Book Recommendations?
*Phew* so the election season is over…all right, the local election season is over (we’re one month and counting for the special Senate primary, and a year away from 2010 Governor’s race). I hardly know what to do with myself.
I’ve been getting back into reading (sometimes in self defense when I get roped into playing percussion for one movement of one piece but have to go to an entire rehearsal *ahem* Mr. Lynne 
) and I am looking for good book recommendations to read in my suddenly-available spare time.
As a bona fide geek, I tend towards sci-fi/fantasy, but I am out of touch with what is good out there any more. There are so many authors and a lot of junk on the shelves these days. (Anyone recommends Robert Jordan and I’ll choke!) But I also like contemporary fiction, especially of the British variety, and poetry. I don’t read a lot of nonfiction. That’s Mr. Lynne’s bailiwick (especially political books).
Therefore, this is a discussion thread about your favorite books and authors. So that we can take a break from all the politics and have some semblance of a life. 
What are you reading right now?
November 5th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Liberty and Tyranny - Levin
Arguing with Idiots - Beck
The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands - Dr Laura
you asked!
November 5th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I just put down “Common Ground” by J. Anthony Lukas. It’s easily one of the top 10 books I’ve ever read. You could say it’s about busing in Boston, but as one reviewer wrote, that’s like saying Moby Dick is about whaling in New Bedford — it doesn’t really do it justice.
Common Ground tells the story of three families — one Yankee, one Irish-American, one African-American..how their ancestors made it Boston, how they made their living, the families’ identities, etc. and then gets into some serious detail about how busing and other racial turmoil in the 1970s affected the families. There’s 650+ pages in there, so it’s got tons of depth on Charlestown, Roxbury, the South End, Dorchester, etc. I know nothing is ever truly unbiased, but Lukas just does an amazing job of telling the story in the most neutral way I could imagine.
Just starting the Curley bio “The Rascal King” on the strong recommendation of a neighbor, who also loved Dick Lehr’s “The Fence.” Dick Lehr, btw, co-authored the single best Whitey Bulger volume, “Black Mass,” and he’s coming to the Natty Park Visitor Center the first Sunday in December to talk about The Fence..
Oh, and this is probably more for Mr. Lynne and other non-fiction fans, too, but I still say the best political book ever written is “What It Takes” by Richard Ben Cramer.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Actually, I just finished Mary Stewarts Merlin Trilogy + Sequel, then am going to start Dan Brown’s latest.
All good recreation reads..
November 5th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Shawn: I *did* say I wanted fiction, so I can see how you mixed that up with that first list of books.
I read some Mary Stewart, a long time ago…as I recall, they were library books, so I don’t own them (I love owning my books, I reread them constantly). I don’t think I got the entire trilogy at the time though, or maybe they weren’t all written yet? Anyway might be one to look up again.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao was very good. Sadly, the only book I’ve read in a long, long time.
I read House of Leaves (Mark Danielewski) a long time ago, but one of the most interesting books I ever read. If you’re looking for something different, I definitely recommend it.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I just finished “On the Road” by Kerouac. I’d never read it before, really enjoyed it.
I just started “Infinite Jest” by D. F. Wallace — it came to me recommended and so far it’s very good.
A few of my favorites….”Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert Heinlein, “Nightmares & Dreamscapes” (and, of course, the Dark Tower series) by Steven King…the Ender series (Ender’s Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind) by Orson Scott Card.
Terence McKenna’s “Food of the Gods” is labeled non-fiction…but it’s an excellent read.
BTW — Greg now has me interested in reading “Common Ground”. Let us know what you end up with!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Thanks for the heads-up Greg.
I’m not sure it’s my style of political book. I tend to get into wonkish policy questions more than political ’story’ or memoir books.
If your very interested in an analysis of the personalities in politics, you may be interested in Dean’s Conservatives without Conscience. A good follow-up read from there is Altemeyer’s The Authoritarians, available for free online. Discovering Altemeyer’s work in psychology was the spark that drove Dean’s writing his book. During Dean’s interaction with Altemeyer, he encouraged the professor to publish a single volume summary of the arc of his research career (each individual experiment was published, but in academic language). The book linked to above is designed to be a ‘what I learned in my career’ kind of book - written surprisingly entertainingly.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Sounds like Greg reads my kinda books! I have read and have the same opinion as the ones he recommends. and Common Ground reads like a novel not history or policy.
To add to his list I would recommend The Power Broker, a biography of urban planner (among other hats he wore) of Robert Moses by Robert Caro, who is also the biographer of LBJ. This books has great explanations of of how quasi-governmental agencies such as the Mass Turnpike Authority and MBTA operate and why they are so hard to control. And it reads like a novel which doubles the pleasure of reading it.
Also try Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon which mixes history with hi tech with sci-fi/fantasy and his Baroque Cycle trilogy which is a fanatsized retelling of the Renaissance.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Shawn,
I might read the Beck book, but am not sure which direction it takes. If the subtitle is How to tell a teabagger to SYFPH, then I’m all eyes.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Lee Child’s “Reacher” novels are great page-turners in the Ludlum tradition. I’m steaming through one right now.
For a more scifi/fantasy angle, I really don’t think you can go wrong with Jack McDevitt’s stuff, which is fun, light (no turgid five-pages explanations of physics a la Niven), with interesting future universes. Stephen Baxter has a lot of good stuff, such as his Manifold books.
