Can someone suggest a good book to read?

[samplegirl]

I just finished Wrapped in a Flag. Hate when I don't have something to read before bedtime!

[PasadenaTrudy]

1. What genres?

Fiction or non?

[samplegirl]

6. Nonfiction preferably.

I usually end up with something good by suggestion.

[pscot]

11. There's a new biography of Barbara Stanwick

got a nice review in the NYT. It sounds kind of interesting.

“A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940” is not about the actress alone. It’s bigger and splashier. Stanwyck knew the most notable directors, writers, actors, studio chiefs and Broadway impresarios of her day, and Ms. Wilson is interested in all of them. A remarkable array of still photographs present supporting characters like Florenz Ziegfeld, Annie Oakley, Clark Gable and Zeppo Marx, all of whom have their places in this account. An even more startling collection of movie ads and posters tells a riveting tale of sexism (about “Baby Face”: “You’ve never seen anything like this frank, man-to-man story of a man-to-man girl!”), even as they chronicle Stanwyck’s career. And each of her two marriages, to the vaudeville maestro Frank Fay and the pretty-boy heartthrob Robert Taylor, could fill a book alone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/books/a-life-of-barbara-stanwyck-by-victoria-wilson.html?hpw&rref=books

[bettyellen]

44. Interesting, my Dad just loved her moxie and raised me be the wise cracking dame she often

played. Ball of Fire is probably my favorite. Thanks for the rec, I will look out for it.

[scarletwoman]

2. I suggest you take your question to the "Reading and Writing" groups:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1192

There are several sub-groups where people discuss various genres - fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, and fantasy reads.

I can't bear to be without a book to read at the end of every day.

[Butch McQueen]

3. I'm in the middle of

Who Stole The American Dream, Hedrick Smith. I have to read it in pretty small doses though - every page gives me a new thing to be furious about!

Butch

[trishtrash]

4. I loved Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior

A page-turner, moving and funny, with serious environmental issues.

[ancianita]

22. THAT was a feast of the imagination, from family life to nature. I highly recommend it, even though

I'm more a fan of non-fiction myself.

[roody]

26. Loved The Lacuna also by Kingsolver

[northoftheborder]

53. I also highly recommend Flight Behavior.

Although fiction, it's main storyline has to do with Global Warming and it's effects......

[MrMickeysMom]

5. bill bryson...

"the lost continent" is really funny and sometimes harsh short stories of his travelogue across parts of America as he reminisces on childhood travel with his family. Great for the bed stand.

[Ron Obvious]

31. Excellent suggestion

I'm currently reading his latest: 1927, about all the events that happened in that year and their significance. Lindbergh, Al Capone, the trail of Sacco & Vanzetti, the emergence of the movie industry. Bill writes so well he even makes the baseball stuff (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig) interesting to a non-baseball fan like me.

Highly recommended.

[MrMickeysMom]

43. See? Now, I'm gonna look for more of him!

[samplegirl]

7. Thank you for the great suggestions

Reading allows me to turn off my day.
Thanks D.U. friends!!!!

[UTUSN]

8. Don Quixote?!1 n/t

[peacebird]

9. Sand county almanac by aldo leopold; second nature, a gardeners education by Michael Pollan

[Historic NY]

10. "War & Peace"...

it should provide a good nights sleep...

[ballabosh]

12. I apologize if you've read it already

But I am re-reading Touching History at the moment. Such a compelling, terrifying and sad account of the ATF and military response on 9/11.

[Tx4obama]

13. I just finished ''Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate''. I liked it a lot.

Some info about it here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023947927

[Kablooie]

14. I liked "Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution" by Michelle Moran.

It's a well researched historical novel about Madame Tussaud who started the wax museums.
Because she modeled royalty as well as revolutionaries and the infamous, mostly in person, she had an opportunity to meet many of the key players in the French revolution and became friends with people on both sides of the conflict.
She was also required to make models of the severed heads of key guillotine victims to support the revolutionaries so she possibly had more first hand contact with more historical events than nearly anyone else.

The book does a good job of letting you experience the horrifying French revolution as if you were living in Paris at the time.
At times the insanity reminded me of the teabagger extremism today.

At the end of the book the author explains what liberties she took with the historical record in order to make a more coherent story.
Most are very minor.

[Logical]

15. Sycamore Row: John Grisham

[B Calm]

41. I haven't read that one yet, but I love all his books!

[CBHagman]

16. Robert Draper's "When the Tea Party Came to Town."

It's a very readable account of the personalities and the policies in the House of Representatives following the 2010 midterm elections, and Draper doesn't just focus on Republicans. It's useful for getting an understanding of what we've just been through.

The original title was Do Not Ask What Good We Do.

[RagAss]

17. Here. This will keep you busy for 10 years....

It did that to me...

http://www.weiwuwei.8k.com/books.html

[samplegirl]

18. I am going to have a hard time deciding

but thankful of all the suggestions!!!!

