# What are the crazies reading?



## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

In the survivalist book club, what are you folks reading?

I just finished Matthew Bracken's "Castigo Cay". It's a good action story, fiction, and as usual he paints a vivid picture of where the U.S. is heading.

Currently I'm reading Chuck Holton's "A More Elite Soldier - Pursuing A Life of Purpose". It's a non-fiction Christian book that I'm only about a quarter of the way into but enjoying quite a bit.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

The "news" :teehee:


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

A big horror fan, are you?


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## Cascade Failure (Jan 30, 2007)

I just finished "Patient Zero" and hope to start "Dragon Factory" this weekend. Both by Mayberry I believe. Of course if my co-worker doesn't come through with "Dragon Factory", I may need to turn to the MSM for my dose of separation from reality. That carp will give me nightmares for sure.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Ernie said:


> A big horror fan, are you?


Yep... Almost too scary.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Ernie - Chuck's "A More Elite Soldier" is the book that got him out of his 9-5 job. Some of us reviewed the first chapter to see if he should send it to a publisher - and the rest is history. 

I've loaned that book, that got loaned again - then I've had to get another copy of it.

If you are Christian, you will enjoy it.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

It's a good book, and well-written. Though there are a couple of uncomfortable parts I've come across so far that are dangerously close to illuminating the flaws in my own character. Always painful when you have to adjust course.


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Ernie said:


> It's a good book, and well-written. Though there are a couple of uncomfortable parts I've come across so far that are dangerously close to illuminating the flaws in my own character. Always painful when you have to adjust course.


Painful, yes, but I find those are the books that I treasure the most


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

I'm reading the BI most days. That gives me enough of a gasp factor... LOL Kidding, mostly.

Sadly I haven't read for fun in a long time. I've been working on some herbal notes lately, as I intend to put together a list of uses and growing tips for medicinal plants that can be grown easily in NA.


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## TNHermit (Jul 14, 2005)

I'm fixated on medieval history and living. Been a real eye opener as to what we perceive and what is real today. things have been in a lull the last couple hundred years


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## tkrabec (Mar 12, 2003)

Ernie said:


> It's a good book, and well-written. Though there are a couple of uncomfortable parts I've come across so far that are dangerously close to illuminating the flaws in my own character. Always painful when you have to adjust course.


I'd say adjusting course is not painful, or at least not as painful as the jolt that wakes you up telling you need to make the adjustment.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Oh so true. 

If you happen to look at your map and notice you're way off course, you can choose to correct that course, however much time it may take to put you back to rights, or you can continue on pretending you're not off course and suffer the consequences.

Most of us would consider that common sense when traveling, but yet we fail to apply that equally common sense to our lives as a whole.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Ernie - after that book read his "Bulletproof"


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## hintonlady (Apr 22, 2007)

I'm reading a nutrition book for school. It is sooooo lame. Most of the stuff is common sense and the rest is insanely complicated chemical reactions in the digestive system. Waaaay too technical for a 2 credit class. I could care less how many carbon molecules are in a specific type of lipid, or whatever.

*sigh*


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

hintonlady said:


> I'm reading a nutrition book for school. It is sooooo lame. Most of the stuff is common sense and the rest is insanely complicated chemical reactions in the digestive system. Waaaay too technical for a 2 credit class. I could care less how many carbon molecules are in a specific type of lipid, or whatever.
> 
> *sigh*


 Thread Drift Alert!

Wondering if you are really a Merry Prankster? I met Ken Kesey years ago in Oregon. Interesting fella. I sure would like to get my paws on that bus...


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

The last for fun books I read were the old Clan of the Cave Bear series...actually a good bit of herbal/medicinal info in those.

I am kind of a one hit wonder lately. All I ever read are how to do stuff books and magazines.


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

The cub and weblos handbooks as it appears I'm about to become the leader. Be prepared...what are these folks thinking? Tapping me? Oh the horror it may bring...LOL!
Matt


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## hintonlady (Apr 22, 2007)

InvalidID said:


> Thread Drift Alert!
> 
> Wondering if you are really a Merry Prankster? I met Ken Kesey years ago in Oregon. Interesting fella. I sure would like to get my paws on that bus...


I'm a 2nd generation prankster born after my time. I'm not yet 40.

The bus is rotting on his property in Eugene with a fake skeleton in Cassidy's seat. Kesey never wanted it rebuilt even turned down the Smithsonian because they wouldn't keep it as is.

