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My wife and I read like crazy. Easy to do when you do not own a television.
A couple of my favorite authors are Ed Abbey and Tom Robbins. But I will read just about anything but tend to steer away from mysteries. Usually read about 8 books a month. Some recent favorites have been Clapton, written by the man himself. An incredible journey of music, alcohol, drugs and recovery.
The art of racing in the rain by Garth Stein is a must read for every dog owner.

Due to some recent medical issues it seems I will have an hour or so every day to kill.
So I am tapping the pool here at HD for suggestions.
Bring em on.

I don't normally read fantasy series but George RR Martin's "A song of ice and fire" series is friggin great. They made a TV show out of them (Game of Thrones) that's not bad but the books are way better.

My wife is reading that now. She got me to read the Harry Potter series which I never thought I would enjoy but did.

Depends if it's your kind of style or not, but my favourite books of all time are by Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And The Mountains Echoed.

Hosseini is an Afghan-American author, and his books are fiction which are based in Afghanistan in a 1950 - 1980 kind of time span. Great writer, and marvellously well written books

I really dig Pillars of the Earth and World without End... Ken Follett

My brother says World without End is great. You just bumped it up the list.
Brendan, I will check into those. Sound fascinating.

woodshed wrote:My brother says World without End is great. You just bumped it up the list.
Brendan, I will check into those. Sound fascinating.

Ironically in another thread I said Louis Lamour was my favorite author a lot was set in the places you live. The short story series released posthumously is as good as the Sacketts, different setting and style really good reads.

SoMo, he had a ranch up Wildcat Canyon just outside Durango. Beautiful location.
It has been years since I visited his writings.

John Jakes is one of my favorites. He wrote the North and South trilogy, which was made into a miniseries in the 80's. Mini series was OK, but the books are better. The Kent Family Chronicles are my favorites, from him. He does an excellent job capturing the past. I honestly think I learned more about American history from those two series, than I did in High School. Its also cool that his fictional characters interact with real historical figures.

My momma had his entire collection everything leather bound and autographed, lost most in a house fire. One of her treasured possessions that couldn't be replaced. I started reading his work at six or seven, Tolkien before that. Had no tv but 500 books on tape with the book. Words are power. Read read read

Any of the Larry McMurtry westerns, the lonesome dove series is great. My favorite is mountain man by Vardis Fisher, it was the story that Robert Redford used for Jerimiah Jonson.

Dune - Stranger in a Strange land- The stand book is much better then movie.As was IT

Tater wrote:Dune - Stranger in a Strange land- The stand book is much better then movie.As was IT

+1000 both classics, if you've read the book will you watch the movie? A lot I won't the story in my mind is far better.

Liver eater. Great read. Saw the movie when I was really young. Read the book on a solo backpacking trip when I first moved to CO at 17.
Awesome .

Glad you started this woodshed, was just looking for books lastnight, as I'm going away to work and will need lots of reading material!. I read mainly true life stories, inspiring people. The "three cups of tea" is a great read if your into that sort of thing, one of the best books I've ever read!. "between a rock and a hard place", you've probably read that being a climber lol. "a child called it", very sad but amazing story. "into the wild " was great too!.

All great books googe. Have you read Touching the Void?
Rc22, agreed.
Anyone read Everett Ruess?

I also like Steven Kings The Stand. Every time it read that book I catch a cold and freak out!

woodshed wrote:All great books googe. Have you read Touching the Void?
Rc22, agreed.
Anyone read Everett Ruess?

Touching the void, Into the wild, any good backpacking mountaineering book. My wife just handed me a book on some chic doing the PCT. A trip on my must do list. 4 friends on it this year.

If you like mountaineering story's Into Thin Air is classic, I've never been interested in climbing but that book is fascinating.

Great thread idea.
Anything by Bill Bryson.
Anything by John Steinbeck.

Probably comes as no surprise to most here but I can't sit and read anything that isn't technically oriented... I wish I could just sit and read something mundane... Unfortunately, I can't do it no matter how many times I try so I've pretty much given up... Maybe someday, but I'm not getting my hopes up...

Walk in the woods and travels with Charlie are my two favorites

rad14701 wrote:Probably comes as no surprise to most here but I can't sit and read anything that isn't technically oriented... I wish I could just sit and read something mundane... Unfortunately, I can't do it no matter how many times I try so I've pretty much given up... Maybe someday, but I'm not getting my hopes up...

Rad, I'd recommend HD forum and parent site. Some very technical right up your alley. Don't read about Langmuir waste of time.

rockchucker22 wrote:I love books, I couldn't live without them. Currently I'm reading the Ender series and I'm about halfway through "speaker for the dead". I also read a lot of text books mostly anthropology.

One of my favorites for sure. Also Jack Whyte's " a dream of eagles" series is fantastic. The classic take of King Arthur and Camelot, but told in a 'prequal' style from the eyes of the last Romans to "occupy" Great Britain and the fall of the Roman Empire. Really good mix of history and legend.

Currently reading Margaret Attwood's 'madadam' trilogy. Legendary work by a legendary Canadian author.

Tap. Out.

I recognized 75% of the authors mentioned here . My library has well over a thousand volumes covering a broad spectrum of the printed word . From pleasure reading to technical texts . One of my bucket list goals was to meet Louis L. but he died before I could accomplish that . Closest I came was getting to meet Ben Johnson at the truck stop at the port of entry at Cortez , CO . He'd stop and visit with truckers on his way to visit Harry Carey , Jr at his ranch in Durango .

Wilbur Smith is a prolific South African author that I can spend days with .
I spend a lot of time going back to The Machinery's Guide Vol 1 and 2 . Just too much info there for this hillbilly to absorb and retain in a practical manner .

get the wife to read diana gabaldon's series. best sex you will get.
if you want to read them yourself, it's about a moonshining scot and his time- travelling (horny) wife. similar to follet's pillars stuff...but a bit more...racy?

I read all three of the shades of grey. Boring stuff when you could have written it.
Ga Flatwoods

ga flatwoods wrote:I read all three of the shades of grey. Boring stuff when you could have written it.
Ga Flatwoods

never got around to them, but the wife read them. obviously not as good as gabaldon.

Bryson is great, picked up his American English last week at the beach, fascinating! Read " Dr. William Davis's "Wheat Belly". Changed my life, have dropped forty pounds and my cane, nothing hurts! Almost a miracle! Have not felt this good in ten or fifteen years,
+1 on the "Shining" and the "Dune" series, been decades since I have read them but after all these years they do creep into the edges of my dreams from time to time.

just sayin wrote:Bryson is great, picked up his American English last week at the beach, fascinating! Read " Dr. William Davis's "Wheat Belly". Changed my life, have dropped forty pounds and my cane, nothing hurts! Almost a miracle! Have not felt this good in ten or fifteen years,
+1 on the "Shining" and the "Dune" series, been decades since I have read them but after all these years they do creep into the edges of my dreams from time to time.

Hmmm.... The wife, and I, inherited a copy of "Wheat Belly". I'm going to have to check it out now. I figured it was another gimmicky diet/cookbook.