[Paulie]

19. Mark Kurlansky's two books, Cod and Salt

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/feb/16/historybooks.highereducation

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/books_review___a.html

[arely staircase]

55. yeah, cod is a great one

haven't read salt

[davidpdx]

20. I am Malala

Her book was very interesting and insightful.

[alittlelark]

21. Are you into historical fiction?

[Taitertots]

23. Godel Escher Bach, and eternal golden braid

Predictably Irrational

[Demo_Chris]

24. "God is not Great" -- Christopher Hitchens

[mythology]

25. Some recent non-fiction books I've read

I Wear the Black Hat by Chuck Klosterman

Her by Christa Parravani (warning, this book is really really heart wrenching, but I think it's an amazing book)

Quiet by Susan Cain

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely

Sadly I haven't had as much time for reading as I used to. It's an awful catch-22. When I was unemployed I had lots of time to read, but no money for books. Now that I have a job, I have no time to read the books that I can now afford. Although to be fair, I have no place to put any more books anyway.

[fayhunter]

27. "The Discoverers" by Daniel Boorstein

I'm reading it this week for the third time.

[SheilaT]

33. Excellent book that's now well known.

Some years back when I was contemplating home-schooling my kids, I knew I'd use that book as the basis for a 7th grade curriculum. And I don't mean that it's a dumbed down book. It's not, but the ideas and information contained in it are incredible.

[oregonjen]

28. I've heard great things about this book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

http://www.amazon.com/Extremely-Incredibly-Jonathan-published-Hardcover/dp/B008NE7B0C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384579136&sr=8-3&keywords=extremely+loud+and+incredibly+close

[TlalocW]

29. I've been enjoying the Wicked series

Wicked (the LIfe and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West), Son of a Witch, a Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz.

Very political and very amusing. They're what the Wicked musical is "based" on. Extremely loosely I might add.

TlalocW

[Bennyboy]

30. Can't Find My Way Home;: A history of drugs in America.

From the Cotton club to Kurt Cobain, this book take you inside the music and drug scene. It is very very interesting to see how the genius of the country was on dope.

My favorite book ever.

[Kelvin Mace]

32. Hmmmmm...

Memoirs of a Mangy Lover - Groucho Marx (Comedy)

Lord D'Arcy Investigates - Randall Garrett (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

Myth Adventures - Robert Asprin (Fantasy/Comedy)

The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher (Series/Horror)

Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date - Robert X. Cringely (Non-Fiction)

Maus: A Survivors Tale - Art Spiegleman (Graphic Novel)

Travis McGee series - John D. McDonald (Detective fiction, with a dash of liberal politics and environmentalism)

Anything by David Sedaris (Social satire)

The Guns of August - Barbara W. Tuchman (History)

The Big Short - Michael Lewis (Current events, economics)

Packing for Mars - Mary Roach (Science)

Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain (Non-Fiction)

All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery - Henry Mayer (Biography)

Bring on the Empty Horses - David Niven (Biography)

[SheilaT]

34. Generations by

Strauss and Howe.

I've been plugging in on DU for years, and I don't think anyone else here has ever read it. Amazing book. It explains it's four-stroke generational cycle in some detail, then shows how the history of this country has been shaped by those cycles. As a consequence, I tend to look at much of what happens through a generational lens, which does a good job of explaining what's happening and pretty much why.

[Savannahmann]

35. Several come to mind.

But since you've limited it to Non Fiction, I'll stick to that.

A man on the moon by Andrew Chaikin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_on_the_Moon

A brilliant if long look at the space program and the challenges that were met by the astronauts and engineers who put us on the moon. One of the most complete single books on this subject that I have ever read.

For a good, if brief overview of submarine espionage a good place to start to give you an idea of what we're up to with many other technologies go with Blind Mans Bluff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Man%27s_Bluff:_The_Untold_Story_of_American_Submarine_Espionage

Many of our current geopolitical problems actually go back to the end of the First World War, as hard as that is to believe. But for that you need to read. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacemakers:_The_Paris_Peace_Conference_of_1919_and_Its_Attempt_to_End_War

It gives you a good history of how we got started on the path to here.

If you've ever wondered how that war got started, then there is one exceptional book that was according to legend actually read and recommended by JFK. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_of_august

There are so many excellent books, both fiction and non fiction. I've always been partial to the Nero Wolfe series of mysteries in the fictional mystery genre.

I tend to read books from many different subjects. Science, war, political theory, history, and social issues. It would be hard to recommend a book if your interests don't run similar to my own.

I read one book called Brilliant Blunders, five brilliant people and the mistakes they made. It was tough to read at times, the author was a little too long winded, but it was generally speaking, interesting. The point was obvious. No matter how smart you are, you can and will make a mistake eventually.

[PeteSelman]

36. The Presidents Club.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Exclusive-Fraternity/dp/1439127727/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?ie=UTF8&qid=1384584171&sr=8-1&keywords=Presidents+club

Great book.

[Uncle Joe]

37. "The Assault on Reason" by Al Gore.

Thanks for the thread, samplegirl.