I met Kesey years ago as well very cool guy. He gave me the coolest autograph in my "The Further Inquiry". Bummer the chief had to go on his final trip...

So, not a real prankster just a well read wanna be, lol. I dig the turn on, tune in and drop out thingy, of course that was Leary and that is another matter.:nanner:


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

How interesting that I just asked the same question of HL in another thread.!KK was quite a character


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## Cindy in NY (May 10, 2002)

I just finished "Flood" by Stephen Baxter. The entire world is flooding and the amount of usable land is gradually disappearing. DH thought it was one of the best books he had ever read - me, not so much. If you can make it through the first half, it picks up.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Dale Brown's new book placed in 2013 after the "American Holocaust" when Russia attacked. We prevailed but the nation was mostly lost, all government cut 50%, military devasted....and on and on. He is always a good read though...DEE


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## megafatcat (Jun 30, 2009)

Parkman's Oregon Trail


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Working on "Eat Healthy for $50 a Week". We are finishing up school here so I haven't had too much time to look at it, just enough to know I want to look a bit longer.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

About six different books, all nonfiction. Two on cattle, one on critter control, bread making, vermiculture and one on general farming practices.Then there is the news, sigh.


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## Rainy (Jan 21, 2010)

I just finished Deep Winter,Shattered,and Remnant.. awesome books. Now i am reading a series of books by Teri Blackstock they are not bad, but i loved Thomas Sherry's books.


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## demeter (Jul 15, 2010)

A biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. An autobiography of a lady who grew up Fundamentalist Mormon. An autobiography of Agatha Christie. I don't read too much fiction.

Demeter


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I just got done with Crockett Johnson's _Harold and the Purple Crayon_.

As soon as my mind recoups from that literary smorgasbord, I plan to immerse myself in a selection from my _Calvin and Hobbes_ collection . 

_Bill Watterson_ rocks, baby.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

Forerunner said:


> I As soon as my mind recoups from that literary smorgasbord, I plan to immerse myself in a selection from my _Calvin and Hobbes_ collection .
> 
> _Bill Watterson_ rocks, baby.


 Calvin and Hobbes rock!


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I've been reading for the last two weeks some serious "textbooks" on wealth... the direct and indirect indexes to my local county... searching for something that should be 'there', but 'isn't'. Folks in KY are getting royalties, and are on the tax roll, but there are no deeds granting them those royalties. Mostly dry stale stuff, till you come across a tract where you know the individuals... and you see how much they paid for the tract, how much they squandered their royalties for (less {per acre} than it'd cost for a night at 'Red Lobster'... those royalties now (per acre) could buy used car... four acres a new car or truck!

After poring through the stuff all day, getting home at night, last thing I want to do is strain my poor eyes any more...


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## wottahuzzee (Jul 7, 2006)

I recently finished up The New Madrid Run by Michael Reisig. Not a literary blockbuster but it was fun and exciting. It starts where I am living now and ends up very near to where I was born. 

Currently, I am reading Mathew Bracken's Enemies Foreign and Domestic. 

Next up will be A Brain Wider Than The Sky, A Migraine Diary, by Andrew Levy. My brother, who is an MD, passed it on to me. We are both migraine sufferers and have been hospitalized at various times with migraines. Maybe it will provide some insight.


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

> The bus is rotting on his property in Eugene with a fake skeleton in Cassidy's seat.


Not true about the magic Bus.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/10792...ken-keseys-original-magic-bus-being-restored/


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

Foods the Indians Gave Us...interesting!


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

I am currently reading "Desperate Times" - which is currently a free Kindle book on Amazon. (I have the kindle app for my computer.) I keep bugging my library to carry Chuck's books, sure hope they come through soon!

I read a lot of PAW fiction on-line:
http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/reading-room/
http://www.ar15.com/forums/forum.html?b=10&f=20
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f55/
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/cgi-...orum;f=64;hardset=0;start_point=0;DaysPrune=0


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

WAH, please share if you get any insight on migraines or even what you think of the book.


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## jlrbhjmnc (May 2, 2010)

The days are just packed.

Let's see, I'm into Theology for Beginners (still - one. section. at. a. time.) and my first few issues of Backwoods Home magazine. I'm thinking of re-reading Starting Over by Jackie Clay. It's on the bookshelf. And the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalogue.


