For those who can also read

[OVP]

Thanks for the tip.

I did a Stephen King tour in Maine in 2014. Bit lame but brought back many memories of his writing. Needful Things will always be my favourite.

In my teens and through to my late 20s I was happily going through the entire Stephen King library. Then I got to Needful Things. I absolutely loved the first 90% of the book, thinking wow what an incredible story line. Then i got to the ending. Lets just say it completely destroyed my love for Stephen King, and have not read a single thing he's written after that. The ending reminded me of the movie The Abyss. An absolutely fantastic story completely obliterated by one of the most ridiculous endings of all time.

By the time the year is out i want to re-read The Stand and It though. They are my two favourite books he's written and want to remember Stephen King in a positive way again.

 

[umina panther]

King is still writing great books. 11/22/63 is up there with his best

 

[Parra]

Business books make great firewood. As Don Watson calls it - the dead language of managerialism.

They have their place. You do have to be selective. Try Simon Sinek or Jim Collins for insights that are universally applicable . A well known example of Sinek in action

 

[Parra]

For some more sporting themed books - these are wonderful / inspirational American football themed

That First Season - How Vince Lomabardi took the worst team in the NFL and set it on the path to glory by John Eisenberg

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

Friday Night Lights : A town, a team, a dream by HG Bissinger

It Happened in Wisconsin - Ken Moroff. This is a wonderful commentary on the US through depiction of a semi pro baseball team. Insightful

 

[Parra]

Some American historical fiction.

Tobacco Road by Ernest Caldwell - no holds barred contemporary view of poverty stricken white poor in the depression era

Gods Little Acre - Ernest Caldwell - more of the same. Contemporary. No inspiration Waltons type stuff. These books are gritty and explore part of US society that is usually depicted romantically or ignored. Interestingly my favourite book by John Grisham is a departure from his usual courtroom/political theme is also along the lines of Caldwell - A Painted House. Great read.

Two books by Phillip Meyer. American Rust depicts a very realistic, gritty and depressing contemporary view of life in a rust belt town in the late 70's / early 80's. Also The Son - the changing social structure of a Texan rancher family as it moves from frontier era to oil wealth.



It Happened in Wisconsin - Ken Moroff. This is a wonderful commentary on the US through depiction of a semi pro baseball team. Insightful. Included in this list as well - more relevant as social commentary than sports based.

 

[Stewbum]

In my teens and through to my late 20s I was happily going through the entire Stephen King library. Then I got to Needful Things. I absolutely loved the first 90% of the book, thinking wow what an incredible story line. Then i got to the ending. Lets just say it completely destroyed my love for Stephen King, and have not read a single thing he's written after that. The ending reminded me of the movie The Abyss. An absolutely fantastic story completely obliterated by one of the most ridiculous endings of all time.

By the time the year is out i want to re-read The Stand and It though. They are my two favourite books he's written and want to remember Stephen King in a positive way again.

That's a shame. Oddly enough Gerald's Game did the same to me but just because it's a terrible book. His endings have for the most part ben disappointing. I too felt empty with the ending of Needful Things but think his finest work ever is, as you said, in the 90%.

 

[Stewbum]

King is still writing great books. 11/22/63 is up there with his best

Agree. It took me a decade to return to him but I did.

 

[Stewbum]

They have their place. You do have to be selective. Try Simon Sinek or Jim Collins for insights that are universally applicable . A well known example of Sinek in action

They are low attempts at mass manipulation and suppression of not only ideas but the human spirit, and are 'written' by either the intellectually weak or zealots. I cannot abide them, they are an abomination, and stultify the population. My inner punk rocker demands their total annihilation.

 

[Stewbum]

Does Gerhard Berger have a biography? Im addition to having a pretty decent career himself he had a front row seat to some off the big rivalries, characters and moments of the golden era

I found it, and he does. Written in 1996. UK Import though via Amazon in the US! It's called "Gerhard Berger: The human face of Formula 1"

 

[Parra]

They are low attempts at mass manipulation and suppression of not only ideas but the human spirit, and are 'written' by either the intellectually weak or zealots. I cannot abide them, they are an abomination, and stultify the population. My inner punk rocker demands their total annihilation.

That is too close minded for me. It does have be relevant though. I read them for professional development. Like anything else, key is to read with critical analysis and to share perspectives.

