what i'm reading now

[unsteel]

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is a hilarious and staggeringly entertaining book. (i'm on my third read of it this year.)

Anyone who has ever done the slightest amount of time (and if you have, you'll know that "doing time" is a good way to put it) in the restaurant industry should read it.
Also, it's a great read, and teaches you a few good tips about cooking.

Anybody else read it?

Or, what great books have you read recently?

[jonas lopes]

I´m reading Thy Neighbor´s Wife, by Gay Talese. It´s fantastic.

[Mz Lizzz]

I'm reading Michael Chabon's "Amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay"...

I'm only on page 80, but so far so good!

I love just about anything that has to do with comic books.... in what ever form I can get it!

That's why I liked the movie "Unbreakable". Really great story...

[Major Major]

I'm reading the Earthsea series by Ursula K le Guin

This is amazing stuff. It REALLY is.
If anything should be made into a movie it's this

[unsteel]

hey, Bailey... which of Hesse's books would you say is the best? i got a copy of Steppenwolf recently in a huge yard-sale-type score... (box o' books for ten bucks! lots of good stuff.)
should i start there? or find another one to start with?

[joely]

:lamb:

[unsteel]

10-4, good bailey...
i'll start with what i got and work my way out from there... in a slowly radiating sphere.

i sure hope that someone will read this thread and back me up on Kitchen Confidential... it's so good!

anyway, once i finish it i will move on to Steppenwolf... on the advice of the lovely Miss Bailey.

oh, and by the way, fiercepanda... good freakin' call! haven't even thought about those books in a billion years...

unrelated note... has anyone read the Tales Of The City series by Armistead Maupin? or if not the series, then the first book?

[Ginger]

I'm reading "The Natural" by Malamud.

I like Peter Rabbit, but I've read Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner so many times, I can quote them. Milne didn't just write the book for children!

[Mz Lizzz]

Tales of the City was an AWESOME series!! I think I read all 6 books in the course of a week!

[unsteel]

thumbs up to both Ginger and Mz Lizzz!
good call.

maybe we should start another thread about Tales Of The City, Lizzzz...
about how good the books were, and how good the first movie was, and how bad the second and third movies were.
or something like that.

[See More Glass]

reading david sedaris' new one.

[gaetano]

as i type i'm about to finish John Fante's "Dreams of Bunker Hill".
i cannot think of another book that had made laugh my ass off and then made me cry in the space of one page.
actually i can...it's John Fante's "Ask the Dust".
priceless readings,to me. :)

[Anjy]

"Ava's Man" Rick Bragg

Breathtakingly gorgeous. He might as well be writing about my grandpa. I feel like he's jumped off the pages and come back to life. It's amazing.

[See More Glass]

Originally posted by MissBailey
Books I'm half-assedly reading (I start like 100 books and then never finish them):

"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius"


try to at least read this one 3/4 assedly, its dang good.

[garmonbozia]

I don't read much fiction anymore, though I probably should. I'm reading a book about the genocide in Rwanda. It's called "We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families". Its horrifying. Its so tragic that I'm having a hard time really continuing to read it.

I should find something light after this. Kavalier and Clay was a good light read. I wouldn't mind something like that, if anyone has a suggestion.

[jonas lopes]

I´m reading Hollywood, by Charles Bukowski

[Ghostdog]

Siddharta by Hesse

started Life and Times of Michael K. by Coetzee, but I'm not in the mood for that endless, though beautiful, pessimism.

[maxnugget]

Originally posted by gaetano
as i type i'm about to finish John Fante's "Dreams of Bunker Hill".
i cannot think of another book that had made laugh my ass off and then made me cry in the space of one page.
actually i can...it's John Fante's "Ask the Dust".
priceless readings,to me. :)

I read that "Ask the Dust" is being made into a movie......... with Colin Farrell. :ok: :nothappy:

[AwesomeJuice]

i'm reading atlas shrugged by ayn rand.

i'm on page 240... of 1070!

[the grace]

I just finished reading 'If This is a Man' and 'the Truce' by Primo Levi, his writing reminds me of mllan kendura in that the feel is so gentle and beautifully discriptive. I'm now almost finished 'The Drowned and the Saved' by the same author - what an incredible man. I want his whole collection :yes:

I'm finding strange references to elliott songs - like the term 'bled white' is used in 'The Truce'...odd. He also reputedly committed suicide shortly after the book i'm reading now was written, but from what I've read about the incident I'm thinking it more likely was an accident. Some of the things written about his possible suicide - namely the reinterpretation of his written works (eg. that he had given hope to others, only to find himself unable to hope, thereby confusing his readership) remind me of elliott as well. i wonder if he ever read any of these books

[Sasha]

Just started "Tower of Babel" by Aleksandr Genis. For a book of essays it's a quite interesting read.

[john-paul]

i just finished an instance of the finger post by iain pears. i reccomend the outer halves of it. ok maybe the outer thirds.

[heavymetalmouthagain]

right now Im reading this thread

[nicolas]

Originally posted by unsteel

has anyone read the Tales Of The City series by Armistead Maupin? or if not the series, then the first book?

i tried to read the first book three times, as it was a gift and i really wanted to make the effort to go through it.. never could go further than page 70 or 80.. never could relate to any of the characters (who range from superficial to empty with all possible variations) or simply the plot.. never understood the big fuss around that book :no:

[Lyndey]

Choke- by Palahniuk.

[joely]

Originally posted by Lyndey
Choke- by Palahniuk.

a friend of mine who likes to write
in his spare time, was in corrospondanc
with palahniuk, and he (the write) sent
my friend a large box of things he had made
that referenced his books and the things
they had talked about, i ahvent read his books
buti was so moved that a write of his stature
would do that that i will

[Lyndey]

Originally posted by fiercepanda
a friend of mine who likes to write
in his spare time, was in corrospondanc
with palahniuk, and he (the write) sent
my friend a large box of things he had made
that referenced his books and the things
they had talked about, i ahvent read his books
buti was so moved that a write of his stature
would do that that i will

You really should. Of course, Fight Club's a classic. But Choke's good too. It's about this really pathetic guy who picks up chicks at sex addiction meetings. And pretends to choke at all sorts of restaurants so that his "saviors" will send him money. Very funny.

[joely]

.

[joely]

Originally posted by Lyndey
You really should. Of course, Fight Club's a classic. But Choke's good too. It's about this really pathetic guy who picks up chicks at sex addiction meetings. And pretends to choke at all sorts of restaurants so that his "saviors" will send him money. Very funny.

yes i get the impression they are dark novels, but it was so cool
to see how excited my friend was to get this gift, i mean i have
freinds ive known for years who would never do that..

[nikita]

Originally posted by fiercepanda
.


I had dream last night that I was reading that book, but it was actually The Bell Jar, which I finished last night for the second time..... It was a weird dream....and I've been trying to find She's Come Undone for a long time....someday I'll find it :)

[Lyndey]

Originally posted by fiercepanda
.

I've read that. I can't remember much about it. Only that this girl sits alone in her room and drinks warm Pepsi and eats. A lot.

And if I'm not mistaken she takes it in the ass from some random guy.




Not bad, I guess.

[Lyndey]

Originally posted by kauai80
I had dream last night that I was reading that book, but it was actually The Bell Jar, which I finished last night for the second time..... It was a weird dream....and I've been trying to find She's Come Undone for a long time....someday I'll find it :)


The Bell Jar is better, so why worry?

