Centerfield

This thread was inspired by an old friend asking for some vacation recs, so I'm going to post in what I told him. Regretfully, I'll less of a reader than I used to be, by far. I'm happy to chat on any of these authors, although today I'll be up to my eyeballs and the camping train leaves early tomorrow:

On further reflection, here are a couple of names, none of whom I've read recently, but whose work I've enjoyed:

Russell Banks I enjoyed Rule of the Bone years ago. He's had several other books adapted into pretty gripping movies, Affliction and the Sweet Hereafter.

David Sedaris I really liked Naked, which is a collection of, as I recall, "observational" short stories and perhaps essays. They were very funny, especially the title one about what a nudist colony was really like.

Andre Dubus (not Andre Dubus III, his son) He wrote "In the Bedroom" which was made into a pretty intense movie. Worth seeing, by the way. I read a collection of short stories of his years ago. My sense is that he's one of those un-arty writers who doesn't overlay soft focus sentiment on real life. His stories are pretty New Englandy.

By the way, I really liked the last John Irving, The Fourth Hand, quite a bit. It felt like a real return to form, although other Irving fans disagreed.

Also, there was a book called the Corrections, which was a huge best-seller a few years back. I found it well worth the read.

FWIW, a few months back I started out on the precursor to Dan Brown's DaVinci Code, which was recommended to me as even better than DVC. I lost interest after 50 pages or so and never picked it up again.

Sorry, don't read much fiction, although I'm currently reading "Gilead" this year's Pulitzer winner. Don't know if I would recommend it. It certainly isn't "light".

My best recommendation for those long car trips is "Fast Food Nation" by David Schlosser. Take it with you into Hardee's and consume with your Thick Burger.

I've always been a huge fan of Pat Conroy's work. (His most famous are The Great Santini, Lords of Discipline, and the Prince of Tides.) I have a weakness for great Southern writers, and Conroy is one of the best. His portrayal of Southern families is unmatched.

A friend recently gave me his latest book, My Losing Season. It's about his senior year year on the Citadel's basketball team. I'm looking forward to something that's a little different from his previous works.

I just read "Prince of the City", which is about the Giualini years, by Fred Seigel, and am currently reading "Radical Compassion" which is the journal of a Jesuit Priest, Gary Smith, who minister to the homeless in Portland, OR for over ten years. I am also reading, in spurts, "Reinventing Goverment," by David Osborne. All three are really good.

If you are a political junkie Barack Obama's book is awesome. What is most impressive is that he wrote it just before he went to law school. Kweisi Mfume's (Maryland Senate candidate) "No Free Ride," which I also read recently, was also very entertaining.

I am also planning on reading "Fast Food Nation," by reccomendation of the family MD.

Enlighten me on Fast Food Nation. What's the premise?

Brian, if you want a snoozer...after reading The DaVinci Code last year, I attempted to be the true Centrist that I am, and read The Truth about the DaVinci Code. It was the Catholic Church's answer to the book...put me to sleep after about the 20th page. Never finished it. There was no plot, obviously.

I recommend "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky.

The subject may seem a little dry but it's very interesting. War, capitalism and monopoly, all it needs is a damsel in distress. Of course any damsel in this book would end up being a salted.

My own recommendation would be-natch!-Larry Beinhart's
The Librarian.

It's a comedy political thriller, and the hero is a kind of a cross between James Bond and Marian Paroo. (if one can imagine those two producing a child, that is ;-)

AR:

The premise of Fast Food Nation is generally but not completely negative about the fast food industry, Americans' tendancy to overeat, fatty, salty great tasting food that is generally bad for us, and the industry's effects on U.S. labor, farmers, communities and public health.

Even if you don't buy Schlosser's (Eric, not David, sorry about that) leftist rhetoric, there is lots of interesting stuff about the history of the industry, how it grew and who the people were that were responsible for the growth.

And I will state up front that while I generally buy organic meat, eggs and milk, I still stop at the fast food joints when I'm on road trips, and I usually enjoy the experience. Hardee's thickburgers are my favorites.

This is a great country.

Now that I'm home looking at some of my books, a few that I've recently read and enjoyed are:

Rats, Lice and History, by Zinsser
Up on the River, by Madson
Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis
The Jordan Rules, by Sam Smith (about Michael Jordan's first championship season)
Catfish in the Delta, by Schweid

and a really good one:

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson (an Iowa boy you know).

All are page turners. They're probably all available at Amazon, but I'm blessed with a bevy of used book stores within a few blocks of my house.

Thanks Tim, I'll have to check it out. The only fast food I particpate in is the forced kind...lol. I have a weekly lunch appt with my son. His choice is always Chik-fil-A. Thankfully, they do have some healthy choices, but other than that, I try to avoid the places. I've passed that stage in life where you can eat anything you want...lol.

Another great place to buy books is this Ebay sponsored site. I often read the reviews on Amazon, but if it's a book I can't live without, I can usually find it pretty cheap on Half.com.

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