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

I have a lengthy list of books I would like to read, but don't have a kindle...I did not know there was a version for PCs, thanks for the tip 

I've been cruising through Carla Emery's book off and on all spring/summer, but not diligently. I still prefer my fiction. Reading this thread, a book popped into mind that I read 10 or 15 years ago (and I have no idea why it did, it must have made a huge impression??) which was "The Last Whale". Brings a strong emotional response even now, how weird. If anyone decides to read it, I will just say that it is poignant.

I'm into practical PAW fiction, which is why I liked OSA so much.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

If I'm going to spend time reading, then it's going to be something that applies to my now reality. Currently that includes the daily bulletins posted by TEPCO:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11062409-e.html

and watching some of the time on a live feed webcam at Fukushima:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIa6yble2gk[/ame]

The above webcam is best viewed during our nighttime hours which are daylight for Japan. If you use headphones you can better hear the background sounds at the nuclear plant. They have lots of singing birdies.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

tab said:


> WAH, please share if you get any insight on migraines or even what you think of the book.


 For migraines I'd personally recommend heavier doses of Vit. D and magnesium. I started getting cluster headaches in my mid 20's and I realized... by accident, that those 2 things work wonders. Now if I feel a headache coming on I take a Vit D and aspirin and get on with life.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

Just finishing "Surviving Off Off-Grid".
Pretty good book that really help advance my thinking as I was already heading in that direction. I guess if you aren't a Christian, you may be offended by the authors obvious Christian "worldview" and use of lots of scripture quotes.. I personally liked it very much.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

"Surviving Off Off Grid" is a life changing book. I highly recommend it.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

Ernie said:


> "Surviving Off Off Grid" is a life changing book. I highly recommend it.


I totally agree!

ETA I just finished and there is a great line on one of the last few pages I wanted to share.
"The world may see us as "backward" and call us "dumb, plain, hick farmers", but I assure you that we don't hear them over the rattle of their chains."


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## Shrarvrs88 (May 8, 2010)

The Backyard Homestead. Figure I gotta start where I am...I may never get my big farm.


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

You can get a Kindle app for your computer or your Smart Phone. Lots of free books available from Amazon, plus all the google books. I have quiet a few of the British farming manuals "Book of the Farm" from mid 1800's through the early 1900's. Fascinating to look at the contraptions they built to get farm work done before internal combustion engines and electricity. Pretty good details too on how to build them.


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

Ernie said:


> "Surviving Off Off Grid" is a life changing book. I highly recommend it.


Ditto that...

Gave my copy to my brother to read and the religious part almost stopped him from reading but I coaxed him through it...

I can't look at this world the same after reading the book...

SHTF doesn't seem as scary anymore...

Oh and by the way I saw this cool video of the homesteading superwoman demonstrating her off grid non-electric clothes washer... So cool... I'm going to build my own version at my little place... Had already found a hand ringer but this washer is so cool. Another little piece of the electricity grid freedom puzzle... 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyRMuQ_8oj0[/ame]


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## bourbonred (Feb 27, 2008)

Forerunner said:


> I just got done with Crockett Johnson's _Harold and the Purple Crayon_.
> 
> As soon as my mind recoups from that literary smorgasbord, I plan to immerse myself in a selection from my _Calvin and Hobbes_ collection .
> 
> _Bill Watterson_ rocks, baby.


Got all his books--yep, you just can't be a parent and not appreciate his humor. And I love the fact that he wouldn't sell out his characters for profit alone. :goodjob:


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## partndn (Jun 18, 2009)

Joel Salatin

I think this would be #6 of his for me.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

partndn said:


> Joel Salatin
> 
> I think this would be #6 of his for me.


I have his latest sitting on my table waiting to be read too. I really like all of his books.


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

Pouncer said:


> I have a lengthy list of books I would like to read, but don't have a kindle...


My sister gave me a kindle for Christmas. I don't like it.

I like books, with actual pages, that I can read without batteries!

How does everyone else feel about these new fangled electronical books???


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

Trisha in WA said:


> I totally agree!
> 
> ETA I just finished and there is a great line on one of the last few pages I wanted to share.
> "The world may see us as "backward" and call us "dumb, plain, hick farmers", but I assure you that we don't hear them over the rattle of their chains."


BRILLIANT!


It is now in my Amazon cart. Thanks.


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## Shrarvrs88 (May 8, 2010)

I haven't tried a kindle...and don't plan on it either. I love real books.


