The Basher's Book of the Month

[GoingNova]

Every month there will be a "Basher's Book of the Month" on the portal page. This month is it going to be one of MY favorites, but from now on, I will be starting a thread a month, and the book that gets the most recommendations gets the nod. :eusa_ange

[M@Broz]

Enders Game. Read it. Love it. :eusa_danc

[GoingNova]

Alright folks, my book is up there on the first page. Lets see if we can get start having book discusions on the book of the month! Use the link on the portal page to purchase my book recommendation, "Diamond Throne", by David Eddings, and tell me what you think.

M@Broz was first to reply, so the Basher's Book of the Month for May is going to be Enders Game. Keep the suggestions coming in! We still need a June, July, August, September, October, November, and December BBotM selection!

[ski2bfree]

Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk. He's the guy who wrote Fight Club, before Hollywood adopted the story. This book is filled with short stories, articles, and autobiographical pieces written by Chuck. It's a fun read cause he's a seriously deranged individual with a strange outlook on pretty much everything.

[GoingNova]

May - Enders Game
June - Stranger Than Fiction

Start Reading! :eusa_ange 5 BashGrams to the first person to review my pick, Diamond Throne! :eusa_ange

[MrsD]

"The Bingo Palace" by Louise Erdrich. This is an AWESOME book - I highly recommend it!! Hope it makes the list!!

[GoingNova]

May - Enders Game
June - Stranger Than Fiction
July - The Bingo Palace

Start Reading! :eusa_ange 5 BashGrams to the first person to review my pick, Diamond Throne! :eusa_ange

[MrsD]

I've been wanting to get a copy of "Ender's Game" since I've been hearing all of the other Bashers who like it so much. Good opportunity to check out the Big "O" again!!

[MrsD]

Hey, guys - WHICH "Ender's Game" book are you talking about? There's TONS of 'em!! Let me know - -

[Damm]

I'm guessing he means the first Ender's Game book. The one called "Ender's Game"...I didn't like any of the subsequent books in the Ender's Game series..though I think there are about 4 of them.

[MrsD]

They're ALL called Ender's Game, Damm. Should I just go with the first book shown?

[GoingNova]

Now wait a minute, what about my book, Diamond Throne! ITS STILL APRIL! :eusa_ange

[Damm]

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Look HERE (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812550706/bashanything-20/104-6833630-2985525?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1)

[GoingNova]

:eusa_wall Anyone going to read Diamond Throne? :eusa_danc

[Damm]

Well...I can't because I'm far too busy with school readings. Sorry. :eusa_shif

[GoingNova]

:sad2: Boo who! :sad3:

[Damm]

:(I'm sorry.....

I've read Ender's Game though...and umm...I think you are cool. :p

But, hey! I'm graduating soon...so yay.

[GoingNova]

:laughing3 I am just teasing, but thanks for the nod of "coolness"! :eusa_ange

[Relaxin]

Enders Game. Read it. Love it. :eusa_danc

Definitely, one of the BEST books I've ever read. I loved it.

[MrsD]

Thanks for th link to Ender's Game. I should be getting a copy of Diamond Throne (NOVA) this weekend. I'll let everyone know what I think (NOVA)!

[GoingNova]

Thanks for th link to Ender's Game. I should be getting a copy of Diamond Throne (NOVA) this weekend. I'll let everyone know what I think (NOVA)!

:laughing3 THANK YOU! THANK YOU, THANK YOU! :eusa_ange

[MrsD]

... the things I do for ogres... GEESH!!!

[Klashbash]

I would say Ender's Game for first choice but I'm going with a book that hasn't been mentioned which is The Season of Passage by Christopher Pike. The story is about VAMPIRES ON MARS, he makes what is seemingly the most idiotic idea ever become one of the most frightening, spectacular, complex story I’ve ever read in my life. IT IS A MUST READ!

