OT: MGoBookClub

than most MGoBloggers, but I do recommend for anyone "Reagan's War" by Schweizer. It's an accounting of Ronald Reagan's nearly 40 year political career against communism starting from his Hollywood days extending into his presidency, and I think it's really well written and put together (along with sourcing). For fiction, I'm a full-up Sherlockian, so I tear through any of the Sherlock Holmes related material. If you're looking for something in this vein, I can suggest the Mary Russell series of mystery books by Laurie King (start with Beekeeper's Apprentice), or Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith. Both are excellent independent series of books that stay true to the spirit of Holmesian deduction. Ugh, now back to my real world job of reading through mountains of foreign military journals and material science conference proceedings....

I like the following: 1. The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming 2. Anything by P.G. Wodehouse 3. "The Road to Serfdom" by F.A. Von Hayek 4. Any of Mark Frost's golf books 5. Michael Lewis ("Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball") 6. "Den of Theives" by James B. Stewart 7. "Freakonomics" by Dubner and Leavitt 8. Anything by Thomas Sowell 9. Graham Greene spy novels 10. Niall Ferguson "The Ascent of Money"

Is a really fascinating read as well. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes reading about WWII.

I enjoyed "Ticket to the Fair" (a close look at a mid-'90s Illinois state fair) and "Shipping Out" (a cruise ship experience). Haven't gotten to "Infinite Jest." Big book.

I Am the New Black by Tracy Morgan. Great read. Both touching and hilarious.

The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Fuck!! This was my first double post ever.

....And of all the posts I could have DP'ed on..... At any rate, commence massive negbang in 3....2....1.... (At least I have enough points to absorb the loss and still be able to start new threads.) (And yes, I just managed to work "DP" and "negbang" into the same post.)

I'm kind of addicted to buying books which is a problem because I don't have a lot of time to ever just read. I recently began re-reading Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War (one of those epic books I should have read completely when it was assigned in college but never really did!) Disclosure: I began with the "highlights" (Pericles' Funeral Oration).

I've always been a big fan of James Michener. "The Source" and "Space" are two of my favorites by him. I also recommend "Truman" by David McCullough. For the Michigan fan, I really recommend John U. Bacon's "Blue Ice". Reading about Berenson, the story about how he wound up in Ann Arbor, and the excerpts about his feelings toward Michigan will give you shivers.

My girlfriend (who used to own a bookstore and later worked in others) and I both buy way too many books. We also end up getting tons for free (usually advanced readers copies) because of all the conferences we go to and her connections in the business. We are constantly giving away boxes full to our friends. Our library is measured in linear feet rather than titles and pretty much every available inch of wall space in our place either has a bookshelf or a giant, unruly stack of books. So in other words, if anybody wants to borrow anything, just let me know. As for recommendations: Sports: "The Junction Boys" is a must read for college football fans. Provides a great perspective on the wild behavior of both coaches and players back in the old days. Pretty much shows that recruiting tactics are as clean as they've ever been despite our constant complaining about them and that Adam James has female sex organs. New School: "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz is fantastic. Extremely gifted writer with a unique style/voice telling a very personal story about an entire country. For something lighter, I really enjoyed "Wonder Boys" by Michael Chabon. Old School: "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis, "Absalom, Absalom!" by Faulkner, "You Can't Go Home Again" by Thomas Wolfe, and "Ulysses" by James Joyce (preferably read aloud while strolling through Ann Arbor or Dublin)

Like many, I have a ridiculously long list of books yet to be read Just started Fernand Braudel's three-volume meisterwerk Civilization and Capitalism: 15th-18th Centuries which should occupy a lot of my time. So far, it is absolutely amazing. When I finally finish this, I'll move on to... Space, Time, and Spacetime by Lawrence Sklar (a title this good cannot be passed by) ...and a bunch of management how-to books and corporate finance texts. Typical.

Ace Ventura. It was a book written after the movie by the same name. I think it was about 75 pages, most of which were still frames from the movie. The plot wasn't great, but at the end I think there was a page you could lick and it tasted like Kool-Aid. Good read.

My Boring Ass Life Chronicles his day to day around the time he made Clerks II. A very insightful book into the inner workings of Hollywood; Kevin seems pretty cool. Positively Fifth Street James McManus McManus describes a rather unlikely road to the main event final at the WSOP using his advance money from a magazine to buy into a qualifier. Excellent writing from the U of Chicago lit professor.

If you haven't already read David Halberstam's work check out the following: The Amateurs (rowing) Summer of '49 (baseball - Red Sox vs. Yankees) The Breaks of the Game (basketball) However, one of his most important works, at least to Michigan graduates in 2000 was his commencement speech given at Michigan Stadium. Although David graduated from Harvard he spoke powerfully about the greatness of the University of Michigan and other land grant universities. Sorry I don't know how to create a link to his speech but you can find it online pretty easily.

