I am taking a 24 Hour flight soon...can you recommend some books to me?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

its 16 hours flying time and 8 hour layover....

[KitchenWitch]

1. What types of books do you like to read?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

political, satire etc

[benny05]

22. My Life by Bill Clinton

followed by Four Trials by John Edwards if you haven't read it

[arcane1]

23. The Right Wing Noise Machine

by David Brock :loveya:

[smbolisnch]

2. I recommend several little mini Jack Daniels.

I hate to fly, I couldn't deal with 16 hours! :scared: Where are you going Lioness?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. i am going to india.

[smbolisnch]

11. Wow...lucky you!

Have you read any Wally Lamb books? He has only publised 2, both of which I loved. She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True. I recommend them both! :D Have a great trip!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

12. thanks

[crispini]

3. Whoa. For 16 hours,

instead of a book, I'd take an audiotape / CD. Because I can read an average-sized braincandy novel in about 3 hours, (and therefore would need to take about four books, heh) but the audio tape takes exactly as long as it says it's gonna take, no more, no less. :P

And what do you like to read?

[aden_nak]

4. I'll just recommend what I recommend to everyone.

Get your Nuklear Age up on.

[arcane1]

5. hmm

I'll give it some thought and let you know :)

[Tafiti]

7. Yes! I'm not quite finished myself, but...

...check out Trials of the Monkey by Matthew Champman. It's a fantastic read. He's the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, who goes to Dayton, Tennessee (the site of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial) and ends up writing one hell of a book, and a memoir to boot!

Seriously, it's one of the best books I've read in a long time - I think he's an excellent writer. The book came out in 2000 or 2001, I believe.

[On the Road]

8. I Had a Couple of Long Flights Recently, Too

I read a couple of Kurt Vonnegut on the way over and a Chuck Palahnuik on the way back. Don't know your taste, but seriously, get a Chuck Palanuik. I've never read anything like his stuff.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. i LOVE vonnegut

what kind of writer is chuck?

[On the Road]

26. He's a Little Along the Same Line as Vonnegut

A bit like Tom Robbins, too. Palahniuk is a bit more of a sick puppy, although his protagonists usually survive and grow though their troubles. His writing is multilayered and difficult to describe, but they go fast and pack a powerful punch. They usually take awhile to figure out, may involve surreal elements or scams, and may contain flashforwards that don't seem to make sense at the time.

Palahniuk is best known for Fight Club, but he has a bunch of others, too. If you want a surreal book a "culling song" that can inadvertently kill anyone who listens to it, try Lullabye. For a book with lots of sex, try Choke -- that might not be a bad one to start with.

[Coastie for Truth]

9. Krugman's Textbooks

Forty years ago my minor was econ. And his two TEXT books (International and Micro) are the most readable econ textbooks. Readable and sophisticated.

(I am a Paul Krugman groupie);-)

[giant_robot]

13. If you haven't read "A Clockwork Orange" yet,

it is an excellent read, but a bit short. You'll probably have at least 22.5 hours left to kill after you finish it.

And it'll help if you print out a nadsat-english glossary before you go!

[Beware the Beast Man]

14. "Ancient Inventions" by Peter James & Nick Thorpe

I'm reading it now, and damn if it isn't the most interesting thing I've read in years. I just finished the section on dentistry. It's not as dry as some history books, either. Oh, and it's 600 pages, more than long enough.

[arcane1]

15. well I can still praise Lewis Thomas, Loren Eiseley

though their books tend to be short, you'd need to pack several of them to kill 16 hours

[Coastie for Truth]

16. Kenneth Miller's "Finding Darwin's God"

Good rebuttal to the "intelligent design" crew.

When Miller jumps into the thermodynamics of amino acids (lightning in a nitrogen-methane atmosphere) he explains where he's going rather lucidly.

My tastes are weird and bizarre

[KurtNYC]

17. 1421: the Year China Discovered America

great travel book and contrarian history. I love reading books about world travel while traveling, helps me view 11 hour airplane rides as "adventure." Epic.

http://www.1421.tv/

"...On the 8th of March, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen sailed from its base in China. The ships, huge junks nearly five hundred feet long and built from the finest teak, were under the command of Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was 'to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas' and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. The journey would last over two years and circle the globe.

When they returned Zhu Di lost control and China was beginning its long, self-imposed isolation from the world it had so recently embraced. The great ships rotted at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. They had also discovered Antarctica, reached Australia three hundred and fifty years before Cook and solved the problem of longitude three hundred years before the Europeans..."

[AlinPA]

18. Brain Droppings by George Carlin. Read it on a flight to London.

[warrens]

19. Devil in the White City, Aztec

Two engrossing historical type things, one about the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in the 1890s and a serial killer working the crowd (all true), so you get history, an overview of architecture and a pretty good crime story all rolled into one.

Aztec, by Gary Jennings, in self-explanatory. And about 1,000 pages long, so it should last you a good long time.

[imenja]

20. DaVinci code

or Angels and Demons are great for light plane reading. They are real page turners.

