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I just finished Blankets by Craig Thompson and I really enjoyed it. The art was superb and the overall flow of everything from the the artwork to Thompson's writing flows so well and smoothly, it's like a dream. It was a very melancholy book, but I don't really think it was supposed to be bright and cheery from the first place. It was the first book that really made me feel sad after finishing it. It's definitely a must read.
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Mar 10, 2007 04:17
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Just finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road and, well, yeah...Okay. Okay. The ending bugged me a little but I'll save it for the McCarthy thread. Anyway, I'm halfway into And Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. I thought the first person plural gimmick was going to get old quick, but it's worked so far. It's a novel about an advertising firm after the dot-com bust and it has some hilarious parts to it. One of the blurbs on the cover calls it "The Catch-22 of the business world!" I wouldn't go that far, but I haven't finished it yet. Also, I've started calling people handjobs. You handjob! I'm hoping to get a ton of reading done this week since it's spring break and I have a huge pile of "to be read" books sitting here...
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Mar 10, 2007 06:04
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The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep is a seminal novel, as well as Raymond Chandler's first. Through Phillip Marlowe, Chandler basically created the "hard-boiled" detective story, which has been aped and parodied since The Big Sleep's 1939 publication date - but this doesn't affect the power of the book. Chandler is a master of short, punctual sentences that use language with an amazing efficiency, and his creative metaphors and similies (now the most cliched element of the genre) are stunning. I think Roger Ebert once said something about laughing at the dialogue of The Big Sleep, not necessarily because it's funny, but because it's so drat clever. Chandler's character's are fast-talking and unrealistically witty, and his universe of wise guys is ruled by the ultimate wise guy, Detective Phillip Marlowe. In some ways he's a male fantasy character, but in other ways he's not; Phillip is strong, clever, and unshakable, but he's also a depressed alcoholic with a surprising amount of chastity. The plot of The Big Sleep is extremely convoluted, but not impossible to follow. I read the book over the course of a day, which is the best way to experience TBS due to its detail-heavy nature. What I loved most about the book was that it really took me back into the California of the 1930s, which was not a difficult task for Chandler, who wrote it in that era. In many ways this book reminded me of the movie Chinatown, which is really an homage to noir, so it's a crappy comparison. That's why I'm stopping right here.
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Mar 10, 2007 15:49
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Just got done with Faulkner's Light in August, and it delivered. I'd never read any Faulkner other than The Sound and the Fury, which I loved, but that was in high school, and I was a bit nervous at the prospect of reading Faulkner without a curriculum explaining what the gently caress. LiA was a much easier read (or I got older), without skimping on the Faulkner deliciousness. I loved the hell out of it. I'd like to put some more of his stuff on my to-read list; what would you recommend next? Absalom, Absalom! and As I Lay Dying seem to be the other two big names; are they actually the best?
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Mar 10, 2007 17:47
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David Keck's In the Eye of Heaven - it's a very good fanasy novel, which is long but doesn't go into multiple novels to conclude its story. Which I appreciated. The main character is sympathetic if a bit self-loathing, and there's plenty of good battle action - which is typically hard to convey in print.
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Mar 11, 2007 01:13
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Finally finished Camus' The Plague. As A Game of Chess mentioned earlier, apparently people were a bit down on this one. I don't get it, it seemed pretty good to me. Not better than The Stranger, but it's definitely an interesting read. Also finished Spider Robinson's The Callahan Chronicles. It's definitely light reading but lots of fun. It's a collection of sci-fi short stories... sorta. It's actually about as SF as The Twilight Zone was, if that makes sense. Its about a group of friends at a bar where anything can happen... and frequently does. They have some really awesome rituals at the bar like making a loud toast to your problem and then throwing your glass into the fireplace. Then, if you wish, the entire bar will try to help you solve your problem. Sometimes the people who make toasts are aliens, sometimes not. The running theme throughout the stories is "Shared pain is lessened, shared joy increased." It's more about friendship and caring for your fellow man than it is about little green men. The Callahan Chronicles was pretty touching and I'll probably post something more detailed in the "Most Moving Books" thread. Again, it's got elements of science fiction without being overwhelming. I'm not usually into that space alien stuff, but this is light enough that it didn't bother me. If you're like that, then it may be worth a glance.
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Mar 11, 2007 19:53
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George Orwell's 1984 for the first time. It's considered a classic and I wasn't disappointed in the least, very well written so it's really hard to put it down to get some sleep.
