. Anything Calab Carr
9. Pretty much Anything Kurt Vonnegut
10. All the Harry Potter's
11. EVERYTHING Oscar Wilde
12. Almost anything Nelson Demille
Currently I am reading "god is not Great (How Religion Poisons Everything)" by Christopher Hitchens. Interesting read althugh he is a bit "wordy".
Other books I have read and enjoyed over the last couple years:
The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman
The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman
The Reach of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman
The Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman
The Man Who Ate Everything - Jeffery Steingarten
It Must Have Been Something I Ate - Jeffery Steingarten
In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan
The Omnivore's Dilemma - MIcahel Pollan
A Cooks Tour - Anthony Bourdain
Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
I told you I read a lot about food.
My favorite books is probably Catcher in the Rye. An oddly good book about trees is The Wild Trees by Richard Reston. It's about people who have dedicated their lives to learning about Redwoods and other giant trees.
Is it weird that I'm in the mood for Dos Caminos Brunch (Mexican Benedict - soooooooooooo good). Brandon, you should definitely come to NYC. You'd have a field day with the food. From Shake Shack to Daniel. Shake Shack is known for it's burgers and shakes, but my fave thing there is their Portabello Burger - Portobello Mushroom with Cheese, battered and fried and topped with flavored Mayo. Hmmm. I think I'll head there for lunch.
I usually read random fiction (just go into the book store or library and pick a random book from the shelves), books on the Vietnam war or ww2 in Europe (fiction and nonfiction), and true crime.
Gregg Olson, Kay Hooper, Lisa Jackson, Tom Clancy, Catherine Coulter, Tami Hoag, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, JK Rowling, James Mitchner, Clive Cussler, and so many more. I read 2-4 books a week, so I belong to a couple of reading clubs and book exchanges. I'm always on the lookout for a new author and will pick up and read most anything - I tend to stick with thrillers - not a fan of romance books (AT ALL, EVER). I've read some True Crime, like Ann Rule, but I like the plot turns of fiction.
As far as non-fiction goes, I just finished re-reading a book by Jeff Shesol on Kennedy & LBJ. My cousin has sent me a book on Alexander Hamilton that I'll start next.
Also, I'm assuming you're talking about David McCullough's Alexander Hamilton. Have you read his Truman???? So good.
Tim O'Brien is another author I really like. His most famous book is "The Things They Carried" but a lot of his other books are good too. They are mainly about the Vietnam war, or Vietnam vets. He mixes real life experiences and fiction and doesn't let you know which is which.
Barbara - I'd love to go to NYC and plan to someday. Although when I go I would want to have enough money to eat at Masa, and that's about $1,000 for dinner for two: http://masanyc.com/.
Or at least at Thomas Keller's Per Se. Which would be a bit cheaper than Masa.
Ann Rule has good & bad books. I don't know if it is just her style of writing or if it is because she may not have as much of the inside information. I was fascinated with "The Stranger Beside Me" about Ted Bundy. I am fascinated by serial killers - I just don't get what clicks in their mind to send them down that path. Ann Rule volunteered at a suicide hotline and worked with Ted Bundy - it took years for her to come to grips that he was a serial killer. I'll pull up some of her books and let you know of the ones that I read that I thought were good. One of hers deals with the case where a mom killed her children - I couldn't finish it. I don't like to read about cruelty to/murder of children. When I was young, a good friend of mine was kidnapped, molested, and killed - I don't like to think about what Lance went through during the last week of his life.
I liked Clark until she did a couple of books that seemed very repetitive. If it seems that the books are getting a bit cookie cutter, then I'll stop with that author for a while. With as much as I read, I end up reading through a lot of authors. Most writers only put out a book a year, so when you figure I read about 130-170 books a year, there's a lot of names. I catch the bigger names because they are out there very prominently, but I love it when I find a new author - Jodi Picoult was one I'd never heard of and while it is a different vein of book that what I usually read, it was half decent.
There is another author I read just because she makes me laugh out loud - Janet Evanovich. Her books only take me about an hour and a half, but they just crack me up.
I think I'm going to have to check Tim O'Brien out. Sounds like something I'd enjoy.
$1000 for dinner?!?!?!?!?
Rina- I dropped $600 at Dickie Brennans in New Orleans - it was on the Top 10 Steakhouses - well worth every penny. Only $150 was for alcohol.
My baby's name is Dahmer
When you go, ditch the Zagat's and go for the NY Mag. NYer faves differ from Zagats greatly...Personally, don't LOVE Le Bernadin - much prefer Daniel for French. Other top faves? Del Posto, Verates, Sushi Yasuda, Donatella and David Burke, Barboubia, Anthos, Kittichai, Woo Lae Oak, Vong!!!!!, Tamarind, Aquavit, Blue Water Grill.
As for why I named my cat that? I couldn't think of a name for 3 days and no one I knew would give me real suggestions, just stupid ones to joke around with. I said if I couldn't get a name in 24 hours he was going to be Dahmer. It kinda stuck since that point and no one bothered thinking of a replacement name.