[arcane1]

21. ah, another great one!

"Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. Awesome book and highly recommended :thumbsup:

I could ship you my copy, but it's a bulky hard-cover, not very friendly for air travel. Let me know

[Tyrone Slothrop]

24. Just finished London Fields by Martin Amis

I recommend it highly.

British black comedy/murder mystery/cultural satire.

It was quite good.

[Tafiti]

25. Might as well recommend another...

Look for The Culture of Make Believe by Derrick Jensen. This is the deepest, most moving book I've ever read. And I do believe he's the only author who's brought me to actual tears through a book. Amazing I tell you, amazing.

Just read the short Introduction, and you'll be hooked for all 600 pages of it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

27. Don't forget snacks, a change of clothes, a wet washcloth, and handy wipes

Essential for long flights for me. Nothing like getting out of yucky sticky clothes (or at least the underwears) toward the end of the flight. and the cold, wet washcloth, kept in a lunch bag with an ice pack, always refreshes. And the handiwipes to help wipe the accumulated grease and oil off the face.

And, of course, snacks. Must have plenty snacks.

And a toothbrush and toothpaste.

And a few books - I usually take a novel or two, a serious book or two, and a magazine with me when I travel.

And snacks. And water.

If you like science fiction, I'd like to recommend the book Chindi. I read it last year, and it's quite surprisingly good.

Enjoy your trip!!

[da_chimperor]

28. I can make some recommendations if you're into sci-fi/fantasy

If you aren't, then unfortunately I can't be of any assistance. :(

[bloodyjack]

29. Where in India

It's a big country, you know :)

[NewJeffCT]

30. Lonely Planet travel guide

If you don't know a lot about the country is very helpful. When we went to China in September, I was telling my wife things about China from the travel guide and my wife had spent the first 29 years of her life in China...

Are you going for business or pleasure, or both?

[liontamer]

36. she's going for pleasure

and is a native of india but lonely planet is her favorite travel book so maybe she'll give it a read

[La Lioness Priyanka]

37. she is right...i am often tempted to get lonely planet india

but i am afraid that my family will mock me to death

[liontamer]

38. you can always buy it for me

and i'll highlight the important parts for you

[La Lioness Priyanka]

40. cute

:loveya:

[Catfight]

31. Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. nt

[intheflow]

39. Strongly seconded!

This was one of the funniest books I ever read.

The author, Christopher Moore, has written many funny books, My other favorites by him are "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove" and "Practical Demonkeeping."

[alexisfree]

32. david Icke?

[radwriter0555]

33. tranquilizers would be far more effective! Might as well SLEEP while you

have the chance!

Clonapin is my snoozer of choice.

[Bouncy Ball]

34. "Homegrown Democrat" by Garrison Keillor

you will want to stand up and applaud through most of it. A nice quick read.

If you are into historical fiction at all, "The Queen's Fool" by Philippa Gregory. VERY gripping. 500 pages long and NOT a quick read. Deals with the reigns of Mary (of "Bloody Mary" fame) and her younger half-sister Elizabeth I. Fascinating stuff, but then I love the Tudors and Elizabethan England.

[ulysses]

35. The Poisonwood Bible

Barbara Kingsolver. Great, great book.

[intheflow]

41. Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition

Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat
by Caroline Alexander

A cat named Mrs. Chippy actually did accompany Shackleton's crew in exploring the antarctic. This book is written from Mrs. Chippy's perspective, but is based on historical accounts of his (yes, Mrs. Chippy was male) activities on board the ship. Caroline Alexander is one of the most renoun writers on Shackleton's journey.

I can never read anything deep on planes or in airports. This book is entertaining, intersting, and a no-brainer.

[yellowdogintexas]

42. George R R Martin's "A Game of Thrones" , first volume in the trilogy

"A Song of Ice and Fire"

Big book, engrossing. Available in paperback.
Book 2 "A Clash of Kings"
Book 3 "A Storm of Swords"

Book 4 (still in progress) "A Feast For Crows"

You might even get luck and have book 4 come out before you get the other three read.

The books are a fantasy series, but the magic is subtle. In fact, it is barely hinted at in most of Book 1. You feel as if you are reading a great historical novel about a country that is not in this world exactly. Like our world, but not in it. And in a late middle ages early renaissance sort of way ..kind of.

I was totally sucked in by book 1 and did not have to wait too long for book 3 to be released by the time I was up to book 2; waiting in agony for book 4 ever since.

I am currently reading the Farseer Trilogy by Robyn Hobb; Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest. Pretty good; and the author is one recommended by Martin. Hobb has authored two other trilogies set in roughly the same world as the Farseer, have not read them yet.

[amazona]

43. what I usually do is...

...I sort of let serendipity be my guide because I go to the used book store and get some cheap paperbacks I can leave for the next person when I'm done.

I save up magazines too.

In this way, your bag gets lighter as you go.

If you just want one big thick book, I suggest Infinite Jest

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72