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

Shrarvrs88 said:


> I haven't tried a kindle...and don't plan on it either. I love real books.


Me too...


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## hintonlady (Apr 22, 2007)

Del Gue said:


> Not true about the magic Bus.
> 
> http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/10792...ken-keseys-original-magic-bus-being-restored/


WOW! Kesey wanted it left as it was as a memorial of that moment in time. Guess he should have put that in his will.:teehee:

Plus, I just have to add that the bus was actually Furthur not further...wonder if their spelling had anything to do with kool aid?


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## Geary_Johns (Oct 27, 2007)

earthkitty said:


> My sister gave me a kindle for Christmas. I don't like it.
> 
> I like books, with actual pages, that I can read without batteries!
> 
> How does everyone else feel about these new fangled electronical books???


I have a kindle and I love it. I use it for books that are for recreation, books that are used for reference I buy in the paperback / hardback form.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I'm a big Kindle fan. When I travel I can take dozens and dozens of books with me, and I can also increase the print size so it doesn't hurt my eyes or make me drowsy. Books I intend to reread over and over I will buy an actual book but almost everything these days gets a first read on the Kindle. Some books I have both a paper and a Kindle copy. It's like I can take my entire library with me on the road.

I just finished up Holton's book a few days ago. It was very good. Now I'm starting to tear into Michael Bunker's new one called "Modern Religious Idols".


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

I was given a book to read:

The Rise of the Forth Reich, by Jim Mars.

We shall see......


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## NoClue (Jan 22, 2007)

proof that I'm truly crazy....

I'm reading Aquinas' "Summa Theologica"


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I'm using kindle and regular books. I like kindle for the ease of carrying many books with me, and also the font size adjustment feature. 

But I have lots of regular books here, also.

I'm reading on "Deep Winter" via kindle and "The Art of Non-Conformity - Set Your Own Rules"; and I have put a lot of older classics on the kindle - Alcott, and such.

Angie


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

NoClue said:


> proof that I'm truly crazy....
> 
> I'm reading Aquinas' "Summa Theologica"


Ha! I have listened to the audio book from Librivox about a dozen times so far and retained almost nothing. 

The Bull Who Roared was indeed a genius.


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## NoClue (Jan 22, 2007)

Ernie said:


> Ha! I have listened to the audio book from Librivox about a dozen times so far and retained almost nothing.
> 
> The Bull Who Roared was indeed a genius.


I'm reading it very slowly - stopping after almost every article, researching and evaluating it.

In preparation for this endeavor, I read a condensed version of Aristotle and crammed on formal logic.

Having done that, other than the sheer length, it's not as imposing, difficult, or dry as I thought it would be. Parts of it I'm even enjoying.

This is part of my ongoing endeavor to give my self a full-blown classical education (as opposed to the commercial education I went into debt for and spent 15 years paying off).


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

NoClue said:


> This is part of my ongoing endeavor to give my self a full-blown classical education (as opposed to the commercial education I went into debt for and spent 15 years paying off).


I did the same thing when I started researching my children's educational options, NoClue. We ended up home educating them following the Classical methodology, and I attempted to ramp myself up very quickly. I discovered it isn't something you do quickly -- that it's a lifelong undertaking -- and that's probably the most important thing I learned 

If it's any help, studying Latin and formal logic helped me a great deal. Everything comes easier when you understand what you're reading. There is a great deal of difference between READING and COMPREHENDING. Reading comprehension is a skill that has been eliminated from the public education system, and the one academic skill we absolutely require, for it allows us to learn all other things.


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## NoClue (Jan 22, 2007)

Tracy Rimmer said:


> I did the same thing when I started researching my children's educational options, NoClue. We ended up home educating them following the Classical methodology, and I attempted to ramp myself up very quickly. I discovered it isn't something you do quickly -- that it's a lifelong undertaking -- and that's probably the most important thing I learned
> 
> If it's any help, studying Latin and formal logic helped me a great deal. Everything comes easier when you understand what you're reading. There is a great deal of difference between READING and COMPREHENDING. Reading comprehension is a skill that has been eliminated from the public education system, and the one academic skill we absolutely require, for it allows us to learn all other things.


I've been doing it for twenty-five years, roughly.

It started when someone once referred to me as a 'literary guy' and I realize that while I read all the time, I hadn't actually read most of what are considered 'the great books'. So I set about to read them.

