Good Books?

- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris...this one'll cheer you up...but make sure you're somewhere people aren't going to yell at you for being loud.
-Mark Twain has some good short stories that are pretty humorous if you can get your hand on an anthology or something
- The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami...it's a collection of short stories
-Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami...really should check this one out, it's fantastic. I stumbled upon this author while looking for another one and I just want to spread the wealth.

ever read tom robbins? his newest, "fierce invalids home from hot climates" is excellent, but my personal fave is "half asleep in frog pajamas"

i love john irving. he's famous for the epic novel, though, so if you'd rather pick up a short story, he might not be up your ally. "a prayer for owen meany" is a classic.

baby gal, you're so right on w/ david sedaris. "naked" had me in tears laughing...on the subway to work. more than a few odd looks, but well worth it!

What's depressing about Vonnegut? His books are hilarious satires.

But other than books by the likes of CP, Orwell, Huxley, Trumbo (Johnny Got His Gun is a must read), Burgess, etc... I like the following books/authors:
1.) Stephen King - It's like bumble gum for the mind. My favorites are Desperation, It, and Pet Semetary
2.) True Crime type books - My favorite was Dead Reckoning by Michael Baden M.D. (former Medical Examiner for NYC)
3.) Albert Einstein - Ideas and Opinions

moe...I asked for "Naked" for Christmas and I havn't started yet because I've got a list of 9 novels for an English class. But my stomach hurts just thinking about when I finally get a chance to read it!

Revenge - Stephen Fry (its a modern retelling of [I]The Count of Monte Cristo[/I] )

In the Hand of Dante - Nick Tosches("Deftly blending the sacred and the profane, Tosches boldly casts himself as the protagonist in his latest novel, an outrageously ambitious book in which he procures a purloined version of the original manuscript of The Divine Comedy while tracing Dante's journey as Dante struggled to complete his penultimate work")[SIZE=1]PUBLISHERS WEEKLY[/SIZE]

i read eating the cheshire cat, it was good............and then american psycho, but it's disturbing and unsettling (but good)...........for a kickass biography, check out heavier than heaven, kurt cobain's official biography, the writing is outstanding.........

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by NirvanaPunker13 [/i]
[B]i read eating the cheshire cat, it was good............and then american psycho, but it's disturbing and unsettling (but good)...........for a kickass biography, check out heavier than heaven, kurt cobain's official biography, the writing is outstanding......... [/B][/QUOTE]

Im half-way thru his journals. But still my anal side is pissed off that every entry wasnt included. I dont care if it was too private, too boring or would have made too big of a book. I want something complete.

Christopher Moore is kind of sarcastic and very satrical, but I think he's far too silly to make anyone depressed at all... "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove" is hysterical.

"Shopgirl" by Steve Martin is one of my favorite books to come out in recent years. It's very short but does a lot in it's few pages. It sounds like your standard "woman looking for love" story, but it's really just so well done that it turns it into something completely different. I gave copies of it to all my friends two christmasses ago. I liked it *that* much.

Laurie Notaro's "The Idiot Girls Action-Adventure Club" is a collection of humorous essays with titles like "All Smut And Perverts", "Revenge Of The Bra Girl", "It Smells Like Doody Here", and "Men Are Stupid and I Rock! (Ode To Dorothy Parker)". Laurie is the drunken friend with unruly hair who never manages to get through a meal without dribbling something on her shirt. Very funny.

William S. Burroughs writes some entertaining things, although depending on which book you pick you might find it depressing *Junky is kinda depressing. Also, Dharma Bums by Kerouac is really really amazing. The beat generation generated a lot of really good literature that tends to be more uplifting than anything else.

Your right trip Kurt's books are not depressing they are just very much in line with the social satire/ dark comedy thing that I want to take a break from. There is nothing wrong with any of these books or I would not have finished them in the first place. Its just I have really gotten into a literary ditch, and need some good old fashioned simple reads to get me out.

I'll just add that Sedaris' "Me Talk Pretty One Day" was a favorite of mine, even as good as 'Naked' was... for a similar writing style from a different sexual perspective, try "Slack Jaw" from, hell... what's his name... he's blind and writes in New York... well just ask for Slack Jaw... it's a true story about a self-destructive angst-ridden young man who starts to go blind in his twenties amidst his drug use and alcohol abuse and womanizing poverty. It's funny and lyrical wonder, very similar in the details like Sedaris and extremely funny as well... especially all of his suicide attempts... and be ready for a very lascivious, profane read, as he holds no literary punches...

Frederick Nietzsche - Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, Genealogy of Morals, Twilight of the Idols, and Hammer of the Gods.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Brock Landers [/i]
[B] for a similar writing style from a different sexual perspective, try "Slack Jaw" from, hell... what's his name... [/B][/QUOTE]

Jim Knipfel.

