5 last books you have read

you put the Phineas poe trilogy [i]and[/i] Kiss me Judas and Hell's Half Acre on the same list??

The Fuck-Up by Arthur Ness.........?
The Handmaid's Tale - Margerat Atwood
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre
Ludmilla's Broken English - DBC Pierre
The Little Friend - Donna Tartt

. .

[QUOTE=nathaniel parker;951649]you put the Phineas poe trilogy [i]and[/i] Kiss me Judas and Hell's Half Acre on the same list??[/QUOTE]
im as curious as you

[QUOTE=188416]The Fuck-Up by Arthur Ness.........?
[/QUOTE]i made it halfway through that one. man, i really didnt like it. are there redeeming qualities about it that i just didnt notice enough to enjoy ?

[QUOTE=JKabol;951657]. .

im as curious as you[/QUOTE]

not that they ain't good books or anything they're great but it just seems a waste of spots in a list

well, as they say: repetition works; repetition works.

1. [B]Velocity[/B] - Dean Koontz (6/10)
2. [B]Fahrenheit 451 [/B]- Ray Bradbury (7/10)
3. [B]Invisible Monsters [/B]- Chuck Palahniuk (6/10)
4. [B]48[/B] - James Herbert (9/10)
5. [B]Without Remorse [/B]- Tom Clancy (8/10)

[QUOTE=projcon;903863]Have you read The Plague? I've read The Stranger and parts of The Rebel...both excellent but I know nothing about The Fall or The Plague.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I have. It's about the Nazi occupation of France in the 1940s. I'd recommend it if you're into Camus, but it's always a poor idea to start with The Plague. It can be slow and disturbing.

5. Farewell, My Lovely - Raymond Chandler
4. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
2. Ask the Dust - John Fante
1. Galapagos - Kurt Vonnegut

[QUOTE=goldenmean;951614]I loved "Heartbreaking Work." How is "You Shall Know Our Velocity"? I have it, but haven't had the chance to read it yet.[/QUOTE]

If you loved a Heartbreaking Work, I think you'll also love You Shall Know Our Velocity! Same quirky, manic writing style. Very different story, but still very interesting. I recommend reading asap. Both Eggers books instantly made their way on to my list of favorite books.

Last five fiction books I've read:
Extinction Journals - Jeremy Johnson
Less Than Zero - Bret Ellis
The Informers - Bret Ellis
Name of the World - Denis Johnson
Remainder - Tom McCarthy

Last five nonfiction books:
King Leopold's Ghost - Adam Hochschild (almost done reading)
Evolution: Triumph of an Idea - Carl Zimmer
Intelligent Thought - Jonathan Brockman
Evolution of Cooperation - Robert Axelrod
Stranger Than Fiction - Chuck Palahniuk

[QUOTE=JKabol;951657]. .

i made it halfway through that one. man, i really didnt like it. are there redeeming qualities about it that i just didnt notice enough to enjoy ?[/QUOTE]

I think it's super hit and miss. The ending was a total suck and ruined the whole book for me a bit but what made me love it was I completely adored the character Hensley, he was amazing.

You gotta be in the right mood to read it, depressed maybe and mellow, then it works like a charm.

[QUOTE=UbikRex;951617]Now if you want something to really enjoy. Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD is right up your alley.

Its completely focused on the father and son dynamic of traveling cross country in a post apocalyptic earth. The feelings and dialogue involved are so amazing in how they say so little but so much is registered, the desparity of their situation, the hope that lingers and presses them forward, the fears of what will become of the other, and the representation one holds for the other. I really enjoyed reading it a lot and i'm going to go through it again before summers end to really soak personally thoughts of what happens as it carries along.[/QUOTE]

LOL. The Road is another book that I received for Christmas. Every Christmas I get a bunch of books. It just takes a lot of time to get through them all. The Road is on my list to read right now, though. Same with You Shall Know Our Velocity and Heart-Shaped Box.

I have a feeling, though, that when Rant comes out I'm going to set all the other books aside and just focus on that one for a little while anyway.

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints - Dito Montiel
The Raw Shark Texts - Stephen Hall
Remainder - Mccarthy
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre
The Contortionists Handbook - uhh i dont remember his name but you know this book anyway

currently reading AHWOSG. im only like 50 pages in and i have already laughed out loud twice. his style of writing is definitely unique and i love his ability to express the story so fluently and realistic. it honestly feels like i was there after eading this.

