Reading Material

[Tug]

I love to read, magazines, novels, just about anything.
I thought some discussion about our fave reads would go over well, and expose others to new areas of interest.

I like Clive Cussler (a relatively easy read, exciting and adventurous), Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum (spy novels are great IMO), as well as Stephen King (try the Bachman Books, or Thinner).

I love fiction as an escape, particularily fantasy. My favorite author at the moment is Anne McCaffrey. She wrote (among others) the 'Dragonriders of Pern' series, first book in 1968, the last one just a few years ago.
It's about a planet inhabited by humans after we leave earth because of warring, and how we reinvent ourselves when technology is lost due to circumstance.

I cannot say enough about this woman's descriptive writing, or how the series highlights human nature, and I particularily like how the forces of good regularily triumph over evil.

peace - Tug

[ndnguy]

Loved the movies that came out of Clancy's books. I like fiction and reading Jeffery Deaver. The Lincoln Rhyme series is real good , The Bone Collector was made into a movie with Denzel Washington as Lincoln Rhyme. Just all the forencics and putting together evidence to help catch a killer is fasinating as Deaver catches and writes about the procedure very well.

[coffinman]

The Pern series is good but I stopped after they rediscovered the lost technology.
Have you read the chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Donaldson?
Try reading the wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan right now he is my favorite author.

[Tug]

No I haven't, but I will, thanks for the suggestion.

peace - Tug

[Wavels]

This is an excellent idea for a thread.

I like fantasy and sci fi and lots of other genres....
Depending on how stoned I am, and how much concentration is needed!

Stephen King......Cell is good action and blood....Bag of Bones...outstanding....
From a Buick 8 is also good.

Dragon Riders of Pern is very good.

Fantasy Favorites:

Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides, Drawing of the Dark, Expiration Date, The Stress of Her Regard---Tim Powers is great

The Tales of Alvin Maker series --- Orson Scott Card

The Wheel of Time series (first four are great)---Robert Jordan

Lyonesse series---Jack Vance

The Wooden Sea---Jonathan Carroll

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant---Stephen R Donaldson

The Gormenghast Trilogy---Mervyn Peake

Winters Tale---Mark Helprin

The Book of the New Sun---Gene Wolf


I also enjoy old time detective series and ‘hard boiled’ fiction, the best of which are:

Travis McGee series…I love these….I think there are twenty or so of them!!! Great!---John D Macdonald

Lew Archer series---excellent!---Ross Macdonald


The Killer Inside Me, Pop.1280, The Nothing Man, The Getaway, The Grifters and After Dark, My Sweet---Jim Thompson.

[burnie]

Seein` as how mosta` my readin` takes place on the throne.....I thought it only fitting to buy Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader when I first saw it . It`s a kinda` trivia book of short 2 or 3 page stories and the books average about 400 pages . Each book in the series pertains to certain subjects . The 4 books I have now are : Uncle John Plunges Into History , Uncle Johns Completely Absorbing Bathroom Reader , Uncle Johns Supremely Satisfying Bathroom Reader and Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges into Great Lives . There`s about 8 more books out , but haven`t gotten around to them yet . Funny witty food for thought on many subjects . Def good for the last laugh of the day . Oh yeah , the back of the book has slightly longer stories.....for extended sitting !! LOL !! Worth the bucks...plus good conversation starters ! peace...burnie

[Tug]

Maximum Yield magazine, read Erik Biksa's articles among others.

peace - Tug

[lucheeba]

Hey Wavels, I'm too crazy about these old detective writers. The Underground Man is one of my favs of Ross Macdonald/Lew Archer's series. Also love Dashiel Hammet and Raymond Chandler. And recently I read (and loved it) a series of Harry Kemelman's "detective" iDavid Small. He's actually a rabi who solves misteries using the Torah... and his brilliantly twisted mind. Clever and hilarious!

Peace
Lu

[Agent-Smith]

My favorite reading material......

www.cannabis-world.org :good:

[Tug]

Spoken like a crafty veteran......:good:

peace - Tug

[plantbuilder]

tug i will bring the b-grade to church for ya one day
kim stanley robinson
robert j sawyer
amy thomson
charles de lint
peace
pb
ps. i prolly read the illuminatus trilogy at way too young an age

[Wavels]

pb---- I like Kim S Robinson's Mars series--very well done Red, Blue and Green!

lucheeba----My favorite Lew Archer is Blue Hammer---they are all great--- have you tried the Travis Mcgee books by JD Macdonald?
also if you like Chandler and Hammet give Jim Thompson a try...his books are so noir, they are disturbing and unsettling explorations of the darker side of human nature.........creepy!
peace,

[Wavels]

pb's post got me to thinking about sci fi...
I don't read a heck of a lot of sci-fi nowadays, sporadically only. I was very impressed with Kim Stanley Robinson's writing. If the other writers on pb's list are any where near as good I'm gonna check them out, I was aware of de Lint before, but not familiar with A. Thompson or Sawyer and I haven't read any of them. That

[lucheeba]

lucheeba----My favorite Lew Archer is Blue Hammer---they are all great--- have you tried the Travis Mcgee books by JD Macdonald?
also if you like Chandler and Hammet give Jim Thompson a try...his books are so noir, they are disturbing and unsettling explorations of the darker side of human nature.........creepy!
peace,

Thanks for the tips Walvels;) Already hunting a coupla Jim Thompson's for my last winter days in southern Brazil.

