:: 29 comments (rss)

1. posted by Andy on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 9:13 am

   http://www.amazon.com/Whatever.....amp;sr=8-1

2. posted by Chester on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 9:21 am

   If you never ended up getting around to it, go back to Quicksilver and the rest of “The Baroque Cycle”. That should keep you occupied for a while.

3. posted by Alexis on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 10:00 am

   i realy loved the Amber chronicles http://www.amazon.com/Great-Bo.....amp;sr=1-1

   if you like this kind of fantasy i’ll make a huge list

   how do you like your kindle? can you read it for hours as if it was paper or do your eyes get tired ? i may get one myself if you recomend it

4. posted by Giles Shaxted on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 10:46 am

   I have been liking Raymound Khoury recently The Last Templar in particular. I then went back to Dan Brown to read Angels and Demons If you would like some lighter reading the <a href”http://www.mikegayle.co.uk/ title”Mike Gayle”>Mike Gayle is a fantastic bloke version of chick books like Bridget Jones .. hilarious and kinda inciteful to most peoples lives.

   Apart from those the only thing I have read in the last year has been Harry Potter.

5. posted by Giles Shaxted on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 10:49 am

   damnit my hyperlinks didn’t work .. and you can’t edit posts even when signed in .. sorry !

6. posted by echeng on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 2:11 pm

   Giles — your hyperlinks weren’t entered in properly. Not sure how you entered them.

   You need some equal signs in there!

7. posted by Mike V on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 7:31 pm

   Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time series… 12 long books

8. posted by Linda Cline on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 10:01 pm

   Remember me, from the Bandito?? (Day 1) Ah well… I have been enjoying my Kindle. I have recently pleasured in reading a couple of Khaled Housseini’s books, especially The Kite Runner as well as A Thousand Splendid Suns. Have started reading Sex Lives of Cannibals, which, as a world traveler, you might appreciate as well. But one of the best series I have read recently (aside from re-reading the Harry Potter books) was the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. If you are a fan of King’s, it is a must.

   Linda

9. posted by marc v on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 10:11 pm

   Currently reading Three Cups of Tea. Water for Elephants is next. Also re-reading Angela’s Ashes.

10. posted by Linda Cline on Thu, October 02, 2008 @ 10:14 pm

    One more that I really need to recommend: Journey of the Pink Dolphins by Sy Montgomery. Beautifully written, and an intriguing story.

    Linda

11. posted by echeng on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 12:19 am

    Thanks, everyone, for all of the suggestions so far!

    Andy: Whatever You Do, Don’t Run — purchased.

    Chester: Hmmm. Not sure if I can stomach another pass. However, I guess a few months trapped on a boat might give me enough energy to do it.

    Alexis: Looks intriguing! It’s not available for Kindle, but I’ll figure out a way. I like the Kindle. It’s low-contrast, like newspaper, but with enough light, it’s fantastic. The buttons are sort of easy to press on accident. Overall, I like it better than the Sony Reader, except for its form factor. Sony can fit anywhere. You have to BRING the Kindle, explicitly.

    Giles: Dan Brown makes me sick because he manipulates you so blatantly. Also, the writing sort of sucks. But I read most of his books while commuting in the subway already. I’ll check out the others!

    Mike V: Read ‘em all. Had to start from the beginning when the last book was released, because I had already forgotten so much.

    Linda: Of course I remember you. :) I read The Kite Runner on one of my last trips, but haven’t gotten through A Thousand Splendid Suns, yet. Bought Sex Live of Cannibals just now. There is an article on the reefs of Kiribati in one of the recent issues of National Geographic. The underwater photos were crap, but the article was an interesting read.

    Marc v: Three Cups of Tea. Looks fantastic. Purchased.

12. posted by Mike V on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 12:27 am

    did the last one get released yet? i have to start at beginning too

13. posted by echeng on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 2:00 am

    I don’t think the last one was released. The thought of starting over again is overwhelming. :)

14. posted by enjelani on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 2:12 am

    have you read The Omnivore’s Dilemma? (Kindle Store link)

    love Michael Pollan’s writing. bet you’ll want to hunt wild boar after reading the last section. :)

15. posted by echeng on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 2:25 am

    Hey, enj! Yes, I have read that, and also In Defense of Food. I really enjoyed them, and now I can’t eat anything without thinking far too much. ;)

16. posted by Alec Connah on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 5:01 am

    Hi Eric,

    Might I recommend ‘Song for the Blue Ocean’ by Carl Safina [a classic]and perhaps ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ by Nathaniel Philbrick.