Recreational (in no certain order):

1 - Diary/Chuck Palahniuk
2 - 1984/George Orwell
3 - A Density of Souls/Christopher Rice (3rd time. Highly reccommended)
4 - Choke/Chuck Palahniuk
5 - Long Hard Road Out of Hell/Marilyn Manson

Academically:

1 - Nicomachean Ethics/Aristotle
2 - Republic/Plato
3 - Matter and Memory/Henri Bergson
4 - Pragmatism/William
5 - JamesThe Gay Science/Fredrich Neitzsche

[QUOTE=LoneKnypher;951911]

currently reading AHWOSG. im only like 50 pages in and i have already laughed out loud twice. his style of writing is definitely unique and i love his ability to express the story so fluently and realistic. it honestly feels like i was there after eading this.[/QUOTE]

i laughed out loud many times reading AHWOSG...and since i have an hour commute each way on the subway every day, thats where i do all my reading. so whenever i cracked up, i had a train full of people staring at me. the first time i tried to hold it in, but i realized i had this big stupid grin on my face and it was incredibly difficult to suppress the laughter so i just let it go after that and laughed loud and often until i finished the book. it was awesome.

"your hat smells like urine" got me every time.

let me see..

currently reading playback--again--by chandler

rite of passage by richard write

a couple of dresden files books

the road by cormac mccarthy

i read a book a few days ago, but i cant think of the title right now..
and i guess that's about all for the past couple weeks
kabol

* edit * 0h yeah, i remember now.. i read a few stories from kings collection everythings eventual, which i picked up to read 1408 after seeing a preview for the upcoming movie. the movie looks badass. the story's so-so, king isnt the best prose writer, and his structure sucks, but he has a hell of an imagination

.

[QUOTE=JKabol;951968]

* edit * 0h yeah, i remember now.. i read a few stories from kings collection everythings eventual, which i picked up to read 1408 after seeing a preview for the upcoming movie. the movie looks badass. the story's so-so, king isnt the best prose writer, and his structure sucks, but he has a hell of an imagination

.[/QUOTE]

that movie looks awesome...i was actually going to pick the story up just because of how ridiculous. you say its not so good? my friend told me its freaky shit.

im sorry, iam. the story is freaky, spooky. king has an incredible work ethic and an imagination to match. it's the prose that frustrates me, the sentence structure, the cheap nuts-n-bolts decisions.. id give a few examples, but if i go into my bedroom, ill wake my woman and she needs to sleep--she's not feeling well and has to rise for work in four hours.

my brother in law, who loves palahniuk and baer, loves kings books. his fav is dreamcatcher. i trust his tastes. ive read several of kings books over the years and it wasnt until i started studying writing that i could see the dumb shit he puts on the page. words like prettily, dumb adverbs and weak writing. you'd think that after all the millions for stable no worries living, he'd actually learn to write well enough to bring forth at least a few fantastic novels in his time. but i guess that would take time out of his writing at romance novel standards. all he needs is imagination.. as a writer, he's not a badass. it seems he'll never get out of genre fiction. but, no, he is not a weak storyteller. he does at least command his place, and that story is freaky, like most of kings books. it's just, i was always kind of hopeful that he'd put his imagination to heavy use with strong prose that just kills you and a brilliant novel that can move mountains..
that's all. i guess my pussy's just bleeding or something...
kabol

1. Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)
2. Cubakrisen (The cuban missilie crisis) (Peter Chrisp)
3. Stranger than fiction (Chuck Palahniuk)
4. The Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank. Obviouisly. But I actually had a friend who asked me who'd written it)
5. Diary (Chuck Palahniuk)

nice jacks mannequin quote. i saw them in concert and they were fuckin amazing.

[I]Haunted[/I] - Chuck Palahniuk
[I]The Violent Bear It Away[/I] - Flannery O'Connor
[I]Marabou Stork Nightmares[/I] - Irvine Welsh
[I]Diary[/I] - Chuck Palahniuk
[I]Celebration[/I] - Harry Crews

...finishing up [I]A Life Without Consequences [/I]by Stephen Elliott.

In order of most recent

1) Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
2) Dairy - Chuck Palahniuk
3) The Little Friend - Donna Tartt (kinda left me thinkin what was the point)
4) The Joke's Over - Ralph Steadman (Gotta Love Hunter S. Thompson)
5) The Prestige - Christopher Priest (The Film is really diffrent to the book)

Currently reading: Clown Girl - Monica Drake

5. I just can't freakin remember...I have a terrible memory.
4. something by Phil Rickman, I think
3. Heartbreaking Work... by Dave Eggers (holy cow, so freakin funny. reminded me of my own family)
2. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth (different, thoroughly entertaining)
1. Five Mile House by um...something Novak (admirable start, i hope her other ones are better)

currently reading The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. I've never read any of his stuff, but someone recommended it. Plus I got the book for free.

