Recommend a good book to me

I'm looking for something good to read.  Any genre: philosophy, fiction, literature, humor, history.  It's all on the table.  What do you recommend?

I don't know if this is a good book. It's called " The Secret History Of The World" by Mark Booth.
 
I'm about halfway through. I disagree with the premise for most of it. Not a solid basis for the reasoning therein. It stretches to make some of the points made. No exaggeration. Makes points out of unfounded theories. Takes some Biblical things way out of context.There is some truth there. Not much. Gives you some of the strange basis behind many secret organizations. Lots of pagan history.
 
It's occult lite. No horns or pentagrams, but the ideas are basically all there. Religion is off limits here, so all I can say is it has helped me confirm why I never went toward it. Explains a lot of the odd stuff going on in our world. Not all of it. Like I said I'm only halfway through. I hope it doesn't get any weirder.
 
You may or may not think it's a good book. I don't know if I'm interested enough to keep reading it.
 

Here are a few good ones I've read recently:
 
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson: Friends Divided, by Gordon S. Wood
The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought, by Dennis C. Rasmussen
Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides' Trap?, by Graham Allison
The Theory of Moral Sentiments, by Adam Smith (requires more patience and concentration than the others)

For fun, I love the Florida-based lunacy from Tim Dorsey (Serge Storms rocks!; former Tampa Bay newspaper reporter)) and Carl Hiassen (especially the Skink books; former Miami newspaper reporter). I would read Dorsey's books in the order they were written. Serge Storms equals Steve Buscemi on acid. Best lunatic character ever!
 
http://www.timdorsey.com/chronology.html
 
https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/carl-hiassen/

Thanks guys, these are all good starting places. 
 
Please keep the ideas coming.

This is an extremely good book and is quite, quite useful in arguments for reparations.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Mi...0_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Moondust - In search of the men who fell to Earth by Andrew Smith is a very interesting insight into the moon landings era if that sort of thing is of interest to you. The author had always wanted to talk to someone who had actually been to the moon and realised that time was running out if was ever to achieve this. Worth reading just for the anecdote of Neil Armstrong's "real" first words as he set foot on the lunar surface IMO. 

I've said this before but "Water Music," the first novel by T.C. Boyle, is among the greatest books I've ever read. It's two simultaneous stories which eventually converge - one following the fortunes of hapless explorer Mungo Park as he struggles to find the source of The Niger, and another cataloging the depraved antics of ne'er do well Ned Rise in the filth and deprivation of 17th century London. It's full of hilarity and rich, colorful language. I enjoyed every sentence of it. 
 
One of my other all time favorite books is "Up In The Old Hotel," a collection of articles written mainly in the 40's and 50's by New York journalist Joseph Mitchell. He painted the most compelling and interesting word portraits of quirky characters from the period - everything from street bums to museum curators to child geniuses and commercial fishermen. It's one of those books you can just open at any page and start reading - his use of language draws you in immediately. I've read it multiple times and I have trouble putting it down when I do. 

dmbaer
 
Interesting ... I was quite a Hiassen fan early on (maybe the first eight or so novels) but his more recent stuff hasn't been as much fun for me.  I will definitely give Mr. Dorsey a try.

I think he's tried to get too preachy and political of late and it's sapped all the fun out of him. 

This is getting really good!!  Any more?

 
Loved this.

Where to start...
 
My absolute favorite is the "Aubrey-Maturin" series by Patrick O'Brian. Historical fiction that centers around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. You may have seen an adaptation if you watched the "Master & Commander" movie, but the books (20 of them) offer much, much more. If you decide to start the series, read at least the first two books...the first book serves mostly to introduce the characters.
 
The "Dune" series by Frank Herbert and continued by his son. Thinking man's scifi.
 
"Gods, Graves and Scholars" by C.W. Ceram (original German Goetter, Graeber und Gelehrte): Nonfiction. If you like archaeology, this is a fascinating book of discovery, including sections on Egypt, Assyria, the Mayans and Aztecs. I have read this book many times.
 
"The Territorial Imperative" by Robert Ardrey. Nonfiction. This book delves into animal behavior, and how the existence of territories looms large in the world of animals and man. The book is MUCH more interesting than my description. TRIVIA you will learn in this book: the "James Bond" character invented by Fleming and of adventure movie fame was named after a mild-mannered orni..orni...ornith...bird scientist who's claim to fame was writing about the habits of birds. 
 
"The Last Sherlock Holmes Story" by Michael Dibdin. DO NOT READ this book unless you are a Sherlock Holmes fan, because 95 percent of the enjoyment comes from knowing all the Sherlock Holmes stories that Sir ACD has written. In this novel, Holmes sets about solving the "Jack the Ripper" murders in Victorian London.
 
That having been said....For starters: "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
 
"Metamorphosis" by Ovid. I think I have the Humphries translation. Ovid was active about the same time Jesus was. The most bloody battle scene in literature (Centauromachy) resides in this series of short stories that explain (in part) how natural things came about.
 
"Short Stories of Mark Twain". There are several collections.
 
"The Gemini Contenders" by Robert Ludlum. A creepy mystery with a lot of violence, but well written. 
 
"Macbeth" or "Hamlet" by Shakespeare. GET A FOLGER edition because they explain some of the antiquated language and contains other annotations. Move on to his other plays if you like these.
 
"Ulysses" by James Joyce. I have never read this novel, so please read if for me and tell me what it is about. Some say this is the best book ever written, but I have never been able to get through it...Right now it is behind me weighing down an Ethernet cable that tends to pop up and catch my foot when I walk out the door. This is true. Also, if you DO get through it, do not pass up an opportunity to tell folks you DID get through it; they will think you are really smart...I know I will.
 
Happy Reading!

Mitch_I
rbecker,
 
That's a great list. I read Metamorphoses about a year ago and really enjoyed it, but sometimes I thought that it was the advanced version for people who already know the basic stories. I'd say the theme was that the gods feel no sense of justice towards humans.
 
I'd also like for somebody to read Ulysses and report back.
 

I haven't read Ovid for quite a while, but the tendency in all these myths was that humans were pretty much the pawns and playthings of the Olympians. If you ever saw any of the "Clash of the Titan" type movies, they are often framed with the Gods at odds with each other, and making the poor, puny humans pay the price, which is also the case in the literature. That having been said, the Greek and Roman gods display a broad array of humanesque emotions and faults, which is what makes them and keeps them so interesting. IMO Norse mythology not so much...If it weren't for Loki, it would for the most part be a yawner. But perhaps I am unfair; I need to re-read my Snorri Sturluson.

jude77
I'm very impressed by all these.  You guys are quite literate!!

I don't know, at least speaking for myself. A couple years ago I compiled a list of the "best" literature using a variety of online resources, and bought several of them to try out. My success rate is not too good: "Ulysses", "The Sound and the Fury", "100 Years of Solitude" and others. I either quit part way through, or make it through and wish I had read something else. 

rbecker

jude77
I'm very impressed by all these.  You guys are quite literate!!

I don't know, at least speaking for myself. A couple years ago I compiled a list of the "best" literature using a variety of online resources, and bought several of them to try out. My success rate is not too good: "Ulysses", "The Sound and the Fury", "100 Years of Solitude" and others. I either quit part way through, or make it through and wish I had read something else. 

I'm with ya on those. I read them, but I sure don't get why they're "great".  Another one that totally baffled me was Finnegan's Wake.