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Recommended Books

Here is a list of the recomended books by member, and a little about each member:

“SirVinegar”

Born in 1972, the eighth child of nine to a band of traveling gypsies, I studied for the Mormon church until a friend introduced me to Sony Playstation and Cheez Doodles, hopelessly corrupting me forever. I started reading at the age of 10 months, delighting my parents and giving me a shot on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show”, but I got bumped when a segment featuring Sonny and Cher ran long, a slight from which I’m still bitter about. My favorite color is a rich, deep green.

Favorites (I kept my selections at one each, or else this could go on forever…)
Genre: History
Book: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
Author: Harlan Ellison

Recommends:

1. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
One of the first (and best) cyberpunk novels out there, and the one that has aged the best. It’s a futuristic action tale starring a samurai hacker pizza-delivery guy (when’s the last time you’ve seen that on Oprah’s book club?) named Hiro Protagonist. A fun, smart novel that really defies coherent explanation.

2. A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester
This is a book for people who think all history books are boring. It’s an overview of the European Renaissance from the ground up, including all the juicy scandalous stuff your high school teachers couldn’t tell you about, making it sort of a cross between PBS and the E! Network. Informative, accessible and fast-paced.

3. The Alienist by Caleb Carr
A novel set in the 1880s in New York City involving a group of people (led by a psychiatrist, the “alienist” of the title) tracking down a serial killer. This group uses all the methods that detectives use now to catch criminals, but things like fingerprints and building psychological profiles (and female cops!) were considered new and reckless at the time. A bit dense, but Carr is a brilliant storyteller. Avoid the sequel like the plague, however.

“Seashell ”

Favorites
Genre: Fantasy
Book: This is a hard question. I used to say The Blue Sword (see Recommendations), but I have not read it in a few years. So, if I haven’t read it in a while, can it be my favorite? But I haven’t read anything lately worth calling my favorite book.
Author: Anne McCaffrey

Recommended:

1. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Julia Quinn is my favorite romance author

2. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
This was my favorite book in high school.

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I had to read it in college (English). At the time I thought it was good. Although I haven’t read it since then .

“Amy”

I like to read and travel. I own a house in Kansas City, near Parkville, and have three cats. I am currently in the process of applying to law school for fall of 2004 and hopefully will be accepted somewhere! I plan to pursue public interest law, with a focus in representing children in court.

1. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
This is an excellent true story based on the author’s relationship with his sociology professor. It has many simple, yet inspiring, life lessons on various topics, as discussed between teacher and student. A heartwarming read for anyone struggling with age or identity crises.

2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
This book tells a coming-of-age story of a geisha in 1930s Japan. It does a great job depicting the Japanese thinking and culture at that time. I really enjoyed this book; however, if you do not like to read a lot of detail, i.e. very lengthy descriptions of things such as clothing and hairstyle, this would not be recommended.

3. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
This is a non-fiction, relationship/self-help book. Although I usually am quite skeptical of these (even with having a psychology degree!), I thought this book really identified a lot of the communication problems that couples face and offered very constructive solutions to those problems. The book is based on the premise that each person has a primary relationship need or “language” and when that need is being met, the relationship will generally be happy and healthy. It was written primarily for heterosexual couples, but I found the ideas applicable to any relationship, even non-romantic ones.

“YK”

(Editor’s note: “YK” didn’t write anything in the “about me” section, so I will fill in a tidbit. For those of you who do not know him, he was born and spent a considerable amount of time outside the US in Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, and other portions of Europe. So his perspective is a bit different and very interesting…)

1. Vernon Can Read by Vernon Jordan
This is interesting book about a successful African-American civil rights activist Vernon Jordan’s life

2. Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile
This is a book about the CIA’s largest operation in Afghanistan in the 80’s and 90’s

3. World on Fire by Amy Chua
In this book you learn how globalization and free market democracy causes global instability

“JohnWayne”

Born in the late 1800’s and subject to numerous genetic engineering experiments over the years, he is now normal middle-aged guy, as the surgery to remove the second head and third arm went very well – hardly left a scar! (written by the editor, since he was too “busy” to get it done – whining about the 9 inches of snow and how much work that is… just because he’s in charge of all of the snow removal and road maintenance…)

Favorites
Genre: Western
Book: Biography of John Wayne
Author: Lois L’Amour

1. October Sky by Homer Hickam
Looking back after a distinguished NASA career, Hickam shares the story of his youth in a coal mining town. Just a great story… I’ve recommended it to others and they have enjoyed it!

