Discussion Topic |
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| Messages 1 - 65 of total 65 in this topic |
Trusty Rusty
Social climber
Tahoe area
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 7, 2007 - 02:54am PT
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"We Die Alone" (David Howarth)
"The Home of the Blizzard" (Douglas Mawson)
"You Owe Yourself a Drunk" (James P. Spradley)
"Chickenhawk" (Robert Mason)
"Dispatches" (Michael Herr)
"Leadership and the New Science" (Margaret J. Wheatley)
"Dracula" (Radu Florescu & Raymond T.McNally)
"Games Climbers Play" (Edited by Ken Wilson)
"Bad Movies We Love" (Edward Margulies-Stephen Rebello)
"Why Rock Climbing Sucks" (A. Toor. . .to be released fall 2019)
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spud
climber
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James Michener--anything
Great American Short Stories
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Just finished "A Soldier of the Great War", a great book. Thanks for the tip, Dingus.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Shantaram -Gregory David Roberts
Soldier of a great war was good too
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Prod
Social climber
Charlevoix, MI
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Justine, a tale of virtue and vice
DeSade
So depraved that you couldn't even spank to it, well I did but most couldn't.
Prod
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couchmaster
climber
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"The Rising Sun" Tolman
"The Count of Monte Cristo"
"Pillars of the Earth" Ken Follet
"War and Rememberance" and that whole series by Herman Wouk
Any and all 5 of the Foundation Trilogy by Asimov
The Dune series by Frank herbert.
Any Dirk Pitt novels:-)
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dmalloy
Trad climber
eastside
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Another vote for "A Soldier of the Great War" - Mark Helprin I think? Read it in the hospital 12 years ago (appendectomy), but I still remember it pretty well.
"Three Cups of Tea" - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin - not out in softcover yet (I don't think), but a great story about an ex-mountaineer now dedicated to building schools and other public facilities in villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A good way to think about that part of the world without getting scared or angry.
"Assembling California" - John McPhee - the geology and a lot of the recent history of CA from the Bay to Reno, explained by the finest wordsmith I have had the pleasure to read.
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TopRopeGun
Trad climber
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Yo Jaybro! Shantaram FUGGIN RULED! What a story!
"No true Glory"-the true story of the battle for Fallujah
"With the old Breed" JB Sledge (marines at Tarawa)
"Not a good day to die" Sean Naylor(chaos and confusion in the mts Afghanistan)
"Guns Germs and Steel"
"Ishmael"
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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...that whole series by Herman Wouk
The Caine Mutiny is a great read. They did a nice job on the movie, too. One of the great all-time movie scenes is when Fred MacMurray rips the mutineers a new one as they're celebrating their victory at the court-martial. You've spent the whole movie rooting for these guys, then MacMurray's character flips it all around.
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Mr.T
Big Wall climber
topanga
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"Blood Meridian" - Cormac McArthy
Very Intense and Profound
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David
Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
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Anything by William Gibson is a must.
for fun "Shadow Divers" is a good read
(read it before Hollywood comes out with the film version)
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tmc
Trad climber
slc, ut
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Shantaram for sure!
Also just started "Charley Wilson's War"
Said to be on par with Shantaram for a wild story. So far so good...
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G_Gnome
Boulder climber
Sick Midget Land
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For SciFi readers, try C. J. Cherryh's The Faded Sun. It's almost as good as Dune.
I don't read books about current situations, it just pisses me off. I read for escape and relaxation and SciFi or Climbing books fit that bill.
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Darnell
Big Wall climber
Chicago
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The USPA Skydivers information manual
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Inner City
Trad climber
East Bay
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"Sleighing Dragons" by Fergus Fleming
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paganmonkeyboy
Trad climber
the blighted lands of hatu
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almost anything by tom robbins is a good read imho...
sci fi - second the gibson (most def...), neal stephenson's snowcrash or the diamond age, vernor vinge's a deepness in the sky was pretty good too, larry niven's ringworld, tales of known space, etc...
travel books are always fun too...
