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

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Guest

My book MrNice has been finished reading a week ago. 4 of my friends want to read it and when I get it back, gonna do it again, but for now, I need a new read, maybe smth from here.

Mr nice is great, I like when the story is intense, you have to turn the page and there is a suprise in the firs sentece :D Amazing. :p
 

omega7

Member
I would suggest "A million little pieces" by James Frey. EVERYONE is raving about it. I havent had the chance to read it yet, but hopefully sometme after christmas. It looks to be an oprah book as well (I'm sure that sold it for you lol). Everyone says it is impossible to put down. I havent seen a book this loved in a long time.

hey Agnes, I've asked this before in another thread awhile back but, is that christiane F. as your avatar?
 
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G

Guest

omega: Could you please put a full description of the book, you can see what I think by looking one page back, see my desceription, and descriptions of other.

And yes. It is.
 

omega7

Member
man thats a lot of work for a stoner.....I figured it was her when i saw it. After I posted the question I went and grabbed my dvd to check and sure enough, a match! I'll get a description thing for you
 

omega7

Member
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

The electrifying opening of James Frey's debut memoir, A Million Little Pieces, smash-cuts to the then 23-year-old author on a Chicago-bound plane "covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood." Wanted by authorities in three states, without ID or any money, his face mangled and missing four front teeth, Frey is on a steep descent from a dark marathon of drug abuse. His stunned family checks him into a famed Minnesota drug treatment center where a doctor promises "he will be dead within a few days" if he starts to use again, and where Frey spends two agonizing months of detox confronting "The Fury" head on:

I want a drink. I want fifty drinks. I want a bottle of the purest, strongest, most destructive, most poisonous alcohol on Earth. I want fifty bottles of it. I want crack, dirty and yellow and filled with formaldehyde. I want a pile of powder meth, five hundred hits of acid, a garbage bag filled with mushrooms, a tube of glue bigger than a truck, a pool of gas large enough to drown in. I want something anything whatever however as much as I can.

One of the more harrowing sections is when Frey submits to major dental surgery without the benefit of anesthesia or painkillers (he fights the mind-blowing waves of "bayonet" pain by digging his fingers into two old tennis balls until his nails crack). His fellow patients include a damaged crack addict with whom Frey wades into an ill-fated relationship, a federal judge, a former championship boxer, and a mobster (who, upon his release, throws a hilarious surf-and-turf bacchanal, complete with pay-per-view boxing). In the book's epilogue, when Frey ticks off a terse update on everyone, you can almost hear the Jim Carroll Band's brutal survivor's lament "People Who Died" kicking in on the soundtrack of the inevitable film adaptation.

The rage-fueled memoir is kept in check by Frey's cool, minimalist style. Like his steady mantra, "I am an Alcoholic and I am a drug Addict and I am a Criminal," Frey's use of repetition takes on a crisp, lyrical quality which lends itself to the surreal experience. The book could have benefited from being a bit leaner. Nearly 400 pages is a long time to spend under Frey's influence, and the stylistic acrobatics (no quotation marks, random capitalization, left-aligned text, wild paragraph breaks) may seem too self-conscious for some readers, but beyond the literary fireworks lurks a fierce debut. --Brad Thomas Parsons--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
 
G

Guest

0307276902.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307276902/104-7618246-7427905?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance


Thanks omega ;)
 

ndnguy

Active member
J.R.R.Tolkien: Author of the Centry by Tom Shippey

J.R.R.Tolkien: Author of the Centry by Tom Shippey

In this excellent volume of criticism on Tolkien's work, Tom Shippey seeks to explain just what made Tolkien tick, and what made his stories the way they are. Tolkien shunned the idea of a biography, but I think this book is probably more along the lines of what he would have agreed to, since he believed that the best way to get a look inside an author's life was to examine his works. This book does just this.

The bulk of this book, of course, centers around Tolkien's stories of Middle-Earth: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Shippey attempts to explain why Tolkien wrote these stories the way he did, and the result is very insightful. Shippey explains why he wrote archaically, how the more modern hobbit society, with its postal system and manners, fits in with the rest of Middle-Earth, and how to classify the various cultures and nations (like Rohan and Gondor) appearing in the works, to name a few. The rest of the book deals with Tolkien's other, lesser-known works, including the two semi-autobiographical ones. For true fans of Tolkien, the criticisms of these shorter works are an invaluable resource.