Now from the 21th century: have ya read any of Dennis Lehane's books with his sexy pair of detectives Angela and Patrick? I think he's rather promising and his "Mystic River" I'd describe it just like that: "disturbing and unsettling explorations of the darker side of human nature.........creepy!" Oh! And Clint Eastwood did a great job on the movie he made outta it. Brilliant cast and the very best Tim Robbins' work I've ever seen.

Peace
Lu

[Wavels]

Hi Lu,
You are right about Lehane...only read two of his so far, Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone. Yes, very dark and atmospheric, and the movie Mystic River was very true to the book, I agree totally...excellent. Clint does good work!
I think you will really dig Jim Thompson's stuff if you can find some! Good Luck!

[lucheeba]

Hi Lu,
You are right about Lehane...only read two of his so far, Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone. Yes, very dark and atmospheric, and the movie Mystic River was very true to the book, I agree totally...excellent. Clint does good work!
I think you will really dig Jim Thompson's stuff if you can find some! Good Luck!

Hey Wavels,

I've found "The Killer Inside Me", "After Dark, My Sweet", "Small Town Killer", "A Hell of a Woman" and many others for quite reasonable prices (used, like new! lol). For the reviews I've read, it's exactly what I was lookin' for right now. Would ya be so kind as to suggest a coupla them for a start?

Many thanks;)
Lu

PS: "Gone Baby, Gone" is the only Dennis Lehane's I haven't read... is it that 2nd one w/o Angela&Patrick?

[lucheeba]

Hey Tug, I forgot to thank you for this wonderful thread :cool2:

:peace:
Lu

[knna]

I suggest Phillip K Dick, too. Not only great books wich have been used by many films (Blade Runner, etc), but really very good quality, wich the caracteristic wich made great books: you can read it many times, and still do you thinking and discovering new things.

I love Orson Scott Card. Him best, the Ender's trilogy (not only Ender's game) and Hart's Hope.

Ursula K Le Guin. Dont be confused with her, he dont write for young people, although it seems sometimes (Earthsea's books).

Hey PB, i dont know amy thomson or charles de lint, any comment about their style or tematics?

[Wavels]

Hey Lu, Killer Inside Me and Nothing Man and Pop 1280 are three I would suggest as good introductions to Thompson's gritty style...Nothing Man is like a weird feverish, sweaty, half waking nightmare, lurid and grotesque! Haven't yet read Small Town Killer.... Hell of a Woman and After Dark. are very good as well.

Gone, Baby, Gone has Angie and Patrick trying to see what really went on with a missing child case...I have to get back to more Lehane someday.

Travis McGee --I am compelled to recommend strongly if you liked Lew Archer, McGee has more girls and booze and is generally lighter fare than Archer. Extremely vivid depictions of life and sleuthing in South Florida before population explosion transformed Broward and Dade Counties.

knna---Philip K Dick is an outstanding writer, I agree.... I enjoyed anything I ever read by him.... He wrote some early short novels outside of the Sci-fi genre that are worth reading, esp. The Broken Bubble and Mary and the Giant

Oh yea, thanks Tug!

[Stevus]

For you Tom Clancy fans, I highly recommend Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko. It's an autobiography about the Navy counter-terrorism team, SEAL team six. Here is some of what's on the back cover:

Marcinko was almost inhumanly tough, and proved it on hair-raising missions across Vietnam and a war-torn world: blowing up supply junks, charging through minefields, jumping at 19,000 feet with a chute that wouldn't open, fighting hand-to-hand in a hellhole jungle. For the Pentagon, he organized the Navy's first counterterrorist unit, the legendary SEAL TEAM SIX, which went on classified missions from Central America to the Middle East, the North Sea, Africa and beyond.

Then Marcinko was tapped to create Red Cell, A dirty dozen team of the military's most accomplished and decorated counterterrorists. Their unbelievable job was to test the defenses of the Navy's most secure facilities and installations. The result was predictable: all hell broke loose.

I couldn't put it down. I believe he spent time in the brig because some of the things he revealed in this book. The best autobiography I have ever read. I also took greater interest because in the book, he describes some of the bases that I have spent time on. The birth place and current home of SEAL TEAM SIX today is a base I worked at for 6 months.

[Tug]

Lately I've been getting a real kick at reading the hippy bullshit thread, I think it's called 'hacked reefermanseeds', or something.

peace - Tug

[plantbuilder]

knna,
http://www.amythomson.com/
read the color of distance
wonderful sci-fi novel worthy of the awards it received

www.charlesdelint.com
this guy is the ani difranco of the author world
master of modern fairy tales
he has published over 20 books in the last decade and a half
writes, performs music and does original art
a good place to start would be 'the little country'
peace
pb

[knna]

Thanks, pb, ill get it.:up:

[lucheeba]

Hey Fantasy fans... anyone into Terry Pratchett's stuff?