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Frog Man Junior
Social climber
CA
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Gorilla Monsoon – John Long.
Weave world- Clive Barker
Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea- Gary Kinder
Ghost Soldiers -Hampton Sides
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Inner City
Trad climber
East Bay
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froggy,
Ship o gold is incredible. loved that!
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Frog Man Junior
Social climber
CA
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Yeah, that's one of my all time fave's fer sure.
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pc
climber
East of Seattle
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Anyone interested in the human sciences should check out:
"An Inquiry into the Philosophical Foundations of the Human Sciences" (San Francisco State University Series in Philosophy) (Paperback)
by Alfred Claassen (Author), David Rubinstein (Foreword)
Yes. He's my bro and no it's not spam 'cause it is a great read and I'm not making a dime. ;)
pc
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Speaking of Moby Dick, I'm just finishing Sea Of Glory about the US Exploring Expedition by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Terrific!
Many have suggested that Ahab was based on Charles Wilkes who led the US Ex Ex (which included two sorties to Antarctica, the basis of the "great white" whale) and Melville even mentions the US Ex Ex in Moby Dick.
What's more, Wilkes actually met the captain of the Essex, the ship that WAS sunk by a whale.
Inner City,
if you like Fleming read his compendium of epic british 19th century expeditions entitled Barrow's Boys.
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HJ
Social climber
Bozeman, Montana
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Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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It was Heller's definitive work. I was quite disappointed with Something Happened.
And, TopRoper, if one reads Guns, Germs, and Steel, one should balance the perspactive of environmental determinism by reading Carnage And Culture by Victor Davis Hanson.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Cross posted, Rad.
(Dial up sucks)
Apparently Queequeg's (sp?) facial tattoos were based on a Maori crewmember signed onto the US Ex Ex in New Zealand.
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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I was quite disappointed with Something Happened.
I have tried to read Something Happened at least three times. At the same place in the book, I get so overwhemingly depressed by it I can't continue. It's powerfully written, maybe too powerfully.
Maybe if I tried some of Juan's zoloft...
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Gary,
I think you will react the same when you finish it.
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youngharz
Boulder climber
Carpinteria
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Maiden Voyage -- by Tania Aebi
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soaring_bird
Trad climber
Cheyenne, WY
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a few priceless classics:
Downward Bound: by Warren Harding
Close Calls: by Largo
Touching the Void: by Joe Simpson
The FAR/AIM: by the FAA
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Frog Man Junior
Social climber
CA
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Forgot to mention:
"WE" By Charles A Lindbergh
Nautilus 90 North. By Commander William R. Anderson USN.
Both are page turners!
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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God are you guys light,
Louis Ferdinand Celine,
Death On The Installment Plan
Gene Genet,
The Thief's Journal
Charles Bukowski,
anything...
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Frog Man Junior
Social climber
CA
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Well Raydog, it's for a rest day ya know.
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ADK
climber
truckee
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ron, have you read philbricks, "in the heart of the sea"
Its a great read as well...about the whaling ship, essex.
Ill have to check out sea of glory.
100 years of solitude by marquez is a personal favorite.
Any steinbeck novel...
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Alright rest day reading - I get it here you go - do yourself a favor and check out Jack London's short story compilations - you won't believe it - he was such a natural and gifted story teller - there's edgy stuff in there too, brilliant timeless stories that actually inspire people to treat on another better..imagine.
The Nightborne is feminist masterpiece written by a man.
Go see his statue on the Oakland waterfront.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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ADK,
haven't read it. I first heard of the Essex on the Discovery channel program, MOBY DICK the True Story.
Pretty sad tale. Imagine you have to return home and face the relatives of the man who lost the lottery, and who you then killed and ate.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Sailing Alone Around the World, by Joshua Slocum, is also fun. Especially his goat story.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Hey Anders,
you want a good 3 page goat story read the chapter in Lawrence Millman's Lost In The Arctic entitled "Getting My Goat".
