we should have a book thread. books are interesting and excellent, like albums and puppies!
what are you reading right now?
i just finished nick hornby's "how to be good". it's much about the challenge of being happily married for the long-haul... something i'm keen on learning.
and now i'm reading "freakonomics" written by an economist and journalist. it examines every day subjects and attempts to distill cause and effect, and demistify correlation and causality. it's totally fascinating and for a book that mostly deals with hard data, it's as readable as any novel.
i'm looking for some good books to read, can anyone recommend?
i just got finished readin "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury.
Such an amazing book. The way this guy dissects the human nature and just how we act and feel and what we do is so wonderful. It's not hardly a scifi book as much as it is probably one of the top five books of the 20th century.
that coming from a kid who only spent 13 years in said century, but it really is a damn good book. i'd highly suggest it.
I'm also reading "The Normal Christian Life" by Watchman Nee which is an extremely thought-provoking and invigorating look at Christ and his death and all of what that means. The man's writing style is very interesting, as he was Chinese and wrote this in 1920-something, so the translation is very interesting, but also very exacting. He covers things much like Paul, who wrote a majority of the New Testament of the Bible, covers things. The book has really opened my eyes up a bit, and helped me understand a lot. I'd also highly recommend it.
by the way, has anyone read the DaVinci Code? I'm feeling more and more like i probably need to read it this summer, and i don't really knwo too much about what its about, just that it's pretty heretical.
I haven't read anything in a couple years, but I'd suggest Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions. If you haven't already.
I'm in the middle of Capote's In Cold Blood.
Ooo...2000 posts! :)
Tom, I think you'd like De Profundis by Oscar Wilde. It's all about Jesus Christ as being the first romantic figure in literature. Just another point of view about your favourite dude. ;) (It's a lovely, lovely essay. He wrote it from Reading Gaol.)
I have been reading The Narrow Road to the Interior by Basho (ancient Japanese haiku poet). I don't know how much more I'll read. I love his poems, but am finding that I can't really concentrate on this journal of a long trip he took.
I got The Art of Living by Epictetus for my birthday. Epictetus was an early Stoic philosopher - he was an emancipated slave and had a very difficult life. There are some great ideas in there (some of which I don't think really gel with modern life), but mostly it gives excellent examples for problem solving in difficult situations. I was reading that on my trip. It's kind of all about how the only thing that matters is how you handle situations, and that you have the power to not allow things to affect you. Good reminders.
I was reading Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins, and I fucking loved those books. In fact, I think I'll head to the used bookstore today to find Another Roadside Attraction which I've heard wonderful things about. Tom Robbins has a wonderful way of steeping philosophy into his stories while also creating brilliant and interesting characters.
Hm. Before that I read The Alchemist, which, where I wasn't always crazy about the sentimentalism (and that's not even the right word, but it's close enough), I thought that the message was excellent, and the characters really lovely. For some reason it reminded me of The Brothers Karamazov (which I love).
I guess I really like reading about characters who are searching around and trying to figure things out. :)
Tom,
Bradbury has written some of my favorite stories. You should find "The Fog Horn" (from The Golden Apples of the Sun" and most of "The October Country" is beautiful as well. In fact, the song "RocketMan" is based loosely on one of his stories.
I've had the opportunity to spend some time with him. He's a very lovely person and a treat to talk to.
I´m reading "Angela´s Ashes" by Frank McCourt. Great book. I´ve seen the movie years ago and thought that it was also great!
QuoteI haven't read anything in a couple years, but I'd suggest Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions. If you haven't already.
thats my favorite in the whooollle world. vonneguts great,. i'm currently reading SIRENS OF TITAN. and tale of two cities with school which isn't so bad, either...
another favorite being catcher in the rye (cliche, but so true)
i also highly suggest "the muse and the mechanism"
which can be found here:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0974726176&itm=8
not a very popular book, however it's really good... yeah? do it.
Right now i'm reading "20,000 leagues under the sea", but two of my favorite contemporary writers over the last few years are Dave Eggers and Sherman Alexie. Eggers is probably best known for his book "A heartbreaking work of staggering genius", but I like his book "You shall know our velocity" a little bit more (they're both great though). Sherman Alexie is a native american author who had one of his books adapted into the movie "Smoke Signals", and the book it's based on, "the Lone ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven", is one of my favorites. I also like his books "The toughest Indian in the world" and "Reservation Blues" an awful lot.
Freakonimics for fun
Collaborative, Competency-Based Counseling and Therapy for work
and I recomend A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving.
Plus, Jesus' Son, a collection of short stories by Denis Johnson'''whhoooo buddy!
QuoteTom,
Bradbury has written some of my favorite stories. You should find "The Fog Horn" (from The Golden Apples of the Sun" and most of "The October Country" is beautiful as well. In fact, the song "RocketMan" is based loosely on one of his stories.
I thought that song was about cocaine. Near the beginning of the song he says he's gonna be "high as a kite by then'". And Elton John admittedly had a drug problem back in them days. Plus what other drug literally makes you feel like a rocket man.
Quote
I thought that song was about cocaine. Near the beginning of the song he says he's gonna be "high as a kite by then'". And Elton John admittedly had a drug problem back in them days. Plus what other drug literally makes you feel like a rocket man.
Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to Rocket Man. He says it's about the isolation of rock stardom.
QuoteOoo...2000 posts! :)
Congratulations! ;D
tom... the Da Vinci Code...
i read it and enjoyed it. as a book lover, i thought dan brown's writing was putrid. he's not a fantastic author, he certainly doesn't have a flair for words and sentences like vonnegut or robbins or eggers mentioned here. but the story and the plot are very engaging, fast-paced, maybe even thought-provoking. the whole time i was reading it i thought, man this would make a GREAT action-adventure flick like Indiana Jones. i then read two of his other books, and they're the same sort of "truthiness"-based page turners. by that i mean that they *sound* like they could all be fact-based, but they're really just fiction.
i know your religion is very near to your heart and i urge you to read the da vinci code as a fiction novel and not as a tract casting aspersions on God, Jesus, or Christianity. there's been a lot of noise where i live about how the da vinci code is demeaning to Christians and i don't believe that's true. it's just a work of fun fiction and strangely enough, in his book Angels & Demons, there is a fascinating part about a scientist who, during his research, essentially proves the existence of a god-like being. you have to read it to get it and i don't want to give it away... but if you like historically inspired mysteries, you'll like the Code.
Well, "RocketMan" may possibly be about drugs or being a rockstar, but it has a lot of similarities between the song and the short story.
i enjoyed the da vinci code, but i thought the ending was a bit on the weak side...
currently reading "ticket to ride" by sarah darmody who's an australian girl who won a green card, then decided to see the US travelling around by greyhound bus. hilarious
this is my top 10 (always difficult choices, and not in any order).
1. any one of the following by martin cruz smith - gorky park, polar star, red square, havana bay & wolves eat dogs - all starring a russian investigator Arkady Renko - political/historical (80s & 90s politics) - seriously brilliant novels
2. the beckoning silence - joe simpson (he wrote touching the void, also a great book...)
3. vikram seth - an equal music
4. anything by nick hornby
5. dirt music - tim winton - if any of you ever want to read a seriously great book about australia, pick anything by tim winton. he has an amazingly evocative way of writing, so realistic that you can almost smell the outback or the sea
6. anything by bill bryson - i had to stop reading his books on public transport, they were making me laugh too much
7. the shipping news - annie e proulx
8. rubicon: the triumph & tragedy of the roman empire - tom holland
9. pride & prejudice - jane austen
10. to kill a mockingbird - i re-read this recently (we studied it at school) and was blown away (again) by this book....
fairly random selection, but all books i've read & re-read time & again...
Some of my Fav books:
Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash
Last Train To Memphis & Careless Love by Peter Guralnick
Ricky by Ricky Tomlinson
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
The Beach by Alex Garland
The Secret Sexist by David Bowker
Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell
Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
Anything by Martin Millar (Dreams Of Sex & Stage Diving, The Good Fairies Of New York etc), Bill Byrson, Roald Dahl & all of the Moomin books by Tove Jansson!
Anyone read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini?
QuoteCash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash
now THAT would be an interesting autob to read... not normally into them, but what a life the man lead!!
trainspotting was good, once you got into the way of reading it
i recently read the kite runner and found it interesting. it, too, would make a great movie. nice character development and interesting insight into afghan life, which, as a whitebread american, i was glad to gain.
one of the best books i have ever read is jon krakauer's "into thin air" about the mt everest disaster that occurred 10 years ago this week...or maybe 11 years ago this week. either way, a riveting story.
krakauer also wrote a fascinating but scathing look at the mormon church and its followers in "under the banner of heaven." the guy is a phenomenal reporter/writer.
currently i am reading "1776" about g. washington. it shames me that i am so out of touch about u.s. history of this era.
another great historic read is stephen ambrose's "undaunted courage" about the lewis and clark expedition. these guys did something truly amazing!
Quotei recently read the kite runner and found it interesting. it, too, would make a great movie. nice character development and interesting insight into afghan life, which, as a whitebread american, i was glad to gain.
one of the best books i have ever read is jon krakauer's "into thin air" about the mt everest disaster that occurred 10 years ago this week...or maybe 11 years ago this week. either way, a riveting story.
krakauer also wrote a fascinating but scathing look at the mormon church and its followers in "under the banner of heaven." the guy is a phenomenal reporter/writer.
Thanks Form91225! I've had Kite Runner on my to-buy list for a while now.
The only book I've read by Jon Krakauer was Into The Wild, which was very good.
to whomever mentinoed kite runner:
i read it last year, being fouteen, and i enjoyed it a lot however i found some parts quite disturbing, i was grossly entranced... but, (this is directed to whomever has read it) did you find that towards the end it got less itneresting and more... well... as if the author had sort of run out of steam? I think it was an overall excellent book, though I DO Think that towards the end he lost it. SOrt of like he had to finsihs...
I don't know. Agree? Disagree?
okay, i read the foreward of Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine" today, and half of it with this lump in my throat. i cannot explain what Bradbury does to me except that he stirs my soul. this man is in touch with something very very beautiful about humanity, and he is a genius. i wish i could express what he makes me feel, maybe that's why i want everybody to read him, so that they understand it so i don't have ot use words to express it. he just sets forth this yearning in my soul that has no words and no kind of earthly satiation. it's like, that yearning for life that points to nothing on this earth, and almost serves as proof of God's existence. How could we yearn for something that doesn't exist on this earth? you know...the answer points heaven-ward. it's that kind of feeling. i don't knwo how to explain it at all, but that's what his writing does to me, that's what it fills me up with.
wow tom, you've made me want to check this book out now!! sounds like pretty stirring stuff...
haha, both "The Martian Chronicles" and "Dandelion wine" have done it for me. I haven't read dandelion wine in a few years, but I just finished the Martian Chronicles, and there's so many places in that book that always just choke me up and grip me. I'd highly suggest checking that one out. I'll post my review (five stars, no doubt) of Dandelion Wine when I finish it in a couple weeks.
that's bizarre - some friends of my brother have a band called dandelion wine!! :)
and with good cause. i'd like to hear their music.
also interesting, there's a somewhat popular band called Rocket Summer, which is the name of one of the stories from the Martian Chronicles.
anything by alice hoffman is sure to stir your imagination.
I rarely read fictional books, I stick mainly to historical stuff, whatever strikes me at the time.
I love Stephen Ambrose's books. D-Day and Citizen Soldiers are probably two of the best books about World War II.
I also just finished reading The Secret Lives of U.S. Presidents by Cormac O'Brian. It really makes me feel better about the current administration...We had plenty of worse presidents than ol' W.
Some great books here!
I'll vouch for Kite Runner - I read it a couple of months ago and really liked it. I liked _Into The Wild_ a lot, too, and I'm a big fan of Bill Bryson.
Recent reads (all recommended):
-Hell at the Breech - Tom Franklin: gritty Southern fiction
-A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby: would-be suicides accidently meet on a rooftop, and debate whether they should go through with it
-Apex Hides the Hurt - Colson Whitehead: a consultant is hired to rename a town in North Carolina (but the book is really about race)
Everything is Illuminated - Jonathon Safran Foer: I don't know what to say about this one. It's just wonderful.
Now I'm working on a thick-ass biography of Ben Franklin.
NExt up: JOhn Barleycorn (memoirs by Jack London about his alcoholism)
just finished:
the highest tide - jim lynch
reading:
The White Spider - Heinrich Harrer (a bit grisly in places, but he has such a great writing style, and definitely knows exactly what he's writing about - the first ascent of the Eiger)
The Beach - Alex Garland
I really enjoyed everything is illuminated - it took me a while to get into it, but he's got such a different writing style. i've also read The History of Love by his wife Nicole Krauss - veeeery similar writing style, but i actually think i enjoyed hers more.
anyone seen the film of everything is illuminated? i've heard its a bit different to the book (minus all the "past" storylines)
Yesterday I read George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl at the gym, today I'm going to read Fantastic Mr Fox!
I'm really pushing myself with my reading choices, as you can see ;)
Quotejust finished:
the highest tide - jim lynch
reading:
The White Spider - Heinrich Harrer (a bit grisly in places, but he has such a great writing style, and definitely knows exactly what he's writing about - the first ascent of the Eiger)
The Beach - Alex Garland
I really enjoyed everything is illuminated - it took me a while to get into it, but he's got such a different writing style. i've also read The History of Love by his wife Nicole Krauss - veeeery similar writing style, but i actually think i enjoyed hers more.
anyone seen the film of everything is illuminated? i've heard its a bit different to the book (minus all the "past" storylines)
i've seriously been trying to get into everything is illuminated for about a half a month... i can't get it at all. i REALLY want to read it, too, and it's unlike me to put a book down so many times....
aljsbelkajsbne,ljaselkjt23ktj62g. when does it start getting... well... good. i heard it's great.
After CAPOTE, I really need to read In Cold Blood.
QuoteAfter CAPOTE, I really need to read In Cold Blood.
I did it the other way, both the book & the movie are excellent :)
Quotei've seriously been trying to get into everything is illuminated for about a half a month... i can't get it at all. i REALLY want to read it, too, and it's unlike me to put a book down so many times....
it did take me a little while to really get into it, especially how the book jumps around between past & present (and how the past story is so weird)
stick with it, it's worth it in the long run!
I just started The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. About a 7th into it now. I'm quite enjoying it.
QuoteI´m reading "Angela´s Ashes" by Frank McCourt. Great book. I´ve seen the movie years ago and thought that it was also great!
that movie left me depressed for like a week
Quote
that movie left me depressed for like a week
The book is far more touching.
I distinctly remember crying on the Subway train whilst reading it :-[
I like to read books that are being made into movies. The best I've read lately are Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (Johnny Depp movie) and Little Children by Tom Perotta. Also, for an easy read, the Southern Vampire series of books by Charlaine Harris are fun.
I noticed a coupleof people mentioned Vonnegut, probably my favorite although it's so hard to choose. Currently reading "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem, and laughing my ass off. I was just given a couple of Philip K. Dick books which I will begin shortly, and now I have to read the Safran Foer book, I adored the film, and to hear the book being discussed has pushed me to buy it.
Quote
The book is far more touching.
I distinctly remember crying on the Subway train whilst reading it :-[
man. that was the best book i´ve ever read. really.
This Wheel's on Fire. please read it. I distinctly remember reading that on the bus and crying during the first two pages. Levon rules.
by the way, has anyone read House of Leaves? It was probably one of the eeriest things I've ever read. They'll probably make a horrible, B movie out of it and cast Jessica Alba and Rihanna. Maybe Paul Walker as well. I hope not, though.
I've tried to read Swann's Way by Proust about 8 times, but I can't make it through. Anyone read it? help.
i can sympathise with you not being able to make it through with Proust - I tried reading Hard Times by Dickens several times, and just couldn't do it.... one of these days i'll give it another shot
i read a couple of good books while i was away (lots of time at train stations/on trains and planes...)
midnight's children - salman rushdie
the devil & miss prym - paulo coelho
shopaholic abroad - sophie kinsella (trashy but great)
six impossible things before breakfast: the evolutionary origins of belief - lewis wolpert
who wrote this wheels on fire d_m?
Forget to mention this as one of my favs:
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0091867770.02._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V56578947_.jpg)
Very funny travel book, fans of Bill Bryson should try to find a copy.
I have been reading Chuck Klosterman. He is a wonderful social satirist. Right now, I am reading Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota which is a really good book on the passing trend of 80's metal. I have also read Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs : A Low Culture Manifesto which gives hilarious analyzations of everything in pop culture. If you guys haven't heard of this author, you should definately check it out. Also, Kurt Vonnegut is frickin' awesome.
Has anyone ever read any Don Delillo? I've been thinking about checking him out after the Philip K. Dick, any suggestions?
Quote
who wrote this wheels on fire d_m?
THat's by Levon Helm, of The Band. I recommend that one, too.
After Everything is Illuminated, I read SafranFoer's other book, Extremely Loud & INcredibly Close. Man, that one is beautiful, too.
Contact by Carl Sagan. mmm good one.
QuoteCurrently reading "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem, and laughing my ass off.
I enjoyed that one as well. Have you read anything else by him?
QuoteHas anyone ever read any Don Delillo? I've been thinking about checking him out after the Philip K. Dick, any suggestions?
I'm planning on reading Underworld. I can report when it's out. But it's gonna take a while :)
Quoteon Jul 5th, 2006, 11:27am, sharliewho wrote:
Currently reading "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem, and laughing my ass off.
I enjoyed that one as well. Have you read anything else by him?
I read FOrtress of Solitude by Lethem, and liked it even better. And last night, I saw The Squid & The Whale, and it's almost the perfect companion movie to Fortress of Solitude. - even set in Brooklyn
I've read "As She climbed across the Table" by Lethem too, Chills, i didn't like it nearly as well. I do want to read "Fortress of Solitude", maybe after I'm done with this Philip K. Dick book.
Quote
I read FOrtress of Solitude by Lethem, and liked it even better. And last night, I saw The Squid & The Whale, and it's almost the perfect companion movie to Fortress of Solitude. - even set in Brooklyn
Thanks for the recommendation!
The library called and three of the books I ordered were in, I'm now reading "Wicked: The life and times of the wicked witch of the west" I can't put it down.
i remember when i used to read....
lots of frederick forsythe, stephen king and occasionally some william s. buroughs.
oh, and i hate to admit it but i kept up on the star wars universe for quite some time. han and leia had some really powerful jedi twins if you care. [glb](dork alert! dork alert!)[/glb]
i'm reading tom robbins still life with woodpecker.
i want to marry tom robbins.
I love Tom Robbins too, have you read "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues"?
QuoteI love Tom Robbins too, have you read "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues"?
did. i. ever.
that one changed my life. :)
Quotei'm reading tom robbins still life with woodpecker.
i want to marry tom robbins.
In that case, I have a feeling you'd like Skinny Legs And All (unless you've read it already -- actually, it's just as good the second time around, so scrap that). I don't think it features quite as many redheads, but some light is shined upon the secret lives of such supposedly inanimate objects as a painted stick, a conch shell and a can o' beans. It's fantastic.
Quote
by the way, has anyone read House of Leaves? It was probably one of the eeriest things I've ever read. They'll probably make a horrible, B movie out of it and cast Jessica Alba and Rihanna. Maybe Paul Walker as well. I hope not, though.
I've read it. It was really good, while I was reading it. Although I'll admit to skipping a couple of sections dealing with Johnny and his mom. I just found that after a few months, the book lost the luster in my mind that made it seem so...something.
As for a sheeahtay movie based on the book. The author has refused to sell the rights numerous times, and has responded in interviews very negatively to even the idea of a movie version.
Quote
In that case, I have a feeling you'd like Skinny Legs And All (unless you've read it already -- actually, it's just as good the second time around, so scrap that). I don't think it features quite as many redheads, but some light is shined upon the secret lives of such supposedly inanimate objects as a painted stick, a conch shell and a can o' beans. It's fantastic.
thanks, gripe. i'm planning on "another roadside attraction", and then i was figuring "skinny legs an all".
i'm pretty certain that even the worst of the tom robbins would still make me want to marry him.
What is it with you women and Tom Robbins?! ;D
Currently reading Paddy Whacked, this really good book about the history of the Irish mob in America:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060590025/sr=1-1/qid=1155155066/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7402226-5304643?ie=UTF8&s=books
Finally finished The Kite Runner, what a great, great book.
I agree that it trails towards the end & loses some of it's impact but it's still an excellent read.
I see they're making a movie...
Anyone read The Time Travelers Wife? My wife bought it for me but i've read both good & bad.
just finished elizabeth wurztel's modern-day feminist manifesto bitch.
i've decided to reread peter ackroyd's the plato papers. i had to read it last semester, and i loved it then. i'm hoping a second, non-assigned reading will further enhance my appreciation.
seriously. read the plato papers.
ha! just reading my last post there, ms. shelby brought in "another roadside attraction" to me this morning and i'm starting it today. how coincidental.
i finished "a complicated kindness" a couple of weeks ago. it's a WONDERFUL book. and then i read "the great gatsby", which i hadn't read before. i'm not sure how i feel about it. i didn't hate it ... maybe i was too unfocused to be paying too much attention to it or somethin'.
p.s. sean - tom robbins writes about women in a way that makes us feel special, that's why. :)
Quoteand then i read "the great gatsby", which i hadn't read before.
the last three paragraphs of this book are the literary equivalent of a poignant punch in the face. i love this book. i also liked
this side of paradise.
if you're interested, f. scott's wife zelda wrote some pretty amazing short stories, too.
pedigogy of the oppressed
Quotepedigogy of the oppressed
that is the perfect thing to read in highschool.
unless teachers are teaching it to you, which might be more ironic than anything...
QuoteQuotepedigogy of the oppressed
that is the perfect thing to read in highschool.
unless teachers are teaching it to you, which might be more ironic than anything...
oh, no, the teachers're on our side...
in any case, i just started "A Celestial Omnibus: Short Fiction on Faith" with my new spirituality class...
quite good, sof ar
Gotcha EC! :) Cool. I've had a few girlfriends who own a few of his books and am currently reading Skinny Legs And All. I likey. Just finished David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. It's a bunch of essays including one being on the set of David Lynch's Lost Highway. A good read.
I propose this thread to be stickied.
QuoteGotcha EC! :) Cool. I've had a few girlfriends who own a few of his books and am currently reading Skinny Legs And All. I likey. Just finished David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. It's a bunch of essays including one being on the set of David Lynch's Lost Highway. A good read.
I propose this thread to be stickied.
I second that proposition. Books are good. :)
Oh that Tom Robbins. He's all about sex and relaxing and living your life crazy-style. He seems to like peyote a lot, too...
Culture Warrior by Bill O'Rielly--spot on analysis of the current state of the US (as well as other parts of the planet)
The Temptation of Paris by Ross King.
It's about the birth of the Impressionist movement around 1860-1870 in France. Very well written, and it has pictures! I love books with pictures ;)
Bump
Besides wathing the snooker championships, is there still time for books?
Yes, at least a little :)
Just read Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Touching stuff. Quite a talented guy!
Oh, and thanks to Mr T. for Philip Roth's Everyman. That's the way I like my gifts: Sober, contemplative meditations on life, sickness and death ;)
Before that (quite a long while back) Underworld by Don DeLillo, which I can't recommend enough, for those with a little time on their hands. What a majestic piece of art. Beyond my imagination how one man can construct something like that. Congrats Don :D
Other readers?
Ugh, I haven't read a book in months! :(
The last was probably This Side of Paradise by Fitzgerald - loved it!
Last one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Now reading the Book of Dave by Will Self. Not so sure, but hey ho.
With the death of Vonnegut, I wanted to get back to reading (his books in particular). Just finished Bluebeard and was thinking of bumping this thread myself. Next is Slaughterhouse-5.
how bout poems?
I am absolutely IN LOVE with "The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock".
Perhaps a little depressing. But every time I read it, I love it a little bit more.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse
A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma perciocche giammai di questo fondo
Non torno vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero,
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
LET us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats 5
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question ... 10
Oh, do not ask, "What is it?"
Let us go and make our visit.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, 15
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, 20
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.
And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes; 25
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate; 30
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.
In the room the women come and go 35
Talking of Michelangelo.
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair— 40
[They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!"]
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
[They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!"]
Do I dare 45
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
For I have known them all already, known them all:—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, 50
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?
And I have known the eyes already, known them all— 55
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways? 60
And how should I presume?
And I have known the arms already, known them all—
Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
[But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!]
It is perfume from a dress 65
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?
. . . . .
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets 70
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?...
I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
. . . . .
And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully! 75
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep ... tired ... or it malingers,
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? 80
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Though I have seen my head [grown slightly bald] brought in upon a platter,
I am no prophet—and here's no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, 85
And in short, I was afraid.
And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while, 90
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: "I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all"— 95
If one, settling a pillow by her head,
Should say: "That is not what I meant at all.
That is not it, at all."
And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while, 100
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen: 105
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
"That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all."
. . . . . 110
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use, 115
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.
I grow old ... I grow old ... 120
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me. 125
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown 130
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
Absolutely lovely!
Here's some more depressing (but beautiful) poetry. This one's by Giacomo Leopardi:
Now be forever still,
Weary my heart. For the last cheat is dead,
I thought eternal. Dead. For us, I know
Not only the dear hope
Of being deluded gone, but the desire.
Rest still forever. You
Have beaten long enough. And to no purpose
Were all your stirrings; earth not worth your sighs.
Boredom and bitterness
Is life; and the rest, nothing; the world is dirt.
Lie quiet now. Despair
For the last time. Fate granted to our kind
Only to die. And now you may despise
Yourself, nature, the brute
Power which, hidden, ordains the common doom,
And all the immeasurable emptiness of things
:'(
;D
Nothing quite as deep as Face's & Mr T's contributions, I love Wendy Cope's poems.
I shall to see if I can't find a couple to post...
Going back to books nothing has really grabbed me in a while, I must be a quarter of a way into 4 or 5 books right now :-/
not that i don't adore eliot or anything,but....
this is the most beautiful thing ever written. ever.
A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.
Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,
Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose?
Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation.
Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same.
And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.
Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them.
It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soon out of their mothers' laps,
And here you are the mothers' laps.
This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old mothers.
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.
O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing.
I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring taken soon out of their laps.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and children?
They are alive and well somewhere,
The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it,
And ceas'd the moment life appear'd.
All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.
'Dispatches' by Michael Herr
A quality book if you haven't read it.
Prior to that, 'Trout Fishing in America' by Richard Brautigan - just bizarre (but in a good way)
Currently reading "Bringing Down The House" about the MIT blackjack team. Kevin Spacey bought the movie rights and it is currently filming. Even if you're not into gambling/poker/casinos this is a great story!
Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
(An Introduction to Logotherapy)
I don't want to put this down...
How did I miss this thread?
Currently reading:
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
I've been meaning to read it for years and am finally checking it off my list.
I read compulsively, so I have to read like 4-8 books at the same time or else I will read a book cover to cover, not eat, just sit and read. So, I am also reading:
Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sells Wars, Spins Elections, and Destroys Democracy by John Nichols and Bob McChesney
Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain - rereading it over and over
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
and some nonfiction books on Organic Gardening, Yoga, and how to figure out what you want to do for a career. I like to read. [smiley=wink.gif]
I'd been studying for my PE (Engineering licensing test) from January to mid-April, so reading for fun was not an option...and I love to read. Since I got my free time back, I've been digging into Lonesome Dove. If you like Westerns, or at least the idea of them, or if you love non-pretentious, deceptively brilliant writing, read this book. It is so good.
I just learned that Sean Penn has made a movie starring Emile Hirsch & Vince Vaughn based upon Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild, a true story about a young man who packs in everything to go & live in Alaska. Excellent book, anybody else read it?
Book: http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-8829547-7261726?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179231989&sr=1-2
Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
I read the story about that guy but not that particular book. It was kind of a wierd story--he ends up being poisoned by eating wild potato seeds mistakenly, if I remember correctly, and passes away alone in the Alaskan wilderness. I guess if I had to pick a place to croak in isolation that would be my choice.
Great job Fanatic, now on one needs to bother reading the book or seeing the movie :-/
QuoteI just learned that Sean Penn has made a movie starring Emile Hirsch & Vince Vaughn based upon Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild, a true story about a young man who packs in everything to go & live in Alaska. Excellent book, anybody else read it?
Book: http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-8829 547-7261726?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179231989&sr=1-2
Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
i've read part of a book JK wrote about everest, which was really good, and i've been looking for his book about the eiger... yet to track that one down
current reading: (slight disclaimer here - yes, i know i am a nerd... no need to point it out)
the english civil war - dianne purkiss
rubicon (about the roman republic) -
a dying light in cordoba - lindsey davis
the devil in amber - mark gatiss (of league of gentlemen fame)
metro girl - janet evanovich (got to have a bit of chicklit in there to balance the nerdy stuff)
recently bought a book about bradford washburn, american photographer & adventurer, but haven't had time to get started on it yet
I'm glad to get some book recommendations from you folks. Have been really lazy about reading lately, but just started Love in the Western World by Denis De Rougemont. It explores the psychology of love from the legend of Tristan and Isolde to Hollywood and through mythology addresses the inevitable conflict (in the west) between marriage and passion. So far it's a really worthwhile read that explains a lot about the cultural biases and personal struggles most of us in the West wrestle with in this area of life.
QuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
The Coen brothers are adapting this one for a movie if I'm not mistaken.
So I guess it should be a good read :)
Meanwhile, I can recommend this short, but oh so beautiful novel by the Japanese master Haruki Murakami.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b291/kickingTV/south.jpg)
I'm very excited about this man, his breakthrough novel "Norwegian Wood" is next in line.
QuoteI just learned that Sean Penn has made a movie starring Emile Hirsch & Vince Vaughn based upon Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild, a true story about a young man who packs in everything to go & live in Alaska. Excellent book, anybody else read it?
Book: http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-8829547-7261726?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179231989&sr=1-2
Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
This is best book ever - a life changer and a must read for everyone. Short, to the point, without passing judgment, and it somehow manages to build incredible tension despite the horific outcome being literally printed on the cover. To me this book compares to the groundbreaking Night by Elie Wiesel in that it's a contemplation on the value of life. Just a gripping book. There's just no way that Vince Vaugh is Chris McCandless though, no way. I'm an idiot - just checked your link and indeed Vince Vaughn is not Chris McCandless; so I was right.
Currently reading Freakonomics and loving it - cheating teachers, comparing the KKK to real estate agents, and legalized abortion leading to a drop in the crime rate - all in there and more.
Quote
Currently reading Freakonomics and loving it - cheating teachers, comparing the KKK to real estate agents, and legalized abortion leading to a drop in the crime rate - all in there and more.
Freakonomics is a good read.
I'm about halfway through The Long March, by E L Doctorow. Excellent novel set in the American civil war. The opening chapter is as good as any I've ever read.
Excerpt of Into the Wild:
http://outside.away.com/outside/features/1993/1993_into_the_wild_1.html
Tao Te Ching (Lao Tsu)
QuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Picked that up from the library this afternoon, can't wait to start it.
I absolutely adore Roald Dahl & believe that the pairing of his magical writing with Quentin Blake's fantastic illustrations is sheer brilliance!
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/4114YJ0JAML._SS500_.jpg)
Oh man, Roald Dahl is the best. He owned my childhood.
QuoteOh man, Roald Dahl is the best. He owned my childhood.
Knowing this & also knowing that you too are a fan of the '2nd best looking man that ever lived'
TM I'm sure that you are just as excited about this one as I am! Only 2 more years to go ;)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432283/
No way! That looks like it'll be awesome!
I'm currently working on some relatively heavy stuff:
I. Bernard Cohen's "The Birth of a New Physics" and
Einstein's "Relativity: Special and General Theories"
needless to say, it's taking some big effort.
I'll be delving into "Lies My Teacher Told Me" before too awfully long, too. anyone else read this one?
QuoteOh man, Roald Dahl is the best. He owned my childhood.
I think the BFG (big friendly giant) is my favorite. Never saw the movie that was made of it, though.
roald dahl still rules the planet. when i read him in my classroom the kids LISTEN. they respect the roald
QuoteQuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Picked that up from the library this afternoon, can't wait to start it.
How did you find it, Red?
I have just finished The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy. What a fantastic book - I started it yesterday afternoon, had to go out for the evening, but finished it on my return. It's both claustrophobic and harrowing, but the sparcity of his prose (particularly the rendition of conversation) draws you along.
I've got to read some more McCarthy. These two books are mesmerising.
I've actually just put it on the back burner for now. I was in the mall yesterday and didn't realize that Khaled Hosseini has a second novel out, so I picked that up and going to start it today. The Kite Runner is one of my favorite books in recent memory, so I'm really excited.
Then it's Cormac time!
QuoteQuoteQuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Picked that up from the library this afternoon, can't wait to start it.
How did you find it, Red?
I have just finished The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy. What a fantastic book - I started it yesterday afternoon, had to go out for the evening, but finished it on my return. It's both claustrophobic and harrowing, but the sparcity of his prose (particularly the rendition of conversation) draws you along.
I've got to read some more McCarthy. These two books are mesmerising.
the road is one of the best books i've EVER read. i mean that. it's amazing. check out child of god by cormac, too. i just started it but it's intense
Was just talking about Little Children in the movie thread, anybody read Tom Perrotta's Joe College?
QuoteWas just talking about Little Children in the movie thread, anybody read Tom Perrotta's Joe College?
To carry over, it's in my stack of books that have to read. It's sadly growing rather large. With work and trying to learn to play, reading has taken a back seat. The person that recommanded him to me years ago thought this was his best one.
QuoteQuoteWas just talking about Little Children in the movie thread, anybody read Tom Perrotta's Joe College?
To carry over, it's in my stack of books that have to read. It's sadly growing rather large. With work and trying to learn to play, reading has taken a back seat. The person that recommanded him to me years ago thought this was his best one.
Cheers MJ, I'll look out for it...
Quote
the road is one of the best books i've EVER read. i mean that. it's amazing. check out child of god by cormac, too. i just started it but it's intense
Thanks, Cakemeister - I'll make it the next one I read. I may just read The Road again, though - I agree it's a fantastic book.
i am currently reading Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Quotei am currently reading Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
I really liked a lot of that, but to me some of it just fell flat and it felt like a chore to get through. The Woody Allen chapter is amazing.
QuoteQuotei am currently reading Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
I really liked a lot of that, but to me some of it just fell flat and it felt like a chore to get through. The Woody Allen chapter is amazing.
some chapters bore me a little. where it seems like he's really just indulging himself for the sake of indulging himself ( :-?)
but the chapters that are great are GREAT. kind of like he's writing what you've always been thinking. he's a pretty good writer.
I have recently read Ishmael by daniel quinn. the book is amazing, it made me re think the way i live. Since then i have read a few more of quinn's books. It also inspired the Pearl Jam album Yield.
QuoteI have recently read Ishmael by daniel quinn. the book is amazing, it made me re think the way i live. Since then i have read a few more of quinn's books. It also inspired the Pearl Jam album Yield.
Seconded. Amazing book, and album.
QuoteI absolutely adore Roald Dahl & believe that the pairing of his magical writing with Quentin Blake's fantastic illustrations is sheer brilliance!
with you on this one db... my favourite was bfg.... i remember the witches scaring the crap out of me early in primary school too
just started:
i wouldn't start from here (a misguided tour of the early 21st century) - andrew mueller.... looks quite intriguing so far
if anyone loves nick hornby, i'd recommend housekeeping vs the dirt, a small book containing excerpts from his columns.... very funny, lots of ranting... classic hornby
Quote'2nd best looking man that ever lived'
if george is only no. 2, who is no.1???
(i know a certain mr depp who might just pip mr coolness clooney for the post!!!)
QuoteQuote'2nd best looking man that ever lived'
if george is only no. 2, who is no.1???
I'd bet my life Db was going with Mr. Elvis Presley. Gotta vote for his dad over George right?
(http://utenti.lycos.it/doh/indexfiles/homer_doh.gif)
silly me...
Quote(http://utenti.lycos.it/doh/indexfiles/homer_doh.gif)
silly me...
;D
Re-reading some parts of American Psycho.
Especially that one where Patrick and his friends go to see U2. So sad yet hilarious.
i'm reading Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger for the 149th time (approx.)
i'm revisiting old favourites these days, it seems.
it still totally does it for me.
it makes me do my own verz of praying.
it's good for angsty people, but not when you're feeling too angsty - i think it might fuck you up.
Only 34 days left!!! Yeah it's not "high"/sophisticated literature but the whole series is really good. Sorry I'm a 34 year old dork. oh and these really are not "kids" books for those who have not read them.
(http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41unlrhUIVL._SS400_.jpg)
just started fist, stick, knife, gun by geoffrey canada
so far it's just "eh" after reading honky by dalton conely. similar story ('bout growing up in South Bronx...) but a lot better written.
QuoteGreat job Fanatic, now on one needs to bother reading the book or seeing the movie :-/
Dearest Andrew,
I humbly apologize for being A #1 spoiler :-[
Sincerely,Erik [smiley=evil.gif]
QuoteQuoteQuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Picked that up from the library this afternoon, can't wait to start it.
How did you find it, Red?
I have just finished The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy. What a fantastic book - I started it yesterday afternoon, had to go out for the evening, but finished it on my return. It's both claustrophobic and harrowing, but the sparcity of his prose (particularly the rendition of conversation) draws you along.
I've got to read some more McCarthy. These two books are mesmerising.
Just read No Country For Old Men. It was pretty good, although a little bit "dry", if you get what I mean.
Right now halfway through Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach. Excellent so far.
QuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Picked that up from the library this afternoon, can't wait to start it.
How did you find it, Red?
I have just finished The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy. What a fantastic book - I started it yesterday afternoon, had to go out for the evening, but finished it on my return. It's both claustrophobic and harrowing, but the sparcity of his prose (particularly the rendition of conversation) draws you along.
I've got to read some more McCarthy. These two books are mesmerising.
Just read No Country For Old Men. It was pretty good, although a little bit "dry", if you get what I mean.
Right now halfway through Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach. Excellent so far.
I get you. I quite like "dry" though, every now and again. The Road is even bleaker, so steer clear unless you're in the mood.
I'm re-reading Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Great book, lovely setting.
QuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Picked that up from the library this afternoon, can't wait to start it.
How did you find it, Red?
I have just finished The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy. What a fantastic book - I started it yesterday afternoon, had to go out for the evening, but finished it on my return. It's both claustrophobic and harrowing, but the sparcity of his prose (particularly the rendition of conversation) draws you along.
I've got to read some more McCarthy. These two books are mesmerising.
Just read No Country For Old Men. It was pretty good, although a little bit "dry", if you get what I mean.
Right now halfway through Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach. Excellent so far.
I get you. I quite like "dry" though, every now and again. The Road is even bleaker, so steer clear unless you're in the mood.
I'm re-reading Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Great book, lovely setting.
Maybe I should read the book before the movie comes out? It looks like a return to their more darker movies.
stalin's ghost - martin cruz smith
if anyone likes crime novels i really can't recommend m.c.s highly enough - particularly the arkady renko series of novels, they are my favourite set of books. if you're into recent russian history, and i guess late- and post-Cold War politics, these are great books.
i just finished reading me talk pretty one day by david sedaris. it is hilarious. it is realistic fiction, so it is basicaly essays about his life. i would recommend it to anyone.
Just finished Vox Clementis (sp?) (A voice crying in the wilderness) by Edward Abbey
Also just started Confessions of a Barbarian also by Abbey
All I gotta say is, if you haven't read Abbey, by all means check 'em out (Desert Solitaire and Monkey Wrench Gang are his 2 most popular works)
For a cheap-ass summary, it makes me think about if Thoreau and Hunter S. Thompson were to breed - the product of that combo would be Abbey
QuoteDearest Andrew,
I humbly apologize for being A #1 spoiler :-[
Sincerely,Erik [smiley=evil.gif]
Haha, no worries Erik :)
Did you see the trailer? http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_vantage/intothewild/
Speaking of movie adaptations, Kite Runner opens this fall:
http://www.kiterunnermovie.com/
having finished the stranger, i am rereading lolita. i love this novel. nabokov's style of writing is so hypnotic.
I've just read Franny and Zoey by Salinger.
I'm currently working on:
The Birth of a New Physics by I. Bernard Hubbard
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen, and
Einstein's Theory of Relativity (I've been hung up for awhile in dire need of a math tutor to help carry me through it)
I've got a crap-ton waiting after that one, too. More physics stuff, Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto, Plato's The Republic. It's been an ambitious year with books, but I want to know as much as a can--the proper end of knowledge being wisdom, that's what I'm seeking. From both knowing what I'm talking about to actually understanding it for myself so that I can keep searching deeper. I'm on a quest, I'm not sure where it started, and sure as hell don't know where it's taking me, but I'm on it because I want to know the elusive Answer.
QuoteJust finished Vox Clementis (sp?) (A voice crying in the wilderness) by Edward Abbey
Also just started Confessions of a Barbarian also by Abbey
All I gotta say is, if you haven't read Abbey, by all means check 'em out (Desert Solitaire and Monkey Wrench Gang are his 2 most popular works)
For a cheap-ass summary, it makes me think about if Thoreau and Hunter S. Thompson were to breed - the product of that combo would be Abbey
That's pretty funny.
Monkeywrench was a great book.
(http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41unlrhUIVL._SS400_.jpg)
5 hours, 20 minutes and counting.
Just finished IV by Chuck Klosterman and Junky by William S Burroughs, both were great books obviously very different from each other.
I'm now working on Haunted by Chuck Pahlianuk and Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
Quote
I'll be delving into "Lies My Teacher Told Me" before too awfully long, too. anyone else read this one?
I read that a few years back. Pretty interesting stuff and quite an eye opener for me at the time. you'll enjoy it.
HP 7..DONE. Damn, that truely was outstanding. Well worth waiting in line, staying up till 4AM and getting up at 8 and reading until 5 today.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - WHAT A MASTERPIECE.
Simply f'n outstanding.
:: FIST PUMPS ::
Sooooooooooo good. 8-)
Bleachers (John Grisham)
I like stories about football but at some points it's really hard to read if you aren´t a football expert or someone who knows all the rules and all the terms. But I still have some pages left.
fist stick knife gun by geoffrey canada is my summer reading. i think it's pretty terribly written and organized, but a good message... it's just very cliche (maybe it' sjust 'cos i've read like fourteen books about teh same topic in the last few months... but i mean, whatever)
Just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Absolute masterpiece, it made you feel great, though it feels like your saying goodbye to a friend who has kept coming by for 10 years. Thanks for the magic, Ms. Rowling.
"All was well"
Hey Red/Big JKR has released and will drop some more, nifty tidbits on most of the main characters. She said the Epilogue was much longer but it didn't works so she shortened and left more to the imagination. Interesting facts have come out.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/
Reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac. I just read the phrase "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together" and went all goosebumpy about The Hold Steady.
Red, you've got a lot to answer for! ;) :-?
i love jack kerouac
QuoteReading On The Road by Jack Kerouac. I just read the phrase "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together" and went all goosebumpy about The Hold Steady.
Red, you've got a lot to answer for! ;) :-?
Haha, and answer I shall do...
When writing the album Craig put that passage on a card and wrote loosely-inspired songs based off that. Makes the "Some nights I think that
Sal Paradise was right..." all the better to fist pump too!
They also reference Keruac in "Hot Fries"
:D
Finished A Farewell To Arms last week (loved it!) and am just starting Sophie's World; anyone read that? No spoilers please...
THEN it's Cormac time! :-/
I've read Sophie's world. It was my introduction to philosophy which I went on to get a degree in. A lot of college professors have it as required reading for their intro to philosophy classes, but don't let that detour you, it's a great read!
Currently reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Not going to win many friends upstairs, that one. ;)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b291/kickingTV/cloud_atlas.jpg)
This was a work of genius. Structurally virtuosic, but also funny AND touching. Any other fans?
Next up? Thinking about a big Murakami, or The Road by McCarthy? Or a little reading break? Some mind-numbing TV seems pretty attractive now :)
I finished "A Confederacy Of Dunces" by Robert Kennedy Toole awhile ago. It was one of the funniest books I've ever read. I actually got into it because Toole wrote a book called "Neon Bible" when he was like 16. So, I hope you can figure out why I was interested in him.
I just started Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." I hope it's worth the 1000-plus pages.
wait.
a.
minute.
a band that references jack kerouac? i think now would be the time for yours truly to become acclamated to the hold steady.
k, where do i begin?
Quotewait.
a.
minute.
a band that references jack kerouac? i think now would be the time for yours truly to become acclamated to the hold steady.
k, where do i begin?
all our blathering about the hold steady and you just now want to get in to them? ;)
BOYS AND GIRLS IN AMERICA is the most accessible but SEPARATION SUNDAY is one of the best albums you'll ever hear.
Quote
I just started Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." I hope it's worth the 1000-plus pages.
NOOOOOOOOO! don't do it!
You must be writing a College Grant essay based on this right???
Actually, it's because of Neil Peart. Since he seemed to revere her so much I figure she is worth reading. I have done it in the past so it's not unlike me. I read Arthur Koestler's "Ghost in The Machine," too. That one was totally worth it.
Just ordered Julian Cope's Japrocksampler:
http://www.japrocksampler.com/
Just started The Western Lands by William S Burroughs. Hyperactive stream of consiousness, but I want to go through his trilogy backwards--next is The Place of Dead Roads followed by Cities of The Red Night. It should be trippy...
Just got sent Chuck Kosterman's IV by the coolest friend on Earth who sends me cool things randomly throughout the year - everyone should have a friend like this. Anyway, it's fucking great. Just read his story about Jeff Tweedy from Wilco - just perfect. Anyone who enjoys literate takes on pop culture needs this book.
I've taken some time away from reading Acts (Bible)... It's very good, but there's a lapse between Acts and John, where the church is founded and the direction of the Bible changes somewhat. The quick break away from the scripture stuff will be good for me.
(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/images/09/26/p1_missing.jpg)
Meanwhile, I picked up
The Missing Ring at Books-A-Million. Here's what the back of the book says,
The Missing Ring is the story of the one that got away, the one that haunts Alabama fans still, and native Alabamian Keith Dunnavant takes readers deep inside the Crimson Tide program during a more innocent time, before widespread telecasting, before scholarship limitations, before end-zone dances. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the still-escalating Vietnam War, and a world and a sport teetering on the brink of change in a variety of ways, Dunnavant tells an important story about the collision between football and culture. Ultimately, it is this clash that produces the Crimson Tide's most implacable foe, enabling the greatest injustice in college football history.I've been looking forward to having the time to read this, as it really is as much a social commentary than a "sports book"... As I was paying for it, tonight, the girl at the counter said she had a signed copy in the back, and asked if I'd like it.
I was like, "Hell Yes!" Apparently, the author was in town last week, and signed a batch for the store. How lucky is that?
been going a little nuts with reading lately... i read quite quickly which is sometimes annoying...
the perfect spy - john le carre
i predict a riot - bateman (colin bateman)
lean mean thirteen - janet evanovich
currently working through:
a history of britain vol 1 - simon schama
the master & margarita - mikhail bulgakov
a farewell to arms - ernest hemingway
neuromancer - william gibson
now, do we need more evidence i'm a nerd?? ;)
Quotei read quite quickly...
show-off! ::) ;)
Quotea farewell to arms - ernest hemingway
Finished that a while ago, absolutely loved it. I'm going to read all of Hemingway's work over the winter.
Still plugging through Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (not the easiest read, to me anyways, but very captivating) and have Shakey: Neil Young's Biography by Jimmy McDonough in que.
Quote
show-off!
hehe. no actually more that I don't have a life at the moment, and too much time on public transport each day (1.5 + hours)... plug in the ipod, crank up the tunes, and pick up a book is the best way to pass the time!!! plus i DO read a bit too quickly...
;)
Quotehaving finished the stranger, i am rereading lolita. i love this novel. nabokov's style of writing is so hypnotic.
On the risk of sounding uncultured - is that the same
Lolita of the Kubrick movie?
Quote(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b291/kickingTV/cloud_atlas.jpg)
This was a work of genius. Structurally virtuosic, but also funny AND touching. Any other fans?
Next up? Thinking about a big Murakami, or The Road by McCarthy? Or a little reading break? Some mind-numbing TV seems pretty attractive now :)
Cloud Atlas is unbelievably good. I recommend some McCarthy for light relief ;)
Failing that, why not try another Mitchell book? Ghostwritten is excellent; fragmented storylines drawing together. Well worth a read...
Quote
neuromancer - william gibson
now, do we need more evidence i'm a nerd?? ;)
I loves me some cyberpunk. Currently re-reading some Iain Banks and Iain M Banks. Got these lined up:
Espedair Street (Iain)
Player of Games (Iain M)
Banks might be one of my all-time favourite authors.
I don't really read much but right now I happen to be reading Bear's Boys. Great read for any Alabama football fan. Very in-depth life stories of some of Bama's best and how they were influenced by Coach Bryant.
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee9/alightsey/1401603246.jpg)
a star called henry - roddy doyle
the broken shore - peter temple
the unbearable lightness of being - milan kundera
Quote
the master & margarita - mikhail bulgakov
Wonderful book.
Inspiration behind a good number of songs...Rolling Stone's Sympathy for the Devil...a good bulk of Pearl Jam's album Yield, among others.
Anything by William Kennedy.
Great tales of old Albany.
tonight i'm starting shakey, and i'm SUPE excited!!
This is the part of the thread where you all convince me to read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.
Finished Slaughterhouse-Five earlier today, really enjoyed it. Can anyone recommend some more Kurt Vonnegut that I should check out?
I'm just about to start No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I swear I've checked this out of the library on four separate occasions, but I'm determined to (start and) finish it this week!
QuoteThis is the part of the thread where you all convince me to read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.
Finished Slaughterhouse-Five earlier today, really enjoyed it. Can anyone recommend some more Kurt Vonnegut that I should check out?
Breakfast of Champions.
QuoteQuote(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b291/kickingTV/cloud_atlas.jpg)
This was a work of genius. Structurally virtuosic, but also funny AND touching. Any other fans?
Next up? Thinking about a big Murakami, or The Road by McCarthy? Or a little reading break? Some mind-numbing TV seems pretty attractive now :)
Cloud Atlas is unbelievably good. I recommend some McCarthy for light relief ;)
Failing that, why not try another Mitchell book? Ghostwritten is excellent; fragmented storylines drawing together. Well worth a read...
Oh, missed this post earlier on. Nice to see another Mitchell fan.
I went with Murakami for now, but might pick up Ghostwritten later on. Although I'm afraid reading a second Mitchell book with fragmented storylines won't have the same impact as the first. Or is it "different" enough from Cloud Atlas?
As for McCarthy, No Country For Old Men was my first and I was actually let down just a little. Not that it was bad, not at all, but I expected more I guess. Gonna give him another chance someday for sure.
QuoteThis is the part of the thread where you all convince me to read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.
it's worth reading, k.
but it can be a frustrating book.
Reading
50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship - by Salvador Dali
Quite interesting, sometimes hard to follow - Dali has quite an interesting view of many things. Its a short read - I recommend it anyone interested in the arts.
(http://www.ontheissues.org/Against_All_Enemies.jpg)
Just finished reading this. It really kicks the Bush administration in the nuts and backs it up with facts on how they pretty much dropped the ball on fighting terrorism. It leaves you feeling very, very scared.
Really a great read. And the author knows his stuff.
kaley, i recommend cat's cradle or god bless you, mr. rosewater
QuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteLast one was No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Picked that up from the library this afternoon, can't wait to start it.
How did you find it, Red?
I have just finished The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy. What a fantastic book - I started it yesterday afternoon, had to go out for the evening, but finished it on my return. It's both claustrophobic and harrowing, but the sparcity of his prose (particularly the rendition of conversation) draws you along.
I've got to read some more McCarthy. These two books are mesmerising.
the road is one of the best books i've EVER read.
Yeah, some read.
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/04/03/john-hillcoat-will-drive-latest-oprah-book-club-pick-the-road/
Willy Vlautin - The Motel Life
Willy is Richmond Fontaine's singer/songwriter. This book is the exact literary equivalent of one of their songs. When I read it, the voice in my head was his.
Kaley, I would recommend Cat's Cradle or Breakfast of Champions, those are two of my all-time favorites by anyone.
QuoteWilly Vlautin - The Motel Life
Willy is Richmond Fontaine's singer/songwriter. This book is the exact literary equivalent of one of their songs. When I read it, the voice in my head was his.
Cool! But also damn, I still need to get that one myself!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iih2SSk6HXQ
Mark, have you got my question on Ghostwritten covered? It's a few posts back. While we're at it, have you read anything else by Mitchell besides Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas?
Finally finished No Country for Old Men! Quite enjoyed it, but thought it tailed off a bit towards the end. Still an excellent read, even though it seriously took me forever to read (and for no explainable reason). Looking forward to reading The Road sometime soon.
Next up: The Beautiful and Damned and Tender Is the Night.
yay for k!
any friend of fitzgerald is a friend of mine.
Quoteyay for k!
any friend of fitzgerald is a friend of mine.
This Side of Paradise remains as my (second) favourite ever and I think it's time I read everything else by the wonderful man. 8-)
Franny and Zooey is my first favourite for those curious...
I'm currently reading A Spot Of Bother, Mark Haddon's follow up to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime.
Quote
Mark, have you got my question on Ghostwritten covered? It's a few posts back. While we're at it, have you read anything else by Mitchell besides Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas?
Sorry, Serge, I missed this. I think Ghostwritten is different enough from Cloud Atlas to merit reading. Although both feature fragmented stories, the premise on they are based is not at all similar.
Black Swan Green is currently in my "to read" list - I've heard good things about it.
I'm struggling through All The Pretty Horses by McCarthy at the moment. The struggle is more to do with how little time I have to read at the moment than any fault of the book. Work just gets in the way of everything I want to do: drinking, lying around on tropical beaches, reading, following the Jacket all over the world for a year...
Thanks for the reply Mark!
Since variety is the spice of life, there's probably some other authors to be read first,
but I'm gonna pick up Ghostwritten for sure when i reach back to the amazing David Mitchell :)
rereading - Dhammapada
This one always seems to purge my mind and bring me back around. Its good brain fuel, for me at least
The Steep Approach to Garbadale - Iain Banks
Banks is one of my favourite authors ever. Might even be all-time number one.
QuoteQuote(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b291/kickingTV/cloud_atlas.jpg)
why not try another Mitchell book? Ghostwritten is excellent; fragmented storylines drawing together. Well worth a read...
Hi Mark. I've picked up Ghostwritten and started it last night. The first 60 pages were breathtakingly good. His writing is really, really addictive...
And to say this novel is the first he ever published. Well that is just impressive.
QuoteWilly Vlautin - The Motel Life
Willy is Richmond Fontaine's singer/songwriter. This book is the exact literary equivalent of one of their songs. When I read it, the voice in my head was his.
My signed copy has arrived from America.
It's up next after I finish Ghostwritten, I'm genuinely excited :)
hot water music - charles bukowski (quick so far...) bukowski-y.
next up is naked lunch (william s burroughs). anyone read it?
naked lunch is a fun one last one i read was house of leaves
next up is still life with woodpecker by tom robbins
Quotenaked lunch is a fun one last one i read was house of leaves
next up is still life with woodpecker by tom robbins
I loved still live w/ woodpecker. wait. i love tom robbins.
Current favorite....
VEGANOMICAN by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
it is the best vegan cookbook i have ever had besides isa's other 2 books. everything turns out better than expected and fabulous. especially the chickpea cutlets. so awesome.
I just got No Country For Old Men today and I'm already loving it, looking forward to starting The Road after that. I read an article where he said the idea came to him while his son was asleep next to him on a late night road trip and he started thinking about the world we are leaving are kids with. I'm intrigued.
where i'm calling from (selected short stories) - raymond carver
my favorite's cathedral.
anyone got some free time, it's worth the read; http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/cinichol/GovSchool/Cathedral2.htm
i just picked up steven colbert's book: i am american and so can you. so far it is great!
Quotei just picked up steven colbert's book: i am american and so can you. so far it is great!
Colbert Is the greatest.
I'm currently reading Mr. B. Gone by Clive Barker.
I have read most of his books and I had a real problem following a couple of them, but this book is pretty easy to follow the characters ( not as many of them ) and keeping me captivated also. I would recommend it to anyone who likes his stuff.
Finished Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. It's about a 13 year old boy in 1982 Britain (which fits me exactly). He captures perfectly the experience and emotions of adolescence in Thatcher-era England.
QuoteFinished Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. It's about a 13 year old boy in 1982 Britain (which fits me exactly). He captures perfectly the experience and emotions of adolescence in Thatcher-era England.
Just finished Number 9 Dream which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Got Black Swan Green lined up. After that one it will be a long wait until 2009...
"Mitchell's next book will be an historical novel about Dejima, the man-made island in the middle of Nagasaki Harbour that was built to house Dutch traders in the 17th century. Having just finished five months of research in the Netherlands, Mitchell says that the biggest challenge will be what to omit from this complex story."
Ah, more complexities to come, that is reassuring :)
Quotelooking forward to starting The Road after that. I read an article where he said the idea came to him while his son was asleep next to him on a late night road trip and he started thinking about the world we are leaving are kids with. I'm intrigued.
That book is gonna kick your ass bro.
Dry by Augusten Burroughs. Very good...funny, sad & revelatory for me.
Quote
Ah, more complexities to come, that is reassuring :)
Wouldn't it be great if he wrote a Jeffrey Archer or Scott Turow novel by mistake?
I've just started Cash: The Autobiography.
QuoteI just got No Country For Old Men today and I'm already loving it, looking forward to starting The Road after that. I read an article where he said the idea came to him while his son was asleep next to him on a late night road trip and he started thinking about the world we are leaving are kids with. I'm intrigued.
I've been reading some Michael Pollan ("Botany of Desire" - he's way into researching where are food really comes from & how it got there) - between that & reading some of the Dalai Lama's stuff, its been getting me thinking about the world we got from the generations before us & what it all means into the future. I wonder what the world's gonna be like for my kid's kids.
QuoteQuote
Ah, more complexities to come, that is reassuring :)
Wouldn't it be great if he wrote a Jeffrey Archer or Scott Turow novel by mistake?
I had to research those names on Wikipedia :D
Loved this quote...
"His books are also rumoured to require extensive editing by others to make them readable"
I just picked up "This is Your Brain on Music - The Science of a Human Obsession" by Daniel J. Levitin. It looks pretty interesting, picked it up purely because of the title, and I guess it's also a NYT Bestseller. Anyone else read it? I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are if so.
Yesterday I started "Sacred Games" by Vikram Chandra. I'd heard about its release about a year ago, and was excited to read it after being really impressed by "Red Earth and Pouring Rain", but it kind of dropped off my radar for awhile for some reason. Saw it in a bookstore yesterday, finally out in paperback, so I picked up a copy. I'm excited to get into it.
right now i am re-reading all of my old calvin and hobbes comic collections. :)
Quoteright now i am re-reading all of my old calvin and hobbes comic collections. :)
I have all of the Calvin & Hobbes books in a box in the attic. I get them out from time to time & they never fail to make smile.
QuoteQuoteright now i am re-reading all of my old calvin and hobbes comic collections. :)
I have all of the Calvin & Hobbes books in a box in the attic. I get them out from time to time & they never fail to make smile.
this is what you guys can get me for Christmas
http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740748475
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson..got ot yesterday and almost done..one of you guys can have it when I'm done if you want
Went to the used book store and bought Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, then to the library where I picked up Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. I'm just starting (and hopefully finishing very shortly) Breakfast at Tiffany's.
the Metamorphosis is a pretty wild story :)
QuoteWent to the used book store and bought Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, then to the library where I picked up Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. I'm just starting (and hopefully finishing very shortly) Breakfast at Tiffany's.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all-time favourites (in both English and Spanish, although the latter took some serious concentration). I'd really like to know what you think of it...
Just picked up Iain M Banks' latest - Matter. I like him a lot.
QuoteQuoteWent to the used book store and bought Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, then to the library where I picked up Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. I'm just starting (and hopefully finishing very shortly) Breakfast at Tiffany's.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all-time favourites (in both English and Spanish, although the latter took some serious concentration).
Wow, kudos for reading that great book in Spanish. I've been telling myself to learn the language for a while now. Someday!
Quotethe Metamorphosis is a pretty wild story :)
That is an awesome story! I was just talking about that yesterday
Mark Twain's Letters From Hawaii.
QuoteMark Twain's Letters From Hawaii.
I'm a huge Twain fan. I've read excerpts from this but never the whole thing. how is it?
QuoteQuoteMark Twain's Letters From Hawaii.
I'm a huge Twain fan. I've read excerpts from this but never the whole thing. how is it?
It's great! I actually just got back last night from a week in Kauai, and picked it up while I was over there.
Mark Twain is awesome. More than any other writer, it'd be him that I'd want to share a bottle of whiskey and a couple hours of conversation with.
QuoteQuoteQuoteMark Twain's Letters From Hawaii.
I'm a huge Twain fan. I've read excerpts from this but never the whole thing. how is it?
It's great! I actually just got back last night from a week in Kauai, and picked it up while I was over there.
Mark Twain is awesome. More than any other writer, it'd be him that I'd want to share a bottle of whiskey and a couple hours of conversation with.
Ha! I actually wrote my paper about that in college. Who would you live to meet and what would you ask them, blah blah. So I agree 100%. Did you know that he smoked 40 cigars a day? He went broke and gave "lectures" across the country haphazardly inventing the art of stand-up comedy. Last thing i read by him was the Diaries of Adam and Eve. Amazing!
Just recently read Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I know many of you are fans, so I'm hoping I can get a good opinion on where to go next! :)
QuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteMark Twain's Letters From Hawaii.
I'm a huge Twain fan. I've read excerpts from this but never the whole thing. how is it?
It's great! I actually just got back last night from a week in Kauai, and picked it up while I was over there.
Mark Twain is awesome. More than any other writer, it'd be him that I'd want to share a bottle of whiskey and a couple hours of conversation with.
Ha! I actually wrote my paper about that in college. Who would you live to meet and what would you ask them, blah blah. So I agree 100%. Did you know that he smoked 40 cigars a day? He went broke and gave "lectures" across the country haphazardly inventing the art of stand-up comedy. Last thing i read by him was the Diaries of Adam and Eve. Amazing!
There's a part at the beginning of the book where he talks about the cigars available in Honolulu, which he found to be horrible. All low quality imports. BUT, he did say that he smoked a pipe-full of some of the native grown tabacco, which he found to be most satisfying. Ahhhh....that sweet Hawaiian smoke.
QuoteI just picked up "This is Your Brain on Music - The Science of a Human Obsession" by Daniel J. Levitin. It looks pretty interesting, picked it up purely because of the title, and I guess it's also a NYT Bestseller. Anyone else read it? I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are if so.
I'm about 100 pages into it. I'm enjoying it, but I find that a lot of the 'clinical'/music theory stuff is over my head. I'm a music nut, not a musician. My eyes move back and forth for a few pages and then I come across something that I can relate to and that I really enjoy learning about. For example, it makes total sense to me that we feel "comfortable" listening to music with a similar rhythmic/melodic/timbral sense as what we were exposed to as children, as it parallels the process of learning language.
Some of what our ears and brains do with sound is astonishing, whether listening to music or any other sounds. I loved the chapter dealing with how the brain receives and processes various vibrations of the eardrum at the same time, somehow separating them into particular sounds. The brain is one hell of a thing.