[cynannmarie]

38. At Home by Bill Bryson

I've read many of his books but I think I enjoyed this one the most.

[Ron Obvious]

47. As I said upthread

If you like At Home, you'll enjoy 1927 just as much. As well as Brief History of Nearly Everything. Highly readable, and what's more, highly RE-readable.

[jmowreader]

39. If you don't mind a really old book...

try The Untouchables by Eliot Ness.

Among other things, it dispels the common myth that Ness went after Al Capone on tax evasion charges because he couldn't build a case on the rest of the shit Capone was into; rather, the Untouchables had several very good Volstead Act cases built against him, but knew they were going to try him in Chicago so they covered their bases by building several good cases against Capone. The jury saw through Ness's cheap tricks and convicted Capone the first chance they got.

[samplegirl]

40. I want to thank each of you again

for all the time to reply to this thread. I am not very good at picking out books I must admit.
If I had more time to read then it might be easier to pick.
This has helped me so much and I will bookmark this and save and hopefully get to read some what you have picked.
I am working again and it sure takes a huge chunk of my life up....not to mention trying to keep on top of things.
Anymore reading seems to be my selfish pleasure and you have all made it easier for me to just get something and get reading again.

Many thanks,
Betts

[demwing]

42. Fiction or Non?

For fiction I just read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman: <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anansi-boys-neil-gaiman/1100551311?ean=9780060515188> which is a modern retelling of the myth of Anansi, the African trickster god. It's a playfully dark story of two brothers who are separated in youth and reunited as adults, and discover that their recently deceased father was the god Anansi, and may not actually be dead. Trickster behavior ensues...

For non-fiction try The Wild Trees by Richard Preston: <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wild-trees-richard-preston/1100623496> which is about a small group of researchers who hike the forests of the pacific North West in search of previously undiscovered giant redwoods. In the process they learn that the redwood canopy supports an isolated eco-system complete with:

"hanging gardens of ferns, to caves carved into the trees by forest fires. Layers of soil sitting on the limbs — layers that can be up to a meter deep, filled with organisms and then small trees growing on the branches of redwood trees. Trees of many different species — these are bonsai of the canopy".

[ballabosh]

45. Another older book that I love

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Kind of a modern day Walden. Won the Pulitzer. Fascinating book.

[fadedrose]

46. Can this "Flag" book be the same as in this OP?

It is mentioned by Triana in this OP:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024042133

The only difference is your calling it "a" Flag, and Triana calls it "the" Flag...

What did you think of it?

[samplegirl]

49. Loved the book!

[Cannikin]

48. How We Decide

A little neuroscience written for the layperson. I found it fascinating.

[Coyotl]

50. Nobel laureate

Nobel laureates include

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude

[ctaylors6]

51. a few nonfiction I've liked ...

Monuments Men - hunt by allies for art seized by Nazis during WW2. Found out after read it that going to be a movie.

Shadow Divers

Destiny of the Republic

and a historical fiction one: Code Named Verity

Love this thread!! getting some good recs for myself

[Laffy Kat]

61. Really loved Shadow Divers!

And I don't even SCUBA.

[diabeticman]

52. What do you like reading? My wife suggested The 12th Wife

[Gravitycollapse]

54. We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families.

http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Inform-Tomorrow-Killed-Families/dp/0312243359

They Thought They Were Free

http://www.amazon.com/They-Thought-Were-Free-Germans/dp/0226511928/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384653759&sr=1-1&keywords=they+thought+they+were+free


King Leopold's Ghost
http://www.amazon.com/King-Leopolds-Ghost-Heroism-Colonial/dp/0618001905

[grasswire]

56. Twelve Years a Slave

And in a similar vein,

"In Miserable Slavery" by Thomas Thistlewood

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

57. More truth than fiction..."Catch-22".

[samplegirl]

58. Wow...this is great

I might have to pick out of a hat!!!

[samplegirl]

59. Thanks for the time and

Links that were inserted. I knew I would get some great suggestions!

[ScreamingMeemie]

60. "Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity"

I downloaded it after watching "Blackfish," and I couldn't put it down.

[WillyT]

62. The World According To Garp... The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test... Childhood's End...Cosmos...

To name a few...

[applegrove]

63. "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry. A longstanding favourite of mine.

[truebluegreen]

64. So many, but as of yesterday "Zealot" by Reza Aslan.

Took a while to get here but I just had to read it after his epic Fox Snewz interview.

And I'm glad I did because it finally provided me with actual historical background for the historical Jesus. Fascinating...a whole bunch of stuff that always seemed so metaphysical and out there suddenly made perfect sense in a very concrete way.

I should in fairness add that I have always thought Jesus was a very good man and an extraordinary social reformer, but the book made me rethink that....

[RosettaStoned77]

65. Zealot

The life and times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan.
As a life-long atheist I find this very interesting. The story of Jesus the man, not the christ.
Also the works of sci-fi writer Paolo Bacigalupi. All taking place in a not so distant future that is as plausible as it is disturbing.