2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Simply the finest book ever written! Several people in the office talked about it, and I can see why they were hooked! The humor is very British, the characters are outstanding, and the storyline is unparalleled!

3. Under the Sweetwater Rim by Louis L’Amour
I had to recommend a western, and this is my favorite.

“Smeddley,” Editor

Favorites:
Genre: Nonfiction, fantasy, and good romance
Book: The five book trilogy and surrounding works that make up The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (including radio scripts, etc). I figure it’s the only work that I quote on a regular basis, so it must be my favorite. “Ford, you’re turning into a penguin. Stop it.”
Author: We’ll go with the favorite at the moment (I’m sure it changes with time) - Terry Pratchett. Others would be Julie Garwood, Michael Crichton, Robert Aspirin, Michael Resnick, and, of course, Douglas Adams.

Recommendations (and it’s not like my list holds more sway than anyone else’s…) :

1. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
This is the best fantasy book (barring The Hitchhiker’s Guide) ever written. It’s easy to read without being too corny and pun-ish (like Peirs Anthony, although On a Pale Horse was a fantastic book – just stay away from the Xanth series if you’re over 12) and introduces some of the most memorable characters ever – Rincewind, the incompetent wizard, and The Luggage. Amazing character development, laugh-out-loud writing, and a great storyline. It’s also the start of a 20-some book series, so careful, it can be addicting! And if you enjoy this, may I also suggest Robert Aspirin’s Myth series or his Phule’s Company series – both outstanding in much the same way.

2. The Bride by Julie Garwood
I can hear the groans – a romance novel! But if you haven’t tried her writing, even if you’ve read romance you didn’t like before, give it a go. This isn’t so much a “romance” novel as it is a great book that happens to contain romance. Julie Garwood’s characters are well developed, engaging, and above all, funny. This book truly made me laugh, so give it a chance!

3. Plague by Edward Marriott
There are dozens of nonfiction books I would love to recommend – mostly on diseases or statistics – but I think this one is a good place to start. It is not difficult to read or overly technical and addresses a lot of good points. Namely, it’s not so easy to figure out what causes disease (I realize this is set in ‘ancient’ history, but for all of our high-tech equipment it’s still a tedious process), being right doesn’t mean people are going to listen to you, and that diseases are by no means “conquered.” Even smallpox, the ‘eradicated’ disease is still a threat (see A Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston for a good discussion on that). So hold on to your seats and get ready to know more about the “black death” than you ever wanted to – especially the fact that is has cropped up in the US (Los Angeles to be precise – we cannot look upon this as only a “third world” disease) and occurred as recently as 1998 in India! However, if you believe that Plague is the disease to most dread, may I a suggest some books on the deadliest illness in all of human history – Flu by Gina Kolata and The Devil’s Flu by Peter Davies)

“Tarzan”

I am Smeddley’s (our great and illustrious founder) mother. I love to read (time and lack of sleepiness permitting) and read to her a great deal when she was a small child (she especially loved it when I would invent voices for the different characters). She eventually took to reading on her own and hasn’t stopped since. Although I might read more than the average person, she probably out reads me by more than 3-dozen books a year. I read more science fiction than any other type of book. Other than that, I gravitate towards horror, medical mystery, mysteries, true medical and forensic science type books, gardening, and art books. I am particularly found of short stories, for they afford me the opportunity to complete a story without an extreme expenditure of time.

Favorites
Genre: Science Fiction

1. Congo by Michael Crichton
It was a bit of fantastic science, an archeological expedition, an interesting evolution story, and a jungle adventure all rolled into one book. I couldn’t put it down. So when the movie came out I decided that I just had to see it. Yikes! The movie was terrible. So read the book, skip the movie.

2. The Relic by Lincoln Child and Douglas J. Preston
Very thrilling. Murder and mayhem in a New York museum. It’s up to a young woman forensic anthropologist and one of New York’s finest to solve the mystery. Makes you think things like “Oh no, look out!” and “Don’t go there!” as you’re reading. Kept me on the edge of my seat. They also made a movie of this one. The movie was pretty good although the lighting was rather bad.