[dpn]

terence mckenna and alan watts

[Iggy]

If you guys want some drug-related reading, I'd recommend Loaded: A Misadventure on the Marijuana Trail, and Snowblind, both true-life stories written by Robert Sabbag. Loaded is about a guy who smuggles Colombian Gold in from Northern Colombia. He starts out moving hundreds of pounds by plane, then he hooks up with these Cubans who have CIA contacts and starts moving boatloads of 20 tons plus (I don't think it's all Gold/Red by that point). Loaded is like a sequel to Snowblind, which was written back in the seventies. I like Snowblind better, because the smuggler in this one is basically a one-man operation, without any boats or planes, he has to come up with all sorts of clever ways to get his coke through customs. It's great seeing all these crazy schemes he comes up with, even though most of them wouldn't work nowadays. Both of these are great books with lots of action and stuff going on, I'm surprised neither has been made into a movie. Another book I'd recommend with more hesitation is The Fix, by Michael Massing. It's a pretty well researched book on the history of the crack epidemic. The author contends that marijuana was on the verge of legalisation in the late 70s, then the Reagan Administration came in with "just say no" and focused their resources on marijuana, allowing crack-use to skyrocket. The problems I have with this book are mostly with the author. He's a limp-wristed academic who faints the first time he sees a guy shoot up. He has way too much faith in the efficacy of drug treatment, and his solution to the drug problem is pretty much what you'd expect from the DNC if they didn't have to posture themselves as tough on drugs. Despite all that, there's some really good info in this book, like the fact that Carter's drug czar had to resign amid allegations that he'd done blow in the backroom of a NORML party with Hunter S. Thompson. Or the following, about one of the books stars Carlton Turner, sometimes rumored to be the founder/breeder of G13:

...Turner felt he had just the thing. While in Mississippi, he had studied the technology of drug testing, and he had great confidence in its ability to deter drug use--especially in the workplace. Already, an estimated one-fourth of the nation's top corporations were screening job applicants for drugs. Hoping to inspire other companies to follow suit, Turner began drafting a plan to subject the federal government's 2.8 million workers to mandatory drug tests." (pg.183)

"In December 1986, Turner stepped down as the president's drug adviser. Soon after, he would join a Princeton, New Jersey, firm that specialized in drug testing. As a result of the executive order he had drafted, the drug-testing business was expected to boom, and Turner would be there to share in the profits." (pg.185)

[Wavels]

Those books look interesting Iggy, they remind me of a book I read about smuggling in the 70s….
This Book was by Michael Crichton who later went on to write more mainstream stuff: Jurassic Park etc.
He wrote it with his brother Douglas, hence the pen-name of Michael Douglas.
I think it was made into a movie. Anyway I liked the book!

Strangely enough back in those days I had a friend named Iggy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/039442168X?v=glance

[Wavels]

oops

[Tug]

Maximum Yield, Canada May/June issue, fantastic article on Plant Propagation (PB, C-Ray, and others at their level should read this), and another on NFT in the hobby greenhouse.
The new issue Canada Sept/Oct 2006 has 2 great articles too, 'Organics 101, intro to composting', and 'How Do Plants Grow?'.

All articles available online (it's a free magazine, trade-sponsored), at

http://www.maximumyield.com/

peace - Tug

[spacegrass]

Uriel's Machine by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas

they challenge the idea that the arts of civilization simply sprang into existence in Sumeria...they make the case that the humans of 12,000 years ago were much more advanced than we give them credit for and passed their knowledge on to the sumerians.

sg

[CannyBus]

HYDROPONICS by Les Bridgewood

Has this neat Idea, NFT style, where water plants feeed the fish in a tank, the water from the tank, gets pumped up to the feed tray, and drains back into the Fishtank, air bubblers are added at the point of return.
The Water Plants feed the Fish,
the Fish Waste, feeds the plants in the runways (House Gutters)
Very simple self-supporting system

[CannyBus]

lets see how the scan came out.

[brokencage]

I am mostly a large fantasy fan. favorite authors include Robert Jordan,Raymond E Fiest,Marrion zimmer bradly,David Eddings,RA Salvatore. and so many more it would take along time to list them all.nothing like smoking a nice fatty and heading to the bookstore for a cup of coffee and a new book.Ahhh the smell of new books and coffee.Love it!!

[lucheeba]

I am mostly a large fantasy fan. favorite authors include Robert Jordan,Raymond E Fiest,Marrion zimmer bradly,David Eddings,RA Salvatore. and so many more it would take along time to list them all.nothing like smoking a nice fatty and heading to the bookstore for a cup of coffee and a new book.Ahhh the smell of new books and coffee.Love it!!

no Terry Pratchett??

[Monseigneur Stroganoff]

,,

[purplehaze2]

thanks tug for the maxium yield magazine site,cool stuff.