AO Book Club

[WolfmanAB]

Mennonites went through hell when the Communists got in in Russia. Shows the strength of their character they defied the odds and went on to other places to settle. Being 1/2 German (Catholic raised, though) myself have nothing but respect.

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Well, this needs to come back up for a bit again. I have recently read a book that I would like to promote. Full disclosure, it was written by my wife's younger sister, it is her memoir.

Exceptionally well written, and tells the story of being raised in the Mennonite tradition in Bolivia, and northern Alberta. A lot of family tragedy here, but so much courage too. I knew the story, and parts of it witnessed first hand as well. It made me feel bad for my wife, going through so much as a child and young adult, and then marrying me, as the cherry on top. Poor girl.

Anyway, it is a quite a read, and has caused a bit of a stir in the Mennonite community. She calls it like it is, but still held a lot back.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08NH7WY9P/..._YfcXFb5MSYR2X

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by KC1

All the works of John Bunyan.
John Bunyan.
I wonder how many AO members have read in them.
If you did, just pm me.

Pilgrim's Progress. Required reading in Bible College.

[CptnBlues63]

I'm also a Kindle owner and have been for some years. My wife and I (she's a readholic too) have acquired quite a collection since first buying the Kindles.

I'm a big SciFi fan with several Heinlein books at the top of my favorites list:
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
- Starship Trooper (no comparison to the movie which sucked enormously)
- Stranger in a Strange Land

Pick another SciFi author name, I've likely read something of theirs if not all of it.

I also get into fantasy fiction and like most folks am a big fan of Tolkein.

I read the Thomas Covenant books and didn't care for it that much. The whiney bugger needed a kick in the pants. I got so tired of his self pity and the whole "unclean" BS I never reread the series and in fact, gave the books away. Tolkein is too wordy when being descriptive of land, buildings etc. But other than that, the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit kick butt

Piers Anthony
The first 6 - 10 of his Xanth books are great but after that I lost interest
His "Incarnations of Immortality" books are very much worth a read!

There's a list of fantasy books as long as my leg (or longer) that I've read and some I go back to (LOTR) and some I don't.

My wife got me into Ubran Fantasy a few years back and I'm a big fan of Illona Andrews. I've read most of their (yes, "their" plural, it's a pseudonym beloning to a husband/wife writing team). Lots of fresh ideas and stories and the Kate Daniels books just rock. So does The Edge books and The Innkeeper......

There's a lot of other stuff I like in that genre but I don't have my Kindle handy so I'm not going list any more.

Hmmmm............what else. I've read everything written by Louis L'Amour. Laugh if you want to but I liked his writing style and I could get through most of his books in an hour or so (I read very fast).

I've read all kinds of non-fiction but a lot of it is just boring. I did pick up Teddy Roosevelt's memoirs for free from Amazon, worth a read.

Ummm...........let's see.........other favorite novels I think are worth a read:
Clavell
- Shogun
- King rat

McMurtry
- Lonesome Dove

Most anything by Steven King (my wife is a superfan so we own everything of his........mostly in hardback).

My entire family are readaholics too, both parents and all siblings. I grew up reading my older brother's complete collection of Burroughs, my other older brother's Conan books (complete collection).

Oh, if you like SciFi and ever see this one, give it a read:
John Steakely
- Armor

Nuff for now.............lol

[CptnBlues63]

I'm also a Kindle owner and have been for some years. My wife and I (she's a readholic too) have acquired quite a collection since first buying the Kindles.

I'm a big SciFi fan with several Heinlein books at the top of my favorites list:
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
- Starship Trooper (no comparison to the movie which sucked enormously)
- Stranger in a Strange Land

Pick another SciFi author name, I've likely read something of theirs if not all of it.

I also get into fantasy fiction and like most folks am a big fan of Tolkein.

I read the Thomas Covenant books and didn't care for it that much. The whiney bugger needed a kick in the pants. I got so tired of his self pity and the whole "unclean" BS I never reread the series and in fact, gave the books away. Tolkein is too wordy when being descriptive of land, buildings etc. But other than that, the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit kick butt

Piers Anthony
The first 6 - 10 of his Xanth books are great but after that I lost interest
His "Incarnations of Immortality" books are very much worth a read!

There's a list of fantasy books as long as my leg (or longer) that I've read and some I go back to (LOTR) and some I don't.

My wife got me into Ubran Fantasy a few years back and I'm a big fan of Illona Andrews. I've read most of their (yes, "their" plural, it's a pseudonym beloning to a husband/wife writing team). Lots of fresh ideas and stories and the Kate Daniels books just rock. So does The Edge books and The Innkeeper......

