June 10, 2005

I preferred ATlas Shrugged over The Fountainhead. In any event Rand did more to make me think than any one I have ever read.Her logic is easy to follow with no gray areas.

.. thanks, killer... I appreciate the insight...

My favorite non-political read of all time, if you can even find it - The Captain by Jan DeHartog. Damn near anyone can take multiple lessons from that one.

Excellent choices. I'd also suggest "1984," "The Last Hurrah," (great book, lousy movie, even with Spencer Tracy) and, in non-fiction, anything by Eric Hoffer, the longshoreman/philosopher. "The True Believer" is probably his best, and as scathing an indictment of the modern Democrat party as you'll find.

BTW, A-man, what did you think of "Rambling Rose?" I can't remember the author, and never saw the movie, but it was a book that stayed with me for a long time after I'd read it - the whole innocent voluptuous girl-child and horny teen boy thing, you know.

Let's not forget these three by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Tragedy of Puddin' Head Wilson

Life on the Mississippi

He wrote a lot of short stories too. Anything you find by Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemens is well worth reading.

Tom Sawyer
Confederacy of Dunces
Catcher in the Rye
Flight of the Intruder
Any Louis L'Amour Novel
The Bible
The Sun Also Rises
A Separate Peace
Our Town
Post Captain by P O' Brian

Damn, I thought I was the only person alive who ever read "PS your Cat is Dead"

And I thought I was the only one who'd read "Alas Babylon"

Maybe its because I lived in New Mexico at the time, but I found the Milagro Beanfield War very interesting.

"Alas Babylon" is great. When I was first reading it in 1972, I would wake up thinking "I need to go trade for coffee!!" and I still go grocery shopping with a different attitude. I got all my kids to read it and they were all changed by it.
I'll never forget at the end when Randy Bragg asks "Who won?". It puts a lot of things in perspective. LL

Well, I've read three of them. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is one of my all time favorites I've read a few times.

I, too, preferred Atlas to Fountainhead, though both were good. Atlas hold an interesting place in my life. It was 1981. I read the book 1984, which I'd somehow gotten to 20 without reading.

I left me with nightmares. I was not prone to them, and in fact that's the first time in my life I can remember having them. It also played at least a part in sparking a bout of depression.

Reading Atlas was the antidote.

I read "Alas, Babylon" when I was in middle school I think. Anyways, I was recently on a kick re-reading books from my school years. I went to the library and asked for it. The ~librarian~, and keep in mind she's in her 60s at least, says "Is that one of those LaHaye books?" Referring to those recent "Left Behind" books ... ummm, no.

In the end, the library didn't even have a copy. I need to find a copy of my own.

Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday are super additions to Tortilla Flats.

Aztec was an amazing book

The only one of these I've read is Huck and I loved it.

I'm not well read enough to make my own list.

Wow. It's been at least 20 years since I've read Aztec. Probably time to re-read it.

If you liked Aztec, get Jenning's book 'Raptor'. Thorn is every bit as good a main character as Mixtli.

Haven't read "Alas Babylon" in years....if memory serves , followed it with " A Canticle for Leibowitz". And share your love for Heinlein (have most of his books, trying to get the kids into his *juvenile fiction* with limited success). Earth Abides was another good read. Huck Finn's adventures are always worth revisiting, but "The Innocents Abroad. A Book of Travels." is right up there as a Twain favorite.

I can remember reading P.S. when I was about 14/15.
Loved it.
Wish I could find it again.

Go to alibris.com, they have all sorts of out of print books, stuff you never thought you'd be able to find.

I recommend Roughing It by Mark Twain - it will change the way you look at the Old West. The stories of the Indians he saw on the way out there are fabulous and his stories of mining camps also.

Another book I really enjoyed was Charm School by Nelson DeMille.

For pleasure read almost any of the James Lee Burke
mysteries. You can almost feel the humidity and heat of New Orleans in his writing.

Try Stallion Gate by Martin Cruz Smith some time when you want to know about the atom bomb scientists. He captured the flavor of those flawed characters very well.

We The Living was Ayn's first novel, but it was The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged that highlighted her philosophy of Objectivism....which basically argued for the justification of narcissism as a necessary component of a productive society. Without ego's and selfish agenda's, where would a capitalistic society be? Which in itself is a good question for today....Where does a democratic society draw the line on an individual's money, power and influence over what is good for the nation as a whole?

I wasn't surprised to see Heinlein on your list. I think I've read and reread them all. You realize, of course, that he's not considered to be a writer of Litrachoor. I like Asimov and some others of the genre too, but RAH is the champ. He imparts a philosophy that I can embrace.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Garry Jennings. Aztec, Raptor and Journeyer have stayed with me years after reading them. I dig 'em out too, for rereading, from time to time. Thanks for that link, btw, I'll have to get the ones I haven't read.

Okay, okay, I'll admit to not having read Ayn Rand. I'll be sure to correct that flaw as soon as possible.

A few of those others I've read too, the rest I'll have to look into.

Read your ten and agree but, as someone else noted, Canticle for Leibowitz is a keeper, also try to find Lee Maynard's "Crum."

Great choices and as you said even a terrible book read is better than not reading at all.

For those interested in history James Mitchners earlier works such as "The Source" were outstanding. Some of his later stuff was pretty weak. But I did enjoy most of his work and reread some of it on occasion.

Thanks, GuyK. That's all the more encouraging.

"Atlas Shrugged"... [snore]..."The Fountainhead"... [snore]...Objectivism... [snore]

Apart from that, the only quibble I have is the omission of Les Miserables and the Count of Monte Cristo.

Just read is good advise, but I need to add that you should not be afraid to get 10 pages in and say "This sucks" and move on to something else. Being forced, or forceing yourself to read bad books is a way to become a non-reader.

the moon is a harsh mistress! i think you are a rational anarchist.

Hey, I've read Les Miserables and The Count of Monte Cristo....the Classic Comics versions. In fact, Classic Comics did more to introduce me to literature than any teacher I ever had. They made me want to read the real versions. Still, in a pince one time I had to write a book report on Lord Jim and only read the Classic Comic. I got an A.

How do you know it is a bad book if you are only 10 pages into it Ivan? Perhaps if you kept reading, you may surprise yourself and become more open minded.