[joely]

Originally posted by Lyndey
I've read that. I can't remember much about it. Only that this girl sits alone in her room and drinks warm Pepsi and eats. A lot.

And if I'm not mistaken she takes it in the ass from some random guy.




Not bad, I guess.

the best stories are not always
the ones your reading, but the
ones your imagining in your mind.

[nikita]

Originally posted by Lyndey
The Bell Jar is better, so why worry?


Yeah....I think I won't find a book I love more....I just connect with in so many ways....:)

[...Derek...]

Having finished To the Lighthouse, I am now chugging my way through A Passage to India. Middlemarch is next on my hit list.

[Lyndey]

Oh yeah, she masturbates while eating raw beef too.


Not bad.












Or was it ham? *shrug*

[Lyndey]

Originally posted by kauai80
Yeah....I think I won't find a book I love more....I just connect with in so many ways....:)


Word.

[nikita]

Originally posted by bimdee
Having finished To the Lighthouse, I am now chugging my way through A Passage to India. Middlemarch is next on my hit list.


I was gonna start To The Lighthouse a couple of weeks ago....but I tried reading Mrs. Dalloway first and I couldn't follow it very well....so I returned them both :(

[...Derek...]

Originally posted by kauai80
I was gonna start To The Lighthouse a couple of weeks ago....but I tried reading Mrs. Dalloway first and I couldn't follow it very well....so I returned them both :(

Niki, I want you to find a fun book...something like Breakfasts of Champions or The Importance of eing Earnest or David Sedaris David Sedaris, David Sedaris!

The Bell Jar eocks, but you are so much more complicated that old sod Esther.

Lighten up, dude!

[nikita]

Originally posted by bimdee
Niki, I want you to find a fun book...something like Breakfasts of Champions or The Importance of eing Earnest or David Sedaris David Sedaris, David Sedaris!

The Bell Jar eocks, but you are so much more complicated that old sod Esther.

Lighten up, dude!


Hehehe.....ok....I'll try :D

[...Derek...]

Originally posted by kauai80
Hehehe.....ok....I'll try :D

Try HARD! Go to the library right now. Read Lenny Bruce. Read Burt Reynolds' autobiography. Read children's books. Read Bloom County.


This guys says, "Lighten up, chica."

[nikita]

Originally posted by bimdee
Try HARD! Go to the library right now. Read Lenny Bruce. Read Burt Reynolds' autobiography. Read children's books. Read Bloom County.


This guys says, "Lighten up, chica."


I'll try to get to the library tomorrow....

Oooh...but what about Anna Karenina? Does that count as being something light? I'm about 250 into it and I've been reading it for a year on and off.... It just gets really boring when it goes into other people's lives... I just wanna hear about Anna and Vronsky! :D

[...Derek...]

Originally posted by kauai80
I'll try to get to the library tomorrow....

Oooh...but what about Anna Karenina? Does that count as being something light? I'm about 250 into it and I've been reading it for a year on and off.... It just gets really boring when it goes into other people's lives... I just wanna hear about Anna and Vronsky! :D

No, it's NOT light. Follow along with me, Niki. You need to laugh as you read. m'kay?

Excellent!


























two cartoon icons in less than ten words!

[AwesomeJuice]

Originally posted by Lyndey
Choke- by Palahniuk. ooh i bought that this summer but i'm in the middle of a said long book....

[nikita]

Originally posted by bimdee
No, it's NOT light. Follow along with me, Niki. You need to laugh as you read. m'kay?

Excellent!


two cartoon icons in less than ten words!


I've never really been into comic books! I'll try to find something to make me laugh, though. I'm sure my bro has something funny (maybe something that isn't a comic:D)

[solveig]

Originally posted by MissBailey
She's Come Undone is amazing. If I could marry Wally Lamb, I would, because he has an incredible understanding of women. There are often times I would be reading it and think "I cannot fathom the fact that a man wrote this"




ah, dolores!

[unsteel]

Originally posted by kauai80
Oooh...but what about Anna Karenina? Does that count as being something light? I'm about 250 into it and I've been reading it for a year on and off.... It just gets really boring when it goes into other people's lives... I just wanna hear about Anna and Vronsky! :D

i was just coming back here to post that i'd just started this book last week...
i'm not quite to the point where it wanders off into other people's lives, but i know it's coming.

[nikita]

Originally posted by unsteel
i was just coming back here to post that i'd just started this book last week...
i'm not quite to the point where it wanders off into other people's lives, but i know it's coming.


Hahaha....yeah, it's coming. I'm determined to finish it, though! It's good, but sooooo detailed! :oh: Well, not really detailed, more like it goes into stuff I get bored with...as I've already said....:D
Anyway, good luck with it!


I'm now reading Living Yoga - Christy Turlington (yes, the model)

[unsteel]

i can tell that it's detailed, but i like that.
i'm determined to finish it too, which is why i'm not doing my normal three-books-at-a-time thing. i know that if i am reading multiple books, when this one gets off topic, i'll read it less and less... and i'm trying hard to get through it.

i read Dubliners by James Joyce a while ago... i'm thinking of maybe trying Ulysses after Anna K, so that i can eventually get to Finnegans Wake...

then again, maybe i'll just read The Joy Of Cooking next, for something different.
(strangely enough, i'm not kidding.)

[nikita]

Originally posted by unsteel

then again, maybe i'll just read The Joy Of Cooking next, for something different.
(strangely enough, i'm not kidding.)



:lol: exactly! The yoga book I'm reading is surprisingly interesting and quite calming. I'm convinced to become a yoga fanantic and healthy and not eat crap....but I'll settle with finishing the book :D

[unsteel]

i've been telling myself for a few years that i was going to start doing tai chi and quit eating food with no redeeming value... and learn how to make sushi.
however, i have yet to do much about any of those things.
except read the occasional cookbook.
and the unabridged kama sutra.
(i haven't bought a tai chi book yet.)

:-p

[Teresa]

for those of you who suspect you want to do yoga and try and eat good stuff and all that , ive always been one of those people too abd lately hjave been trying,

the yoga , mediatation and breathing exercieses im doing im very suspicious of them, soemthing very good is happening to me, im not chnaging into a dif person im staying me, all the time amzing changes are happening, i cant be sure but id put it down to the afore mentioned (sadly it hasnt seemd to do anything for my poor spelling so far! but!)


anyway right now im reading:

'how to be alone' jonathen franzen -very interesting, finished first essay and will write more at alate date about it

and

sputnik sweetheart - haruki marukami, marukami writes beautifully,


um those are the two main ones, for now.

[Lyndey]

Did anyone ever read those Ms. Piggle-Wiggle books when you were a kid? Those were the best! She always had some reverse-psychology cure for all the snot-nosed neighborhood kids.

[Teresa]

Originally posted by MissBailey


The Tales of the City discussion reminded me...has anyone read "City" by Alessandro Baricco? It's really lovely.


Kabe reccomended this to me an age ago, i agve sweetaddy a very specific list of requiremnst of what i wanted the book to do for me and she said this one, i greatly trust her opinion so bought it, ive erda a bit and it seemd lovely, somehow for soe reason i stopped and hace yet to start up again, just soemtimes have to wait till i feel im in the right mood to inhabit a certain world, ' but yeah, talk to her about it :) and me ! eventually

[Hazel Weatherfield]

Hunting Humans: The Rise of the Modern Multiple Killer. - Elliott Leyton.

