Happiness is..... a good book

[geneva_sativa]

I can't ever stop reading I'm right up there with you DickAnubis in frequency.
My favorite so far this year: The Magus by John Fowles

Light in August by William Faulkner
Shadow country - Peter Mathiesson
^good southern US fiction

The snow leopard - Peter Mathiesson - loved this one so much I read it twice. Can't recommend it enough. The quote by Carl Jung sent shivers up my spine...head exploded and all that. The descriptions of the sherpas and porters I try to remember daily.

I love Burroughs as a writer the cut up method is fun to read and write with. Sometimes there's just no other way to describe it. I read Nova Express recently and think this one is my favorite of his. Remember I was carbon dioxide, meester william...

Read the Snow Leopard in high school and just re read it again 2 years ago.

That book is fantastic. . . feels like you are with him every step. A masterpiece. Such vivid feeling from his words.

I will have to check into his fiction, and the Magus.

 

[geneva_sativa]

Goatwalking by Jim Corbett was another one that I have enjoyed and keep in my collection.

You can find a copy in a bigger used bookstore or online, cause it been outta print for a long while.

He passed a while ago, but Jim was a Quaker goatherd that founded the Sanctuary movement, shepherding people safely through the Sonoran desert, who were fleeing the U.S. sponsored genocides in Central America in early 80's.

Quirky and amazing book. Part goat husbandry, philosophy, and the story of an underground railroad through the desert.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov.
It's what we in the 70's called a tripbook , and this is a long way trip...

 

[Bongo Fury]

siddartha by herman hesse..... the teachings of don juan by carlos castenada( whole series )... jesus lived in india by? meetings with remarkable men by gurdjieff

wizard of earthsea by ursula le guin

The teaching of don Juan is a book that really changed my life when I was 20 . I began to think that our way of see the world is not the only one, and how natives see it. I began to think like animal do ( in a positive way ) and not to take all as wellknown. People think I' m a bothanic when I show them the datura plant and tell them it's properties. Me and some friends also did grow some Peyote , buyed in Croatia , with bad results...

 

[Bongo Fury]

Any of you guys likes comics too ? What about "The Incal" by Moebius / Jodorowsky . A lot of people here likes SF , you must have read the Incal !
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incal

 

[Green Squall]

I can't ever stop reading I'm right up there with you DickAnubis in frequency.
My favorite so far this year: The Magus by John Fowles

Light in August by William Faulkner
Shadow country - Peter Mathiesson
^good southern US fiction

The snow leopard - Peter Mathiesson - loved this one so much I read it twice. Can't recommend it enough. The quote by Carl Jung sent shivers up my spine...head exploded and all that. The descriptions of the sherpas and porters I try to remember daily.

I love Burroughs as a writer the cut up method is fun to read and write with. Sometimes there's just no other way to describe it. I read Nova Express recently and think this one is my favorite of his. Remember I was carbon dioxide, meester william...

I read The Snow Leopard many years ago. I seem to remember someone in the book who would dry joints with hash oil on their clothes line lol.

I really love the Aubrey-Maturin series. My favorite books of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey–Maturin_series

 

[furrywall11]

That's so funny I was just talking to someone about new wave music and Laurie Anderson came up. I was born in '79 so my mom was the one who listened to it but, she left an impression and I picked her up again in my late teens... she's completely original. Love her stuff. "This is the captain speaking...put your hands on your hips...put your hips on your hands.." lol..

If someone hasn't already mentioned it, and even so it deserves mentioning again, anything and everything by Tom Robbin's is the bomb. Check out Still Life with Woodpecker..Another Roadside Attraction...Jitterbug Perfume. These are best to read yourself--not on audiobook.

A lot of people have recommended "How to win friends and..." so I finally went on Amazon and picked it up...we'll see.


And...books that changed my life: anything by TR, Robert Anton Wilson, Christopher S. Hyatt, Alan Watts. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole pick up Undoing yourself with Energized Meditation and other devices and follow the treasure map.

 

[Green Squall]

Underworld Of The East: The Long Lost Classic Of Drug Literature.

"This is the remarkable story of James Lee who, starting in 1895, spent 20 years pursuing all the pleasures and dangers that the Far East had to offer. A twilight world of ports, red light districts, drug dens and secret chambers of vice from Aden to Kyoto."

This book is nuts. He's the HST of his time!

 

[Katsu]

George RR Martin
Robert Jordan
Joe Abercrombie
Brandon Sanderson
Patrick Rothfuss
Robert McCammon
Harlan Coben
Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child
Michael Connelly
Lee Child
Brad Thor
Carl Hiaasen
Tim Dorsey
Jim Butcher
Robin Hobb
Michael Crichton
James Rollins
Christopher Moore

Some of my favorites...

 

[_tessarecting]

In the realm of hungry ghosts by Gabor Maté

 

[Katsu]

George RR Martin
Brandon Sanderson
Robert Jordan
Tim Dorsey
Carl Hiaasen
Michael Connelly
Lincoln Child/Douglas Preston
Robert McCammon
Stephen King
Harlan Coben
Jim Butcher
Bernard Cromwell
Brad Thor
Michael Crichton
John Sanford
James Rollins
Lee Child
Joe Abercrombie
Robin Hobb
Robert Ludlum
Patrick Rothfuss
Christopher Moore
Leon Uris

 

[Coughie]

George RR Martin
Brandon Sanderson
Robert Jordan

I couldn't agree more!

 

[Katsu]

Read Patrick Rothfuss - he's a couple books in to what is going to be a classic epic fantasy.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[johnnyavacado]

"Crooked Little Vein" by Warren Ellis.

Only ~115 total pages, but worth its weight in literary gold.