All in all, this book is very insightful--there is definitely a great deal to be learned about Tolkien's works from a man who succeeded him to his Oxford chair, and who understands Tolkien's professional field as well. If you want to truly understand Tolkien, this is a book worth reading. :smoker: :bow: .....ndn
 
G

Guest

Btw, all you readers...


you are most welcome to put an add about BRC in your sig :)

Agnes
 
G

Guest

The Celestine Prophecy:

From Publishers Weekly
Redfield's debut is a fast-paced adventure in New Age territory that plays like a cross between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Moses's trek up Mt. Sinai. Originally self-published, the book sold phenomenally, sparked by word of mouth, and may be this year's The Bridges of Madison County --with which it shares some regrettable stylistic similarities. The saga begins when the unnamed middle-aged male narrator whimsically quits his nondescript life to track down an ancient Peruvian manuscript (pretentiously called the Manuscript) containing nine Insights that supposedly prophesy the modern emergence of New Age spirituality. South of the border, he encounters resistance from the Peruvian government and church authorities, who believe the document will undermine traditional family values. While dodging evil soldiers, paranoid priests and pseudoscientific researchers, our hero sequentially discovers all nine Insights during a series of chance encounters. Redfield has a real talent for page-turning action, and his lightweight quest employs auras, energy transfers and other psychic phenomena. But several of the Insights are incredibly vacuous and politically correct, and long stretches of dialogue are banal and cliched. The book ends with the protagonist poised to discover the 10th Insight in a promised sequel. 250,000 first printing; BOMC selection; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World:

From Publishers Weekly
Erudite, engaging and highly original, journalist Pollan's fascinating account of four everyday plants and their coevolution with human society challenges traditional views about humans and nature. Using the histories of apples, tulips, potatoes and cannabis to illustrate the complex, reciprocal relationship between humans and the natural world, he shows how these species have successfully exploited human desires to flourish. "It makes just as much sense to think of agriculture as something the grasses did to people as a way to conquer the trees," Pollan writes as he seamlessly weaves little-known facts, historical events and even a few amusing personal anecdotes to tell each species' story. For instance, he describes how the apple's sweetness and the appeal of hard cider enticed settlers to plant orchards throughout the American colonies, vastly expanding the plant's range. He evokes the tulip craze of 17th-century Amsterdam, where the flower's beauty led to a frenzy of speculative trading, and explores the intoxicating appeal of marijuana by talking to scientists, perusing literature and even visiting a modern marijuana garden in Amsterdam. Finally, he considers how the potato plant demonstrates man's age-old desire to control nature, leading to modern agribusiness's experiments with biotechnology. Pollan's clear, elegant style enlivens even his most scientific material, and his wide-ranging references and charming manner do much to support his basic contention that man and nature are and will always be "in this boat together."


Mutant Message Down Under:

From Publishers Weekly
Morgan's much-hyped first novel, a fictionalized account of a "walkabout" she took in the Outback with a group of Aborigines, gains from the use of authentic detail, although the storytelling is hindered by the author's heavy New Age agenda and incessant cultural proselytizing. A 50-ish alternative health practitioner from the American Midwest, Morgan was working with underprivileged Aborigine youths in the inner cities of Australia when a group of Aborigines offered her a chance to learn firsthand about their culture. Morgan's account of the tribe's customs, healing methods, food-finding tactics, etc. is absorbing, and her willingness to forgo Western luxuries and to relish the experience is courageous and touching. Less compellingly, the author claims that she was "chosen" by the Aborigines to tell the rest of humanity that the so-called "real people" are refusing to reproduce because of the ravages of Western civilization, and that Westerners have a limited time to clean up their act. Morgan's rudimentary writing skills are stretched to the limit, and she lessens the power of her story and its egalitarian lessons by adopting the perspective that Western culture is innately inferior to the naturalistic beliefs of the Aborigines. Still, with its high-powered package of New Age philosophy wrapped in an adventure narrative, this book may be the next Celestine Prophecy. (It is interesting to observe that both books began life by being self-published.)
 

Dr. D

Active member
Veteran
THE MYSTERY OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

THE MYSTERY OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

Authors; Chris Morton and Ceri Louise Thomas

An old native tale tells of 13 crystal skulls the size of human skulls that were said to contain information about the origins and destiny of humankind.

The legend said thhat one day , at a time of great need, all of the crysttal skulls would be rediscovered and brought toogether to reveal there information vital to the future of humanity.

Earlier this century a real crystal skull was discovered by a British explorer deep in the jungles of Central America. Since then, several other crystal skulls have come to llight.

As enigmatic as the pyramids of Egypt, the great sphinx or stonehenge...the crystal skulls have created a storm of archealogical controversy...

What were the incredible results of the tests carried out on the skullls by scientists at computer company Hewlett Packard?

Do the skulls really possess telepathic qualities, allowing us to see deep into the past and predict the future?

Why do the native American elders claim the crystals skulls are stores of great knowlegde, programmed with an important messagge for humankind?

heres a piece from the book;

Many people who live in the cities cannot ssee what is happening to the Earth. It is people who are still connected to nature who in their daily lives who can see the channges happrening to thhe land. What is happening is thatt the white man has started a war against nature. The natural woorld has become thhe enemy. Polution and poison are the weapons thhat are destroying species of birds, plants and animals.
Thhe people who are gathered here are seeing this descruction every day, but for many people they see it like a war in a distant country-it is sad but it doesnt affect them. Well, pretty soon it will.

I highly recommend this book to anyone!!
 