I'm especially looking forward to finding out what causes 'ear worms' so I can figure out a way to instantly remove B.T.O. songs from my head when I hear them on the radio.
QuoteFinished Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. It's about a 13 year old boy in 1982 Britain (which fits me exactly). He captures perfectly the experience and emotions of adolescence in Thatcher-era England.
Started it a couple of days ago.
I'm enjoying it immensely so far, that's no surprise really.
Right now, I'm reading Dan Simmons' "The Terror." Usually not a big Dan Simmons fan, what with all the sci fi and stuff, but I cannot put down this book. Its about the Franklin Expedition; ice monsters; and scurvy. Pretty cool.
QuoteRight now, I'm reading Dan Simmons' "The Terror." Usually not a big Dan Simmons fan, what with all the sci fi and stuff, but I cannot put down this book. Its about the Franklin Expedition; ice monsters; and scurvy. Pretty cool.
DRUNKRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'sup. Having a baby really takes it out of you (posting on boards, I mean). She's almost two now. And I'm about to get my new computer. My wife ordered it off QVC. So, end result, I should be on here more often.
Quote'sup. Having a baby really takes it out of you (posting on boards, I mean). She's almost two now. And I'm about to get my new computer. My wife ordered it off QVC. So, end result, I should be on here more often.
Hi Drunkre - nice to see you back (even though I wasn't around then, I mean it's nice to have an ex-regular back on the board). Looks like the baby kept you busy a
long time... ;)
Still reading Matter by Iain M Banks. Work is seriously getting in the way of the things I like doing. >:(
The Metamorphosis was a great read. Kinda shook me up.
Spent the evening reading Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Back (of Jonathon Livingston Seagull fame). I'm glad my friend Marie lent it to me on Saturday, because now I can't recommend it enough.
just finished reading Jane Eyre. umm yeah, it wasn't by choice. now i'm reading Slaughterhouse Five. a year ago, i wouldn't have dreamed i would be in this thread, but look at me now, actually reading. :P
QuoteSpent the evening reading Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Back (of Jonathon Livingston Seagull fame). I'm glad my friend Marie lent it to me on Saturday, because now I can't recommend it enough.
i'll definitely be checking that Bach out...i've only read Jonathan Livingston.
Just finished Egger's You Shall Know Our Velocity and I loved it. I hadn't heard of Eggers until the interview in Magnet when Jim mentioned him.
Quotejust finished reading Jane Eyre. umm yeah, it wasn't by choice. now i'm reading Slaughterhouse Five. a year ago, i wouldn't have dreamed i would be in this thread, but look at me now, actually reading. :P
From Jayne Eyre to Slaughterhouse Five? That's what I love about this board: we're a broad church!
I'm finishing up The People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.
QuoteQuoteFinished Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. It's about a 13 year old boy in 1982 Britain (which fits me exactly). He captures perfectly the experience and emotions of adolescence in Thatcher-era England.
Started it a couple of days ago.
I'm enjoying it immensely so far, that's no surprise really.
Finished last week.
So concludes my run of his four novels.
It's been heartbreakin', funny, thoughtful and most of all very entertaining.
Thanks Dave, you da man :)
Finished Into the Wild today. Cool, interesting story, figured I need to read it before I catch the movie.
QuoteJust recently read Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I know many of you are fans, so I'm hoping I can get a good opinion on where to go next! :)
I loved all of his stuff except Galapagos. I just couldn't get into that one. But I would say read some of his short story stuff; good quick reads that you can start anywhere in the book. See Welcome to the Monkey House; or Bagumbo Snuff Box (early stuff, much more scifi like Sirens of Titan than some of his later work). Some of my favorite novels are Deadeye Dick; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; and, of course, Breakfast of Champions. Oh yeah, God Bless You, Dr. Kervorkian was really awesome as a sort of short story collection. Vonnegut and Kervorkian supposedly get together and kill Vonnegut for short periods of time (a la Flatliners); he goes to heaven and speaks with famous historical figures.
QuoteQuoteJust recently read Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I know many of you are fans, so I'm hoping I can get a good opinion on where to go next! :)
I loved all of his stuff except Galapagos. I just couldn't get into that one. But I would say read some of his short story stuff; good quick reads that you can start anywhere in the book. See Welcome to the Monkey House; or Bagumbo Snuff Box (early stuff, much more scifi like Sirens of Titan than some of his later work). Some of my favorite novels are Deadeye Dick; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; and, of course, Breakfast of Champions. Oh yeah, God Bless You, Dr. Kervorkian was really awesome as a sort of short story collection. Vonnegut and Kervorkian supposedly get together and kill Vonnegut for short periods of time (a la Flatliners); he goes to heaven and speaks with famous historical figures.
Breakfast Of Champions is my favorite book. I've been meaning to get to Slaughterhouse-Five.
QuoteQuoteQuoteJust recently read Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I know many of you are fans, so I'm hoping I can get a good opinion on where to go next! :)
I loved all of his stuff except Galapagos. I just couldn't get into that one. But I would say read some of his short story stuff; good quick reads that you can start anywhere in the book. See Welcome to the Monkey House; or Bagumbo Snuff Box (early stuff, much more scifi like Sirens of Titan than some of his later work). Some of my favorite novels are Deadeye Dick; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; and, of course, Breakfast of Champions. Oh yeah, God Bless You, Dr. Kervorkian was really awesome as a sort of short story collection. Vonnegut and Kervorkian supposedly get together and kill Vonnegut for short periods of time (a la Flatliners); he goes to heaven and speaks with famous historical figures.
Breakfast Of Champions is my favorite book. I've been meaning to get to Slaughterhouse-Five.
I still think Cat's Cradle is his best work.
I'm a little more than halfway through One Hundred Years of Solitude and am absolutely loving it. Then it's on to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galazy (et all) that a friend loaned me.
Here's where I need some help...The recently opened used bookstore in town has me with many purchases sitting on my CD player waiting to be read. Anyone have their $.02 to throw in on any of these? I'm overwhelmed and my library list is even longer.
Trainspotting - Irving Welsh
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Travels with Charlet - John Steinbeck
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
Thanks!
Currently working on Moby Dick and actually really really digging it. Anybody else gone through this one?
'Northline' by Willy Vlautin (Richmond Fontaine)
Great so far...would recommend.
QuoteCurrently working on Moby Dick and actually really really digging it. Anybody else gone through this one?
yes, skip the chapters on the whaling industry and you're left with a great story
QuoteI'm a little more than halfway through One Hundred Years of Solitude and am absolutely loving it. Then it's on to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galazy (et all) that a friend loaned me.
Here's where I need some help...The recently opened used bookstore in town has me with many purchases sitting on my CD player waiting to be read. Anyone have their $.02 to throw in on any of these? I'm overwhelmed and my library list is even longer.
Trainspotting - Irving Welsh
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Travels with Charlet - John Steinbeck
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
Thanks!
i have a really hard time reading faulkner for some reason--
Just Started "Veil" by Bob Woodward (about the CIA in the 80s?)---i think I only have one other Woodward book to get thru. Great stuff.
also "sex, drugs and cocoa puffs" by Chuck Klosterman is a MUST read--people on this board would love it
I just finished No Country For Old Men and You Shall Know Our Velocity. The latter was the first Eggers book I've read but today I start What Is the What as my travel entertainment.
Quote
also "sex, drugs and cocoa puffs" by Chuck Klosterman is a MUST read--people on this board would love it
i've been meaning to read that book for a while. thanks for the reminder.
QuoteQuote
also "sex, drugs and cocoa puffs" by Chuck Klosterman is a MUST read--people on this board would love it
i've been meaning to read that book for a while. thanks for the reminder.
I've been off and on reading IV (it's a colection of essays, articles, and such - so you can put it down for a while and come back) and it's great. The interviews with Jeff Tweedy, Britany Spears, and Val Kilmer really stand out.
QuoteQuoteQuote
also "sex, drugs and cocoa puffs" by Chuck Klosterman is a MUST read--people on this board would love it
i've been meaning to read that book for a while. thanks for the reminder.
I've been off and on reading IV (it's a colection of essays, articles, and such - so you can put it down for a while and come back) and it's great. The interviews with Jeff Tweedy, Britany Spears, and Val Kilmer really stand out.
IV is probably my favorite of Klosterman. Fargo Rock City was pretty damn good reading too. It got a big nod from David Byrne.
i am now reading Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. i feel so...what's the word?... enlightened?
Quotei am now reading Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. i feel so...what's the word?... enlightened?
great book! Enjoy.
I'm reading the Botany of Desire of Michael Pollan. It's very interesting. Anyone whose into gardening, agriculture, and/or food should check it out.
I just finished Lush Life by Richard Price. I heard Terri Gross interviewing Price a week or so ago. NPR was really losing it over The Wire. I tried to watch it once or twice, but the whole gay gangsta thing was just dumb to me.
Quotei am now reading Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. i feel so...what's the word?... enlightened?
that book changed my life. i forgot about it. i might pick that up again tonight. i loved that book, i loved it.
Quotegreat book! Enjoy.
I'm reading the Botany of Desire of Michael Pollan. It's very interesting. Anyone whose into gardening, agriculture, and/or food should check it out.
oooooh yes. i've wanted to read that one!
i kind of feel embarrassed to say what i'm reading, but what the hell. i'm reading the bathroom book. it's basically a collection of extremely condensed books. it's perfect to read a "book" or two every night before bed and learn something. i thought that after spending the last two months re-reading all of my old calvin and hobbes and edward gorey collections that i could probably use that last half hour before i go to bed to put something in my brain that my subconscious could solidify through the night. plus, there are a lot of really wonderful historical figures that i don't know anything about. and i also thought that if i found somebody or something really interesting, then i could do further research.
but it's kind of non-committal. so it might be time for a new, beefy full-length.
QuoteNPR was really losing it over The Wire. I tried to watch it once or twice, but the whole gay gangsta thing was just dumb to me.
You're missing out on the best drama to ever grace television screens.
QuoteQuotei am now reading Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. i feel so...what's the word?... enlightened?
that book changed my life. i forgot about it. i might pick that up again tonight. i loved that book, i loved it.
Quotegreat book! Enjoy.
I'm reading the Botany of Desire of Michael Pollan. It's very interesting. Anyone whose into gardening, agriculture, and/or food should check it out.
oooooh yes. i've wanted to read that one!
i kind of feel embarrassed to say what i'm reading, but what the hell. i'm reading the bathroom book. it's basically a collection of extremely condensed books. it's perfect to read a "book" or two every night before bed and learn something. i thought that after spending the last two months re-reading all of my old calvin and hobbes and edward gorey collections that i could probably use that last half hour before i go to bed to put something in my brain that my subconscious could solidify through the night. plus, there are a lot of really wonderful historical figures that i don't know anything about. and i also thought that if i found somebody or something really interesting, then i could do further research.
but it's kind of non-committal. so it might be time for a new, beefy full-length.
Have you read Omnivore's Dilemma by Pollan?
LizKingette highly recommend's that one. I've read a few bathroom books in my day - they are packed with all sorts of random knowledge.
I just started Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Pirsig - got it as a gift, not far into it yet, but it seems like a decent read.
QuoteQuoteNPR was really losing it over The Wire. I tried to watch it once or twice, but the whole gay gangsta thing was just dumb to me.
You're missing out on the best drama to ever grace television screens.
So I've heard.
Quote'Northline' by Willy Vlautin (Richmond Fontaine)
Great so far...would recommend.
I'm halfway through it.
Do you have the included soundtrack?
It's quite beautiful and accompanies the book excellently.
Great interview with Willy Vlautin here...
http://powells.com/interviews/willyvlautin.html
On "Northline" and other things.
"As messed up as I am, I'm a romantic, and strangely, an optimist." :)
This month I read 1984 for the first time. I enjoyed it, but the ending felt sort of rushed. I hated the ending, to be honest. I read the entire novel on my iPod... that was kind of cool, despite the tiny screen.
I also finished reading the Bible. I had already read the New Testament, but this time I read the book in its entirety. I use the NIV edition, it's a student study bible and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read the book but doesn't want to spend more time understanding the language than understanding the message.
Up next, I want to read Starship Troopers. I've wanted to read Robert A. Heinlein's work for years and years.
After that, I'll finish reading Bear's Boys.
After that, I think I'll read The Federalist Papers. Not exactly a novel, but from the little transcripts I read earlier, I think it should be required reading.
After that, Flags Of Our Fathers. I rescued a hard-bound from the Books-A-Million discounted library books stack. These things are probably burned out back if they don't sell in a couple of weeks.
After that, maybe Moby Dick.
BELOVED by TONI MORRISON
i love it thus far.
Just finished The Zahir by Paulo Coelho. He is consistently excellent, and this novel was no exception. I strongly recommend both it and him.
Two final exams today, and then I'm going nuts on Starship Troopers. First few pages are pretty awesome.
musicophilia by oliver sacks
http://www.amazon.com/Musicophilia-Tales-Music-Oliver-Sacks/dp/1400040817
so interesting.
more science about what we already know - music affects us on very deep levels.
plus, oliver sacks is just a lovely dude who is able to communicate difficult scientific/epistemological theory in language that everybody can relate to.
re-re-re-re-re-re-reading On the Road.
i'll try to post a picture of my first Penguin copy when I get to the house...
Jonathan Franzen - The Corrections
Reading the Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer.
The true story of Gary Gilmore and the murders he committed in 1976.
A truly devastating book.
Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk! Quick read...like six hours. It's almost great.
Read?...i wish i had more time
I probably won't be able to start getting into them for a couple more weeks, but I've got a few new ones that I'm excited to read:
The Enchantress of Florence - Salman Rushdie
Boonville - Robert Mailer Anderson
I think they're both going to be fun...I'll let y'all know!
The Power of Now- Eckhardt Tolle
The 4 Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz.
http://www.miguelruiz.com/fouragreements.html
Your Government Failed You - Richard Clarke
Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
Is this what you were looking for, Brad?
I knew there was a thread like this, somewhere! Thanks, G!
Right now, I'm reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Thus far, it's really good - I have a feeling I might even finish this one before the week is over!
Next on the list...
World War Z by Max Brooks
John Adams by David McCullough
1776 by David McCullough
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
I read Starship Troopers a while back (maybe high school sometime?) and it was very mind blowing. Nothing like the movie at all, which was great. It's a fantastic sci-fi novel.
I'm in the midst of reading 'Your Government Failed You' by Richard A. Clarke. I love reading damning writing from people that know what they're talking about. GREAT read.
QuoteI knew there was a thread like this, somewhere! Thanks, G!
Right now, I'm reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Thus far, it's really good - I have a feeling I might even finish this one before the week is over!
Next on the list...
World War Z by Max Brooks
John Adams by David McCullough
1776 by David McCullough
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
Really enjoyed The Road. It's a pretty cryptic book, and a quick read. Relatively sad one too....
QuoteReally enjoyed The Road. It's a pretty cryptic book, and a quick read. Relatively sad one too....
Yeah, I'm probably half-way through and I've only been reading since this morning... You're right about one thing - it is sad, horrendously so, at times. Would make a freaking sick movie.
And I don't mean "sick" like "cool"... parts of the book are just sick, and harrowing, and terrible.
Great book, though.
reading a graphic tragicomic called "Fun Home".
It's alright. Very quick and interesting. An autobiography in comic form.
stuff like this
(http://images.salon.com/books/review/2006/06/05/bechdel/story.jpg)
Finished reading The Road in a single day... and I worked 8 to 5. Wow.
Great book.
also i was just given a lot of john porcellino:
(http://www.stevemandich.com/evelincarnate/kingcat.jpg)
and chris ware (jimmy corrgan: the smartest kid on earth)
and daniel clowes:
(http://www.richardhellergallery.com/dynamic/images/display/44_19_LIKEAVELVE.jpg)
a lot of mini comics.
QuoteFinished reading The Road in a single day... and I worked 8 to 5. Wow.
Great book.
Really good book isn't it? I love the language he uses in it. That ending was a rough one though huh?
I wish we could dedicate an entire thread to discussing the ending, or just the book in general. I don't want to spoil it for other folks here, but the book has so much, beginning to end, that deserves thesis.
yeah we shouldn't give away too much for those who haven't read it. Just the commentary on the human condition and the characters perseverence through seemingly impossible odds was very inspiring to me.
Finished 1776 today. Every American should read it.
Quotereading a graphic tragicomic called "Fun Home".
It's alright. Very quick and interesting. An autobiography in comic form.
stuff like this
(http://images.salon.com/books/review/2006/06/05/bechdel/story.jpg)
face, i just started reading this today!
was immediately drawn into the writing and the images. some of the drawings look like they were drawn from candid snaps.
just finished "dishwasher"--dishwasher pete's memoir! great fun especially if you are on the road.
Reading World War Z now... I'm not too hot on the writing style, yet, but maybe it'll grow on me.
QuoteQuotereading a graphic tragicomic called "Fun Home".
It's alright. Very quick and interesting. An autobiography in comic form.
stuff like this
(http://images.salon.com/books/review/2006/06/05/bechdel/story.jpg)
face, i just started reading this today!
was immediately drawn into the writing and the images. some of the drawings look like they were drawn from candid snaps.
just finished "dishwasher"--dishwasher pete's memoir! great fun especially if you are on the road.
the author is actually so obsessive compulsive that she would take polaroids of how she remembers people in certain positions and would draw from that.
quick read, i liked it pretty ok.
Has anyone read Cormac McCarthy's THE BORDER Trilogy? If so, what did ya'll think of it? No spoilers, though! I think that might be my next book, after World War Z...
I've also got John Adams sitting on my desk, waiting to be read, but I'm not sure I'm up to a 600 page biography right this second.
Quote
the author is actually so obsessive compulsive that she would take polaroids of how she remembers people in certain positions and would draw from that.
quick read, i liked it pretty ok.
i think part of the attraction to me is that i often think "when my parents were my age" kind of thoughts.
also, i recognize the stuff in her childhood era drawings from my own childhood, so it has a transportive effect.
apart from lynda barry's books, i haven't read any graphic novels. i think i'm just moved by how compelling it's turned out to be.
QuoteReading World War Z now... I'm not too hot on the writing style, yet, but maybe it'll grow on me.
i'm reading that right now also, i thought the writing is really good though, seeing as it is actually multiple people speaking, the style of writing adjusts. Zombies scare the crap out of me, but this book is scary but not to much, just an interesting take on multiple tales of zombie apocalypse survival
I dunno... most of the interviews don't really cover much of substance. I realize all of this is trying to weave each interview into a big picture, but I'm getting skeptical at its execution and I'm only 1/4th through the book.
QuoteI dunno... most of the interviews don't really cover much of substance. I realize all of this is trying to weave each interview into a big picture, but I'm getting skeptical at its execution and I'm only 1/4th through the book.
I get where your coming from, to each his own, eh? Ithought that the book got better the farther in I got, i'm about half way now
Bumped for Dot Mantooth
Fran's favorite author is Mitch Albom!
No. L Ron Hubbard!
QuoteBumped for Dot Mantooth
Fran's favorite author is Mitch Albom!
No. L Ron Hubbard!
(http://www.craigerscinemacorner.com/Images/battlefield-earth.jpg)
?????
My fave is Ray Bradbury. Truly madly deeply.
I'm almost done with World War Z. Very boring. I can't get too emotionally entangled with any character or scenario here because none of them last for more than three or four pages. It's not all that terrible - I just have no desire to continue reading. I really can't wait to finish it so that I can move on to something else.
I'm bidding on used copies of Cormac McCarthy's The Border Trilogy on eBay, so hopefully I'll either be reading All The Pretty Horses or David McCullough's John Adams next.
QuoteHas anyone read Cormac McCarthy's THE BORDER Trilogy? If so, what did ya'll think of it? No spoilers, though! I think that might be my next book, after World War Z...
The Border Trilogy is a great read. I think you'd like it a lot, Brad, particularly the interplay of the principle characters, and their development through the books. His descriptions of the Southwestern terrain are spot on, too.
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
An alternate history based on the premise the premise that during World War II, a temporary Yiddish-speaking settlement for Jewish refugees was established in Alaska in 1941. Very interesting but a little light on details, I thought. I heard Terry Gross interview him - he said drawing a map of the setting was a big part of his development process, and yet no map in the book! A good yiddish glossary is included though, and it's a good detective story.
Finished Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck about a week ago on a Greyhound somewhere in Kentucky. I truly loved it and it will accompany me alongside Bound for Glory and On the Road whenever I travel again.
Started Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins the other day (as per Meg/EC's recommendation) and am in love. I can't seem to put it down.
I met seemingly my future self at one of the Tom Waits shows and he commented on me reading Travels with Charley and how he used to travel alone all the time. I ran into him outside the next show and he handed me Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett and spoke some of the kindest words I've ever had told to me. That is next on the agenda.
Finished World War Z by Brooks last night. Mediocre book...
I'm probably going to start John Adams by McCullough, now, even though I'm afraid I may struggle to stay focused through the 600+ page biography.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get my hands on used copies of For Whom The Bell Tolls by Hemingway, Farewell to Arms by Hemingway, and All The Pretty Horses by McCarthy.
I've been reading Global Warming Survival Handbook. Believe it or not, for a very seious topic, it's written very well and keeps your attention. The author is very subtle and witty. You would be amazed at the very small things everyone can do to help stop climate change. READ IT!!!
Just finished Slaughterhouse-Five. I enjoyed it a lot, though I personally prefer Sirens of Titan.
Quoteperks of being a wallflower...
My Friend made me read that last year. I really liked it. Especially the part where they drive through the tunnel and the radio goes out of tune.
QuoteJust finished Slaughterhouse-Five. I enjoyed it a lot, though I personally prefer Sirens of Titan.
I have Slaughterhouse-Five but haven't gotten myself to read it yet. Have you read Breakfast Of Champions?
I just finished Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle.
This book broke my heart. It really makes you think about how unwelcoming and harshly judgemental this world can be.
QuoteQuoteJust finished Slaughterhouse-Five. I enjoyed it a lot, though I personally prefer Sirens of Titan.
I have Slaughterhouse-Five but haven't gotten myself to read it yet. Have you read Breakfast Of Champions?
Both Slaughterhouse -Five and Champions are Great reads.
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Getting ready to Read About A Boy from Nick Hornby. I really enjoyed the movie against all willing attempts (I cannot stand Hugh Grant for some reason). I really enjoyed the movie.
Having been quite busy with school, concerts, finishing an album, and recording a band over the course of the last few weeks, I have lost track of anything I had been reading. In a couple weeks when I go on vacation, I intend to read The Dark Tower by Stephen King. I had promised myself that I wouldn't read it until I finished my band's EP and now that its finished, I haven't had time to even crack it open. It just sits there, mocking me. I'm eager to see what fate awaits the ka-tet as they near the end of their journey.
Thoroughly enjoyed Breakfast of Champions. It was only the third Vonnegut work I've read, and I'm falling madly in love with him. I'll be getting around to reading Cat's Cradle and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater shortly.
I've put Through the Looking-Glass and the Commitments in my bag, not sure which I'll start come tomorrow.
just picked up obama's dreams from my father...
also, Philip K. Dick's "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said". I like this dude.
QuotePhilip K. Dick's "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said". I like this dude.
Excellent choice Jenny! I've read quite a few of PKD's and that's my favourite.
i've only read 2 or 3 but i really loved do androids dream of electric sheep.
but everyone's telling me this one is the best.
i'm excited.
"The Kite Runner" What a winding road.......
I'm at the halfway point in John Adams - this book is just massive, it's a great read.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Its my summer reading for AP senior Lit. I'm actually really enjoying it.
Has anybody else read it?
Has anyone read Shakey the Neil Young biography? I'm assuming that some of you have cause of the amount of Neil fans on this board (the more the merrier). It took my a while to read cause it's so big but I loved every bit of it.
QuoteHas anyone read Cormac McCarthy's THE BORDER Trilogy? If so, what did ya'll think of it? No spoilers, though! I think that might be my next book, after World War Z...
I've also got John Adams sitting on my desk, waiting to be read, but I'm not sure I'm up to a 600 page biography right this second.
I read All The Pretty Horses and Cities On The Plain...I think those are two of the three. They're both good books, I'd definitely recommend them. If you like McCarthy, at some point you have to get into Blood Meridian. It's really a great piece of writing.
QuoteI probably won't be able to start getting into them for a couple more weeks, but I've got a few new ones that I'm excited to read:
The Enchantress of Florence - Salman Rushdie
Boonville - Robert Mailer Anderson
I think they're both going to be fun...I'll let y'all know!
Quoting myself...is that allowed? Just an update actually. Reading time's been pretty slim since I started my new job...
Boonville is a really good book. Fun, and FUNNY. I'd never heard of the author, but he's sharp, and a good story teller. If you like counter culture immersed fiction like Tom Robbins, try this one out. It's a quick, fun read.
Enchantress of Florence. I just started it this week, but it's awesome. Rushdie is one of my favorites. I was excited about this one just from the blurbs and reviews I'd read, and it hasn't dissapointed. Highly recommended.
Not sure what's next...
Just finished Rome Burning, the follow-up to Romanitas. Sort of like Fatherland, but with Romans. I liked it.
Has anyone here read Atlas Shrugged and would you recommend it? Recommendations of the greatest Hemingway novel? Best Vonnegut novel?
QuoteHas anyone here read Atlas Shrugged and would you recommend it? Recommendations of the greatest Hemingway novel? Best Vonnegut novel?
i LOVED fountainhead but only got 3/4 of the way through atlas shrugged--some people say i should have stuck w/it--seems like you tear through books pretty fast, though--i would recommend trying it.
for hemingway--i've only read for whom the bell tolls, the sun also rises, farewell to arms--vonnegut-i loved hocus pocus and slaughterhouse--i haven't read anything else
i finally got my copy of Klosterman's Killing Yourself to Live last night--i'm halfway through-couldn't put it down- just as good as sex, drugs and cocoa puffs (not as many lists, i think?)
parts i've loved so far:
analysis comparing the pot smokers/credence clearwater group to the coked up/interpol followers
the opening part (because i forgot klosterman was from around the same area i grew up) talking about ohio and midwestern girls in NYC (i relate to the overpriced haircuts lol)
going to the Greatwhite concert site where the people died and meeting those people, that was so touching--especially the analysis of concert goers v. these people who would frequent the Station
Oh, and where do ya'll buy used books?!
QuoteHas anyone here read Atlas Shrugged and would you recommend it? Recommendations of the greatest Hemingway novel? Best Vonnegut novel?
Vonnegut - I think Galapagos is less highly regarded than his better-known works, but I liked it a lot. It uses the same sort of time travel device as Slaughterhouse-Five, and adds some interesting speculation about human evolution in the future.
i think best vonnegut: breakfast of champions/cats cradle
I wrapped up God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater this afternoon and quite enjoyed it. Finished Cat's Cradle earlier this week and I think it's my favourite of the Vonnegut novels I've read so far.
I borrowed Tom Robbins' Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates from my friend's father, and am going to start that in mere moments. I read Jitterbug Perfume a few weeks ago and I thought it was a masterpiece, so I'm excited to delve into his other works.
For Vonnegut, I would go with Sirens of Titan. It's one of those books that you need to read multiple times to get the true meaning of, but it's really amazing once you take it all in. It's got elements of all his later books, but less jumbled.
I just finished reading John Adams... this book is just incredible - the man was beyond incredible. I'll blame it on the lack of sleep and turmoil at work and elsewhere, but I cried twice tonight while reading this book... the first whimper came when reading of John's grief with the loss of his wife (my greatest fear is facing the loneliness of outliving all of my friends, particularly my wife, or any of my children), and the real tears came upon reading John Adams' last words.
I didn't know anything about John Adams' death, and I didn't know his last words, so when I read this passage I was just reduced to tears. After 600 pages, much of it John's personal letters, you feel like you "know" the guy.
i finished Killing Yourself to Live; i love the last chapter on the KISS releases and the women in his life...a nice 3 day read...but it lost a little steam at the end.
one of my co-workers gave me "do they serve beer in hell" (Tucker Max) on friday---she was so appalled she couldn't get past chapter 2--i read the whole thing yesterday--it was completely offensive, repulsive, yet it was pretty funny. Anyone ever heard of him or that website? i just learned about him. oh it's not great literature--some of you probably know what i mean.
Quoteone of my co-workers gave me "do they serve beer in hell" (Tucker Max) on friday---she was so appalled she couldn't get past chapter 2--i read the whole thing yesterday--it was completely offensive, repulsive, yet it was pretty funny. Anyone ever heard of him or that website? i just learned about him. oh it's not great literature--some of you probably know what i mean.
Two people I work with (a guy and girl) were reading it at work a few weeks ago and they forced me read a few stories; I felt like a terrible person afterwards. :-/
QuoteQuoteone of my co-workers gave me "do they serve beer in hell" (Tucker Max) on friday---she was so appalled she couldn't get past chapter 2--i read the whole thing yesterday--it was completely offensive, repulsive, yet it was pretty funny. Anyone ever heard of him or that website? i just learned about him. oh it's not great literature--some of you probably know what i mean.
Two people I work with (a guy and girl) were reading it at work a few weeks ago and they forced me read a few stories; I felt like a terrible person afterwords. :-/
i know! i couldn't put it down, though. i was laughing out loud on the train and hoping the people next to me were NOT reading over my shoulder. he is very vile---so are the stories
QuoteI borrowed Tom Robbins' Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates from my friend's father, and am going to start that in mere moments. I read Jitterbug Perfume a few weeks ago and I thought it was a masterpiece, so I'm excited to delve into his other works.
I'm big fan of Robbins - his use of simile and metaphor is unbelievable, I find myself re-reading entire paragraphs to get it all. Fierce Invalids in outstanding!
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged. See you next year.
In the past 4 weeks I've read:
The Dark Tower (Dark Tower VII) by Stephen King
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Watchmen by Alan Moore
The ending of The Dark Tower made me want to re-read the series even more, so I'm about 1/3 of the way through the first book again.
(http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/5941/whoatethedamnpizzarollsvn9.jpg)
NRA Publication? Nice!
QuoteNRA Publication? Nice!
Yea, its a bit predictable.
(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x3/x15633.jpg)
Highly recommended...
as is this...
(http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_images/736/36390736.jpg)
Anything by Hamill, really. Both his fiction and non-fiction are excellent.
Has anyone ever read Requiem For A Dream?
Cat's Cradle. After that, Slaughterhouse-Five or Kerouac's On The Road.
Next up...
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
I Am Charlotte Simmons - Tom Wolfe
I foresee more time to read in my future :)
Just finished Helter Skelter. I can't listen to the White Album without getting freaked out now.
Currently reading The Boy Who Cried Freebird. It's pretty good.
"Said the shotgun to the head" by saul williams
"The Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot
i was thinking about picking up a klosterman book never read any of his stuff any suggestions?
Finishing up the Twilight series (the literary equivalent of a popcorn movie) and getting ready to start Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
I'm not sure if I ever noticed this thread before and I don't have time to read through it all, but I'll share a couple recent reads, all of which come with my highest recommendation.
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates: I urge you to read this before the movie comes out in December with DiCaprio and Winslet. I'm sure the movie will be great, but this book is a masterpiece. I hate the idea of listing favorites, but it's easily in my top five. Read it years ago and finally came back to it recently. Brilliant, brilliant stuff. Also check out Yates's collected short fiction.
Netherland - Joseph O'Neill: Story about a Dutch banker living alone in NYC after Sept. 11. It's not explicitly about Sept. 11, more about a lonely man struggling through a deteriorating marriage, but O'Neill uses the backdrop of 9/11 to evoke some very strong emotions. If you are from NYC, this novel captures so many of NYC's neighborhoods almost perfectly. Also, much of the book is about cricket, the sport.
