Favourite Books/Reads & Recommendations/Reviews | GTAMotorcycle.com

Favourite Books/Reads & Recommendations/Reviews

knowledge

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I read a lot of the suggestions when I started the last thread. I was hoping to get it started up again.

- What are your favourite books & why?
- What have you read recently/would you recommend it?
---------------------------------------

- My favourite fiction book is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I read it when I was 16 and it actually changed my life. It's an extremely long book (1400 pages at like size 10 font lol), and it has some insanely boring parts, but the good parts more than make up for it. She also makes an amazing case for selfishness being a virtue instead of a vice.

- My favourite (said loosely because it's constantly changing) non-fiction book would probably be "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. It gives a pretty fair overlay and the facts are pretty well-researched for such a non-specialized topic. It isn't the best read ever, but he's not a bad writer, either. I like a lot of the topics he covers (even in other books). I really enjoyed "Troublesome Words" by him. It makes for a really good pick-up book. It explains and covers almost all of the most common grammatical errors, words that are spelt wrong, and phrases that are said wrong. At the very least, I can't see this being a bad investment for anyone's writing.

I just finished reading "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall (suggested by a gtam member) and it was actually one of the best non-fiction reads I've had in a while. It's infused with general facts (ie the most biomechanically efficient way to run with a water bottle is not with it in your hand, but squeezed between your arm and body). It also has plenty of mini-biographies on marathon runners that drive his point home (there's an amazing story about this Olympic runner who got sick and decided to skip the olympics...but he changed his mind last minute and caught a cab to the field. The traffic was horrendous, so this guy hopped out of the cab and ran a pretty good distance to the race. Then with a couple of minutes to spare, he got there, ran the race and even ended up setting a new world record). Lastly, he tells a story about a race between some of the best ultrarunners in the world that was set up in the middle of bum**** nowhere, with no sponsors, no bs, and just running. The narrative was actually just as gripping and suspenseful as a fiction book.

I didn't want to go into too much detail, but I'd highly recommend it. It also has some amazing insights on running. I switched to vibrams a couple of months ago (they're the shoes with individual toes) and the philosophy behind these shoes is right in line with the point that McDougall not only makes, but experiences first-hand. I no longer get back pain from running and I'm actually back to competitive times (which I haven't done since I was grade 5 and really into cross country). I noticed the change, but the book explained why.

Before this book, I read "The Genius in All of Us" by David Shenk. It was recommended by a psychologist who's arguably the leading expert on child development (he's also re-designed policies for Ontario childcare). The book represents a major shift in psychology and I think this is one of the best reads that a parent can have (and I've read A LOT of literature on psychology, in general). Shenk makes the argument that the outcome of a person isn't determined by nature or nurture, but with the interaction of the two. He claims that "talent" is bs and challenges the widely-held belief that we're born with certain skills (nature) and that we learn to work with what we have (nurture). There's a major shift in child development psychology that's been happening for the past 5 years and this author (as well as the one doctor who recommended it) are actually at the forefront of it. If anything, the book's a good read for a parent with a young child/baby.

- I also got to read about halfway through "4 Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferris. I was skeptical to read it because a lot of self-help-themed books tend to be very disappointing for me (they rarely teach me anything that's new or could've been figured out through common sense lol). I only read it 'cause I finished a book too early and a co-worker literally handed it to me. It was a lot better than I thought it'd be and one of the points that stuck with me is that the author says how the most unrealistic goals are actually more achievable, if you think about it: the competition's fiercist for mediocre goals because they're "realistic". Case in point: think of your cute friends and think of any dimes that you know. Who gets hit on the most? The cute friend because she seems like a more likely option. Entry level positions are also harder to get into for that reason. If anyone's read this book through, is it worth reading through the second half?

----------------------------------------
Sometimes I go through a couple of books a week, so reviews and recommendations are highly welcomed! :D

Also, sorry for the long post...I tried bolding it to make it easier to skim through

edit: FUQ, what are the chances that someone else made a similar thread. Sorry mods. But in my defense, I'm not just looking for summer reads :p
 
Last edited:
- My favourite fiction book is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I read it when I was 16 and it actually changed my life. It's an extremely long book (1400 pages at like size 10 font lol), and it has some insanely boring parts, but the good parts more than make up for it. She also makes an amazing case for selfishness being a virtue instead of a vice.

