It's July, whatcha reading?
I just finished Toby Young's Sound of No Hands Clapping, a decent comic memoir but it's no How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. Maybe because he's still the same guy, basically the same personality faults and shortcomings are involved.
Still intermittently reading shorts in AM Homes' 'Things You Should Know and TC Boyle's If The River Was Whiskey.
Not 100% sure what novel to start next. Keep meeing to try some JG Ballard, have a copy of Super-Cannes; an interlibrary loan of What's Eating Gilbert Grape should be in soon (such a great movie, and it was a debut novel so I'm curious).
When we call soccer 'football' the terrorists have won.
The Body Artist by Don Delillo...pretty good so far
I'm going to be starting [i]Kite Runner[/i] in a few days. 1. It's on The List and 2. It was chosen by the libraries here as a "One Book One Lincoln" kind of stupid thing (the runners-up were [i]Life of Pi[/i] and something by Stephen King.)
My brother loaned it to me and said, "Hopefully you'll like it; you like those weird Victorian novels with lots of creaky symbolism where the main character has a lot of problems and never does anything about them."
OH JOY.
There is hope, but not for us.
i'm currently reading a few books.
[B]adverbs[/B] by [B]daniel handler[/B]: a really, really interesting concept, and a really good book so far. a very stylistic writer. i recommend it.
[B]god bless you, dr. kevorkian[/B] by [B]kurt vonnegut[/B]: this one isn't as great as i hoped. it's really short, though, so it's worth the hour or so it takes to read it.
[B]sex, drugs & cocoa puffs[/B] by [B]chuck klosterman[/B]: an excellent book from one of the best pop culture analysts out there, in my opinion. really great stuff, derived from really stupid stuff, i. e. billy joel, [I]the real world[/I], guns 'n' roses tribute bands. definitely recommended.
Last night I finished Diary by CP and began Generation X by Douglas Coupland and so far I like it.
Currently beginning these:
Metamorphosis-Kafka
High Fidelity-Hornby
Cannery Row-Steinbeck.
I'm halfway through Choke right now
I have a ton of books in a stack to read.
Angel Dust Apoclypse
Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates
Catch 22 - Heller
the Brothers Karamazov
The Complete Collected Works of Amy Hempel
Libra - don Delillo
[QUOTE=courteney]...[B]sex, drugs & cocoa puffs[/B] by [B]chuck klosterman[/B]: an excellent book from one of the best pop culture analysts out there, in my opinion...[/QUOTE]
Curious...what makes you say that?
p.s. [I]Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas[/I] due out end of August.
[QUOTE=jane s.]I'm going to be starting [i]Kite Runner[/i] in a few days.[/QUOTE]
A customer I was helping at work just recommended this to me several days ago. I've been meaning to look into it, now i'm going to be sure to check in to it.
the piano teacher - elfriede jelinek
claudiu d.moga
I finally finished Da Vinci Code. I have been kinda crazy so I have not got back to reading.
My July-August Reading list include:
Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler
Stranger in a Strange Land Robert Heinlein
Gravity's Rainbow Thomas Pynchon
The Puppet Masters Robert Heinlein
Anyone have any additional suggestions for reading? I have alot of free time coming up shortly and I need things to do.
[QUOTE=Frogwart]Starting a ARC of [I]I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This[/I], by Bob Newhart (I need a little levity right now), and trying to decide which Bentley Little title I should begin next. Also still in the midst of [I]Shantaram[/I].[/QUOTE]
dominion is good.
The one about the house is good too.
-K
[QUOTE=budfox]I'm halfway through Choke right now
I have a ton of books in a stack to read.
Angel Dust Apoclypse
Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates
Catch 22 - Heller
the Brothers Karamazov
The Complete Collected Works of Amy Hempel
Libra - don Delillo[/QUOTE]
zombie is ok, the guy is like dahmer.
-K
[QUOTE=moe.ron]Curious...what makes you say that?[/QUOTE]
i say so because he's one of the few pop culture analysts / satirists (palahniuk is another) that can continually present small, seemingly insignificant phenomenon, and logically theorize what makes them a phenomenon, and what significance that theory holds in application to other, or nearly all, social psychology patterns, and, above all, to do it in that dark, sardonic manner. i think it's all fascinating, and i'm not nearly intelligent enough to do all that thinking for myself, so i really admire the few writers who make that list.
and thanks for the heads up on the new book. (:
I'm reading the Cult. Just like last month.
"well she's either a cruel horny bitch or she might actually like you." - audreythirteen
[QUOTE=Claudiu D.Moga]the piano teacher - elfriede jelinek[/QUOTE]
I was thinking of giving that a go, let me know what you think, for serious. The Serpent's Tail catalogue makes it look good, but it's one of their high profile translations...
When we call soccer 'football' the terrorists have won.
[QUOTE=budfox]I'm halfway through Choke right now
I have a ton of books in a stack to read.
Angel Dust Apoclypse
Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates
Catch 22 - Heller
the Brothers Karamazov
The Complete Collected Works of Amy Hempel
Libra - don Delillo[/QUOTE]
Quite a stack. For what it's worth:
I know nothing of Angel Dust Apoclypse.
