Books - What Are You Reading / What Do You Recommend?

[GilpinGuy]

About of three quarters of the way through The Road by Cormac McCarthy. If anyone wants to see the bleak side of survival, this will show it to you.

I've read Patriots, One Second After, Lights Out, etc. and The Road has me more stressed out about the PAW than any of them.

The movie was pretty bleak and I have heard the book is worse. I need to read that as well.

[Mazin]

Soft Target
Stephen Hunter

[Circuits]

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois Bujold. Another in her extended vorkosigan series, and a damn fine read.

[cstone]

It's been more than 20 years since I've read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, but I watched the John Ford movie starring Henry Fonda the other night. For those who haven't seen it in a while and/or haven't read the book, the story begins with the devastation suffered by Americans in the Dust Bowl. My wife just finished a book a few months ago: The Worst Hard Time http://www.amazon.com/The-Worst-Hard.../dp/0618773479 this book also focused on the hardship suffered by Americans in the Dust Bowl.

While watching this movie with my 14 year old daughter, I realized how out of touch she is with fairly recent suffering on a large scale by so many Americans. The Dust Bowl covered large portions of Colorado as well as much of the mid-west. The effects of the top soil being blown across the country were felt throughout the country. While the movie focused on the plight of the Joad family, thousands of families were torn apart and thousands died.

Many of us here worry about SHTF and the pending destruction of American civilization as we know it. We ponder the many possible scenarios of what may happen, how can we prepare, and what will we do to survive. The Dust Bowl reminds me that we don't really need to look too far back in history, or stretch our imagination to see just how a chain of events can affect everything we believe in and value.

I think about Ma Joad, whose number one priority is keeping her family together, and Tom Joad who grows into the head of his family despite all of the baggage he is carrying.

I plan on rereading the book when I get some time (maybe my next trip). Steinbeck is clearly left of center on much of his social perspective, but his narrative descriptions do real justice to independent, hard working Americans who are in varying degrees of success (or failure) in their struggle to survive a tough patch of American history during the 20th century.

[Stvros]

All of the Bob Lee Swagger books are good reads. Casting for the movie (Wahlberg) was such a let down. Now I'm hooked on all the Jack Reacher books and Hollywood botched it again with Tom Cruize

Soft Target
Stephen Hunter

[Stvros]

Angle of Repose
Wallace Stegner

[strm_trpr]

Going through Atlas Shrugged. Slow going long book but good.

[Irving]

"A Place Called Armageddon" by C.C. Humphreys.

[Great-Kazoo]

http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Stand...Stand+on+Earth

The most relevant book that is this close > < to the reality of what is happening Right Now. I started @ 11:30 last night and finished @ 01:18. If you buy it and don't like it i'll cover 1/2 your cost.

[mikeh1911]

I just finished reading Hunters "Soft Target" last month and finished listening to the book on CD "Patriots" on the drive between houses from Colorado to Arizona. The books on CD are great for the long drives. We got the series and started in reverse order. Started listening to "Founder" after I read the book "Patriot". Then bought the CD "Survivors" and finally just finished listening to "Patriots" CD.