5. Diary / Chuck Palahniuk (3/5)
4. The Martian Chronicles / Ray Bradbury (5/5)
3. A Man Without a Country / Kurt Vonnegut (5/5)
2. Slaughterhouse-Five / Kurt Vonnegut (4/5)
1. Cat's Cradle / Kurt Vonnegut (5/5)

Been reading tons of Vonnegut lately...
Currently on:

Mother Night / Kurt Vonnegut
The Road / Cormac McCarthy (Great so far, but I get sidetracked with other books a lot.)
Invisible Monsters / Chuck Palahniuk (After the disappointing Diary, this better be good. It's only average so far...)

[QUOTE=crazycatlady] 1. Five Mile House by um...something Novak (admirable start, i hope her other ones are better)
[/QUOTE]

of, that's fucking funny. kare will be tickled when she reads this..

Invisable monsters like Survior is a bit of a slow burn but has a great ending.
Diary was horrible, which I blame mainly on the Husband Character, who put me off so much. I havn't felt that kind of Hatred since I read "I am Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe which ticked me off in so many ways including that ending!!

[QUOTE=film_freak;953160]
5) The Prestige - Christopher Priest (The Film is really diffrent to the book)
[/QUOTE]

i say it's one of the rare few that the movies way better than the book
not that the book's horrible or anything, just the movie handled it a bit better

[QUOTE=JKabol;953950]:D of, that's fucking funny. kare will be tickled when she reads this..[/QUOTE]

I can not wait to see her next book to see if or what kind of influence we had on her

[QUOTE=Caligula7;953061]
[I]Marabou Stork Nightmares[/I] - Irvine Welsh
[/QUOTE]

great book. i love irvine welsh. and i get very excited when i see that other people are reading his stuff.

[QUOTE=film_freak;953974]Invisable monsters like Survior is a bit of a slow burn but has a great ending.
[/QUOTE]

Really? I thought Invisible Monsters and Survivor were both outstanding beginning to end...and they were fast paced, IMO. I finished each in one day, which I almost never do.

5 - Misery (Stephen King)
4 - The Diary of Anne Frank
3 - When Nietzsche Wept (Irvin D. Yalom)
2 - Survivor (Chuck Palahniuk)
1 - Invisible Monsters (currently reading) (Chuck Palahniuk)

5- Something Wicked This Way Comes- Bradbury
4- Lamb- Christopher Moore
3- Light in August- Faulkner
2- Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write- Francine Prose
1- Fraud- David Rakoff

The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall
Foop! - Chris Genoa
Clown Girl - Monica Drake
House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski
Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer

5. "Just Listen" - Sarah Dessen (she's actually a really good teen writer..and I'm a teen sooo...)
4. "Animal Farm" - George Orwell
3. "Trainspotting" - Irvine Welsh
2. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" - Betty Smith (love this book!)
1. "Fight Club" - Chuck Palahniuk (again haha)

And I'm in the middle of re-reading CATCHER IN THE RYE for the millionth time.

Nights in the garden of Spain- Witi Ihimaara
Lullaby- Chuck Palahniuk
Diary- Chuck Palahniuk
In Harm's Way- Christopher Colvin
Hidden- I cant remember the name of the author.

5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Thompson)
4. Invisible Man (Ellison)
3. God Bless you Dr. Kevorkian (Vonnegut)
2. Practial Demonkeeping (Moore)
1. Rant (Palahniuk - currently reading)

1. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
2. Filth by Irvine Welsh
3. Another Bullshit Night in Suckcity by Nick Flynn
4. Junky: the definitive text of "junk" by William S. Burroughs
5. The Fuck-Up by Arthur Nersesian

5. American Dream by Norman Mailer
4.Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
3.Where I'm Calling From by Raymond Carver
2.The Delicate Prey by Paul Bowles
1. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow(currently reading)

The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall (currently reading)
Clown Girl - Monica Drake
The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs - Irvine Welsh
Jennifer Government - Max Barry
Fight Club - Chuck (re-read)

Porno by: Irvine Welsh
Blindness by: José Saramago
The Anatomy of Motive by: John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by: Tucker Max
Rant by: Chuck Palahniuk, which I contemplated stealing but instead read it in its entirety at the bookstore.

