can anyone recommend a good book?

[bluesmalone]

I really enjoy reading. :) can some of you guys give a couple of your fav titles? ??? authors? ???

[Guest]

Any book by John Steinbeck is guaranteed to give you a good day. If you like easy-reading, Sven Hazel's books about his time in the German army during ww2 is also a very good choice. John Irving has some good ones too among his duds: "Garp" excellent entertainment, "A prayer for Owen Meany" Very good! "Ciderhouse rules", quite good.

And if you are up to reading Sci.Fi: One of the best books I have ever had is "Dune" by Frank Herbert. If you have not read this you are in for a treat :) It was a mindblowing experience when I read it for the first time.

For the ones of you that like to have the book read out loud for you, or maybe your eyes are too shot to read at night, there are quite a few audiobooks(mp3-format) that you can download with kazaa. Just took down 4 of the Harry potter books and put them on a cd for my kids.

And... if you want to increase your ability to understand other cultures (Thai ways of thinking), a book in basic social antrophology is recommended. It has made my travels richer.

 

Whaler   8)

[Leadbelly]

bluesmalone, just finished a book by Stephen Hunter called "Pale Horse Coming," available in paperback (Pocket Star Books, 2001, $7.99 U.S.). If you like fast-paced, violent, action style reads I recommend this one. The story is set in Mississippi in 1950. The hero is a former Marine, Medal of Honor winner who is now an Arkansas State Police Sgt, Earl Swagger. There is prison for blacks in the middle of a swamp called Thebes. The guards did not treat the prisoners well... Lots of shooting, fighting, torture, descriptions of guns and rifles, plenty of bad guys....a fun read IMO. If you want an "intellectual, thinking read" don't get this one. It was on the New York Time's bestseller list, for what that's worth. Of course, so was every book U.S. television talk show host Oprah Winfrey used to recommend...

[aqua4]

Best book I remember was the one they made a film of. Costs $10 but beats the film by far. Its was called When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip & Jay Wurts .

 

About a young Veitnamese girl during the war and her rise through adversity. Very well written. Very sad.

[sprinter]

IMHO you can't go wrong with any book by Dean Koontz....

[Fonz]

Try Shogun by James Clavell ? .About a English/Dutch laddie in early Japan. A big book but was sorry when it ended.

Lee Childs hero is a ex army police major who gets into all sorts of trouble but not at all adverse to matching brawn and brains with all comers.Bloody good reading.

Lee Childs is the author an American.

[Guest]

I'll second that for "Shogun". It is a true story. Just finished "Hitman" and "Hitlist" by Lawrence Block. Both about a hitman with a conscience. Excellent books.

[Flotsam]

I just finished the book "4000 days"  written by an Australian Warren Fellows about his 12 year survival in a Bangkok Prison,  no light stuff  ::).  True hell on earth.

it's an excellent warning to stay far away from anything illegal  

[bluesmalone]

flotsam..yeah I just finished "4000 days" also.

it's one of the most interesting true stories i've ever read..

[sprinter]

Have a look at a BangKwan prison at http://home.freeuk.net/mounsey/Insides.HTM...makes you wonder how he survived...

Sprinter

[monkeyman]

Have you read "The Beginner's Guide To Katoeys" by R. Spandett?

[bluesmalone]

hey monkey, how many pages is the beginners guide?

[landy2a]

Anything by Carl Hiaasen, his take on the natives (human) of Florida is extremely humourous.

 

John

[Paula]

"Money Number 1!  Can't remember who wrote it though.  

 

Bloody funny book and straight to the point!

[thaidane]

I go with James Clavel too. Very good to read when you are in SEA. Shogun, Taipan, Noble House and Whirlwind are very good. Gaijin not so good imho. And all of them about 1000 pages in pocket book version so you don't have to bring a lot.

Best wishes

Thaidane

[TURBO]

I've found that biographys make good holiday reading & give a good insight into people & what made them the way they are . Last trip I read Roy Keane's bio & the previous trip I read Sir Alex Fergusons ( bit of a Reds fan  :) ) , both good reads .

 

Somebody mentioned Sven Hassel's books . I used to read them when I was at school & I had the full collection . Recently I decided to read them again & went to get one out of our massive bookcase . I discovered that after leaving them sitting on the shelf for 15 years my Dad had decided the previous week to make room for new books & had brought my entire collection to the charity shop along with my collectors edition of The Lord of The Rings trilogy  > .

 

Derek

[RayW]

Yep I enjoy a good biography too though I really am not a soccer fan.  For me the best sport is Motor Racing so I recommend Murry Walkers biography "Unless I am very much mistaken"  a very good read and only came out last Autumn.

[Guest]

Ray,

 

I would have thought that with your penchant for WWII flight sims that Biggles would have been right up your street.  :-/

 

I personally enjoyed Barabara Woodhouse's excellent Isaan cookbook, "101 Ways to Wok Your Dog"

 

Hang loose,

 

Tom

[RayW]

Tom, trouble is I have read all the Biggles Books just waiting for the "Biggles goes to Pattaya" volume  ;D ;D

 

"Hang Loose"  hmm.... I will be doing just that after my Vasectomy on Wednesday morning .. ouch!! hmm getting a bit of anxiety over that just now so don't say Hang Loose again for the moment please  ;D   Now come to think of it  there must be a good book around somewhere to entitled something like "Having the Snip when a Pensioner" that should be a good read.  

[monkeyman]

hey monkey, how many pages is the beginners guide?

 

Dunno, I lost my copy when I was mugged by a couple of ladyboys on Beach Road.

 

Apparently they were after a copy of "Boystown Review" by Brian Hatter and Ian Hoof.

 

be reading you

monkeyman

[Guest]

RayW. Apropos your mention of "Biggles in pattaya"

There is actually a book out called "TinTin in Thailand"!

I heard about it, and found it for free to download on some website. It is hilarious to see TinTin and all the others in a bargirl-thailand setting. Very well drawn, like the original comicbooks. I don't remember where I found it, but you should be able to locate it if you do a search.

 

Whaler  

[monkeyman]

Tin Tin in Thailand? Is that anything like Can Can in Paris?

 

It figures. I always had the guy down as a pervert.

 

 

be seeing you

monkeyman

[RayW]

Thanks for that Whaler.  Sounds funny indeed.  This isn't the TinTin I know is it, Rin Tin Tin the German Shepherd dog ??  ;D ;D

[landy2a]

Tin Tin in Thailand available for download from www.bangkokbob.net/literature.htm

 

John

[THE_DRUID]

:)ANYTHING BY CHARLES BUKOWSKI, JOHN FANTE,DAN FANTE OR TRY 'THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES',FORGET THE AUTHOR!!!