The 50 Book Challenge 2009

[mirra]

Hey David (my name-brother )
thanks for your recommendation! Maybe I'll check one of his other books! but first Henry Millers "Tropic Of Cancer"

[mtoolan]

1. Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krupp
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
5. Rebel Giants by David R. Contosta
6. Oracle Night by Paul Auster
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster
9. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
10. A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
11. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
12. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
13. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Really liked it

[footjam_heger]

Cool topic! (it would maybe easier to post your books on www.weread.com, anybody heard of that site?)

[h0ag3yb3atZ]

20. True Hallucinations, Terence McKenna, 237 pg./12_Pawn_of_Prophecy_by_David_Eddings.html]here[/url].

How was this? have you read The Archaic Revival or Daniel Pinchbecks "Breaking Open The Head" ? I'm trying to decide which one to read first and want some opinions.

[bigdirtyfoot]

mirra: Go for it! Henry Miller writes some fantastic stuff.

7evinkogan: I have read both of those. I would say my favorite out of all of them is Breaking Open the Head, although Pinchbeck gets a little preachy sometimes, so be prepared for that. True Hallucinations is a look into Terence McKenna's life - it's a great story. I enjoyed it a lot. But Archaic Revival is more of like an analysis of culture/society. It's also pretty good, and a lot of McKenna's theories are pretty sound in that one. They're all good! If you're looking for a quick read, start with Pinchbeck.

[bigdirtyfoot]

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.
19. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 326 pg.
20. True Hallucinations, Terence McKenna, 237 pg.
21. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings, 290 pg.
22. I Was Carlos Castaneda, Martin Goodman, 220 pg.

Read this one all in one day. I'm a big fan of Castaneda, so it was cool to see someone take his literary style and resurrect him in the form of a novel. You can read my review for it here.

[h0ag3yb3atZ]

mirra: Go for it! Henry Miller writes some fantastic stuff.

7evinkogan: I have read both of those. I would say my favorite out of all of them is Breaking Open the Head, although Pinchbeck gets a little preachy sometimes, so be prepared for that. True Hallucinations is a look into Terence McKenna's life - it's a great story. I enjoyed it a lot. But Archaic Revival is more of like an analysis of culture/society. It's also pretty good, and a lot of McKenna's theories are pretty sound in that one. They're all good! If you're looking for a quick read, start with Pinchbeck.

Agreed on Pinchbeck being preachy. I thought "2012" was a much better book then most people give it credit for, however sometimes Pinchbeck going off on random tangents about shit got a little confusing and there were times when he came off as a douchey, arrogant college boy. I'm gonna check out "Breaking open the head" though for sure before year's end.

I dig all of the Carlos Castaneda love in this thread. Seperate Reality is one of the best books I've read all year and though I've heard that the peyote and most of the allie stuff is cut out of his later books, I'm totally gonna read anything of Castaneda's I can get my hands on.

[Rishell]

1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 498 pages
2. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer 563 pages
3. Go Ask Alice Anonymous 228 pages
4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 328 pages
5. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk 293 pages
6. Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik 218 pages
7. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey 430 pages
8. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews 411 pages
9. Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews 439 pages
10. If There be Thorns by V.C. Andrews 374 pages
11. Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews 376 pages
12. Seeds of Yesterday by V.C. Andrews 408 pages
13. My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews 403 pages
14. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer 629 pages

I started a second job so I havent had the time to read as much as I want to. Next book - Breaking Dawn

[Asmus]

1. "Oh, Romeo" by Merete Pryds Helle (126 pages)
2. "I sammenbrudets tjeneste" which means "In the service of the breakdown" by Das Beckwerk and Mikkel Bolt (237 pages)
3. "Mr. Vertigo" by Paul Auster (313 pages)
4. "After Dark" by Haruki Murakami (217 pages)
5. "Kunsterns Køtere" which means "Bastards of Art" by Ole Lindboe (97 pages)
6. "Monument - Contemporary Art in the Urban Space" by alot of people (154 pages)

[bigdirtyfoot]

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.
19. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 326 pg.
20. True Hallucinations, Terence McKenna, 237 pg.
21. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings, 290 pg.
22. I Was Carlos Castaneda, Martin Goodman, 220 pg.
23. All The Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy, 302 pg.