I'm reading this for a class I'm taking. Very morbid but interesting as hell. :yes:

[solveig]

you'll know
soon enough!
:-D

[Sally]

For summer school I am reading Mass Media Law

For leisure I am reading Surviving Asuchwitz by Primo Levi

Next I will probably read Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, by Fannie Flagg, which I read about every year or so. I just love it.

[Master Misery]

David Leavering Lewis' WHEN HARLEM WAS IN VOGUE, about the Harlem Renaissance, and John Egerton's SPEAK NOW AGAINST THE DAY: THE GENERATION BEFORE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE SOUTH.

TO THE LIGHTHOUSE is wonderful! Need to go back and re-read that... anybody else here read Adam Haslett's YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE? That's my favorite recent book of fiction by a younger writer.

[Cacophony]

Originally posted by bimdee
David Sedaris David Sedaris, David Sedaris!

:D

i just finished "dress your family in courdoroy and denim"

or whatever it's called. :yes:

now i'm reading the golden compass again. :)

[walkingcatfish]

i just finished Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and have now started the Fountainhead.

[ShatnersHead]

I'm almost done with "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers." It's really quite amusing. I'm not sure what I should read next though...does anyone know any good introductory books on evolutionary theories?

Sarah

[pokey]

I'm reading hunger by knut hamsun

I've been reading almost a book a day, but I'm taking my time with this one.

[kupo]

Nothing, my brain feels like it's being knitted; otherwise I would like to continue Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series.

[TheEnemy]

Originally posted by ShatnersHead
I'm almost done with "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers." It's really quite amusing. I'm not sure what I should read next though...does anyone know any good introductory books on evolutionary theories?

Sarah i just started this book. my mom, of all people, passed it on to me. :-D

[riverman]

Raise High The Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour an Introduction. Great book!

[TheEnemy]

has anyone read The Rule Of Four? someone i know is reading it and they said it was pretty good. its also on the NYT top ten fiction list right now.

[The Crippled Silence]

'Please Kill Me', compiled by Legs McNeil. One of the most immersive books I've ever read. I adore it.

[jonas lopes]

I´ve been reading some short stories by Hemingway :)

[Bob]

I've just finished reading this:
http://www.swindonweb.com/life/haddon2.jpg
And it was great. Just about to start Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

[Michael C.]

Just finished "The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," which someone mentioned earlier in the thread. Great book if you have any interest in comics. And great book if you could care less about them too.

[wickedchild]

i just finished " a heartbreaking work of staggering genius" by dave eggers. very good. before that i read "...kavalier and clay" by michael chabon. WONDERFUL book, very deserving of the pulitzer.

hey "Michael C.", you wouldn't happen to BE Michael Chabon, would you? :eek:

[Michael C.]

Hehe. I do write a bit, but I only wish I could write that well. :-(

[alfalfa]

"Somebody Else: Arthur Rimbaud In Africa 1880-91". Charles Nicholl author.

[alfalfa]

Originally posted by The Crippled Silence
'Please Kill Me', compiled by Legs McNeil. One of the most immersive books I've ever read. I adore it.

I think I might've had that in hard cover.

One of the few things I remember thinking when I first read it was that, "Wow, Lou Reed used to have people sit on his face?" I didn't know what the hell it meant.

[chemgyrl]

Right now I'm reading Sick Puppy by Carl Hiasen (sp?) and I'm not real impressed it's like he's going for something wacky and it's just not that good

[pokey]

Originally posted by burb l'exexile
I've just finished reading this:
http://www.swindonweb.com/life/haddon2.jpg
And it was great. Just about to start Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Hey I read that a month or so ago and i too thought it was great. I usually have a few autistic people in my class each year, so I really enjoyed reading a book where it is from the viewpoint of a high functioning autistic person.:)

[unsteel]

halfway through Anna Karenina...

it's like running a marathon.
:confused:

[nikita]

Originally posted by unsteel
halfway through Anna Karenina...

it's like running a marathon.
:confused:



I've hit a lull in my reading of this :cry: Sometimes I just stop reading for a while, and it's sad :(


Anyway, and someone told the end of it in another thread and I read it.... and that made me even more sad :(

[unsteel]

Originally posted by kauai80
I've hit a lull in my reading of this :cry: Sometimes I just stop reading for a while, and it's sad :(


Anyway, and someone told the end of it in another thread and I read it.... and that made me even more sad :(

yeah, i actually knew the end before i started it... :(
i've hit a slight lull... i was spending an hour or two each day reading it... but the past few days i've not been reading it so much. i know i have to keep working on it or i'll set it down...
it's nice that i know i'm not the only one running this marathon. :)

[solveig]

Originally posted by burb l'exexile
I've just finished reading this:
http://www.swindonweb.com/life/haddon2.jpg
And it was great. Just about to start Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance


finished today!
i made it last
like a candy!
:)

[unsteel]

mmm... candy.

i finished Anna Karenina (a.k.a. "my marathon") the other day. now i'm tired.

started The Bourne Identity yesterday.

[RulesMapsGuns]

Kafka's diary meets Wes Anderson script.

[Xaipe]

I read a couple of really good ones
in the spring, thanks to my hip
first-year college english teacher.

The Third Policeman
by Flann O'Brien

This is a piece of absurdist literature,
a strange type of humor. O'Brien creates his
own philosopher and ridiculous theories,
he was a really brilliant guy. Best
from Ireland since Joyce (or so I've
been told).

Indiana, Indiana
by Laird Hunt

Very delicate prose, about
a man named Noah who has visions
and is deeply in love with
a woman who is sent to an
institution for burning his
house down. The book criticizes
our society's past treatment of people
who are considered "insane". A
beautiful novel.

[jonas lopes]

F. Scott Fitzgerald - This Side Of Paradise

[soler9]

Einstein's Dreams by A. Lightman... I've loved it since highschool.

Tycho & Kepler by Kitty Ferguson. It's about the evolution of astronomy (yes, I am a big nerd)

and Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye ...in Spanish. It's a horrible read translated, but I am helping someone with it.

[chemicalromance]

I'm currently reading The Da Vinci code by Dan Brown.

Big hello to all you Fante and Bukowski readers out there!:)

[candylion]

i can't believe i'm actually reading a book... :O
i actually love reading, but i haven't felt like reading lately...


anyway, i'm reading a lovely book of essays by Amy Tan, "The Opposite of Fate: a book of musings"

I've always loved her fiction, but this book of essays is beautiful. It's about her life and how she came to be a writer... this woman has had an amazingly interesting life...

[taraldor7]

I love Palahniuk! Choke and lullaby definatly. Still waiting for diary and stranger than fiction to come out in soft cover, STF I thought was a cool title considering. Any ways, I also recently read/reading

Either/or
Camus (resistance, rebellion and death)
Douglas Coupland(generation x,life after God,etc)
Catcher in the rye (finally)
Salenger (9 stories)
Dostevsky(sp) (Notes from the underground)
James St.James (party monster)I met him!
Anne Rice (Queen of the damned)

Don't make fun! I always thought I'd hate her...