I can't even remember the last five. By the end of today I'll have finished The Big Sleep and Rant. The Raw Shark Texts has just been done, I finished The Black Dahlia a little while ago.

[B]Edit[/B]: Just finished the big sleep, I was expecting something a little more complex. It was decent though. I'm with Frank Tireur, Philip Marlowe is an idiot.

[QUOTE=y=mx+b;966241]Porno by: Irvine Welsh
Blindness by: José Saramago
The Anatomy of Motive by: John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by: Tucker Max
Rant by: Chuck Palahniuk, which I contemplated stealing but instead read it in its entirety at the bookstore. :)[/QUOTE]

Tsk tsk...you should be buying Chuck's books to get him to number one on the bestsellers! Glad I got two copies of Rant to make pick up your slack

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill
Mary - Janis Cooke Newman
Travels in the scriptorium - Paul Auster
Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali (currently reading)
Paint It Black - Janet Fitch (currently reading)
Rant - Palahniuk (next on list)[/COLOR]

(in order from first to last)
The Terminal Beach - J.G. Ballard (reading)
Rant
Diary
Marabou Stork Nightmares - Irvine Welsh < amazing, amazing book, glad to see other people here are reading it too
The Acid House - Irvine Welsh
Grey Area - Will Self

[QUOTE=BrandyAlexander;967499][COLOR=DarkOrange]Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill
[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

ooh...how was Heart Shaped Box? I almost grabbed it at the bookstore the other day.

Last 5 Books:
1. 1984 - George Orwell
2 and 3. Berlin Noir - Philip Kerr - 3 novellas in one volume. I'm on the second
4. The Iliad and the Odyssey - Homer - and a few other old school Greek plays (I know this looks poserish and lame, but it was a book club thing and they actually turned out better this time around)
5. The Road - Cormac McCarthy - just started

1. Vingklippt Ängel - Berny Pålsson (Reading now. I don't think I've ever cried this much because of a book.)
2. Räddaren i nöden (The Catcher in the Rye) - J.D. Salinger
3. Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
4. Kubakrisen - Peter Chrisp (??)
5. Stranger Than Fiction - Chuck Palahniuk (Maybe, I'm not sure. I need to read more.)

1. Iain M Banks - Against A Dark Background (just started)
2. Will Christopher Baer - Phineas Poe (just finished. still sinking in heh)
3. Chuck Palahniuk - Rant
4. Craig Clevenger - Dermaphoria
5. Susanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

I need more to read. Just from looking around for the last 20 minutes it looks like I should jump in to some Irvine Welsh.

monkey with a b and not an n,

ive been wanting to delve into jon strange for near a year now, maybe longer. have picked it up more than a few times only to reshelve it knowing it just aint the right time. plus i havent known a single person to have read it. the tale seems a bit out there from my normal reading but the writing reads fantastic and im hoping you could tell me about your experience..
please

-kabol

[QUOTE=JKabol;974482]monkey with a b and not an n,

ive been wanting to delve into jon strange for near a year now, maybe longer. have picked it up more than a few times only to reshelve it knowing it just aint the right time. plus i havent known a single person to have read it. the tale seems a bit out there from my normal reading but the writing reads fantastic and im hoping you could tell me about your experience..
please

-kabol[/QUOTE]

Really most of my books are fantasy or scifi, so picking up a Hugo winner was almost routine for me. However, I haven't read something like that in a while, and certainly nothing that large since last summer. It did read pretty well, despite the weird archaic spellings or whatever she was trying to do. It didn't seem like however long it is, like 1000 pages in paperback. To me it didn't seem like a really big or fantastic story, but that could be just part of how the book is written... as in you get used to these two magicians in England, helping in the wars against Napoleon, but you don't have huge, breath-taking events as in Harry Potter. I don't know I'm terrible at reviewing books. I liked the characters, I liked how it moved along, and I liked how it didn't feel like it was actually that long. The footnotes are odd but at least it's not endnotes like Infinite Jest.

If you got anything useful out of that, well, good job. I really did like the book, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't already like fantasy to some degree. I guess. Even though it's more like Harry Potter than LOTR fantasy.

I did get quite a bit out of your thoughts, thank you.. Though my reading interests dont often gravitate in the direction of fantacy and sci fi, i do not find the territory entirely unfamiliar. i started reading with star wars novels, something like 37 of them before i changed reading preferences. spent some heavy time with gibson--and will again. and jim butcher, probably the worst prose crafter ive read since the star wars days, but i still loved the misticism (even though without question the series was more entertaining).