On the Yard - Malcolm Braly: Written by a guy from Portland who was in and out of jail most of his life. If you consider yourself a fan of The Shawshank Redemption or other prison movies/fiction, check this out if you haven't already. Braly creates so many distinct and hilarious characters making for a world I enjoyed living in for the duration of the book. Takes place entirely in a prison.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz: Put this one off for a while, I guess skeptical of all the hype, but hot damn, it was great. Diaz's prose really surges and talks and yells and screams. Panoramic in scope, it deals with the progression of an entire family of Dominicans from the DR to NJ and back to the DR. I love the way this book unfolds chronologically.
Tobias Wolff - Do yourself a favor and read any and all short stories by Wolff, a true master, and one of my favorite writers. He just released a book of New and Selected Fiction called Our Story Begins, which serves as a kind of greatest hits and is worth checking out for the new stories, but don't deprive yourself. Get all three of his earlier collections. My favorite is The Night In Question, but they are all great.
Selected Poems 1945-2005 - Robert Creeley: This guy taught at my school and died before I got a chance to take a seminar with him or even just talk to him. Didn't really know of him at the time, but once I got into his stuff I really regretted never having gone to his office for a chat or something. Sigh. Anyway, he's now one of my favorite poets.
Quote
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz: Put this one off for a while, I guess skeptical of all the hype, but hot damn, it was great. Diaz's prose really surges and talks and yells and screams. Panoramic in scope, it deals with the progression of an entire family of Dominicans from the DR to NJ and back to the DR. I love the way this book unfolds chronologically.
I've got this one at home waiting to be read. It keeps getting pushed to the back of the line for some reason...I've been excited to get to it, it's just that other things keep grabbing my attention.
Thanks for all the recommendations though!
QuoteQuote
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz: Put this one off for a while, I guess skeptical of all the hype, but hot damn, it was great. Diaz's prose really surges and talks and yells and screams. Panoramic in scope, it deals with the progression of an entire family of Dominicans from the DR to NJ and back to the DR. I love the way this book unfolds chronologically.
I've got this one at home waiting to be read. It keeps getting pushed to the back of the line for some reason...I've been excited to get to it, it's just that other things keep grabbing my attention.
Thanks for all the recommendations though!
bbill,
same thing with me. i had a copy and just kept putting it off for stuff i wanted to read just a little more. i almost had to force myself to start it, but i'm really glad i did. definitely give it a shot as soon as you have the time.
Quotei was thinking about picking up a klosterman book never read any of his stuff any suggestions?
I would start with either Killing Yourself to Live, or Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs.
Been reading tonnes lately. Lots of Vonnegut. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins was very lengthy and very enjoyable. I still think Jitterbug Perfume is the best thing I've read in a long time. Read a great book about Gram Parsons - Twenty Thousand Roads. Extremely thorough, but so sad.
Just wrapping up James Joyce's Dubliners and am about to start Catch-22.
Went to the used bookstore and came home with The Portrait of Dorian Gray and Heart of Darkness, so that was great.
I've got another 300 pages left of Atlas Shrugged, then I'll move onto something else on my wait-list. I still want to read Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, but I might be in the mood for something else by then.
Finished Atlas Shrugged on Friday. Great book, and the economics and politics felt appropriate for these times. 1,065 pages, though, yikes! Later that evening, I went out to Barnes & Noble to pick up For Whom The Bell Tolls. The paperback was an insane $15!
As I was roaming around, though, I found they had a hard-bound Hemingway Collection book in their bargain area with The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom The Bell Tolls, and The Old Man And The Sea... for only $12! The paperback was a rip off, but this hard bound collection is an awesome deal. If any of ya'll are interested, you can pick this up on their website. [link=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Ernest-Hemingway/Ernest-Hemingway/e/9780760796627/?itm=1]Hemingway Collection[/link]...
So, now I'm reading The Sun Also Rises. It's a good book, but it's going to be rather short. I've only got another 20 pages before I'm through with it.
(http://www.123img.net/PicDate/0/0/8/4/fullsize/5c0bbd6f0a2dcc23d2d3oN8EFBJeT60D.jpg)
Quote
Just wrapping up James Joyce's Dubliners and am about to start Catch-22.
Went to the used bookstore and came home with The Portrait of Dorian Gray and Heart of Darkness, so that was great.
I analysed
Dubliners at school in English Lit, so it was pretty much ruined forever.
I read
Catch 22 when I was 14, and it made a real impression on me. It captures the madness of war, and those who manage it, perfectly.
Heart of Darkness is one of my all-time favourites. Short, but good - Conrad writes beautiful dense prose.
I'm still reading
The Siege of Krishnapur. Don't have much time for anything other than work and sleep at the moment. :(
I just finished an excellent one by Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch--Religion of Peace? Why Christianity is and Islam Isn't. I recommend everyone read this one.
I'm reading 'Elephant' a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver.
Excellent so far. I think it's some of the last stuff he wrote before he died in 1988.
Just finished Farewell to Arms. Could have skipped the last chapter.
I'm not reading anything intellectually stimulating. I'm close to finished the Twilight series. I have greatly enjoyed it. I like to read to be entertained, and this has entertained the hell out of me.
Starting tomorrow, For Whom The Bell Tolls. I've never read it, so I'm excited to start rolling.
QuoteStarting tomorrow, For Whom The Bell Tolls. I've never read it, so I'm excited to start rolling.
think you'll like it better than AFTA :)
Don't get me wrong, it was a great, exhilarating book... except for the last chapter.
QuoteDon't get me wrong, it was a great, exhilarating book... except for the last chapter.
I knew that was coming for a good portion of the novel and dreaded finally reading it. Still love the entire thing, last chapter included.
'A New Earth' - Eckhart Tolle
'Siddhartha' - Hermann Hesse
'The Metamorphosis and other stories' - Franz Kafka
'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' - Friedrich Nietzsche
Quote'A New Earth' - Eckhart Tolle
bought it tonight
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
The Waste Lands by Stephen King
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Just picked up A Dull Roar: What I Did On My Summer Deracination 2006 by Henry Rollins.
QuoteQuote'A New Earth' - Eckhart Tolle
bought it tonight
let me know what you think...have you read 'The Power of Now'?
About a hundred pages into Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Completely enraptured by it. I started reading it at work (Border's) the other day even though we're "not allowed to" read behind the counter. Somehow made my way fifty pages in by the end of work today and realized I pretty much needed to go ahead and buy it, because I was starting to dog-ear pages with things I wanted to go back and take a second look at later after I've finished it.
Really loving it. Thinking it might not be as hard as I thought to read the things I want to while I'm finishing up my English major. Screw school, I'm just going to read what I want to and let the details sort themselves out. Plus, there's a good chance this one will come into play in a course next semester.
Anyone else read this one? Anyone else catch the See Rock City toward the beginning and know exactly which building with ten foot letters he was talking about just north of Chattanooga as you're driving down into the city?
I'm reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers right now and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite book.
Just finished The Road. What a desolate and beautiful book.
QuoteJust finished The Road. What a desolate and beautiful book.
Perfect description of an absolute treasure.
I sat down at page 109 with the intention of reading a little before doing homework and finished it about two hours later.
I checked someone out at Border's yesterday and they saw I was reading it and told me "God, that book is fucked up." I was expecting something seriously hideous to happen, but it never did. Not that they don't run into some god-awful trouble and not that it isn't absolutely flooring at times, but I think that's completely the wrong way to describe the book to somebody. I think I'll stick with "desolate and beautiful".
The end made me cry. I'm okay with any media that does that to me, and I can't not call it beautiful because of that.
QuoteQuoteJust finished The Road. What a desolate and beautiful book.
Perfect description of an absolute treasure.
I've read a TON of books this year, but my thoughts keep going back to
The Road. We really need a
spoiler friendly thread to discuss the book in detail.
I just finished the true horror story of Dave Pelzer A Child Called It. At times both infuriating and sickening simultaneously. I am really surprised this man's story was never made into a movie. His progress from a horrid childhood is inspiring to say the least.
I read the book "The Swarm" (Frank Schätzing) about a month ago and it was the one of the best books I've ever read. If you're interested in environment, geography, natural disasters and science you should really check it out!
Right now I'm reading "Lautlos" (Frank Schätzing) and "Brave New World" (Huxley). I'm loving both especially BNW!
Has anyone of you ever read something by Jules Vernes? Anything to recommend?
Watching my roommates two Australian Shepards for a day had its advantages. They returned with a gift. A poetry collection book from a garage sale; circa 1950. It's all big timers but I'm very sad to say no Frost. Seriously?
Anyway, I was pleased that this was in there:
You'll Love Me Yet
You'll love me yet!-and I can tarry
Your love's protracted growing:
June rear'd that bunch of flowers you carry,
From seeds of April's sowing.
I plant a heartful now: some seed
At least is sure to strike,
And yield-what you'll not pluck indeed,
Not love, but, may be, like. :)
You'll look at least on love's remains,
A grave's one violet:
Your look?- that pays a thousand pains.
What's death? You'll love me yet!
QuoteQuoteQuoteJust finished The Road. What a desolate and beautiful book.
Perfect description of an absolute treasure.
I've read a TON of books this year, but my thoughts keep going back to The Road. We really need a spoiler friendly thread to discuss the book in detail.
Same here I never wanted that one to end.
Just discovered the book thread. Dangerous for this worm...
I recently finished Gatsby for class. First time since high school and I loved it all over again.
I want to see The Road when it comes out, but I try so hard to read books before the movie. I need to get on that.
Re-reading Good Vibrations. It's a really cool book about this guy and his wife who take their Harley's across America.
I'm reading Heart of Darkness- I really enjoy it but am too busy with school work to really take time to read it. I wish I tried harder in High School- I wish I read all those books they call "Classics" I guess I've got some making up to do...
Hèy short wuestion.
I'm thinking about buying and reading Heart of Darkness. Is the language rather difficult to understand?
The last English books I read were MacBeth, brave New World and Animal Farm.
QuoteAnimal Farm.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ubMQkPzc0Fs
QuoteHèy short wuestion.
I'm thinking about buying and reading Heart of Darkness. Is the language rather difficult to understand?
The last English books I read were MacBeth, brave New World and Animal Farm.
It's been a few years, but if I remember right,
Heart Of Darkness might have been a tad choppy at certain times in terms of the language... but it's an excellent book and I definitely recommend it to all.
i read heart of darkness not to long ago after watching apocalypse now and it was interesting how that movie could have came from the story
Just finished Time's Arrow by Martin Amis. Weird as hell, and tough toward the end, emotionally, but really jarring and good. It follows a guy through life backwards, his sins become his redemption. It's odd, and completely screws with your perception of time, especially right after you put it down after reading for a while. Try listening to music right afterward, too. Yikes.
closing in on the end of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest
this book has taken me forever, but it's been worth it. great author who we lost too soon.
i've been breaking up my reading of Wallace with Donald Barthelme's short stories, which I also highly recommend. pick up 40 Stories or 60 Stories. both are great
raise the roof beams high, carpenters (jd salinger)
and some raymond carver here and there. what a man.
QuoteJust finished Time's Arrow by Martin Amis. Weird as hell, and tough toward the end, emotionally, but really jarring and good. It follows a guy through life backwards, his sins become his redemption. It's odd, and completely screws with your perception of time, especially right after you put it down after reading for a while. Try listening to music right afterward, too. Yikes.
It's a good read, Tom - did my head in proper when it came out. I really like Amis. He's an annoying little shit, but he can write. His dad wasn't too shabby either...
I've just started The Kite Runner. I think I'm going to like it a lot, if the first 20 pages are anything to go by.
I got the Eric Clapton autobiography for xmas and finished it. It's pretty good and now i need to go out and buy some Delaney and Bonnie and figure out who all these blues artists are (sp?)
Also, i got The Road but i gotta tell you, i was all pumped to read it after reading this thread, but i'm on page 50 or so and there's nothing going on so far??? i hope it gets better ;-) We ate a can of spinach. We are freezing. I am trying to keep us dry.
Right now i'm trying to finish SkyDog (Duane Allman story).
Delaney passed away a couple of weeks ago. :'(
Just finished "The Other Hollywood, the Oral History of the Porn Industry.
Now reading "Digital 3D Design the use of 3D Applications in Digital Graphic Design.
QuoteJust finished "The Other Hollywood, the Oral History of the Porn Industry.
Now reading "Digital 3D Design the use of 3D Applications in Digital Graphic Design.
What kind of design are you into? ;)
Same kinda stuff I do - let me know how that book goes - how useful you find it.
anyone ever read any richard brautigan?
Sure haven't, Jenny.
I'm currently making my way through Salinger's Franny and Zooey again. I love this book, and the way Salinger just lays into English departments and, well, writers in general. Not to mention the beautiful spirituality of it. And Zooey's narcissism. Really a perfect book. About halfway through it right now. We'll see where I wake up with it opened to in the morning.
Quoteraise the roof beams high, carpenters (jd salinger)
and some raymond carver here and there. what a man.
My ex-in laws had that Salinger quote made in to a sign which they hung above the entrance to our reception (Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Like Ares comes the bridegroom, taller far than a tall man.).
Carver is one of my favorites. Thanks for inspiring me to pick him up again. :)
QuoteAlso, i got The Road but i gotta tell you, i was all pumped to read it after reading this thread, but i'm on page 50 or so and there's nothing going on so far??? i hope it gets better ;-) We ate a can of spinach. We are freezing. I am trying to keep us dry.
a dear (female) friend of mine did not like 'the road' at all. i told her she's a lunatic. but maybe it's just a woman thing, like say, not caring for nicole atkins?
;) ;D 8-)
just about to finish Ball Four by Jim Bouton its about the exploits of some of our old baseball favorites
i dont know if i should take this serious or the dude was just extremely full of himself anyway its a really fun read had me laughing out loud on many occasions
I just bought a book called The Road Within. It's a whole bunch of short stories about travel. Pretty cool so far.
QuoteQuoteAlso, i got The Road but i gotta tell you, i was all pumped to read it after reading this thread, but i'm on page 50 or so and there's nothing going on so far??? i hope it gets better ;-) We ate a can of spinach. We are freezing. I am trying to keep us dry.
a dear (female) friend of mine did not like 'the road' at all. i told her she's a lunatic. but maybe it's just a woman thing, like say, not caring for nicole atkins?
;) ;D 8-)
perhaps you're right...i will finish the damn thing but was just sayin...as for nicole-i'm sure she's a nice girl but she never stood a chance on this forum ;-)
I've got another 200 pages or so left to read in War And Peace!
I'm reading What is the What right now. Really excellent read- very emotional
Just finished reading 'Kill Your Friends' by John Niven. It's a deeply scathing look at the music industry from the point of view of an A&R exec written in the spirit of 'Fight Club'...very cynical, but very darkly humourous as well.
Loved it!
i can't put 'shakey' down at all and i'm just starting the chapter on 'tonight's the night'! i really should put it down though, school's pace is really starting to pick up.
Finished War And Peace tonight... not bad at all.
QuoteQuoteQuote
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz: Put this one off for a while, I guess skeptical of all the hype, but hot damn, it was great. Diaz's prose really surges and talks and yells and screams. Panoramic in scope, it deals with the progression of an entire family of Dominicans from the DR to NJ and back to the DR. I love the way this book unfolds chronologically.
I've got this one at home waiting to be read. It keeps getting pushed to the back of the line for some reason...I've been excited to get to it, it's just that other things keep grabbing my attention.
Thanks for all the recommendations though!
bbill,
same thing with me. i had a copy and just kept putting it off for stuff i wanted to read just a little more. i almost had to force myself to start it, but i'm really glad i did. definitely give it a shot as soon as you have the time.
I finally got into this one last week, am about 2/3 through, and it is spectacular. Diaz just has a cool, smart style, and I hope we see a lot more writing from him...I'd like to find his short story collection, which (I think) is his only other published book.
richard brautigan's "in watermelon sugar"
QuoteFinished War And Peace tonight... not bad at all.
I love Tolstoy, read Anna Karenina last month, fascinating book.
Right now I'm kinda reading 3 books at a time: I got myself a fancy edition of "Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck in english, "The book of disquiet" by Pessoa in german (this is more like once or twice a day I read a few pages randomly) and "Portrait of an artist as a young man" by Joyce.
Is anyone here really into reading? Favourite books, writers, tell me everything!
I wanted to open a thread but I could already see the first few answers linking me to another thread or telling me to use the search function.
Anna Karenina is one of favorite books. It's been awhile since I read it, but I remember one chapter specifically as being one of the best things I've ever read. It's where Levin is out working with his men in the fields over the course of a day, harvesting wheat. It's about his connection to the land and his respect for a day of labor. Levin's the man.
Bumbeli - take a look through the thread, and I'm sure you'll get some great recommendations on what to read next!
QuoteAnna Karenina is one of favorite books. It's been awhile since I read it, but I remember one chapter specifically as being one of the best things I've ever read. It's where Levin is out working with his men in the fields over the course of a day, harvesting wheat. It's about his connection to the land and his respect for a day of labor. Levin's the man.
Bumbeli - take a look through the thread, and I'm sure you'll get some great recommendations on what to read next!
i know exactly what you're talking about bbill...i LOVED that book ....but i have had trouble w/War and Peace. i've started it about 5 times over the years and i find it tedious to get thru the first 50 pages;
grapes of wrath--reminds me of Woody Guthrie's Dust Bowl Ballads i've been listening to. i love the song where he says the meat is sliced so thin you can read the newspaper thru it. (paraphrasing) LOVED that book
i have one chapter left in Sky Dog (Duane Allman bio) School is kicking my a** so that chapter could take me a few months.
QuoteAnna Karenina is one of favorite books. It's been awhile since I read it, but I remember one chapter specifically as being one of the best things I've ever read. It's where Levin is out working with his men in the fields over the course of a day, harvesting wheat. It's about his connection to the land and his respect for a day of labor. Levin's the man.
Bumbeli - take a look through the thread, and I'm sure you'll get some great recommendations on what to read next!
Yeah, Levin is great. I felt so sorry for him in the beginning, where Kitty doesn't want to marry him.
And I'm not really looking for books to read, I probably go to the book store more often than I go to buy food, so I got a huge pile of books to read or reread, but I really enjoy talking about books so I thought I'd bring some life in this thread
I'm some 40 chapters into Moby Dick and I'm loving it. Oddly enough, I don't feel the urge to read it at every waking moment like other books I've loved reading.
I juggle many books at once. Currently:
The Bell Jar
Gwen John: A Painter's Life
Zen Guitar
Smile of the Buddha
Siddhartha
Leaves of Grass
Heart of Darkness (re-reading)
The Art Spirit
.......
and there are about three more library books on Kara Walker and Emily Carr that I'm almost ready to dive into.
QuoteI juggle many books at once. Currently:
The Bell Jar
Gwen John: A Painter's Life
Zen Guitar
Smile of the Buddha
Siddhartha
Leaves of Grass
Heart of Darkness (re-reading)
The Art Spirit
.......
and there are about three more library books on Kara Walker and Emily Carr that I'm almost ready to dive into.
I read The Bell Jar some a few weeks back, it's quite good
Same for Heart of Darkness and Leaves of Grass, though I'm not really into poems that much (only applies to Leaves of Grass here).
Are you reading Siddharta by Hermann Hesse?
siddhartha's pretty güd
I'm reading Conversations with Tom Petty.
I love it so far.
QuoteQuote
I read The Bell Jar some a few weeks back, it's quite good
Same for Heart of Darkness and Leaves of Grass, though I'm not really into poems that much (only applies to Leaves of Grass here).
Are you reading Siddharta by Hermann Hesse?
yes, by herman hesse.
i just now finished the bell jar--wonderful! Here's one of my favorite lines: "People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing poems people would remember and repeat to themselves when they were unhappy or sick and couldn't sleep."
and one more: "There ought...to be a ritual for being born twice--patched, retreaded and approved for the road..."
I found Siddharta to be very boring, I decided not to read any other work by Hesse after that one.
Anyone read "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"? I've read about 120 pages and I really like it so far. Generally, Joyce is a pretty great writer, Ulysses is very good too.
i finished Twilight in one sitting last night--i was only going to start it but it's addictive. i thought it was going to be similar to the anne rice books but not as adult i guess. can't wait to read the other ones...
Quotei finished Twilight in one sitting last night--i was only going to start it but it's addictive. i thought it was going to be similar to the anne rice books but not as adult i guess. can't wait to read the other ones...
HA! yes it's an easy read, and strangly addicting. :-[ One of my girlyfriends at works is hopelessly addicted.
Quotei finished Twilight in one sitting last night--i was only going to start it but it's addictive. i thought it was going to be similar to the anne rice books but not as adult i guess. can't wait to read the other ones...
I bought a copy for $5 at slave-mart--I mean, wal-mart and it really is a very easy, quick read. The theme of it is really interesting but I HATED and could not stand stephanie meyer's writing. I may have actually genuinely enjoyed the book if the writing was half decent. I wasn't expecting Carson McCullers, but I wasn't expecting it to be that bad. But I think I'll go ahead and read the second ;)
QuoteQuotei finished Twilight in one sitting last night--i was only going to start it but it's addictive. i thought it was going to be similar to the anne rice books but not as adult i guess. can't wait to read the other ones...
I bought a copy for $5 at slave-mart--I mean, wal-mart and it really is a very easy, quick read. The theme of it is really interesting but I HATED and could not stand stephanie meyer's writing. I may have actually genuinely enjoyed the book if the writing was half decent. I wasn't expecting Carson McCullers, but I wasn't expecting it to be that bad. But I think I'll go ahead and read the second ;)
i agree. it wasn't great literature and the style was geared towards 12 year olds..i guess it was 5 hour study break i needed or something...i was annoyed because i had that creepy actor w/the big forehead in my head the whole time (robert pattison or something)?
Recently finished up...
Shiloh: A Novel by Shelby Foote and Anthem by Ayn Rand
...now reading Night by Elie Wiesel and Firearms of the Confederacy by Fuller and Steuart
...and coming soon in the mail, The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote and Three Months In The Southern States by Arthur Fremantle.
Went to my favourite used bookstore today for the first time in nearly four months. Came home with these:
Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote (I've been wanting this for a long time.)
The Favorite Game by Leonard Cohen
Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
I love used books (and cute cashiers).
Finished Night and Animal Farm.
Now reading Firearms of the Confederacy by Fuller and Steuart and Three Months In The Southern States by Sir Arthur Fremantle.
QuoteQuotei finished Twilight in one sitting last night--i was only going to start it but it's addictive. i thought it was going to be similar to the anne rice books but not as adult i guess. can't wait to read the other ones...
I bought a copy for $5 at slave-mart--I mean, wal-mart and it really is a very easy, quick read. The theme of it is really interesting but I HATED and could not stand stephanie meyer's writing. I may have actually genuinely enjoyed the book if the writing was half decent. I wasn't expecting Carson McCullers, but I wasn't expecting it to be that bad. But I think I'll go ahead and read the second ;)
i just finished "New Moon" the second one....now not only vampires, but werewolves!! i have such a crush the vampire and the werewolf (Jacob), maybe also JJ and all hairy men? weird.
Every Dylan fan here has GOT to read "Million Dollar Bash", about the Basement Tapes. It also goes into a grand discussion on the infamous motorcycle crash of 1966 before discussing the making of the Basement Tapes. Well written and extremely interesting/thorough!
QuoteQuoteQuotei finished Twilight in one sitting last night--i was only going to start it but it's addictive. i thought it was going to be similar to the anne rice books but not as adult i guess. can't wait to read the other ones...
I bought a copy for $5 at slave-mart--I mean, wal-mart and it really is a very easy, quick read. The theme of it is really interesting but I HATED and could not stand stephanie meyer's writing. I may have actually genuinely enjoyed the book if the writing was half decent. I wasn't expecting Carson McCullers, but I wasn't expecting it to be that bad. But I think I'll go ahead and read the second ;)
i just finished "New Moon" the second one....now not only vampires, but werewolves!! i have such a crush the vampire and the werewolf (Jacob), maybe also JJ and all hairy men? weird.
Ha!
I recently found out about the 33 1/3 series. I just finished "Exile On Main Street" #18. I also read "Gilded Palace of Sin" #61. "Village Green Preservation Society" #4 is next on my list.
Now reading "Faith And Fear In Flushing".... all about the trials that come with being a Mets fan! Nice way to prepare for the new season.
finished 'love is a mix tape'
now starting 'tomcat in love' by Tim O'Brien....anyone else like him?
just started love is a mixtape hehe for a research paper. the semiotics of the mixtape ah!!!!
Currently working on and loving this one:
(http://www.audiolibra.com/images/lg_sn7654.jpg)
Quotejust started love is a mixtape hehe for a research paper. the semiotics of the mixtape ah!!!!
I read that about a year ago. It's pretty cool.
Just finished "Columbine". Was a fascinating read. It was amazing to learn how much the media got wrong...
Just finished 33/1/3- Volume #4- The Village Green Preservation Society. About to start X-Ray by Ray Davies. Dave Davies has a book out that I want to track down. Should be interesting to see how they both look back on the Kinks years.
8-)
H. L. Hamburger, M. E. Grimshaw, Linear transformations in $n$-dimensional vector space. An introduction to the theory of Hilbert space.
Paul Halmos Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces
Nabokov only the last few days. Already read Maschenka, Lolita and Laughter in the Dark and I am currently reading Pnin (very entertaining). If I knew those books were that great, I would have read them earlier.
Just went through David Benioff's City of Thieves and Orwell's 1984 last week. Working on Everything Is Illuminated right now. About 130 pages and loving it. They had to necessarily discard so much of Safran's beautiful back story for the movie, and I'm loving the book all the more for being able to discover it.
Still haven't finished Guitar: An American History. I'm about 80 pages shy of the end, but just kind of got tired of the author's name-dropping history of rock and roll. Not that he's rubbed elbows with too much greatness, but just that there are so damn many names throughout that he constantly refers to. I suppose that's what a history is, in some regards, but it's gotten to the point where it's somehow feeling self-important, as though he's done something great in this compilation of stories of rock and roll and the electric guitar. What I really want to know about is the building of his instrument, but he's not taken quite so much stock in that aspect of the book, leaving it to be more of a mystery than I would have hoped.
After Everything Is Illuminated, I'm a little back and forth about whether or not to re-tackle Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine for the first time since middle school (it left me misty eyed several times back then, and I can't wait to discover all that I missed an understanding of in my adolescence) or to go ahead and read Salinger's Seymour, and Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters!. I went through Franny and Zooey for the second time this fall and loved it all the more and can't wait to delve more into those characters. I'm thinking I might go for Dandelion Wine first. But those are definitely my next two.
Sorry for the essay about my book reading.
I haven't read, like, ANYTHING for several months...been pretty busy with stuff, but a couple nights ago I started re-reading Tales Of The City by Armistead Maupin. Really light, really fun book. It's a perfect little snapshot of 70s San Francisco. Such a friendly, knowing little book...I love it. :)
I started reading the Communist Manifesto, I put it down after ten pages.
QuoteI started reading the Communist Manifesto, I put it down after ten pages.
You are not going to regret this
QuoteQuoteI started reading the Communist Manifesto, I put it down after ten pages.
You are not going to regret this
Have you read it in it's entirety? It wasn't so much the theory's just the style it was written in.
I read it a few years back when I was preparing for my highschool exams. I never really liked the theories of Marx and Engels, and as you said, the style is rather annoying. I actually read it in german, and I am assuming you read it in english, so I don't know how good the translations are, but sometimes it doesn't really seem logical to me, and, most of all, I never really liked the idea of reducing it all to the class struggle.
Glad I'm not the only one, Bumbeli. On a related note, I may go back and read Atlas Shrugged, again. Awesome book. For the time being, though, I'm less than a third way through Shelby Foote's three volume Civil War Narrative. Very good stuff, so far.
QuoteGlad I'm not the only one, Bumbeli. On a related note, I may go back and read Atlas Shrugged, again. Awesome book. For the time being, though, I'm less than a third way through Shelby Foote's three volume Civil War Narrative. Very good stuff, so far.
I read about 400 pages of Atlas Shrugged. I really dug it, but I left it in my car one hot day and the binding glue melted and all the pages fell out. There was no way I was trying to put those fuckers in order!
QuoteQuoteGlad I'm not the only one, Bumbeli. On a related note, I may go back and read Atlas Shrugged, again. Awesome book. For the time being, though, I'm less than a third way through Shelby Foote's three volume Civil War Narrative. Very good stuff, so far.
I read about 400 pages of Atlas Shrugged. I really dug it, but I left it in my car one hot day and the binding glue melted and all the pages fell out. There was no way I was trying to put those fuckers in order!
Leon,you know you cant read!
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r72/TowHo459/Haveyouseenmybaseball.jpg)
QuoteQuoteQuoteGlad I'm not the only one, Bumbeli. On a related note, I may go back and read Atlas Shrugged, again. Awesome book. For the time being, though, I'm less than a third way through Shelby Foote's three volume Civil War Narrative. Very good stuff, so far.
I read about 400 pages of Atlas Shrugged. I really dug it, but I left it in my car one hot day and the binding glue melted and all the pages fell out. There was no way I was trying to put those fuckers in order!
Leon,you know you cant read!
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r72/TowHo459/Haveyouseenmybaseball.jpg)
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Have you seen my baseball?
FRANKS AND BEANS!
Does it make me shallow that I don't resonate well with tough endings?
Not disappointed with Everything Is Illuminated, but just sort of...I don't know how to receive it. It was a beautiful book, but it was missing an aspect that would have made it one of my favorites. It was beautifully written, but just didn't speak to me the way I was hoping. Maybe I need to give it more than 30 minutes on a 90% exhausted brain to fully sink in, but I think I was hoping for something that wasn't quite there.
On to Dandelion Wine now. I need Bradbury's amber-gilded nostalgia after a book like this.
Even though I likely won't finish Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative anytime soon, can anyone refer me to a great William Faulkner book?
If you were going for his best one, you should probably be getting "The Sound and the Fury", but for starters I'd get "Light in August" or "As I lay dying", both are far more accessible in my opinion. Sound and Fury was a pretty tough one to read for me, because english is not my first language and is very complex in it's structure.
As I lay dying, while it is an excellent book, doesn't match Sound and Fury in various aspects, but I found it easier to read (also read it in english)
I read Light in August in german, which is probably the reason I found this one the easiest to read. I did enjoy it a lot, but I'd still prefer the other 2 ones.
Imho, Faulkner peaked at "The Sound and the Fury", but I can only judge upon those three books I've read.
wow, i never realized how the twilight series can serve as an alternative to crack! i went from skeptic to devotee (or addict). next, I'll have to read charlaine harris's southern vampire series.
Quotewow, i never realized how the twilight series can serve as an alternative to crack! i went from skeptic to devotee (or addict). next, I'll have to read charlaine harris's southern vampire series.
i agree completely.
Everyone I know who has read those books, myself included, feels that way. Too bad the movie was horrible.
I also read The Host which was pretty good as well.
One of those books that's been sitting around for a couple of years that I finally picked up; wish I'd picked it up a while back.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71NKG2WX6EL.gif)
Seriously.
Every chapter in this has given me a lump in my throat. Bradbury writes from such a beautiful place...
(http://www.musowls.org/library/images/dwbradbury.jpg)
Just came across this :o
(http://austenprose.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/pride_prejudice_zombies1w.jpg)
http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240801018&sr=1-1
I don't read enough anymore. I ashamed but can't kick myself back into good habits...
Zombies. Awesome.
i have a hard time reading Tom Robbins but i know everyone loves him. right now trying to plow through jitterbug perfume, it's probably just me, but it's tedious. (although funny at times). what is the draw w/him?
Quotei have a hard time reading Tom Robbins but i know everyone loves him. right now trying to plow through jitterbug perfume, it's probably just me, but it's tedious. (although funny at times). what is the draw w/him?
I can't place what drew me to that novel, but it absolutely floored me.
"I may be mad, but I prefer the shit of this world to whatever sweet ambrosias the next might offer."