I bought it because it sounded funny and he's wearing a Residents shirt on the back cover.

Very very funny.

Hmm...the most interesting book I've read recently is Cemetery Stories - katherine ramshand(sp?). and it isn't as grim as it may sound. A lot of it is actually funny...it a slightly twisted way sometimes. It's stuff nobody really talks about, like what happens to a body after death, what it's like to work in a cemetery...etc.

And Roald Dahl. I love him. even the children's books are good (like matilda). He reminds me of a little kid.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Bergums [/i]
[B]Your right trip Kurt's books are not depressing they are just very much in line with the social satire/ dark comedy thing that I want to take a break from. There is nothing wrong with any of these books or I would not have finished them in the first place. Its just I have really gotten into a literary ditch, and need some good old fashioned simple reads to get me out. [/B][/QUOTE]

What's a good book by Kurt for a first time reader?

sirens of titan, good morning mr. rosewater, slaughterhouse five, pretty much any of them. they really aren't hard to read books at all.

Breakfast of Champions!
my utter favorite.

Vonnegut's writing is some of the easiest most flowing stuff out there... fast paced.

Happy birthday btw

I would go with Slaughterhouse 5 first, it is his most famous book.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by pan [/i]
[B]Breakfast of Champions!
my utter favorite.

Vonnegut's writing is some of the easiest most flowing stuff out there... fast paced.

Happy birthday btw [/B][/QUOTE]

thanks.

I don't know... I really enjoyed "Mother Night' by Vonnegut the best. The themes were amazing. Still to this day my favorite.

If you're looking for something to cheer you up quickly, just watch Amelie. That is one happy and great movie.

i've only read slaughterhouse 5, timequake, and parts of cat's cradle........timequake had me rolling with laughter, i was forced to read slaughterhouse, but it still kicked ass, but by the time i had started to read the third vonnegut novel (cat's cradle) in a row, my teacher decided to change her mind about reading one author, so i never got to finish it..............all of them DAMN GOOD BOOKS!!!!!!

I forgot to mention Slapstick... that was probably my favorite, had to read the whole thing in one day it was so good.

i have to go with cat's cradle. oh shit, as i was typing this, i remembered god bless you dr. kevorkian, which i totally loved. i mentioned this somewhere else, but you should check out the collection of vonnegut's radio broadcasts that compile this series of "interviews." i don't know if you can buy it though, i had to check it out of the library.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Brock Landers [/i]
[B]I don't know... I really enjoyed "Mother Night' by Vonnegut the best. The themes were amazing. Still to this day my favorite. [/B][/QUOTE]
wow i'm just finishing this book up...
I loved it. It's the only book about WWII that I could dig into easily. A great spy story with the signature Vonnegut wit'.
Resi broke my heart.

When I was picking up my very abused copy of "House of Leaves" from a friend he told me to check out "Me Talk Pretty One Day" . What's it about?

two robbins fans in a row? be still, my beating heart!! thanks for the new book tip, dr_lx. he usually releases a new book every 5 or so years, so it's kinda soon after fierce invalids...can't wait!!

If your bored as hell, have read every book you feel that is good, and want something quick, not too smart, and rather entertaining to read and pass the time, read the Lemoney Snicket books. Sure, they're marketed as childrens books, but many Chuck fans have found his books to be rather funny and a nice, enjoyably quick read.

Jesse...I forgot..I knew I'd leave out somebody or something, I always do.

Charles Bukowski. "Women" was the first novel I ever read and finished and actually finished. That was back when I was a junior in high school. I would recommend that book to any Chuck fan.

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn

Any Noam Chomsky
NOLOGO - Naomi Klein
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - Sogyal Rinpoche

[QUOTE=Bergums]All too often in this forum the only books that are really discussed are either social commentaries or books in the style of CP (grim, fatalistic, dark comedy, or sarcastic). What books have you guys enjoyed lately that are just good books, you know adventures, mysteries, biographies. I need to start reading books that dont make me depressed about being an american or a consumer and Ive read enough CP, Vonnegut, and Jim Thompson, I need a break.[/QUOTE]

I agree with Jesse, "Catcher in the Rye" is a great book.
You should also check out "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey.

I would suggest a piece of Non-fiction by Howard Zinn entightled "A People's History of the United States" but I that might make you depressed to be an American...