I've recently gotten really into psychology books based on evolutionary psych. Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini, and What Every Body is Saying, by Joe Navarro open your eyes when it comes to human interaction. Really important books to read when it comes to leadership positions and interpersonal jobs.

Since most of you are braining it up in here, let me suggest something lighter. Richard Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series. Yes, they are kids' books, but they are ripping good reads. My sister is a children's librarian and suggested I start them once my son got done with them. They are a wonderfully imaginative modern take on Greek mythology. They're turning the first one into a movie-- which I hope they don't ruin.

One of the best series I've ever read was the 'North and South' trilogy by John Jakes. Covers the events leading up to the American Civil War through post-war reconstruction (with a lot of emphasis on the Indian Wars). It was written in the early '80s, so that's why I don't think it gets a lot of recognition now. The book has everything - unveiled vengeance, revenge, greed, heroism, brothels (threw that in for good measure). Plus, it holds as a pretty accurate refresher course on American History. I highly recommend.

I didn't actually read everyone's additions, but there's one series that my conscience requires that I post. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin Four huge books (They average around 1000 pages each, with at least three more on the way. They're technically fantasy, but have a lot more to do with political intrigue and conflict than they do with magic. A word of warning, though: Martin is a notoriously slow writer, so there's a good chance that you'll get caught up and then wait for 3-5 years for the next book like I did. Other good books of note: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn (There was just a thread about the late Mr. Zinn and his book a few days ago, shouldn't be hard to find.) Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons (he does horror as well as Stephen King. Some might even say better.) Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (An absolutely enlightening read dealing with the "fates of human societies" and why different cultures developed how they did.)

A heart-felt "me too" on Cormac McCarthy. I particularly liked Blood Meridian, although it is a bit of a downer (although that seems to be true of everything else of his I've read). Tales of the Otori, Lian Hearn. This is a trilogy plus two, set in an imaginary medieval Japan. The narrator in most of the books is essentially a ninja adopted into the warrior class. Despite some flaws, overall I thought it was very well done. The initial trilogy was the best, though. 100 Years of Solitude, The Autumn of the Patriarch and Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Fantastic books (and unrelated to each other, I should add). After rereading them, I think I like The Autumn of the Patriarch the best--but I would recommend starting with one of the other two. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, etc., by Jeff Lindsay. The TV series never bothered to stay too close to the original. Which frankly is good, because you can read the books after having seen the show without too much trouble. The books themselves are like candy. I've also been reading a lot of history (Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, the Islamic conquest, ancient Egypt, China and more).

1. Vikram Chandra - Sacred Games. An epic novel about a policeman and a gangster in Bombay, starting with the day they meet and then moving back and forth between the gangster's past and the policeman's future. If you get interested in Bombay after reading it, I also recommend Suketu Mehta's book Maximum City, which is a nonfiction book about Bombay that might as well be a novel. 2. Gregory Roberts - Shantaram. More gangsters, more India. A novel about a man who breaks out of prison in Australia and goes on the lam in Bombay. Based on the author's life. Not the best-written book, but hugely entertaining. 3. Truman Capote - In Cold Blood. The true crime classic. Fascinating, disturbing, depressing, twisted. Brilliant. 4. Vikram Seth - A Suitable Boy. Well, if you like social novels, or family sagas, this is the one for you. Over a thousand pages and I'm absolutely dying to read the sequel, which comes out in 2013 (I hope). 5. Ernest Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls. An absolutely perfect novel, even though it doesn't have a whole lot of plot. The passage where Pilar tells Jordan about what happened in the village is my favorite in any book I've ever read. 6. Mario Vargas Llosa - Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. A young man in Peru who works as a writer for radio soap operas begins dating his aunt, and confusing reality with his writing. Sort of. 7. George Orwell - 1984. Nothing I can really say about this one, other than it's one book everyone should read. What's amazing is how accurately Orwell seemed to pinpoint aspects of Communist Russian society, given how closed it was at the time. 8. Irene Nemirovsky - Suite Francaise. Intended to be a five-part novel about France under Nazi occupation. Only two parts - and sketches and notes for the last three - were written before the author was taken away by said occupiers. The book was found in a suitcase a couple of years ago (she was a known author in her day, but had mostly faded from memory). Breathtakingly tense and well-written. 9. Tom Rob Smith - Child 44 & The Secret Speech. The beginning of a series of crime novels about a KGB officer who questions his place in Soviet society in the 1950s. Violent, gripping, and fascinating for the level of detail they have about a time in history I knew little about.

I can't believe I neglected to mention my absolute favorite book. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart - Written in 1949 (or thereabouts) it chronicles the fall of civilization when almost everyone is killed by a virus (swine flu style) and then it follows as the main character finds the few survivors in the San Fransisco area and they attempt to build a society of their own. I think it's absolutely necessary if you consider yourself a fan of science fiction, but even if you're not it's a great read.