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The 1000th post in my own topic! My family is so proud. I finished two things recently: The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson and Our Town by Thonrton Wilder. The Years of Rice and Salt I found pretty enjoyable, although it would have scored higher in my book if the ending would have been altered or a competent editor had been in charge. Still, I thought it was less "pulpy" than other alternate-history books and would come with a recommendation. Now Our Town would come with an even larger one. A really enjoyable, thought-provoking, and anything but simple play. Plus it's only like 40 pages of dialogue. Easily finished in one sitting. Plus Thonrton Wilder sounds like a cool guy. Edit: And apparently I posted this at midnight exactly. It just gets eerier...
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Jun 14, 2007 06:01
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Post Office by Charles Bukowski Since I don't really feel like typing up another lil' review, I'll just repost my entry in the Bukowski thread. Corbius posted:I recently purchased Factotum, Ham On Rye, and Post Office based on these suggestions. I just finished Post Office and, frankly, I was disappointed.
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Jun 14, 2007 08:16
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Corbius posted:Post Office by Charles Bukowski You seem to have missed the point that there isn't a point. Post Office is really just a long whine about how lovely working at the post office is. I thought it was hilarious, cuz I did the same thing only in a grocery store. But I didn't write a book about it. I haven't read Factotum, but Ham on Rye rules.
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Jun 14, 2007 08:31
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I just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy and loved it. It ended right where it needed to, and I was very impressed with how he handled a post-apocalyptic world with such poetic prose. Everything (well, enough things) is explained through light flashbacks and how they survive. It's probably the most realistic book in the genre I've read, though I also love This is the Way the World Ends by James Morrow. It's a soul-crushing read, but I never liked upbeat post-apocalyptic lit, such as Wolf and Iron by Gordon R. Dickson, which is essentially porn for primitivists.
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Jun 14, 2007 13:26
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Foucalt's Pendulum, Umberto Eco Read this for the SA book club, I never would have picked this up without it, so thanks guys. And wow. 641 pages of cranky intellectual conspiracy nuttiness! Eco's main fault is his one dimensional characters. Their dialog sounds like one of those commercials for the latest birth control pill, "and you shouldn't think about the Templars if you have liver problems, are pregnant or might become pregnant, breathe, etc etc etc". Thank goodness the story had a rather thrilling climax, and a satisfying ending. I don't think I've been this full of myself for finishing a book since ever.
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Jun 14, 2007 14:28
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Silent Bob Speaks: The Collected Writings of Kevin Smith. I like his movies so I guess it’s no surprise that I liked his writings as well. It’s only articles that he wrote for magazines and various websites but they’re pretty funny, and who knew he didn’t like Reese Witherspoon?
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Jun 15, 2007 02:03
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mallratcal posted:and who knew he didn’t like Reese Witherspoon? I did, and I love the reason why. (Not to mention I was so disappointed he didn't go through with egging her house. It would have been hilarious to see in the news.) So far I've yet to see any indications the man isn't a clone of myself. Or vice versa. Well, other than the fact that I can't write for poo poo.
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Jun 15, 2007 03:22
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LooseChanj posted:I did, and I love the reason why. (Not to mention I was so disappointed he didn't go through with egging her house. It would have been hilarious to see in the news.) So far I've yet to see any indications the man isn't a clone of myself. Or vice versa. Well, other than the fact that I can't write for poo poo. If only Selma Blair cracked, and gave up her address.
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Jun 15, 2007 05:12
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Skellen posted:Next up is the book I got bored with prior to this one, The Historian. Don't bother reading it. I'm about 1/2 way through, and while it is a good story with nice descriptive language, the execution is a bit off. Everything is just sort of dragged out far too long. I've been reading that off and on for about six months and feel the same way you do. The past week I've read I am Legend by Richard Matheson Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut. I read I am Legend because of the movie thread in GBS and it was very good. I also never read a Vonnegut book before and after reading Slaughterhouse Five...well, you guys know. I'll be reading every Vonnegut book before the summer is over. Galapagos wasn't as good and it had a lot of laugh out loud moments.
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Jun 15, 2007 13:41
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Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan. This book finally made it's way to a US release and I tore through it in less than three days. Probably my favorite in the series and the ending was very 
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Jun 15, 2007 14:50
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I was on a business trip in LA this week and was on a zombie book binge so I started reading Plague of the Dead: The Morningstar Strain by Z.A. Recht and ended up throwing the book across my hotel room about 85 pages into it. The dialog was absolutely retarded. It's like the author watched every action movie ever created during a long movie marathon and decided that's how his characters should talk. The last straw was when a cigar-chomping tough but tender general says in response to the possibility of being eaten by a zombie, "When I meet death, I'm going to laugh in his face." SMACK! against the hotel room wall. Now reading Eric Flint's 1812.
