Good Books To Social Distance With?

I've been reading Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy and other books set in The First Law world. Fantastic author and books. The books are set in a medieval world where there is still some magic but most don't believe in it. The books are raw and bloody with awesome fight scenes, humor, and characters. The first book, The Blade Itself, starts a bit slow but builds and stays at a good pace through the trilogy. I highly recommend the audio versions also, narrator is very good and brings unique voices to each character.

 

Read this while in forestry school...a classic. I’ve never seen the movie, a friend had it on VHS but we don’t have a player for it.

 

Another great logging novel...not two words you expect next to each other.

 

Made some pasta sauce.



Oh, and been brushing up on my picture books. Peace on earth.

 

Im pretty sure I haven’t read a John Irving novel I didn’t enjoy. I was lost when I finished this book, I didn’t want it to end.

 

And now I’m hungry. And I want her to move her hands.

 

And now, @JaCado , you have achieved hero status!

 

Ironically, one of my least favorite Steinbeck works. Even filtered through his own opinion of himself, you get hints of what a pompous A-hole he was in real life, lol. He was a great writer, but also quite a piece of work...
On the plus side, he drives through Milbridge, which is where my grandparents live

 

If tour taste run along with witches and vampires look at

the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness.
4 books total with the addition of Times Convert. Described as a cross between Harry Potter and the Twilight series but for adults.
Then there’s the Eragon books by Christopher Pasolini. Dragons, magic, elves, dwarves, and adventure

 

For the woodworkers/DIYers I am enjoying Christopher Schwartz's The Anarchist's Tool Chest and Anarchist's design book. And no these are not like the other anarchist book you might know. These are more in the self reliant making things by hand vein.

 

I tend to go for easy reads unless I have time to dive deep.

Carl Hiaasen is a guilty pleasure of mine. Detective pulp meets a cartoon parody of south florida. Start with Bad Monkey.

American Gods

Princess Bride, read it if you enjoyed the movie.

The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde.

 

Currently for my 'bedstand book' I've started re-reading The Stand. Probably not the best choice right now, but...a good read. It's the second edition; the unabridged version as well, so it's a 'long haul' sort of read.



I'm working on this one in the living room, another long-haul sort of read:


And this one is my current 'fireside' book:


Plus I've got my usual monthly magazines (Guns & Ammo, Car & Driver, The Smithsonian, Popular Mechanics, & Mother Earth News) for 'throne room' reading

 

I was just talking to my daughter about reading it together to elevate her interest in truck camping. I was trying to find a library that was still lending but no dice. It’s probably been 30 years since I’ve read it, I’m curious what I’d think of it now.

 

From that aspect it is still a good read. I'd also recommend this one:

$81 Off the Road

https://www.amazon.com/Off-Road-R-K...ywords=Overlanding+book&qid=1587134153&sr=8-6

It's a collection of shorter individual stories rather than a single narrative, but should still do the trick

 

On Carl Hiaasen, definitely the “Saturday morning cartoons” of my reading choices, and really makes me want to road trip to Key West.

 

I might do a quick re-read of Skinny Dip this weekend. Fuckin' Chaz...

 

Pretty sure they stopped publishing that "other" book. What's out there is what is out there. If you run across a copy, they are worth a little bit of money.

 

Castner's Cutthroats, great book about Alaskan soldiers during WWII and the Japanese in Alaska

 

An absolute "must-read".


Others:
- The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
- The Short Timers (Gustav Hasford)
- With The Old Breed (E.B. Sledge)
- A Walk In The Woods (Bill Bryson)
- Burnt Tongues (Chuck Palahniuk)
- The Stand *unabridged version, but follow the internet 'readers guide' to cutout unneeded segments* (Steven King)