Books worth reading thread

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by cct1, Jul 10, 2014.

  1. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Ok, I read a fair amount, and I just started this last night. I haven't finished, but probably will tonight or tomorrow. Usually I wouldn't recommend a book before finishing it, but this one is damned good, AND, if you have Amazon Prime, currently it's free through the lending library:


    Amazon.com: Beast: The Top Secret Ilmor-Penske Race Car That Shocked the World at the 1994 Indy 500 eBook: Jade Gurss, Mario Illien: Books

    It won't be on Prime forever; usually they do this with a few good new books to drum up interest, and this is a damned good read, so I'll through it out there now even before I've finished it.

    "Beast" is about the 1994 Penske/Ilmor one-off engine that obliterated the field, when the rules where relaxed for Push-rod engines to bring them more in line with Overhead Cam engines--Penske/Ilmor followed the rules to the letter, although perhaps not the spirit of the rule, and dominated the 1994 race, which I remember well (as well as all the contoversy). But the book is much more than that--it's filled with interesting little anecdotes, like Parnelli Jones in the turbine car in 1967, taking his hand off the wheel and waving while passing Mario Andretti on the first lap, and Mario Andretti taking his hand off the wheel and flipping him off as he goes by...
     
  2. Norm03s

    Norm03s New Member

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    Hawaii by James A. Michener

    The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga
     
  3. minirab

    minirab Well-Known Member

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    Just finished Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. If you ever wanted to know

    what happened after "The Shining." :Thumbsup:
     
  4. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Life by Keith Richards. :Thumbsup:
     
  5. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    How does the lending library work? I have Prime, I'd like to read Beast.
     
  6. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    You have to have a Kindle to access it. It's the only reason I bought one...You can get the base kindle without light, for 69 bucks, but it often goes on sale for 49 bucks. I use the kindle app on my ipad all the time and love it, but unfortunately the only way you can access the lending library is through a kindle device (any kindle device--kindle fire, paperwhite, or base kindle).

    I wish they'd relax that so I could use my Mini ipad with the kindle app to read it, which is what I use for most books, but so far Amazon hasn't budged on it.

    For me, I use Prime so much anyway, the book thing is a nice bonus, and it was worth picking up the cheapest kindle for--it's what I take with me to the pool if the kids are going swimming, or any place where I really don't want to take my Mini Ipad.

    You get one free book per month from the Lending Library, and the library is limited, but usually I can find a great book once a month, and that pays for my prime right there (I read a fair amount).
     
  7. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Alright, since this thread may actually go somewhere...I read one "deep" book and one guilty pleasure book at a time, and go through a fair amount of both (Beast is my guilty pleasure book at the moment, "Wilson" my deep book, I'll review it when I'm finished, as it's very,very good. And very, very long).

    I just finished a book "Console Wars", about the Sega/Nintendo wars; a light read, but very, very good, also humerous, especially if you grew up with those console platforms. It starts with Nintendo, goes through the growth of Sega, then ends with Sony coming on the scene.

    Last months Prime book for me was "The Big Short--The Doomsday Machine", which was
    outstanding. Written by Micheal Lewis (The Blind Side), it goes through the Wall Street crash of 2007-2008, and into the lending market, CDO's, etc. and how they all lead to the crash. It takes a very complex (for me) topic and makes it easy to understand--well-written, often very funny and highly entertaining. It's still in the Prime Lending Library.

    For guilty pleasure books, I recently went on a "Deadliest Catch" binge (my wife and one of my kids are addicted, sad but true); The "Time Bandit" book is worth reading, the Phil Harris book isn't, Sig Hansen's book is very good, Jake Anderson's book is very good, and, of the entire bunch, Scott Campbell's book (Giving the finger) is by far the best. They're all quick reads, and fun if you're a fan of the show.

    Once I finish "Beast", my next guilty pleasure book will be "Black Noon", I'm on kind of an Indy 500 kick at the moment.
     
