What books do you recommend?

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March 21, 2018, 12:55:37 am

Some of my best reads have been recommendations from friends, or books given as gifts by friends who thought I would enjoy them. Since we are all friends here, here are a few I have enjoyed and recommend:

Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
This book is a collection of essays by Aldo Leopold and are beautifully and powerfully written. Leopold bought and moved to a small farmhouse in a"sand county' where the farming was no longer productive. Leopold spent time there and used his time to observe nature, seasons, animals, and the relationships of communities. You can pretty much start anywhere in the book, read a few chapters, put it down and start somewhere else another time. I keep a copy in the Lazy Daze for quick reads, but it isn't my original copy because that was given away long ago. One of my former (now 49 year old) students once told me that she named her son Aldo in honor of Aldo Leopold because she was so moved by this book.

Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
McPhee is a gifted storyteller and this book describes a trip across the United States with a variety of different geology professors as his guides and hosts. He weaves stories of people and places with an easy-to-understand description of the regional geology and geologic history of the states, mountains and roadways that many of us have explored, and also stories about the people who once lived there. I was reading a section about the Bighorn Mountains while I was camping there, and McPhee gave me an entirely different (and more rewarding) way to look at the mountains around me.
This book was a gift from a camping friend. Once started, I couldn't put it down. I loved it.

Two books is enough from me. I like non-fiction, but maybe you will have a fiction or non-fiction recommendation that one of us will love.

What have you read that you would like to share with a friend? I may read it!

Harold

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #1 – March 21, 2018, 03:05:14 am

Harold,

I read books and novels in long jags then taper off with periodicals and other such fair. I often find an author who intrigues me and I consume all I can find that they have written.

In high school it was Tuesday Lobsang Rampa and “The Third Eye”. This was the authors telling of his life as the son of an important Tibetan who sent Rampa out on his own at the age of 7 to become a medical Lama. Rampa’s writing style and his story led me to read 13 of his books. Very satisfying literature although I set them aside when one of his later books “Living With A Lama” was dictated to him by his cat. I never did finish that one and left Rampa and his cat spinning out of control in Rampa’s car somewhere in Canada.

Another author who’s books I devoured was Paul Theroux. His book “The Old Patagonian Express” tells of his journey from the freezing winter months in New York, by train, to the tip of Argentina. “The Great Railway Bazzar” tells of his adventure by rail from Great Britain to Russia and back. Traveling through Europe and beyond makes for an interesting read. At one point during this read, I left him in the frozen wasteland of Russia only to pick up the book a month later to find him patiently waiting for me to continue along with him on his adventure. Very patient fellow.

Zane Grey is another author who held my attention for over a dozen books. Tales of the West and the adventures of wilderness and outlaw life kept me coming back for more. The Zane Grey Pueblo on Catalina Island has, I believe, every book he ever wrote. It is a nice way to spend an evening on the porch overlooking the ocean.

Ok that’s enough for me. All of these authors can be spell binding and whisk you away to some fascinating places.

Kent

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #2 – March 21, 2018, 03:26:07 am

Great idea for an on-going thread, Harold...better than coffee.

I recently read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by Bryan Mealer and William Kamkwamba. William Kamkwamba grew up in Malawi, where he had to quit school because his family could not afford the fees, but his hunger for knowledge & a library book turned him into a self-taught electrical engineer who brought electricity to his family. He writes of his family surviving the famine, of the social disruption of that calamity, the unresponsive government with a matter-of-fact absence of bitterness that I found amazingly optimistic. His journey from African dropout to presenting a TED Talk to Dartmouth on a scholarship reminded me how blest I've been & am. I couldn't put it down & read it in two days.

Birth in a Chicken House is by Iowa veterinarian James Lucas. I helped an elderly neighbor for a few years, & he said this was the only book he'd read after graduating from HS during the Depression. The author was the brother of my neighbor's vet when he was farming in southern Iowa, so Gerald felt a personal connection--Gerald had macular degeneration, so I would read 2-3 chapters after lunch each day (like Harold's Sand County Almanac, this is short discrete chapters).

Happy reading to all.