I gotta say atlas shrugged was absolutely terrible IMO. I read it after having read the fountainhead, which is far better put together and conveys the same message. In the Fountainhead she twists her ideals into the story and you either get it or you dont, where as in atlas shrugged she writes it on a billboard and crams it down your throat over and over. The fountainhead is also a beautiful story where as i felt like atlas shrugged should have been condensed into 100 pages.

Just wanted to throw my .02 cents in if someone is considering reading one or the other.
 
I gotta say atlas shrugged was absolutely terrible IMO. I read it after having read the fountainhead, which is far better put together and conveys the same message. In the Fountainhead she twists her ideals into the story and you either get it or you dont, where as in atlas shrugged she writes it on a billboard and crams it down your throat over and over. The fountainhead is also a beautiful story where as i felt like atlas shrugged should have been condensed into 100 pages.
We can probably agree to disagree. I get that it could've been cut down, but I think her ideas were more developed in Atlas Shrugged. The fountainhead was good, but it was only the blueprint for objectivism that she developed later on. But you also gotta understand that she affected the 7 major areas of Philosophy within a fiction novel. 1400 pages is about as condensed as it can get, considering that some people devote about 3-500 pages per area.

Atlas shrugged is also known for its cult-like following...so it can't be THAT bad :p
 
We can probably agree to disagree. I get that it could've been cut down, but I think her ideas were more developed in Atlas Shrugged. The fountainhead was good, but it was only the blueprint for objectivism that she developed later on. But you also gotta understand that she affected the 7 major areas of Philosophy within a fiction novel. 1400 pages is about as condensed as it can get, considering that some people devote about 3-500 pages per area.

Atlas shrugged is also known for its cult-like following...so it can't be THAT bad :p

Thats funny you'd say it wasn't fully evolved in the fountainhead, because i got everything message wise out of that book that she spelled out in atlas shrugged. Numerous times in atlas shrugged she spelled out her ideals word for word, it was like getting hit over the head with a philosophical shovel. I've always been someone who contemplates philosophical ideas so maybe i was adding up in the fountainhead what she hadn't even figured out yet?

By the same token i'm not familiar with the 7 areas of philosophy, never actually took a course in the subject so there's probably things in the book that i'm not identifying with, because to me it broke down into a pretty simple message. I have a funny feeling the 7 areas of philosophy can probably be broken down into simple concepts, kind of like george carlins bit on the 10 commandments.

To me atlas shrugged was horribly repetitive, repeating the same message over and over, with no evolution of a real story. Maybe we can agree to respect each others opinion, no matter how wrong the other person is :p LoL
 
i_know_a_few_parents_who_must_have_mastered_this_book_big.jpg


"A must read!" :rolleyes:
 
To me atlas shrugged was horribly repetitive, repeating the same message over and over, with no evolution of a real story. Maybe we can agree to respect each others opinion, no matter how wrong the other person is :p LoL
hahaha how'd I miss this post? I definitely see where you're coming from. I guess I'm just grateful for how it shaped my life. Sort of like how I think The Alchemist is grossly overrated, but it's changed other people's lives. I'm certain that the west would appreciate it more if she wasn't stigmatized by the whole cult status thing. The first part of the Atlas Shrugged movie's out, eh? Might be worth a watch...so you can see how wrong you are :p