[QUOTE=kl0pper]Ishmael - Daniel Quinn

Any Noam Chomsky
NOLOGO - Naomi Klein
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - Sogyal Rinpoche[/QUOTE]
what the fuck
moron

Two words:

[SIZE=7][COLOR=Lime][B][I]ATLAS SHRUGGED[/I][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

Middlesex-Jefferey Eugenides
Number 9 Dream-David Mitchell
In The Shape Of a Boar-Lawrence Norfolk
Inventing God-Nicholas Mosely
Disgrace-J.M. Coatzee
You Shall Know Your Velocity-Dave Eggars
A Few Short Stories On Tropical Butterflies-John Murray(short stories)
Interpreter of Maladies-Jhumpa Lahira(short stories)
The Shell Collector-Anthony Doerr(short stories)
You Are Not A Stranger Here-Adam Haslett(short stories)

that's a good start

[QUOTE=eric pollen]Middlesex-Jefferey Eugenides
Number 9 Dream-David Mitchell
In The Shape Of a Boar-Lawrence Norfolk
Inventing God-Nicholas Mosely
Disgrace-J.M. Coatzee
You Shall Know Your Velocity-Dave Eggars
A Few Short Stories On Tropical Butterflies-John Murray(short stories)
Interpreter of Maladies-Jhumpa Lahira(short stories)
The Shell Collector-Anthony Doerr(short stories)
You Are Not A Stranger Here-Adam Haslett(short stories)

that's a good start :)[/QUOTE]
hey eric, would you call middlesex a greek version of 100 yrs of solitude?

[QUOTE=moe.ron]hey eric, would you call middlesex a greek version of 100 yrs of solitude?[/QUOTE]

i haven't been able to get my hands on 100 yrs of solitude yet but i hope to in the next month or so.

how do you rate it?

a hundred years of solitude is one of my favorite books, so it rates pretty well for me. i've been considering middlesex for a while, and i figure i better read it before the oprah book club gets it in its greasy clutches.

Hey Moe,

100 Years is one of my favorite books of all time Marquez is one my favorite authors. 'Chronicle of a Death Foretold' and his short story collection 'no One Write's the Colonel' are always on my list of recommendations.

I was really disapointed by Middlesex. I'd love to know what you think. I wouldn't say its a Greek 100 years. More like a Greek 'Love in the Time of Cholera'.

[QUOTE=pan]... me to check out "Me Talk Pretty One Day" . What's it about?[/QUOTE]

David Sedaris. Heh. His memoirs (adventures?) are absolutely hilarious, but also very poignant, soothing, yet grating. In a word: awesome. He gave a reading here two years ago; had the audience [I]rolling[/I] with every other word. How many people do you know that would wear a 'stadium buddy'* everywhere they went for a week?

If you go to Costco (yeah, i know) you can get 4 of his books on CD for, like, 18 bucks. I got it for xmas. it's got 'holidays on ice', 'naked', 'barrell fever', and 'me talk pretty one day'. Excellent.

*a stadium buddy is a pouch that straps around your calf which is attached to a hose, which is attached to a sort of condom that fits around one's dingdong, so one can urinate without missing any of the game....

[QUOTE=pan]wow i'm just finishing this book up...
I loved it. It's the only book about WWII that I could dig into easily. A great spy story with the signature Vonnegut wit'.
Resi broke my heart.

When I was picking up my very abused copy of "House of Leaves" from a friend he told me to check out "Me Talk Pretty One Day" . What's it about?[/QUOTE]

"Me Talk Pretty One Day" is typical Sedaris stuff. It's a bunch of essays put together in a collection, much like his book "Naked" or "Barrel Fever". It's called 'me talk pretty one day" because most of the short stories in it deal with his childhood, growing up, his parents... and most of all, how fucked-up he was... including speech impediments, his forming sexuality and sexual confusion, playing with dolls as a boy, dyslexia, all that kinda stuff. I like Sedaris because he says stuff that makes sense. He says things about life and people I can identify with. His being gay doesn't effect any of that for me. Just like Chuck Palahniuk. He looks at life as a person, not a caricature. Sure, he's gay. Sure, he's unlike anyone you've probably ever met. Sure, he's all those things and more, but at the heart of it all, he's the same as all of us in how he sees the world. He just tends to notice the little things and dwell on them, and that's what I like to read, stuff that gets missed by most, very descriptive to say the least...

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
American Rust by Philipp Meyer
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt
Marching Powder by Rusty Young
The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow

Butterfly Boy - Rigoberto Gonzalez

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

hey man it has to be CATCH 22 its funny as fuck and Yossarian will stay with you forever it took him 7 years to write so you know its gonna be good.

nobody mentioned Will Self here? "How the Dead Live" is pure genius.
also, anything by Vladimir Nabokov. i think "Ada or Ardor" is his best.

I've used excerpts from 'The Quantity Theory of Insanity' for a literature essay about the representation of insanity in novels.

Vlad Nabokov is a popular choice.

1)Coversations with Zizek:Glyn Daly
2)Against Nature:J K Huysman
2)The Communist manifesto:Marx/Engels

All good books.