Here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812510488/qid=1118197736/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-7324693-9909610?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

It's 5 stars with 140 reviews!

[MrsD]

Ooohh - that does sound interesting - thanks for the lead!

[MrsD]

Anyone start reading the Basher's Book of the Month for July? It's a good one...

[GoingNova]

I am still waiting for a review of my Basher Book! :eusa_snoo

[MrsD]

Holy crap....:eusa_shif

[Sailor Kenshin]

Ender's Game? But I read it so long ago....

It was a laughably implausible, yet riveting tale of a six-year-old gaming genius who led an army of children... against whom, I've forgotten. I remember some zero-G battle scenes, and thinking that a six-year-old would never react that way, but it kept me absorbed for the entire book.

[GoingNova]

WE NEED MORE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BASHER'S BOOK OF THE MONTH!

We need books for September, October, November, and December. The next four book recommendations will be for each of those months respectively. Make sure you include AT THE LEAST, a one sentence quote I can put on the web site front page. ;)

Thanks!

[pink_beliefs]

*clears throat* the Princess Diaries? C'mon... classic!! :p
seriously though, how about something written by Jane Austen?

[Rascal]

Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Very funny and well written book, Douglas Adams rocks. You can follow it up with The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. Though that could be for fun, not necessarily as a book of the month.

and a quote at your request:
"Odd, I've certainly never come across any irreversible mathematics involving sofas."

[GoingNova]

*clears throat* the Princess Diaries? C'mon... classic!! :p
seriously though, how about something written by Jane Austen?

September's BotM will be "The Princess Diaries". Thank you Pink! ;)

[GoingNova]

Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Very funny and well written book, Douglas Adams rocks. You can follow it up with The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. Though that could be for fun, not necessarily as a book of the month.

and a quote at your request:
"Odd, I've certainly never come across any irreversible mathematics involving sofas."

October's BotM will be "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency". Thank you Rascal! ;)

PS- and thanks for the quote too! Makes it much easier! :eusa_ange

[pink_beliefs]

September's BotM will be "The Princess Diaries". Thank you Pink! ;)

Are you serious?? I mean... I liked it, its a pretty quick read too, but... I just can't see Sicander, or half the other bashers reading that.

Just in case: "Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there's nothing worse than being a five-foot-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra. Is she ever in for a surprise. First mom announces that she's dating Mia's Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia. And guess who still doesn't have a date for the cultural diversity dance?"

[Lil'Jeffery34]

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. Better than the last one.

[GoingNova]

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. Better than the last one.

Poof! We have November's Book of the Month! :)

[MrsD]

I WISH I had more time to read, they way I used to. *SIGH*

[Sailor Kenshin]

Kewl, 'cause I've actually read it! :applaus:

[MrsD]

Great! You can be one of the first "critics"!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Sure. ;)

Just let me get one thing straight: are spoilers OK? http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/pface.gif

[MrsD]

ABSO-FREAKIN'-LUTELY NOT!!!!!!!! :toothy9:

[Damm]

Cool...come October, for once I will have read one of the books of the month! ;)

[MrsD]

This thread is getting me itchy to pick up a book - ANY book!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Fine. Let me try to say something coherent without spoilers.

Something that struck me about the pre-climax in HP6 was its Arthurian overtones. While I am far from an Arthurian scholar, I know some of the legend's basics.

Harry can be seen as young Arthur, and Dumbledore has the role of Merlin.

In the cave with Dumbledore, drawing a sacred hidden object from its liquid hiding place (as Arthur drew the sword from the stone), Harry is like the once and future king indeed, with the wise wizard at his side.

Arthur was led to the sword by a white stag. And what is Harry's Patronus?

[Nightwolf04]

books aahhhh gotta love them :)

[Nightwolf04]

I have to say that I love inkheart. It's about this guy who can read books and make the characters come to life, then his daughter can too. It's weird but it's brilliant :)

I lvoe the princess diaries because I'm sad ^.^ but yea they are fun

Harry has and always will be an imitation of authur. But I rightly remeber a interview J.k.rowling did and she admitted that it was.

[SISTER_KATE]

Where can I buy the Coles Notes for the book of the month?

[MrsD]

Got me. sister - what are "Coles Notes"?

[SISTER_KATE]

Cole's Notes are basically cheat sheets - rather than read the classics and do your own interpretation for class, Cole's Notes condense all of that for you! It is a quick way to gather info without reading the whole book. Cliff Notes are the same thing.

[MrsD]

I'm familiar with Cliff Notes - had to rely on them once or twice a long time ago!

[Brainfreeze]

I'd like to nominate American Gods by Neil Gaimen...that is if it hasent already been nominated.

[GoingNova]

I'd like to nominate American Gods by Neil Gaimen...that is if it hasent already been nominated.

Done! Thanks for the recommendation! If I am not mistaken, we have a November BotM, so this will be December's. If we have a December's, then January's. Either way, thanks again! :D

[GoingNova]

Folks, please let me reiterate: this thread is supposed to be for Book of the Month recommendations. Multiple posts to this thread causes me to have to search for the Book of the Month Recommendations.

I just changed the Book of the Month for October. Here are November and December's:
November: Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling, recommended by Lil'Jeffery34, quote- "Better than the last one."
December: "American Gods" by Neil Gaimen, recommended by Brainfreeze, no quote

[GoingNova]

Please follow this example for how to post a Book of the Month recommendation:

1) Check the thread to see which month is open - as per my last post, we have a Nov and Dec, so I know my recommendation will be for January 2006. Start it off with the month and year, followed by the books title and it's author

January 2006 Book of the Month: I recommend "Pawn of Prophecy" by David Eddings, Book 1 of the series The Belgariad.

2) If possible, try to have a brief synapse of the book. You can cut and paste from Amazon.com if you like. It need not be extravagant.

Publishers Weekly says:
"Absorbing. Touches all the right Fantasy bases. Warring gods, political intrigues, supernatural creatures, and appealingly human magicians."

3)Give a one sentence quote, from YOU, about the book, to be used on the web site's front page.

My Quote:
This book starts one of my all time favorite fantasy series: The Belgariad.

So, a Book of the Month Recommendation should look something like this:

January 2006 Book of the Month: I recommend "Pawn of Prophecy" by David Eddings, Book 1 of the series The Belgariad.

Publishers Weekly says:
"Absorbing. Touches all the right Fantasy bases. Warring gods, political intrigues, supernatural creatures, and appealingly human magicians."

My Quote:
This book starts one of my all time favorite fantasy series: The Belgariad.

[Nightwolf04]

erm...ok I have one.

Feburary
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

The Guardian says:

Inkheart is a book about books, a celebration of and a warning about books. The "Inkheart" of the title is a book. I don't think I've ever read anything that conveys so well the joys, terrors and pitfalls of reading. <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> <!-- /* set the domain in anticipation of the ad*/ if(setDomainForAds) { setDomainForAds(); }; //--> </script>

I'm not sure if you'd class this as a children or teenage book. Either way I recommend everyone to reading it. It really is a twist and turns of soemthing I haven't ever seen anyone writing about ebfore.

[MrsD]

Sounds interesting, Nighty - I'd love to think I'll have time to read it.....

[ski2bfree]

I'd like to nominate A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. The Oprah Book club label on the front totally betrays the actual content... turns out it's a really good book.
It takes a little while to get used to his style, but once you realize that the bad grammar is intentionally used to simulate the thoughts of a recovering drug addict, it really adds to the whole story.

[ANGLOIRISH]

Leo F. Buscaglia's "Personhood: The Art of Being Fully Human", is an excellent read! To quote from its review: "Buscaglia's insight into our hearts and souls, his reassurance as to our essential good natures, is a much-needed reminder of our connectedness to one and all".