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Mar 11, 2007 22:21
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Cell by Stephen King. I thought it was very exciting and a great page-turner. I read it in less than a week and with my schedule that's practically light speed. It's the zombie novel that isn't a zombie novel. If you like apocalypse stories, then you might want to consider this one.
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Mar 12, 2007 00:24
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Just finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Philip Roth's American Pastoral. I decided to read The Road because I really love Blood Meridian, and I found The Road in a used-book store for $5. It was pretty good, and was in many ways the antithesis of Blood Meridian. It showed the innate goodness in people despite the dehumanizing conditions. A heartfelt and touching story. I'm a little more mixed on American Pastoral. It was the first Philip Roth book that I've ever read. I really like his prose style; it's engaging and easy to read. I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of American Pastoral. I was completely entrenched in the plot and felt a lot of empathy for the characters especially Swede and his daughter. I disappointed with the last third, which seemed to drag and lose focus. New characters were introduced, who seemed to belabor the point rather than adding anything. If the book had ended with the first 2/3, I would have placed it into my pantheon of favorite books ever. But the last third was a struggle to follow and ended up leaving more questions than answers. As a result I have to give a weaker thumbs up. Anyways, now onto Jose Saramago's Blindness followed by Toni Morrison's Beloved. Olsen Oligarchy fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Mar 12, 2007 |
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Mar 12, 2007 01:38
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Just polished off Heinlen's Starship Troopers. It felt more like a series of short or shortish stories with glue to hold it together than a novel, and it felt like it just kind of ended without really accomplishing much. Not to say I didn't like it; usually I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, but I just expected it to be different than it was. I've also never seen the movie, and from what I've heard compared to what I've just finished, it's VERY different.. so maybe that colored my expectations. I expected something a little bit more starfucker-ish maybe, and less serious. I read a handful of Heinlen when I was a kid and wasn't ever let down. Time to pick up something else by the man on Amazon used or etc to see what's what.
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Mar 12, 2007 03:45
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Olsen Oligarchy posted:It was the first Philip Roth book that I've ever read. I really like his prose style; it's engaging and easy to read. I disappointed with the last third, which seemed to drag and lose focus. New characters were introduced, who seemed to belabor the point rather than adding anything. If the book had ended with the first 2/3, I would have placed it into my pantheon of favorite books ever. Ugh, I hate Roth's ability to set up something with great potential, only to blow it completely with unnecessary developments in the final stretch. See: The Plot Against America and The Ghost Writer, which both descend into the absurd at exactly the point where Roth tries to introduce the incredibly dramatic twist. Good books otherwise, but ultimately you polish them off in a puzzled and vaguely disappointed frame of mind. Sorry, had to vent.
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Mar 12, 2007 04:01
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inktvis posted:Ugh, I hate Roth's ability to set up something with great potential, only to blow it completely with unnecessary developments in the final stretch. See: The Plot Against America YES. He takes a concept that could have really altered the world as we know it and seems to rush things into a sloppy ending. Like a child told to clean his room before dessert, he throws everything under the bed hoping that will clear it all up.
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Mar 12, 2007 04:36
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Richard Siken's book Crush. it won the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition in 2004 and for good reason. I'm not usually easily impressed by poetry but this was some really breathtaking stuff.
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Mar 12, 2007 05:53
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As I Lay Dying by Faulkner: Which I didn't think I would like b/c I have always heard how boring and confusing he is, but I really enjoyed learning about the family through the many different perspectives. If you haven't read it, you really should. Among the Missing by Dan Chaon: It's a collection of short stories where there is always something missing in the story, whether it's a feeling, person, memory, object...it's intriguing...but not the best I have ever read.
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Mar 12, 2007 06:26
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perceptual_set posted:YES. He takes a concept that could have really altered the world as we know it and seems to rush things into a sloppy ending. Like a child told to clean his room before dessert, he throws everything under the bed hoping that will clear it all up. Seriously. With American Pastoral: After Merry was revealed to be Jain, she could have died and the story could have been left there. I would have cried, and it would have been one of the best novels ever. I would have gotten the point that Swede's dreams of the "American Pastoral" were destroyed and his life sucks. But no, Roth had to muck it up by introducing the Orcutt family and the whole subplots of his affair with Shelia and Dawn with Bob. By the point, I was pretty much sick of the characters and their melodrama. Goddammit, Roth. Olsen Oligarchy fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Mar 12, 2007 |
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Mar 12, 2007 19:14
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Tad Williams' Shadowplay. He's probably my favorite fantasy author; he'll never be as big as Martin or Jordan but he writes characters well and has a definite gift for the descriptive. Considering I've followed the story from its beginnings (Shadowmarch, which started off as a serial online story in 2001 and was eventually published as a book in 2004) it was great to reconnect with a bunch of old characters I hadn't seen in a while. It may be comfort reading, but to me, it's the literary equivalent of a La-Z-Boy recliner. 