In the process, I've eventually learned that simply reading them isn't enough - they have to be read in approximately the 'right' order (or at least be aware that there is an order) or you miss a lot of what makes them 'great'. Take the book Robinson Crusoe for example. By itself it's entertaining in a dated and dysfunctional sort of way (my opinion is that old Robbie really NEEDED that island), but when you read it in consideration that it was THE FIRST novel written in the English language - not the first piece of fiction, mind you, but the first piece of fiction that made an attempt to look inside the mind of, and examine the motives of, a normal human being in everyday life, it takes on a much greater significance and what seems to modern eyes to ham-fisted prose makes a lot more sense.


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

I agree. Early on, I attempted to read the classic works as they appealed to me, and I found it a rather hard slog. It was only when I realized I was really getting nowhere that I started from the beginning, and reading through, found it got easier and easier. It makes sense when you realize that if you read the great books chronologically, the AUTHORS of those books had been educated with and were drawing on their experience of those books you read previous to theirs. It puts their work in context, something you cannot do if you are drawing on YOUR reading experience, which includes things which came after and that the author had no experience of.

I also found that studying beyond the book itself not only helped me understand the book itself, but all books that I read subsequently. Reading a book, while studying the life of the author and the times s/he lived in, helped a great deal in my comprehension of what the writer was trying to communicate.


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## baldylocks (Aug 15, 2007)

Recently finished Shattered and Remnant. Last night I finished the American Apocalypse series by Nova. I really liked the first book or two but then it got a little weird. Still, I worked through it and enjoyed it but I could have stopped after book 2 and been happy.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

NewGround said:


> Oh and by the way I saw this cool video of the homesteading superwoman demonstrating her off grid non-electric clothes washer... So cool... I'm going to build my own version at my little place... Had already found a hand ringer but this washer is so cool. Another little piece of the electricity grid freedom puzzle...
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyRMuQ_8oj0


Surprised me how will that works.If my solar ever fails I'll remember this,thank you.

George Jetson


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## Riverrat (Oct 14, 2008)

Very nice, and I have seen these at old farms, just never knew what they were...now I will...Thanks for the link.


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## stickinthemud (Sep 10, 2003)

I started Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" more than a year ago but keep setting it aside. In the meantime I have read "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Winter World: the ingenuity of animal survival" by Bernd Heinrich, and several forgettable* things. My to-read pile now includes "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson, "Path of Destruction" by McQuaid & Schleifstein, "Hiroshima in history and memory" ed by Michael J Hogan, "Brave New World/Brave New World Revisited" by Aldous Huxley (re-read), "Wright's Complete Disaster Survival Manual" by Ted Wright, and several non-prep-related books. All things that have turned up in garage/yard/book sales. I may have to break down and pay full price to read "One Second After"
*"The Stand" by Stephen King--just can't get into the supernatural spook stuff


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## zant (Dec 1, 2005)

Just finished all3 Enemies,Foreign and Domestic.....


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## Strange Bear (May 13, 2002)

Harold and the Purple Crayon is da bomb!



Forerunner said:


> I just got done with Crockett Johnson's _Harold and the Purple Crayon_.
> 
> As soon as my mind recoups from that literary smorgasbord, I plan to immerse myself in a selection from my _Calvin and Hobbes_ collection .
> 
> _Bill Watterson_ rocks, baby.


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## windhound (Mar 18, 2008)

Tracy Rimmer said:


> I did the same thing when I started researching my children's educational options, NoClue. We ended up home educating them following the Classical methodology, and I attempted to ramp myself up very quickly. I discovered it isn't something you do quickly -- that it's a lifelong undertaking -- and that's probably the most important thing I learned
> 
> If it's any help, studying Latin and formal logic helped me a great deal. Everything comes easier when you understand what you're reading. There is a great deal of difference between READING and COMPREHENDING. Reading comprehension is a skill that has been eliminated from the public education system, and the one academic skill we absolutely require, for it allows us to learn all other things.


I am so glad other people are doing this, it gives me hope.
I also started trying to read all the classics I had never read when I began Classically educating my children. I just wish I had read Adler's "How to Read a Book" first. I credit that one book with finally helping me understand reading.