Lynne

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #3 – March 21, 2018, 03:05:47 pm

Anyone considering a trip to Alaska would be well advised to read McPhee's "Coming into the Country." Even if you aren't planning a visit to Alaska, this is an extraordinary adventure for grown up Tom Sawyers-Huckleberry Finns!

And you might wonder how anyone could get excited about geology. Well, you're in for a thrill ride when you pluck "Basin and Range" off the self. McPhee's books range from biographies to bark canoe making to oranges to shipping coal across the country - definitely an eclectic, lively and never boring non-fiction writer.

John McPhee - Wikipedia

Lorna in gloomy Fresno

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #4 – March 21, 2018, 05:04:24 pm

If you are a fan of World War One stories, this one is worth the time.
T.E. Lawrence was an interesting fellow. The world would look very different if he had been listened to more.
Living among the tribal people, he had a much better understanding of the lay of the land. Unfortunately, politics and payback dictated the way the middle east was divided up. And we are still paying for it today.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #5 – March 21, 2018, 05:45:56 pm

As a fan of the southwest, I have enjoyed the writings of Edward Abby and particularly the Navajo detective mystery series of Tony Hillerman.
Tony Hillerman - Book Series In Order

Many years ago, on our first trip to Italy, I was blown away by how meaningful it was to read Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo, while looking out of the windows of the train and seeing the same marble quarries where Michelangelo obtained his sculpture blanks from.
The book added a whole new dimension to the trip. History doesn't get any better than that .

Reading and traveling go together like bacon and eggs.
Larry

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #6 – March 21, 2018, 07:35:08 pm

If you like to read about nature combined with a travelogue I recommend the four volume series The American Seasons by Edwin Way Teale, first published in the early 1950s.

Teale was a naturalist, mainly an ornithologist, who wrote a regular column for Popular Science. He and his wife made four long trips by car, one for each season. Each trip follows a different route matched to the season in question. The volumes are:

Wandering Through Winter
North With the Spring
Journey into Summer
Autumn Across America

When we traveled around the perimeter of the country in 2006 we used North With the Spring as a very valuable and entertaining guide for the portion of our trip from Key West to Maine. The factoid I remember is that spring moves north about 15 miles a day, which was good advice for timing our travels as we wanted to stay on the leading edge of spring to be sure to avoid summer and all the problems it brings.

Teale has a beautiful way of describing his travels and the natural wonders along the way. It may seem like it would be dated but nature changes only slowly and many places Teale focuses on have better protection now than they did then. And the somewhat dated travel narrative, while not an accurate guide to travel today, is entertaining in its own way (old cars, old motels, etc.).

I believe these books are no longer published but they're available on the used market.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #7 – March 21, 2018, 07:45:01 pm

"I believe these books are no longer published but they're available on the used market."
---
Abe Books is an excellent clearing house for vendors of out-of-print books:

The American Seasons by Edwin Way Teale - AbeBooks

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #8 – March 21, 2018, 11:49:51 pm

If you are going by Larry's suggestion of Tony Hillerman and are down in the area, you might want to look into
Tony Hillerman's Navaholand which is somewhat of a travelog / dictionary of places mentioned in his books.

Then there is John McPhees Encounters with the Archdruid I also found Basin and Range here as an E-book if you don't mind not having the hardcopy.

The E-book reminded me of the resource Project Gutenberg which, if you are not familiar with, is worth looking at for electronic copies of books out of copyright.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #9 – March 22, 2018, 02:24:38 am

I'm writing more titles on my reading list.

Thanks for the great ideas!

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #10 – March 22, 2018, 10:36:24 am

And then there is Edward Abbey. For those that love/like a contrary opinion about the environment and national parks this is your man.

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness: Edward Abbey: 9780345326492:...

The Monkey Wrench Gang (P.S.): Edward Abbey: 9780061129766: Amazon.com: Books

Fire on the Mountain: Edward Abbey: 9780062193902: Amazon.com: Books

As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #11 – March 22, 2018, 10:46:42 am

Thanks for starting this excellent thread, Harold.

I also endorse (+1 in geek speak) John McPhee's Annals of the Former World. A beautifully written book that excites interest in every aspect of geology, and road cuts in particular.

Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose is a masterfully piece of literature set in a variety of locations in the west (and one in Mexico) in the late 1800s. Anyone interested in the literature of the American west should read this book. There is some controversy about Stegner's use of the letters of Mary Hallock Foote, but it doesn't diminish extraordinary accomplishments of the work.

For every sort of excitement, exuberance, and appreciation of an entirely unique man in the history of the American west, read The Wild Muir, a collection of 22 recollections written by John Muir about some of the most daring and extreme adventures in his very adventurous life. The stories were assembled by Lee Stetson and published by the Yosemite Conservancy.

Jim

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #12 – March 22, 2018, 10:55:15 am

"The Monkey Wrench Gang (P.S.): Edward Abbey: 9780061129766: Amazon.com: Books"

TRIVIA:

Back in Ye Olden Days - before Audible - We would choose a book that coincided with an area where we were traveling, and I would read aloud as we drove. This was during our Volkswagen years, so we were both in the same vehicle. We frequently traveled at night, so I had to read by the interior lighting as the sun disappeared. Now that we don't travel at night, I have complete access to a gazillion books that can be read by the light of any electronic device!

How times change! Even headlamps weren't that common then, or I could have used one of those.

At one of the places we stopped along the way while we were reading "The Monkey Wrench Gang" , there was some graffiti on a rock at an overlook - 'HAYDUKE LIVES". What a thrill that was!!! ;-> We were always on the look out for Doc Sarvis and his handiwork!

The Monkey Wrench Gang - Wikipedia

Fun times!

Virtual hugs,

Judie

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #13 – March 22, 2018, 11:10:05 am

....And for a more complete understanding of human history in "The Southwest", I would recommend starting with Cabeza De Vaca's "Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America". Centuries before Lewis & Clark, Cabeza De Vaca's eight year path (in the early part of the 1500s) across the continent describes, in written form, the "first contact" impressions of an "Old World" European viewing the varied "New World" inhabitants in what will become "The Southwest". Here is how Amazon describes this book:

"Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (Jerez de la Frontera, c. 1488/1490 – Seville, c. 1557/1558) was a Spanish explorer of the New World, one of four survivors of the 1527 Narváez expedition. During eight years of traveling across the Southwest, he became a slave, trader and shaman to various Native American tribes before rejoining Spanish forces in Mexico. After his return to Spain in 1537, Cabeza de Vaca has been considered notable as a proto-anthropologist for his detailed accounts of the many tribes of American Indians whom he encountered. While in Spain, he wrote his journal, first published in 1542 as La Relación (The Report), which in later editions was entitled Naufragios (Shipwrecks). In 1540 Cabeza de Vaca returned to the Western Hemisphere, appointed as adelantado of the Río de la Plata in present-day Argentina, where he was supposed to re-establish the settlement of Buenos Aires. Unsuccessful, he also came into conflict with the governor, Domingo Martínez de Irala, who arrested him in 1544 for poor administration. The former explorer was transported to Spain for trial in 1545. Although eventually acquitted, he never returned to the Americas, and died poor in Seville."

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #14 – March 22, 2018, 01:22:48 pm

I suggest Mary Jane Safford, MD: Indomitable Mite and not just because I watched my wife Elizabeth do 10 years' research before writing it. If you read this book, you'll learn why Dr. Mary Safford should have been among the 19th century's most memorable figures, a veritable Forrest Gump-like character although her life was real. How could one woman serve in bloody Civil War battles' aftermaths, see the Turkish Sultan's first horse race, travel alone through western Russia, live with American expatriates in Italy, study with Europe's most elite academic physicians, survive the hostility of the American male medical establishment after she successfully surgically removed an organ never previously removed by a woman, face the aftereffects of two large cities' fires, help start a medical school and a Florida town, as well as surgically extract intriguing items from an unusual site? This book contains the answers and much, much more. To learn even more join us on April 7, 2018, at Shiloh National Military Park, Savannah, Tennessee, where Elizabeth has been invited to speak about Dr. Safford. Book is available on Amazon in hardback, soft cover and Kindle editions.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #15 – March 22, 2018, 07:08:30 pm

I have over many years read and enjoy Sue Taylor Grafton an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. I’ve read up to “X” and now waiting to see if there will be an “Y, Z”. Unfortunately the author passed away in Dec 2017