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Erik of Oakland
Gym climber
Oakland
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the others got it right with Moby Dick
I kind of like Thom Jones's short stories
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Frog Man Junior
Social climber
CA
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Raydog- Good call ! I forgot about Jack London. One of the best for sure!!
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J. Werlin
climber
Cedaredge
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Raydog--
with you on the light weight stuff. And what could be better then Bukowski (Chinaski) on a rest day? Buk is one of the few writers whose stuff is as good or better when read in an altered state.
If you like Celine try and find Paradise by Herve Guibert. One of the very few books I've read multiple times. Very clean prose--5 Stars.
Between Buk and Hemingway there are Raymond Carvers short stories. Strong stuff, stories about regular people, with regular jobs and regular problems.
Just finished A Quiet American by Graham Greene. Excellent book and writing. Wasn't able to read it under the influence though.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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My Dad told me that if you really know your Bible you can get even more outa Moby Dick. Unfortunately I don't know it well enough.
He had another good Moby Dick story. He was working as a substitute 7th grade English teacher somewhere in Marin County. Every day he would start the class exactly on time reading Moby Dick to the class. He would read it very fast. He said after the third day no one was ever late to class again.
What I didn't like about Something Happened is similar to what I didn't like about The Sportswriter, a Pulitzer prize winner by Ford.
1. I eventually wanted to grab the main character by the collar, back him up against the wall, "Enough with the constant desperate depression. Get your self together".
2. These books hold a mirror up to modern society. But the light is too harsh. "Wait, I live here already I don't need to read this."
For light entertainment. C.J. Cheryh as mentioned above.
My favs, which I've read many times.
Wave Without A Shore
Serpent's Reach
The Cookoo's Egg
Zander
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paganmonkeyboy
Trad climber
the blighted lands of hatu
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non fiction - SAS survival guide, collins gem book - pocket sized and chock full of interesting stuff that might save your life some day - everyone i've shown it to can't put it down...
(get that mind out of the gutter...)
favorite simpsons line - 'ishmael ! call me...'
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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J.Werlin -
I have copied your suggestions down.
Thanks.
Have not read much fiction for a while.
A movie was made about Bukowski with Matt Dillon playing his part. It is in fact really good - Factotem. You'll recognize parts from his stories for sure, the film got Linda Lee Bukowski's thumbs up.
Bukowski is only good if are not afraid to laugh until it hurts - at things which are true.
Raydog
Edit - the butts are not mine I don't smoke.
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Some not overly demanding books that I've enjoyed recently have been:
(Stars are for rest day suitabiliy as well as whether or not I liked the book. Books loose stars for making me think too much for the occasion.)
Life of Pi
Moo***
Jazz
Prodigal Summer (a great trashy novel for nature lovers) *
The Bill Bryson book about taking a road trip across the US. *
On Beauty ***
The Dirty Girls Social Club ***
Madeleine Albright's Autobiography
The Last Girls *
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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michael herr's "dispatches", absolutely. without question the best book on vietnam ever written, and along with "a farewell to arms", the best book on men, and women, at war.
read dispatches first, then read sheehans "a bright shining lie".
the two taken together will rock your world.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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raydog -- i think the movie you're referring to is "barfly", and micky rourke played bukowski.
are you sure you're still not huffin' a bong dinger every now and again??? that short-term memory seems a bit shakey, brobrah...!
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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nope - Barfly is a different movie bvb - I watched Factotum only a few months ago.
There is also a documentary which is a must see for Bukowski fans - called Bukowski, Born into This. Testimonials from Tom Waits, Bono reciting Buks poems, Sean Penn talking about how Bukowski is the greatest poet of the 20th century by a mile.
Google it Bob, you know, that search engine thing in front of you, behind the single malt.
R
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Trusty Rusty
Social climber
Tahoe area
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 11, 2007 - 05:35am PT
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Pattern Recognition: W.Gibson
Factotum: Bukowski
Slaughterhouse-Five: Vonnegut
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas: H.S.Thompson
No Country For Old Men: Carmac MCcarthy
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Robb
Social climber
Under a Big Sky
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Mar 11, 2007 - 04:38pm PT
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What about anything Hemmingway? Given the nature of the climbing community, I'm surprised his works aren't a mainstay.
