Any Readers?

[marktwain]

Anybody enjoy a good read? Got any recommendations?

I don't have as much time to read as I'd like (W/ School and work) but I just finished _THe Coal Tattoo_, by Silas House - a really good contemporary Eastern Ky writer/ex-mailman.  I've read all 3 of his books.  Now reading one of my all time favorites (another kentuckian): Wendell Berry - I'm reading his collected short stories, _That Distant Land_.

[SmoothOprtr]

I love to read.. I almost hate going to Borders or Barnes and Noble type places because I am so overwhelmed by all that's out there that I haven't read and don't know about.

Current I am reading "Lincoln" by David Herbert Donald... I'll be finishing that finally tonight and beginning East of Eden by Steinbeck which I promised a friend I would read....

[EC]

Mmm books.

Right now I'm reading "The Way The Crow Flies" by Anne Marie Macdonald.  I'm not really enjoying it.  I can't seem to get into it, which is rare.

Before that I read "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius", which was incredible.  I recommend anything by David Sedaris.  ANYTHING.  That man can make you laugh so hard that whatever sleepiness you were feeling is suddenly gone.  (Therefore, NOT recommended bedtime reading.  Although, I never pay attention.)  Oh yeah, I also read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay recently.  Very sexcellent, indeed.  

You know, I can't recommend enough The Once and Future King series by T.H. White.  Such a beautiful account of Arthurian Legend (if that's the kind of thing that would make you not read it, don't let it - I steered away from it because of that, and regret all the years I didn't know what those books had to offer).  An amazing story-teller with a wonderful way of asking questions about human beings, and leaving you loads for you to figure out for your own self.  Really great.  You should read those, and then read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.  It's by Mark Twain.  heh.  But you probably already know that.

So, these KY writers - what kind of books are they?

[sweatboard]

I loved "Conneticut Yankee", the best book I've read recently has to be "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn.

[marktwain]

I LOVE David Sedaris - that man's a riot.  The books on tape are even better than print.

And I have a copy of East of Eden on my shelf that I've picked up countless times, but never got the courage up to read - let me know how it is, smoothie.

EC, Wendell Berry is a farmer/novelist/poet/essayist who studied under Wallace Stegner.  He is one of America's brightest philosophers and environmentalists, though he probably wouldn't call himself either of those terms.  For novels, check out Jayber Crow.  All his novels are about the same small town - the Port William Membership.  For short stories, the Wild Birds. Essays, try What are People For? or Life is a Miracle.

Silas House wrote a novel while delivering mail in his Eastern Ky tiny town (Eastern Kentucky is a beautiful but very impoverished region where coal companies came in and  mined the mountains, then strip-mined, and are now practicing "mountaintop removal", all of which are as lovely as they sound.  The people got exploited as much as the land, and, though they are often regarded as 'hillbillies', they have a very rich cultural heritage including bluegrass music and storytelling.)  Wow, sorry about the rant - just a little background.  Anyway, his books are deeply rooted in the region.  And he's a really nice guy. http://www.silashouse.com/  

[EC]

Wow, cool!  Yeah, I'm very interested in the history of the people who got bluegrass and old timey music started.

Maybe we could do a book/borrow/exchange?  Like an international library?  :)

(Hey, have you ever read Walden?  I have a feeling you might like it if you haven't...)

p.s.  Canada has a similar situation with our folks who came over and began the folk music traditions.  Our eastern provinces, especially Nova Scotia (Cape Breton Island) and Newfoundland are very musically inclined, and they too became dependent on mining and fishing and the like.  And then "bigger" companies fucked it all up.  I just heard that Microsoft has put a big call-centre complex on Cape Breton Island.  I talked to one of the gals who works for them (I was having some problems with XP), and she says they're grateful for the work.  But.  I don't like the idea of Microsoft getting in there.  I know they're going to wreck it somehow...  But I suppose it's better that people eat.  Argh, sorry for continuing the rant.

[BIGVIC]

BLOOD MERIDIAN is a great book can't remember the author. East of eden is a goody too, I also just read the worst biography of johnny cash ever written. It was by a Scottish man who never met him. It was a gift, but one that I'll never regift.

[EC]

Oh man, how cruddy to read a bad biography of Johnny Cash.  I read his autobiography a few years back and loved it.  (There are some book stores that you don't need a receipt for.....  I used to work in one...  Just so you know...  You could trade it for a better one...)

[marktwain]

I just re-watched High Fidelity, and that dude says his favorite book ever is Cash by Johnny Cash.  Now it's on my list of books to read if I ever graduate

[EC]

It's really, really good.  I mean, it's first-person, and that's always cool.

I love the respect he gives June.  He's pretty honest about his past problems, and he seemed to be at peace with himself, despite all of it.  Which is a great place to write about it all.  

Oh man, another High Fidelity reference.  Why aren't there any music geek girls in that movie?  We do exist!!

[fitzcarraldo]

Just finished Charles Bukowski's Women  ;D

Bright Eyes featuring Jim James track here:
http://www.vpro.nl/3voor12/luisterpaal/luisterpaalalbum.shtml?10617791+20960454

[medea_33]

I recommend Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." It's absolutely beautiful, one of my favorites for sure. I'm also a fan of William Faulkner and love, love, love anything by Hemigway. As far as recent authors, you CANNOT go wrong with Palahniuk. He's a genius, man. Try "Survivor" or "Diary."  

[EC]

Just finished Charles Bukowski's Women  

My Dad just told me that Tom Russell has a new cd out.  (Tom Russell is a damn genius if any of you don't know about him.)  Apparently there's another one close on its heels - a song cycle (Like his "Man from God Knows Where") based around his favourite writers - Dylan, Bukowski...

Should be coooool.  

[MMJ_fanatic]

David Sedaris Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

Stephen King/Stewart Onan Faithful