I've been reading James Patterson and John Sanford books recently. Need a break from murder mysteries. Have enjoyed Clive Cussler in the past, but his ghost authors don't match up, and love Vince Flynn, Baldacci and Grishom. Any other authors with some fun reading like the Cussler of old?
Need some book advice...
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CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
Every time I get in a funk I switch to some classics. Try: The Brothers Karamazov, The Gulag Archipelago, East of Eden... just a couple of my favs.
Not sure if it's your type of reading, but right now I'm reading "Columbine" by Dave Cullen. It took about 6 weeks of waiting for my turn to finally come up on the wait list at the library, but it's been worth it so far.
Some pretty disturbing stuff, but it's interesting to see how everything that we "knew" about what happened that day and the events leading up to it were dead wrong.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
My favorite fiction:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Tom Clancy is good, or John Grisham
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Tom Clancy is good, or John Grisham
James Rollins, Mathew Reilly, Stewart Woods, and Lee Child are four authors that I read for a change of pace. They each have books with recurring characters.
You ever try Lee Child. I enjoy his books, but he doesn't write many. I can't think of anyone who writes like Cussler, where everyone's strong, good-looking, humble, self-effacing and heroic and saves the world three or four times per book. There just isn't anyone else that corny. Don't get me wrong, the books are fun escapism but total hack writing, which is part of their charm.
Try some Dean Koontz, if you haven't already. He has some fun books, especially his Odd Thomas series. A good one to start on (not Odd Thomas) is Watchers. You'll see in this book that Koontz does dog good. (He writes well about dogs).
Some other guys I've been reading lately are Harlan Cobin (murder mysteries with twists); Randy Wayne White (make sure you get his newer, Doc Ford series, not the older books, the thin ones, which are just awful); and James Lee Burke (darker murder mysteries set in Louisiana and Montana)
Of those I mentioned I think the Doc Ford stories by Randy Wayne White are closest to Cussler, only better written. The hero, Doc Ford, is a marine biologist and retired CIA agent who runs into troubles down on Sanibel Island.
The Lee Child books have the same hero, Maj. Jack Reacher, a retired Army MP, who is the ultimate loner. He owns nothing, except a toothbrush, literally, and when he needs new clothes, he buys them and trashes the old ones. He roams the U.S., seeing the sights in a country he never got to see much of while stationed mostly overseas. He runs into scumbags that he knows how to deal with. Good fun if you like your heroes to be fearless and ruthless with the bad guys. And he's right on the edge of being a criminal himself, but a criminal with his heart in the right place.
And I highly, highly recommend Robert McCammon. I always thought Swan Song was the best book I ever read until I read Boys Life. He has some very quality books.
Might pick up one of the Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child books. Ice Limit is pretty good and the entire Pendergast (main character) series is interesting. A little weird to be honest, but still fairly well written.
I've also been reading David Gibbins as well. Kind of an interesting mix of adventure and history. Also since you mentioned Vince Flynn, have you read any of Brad Thor's novels? Same style/genre of novels.
Other random books on my shelves that I thought were good:
-'Rising Tide' by John Barry. Book about the 1927 Mississippi flood and all the factors that went into it. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it but it's been interesting if you like history.
-'Hanibal Crosses the Alps' by John Prevas. Histroical Non-Fiction. Pretty obvious what it's about. Interesting read.
- Dan Brown's other novels. (Deception Point and his other one that I'm to lazy to look up)
-Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy. Murder-Mystery type novel. Easy read, but fairly imaginative.
I've also been reading David Gibbins as well. Kind of an interesting mix of adventure and history. Also since you mentioned Vince Flynn, have you read any of Brad Thor's novels? Same style/genre of novels.
Other random books on my shelves that I thought were good:
-'Rising Tide' by John Barry. Book about the 1927 Mississippi flood and all the factors that went into it. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it but it's been interesting if you like history.
-'Hanibal Crosses the Alps' by John Prevas. Histroical Non-Fiction. Pretty obvious what it's about. Interesting read.
- Dan Brown's other novels. (Deception Point and his other one that I'm to lazy to look up)
-Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy. Murder-Mystery type novel. Easy read, but fairly imaginative.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
"The Risk Pool" by Richard Russo
I highly recommend both of these.
"The Risk Pool" by Richard Russo
I highly recommend both of these.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
Still waiting for rebeccacy to show up and compare it to the Cubs season.
Then num1 can compare it to ISU basketball under Greg McDermott.
Monty can compare it to ISU athletics in general under Jamie Pollard.
Actually, you've got me curious, and I may read it this week, since I'm on vacation for most of it. Maybe I could read it when the Bison have been blown away:yes:
Another suggestion: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and it's sequel, The Girl That Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson.
Excellent, page-turning fiction.
If you're looking for mind-bending, heady stuff, I love anything by Haruki Murakami (especially Wind-up Bird Chronicles) and David Mitchell (Especially Cloud Atlas).
Excellent, page-turning fiction.
If you're looking for mind-bending, heady stuff, I love anything by Haruki Murakami (especially Wind-up Bird Chronicles) and David Mitchell (Especially Cloud Atlas).