Quotei have a hard time reading Tom Robbins but i know everyone loves him. right now trying to plow through jitterbug perfume, it's probably just me, but it's tedious. (although funny at times). what is the draw w/him?
I started Villa Incognito the other day at work and really enjoyed it as far as I got, which was probably about 20 pages-ish? Next paycheck I'll probably pick it up and finish it, or maybe just make it my project book for break time.
I can see how his writing style would get tedious, though, but his narrative style really is peculiar and incredible. I love how factually and non-fantastical he presents everything about Tanuki, even though it's one of the more out-there stories I've read recently.
I'd like to know how yours ends up. My boss absolutely loves the guy, so I figured he must be at least halfway decent?
ROLAND BARTHES' IMAGE MUSIC TEXT
Is that a Sparks picture you're rocking Jenny?
oh. yes.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hSldOricDE[/media]
Steve Martin - Born Standing Up
Nice! Here's one of my favourites from the Mael brothers:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeqPmPKcHXA[/media]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeqPmPKcHXA
Hi Face!
My first and only exposure to Sparks was in their role as "fairground band" in the 1977 action thriller Rollercoaster that we saw at the theater when it came out; until now...
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZcXMahEU9s&feature=related[/media]
"Tom," said Douglas, "just promise me one thing, okay?"
"It's a promise. What?"
"You may be my brother and maybe I hate you sometimes, but stick around, all right?"
"You mean you'll me follow you and the older guys when you go on hikes?"
"Well...sure...even that. What I mean is, don't go away, huh? Don't let any cars run over you or fall off a cliff."
"I should say not! Whatta you think I am, anyway?"
"'Cause if worst comes to worst, and both of us are real old—say forty or forty-five some day—we can own a gold mine out West and sit there smoking corn silk and growing beards."
"Growing beards! Boy!"
"Like I say, you stick around and don't let nothing happen."
"You can depend on me," said Tom.
"It's not you I worry about," said Douglas. "It's the way God runs the world."
Tom thought about this for a moment.
"He's all right, Doug," said Tom. "He tries."
I enjoyed that, Tom. Hey, maybe we should quote the books we're reading more often? Dunno if anyone wants to hear about the Civil War, though. :-X
QuoteI enjoyed that, Tom. Hey, maybe we should quote the books we're reading more often? Dunno if anyone wants to hear about the Civil War, though. :-X
Just find something that hits you and post away, my friend. Even if I'm the only one, I'll comment back. Dig?
QuoteHi Face!
My first and only exposure to Sparks was in their role as "fairground band" in the 1977 action thriller Rollercoaster that we saw at the theater when it came out; until now...
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZcXMahEU9s&feature=related[/media]
they did that after kiss turned it down!
my favorite song is "amateur hour" and "funny face" (the video is awesome) but youtube took all the videos down due to copyright issues. jerks.
check it.
QuoteOne of those books that's been sitting around for a couple of years that I finally picked up; wish I'd picked it up a while back.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71NKG2WX6EL.gif)
If you like this you might like "Man and His Symbols" Carl Jung
Norman Mailer - The Deer Park
Just started this one last night...seems pretty good. Most of the characters so far are pretty horrible people...alcoholics, adulterers and pimps...should be a good time!!!
One of my favourite things ever: http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/60460/detail/
Southerners in the United States put figures of helpful little black men on the lawn, cast in iron, and we in the North do the same with serene deer. We ask for roses on the wallpaper, Renoir above the sofa, and John Denver on the stereo. Then the aggression escapes from the bag and attacks everyone.
(http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/product/400/000/000/000/000/130/661/400000000000000130661_s4.jpg)
Just read "White Nights" again, awesome as usual, and planning on rereading "In Search of lost Time" sometime soon, looking forward to that. Also read Hemingway's "For whom the Bell tolls" last friday, not very surprisingly an excellent book.
€: wrong booktitle :(
Quotefinished 'love is a mix tape'
now starting 'tomcat in love' by Tim O'Brien....anyone else like him?
I only read The Things They Carried and I thought it was brilliant!
did you like love is a mixtape?
i thought sheffield was so narcissistic...
Quotedid you like love is a mixtape?
i thought sheffield was so narcissistic...
I loved it when he was talking music. Other than that, not so much. Oh, and when he talked about relaxing while washing dishes, I liked that part.
My favourite line: "The songs were all either fast or sad, because all songs should be fast or sad. Some of the fast ones were sad, too."
What a brilliant man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNuc3sxzlyQ
The other day I finished up the first volume of Shelby Foote's Civil War: A Narrative. Amazing, amazing work - definitely a must read for Civil War buffs.
Since each volume is around 1,000 pages, I'm taking a break to read No Country For Old Men. Picked up a used hard cover for $3, and it's awesome so far.
(http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/14590000/14592608.JPG)
Excerpt:
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. I don't know what them eyes was the windows to and I guess I'd as soon not know. But there is another view of the world out there and other eyes to see it and that's where this is goin. It has done brought me to a place in my life I would not of thought I'd of come to. Somewhere out there is a true and living prophet of destruction and I don't want to confront him. I know he's real. I have seen his work. I walked in front of those eyes once. I wont do it again. I wont push my chips forward and stand up and go out to meet him. It aint just bein older. I wish that it was. I cant say that it's even what you are willin to do. Because I always knew that you had to be willin to die to even do this job. That was always true. Not to sound glorious about it or nothin but you do. If you aint they'll know it. They'll see it in a heartbeat. I think it is more like what you are willin to become. And I think a man would have to put his soul at hazard. And I wont do that. I think now that maybe I never would.
Brad, if you enjoy NCFOM, you must check out Blood Meridian. I think it would be right up your alley.
I don't read many "modern" works, but The Road is an absolute masterpiece. I should pick up some more Cormac asap.
QuoteBrad, if you enjoy NCFOM, you must check out Blood Meridian. I think it would be right up your alley.
I don't read many "modern" works, but The Road is an absolute masterpiece. I should pick up some more Cormac asap.
I've been keeping an eye out for any of Cormac McCarthy's books (I mostly buy used books, saves a ton)... you're the second or third person who has recommend Blood Meridian.
The Road is the first Cormac McCarthy book I read (NCFOM being the second). The Road is one of the finest books I've ever read. Will be interesting to see how the movie turns out (if it's ever released - initial screen reviews were very, very bad).
QuoteI've been keeping an eye out for any of Cormac McCarthy's books (I mostly buy used books, saves a ton)... you're the second or third person who has recommend Blood Meridian.
The Road is the first Cormac McCarthy book I read (NCFOM being the second). The Road is one of the finest books I've ever read. Will be interesting to see how the movie turns out (if it's ever released - initial screen reviews were very, very bad).
Used books are the best. I bought Tess of the D'Urbervilles for seventy-five cents at my favourite store the other day. No better way to empty ones pockets and expand ones mind.
If The Road was summed by one word ("bleak"), Blood Meridian is "harrowing." Or maybe "perfect."
Not sure where you've been reading early reviews, but it sounds like it's shaping up to be a masterpiece, not a dud. John Hillcoat is a very capable director, Nick Cave is doing the score, and the source material is incredible. I've got faith. http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2009/05/road-most-important-film-of-year-says.html
I lent a friend The Road when he went to Europe, but he sold it on me. Bastard.
I actually posted Oprah's interview with Cormac just above. I'm not an Oprah fan, but it's only one of a handful of interviews that Cormac has ever done.
I dug around for the post I found, but according to the person who saw a screen test, it was apparently really, really bad in some places. Might explain why the date was pushed back from October to possibly sometime next year.
The bright side is that the lower my expectations, the more pleasantly surprised I might be when it's finally out.
QuoteQuotefinished 'love is a mix tape'
now starting 'tomcat in love' by Tim O'Brien....anyone else like him?
I only read The Things They Carried and I thought it was brilliant!
Yeah, I like him a lot. I read the one Ruckus has, and July, July...enjoyed both very much. Let us know what you think of that one Penny!
QuoteQuoteQuotefinished 'love is a mix tape'
now starting 'tomcat in love' by Tim O'Brien....anyone else like him?
I only read The Things They Carried and I thought it was brilliant!
Yeah, I like him a lot. I read the one Ruckus has, and July, July...enjoyed both very much. Let us know what you think of that one Penny!
i loved 'tomcat love'...i realized i'd read it years ago ...i'll have to check out july, july...
i'm trying to get through Look Homeward Angel but having to force myself to--not enjoying that at all-this weekend i read the third twilight book 'eclipse' (which i thought was the best out of the series so far)
Ben Bova – The Precipice, The Rock Rats, The Silent War, The Aftermath
This is set in the near future. No aliens or transporting. Just normal physics. It plays out in the Earth, moon, asteroid belt area. It involves families and war factions fighting over the precious metals from the asteroids since Earth is depleted and experiencing a total green house disaster.
Good news for us fans of The Road,
[link=http://io9.com/5251030/first-official-review-of-the-road-calls-it-the-most-important-movie-of-the-year]First Official Review Of The Road Calls It The Most Important Movie Of The Year[/link]
QuoteGood news for us fans of The Road,
[link=http://io9.com/5251030/first-official-review-of-the-road-calls-it-the-most-important-movie-of-the-year]First Official Review Of The Road Calls It The Most Important Movie Of The Year[/link]
Told you that you were reading the wrong sites. ;)
crap if you REALLY want to know go to Current Joys thread ::) :P :-X
Sort of hating Absalom! Absalom! right now. There will be a few passages where I'm like, "Oh, this is where it's going..." but a page or two later and I'm back to just shaking my head.
QuoteSort of hating Absalom! Absalom! right now. There will be a few passages where I'm like, "Oh, this is where it's going..." but a page or two later and I'm back to just shaking my head.
reading faulkner was torture for me
QuoteQuoteSort of hating Absalom! Absalom! right now. There will be a few passages where I'm like, "Oh, this is where it's going..." but a page or two later and I'm back to just shaking my head.
reading faulkner was torture for me
I enjoyed Faulkner a lot
I've been cheating. Since I've been driving a lot more because of work I started listening to audio books. This week 1984 again
Finished Absalom! Absalom! last night. Absolutely agonizing - hated it. Could have been tenfold better if it had fucking paragraphs instead of pages of run-on. The parts of it I enjoyed = how the mansion was built out of a swamp, and the conflict between the two soldiers during Johnston's retreat.
Now onto The Sound And The Fury. I flipped through it and it actually has paragraphs - so I like it better already.
Currently reading Concertina: The Life and Loves of a Dominatrix by Susan Winemaker
It's rather saucy but very, very good. A great insight into a life that most of us could only imagine.
Before I started that I read Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother and The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night Time. Both absolutely excellent and highly recommended :)
Started the Dharma Bums this evening. Any other Kerouac (aside from On the Road) worth reading?
QuoteStarted the Dharma Bums this evening. Any other Kerouac (aside from On the Road) worth reading?
I enjoyed Big Sur. It's by a much older Kerouac when he is no longer hitching, he is mainly staying at his mother's house, getting drunk on port wine, and taking visits from famous friends. Kerouac finds a way to make getting drunk in his moms backyard a mystical, nearly religious experience.
My buddy gave me a sweet photography book for my b-day. It's by a Canadian guy who lives somewhere in Europe. Anyways, i'm not a huge photography fan, but i think this book is pretty rockin'.
Just wanted to pass along the news. Here's a link I found.
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/706254
:)
Not a lot of reading involved but I've been after this book for a while. Found a copy in Germany via amazon marketplace sellers that didn't cost the earth.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZcsinERSL._SS500_.jpg)
Just finished A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, now I'm reading Dubliners. Even only a chapter into Dubliners, I think I'll enjoy this much more than Portrait (which was good).
I'm on a Post-Apocalyptic fiction kick now, I read King's The Stand, McCarthy's The Road, just finished Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, and am now on The Book of Dave by Will Self.
How is The Stand?
Well, it *is* a Stephen King book, but it's excellent. I read it once back in high school, which would have been the original version, and loved it. He "rewrote" it around 1990 and added a bunch of superfluous and now dated material, but some good stuff too. It's great storytelling, but as far as scariness, it's just mystic hocus-pocus, as opposed to The Road, or Oryx and Crake, which are actually conceivable in reality, and hence, far more frightening.
QuoteJust finished A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, now I'm reading Dubliners. Even only a chapter into Dubliners, I think I'll enjoy this much more than Portrait (which was good).
I got myself the portrait a while back, never got to read it though.
But I've reread Ulysses in english recently, hard read but rewarding as ever.
And, even though it's not what I usually read, I read "The road" last week after all the chit-chat on this board, and it was quite good and I couldn't really put it away while reading, thank good it's a pretty shor one, even less sleep would probably kill me
The Otis Redding Story Steve Turner
Bad Moon Rising The Unofficial History Of CCR Hank Bordowitz
The Cheese Monkeys, by Chip Kidd
I read this one like 7 or 8 years ago, just started reading it again last night. It's a fun book, fiction, about an Art Student going to "State".
I have a pretty bad memory, so it's great that I can re-read SOME books after several years and really not have a clue what will happen.
I also just finished After Dark, by Haruki Murakami, and I really wasn't all that into it. I'm a big fan of his too!
Also re-reading Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk.
Quite possibly the greatest, most epic work of historical fiction (and definitely of WWII). It's rare that I reopen books but these two were easy to after a 4 year break.
Finished James Joyce's Dubliners. Really, really enjoyed it! Took me a while to get through A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, but breezed through the short stories with ease. Great, diverse characters in a very interesting time period (days of Irish Nationalism)...
Now I'm on Palahnuik's Diary. Chuck is really starting to bore me, all of his novels remind me of this little smiley,
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/CorvusTortus/musik25.gif)
I'm intrigued with the story, but all of the characters, all of them, are always woe-is-me, whiney and bitchy, and they all seemingly have the exact same thought process and dialogue. What was wonderful and original in Fight Club was sort of familiar in Choke, but now its just worn out...
I've got a few books headed my way.
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge
Boone: A Biography
The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Boxed Set
Also on the shelf is Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Cornelius Ryan's A Bridge Too Far, and the remaining two volumes of Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative.
QuoteNow I'm on Palahnuik's Diary. Chuck is really starting to bore me...
Done. Take out all of the stupid, repetitive shit and it's about 50 pages. And wow did those pages suck. This tidbit of a review says it well,
What isn't a confusing mess or a bizarre and stupid "curse" story is paint-by-numbers Palahniuk that any one of his fans could throw together without any help from the author. You've got your heavily repeated statements to drive his point home. His over-eagerness to share useless trivia he acquired while researching the book. His fragmented sentences and overly short chapter breaks. All things that are charming and amusing in his other books, but here they feel forced and pointless. It's almost as though Palahniuk is satirizing himself.He's just tired, I mean, three books of this kind of shit - a cheap way to flesh out characters?
Without access to true chaos we'll never have true peace.
Parenthood being the opiate of the masses.
When people dance to fire alarms and gun shots, something is wrong.
Masochism is a valuable job skill.
Torture is torture and humiliation is humiliation only when you choose to suffer.
It's the martyrdom of Saint Me.
In America, if your addiction isn't always new and improved, you're a failure.
All women have to do is get naked, and we give them all our money. I mean, why are we such slaves?
The magic of sexual addiction is you don't ever feel hungry or tired or bored or lonely.
Nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it.
Art never comes from happiness
Every son raised by a single mom is pretty much born married
The magic of sex is it's acquisition without the burden of possessions. No matter how many women you take home, there's never a storage problem.
We've taken the world apart but we have no idea what to do with the pieces.
By the time you're thirty, your worst enemy is yourself.
How can it be prostitution if all the women were dead?
A good addiction takes the guesswork out of death.
The only thing that separates us from the animals...is we have pornography.
I mean, I'm just tired of being wrong all the time just because I'm a guy.
(Insert word) isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind.
Nobody can expect you to remember every near-death experience.
Like I said,
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/CorvusTortus/musik25.gif)
Trouble Man The Life And Death Of Marvin Gaye by Steve Turner
Lovesick Blues The Life Of Hank Williams by Paul Hemphill
My Horizontal Life - just finished
Are You There Vodka? Its Me, Chelsea - currently reading
both by Chelsea Handler and both have me laughing out loud! ;D
I'm currently reading "Being Young" a biography of Neil written by his half sister Astrid. Really slow start but im in the meat of the book now and I'm pretty captivated. She did a lot of backup singing for Neil in the early 90's for him and the reader gets a lot of behind the scenes info.
QuoteMy Horizontal Life - just finished
Are You There Vodka? Its Me, Chelsea - currently reading
both by Chelsea Handler and both have me laughing out loud! ;D
i LOVE
my horizontal life....! i need to read her other one.
i just finished
Slam-Nick Hornby
Fight Club --Chuck P.
When you are engulfed in flames--David Sedaris
just starting
Pharoahs Army--tobias Wolfe
Last night I finished Volume 2 of Shelby Foote's Civil War: A Narrative. This morning I started with Volume 3. I've been talking about taking a break from the war long enough to read something a little more lighter - but after taking down 2,000 pages, I'm eager to put away the last 1,000. I just know I'll have a huge sense of accomplishment once I've finally done it. This is a great, great series... It's really required reading for anyone interested in American History.
Waiting on my shelf...
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge
Boone: A Biography
All the Pretty Horses
The Crossing
Cities Of The Plain
LOTR The Hobbit
LOTR Fellowship of the Ring
LOTR The Two Towers
LOTR Return of the King
Rainbow Six
A Bridge Too Far
Eat Pray Love
Making a Living While Making A Difference
I am reading a book called Ticket to Ride which is a travel memior about this lady who went around America on a Greyhound bus.
It's prettty funny.
Next is Chasing The Rising Sun.
And at some point I will finish Brighton Rock and start Anthony Bourdain, a Cooks Tour.
QuoteAnthony Bourdain, a Cooks Tour.
His whole collection is on my Xmas wish list. I have a mancrush on Tony. I totally want to eat and drink with him. Except when he's eating offal. Most of that shit is just nasty and him and that Zimmerman dude can eat my share.
Skydog The Duane Allman Story
Shakey Neil Young'sBiography
I read A Cook's Tour and Kitchen Confidental and enjoyed them both, immensely. I, too, have a crush on Bourdain...except for when he says things like "I hope it died screaming..." Blargh.
QuoteI read A Cook's Tour and Kitchen Confidental and enjoyed them both, immensely. I, too, have a crush on Bourdain...except for when he says things like "I hope it died screaming..." Blargh.
THis week's episode he was in rare form
I'm currently reading the Dark Tower series. I also am going to read Born on the Fourth of July after I finish the second Dark Tower book.
I'd really love to read this, but I have to find a US source...
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/they-tried-make-me-go-sangin-i-said-no-no-no-at-war-with-ipod-generation-afghanistan
I'm reading this book called the strain
it's co-written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
http://www.thestraintrilogy.com/
About an outbreak that turns people into vampires
Its really friggin- scary and really friggin' good!
Guillermo del Toro directed Pan's Labyrinth and both Hellboy movies
Finished the third and final volume of Shelby Foote's Civil War: A Narrative. One of the best books (if you can call it that, being three volumes and nearly 3,000 pages) I've ever read. This is a lot like War And Peace in that after knowing these characters through the best and worst years of their life, it's somber when the book comes to a close. The book doesn't end when the Civil War ends, but instead paints a portrait of the veterans lives after the war.
QuoteQuoteAnthony Bourdain, a Cooks Tour.
His whole collection is on my Xmas wish list. I have a mancrush on Tony. I totally want to eat and drink with him. Except when he's eating offal. Most of that shit is just nasty and him and that Zimmerman dude can eat my share.
I'll try (almost) anything once.
Did I mention I'm reading All The Pretty Horses? Loving it, so far.
Finished Downtown Owl last night and Klosterman IV today (started it a few weeks ago). Both by Chuck Klosterman.
I'd read Killing Yourself to Live a few years ago and really enjoyed his voice, in the way he writes and thinks. But these I read as a suggestion from Penny...and really dug them both. Downtown Owl is a novel so it was pretty neat to read his fiction.
Check 'em out if your stuck on what to read (they're quick reads). I guess I'll have to read Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs next. :)
I'm re-reading the Conversations With God series. There was a part last night that reminded me of Dear God.
My sister has been lending me this graphic novel/comic book series called Y: The last man
Its so friggin good!
QuoteDid I mention I'm reading All The Pretty Horses? Loving it, so far.
I read that a few weeks ago. Thought it was really, really good. Curious to see the movie now. And starting
Blood Meridian tonight.
I read the new Lorrie Moore book,
A Gate at the Stairs, last week. I don't know if I liked it as well as
Who Will Run the Frog Hospital or
Birds of America, but now it's had some time to sink it I'm realizing the different themes that were at work. I probably should reread it later.
I'm reading the Hells Angels' chief Sonny Barger's autobiography,and it's splendid so far.The almighty '60s..
http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angel-Barger-Angels-Motorcycle/dp/0688176933
Finally getting around to reading The Fountainhead. I'm not the best at reading fiction, but I'm going to try to get to the end of this one.
Recently finished a book on Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah called the Woman Who Named God. Was fairly interesting...definitely provided a tidy presentation of the founding of the 3 major religious branches.
Before that, I think I read a book about beer. :) It was basically a guide to understanding craft beer.
Oh, and the LeBron James book. Good, quick read. Interesting insights (for someone who doesn't know much about him) in to what his life was like as he fell into being famous. Still kicking myself for not going to any of the games between his team and Carmello Anthony's. I lived 10 minutes from where the games were played. ::)
Recently finished reading a Muhammad Ali biography (excellent but some pages were missing!) & A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (difficult subject matter at times but utimately rewarding)
Just started The Time Traveler's Wife but am finding the time jumps too much like hard work...does it get any easier (or I am just stupid?)
Quote
Just started The Time Traveler's Wife but am finding the time jumps too much like hard work...does it get any easier (or I am just stupid?)
I actually enjoyed this book. (as I told pennylane, I checked my man card at the door years ago) The jumps make more sense throughout as they thread a pattern and explain the story but do not necessarily get easier to read.
Finished Love, Janis and Sin in the Second City over the holiday break. The former wasn't particularly well written, but it was interesting to read a first-hand account of Janis Joplin's life as seen through the eyes of her sister and the people who knew her before she was a star. She seemed like a terribly troubled soul, so desperate for love and praise and acknowledgement.
The latter was pretty interesting. It's a historical account of a famous brothel on Chicago's South Side that flourished in the early 1900s, despite the religious establishment's fight to shut it down. Oddly enough, most of the city's politicians weren't too keen on closing it since they received thousands of dollars in bribes to keep it open. ;D
I read East of Eden over the holidays and now reading World on Fire and Guns, Germs, and Steel for one of my classes (really blowing my mind)...
I just started Born to Run by Christopher McDougall...this is going to be amazing...
QuoteI read East of Eden over the holidays and now reading World on Fire and Guns, Germs, and Steel for one of my classes (really blowing my mind)...
Guns, Germs, and Steel is excellent! Really an eye-opener, it makes you think so differently about the evolution of societies.
I've been reading a lot of post-apocalyptica and science/speculative fiction, and right now it's
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson. It's huge, but I'm getting into it now, and it is really good.
Reading "A New Earth" by Eckart Tolle. I don't know how to explain it. The subtitle is "Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." Basically it explains how you are not really the thoughts inside your head. Well, you are, but that's by no means all you are. You are the awareness that is aware. The Being behind the voice inside your head. The voice in your head is your ego, that associates EVERYTHING with "I" and "me." These attachments to I and me are the cause of suffering. We need to learn to be Present. Alert and fully experiencing the moment at hand. I'm only about halfway through, but this is what I've gotten out of it so far. If you need a spiritual kick in the pants, this is a good book. It also tends to get your focus off of yourself and into "the moment."
QuoteReading "A New Earth" by Eckart Tolle. I don't know how to explain it. The subtitle is "Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." Basically it explains how you are not really the thoughts inside your head. Well, you are, but that's by no means all you are. You are the awareness that is aware. The Being behind the voice inside your head. The voice in your head is your ego, that associates EVERYTHING with "I" and "me." These attachments to I and me are the cause of suffering. We need to learn to be Present. Alert and fully experiencing the moment at hand. I'm only about halfway through, but this is what I've gotten out of it so far. If you need a spiritual kick in the pants, this is a good book. It also tends to get your focus off of yourself and into "the moment."
His books are pretty great, man! I really had to really take my time to absorb everything and put it into practice. Enjoy it!
QuoteQuoteReading "A New Earth" by Eckart Tolle. I don't know how to explain it. The subtitle is "Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." Basically it explains how you are not really the thoughts inside your head. Well, you are, but that's by no means all you are. You are the awareness that is aware. The Being behind the voice inside your head. The voice in your head is your ego, that associates EVERYTHING with "I" and "me." These attachments to I and me are the cause of suffering. We need to learn to be Present. Alert and fully experiencing the moment at hand. I'm only about halfway through, but this is what I've gotten out of it so far. If you need a spiritual kick in the pants, this is a good book. It also tends to get your focus off of yourself and into "the moment."
His books are pretty great, man! I really had to really take my time to absorb everything and put it into practice. Enjoy it!
Hey Soulshine! Which of his books have you read? Just this one or others? They are really refreshing and make you think! I never realized the ego was so powerful! It is hard to shake off old habits, but I am trying.
QuoteQuoteQuoteReading "A New Earth" by Eckart Tolle. I don't know how to explain it. The subtitle is "Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." Basically it explains how you are not really the thoughts inside your head. Well, you are, but that's by no means all you are. You are the awareness that is aware. The Being behind the voice inside your head. The voice in your head is your ego, that associates EVERYTHING with "I" and "me." These attachments to I and me are the cause of suffering. We need to learn to be Present. Alert and fully experiencing the moment at hand. I'm only about halfway through, but this is what I've gotten out of it so far. If you need a spiritual kick in the pants, this is a good book. It also tends to get your focus off of yourself and into "the moment."
His books are pretty great, man! I really had to really take my time to absorb everything and put it into practice. Enjoy it!
Hey Soulshine! Which of his books have you read? Just this one or others? They are really refreshing and make you think! I never realized the ego was so powerful! It is hard to shake off old habits, but I am trying.
I read that one and The Power of Now. I know what you are saying..I've been thinking I actually need to go back and re-read them again. Its hard to break those habits, but dont give up!
Entering The Castle by Caroline Myss (foreword by Ken Wilber)
Her books are really good
Saw an article on the forum in the last few months, a big reco for Japanese author Haruki Murakami's 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicle'. So I just wanted to say thanks, I loved it. Recently finished:
(http://cannedmemory.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/hard-boiled-cover.jpg)
:o Thanks again, this forum sure can be is a treasure trove. (had to come back and fix that)
QuoteSaw an article on the forum in the last few months, a big reco for Japanese author Haruki Murakami's 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicle'. So I just wanted to say thanks, I loved it. Recently finished:
(http://cannedmemory.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/hard-boiled-cover.jpg)
:o Thanks again, this forum sure can be is a treasure trove. (had to come back and fix that)
How strange...I'm currently reading Murakami's Norwegian Wood :)
Not currently reading this, but will pick it up again. I reread it at least once every few years. The best novel I've read is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Its about a boy (me) named John (me) who grew up in New Hampshire (me) and went to the University of New Hampshire (me). The parallels end there but its a fantastic story, ruined in a film adaptation that even changed the name of the main character (Simon Birch, anyone?).
The title character's voice is always represented in the text as all caps. It reminds me of how the words of Jesus were always shown differently in the New Testament. There is a connection there. A savior, a sacrifice, and lots and lots of sinning!
Some love it and some HATE it.
The Long Ball by Tom Adelman....about the '75 World Series...great book...anybdy want it ? pm me.....
QuoteNot currently reading this, but will pick it up again. I reread it at least once every few years. The best novel I've read is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Its about a boy (me) named John (me) who grew up in New Hampshire (me) and went to the University of New Hampshire (me). The parallels end there but its a fantastic story, ruined in a film adaptation that even changed the name of the main character (Simon Birch, anyone?).
The title character's voice is always represented in the text as all caps. It reminds me of how the words of Jesus were always shown differently in the New Testament. There is a connection there. A savior, a sacrifice, and lots and lots of sinning!
Some love it and some HATE it.
I love me some John Irving.
Owen Meany isn't my favorite, but it's great. I think I'll be picking up
Hotel New Hampshire again soon. The movies somehow ruin them, don't they? I thought
The Cider House Rules was wonderful, but the movie did the book no justice.
Garp may be a different animal.
QuoteQuoteNot currently reading this, but will pick it up again. I reread it at least once every few years. The best novel I've read is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Its about a boy (me) named John (me) who grew up in New Hampshire (me) and went to the University of New Hampshire (me). The parallels end there but its a fantastic story, ruined in a film adaptation that even changed the name of the main character (Simon Birch, anyone?).
The title character's voice is always represented in the text as all caps. It reminds me of how the words of Jesus were always shown differently in the New Testament. There is a connection there. A savior, a sacrifice, and lots and lots of sinning!
Some love it and some HATE it.
I love me some John Irving. Owen Meany isn't my favorite, but it's great. I think I'll be picking up Hotel New Hampshire again soon. The movies somehow ruin them, don't they? I thought The Cider House Rules was wonderful, but the movie did the book no justice. Garp may be a different animal.
Yes, Garp is a different animal. Love both the book and the movie (and that says a lot as I hate Robin Williams)
QuoteFreakonimics for fun
Collaborative, Competency-Based Counseling and Therapy for work
and I recomend A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving.
Plus, Jesus' Son, a collection of short stories by Denis Johnson'''whhoooo buddy!
John Irving books remind me of my teenage years! Thanks for that Tracy, I might have to revisit.
One of my best friends lost her Mother suddenly on November 3. She has had several of her patients refer her to 90 Minutes in Heaven and has asked me to read it first in order to be sure it would be good for her. I'm about 1/2 way through and not yet sure how I feel about it.
I just finished Columbine. Quite the sobering reminder I guess. :-/ Back when I was in school and clerking, I drafted the new mental health records privacy waiver for purchasing firearms in Maryland following the panic caused by Va. Tech.
I'm not sure what to think of the book but I guess I'm glad I read it.
Now for a cheery book :)
-When You Are Engulfed In Flames
-Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Both made me ;D until I :'(
Now
Genius Of The Absurd
Quote-When You Are Engulfed In Flames
-Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Both made me ;D until I :'(
Now
Genius Of The Absurd
We were excited to see Chelsea announce a St Louis date for the CCBB Tour....until I saw the ticket prices. I will not be supporting her vodka habit based on the prices ($75 YIKES).
QuoteQuote-When You Are Engulfed In Flames
-Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Both made me ;D until I :'(
Now
Genius Of The Absurd
We were excited to see Chelsea announce a St Louis date for the CCBB Tour....until I saw the ticket prices. I will not be supporting her vodka habit based on the prices ($75 YIKES).
No shi*t?! I know she was just in Denver, but I totally missed it!
QuoteQuoteQuote-When You Are Engulfed In Flames
-Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Both made me ;D until I :'(
Now
Genius Of The Absurd
We were excited to see Chelsea announce a St Louis date for the CCBB Tour....until I saw the ticket prices. I will not be supporting her vodka habit based on the prices ($75 YIKES).
No shi*t?! I know she was just in Denver, but I totally missed it!
My wife actually said she would go. She never wants to go to shows with me. We were totally bummed how much it is.
Just finished reading The Great Gatsby.
I felt so sorry for him.
Quotejust finished:
the highest tide - jim lynch
reading:
The White Spider - Heinrich Harrer (a bit grisly in places, but he has such a great writing style, and definitely knows exactly what he's writing about - the first ascent of the Eiger)
The Beach - Alex Garland
I really enjoyed everything is illuminated - it took me a while to get into it, but he's got such a different writing style. i've also read The History of Love by his wife Nicole Krauss - veeeery similar writing style, but i actually think i enjoyed hers more.
anyone seen the film of everything is illuminated? i've heard its a bit different to the book (minus all the "past" storylines)
The White Spider.....wow that's a blast from the past! I remember it on my dad's bookshelf when I was a kid. I even gave myself the CB radio handle "White Spider" as a result!