Here is a man of talent and marvelous insight. Give it a look. You won't be disappointed.

[ski2bfree]

I read an exemplary book recently and thought to post it on this thread. Guess this is reviving the whole book of the month thing, since that kind of died out awhile back. Anyways, the book is called Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I definitely recommend reading this little gem.

The book intricately weaves the fates of several characters whose tales are told in short story format, beginning with the journal entries of a Civil War era traveler. The portrayal of each of the characters in this novel is extraordinary and the tales are woven together in such a fashion one hardly notices they are separated by decades. However, if your vocabulary is not up to snuff, I recommend either reading this with a dictionary handy or abandoning the read altogether. Some of the wording may seem pretentious at times, but it usually adds to the personality of the current character by creating a unique voice for the character to speak through.

[ANGLOIRISH]

Sounds like an excellent book, ski2bfree. I love stories on the Civil War.

[ski2bfree]

That's the really weird thing about it. It opens with the journal entries of this Civil War era traveler who finds himself on some remote island in the Pacific. The writing then cuts off in the middle of an entry on page 40 or so and skips to the letters of a composer several decades later who has found himself in over his head with gambling debts and is writing to his friend about his adventures. He comes across the journal entries in a library and makes mention of them in his letters to his friend. After about another 40 pages or so, the story shifts to the recipient of these letters as he's involved in a scandal some 50 years later. So the result is an interconnected string of short stories spanning the centuries.

[Slack with Me]

I'd like to nominate... No god, but God by Reza Aslan.

With these troubling times of turmoil fueled by religious fanatacism we need to realize who our "enemies" are. Where do they come from? How did this religion develop? Where did it all go so wrong? In many cases this clash of monotheisms comes in direct conflict with the major teachings of each religioins main personalities and we need to ask ourselves why it has perpetuated for so long.

In this book, Reza explains the creation, adaptation, and eventual perversion of the religion of Islam. He is the staunchest proponent of and most outspoken critic of his chosen religion. Presented with in depth analysis in the most objective view in w ich I have ever seen religion portrayed, it goes a long way toward filling in the misconceptions that many modern Americas, and modern society in general, experiences when dealing with the fastest growing religion in the world.





Caveat: The first chapter is quite dry, but it gets exponentially better as you progress.





Enjoy

[MrsD]

Thanks, Slack both for reviving this thread and for the book recommendation. I think it will come in handy thesed days as more and more conversations are wrapped around the Islamic faith.

[Slack with Me]

It's a great read. I sincerely suggest a couple people in particular read it and realize taht a lot of what we in the west know is outright wrong.

At a minimum to at least understand ones "enemy"

[MrsD]

That's sound advice - no need in running around in fear if it's not needed.

[ski2bfree]

Another great book I read recently... Number 9 Dream by David Mitchell (I know, same author as the last book I recommended). It's story about a Japanese kid, Eiji, who moves to Tokyo to find his father after his twin sister dies in a freak accident. While searching for his father, Eiji finds himself caught up with the yakuza of the Tokyo underground. Eiji has a tendency to blur fantasy and reality, which makes for some great excerpts, but the central theme of the book is the idea that the journey is more important than the outcome. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's interested.

[ANGLOIRISH]

http://books.google.ca/books?id=PNXWmSfdIlMC&pg=PP1&img=1&zoom=1&sig=RfzVI9B7AlydlD6hqmOXVdhvZL c

Deepak Chopra: Creating Health: How to Wake Up the Body's Intelligence

First published in 1987, this book introduces the basic premises of Ayurveda, the 6,000-year-old tradition of health care from India, and guides listeners toward a sound understanding of the mind-body connection. This revised edition incorporates a number of advances based on Dr. Chopra's recent work and new perspectives.

