What are some good books to read for leisure?

[saveliberty]

Operating a Lounge Chair for Dummies.

 

[Michelle420]

The thing is that you must have an idea in your mind...a place a time.... what kind of people .....etc....

If you give us a definite area ...we can help you better!

These are great ideas shared.

I am going to the library Friday, the week after next I am house sitting and will be reading away

In my introduction I kind of touched on the kind of reading that interests me.

But all ideas shared are appreciated and I will look some of these suggestions up to see if it interests me.

The main thing is I am sick of school text books

Thanks for sharing your likes !

 

[saveliberty]

How to Stay Drunk on Vacation for $10 a Day.

 

[Gracie]

I was curious about Jews...so someone once told me to read The Source my James Michener. Big fat thick book, but enlightening.

 

[Gracie]

Do you like SciFi? Have you ever read The Stand by S. King? Want a story BETTER than that one? Swan Song, by Robert McGammon. HIGHLY recommend that one.

 

[Michelle420]

I was curious about Jews...so someone once told me to read The Source my James Michener. Big fat thick book, but enlightening.

Some of my ancestors were Jewish on my mom's side.

I wasn't raised religious but always wondered about the culture.

 

[Gracie]

Another one by McGammon is Wolfs Hour. WWII spy..but...ahem..he's a werewolf. First chapter is him "turning" and stealing Rommel's maps, lol. Great book.

 

[Gracie]

I was curious about Jews...so someone once told me to read The Source my James Michener. Big fat thick book, but enlightening.

Some of my ancestors were Jewish on my mom's side.

I wasn't raised religious but always wondered about the culture.

Read The Source. Its a good book.

 

[Michelle420]

Do you like SciFi? Have you ever read The Stand by S. King? Want a story BETTER than that one? Swan Song, by Robert McGammon. HIGHLY recommend that one.

No I am not into sci fi much, I will watch a show on it if someone in my family insists LOL

 

[Gracie]

Do you like SciFi? Have you ever read The Stand by S. King? Want a story BETTER than that one? Swan Song, by Robert McGammon. HIGHLY recommend that one.

No I am not into sci fi much, I will watch a show on it if someone in my family insists LOL

It's sci fi, but it is evil vs good. Really great book that will bum you out when its over.

 

[Michelle420]

Do you like SciFi? Have you ever read The Stand by S. King? Want a story BETTER than that one? Swan Song, by Robert McGammon. HIGHLY recommend that one.

No I am not into sci fi much, I will watch a show on it if someone in my family insists LOL

It's sci fi, but it is evil vs good. Really great book that will bum you out when its over.

I will look it up, thank you for giving me some ideas

 

[saveliberty]

Hang out by coffee tables, there are lots of leisure books on them.

 

[Gracie]

I picked up a bunch of books at a yard sale when I make my little patio room into a mini library. Found one I browse all the time. Gemstones! Full page pics, descriptions, etc. I thumb thru it often. Bet it was a coffee table book, lol.

 

[Bill Angel]

"Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken is a biography of World War II hero Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic track star who survived a plane crash in the Pacific theater, spent 47 days drifting on a raft, and then survived more than two and a half years as a prisoner of war in several brutal Japanese internment camps.

The book details very graphically the struggle of three US airmen during WWII to stay alive on a raft in the Pacific, It's a very gripping story, well told in this book.

 

[Gracie]

"Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken is a biography of World War II hero Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic track star who survived a plane crash in the Pacific theater, spent 47 days drifting on a raft, and then survived more than two and a half years as a prisoner of war in several brutal Japanese internment camps.

The book details very graphically the struggle of three US airmen during WWII to stay alive on a raft in the Pacific, It's a very gripping story, well told in this book.

I might be hunting that one up, myself!

 

[hjmick]

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

Do you have a favorite author who wrote about him?

Benjamin Franklin...

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

...books about culture?

I'll offer up my favorite from 45 years of reading historical fiction novels: Aztec by Gary Jennings.

Jennings spent 10 years writing the book, living in Mexico City while doing so, working on it every day, and during that time he mastered classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire and also that of most Mesoamerican cultures going back to the 7th century. He also mastered archaic Spanish of the 15th & 16th centuries so he could research the mountains of books and documents (many residing in Madrid) left behind by Jesuit priests regarding the Aztecs and the wider Mesoamerican culture. While he was doing all that, he strung together the most incredible 1200-page epic novel I've ever read in my life. It took the world by storm. Published in more than 20 languages, it made Jennings famous. It was #1 on the NY Times bestseller list, and sold millions of copies before his death.

The money he made from Aztec afforded him the luxury of keeping the dogs at bay while he wrote other classic piqaresques, every one of them at the top of its genre. They range in subject matter from circuses roaming Europe to the voyages of Marco Polo. The San Francisco Chronicle once called Jennings the man at the top of his genre, the finest historical fiction writer ever. In way of confirmation, a few years after his death, the University of California library index system moved Aztec from the "historical fiction" classification where it once resided, to the niche where it actually belongs: literature. They'll get no argument from me.

 

[Abishai100]

Shannara: Sail

You may ask yourself, "Why are there so many movies recently about fantasia and mysticism?"

Well, in case you've been living in some cave, you may have noticed all the modern-era talk/chatter about eco-pollution, eco-activism, Greenpeace politics, global warming, acid rain, etc. "Did you know while you're driving down some countryside road, and you notice a rainbow, the rainbow you're seeing might be 'corrupted' by manmade-pollution catalyzed unnatural acid rain?"

The fact that you can't even trust rainbows now suggests that mysticism/fantasia has gained new 'spiritual accreditation.'

You might therefore appreciate an engaging mysticism/fantasia book such as "The Wishsong of Shannara" (Terry Brooks).

There are many amazing books in the Shannara series, which arguably rivals Tolkien's now famous Hobbit series.

Who knows, you might become curious about unicorns and werewolves.




Wishsong of Shannara

 

[Asclepias]

The Jewish Phenomenon.

 

[Esmeralda]

I've been sick of tv and reading online. Also I am sick of school text books, but I was wondering what are some good books to buy o get at the library that are a great read.

I like books about culture, also inspiring or uplifting books, social and civil issues, and biographies about people.

Anything in that category that you can recommend?

A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison