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The Book Thread - What You're Reading & Everything Book Related

Forest20

ICmag's Official Black Guy
Veteran
a little silly

a little silly

I know i sound any an act like a kid but a well written book is Kingdom Come -- Elliot S. Maggin (based on a story by Mark Waid, Alex Ross)
it about what happens to our favorite DC super heros in the future it makes a mirror image of how even the great fall.
 
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Harry Gypsna

Dirty hippy Bastard
Veteran
any1 read nething by Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read, australian crime figure, known as a "toe cutter" for the methods used to torture drug dealers in2 tellin him where their money is. all his books are gr8, hes very funny, intelligent man, with surprisingly, a soft heart for the right person, when he describes some of the situations he been in, it hilarious, to see him talking about a fight in which ppl died, as if it is a marx bros movie, good books, shame hes doin life
 

BridesNightie

New member
Chopper Read

Chopper Read

He aint doing life dude, he's doing talk shows. :D Or at least he was a couple of years back.
I think he still hangs out in his old haunts in Melbourne, Victoria.
The problem with living the life is that if it doesn't kill you there's not much else that lives up to it afterwards. :D

You might like Robert G Barrett too uk1 - another aussie jingoist, though I think he's more of a detective-type, based in Sydney I think. Pretty funny none the less.

cheers, bn
 
G

Guest

ICmag BRC - Book Reading Club

ICmag BRC - Book Reading Club

Hello all readers and readers :D

When I am stoned, I like to read. And because I like to smoke good stuff, I like to read good stuff, right? So, I guess it shouldn't be wrong to share experiences and recomendations for some good reading stuff for stoner.

I dont know how this theard will evole, but i guess we should write at least the title of the book :D Now seriusly, Title, Author, what is going on in the book, few words, maybe a quote from it? This doesnt mean that only english books are alowed to be written about. There are translations, right? :)

So let me start with current reading, that was shown (and maybe reccomended) to me by Growdoc.

The man you all know: Mr. Nice: An Autobiography

Editorial Reviews

Book Description
During the mid-'80s Howard Marks had forty-three aliases and eighty-nine phone lines, and he owned twenty-five companies trading throughout the world. Bars, recording studios, offshore banks -- all were money-laundering vehicles serving the core business: dope dealing. At the height of his career he was smuggling consignments of up to thirty tons of marijuana and had contact with organizations as diverse as MI6, the CIA, the IRA, and the Mafia. Following a worldwide operation by the DEA, he was busted and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison at Terre Haute Penitentiary, Indiana. He was released in April 1995 after serving seven years of his sentence. With pages of photographs, and told with humor, charm, and candor, Mr Nice is his own extraordinary story. Mr Nice has been one of the biggest-selling memoirs in Britain in recent memory, topping both the Sunday Times hardcover and paperback best-seller lists. Also translated into eight languages, this edition offers American readers the first-ever opportunity to read this riveting book. "Frequently hilarious, occasionally sad, and often surreal." -- GQ "Only the Welsh could have produced ... Howard Marks.... In or out of handcuffs, he is always welcome in my home." -- Robert Sabbag, author of Snowblind "A folk legend ... Howard Marks has huge charisma. He sounds like Richard Burton and looks like a Rolling Stone." -- Daily Mail (London) "Marks weaves a fascinating story spiced with brilliant detail, far stronger than fiction."



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...103-6950509-9030221?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Curently at page 47/466.
Firstly it talks about him getting out of jail on April 95. In the next chapter it talks about his young life and fist contact to cannabis:


He had recently returned from his voyages of discovery and was about to visit, presumably illegally, his friends at Oxford. I was invited to meet him. Denys had brought with him some marijuana in the form of kif from Morocco. Up to that point I had heard the odd whisper of drugs being taken at the university and was aware that marijuana was popular with British West Indian communities, jaz entusiasts, American beatniks, and the modern intellectual wawe of Angry Young Men. I had no idea of marijuana's effects, however, and, with a great deal of entusiastic intereset, I accepted the joint that Denys offerd me and took my first few puffs. The effects were suprisingly mild but quite long-lasting. After just a couple of minutes, I started having a sensation askin to butterflys in the stomatch but without the customary feeling of trepidation. This led to a desire to laug followed by my interpreting most of the conversations as amusing enough to me to do so...



So, what sould be my next read? :D
 
G

Guest

What a great idea for a thread! I'm always wandering the book store for hours on end looking for just the right book, no longer shall this be. So anyway it looks like i'll be heading up to B&N fairly shortly to pick up the autobiography of Mr.Nice, This sounds very interesting and I'll let you know what I think when i'm done.

Now to you Agnes and any other IC'ers out there reading this now, I recommend the book, Into The Wild
by Jon Krakauer.
intowild.jpg


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385486804/102-6226347-7616156?v=glance

It's a fairly quick read but one that will fascinate you even years after reading thru it. Here is a description.....

"After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature. Krakauer, a contributing editor to Outside and Men's Journal, retraces McCandless's ill-fated antagonism toward his father, Walt, an eminent aerospace engineer. Krakauer also draws parallels to his own reckless youthful exploit in 1977 when he climbed Devils Thumb, a mountain on the Alaska-British Columbia border, partly as a symbolic act of rebellion against his autocratic father. In a moving narrative, Krakauer probes the mystery of McCandless's death, which he attributes to logistical blunders and to accidental poisoning from eating toxic seed pods."

I've read it twice, I mean the man who is focused upon in this book did exactly what I have envisioned doing my whole life, only I lack the self-motivation to do so.
 
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R

Ronley

The no. 1 ladies detective agency. by Alexander McCall Smith.
Its actually a series of 6 books and each one is simply delightful, funny, and charming.
Its about a black Botswanaian Lady of traditional build who opens the first ladies detective agency in Botswana.


From Publishers Weekly on amazon.com
The African-born author of more than 50 books, from children's stories (The Perfect Hamburger) to scholarly works (Forensic Aspects of Sleep), turns his talents to detection in this artful, pleasing novel about Mma (aka Precious) Ramotswe, Botswana's one and only lady private detective. A series of vignettes linked to the establishment and growth of Mma Ramotswe's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" serve not only to entertain but to explore conditions in Botswana in a way that is both penetrating and light thanks to Smith's deft touch. Mma Ramotswe's cases come slowly and hesitantly at first: women who suspect their husbands are cheating on them; a father worried that his daughter is sneaking off to see a boy; a missing child who may have been killed by witchdoctors to make medicine; a doctor who sometimes seems highly competent and sometimes seems to know almost nothing about medicine. The desultory pace is fine, since she has only a detective manual, the frequently cited example of Agatha Christie and her instincts to guide her. Mma Ramotswe's love of Africa, her wisdom and humor, shine through these pages as she shines her own light on the problems that vex her clients. Images of this large woman driving her tiny white van or sharing a cup of bush tea with a friend or client while working a case linger pleasantly. General audiences will welcome this little gem of a book just as much if not more than mystery readers.
 

GMT

The Tri Guy
Veteran
Great thread Agnes, I have the book Mr Nice, but the tapes are better with Marx telling the tale himself.
My recommendation is : Letters from Lexington - Reflections on propaganda by Noam Chomsky. It is basically a collection of short articles that he published in the LOOT magazine (Lies of our time). Most conspiracy theorists are familiar with Chomsky's work, he lives in the USA and works as a university lecturer. This is not an easy read, but is a small book filled with information that it takes an old genius a lot of indepth study to piece together. To be honest I still haven't finished it myslef, rather depressing, but for those hard core readers, it's the biz.

Or for a far more enjoyable read, the funniest book I have ever read was by Neil Gayman and Terry Pratchet, I think it was called Good Omens. About the end of the world. Hilarious stoner reading material that will hurt your stomach.
 
G

Guest

I am very pleased that you responded to this theard, but please, use the form that me and Haschishin did, to keep things sorted nicely.

Thank you.
 

Harry Gypsna

Dirty hippy Bastard
Veteran
im a big fan of fiction and no fiction...in the fiction department im a garden variety devective book man....i like my James Patterson, icks the shit outta Patricia cornwell, whos endings are always a total ant-climax..... James aptersons Alex Cross character man I feel like hes somebody i know, the books I can read them again and again, they are so......fcast andthrilling
i also like james Herbert an have read most of his thrillers/Horrors I check out a lot of thigs and couldnt begin to list the names iof the all the fantasy/Hoprror/Thriller authors Ive read
non Fiction i like history and autobiographies, as well as philosophical things andsome quite out there stuff too....Ive een reading a book called Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham hancock whic is all about ancient civilisations and their beliefs...and similarites..and a theory that they cam froma coklmmon source, namely aliens... and has stuff abot the Nazca lines..you know the alien runway in the desert and the bird and spider.....I love this stuff and have been reading this book rfor 6 years...i have to give it up for a while coz its very long winded lol, but I go back to it.....
I have f course read Mr nice....i loved it all 3 times.... I canalso highly recommend books by a notorious austrailan criminal Mark Brnadion read...niwn as "Chopper" and the 1st book is called simply "Chopper" his style is bruta;ly honest, but very witty...and an make the most awfu situations sound haliarious....such as being focred to dig his own grave and getting away by sticking the spade in his captors kneecap...and placing him in said hole with a bag of lime...... he has wriotted a lot of books and they are great....a real isight into the min of a real life boogetman.... He mad ehis living as a "Standover man" which is someone who collevcts protection money from clubowbers/drug dealers and other such shady ppl who cant complain to the poolice... He has a hatefor drug dealers and sees his killings and acts of violence as a public service.....he never acted against "Civillians" exeopt vor kidnapping a high court judge with a shotgun in a misguided attemot to get his best friend(who subsequently trued to murder him by stabbing him) freed from prison...... These books are great, and it makes you wonder what this guy could have done/been had his life taken a different patch as he is so witty and clever and motivated he could have done anythig he wanted. he is a Toe cutter, another name for a standover man....he would take it literally though using bolt cutters to remove them....when asked by a TV journlist he asked why he did it, he said he liked it and they liked it, "they liked it ?? "she asked "well they didnt like it, but i liked it"...what did you like about it" Well the way theyjust...Pop off"" its the shocking and grizzly stuff that makes it riceting....but his humor and stlye and feeling makes you forget that hes a violent criminal capable of shooting you u in the face and taking your gold teeth..... He was charged with murder after shooting a man in a nightclub carpark in the face with a 410 shotgun.....get was aquitted on self defenc even though he was waering a bullet proof vest..... hes been accused of being an informr and survived many attemots on his life..... Read these the 1st one especially, you will be emntertained all the way though even though i just spoiled it all for you.....

EDIT sorry, wet a bit overboard there...didnt know i had to set it out a certain way either..... :wave:
 
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Stewie

Member
Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy




From amazon.com
Wanting to understand the most fundamental questions of the universe isn't the province of ivory-tower intellectuals alone, as this book's enormous popularity has demonstrated. A young girl, Sophie, becomes embroiled in a discussion of philosophy with a faceless correspondent. At the same time, she must unravel a mystery involving another young girl, Hilde, by using everything she's learning. The truth is far more complicated than she could ever have imagined.
"Who are you?"

This book makes a good begginer's guide to philosophy. Not just for young adults imho.
If you like a compelling story, you just might like this book. I personally found myself not beeing able to put it down.
 

I.M. Boggled

Certified Bloomin' Idiot
Veteran
The War of the Worlds...by H. G. Wells [1898]

The War of the Worlds...by H. G. Wells [1898]

The War of the Worlds described as the first modern tale of alien invasion and one of the most influential of all science-fiction works, and for some of us, like myself, it will be the first time we get to experience the story the way it was truly meant to be experienced – deep within the confines of imagination.

The radio version chilled and the movie thrilled, but something mysterious happens when the story is being told in words.
The mind is permitted to create its own vision of the monsters, the fear, the horror and the destruction.

The story is written in the first person, which only adds to the horrifying effect of the unfolding plot.
We join the narrator as he leaves the comforts of his English home near Horsell Common to see what the commotion is over yonder, where a strange cylindrical object has fallen from the sky.
We recoil in horror as he sees the aliens for the first time, and witnesses their true intent.
And, best of all, we journey with him as he struggles to stay one step ahead of the menacing creatures and their machines that kill with black smoke and heat rays, and as he sees the death and destruction they have left in their path.

In other words, Wells drags us kicking and screaming into the hell and damnation, never letting us sit back and relax for a minute, as the narrator runs for his life. Mid-story, the narrator is holed up for several days with a panicked cleric, with the aliens working their sinister evil just beyond the wall of the caved in house the men are hiding in. I cannot remember ever reading anything so nail-biting and suspenseful, and I read a heck of a lot, folks!

The writing is exquisite, filled with descriptive passages that evoke powerful images, and the narrator becomes our hero, trying desperately to stay alive long enough to find the wife he had to leave behind in safety.

Wells is a master at building suspense and tension, and on paper the powerful themes of fear and empire and the dark side of humanity become so much more evident than in the original cheesy, but fun, movie.

The War of the Worlds is disturbing, and that is the way the author wanted it.

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Complete Book Linked)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36/36-h/36-h.htm
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it...
 

bartender187

Bakin in da Sun
Veteran
Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil

0865715408.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


A fellow icer told me to pick this book up, so far what ive read its very well put together with imaculate documentation.