Bob: "Islands in the Stream" is also very good, and you're probably right about Herr's "Dispatches".
PS: Spankin' Macarena baby!!!!
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Mar 11, 2007 - 05:50pm PT
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"Frog Into Princes" by Richard Bandler.
First heard of it at a slide show given by a climber, can't remember the name, but I'd met him in Yosemite about two weeks earlier.
Anyway, it's a good read.
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Anastasia
Trad climber
California
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Mar 11, 2007 - 07:57pm PT
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Gandhi, An Autobiography
The Story of My Experience With Truth
---------------------------
He explains how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance that he called "Satyagraha."
It is great stuff to think about when you're climbing.
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Jay Wood
Trad climber
Fairfax, CA
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Mar 11, 2007 - 11:38pm PT
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"The River Why" Duncan Entertaining 'finding onesself' story from young man's perspective. Fishing. Oregon.
"Sometimes a Great Notion" Kesey Also Oregon classic modern novel
"A Story Like the Wind" "A Far Off Place" " The Lost World of the Kalahari" ,others. van der Post Fantastic storytelling, detail and texture of pre- independence Africa
Moby Dick is my all time favorite novel, but not exactly an easy or casual read.
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BeeHay
Trad climber
San Diego CA
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Dec 30, 2007 - 10:57pm PT
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"So depraved that you couldn't even spank to it, well I did but most couldn't."
Is that a challange?
"Lone Survivor", Marcus Luttrell. Seals in Afghanistan. A gripping read for us non intelectuals. Anti-military folks, you won't like it.
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LuckyPink
climber
the last bivy
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Dec 30, 2007 - 11:15pm PT
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here's a really good one I'm reading now:
The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag, (or his born name: Irgit Schynykbajoglu Dshurukuwaa) Tuvan shaman, lecturer, poet, activist, this is the story of his young life in the high Altai, told in the style of the oral traditions of the cultures of Mongolia. Most of his work is in German or German translation. This is the first novel in an English translation. Enjoy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galsan_Tschinag
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WoodySt
Trad climber
Riverside
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Dec 30, 2007 - 11:49pm PT
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Just about anything written by Joseph Conrad.
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James
climber
A tent in the redwoods
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Dec 31, 2007 - 12:18am PT
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Vonnegut, Steinbeck, Sedaris, Wilde, Dumas, Raymond Carver...
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 31, 2007 - 12:38am PT
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Woody,
interesting that Conrad didn't learn to speak english until he was in his twenties.
Here's a wild read; Batavia's Graveyard by Mike Dash.
The 1529 wreck of the Dutch East India trading ship Batavia on the Houtmann Abrohlos off the west coast of what is now Australia quickly degenerated into the bloodiest naval mutiny in history, led by the notorious Jerome Cornelius.
Resisted by "the loyalists" led by wily British mercenary Webbe Hays the mutineers appeared to be about to subdue the remaining survivors after months of conflict among the factions marooned on that string of barren islands when, like something from a movie script, a sail appeared on the horizon.
The loyalists saw their savior, but the mutineers knew that they would have to row their light craft out to the boat first (under false colors) and then seize it to survive.
The race was on,..
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
Nowhere
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Dec 31, 2007 - 01:14am PT
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English was the fourth language Conrad learned. But you wouldn't guess this reading Heart of Darkness.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Dec 31, 2007 - 05:15am PT
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hey there.... awwwww, i just GOT to add this :)
"INTRODUCING..." by Neebeeshaabookway
http://jj-ns.read-jake-and-donate.com
http://geocities.com/neebeeshaabookway/
fiction, short stories, very different for those that like exploring new trails in reading.... check it out... :)
*and say, the small royalties all go to a food bank
for LOVE INC in michigan...
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona, Spain
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Dec 31, 2007 - 05:52am PT
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H.W. Tilman wrote a lot of entertaining stuff, both in mountaineering and sailing.
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