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Originally Published 10/14/11
Summer reading lists get all the attention, but with the days getting shorter and the nights getting colder, fall is the season to crack open some new reading material.
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“When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi”
by David Maraniss
Fall means football, and Lombardi is football. In this excellent bio, Maraniss captures the complexity of Lombardi without dismantling the myth. More than just a book about a football coach, this is a book about a great American life.
“The Nick Adams Stories”
by Ernest Hemingway
Even when he’s writing about the tropics, Hemingway has always seemed to me to be the quintessential fall writer. His stories have a streak of melancholy, to put it very mildly, that fits well with changing seasons. This collection pulls together the stories that follow Adams’ coming of age, from kid to soldier to parent. It includes a number of famous, must-read works such as “The Killers” and “Big Two-Hearted River.”
“The Worst Journey in the World”
by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
This story of Scott’s doomed Antarctic quest told by the youngest member of the party will help put the coming colder weather in context. Cherry recounts the endless Antarctic night and temperatures so cold teeth cracked in mouths, which should take some of the pain out of having to scrape off the car windows in the morning. More than just a tale of harrowing adventure though, this book stands as a masterful testament to scientific exploration and human will.
“The Rum Diary”
by Hunter S. Thompson
Fall also calls for escapism, in this case booze-soaked island madness. With the movie version coming out at the end of the month, now is the perfect time to read Thompson’s early novel. This book is loosely based on Thompson’s own experiences fleeing New York in 1960 to write in Puerto Rico and it shows the spirit of his later works.
You can find previous editions of The Read in our archive. For more on literature, art, food, wine, and a real perspective on the news these things seem to make, follow Ben on Twitter.
Great post Joe.
I am re reading “When Pride Still Mattered” currently, for those who know the book, I find myself making my son’s 1st grade soccer team practice “key” skills over and over so they will do it perfect on game day, just like Vince would do….
Also would recommend:
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Any book written by Ron Chernow
I like this post. I’ve been reading a lot of Hemingway lately.
Joe, have you done any reviews on books about style?
American psycho
Joe,
“Rum Diary” is a good Thompson pick, I also really like his article “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” as well as “Hells Angels”. I think I will have to take a look at “The Nick Adams Stories.”
@OhioHead
“A Confederacy of Dunces” is an awesome book. Great suggestion.
May I also recommend:
“In Cold Blood” Truman Capote”Dispatches” Michael HerrIf you couldn’t tell I have a love for non-fiction literature. . . .
Recently read River of Doubt (non fiction about T Roosevelt’s South American exploration) – really enjoyed it.
Just got done reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. A great read filled with information on the science of our planet. I am patiently waiting for the Steve Jobs biography to be released next week.
A Short History of Nearly Everything is a fantastic book. I’m a big fan of Bill Bryson. Ben, who wrote this piece for Dappered, was the first guy to introduce me to his work. Really, really good stuff.
Thanks for the compliment, but it’s actually Ben who wrote the post (and I agree with you, a fantastic post.) Per the book… Lombardi was something. Two men almost. I do hope you’re letting those 1st graders look at the game with a bit more fun than Vince made his players
Haven’t yet. Might have to in the future?
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, is fantastic, if you’re interested in narrative non-fiction. Next up on my list is Car Guys vs. Bean Counters, which is supposed to be fantastic if you have a business interest.
Wow, Joe. I’d say that judging by these selections, someone is reallly not looking forward to the winter months! Haha.
Btw, fellas, if you haven’t read Game of Thrones yet, you are missing out.
I think that Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance should be on this list as well.
I’ve heard Dressing the Man: Mastering Permanent Fashion by Alan Flusser is the place to start. It’s in my wish list, haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
I’ve been reading Hemingway quite a bit recently and I will have to add the Nick Adams Stories to the list. Thanks for the heads up Joe!
How about some Robert A. Heinlein! I just finished The Moon is a Harsh Mistress which was excellent and Starship Troopers is a once of a year read for me. One of the interesting things about is the men are trained to be some of the most efficient killers ever but their behavior around women is extremely amusing.
Fiction: noir novel by James Sallis “Drive.”
I read about 2/3 of the way through ‘Zen’ then gave up (& I rarely quit once I start a book). I really liked the ideas he was tossing around, but it just seemed like it never went anywhere & other books were calling my name. Does he come to any kind of coherent conclusion?
Suggestions:
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (yes, they were written for children, but in this day & age, the stories are relevant for adults who never read them, such as myself).
Currently reading Dracula by Bram Stoker & enjoying it.
Joe/Ben,
Great post!
The 1st grade soccer team made it thru a full season (fall & spring), yes the game was much more fun then what Vince put his players thru.
In the spring I incorporated a skills challenge @ the end of every practice (Gatorade challenge) any kid could win the contest (not just the “star”) and there could be multiple winner!
3 books/authors to recommend for this fall:
Let my people go surfing by Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia)
Setting the Table by Danny Meyer (founder of Union Square Hospitality Group, owns very well known restaurants in NYC (Shake Shack, etc)
any book by Jon Krakouer (sorry for the spelling)
I always enjoy adding more books to the ‘to read’ pile. I’m not a huge football fan, but something tells me that Lombardi book will be great. I just started the second book in the Stieg Larsson trilogy and I’m kicking myself for taking this long to get around to reading it. On deck is the Edmund Morris trilogy on Teddy Roosevelt.
And an idle question to just throw out to the audience. Where does everyone come down on the Kindle issue? I don’t doubt for a second that it would be incredibly convenient, but I just like the way a book feels in my hands too much to make the switch. I also like the idea of lending books to a friend, and that’s something you just can’t do if everyone has a Kindle.
Devil in the White City is by far one of my favorite books – not to mention the movie is “in development” with rumors of Leonardo DiCaprio in a starring role as HH Holmes (Herman Mudget) so reading it sooner suggests you won’t be in the dark when it is released.
agreed! great choice – i second this recommendation
I’m currently knee-deep in “The Passage of Power,” the latest volume (#4) of Robert Caro’s massive Lyndon Johnson biography. So far, it’s brilliant. They are all brilliant. For anyone with an interest in American politics or 20th century history, I cannot recommend these books highly enough.
Re: Kindle
Old book smell. Did you know?
“Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how Divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us.”
~Perfumes: The Guide
“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.”
~Anna Quindlen
I saw the movie version of “The Rum Diary” and really disliked it. It was oversimplified and Johnny Depp played HST the same way that he did in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, while in reality this was a much younger and much more serious narrarator. Anyways – my point is big thumbs up to all of these books, huge thumbs down to that particular movie.
For when it’s in the deep of winter, Anton Chekhov’s short stories are a good read. Mostly depressing stories taking place during Russian winters.
For a more philosophical stimulation, Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Walden’ and other short stories are awesome.
Bought this book a few years ago and it is my go to standard for dressing well. Highly recommend, for those who prefer to avoid the skinny jeans)
I saw Lombardi on Braodway