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Going on holidays...need a decent book

Created by shi thouse shi thouse  > 9 months ago, 18 Sep 2022
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shi thouse
shi thouse

WA

1154 posts

18 Sep 2022 6:16pm
You guys read anything decent lately. Rarely ever read nowadays but chasing up a few decent ideas for between beach sessions.

Cheers
Crusoe
Crusoe

QLD

1197 posts

18 Sep 2022 8:39pm
Endurance - it's about Ernest Shackeltons trip to the Antarctic in 1917. And then read the story of "The Forgotten Men" who were laying the food dumps for the crossing of Antartica which Shackleton never used because his ship was crushed in the ice.
kato
kato

VIC

3513 posts

18 Sep 2022 10:08pm
Batavia by Peter Fitzsimmons or anything by him. Great story teller
Mr Milk
Mr Milk

NSW

3120 posts

18 Sep 2022 10:50pm
You like funny novels? Anything by Charles Palahniuk. He wrote Fight Club, but the rest of his stuff is much funnier.
Pitbull
Pitbull

WA

1267 posts

19 Sep 2022 2:06am
Playboy have a lot of good articles.
Rails
Rails

QLD

1371 posts

19 Sep 2022 5:05am
Assuming novels a few classics
Albert Camus - The plague
Knut Hamsun - Growth of the Soil
Jose Saramago - The Cave

Or something a bit more easygoing or closer to home
Peter Watt
Nevil Shute
Barry Maitland
Peter Corris
John Birmingham's Falafel series before he went SCI-fi silly

a few more details might help, there are books about books
get your local or state library online and download whatever looks good




shi thouse
shi thouse

WA

1154 posts

19 Sep 2022 6:41am
Thanks for the ideas guys. Generally speaking I go for non fiction (though as I mentioned it's been a long time between books). The last book I read and really enjoyed was Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson.

I have read Peter Fitzsimmons books and like the mix of fiction and non-fiction in his writing.

The book - Endurance looks to be in line with these style of books. Not into science fiction.
rydoba
rydoba

WA

37 posts

19 Sep 2022 8:20am
Andre Agassi's autobiography is great
Harrow
Harrow

NSW

4521 posts

19 Sep 2022 11:09am
"Why we sleep" by Matthew Walker. You'll never think about sleep the same way again.
IanR
IanR

NSW

1327 posts

19 Sep 2022 12:38pm
Just been away working in a place with no reception or wi-fi
I had a lot of down time so decided to read
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig
I'm really enjoying it and it is well written.
Other suggestions are
Guns, Germ's and Steel and collapse by Jarod Diamond
WA waverider
WA waverider

WA

79 posts

19 Sep 2022 2:16pm
Try Books by Robert G Barret very funny ,try the fun don't done or high noon in Nimbin . Tales of the adventures of Les Norton a big redheaded Queenslander who goes to Sydney to escape troubles in his home town .Also worth watching it on the ABC did a short series based on the novels .Les Norton .
CH3MTR4IL5
CH3MTR4IL5

WA

943 posts

19 Sep 2022 2:53pm
Select to expand quote
Crusoe said..
Endurance - it's about Ernest Shackeltons trip to the Antarctic in 1917. And then read the story of "The Forgotten Men" who were laying the food dumps for the crossing of Antartica which Shackleton never used because his ship was crushed in the ice.


Its 'the lost men' by Kelly Tyler Lewis, and agree its an epic read! Better story than the Endurance expedition in some ways.
CH3MTR4IL5
CH3MTR4IL5

WA

943 posts

19 Sep 2022 2:56pm
And if you liked Shadow Divers then you would probably enjoy anything by Jon Krakauer. Choose
something that interests you (or something that doesn't, he is an amazing writer and worth reading)
Carantoc
Carantoc

WA

7194 posts

19 Sep 2022 3:07pm
I'd recommend a book simply titled "The Wisdom of Carantoc".

Not yet in print but soon to be released and I had an advanced copy to proof read. It proof-ed to be awesome.

Pretty long read and deep stuff in there, not for the faint hearted.


Realize we are not allowed to advertise on these forums so just to say you can pre-order a copy by sending $50 via Weston Union to the Nigerian publishing house.

PM FormulaNova for further details.

#bitcoin not accepted
elmo
elmo

WA

8879 posts

20 Sep 2022 5:36am
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy
Ian K
Ian K

WA

4164 posts

20 Sep 2022 9:18am
Select to expand quote

CH3MTR4IL5 said..

Its 'the lost men' by Kelly Tyler Lewis, and agree its an epic read! Better story than the Endurance expedition in some ways.

I'll get a copy. Trouble with the Endurance yarn is you'll be up all night and won't get much sailing done the next day.

Along similar lines, but with a few handy put-it-down-for-a-bit opportunities , is "The Incredible Life of Hubert Wilkins, Australia's greatest explorer" by Peter Fitzsimons.