[thenoteleks]

all quiet on the westren front,

in a few minutes

[not half right]

Originally posted by burb l'exexile
I've just finished reading this:
http://www.swindonweb.com/life/haddon2.jpg
And it was great. Just about to start Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This book is amazing :yes: I loved the way he thought and how he analyzed everything. Such an interesting perspective.

[joely]

INGREDIENTS: DRIED POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL, (CONTANS ONE OR MORE O THE FOLLOWING: CORN OIL, COTTONSEED OIL, AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL), YELLOW CORN MEAL, WHEAT STARCH, MALTODODEXTRIN, SALT, AND DEXTROSE

[not half right]

:O

is the fp hungry?

[joely]

mmm

[not half right]

:D

a much healthier choice :yes:

[Crayolaskys]

just finished
Grapes of wrath
and hated it

but im now on to
catcher and the Rye for the Millionth time

im trying to read all teh classics before i die,
but i dont even know which books are classics and which arent...
whatever.

[loveishell7]

On advice from a friend, I just finished reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and The Celistine Prophecy. LOVED the Acid Test!

Now I'm reading Trainspotting.

[e-m.]

just finished: High Fidelity -- Hornby. :yes::yes::yes:!

currently reading: Nine Stories -- Salinger.

[loveishell7]

I need suggestions.

I don't know how to describe what i'm looking for, other than to say I'm looking for a book that could change the way I think, that could shake up my mind a little. I don't know what I'm trying to say, and to avoid sounding silly, i'm leaving now.

[not half right]

Originally posted by e-m.

currently reading: Nine Stories -- Salinger.

:D

such a good read :yes:
if you're craving more afterwards, though, you should look into Franny and Zooey. It really is amazing and the description is fantastic. :yes:

[e-m.]

Originally posted by not half right
:D

such a good read :yes:
if you're craving more afterwards, though, you should look into Franny and Zooey. It really is amazing and the description is fantastic. :yes:
I'm about 3 stories in. took me a while to get into it (one shouldn't attempt to read when they're sleepy anyhow) but i'm glad i perservered. evocative little tableaus/character sketches. the resolution of the first story ("...bananafish") caught me by surprise! :O

Great, Franny and Zooey is on my list of books to read :) (and of course, I love ze Holden Caulfield character ;))

[candylion]

Originally posted by loveishell7


Now I'm reading Trainspotting.



i love irvine welsh! :yes:

[jonas lopes]

Rubem Fonseca - Vast Emotions And Imperfect Thoughts

[goblinski]

Originally posted by loveishell7
I need suggestions.

I don't know how to describe what i'm looking for, other than to say I'm looking for a book that could change the way I think, that could shake up my mind a little. I don't know what I'm trying to say, and to avoid sounding silly, i'm leaving now.

Loveishell - a few books that have made me sit up and change my thinking in my time:



Mikhail Bulgakov - Master & Margarita - delights in the power of the imagination

Albert Camus - The Outsider - it turned me into a pretentious, cruel twat when I was about 17, but was very formative, and there's a lot of fascinating stuff. Been meaning to re-read it for ages now.

John Fowles - The Magus - I have never read a book where I identified more with the central character. The book's like a labyrinth, completely immersing and bafflingly strange, but so much stuff to think about, and I think it kind of made me a much better person by the end.

Leo Tolstoy - A.K. and War & Peace - not a marathon in the least, an enriching pleasure from start to finish, made me review everything and everyone I know, didn't want either to end.

Michel Houellebecq - Atomised - really searching about the way the modern world functions, particularly consumerism and sex. Fucking dark, and bloody hilarious

Graham Robb - Rimbaud (biography + some Rimbaud poetry) - I just can't believe this guy lived on the same planet that I now do...

Tom Hodgkinson - How to be Idle - improved day to day life immeasurably since I finished it a couple of weeks ago. Hugely pleasurable

John Gray - Heresies - political/ sociological/ philosophical essays, very empowering...

Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita, Pale Fire, Pnin, Laughter in the Dark, Speak Memory, Short Stories... basically my favourite author. No-one writes English like he does.

Alexander Pushkin - Eugene Onegin (get John Bayley's translation - just incredible. Worth learning Russian just to read it in the original.

[nicolas]

Georges Bernanos - Under the Sun of Satan (Sous le soleil de Satan)
probably one of the most disturbing and beautiful books i've ever read..
(there's also a film with Depardieu, which i haven't seen though)

[Bob]

Originally posted by candygirl
i love irvine welsh! :yes: Hey Candy! Sorry about the lack of PM today - having a busy one!

Have you read Marabou Stork Nightmares? I reckon it's his best so far.

I'm just starting Catch 22 - about bleedin' time

[candylion]

Originally posted by burb l'exexile
[B]Hey Candy! Sorry about the lack of PM today - having a busy one!

:mad: :cry: :-D

Have you read Marabou Stork Nightmares? I reckon it's his best so far.


I have read that one actually! I liked it a lot... his books always leave me feeling a little sick to my stomach and my head reeling. Have you read the Acid House?? The short story in there about that bloke who gets truly dumped on all in one day (loses his job, gets kicked out of his football club, girlfriend breaks up with him, parents kick him out of the house.. and his parents were some sick fucks.. sorry for my language, talk of irvine welsh brings it out in me) and goes to that pub and sits next to God but doesn't believe it's Him... anyway.. that story was sick and hilarious!

[Bob]

Yeah, The Acid House rules too. In that story, was that the one where he ends up trading places with a new-born baby? I liked the story about the squirrel too - do you remember that one? Extremely bizarre!

I read 'Porn' quite recently too. It's basically the sicker, dirtier follow-up to Trainspotting and it's superb. That lazy Scotch git should pull his finger out and write some more books, dagnabbit!

[Twinkie]

Originally posted by goblinski

Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita, Pale Fire, Pnin, Laughter in the Dark, Speak Memory, Short Stories... basically my favourite author. No-one writes English like he does.

I feel like seconding this one. I've read Pale Fire twice in the last year. I'm upset with myself that I've never read Lolita. Does he have a volume of short stories published?

*off to google*

[goblinski]

Well, there's Penguin's comprehensive Collected Short Stories - I don't know if it's published in the US in the same format, but I bet there's something like it. It's amazing - a primer in exquisiteness. Really inspires me to write and then taunts me for not being a scintilla as good as him.

Pale Fire is truly incredible. The cleverest and most humane thing I've ever read. You should definitely read Pnin as well if you haven't already - very funny.

And wow - if you've not read Lo-lee-ta you're in for a treat... I'm sure you know the opening paragraphs, but they're worth reitorating just cos they are some of most hauntingly beautiful words ever penned:

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of my tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita

*swoons*

[meepmeep]

salinger - nine stories

finished bukowski's 'the post office' recently

[trucker's atlas]

raymond carver - will you please be quiet, please?

[Raymond Carver]

No I will not, and I do not like your condescending tone.

[jonas lopes]

Originally posted by meepmeep
salinger - nine stories

finished bukowski's 'the post office' recently

Two good books, Jim :)

[Jay]

the sportswriter by richard ford - so damn good. i have re-read the first chapter about a dozen times - prose is perfect - makes me want to start writing fiction again

[maxnugget]

Originally posted by Raymond Carver
No I will not, and I do not like your condescending tone.