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## Win07_351 (Dec 7, 2008)

Reading a book on the life of George Washington entitled "Washington" by Ron Chernow


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

"In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex," by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Cliffnotes version: The ship was rammed by an angry whale. The crew, in 3 boats, tried to make it back to South America (ironically fearing being eaten by cannibals rumored to be lurking in the Marquesas Islands, which were closer). After nearly 3 months at sea and many trials, they themselves resorted to cannibalism, at one point drawing lots and dispatching the unlucky holder of the short straw. Nom, nom! There were 8 survivors. The incident inspired Herman Melville to pen "Moby Dick."

It's a good book. I'd recommend it.


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## freeholdfarms (Aug 10, 2007)

Just finished "The Sword of the Prophet" by Serge Trifkovic. Scary book on history of Islam and the impact on the world since early 600's.
Reading "God's Battalions" by Rodney Stark. Good book on the history of the Crusades.
Waiting on "Monster Hunter Alpha" to be shipped. Good sci-fi
Listening to free podcast "We're Alive" zombiepodcast.com, new episode weekly. Fun


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

willow_girl said:


> "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex," by Nathaniel Philbrick.
> 
> Cliffnotes version: The ship was rammed by an angry whale. The crew, in 3 boats, tried to make it back to South America (ironically fearing being eaten by cannibals rumored to be lurking in the Marquesas Islands, which were closer). After nearly 3 months at sea and many trials, they themselves resorted to cannibalism, at one point drawing lots and dispatching the unlucky holder of the short straw. Nom, nom! There were 8 survivors. The incident inspired Herman Melville to pen "Moby Dick."
> 
> It's a good book. I'd recommend it.


Heh. Sort of like how the story of Selkirk inspired Robinson Crusoe. 

Poor Selkirk. He's stranded alone on the island with a herd of wild goats for years. Finally (so he claimed) he decides to have sex with one of the goats and then right in the middle of the act a British shore party comes over the hill and catches him.


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## FourDeuce (Jun 27, 2002)

I just finished Strange Piece of Paradise, by Terri Jentz. It's about her involvement in an attempted murder in 1977. She and her friend decided to do the Bikecentennial Trail(bicycle ride across America) and ended up becoming victims in an attempted axe murder. They were asleep in their tent on night in Oregon(where they started), when a stranger ran over them with his truck(possibly several times), then got out with an axe and tried to finish the job of killing them. The book is mostly about her life after the attack and her investigation into why the guy was never caught even though most of the people who lived in the area knew who had done it. Interesting book about how the system doesn't always work the way it's supposed to.:nono:


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

I recently dug out a couple of my Lois L'Amour books, old friends are few and far between, and his books have a lot a person should know in them that could be considered common sense as far as camping, and certain survival conditions..... just knowledge that can be further expanded and researched.

I thought his The Walking Drum was very good history and a look into the radical Islamic beginnings when i first read it years ago... 

remember........ adventure is just a romantic word for trouble.

William
Idaho


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

> Poor Selkirk. He's stranded alone on the island with a herd of wild goats for years. Finally (so he claimed) he decides to have sex with one of the goats and then right in the middle of the act a British shore party comes over the hill and catches him.


It never fails ... ound:

I've been reading books on a cannibalism theme for the past year or so. It's funny how one sort of leads to another. The Donner Party ("Ordeal by Hunger") was interesting, too. :shrug:


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I'm about to reread Steve Solomon's book "Gardening when it really counts" (or something like that, my daughter has it atm). Wonderful book detailing how the soil our food is grown in needs to have the nutrients necessary to sustain our life if/when we can't get food from outside our area to supplement our diets. He speaks on how to build your soil to get food that will sustain you. He also explains how to garden with very little water and still get good yields. There's a lot in this book. Very very good book.


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## ejagno (Jan 2, 2008)

I do most of my survival reading online where I can enlarge the print. This is one that I'm currently enjoying alot.

http://carryondamaris.blogspot.com/2011/06/chapter-one.html


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

Blu3duk said:


> remember........ adventure is just a romantic word for trouble.
> 
> William
> Idaho


I tell my kids something along those same lines all the time. If we try something and it works out ok in the end then it was an "Adventure". My kids (5 & 7) have taken to asking if something is an "Adventure" at the start of a project, road trip etc... I always say we won't know till we are finished.


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

ejagno said:


> I do most of my survival reading online where I can enlarge the print. This is one that I'm currently enjoying alot.
> 
> http://carryondamaris.blogspot.com/2011/06/chapter-one.html


Thanks for the link. I hate the font - sans serif would be so much easier to read, but so far its interesting.


