maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted January 12, 2006 I think that old thread I started about great books about death has - like - died! So, read any good books lately? Like Thomas Lynch's stuff, or Sherwin Nuland's 'How We Die.' 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canadian Paul 97 Posted January 12, 2006 I think that old thread I started about great books about death has - like - died! So, read any good books lately? Like Thomas Lynch's stuff, or Sherwin Nuland's 'How We Die.' I'm still waging my ridiculously slow war to get through the Gulag Archipelago. Ol' Soly is on the list and the book is grim enough, does that count as a book about death? I love his literary style. You really experience what they did in the Gulags as you read, because your suffering is inexhaustable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted January 12, 2006 I'm sure I posted this information months back but highly recommended are: Thomas Lynch - The Undertaking and Bodies in Motion and at Rest - two corkers about working as an undertaker. Bert Keizer - Dancing With Mr D - Highly poetic and highly inventive book from a doctor who sometimes hands fatal doses of medication to the terminally ill and sits around to watch them go. Sherwin Nuland - How We Die - Doctor tells all about what happens to your body and why it sees you off. I've cut down on my butter intake since reading this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tempus Fugit 214 Posted January 12, 2006 Read this yesterday. An excellent piece of literature. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canadian Paul 97 Posted January 13, 2006 Read this yesterday. An excellent piece of literature. TF (or I guess just plain old M now), you have brought a tear to my eye. Mr. Men was a part of my childhood I'd almost forgotten about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
in eternum+ 22 Posted January 13, 2006 Read this yesterday. An excellent piece of literature. TF (or I guess just plain old M now), you have brought a tear to my eye. Mr. Men was a part of my childhood I'd almost forgotten about. Ah! Mr Men... I was weaned on the Bernard le gros chien rouge series myself... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuber Mirum 125 Posted January 13, 2006 Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by Harry Harrison. The best book ever written, it has everything. Comedy, romance, pathos, death, adventure, you name it. A bit like Mr. Nonsense, in fact. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,358 Posted January 13, 2006 Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific, by Paul Theroux. Paul visits various islands, insults the natives and the food before moving on the next. The book includes an interview with the King of Tonga. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BobTheChicken 0 Posted January 13, 2006 I started Lord of the Rings about a month ago and am beginning to wonder if I'll make it to the end...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anubis the Jackal 77 Posted January 13, 2006 I wouldn't bother, the goblin did it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cowboy Ronnie 78 Posted January 13, 2006 I started Lord of the Rings about a month ago and am beginning to wonder if I'll make it to the end...... I know the feeling. My aunt gave me David Copperfield for Christmas. 897 pages, very dense font, virtually no pictures. I bet I won't even make it to the part where he starts dating Claudia Schiffer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,358 Posted January 13, 2006 In Search Of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. That's a good read for a rainy weekend, all 7 volumes of it. I tried to tackle it whilst at university (I was trying to be a pseud) and got half way through volume one. I have yet to meet anyone who has confessed to finishing the whole thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godot 149 Posted January 13, 2006 On the other hand War and Peace is an easy read. It really is. Easy to get in to and easy to pick up and put down while doing other stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phantom 2,533 Posted January 13, 2006 Quite proud of myself. managed to get to page 2 of Finnigan's Wake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Josco 49 Posted January 13, 2006 A good friend of mine lent me "The Cruel Sea" by Nicholas Monsarrat around 10-11 years ago. I started it, but never got around to finishing. Nearly every time I saw him in the pub he would mention it, and I would apologise, say I'd not read it yet and offer it back. He would insist that I keep it till I'd finished as it was a good read. He died last year, his widow said I could keep it as it is what he would have wanted; I still haven't finished it! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Star Crossed 33 Posted January 13, 2006 "Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost At Sea" by Steven Callahan (ocean survival) "Survive The Savage Sea" by Dougal Robertson (ocean survival) "Mind Over Matter" by Ranulph Fiennes (antarctic expedition) These three are all inspirational reads, all being true stories. I read Robertson's book when I was 11 or 12 and I remember it captivating me completely. Fiennes' book I only read last summer, but it gave me a real motivational boost. Gave me some strange dreams too when read before bedtime. Edited to add: NO DEATH IN THESE BOOKS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted January 13, 2006 NO DEATH IN THESE BOOKS C'mon guys, there must be a few that deal in the death business that make more interesting reading. I saw - but never got round to buying - that book called STIFF which was all about the uses to which dead bodies are put. Anyone read that and want to comment either way? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted January 13, 2006 Cricket suicides so common there are two books about them - Silence of the Heart and By His Own Hand - anyone read either of these? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slave to the Grave 26 Posted January 13, 2006 I'm currently struggling through a book left by some Australian guests called 'Beyond Bad'. It tells the story of Katherine Knight who stabbed her lover to death, skinned him, cooked him and fed him to his children. Charming book - I wish they'd taken it home with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Josco 49 Posted January 13, 2006 I'm currently struggling through a book left by some Australian guests called 'Beyond Bad'. It tells the story of Katherine Knight who stabbed her lover to death, skinned him, cooked him and fed him to his children. Charming book - I wish they'd taken it home with them. Surely it's not compulsory to read it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windsor 2,233 Posted January 13, 2006 I'm afraid that I only read History books. I can't stand non-fiction. So you've probably heard it all before.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slave to the Grave 26 Posted January 13, 2006 I'm currently struggling through a book left by some Australian guests called 'Beyond Bad'. It tells the story of Katherine Knight who stabbed her lover to death, skinned him, cooked him and fed him to his children. Charming book - I wish they'd taken it home with them. Surely it's not compulsory to read it? No it's not, but it's there and it's morbidly fascinating. I might throw it on the fire tomorrow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tempus Fugit 214 Posted January 13, 2006 I'm afraid that I only read History books. I can't stand non-fiction. Wow, that sentence is worthy of Banshees. (History is non-fiction) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windsor 2,233 Posted January 13, 2006 Bugger - I meant fiction. I can't stand fiction...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Oates 21 Posted January 14, 2006 How many DLers have read Influx by J C Jones? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites