I took a class from Stan Taylor at BYU when he came back from the CIA. He

Jul 28, 2021
2:56:11pm

Nat Gas Man Intervention Needed

Had us read a different spy novel for every class period, then analyze the books for fact or fiction. I read a huge number of Ludlum books. You are right the books are way better than the movies

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Nat Gas Man

Previous username: TXSmith
Bio page: Nat Gas Man
Joined: Apr 28, 2010
Last login: Aug 23, 2023
Total posts: 53,749 (638 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Best book you’ve ever read?

Icelandic Cougar

7/28/21 11:46am

Book of Mormon

IceBlueCoug

7/28/21 11:46am

I get that it’s a great inspiration and has religious significance. But as a

Jay Rick

7/28/21 11:54am

It's a great war epic that rivals LOTR. It is full of classic story arcs and character development and tragedy. Its good

IceBlueCoug

7/28/21 11:57am

Plus all the women storylines

johnnycarson

7/28/21 11:58am

I mean, you won’t get me to defend LOTR, cause I really don’t like those books.

Jay Rick

7/28/21 12:00pm

Yeah…no, it doesn’t rival LOTR.

Zastava

7/28/21 12:46pm

You ever consider that you might be missing something?

bulletproof

7/28/21 12:06pm

nah bible or BOM answer to greatest book question is just lazy

Deleted

7/28/21 12:07pm

Depends on your definition of "best."

ldssdl

7/28/21 12:09pm

yea, best would not fall under "best if you believe a particular religion"

Deleted

7/28/21 12:20pm

Best falls under what teaches truth, regardless of who believes it, not unlike

ldssdl

7/28/21 4:14pm

I’m saying “as a story.” Pretend for a second that you don’t believe the

Jay Rick

7/28/21 12:08pm

As fiction goes, it is truly dreadful.

Zastava

7/28/21 12:40pm

I found the stories very exciting as a 12 year old. I guess you have to have an

Benfica1

7/28/21 12:12pm

I agree with Twain on this one.

Zastava

7/28/21 12:18pm

<< Deleted >>

Zastava

7/28/21 12:36pm

I’m halfway through Dune and I am loving it

BulldogCoug79

7/28/21 11:47am

Paul

Nat Gas Man

7/28/21 11:52am

Team of Rivals.

CDV

7/28/21 11:49am

Hop on Pop

Ted Lasso

7/28/21 11:50am

Fox in Socks > Hop on Pop

Faceman

7/28/21 12:09pm

The Kite Runner

BlueNtheFace

7/28/21 11:50am

Great one, but so hard to read. Too sad. A Thousand Splendid Suns felt the same to me. So brutal.

CDV

7/28/21 11:52am

The Robe

slowhiteguy

7/28/21 11:52am

Born To Run

Honor Code

7/28/21 11:53am

Definitely a good one

RUNBYU1

7/28/21 2:25pm

Very entertaining

Great38

7/28/21 2:38pm

In the last 5 years or so, I'd say The Nix or My Absolute Darling

Belboz

7/28/21 11:53am

Lord of the Rings. Love To Kill a Mockingbird.

Squirt

7/28/21 11:53am

Is that the sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird”

runitup590

7/28/21 11:55am

Count of Monte Cristo. That said, I doubt I'll ever read it again.

cruiserhead

7/28/21 11:55am

Too long for me 🙂 but my wife reports similar thoughts. She loved it, but it

Tricky

7/28/21 12:09pm

This book ^^^^. Read it four times.

byujacob

7/28/21 2:24pm

RE: This book ^^^^. Read it four times.

cruiserhead

7/28/21 2:59pm

Last of the Mohicans, least favorite The Scarlet Letter

Nat Gas Man

7/28/21 11:55am

Interesting story, but horribly written. JFC was a terrible writer IMO.

Shinshin

7/28/21 11:57am

Yea but it was what the 1700s

Nat Gas Man

7/28/21 12:00pm

There were good writers then, but they were mostly focused on politics and

Shinshin

7/28/21 12:03pm

And a totally forgotten part of the history of this continent. I have ancestors

Nat Gas Man

7/28/21 12:09pm

My favorite besides scriptures is Trading in the Zone, but that is more a work

crack

7/28/21 11:55am

At the risk of being called a chick, Pride and Prejudice is an excellent book.

Dread Pirate Westley

7/28/21 11:56am

The father is hilarious and worth the read alone

Zaphod

7/28/21 12:02pm

Mockingbird is up there. The Brothers K (not karamazov, but “K”) is up there. So

Jay Rick

7/28/21 11:56am

The Killer Angels

CoastalCoug

7/28/21 11:57am

The Work and the Glory series

spinner

7/28/21 11:57am

War and Peace.

