Grassroots Booksports? :)

Will, if you like Elmore Leonard,try Cuba Libre & The Hot Kid, both really fun reads.

Blood on the Risers by John Leppelman

Chuck Yeager's autobiography

Jackie Stewart's autobiography

Very funny, unfortunately I have worked places where this was the how to manual.

In reply to rob_lewis:

I heard an interview with the author of Five Presidents. I have a couple books to finish first but I added that to the pile.

I have been reading Asimov's Foundation series. I have completed the first two. I need to find the third one, Second Foundation. I have the last one, Foundation and Earth the shelf.

I'm going to start The Fireman by Joe Hill today. He is Stephen King's kid. Expectations are mixed, based on his other books. I sort of hated "NOS4A2".

Recent books that I've powered through:

1) Five Presidents by Clint Hill - If you're into that type of history, it's a very interesting book and provides a bunch of insight into the presidents. Their style, attitude and demeanor "behind the curtain".
2) Havana Storm and The Emperor's Revenge by Clive Cussler. I'm a Cussler fan. Typical of him, but still fun to read.
3) Napoleon by Andrew Roberts - OK, not finished with this book, I have to read a bit and then come back to it. Huge biography that tries to be factual as opposed to slandering like many of the Napoleon books were in the early days. This one I'm struggling with in keeping up with all of the French names and French places.
4) Dresden Files by Jim Butcher - I just finished book 6 of the series. It's about a modern day wizard who's also a private eye. I didn't think I'd be interested, but am hooked and will finish the whole series. Kinda like binge reading. Good storytelling, easy to read and interesting.
5) The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Issacson - Just picked this back up now that it was available to check out from the library. He gives a good history from Babbage to Jobs that goes into a bit of their backgrounds and how they developed the next revolution. It's a fascinating read.

-Rob

I'm reading "Coming Apart" by Charles Murray about the economic "underclass" developing since 1960 and it's scaring the living E36M3 out of me. For fun, I've been reading the "Iron Druid" series by Kevin Hearne which is really fun and I expect most folks here would enjoy it. He's a 2000 year old Druid whose lawyers are a Werewolf and a Vampire. That should give you some idea what it's like. Quirky sense of humor with movie and Monty Python references.

Rob_Lewis, I see the local library has the Dresden Files books but they also have a DVD "first season" done earlier with Jim Butcher in the credits...?

Just read The Rithmatist by Brian Sanderson. Interesting story if you can visualize it in your head.

stroker wrote: Rob_Lewis, I see the local library has the Dresden Files books but they also have a DVD "first season" done earlier with Jim Butcher in the credits...?

Yes, SciFi tried to spin up a TV series based on the books. Looks like it only lasted one season. I haven't watched it, yet, because I wanted to get through the series first. I'm checking out books digitally, but am limited to 2 weeks. At least for my library, they have the first book and one or two of the others available, but the only way to read them all is to check out the first half all at once. I read fast, but don't think I'd get through all of them in two weeks. So, I've been buying them on my iPad or at my local half price books (who only have a few of them).

Side note: Can anyone explain why the digital version of a book that's available in paperback is more expensive? Seems like once it comes out in paperback, the digital price should match it. Especially since the production costs should be even less......

-Rob

On a whim I snagged a haggard copy of "Inca Gold" by Clive Cussler from the $.10 bin at a local book store. It was rapidly consumed, along with 7 other Dirk Pitt adventure books and a copy of "The Sea Hunters II".

The Pitt stories fit the "Ultra Mega Tough Guy" archetype to some extent but I found them very enjoyable.

I also read "South: The Endurance Expedition" by Ernest Shackleton. Great read.

Vince flynn-the survivor is my current book.

Black friday by william johnstone was the last one.

Recently found matt hiltons books really cheap so i read the first 2 and keep my eyes peeled for more.

The_Jed wrote: On a whim I snagged a haggard copy of "Inca Gold" by Clive Cussler from the $.10 bin at a local book store. It was rapidly consumed, along with 7 other Dirk Pitt adventure books and a copy of "The Sea Hunters II". The Pitt stories fit the "Ultra Mega Tough Guy" archetype to some extent but I found them very enjoyable.

They are 100% mind candy for me. I read one of them (can't recall) years ago when I was traveling a bunch. Got hooked into it and decided to read them in order. That way, I could watch how he amassed his collection of cars, planes and boats. I like to think of them as a more modern version of western novels. I've kinda strayed away from his other series just because I'll end up wanting to binge read them too and I've got too many books and book series I want to read first.

Thanks to all for some of the suggestions above. I've gone ahead and grabbed samples as a reminder to pick them up when I'm finished with my current set.

-Rob

KyAllroad wrote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kadrey This guy wrote the "Sandman Slim" series. I enjoyed it immensely, less scifi and more supernatural. Which leads me to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman Another hugely talented writer, "American Gods" is a must read.

Zombie Thread!!!

I just snagged a copy of "American Gods" less than an hour ago.

Also since beginning this thread I have methodically worked my way through my wife's collection of Grisham.

I'm reading "Mistakes Were Made--but not by me" and it's probably the most interesting book I've read in years. I would strongly recommend it.

slowride wrote: I'm going to start The Fireman by Joe Hill today. He is Stephen King's kid. Expectations are mixed, based on his other books. I sort of hated "NOS4A2".