G

Guest




Only just started this one. Really quite interesting. Started off so far talking about how 140 saudi's were allowed to fly out of the USA when no body else was allowed to fly after 9/11. An in depth look into how the Bush family are bound into the bin Laden family and other close freinds and family to Saudi royalty. In that also discusses how the Saudi's bought and bailed out US oil companies and banks. Lots more but have not got that far yet.

http://www.houseofbush.com
 
G

Guest

0060932902.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


Genome by Matt Ridley

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Science writer Matt Ridley has found a way to tell someone else's story without being accused of plagiarism. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters delves deep within your body (and, to be fair, Ridley's too) looking for dirt dug up by the Human Genome Project. Each chapter pries one gene out of its chromosome and focuses on its role in our development and adult life, but also goes further, exploring the implications of genetic research and our quickly changing social attitudes toward this information. Genome shies away from the "tedious biochemical middle managers" that only a nerd could love and instead goes for the A-material: genes associated with cancer, intelligence, sex (of course), and more.

Here is a few pages of the book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/006...aRTHQxCmAN91L46ZXntPLG2R7domdRec=#reader-link

FIVE STARS - because of how interesting the subject matter is. DNA, it seems, isn't a brilliant piece of software to make bodies. It's more a committee of chemicals each trying to propogate themselves, and often at odds with the other chemicals in DNA (97% of which don't actually do anything!) And this is the stuff that to a large extent makes us US!

FIVE STARS - because of how well written some sections are. Chapter 4, for instance, which talks about the researcher who not only can tell you IF you're going to get Huntington's chorea, but can tell you what age you'll get it, simply by counting the number of times a particular gene sequence repeats. I was left haunted by the question, if I had a high risk for H.C., would I get the test done, simply to know when the symptoms would start?

FIVE STARS - Because of the research. This is the most up to date book on the subject available at the moment. He cites research done as close as 1998.


Imagine that the genome is a book.

There are twenty-three chapters, called Chromosomes.
Each chapter contains several thousand stories, called Genes.
Each story is made up of paragraphs, called Exons, which are interrupted by advertisements called Introns.
Each paragraph is made up of words, called Codons.
Each word is written in letters called Bases."

Very nicely done, brings it to an understandable level for the literate layperson, and establishes a very solid foundation from which he is able to unfold the rest of this story.


I've read mrnice to the end, and now I am on page 114 in GENOME. :woohoo:

You must read it, you will understand life better! It's a must.

Agnes
 
G

Guest

SQ : Connecting With Our Spiritual Intelligence
by Danah Zohar, Ian Marshall

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; 1st US ed edition (January 17, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN: 1582341311

1582341311.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


Amazon.com
The standard IQ test measures rational intelligence--the skills we use to solve logical or strategic problems. For a long time, IQ results were considered the best measurement of a person's smarts and potential for success. But in the early 1990s Daniel Goleman pointed out that success is also dependent on emotional intelligence--the thinking that gives us empathy, compassion, and the ability to respond appropriately to pain or pleasure. Now, at the end of the 20th century, authors Danah Zohar and Dr. Ian Mitchell claim that there is another important Q to consider--the SQ, otherwise known as Spiritual Intelligence. In fact, the authors assert that "SQ is the necessary foundation for both the IQ and the EQ. It is our ultimate intelligence." They have an excellent point. After all, computers have high IQ, animals often have high EQ, but only humans have SQ--the ability to be creative, change the rules, alter situations, and question why we are here. Because the authors are well-researched and highly articulate, the entire book makes for intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually compelling reading. Chapters include "The God Spot in the Brain," "How We Become Spiritually Stunted," "Six Paths Toward Greater Spiritual Intelligence," and "Assessing My SQ." --Gail Hudson--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...002-0394075-0862400?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Fantastic thing... In the end of Genome, authors are talking about the SAME thing as on the start of SQ.

Inside you have tests for yourself and A LOT of useful data, to understand life, yourself, existence...

Buy yourself this two books and you will be enlighted!!!!!

Agnes
 
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sparobis

Active member
Veteran
hello,
sparo prints paperback books for a living.....give me some author/titles and ill see if i can find them for you..must be relativly recent as i cant remeber what i print(we print 600 million books a year.if i can find them...ill get them to you...we print harlequin/silhoutte,pocket books,most all publishers.
peace
sparo
 
G

Guest

sparobis said:
hello,
sparo prints paperback books for a living.....give me some author/titles and ill see if i can find them for you..must be relativly recent as i cant remeber what i print(we print 600 million books a year.if i can find them...ill get them to you...we print harlequin/silhoutte,pocket books,most all publishers.
peace
sparo

:jawdrop:
 
G

Guest

I just wanted to say that I agree with omega that everyone should read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I read it a while ago before it was on oprah and it is probably my favorite book. I just got done reading the sequel to it called My friend Leonard and it wasnt too bad either. This is a really great thread because I love to read but have a hard time finding books I really like. Looks like I am going to have to run tot he bookstore for that mr nice book today!!
 

Cheeba

Member
nwODB said:
I just wanted to say that I agree with omega that everyone should read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I read it a while ago before it was on oprah and it is probably my favorite book. I just got done reading the sequel to it called My friend Leonard and it wasnt too bad either. This is a really great thread because I love to read but have a hard time finding books I really like. Looks like I am going to have to run tot he bookstore for that mr nice book today!!
My GF liked both the books.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...002-9927664-1537661?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
 
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