Shinshin

7/28/21 11:59am

The Road

CougarTailDevourer

7/28/21 12:04pm

Man, I was messed up for like two months after reading that book. It's brilliant

BoiseBlue

7/28/21 12:34pm

Author? Jack London?

Greg4BYU

7/28/21 3:45pm

Nah, Cormac McCarthy. But Jack London is great too.

CougarTailDevourer

7/28/21 5:06pm

Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites.

SpotOnOpinionsGuy

7/28/21 12:04pm

I have to admit, these are definitely fun and amazing. Great stories.

RUNBYU1

7/28/21 2:25pm

War and Peace or Les Mis

Gustav

7/28/21 12:08pm

Fiction: Atlas Shrugged Non-Fiction: John Adams (McCullough)

neboutefan

7/28/21 12:08pm

Atlas is actually the worst book I’ve ever read. Should have been a two page

Jay Rick

7/28/21 12:10pm

Then you probably skipped that 80 page chapter where John Galt is giving that radio address

spinner

7/28/21 12:23pm

Who is John Galt?

Greg4BYU

7/28/21 12:26pm

A fully realized, 100% believable character who talks, acts and thinks just like a real, actual person?

spinner

7/28/21 12:30pm

Amazing- Jurassic Park; Thriller - Snow Wolf; Moral Story - East of Eden

Gunhog

7/28/21 12:37pm

C’mon, the dialog absolutely crackles

spinner

7/28/21 12:48pm

Yes. But who is John Galt?

Greg4BYU

7/28/21 2:16pm

The fact that you missed that reference quoted 100 plus times in the book makes

Greg4BYU

7/28/21 2:24pm

Nah, I’ve read all 1000+ tedious pages, even the 80 page long radio broadcast

spinner

7/28/21 2:39pm

Nobody of consequence.

joelvandyne

7/28/21 12:30pm

That speech should have been a manifesto. The actual story is garbage but I thought the speech was interesting.

shimmy

7/28/21 3:09pm

I got a little chuckle in reading this...

Eddie

7/28/21 12:35pm

Exactly. As a set of ideas, I think Rand is really interesting. As a work of art

Jay Rick

7/28/21 1:33pm

I liked Atlas shrugged, but about halfway through John Galt's 87-page rant

BoiseBlue

7/28/21 12:37pm

Atlas Shrugged was the first audio book that I checked back in before it was due

Greg4BYU

7/28/21 2:22pm

Boring and repetitious is exactly what I thought. So bad.

Jay Rick

7/28/21 3:29pm

Les Mis, God Bless You Mr Rosewater, or Infinite Jest

joelvandyne

7/28/21 12:19pm

David Copperfield. The Stand is also favorite

Turd Ferguson

7/28/21 12:20pm

Magicians of the Gods

bigbossbyu

7/28/21 12:21pm

Les Miserables. Robert Conquest and Frank Dikotter’s books. Wild Swans.

valleus

7/28/21 12:26pm

Tale of Two Cities

Greg4BYU

7/28/21 12:27pm

RE: Best book you’ve ever read?

A_blue_car

7/28/21 12:29pm

The Courage to be Disliked, 1984, Les Mis, The Count of Monte Cristo

4thand19

7/28/21 12:31pm

The grapes of wrath

So it goes...

7/28/21 12:35pm

Fearless. I keep hoping they'll make it into a movie.

Tonto

7/28/21 12:37pm

Slaughterhouse 5 for me

atticus

7/28/21 12:37pm

Username doesn't check out

A_blue_car

7/28/21 12:44pm

Both books are easily in my top 10

A_blue_car

7/28/21 1:49pm

Favorite? Contact, by Carl Sagan. Most life-changing?

Zastava

7/28/21 12:38pm

Contact is one of two books where I like the movie better than the book.

Dread Pirate Westley

7/28/21 5:02pm

The movie simplified the book and made it much more digestible for most people.

Zastava

7/28/21 8:23pm

I don't remember what I didn't like about it. Maybe I need to read it again.

Dread Pirate Westley

7/28/21 8:59pm

The Way of Kings

Shaka Laka

7/28/21 12:51pm

Bourne Identity. Leaves the movie in the dust, as is the usual case with books.

Forzaitalia

7/28/21 1:18pm

I took a class from Stan Taylor at BYU when he came back from the CIA. He

Nat Gas Man

7/28/21 2:56pm

At best, the movie was loosely based on the book. I liked the movie but the

Dread Pirate Westley

7/28/21 5:01pm

In the Eye of the Storm / The Other Side of Heaven hands down. Fun, spiritual,

RUNBYU1

7/28/21 2:24pm

RE: Best book you’ve ever read?

JustHereForTheLaughs

7/28/21 5:05pm

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