Im about 2/3 of the way through "The Fireman" I would give it a solid B.

I really liked NOS4A2.

I'm on a bit of a losing streak at the moment. I put down the Wheel of Time series on or about book 7 and have yet to pick it back up. My wife snagged me a book called "Station Eleven" which was a good pallet cleanser, but nothing I'd ever buy. I bought a copy of "Deerslayer" by James Fennimore cooper (prequel to Last of the Mohicans) but my goodness was it wordy. I made it about 2/3 of the way trough, trudging every step, and eventually exhausted myself.

Now a days I'm reading "The Toyota Way" which is about the management principles and history of the Toyota company (and subsequently lean practices, etc) and it's absolutely nothing I'd ever read. The idea of me reading a book on management principals is about as foreign to me as me picking up a romance novel, but it was a gift from Mrs. Hungary so I'm using it as a break filler.

here's the weird thing: I'm actually enjoying my book. Instead of saying "Aw, that's berkeleying bullE36 M3!" during our morning maintenance meetings I now say things like: "Wouldnt that process create waste and cost the company money in x, y, and z? Why don't we let customer demand pull our inventory and use the money and space we save to find other cost saving measures?"

It has the same effect in the end as my old ways, but you should see the managers stumble when the lowest guy on the totem pole counters with other management principles. It really makes it all worthwhile.

Also: Toyota seems like a great place to work.

In reply to Hungary Bill:

I have mixed feelings about Kaizen, but I have mixed feelings about Six Sigma people in general as both a project manager and someone who has first hand experience managing maintenance and manufacturing. In my experience Kaizen always works really well as long as the first generation of people continue to be employed and involved with the process. When they start cycling out, generally after you hit the point of diminishing returns, the new group seeks to "continue improving" which in some cases means justifying existence. Then it goes to hell again after morale goes in the toilet under the crushing weight of bureaucracy that it was intended to upend. Knowing when and where to make improvements, as well as understanding when to tell someone what they just put forward is a terrible idea and they should feel bad about even suggesting it, is key to sustaining that process and performance.

Anyway I'm reading Purple Cow right now because I still don't understand the nuances of marketing. Apparently presenting facts and case studies isn't enough.

Hungary Bill wrote:

"I bought a copy of "Deerslayer" by James Fennimore cooper (prequel to Last of the Mohicans) but my goodness was it wordy. I made it about 2/3 of the way trough, trudging every step, and eventually exhausted myself."

That's the EXACT same experience I had with "Children of Men". I'd read about one hundred pages, struggling to stay in the story the whole time, then set it aside and forget about it for a year or so. I finally made it through on my third try then promptly stuffed it into the Little Free Library next to the YMCA where I lift.

I also had trouble with "The King of Torts" by Grisham. Man, the way the main character burns through money! I could barely stand it!

The_Jed wrote: Hungary Bill wrote: "I bought a copy of "Deerslayer" by James Fennimore cooper (prequel to Last of the Mohicans) but my goodness was it wordy. I made it about 2/3 of the way trough, trudging every step, and eventually exhausted myself." That's the EXACT same experience I had with "Children of Men". I'd read about one hundred pages, struggling to stay in the story the whole time, then set it aside and forget about it for a year or so. I finally made it through on my third try then promptly stuffed it into the Little Free Library next to the YMCA where I lift.

This is my problem with Tolkien. Overly descriptive. Couldn't get through The Two Towers.

Let's see in the past year:

1) Bring Back the King - A neat book on DNA and genetics explaining how Jurrasic Park isn't as easy as the movie makes it sound. It goes through what we've been able to do with cloning and where the challenges are going forward. Geeky, but it kept my attention.

2) Go Like Hell - needs no summary.

3) Devil in the White City - Historical novel (accurate with some poetic license detail) of the first mass murder in the United States. Rich in detail and interesting.

4) From Cradle To Stage - Already discussed here by the author's brother.

5) Seveneves - Another Neil Stephenson novel. VERY rich in detail, which I seem to have trouble getting through. It's not bad, but not one I'd ever read again.

6) The Expanse Series - Just finished the series a few days ago. It's described as a sci fi opera, but is much better than that. Just a good sci fi series.

I'm not a huge sci fi fan, but am trying to figure out my next book/series. I've got "Station Eleven" queued up as a possibility, but not impressed so far. I think I need something easy to clear the mental palate.

-Rob

I read the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy by Cixin Liu, starts with The Three Body Problem. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's kind of dense with physics jargon at times but it's a really interesting story and has compelling characters. The parts set in the Cultural Revolution were a bit eye opening, too.

The0retical wrote: In reply to Hungary Bill: When they start cycling out, generally after you hit the point of diminishing returns, the new group seeks to "continue improving" which in some cases means justifying existence. Then it goes to hell again after morale goes in the toilet under the crushing weight of bureaucracy that it was intended to upend...

Exactly where the company I work for is at right now. The future does not seem bright for them

MTN: Man, I loved the Hobbit but The Two Towers was bleeding awful!!! I honestly couldn't believe I was reading works from the same author.

The-Jed: Thanks for the heads up. Also, they have "Little Free Libraries" where you live? For three years I've wanted to build on in front of our house but never did

In reply to rob_lewis:

Go Like Hell was great. definitely recommend.

The Expanse had me hooked all the way through the first season on Netflix. Really debating on whether or not I should pick up the series on paper.