Post: #1

Please comment and recommend books in here

Note : This is NOT for PUA book recommendations. Someone else can start that thread if it is of interest.

I will start.

I bought this book at Phuket airport the other day on my way to KL

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Private-Dancer-S...9810539169

I could not put it down and read it from cover to cover in a couple of days. Really anybody even thinking of going to Thailand should read this book. It is so true and so well written.

Very compelling and I loved the way that the narrative was told from the different perspectives of the main characters.

Superb writing and rings true on so many levels about the bar girl scene and foreigners even though it is a work of fiction.

5 Stars

Post: #2

I just finished Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing Is as It Seems

http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Men-Philosophy...053&sr=1-1

"With its swirling cigarette smoke, martini lunches, skinny ties, and tight pencil skirts, Mad Men is unquestionably one of the most stylish, sexy, and irresistible shows on television. But the series becomes even more absorbing once you dig deeper into its portrayal of the changing social and political mores of 1960s America and explore the philosophical complexities of its key characters and themes. From Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman, and Ayn Rand, Mad Men and Philosophy brings the thinking of some of history's most powerful minds to bear on the world of Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper ad agency. You'll gain insights into a host of compelling Mad Men questions and issues, including happiness, freedom, authenticity, feminism, Don Draper's identity, and more."

I haven't had a philosophy class since Intro to back in the day, so this book was an interesting refresher couched in terms of pop culture. I especially liked the take on Ayn Rand's Objectivism, it had been misrepresented to me in the past. If your a fan of the show some of the philosophical insights into characters' motives and personalities will interest you.

Post: #3

Thanks for the recommendation, Lumiere. Just found out Stephen Leather has got a free e-book version on his website- Looking forward to read it.

Some suggestions:

Charles Bukowski: Women - awesome book from a great author.

Isaac Bashevis Singer: The death of Methuselah. A collection of short stories. Themes such as relationships, passion and duty. Very interesting read from the jewish Nobel Prize winner.

Raymond Chandler: The long Goodbye. If you like suspense this is for you. An interesting plot spiced up with Chandlers great oneliners and knowledge of human nature.

Post: #4

Fat City, by Leonard Gardner

Post: #5

(08-08-2010 03:25 PM)beebopaloo Wrote:  Thanks for the recommendation, Lumiere. Just found out Stephen Leather has got a free e-book version on his website- Looking forward to read it.

So he has :

http://www.pattayapages.com/girls/images...dancer.pdf

However, I notice that it is missing the epilogue which actually tells you what happened to all of the characters after the book finishes.

Post: #6

I'm reading a book called "McMafia: Seriously Organized Crime."

It's like "fast food nation" but for the history of organized crime towards the end of the twentieth century.

Non fiction - it covers the rise and fall of different organized crime groups around the world, but the first half is very post-soviet nations focused.

Post: #7

(08-09-2010 03:05 AM)Lumiere Wrote:  

(08-08-2010 03:25 PM)beebopaloo Wrote:  Thanks for the recommendation, Lumiere. Just found out Stephen Leather has got a free e-book version on his website- Looking forward to read it.

So he has :

http://www.pattayapages.com/girls/images...dancer.pdf

However, I notice that it is missing the epilogue which actually tells you what happened to all of the characters after the book finishes.

Shit, I started reading it last night and couldn't put it down. This book's seriously jampacked with info about Thailand/Bkk and the bargirls. Might have to search the internet to get the epilogue, otherwise you can give me a resumé

I was thinking about the thread you put up, about your poker buddy while I was reading. These girls seriously know how to manipulate. And remembered how they'd try to pull similar schemes on me.

One time I picked up a chick in Narcissus and while we were driving to a love hotel she got on the phone with her german boyfriend. It was hilarious to hear how she was flipping the script on him. Of course I dumped her after the hotel and never gave her any money.