I haven't read Zombie, but some JCO is pretty good. I couldn't hang with her Devil's Half Acre, but I liked Middle Age: Romance' Big Mouth, Ugly Girl; I'll Take You There; The Falls.
Catch-22, one of my all time faves.
Bros K, good luck in Russia, say hi to Svejk if you get as far as Bohemia.
Hempel: my girlfriend. Enjoy the pillow talk.
Libra: Not DD's best but far from his worst. I think Cosmopolis is his best short work, and there's Underworld, which says it all 9 times over.
When we call soccer 'football' the terrorists have won.
How can you people read so much shit at one time? Jebus.
[QUOTE=Tomacco04g]How can you people read so much shit at one time? Jebus.[/QUOTE]
I don't, for my own part. I can handle a short story collection or two at the same time I'm doing a novel, provided the novel doesn't feel urgent. If I really dig the novel, it's too important to compete.
Funny, I feel less than well read, yet when I speak to coworkers, even ones I know are smart and relatively literate, they come off as 'I haven't really read that much...'
When we call soccer 'football' the terrorists have won.
[QUOTE=inkpen78]I finally finished Da Vinci Code. I have been kinda crazy so I have not got back to reading.
My July-August Reading list include:
Gravity's Rainbow Thomas Pynchon
Anyone have any additional suggestions for reading? I have alot of free time coming up shortly and I need things to do.[/QUOTE]
This might sound excessive, but if you're gonna tackle GR get the companion guide by Steven Weissenburger, or I swear to God you will not know wot in the blue fuck he's talking about (unless you are a WWII era historian, and have extensive knowledge of clinical psychology, physics and chemistry and folklore...) Have fun!
Trying to read A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole because everyone won't shut up about how great it is. Enjoying it so far.
[I]Fuck not with Rocketman [/I]
Confederacy of Dunces, I love it. It's too long, it needed editing, but what to cut? It's so fucking funny as it is.
When we call soccer 'football' the terrorists have won.
ugly, simply ugly
Finished Nicolas Pileggi's WISEGUY and lounging my way through John Irving's A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY.
[B]High Fidelity[/B] (NIck Hornby), after reading a nice but not great [B]A long way down[/B].
[QUOTE=Mr. Brown]...and lounging my way through John Irving's A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY.[/QUOTE]
THAT IS MY VERY FAVORITE BOOK BY JOHN IRVING. PS IF YOU HAVE READ IT YOU KNOW WHY I AM USING ALL CAPS IN THIS ANNOYING WAY 
[QUOTE=mirka]THAT IS MY VERY FAVORITE BOOK BY JOHN IRVING. PS IF YOU HAVE READ IT YOU KNOW WHY I AM USING ALL CAPS IN THIS ANNOYING WAY :)[/QUOTE]
I noticed that yeah. I thought it wasn't gonna work, but after some pages I actually got used to it and now I love the way he uses the all caps.
So far [i]Kite Runner[/i] reminds me of [i]Anil's Ghost[/i] and that book sucked, so this doesn't bode well.
I'm re-reading [i]The Big Sleep[/i] also to while away the time.
There is hope, but not for us.
Just started Rose of No Man's Land by Michelle Tea.
When we call soccer 'football' the terrorists have won.
i really enjoyed a prayer for owen meany. (:
[QUOTE=courteney]i really enjoyed a prayer for owen meany. (:[/QUOTE]
YES
"I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice - not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany. "
The only two Irving books I ever really liked were "Owen Meany" and "The World According to Garp."
The rest of his books (and I've read most of them, for some godawful reason...mostly while I was abroad and you're hungering for ANYTHING written in a language you can read) I found really forced and trite. Like Irving'd sat down one afternoon and written out a series of amusing and captivating plot points and then constructed characters around them.
E.g.:
-The corpse on the train in "The Cider House Rules"
-The editor/cop/author triangle in "A Widow for One Year."
There is hope, but not for us.
[QUOTE=Hingdai]This might sound excessive, but if you're gonna tackle GR get the companion guide by Steven Weissenburger, or I swear to God you will not know wot in the blue fuck he's talking about (unless you are a WWII era historian, and have extensive knowledge of clinical psychology, physics and chemistry and folklore...) Have fun!
Trying to read A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole because everyone won't shut up about how great it is. Enjoying it so far.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the advice. I was a politcal science major in college and my history background is pretty extensive, but I will probably be lost.
[QUOTE=Mr. Brown]Finished Nicolas Pileggi's WISEGUY and lounging my way through John Irving's A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY.[/QUOTE]
If you really enjoy Irving's work in A Prayer for Owen Meany, continue to read some of his other novels. Save his short story collection Trying To Save Piggy Sneed once you have read more of his works. I made the mistake of reading only two of his works and then reading this collection. I was lost throughout the collection. I went back and re-read the collection not too long ago, after reading several books and becoming a true fan of his writing and was pleasently suprised about my reaction to his short stories.
