I really liked this one!

+1 on "The Beast" - or, how the Captain had Ilmor build him a pushrod motor, from scratch, in 26 weeks, that had over 150 more hp than his competition.... only a handful of men knew all the details and they knew it was only going to be legal for one race. !

Also, read Laura Hildebrand's two books - Unbroken and Seabisquit, if not for the content, then for her commitment to the research that made the stories.

Bill K

Flight 232-an excellent book by an aviator with detailed interviews of survivors of the Sioux City DC10 crash along with a good analysis of the cause...much better than it sounds.

Very fun book, and sort of old school sci-fi where people survive space using their brains instead of blasters/phasers and such.

You might like The Rook - sort of The Bourne Identity meets Doctor Who. A woman wakes up surround by dead bodies with no memory of who she is and a letter from herself saying she's the head of a secret British agency dealing with the paranormal, and someone in the agency tried to kill her. Very fun read about the supernatural, office politics, and devious Belgians.

If you like historical fiction, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel & its follow up - Bring Up the Bodies are excellent. Written in the 3rd person from Thomas Cromwell's vantage point during the Henry VIII/Anne Boleyn years. I know that you probably think that the subject is very stale, but these books really suck you in. Note: The writing is a bit odd & that takes a chapter to get used to but it is worth it.

Ian

Recently read "Wool" by Hugh Howey. A novel about a society in the future that lives in deep silos, inhabited by people seeking refuge from some disaster that has left the surface of Earth toxic. Great story by a new author.

I read that whole series. Very good.

Sorry....it's 2 am here and insomnia made me miss the "recent" part of the OP.......but FWIT:

The Stand, by Stephen King. Not a King fan, and not the sort of book I usually read, but remarkably compelling.

The Descent, by Jeff Long. Maybe it was just where I was "at" at the time, but a profoundly disturbing book.

........and, of course, "Atlas Shrugged", by Ayn Rand. I would genuinely say a book anyone who claims to be well educated is almost obligated to read, regardless of whether you agree with it's premise.

With all of the above, don't be put off by dubious movie versions-- read the books.

All good reads, read them, I like the Descent too... but not exactly "recent" ;-)

>Apocalypse Z

Thanks Mike, downloaded it yesterday and read it on one sitting... Not bad, story telling a bit like "Robopocalypse" which was also a good read...

Will look for "the rook" and "wool"... Thanks !!!

A few recent reads that I enjoyed, Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, Win Forever by Pete Carroll & Alien Interview by Lawrence Spencer for a real change of pace.

Baby can you dig your man? The Stand is a classic. Along with the Dark Tower series it is King's masterpiece.

Atlas Shrugged is one of those books that could have been edited down to half its size and still gotten its point across.

I recently read a great sci-fi book called Voyage by Stephen Baxter. It is an alternate history book where Kennedy survived and the US continued the space program all the way to Mars. Fantastic book.

Then of course, The Art of Racing in the Rain. If you havent read it, you should

The Black Room by Luke Smitherd - uncommonly good - 4 installments - I think only on kindle - amazing writing, and you care so much about the characters that you need Smitherd to go gently - he doesn't. A bizarre sci fi paranormal mystery love story that never takes you down the path you think you are headed, I read all 4 installments (which end up being about the length of a 'normal' book) at once - I couldn't stop...

I am finding a lot of alternate fiction done this way on Kindle - some terrible - some amazing (like The Black Room). A good place to go poking around is the installment section of Kindle if you want to find some really cutting edge stuff.

Oh, and if you haven't read Neverwhere by Gaiman (I know not totally new - but only 5 years old) - it is a must - Sort of like Hitchhiker's dark twisted younger cousin.