Firecrackers!! It's July and I'm reading...

Well I've only seen Cruel Intentions. So I figured reading the novel and basing its on that will be much cooler...

And I kinda like reading about seduction in novels, gonna write one with that as a theme. The films worth seeing?

I thought so, yes. I think I enjoyed Valmont more because of the actors (Colin Firth, Annette Benning, Henry Thomas *swoon*). Dangerous Liaisons is a beautiful piece of work, simply for the costuming and cinematography.

Cruel Intentions 2 is the greatest movie in the solar system.

Reading Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath.

I'd thought you'd finished all those.

Only the first two volumes. Now I'm reading her complete poetic work.

that reminds me...I still want to read The Bell Jar. Has anyone read it?

I have.

We all love Cruel Intentions ok! Although weirdly enough the first one seems to be gathering respect now rather than being slammed.

I can't speak for Sylvia's poetry as I've not read it. The Bell Jar I found totally uninteresting however. So, there's that. For what it's worth.

I loved The Bell Jar.

The Bell Jar is another one of those books that people said to me, "OMG This will change you!" and when I'd finished it the next day - it's tiny - I said to myself, "Change me into what?" I didn't care about the story, the characters, anything. Not putting anyone down for having liked it, but I've always wondered, what is it that people who loved it got from it exactly?

I do wonder if you have have to have a vagina and know someone who is bipolar to like it. I dunno.

The Acid House by Irvine Welsh - love the stories in this book, am rereading the ones that are in the movie adaptation so I can draw some comparisons when I watch that later this week.

Gonna start Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut tonight. It's one of those that I have been meaning to check out for a very long time now but kept getting put aside for something else. Heard a lot of good things about it.

Just read Slaughterhouse 5 about a month ago...curious to know what you think.

I started Carrie last night.

I just finished A Dance with Dragons after rereading the first four books. That was a lot of reading.

I think maybe liking The Bell Jar is sufficient test to see if one in fact has a vagina.

Is the Bell Jar better than her poetry? I've never bothered to seek it out because I don't care for her poetry. Or I didn't care for it, it has been a couple years since I bothered reading any of her poetry. Maybe I would like it now.

Part of the way through, Perfume: the story of a murderer. Quite like it so far, a relatively unique concept, mixed with a simple, casual writing style.

The Woman In The Dunes by Kobo Abe.

Rubicon Beach by Steve Erickson

Ladders to Fire by Anais Nin.

Back to Out of Africa. I put it down to reread Ice and Fire. I have no idea where I was and I don't seem to remember anything I read so I'm starting over from the beginning.

Now I'm reading Mesopotamia by Arthur Nersesian.

That's a strange and wonderful book.

I'm reading Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.

A Clash of Kings.

Bukowski's Women.

The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi.

Really enjoyed this - it deserves the hype. Impressive how much he manages to squeeze in for what is such a short book. Pleasant prose style too.

Next up for me is Our Friends From Frolix 8 by Philip K Dick.

I started Slaughterhouse 5 about a year ago and never got into it, I'll have to try again sometime.

I finished The Road a few days ago. It was good. There was one bit that kind of got to me and I had to put the book down and walk away. But I carried on with it and I'm glad I did. It's depressing but well worth a read.

I've just started Beach Music by Pat Conroy.

Finished Haunted a few days ago. Good God, I can't help but think how much better that book would have been if it were just the stories. The writers' retreat part is what mucks the whole thing up. And the poems.

Finished up Scott Pilgrim today. Fucking excellent.

Starting Pygmy. This will be my last Chuck novel until he comes out with the Damned sequel.

Yes! I hope you really enjoy it!

I'm sure Nersesian is a really good author, but I found it hard to get through Mesopotamia. The book had its moments, but was boring in most parts.

Now I'm reading A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.

Yeah it was good, PKD is rarely off form is he? This was probably something like the fifteenth book of his I've read, and I've really enjoyed the majority of them.

Next up is another book that has been staring down at me from my shelf for about two months now, NOIR by Robert Coover. I've almost started this one a bunch of times, am finally going to actually read it.

I just reread Harry Potter 7 for something like the fifth time. I'm thinking I might read the series yet again. We'll see.

I'm still reading Erickson's Tours Of The Black Clock, and I feel a bit the same way about it. It's well written, strange and somewhat compelling, but I'm not sure that I can say I think it's great. It's the first Erickson I've read, and I wouldn't be averse to reading something else by him. I do like his writing style. Is Rubicon Beach a good one to go on to, Erickson fans?

I'd go with The Sea Came in at Midnight, possibly followed by Our Ecstatic Days (which is a sequel of sorts, though more obtuse in my opinion). His most traditional (and latest) novel is Zeroville, which I and many others enjoyed immensely.

Since finishing The Devil All the Time (killer), I'm now reading Michael Chabon's Maps & Legends: Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands, which is a series of essays about those topics.

Phineas Poe - Will Christopher Baer

This book was recommended to me by a bunch of people so I finally picked it up--I too liked the style but was floored by the end. For the rest of the day all I could think was, "wtf." Great read.

I'm reading The Twenty-Seventh City by Jonathan Franzen and also stories from Kris Saknussemm's Sinister Miniatures for next month's book club.

Thanks, I will check those out!

Agreed. I have the best short stories on my iPod. Completely skipped the overarching story.

I enjoyed the backstory of Haunted, don't think it would have worked as a collection of short stories. Starting Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood'

Finished Kiss Me Judas this morning, and now I'm on to Hell's Half Acre.

You're skipping Penny?