:spit:

[candylion]

Originally posted by Raymond Carver
No I will not, and I do not like your condescending tone.



calm down, ray... ;)

[frankenweeny]

... the holographic universe - michael talbot

:)

[solveig]

Originally posted by Raymond Carver
No I will not, and I do not like your condescending tone.


oh ray, don't start again

[Twinkie]

Originally posted by goblinski
Well, there's Penguin's comprehensive Collected Short Stories - I don't know if it's published in the US in the same format, but I bet there's something like it. It's amazing - a primer in exquisiteness. Really inspires me to write and then taunts me for not being a scintilla as good as him.

Pale Fire is truly incredible. The cleverest and most humane thing I've ever read.

A collection of his short stories has definately just jumped to the top of my want-list.

You're right about Pale Fire. It's amazing, and I'm not easily amazed. It's so fresh everytime I've read it too... there are so many different ways to absorb that book.

Maybe you can give me some advice about recommending Pale Fire. I've thought a few times about recommending it to a few of my friends that read a bit below my level, and then reconsidered. I almost thought that it might not quite have the qualities they would be looking for in a good read. It's pretty demanding. I guess my question is, do you think it would be as enjoyable to ANYONE, or is it more of a lit. student type read? I'd love to get more people to read it, but I don't want to turn them off to Nabokov if they aren't ready for it, you know?

[Foxing Peculiar]

Originally posted by not half right
you should look into Franny and Zooey.

Liz told me to read this. I just finished the Franny portion moments ago.


:heart: it :O :D

[walkingcatfish]

The Dark Stuff by Nick Kent

[goblinski]

Originally posted by Twinkie
Maybe you can give me some advice about recommending Pale Fire....I don't want to turn them off to Nabokov if they aren't ready for it, you know?

Psscchh. Search me - it is a difficult book, no question. In one sense, it's a marvellous lampoon of academia, which provides much of the humour, so if you're not familiar with the various styles and pools of knowledge he references I guss a lot of it will be lost. One aspect I loved about it was the broad surrealism, which isn't sign-posted with a big 'hey, I'm being wacky! :crazy:' sign, so may just seem odd. Also, Nabokov is frankly just fucking clever; his vocabulary, his shades of thought, his imagery, and so on, I always feel there's so much I'm missing.

What I think is so impressive about Nabokov however is that he doesn't use his obvious cleverness to show off, but to make a very moral, humane point about human relations, art, cruelty, a lot of stuff. But I suppose, paradoxically, to get the most universal levels of meaning in it, you need to be able to understand the more literary levels - ie not put the book down thinking 'what pretentious guff, or I don't get it, or I think I'll stick to Bridget Jones.

So, it's an interesting question, but basically it depends on how open-minded and prepared to challenge themselves your firends are. I don't know which Nabokov is the best for beginners - I suppose most people start (and end) with Lolita. But mayybe Pnin's probably a good one to start with - it's that same academic sphere it's set in, but it's more conventionally structured, short and broadly humorous, and if they enjoy that get them to go for Pale Fire.

(btw - note the changed signature... a finer couplet has never been written)

[goblinski]

Also, dear Twinkie, I don't know how into your Russian stuff you are, but if you fancy a fascinating slog, Nabokov's 4-volume translation and commentary of Eugene Onegin is absolutely brilliant - I think he was slightly parodying himself doing this when he did Pale Fire - it's kind of the same structure, but his level of knowledge, passion and insight into Pushkin and his times is astounding. And his put downs of just about everyone other academic who's ever attempted to translate Pushkin are frankly Sedgelyparkian. It's particularly worth reading as no-one's read Eugene Onegin, or particularly seems to know much about it, and it's frankly the best piece of poetry written in any language ever.*




*I can say this with authority, since I speak every language ever.

[Cacophony]

arm of the starfish - madeline l'engle :D

[frankenweeny]

.....everybody poo's - gomi taro........

[Twinkie]

Originally posted by goblinski
Also, dear Twinkie, I don't know how into your Russian stuff you are, but if you fancy a fascinating slog, Nabokov's 4-volume translation and commentary of Eugene Onegin is absolutely brilliant - I think he was slightly parodying himself doing this when he did Pale Fire - it's kind of the same structure, but his level of knowledge, passion and insight into Pushkin and his times is astounding. And his put downs of just about everyone other academic who's ever attempted to translate Pushkin are frankly Sedgelyparkian. It's particularly worth reading as no-one's read Eugene Onegin, or particularly seems to know much about it, and it's frankly the best piece of poetry written in any language ever.*




*I can say this with authority, since I speak every language ever.

Awesome. I'm above average in my knowledge of russian literature, but I think that's lost on me. My knowledge of Pushkin is minimal, at best. I'd love to see Nabokov with a gunuinely mordant criticism of other academics-since as you mentioned before he has a humane touch in the middle of the obvious god-like control he has over his writing-he certainly has glorious views on academia though, doesn't he? Jumping backward to his control, I once heard or read somewhere (how's that for a vague citation) that Nabokov could be given a combination of two or three words from any of his novels and tell the novel, the chapter/section, the context, and in most cases the page it was on in his manuscript. It seems like this might be a little bit of a myth to glorify him, but if anyone could do it... I mean, he'd know especially his earlier novels well from not only his tedious writing process, but also from the rigorous translations to English.

I'll have to research that commentary, especially if it gives more depth to Pale Fire (because I need more to think about...). What was it about Eugene Onegin that got Nabokov's attention enough for such a massive response? Moreover, did you read the four volume commentary straight through...? Was it a cumbersome read, or did it flow?

I can't help but savor the strange combination of love and hate I have when I think about how much I must be missing...

I'm nearly convinced I should talk more of my friends into reading Nabokov at any risk just for the conversation.

*sigh*
Please pardon how disjointed that whole post was, I'm at the stage in the day when it's hard for me to manifest any continuity.

[candylion]

i missed this post earlier.. i swear it wasn't here... :confused:




Originally posted by burb l'exexile
Yeah, The Acid House rules too. In that story, was that the one where he ends up trading places with a new-born baby? I liked the story about the squirrel too - do you remember that one? Extremely bizarre!

no the one i'm talking about, God turns him into a fly.
i recall both of the stories you're talking about too... it's been years since i read them though... the one i mentioned sticks in my mind ver clear for some reason though...

I read 'Porn' quite recently too. It's basically the sicker, dirtier follow-up to Trainspotting and it's superb. That lazy Scotch git should pull his finger out and write some more books, dagnabbit!



My mom gave me "Porno" for christmas... (sounds funny if taken out of context...) I've yet to read it... :-o

[GutenAbend]

im reading the magus by john fowles...very daunting being that i get undone over big books....good so far.

[lost in poetics]

on the road

[goblinski]

Originally posted by Twinkie
What was it about Eugene Onegin that got Nabokov's attention enough for such a massive response? Moreover, did you read the four volume commentary straight through...? Was it a cumbersome read, or did it flow?


Well Pushkin practically invented Russian literature and EO is, in canonical terms, the Russian Iliad or Hamlet or Faust, more so than War and Peace or Crime and Punishment. It's just not nearly so well known abroad, bacause the poetry is pretty much impossible to convey in any other language - so a great loss for us. I did a paper on Pushkin at uni (I studied Russian btw) and honestly, he is amazing, EO is so universal yet so incredibly modern as well. The poetry is exquisite, it's incredibly playful (Pushkin as narrator is kind of the best character in the book), the story is incredible etc etc... Just a really wonderful, moving book. And also, actually very short for a novel - it's only about 15,000 words.

