Community Forums

historyljc · 01-04-2009, 01:44 PM

I think I have read all of Sanford's "Prey" series, quite a few of Crichton's, Patterson's and Grafton's books and a couple of the Hunter's. I'll have to look into those by Cornwall. So many books, so little time.

MovableBookLady · 01-04-2009, 02:12 PM

Historyijc: I'm not very familiar with any Florida bookstores. I've only been to FL once. Now, don't faint -- I grew up on the NC coast, tropical climate etc, so why would I go to FL?

One of the problems for me now of having been a bookseller for so many years is that I've read so much that used bookstores seldom have anything to tempt me. That's why I usually wind up at Barnes & Noble or Borders or Book-a-Million, anywhere there are new books.

For those who like Grafton, try Marcia Muller. Also, Laurie King is a very good writer but only for her present-day series set in San Francisco (she has another series with Sherlock Holmes and his wife). WEB Griffin's Corps series is very good, and I liked the Army series, too, but don't care for his CIA stuff.

Florida people might like Randy Wayne White or Carl Hiassen or Edna Buchanan (other people would like them, too). Also, T. Jefferson Parker. I just read a brand-new book, Down River, which won the Edgar as best mystery debut; it's set in Salisbury NC (sorry, forgot the author). Kathy Reichs does great forensic anthropology stuff (the TV series "Bones" is based on her books).

Okay okay, I'll stop now. I could go on for days, you know.

historyljc · 01-04-2009, 02:56 PM

MovableBookLady,
I thought that possibly in some of your travels you may have crossed paths with Owen and Mooney Farly the owners of the store. I know they used to spend a good deal of time on the road going to wherever people go in their dealings in old and rare books. Owen was a colleague of mine at the college where we taught. He managed to retire a couple of years ahead of me.

Thanks for the tips on the authors to check out. DW will probably to me great bodily harm if I bring just one more book into the house. I don't know why she gets upset, there's still a path through most of the rooms where we can walk with stepping on books.

MovableBookLady · 01-04-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by historyljc:
MovableBookLady,
I thought that possibly in some of your travels you may have crossed paths with Owen and Mooney Farly the owners of the store. I know they used to spend a good deal of time on the road going to wherever people go in their dealings in old and rare books. Owen was a colleague of mine at the college where we taught. He managed to retire a couple of years ahead of me.

Thanks for the tips on the authors to check out. DW will probably to me great bodily harm if I bring just one more book into the house. I don't know why she gets upset, there's still a path through most of the rooms where we can walk with stepping on books.

I may very well have met them if they came to Asheville on buying trips, but I don't remember. I was not a rare book dealer, just a better than average book dealer, so they may have passed me up. I bet they know Chan Gordon of Captain's Bookshelf, though -- ask them.

As long as you've got walking room and the stacks aren't threatening to fall on your head, no problem, right?

historyljc · 01-04-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

As long as you've got walking room and the stacks aren't threatening to fall on your head, no problem, right?

She maintains a slightly different view of that than I do. I'll check with Owen about Chan Gordon and the Captain's Bookself.

FatDog · 01-04-2009, 03:37 PM

My reading tends to move in trends ...

i read a couple dozen StephenKing's ... really enjoyed The Stand and also The TommyKnockers more then his others ....

then i switch to US military history for a while, and that is a list that can keep anyone busy for a while, WWII and Vietnam era history is significant stuff to read ...

baseball books are certainly great to sink into for a few months, the stories some of those guys have to tell are almost as good as reading Huckleberry Finn, except geared more for us older guys

...

how about Trinity (Leon Uris), that i could probably read a third time ...

and on and on and on ...

Glenn and Kathy · 01-04-2009, 04:04 PM

Since Dec 15 I have read the following;

Lincoln Lawyer, Overlook and Brass Verdict by Michael Connely, The Front by Patricia Corwell, Bones by Patterson and Arctic Drift by Cussler.
Getting ready to start Devine Justice by Baldacci.