[QUOTE=inkpen78]
Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler
Stranger in a Strange Land Robert Heinlein
Gravity's Rainbow Thomas Pynchon
The Puppet Masters Robert Heinlein
Anyone have any additional suggestions for reading? I have alot of free time coming up shortly and I need things to do.[/QUOTE]
If you like a "Darkness at Noon", you might also want to try "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. These novels deal with similar themes of war and individual action.
I'm currently reading the Amy Hempel's collected stories and "Kiss Me Judas" by Baer.
[QUOTE=Blackshadow]If you like a "Darkness at Noon", you might also want to try "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. These novels deal with similar themes of war and individual action.
I'm currently reading the Amy Hempel's collected stories and "Kiss Me Judas" by Baer.[/QUOTE]
I read a Seperate Peace when I was in college. You will have to let me know how Kiss Me Judas is, I have not purchased this Hempel book yet.
Thanks!
I'm reading an article on the history of the blow job in vanity fair. I read it while I'm pooing in the morning!
[QUOTE=mirka]"I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice - not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany. "[/QUOTE]
"...Owen Meany and I were permanently conditioned to flinch at the sound of a different kind of gunshot: that much-loved and most American sound of summer, the good old crack of the bat."
On my trip to hawaii, I began reading the Rum Diary. I should finish it tonight.
On deck:
Survivor - CP
Imajica - Clive Barker (Based on my wife's high opinion of this book)
Neuromancer - William Gibson
Skinny Dip by good old satirical trash merchant Carl Hiaasen.
A joy to zip through.
[QUOTE=jane s.]The only two Irving books I ever really liked were "Owen Meany" and "The World According to Garp."
The rest of his books (and I've read most of them, for some godawful reason...mostly while I was abroad and you're hungering for ANYTHING written in a language you can read) I found really forced and trite. Like Irving'd sat down one afternoon and written out a series of amusing and captivating plot points and then constructed characters around them.
E.g.:
-The corpse on the train in "The Cider House Rules"
-The editor/cop/author triangle in "A Widow for One Year."[/QUOTE]
John Irving, to me, seems to have pretty good ideas and godawful notions about writing. It cracks me up that he hates Tom Wolfe because they're the same sort of novelist in a lot of ways.
I think Garp is the best of his books, but I haven't done Owen Meany, and I think that may be the only one I'm not familiar with. Some of them I've listened to audiobooks of instead of reading, no way I would have finished Water Method Man or Until I Find You if I was having to make time to 'read' them.
When we call soccer 'football' the terrorists have won.
[QUOTE=morey]I'm reading an article on the history of the blow job in vanity fair. I read it while I'm pooing in the morning![/QUOTE]
out of the many many pieces you've read on the crapper what would you say is the all-time best shitter-read?
[QUOTE=moe.ron]"...Owen Meany and I were permanently conditioned to flinch at the sound of a different kind of gunshot: that much-loved and most American sound of summer, the good old crack of the bat."[/QUOTE]
Ack, you picked a [I]good [/I]one.
(Nice to see you, Jen)
[QUOTE=Pink Slayer]On my trip to hawaii, I began reading the Rum Diary[/QUOTE]
What do you think of it. It was my first introduction into the Thompson myself. I like it a lot.
[QUOTE=Chixulub]Keep meening to try some JG Ballard.[/QUOTE]Crazy, same here. I want to start with Crash, but I strangely always seem to slip into something else and it never quite makes it to the counter.
currently..
Finishing up Neormancer - I never completed it oh so long ago so I started over a few days ago. Have two Fitzgeralds to follow suit: Tender and Last Tycoon. After that, I'll finally get my fingers all the way into Turgenov's Fathers and Sons.
__________________________________
play hard, like it's work to be done.
[QUOTE=UbikRex]What do you think of it. It was my first introduction into the Thompson myself. I like it a lot.[/QUOTE]
The Rum Diary was my intro to HST as well and I loved it. I'm pumped about Johnny Depp staring in the movie as well.
Has anyone read the book Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.? I was given it today by one of my employees. I don't usually like the same genre of books as she does. Is it a good read or a waste of time?
Hocus Pocus by Vonnegut, then continue with the monster biography of Che Guevara
Think for yourself. Question Authority.
[QUOTE=inkpen78]Has anyone read the book Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.? I was given it today by one of my employees. I don't usually like the same genre of books as she does. Is it a good read or a waste of time?[/QUOTE]
i liked it, the ending felt a bit rushed but some great characters!
[QUOTE=inkpen78]Has anyone read the book Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.? I was given it today by one of my employees. I don't usually like the same genre of books as she does. Is it a good read or a waste of time?[/QUOTE]
i seem to remember Chuck recommending it, but i haven't gotten around to it.
Thanks guys!
Currently Reading:
Microserfs - Douglas Coupland
Hoping To Read:
Hell's Angels - HST
Fear and Loathing In America - HST (I'm on a HST kick right now)
JPod - Douglas Coupland (and apparently on a Coupland kick too)