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Mar 13, 2007 07:40
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Richard Rorty's Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. Rorty is one of those rare philosophers who can not only write well but communicate his ideas in an engaging way. While his conclusions about philosophy bug me and I vehemently disagree I certainly like his method, if you can call it that. I also found it a deeply interesting introduction to various thinkers that I'm unacquainted with; namely Heidegger and Derrida via people I am familiar with (Davidson, mainly). It's a swift little read, and only at a few points goes really philosophical. It's against his policy to make arguments. Also, the chapter on Nabokov made all the time I invested in the book (about four hours) pay off. If you've got the interest and the background (not too much is needed, actually) it's a worthwhile read. His discussion of Proust as ironist was especially enlightening. I also finished Notes from Underground, which is one of my favorite books. Dostoevsky wrote a brilliant character in the Underground Man. Such a good book and a great introduction to Dostoevsky. Next up is The Idiot and Blood Meridian. Joy! Or, as it will likely turn out given the reputation of their authors,  . Hopefully these will be finished over spring break. I also have to read We for a class, but it should be fun regardless, and have to review The War Against the Greens by David Helvarg for a class. I had to choose the book, and this looked interesting.
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Mar 14, 2007 06:26
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I just finished Thieves of Blood by Tim Waggoner and it was horrible. One would think that a tale of an ex-assassin would at least be marginally interesting. But from over-describing characters (the man had a fetish for describing boots. Dear god, the boots!) to unrealistic (even for fantasy) battles, down to the lame rear end plot, it was very bad. I gave the book a chance, kept saying "Maybe it'll get better near the end." Ha! The end was the worst part. The main love interest becomes a vampire, and the Main character is a pussy and doesnt even make an attempt to help her! then she leaves, giving no closure to anything. I've only wanted to return two books, and I can only hate myself for losing the reciept.
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Mar 15, 2007 04:58
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I just finished reading Ceremony by Leslie Silko for one of my capstone courses. I remember being forced through it back in high school with a teacher who was completely incapable of explaining any of the stylistic points, but drat this second time I loved it. The imagery and the topic of a Laguna who struggles to readjust after fighting in WWII were both well done. My professor for the class struck me as a bit of a literati the first day, but I cannot wait to read the next couple books which include something by Richard Powers. Between that class and my Kierkegaard course in which we just got through the Philosophical Fragments and Unscientific Postscript and I have been in heaven with my reading assignments this semester. I was wondering if anyone else was familier with Ceremony and had any comments about it?
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Mar 15, 2007 05:09
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Finished Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris and loved it. It's the best new novel I've read. It's funny, sweet, smart, well-written, and funny. It's Ferris's first book, but he writes like a veteran novelist. There's no wasted words or scenes, and everything, even the "we" gimmick, works. If you're under the impression(like I am at times) that all new novels are horrible, James Patterson-like dreck, read this book and be reassured. There are good new writers, and they are writing good new books. Next up: House of Meetings by Martin Amis for fiction, and Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs for non-fiction.
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Mar 15, 2007 22:19
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I just finished Ham on Rye by Bukowski. I loved it, and I love Bukowski. He's crass, rude, and obnoxious. And he writes hella short chapters. I like that. I don't think it's a short attention span thing, I just like my novels in comfortable bite sizes. You sit down to read Bukowski, and you know even if you only have a minute where you're going to end up, at a nice chapter break. Hell, sometimes there's more than one nice stopping point within a chapter. (Sometimes though, you're all  when you see you've committed yourself to two whole pages.) You don't have to make a huge commitment of time. And if you do wanna sit there for awhile it feels like the chapters just fly by and you're reading really fast and it gives me a nice satisfied feeling.This is why I loving hate Pratchett. (Not really hate, but c'mon. Jesus. Hope you take loooooooooooong shits.) One long string of words Bastard. It's really "Ham on Rye: A Novel". A novel huh? I never would have guessed, it's a good thing they pointed that out! It's amusing, at least to me, because if you're picking up a book in the first place, you're literate and know what you're dealing with. And if you can't read, it doesn't make much difference anyway.