Anyway, I first read it fairly quickly in Russian with the Penguin English translation. So I knew what was going on... But I found time later to read Nabokov's commentary in tandem with the Russian, very slowly, putting in all the vocabulary, making notes etc. It took about five days of solid reading (sounds nasty, but it was when I was supposed to be revising for all my exams, and quite enjoyed the perversity of spending such an inordinate amount of time on one single book). You get such a brilliant sense of what every single word means and what its connotations are, plus a wealth of information on Russian history and customs, fascinating little snippets of information and a running commentary on all the various buffoons who have attempted the task before Nabokov. VN's point is that it's impossible to translate the poetry conveying what a Russian would feel reading it, so he translates it very literally and describes how great it is, rather than forcing out hackneyed rhymes and so on. But because he's such a compelling writer himself, it becomes much more than just a piece of lit crit, but a fascinating read in its own right; a way into Pushkin, and Russia, and literature in general, and a way into Nabokov and his thoughts and so on... a hall of mirrors.

My recommended course of action, short of learning Russian, would be to read John Bayley's Penguin translation, which does rhyme and flow very well to get the story and some of Pushkin's vim, and then read Nabokov's commentary for accuracy... It takes patience, and it is kind of cumbersome, but if you've got the time, and you enjoyed Pale Fire and Russian literature, then I think you'll find it really rewarding. I really enjoyed it anyway, but then I'm kind of sad.

Blah blah blah... That thing about VN knowing exactly where any three words are is incredible, but kind of doesn't surprise me!

[chemicalromance]

I'm currently reading 'Vernon God Little' by DBC Pierre. Giving myself a break from the challenging stuff. Its very enjoyable though. :)

[Cadence&Quiet]

Collected Work of Gary Snyder

[GutenAbend]

i wont even bother with catcher in the rye cause it's a cliche book everyone talks about and says they've read.I started it and thought it was crap
!




Originally posted by Crayolaskys
just finished
Grapes of wrath
and hated it

but im now on to
catcher and the Rye for the Millionth time

im trying to read all teh classics before i die,
but i dont even know which books are classics and which arent...
whatever.

[GutenAbend]

elliott owned it so i got to read it....Not! followers and no leader.




Originally posted by frankenweeny
.....everybody poo's - gomi taro........

[heavymetalmouthagain]

for prob. the 100th time

[jonas lopes]

Gabriel García Márquez - Relato de Un Naufrago

[kim]

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, on the recommandation of jenny blue. It is challenging and dark and beautiful. I love it.

[Ghostdog]

The Bandini Quartet by John Fante

[frankenweeny]

Originally posted by GutenAbend
elliott owned it so i got to read it....Not! followers and no leader.

..... assumptions can take you down a prickly path........

[pinkyswear]

i just finished re-reading "breakfast of champions". It's a great book. Niki, take bimdee's advice and get it!

miss bailey, I just tried to buy "youth in revolt", but they didn't have it in the tiny tahoe bookstore i was in. (which lead me to the re-reading of BofC) I found a copy of it in my work and read the first couple of chapters, but then it got snatched away by it's rightful owner :( now that i know it has the Bailey seal of approval i'm gonna track it down...:)

[Wondergirl]

Originally posted by jonas lopes
Gabriel García Márquez - Relato de Un Naufrago

good catch

try doce cuentos peregrinos
too

im with my fourth paul auster book
mr vertigo

its good but im sad about having to start reading his autobio books soon after im done with the novels

[Major Major]

Jules Verne - The Mysterious Island

[jonas lopes]

Mark Twain - The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

Great :)

[unsteel]

adult head - jeff tweedy

(very good poetry)

[jonas lopes]

Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle

[jonas lopes]

Norman Mailer - The Fight

[frankenweeny]

...just finished 'bookof illusion'paul auster, and 'come as youare' michael azerrad, 'invisible monters' chuck p., .... started 'blue melody'about tim buckley...

[frankenweeny]

... this weeks Closer magazine with 'Posh's love cheat' and 'your daddy is a woman' on its cover....

[ayse]

i'll be reading christmas carol in a few weeks. ;-)

[unsteel]

just finished:

raymond carver - will you please be quiet, please?

just started:

kurt vonnegut - slaughterhouse five

[unsteel]

jay mohr - gasping for airtime

kay redfield jamison - an unquiet mind

[nikita]

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde :heart: :heart:

[pokey]

enslaved by ducks-Bob Tarte

[tiah]

journey to the end of the night by louis ferdinand celine

[Reverie]

Meat Is Murder by Joe Pernice

[kim]

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

[joely]

the contents of the scotch pie i ate for dinner :sick:

[jonas lopes]

John Steinbeck - Grapes Of Wrath

[unsteel]

Originally posted by fiercepanda
the contents of the scotch pie i ate for dinner :sick:


mmm. scotch and pie. :D

oh, wait... :-p

[Cacophony]

monkey wrench gang - edward abbey

[floatingdown]

i just finished goat by brad land and i'm reading less than zero now. also, i just got hunger from the library and can't wait.

i want to get my hands on the new augusten borough's book. has anyone read it?

[kim]

Originally posted by jonas lopes
John Steinbeck - Grapes Of Wrath

ooo...:love:

[popelka]

paul auster------oracle night. it ain't new york trilogy, but it's auster.

[frankenweeny]

...just finishig chuck palahniuk's non-fiction....

....just starting thomas benhard's correction, ......

.... and the collected memoirs of julian maclaren-ross .......

[Littleone7]

The Bell Jar

[nikita]

Originally posted by Littleone7
The Bell Jar


:heart: :drool: :heart:



I think I may be unhealthily obsessed :darn:

[Littleone7]

Originally posted by kauai80
:heart: :drool: :heart:



I think I may be unhealthily obsessed :darn:
Don't you worry.We'll have each other when we're hauled off to the mental institution.I'm a bit obsessed too.When I read this book, I feel like she's talking about me.It's kind of freaky.:eek:

[nikita]

Originally posted by Littleone7
Don't you worry.We'll have each other when we're hauled off to the mental institution.I'm a bit obsessed too.When I read this book, I feel like she's talking about me.It's kind of freaky.:eek:



hehe... exactly :)

[Littleone7]

Originally posted by kauai80
hehe... exactly :)
You're cool.I like you.

[nikita]

Originally posted by Littleone7
You're cool.I like you.



:yes: :)

[kim]

Originally posted by Littleone7
You're cool.I like you.

please please please please please please please vote for Kerry please please please....what do i have to do to convince you? :)

[Lala]

Skinny Dip- Carl Hiaasen

[Littleone7]

Originally posted by kim
please please please please please please please vote for Kerry please please please....what do i have to do to convince you? :)
Magically change him into a completely different person.Sorry,but I've decided not to vote at all.I'm not happy with either one and I don't think we should be forced to choose if we're uneasy.Hasty decisions aren't good when you're voting for the ruler of a country.I've never been very patriotic anyway.I do appreciate your concern,though.:)

[kim]

Originally posted by Littleone7
Magically change him into a completely different person.Sorry,but I've decided not to vote at all.I'm not happy with either one and I don't think we should be forced to choose if we're uneasy.Hasty decisions aren't good when you're voting for the ruler of a country.I've never been very patriotic anyway.I do appreciate your concern,though.:)

I understand. I wish you'd reconsider voting, though. I mean, obviously I'm partisan, so don't trust me (:-D), but you're giving up your voice!

