What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

I'm going away on a beach vacation and will need books to read. I am barely literate and basically don't read too much anymore. Here are some of my favorite books:

Choke and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (I've read most books by him)
Godfather by Mario Puzzo
Freaknomics by Levitt (I'm interested in any econ related book)
All The Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren

Ok, OOT, guide me...

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

I'm currently reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and it is awesome.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

Different Seasons - Stephen King (for Shawshank Redemption and 'The Body')

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

The Al Franken book was pretty funny thats the last book i actually read that wasnt poker related. Also The Processor, the Banker and the Suicide King is the next book I want to grab , its about the "big game".

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

A crappier book that is kind of like Freakanomics is "The Tipping Point," but has similar types of thinking.

Crappier is a harsh word perhaps, just worse.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

My favorite book that I read on a beach during a vacation was High Fidelity.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

Master of the Senate by Caro if you are at all into politics, a good beach book is The Partner by Grisham

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

Also, am I the only one who thought that freakonomics was way overrated? The book discussed some interesting topics but did not provide much quantitative analysis and I thought dumbed the material down in order to appeal to a wider audience.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

cryptonomicon -neal stephenson

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

Ok, fine, I was a little hasty in saying that Freakanomics was one of my favorite books, it was just an econ book I could think of. I think a main point of the book was to simplify a lot of more compicated economics principles, and it accomplished this goal pretty well. It doesn't really go into a lot of detail about how he finds his results which leaves some questions to the accredibility of his findings.

I definitely like books by Dani Rodrick (The New Global Economy and Developing Countries) or Thomas Friedman (Lexus, Nexus and the Olive Tree) more than Freakanomics.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

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Different Seasons - Stephen King (for Shawshank Redemption and 'The Body')

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Apt Pupil and The Breathing Method from Different Seasons are fine stories as well.

If you like crime novels and haven't read Dennis Lehane, get Mystic River and the first Kenzie/Gennaro story which is called "A Drink Before The War." Fantastic stuff. The Kenzie/Gennaro novels (Drink Before The War, Darkness Take My Hand, Sacred, Gone Baby Gone, Prayers For Rain) really need to be read in order. His books Mystic River and Shutter Island are not related to the rest. They are fine novels as well. Mystic River had a movie based on it a few years back.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, back in the days where I used to be less stupid, I read a lot of Le Carre as well. I am intrigued by the Lehane guy.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

"cryptonomicon -neal stephenson "

That is a 1,000+ page book so bring a crane to help you carry it to the beach. I personally liked that book but I'd suggest Snow Crash or Diamond Age for books of his that you can acutally finish by the end of a normal vacation from the same author.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

African Genesis - Robert Audrey
The Naked Ape - Desmond Howard
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry
Horton Hears a Who. - Dr Seuss

LLL

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

Finnegan's Wake

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Also The Processor, the Banker and the Suicide King is the next book I want to grab , its about the "big game".

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I just finished it. Don't bother, or at least wait for the paperback. The story is mildly entertaining, but the writing is just boring as hell. I wish Alvarez or Holden or even McManus would have written it instead.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

If you are into graphic depictions of underrage gay sex and gay snuff/sm then you DO NOT want to miss "The Sluts"!

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Also, am I the only one who thought that freakonomics was way overrated? The book discussed some interesting topics but did not provide much quantitative analysis and I thought dumbed the material down in order to appeal to a wider audience.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with you completely. The book was a little weak for people with a good understanding of analytical thinking, statistics, etc...

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Also, am I the only one who thought that freakonomics was way overrated? The book discussed some interesting topics but did not provide much quantitative analysis and I thought dumbed the material down in order to appeal to a wider audience.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with you completely. The book was a little weak for people with a good understanding of analytical thinking, statistics, etc...

[/ QUOTE ]

also, am i the only one who didn't read it, knowing this would be the case and that it would just piss me off?

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

If you like palahniuk, try lullaby and invisible monsters if you haven't read them (in that order). I really like East of Eden by John Steinbeck and am in the middle of Winter of Our Discontent and it is real good so far. The Ender's Game series and the Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card are also real nice quick reads when you just want to be entertained. I think everyone knows about Ender's Game, Alvin Maker is about the U.S. when it was still colonial. All of the folklore is actually true and there is different history of events. It is actualy really good.
If you can deal with the length, I definatly recommend War and Peace.
If you like Philosophy try Zeno and the Tortoise. It is a collection of summaries, opinoin, and other stuff on some of the best philosophers in history.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

sorry this is a bit of a hijack. im interested in reading sedaris but never have before. what would be a good introduction to his work?

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

[ QUOTE ]
"cryptonomicon -neal stephenson "

That is a 1,000+ page book so bring a crane to help you carry it to the beach. I personally liked that book but I'd suggest Snow Crash or Diamond Age for books of his that you can acutally finish by the end of a normal vacation from the same author.

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I third the Neil Stephenson recommendation. Can't go wrong with any of the three novels mentioned.

Re: What books do I want to read while I vacation?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"cryptonomicon -neal stephenson "

That is a 1,000+ page book so bring a crane to help you carry it to the beach. I personally liked that book but I'd suggest Snow Crash or Diamond Age for books of his that you can acutally finish by the end of a normal vacation from the same author.

[/ QUOTE ]

I third the Neil Stephenson recommendation. Can't go wrong with any of the three novels mentioned.

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I might as well fourth this recommendation, excellent books if you havent read them yet.