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Mar 16, 2007 00:55
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Just finished Lamb by Christopher Moore. It was one of the funniest books I've ever read. Christopher Moore's writing style will make you laugh out loud. Not good when I'm reading and start cracking up in the middle of class!
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Mar 16, 2007 04:15
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I just finished The Time Traveler's Wife. The concept is that a guy involuntarily time travels, while his love interest lives her life sequentially. He doesn't meet her until his mid-twenties, but after he does he starts travelling to her as she's growing up, so she has known him since she was a very young girl. It's really a love story far and above anything else; I was expecting more of a science fiction angle that doesn't really exist in the book. I enjoyed it far more than I would have thought I'd enjoy a love story. It's really a great book, with such a touching ending. I highly recommend it. edit: should probably say that I read it after reading praise for it on this forum. And this thread has given me a long list to take to the library with me. Watommi fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Mar 16, 2007 |
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Mar 16, 2007 07:10
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LooseChanj posted:It's really "Ham on Rye: A Novel". A novel huh? I never would have guessed, it's a good thing they pointed that out! It's amusing, at least to me, because if you're picking up a book in the first place, you're literate and know what you're dealing with. And if you can't read, it doesn't make much difference anyway. I can understand why he'd put a distinction in his titles, otherwise you'd never know when picking it off the shelf it if was a collection of poetry, short stories, etc. I picked up South of No North just because I really dug Bukowski and expected another book of poetry. I still enjoyed the short stories, but I didn't know thats what it'd be going in.
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Mar 16, 2007 14:06
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This week it's Jennifer Government's turn in my little critical pillory. I didn't think it was actually bad, but it's hardly the smart, biting satire it's billed as. It's the novel equivalent of a summer popcorn movie. It features evil corporations set loose in a super-capitalist alternate universe – c.f. snakes set loose on a plane. Now I'm onto Michael Chabon's Kavalier and Clay, and I'm enjoying it a lot more. I just finished the part about the golem of Prague. After reading Iron Council I could have had a nice little 'books featuring golems' theme going if not for Barry's bloody Jennifer Government.
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Mar 16, 2007 15:09
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I just read Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts for a school project. I guess it wasn't terrible, but it was a chick book. There were a few memorable quotes in the book. The Forney character reminds me of a goon. I never thought 20% of a college course grade in a Child Psychology class would depend on an Oprah's Book Club book.
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Mar 16, 2007 18:04
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Just finished Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. I thought it was fantastic romp through the AbCity of UnLondon and creates an awesome aside in the style of Neverwhere by Gaiman. It is billed as a young teen novel and I can see that to an extent but it was sharp and funny and not dumbed down at all. I would place this book in the higher than Neverwhere though as the action and play on words were more clever and fleshed out IMO. Great read and would recommend highly.
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Mar 16, 2007 18:35
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Just finished The Golden Compass and it was pretty wicked. I want to finish the rest of the series but I'm broke and if I can buy another book soon its going to be A Clash of Kings. Also Five People You Meet in Heaven because my mom is obsessed with sappy depressing books and movies and threatened to make me watch I am Sam again if I didn't read it. It's good but not really different from Tuesdays With Morrie.
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Mar 16, 2007 19:38
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I just finished off Slaughterhouse Five last night. I really liked the change in structure with the whole time lapse thing, making the ending less like an actual ending.. it was less satisfying than a conventional one, but it's a quite refreshing change - The whole book was really a series of small resolutions, ending with one more. Unless i've not paid attention to some major aspect here. I'm probably going to read The Eye - A natural history by Simon Ings next, as it just arrived from amazon (a freakin' 320 page hardcover with glossy pictures for less than a tenner), and i want to take a break from fiction.  Probably Fahrenheit 451 after that.
Wallrod fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Mar 17, 2007 |
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Mar 17, 2007 14:40
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Diamonds Are Forever, Ian Fleming. drat I love Bond novels. Good campy fun.
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Mar 17, 2007 14:43
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Children of Dune. Definitely better than the somewhat uneventful God Emperor of Dune, though the ending felt a bit rushed. Really enjoyed it, but I'm going to take a break from the Dune series for now. Started reading Catch-22 today, and I love it already.
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Mar 17, 2007 17:28
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Eric, Terry Pratchett. Jesus that was a quick $8. <  >In the list of discworld novels, it says "with Josh Kirby" but nothing about this actual paperback even hints at a co-author.