How about this...what's important to you? give me some issues that you care about, and I'll produce some info. :D

[Littleone7]

I am really against abortion and stem cell research when it involves killing embryos.

[kim]

Originally posted by Littleone7
I am really against abortion and stem cell research when it involves killing embryos.

ok. i admit, i disagree with you on abortion, as far as a woman's right to choose.

:\

but are you prepared to not vote because of that issue?
do you think it's the most important issue facing the world today?

i'm for real here. if you do, then your choice is clear. but if you think there are other things that are important, or if you're willing to entertain a different point of view, then i hope you'll think.

[taraldor7]

No! Partisan hakery on sweetaddy?! No wars, like in that "what you have to belive to be a republican" thread. That's pretty bad... Back to the books!

[Littleone7]

Originally posted by taraldor7
No! Partisan hakery on sweetaddy?! No wars, like in that "what you have to belive to be a republican" thread. That's pretty bad... Back to the books!

I agree.I am kind of tired of hearing everyone's opinion and I think it's really immature to bash a president no matter what he has done.I respect your opinions, but I don't need to hear them every waking moment.Don't mean to be mean,just annoyed.:rolleyes:

[kim]

i wasn't trying to be a partisan hack...

ok...do what you want. i was just trying to have a conversation.

[Littleone7]

Originally posted by kim
i was just trying to have a conversation.
Are you reading anything interesting right now?

[kim]

Originally posted by Littleone7
Are you reading anything interesting right now?

i am! :D i just started American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I'm only about 20 pages into it, but I like it so far, and I've heard good things.

you? :D

[Littleone7]

Well,I'm taking a test to pass out of American Lit next saturday so I've been reading the idiot's guide to american lit.It's actually pretty interesting because it gives the backgrounds of all the authors, not just the books and I'm kinda crazy like that.:-p

[unsteel]

tracy chevailer - girl with a pearl earring :yes: :heart:

[jonas lopes]

Ernest Hemingway - Across The River And Into The Trees

[meepmeep]

ralph ellison - invisible man

+ random time life book about pirates

[unsteel]

orson scott card - ender's game

[Cacophony]

GRE the princeton review

[creatrix]

Originally posted by unsteel
tracy chevailer - girl with a pearl earring :yes: :heart:

:yes::heart, indeed! :D

[claireee]

Originally posted by unsteel
tracy chevailer - girl with a pearl earring :yes: :heart:

That's one of the few books that I've read where I thought the movie was better.

[creatrix]

Originally posted by claireee
That's one of the few books that I've read where I thought the movie was better.

:eek: Oh, my, no!

I mean, the movie was beautifully filmed, but I think you had to have read the book to get the full effect. Like at the end, when she's standing at the crossroads? They don't explain that in the film, but it's still quite potent if you've read the book.

[rebekah]

ian caldwell and justin thomson -- the rule of four

[creatrix]

Originally posted by rebekah
ian caldwell and justin thomson -- the rule of four

They start out so very pretentiously, don't they? It's like they're trying too hard. But they find their voice a few chapters into it. I really enjoyed that book. It was a good follow up to DaVinci Code.

[kim]

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

[rebekah]

Originally posted by creatrix
They start out so very pretentiously, don't they? It's like they're trying too hard. But they find their voice a few chapters into it. I really enjoyed that book. It was a good follow up to DaVinci Code.

yeah, i had a hard time getting into it cos i kept hearing the author's voice and not the character's. but i'm getting into it a bit more. i'm just at the murder part. my dad loaned it to me to read, thinking i would love it, so i gotta read it and get back to him about how i feel about it in the end.

[charlesb]

exquisite corpse by robert irwin
the messiah of stockholm by cynthia ozick

just finished these today, both great.

[creatrix]

Originally posted by rebekah
yeah, i had a hard time getting into it cos i kept hearing the author's voice and not the character's. but i'm getting into it a bit more. i'm just at the murder part. my dad loaned it to me to read, thinking i would love it, so i gotta read it and get back to him about how i feel about it in the end.

I leant mine to my dad. He hasn't read it yet. I leant it to him months ago. Bastard. :-D

[rebekah]

Originally posted by creatrix
I leant mine to my dad. He hasn't read it yet. I leant it to him months ago. Bastard. :-D

yeah, i find lending books to my father is the same as giving them to him. maybe it'll be a hint if i actually return the books he's lent me :-D

[creatrix]

Oh - yeah - I guess I should say what I'm reading, huh? It's called Hairstyles of teh Damned. It's okay, I guess. I mean, I'm enjoying it, but it's not anything really special.

[wasp in a jar]

i'm re-reading "shooting butterflies" by marika cobbold. i think it's excellent, though the ending always leaves me feeling slightly numb.

[unsteel]

Originally posted by claireee
That's one of the few books that I've read where I thought the movie was better.

wow... that list from my perspective is SO short. i haven't seen the movie yet - i'll have to check it out.

Originally posted by creatrix
:eek: Oh, my, no!

I mean, the movie was beautifully filmed, but I think you had to have read the book to get the full effect. Like at the end, when she's standing at the crossroads? They don't explain that in the film, but it's still quite potent if you've read the book.

that's more what i was expecting, really.
but i LOVED the book so much. :D

i'll throw my opinion back into the thread once i rent the movie. thanks for the impetus to go and rent it, kiddies!

[nicolas]

stefan zweig - the confusion of sentiments..

:yes:

[Littleone7]

William Faulkner- Light in August

[jonas lopes]

Originally posted by Littleone7
William Faulkner- Light in August

Faulker is nice!

[solveig]

nice?

[Littleone7]

Originally posted by jonas lopes
Faulker is nice!
I know. I'm reading this one again.His stuff is so different from most other writers.Love his style.

[nikita]

Originally posted by creatrix
:eek: Oh, my, no!

I mean, the movie was beautifully filmed, but I think you had to have read the book to get the full effect. Like at the end, when she's standing at the crossroads? They don't explain that in the film, but it's still quite potent if you've read the book.


Yes!! In the movie at some points I was like... what was she thinking right here?? In the book she told me what she was thinking!! :cry:


Anyway, I LOVE that book :heart:

[nikita]

Originally posted by claireee
That's one of the few books that I've read where I thought the movie was better.



The only movie I can remember thinking it was better than the books was Jurassic Park... everyone says I'm nuts... maybe I just liked seeing the dinosaurs :yes: :)

[waifstar]

i just finished re-reading saint maybe by anne tyler and am about the embark on middlesex by jeffrey eugenides. i'm also in the midst of reading love remains by glen duncan, but had to stop for a while, since it makes me anxious for no known reason.

[xoe]

Carson McCullers has completely won me over. Why was I never required to read her in school, but had to read Moby Dick 3 times :cry: I'm slowly working my way through everything, and especially love her short stories. The Sojourner, A Tree A Rock A Cloud, and A Domestic Dilemma are brilliant fragments of truth.

[unsteel]

i'm so glad i started this thread. :)

[popelka]

Originally posted by jonas lopes
Faulker is nice!


i was watching godard's breathless last night and jean seberg asked belmondo if he knew faulkner, and he asked if faulkner was someone she slept with.

godard. godard. godard.