[ski2bfree]

Oh, sounds cool! I'll have to give that one a try. If you're into medical books, you might want to try Stiff: The curious lives of human cadavers. It's all about the different things that people do with dead bodies (forensic experiments, different kinds of cremation, designing crash test dummies). Or The Woman Who Swallowed a Toothbrush. It's about bizarre medical cases, like a child with scurvy, a woman who swallows a toothbrush (duh), an extreme case of hyperkalemia. Kind of like mini episodes of House.

[ANGLOIRISH]

I am always interested in medical books. Stiff sounds interesting. I will check it out the next time I am at the library, Ski, thanks. The Woman Who Swallowed a Toothbrush sounds interesting as well. She must have some throat on her to swallow a toothbrush. I am surprised she didn't gag!;)

[mr.nice]

no comment

[ANGLOIRISH]

Now, Mr. Nice, there are children present! LOL

[Nightwolf04]

Recently the film eragon has been released and to be honest it is pretty bad.

But I would advise everyone to read the book and it's second of the trilogy.

They are like lord of the rings but fresher and less long winded version, with twists.

I like them alot.

[Slack with Me]

Seconding that call, on both parts.

Was really looking forward to the movie too. =o(

[Nightwolf04]

I know, such a disappointment wasn't it!

sigh never mind, they always seem to do that with films.

Sometimes I want to be the director, go out and find what everyone wants from major countries and input it.

But I guess budgets come into play there.

[ski2bfree]

Worst book of the month nomination:
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathon Safran Foer.

Some girl friend of mine recommended this book and, regrettably, put a copy in my mailbox for me to read. I've tried to read it 3 separate times, and each time I get fed up with it by third chapter. His writing is arrogant and bereft of any originality, so much so that he has to rely on the superficial topic of the book (the holocaust, incredibly overdone as far as literature is concerned) rather than producing any hint of literary talent. I was really disgusted to find that Salman Rushdie endorsed this book; he's much better than that.

[MrsD]

Sorry to hear that - I had heard it was a worthwhile read. Has anyone read "The Secret"?

[Brainfreeze]

No I havent gotten around to reading that yet, my latest read was The Hot Zone (http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone-Terrifying-True-Story/dp/0385495226/sr=8-1/qid=1172606141/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8290959-6801765?ie=UTF8&s=books) which is a decent story but it more about the past and more recent Ebola outbreaks throughout the world. Strange and kinda scary at the same time. The idea of a virus that basically turns you inside out is just a bit odd.

Though if your looking for an execellent series to read I suggest starting with A Game of Thrones (http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Song-Fire-Book/dp/0553588486/sr=1-1/qid=1172606291/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8290959-6801765?ie=UTF8&s=books) by George R.R. Martin. This is more along the fantasy line, where the writer is going into a world that is a first glance nonmagical, and while that magical heratige is talked about and is slowly making a reemergance into the world it dosent take center stage over the characters that the story is built around.

If nothing else the best thing I can say about Martin's writing is that you will either love or hate each character in kind, but you will feel some kind of emotion for them either in cheering their downfall or as my Wife did, throwing the book across the room when one of them passes away.

If you dont like reading series that are not completed yet I do not suggest picking this up as you will inevetably join all the people that are just waiting for him to finish the next book in the series.

[Nightwolf04]

Another good book is called bitten.

It's about a young woman who falls in love with a man who happens to be a werewolf. This leads onto her being bit by her lover and then her becoming the first female werewolf in exsistance, she leaves and then has to help her ''pack''

It's got some sexual content though as my friend who let me read it warned me about first. It's an interesting read on how different perspectives of humanity. I loved reading the book and how Elena fights with herself between her werewolf side and the fight for a decent life.

It's one of those books that your compelled to read, but it's not quite for everyone.

[MrsD]

MrD read Hot Zone a while back. He couldn't put the book down then proceeded to tell me all about it, so I have yet to read it. I just read a very short book by David Sedaris (HYSTERICAL!!) the name of which escapes me right now. If you get a chance to read any of his books, it will be a worthwhile experience!