Recently I’ve been enjoying book/audiobooks by Lee Child writer of the Jack Reacher series. Crime fiction, mystery, thriller

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #16 – March 22, 2018, 08:06:51 pm

Quote from: Lazy Bones 2 - March 22, 2018, 07:08:30 pm

I have over many years read and enjoy Sue Taylor Grafton an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. I’ve read up to “X” and now waiting to see if there will be an “Y, Z”. Unfortunately the author passed away in Dec 2017

For years, I saved Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series for air travel, one book to the east coast, two to Europe.
Read the series up to book Y, she almost made it to the end but her death ended the series without a Z.
Sue Grafton, author of the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series
I loved trying to figure the cryptic California Central Coast locations, most were real places, renamed to protect the innocent ;-).
Santa Barbara was renamed as Santa Teresa.
I must be getting old, all my favorite authors are dying off.

Larry

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #17 – March 22, 2018, 08:52:13 pm

I inherited a collection of paperbacks by Louis L'Amour and have (I think) 104 titles. Some are over a half century old. The locations of the novels are highly accurate and it's interesting to walk the ground on some the stories.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #18 – March 22, 2018, 08:59:48 pm

For fiction.
I am a big fan of James Rollins. He has a series called the Sigma Force series.
What I like most about his writing is that he incorporates an actual ancient event
and then builds his fictional story around that. At the end of each book is a section devoted to what was fact and what was fiction. I am often surprised at some of the actual things that happened.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #19 – March 22, 2018, 09:03:07 pm

Quote from: joel wiley - March 22, 2018, 08:52:13 pm

I inherited a collection of paperbacks by Louis L'Amour and have (I think) 104 titles. Some are over a half century old. The locations of the novels are highly accurate and it's interesting to walk the ground on some the stories.

Joel, I just finished reading The Lonesome Gods, one of his later books, I believe. It was interesting as the setting was in the Southern California deserts and mountains, as well as early, early Los Angeles.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #20 – March 23, 2018, 02:27:52 am

Louis L’Amour was a prolific writter. Once I had read all the Zane Grey’s I could find, I moved on to L’Amour’s “Sackett Saga”.

Perhaps it’s time to reintroduce myself to L ‘Amour’s work. After the Sacketts, I was a bit overwhelmed by his work and decided to move onto other authors.

Now where did I put my library card?

Kent

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #21 – March 23, 2018, 11:27:12 am

After reading these posts, I'll admit that I have never read anything by Zane Grey or Louis L'Amour. I guess my book list is getting even longer yet. It is time to branch out!

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #22 – March 23, 2018, 11:47:44 am

Guess I'll pitch in my 2¢ here!

I've always liked Historical Fiction, the kind where the Author has fictional characters playing the parts of historical people. Much of these took place during the Fur Trade era, full of Mountain Men, Trappers and Rendezvous. I'll admit to having several shelves full of that and actual history as well. Said that if the right conditions prevailed I'd read them a second time. Now that we have the Kindle I'm not so sure.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #23 – March 23, 2018, 11:52:43 am

<smile> just for you Zane Grey fans - he always claimed he fished the Rouge River near Medford but it was actually the Umaqua River in Douglas Country in Oregon. He loved to fly fish. He would bring along guards to keep others from 'interfering' with 'his' fishing holes.

Re: What books do you recommend?

Reply #24 – March 23, 2018, 04:54:37 pm

If you are looking for another rabbit hole to drop down, I'd suggest SM. Stirling's Emberverse Series also at his website here
Two story lines starting with an event that starts with Nantucket Island shifting universes. The shorter line (3 books) is the Nantucket series, and the longer one referenced here.

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March 21, 2018, 12:55:37 am

Reply #1 – March 21, 2018, 03:05:14 am

Reply #2 – March 21, 2018, 03:26:07 am

Reply #3 – March 21, 2018, 03:05:47 pm

Reply #4 – March 21, 2018, 05:04:24 pm

Reply #5 – March 21, 2018, 05:45:56 pm

Reply #6 – March 21, 2018, 07:35:08 pm

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Reply #10 – March 22, 2018, 10:36:24 am

Reply #11 – March 22, 2018, 10:46:42 am

Reply #12 – March 22, 2018, 10:55:15 am

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