This is probably one of my favourite passages ever, and it's from the fountainhead:
"Look around at the people we've met, and how we've been taught to seek ourselves in others. Yet, no man can achieve the kind of absolute humility that would need no self-esteem in any form. He wouldn't survive. So after centuries of being pounded with the doctrine that altruism is the ultimate ideal, men have accepted it in the only way it could be accepted: by seeking self-esteem through others; by living second-hand. And it has opened way for ever kind of horror - and now, to cure a world perishing from 'selfishness', we're asked to destroy the self. Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why we suffer, why we seek happiness and why we never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he's ever held a truly personal desire, he'd find the answer. He'd see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by others. He's not really struggling even for material wealth, he's struggling for the second-hander's delusion - prestige: A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has succeeded. He can't say about a single thing: 'This is what I wanted because I wanted it, not because it made my neighbours gape at me.' Then he wonders why he's unhappy. Every form of happiness is private. Most of our greatest moments are personal and self-motivated. The things which are sacred or precious to us are the things we withdraw from promiscuous sharing. But now we are taught to throw everything within us into public light and common pawing, to seek joy in collectivity[without the realization that happiness is an individual endeavour]. It's difficult to call it selfishness or egotism, because the words have been perverted. [A] cardinal 'evil' is that of placing your prime concern within other people.

I've always demanded a certain quality in the people I liked. I've always recognized it at once - and it's [one of the few] qualities I [truly] respect in someone. I choose my friends by it, and now I know what it is: A self-sufficient ego."
 
hahaha how'd I miss this post? I definitely see where you're coming from. I guess I'm just grateful for how it shaped my life. Sort of like how I think The Alchemist is grossly overrated, but it's changed other people's lives. I'm certain that the west would appreciate it more if she wasn't stigmatized by the whole cult status thing. The first part of the Atlas Shrugged movie's out, eh? Might be worth a watch...so you can see how wrong you are :p

This is probably one of my favourite passages ever, and it's from the fountainhead:

Do you think he is still awaiting a response after a year & a few months?

Sent from my tablet using my paws
 
Hey guys,

Greetings from Oregon! I'm gonna be off the grid for the next couple of months and I was looking to stock up on books. My ebook reader gets here in a couple of days, so I'm pretty excited.

Here are a couple of recent reads that I really enjoyed:
Milan Kundera - The Unbearable lightness of being: I don't know what to think about this one. I appreciated it, but I didn't love it like a lot of friends did. He does make a pretty good point of driving home the point that love is pretty random and based on coincidence even though it's such a central part of life. He also does a good job of helping you understand the psyche of a woman who loves a cheater but understands why he does what he does.

Gordon Wainwright - Teach Yourself Body Language: quick read. I read it periodically to remind myself of how important it is and how much it can differ from country to country.

Nick Hornby - A long way down: follows the conversation between 4 people who all randomly meet on a rooftop and (sort of) become friends while convincing each other not to jump. They all come from really different walks of life and it alternates between characters written in dialogue format.

Alain de Botton - How Proust can change your life: it's an interesting analysis of encounters with Marcel Proust and his letters. Botton has a bit of a humorous prose, so it's an entertaining read.

I'm also working through Dan Brown's Inferno right now and I'm enjoying it, although the plot is a little redundant to all of his other books. I'll probably always enjoy his books because of the research he puts into it, though.
 
Last edited:
Max Brooks - World War Z . 10x better than the movie. Its about a book writer who, 20 years after whole world gets infected and gets overun by zombies, sits down with a whole bunch of survivors and gets their story of how it started etc.

Read it twice, really enjoyed it

One Second After is a 2009 fiction novel by American writer William R. Forstchen. Present day, small town in USA, EMP bomb is detonated high above US and all electonics are fried in all of USA. Pretty scary reading as its pretty much based on reality.

For Sci-fi read "Expanse" series by James S.A. Corey. Humans have colonized the solar system and infighting between Earth/Mars/Outerplanets is sparked by finding extra-terrestial lifeform on one of the Moons of Jupiter. Real good reading. three books.
 
Max Brooks - World War Z . 10x better than the movie. Its about a book writer who, 20 years after whole world gets infected and gets overun by zombies, sits down with a whole bunch of survivors and gets their story of how it started etc.
Agree, VERY good. Movie is like McDonalds for your brain.

"S" by JJ Abrahms and Doug Dorst. It's not like any other book you've ever read. Definitely worth picking up.

I'm trying to get through CloudAtlas right now, but maaaaaaan it's not really doing it for me.
 

Back
Top Bottom