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Jun 16, 2007 06:25
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I just sat in a mall bookstore for 4 hours and read the entirety of Empire by Orson Scott Card because after checking out the first 20 pages or so I knew there was no way in hell it was worth however much the hardback edition (all they had) cost. Whew, what a clusterfuck. Written mostly in Card's usual style, which I think is very readable, with some glaringly ugly exceptions that made me cringe. The story was all over the place and sometimes outright absurd, but still, I guess it was an alright way to pass the time until my friend got off work.
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Jun 16, 2007 19:57
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, an imaginary tale about a small boy named Hugo. It also has strong ties to French filmaker, Georges Melies. This tale follows a boy that lives in a train station maintaining the clocks in Paris. It is an odd book made to be more cinematic than anything. It is hybrid graphic novel and straight forward novel with wonderful illustrations and film stills from Melies own films. It was whimsical and fast paced, a quick read, and terrificly heartwarming. It is a book that I will read to my own daughter when she is a little older and expect she will enjoy it a lot. The Exile Kiss by George Alec Effinger, the final in the Budayeen trilogy featuring Marid. The books in the series got better and better as the author found his voice, or so I believe. This book was bitter sweet to me since the author is now deceased and I know there will be no more novels told with his voice. The cyberpunk/Middle Eastern strong Muslim writing made it unique and very fascinating. I picked up his posthumous book of short tales set in the Budayeen and have read about half and they are terrific as well. Slaughtermatic by Steve Aylett, a fun, hosed up tale of a bank robbery gone strange. Words won;t do this credit, which is ironic considering it is a novel.  If you are a fan of the hosed this is awesome as hell. If not walk on by and don;t make eye contact with it. I found this to be a lot more coherent than the writings of Carlton Mellick III. While both take place in a whole different realm, Aylett wasn't as much shocking to be shocking things just got a bit messed up at times.I read a couple others in the last couple days but this post is probably long enough as is.
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Jun 17, 2007 01:25
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The Hollow Earth by Rudy Rucker. A take on the hollow earth theory with large Edgar Allen Poe reference. Basically a fantasy novel pretending to be a true story, about a boy who leaves his farm in 1836 with his slave and his dog and embarks on a journey to the center of the hollow earth. It was actually quite good, I just picked it up randomly in the book store after noticing the cover was interesting. Next I need to finish Cryptonomicon.
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Jun 17, 2007 02:43
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Noctone posted:Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan. This book finally made it's way to a US release and I tore through it in less than three days. Probably my favorite in the series and the ending was very I just read it about a month and a half ago. I liked it (as well as the other two books), but I can't say I felt it was the best in the series. The idea of Kovacs' younger self was great, but it just seemed like that went nowhere. I was expecting some dramatic confrontation at the end between Kovacs and his younger self, but that didn't happen, from what I recall.
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Jun 17, 2007 08:18
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The Stranger by Albert Camus I enjoyed it. I feel like its worth rereading, to understand its implications better. I kind of felt bad for the main character, but at the same time did not. It was a short read but it has not left my mind since I finished.
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Jun 19, 2007 04:04
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I finished the first installment of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy a few days ago "The Golden Compass" (aka "Northern Lights" for European goons). It was pretty good, though a bit less on the action front than I anticipated. There seemed to be a bit more explaining going, even given the circumstances that it's a first installment, but I enjoyed it all the same. It crosses over to the adult audience really well. I was little surprised to be reading a children's book that talked a lot about theoretical physics and theology, but I didn't mind. I'm currently reading the second installment, "The Subtle Knife" right now and I seem to be enjoying a bit more, even thought it does seem to be a little more heavy-handed in its "The Church is full of meanies" message. I'm about a third of the way through it and I look forward to completing the entire series.
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Jun 20, 2007 02:04
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I read about 2/3 through The Quicunx by Charles Palliser and decided to put it down and come back to it later. While Palliser obviously did a huge amount of research into Victorian England in order to depict the setting realistically, I feel like the story is dragging on far too much, in spite of the interesting central mystery. I did find myself enjoying it at first, though. Perhaps it'll read better when I have more time to focus on it. Going to re-read Blood Meridian next.