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

Desperate Times by nicholar antinozzi i think i read a recomendation on here,, just a perfect book for people that like this site...


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Forerunner said:


> I just got done with Crockett Johnson's _Harold and the Purple Crayon_.
> 
> As soon as my mind recoups from that literary smorgasbord, I plan to immerse myself in a selection from my _Calvin and Hobbes_ collection .
> 
> _Bill Watterson_ rocks, baby.


Someone left a 'Calvin & Hobbes' book in our so-called lunch area at work - that is what I read while snatching a bite to eat.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Just finished Jeff Shaara's(and his late dads) trilogy about Civil War. Had to read one in paperback, ugh, I hate paperbacks. Too hard to read in bed!! 150th Civil War anniversary coming up soon. Also delving into a big stack of old old Countryside magazines.


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## lorian (Sep 4, 2005)

Speaking of the civil war.... I've been looking for a historical novel that is: A) a balanced approach to the conflict B) Isn't completely filled with battle details and troop movements (boring to me). Anyone have an idea?


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## jlrbhjmnc (May 2, 2010)

For fun I just re-read _All Creatures Great and Small_ by James Herriot.


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## phlip99999 (Aug 20, 2009)

Wags wrote:


> Thanks for the link. I hate the font - sans serif would be so much easier to read, but so far its interesting.


If you go into the Options menu on Firefox, you can turn off the setting to let the website choose the font. Then you can force your own preferred setting. The menu tree would be:

Options|Content|Fonts and Colors|Advanced|Allow pages to choose theeir own fonts, instead of my selections above

I think you can do this in IE as well (I never use IE, so can't say off hand). I haven't used Chrome enough to know either way.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

More amusing is Turtledove's alternate histories of the Civil War where the south won...kinda kept me confused reading the Shaara books after the south got their AK's and Bobbie Lee got nitro for his chest pain......


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## machinist (Aug 3, 2010)

I bught a copy and read "Lights Out" by David Crawford a while back. Pretty good read, lots of action, and some amount of insight into a PAW situation. 

Until Frugal's killed their fiction forum, I read quite a lot of that, particularly liking works by KathyinFla, notably her tale "This is me Surviving". Some of those authors' works are up on other forums now. 

I want to find another copy of Alas Babylon and read it again. Just found my old copy of Lucifer's Hammer!  And, I'd like to find a copy of The Mote in God's Eye and read that again (Jerry Pournelle and David Niven, I think?) 

I'd like to find something current on the US sinking economically into a 3rd world country? I've given that some thought, and would like to read some other views on the subject.


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## whiskeylivewire (May 27, 2009)

Last week I read:
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare-pretty good
I Am Number 4-awesome!
The Dead Town-the 5th and final book in the Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz
my Christian Worldview textbook by Cosgrove

This week I am reading a book a friend of mine is trying to get published. I reconnected with him on FB-hadn't talked to him in 15 years, since HS-and when he said he wasn't writing anymore, I said, um, why not?! So, he started writing again, has sent out query letters and an agent is very interested in it. He is one funny guy-though this book is a thriller-he once dedicated a short story in HS to me, Donnie and everyone else who thinks Custer got off easy!

Downside is, now he is bugging me about why I'm not writing!

I'll have to get Chuck's books, didn't know he had them! And I am anxiously awaiting the new Rick Riordan book, The Son of Neptune


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

Half way through book two of the Mountain Evasion series - about a survivalist that is wanted by the FBI and what he has to do to survive out in the wild. Lots of good wilderness survival type stuff....

The 3rd book in the series is being published a chapter at a time here, and there are links to the first two books here as well.
http://mountainrefuge-einarsaga.blogspot.com/


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

Hmm. I'm reading through a chronological Bible (in Jeremiah right now, and a few days ahead of the actual date, LOL!), and just started on Galatians in my 'regular' Bible, with notes by John MacArthur. In other reading, I just finished Cordwood Building the State of the Art by Rob Roy and a bunch of other people; Making Your Own Paper by Marianne Saddington (very good); skimmed through The Gourmet Paper Maker handmade paper from fruits and vegetables by Ellaraine Lockie; likewise skimmed through The Art of Papermaking by Bernard Toale. (I've also ordered a couple of books on papermaking and one on making books but they aren't here yet.) I've been trying to think of something to do that I'll enjoy but that doesn't cost much for materials, preferably using materials I can forage off our own place. Seems like paper making might fill the bill. 