[hoarder]

Over the last couple of months:

Poetry:

Arcade, by Erica Hunt; woodcuts (!) by Alison Saar;

Up to Speed, by Rae Armantrout;

The Splinter Factory, by Jeffrey McDaniel;

Muse & Drudge, by Harryette Mullen;

Dictee, by Teresa Hak Kyung Cha; and

Orchidelirium, by Deborah Landau (a former teacher of mine)

I'm due to read Kathy Acker next. :D

And, for "fun," I am reading Nabokov's Laughter in the Dark. I see a thread running from this book straight through Lolita. :therock:

[frankenweeny]

..dave navarro autobiography....

....collected stories of richard yates....

...art of modern rock the poster explosion...


..books are good... :B

[frankenweeny]

Originally posted by john-paul
i just finished an instance of the finger post by iain pears. i reccomend the outer halves of it. ok maybe the outer thirds.


..yeh, i had the same feeling... i liked the first half, then it just left me cold.....and havn't read anything else by him becasue of it....

[matt5000]

I just read The Commitments. It's a really good book about a gang of irish music lovers that start a soul band and self-destruct shortly after getting big. Its a short book. You should read it.

I also read the first half of Bob Dylan's Chronicles Volume 1. It's a really good book, and I don't normally like autobiographies. It's written like he's in the room talking to you. He'll start taking about some folk club, then go off on something about history, then a time with johnny cash later in his career, then he'll come back to the folk club. It sounds hard to follow but it isn't, it's a real page turner.

Two cheers for Barns and Noble letting me sit and read their books for hours on end!

[unsteel]

orson scott card - speaker for the dead

[Cacophony]

all you people read smart books.

:cry:

[unsteel]

Originally posted by Crysanne
all you people read smart books.

:cry:

don't cry... :-o :heart:

(i just don't post when i read books that are really juvenile, for fear i'll be chastised.

:hide:

[Ghostdog]

William Burroughs - Junkie

[lorax]

woah i just read that book. SOOO depressing, but so good.

[solveig]

howard zinn
in french
:-D

[jonas lopes]

Kurt Vonnegut - Jailbird

[inertia!]

recently read:
"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
"Gateway" Frederik Pohl

currently reading:
"Dubliners" James Joyce
"Popular Music from Vittula" Mikael Niemi

[trucker's atlas]

i'm slowly but surely picking my way through "elliott smith and the big nothing" -- i think subconsciously i'm trying to read it slowly enough that i don't ever get to the part where the pictures are... :(

[kim]

Originally posted by rely23
i'm slowly but surely picking my way through "elliott smith and the big nothing" -- i think subconsciously i'm trying to read it slowly enough that i don't ever get to the part where the pictures are... :(

SPOILER OF SORTS























the pictures are basically meh.

the second half or so is :(.

[trucker's atlas]

well, i wasn't really expecting much of anything, from the text OR the pics...

really it's just one of those tings i feel oddly compelled to do. read the book. immerse. marinate, stew, call it what you will...

usually i'm a super-fast reader but not this time...

[Cacophony]

I CAN'T READ!!!!!

:cry:

[alexandra]

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenace

the woody will be reading it soon too!

[unsteel]

Originally posted by alexandra
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

that one's in my "read me soon" pile, but i haven't gotten to it yet...

in the meantime...
orson scott card - xenocide

[Ghostdog]

Originally posted by lorax
woah i just read that book. SOOO depressing, but so good.

have you read cities of the red night?

a little extravagant perhaps (:-p)

[jonas lopes]

John Steinbeck - Of Mice And Men

[Luce]

Chuck Palahniuk - "choke"

[creatrix]

I just finished 2 by Joanne Harris - "Holy Fools" and "Coastliners." (It's a long ride to Vermont!)

I really liked both, but Holy Fools was spectacular!!!!!

[charlesb]

mailman by j. robert lennon
not exactly the most intellectually stimulating read, but funny as hell.

[creatrix]

Originally posted by rely23
i'm slowly but surely picking my way through "elliott smith and the big nothing" -- i think subconsciously i'm trying to read it slowly enough that i don't ever get to the part where the pictures are... :(

It's not very engrossing. As much as I :heart: Elliott, I can't seem to get into it.

[Tozzi20]

Just finished Knut Hamsun's HUNGER. Hard to believe it was written in the 1890s. Probably one of the most beautiful and wrenching works of all time. I'm not sure how the 1920s translation reads, but Bly's 1960s one seems very good, not that I know Norwegian (well, apart from "Jeg heter Stig"). The only downside is that I finally saw how heavily Fante borrowed from it for ASK THE DUST.

Before that, MASQUERADE, a collection of stories by Robert Walser, a Swiss writer. Very odd and often dreamlike. He was a contemporary of Kafka, who often sang Walser's praises. His novel JAKOB VON GUTEN is fantastic as well. I read that several years ago. I think it's back in print from NYRB. The Brothers Quay made it into a short film but I haven't seen it, called The Benjamenta Institute. That's the name of the boarding school in the book.

[satisfied mind]

The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle

[ktothebbc]

I'm reading A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. It's pretty heavy. And weight has nothing to do with it.

[tishamay]

I'm a few chapters into Portrait Of A Killer: Jack The Ripper Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell. Also reading her other crime books. This year I've been reading a lot of true crime and forensic science books. If any of you are into science, biology, biological weapons etc, I read Richard Preston's "Dark Biology Trilogy"; The Hot Zone, Cobra Event and A Demon In The Freezer and highly recomend them. They are very well written and very scary.

[Odie]

i am reading:

a Get Fuzzy collection
"Guantanamo: What the World Should Know" can't remember the author.
"Complete Book of U.S. Presidents" which only goes up to King Bush I
"Eats, Shoots & Leaves"
"The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower" Stephen King
and A self instruction book on the Russian language.

[matt5000]

I'm reading this book called Folklore Myths and Legends by Donna Rosenburg. It's not exceptionally good, but it has a few folklore stories from all over the world. I'm really getting into this kinda stuff.

Also a re-read of How to be Good by Nick Hornby. Fantastic book, everyone should read at lesat one Hornby book in their life time.

[Interlaken]

I just finished Siddartha and loved it. I started on Notes from the Underground last night. I go in and out of reading a book about Pantheism, Self Reliance by Emerson, and Dracula.

[unsteel]

mario puzo - the sicilian
j.r.r. tolkein - the hobbit
woody guthrie - bound for glory
kurt vonnegut, jr. - mother night

[jonas lopes]

Bill Moody - Bird Lives

[candylion]

i actually bought 'my life' by bill clinton over the weekend... :-o

but hey, it was 50% off!

i started reading it, and it's actually very interesting so far...

[El Scorcho]

I think I'm gonna go home and read Heart of Darkness.


I'm gonna be so disappointed when i finish reading and realize that the line "charlie don't surf" was nowhere inside the book.

[El Scorcho]

yeah, so i went home and looked by the chair where i thought i left the book and it's not there. i think my mom did something with it. crap crap crap.

where the fuck is it?!


GRRRRRR

[lost in poetics]

I had to read Heart of Darkness last year for english.
man, I hated that book.

[El Scorcho]

i guess i should stop looking for it and get something else then?

[lost in poetics]

nah, you should read it if you want to!