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Festus
Mountain climber
Enron by the Sea
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Dec 14, 2007 - 01:04pm PT
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It had dwarfs, trolls, wizards, vampires, and a talking dog, among other characters, so your immediate reaction is probably
"Thanks but no thanks, Moonbeam, and careful with that thing, you're about to spill bongwater on your paisley bellbottoms."
But it, and the whole series it's part of, is really about politics, technology, and, er, human nature.
The book was The Truth, by Terry Pratchett, one in his Discworld series. I've read four or five of them (there are a few dozen, I think). The first one I read (Guards! Guards!) I thought was entertaining, and pretty damn funny. But four books later I'm here callin' it brilliant, and seriously damn funny!
The effect is cumulative, the characters grow from book to book, and your understanding of the politics and society of the place's largest city, Anhk-Morpork, gets to the point where you're laughing every few pages (at least), at the same time you're realizing you're in the hands of one helluva writer/social critic.
I read Guards! Guards!, then Jingo, then The Fifth Elephant, then Reaper Man, and now this, and that was more than a good enough introduction to Discworld. Sadly, I just read yesterday that Pratchett has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers. Give him a read or two, you won't regret it.
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the Fet
Knackered climber
A bivy sack in the secret campground
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Dec 14, 2007 - 02:12pm PT
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I'm reading Life of Pi too, I'm halfway through and it's been boring so far. If he doesn't end up battling a tiger stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean I'm gonna be pissed.
Before that was Don't Know Much about the Bible. That was excellent. Knowing that history gave me a lot of insight into why things are the way they are now.
Before that was the His Dark Materials trilogy. Of which the first book was just made into the movie Golden Compass. The movie was good, but the book was better. Very smart and imaginative.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 14, 2007 - 02:35pm PT
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From Dallas Murphy's Rounding the Horn;
"I watched from a stable, elevated viewpoint, an albatross eye at masthead height off his starboard quarter. The seas were lethal, seething forty-footers with streaks of crazy spume tearing down their faces. Jarli sat at the tiller of his little boat- it had blue topsides- running under bare poles before the wind and seas without a chance of survival. Jarli knew it; I knew it. A breaking wave higher than the rest soon lifted the stern, pointed the bow at the bottom, and for an instant the boat hung there. Jarli glanced astern, his face calm, watching the wave curl with a seaman's interest. He didn't seem frightened, that's what struck me, as if he'd known his whole life that he would die young at sea, and now with the moment at hand he was curious about the shape of the wave. He released the tiller- no more steering to be done- and leaned back against the lifelines as it broke over his head."
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 14, 2007 - 02:39pm PT
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The Little Sister, by Raymond Chandler.
Not his best book, but Chandler's so good, and that coming from a former English major who's read his fill of Joyce, Faulker, Dostoyevsky, etc. No one captures LA, the good and the bad, better.
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purplesage
Trad climber
Bend, OR
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Dec 14, 2007 - 02:50pm PT
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The Path Between the Seas by McCullough. Long detailed history of the Panama Canal. Be a good choice for a long dark winter.
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wbw
climber
'cross the great divide
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Dec 14, 2007 - 02:51pm PT
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Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson. I had never read any of his well-known books, and thought this would be one that I would enjoy. He was originally from the east end of Louisville, Kentucky, as am I, so I thought there would also be some experiences that I could relate to (even though we are of two different generations).
At first, his totally anti-authority and anti-establishment attitudes were funny, as were the characterizations of some of his experiences. But by the end of the book, his paranoid, egocentric, jaded rantings turned out to be pretty boring, and his experiences probably more fantasy than fact. He really seemed to hate everything by the time of his death.
The latest edition of the AAJ (there I was, climbing overhanging verglas on my single-push ascent of my new VII,5.12,A4+,WI6, blah, blah, blah) is a better read.
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Richard
climber
Bend, OR.
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Dec 14, 2007 - 03:12pm PT
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A re-read of Exodus by Leon Uris
GREAT book!
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maestro8
Trad climber
Sunnyvale, CA
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Dec 14, 2007 - 03:12pm PT
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A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.
Insanely funny, and I mean insane. Batshiat crazy. Nuts. Loved it.
The main character is someone you'll never forget. Truly a piece of work.
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TheDullEnd
Trad climber
Davis, CA
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Dec 14, 2007 - 03:39pm PT
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To really up the intellectual ante:
"Death or Glory" Sandy Mitchell
Covers the liberation of the planet Perlia from an orc army by the Imperial Commissar Ciaphas Cain.
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andy@climbingmoab
Big Wall climber
Park City, UT
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Dec 14, 2007 - 06:07pm PT
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Confederacy of Dunces is a great book. He wrote one before that called the Neon Bible that I would also recommend, though it isn't nearly as good as CoD.
