Names of books

[Jeanine]

^^ Wow, he really got around!

Man's Search for Meaning -- Victor Frankl
Account of his time in a Nazi concentration camp. He concludes one of three things give a person's life meaning:
1. Doing deeds or creating a work (sense of accomplishment).
2. Sensory pleasures like art, nature, good food, etc.
3. Finding a purpose for our suffering.

Whenever I find myself questioning the meaning of life, I always remember him.

 

[Minus]

^^A couple classes referenced him quite a bit, but I am drawing a blank.

The Basic Kafka

Claims to be the "most comprehensive collection of the works of Kafka ever published in one volume".

 

[Jeanine]

^^ I've never read any Kafka

The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown

Read this back when I had some brain going on : ) Can't remember the storyline in novels anymore (sleep deprivation is a killer).

 

[Minus]

The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule

I first ran across Ann Rule in Usenet (the precursor to Internet forums) in the True Crime newsgroup. She thanked me for some story and said that she was writing a book on the event the story covered. It seemed at the time that quite a number of people were telling me that they were writing a book, so I didn't think it meant anything.

I found out later that she was a published author. That is probably why I first read a book of hers. Initially I found her writing to be a little annoying in style and in some word use, but by the time I had finished the book, I must have changed my mind, because I read most of her books as they came out.

'The Stranger Beside Me' is about her time working in a crisis center manning the phones and her friendship with a coworker, a psychology student who was thinking of a career in law and politics. The co-worker was Ted Bundy who would become infamous a few years later.

 

[Jeanine]

^^ Wow!!! Very cool : )

Second Child -- John Saul

I used to love this guy when I was younger. He wrote scary stories and Second Child was the first book I read. After that, I read them all : )

 

[Minus]

^^Sounds great

Bill Graham Presents My Life Inside Rock and Roll

From Germany and the Holocaust to his helicopter crash west of Vallejo, California,
the story of Bill Graham, impresario and rock concert promoter.
Much of it quotes from the musicians that he spent most of his life working with.

 

[Jeanine]

^^Sounds like a good read. I don't remember him.

Reader's Digest 99¢ Solutions (1,465 smart and thrifty uses for everyday items).
Just got this book at the bargain outlet. Lots of interesting ideas, like making a temporary clothesline with a bungee cord : )

 

[Minus]

^^ Those things can be interesting

"The Good War": An Oral History of World War II compiled by Studs Terkel

@ringwood made the comment "Everyone has an interesting story to tell..." which reminded me
of Studs Terkel who collected oral histories of the common person. This book was a collection
of peoples story’s up to, during and after WWII.

 

[Jeanine]

I like ringwood's comment too : ) Sounds like a very interesting book, which reminds me of the movie, Reds, about journalist John Reed and is involvement with the Bolshevik revolution. Outstanding film with Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton. It also starred witnesses who gave first-hand accounts. The book that John Reed wrote that started it all was

"Ten Days That Shook the World" -- John Reed

 

[FunTimes]

Okay, so it can be something you've read, something classic, something you want to read, whatever-- just post a book title. Feel free to comment on the book : )

I'll start with one for Minus : )

Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix -- Philip Norman

Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr

Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning

 

[Minus]

Rope: The Twisted Life and Crimes of Harvey Glatman

True crime book by Michael Newton. He would visit the Usenet True Crime newsgroup, so I decided to read one of his book to see what he wrote like. I liked the book and his habit going off on tangents such as going into extended detail on the history of Sing Sing prison, though from reviews I see that habit drives some people up the wall. It was interesting enough that I read a second book of his, and that one just didn't hold up. I didn't feel that it was anywhere near the quality of "Rope".

He is credited with writing 357 books under various named.