Post: #8

(08-09-2010 05:51 AM)beebopaloo Wrote:  

(08-09-2010 03:05 AM)Lumiere Wrote:  

(08-08-2010 03:25 PM)beebopaloo Wrote:  Thanks for the recommendation, Lumiere. Just found out Stephen Leather has got a free e-book version on his website- Looking forward to read it.

So he has :

http://www.pattayapages.com/girls/images...dancer.pdf

However, I notice that it is missing the epilogue which actually tells you what happened to all of the characters after the book finishes.

Shit, I started reading it last night and couldn't put it down. This book's seriously jampacked with info about Thailand/Bkk and the bargirls. Might have to search the internet to get the epilogue, otherwise you can give me a resumé

I was thinking about the thread you put up, about your poker buddy while I was reading. These girls seriously know how to manipulate. And remembered how they'd try to pull similar schemes on me.

One time I picked up a chick in Narcissus and while we were driving to a love hotel she got on the phone with her german boyfriend. It was hilarious to hear how she was flipping the script on him. Of course I dumped her after the hotel and never gave her any money.

Yes it is a real page turner and very hard to put down. Especially if you have been to thailand a few times. You get all of the subtle references and places and get many many "oh my god that is so fucking true!" moments and will recognise many aspects of the characters in real people that you have actually met.

If you have never been to thailand, it should be compulsory reading before you go as a cautionary tale and to help you avoid the pitfalls that soooooooo many fall into and to avoid getting sucked in and ripped off as so many people are.

I can give you a resume of the epilogue if you cant find it.

Post: #9

http://www.amazon.com/We-Were-Soldiers-O...034547581X

Its the book the movie was written on..thats pretty much it.
A real war story..
this guy doesnt gloss over details..this is probably one of the few books i could picture while reading it..

Post: #10

So just finished Private Dancer. Was able to find the epilogue online as well.. Definitely obligatory reading if you are going to Bangkok or already have been there. However it does paint a rather dystopic picture of the thais, which I feel should only apply to the touts and bargirls. They are not a dishonest people in general. I remember loosing all my money, passport and credit card in the airport, and when I got it back not a single bath was missing.

Post: #11

(08-08-2010 03:25 PM)beebopaloo Wrote:  Thanks for the recommendation, Lumiere. Just found out Stephen Leather has got a free e-book version on his website- Looking forward to read it.

Some suggestions:

Charles Bukowski: Women - awesome book from a great author.

Isaac Bashevis Singer: The death of Methuselah. A collection of short stories. Themes such as relationships, passion and duty. Very interesting read from the jewish Nobel Prize winner.

Raymond Chandler: The long Goodbye. If you like suspense this is for you. An interesting plot spiced up with Chandlers great oneliners and knowledge of human nature.

I liked that book. I think Bukowski through his alterego in the novel explores a man who is just flat out boorish, crude, confident and authentic. It made me think of Tucker Max watching Chinaski go through his different adventures with women and how he offended them (and fucked them) left and right. I didn't know about Bukowski until I saw Californication on Showtime and hearing that the main character of the show, Hank Moody, was a rip off of Charles Bukowski.

Just read Arkham Asylum by Garth Ennis. It is a story about the origin of the Asylum that holds Batman's most notorious criminals. It is a very emotional work which takes you through a lot of the madness in Batman's head. If anything it just reveals he is just as crazy as the villains he fights. The artwork is just crazy, well worth the purchase alone.

I am currently reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and A People's History Of The United States By Howard Zinn. I'll give a mini review of both when I'm finished.

Post: #12

This book about Herman Perry is amazing...it's true life account

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Hell-Will-Star...1594201730


He's a African American soldier from DC, who shot and killed a commanding officer. He escaped military prison on 2 occasions and went deep into the jungle of Burma to escape capture (were talking wild tigers, disease, leeches, all kind of shit that can kill you...he ran towards). He lived among real life cannibals and even married the chiefs daughter...It's a crazy story that I hope some director with guts, tries to make into a movie...


Here's the slate article about the story:http://www.slate.com/id/2192270

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Perry

Post: #13

Okay thought I'd just get this thread alive and going once again.