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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
Meyers,CA
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Dec 14, 2007 - 06:55pm PT
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Just finished reading The Perfect Man by Naeem Murr. Before that it was The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. Now I'm juggling the second half of Che and Flags of our Fathers, while kinda rereading From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank by Joshua Tickell
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Dec 14, 2007 - 07:03pm PT
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hey there... say, jody, most folks dont read that... i had that on my list too--it helped concerning the loss of my dear auntie.... seems the good book does a lot more good than folks realize, at times...
and then, of course, my good ol' book is one of the last i have read... welllllll, and maybe a little kid's story i just shared with my stepgrandaughter...
folks may learn of my book, at:
http://jj-ns.read-jake-and-donate.com
seizure awareness... and head injury awareness... tongue-loss... speach loss... sign-language... fraternal twins ... ranch life...mentoring young kids... all short fiction stories...
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Maysho
climber
Truckee, CA
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Dec 14, 2007 - 07:18pm PT
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on the last chapters of four books right now, Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan,
An Alchemy of Mind by Diane Ackerman, The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra, and
Plan B 2.0 - Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble by Lester Brown. All are excellent and recommended. I keep beginning the last chapter of the latter two books and get sucked back into rereading earlier sections as I am so excited about and seeking to systemize my understanding of the material and the applications to my work. To relax my mind to go to sleep sometimes I re- read Harry Potter books -- there I admitted it!
Peter
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scuffy b
climber
Stump with a backrest
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Dec 14, 2007 - 07:27pm PT
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I guess the last one I read was Yosemite in the 60s.
It's a good read (though there's very little text)
and it has a couple nice pictures of Mister E.
I seem to be in a slump, not much real reading these days.
Yosguns, I think you will probably enjoy Dubliners more than
Portrait...
I've read that collection several times but couldn't gain traction with Portrait.
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sheepdog
Trad climber
just over the hill
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Dec 14, 2007 - 07:33pm PT
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I'm re-reading books lately...I would recommend Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. This is the first of a series by O'Brian that ended up being his life's work. It took me awhile to get in the zone here, as they're written with the attitudes, perspectives and language of the early 19th century. The writing is outstanding.
In the same vein I'll second the recommendations of Raymond Chandler's books. And for that matter, Cormac McCarthy's; my favorites are Sutree and/or the Orchard Keeper, both set in Tennessee (before his move to El Paso).
All these should be gathering dust on the local library shelves...so check 'em out...
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Dec 14, 2007 - 07:36pm PT
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hey there jody... awwwww... say, remember now... it is DIFFERENT, for a reason... ;) :)
say....
it is also made to be read over and over in the future, as "after thoughts", when things arise in daily life...
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Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
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Dec 14, 2007 - 07:48pm PT
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confederacy OD is/was a great read- whacky good fun.
it's been awhile, but the best fiction i've read in a bit was the kite runner. set in afganistan and pakistan, good book.
(you people out there with brown people issues ought to give that one a go, might make a more complete human of you in some way).
have not yet finished but highly recommend the omnivore's dilemma by michael pollan (author of boany of desire, another fantastic book). the former is about industrial food production and is both disturbing and enlightening, but also empowering as you will know more than perhaps you want to about the packaged food in american supermarkets (go read it, i dare you!)
my wife just read a great book, i'll post that up later...
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Chalkpaw
climber
Flag, AZCO
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Dec 14, 2007 - 07:50pm PT
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"Deeper" by Jeff Long. I haven't read fiction for awhile, been buried in books about the Middle East. Three Cups of Tea was good. Also Rory Stuart is telling some good tales. Much different report that CNN.
I first read JL in my early climbing days. I bought a just released Ascent in 1984 and in it was a short story called Angels of Light. It was so vivid how he described those two guys, Tinkerbell and oh shoot, what was the other guys name? About how he took that epic fall and could hear the pieces zippering out. It really set the hook in me . Anyway, I was in the library and his name on the cover caught my eye. So far, is pretty fun. Monsters and caves, how cool is that? I'll have to check out his other books once I have finished this one.
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Risk
Mountain climber
Minkler, CA
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Dec 14, 2007 - 09:23pm PT
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“Peter the Great, His Life and World,” Robert K. Massie. Over 800 pages and rural phonebook sized. I bought it, and when it arrived, I was turned off by its enormity. Literarily after the first paragraph, I was hooked. I read it slowly and carefully, and as expected, the end came too soon. This book will bring you across Europe and Russia from about 1670 to 1725 when Russia became a true player in world affairs. This guy, Czar Peter I, really did deserve to be called “the great.” Read it and you will agree. Exemplary.
Now I am in the middle of “The Rasputin File,” Edvard Radzinsky. Thought I would put it down too, but it is the only book I have at hand unread. Turning out to be much more interesting than I would have ever imagined. Downright spooky, really. A filthy, peasant monk from Siberia changing the course of history?
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