Something fun

I have no idea if anyone reads any of my blogs or not, but most of them are for me to get something off my chest.
But today I wanted to write about a conversation I had while heading to the Houston Astros, LA Dodgers (Go Dodgers!) game a few weeks ago.
My friend Greg and his two sons went with me and they were talking about a book given to one of the boys by his grandfather. This lead to "good books" discussion.
When I brought up the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card I was surprised they had never heard of it. Ender is a boy who is taken into space (specifically Battle School) to find out if he will be the commander of human forces against the formics (bugs. Think Starship Troopers, but not corny.) Card writes Ender's Game based on a novelette he had originally written for a magazine. He won several awards for his novel and ended up writing 10 books (so far) on this series. There are even parallel stories, so it is more like two sets of books that compliment each other.
So if you are looking for a new author to read or a new series that if you like the first, go with Ender's Game and see what you think.
If you want just one book with no follow up, try Last of the Breed or The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour. Neither are westerns (though I loved Hondo and some of his other westerns.) Breed would be great if you are a survivalist. It is about an Air Force test pilot shot down and captured by the Soviets. He has to escape from Siberia. Fun. Drum is more of a historical novel set in the 12th century. Both are good books.
For a quick, inspirational book you can't go wrong with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Enjoy