I have read all the Cussler, Dale Brown, Patterson, Stephen Coonts and all of many other authers works.

Maybe I read too much!

Glenn

MovableBookLady · 01-05-2009, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Glenn and Kathy:
Since Dec 15 I have read the following;

Lincoln Lawyer, Overlook and Brass Verdict by Michael Connely, The Front by Patricia Corwell, Bones by Patterson and Arctic Drift by Cussler.
Getting ready to start Devine Justice by Baldacci.

I have read all the Cussler, Dale Brown, Patterson, Stephen Coonts and all of many other authers works.

Maybe I read too much!

Glenn

Heresy! Impossible to do. Well, okay, maybe if you forget to eat and bathe etc etc. But you're not that far gone, are you?

Lindsay Richards · 01-05-2009, 08:59 AM

I have been reading Wilber Smith's "Courtney series of 8 books about an English family's experiences in Africa from early wooden ship days through modern times. Very good, but better if read in order.

FatDog · 01-05-2009, 09:50 AM

Anyone read any of Stephen Ambrose' books?

I haven't, but I just finished watching The Band of Brothers dvd's (Spielberg/Hanks). Ambrose is the author of the book that that set of disks is based on. It is by far the best movie or miniseries that I have ever seen.

So i look for Stephen Ambrose books and see he has written numerous WWII books and also on other wars (Custer/Crazy Horse).
He has some good titles, and that Brothers book gives him some great pedigree, I just don't know which of his books to look at first.

jeeprubi · 01-05-2009, 12:16 PM

My wife and both love to read.

My recent reads:
David Baldacci - Stone Cold & Simple Genius. I like his books.
William Cohen - Dragon Fire. Excellent
Michael Connelly - The Lincoln Lawyer. One of my favorite recent reads.
Vince Flynn - Protect & Defend. One of my top authors
Lisa Gardner - Say Goodbye. Very good author.
John Grisham - The Appeal. One of my top authors
Brian Haig - Man in the Middle. One of my top Authors
Greg Isles - True Evil. Good author
Iris Johansen - Quicksand
Stephen White - Deadtime. One of my top authors.

Others authors that I read:
Dale Brown
Stephen Coonts - Very good
Clive Cussler - Read them all. One of my top authors
Frederick Forsyth - Very good
John Jakes - Historical. Very good reads
Tim LaHaye - Left Behind series. Loved this series
Robert Ludlum - Very good, but not lite reading
brad Meltzer - Very good
John Sandford - Prey series.

I will definitely check out some of the authors and books that everyone has suggested.

MovableBookLady · 01-05-2009, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FatDog:
Anyone read any of Stephen Ambrose' books?

I haven't, but I just finished watching The Band of Brothers dvd's (Spielberg/Hanks). Ambrose is the author of the book that that set of disks is based on. It is by far the best movie or miniseries that I have ever seen.

So i look for Stephen Ambrose books and see he has written numerous WWII books and also on other wars (Custer/Crazy Horse).
He has some good titles, and that Brothers book gives him some great pedigree, I just don't know which of his books to look at first.

Can't help you with Ambrose, though he does have a good reputation. If you like Western American history, you should try Elmer Kelton, usually found in Westerns.

MovableBookLady · 01-05-2009, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lindsay Richards:
I have been reading Wilber Smith's "Courtney series of 8 books about an English family's experiences in Africa from early wooden ship days through modern times. Very good, but better if read in order.

I've always been fond of Wilbur Smith and think he's under-appreciated.

MovableBookLady · 01-05-2009, 12:26 PM

Does anybody read science fiction? There are a number of authors who write military SF, such as David Weber or Timothy Zahn. If you're into military or tech stuff, you might enjoy this genre.

In the slightly-SF-but-mostly-police-procedural sub-sub-genre, the J.D. Robb series is set about 50 or so years in the future, close enough to feel vaguely familiar but far enough to do some extrapolation. Love the series.

I read fantasy, too.