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Jun 20, 2007 04:53
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I just tore through Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam. It was nominated for a Canada Reads CBC contest and was an enjoyable read. It's about a group of med students and looks at their motivations for becoming doctors and their time in med school. It's was recently published and discusses the SARS crisis and how that impacted hospital workers. I'm interested in medicine and would like to be a doctor so this was right up my alley. edit for speeling. I want to be a doctor and can't spell medicine 
Fatal Laughter fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Jun 21, 2007 |
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Jun 21, 2007 02:13
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I just finished Soon, I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman. You can read my review of it, but I think it's something most goons will enjoy. It's light reading, but well worth it. Currently I'm reading The Testament of Gideon Mack, which has been slow going, but an enjoyable read nonetheless. Also, I love Bukowski's poetry, but I find his novels to be lacking. I found a weird old UK copy of Women, and honestly I couldn't stand it. I just watched American Splendor last night, and there's a reason Harvey Pekar did well writing about the mundane facts of life... in comic book form, rather than in novels. aude omnia fucked around with this message at 09:09 on Jun 21, 2007 |
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Jun 21, 2007 09:05
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"The Road" if it doesnt win a nobel prize for literature something is very very wrong.
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Jun 21, 2007 22:56
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Last week I read The Martian Chronicles and last night I finished All Quiet on the Western Front. Two books among many that I am embarrassed to admit having not read before. The Martian Chronicles was bizarre and eerie and beautiful. All Quiet was heartbreaking, I saw the movie in 8th grade and was touched, the book brought back those same feelings only more so.
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Jun 22, 2007 05:55
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Finished re-reading Blood Meridian and I'm just getting into All The Pretty Horses, which so far looks to be just as good.
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Jun 22, 2007 15:59
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The Cineverse Cycle:, Craig Shaw Gardener Slaves of the Volcano God Bride of the Slime Monster Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies I'm only posting once because despite being 3 books, it's really only 1 novel about a guy named Roger who gets sucked into the Cineverse, a place of countless worlds where reality is as fluid and silly as it is in the movies. (And each book is only just over 200 pages.) The B-movies really. Roger has to deal with wild western outlaws, pirates, the evil Doctor Dread, a knife wielding emo girl who speaks with subtitles, the Plotmaster, and his own mother! All in the course of rescuing his true love from the clutches of an evil slime monster. It's all absurdly entertaining, if you go in for that sort of thing. I'm a little undecided about what to read next. The three top candidates are Mine, by Robert McCammon, another Bond book For Your Eyes Only, and Foundation's Edge. It's really between the first two, I think I'll hold off on FE for the time being.
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Jun 23, 2007 12:30
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I just finished Blaze by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman. It was very short and I didn't like it very much. There was no closure and no real point to the story.
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Jun 23, 2007 16:47
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Just finished reading all The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher out so far(9).. Got interested after the TV adaptation on Sci-fi. The life of Chicago's only professional wizard kept me entertained pretty well, plenty of action and bigger storyline later on in the series.
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Jun 23, 2007 21:51
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I just finished a re-read of The Saint in New York, undertaken as a sort of joke to jot down statistics. Hours Simon Templar spent in Manhattan: 56 Hours of sleep during that time: 6 Cigarettes explicitly mentioned in text: 22 Cigars stolen from other characters: 2 Murders: 12 Injured: 13 Profit: $1,109,000 Battle, murder and sudden death in the name of boyish adventure: Priceless
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Jun 23, 2007 22:09
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I just finished The Impressionist, and I'm still not quite sure what to think of it. I enjoyed it sometimes, I hated it at others, and the writing style either amazed me or pissed me off depending on my mood. It was oddly written, but the storyline was great, and I think I just convinced myself it was worth reading.
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Jun 24, 2007 02:31
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I gave up on 1812 when I decided I'd rather read Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I'd never read it and even though it had been severely spoilered for me over the years, I still was curious. It was very good, yet some of the writing confused me which I will attribute to British slang and idiom that I am ignorant of. The story was great and made me want to read more "desert island" stories. I read Black Beauty as a kid and recently flipped through Robinson Crusoe at the shop. Is Robinson Crusoe difficult to read given its age? Is it any good? Are there any other similar type stories out there? Right now I'm trying to decide whether to read Harry Turtledove's A World of Difference or Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves.
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Jun 24, 2007 04:38
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Just finished Carlucci's Edge and am almost finished with Carlucci's Heart. Edge was great but in different ways from Destroying Angel, the first book in the series. I didn't like Carlucci as a main character as much as I liked Tanner from the first book. Tanner had that hard boiled but decent on the inside vibe that feels slightly more forced in Carlucci's character. The supporting cast really made the book shine and the introduction of The Saints was refreshing and sort of genius in thier operations. Carlucci's Heart is building up to be just as good as Edge it seems. If there is one thing to be said about these books- they keep the pacing the same throughout. Everyone of them stays at roughly the same speed and none of them is overly long so as to feel to drawn out. Russo had a definite feel for the San Francisco of the future he created and it was molded to fit his tale perfectly. Next up is Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett, the third in a series featuring police detectives in Bangkok. The main character has the distincition of being Buddhist and part owner in a strip club. I feel these books have a ton in common with the Budayeen books by Effinger. They share enough in common that I would put money on Burdett having read them at some point.