Just finished:
- The Rum Diary of Hunter S. Thompson. Awesome book. Takes place in Puerto Rico, where hunters' alter ego is a heavy drinking journalist chasing tail and you can sense the debauchery of male expats.

. The Quiet American by Graham Greene. Takes place in Vietnam during the French occupation. Two guys competing for one girl. And multiple nations and ideologies competing for a country. It is a classic and many of you have probably read it. If not then pick it up.

- In the Miso soup by Ryu Murakami. Japanese thriller set in Tokyos sex industry. If you like horror, absurdity and japanese peep shows and prostitutes this is one to pick up. Good english translation.

- Tucker Max - Assholes finish first: If you like Tucker you'll love his new book. Absurd stories of sex and drinking gone wild. But with a more mature perspective and even funnier stories. I have to say that I am impressed with what Tucker can pull off.

All of the above are great books. Especially if you are into our favorite hobby of going to exotic places and seducing hot chicks. Enjoy.

Post: #14

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - this book changed my life

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield - Story of Sparta at Thermopalae told from the perspective of a slave

Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates by Tom Robbins - Had me laughing out loud and there's some deep plot lines also. The main character is a lot like us.

Post: #15

(12-02-2010 08:35 PM)Fisto Wrote:  The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - this book changed my life

I am reading that book right now

Post: #16

A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

Post: #17

Currently reading The Gregg Reference Manual, Tenth edition. Heavy shit.

Post: #18

Budapeste, Chico Buarque.

Post: #19

I just finished reading "Black Players:secret world of black pimps" by R and C milner. it was very recently rereleased by Tariq Nasheed who bought the rights as it was out of print.

the book has SO MUCH GAME, I can't stress that enough and was actually an anthropology phd thesis.

highly recommended.

Post: #20

if you're into james bond you should read "james bond, the man and his world" by henry chancellor. it examines ian fleming's (guy who created bond) background and where he got the ideas for his novels, through travelling, WW2, strange characters he met

Post: #21

Lum, how's The Fountainhead so far? It's the book that first made the philosophy of Objectivism spark interest.

Post: #22

(12-04-2010 06:08 AM)zanetti Wrote:  if you're into james bond you should read "james bond, the man and his world" by henry chancellor. it examines ian fleming's (guy who created bond) background and where he got the ideas for his novels, through travelling, WW2, strange characters he met

Sounds dope, I may have to check this out.

Post: #23

Isaac Bashevis Singer was mentioned, and i agree, i read all of his books. he is a nobel prize winner in literature, but he is not pretentious in his writing and has a great eye for human relations.

if you're into aviation, the best book on the topic i read was Fate Is The Hunter by Ernest K. Gann. wrote in interesting prose about his life as a pilot from piston pounders to jets flying all over the world when flight was fairly unsafe.

Quo Vadis, by Mr. Sienkiewicz. About Rome during Nero period. Roman parties, political backstabing, birth of Christianity. pretty violent and interesting.

recently i read CityBoy, by Geraint Anderson, about a stockbroker from London, England. That book is hilarious. a lot of his stories made me lough out loud on public transport.

also, just finished Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein. A crime reporter in Japan, lots of yakuza shit and his story about being a mark for them. pretty interesting.

Post: #24

Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis. Straight up sex, drugs, and rock and roll. One of the coolest books I've ever read hands down. Dude had a crazy life. It's the lead singer of Red Hot Chili Peppers auto biography. I don't care if you like the band or not, it's totally worth the read.

Post: #25

(12-06-2010 04:58 AM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis. Straight up sex, drugs, and rock and roll. One of the coolest books I've ever read hands down. Dude had a crazy life. It's the lead singer of Red Hot Chili Peppers auto biography. I don't care if you like the band or not, it's totally worth the read.

I haven't read this one but it's on my list. I've read Nikki Sixx's autobiography from Motley Crue 'Heroin Diaries'. It's pretty nuts..