One of the best books I've read in a long time. A must-read, especially if you like Westerns. You can check out my review here.

[mtoolan]

1. Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krupp
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
5. Rebel Giants by David R. Contosta
6. Oracle Night by Paul Auster
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster
9. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
10. A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
11. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
12. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
13. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
14. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Includes The Balloon-Hoax, MS Found in a Bottle, A Descent into the Maelstrom, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Purloined Letter, The Black Cat, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amantillado, The Assignation, The Tell-Tale Heart, Diddling, The Man That Was Used Up, and Narrative of A. Gordon Pim.

[bigdirtyfoot]

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.
19. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 326 pg.
20. True Hallucinations, Terence McKenna, 237 pg.
21. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings, 290 pg.
22. I Was Carlos Castaneda, Martin Goodman, 220 pg.
23. All The Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy, 302 pg.
24. Haunted, Chuck Palahniuk, 404 pg.

I wasn't a big fan of this one. Too boring. Read my review here.

[mtoolan]

1. Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krupp
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
5. Rebel Giants by David R. Contosta
6. Oracle Night by Paul Auster
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster
9. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
10. A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
11. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
12. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
13. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
14. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
15. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

[dp]

1. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells 140pg
2. Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut 318pg
3. Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons by Kurt Vonnegut 288pg
4. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut 298pg
5. The Far Field: Last Poems by Theodore Roethke 104pg

Those 104 pages were the slowest I've ever read 104 pages. I've started to get into poetry and I really liked this collection a lot.

[boyle]

I have my list at home, which I will post another day, but I have read a few books lately.

Mainly

Inside George Orwell- Gordon Bowker (about 440 pgs). This was a very detailed biography of George Orwell, gave a lot of insight into his life and what influence his writing.


This week I have read "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby, he also wrote High Fidelity, which I read earlier in the year. I really enjoyed this one. It's basically about these four people who meet each other on top of a roof on new years, ready to jump off, and what happens to them. It changes perspective through the different characters, who vary hugely. I read in just over a day, very enjoyable.

I am currently reading "A Clergyman's Daughter" by George Orwell. This is one of the works that he wanted suppressed as he claimed to have written it "just for money", but close to his death his publisher and second wife convinced him all his booked should be available to be published. I'm not very far into it yet, but it doesn't have the same sort of hook so far that some of his more popular books do.

[mtoolan]

1. Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krupp
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
5. Rebel Giants by David R. Contosta
6. Oracle Night by Paul Auster
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster
9. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
10. A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
11. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
12. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
13. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
14. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
15. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
16. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

[bigdirtyfoot]

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.
19. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 326 pg.
20. True Hallucinations, Terence McKenna, 237 pg.
21. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings, 290 pg.
22. I Was Carlos Castaneda, Martin Goodman, 220 pg.
23. All The Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy, 302 pg.
24. Haunted, Chuck Palahniuk, 404 pg.
25. How to Break a Terrorist, Matthew Alexander, 288 pg.

An interesting take on interrogation techniques. Alexander writes about how using rapport and respect with Al Qaeda detainees gained their trust. The U.S. Military then used information from the interrogations to find Zarqawi, the former leader of Al Qaeda. You can check out my review here. I thought it was definitely worth a read.

[daLai]

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le Carré - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
13. George Orwell - 1984 254p.
14. George Orwell - Animal Farm 128p.
15. Charles Hucker - China's Imperial Past 560p.
16. Thornton Wilder - The Bridge of San Luis Rey 124p.
17. Thomas Pynchon - The Crying Of Lot 49 127p.
18. Kingsley Amis - Lucky Jim 251p.
19. Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children 446p.

[daLai]

Hey David (my name-brother )
thanks for your recommendation! Maybe I'll check one of his other books! but first Henry Millers "Tropic Of Cancer"

please post a short review of this one, it's on my list, but I've only read one novel by Miller so far.

[daLai]

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le Carré - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
13. George Orwell - 1984 254p.
14. George Orwell - Animal Farm 128p.
15. Charles Hucker - China's Imperial Past 560p.
16. Thornton Wilder - The Bridge of San Luis Rey 124p.
17. Thomas Pynchon - The Crying Of Lot 49 127p.
18. Kingsley Amis - Lucky Jim 251p.
19. Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children 446p.
20. Dashiell Hammett - Red Harvest 187p.