<p>Hindoo I have that book it is very interesting- Temple Grandin is the main author however-She also has written a book called[Thinking in Pictures]( <a href=“THINKING IN PICTURES: Autism and Visual Thought”>http://www.grandin.com/inc/visual.thinking.html</a> ) which I would recommend.</p>
<p>Thank you–I’ll look into that.</p>
<p>I’m late to this party, but “The Gatekeepers”</p>
<p>Crazy thing to do while waiting for d’s decisions to come in!</p>
<p>Not a parent. </p>
<p>The Jungle.</p>
<p>cattv–are you referring to the book written by a former Wesleyan admissions officer? If so, you’re right–it was wonderful, and a must-read for parents with kids heading into the college years!</p>
<p>I read “The Glass Castle” in two long sittings. This is non-fiction and was sometimes difficult to read knowing that the events were real but it was excellent! Next up is “Daniel isn’t Talking” by Marti Leimbach. This book is a fiction about a family whose child is diagnosed with autism. I work at a library and the best perk is easily checking out books to borrow instead of buying. well, I do buy some from our well stocked book sale room but I try not to!</p>
<p>Just finished Kate:The Woman Who Was Hepburn by William J. Mann.</p>
<p>Hello readers: Here’s a link to a list of books – I’ve read some of them, but was wondering if any of you have comments or opinions about some of the books on this list? I’ve got a long list of books to read already, might as well make it longer . . .</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html[/url]”>www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html</a></p>
<p>Tks.</p>
<p>I’ve read 70% of those books mstee. Many of them are required reading in elite American high schools (not overseas high schools mind you). What do you want to know? It’s an American-centric list, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I recently finished Journey of a Jihadist by Fawaz Gerges, a Lebanese-born professor at St. Lawrence University. He was raised in Lebanon and used his native language ability and contacts in the region to make contact with many jihadis from different periods and countries over the last few decades. </p>
<p>I recommend this book to anyone interested in the forces at war with one another in the Muslim world and how their internal (and now external) conflict is shaping the US experience in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. The book greatly helped me understand their point of view and get a better understanding of the history and some of the country differences within the Middle East.</p>
<p>Cheers, some of the books on the list I agree with (All The King’s Men is very good, for instance) – Others, I don’t know why they made it on (The Corrections, Atonement? I read both of those, and I wouldn’t put them on a top 100 list, though they were well written, better written than most recent stuff). I don’t really have any specific questions, maybe something more like, which 10 in your opinion (or anyone who would like to answer) would you recommend to someone else to read? Which ones really stand the test of time? I guess I don’t really care for many of the more recently written books I’ve read. I’m interested in finding some earlier classics that I have overlooked.</p>
<p>Roberto Bolano’s Last Evenings on Earth
Roger Penrose’s The Road to Reality</p>
<p>Just finished reading Lawrence Douglas’s The Catastrophist (a novel by an Amherst professor that reminds you of Lucky Jim in a more contemporary setting and in America)
and Don Paterson’s Landing Light (a wonderful and highly approachable collection of poems from a Scottish jazz musician that won the Eliot Prize this year.)</p>
<p>mstee,</p>
<p>There are a number of good books on the list, but there are several that I just loved and totally lost myself in:</p>
<p>Neuromancer by William Gibson<br>
(I am such a fan of his!!!) If you can’t handle the cyberpunk storyline, read his most recent novel, Pattern Recognition. By the way, he has the best blog: <a href=“http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com%5B/url%5D”>www.williamgibsonbooks.com</a></p>
<p>Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson (Ok, it’s another cyberpunk story, but he tells stories in such interesting ways.)</p>
<p>Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut (A classic!!!)</p>
<p>The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (I think I enjoyed reading the books even more with my girls)</p>
<p>Padad! Another person who has read something by Roberto Bolano! </p>
<p>I haven’t read that one, though. I don’t even know which book of his it is, or that any of his books had been translated into English except a story I read in the New Yorker (which, come to think of it, is probably in that book).</p>
<p>I have been going through a kind of mid-life crisis for the past few years: I grew up reading a lot of Latin American Boom literature, but recently all of the authors that I’ve followed since I was a teen have gotten old and, frankly, have by and large lost it from a literary perspective. I have been searching for Spanish-language authors who would be as satisfying to read (or almost) on a regular basis, but without a whole lot of luck. (Except for Perez-Reverte’s Capitan Alatriste series, which is one step removed from junk, but it’s great almost-junk.)</p>
<p>Anyway, about four years ago I fell in love with Bolano’s Los Detectives Salvajes, which was one of the best Spanish-language books I had read in years. I promptly read about 3/4ths of his back catalogue (not all of which was of similar quality, but there was lots to love). His more recent books were clearly his best, and I looked forward to reading him for years. Then he died suddenly two years ago. All I will ever get to read are some short story books and his posthumously published 2666, which I haven’t bought yet.</p>
<p>Now I’m reading Big Trouble, recommended early in the thread by Frazzled. I’m about 250 pages in–love it; only complaint is that the book is a bit hefty for comfortable reading in bed.</p>
<p>I bought The Glass Castle as a result of a recommendation on CC and started it today. I have to say that I can hardly put it down and haven’t accomplished as much today as I had planned. :)</p>
<p>mstee, if I had to choose ten books from that list, my choices would be:</p>
<p>All the King’s Men
Falconer
The Golden Notebook
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Herzog
Lord of the Flies
Mrs. Dalloway
A Passage to India
The Power and the Glory
Ragtime</p>
<p>I have to agree with you about The Corrections. I cannot imagine it being included on that list.</p>
<p>2forcollege, we should compare lists. I loved Snowcrash. Everyone else in my house has read Neuromancer. I know I should, I need to read faster.</p>
<p>mstee, I’ve seen that list before and thought it was rather odd. Lots I think I ought to read, some authors I’ve read other books, but not the ones they included. Anyway for what it’s worth:</p>
<p>LOVED
Animal Farm George Orwell
Gone With the Wind Margaret Mitchell (but it’s not great lit, just a fun read)
Atonement Ian McEwan
I, Claudius Robert Graves
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis
The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien
1984 George Orwell
A Passage to India E.M. Forster
Possession A.S. Byatt
Ragtime E.L. Doctorow
Snow Crash Neal Stephenson
The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee</p>
<p>I can’t imagine a list including sci-fi with no Urusla LeGuin, Isaac Asimov or Arthur C. Clarke. This list is also missing my three favorite contemporary authors </p>
<p>Ah, finally got a cut off post like everyone else, okay here’s the rest…</p>
<p>my three favorite contemporary authors, Anne Tyler, Penelope Lively and Jon Hassler. I don’t think I’ve read The Spy who came in from the Cold, but John LeCarree is brilliant at what he does. I liked Remains of the Day, but haven’t read Never Let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I thought the children’s choices were really odd. There are dozens of books that are better than Judy Blume.</p>
<p>And finally comments on the rest of the books I’ve actually read:</p>
<p>one more LOVED
Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis</p>
<p>OKAY
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret Judy Blume
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald (Not my favorite, I like This Side of Paradise better.)
Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies William Golding (both my kids hated this)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ken Kesey
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark (I liked A Far Cry from Kensington better.)</p>
<p>HATED
The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger (I LOATHE Holden Caufield, can’t bear his whines.)
The French Lieutenant’s Woman John Fowles (hated the double ending most of all, too contrived, great movie though)</p>