For those who fancy themselves rolling endlessly across the sandy outback, (judging by the adventure vehicles running around town with the orange breakfast trays on the roof, quite a few do) then Libyan Sands by Ralph Bagnold is worth reading.
Kamikuza
Kamikuza

QLD

6493 posts

20 Sep 2022 9:04pm
Select to expand quote
shi thouse said..
non fiction


Lawrence Wright, Sebastian Junger, Mark Bowden...
crustysailor
crustysailor

VIC

871 posts

21 Sep 2022 11:50am
second the peter Fitzsimmons books. Eureka (stockade), Ned Kelly, Batavia has some gruesome treatment of slaves, all great reads. Only thing is they are tombesize, might not give you much time for sightseeing.

For a bit of maritime fiction, CS Forester's Hornblower series is just like watching the telly series.
Crusoe
Crusoe

QLD

1197 posts

23 Sep 2022 7:45pm
Select to expand quote
CH3MTR4IL5 said..

Crusoe said..
Endurance - it's about Ernest Shackeltons trip to the Antarctic in 1917. And then read the story of "The Forgotten Men" who were laying the food dumps for the crossing of Antartica which Shackleton never used because his ship was crushed in the ice.



Its 'the lost men' by Kelly Tyler Lewis, and agree its an epic read! Better story than the Endurance expedition in some ways.






CH3MTR4IL5
CH3MTR4IL5

WA

943 posts

23 Sep 2022 6:32pm
Ooh, sorry! I haven't read that one @crusoe but the Kelly Tyler Lewis one is a great read.

also on the Sir Hubert Wilkins front, 'The Last Explorer' was an excellent read, I find Peter Fitzsimmons a bit heavy but haven't read his take on it.

and for other adventurous historical yarns, 'The lost city of Z', 'the great arc' (amazing book' and 'a thread across the ocean'.
Battle
Battle

536 posts

24 Sep 2022 1:16am
The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille, about the North Shore of Long Island , NY. A great read.
remery
remery

WA

3709 posts

26 Sep 2022 6:45pm
Select to expand quote
The Death of Expertise, by Tom Nichols
damned67
damned67

580 posts

26 Sep 2022 8:51pm
I agree with the Charles Palahniuk suggestion as well as Camus' The plague, and I'd also add The Stranger.. and Sartre's Age of Reason.
Motley Crue -The Dirt, just for something different.
One of my absolute fave's and it's nice and short, Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea.
And surf-related, hard to beat Finnegan's Barbarian Days. Could also toss in Chas Smith's Welcome to Paradise, Now go to Hell and Cocaine and Surfing. From memory, Welcome to paradise, now go to hell is also on the shorter side.
Continuing the surf theme, David Davis' Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku and Stuart Holmes Coleman's Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing.
Diver
Diver

WA

554 posts

19 Oct 2022 6:35am
If you like travel writing, try The Best of A. A. Gill.

Also The Lincoln Highway by Amor Townes - American road trip story set in the 1950's.
myusernam
myusernam

QLD

6154 posts

19 Oct 2022 11:03am
The road cormac mcarthy
Or blood meridian

which makes the road seem like a kids bedtime story

Anyine read?
gavnwend
gavnwend

WA

1373 posts

19 Oct 2022 12:11pm
Stalking Claremont by Bret christian.great read, how they caught a Perth nutter.
myscreenname
myscreenname

2296 posts

20 Oct 2022 1:15pm
Sugar Man. The true story behind the Academy award-winning documentary, Searching for Sugar Man



myusernam
myusernam

QLD

6154 posts

21 Oct 2022 8:05am
Myscreename ypu are an odd dude. I posted that i really liked a doco and that id never heard the music before and we had a thread about it.
You"ve since mentioned it quite a lot of times like its some massive burn or running joke.
Even nade that AI image. I think you're trying to be clever or witty like carantoc but i just dont think you have the talent Also i dont know if u have a thing about me. I dont visit or post that often anymore. Your username is a lot like mine and i seem to evoke responses from you..
Mr Milk
Mr Milk

NSW

3120 posts

21 Oct 2022 9:25am
For fiction fans, the new Steve Toltz novel "Here Goes Nothing" is a riot. You've got an atheist who finds himself in the afterlife and then sets himself up as a ghost to haunt his wife and child and the man who has moved in. All this is happening against a backdrop of a disease that is almost always fatal and highly transmissable, so the residents of the afterlife are mobilising against all the "refugees"
About $30 in paper or half that in an ebook
myusernam
myusernam

QLD

6154 posts

21 Oct 2022 8:36am
My local library (and presumeably all libraries) has all of their eboooks and audiobooks linked to an app called borrowbox. U use your library no. Can download the latest audio books and ebooks free. Works like a library the pay for x copies you might need to reserve a title but it auto notifys you and downloads automatically once available Works in android auto/ apple car play.
Mr Milk
Mr Milk

NSW

3120 posts

21 Oct 2022 12:19pm
Select to expand quote
myusernam said..
My local library (and presumeably all libraries) has all of their eboooks and audiobooks linked to an app called borrowbox. U use your library no. Can download the latest audio books and ebooks free. Works like a library the pay for x copies you might need to reserve a title but it auto notifys you and downloads automatically once available Works in android auto/ apple car play.



You must have a very good library. Borrowbox where I am has bugger all and the search function is terrible. I don't mind paying for a title if it makes a bit of money for the author
There's also a magazine lending service called Libby that gives you magazines hot off the presses without having to wait for other people to read and return them. So I get New Scientist every saturday for free
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