Kathleen


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## Cindy in NY (May 10, 2002)

I'm almost finished with "Dies the Fire". Good story. The writing has gotten better as its goes farther along. The "religion" of one of the main characters tends to distract from the story line. (Won't reveal the twist for anyone who hasn't read it.)


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

I just finished the first 11 books in the 39 Clues series, next book will be released in late Aug. It's a kids book series that my kids love...so I read it to be sure I was OK with them reading it. Now I'm hooked, too. NOTHING SP related...but fun reads (lots of geography and history in it).

Now that I'm back on the "big kids" reading shelf I'm working on Gut It, Cut It, Cook It. We've been eying this book and with Boarders "going out of business sale" we bit the bullet and picked it up. We are hoping DH gets a deer (or 2 or 3) this year and I hate the idea of paying someone $90 to butcher it. This looks like a very nice pictorial (I'm a visual learned....words don't work for this for me) on how to gut and butcher a deer. Since we don't know anyone local that we can learn from this is our best bet. Of course, Dh is not on board with doing it ourselves here. We'd have to do it in the garage which is his wood working shop (we are in town). Not sure what the neighbors would think driving by with a deer hanging from the rafters (we literally live on main street...LOTS of traffic) BUT opinions change...so we'll be ready. DH is the one that "discovered" the book and researched it before he showed it to me 4 months ago....so maybe his opinion is starting to shift already.


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## TheMrs (Jun 11, 2008)

I'm halfway through The Swiss Family Robinson and also started reading Surviving Off Off-Grid. Really enjoying both of them....


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I finished Light's out and Desperate Times on my Kindle for PC, and just got my paper copies of One Second After, Gardening When it Really Counts, and Bug Out (my free books from using swagbucks to get free $5 amazon gift cards). I also picked up Witnessing America, The Library of Congress Book of Firsthand Accounts of Life in America 1600-1900, which looks fantastic, and just for fun reading, a couple Lisa Jackson and one Lisa Gardner mysteries, and a new to me Nora Roberts trilogy. Where to start....and I have a pile of library books waiting for me, including the final Earth's Children (Clan of the Cave Bear) book. :happy:


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Just downloaded Dies the Fire to my Kindle (kind of ironic, isn't it?)-- hope to start it tonight.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

manygoatsnmore - is "Gardening When it Really Counts" the Steve Solomon book? That is an awesome book with a very different viewpoint on growing your own food - how to grow food that will nourish your body, as, if your soil is depleted in a nutrient and you don't have an outside food source, your diet will be depleted in that nutrient. Very interesting. Lots and lots more in that book, its detailed and complete.


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

The Jefferson Project, by Thor Duffin. http://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Project-Thor-Duffin/dp/1451506694

It is an excellent light fiction read and brings up all kinds of interesting points to ponder.

Spoiler: my favorite scene is when the new President dismisses all the members of Congress and gives them 3 hours to clean out their desks and vacate the premises, after that time they will be escorted out by security personnel! I'd so love to see that lot sent packing in real life.


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## Joe Prepper (Jul 25, 2011)

Reading Alabama Moon with the kids. Also noticed it's on netflix as a movie. I have not watched this, but would recommend the book.


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## jessepona (Sep 7, 2005)

I'm reading Bill Bryson's Home: A Short History of Private Life. It sounds dull but Bryson is an engaging writer and I'm learning so many things I never knew before. It starts out in pre-Roman times in England and goes right up until modern day. It's like a history of the western world as viewed through each room of the house. The chapter dealing with the evolution of the kitchen was my favorite.


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

I just finished "Another place to die." by Sam North. It was o.k.
I've been reading some books by kathy in Florida. I really liked the asteroid one. The links: http://bestlaidplansmicemen.blogspot.com/


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

GrannyCarol said:


> manygoatsnmore - is "Gardening When it Really Counts" the Steve Solomon book? That is an awesome book with a very different viewpoint on growing your own food - how to grow food that will nourish your body, as, if your soil is depleted in a nutrient and you don't have an outside food source, your diet will be depleted in that nutrient. Very interesting. Lots and lots more in that book, its detailed and complete.


Yes, that's the one. After reading so many great reviews from HT members, I decided it had a place in my library. Then getting it for free made it that much better, lol. I've only skimmed it so far - One Second After won out - but I'm looking forward to really getting into it.


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