QuoteI just finished Columbine. Quite the sobering reminder I guess. :-/ Back when I was in school and clerking, I drafted the new mental health records privacy waiver for purchasing firearms in Maryland following the panic caused by Va. Tech.
I'm not sure what to think of the book but I guess I'm glad I read it.
Now for a cheery book :)
After seeing your post I picked up Columbine as well. What a great read. A great example of why not to believe what you see on tv or read in the papers. All the stuff I had picked up from the initial reporting was debunked immediately.
I'm getting into non-fiction more and more the older I get. I'm currently reading Tell Me No Lies edited by John Pilger. It's a collection of some of the best examples of investigative journalism throughout history. The current chapter is Seymour Hersh's 1970 account of the My Lai massacre and it's definitely made me want to read more about that.
There's also a great article from Jessica Mitford in 1963 called 'The American Way Of Death' detailing the way American's have fallen for the marketing success and one of the biggest rip-offs of all time, the American funeral service.
Tell Me No Lies is a big book and I'm only on Chapter 6, but there are articles on Apartheid Death Squads, Lockerbie cover-ups, Britain's Miner's Strike, Chechnya, and numerous articles on the War Against Terror.
This book should keep me quiet for a while!
QuoteQuoteI just finished Columbine. Quite the sobering reminder I guess. :-/ Back when I was in school and clerking, I drafted the new mental health records privacy waiver for purchasing firearms in Maryland following the panic caused by Va. Tech.
I'm not sure what to think of the book but I guess I'm glad I read it.
Now for a cheery book :)
After seeing your post I picked up Columbine as well. What a great read. A great example of why not to believe what you see on tv or read in the papers. All the stuff I had picked up from the initial reporting was debunked immediately.
I'm getting into non-fiction more and more the older I get. I'm currently reading Tell Me No Lies edited by John Pilger. It's a collection of some of the best examples of investigative journalism throughout history. The current chapter is Seymour Hersh's 1970 account of the My Lai massacre and it's definitely made me want to read more about that.
There's also a great article from Jessica Mitford in 1963 called 'The American Way Of Death' detailing the way American's have fallen for the marketing success and one of the biggest rip-offs of all time, the American funeral service.
Tell Me No Lies is a big book and I'm only on Chapter 6, but there are articles on Apartheid Death Squads, Lockerbie cover-ups, Britain's Miner's Strike, Chechnya, and numerous articles on the War Against Terror.
This book should keep me quiet for awhile!
I'm glad you enjoyed Columbine. At times I felt it contained some overdramatization (or stretching to fill the gaps). However the psychological examination of the two I found to be fascinating.
Tell Me No Lies sounds interesting. Gonna see if our library has it.
I just finished reading Stieg Larsson's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." It was ok at best as a murder mystery but I really enjoyed it because it was set in Sweden and had a very distinct feel to it.
Am on the verge of finishing Anthony Bourdain's "Nasty Bits." Man I love him.
Just finished....
-Cocktails for Three
-The Two Step
Currently Reading....
-The Four Agreements (for the tenth time.) :)
Just finished American Rust by Philipp Meyer. Great book - if you like Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, this would be for you. It's got the same spare prose style and is nicely constructed.
Beyond Fear
Just got my copy of Who Killed?John Lennon...sound the X-Files music, in an hour it's about to get real full of conspiracy.
I'm currently reading The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo. I've enjoyed what I have read so far other than some of the Swedish dialect I struggle with understanding.
Are the other books in the trilogy the same story or are the other books dealing with different plots but with the same characters? Normally I just look this sort of info up on Wikipedia but I don't want to know the rest of the story I just want to know if the story line continues into the other books.
QuoteI'm currently reading The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo. I've enjoyed what I have read so far other than some of the Swedish dialect I struggle with understanding.
Are the other books in the trilogy the same story or are the other books dealing with different plots but with the same characters? Normally I just look this sort of info up on Wikipedia but I don't want to know the rest of the story I just want to know if the story line continues into the other books.
I'm reading the second one right now. You don't necessarily have to have read the first to get to the second. The stories are related only in where the main characters stand after the first book in relation to one another. They do move forward chronologically (Fire happens after Dragon Tattoo), but it is an entirely new novel with a new storyline.
I'm enjoying the Girl Who Played With Fire more than Dragon Tattoo.
Just finished "After the Workshop" by John McNally...pretty good.
Just started "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," about 30 pages in...hoping to finish it while away on vacay. :)
QuoteQuoteI'm currently reading The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo. I've enjoyed what I have read so far other than some of the Swedish dialect I struggle with understanding.
Are the other books in the trilogy the same story or are the other books dealing with different plots but with the same characters? Normally I just look this sort of info up on Wikipedia but I don't want to know the rest of the story I just want to know if the story line continues into the other books.
I'm reading the second one right now. You don't necessarily have to have read the first to get to the second. The stories are related only in where the main characters stand after the first book in relation to one another. They do move forward chronologically (Fire happens after Dragon Tattoo), but it is an entirely new novel with a new storyline.
I'm enjoying the Girl Who Played With Fire more than Dragon Tattoo.
In the middle of the third (Hornets' Nest) now. They get better and better.
Next book is going to be
Matterhorn. Looking forward to it.
I'm starting to read all the Harry Porter books (never seen any of the movies). I finished the first one. That's right, I can read at a 5th grade level! Can't wait to go back to the library, run right into the kids section, grab a 7 year old, and yell at him that I'm better at reading then he is!
I did feel like a creep going into the kids section, fuck you Chris Hanson! The single moms thought I was sensitive.
Am reading "Orange is the new black" by Piper Kerman. Story about a woman doing time in a women's prison. Mildly interesting.
I'm reading The Hunger Games series... they are young adult fiction but really really fun to read. Great story, very imaginative. My sister bought me the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier Clay which she tells me is awesome- so that's next on my list!
QuoteI'm starting to read all the Harry Porter books (never seen any of the movies). I finished the first one. That's right, I can read at a 5th grade level! Can't wait to go back to the library, run right into the kids section, grab a 7 year old, and yell at him that I'm better at reading then he is!
I did feel like a creep going into the kids section, fuck you Chris Hanson! The single moms thought I was sensitive.
the first one is really the only one that is kiddieish. 2 sort of is, but it starts to get dark. 3 on, shit gets dark. Books are so much better then the movies but the movies are good. There are some changes in the movies that left me scratching my head but I can seperate the movies from the books and just enjoy them.
Anyone heard of "Waves" by Ogan Gurel? I think this will be the next book I read...sounds crazy good on so many levels.
check out the wiki page and tell me it doesn't sound like a good read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waves_(novel)
Ok...headed to Italy on Sunday for 12 days...will have lots of reading time on planes, trains, etc...
Any recommendations for good "travel" books...not books about travelling, but good books to read WHILE travelling?
QuoteOk...headed to Italy on Sunday for 12 days...will have lots of reading time on planes, trains, etc...
Any recommendations for good "travel" books...not books about travelling, but good books to read WHILE travelling?
Have a great trip! Any Nick Hornby or Klosterman books..?
Thanks Penny! I think I'm going with:
Waves - Ogan Gurel
House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski
Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut
Everyman - Philip Roth
Rejuvenile - Christopher Noxon
I've read Klosterman IV...definitely a nice and light, funny traveling read...good suggestion :)
QuoteThanks Penny! I think I'm going with:
Waves - Ogan Gurel
House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski
Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut
Everyman - Philip Roth
Rejuvenile - Christopher Noxon
I've read Klosterman IV...definitely a nice and light, funny traveling read...good suggestion :)
or...since you're going to italia, you should take 'eat pray love' (lol)
QuoteQuoteThanks Penny! I think I'm going with:
Waves - Ogan Gurel
House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski
Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut
Everyman - Philip Roth
Rejuvenile - Christopher Noxon
I've read Klosterman IV...definitely a nice and light, funny traveling read...good suggestion :)
or...since you're going to italia, you should take 'eat pray love' (lol)
Would I still get to keep my man card? ;D
QuoteOk...headed to Italy on Sunday for 12 days...will have lots of reading time on planes, trains, etc...
Any recommendations for good "travel" books...not books about travelling, but good books to read WHILE travelling?
I think I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I backpacked Europa.
Currently reading: The Voice of Knowledge
QuoteQuoteQuoteThanks Penny! I think I'm going with:
Waves - Ogan Gurel
House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski
Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut
Everyman - Philip Roth
Rejuvenile - Christopher Noxon
I've read Klosterman IV...definitely a nice and light, funny traveling read...good suggestion :)
or...since you're going to italia, you should take 'eat pray love' (lol)
Would I still get to keep my man card? ;D
ask the gfriend to read it and just read over her shoulder. i do that on the train...
QuoteQuoteI just finished Columbine. Quite the sobering reminder I guess. :-/ Back when I was in school and clerking, I drafted the new mental health records privacy waiver for purchasing firearms in Maryland following the panic caused by Va. Tech.
I'm not sure what to think of the book but I guess I'm glad I read it.
Now for a cheery book :)
After seeing your post I picked up Columbine as well. What a great read. A great example of why not to believe what you see on tv or read in the papers. All the stuff I had picked up from the initial reporting was debunked immediately.
I'm getting into non-fiction more and more the older I get. I'm currently reading Tell Me No Lies edited by John Pilger. It's a collection of some of the best examples of investigative journalism throughout history. The current chapter is Seymour Hersh's 1970 account of the My Lai massacre and it's definitely made me want to read more about that.
There's also a great article from Jessica Mitford in 1963 called 'The American Way Of Death' detailing the way American's have fallen for the marketing success and one of the biggest rip-offs of all time, the American funeral service.
Tell Me No Lies is a big book and I'm only on Chapter 6, but there are articles on Apartheid Death Squads, Lockerbie cover-ups, Britain's Miner's Strike, Chechnya, and numerous articles on the War Against Terror.
This book should keep me quiet for a while!
Checking out your White Denim post reminded me of this other recommendation. [smiley=beer.gif]I picked up a copy of Tell Me No Lies about a month ago from our library. I've only made it through the 1st 6 pieces while being distracted by crappy pop fiction thrillers but what I have read has been excellent. I have to keep reupping at the library because it's not the type of book at I can get at for hours at a time. However, one or two pieces at a time is perfect.
I'm still reading it too! I'm still enjoying it immensely, although like you I'm dipping in and out of it. The Chapter on the Lockerbie cover-up is fantastic. The more I read this book the more I realise how the system is fucked up. Politicians have got a lot of shit to answer for!
Chronic City - Jonathan Lethem
It's really, REALLY good.
I'm finding The Other Wes Moore worthwhile (disclaimer: not done yet)
Bump for Woody.
Just started reading a Game of Thrones
My Sisters Made of Light
THANK YOU KINDLY SIR!!!
Just picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this weekend. It's a little hard to get into but now so far so good.
I've heard that the 2nd book is the best in the trilogy.
QuoteJust picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this weekend. It's a little hard to get into but now so far so good.
I've heard that the 2nd book is the best in the trilogy.
I finished that a few weeks ago...it does take a little while to get into, but it's well worth it. For me, I think initially it was difficult to pick up some of the cultural reference and name pronunciation. I kept getting hung up on that, but once you get past that, it's really a page turner ;D
I read that this summer - wasn't too enamored with it, felt like reading an action movie at times? ;D I dunno. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was looking for at the time, I guess.
Other recent reads - Ask the Dust - John Fante (recommended if you dig on that whole manchild Hunter S. Thompson thing) The House of Spirits - Isabel Allende (favorite book I've read in a long while, mystical realism FTW!) Hearts West - can't recall the author, it's nonfictional accounts of mail-order brides on the American frontier, really humorous and tragic at turns, and My Invented Country - Isabel Allende, musings on her home country of Chile and its people. Really self-deprecating and humorous.
QuoteQuoteJust picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this weekend. It's a little hard to get into but now so far so good.
I've heard that the 2nd book is the best in the trilogy.
I finished that a few weeks ago...it does take a little while to get into, but it's well worth it. For me, I think initially it was difficult to pick up some of the cultural reference and name pronunciation. I kept getting hung up on that, but once you get past that, it's really a page turner ;D
Ok so this is the first time I'm posting anything on the forum - been reading a while just not participated - and I can't believe its on the topic of books - but had to comment - just finished the trilogy myself and enjoyed them all - had the same struggles getting started but it finally clicked after the 3rd or 4th chapter and I couldn't put them down, once I got past the whole swedish thing. But I got to the point that every time they broke to make "coffee and sandwiches" I had to giggle. Enjoy the read!
Welcome to the forum, Rizzos Girl! :)
And oh man, I know. So many sandwiches! ;D
Excited to start reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. We have a long car trip to NC this week so hope to read more than 15 pages per night, which is my usual :)
Just finished "Eat, Pray, LOve" just so so IMO....
Welcome Rizzo!!
QuoteExcited to start reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. We have a long car trip to NC this week so hope to read more than 15 pages per night, which is my usual :)
Just finished "Eat, Pray, LOve" just so so IMO....
Welcome Rizzo!!
I LOVED "The Help". It's not perfect, but it's a great story and a really fast read. They're doing a movie, too. :)
"Eat, Pray Love" was so meh. And the movie was a double meh. Avoid it at all costs, tdb.
Hello
Rizzo!! :)
QuoteQuoteExcited to start reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. We have a long car trip to NC this week so hope to read more than 15 pages per night, which is my usual :)
Just finished "Eat, Pray, LOve" just so so IMO....
Welcome Rizzo!!
I LOVED "The Help". It's not perfect, but it's a great story and a really fast read. They're doing a movie, too. :)
"Eat, Pray Love" was so meh. And the movie was a double meh. Avoid it at all costs, tdb.
Hello Rizzo!! :)
I will definitely avoid the movie.....even though one of my cousin's fair trade purses is "featured" on the lovely ms. roberts character.
So funny you said "meh"...that is exactly how i felt. I had high expectations I guess....Italy was so-so, I liked the food chat... India and the Yoga part was annoying as hell....and Bali was just ....well, "meh"....i found it all a bit overly self indulgent on the writer's part..
Ok, can't wait for "the help"
QuoteI'm finding The Other Wes Moore worthwhile (disclaimer: not done yet)
BTW I saw this old thread pop up with my post and can say that I definitely recommend this book as an interesting read.
just bought Blood Meridian (i've read most of his books but for some reason never that one) and ...
Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Get-Too-Comfortable-Indignities/dp/0385510365)
Diggin' around the Emerson / Thoreau / John Muir pages here and there, as winter always makes me want for a little solitude in a cabin far out somewhere....... someday!!
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir
Quote from: woodnymph on Dec 29, 2010, 01:46 AM
Diggin' around the Emerson / Thoreau / John Muir pages here and there, as winter always makes me want for a little solitude in a cabin far out somewhere....... someday!!
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir
One of my most FAVORITE places in the world is Muir Woods outside SanFran... :-*Got a coffee mug with Muir Woods on it and drink from it every am
i think my post dissappeared but:
Keith Richards: Life (spectacular)
Nick Hornby: Juliet: Naked (just so so)
currently reading: The Power of Now (Eckart Tolles)
Just started Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo. It's my 3rd book by him (Empire Falls, Straight Man) and already it seems like it will be my favorite. Anyone see the movie with Paul Newman? I wouldn't picture anyone else playing Sully.
Russo is the king of capturing small town intricacies and the nuances of personal relationships. I certainly recommend him for anyone from a small town and wants a read centered around eccentric but personable characters. Subjects generally gravitate around middle aged men.
Just finished Madame Bovary this week. I loved the translation, I thought it flowed beautifully and conveyed the humor and descriptives much better than I imagined it might. The overall tone was also much less judgy than I expected.
Quote from: wolof7 on Dec 29, 2010, 10:50 AM
Just started Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo. It's my 3rd book by him (Empire Falls, Straight Man) and already it seems like it will be my favorite. Anyone see the movie with Paul Newman? I wouldn't picture anyone else playing Sully.
Russo is the king of capturing small town intricacies and the nuances of personal relationships. I certainly recommend him for anyone from a small town and wants a read centered around eccentric but personable characters. Subjects generally gravitate around middle aged men.
He spoke at my local library last year. Such an interesting guy! Most of the authors that come through are kind of sulky and take themselves very seriously. He talked a lot about his writing process and read a hilarious piece about a headstone and a urinal in his backyard. Ha.
Quote from: ALady on Dec 29, 2010, 12:36 PM
Just finished Madame Bovary this week. I loved the translation, I thought it flowed beautifully and conveyed the humor and descriptives much better than I imagined it might. The overall tone was also much less judgy than I expected.
i love that book---i remember having to do a paper on it..
Quote from: TheBigChicken on Dec 29, 2010, 05:47 AM
Quote from: woodnymph on Dec 29, 2010, 01:46 AM
Diggin' around the Emerson / Thoreau / John Muir pages here and there, as winter always makes me want for a little solitude in a cabin far out somewhere....... someday!!
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir
One of my most FAVORITE places in the world is Muir Woods outside SanFran... :-*Got a coffee mug with Muir Woods on it and drink from it every am
What a great way to start each day!!!! 8)
I didn't spend as much time as I'd like to have spent, but I believe I headed around-about the Muir Woods in my Outside Lands explorations last August! We roamed all around Golden Gate Park area (confusedly, mind you) but I remember just huuuuge trees and some reeeally gorgeous areas around what I thought was the Golden Gate Park area..... definitely a place I want to dedicate more time to in the future! In any case, I did hop on a tiny portion of the John Muir Trail in Yosemite on my way back east! Love his writings.....
"
One is constantly reminded of the infinite lavishness and fertility of Nature-- inexhaustible abundance amid what seems enormous waste. And yet when we look into any of her operations that lie within reach of our minds, we learn that no particle of her material is wasted or worn out. It is eternally flowing from use to use, beauty to yet higher beauty; and we soon cease to lament waste and death, and rather rejoice and exult in the imperishable, unspendable wealth of the universe, and faithfully watch and wait the reappearance of everything that melts and fades and dies about us, feeling sure that its next appearance will be better and more beautiful than the last.*excerpt taken from chapter 1, "The Tuolumne Camp," from
Mountaineering Essays*accompanied by Eddie Vedder's tune "Tuolumne," on the Into the Wild soundtrack (at least in my mind :P)
Reading The Eye of the World. The first book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.
Seems interesting enough so far. My dad swore by them so I thought I'd give it a go.
I just got me a kindle. Scuse me while I charge the battery on my books.
I never thought I'd want one until I got one.
Anyway, I have a riveting book about FDR's Supreme Court Nominations. The character arcs are fascinating, but I can't wait until the climax during the 4th act.
Three Cups of Tea
By:
Greg Mortensen & David Oliver Relin.
Quote from: pennylane on Dec 29, 2010, 10:13 AM
i think my post dissappeared but:
Keith Richards: Life (spectacular)
Nick Hornby: Juliet: Naked (just so so)
currently reading: The Power of Now (Eckart Tolles)
I dig that book a lot, along with "A New Earth" by him. I think of them as 'reality checks' sometimes, and they put my mind at ease and tame me down sometimes when my head goes reeling. 8)
Anybody read any Margaret Atwood? Her latest stuff is post-apocalyptic speculative fiction (Oryx & Crake, Year of the Flood) and is tremendous reading. I have been delving into her earlier work, which is apparently feminist, but I find it neither overly disparaging of men or extolling of women as might be expected in that vein -- it's just damn good, ingenious writing. Thought-provoking, entertaining, heart-breaking.
Others of Atwood's I've enjoyed:
The Handmaid's Tale
Cat's Eye
The Robber Bride
The Blind Assassin
In other news, I just finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in Google's eBook app on my droid.
Any good reads lately?....Recently I have been unable to finish what I start which is becoming a problem and has never happened to me before. I have not had too much time to read but have been unable to finish Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Horns by Joe Hill and the Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut.
I am currently into 'What's Left of Us' by Richard Farrell. He is the guy who directed the doc about crack addiction in Lowell MA which was in the Fighter. It is a captivating read.
I am thinking next I may dip back into something fantastical as crack addiction is very closely related to my daily life's work (social worker). I am thinking of restarting either Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (got 100 glorious pages in and had to put on pause) or Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.
I may just start Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck....I love his writing style (i know many don't). East of Eden is one of my favorite all time reads.....
For Justified fans I suggest Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard, last great book I finished...very Justified-esqe with good reason as EL created it.
I just read a few books by Bill Bryson. A Walk in the Woods was about his attempt to hike the Appalacian Trail. Neither Here Nor There was an account of his trips through Europe, and a collection of some of his columns about living in the United States. All interesting and very funny.
Quote from: YouAre_GivenToFly on May 23, 2011, 11:08 PM
I just read a few books by Bill Bryson. A Walk in the Woods was about his attempt to hike the Appalacian Trail. Neither Here Nor There was an account of his trips through Europe, and a collection of some of his columns about living in the United States. All interesting and very funny.
I've been meaning to pick up A Walk in the Wood or Sunburned Country for yrs....maybe I'll do that
Quote from: ManNamedTruth on Apr 30, 2006, 01:50 PM
QuoteTom,
Bradbury has written some of my favorite stories. You should find "The Fog Horn" (from The Golden Apples of the Sun" and most of "The October Country" is beautiful as well. In fact, the song "RocketMan" is based loosely on one of his stories.
I thought that song was about cocaine. Near the beginning of the song he says he's gonna be "high as a kite by then'". And Elton John admittedly had a drug problem back in them days. Plus what other drug literally makes you feel like a rocket man.
But Elton didn't write those (or any other) lyrics. Bernie Taupin did. I'm sure he was as strung out as Elton was, but I think Space Oddity and the worlds new fascination with space travel influenced Rocket Man (or vice versa). I never got the coke referance in RM. Now, "nights in white satin" and "hotel California "... those are two classic drug metaphor masterpieces.
I'll be as about as diverse as it gets. My last 3 books:
- Stephen King "The Stand" unadbriged vers. - I think I'm the only person on the planet that has not read this book. Was absolutely incredible.
- Vincent Bugliosi "Helter Skelter" - I have a morbid fascination with the Manson murders and finally read this. I'm just about done. One of the scariest things I have ever read, mostly because it's all true.
and next in line...
- Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer - because Joe Strummer is very much missed...
Quote from: buaawwww on May 24, 2011, 02:00 PM
I'll be as about as diverse as it gets. My last 3 books:
- Stephen King "The Stand" unadbriged vers. - I think I'm the only person on the planet that has not read this book. Was absolutely incredible.
- Vincent Bugliosi "Helter Skelter" - I have a morbid fascination with the Manson murders and finally read this. I'm just about done. One of the scariest things I have ever read, mostly because it's all true.
and next in line...
- Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer - because Joe Strummer is very much missed...
Good choices!!! Love "The Stand" (but Robert McCammon's post apocalyptic "Swan Song" is a bit better and stands as my favorite book of all time.) And Helter Skelter is FANTASTIC! If you enjoy HS, you may like "Killer Clown" the John Wayne Gacy story written by the detective that was persistent and nabbed him. Very engrossing.
Haven't seen Redemtion Song yet, but I love music auto-biographies. Motley Crue "The Dirt" stands out as one of the funniest and most heartbreaking at times bios I've ever read. Marylin Manson "Long road out of hell" is entertaining as well.
Rock & Roll at it's filthiest. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Read these in the past couple months:
(http://www.ebookfree-download.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/109.jpeg)
Really detailed, cold, hard retelling of a grim life in the spotlight. Sequins, tattered furs and seriously outlandish dysfunction. And my burlesque teacher got a shout out in the acknowledgments, which is kinda cool :)
(http://www.aperture.org/exposures/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/just-kids.jpg)
Just lovely and heartbreaking. I didn't want it to end.
Finishing up this:
(http://tirbd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/KeithRichards-Life-193x300.jpg)
Fascinating. I do love biographies.
Quote from: ALady on May 25, 2011, 06:17 PM
Read these in the past couple months:
(http://www.ebookfree-download.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/109.jpeg)
Really detailed, cold, hard retelling of a grim life in the spotlight. Sequins, tattered furs and seriously outlandish dysfunction. And my burlesque teacher got a shout out in the acknowledgments, which is kinda cool :)
(http://www.aperture.org/exposures/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/just-kids.jpg)
Just lovely and heartbreaking. I didn't want it to end.
Finishing up this:
(http://tirbd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/KeithRichards-Life-193x300.jpg)
Fascinating. I do love biographies.
How is the Keith Richards Bio??? I've been eyeing it for weeks now.
I'm really enjoying it so far. If you're a Stones fan at all, I think you'd dig it - it's got some really cool insight into the making of their records - everything from how they came up with specific songs, to how they came to collaborate with different folks, where and how they recorded things, etc etc. And it sheds some light in the interplay between the different personalities in the band and their relationships.
And there's a lot of drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. ;D
Quote from: ALady on May 25, 2011, 06:24 PM
I'm really enjoying it so far. If you're a Stones fan at all, I think you'd dig it - it's got some really cool insight into the making of their records - everything from how they came up with specific songs, to how they came to collaborate with different folks, where and how they recorded things, etc etc. And it sheds some light in the interplay between the different personalities in the band and their relationships.
And there's a lot of drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. ;D
Thanks ALady. I'm putting that at the top of the list as the next book I read. Which I hope will be soon, but looks like it won't be until after Bonaroo. OH THE MADNESS! :D
Half way into this one
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13700000/13707082.JPG)
starting this one
(http://murderbytype.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/cold-dish.jpg)
continuing this one:
(http://spire.ee/shop/images/Stephen%20King%20-%20Insomnia.jpg)
I've read the first one for a history class. pretty interesting stuff in that book. I'm pretty sure the cover of Evil Urges was inspired by the World Fair studied in this book. [ :) :)quote author=wolof7 link=topic=12532.msg262806#msg262806 date=1308189127]
Half way into this one
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13700000/13707082.JPG)
starting this one
(http://murderbytype.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/cold-dish.jpg)
continuing this one:
(http://spire.ee/shop/images/Stephen%20King%20-%20Insomnia.jpg)
[/quote]
I read this yesterday. Easy, short book to plow through in one sitting (I read on a 3 hr flight) but wow, powerful stuff.
(http://silverfysh.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/boyne-boystripedpajamas.jpg)
Currently reading: The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality by Jerome Corsi PHD. Corsi is a Harvard educated Political Scientist with many interesting reads to his credit. I recommend everyone read it.
The Scarlet Letter
love going back to classics that i read as a kid, but barely understood :)
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. It's outstanding, probably the best book I've read in the past year and a half.
Almost finished with "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. Interestingly (or not!) I picked it up last week in Salt Lake City. I didn't think too much about it as I love Jon Krakauer, but got a few odd looks reading it at the airport whilst waiting for the plane.
Quote from: lucylew on Jun 16, 2011, 10:56 PM
Almost finished with "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. Interestingly (or not!) I picked it up last week in Salt Lake City. I didn't think too much about it as I love Jon Krakauer, but got a few odd looks reading it at the airport whilst waiting for the plane.
I finished that book 6 months ago, crazy stuff! Krakauer never dissappoints.
Quote from: wolof7 on Jun 17, 2011, 07:09 AM
Quote from: lucylew on Jun 16, 2011, 10:56 PM
Almost finished with "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. Interestingly (or not!) I picked it up last week in Salt Lake City. I didn't think too much about it as I love Jon Krakauer, but got a few odd looks reading it at the airport whilst waiting for the plane.
I finished that book 6 months ago, crazy stuff! Krakauer never dissappoints.
o0oh yeah ... that's a great book!! i generally love all of his books but i haven't read
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman .. anyone read that one yet?
i am currently reading Les Miserables & i'm on page 1113 out of 1463 *gulp* ... i am so ready to read some trashy guilty pleasure book. ok maybe not trashy but certainly not something like Les Miserable. i was gonna hold out until i finished this but i'm going to lay out on the beach tomorrow and Les Miserable doesn't scream beach reading ya know?
i've never seen the play or movie RE: Les Mis so this has been interesting but i get annoyed with how much Hugo digresses .. longwinded digressions. OY !!
I bought Where Men Win Glory at the same time - it's up next!
"Moon-letters are rune-letters, but you cannot see them," said Elrond, "not when you look straight at them. They can only be seen when the moon shines behind them, and what is more, with the more cunning sort it must be a moon of the same shape and season as the day when they were written. The dwarves invented them and wrote them with silver pens, as your friends could tell you. These must have been written on a mid-summer's eve in a crescent moon, a long while ago."
Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo
A star shines on the hour of our meeting
Falling all over the Fellowship of the Ring again, sorry folks, it's just such a great read... gotta love the Elven languages!
(http://www.opendemocracy.net/content/articles/3243/images/Vonnegut_big_www2.gif)
REALLY wish I paid more attention to him in high school.
Let Me In - John Ajvide Lindqvist
What is going to be the next literary phenomanon. Harry Potter is done, Twilight is done, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is done. I would love it to be George RR Martin but sadly his works won't be based on the large gaps of time he takes to write his books.
Here's a good Muir quote, Dan!
"Never before noticed so fine a union of rock and cloud in form and color and substance, drawing earth and sky together as one; and so human is it, every feature and tint of color goes to one's heart, and we shout, exulting in wild enthusiasm as if all the divine show were our own. More and more, in a place like this, we find ourselves part of wild Nature, kin to everything." -Mountaineering Essays, pg. 12
That is a good one. :thumbsup:
I read one a little while back... it was lengthy but talked about how in nature not a single thing is wasted... kind of incredible to think about... the enormity and complexity of the flora and fauna, but it all has a very specific purpose.
EDIT: Found the quote...
"One is constantly reminded of the infinite lavishness and fertility of Nature, - inexhaustible abundance amid what seems enormous waste. And yet when we look into any of her operations that lie within reach of our minds, we learn that no particle of her material is wasted or worn out. It is eternally flowing from use to use, beauty to yet higher beauty; and we soon cease to lament waste and death, and rather rejoice in the imperishable, unspendable wealth of the universe, and faithfully watch and wait the reappearance of everything that melts and fades and dies about us, feeling sure that its next appearance will be better and more beautiful than the last."
Quote from: YouAre_GivenToFly on Jul 24, 2011, 10:01 PM
That is a good one. :thumbsup:
I read one a little while back... it was lengthy but talked about how in nature not a single thing is wasted... kind of incredible to think about... the enormity and complexity of the flora and fauna, but it all has a very specific purpose.
EDIT: Found the quote...
"One is constantly reminded of the infinite lavishness and fertility of Nature, - inexhaustible abundance amid what seems enormous waste. And yet when we look into any of her operations that lie within reach of our minds, we learn that no particle of her material is wasted or worn out. It is eternally flowing from use to use, beauty to yet higher beauty; and we soon cease to lament waste and death, and rather rejoice in the imperishable, unspendable wealth of the universe, and faithfully watch and wait the reappearance of everything that melts and fades and dies about us, feeling sure that its next appearance will be better and more beautiful than the last."
Yes yes! That is in Mountaineering Essays too! Or if not, I've read it elsewhere! One of my all-time favorites.
In tow with
"Sickness, pain, death -- yet who could guess their existence in this fresh, abounding, overflowing life, this universal beauty?
Race living on race, killers killed, yet how little we see of this slaughter! How neatly, secretly, decently is the killing done! I never saw one drop of blood, one red stain on all this wilderness. Even death is in harmony here."Making me yearn to get out again! Maybe I'll head to the Blue Ridge Parkway tomorrow!!!
One of my favorite, most read books ever (once a year).
Robert McCammon's "Swan Song". Like Stephen King's "The Stand", only a wee bit more incredible. I always own two copies. One to read, and one to give away.