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Jun 24, 2007 04:44
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I tried again to get through all five of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, and again got as far as Life, the Universe, and Everything before getting kinda bored. The first and second books are pretty engaging, but by number three I always find myself looking elsewhere after Agrajag's story (which I do like, actually). So I gave the hell up and started reading random bits in Dr. Thompson's The Great Shark Hunt. I love his Nixon poo poo. Why aren't any journalists doing this kind of muckraking anymore? There's scandal aplenty, but it just isn't taking. Guh. Gonna get after the Illuminatus! trilogy soon. And probably Cosmic Trigger if I don't get burnt out on Robert Anton Wilson too quick. Hmm...classes coming up, better hurry.
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Jun 24, 2007 05:12
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pill for your ills posted:The first and second books are pretty engaging, but by number three I always find myself looking elsewhere after Agrajag's story (which I do like, actually). I've been travelling recently and have been reading more as a result. REally liked SLaughterhouse 5 (1st time read) and felt like going through it again immediately afterwards. Followed up (very unwisely) with a 'summer' read - 'Tell No One' by Harlan Coben, terrible book in all respects. Then two good surprises: The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry and The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies Of The Apocalypse by Robert Rankin were two very fun reads. Now getting started on Joyce's The Dubliners.
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Jun 24, 2007 06:26
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Just finished The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. A very funny story about a man who came to the sudden realization that he can't remember his own name. This is partially due to the fact that unbeknownst to him, he was killed in the second chapter and spends the rest of the book in Hell. He enlists the help of the local police to track down the fortune of an old man whom he and his roommate murdered with a bicycle pump and a spade. Along the way the reader learns of the secret brotherhood of one-legged men and that one's bicycle gets stolen because someone is genuinely concerned for your soul.
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Jun 24, 2007 09:55
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I just finished Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos. It is about the consequences (personal, political, societal, professional) of sucking at math. Next up is Cosmos by Carl Sagan. edit: I find I like single word books... Diamonds, Symposium, Dialogues, Meditations, Pirates, Cod, Salt... Molybdenum fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Jun 25, 2007 |
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Jun 25, 2007 02:16
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Huxley's Brave New World. I'm a big fan of 1984 so naturally I was recommended this book all the time. I finally got around to reading it and I must admit I thought it'd be better. Reading about imaginary states of the future is always interesting, and the book presents its history well. The beginning was okay, the middle was less than okay--in actuallity, it was dry and boring, but the end was pretty good. I don't regret reading it, and I really wanted to enjoy it.
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Jun 25, 2007 02:27
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ProperCoochie posted:Huxley's Brave New World. Would you reccomend it to another 1984 fan?
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Jun 25, 2007 03:01
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ProperCoochie posted:Huxley's Brave New World. I'm reading that right now. I'm pretty much in the middle of the book at the moment and I have to agree with you, it's not as good as I had hoped. I just finished A Clockwork Orange and I liked it a lot. I have never seen the movie or read the book before so it was all totally new to me. The made up slang was a little tough to get through at first but it got easier.
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Jun 25, 2007 03:02
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I just finished Julia Kristeva's 'Black Sun: Mourning and Melancholia', which develops a pretty brilliant psychoanalytic discourse concerning depression's renovation through literary expression. A little over my head at times (don't go in without knowledge of basic Freudian theory), but well worth it if you're into that kind of thing.
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Jun 25, 2007 03:19
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Last week I finished What is the What by Dave Eggars. A really powerful book about a man from Sudan who went through poo poo during their civil war, and describes some of the difficulties of transitioning to, and living in America. It's a really good book. Right now I am trying to finish up Neuromancer by William Gibson. Everyone remarks at how great this book is. But I am simply not seeing what the fuss is all about. Ok...the atmosphere is incredible, for the first cyberpunk novel of its kind, I give Gibson a lot of credit -- but puhleez, the dialogue is awful, the characters are flat, and I am simply not digging this. I'll try to check out Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson, supposedly it's a step up (and exceeds) from some of Gibson's works. But We'll see.
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Jun 25, 2007 03:28
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I just re-read Slaughterhouse-Five. What a beautiful book.
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Jun 26, 2007 09:02
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