 

[Stewbum]

That is too close minded for me. It does have be relevant though. I read them for professional development. Like anything else, key is to read with critical analysis and to share perspectives.

I was waiting for those two words. I've been subjected to too much rhetoric in the workplace from simpletons selling the latest amateur psychology from the managerial sludge factory to change my view. My mind is open enough. The very expression 'professional development' bespeaks too much. Your contribution here has already been significant and is appreciated. But sludge be gone!

 

[Fufu Andronez]

another book I forgot to mention was Marching Powder by Rusty Young. The story of an english drug mule caught up in Le Paz Prison in Bolivia. I enjoyed it.. Not sure how much of it was true though

There was talk of a movie due to be made about it but haven't really heard anything about it for a few years

 

[Stewbum]

another book I forgot to mention was Marching Powder by Rusty Young. The story of an english drug mule caught up in Le Paz Prison in Bolivia. I enjoyed it.. Not sure how much of it was true though

There was talk of a movie due to be made about it but haven't really heard anything about it for a few years

That interests me. Thanks.

 

[Parra]

Native Son - Richard Wright

"Wright's protest novel was an immediate best-seller, selling 250,000 hardcover copies within three weeks of its publication by the Book-of-the-Month Club on March 1, 1940. It was one of the earliest successful attempts to explain the racial divide in America in terms of the social conditions imposed on African-Americans by the dominant white society. It also made Wright the wealthiest black writer of his time and established him as a spokesperson for African-American issues, and the "father of Black American literature." As Irving Howe said in his 1963 essay "Black Boys and Native Sons": "The day Native Son appeared, American culture was changed forever. No matter how much qualifying the book might later need, it made impossible a repetition of the old lies ... [and] brought out into the open, as no one ever had before, the hatred, fear, and violence that have crippled and may yet destroy our culture."[3] The novel's treatment of Bigger and his motivations is an example of literary naturalism"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Son

 

[Rhino_NQ]

if you love being disturbed while you read

captive - the bloke that had 3 women trapped in his house for 10+ years
monster - joseph fritzl story

Been meaning to have a flick through the collection to put a list together, watch this space

 

[Stewbum]

At the halfway mark of War and Peace now. I am hanging on every development unlike previous failed attempts. The volume of characters combined with the Russian names has been a problem in the past, however, I feel like I know these people like the back of my hand right now. I identify strongly with Pierre, and find his struggle through life personally affecting. As with many classics, the writer's ability to describe the feelings and thoughts, and even the thoughts the characters are themselves unaware of is its magic. The human condition, free will, consequences, and fate, intertwine to make this book compelling.

 

[Mogsheen Jadwat]

another book I forgot to mention was Marching Powder by Rusty Young. The story of an english drug mule caught up in Le Paz Prison in Bolivia. I enjoyed it.. Not sure how much of it was true though

There was talk of a movie due to be made about it but haven't really heard anything about it for a few years

Read that, it's alright. Also read similar books like dont tell mum i work on an oil rig. they're not bad to pass a few hours.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Just bought the first 2 books to Stephen Kings The Tower. Thought I would really enjoy a series of books, and blokes at work recommend it. Also halfway though Dogs Of War - Bulldogs history. But the writing style doesn't really get me excited. Better books about the Bulldogs than this one. Looks good on the bookshelf though.

Lately I finished Way of the Superior Man - Read it a few times. Just one that gets me off my bum thinking what else I can do in life.

Another one I finished was A Spiritual Renegades guide to the good life. - Really enjoyed his story (he was a monk), and I like thinking about where I am in life and where I am going and this book ticked those boxes.

 

[Stewbum]

The Dark Tower series is some of his strongest and weakest work. It will try your patience but there are very rewarding books and parts of books. The Drawing of the Three is very good. I found the ending to the series both disappointing and ingenious at the same time. The first two books are the worst. Or are they?

 

[Dogs Of War]

I noted a few of you like Rock books.

Some of my favorite reads are :

I am ozzy - Ozzie Osborne. Bloody funny as. Great storyteller.
The Dirt - Motley Crue story. Geez they got up to some stuff.
Get in the Van: On the road with black flag - Henry Rollins is another great storyteller.

Saw a few you guys recommend that I need to buy/borrow from the library (I do this a lot, it's amazing that you can get books from a region of librarys and they will ship it to yours so you can borrow it, just takes a bit of planning).

booko.com.au if you are buying books I can't go past.