3. Deadly Feasts by Richard Rhodes
This book is a cross-section of the different types of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, including the now well known “mad cow disease.” It outlines the medical research history of the different forms. It’s not the easiest read, if you will, and the disease descriptions are a little scary. But, it is fascinating to learn how some of the medical research is done and a little about the people who have done it.

“Poskunk”

I am an avid reader, however, a great deal of my reading lately has been of the “scientific paper” variety. I am working on my Master’s Degree in Biology from KU, so quite a bit of my time is spent researching for my thesis. Not as much as should be, according to my wife, if I still have time to play so many computer games - and yet I am far too busy to clean the house… It’s a marvel of space-time distortion, I tell her.

Favorites
Genre: nonfiction (science) and, ironically, science fiction
Book: The Dark Lady by Michael Resnick
Author: Michael Resnick

1. The Dark Lady by Michael Resnick
This is a good, quick read. It’s a little odd for a science fiction title in that it is not about a heroic character performing great deeds, rather its about a meek art historian trying to track down and acquire art featuring a particular subject (the eponymous Dark Lady). Along the way it explores a variety of issues including racism, segregation and the contingencies of evolution.

2. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine
Among other things, Douglas Adams, the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, was an advocate for the preservation of endangered species. In this book he recounts a number a trips that he took around the world to document for a popular audience some of the most endangered animals on the planet before they go extinct. Even so, he manages to keep the writing as funny as his other work.

3. Damned Lies and Statistics by Joel Best.
There are a lot of books out there dealing with the problem of innumeracy (the mathematical equivalent of illiteracy). Many of them are very good, especially the work of John Allen Paulos, but I chose this one because it is one of the shorter and most readable of the bunch as well as one of the most recent. This book examines many famous examples of statistics and shows how these are used and misused to shape opinion and policy. In addition to exposing a number of questionable statistics the author provides a good guide to critical consumption of the statistics we are bombarded with on a daily basis.

“Fixitmann”

Born in 1959 raised until 1969 as an Army brat having traveled a lot (at least what I remember!) Married 20 years with 2 boys 15 & 17. Lot’s of interests including Motorcycles, Muscle cars, ATV’s, Photography, Scuba and Travel. Avid reader of Sci-Fi fantasy (heavy on the sci-fi), World War II naval history (submarines, allied or axis), Action/Adventure, Personal accounts (drama, non-fiction), Horror and Religion (I have some good choices but I will leave those out unless anyone is interested). Looking forward to reading as time permits!

Favorites
Genre: Sci-Fi
Book: Any of the “Helmsmen” series, six in all. (Total non-serious light reading military Sci-fi)
Author: Bill Baldwin

1. Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian
This was a selection from my son’s Honors English class. I tried it and found it a good account of the Armenian Holocaust through the eyes of the author. Very good true story of overcoming unbelievable horrors and atrocities.

2. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
A good fiction action book written like a first person historical document. An account of a Middle Eastern scholar who sets off with a group of Vikings to defend against “the eaters of the dead”. Lots of blood! Made into the movie “The Thirteenth Warrior”, I guess a movie called “eaters of the dead” wasn’t as marketable.

3. Operation Drumbeat by Michael Gannon
Excellent WW2 Naval history about the German Submarine attack on the United States East coast focusing on two Patrols by German Captain Hardagen. (U-123). Most folks don’t realize how badly things were going for the US in the opening days of WW2.

“PizzaMaker”

I’m 37 years old, live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Own and operate 3 Domino’s Pizza store with my husband, and am Smeddley ’s Aunt. Her Mommy said I had to join her book club. I don’t read everyday (eek). I didn’t really get into reading until 10 years ago. Reading always seemed a chore to me, that is until I found Danielle Steel. My sister sent one of her books on cd to me (to listen to while delivering pizzas). It was 6 disks long and I listened to the whole thing in one day (couldn’t stop)! Now, I’m determined to read all of her books.

Favorites
Genre: fiction/romance
Book: The Long Road Home
Author: Danielle Steel

1. The Long Road Home by Danielle Steel
This book grabs you from the first sentence. Most books take a few chapters to get going. In this one, just when you think things are going to work out for the main character, they get worse. There is no happy ending in this one.