  8. Stefanie

    Stefanie Well-Known Member

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    I'm on a geek kick and have been reading the Walking Dead graphic novels on Kindle. I was a little skeptical at first about how graphic novels would translate onto that platform, but it's done pretty well IMO.

    The books I've read lately that stick out in my mind are "I, Claudius" by Robert Graves and "Shogun" by James Clavell. I tried "Tai Pan" and "Noble House" as well but wasn't as into those.

    I'm really curious about "Doctor Sleep." At one point when I was younger I was huge on Stephen King. I'll have to take a peek at it. :)
     
  9. Code3_Mini

    Code3_Mini New Member

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    I keep starting "Black Hawk Down" and getting about three quarters of the way through it before I have to put it down to do something else. Problem is, that book is so in-depth I forget what has happened or where I was, and I start all over. I need picture pop-up books.
     
  10. Friskie

    Friskie Well-Known Member

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    Since Nathan started this forum and employed Motoring in the moniker, here are three that have prominent space on my book shelf that are pure motoring texts. I read very little now because of vision challenges but these three have been off the shelf several times.
    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Persig
    Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon
    and Roads to Quoz by William Least Heat Moon
    Another of his books, more colloquial than the first two is PrairyErth which is centered around the Tall Grass Prairie (fantastic top down, day trip motoring roads).
     
  11. INIMINI

    INIMINI New Member

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    MINI Cooper Owners Manual...
     
  12. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    The Bentley manual is better and I use it often.

    I use an app on my iPad called Kobo for reading books and I like it.
     
  13. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Ben Collins (the Stig) book, "the Man in the White Suit", is only $1.99 today, so I finally bought it...that doesn't require Prime, and you can read it on any tablet with the free kindle app.
     
  14. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Under and Alone:
    The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang
     
  15. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    That one makes my guilty pleasure wish list, thanks!
     
  16. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Finished "Beast" a couple of days ago, I couldn't put it down...

    It's as good or better than what I originally thought. It's very well written, and very well organized (no spoilers, there's some really good stuff in there and I don't want to ruin it for anyone). It's roughly organized like this: It starts with a bit of background, then explains on the how/why the pushrod rules where changed, including the politics, the politics of Penske building the engine, including how Ilmor and Mercedes got involved, the actual development of the engine itself on the bench (with plenty of diagrams), track testing and refining the engine with the test drivers, Indy qualifying, the race itself (tons here--learned what was really going on with the drivers, much of what happened with both Unser's and Fittapaldi's drive was unkown to me, and the aftermath of what happened with the pushrod--lot's of politics there, and how it all turly played out is much more interesting than how it's perceived.

    But there was so much more going on--it delves into the very beginning of the CART/IRL split which ruined what was at the time a healthy, economically strong series; Rahal switching to Honda engines (and back), USAC's role in the series, etc. There is some great tidbits in this book that I'm avoiding writing about with great difficulty so as not to spoil it.

    If you are fan of the Indy 500, or if you were a fan back before the CART/IRL split, this is a must read IMHO--although I got it free on prime, it's well worth buying if you don't have access to prime.
     
  17. rum4

    rum4 Club Coordinator
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    Black Hawk Down is a great book.
    Tom Clancy - Rainbow Six
    Bravo Two Zero

    For anyone that rides motorcycles, especially touring bikes try this book; Maximum Control: Mastering Your Heavyweight Bike - Pat Hahn
     
  18. minirab

    minirab Well-Known Member

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    Just finishing up "The Gods of Guilt" by Michael Connelly. Its his latest

    in the Lincoln Lawyer series. A good one.
     
  19. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Finished the Ben Collins book last week, a little disappointing--still a good read for a Top Gear fan, but there could have been a bit more Top Gear, and a lot less army training. The beginning was very good though--about his coming up through F3 and F2 -- that was a pleasant surprise.

    Currently still reading "Wilson", and have gotten a good ways into "Black Noon". "Black Noon" is every bit as good as "The Beast,;" reading these two almost back to back is a very nice treat. Strongly recommend both.
     
  20. minirab

    minirab Well-Known Member

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    "The Troop" by Nick Cutter, old school horror at its best.
     

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