Given as a birthday present, I was told 2 weeks later it was the best birthday present they'd ever recieved. SO glad it's back in print!
(http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/DEJA-VU2006/ss_50_pb.jpg)
Quote from: woodnymph on Jul 24, 2011, 10:45 PM
Quote from: YouAre_GivenToFly on Jul 24, 2011, 10:01 PM
That is a good one. :thumbsup:
I read one a little while back... it was lengthy but talked about how in nature not a single thing is wasted... kind of incredible to think about... the enormity and complexity of the flora and fauna, but it all has a very specific purpose.
EDIT: Found the quote...
"One is constantly reminded of the infinite lavishness and fertility of Nature, - inexhaustible abundance amid what seems enormous waste. And yet when we look into any of her operations that lie within reach of our minds, we learn that no particle of her material is wasted or worn out. It is eternally flowing from use to use, beauty to yet higher beauty; and we soon cease to lament waste and death, and rather rejoice in the imperishable, unspendable wealth of the universe, and faithfully watch and wait the reappearance of everything that melts and fades and dies about us, feeling sure that its next appearance will be better and more beautiful than the last."
Yes yes! That is in Mountaineering Essays too! Or if not, I've read it elsewhere! One of my all-time favorites.
In tow with
"Sickness, pain, death -- yet who could guess their existence in this fresh, abounding, overflowing life, this universal beauty?
Race living on race, killers killed, yet how little we see of this slaughter! How neatly, secretly, decently is the killing done! I never saw one drop of blood, one red stain on all this wilderness. Even death is in harmony here."
Making me yearn to get out again! Maybe I'll head to the Blue Ridge Parkway tomorrow!!!
Nice stuff guys! My family and I took a little trip to Kings Canyon a few weeks ago, one of my favorite places and also one of the stretches of the Sierras that Muir spent a great deal of time. It's always such a recharge for me to get into the mountains...I don't get to go as often or as deep as I'd like now that we have little kids, but it's better in some ways now too, being able to see them experience these amazing spots themselves.
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l69/bradenbill/IMG_0055.jpg)
Quote from: bbill on Aug 05, 2011, 02:15 PM
Nice stuff guys! My family and I took a little trip to Kings Canyon a few weeks ago, one of my favorite places and also one of the stretches of the Sierras that Muir spent a great deal of time. It's always such a recharge for me to get into the mountains...I don't get to go as often or as deep as I'd like now that we have little kids, but it's better in some ways now too, being able to see them experience these amazing spots themselves.
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l69/bradenbill/IMG_0055.jpg)
WHOA. That's GORGEOUS!!! Lucky kids to get out into that wilderness!!!! I've spent a couple weeks out in Yosemite around some of the areas Mr. Muir would spend time in, and I just never quite get my fill of that place!!! Kings Canyon is next on the list!! And it's gonna be a sweet day when you CAN go more often and/or deep into the backcountry again when your kiddos are more grown up (especially if they want to go with you!) :-D
Oy your picture makes me want to head out there again... guess I'll just read some more Muir til next time!
Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer. An absolute undressing of Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson. Short, relentless, and brutal. A must read for anyone familiar with the Mortenson tale.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UxSt%2BkKXL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)
Just finished reading "Moon" - Keith Moon's bio. It was both hilarious and sad.
Unsure if I have ever posted this website here but it has some pretty cool tees for you bookworms out there, I got my fiancee Walden tee for her bday! plus part of your purchase goes to charity so you can feel good about yourself! Check it:
www.outofprintclothing.com (http://www.outofprintclothing.com)
(http://images.theswagmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Out-of-Print-Clothing-t-shirt.jpg)
Just finished Lean On Pete by Willie Vlautin. Loved of all 3 of his novels :)
Quote from: wolof7 on Aug 20, 2011, 07:31 AM
Unsure if I have ever posted this website here but it has some pretty cool tees for you bookworms out there, I got my fiancee Walden tee for her bday! plus part of your purchase goes to charity so you can feel good about yourself! Check it:
www.outofprintclothing.com (http://www.outofprintclothing.com)
(http://images.theswagmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Out-of-Print-Clothing-t-shirt.jpg)
bumpin this to page 27!
Awesome tees!! One of my botany teachers in Asheville has a Walden shirt that was sweet!! Great concept!
Just started This All Encompassing Trip by Jason Leung.
Any PJ fans read it?
Quote from: weeniebeenie on Aug 22, 2011, 01:02 AM
Just started This All Encompassing Trip by Jason Leung.
Any PJ fans read it?
Haven't read that. I read "5 against 1" maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Looking forward to the PJ20 book, though.
Currently reading this...... :-\
(http://i43.tower.com/images/mm100614672/bear-attacks-their-causes-avoidance-stephen-herrero-paperback-cover-art.jpg)
Folks....... Half Price Books online marketplace is having a free [standard] shipping day MONDAY, NOV. 28!!! Prices comparable to Amazon.com and Half.com..... but free shipping!!
Czech it owt:
http://www.hpbmarketplace.com/ (http://www.hpbmarketplace.com/)
**EDIT.... forget I mentioned it.... as soon as it turned midnight here, all the <$4 books mysteriously disappeared, and only ones >$5 became available..... funny how that works........ ::)
High Fidelity- Nick Hornsby
I've read this book a ton but it never gets old. I think I prefer the book over the movie just because of the English dialect and the London setting over the Chicago setting of the movie.
Quote from: ophidiophobia on Nov 28, 2011, 09:57 PM
High Fidelity- Nick Hornsby
I've read this book a ton but it never gets old. I think I prefer the book over the movie just because of the English dialect and the London setting over the Chicago setting of the movie.
I love that book too. I'm with you on the book over the movie issue except for one thing, John Cusack. He was perfect casting. I've read that book probably four times now. I've got another Hornsby book that I need to read, but I just haven't yet: Juliet Naked, I think it's called.
I hate what Hollywood did to About A Boy
This All Encompassing Trip is on my nightstand - I'll be starting that one soon.
Love all Nick Hornsby novels. All of 'em!
Just finished "life, on the line" by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas - Grant is the Chef and they both are the owners of Alinea/Next/Aviary (restaurants in Chicago). I could not put this book down!
Before I was terribly familar with Alinea I had heard about Grant being diagnosed with stage IV tongue cancer - amazing that he lived through chemo and radiation while working 14-16 hour days. Really good read.
My favorite book, far and away, is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I used to own many copies so I could give them away. So much of the story and characters connected to me, the religious parallels to Owen and his VOICE moved me. I love this book.
I believe I've read it about 5 times.
Then they made Simon Birch. Fuck me. My all-time, hands down, favorite book now and forever, and I've only seen the movie based on it once. I can't bear to watch it ever again. Such shit.
Sorry, had to vent.
Read this book.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1305996617l/2238280.jpg)
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+prayer+for+owen+meany&sprefix=a+prayer+fo (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+prayer+for+owen+meany&sprefix=a+prayer+fo)
Quote from: johnnYYac on Nov 28, 2011, 11:22 PM
My favorite book, far and away, is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I used to own many copies so I could give them away. So much of the story and characters connected to me, the religious parallels to Owen and his VOICE moved me. I love this book.
I believe I've read it about 5 times.
Then they made Simon Birch. Fuck me. My all-time, hands down, favorite book now and forever, and I've only seen the movie based on it once. I can't bear to watch it ever again. Such shit.
Sorry, had to vent.
Read this book.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1305996617l/2238280.jpg)
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+prayer+for+owen+meany&sprefix=a+prayer+fo (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+prayer+for+owen+meany&sprefix=a+prayer+fo)
It's a great book, John. When I was a kid, I first got into Irving. Everything that he published I had to read. A Widow for One Year is pretty good, but I really love Until I Find You from his later works. A few years ago, Irving came and gave a lecture at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It was packed and certainly worth getting up to Nashville early on a Saturday morning. He's quite charming. The Owen Meany movie was good, but I hated how they didn't stay true to the novel. I suppose parts of it were just wouldn't translate well into a movie. I never read the Simon Birch book, but I saw the movie. I'm pretty sure I cried at it. But I cried at Marley and Me and the movie with Richard Gere where the dog won't leave the train station after his owner died. I'm pretty much a sap. My kids love to laugh at me when we watch something that gets my tears flowing.
The Book Thief (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thief-Markus-Zusak/dp/0375842209/ref=tmm_pap_title_0) by Maurice Zusak is one of the best books I've read lately. It is marketed as a young adult novel, but the themes are quite mature. It's set during WWII in Nazi Germany. Death is the narrator. He's weary and jaded. He becomes fascinated with the protagonist, Liesel, a young girl whose brother has just died while they are on their way to live with a foster family as their mother is being sent away by the Germans. The novel follows Liesel's life as she learns to read and becomes the book thief. Her foster father is a dissenter who is punished for refusing to join the Nazi party and her foster mother is a tough woman who curses at everyone and argues with the neighbors.
This is a review from Amazon: "Grade 9 Up–Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesels story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA "
Quote from: ophidiophobia on Nov 28, 2011, 09:57 PM
High Fidelity- Nick Hornsby
I've read this book a ton but it never gets old. I think I prefer the book over the movie just because of the English dialect and the London setting over the Chicago setting of the movie.
Agreed. I had high hopes for the movie because I love it here and, well, Cusack, but the book was infinitely better.
Reading a bunch of Bukowski and Miller lately. I'm like a college dude. ;D
I loved A Prayer for Owen Meany! I enjoyed most of Irving's books - I think my favorite being Cider House Rules. I've never seen either movie.
Quote from: Fully on Nov 29, 2011, 05:02 AM
The Book Thief (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thief-Markus-Zusak/dp/0375842209/ref=tmm_pap_title_0) by Maurice Zusak is one of the best books I've read lately. It is marketed as a young adult novel, but the themes are quite mature.
I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator is fantastic. I really like this book and I'm surprised that it's marketed as young adult - but hey if that gets young adults to read it than I'm for it. I had downloaded the cds from the library and the last 3 discs didn't d/l right so I'm on the waitlist and dying to hear the end of the story!
I usually have at least 2 books going since I listen to audiobooks when I walk - right now I'm listening to Cutting for Stone (http://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Stone-Abraham-Verghese/dp/0375714367/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322586312&sr=8-1) which is really good - another great narrator, and reading Cherry by Mary Karr.
Next on my shelf is The Paris Wife (http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Wife-Novel-Paula-McLain/dp/0345521307/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322586925&sr=1-1) - Hemingway and Paris in the 1920s.
Quote from: jaye on Nov 29, 2011, 12:24 PM
Quote from: Fully on Nov 29, 2011, 05:02 AM
The Book Thief (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thief-Markus-Zusak/dp/0375842209/ref=tmm_pap_title_0) by Maurice Zusak is one of the best books I've read lately. It is marketed as a young adult novel, but the themes are quite mature.
I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator is fantastic. I really like this book and I'm surprised that it's marketed as young adult - but hey if that gets young adults to read it than I'm for it. I had downloaded the cds from the library and the last 3 discs didn't d/l right so I'm on the waitlist and dying to hear the end of the story!
I usually have at least 2 books going since I listen to audiobooks when I walk - right now I'm listening to Cutting for Stone (http://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Stone-Abraham-Verghese/dp/0375714367/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322586312&sr=8-1) which is really good - another great narrator, and reading Cherry by Mary Karr.
Next on my shelf is The Paris Wife (http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Wife-Novel-Paula-McLain/dp/0345521307/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322586925&sr=1-1) - Hemingway and Paris in the 1920s.
I am too, but I have to say that some of the best books I've read lately are ya books. It seems a little like a ghetto to put a great book in. So many people won't go look at that section because they think they are all Gossip Girl books. Really great sci fi gets overlooked for the same reason sometimes. People don't realize what awesome writing is to be found in those sections. They think it's just strange aliens and robots on far away, make-believe planets.
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Just finished it last night. I think a few of his other books are really good, but this one just never took off for me. It had good momentum at times, but it didn't make the leap that some of his others do. Anyone else here read it?
Quote from: bbill on Dec 28, 2011, 02:10 PM
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Just finished it last night. I think a few of his other books are really good, but this one just never took off for me. It had good momentum at times, but it didn't make the leap that some of his others do. Anyone else here read it?
I'm still working my way through his earlier books, reading The Wind Up Bird at the moment - what a long, strange (excellent!) trip.
Quote from: dragonboy on Dec 29, 2011, 05:46 AM
Quote from: bbill on Dec 28, 2011, 02:10 PM
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Just finished it last night. I think a few of his other books are really good, but this one just never took off for me. It had good momentum at times, but it didn't make the leap that some of his others do. Anyone else here read it?
I'm still working my way through his earlier books, reading The Wind Up Bird at the moment - what a long, strange (excellent!) trip.
That's one of his best, imo. That was a traveling book for me, read most of it in Aquitaine and San Sebastian, so it'll always be associated with those beautiful places. Maybe the best (and strangest) beach book I've ever read!
How widely read was Murakami in Japan? I've read that 1Q84 was a huge best seller, though I'm not sure how well his previous books have sold there.
Just finished Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. Sacramento girl did alright for herself. There's some really great stuff in there.
It's been nice to have some time off from work and be able to read! :coffee:
"ROOM" by Emma Donoghue. I'm about 100 pages in, and sort of obsessed with it.
Research for my summer/fall trip 8)
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/103090000/103096688.jpg)
Quote from: YouAre_GivenToFly on Jan 04, 2012, 01:45 PM
Research for my summer/fall trip 8)
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/103090000/103096688.jpg)
srsly one of the most beautiful places i've ever been! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
(http://chasingusghost.com/images/photos/samuel_charters_the_country_blues.jpg)
Just finished Samuel Charter's Country Blues.
Quote from: weeniebeenie on Aug 22, 2011, 01:02 AM
Just started This All Encompassing Trip by Jason Leung.
Any PJ fans read it?
I've read it. Pretty quick and fun read...makes me jealous I've never went on the road to follow a band I love.
I just finished reading "Neither Here nor There: Travels through Europe" by Bill Bryson. Love his books! I've been slowly making my way through "For Whom the Bell Tolls" as well. Trying to brush up on my classics.
Just finished this great sci-fi/piracy book. It is a great adventure tale with many colorful characters and steampunk creations. A fun read for sure and the 1st out of 3 in the series so far. This would be especially cool for fans of the show Firefly as it is almost a direct rip-off of the style which I don't mind because that show was too short-lived and left me wanting more.
(http://www.chriswooding.com/wp-content/uploads/retfalls1-220x336.jpg)
Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey's league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship Ketty Jay—or his motley crew. They are all running from something. Crake is a daemonist in hiding, traveling with an armored golem and burdened by guilt. Jez is the new navigator, desperate to keep her secret from the rest of the crew. Malvery is a disgraced doctor, drinking himself to death. So when an opportunity arises to steal a chest of gems from a vulnerable airship, Frey can't pass it up. It's an easy take—and the payoff will finally make him a rich man.
But when the attack goes horribly wrong, Frey suddenly finds himself the most wanted man in Vardia, trailed by bounty hunters, the elite Century Knights, and the dread queen of the skies, Trinica Dracken. Frey realizes that they've been set up to take a fall but doesn't know the endgame. And the ultimate answer for captain and crew may lie in the legendary hidden pirate town of Retribution Falls. That's if they can get there without getting blown out of the sky.
Next up:
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/143750000/143758118.JPG)
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book. i found out that it's part of a tetralogy so i just read Dead Man's Walk and am now on with Comanche Moon. these books are wonderful and apparently i like westerns :thumbsup: if your a fan of Cormac Mccarthy's boarder trilogy, you would probably like these.
I love those books too, Brooke. It's been a long time since I've read them, but you're bringing back some great reading memories.
Quote from: Fully on Jan 14, 2012, 10:21 AM
I love those books too, Brooke. It's been a long time since I've read them, but you're bringing back some great reading memories.
Nice Br00ke and Fully, read Lonesome Dove 2 yrs ago, been meaning to revisit that series!
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
inspiring me to pull this out again..
Quote from: Fully on Jan 15, 2012, 09:35 AM
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
loved The Things They Carried---(did you also read Tomcat Love?)
for some reason didn't care for The Road (yeah, i know i'm alone in that)
Quote from: Penny Lane on Jan 16, 2012, 04:13 PM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 15, 2012, 09:35 AM
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
loved The Things They Carried---(did you also read Tomcat Love?)
for some reason didn't care for The Road (yeah, i know i'm alone in that)
Nope, you're not alone about hating The Road. I wanted to kill myself while I was reading it. It was so depressing. That poor little kid. The mother was better off having killed herself before the book even started.
I haven't read Tomcat Love. I'll check it out. O'Brien's Going After Cacciato is really good too.
Quote from: Fully on Jan 16, 2012, 09:02 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Jan 16, 2012, 04:13 PM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 15, 2012, 09:35 AM
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
loved The Things They Carried---(did you also read Tomcat Love?)
for some reason didn't care for The Road (yeah, i know i'm alone in that)
Nope, you're not alone about hating The Road. I wanted to kill myself while I was reading it. It was so depressing. That poor little kid. The mother was better off having killed herself before the book even started.
I haven't read Tomcat Love. I'll check it out. O'Brien's Going After Cacciato is really good too.
SPOILER ALERT
J/K. I also thought
The Road was the most horrible, frightening, depressing book I'd ever read, but it was also awesome.
If I could ever finish
Infinite Jest, I'd be tempted to go visit McMurtry again. Wonderful stuff.
Quote from: Crispy on Jan 17, 2012, 08:56 AM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 16, 2012, 09:02 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Jan 16, 2012, 04:13 PM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 15, 2012, 09:35 AM
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
loved The Things They Carried---(did you also read Tomcat Love?)
for some reason didn't care for The Road (yeah, i know i'm alone in that)
Nope, you're not alone about hating The Road. I wanted to kill myself while I was reading it. It was so depressing. That poor little kid. The mother was better off having killed herself before the book even started.
I haven't read Tomcat Love. I'll check it out. O'Brien's Going After Cacciato is really good too.
SPOILER ALERT
J/K. I also thought The Road was the most horrible, frightening, depressing book I'd ever read, but it was also awesome.
If I could ever finish Infinite Jest, I'd be tempted to go visit McMurtry again. Wonderful stuff.
No Country is the only McCarthy I've read and I thought it made a better movie screenplay than it did a novel.
I was a huge fan of
The Things They Carried though. What would be the next O'Brien book any of you would recommend?
Quote from: Ruckus on Jan 17, 2012, 09:11 AM
Quote from: Crispy on Jan 17, 2012, 08:56 AM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 16, 2012, 09:02 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Jan 16, 2012, 04:13 PM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 15, 2012, 09:35 AM
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
loved The Things They Carried---(did you also read Tomcat Love?)
for some reason didn't care for The Road (yeah, i know i'm alone in that)
Nope, you're not alone about hating The Road. I wanted to kill myself while I was reading it. It was so depressing. That poor little kid. The mother was better off having killed herself before the book even started.
I haven't read Tomcat Love. I'll check it out. O'Brien's Going After Cacciato is really good too.
SPOILER ALERT
J/K. I also thought The Road was the most horrible, frightening, depressing book I'd ever read, but it was also awesome.
If I could ever finish Infinite Jest, I'd be tempted to go visit McMurtry again. Wonderful stuff.
No Country is the only McCarthy I've read and I thought it made a better movie screenplay than it did a novel.
I was a huge fan of The Things They Carried though. What would be the next O'Brien book any of you would recommend?
Going After Cacciato is really good, Ruckus. It has this dreamlike quality to it. It takes awhile to figure out what's real and what isn't. He explores that theme in TTTC some as well.
(http://www.schweser.com/images/product_images/img_Essential_Study_Package_cfa2.jpg)
Wooo! Here's my life / reading for the next 5 months! F to the M to the L
The CFA Level 2 Essential Study Package!
Quote from: Fully on Jan 17, 2012, 09:35 AM
Quote from: Ruckus on Jan 17, 2012, 09:11 AM
Quote from: Crispy on Jan 17, 2012, 08:56 AM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 16, 2012, 09:02 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Jan 16, 2012, 04:13 PM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 15, 2012, 09:35 AM
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
loved The Things They Carried---(did you also read Tomcat Love?)
for some reason didn't care for The Road (yeah, i know i'm alone in that)
Nope, you're not alone about hating The Road. I wanted to kill myself while I was reading it. It was so depressing. That poor little kid. The mother was better off having killed herself before the book even started.
I haven't read Tomcat Love. I'll check it out. O'Brien's Going After Cacciato is really good too.
SPOILER ALERT
J/K. I also thought The Road was the most horrible, frightening, depressing book I'd ever read, but it was also awesome.
If I could ever finish Infinite Jest, I'd be tempted to go visit McMurtry again. Wonderful stuff.
No Country is the only McCarthy I've read and I thought it made a better movie screenplay than it did a novel.
I was a huge fan of The Things They Carried though. What would be the next O'Brien book any of you would recommend?
Going After Cacciato is really good, Ruckus. It has this dreamlike quality to it. It takes awhile to figure out what's real and what isn't. He explores that theme in TTTC some as well.
That is a good rec, Fully. I also really liked July, July. It's about a group of college friends coming back together for a class reunion. If I remember correctly, the chapters alternate between the reunion, and then a defining experience from one of the classmate's lives in the big stretch of life post-graduation. It's a good book.
I would recommend Tomcat Love for O'Brien (think I wrote above-not sure who asked)
whoever said they wanted to finish Infinite Jest--my friend finally finished that after a year and told us all he wanted that entire year back...he was really annoyed...i feel that way about wanting to finish Gravity's Rainbow and Guns, Germs and Steel.
for Cormac McCarthy--i loved All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing, but could not finish Blood Meredian (which is supposed to be his magnum opus)..maybe it was too graphic for me (doubt it, i'm a pretty graphic person) ..i just couldn't get into it--i even bought Ben Nichols' solo album (Lucero frontman) because he wrote his solo album based on it...so i guess i'm not a C McCarthy completist--some of it is hit or miss for me..Plus i hated The Road...
Thanks for the recs guys. I think Tomcat Love was the one my brother recommended next but the others sound intriguing as well. Wolof's got me all excited about reading about sky piracy too!
Owen Meany brings back memories ;D I read that book because it was the girl I started dating's favorite book many years back. The things you'll do...
I just finsihed a fantastic book on Mississippi John Hurt. The first 1/3 of the book gets a bit tedious (since not much was known about him, but after his rediscovery, it picks up quite a bit of steam.
http://www.octaviabooks.com/book/9781617030086 (http://www.octaviabooks.com/book/9781617030086)
(http://images.indiebound.com/086/030/9781617030086.jpg)
lonesome dove is one of my favorite books ever.
reading the mole people now. its creepy.
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 12:40 PM
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
i'm reading again--about 200 pages in..!
i'm headed home to visit my folks this weekend and have about 14 hours on a bus total-so i should get through a big chunk of it..
Quote from: Penny Lane on Feb 14, 2012, 12:59 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 12:40 PM
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
i'm reading again--about 200 pages in..!
i'm headed home to visit my folks this weekend and have about 14 hours on a bus total-so i should get through a big chunk of it..
How many pages is the "real" book? Like I said, I'm reading on my phone so the pages aren't accurate. I'm a little past the Irishman's "accident" in the creek. Freaked me the eff out! I am deathly afraid of snakes.
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 01:11 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Feb 14, 2012, 12:59 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 12:40 PM
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
i'm reading again--about 200 pages in..!
i'm headed home to visit my folks this weekend and have about 14 hours on a bus total-so i should get through a big chunk of it..
How many pages is the "real" book? Like I said, I'm reading on my phone so the pages aren't accurate. I'm a little past the Irishman's "accident" in the creek. Freaked me the eff out! I am deathly afraid of snakes.
i think mine is about 800 pages
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 01:11 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Feb 14, 2012, 12:59 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 12:40 PM
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
i'm reading again--about 200 pages in..!
i'm headed home to visit my folks this weekend and have about 14 hours on a bus total-so i should get through a big chunk of it..
How many pages is the "real" book? Like I said, I'm reading on my phone so the pages aren't accurate. I'm a little past the Irishman's "accident" in the creek. Freaked me the eff out! I am deathly afraid of snakes.
That's great that you're enjoying it Jon! I've got a paperback copy, and I think it's about 1,000 pages...it's a big boy.
There are only about 4 or 5 books that I LOVE, and Lonesome Dove is absolutely one of them. For my money, it's the greatest American novel ever written, and it's just such a BIG, heroic, funny American story. The setting and characters and dialouge, all done so well, and the pace for such a big book is surprisingly fast and always engaging. And Gus would be the starting pitcher on the all-time-great literary characters baseball team.
Quote from: bbill on Feb 14, 2012, 01:44 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 01:11 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Feb 14, 2012, 12:59 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 12:40 PM
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
i'm reading again--about 200 pages in..!
i'm headed home to visit my folks this weekend and have about 14 hours on a bus total-so i should get through a big chunk of it..
How many pages is the "real" book? Like I said, I'm reading on my phone so the pages aren't accurate. I'm a little past the Irishman's "accident" in the creek. Freaked me the eff out! I am deathly afraid of snakes.
That's great that you're enjoying it Jon! I've got a paperback copy, and I think it's about 1,000 pages...it's a big boy.
There are only about 4 or 5 books that I LOVE, and Lonesome Dove is absolutely one of them. For my money, it's the greatest American novel ever written, and it's just such a BIG, heroic, funny American story. The setting and characters and dialouge, all done so well, and the pace for such a big book is surprisingly fast and always engaging. And Gus would be the starting pitcher on the all-time-great literary characters baseball team.
Alright, I just got this on hold at the library now. First I must complete Clash of Kings before Season 2 airs...but then Lonesome Dove it is. Thanks for the rec :beer:
Just finished The Girl Who Played with Fire - 'twas ok. Need a break from the trilogy so I just started Stephen King's latest - 11/22/63. I've heard really good things about this one.
Quote from: lucylew on Feb 16, 2012, 08:54 PM
Just finished The Girl Who Played with Fire - 'twas ok. Need a break from the trilogy so I just started Stephen King's latest - 11/22/63. I've heard really good things about this one.
just finished the king book this week. long and heavy but a good read.
Wound up fitting in "Comfort me with Apples" by Ruth Reichl before starting 11/22/63 (lots of time to read in Hawaii!). I'm about 100 pages into the Stephen King book and I must say I am really enjoying it. I used to read a lot of his stuff as a young adult - it's probably been 20 years since I've picked up one of his books - glad the ol' guy still has it!
Quote from: Fully on Jan 16, 2012, 09:02 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Jan 16, 2012, 04:13 PM
Quote from: Fully on Jan 15, 2012, 09:35 AM
Has anyone read What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes? I just downloaded it onto my e-reader. It looks like it would be a really good nonfiction companion to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I'm going to work on it this weekend, but I've got a feeling it's not going to be a book I can read straight through. I'll have to set it aside and come back to it on occasions. Cormac McCarthy's The Road was like that too. Although I forced myself to keep reading it because if I had drug reading that book out too long, I might have gone off the deep end - perhaps the most disturbing, depressing book I've ever read.
loved The Things They Carried---(did you also read Tomcat Love?)
for some reason didn't care for The Road (yeah, i know i'm alone in that)
Nope, you're not alone about hating The Road. I wanted to kill myself while I was reading it. It was so depressing. That poor little kid. The mother was better off having killed herself before the book even started.
I haven't read Tomcat Love. I'll check it out. O'Brien's Going After Cacciato is really good too.
I read The Road while my kids were pretty young (they are 11 now)...it certainly brings out a bunch of conflicting emotions but hard to put down nevertheless. I too had to take "emotional breaks" a few times to keep sane. When I got close to the end, it took me about a week to work up the energy and mindset to dig in and finish it. Somehow, the end offered a slight glimmer of hope, but maybe I'm off there. I do love how McCarthy can paint such vivid pictures using very few words.
Sometimes I like to read graphic novels like Persepolis and Maus. I just bough My Friend Dahmer which is about Jeffrey Dahmer as told by a guy who was friends with him in high school. It looks rather interesting. I'll let you know when I finish it. I must say that the graphic novel medium isn't my favorite way to read, but sometimes there are some books that lend themselves to the format. Does anyone else ever read graphic novels?
I've delved into Watchmen, 300, The Dark Knight, and 30 Days of Night. I also read all 90+ issues of The Walking Dead in a week, so it was almost like a graphic novel. Loved 'em all.
Quote from: bbill on Feb 14, 2012, 01:44 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 01:11 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Feb 14, 2012, 12:59 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 12:40 PM
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
i'm reading again--about 200 pages in..!
i'm headed home to visit my folks this weekend and have about 14 hours on a bus total-so i should get through a big chunk of it..
How many pages is the "real" book? Like I said, I'm reading on my phone so the pages aren't accurate. I'm a little past the Irishman's "accident" in the creek. Freaked me the eff out! I am deathly afraid of snakes.
That's great that you're enjoying it Jon! I've got a paperback copy, and I think it's about 1,000 pages...it's a big boy.
There are only about 4 or 5 books that I LOVE, and Lonesome Dove is absolutely one of them. For my money, it's the greatest American novel ever written, and it's just such a BIG, heroic, funny American story. The setting and characters and dialouge, all done so well, and the pace for such a big book is surprisingly fast and always engaging. And Gus would be the starting pitcher on the all-time-great literary characters baseball team.
Finished this sucker last night. What a fun journey! I've always said I would live in the "wild west" if I could go back in time and this book put me right there. I've even been calling my wife "ma'am" while nodding my head and asking her, "mind if I get a poke?" for the last two weeks and she is OVER it. ;D :bath: I thought it ended kind of abruptly, but overall was very happy with it.
Have any of you read any of the others in the series? If so, how do they compare. I'm not sure if I want to dive deeper into or just leave it as is? Thoughts?
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 23, 2012, 03:08 PM
Quote from: bbill on Feb 14, 2012, 01:44 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 01:11 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Feb 14, 2012, 12:59 PM
Quote from: Jon T. on Feb 14, 2012, 12:40 PM
Quote from: bbill on Jan 16, 2012, 12:13 PM
Quote from: br00ke on Jan 14, 2012, 10:13 AM
i read Lonesome Dove years ago and feel in love SO HARD. such a good book that i almost wanted to cry over finishing the book.
Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books. :)
I figure there should be a religion based on the wisdom of Gus, or at least a calendar with an awesome one-liner of his for each day.
I just picked up The Big Sleep from the library a few days ago, haven't started it yet.
I started reading this book based on this these posts. I am hooked big time. I'm not an avid reader, but when I start a book I was wonder why I don't read more than I do. That being said, the character development is incredible. This is also the first book I've literally laughed out loud at. I ordered it on my phone so I had no idea how long it was. I was kind of shocked to see it was 4,500 pages! I'm only about half way and already not looking forward to it ending. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:
i'm reading again--about 200 pages in..!
i'm headed home to visit my folks this weekend and have about 14 hours on a bus total-so i should get through a big chunk of it..
How many pages is the "real" book? Like I said, I'm reading on my phone so the pages aren't accurate. I'm a little past the Irishman's "accident" in the creek. Freaked me the eff out! I am deathly afraid of snakes.
That's great that you're enjoying it Jon! I've got a paperback copy, and I think it's about 1,000 pages...it's a big boy.
There are only about 4 or 5 books that I LOVE, and Lonesome Dove is absolutely one of them. For my money, it's the greatest American novel ever written, and it's just such a BIG, heroic, funny American story. The setting and characters and dialouge, all done so well, and the pace for such a big book is surprisingly fast and always engaging. And Gus would be the starting pitcher on the all-time-great literary characters baseball team.
Finished this sucker last night. What a fun journey! I've always said I would live in the "wild west" if I could go back in time and this book put me right there. I've even been calling my wife "ma'am" while nodding my head and asking her, "mind if I get a poke?" for the last two weeks and she is OVER it. ;D :bath: I thought it ended kind of abruptly, but overall was very happy with it.