"The attacks of September 11, 2001, were accomplished through an amazing orchestration of logistics and personnel. Crossing the Rubicon discovers and identifies key suspects-finding some of them in the highest echelons of American government-by showing how they acted in concert to guarantee that the attacks produced the desired result.

Crossing the Rubicon is unique not only for its case-breaking examination of 9/11, but for the breadth and depth of its world picture-an interdisciplinary analysis of petroleum, geopolitics, narcotraffic, intelligence and militarism-without which 9/11 cannot be understood.

The US manufacturing sector has been mostly replaced by speculation on financial data whose underlying economic reality is a dark secret. Hundreds of billions of dollars in laundered drug money flow through Wall Street each year from opium and coca fields maintained by CIA-sponsored warlords and US-backed covert paramilitary violence. America's global dominance depends on a continually turning mill of guns, drugs, oil and money. Oil and natural gas-the fuels that make economic growth possible-are subsidized by American military force and foreign lending.

In reality, 9/11 and the resulting "war on terror" are parts of a massive authoritarian response to an emerging economic crisis of unprecedented scale. Peak Oil-the beginning of the end for our industrial civilization-is driving the elites of American power to implement unthinkably draconian measures of repression, warfare and population control. Crossing the Rubicon is more than a story. It is a map of the perilous terrain through which, together and alone, we are all now making our way.

Michael C. Ruppert is the publisher and editor of From the Wilderness, a newsletter read by more than 16,000 subscribers in 40 countries. A former Los Angeles Police Department narcotics investigator, he is widely known for his groundbreaking stories on US involvement in the drug trade, Peak Oil and 9/11."
 

bartender187

Bakin in da Sun
Veteran
The Ecology of Commerce

Paul Hawken

0887307043.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


A growing econmoy is getting bigger; a developing economy is getting better."

"....but the fundamental problem is not the rapacity of the pharmaceutical and medical industry, but the allopathic system itself, which requires you to get sick in order to get well."

"On the ocean floor, crabs with nervous systems deranged by chlordane runoff attempting to mate with alluring rocks.... The story begins with brine, humble saltwater, a harmless substance until we get our hands on it."

"Death is one thing, an end to birth is something else."

"Exceeding carrying capacity does not prove that carrying capacity does not exist, but merely that we know how to evade it temporarily, further damaging the sustainable yield of a given habitat."

"All present agriculture, whether it is slash-and-burn or sod-breaking, involves reversion of a climax system to a pioneering one."

"....mature systems create the greatest amount of biomass with the least amount of resources."

"Plants and organisms do not simply occupy an enviroment; they alter and transfrom it creating increasingly varied and complex forms of organization. The second law of thermodynamics informs us that energy is dissipated, systems tend to descend into reduced startes of organization and ultimately to chaos and entropy. Only life prevets entropy from extending to all things in nature..."

"The second welfare system is large, expansive, and expensive. It comes in the form of large government grants and programs for building highways, subsidies to the rich in the form of interest payment deducitons on their houses, giveaways of timber and mining rights on government lands, government-financed research in universities, revolving-door policies between the defense industry and government resulting in expensive, poorly planned procurement policies, and so on.....However, the fact remains tha three times as much housing subsidy goes to the top fifth of the population as to the bottom 20% who need it the most."

"Cotton is one of the most polluting crops in the world ( 2 percent of the world's lands receive 26 percent of its persticides.)"

"Sustainable business take responsibility for the effects they have on the natural world...... Consider this fact: If the items used in households in america were all recycled, this would reduce our solid waste by only 1 to 2 percent."

"An example of a business dedicated to development, not growth, is the timber operation run by the Menominee Indians, mentioned earlier. For the past 135 years, the Menominee have practiced a deliberate, sustained-yield practice on there 234,000 acres of forested tracts in northeastern Wisconsin. In that period, they have produced 2 billion board-feet of sawn timber while preserving the forst stock. Each time the forest has been inventoried (in 1963, 1970, 1979, and 1989), its volume has increased over the previous measurement... But the Menominee say that if they could get an extra 10 percent of their sawn timber, they could refurbish their mills, improve productivity and compete more effectively. But with whom are they competing? Corporations that either received their timber in the nineteenth century, when the gorvernment gave 183 million acres to the railrods, or are now purchasing it from the Forest Service at prices far below market and replacement value....The Menominees would no more separate the forest from its intrisic ecological and societal value than we would separate one finger on our hand from another."


More quotes....

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=14620&highlight=ecology



To read the intro. http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0887307043/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-2543790-1103867#reader-page
 
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