A good scifi intersection with history is The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson, which I find a very satisfying novel.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
One of the most interesting pieces of fiction I’ve read was Colleen McCullough’s The First Man in Rome. It’s historical fiction about Consul Gaius Marius. Of course that’s not really what it’s about. After your through most of the book you begin to realize it’s really about Rome’s growing pains that culminate in the Empirical usurpation of the Republic.
She went on with the stories into a series, going on to cover Cornelius Sulla and Caesar. I got into the second book a good chunk years ago but didn’t finish (can’t remember why).
November 5th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I really don’t read much fiction, but Carrie just finished the His Dark Materials triology (Golden Compass, etc.) and really liked it.
November 5th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Every believer in big-government liberalism should read “Common Ground” and “Death of an American Jewish Community: A Tragedy of Good Intentions.” It’s how not to do it.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
I just finished “Gone to Soldiers” by Marge Piercy for the umpteeth time. It’s one of those books I reread every few years and take away something different every time
As for scifi/fantasy, my BIL moved up to vice principal at a middle school in CT after many years in elementary education. He’s big on being up on what the kids are reading so he’s into young adult lit at the moment. He highly recommends “The Hunger Games” and its sequel by Suzanne Cromwell. I haven’t read them yet. Take the recommendation with a grain of salt…he wouldn’t admit it but he tore through the “Twilight” series at pretty obsessive clip
I’m also savoring “My Life in France” a couple chapters at a time to make it last. It’s like a really, really great bar of dark chocolate… the tension between wanting to scarf down the whole thing and making it last forever…
November 5th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Try the latest from Dave Eggers, “Zeitoun,” an astounding story about a man who survives Katrina in New Orleans. Told in the form of a novel, the account is based on the actual experience of the main character, an immigrant from the Middle East who owns a painting business in the city. One commentator said it is destined to be THE book about the Katrina tragedy when people 100 years from now are looking to read about the hurricane and its aftermath.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Lynne, fiction is my thing! I recommend, “One Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini - he wrote “The Kite Runner”, but this one is better (he dedicated it “to the women of Afghanistan”). Also, I am currently reading “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett - so far, I love it. I like mysteries, so have recently read two twisty, psychological thrillers by Irish author, Tana French: “In the Woods” and “The Likeness” - both excellent. Some of my favorite books in recent years have been by Indian authors: Vikram Seth (”A Suitable Boy), Rohinton Mistry (”A Fine Balance” and “Family Matters”), Rupa Bajwa (”The Sari Shop”), Arundhati Roy (”The God of Small Things”) and most recently, Aravind Adiga (”The White Tiger”). I also like Ian McEwan (”Atonement” and “Enduring Love”)….the list goes on!
November 5th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. It’s a pulitzer prize winner, and it will make you laugh out loud. Highly recommended.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
You did say Fiction right? The “Last days of Dogtown” by Anita Diamont is a good read. There really is an area of Rockport called Dogtown. The story is historical fiction,and very engaging and interesting characters inhabit the town. And Anita also wrote “The Red Tent” - a really really good novel.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Hey Lynne,
Have you read “The Shack” by William Young? It’s a very interesting book and somewhat controversial as well. BTW, this is Mrs. Fred
Let me know how you like the book.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Tim mentioned The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao. I had to read that last semester for College Writing I. I found it depressing in that it was about how a lack of civil society can result in a terrible situation for the citizens. I am glad I read it.
I recommend, for you, Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America’s Class War, by Joe Begeant. The Author returns to his home town, in the foothills of the Appalachians, after being away for several decades, and examines what is happening to the people. Then he muses on where the heck the Democratic Party is.
Regards — Cliff
November 6th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Re Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America’s Class War, you can borrow my copy.
Regards — Cliff
November 6th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Cliff,
Sorry, if we Dems dropped the ball in Appalachia. Maybe, we’re still trying to figure out What’s the matter with Kansas?
Former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has some ideas. It’s a work in progress.
Get it?.. Progress…
November 6th, 2009 at 11:31 am
My goodness were you people busy! What a great book list to pick from.
Tim L: I just read Pulman’s trilogy too! I liked them a lot. What a very different concept in regards to the setting and such. The movie does NOT do the thing justice, and the depths of the second and third books are remarkable.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Larry Bartels at Princeton did a paper on some analysis he did investigating the thesis behind Frank’s What’s the matter with Kansas? called What’s the Matter With What’s the Matter with Kansas?. It was presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in 2005.
Katrina vanden Heuvel remarked on the paper thusly:
If you don’t want to slog through the whole paper (although it’s only 43 pages), vanden Heuvel has a summary of the paper’s conclusions at her link.
November 7th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Second “A Confederacy of Dunces.” HIlarious character study. My favorite quote: “Have you got a couple o’ nice aspirins?”
Also, if you haven’t read it since it was assigned to you in school, pick up “The Great Gatsby.” What an absolutely amazing piece of writing.
November 8th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Someone just returned my copy of Spiked, by Mark Arsenault.
“Reporter Eddie Bourque chases stories for the Lowell Empire, a second-class rag in a Massachusetts city of first-generation immigrants and bare-knuckled politicians. The talented and ambitious Eddie has one eye on finding a better job. However, when the dead junkie found floating in a mill canal is identified as his beat partner, he give the story his full attention. Before long he finds himself stonewalled by power brokers in Lowell law enforcement—and at his own newspaper.”
http://www.amazon.com/Spiked-Mark-Arsenault/dp/159058421X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257733335&sr=8-1
A local story.
Regards — Cliff