 

[Shmavis]

Read Patrick Rothfuss - he's a couple books in to what is going to be a classic epic fantasy.

No doubt about that. How much longer must we wait for the third installment?!?!?

His word flow is truly a work of art.

 

[konopenko]

Lovely thread dear canna-readers..I admit I never heard of most novelist noted here. Before I met Hemingway, Orwell..I thought west cant produce quality writter. Russian giants like Dostojevski, Gogolj, Tolstoj, Šolohov (Tihi Don+) were my only books for many years. I am reading mainly historic books, military Yugoslav, Slovene and Russian biografies of famous generals (Zhukov+), Stane Semič Daki...
I must read whole opus de A. Solzhenicin one day, for winter I advice tales-novels de Siberia..Vladimir Korolenko

 

[Tynehead Tom]

the book that opened up my imagination at 9 years old was the paperpack 1979 edition, Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. All 3 books in one big ass paperback. Sits on my shelf today, one of my most prized posessions.

the book that opened my mind..... Be Here Now by ram dass , accompanied by heavy doses of very pure LSD and mushrooms while in the back ground the sounds of cream, cat stevens, satchmo and many others set the mood LOL

later in life i grounded myself with a full read thru of the celestine prophecies and in the past decade, A Reasonable Life by author Ferenc Mate..... a must read.

there are others.... but those come to mind.

 

[Cadfael]

I do the audiobook thing. Great way to work around the garden and/or trim.

Been listening to Michael Pollan's books on Food and organic farming. His book, "The Botany of Desire" covers the human history and interaction of four different plants: Apple, Tulip, Cannabis, and Potato.

I want to pick up Wendell Berry's books about farm life in middle america. Every snippet I have came across is very profound.

Nick Offerman's books "Paddle your own Canoe" and "Gumption" are also great, and have the bonus of him narrating them.

Sarah Vowell's works on quirky American History "Assassination Vacation" "Wordy Shipmates" are wonderful.

 

[SuperWeed]

I do the audiobook thing. Great way to work around the garden and/or trim.

Been listening to Michael Pollan's books on Food and organic farming. His book, "The Botany of Desire" covers the human history and interaction of four different plants: Apple, Tulip, Cannabis, and Potato.

I want to pick up Wendell Berry's books about farm life in middle america. Every snippet I have came across is very profound.

Nick Offerman's books "Paddle your own Canoe" and "Gumption" are also great, and have the bonus of him narrating them.

Sarah Vowell's works on quirky American History "Assassination Vacation" "Wordy Shipmates" are wonderful.

Audiobooks have revolutionized my life. Here is a list of books that affected me, how and why.

Dune - Frank Herbert. Even a man can become a God.

The Science of Getting Rich - W. Clement Stone. I was introduced to this book as a young man by a rich man. I read it, had a falling out with the boss, left it behind and promptly forgot about it. I only just read it again about a year ago. As I listened, I could follow along as if I had read it a thousand times. I knew at once that I had read it as a young man. I can say with certainty, that some of the ideas burned into my subconscious by this book, have been solely responsible for almost any success I have attained in my life, thus far. As if by accident, I put the principles into place and followed them, haphazardly. I shouldn't wonder where my life would be now, had I followed the work, to the letter...

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand. A former business partner sent this to me while I was in prison. It made me realize that I was destined to be a John Galt and that my desire to obtain fortune by productive enterprise was not in fact a sin, instead I was a man to be admired.

The Founding Fathers on Leadership - I read this before and after prison and it made me realize that I am living in history, and that standing up for what I believe in is the only thing to do, even if it means my imprisonment or death.

The 4 Hour Workweek - Tim Ferris. I read this book and immediately began making changes in my life to reduce my workload and make more money.

Time Management Made Simple - Brian Tracy. I hope to meet this man someday as well. He really helped me organize and discipline myself.

The Bhagavad Gita, The Bible - There are nuggets of wisdom in between the scary stories.

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon HIll. This one has given me faith in myself, that I never thought possible. Every millionaire has read this book.

How to be a 3% Man - Coach Corey Wayne. This man has practical advice for being the kind of man a woman will love. It has helped in my marriage.

Acres of Diamonds - About keeping your eyes open for the opportunities in your own backyard.

The Magic Story - about how great life can be when you partner with the universe.

The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham. One of Warren Buffets mentors. I first read about him in a book called The Einstein of Money.

How to Win Friends and Influence People &
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living - Dale Carnegie. Oh my Dear Dale, you have saved me from a life of quiet desperation.

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life - Dr Daniel Amen. Daniel, you gave a name to the demon, so I could tame it. Thank you.

Anything by Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Jim Rogers, Anthony Robbins. So many others. I have listened to over 500 books in the last year. Like Zig Ziglar said - "Turn you car into a university on wheels".

 

[therevverend]

I read Perdido Street Station by China Mieville a while back. Something I can recommend on a cannabis website. One of the better fantasy I've read in a while. Very creative the author comes up with some interesting fictional drugs, the important one being called 'dreamshit'.
The technology is Steampunk equivalent to our level but with magic and a lot of anachronisms that I doubt would work in real life. Besides humans there are multiple races of humanoid creatures. One is khepri, the Scarab headed Egyptian God. The females have human bodies and scarab beetle heads. The males are mindless beetles that behave like insects. Eating and reproducing.
I wasted a bit of time thinking about the evolution involved but the plot supplied a convincing alternative. Parts of the planet are contaminated by chaos itself. I imagine it could do a number on many plant and animal species.
The environment and the city the book takes place in are polluted and sleazy. The author's style fits perfectly does a tremendous job of describing it in a unique narrative style.
Plot drags at time, author makes some questionable choices, blah blah it's not perfect. Still a really good read.