There's a lot of other stuff I like in that genre but I don't have my Kindle handy so I'm not going list any more.

Hmmmm............what else. I've read everything written by Louis L'Amour. Laugh if you want to but I liked his writing style and I could get through most of his books in an hour or so (I read very fast).

I've read all kinds of non-fiction but a lot of it is just boring. I did pick up Teddy Roosevelt's memoirs for free from Amazon, worth a read.

Ummm...........let's see.........other favorite novels I think are worth a read:
Clavell
- Shogun
- King rat

McMurtry
- Lonesome Dove

Most anything by Steven King (my wife is a superfan so we own everything of his........mostly in hardback).

My entire family are readaholics too, both parents and all siblings. I grew up reading my older brother's complete collection of Burroughs, my other older brother's Conan books (complete collection).

Oh, if you like SciFi and ever see this one, give it a read:
John Steakely
- Armor

Nuff for now.............lol

[mmmax]

Great threat! Lots of great authors and books mentioned.

Andy Russell
James Michener
Lion Uris
Jack O'Connor
Jim Carmichael
Hap Wilson
James Clavell (King Rat)
Grant Macewen (John Ware's Cow Town)
Hunter S Thompson (Hell's Angels)
Jon Krakauer (into thin air, Into the Wild)
David H Hackworth (Steel My Soldiers Hearts)
I will be referencing this thread before I go book shopping

[mmmax]

Great threat! Lots of great authors and books mentioned.

Andy Russell
James Michener
Lion Uris
Jack O'Connor
Jim Carmichael
Hap Wilson
James Clavell (King Rat)
Grant Macewen (John Ware's Cow Country)
Hunter S Thompson (Hell's Angels)
Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air, Into the Wild)
David H Hackworth (Steel My Soldiers Hearts)
I will be referencing this thread before I go book shopping

[Okotok]

Just finished "Coming back alive" by Spike Walker. It's about true rescues by the Coast Guard helicopter crews out of Sitka Alaska. Just wow that there are people like that out there.

[Okotok]

Time for another bump. I've read a passel of books since the last post. A recent one "Deep Survival, Who lives and who dies" was one that certainly gives pause for thought. It starts out a little slow and philisophical, but gets much better as you go, exploring many actual case studies. The Amazon description is:

Laurence Gonzales’s bestselling Deep Survival has helped save lives from the deepest wildernesses, just as it has improved readers’ everyday lives. Its mix of adventure narrative, survival science, and practical advice has inspired everyone from business leaders to military officers, educators, and psychiatric professionals on how to take control of stress, learn to assess risk, and make better decisions under pressure.

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Not ordinarily into fiction, but got sucked into the complete short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, the guy is vastly over rated. By the way, has anyone ever eaten a mix of canned spaghetti and pork and beans ?

Grizz

Lol I've eaten both separately and would definitely try a combo in a pinch,all bush food is adventurous.,,(The old Man and the Sea) is my favorite Hemingway.

[skain11]

Just finished "Dead Mountain" by Donnie Eicher. It is a recount of the Dyatlov Incident when 9 Russian student hikers die mysteriously during a winter hike in the Ural mountains in 1959. Fascinating insight into Russian life during the cold war as well as a probable root cause determined more than 50 years later.

[Okotok]

Just finished another trilogy by Jack Whyte. The Guardian series. It's probably the best compilation of what we know about the life and times of William Wallace (yeah, the Braveheart guy) and Robert The Bruce who kept up the fight and became the king restoring Scotland's sovereign kingdom status after a 20 year battle. Quite a departure from the movie which was lambasted by historians but a few things that relate.

[cody j]

Empire of the Summer Moon by SC Gwynne, story of the rise and fall of the Comanches

[schreyer]

Just picked up a copy of the Wealthy Barber by David Chilton.

[Red Bullets]

Discovered an interesting hunting book published in 1923. This guy tells his elephant hunting stories from early 1900's. He certainly was accomplished in the task. He talks about his guns and ammo too. He is known for realizing the shot we now call "the Bell shot". He reportedly killed many elephants with lighter caliber rifles. Like the 256 caliber.

Very interesting so far. A good book that's free to read online.

Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter. W. Bell
https://archive.org/details/wanderin...e/n11/mode/2up

[Mr Conservation]

I have recently read "Bear Encounter Survival Guide" and "Bear Attacks - The Deadly Truth" by James Gary Shelton. A real eye opener on bear behaviour. Gives a new appreciation of how fast things can happen, and a new perspective on a grizzly encounter near Chester Lake in Kananaskis Country.

