Thread: Summer Reading
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Old 07-21-2010, 01:07 PM   #50
Burninator
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Columbine
Dave Cullen


One of the best true crime books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down. It was fascinating. Like most people I learned about the events of Columbine from the news and Michael Moore's movie Bowling for Columbine. Not a big surprise, but they got a staggering amount of things wrong. So much of what I thought I knew about Columbine was completely wrong. If you have seen Michael Moore's movie (or haven't) and are interested in the actual events of Columbine I highly recommend this book. Just to give you a taste at how inaccurate Michael Moore's movie is when it comes to the shooting/failed bombing itself; the title doesn't make sense. They didn't go bowling that day.

In the tradition of HELTER SKELTER and IN COLD BLOOD, COLUMBINE is destined to be a classic. A close-up portrait of hatred, a community rendered helpless, and the police blunders and cover-ups, it is a compelling and utterly human portrait of two killers-an unforgettable cautionary tale for our times.

If you want more true crime, Helter Skleter (Charles Manson murders) is a great read as is Case Closed (JFK true story without the conspiracy nonsense).

Daemon
Daniel Suarez


If you are technology geek you will probably enjoy this book. If you are looking for a easier summer read with an interesting story, this should fit the bill.

When a designer of computer games dies, he leaves behind a program that unravels the Internet's interconnected world. It corrupts, kills, and runs independent of human control. It's up to Detective Peter Sebeck to wrest the world from the malevolent virtual enemy before its ultimate purpose is realized: to destroy civilization...


Humbolt's Gift
Saul Bellow



He seems to be quite popular in this thread. If you are looking for a light summer read, this won't be the book for you. But if you looking for something more substantial, something you'll want to read for hours straight then check it out.

Saul Bellow's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel explores the long friendship between Charlie Citrine, a young man with an intense passion for literature, and the great poet Von Humboldt Fleisher. At the time of his death, however, Humboldt is a failure, and Charlie's life is falling apart: his career is at a standstill, and he's enmeshed in an acrimonious divorce, infatuated with a highly unsuitable young woman, and involved with a neurotic mafioso. And then Humboldt acts from beyond the grave, bestowing upon Charlie an unexpected legacy that may just help him turn his life around.

If you are unsure about Saul Bellow you can read Seize the Day first. It's a much shorter read and it will give you a taste.


Also anything by Kurt Vonnegut is fantastic. I am slowing working my way through his collection. Steinbeck and Hemingway are always a great read. Cormac McCarthy's the Road is great as is his other books, especially Blood Meridian.
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