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Mar 18, 2007 00:57
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Just finished reading Querelle by Jean Genet. I liked it, it seems to be the most linearly and straightforward plotted of his novels, which made it a lot easier to follow than Our Lady of the Flowers. He's a brilliant writer, although sometimes some of his descriptions seem a bit gimmicky, like he chose the wrong metaphor to use or something. I can see how it wouldnt be for everyone, as he does get into characters heads to reveal what they are thinking a lot instead of focusing on the actions they are doing. I really want to find and read Prisoner of Love by Genet someday.
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Mar 18, 2007 02:13
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LooseChanj posted:Eric, Terry Pratchett. The original edition was illustrated. Edit for on-topic: Startide Rising, David Brin. I got a hankering to re-read this recently. It's aged a little bit, and I'm not sure if I like the revised edition, but it's still a classic of early-80s sf.
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Mar 18, 2007 02:28
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fritz posted:The original edition was illustrated. I had a feeling. I'd love to see that.
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Mar 18, 2007 02:40
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Finished Reading Like a Writer: A Guide For People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose. As someone who's trying to work up the nerve to start writing again, the title struck me in a good place, and the book didn't disappoint. Prose builds the book around the sensible idea that with the great writers, every word and every sentence is there for a reason, and if you want to figure out how to they do it, you should start with a close reading of what they put on the page. She then walks us through (sometimes lengthy) excerpts ranging from Tolstoy to Cheever to show us what you can get out of paying attention, both as a reader and a writer. It's a very engaging read, with a style that shows where all those books will get you. She also includes a list of "books to be read immediately", which is more or less a handy bibliograhy of books covered in the main text. Considering one of the selections is Tales of Anton Chekhov Vols. 1-13, to which she dedicates a whole chapter, Prose must have an odd concept of "immediately". At least one online critic doesn't see advice to writers in anything but the first and the last chapters. He obviously read a different book than I did, or more likely has the maddening idea that writers are too busy writing to read somebody else. If you're just looking for exercises, Writing Down The Bones is still in stores.
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Mar 18, 2007 18:42
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I finally finished Mark Z. Danielewski's Only Revolutions. It took a bit to get going, but after maybe the first seventy pages or so I really enjoyed it. The epic-poem style is very well done, and the progressions of motifs and symbols is handled superbly. The imagery throughout is incredible. I can see why people wouldn't like it, but I'm going to argue that it's worth the effort.
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Mar 18, 2007 21:51
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Fly Me to the Moon by Belbruno, about the invention of a new class of orbital transfers. The standard method for going to, say, the Moon is to use a big rocket to get to Earth orbit, a MASSIVE THRUST to get on an elliptical trajectory in the direction of the Moon, and another MASSIVE THRUST a couple days later to slow down enough to be captured in lunar orbit. These new methods involve using the big rocket to get to Earth orbit, but then using a little engine to get to a high enough orbit where the gravity of the Earth and Moon is starting to cancel out or at least get weird and then fire a little burst of the engines to get on a crazy wandering path and eventually nestle into an elliptical lunar orbit a couple months later. It was a little heavy on "JPL and Hughes are screwing me again  " and more diagrams would have been nice (there are a bunch of hand-drawn (!) ones already) and a little short for  but not bad overall.
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Mar 18, 2007 23:33
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Just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Enjoyed his Sandman comic but this is the first novel of his I've read. Going to be looking for more now, really enjoyed this one.
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Mar 19, 2007 04:14
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kap posted:Just polished off Heinlen's Starship Troopers. It felt more like a series of short or shortish stories with glue to hold it together than a novel... fritz posted:Fly Me to the Moon by Belbruno, about the invention of a new class of orbital transfers...These new methods involve using the big rocket to get to Earth orbit, but then using a little engine to get to a high enough orbit where the gravity of the Earth and Moon is starting to cancel out or at least get weird and then fire a little burst of the engines to get on a crazy wandering path and eventually nestle into an elliptical lunar orbit a couple months later. I just finished Glen Cook's Sweet Silver Blues; apparently Roc is starting to reprint these to cash in on Cook's new work. I thought it was good; fantasy action in a "hard-boiled techno-thriller" idiom. Cook pretty much only knows one way to write, but if you like that way it isn't such a bad thing. Next up: The trade of Henry Kuttner's Mimsy stories. (I had no idea that there was a movie of this property. Is this the start of a new thing, or is it just Hollywood saying "okay everyone likes that Phil Dick garbage, who's another prolific sci-fi author?") Robot Bastard fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Mar 19, 2007 |
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Mar 19, 2007 06:32
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