BOOKS THREAD

[Moderator1]

OK, the book club has kind of faded. Fun while it lasted.

Here's what we are going to do for a while. I'll start and stick this thread for as long as there is interest. Got a book suggestion? Post it here.

Geek Love, one of the better books I've read, came from a suggestion on one of these threads.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

You-all MUST read Tom Fenton's Bad News.

An epic indictment of the current electronic
national-news industry, especially as regards
foreign coverage.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

. . . and while we're at it . . . Tom Friedman's The World
Is Flat makes many excellent points re the
current economic paradigm.

 

[Ledbetter]

Generation Kill by Evan Wright of Rolling Stone is outstanding.

Wright was embedded with the Marine Force Recon unit that led the U.S. invasion in Iraq. The book recounts the unit's push across the country to Baghdad and shows just how big a clusterfork the whole operation was.

It's intense, funny, insightful and provides what I felt was an honest depiction of what was going on over there.

 

[JR]

I read the NYTimes excerpt from Friedman's book and immediately reserved it at my local library.

BTW Moddy, this is a GREAT idea. Found out about Friday Night Lights here.

 

[Moderator1]

In trying to help my main man Led, I hope to help all of us.

 

[21]

Probably still a way to do a Book Club--maybe quarterly, with the book chosen by poll. Take nominations, put it to a vote. At least you'll get a sense of whether people are interested in a specific title.

 

[Ledbetter]

In trying to help my main man Led, I hope to help all of us.

I responded on the Random Thoughts thread, but I will say thanks here, as well.

I'm reading Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, right now. The movie Goodfellas was based on it.

 

[True_North]

1968 by Mark Kurlansky -- an in-depth look at the most tumultuous year of the 20th century.

 

[zosopsu]

Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. Its official title is "Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players." It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like - an in-depth view of scrabble playing; it's really well written, and you don't have to be a competitive scrabble player to get into it (as that particular faction of society is a small one)

 

[JR]

Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. Its official title is "Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players." It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like - an in-depth view of scrabble playing; it's really well written, and you don't have to be a competitive scrabble player to get into it (as that particular faction of society is a small one)

I'll second that. Interesting book because the author was also a participant.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Fab Five, by Mitch Albom.