Still looking for a copy of his third book - "Bear Attacks II - Myth & Reality"

Mr Conservation

[Dean2]

Still a very good read in today's world is P.O. Ackley Vol 1 and 2 Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders. Anyone interested in Wildcat cartridges and the history behind them, as well as Ackley's own improved cartridges would really enjoy reading this. Too bad they are out of print. Anyone interested in a set to read, P.M. me, I have an extra 2 volume set in paper back.

[Jim Blake]

Just read the book Wild and Free by Frank Cook. A great read for sure. You can get it on Amazon.

[leo]

Reading Elmer Keith’s biography right now. The old coot lived a pretty diverse life. Good story all through.

[Lornce]

Also a science fiction buff, just reading the "Wheel of Time" novels by author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author. By the Way If you like SiFi check out Brandon's works starting with "Mistborn".

Also just finished a great book called "Chickenhawk" by Robert Mason. Recounts a Vietnam War veteran who had more than one thousand combat missions as a helicopter pilot.

[Okotok]

Originally Posted by Lornce

Also a science fiction buff, just reading the "Wheel of Time" novels by author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author. By the Way If you like SiFi check out Brandon's works starting with "Mistborn".

Also just finished a great book called "Chickenhawk" by Robert Mason. Recounts a Vietnam War veteran who had more than one thousand combat missions as a helicopter pilot.

Chickenhawk was a great read that was recommended somewhere on this thread. It led down a rabbit hole of Vietnam and Korean war books.

Recently finished "Buried in the Sky" about the 11 climbers who died on K2 on one climb in 2008. It was written from the Sherpa perspective which was very interesting and revealed a lot more than the previous accounts by the climbing teams.

[Jason Bourne]

Just finished re-reading The Wave: In pursuit of the rogues, freaks and giants of the ocean. by Susan Casey. Very interesting read about big waves explained through surfing, shipwrecks, science and tsunamis. Some unbelievably crazy accounts of massive waves and how (somewhat) they come to be.

[Mr Flyguy]

Reading August into Winter by Guy Vanderhaeghe.

[Off in the Bushes]

I book I read a long time ago and I just couldn’t put it down was “The Dirt” it’s a biography on the rock band Motley Crüe. The crap they got away with for being rock stars is down right criminal.

[outofbounds]

I just finished the Wettest County in the World.
A book based on the Bondurant family and white lightning.

Some of the boys from the south that I work with have ties to this era, I had opportunity to try some of their jars from handed down recipes.
From Roger Miller - I said "Lemme have a big old sip"
Bllll-bbbb
I done a double back flip.
Some stuff was smooth but crawled up on ya, others were wicked goin' down and hit with both barrels in short order.

The book,
was a good read, also watched the movie.

Also recently finished the Company of Adventurers, 3 parts to it.
Following the HBC expansion.

Just picked up Clearing the Plains by James Daschuk.
Looking to find a good book on the Hatfield and McCoy feud.

[KC1]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Pilgrim's Progress. Required reading in Bible College.

Required reading in the High School I went to in Holland.
Many years ago.

[cody j]

Originally Posted by Okotok

Chickenhawk was a great read that was recommended somewhere on this thread. It led down a rabbit hole of Vietnam and Korean war books.

Recently finished "Buried in the Sky" about the 11 climbers who died on K2 on one climb in 2008. It was written from the Sherpa perspective which was very interesting and revealed a lot more than the previous accounts by the climbing teams.

If you are into Vietnam war books here is a couple I would recommend, Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson and Dead Center by Ed Kugler. Both are about snipers in the Vietnam war, some very interesting stories

[Bigwoodsman]

Last week I finished Ghost Rider - Travels on the Healing Road. Written by Neil Peart. What he went through and how he dealt with it all. Great read, couldn't leave it down. Well written book.

If you like riding motorcycles, Neil takes you on out on the back roads as he crosses North America, Mexico and Belize. This book is for you. Also a great book on dealing with loss and grief and all that goes with having to go through it.

BW

[leo]

Finished up Theodore Roosevelt's African Game Trails. Wowzers for how things were hunted in Africa at the turn of the 21st century. If you published it now, you'd have animal activists camped for a 2 mile radius around your house brandishing torches and pitch forks. Still a good read of hunting a bygone era.

[roper1]

Fifty Shades of Grey..........a beautiful story of love, romance, and adventure.

[leo]

Originally Posted by roper1

Fifty Shades of Grey..........a beautiful story of love, romance, and adventure.

Right up TB's & TC's alley. Does it have pictures too? I need visual prompts to keep my attention.