    Have a good trip!

    Cheers, Alec.

17. posted by norm on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 6:55 am

    I hope you don’t mind me poaching a bunch of these book ideas? I emptied my kindle on my last trip and it’s time to reload.

    The other book I read recently on it was ‘Your Inner Fish’ (http://tinyurl.com/4m8svs) Quick read, but interesting.

18. posted by Hector Garza on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 7:39 am

    Hi Eric. I recently read and enjoyed the following books: Buddhist Symbols by Tatjana Blau and Mirabai Blau. The Bhagavad Gita.

    Also, I enjoyed Insomnia by Stephen King, and Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub.

19. posted by Linda Cline on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 8:10 am

    Hmmm, I just noticed that Journey of the Pink Dolphins doesn’t seem to be available as a Kindle book. I had gotten it as an eReader book for my Palm years ago, and just converted it for my Kindle, but the eReader version isn’t available any longer either. Sorry about that; I’ll send you an email.

    Also read Water for Elephants and it was an enjoyable and fast read.

    Coming up in my reading queue are Hot, Flat and Crowded, and Edgar Sawtelle.

20. posted by echeng on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 10:21 am

    Norm - ABSOLUTELY NOT! These are MY recommendations! ;)

    Alec - Norbert Wu sent me Song for the Blue Ocean as a physical book. I can’t find it for the Kindle, but am excited to read it…

21. posted by norm on Fri, October 03, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

    Damn! How do I un-buy kindle books?

22. posted by enjelani on Sat, October 04, 2008 @ 12:40 am

    ah, forgive my spotty memory (re: Pollan).

    you might enjoy The Rest Is Noise…i’ve only read snippets, but it looks fascinating.

23. posted by Carolina on Sat, October 04, 2008 @ 3:02 pm

    Hi Eric, are you going away with Sea Shepard? I can’t wait to hear about the adventure… another type of read that I just finished and I have to say I’m impressed is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, I just loved it. Carolina

24. posted by Karen L. on Mon, October 06, 2008 @ 5:02 pm

    Two high recommendations: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_(novel)), and The Alienist by Caleb Carr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alienist).

    I recently read People of the Book by Geraldine Books and quite enjoyed it. I also read Water for Elephants — it’s a fast read and enjoyable, but nothing special.

25. posted by Matt on Tue, October 07, 2008 @ 7:21 am

    Some good brain food to stop the rot - Jared Diamond’s Collapse and Guns’ Germs and Steel http://tinyurl.com/5yh62q http://tinyurl.com/4pp4zd

26. posted by echeng on Tue, October 07, 2008 @ 9:22 am

    OK, so I grabbed The Rest Is Noise. I’ve had Collapse on my reader for a long time now. The hardback book was way too large to travel with, so it has been just sitting on my shelf for years. (I really enjoyed Guns, Germs and Steel).

    My dad recommended The Swarm, which he is reading in Chinese now, but I think he is going to switch to the English translation.

27. posted by Mark B. on Wed, October 08, 2008 @ 11:18 pm

    Eric: Lots in your list, but may I mention a few that I’ve enjoyed or want to read?

    The Snow Leopard–one of my bedtime reads (and rereads). Journal of Mathiessen’s journey into the Himalaya with the animal biologist George Schaller, some very moving passages, some interesting encounters on the Tibetan plateau.

    Embarrassment of Riches–encyclopedic look at Dutch civilization.

    Various books by Witold Rybczynski–my introduction to him was Home, but he’s written other books that have interested me.

    –Mark B.

28. posted by echeng on Fri, October 10, 2008 @ 5:25 pm

    Thanks, Mark. I’ve put in a request for a Kindle version of The Snow Leopard. Looks like a good read…

29. posted by echeng on Thu, November 20, 2008 @ 5:45 pm

    Linda — I read The Sex Lives of Cannibals, and it was HILARIOUS. One of my favorites, now. :)

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