Have any of you read any of the others in the series? If so, how do they compare. I'm not sure if I want to dive deeper into or just leave it as is? Thoughts?
The others in this series are OUTSTANDING, and you will be amazed with them if you liked Lonesome Dove. Dead Man's Walk is incredible.
Personal note: I was once married to a girl from Abilene, and we used to drive through Archer City every time we went to visit her family, and I never once stopped at his ginormous bookstores. Still kicking myself. For marrying her in the first place, of course. I can go to those bookstores anytime.
Just finished The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
In true middle-aged housewife form, I am reading 50 Shades of Gray. OH MY GOOOOOOOODNESSSSS!!!! :P ::) :D
Just learned John Irving has a new book coming out "In One Person" May 8th...
...after the dissappointing 'Last Night in Twisted River' let's hope he's back on his game...finally got my wife to read my favorite by him: Hotel New Hampshire which isn't a particularly bad place to start with Irving, however his most famous being The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and The Cider House Rules are mosts entry points...
Here's Irving in so many words: Bears, Vienna, New England, Confused Sexuality, Writers or Artists, Wrestling, Boarding Schools, F'ed-up sexual Situations, disfigurement, incest, absent parents, deadly accidents, prostitutes, tattoos. Charles Dickens
Quote from: wolof7 on Apr 14, 2012, 07:59 AM
Just learned John Irving has a new book coming out "In One Person" May 8th...
...after the dissappointing 'Last Night in Twisted River' let's hope he's back on his game...finally got my wife to read my favorite by him: Hotel New Hampshire which isn't a particularly bad place to start with Irving, however his most famous being The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and The Cider House Rules are mosts entry points...
Here's Irving in so many words: Bears, Vienna, New England, Confused Sexuality, Writers or Artists, Wrestling, Boarding Schools, F'ed-up sexual Situations, disfigurement, incest, absent parents, deadly accidents, prostitutes, tattoos. Charles Dickens
That pretty much sums it up. Although I've read every book by him, I wish he could expand just a little. Reading an Irving novel is a little like listening to AC/DC. It's good, but it sounds almost like all of the other ones; plus, the themes and motifs are exactly the same.
So I found this in the basement this morning. I'd stolen it a couple of decades ago from my ex husband, who'd stolen it from his brother, who stole it at a peace walk.
(http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/376871_4135525558716_1922279327_n.jpg)
I'm re-reading it. Although a lot of references are pretty dated, on the whole it's surprisingly relevant to what's going on in the world today. Not only that, since I'm writing a novel that's set in the early '70s it's a treasure trove of background info into that era.
So, what are you reading?
I just officially finished A Storm of Seords. Holy shit.
Game of thrones watchers beware of SPOILERS
The last 400 pages are insane. Robb and Cately at the Red Weding. Jofferys Wedding.
Tyrion and Tywins last scene. Sansa and Petyrs last scene. The epilogue with Catelyn. Stannis ending another book like a goddamn badass. Jon Snows new title (though not the one Id hoped he chose).
Arya ended boring. Dany is annoying. Her story drags on like no other. I wish Tyrion wouldnt have said what he did to Jamie, but that's one of the great things Bout these books. George RR Martin has no problem writing things he knows his audience won't like.
I'm already not excited about book 4, cause its all about Geyjoys I'm hearing.
Reposted from the No(Ctrl) forum:
Recent reads:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (excellent, and would definitely appeal to fans of Cormac McCarthy)
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (again excellent, dark comedy)
The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst (not sure why it got such praise. However, if you're looking for a gay version of Downton Abbey you're in luck).
And also reread American Rust by Philipp Meyer. Can't recommend that highly enough.
Currently reading Everybody Loves Our Town, about the late 80s / early 90s Seattle music scene. It has some interesting (if overly detailed) background to the "Grunge" scene.
Quote from: e_wind on Sep 06, 2012, 11:55 AM
I just officially finished A Storm of Seords. Holy shit.
Game of thrones watchers beware of SPOILERS
The last 400 pages are insane. Robb and Cately at the Red Weding. Jofferys Wedding.
Tyrion and Tywins last scene. Sansa and Petyrs last scene. The epilogue with Catelyn. Stannis ending another book like a goddamn badass. Jon Snows new title (though not the one Id hoped he chose).
Arya ended boring. Dany is annoying. Her story drags on like no other. I wish Tyrion wouldnt have said what he did to Jamie, but that's one of the great things Bout these books. George RR Martin has no problem writing things he knows his audience won't like.
I'm already not excited about book 4, cause its all about Geyjoys I'm hearing.
ooh - those are actually good spoilers because it's nice to know who is still alive. ;D
I'm just about to finish book #1.
Recently finished - The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. Excellent.
Currently Reading - Deadeye Dick by Vonnegut. One of the last Vonnegut's that I haven't read.
I'll be picking this one up tomorrow:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zqLUpIjpL._SS500_.jpg)
Currently reading Being Gay is Disgusting (http://www.beinggayisdisgusting.com/the-book) which is a satirical look at the bible. I cringe everytime I see the title of the book on my table. It's rather funny though.
Keroac's On the Road
Quote from: MarkW on Sep 06, 2012, 01:15 PM
Reposted from the No(Ctrl) forum:
And also reread American Rust by Philipp Meyer. Can't recommend that highly enough.
This has been on my list for a while I should pick it up.
I currently broke down and conceded to the masses and am on the second book of the Millenium series Girl who Played with Fire. Loved the Dragon Tattoo movie and was enthralled with the heroine. It's a really fun, easy, fast read so far which is why I assume so many people ate it up.
Just started John Connolly's The Killing Kind... taking me a while to get this one started... although his books usually are slow starters and then run downhill from there.
Just started J K Rowlings new book The
Casual Vacancy. Really like it so far.
Finished Vonnegut's Deadeye Dick, not one of my favorites of his, but even mediocre Vonnegut is pretty good.
Reading Money by Martin Amis, love it so far, amazing prose, story shaping up to be interesting as well.
Interested to hear from anyone reading the new Chabon, I may have to move that up the queue.
Quote from: exist10z on Oct 01, 2012, 03:19 PM
Interested to hear from anyone reading the new Chabon, I may have to move that up the queue.
It's really,
really good. I'm about 2/3 of the way through and it absolutely has its hooks in me. Great characters, and just a perfect use and knowledge of the setting. Brilliant writing. If you like Chabon, I'd highly recommend it - it's one of his best.
I'm probably a little biased because I know and love that part of the East Bay really well, but still...it's great. Socialists would love it. :wink: :grin: :smiley:
:beer:
Quote from: bbill on Oct 01, 2012, 05:47 PM
Quote from: exist10z on Oct 01, 2012, 03:19 PM
Interested to hear from anyone reading the new Chabon, I may have to move that up the queue.
It's really, really good. I'm about 2/3 of the way through and it absolutely has its hooks in me. Great characters, and just a perfect use and knowledge of the setting. Brilliant writing. If you like Chabon, I'd highly recommend it - it's one of his best.
I'm probably a little biased because I know and love that part of the East Bay really well, but still...it's great. Socialists would love it. :wink: :grin: :smiley:
:beer:
Oh, well if socialist would love it, then I'm in! :thumbsup:
I love the East Bay area too, and while he didn't make me love Pittsburg (as a Baltimore guy), he did soften my stance on the place. Sure he will only deepen my affection for the Bay Area.
Let me know how it finishes up...
Reading Neil Young's Waging Heavy Peace. His writing style is interesting...
Quote from: lucylew on Oct 01, 2012, 10:20 PM
Reading Neil Young's Waging Heavy Peace. His writing style is interesting...
I really want to read this.
Finished John Connolly's "The Killing Kind"... it was okay, not my favorite of his Charlie Parker series so far.
Starting Ace Atkins' "Dark End of the Street". I like his first two books of this Nick Travers series, he ties in a mystery and a piece of music history in this series. In this book he is tying in Southern Soul music and I'm liking the references so far.
Quote from: exist10z on Oct 01, 2012, 06:03 PM
Quote from: bbill on Oct 01, 2012, 05:47 PM
Quote from: exist10z on Oct 01, 2012, 03:19 PM
Interested to hear from anyone reading the new Chabon, I may have to move that up the queue.
It's really, really good. I'm about 2/3 of the way through and it absolutely has its hooks in me. Great characters, and just a perfect use and knowledge of the setting. Brilliant writing. If you like Chabon, I'd highly recommend it - it's one of his best.
I'm probably a little biased because I know and love that part of the East Bay really well, but still...it's great. Socialists would love it. :wink: :grin: :smiley:
:beer:
Oh, well if socialist would love it, then I'm in! :thumbsup:
I love the East Bay area too, and while he didn't make me love Pittsburg (as a Baltimore guy), he did soften my stance on the place. Sure he will only deepen my affection for the Bay Area.
Let me know how it finishes up...
I finished it a week or so ago. If you plan on reading it, I won't get into it too much other than to say that I thought the ending was a little too forced and tidy. But, I still think it's a really good book, and would highly recommend it.
Also, check this out:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/10/15/telegraph_avenue_records_listen_to_every_song_and_album_from_michael_chabon.html (http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/10/15/telegraph_avenue_records_listen_to_every_song_and_album_from_michael_chabon.html)
It's a playlist of the music referred to throughout the book. Some really good stuff on there.
Thanks bbill, I will check out that playlist and the book is in my queue. Just have to finish up Money by Martin Amis, which is excellent by the way.
Just finished George Pelecano's "Shoedog"... not a bad read, but his first series with the Nick Stefanos character was much better and deeper...
Just started Paul Cleaves "The Laughterhouse". I like his earlier works, all seem to tie in together. The only thing that bothers me is that I can't get his first two books in the US until later this year and into next year. I hate reading books out of order, especially when there are tie ins down the road. But I highly recommend his book Blood Men, great book on it's own.
Unfortunately, I don't read nearly as much as I'd like to. But, I am on the hunt for a good read and am considering Life of Pi. Is this a winner?
I found Live of Pi to be a snooze-fest.
I'm currently reading "Reamde" by Neal Stephenson, which was a hand-me-down from my husband. He reads a lot of fantasy and sci stuff, and usually I don't care for his books. This one, however, is pretty good. It'll prob take me forever to finish it though bc it is apx 1k pages, and I usually fall asleep after 2-3 pages because I'm old and constantantly tired.
Quote from: smhoffmann02 on Oct 26, 2012, 04:02 PM
Unfortunately, I don't read nearly as much as I'd like to. But, I am on the hunt for a good read and am considering Life of Pi. Is this a winner?
I liked it! I think I listened to the audiobook though so that might make a difference. My two favorite books of the past year - The Book Thief and Cutting for Stone.
Starting Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl... heard good things so I'm looking to dive right in.
I thought "The Silver Linings Playbook" was great. It's a super quick read and is very well written.
Also, most men won't be the least bit interested, but I enjoyed the first two All Souls Trilogy books by Deborah Harkness: A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. I have a soft spot for books with characters who are academics.
Finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel last night, which is about Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII. It deserves all the plaudits and prizes it's won, but is quite fact heavy.
Now reading Driving Jarvis Ham by Jimbob (ex of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine), which is about an objectionable entertainment-industry wannabe.
Anna Karenina. Almost to page 1000, and never want it to end! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Quote from: tdb810 on Jan 15, 2013, 01:24 PM
Anna Karenina. Almost to page 1000, and never want it to end! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
It's one of my favorite books. :smiley:
I had some time off and got to read a few good books over the holidays:
A Scanner Darkly - Philip K Dick
Farther Away - Jonathan Franzen
I also read Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch by Henry Miller. There were parts that were outstanding, really inspiring stuff, but I felt like I was wading through a lot to find them. I really wanted to like it, but it was just ok for me.
Currently reading John Dies at the End by David Wong. It's like Evil Dead meets Shaun of the Dead meets David Bowie's Scary Monsters :evil:
It's Fantastic!!!
here's the trailer for the movie coming soon:
John Dies at the End - Official Trailer #2 (HD) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U44uNEAHwVU#ws)
I've been reading "Be Here Now"
It's a slight turn from books I've read before, but how interesting!
O0
I haven't read in years before now, currently reading a borrowed copy of Hunter S. Thompson's The Rum Diary. Hope to do some more reading after this as it usually comes in waves for me.
Finished Gone Girl over the weekend. Very good He Said, She Said story, actually each chapter alternates between each spouse's story. It took a little to get used to the style, and if you feel your interest waning at first plow through, it is worth it!
Just started Cormac McCarthy's "All The Pretty Horses", really need to adjust to his writing style, not even 10% through it and I'm trying to figure out who is saying what as he doesn't always make that clear (Or I'm just a dumb reader! :huh: )
Quote from: tdb810 on Jan 15, 2013, 01:24 PM
Anna Karenina. Almost to page 1000, and never want it to end! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
i loved it..was a real tear jerker...
reading Larry Brown and Harry Crewes (my first delve into this)
also, city gals have you read Jen Lancaster ("Bitter is the new Black")..hilarious...i say city gals because it's completely relatable--set in chi-town but so much like NYC--i just ordered the rest of her books, quick reads
Quote from: Jeff Murray on Jan 29, 2013, 10:30 AM
Just started Cormac McCarthy's "All The Pretty Horses", really need to adjust to his writing style, not even 10% through it and I'm trying to figure out who is saying what as he doesn't always make that clear (Or I'm just a dumb reader! :huh: )
my favorite McCarthy book--he's hit or miss with me----yeah, you'll adjust to the style -it's worth it!
A convo about Super Furry Animals reminded me of the gem Mr Nice by Howard Marks (http://www.amazon.ca/Mr-Nice-Howard-Marks/dp/0749395699). For those who like non-fic.
Quote from: LeanneP on Jan 29, 2013, 02:15 PM
A convo about Super Furry Animals reminded me of the gem Mr Nice by Howard Marks (http://www.amazon.ca/Mr-Nice-Howard-Marks/dp/0749395699). For those who like non-fic.
read that years ago! did they ever make a movie based on that? good stuff..
I'm not sure. I know they were supposed to. I always thought Coogan would be good as Marks :happy:
ETA: It was made! And who played Marks? Former Furry Rhys Ifans! I have to go find a copy of this pronto!
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_nice/ (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_nice/)
Currently I am reading Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card, and i am enjoying it, it's not quite what i expected but it's well done. Other then text books the last book i read before Ender was American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It was a wonderful fantasy read, a lot of fun. I also enjoyed An Underground Education.
Finished The Rum Diary a few days ago, it was decent, not surprised to see it went unpublished until after Hunter's death. Watched the movie after and it was absolutely horrible, they changed almost everything in the movie. Just started No Country for Old Men, as I want to begin to read some of the books that were made into some of my favorite films.
Quote from: ManNamedTruth on Feb 08, 2013, 11:45 PM
Finished The Rum Diary a few days ago, it was decent, not surprised to see it went unpublished until after Hunter's death. Watched the movie after and it was absolutely horrible, they changed almost everything in the movie. Just started No Country for Old Men, as I want to begin to read some of the books that were made into some of my favorite films.
I enjoyed The Rum Diary but agree the movie was shit
Currently halfway through Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. This guy was like a rock star with the way he partied and did hard drugs at the beginning of his career. Great read so far.
After this I plan to restart Catch 22 as I read the first quarter then inexplicably stopped. Dumb. When/if this happens to others do you pick up where you left off or start from the beginning again?
Finish it from where i left off, but that is just me.
my first venture into Harry Crews..
(http://more2read.com/wp-content/uploads/Feast-of-snakes1.jpg)
Finally finished Cormac McCarthy's All The Pretty Horses... this is one time I wish I had a Kindle!! I don't know Spanish and I wasn't going to look up all the words in conversation... Sorry but I am the typical single language American. I don't think I'm gonna finish the Border Trilogy... his style just doesn't grab me, maybe a little too much on the literary side for my simple mind! :rolleyes: Gonna watch the movie next weekend, he might be one of the few authors I'd rather watch the film adaptation vs reading the book! It's usually the other way around!
Needed an easy typical book that is usually up my alley next and I chose Lee Child's "Die Trying"... 2nd installment of the Jack Reacher series, I got some catching up to do! And no, the movie did not get me interested in this series... I laugh that Tom Cruise is playing the main character... or is that movie just a spoof?
Quote from: Angelo on Feb 11, 2013, 02:51 PM
Currently halfway through Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. This guy was like a rock star with the way he partied and did hard drugs at the beginning of his career. Great read so far.
After this I plan to restart Catch 22 as I read the first quarter then inexplicably stopped. Dumb. When/if this happens to others do you pick up where you left off or start from the beginning again?
i usually start over but wouldn't with Catch 22. I could not ever finish that book to start with. Hated it.
Quote from: Jeff Murray on Feb 15, 2013, 05:56 PM
Finally finished Cormac McCarthy's All The Pretty Horses... this is one time I wish I had a Kindle!! I don't know Spanish and I wasn't going to look up all the words in conversation... Sorry but I am the typical single language American. I don't think I'm gonna finish the Border Trilogy... his style just doesn't grab me, maybe a little too much on the literary side for my simple mind! :rolleyes: Gonna watch the movie next weekend, he might be one of the few authors I'd rather watch the film adaptation vs reading the book! It's usually the other way around!
Needed an easy typical book that is usually up my alley next and I chose Lee Child's "Die Trying"... 2nd installment of the Jack Reacher series, I got some catching up to do! And no, the movie did not get me interested in this series... I laugh that Tom Cruise is playing the main character... or is that movie just a spoof?
I'm currently almost finished with my first McCarthy book, No Country For Old Men. Wanted to read it since I like the movie so much. I think you'd like the book, he only uses Spanish words a couple times. I was thinking maybe Blood Meridian might be the next one I read by him.
I must know: What was the worst book you have ever read?
Mine Twilight. I worked at a bookstore that did the midnight release parties, i had to be there. So i finished the book in about three hours and wanted to gouge my eyes out. Terribly written crap. I am not the demographic but seriously go read some Anne Rice.
Quote from: ffghtrs on Feb 21, 2013, 02:41 AM
I must know: What was the worst book you have ever read?
Mine Twilight. I worked at a bookstore that did the midnight release parties, i had to be there. So i finished the book in about three hours and wanted to gouge my eyes out. Terribly written crap. I am not the demographic but seriously go read some Anne Rice.
I don't think I read past the first chapter. The main character seemed so spoilt. Based on that I'd say my answer is the same as yours.
I remember I was excited for the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and it was just not good but most books I put down if they are bad.
I recently read this book:
(http://wantoncreation.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/the-hundred-year-old-man-who-climbed-out-of-the-window-and-disappeared.jpg?w=299)
And loved it! Hundred year old Allan decides to go on the run from his room at the old people's home. From there the story goes on to include criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash and an elephant among other things. The story is told both through present time, as well as through flashbacks to things that has happened to Allan during his 100 years. And it's safe to say that Allan has been through a lot of interesting things. It's hard to describe the book properly, but it's really funny, completely crazy and very creative. :thumbsup:
well i started reading neil's auto, then i started odd thomas and that has most of my attention
I'm currently reading this:
(http://resources04.deep.weblinc.com/resources/deepdiscount/images/products/processed/369/9780803259515.zoom.1.jpg)
It's a collection of essays that the author wrote about baseball, all originally published in the 60s. Really well written. Getting me excited for Opening Day!
The 48 Laws Of Power by Robert Greene
Quote from: he.who.forgets on Feb 15, 2013, 09:22 PM
Quote from: Angelo on Feb 11, 2013, 02:51 PM
Currently halfway through Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. This guy was like a rock star with the way he partied and did hard drugs at the beginning of his career. Great read so far.
After this I plan to restart Catch 22 as I read the first quarter then inexplicably stopped. Dumb. When/if this happens to others do you pick up where you left off or start from the beginning again?
i usually start over but wouldn't with Catch 22. I could not ever finish that book to start with. Hated it.
I usually start over too. Catch-22 can be a difficult read because it jumps around so much and it feels like it starts in media res. It took me a long time to figure out some of the things the book was referencing, but by the end of the book, it made sense. I think the lack of respect towards authority and the convoluted bureaucracy were what kept me reading. It felt like a mystery sometimes and like a puzzle at others. Ultimately, I liked it, although I found it a challenging read.
Just finished The Drawing of the Three (2nd Dark Tower book). It was a great read, but not quite as epic as the first. Looking forward to actually start the journey towards the tower with the next book. I have just started reading it, and I'm already hooked. It is an excellent series, so unique.
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Mar 26, 2013, 12:59 AM
Just finished The Drawing of the Three (2nd Dark Tower book). It was a great read, but not quite as epic as the first. Looking forward to actually start the journey towards the tower with the next book. I have just started reading it, and I'm already hooked. It is an excellent series, so unique.
Nice! The 1st 2 Tower books are more or less set up books. The series really takes off in The Wastelands. I hope you don't have too much planned in the near future :tongue: I was done for about a 1/4 of the way through 3rd book. I simply couldn't stop reading the series. Report back after you're done The Wastelands please!
Quote from: peafunk31 on Mar 26, 2013, 09:06 AM
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Mar 26, 2013, 12:59 AM
Just finished The Drawing of the Three (2nd Dark Tower book). It was a great read, but not quite as epic as the first. Looking forward to actually start the journey towards the tower with the next book. I have just started reading it, and I'm already hooked. It is an excellent series, so unique.
Nice! The 1st 2 Tower books are more or less set up books. The series really takes off in The Wastelands. I hope you don't have too much planned in the near future :tongue: I was done for about a 1/4 of the way through 3rd book. I simply couldn't stop reading the series. Report back after you're done The Wastelands please!
SPOILERS from book 3
They are following Shardik's trail back to the portal atm. Super great so far! I keep hoping this is turned into a HBO series.
Also, without spoiling, is the last DT book really as bad as people seem to think it is?
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Mar 27, 2013, 11:22 PM
Also, without spoiling, is the last DT book really as bad as people seem to think it is?
I didn't think so. I rather enjoyed it. I think the issue people have with the last book is that King weaves such a massive story that it became impossible to sew up every storyline. Several things remain unexplained. Nothing monumental. Also, the ending is nothing like I expected it would be. I don't consider that a negative. I was very suprised at how it turned out. I will say this; I cried like a baby at the end of the last book. I don't think a book has ever had me so engrossed that it was able to pull those types of emotions out of me. Truly awesome. :thumbsup:
Quote from: peafunk31 on Mar 28, 2013, 09:26 AM
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Mar 27, 2013, 11:22 PM
Also, without spoiling, is the last DT book really as bad as people seem to think it is?
I didn't think so. I rather enjoyed it. I think the issue people have with the last book is that King weaves such a massive story that it became impossible to sew up every storyline. Several things remain unexplained. Nothing monumental. Also, the ending is nothing like I expected it would be. I don't consider that a negative. I was very suprised at how it turned out. I will say this; I cried like a baby at the end of the last book. I don't think a book has ever had me so engrossed that it was able to pull those types of emotions out of me. Truly awesome. :thumbsup:
So like the ending of Lost, which I absolutely loved.
Not a bad comparison at all! :thumbsup:
I am currently re-reading Game Of Thrones.
I just d/l'ed The Beginning Runner's Handbook (1st ed).
Just started reading a book by a guy I went to college with... Dad or Alive by Adrian Kulp. Basically it is his comical story about becoming a stay at home Dad. I'm just getting to the point in which he decides to stay home and let his wife go back to her career. He previously worked in Adam Sandler's Happy Madison productions and then went to work on Chelsea Handler's team, so he has a pretty good funny bone.
He has a blog under the same name and has been published on huffingtonpost.com if you want to check out his writing a head of the book.
Just finished Joe Hill's NOS4A2. A meaty fantastical horror tome from Stephen King's son(Joe Hill is his pen name). Book was amazing as was his other 2 novels and all his graphic novel work. I think it has become my favorite of his. A must read for any fan of horror fiction
I'll read that, love Sebastian Junger!
Quote from: wolof7 on Jun 15, 2013, 12:18 PM
Just finished Joe Hill's NOS4A2. A meaty fantastical horror tome from Stephen King's son(Joe Hill is his pen name). Book was amazing as was his other 2 novels and all his graphic novel work. I think it has become my favorite of his. A must read for any fan of horror fiction
About 60% finished and it is pretty great. I love Horns, Heart Shaped Box & Locke and Key. This is the first time he has referenced events from previous books, pretty cool and a nod to his father.
Quote from: bbill on Mar 20, 2013, 04:31 PM
I'm currently reading this:
(http://resources04.deep.weblinc.com/resources/deepdiscount/images/products/processed/369/9780803259515.zoom.1.jpg)
It's a collection of essays that the author wrote about baseball, all originally published in the 60s. Really well written. Getting me excited for Opening Day!
this looks great, bbill! i read a baseball book or two every summer. this year i read, "A False Spring," "The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neill's America" and am reading "Moneyball".
(http://mopupduty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/the-soul-of-baseball.jpg)
The Buck O'Neill book was especially good. i've read Buck's memoir: he presents such a cheerful face and open heart that it's easy to miss how hard he worked to raise awareness of Negro League Baseball. Unexpectedly moving. i love this book hard.
I'll have to check that one out ms. y! I've got another good one for you, not baseball, just a great book though.
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2k2cglUN51qhmiv6o1_400.jpg)
Yesterday I finished Shibumi by Trevanian. It's a thriller with very little action, huge swathes of backstory and philosophical musings. Not for everyone, but I thought it was great.
I am just about to start The Son by Philipp Meyer, and am very much looking forward to it. American Rust was great, and the reviews for his new one lead me to believe he's done it again.
Currently reading the new JK Rowling/Robert Galbraith book Cuckoos Calling. I like it better than the Casual Vacancy so far but I'll see how it ends before I make up my mind.
Elmore Leonard died. Very saddened by this loss.
Hombre
Maximum Bob
The Hot Kid
Road Dogs
Killshot
Pronto
When the women Come Out to Dance
Rum Punch
Out of Sight
Labrava
Tishimingo Blues
Raylan
Djibouti
Get Shorty
....Were all amazing books I've read by the late great, can't wait to discover more of his great works! R.I.P.
Btw MarkW, the Son is great!
Quote from: LeanneP on Mar 28, 2013, 07:55 PM
I am currently re-reading Game Of Thrones.
I'm sort of reading book 3 of the GoT series. I put myself on hiatus. I love the series but is dude just gonna kill of every character I care about?! Dang!
Quote from: wolof7 on Aug 23, 2013, 06:20 PM
Elmore Leonard died. Very saddened by this loss.
Hombre
Maximum Bob
The Hot Kid
Road Dogs
Killshot
Pronto
When the women Come Out to Dance
Rum Punch
Out of Sight
Labrava
Tishimingo Blues
Raylan
Djibouti
Get Shorty
....Were all amazing books I've read by the late great, can't wait to discover more of his great works! R.I.P.
Btw MarkW, the Son is great!
Yeah, I'm just now diving into Elmore Leonard's books. Sad to see him go...
Quote from: Jeff Murray on Aug 26, 2013, 01:30 PM
Quote from: wolof7 on Aug 23, 2013, 06:20 PM
Elmore Leonard died. Very saddened by this loss.
Hombre
Maximum Bob
The Hot Kid
Road Dogs
Killshot
Pronto
When the women Come Out to Dance
Rum Punch
Out of Sight
Labrava
Tishimingo Blues
Raylan
Djibouti
Get Shorty
....Were all amazing books I've read by the late great, can't wait to discover more of his great works! R.I.P.
Btw MarkW, the Son is great!
Yeah, I'm just now diving into Elmore Leonard's books. Sad to see him go...
My recommendations at the moment are Killshot and Tishimingo Blues, the latter of which the author has stated maybe his favorite of his 46 novels
Quote from: wolof7 on Aug 26, 2013, 05:51 PM
Quote from: Jeff Murray on Aug 26, 2013, 01:30 PM
Quote from: wolof7 on Aug 23, 2013, 06:20 PM
Elmore Leonard died. Very saddened by this loss.
Hombre
Maximum Bob
The Hot Kid
Road Dogs
Killshot
Pronto
When the women Come Out to Dance
Rum Punch
Out of Sight
Labrava
Tishimingo Blues
Raylan
Djibouti
Get Shorty
....Were all amazing books I've read by the late great, can't wait to discover more of his great works! R.I.P.
Btw MarkW, the Son is great!
Yeah, I'm just now diving into Elmore Leonard's books. Sad to see him go...
My recommendations at the moment are Killshot and Tishimingo Blues, the latter of which the author has stated maybe his favorite of his 46 novels
I have both of those sitting in my "To Be Read" pile, plus 4 or 5 more of his. I got into his books due to the Raylan series he wrote, need to read When the Women Come Out to Dance and Raylan, haven't watched the TV show yet. Also read Out of Sight, they actually did a decent job with the movie. So I'm a newbie with his books but I'm already sure I'll dig most of his work.
Just started reading Reginald Hill's "The Woodcutter" last night, at 500+ pages I think this one will take me a while, but I'm hoping I get lost in the story and the pages just fly by!
Quote from: bbill on Aug 07, 2013, 11:23 PM
I'll have to check that one out ms. y! I've got another good one for you, not baseball, just a great book though.
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2k2cglUN51qhmiv6o1_400.jpg)
i'm in the home stretch in the current book i'm reading so i'll look for this one.
currently reading:
(http://readerwriternerd.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/flimsy-little-plastic-miracles.png?w=812)
If anyone enjoys genre fiction, I just finished Justin Cronin's The Passage and it was really good. Set in the near future, it shows the dawn of an apocalypse and then the survivors' stories. Plus: monsters! I won't give it away :)
It's the first of a trilogy. I just started the second book and the third is due out next year.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6690798-the-passage (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6690798-the-passage)
looking forward to reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. I've read his more recent works but my friend highly suggested BM and is going to loan me his copy. He described it as "psychotic" and that the Judge character makes Anton Chigurh (from No Country) look like tame by comparison.
It took me over a month to finish "Woodcutter"... While I was somewhat busy, it was a chore to read. Decent story but couldn't keep my attention.
Recently read...
The Killing Hour - Paul Cleave... This was technically his first book written and was rewritten from a horror story to a crime/mystery novel. If you like Paul Cleave's books you will need to read this as characters are used throughout his books.
When The Women Come Out to Dance - Elmore Leonard... A good selection of his short stories. I got a preview of his "The Hot Kid" from one of the stories. Some stories ended abruptly and some kept you thinking.
Raylan - Elmore Leonard... I like the character and the stupid criminals he writes about. This seemed like a collection of short stories though that were tied together in the end. Really set up a bunch of episodes for the TV show.
Currently I am reading Dennis Lehane's "Live By Night". I like his story telling style, he usually captures my attention quickly. This story is a continuation of The Given Day in that it follows the main characters little brother in this book who turns to crime. Looking forward to getting through this one.
Thinking of going back to another Elmore Leonard book after this one...
I sleep when I am dead - the dirty live and times of Warren Zevon (I just rediscovered him ;) means did not listen to him in a long time but now he is on constant rotation). Too bad he passed so early a truly talented song writer.
i dig that a wide range of reading is represented here. :thumbsup:
I am a little over half way into Tishomingo Blues... This one started out so scattered for me, plus with the vagueness of Robert it was frustrating at first. Now as things are coming together I am enjoying it more.
Thinking of picking up a George Pelecanos book next...
Also picked up a new author to me... Marcus Sakey... Read his first one The Blade Itself... good book, more of a thriller than a mystery. Looking forward to reading more of his books.
I cam across this website and use it to find authors or books that I have not heard of in the crime/mystery genre. A nice listing of the the award winners from all the award presenting associations.
http://awards.omnimystery.com/mystery-awards.html (http://awards.omnimystery.com/mystery-awards.html)
Just finished ?uestlove's book. It was full of insight from an artist that has lived through many musical eras.
About to start Morrissey's Autobiography.