Book thread.

1069 · 05-20-07, 11:32 PM

This is the thread for discussing books of all genres.

Please post about your favorite books and authors, including if possible a brief synopsis and review of the book you're posting about, so that perhaps others will be inspired to go buy it and read it.

I have so many favorite books I'm not sure where to start, so I'll let somebody else go first, telling us about their favorite book or author.

I will say that a book I haven't read yet, but looking forward to reading, is "Jesus Land", a memoir by Julia Scheeres.
Has anybody here read it yet? If so, let me know how you liked it.

"Jesus Land" describes the author's experiences growing up in an emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive fundamentalist Christian household in the 1980s.
It also describes her relationship with her adopted brother David, and the racism he faced in their small, devout rural midwestern community (he was black).

By the time Julia and David were in their early teens, Julia had embarked upon a path of sexual promiscuity and David was attempting suicide.
Their parents responded to these behaviors by shipping the two of them off to the Escuela Caribe, a horribly abusive Christian reform school in the Dominican Republic, where they remained for years.
David later died in a car accident at twenty.

Anyway, this is probably the next book I'm going to buy, because I like well-written memoirs, and this one is very well-written; I've read excerpts. Plus, the author's life actually seems fairly eventful and interesting, and many of her claims- certainly those about the abuse at the notorious Escuela Caribe- are backed up by many independent sources.
So anyway, that's what I'm gonna read next, and I'll post a review when I'm done.

Now, tell about your favorite books.

RightinNYC · 05-21-07, 12:43 AM

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan.

jallman · 05-21-07, 05:14 AM

Oh...I L-O-V-E book threads!!!

I just finished reading Wicked by Gregory MaGuire and it is, quite possibly, one of the best books I have read since The Fountainhead.. It follows the life of the Wicked Witch of the West and how she came to be so wicked. The dynamics of the fictional land of Oz's politics, religion, and struggles for equality are inspected with such articulate precision that I found myself closing the book from time to time just think for a few moments about how I view the real world. The examination of good and evil, which is the underlying conflict of the book, is as antagonizing to the reader as it is to the characters.

Even though the exposition of the work is cartoonish, the result is not some children's yarn revived in adult prose. It is a powerful argument which has influenced me to question where passion and apathy fall on the chart of good and evil.

bhkad · 05-21-07, 09:16 AM

Great thread!

I hope you don't hold it against me for not writing the review myself when one has already been written and it is almost as informative as the book, itself!

Quote:

March 6, 2007
Book Review - "Future Jihad" - Part 1: The Logic of Jihad

If you want answers to these questions

- Who are the terrorists?
- What exactly do they want to achieve?
- What did they expect to happen after 9-11?
- Why did they attack us?
- Do they have a global strategy and if so what is it?
- Are they at war with us? If so, since when?
- Why didn't we know they were coming?
- Who obstructed our knowedge about them and continues to do so?
- Do they wish to destroy us or absorb us?
- Is it possible to conclude peace with them?
- Do they have allies and if so whom? If not now, who might they seek out as allies?
- Do they want to attack the West and United States before they accomplish their goals in the Muslim world or afterwards?

...and many more questions

Then run to your local bookstore and buy Walid Phares' Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against the West.

This is simply the best book I have read so far about our current war hands down. As such, I am not going to give it my usual one-post review, but will summarize the book sections at a time. Today's topic; "Who Are the Terrorists?"

Don't get me wrong, there are other books that I highly recommend. Mark Steyn's America Alone, Melanie Phillips Londonistan, Bill Bennett's Why We Fight , and Richard Miniter's Disinformation are must-reads.

But if there is only one book that you read, let it be Future Jihad. Like America Alone and Londonistan, it's not a particularly encouraging book.

The bottom line to what Phares has to say is this; the enemy is much bigger, better organized and has much clearer goals than most people imagine. If you think that the only people out to get us are Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, you're only seeing a tiny part of the picture.

The point is that people we consider "terrorists" are only a part of the enemy. Many are not trying to kill us, at least not yet.

Quote:

Phares relates a debate that took place on al Jazeera shortly after 9-11. The show was titled Opposed Directions, and it was set up like a Hannity and Colmes or Crossfire, where the arguments get hot and heavy. The two guests, Phares says, were almost literally at each other's throats.

The question at hand was over the "worthyness" of bin Laden's attacks, whether he had done good or bad to the Arab world. However, one was not for the attack and the other agains. They both argued in favor of the attack. The only difference was that one thought that bin Laden should have waited a few years until the time was more ripe.

This debate, Phares says, was representative of what went on across the Arab and Muslim worlds.

CONTINUED IN THREE PARTS AT THE LINK

The Redhunter: Book Review - "Future Jihad" - Part 1: The Logic of Jihad

talloulou · 05-21-07, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jallman

Oh...I L-O-V-E book threads!!!

I just finished reading Wicked by Gregory MaGuire and it is, quite possibly, one of the best books I have read since The Fountainhead.. It follows the life of the Wicked Witch of the West and how she came to be so wicked. The dynamics of the fictional land of Oz's politics, religion, and struggles for equality are inspected with such articulate precision that I found myself closing the book from time to time just think for a few moments about how I view the real world. The examination of good and evil, which is the underlying conflict of the book, is as antagonizing to the reader as it is to the characters.

Even though the exposition of the work is cartoonish, the result is not some children's yarn revived in adult prose. It is a powerful argument which has influenced me to question where passion and apathy fall on the chart of good and evil.

Wicked is an excellent book.

bhkad · 05-21-07, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talloulou

Wicked is an excellent book.

Howdy!

jallman · 05-21-07, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talloulou

Wicked is an excellent book.

So I was talking to a co-worker this morning who just got back from NY and he said it has been made into a musical...I want to see it.

talloulou · 05-21-07, 12:17 PM

Howdy bhkad

I love book threads too. Lately I've been reading tons of kids books that I never read as a kid in an effort to keep tabs on what my kids are reading. Some of them are excellent and I would recommend them to adults despite the fact that they are found in the kids section. They would be:

The Deptford Mice Trilogy by Robin Jarvis

The Tale of Despereaux as well as The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy

Gossamer by Lois Lowry

Ender's Game by Orson Sccott Card

Books I've read for myself this year and really enjoyed were:

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

Song From The Forest by Louis Sarno

The Rivers Amazon by Alex Shoumatoff

Almost Human by Shirley Strum

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

I Am Legend Richard Matherson

The Cellar Richard Layman

My favorite guilty pleasure of this year was Too Much Temptation I don't recall the author but a fun porny style book for the bath tub.

The most horrifying book I read this year was the Girl Next Door. Or maybe I read that last year. But eeeewwww! I told someone I liked "horror" but this book was just too to much. Too realistic and to absolutely horrifying. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't put it down. But it stays with you for a long time and it's just awful and disturbing. Too much for me.

talloulou · 05-21-07, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jallman

So I was talking to a co-worker this morning who just got back from NY and he said it has been made into a musical...I want to see it.

I heard about that. I'd like to see it too. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was a fun book also.

talloulou · 05-21-07, 12:25 PM

...oops forgot the author of The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum. But definitely not for the faint of heart it actually hurt to read that book!