2. Heartbeat by Danielle Steel
This book isn’t about a woman!!! It’s all about a man going through a divorce. It was made into a movie. I realized that a quarter of the way into the book and then I could only imagine the main character as…John Ritter

3. Suitable for Framing by Edna Buchanan
It’s available on CD-Rom! (You said no movies, nothing about listening on CD-Rom or tape). It’s one of a series, about a newspaper reporter in Florida. Mystery

“J.Smith”

(Our first “friend of a friend member! Yay!) I live in Ypsilanti, MI and was sent your newsletter by “PizzaMaker” in Ohio, whom I known for a few years through my job. I love to read, though not as much now that the computer has taken up residence in my home office. My favorite types of books are mystery (courtroom and medical), biographies, women making there mark in this world and anything with action or mystery that is historical accuracy. Though most of my favorite reading is fiction, I also love reading cookbooks.

1. The Life and Times of Brenda Lee by Julie Clay (Brenda's daughter) and Robert K. Oermann.
This book would bring back memories to those born in the late 40s or 50s, but it is a well written book for anyone. It tells a heart-warming story that goes on and on. A sign of a good book is one that you read more than once and each time you read it, you discover something new.

2. The Stars That Shine by Julie Clay.
This is usually found in the children's section of most bookstores, but it is very enjoyable reading for all.   These are short stories as told to the author by some of Country Music biggest stars about their childhood.  And the book is beautifully illustrated by Dan Andreasen.  To quote the author, "Stories designed for children-the child in all of us.”

3. The Cold Heart by Jonathan Kellermann
This a murder mystery and most of my read is, but this book I really liked mostly because I didn't figure out whodunit until almost the very end.  I have read so many mysteries that sometimes I lose interest because I have figured out the ending.  This one was a good read to the very end.  The characters return in new book after new book, and you get to know them and what they are likely to do, but this one keeps you wondering.  Very good.

“Sparklebaby”

Someday, I would like to own a home near a body of water, lie on a chaise, listening to waves lapping, trees rustling, or other sounds of nature, relaxing with a good book in my hand. Okay, so I am a dreamer. I love to read whenever my hectic schedule allows me (two children, okay! okay, one child, one husband equals no time for me). I don’t really have one genre. I read whatever interests me.

My exploration into the world of near-death experiences, psychic abilities, and ghostly tales, afterlife subjects occurred shortly after my brother’s death in 1989. And through my research I have uncovered surprising discoveries and beliefs. The truth is out there! Somewhere. Despite the obvious, I truly am a skeptic, which is why I love to go to these events or tours and check their validity. I’ve been on several tours and proud of them too. One being in San Diego, where my husband and I toured the number one haunted house in the US: The Whaley House (and registered as one with the US Government). If anything, I find these tours fun and exciting.

Other tidbits: My interest in photography is growing through my design work. Someday, I would love to finish my novel (it’s been started) and have it published. And that’s enough about me.

Favorites
Genre: Romance, Science, Horror, Psychic Phenomenon, and Ghostly
Encounters, Afterlife subjects
Book: The Black Hope Horror
Author: Ben Williams, Jean Williams, and John Bruce Shoemaker

1. Haunted Kansas Ghost Stories and Other Eerie Tales (Non-fiction) by Lisa Hefner Heitz
How many of you know what’s in your backyard? That is until it’s in print? There are interesting tidbits from neighboring cities like Paola, Kansas City, Atchison (take a turn on the ghost tour and find out why it’s been known to be the most haunted town in Kansas), and of course there’s many more!

2. Haunted (Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Mystery) by Heather Graham
Melody House is a historic Virginia estate that is believed to be haunted. Matt Stone, its caretaker, doesn’t believe in ghosts and has no time for such trickery. However, due to unrelenting strange happenings within the house, he is forced to seek the help of a paranormal investigator, Darcy Tremayne. Using her special psychic gifts, Darcy digs and uncovers the skeletons of the past and warnings from the future. Melody House holds the mystery of the past tightly ands spins a dangerous liaison of the present.

3. The Black Hope Horror, The True Story of a Haunting by Ben Williams, Jean Williams, and John Bruce Shoemaker
Are you kidding? This is what movies are based from! My all time favorite movie is Poltergeist, which is based from this true story. Add one sacred slave burial ground (Black Hope Cemetery) and one unscrupulous developer spells trouble for a new subdivision outside of Houston, Texas. Extreme poltergeist activities that became increasingly frightening, explosive and physical, uncovering graves, spontaneous electrical shortages, intense hateful emotions, and hellish events were enough to drive eight separate families in fear of their lives from this ill fated subdivision. A must read!

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