January 2010 Happy New Year and Im reading...

Anansi Boys

Along with the two other books I'm reading, I started Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions which is sited fairly extensively in Hyperspace

The complete works of Arthur Rimbaud. There are some really good poems and some not so good ones in there...

'Beat the Reaper' by Josh Bazell. Again. Really fast because I pass it on to my brother on Thursday.

"Even at five in the morning, I'm not the kind of guy you mug. I look like an Easter Island sculpture of a longshoreman."

So good.

The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein and Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston

Almost finished the series.

In honour of Ludwig and Big S Im reading Silent Terror by James Ellroy and Im loving it.

1984 by George Orwell

'Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism' by Temple Grandin. I read it when it came out years ago, but it's been revised. There's a new introduction by Oliver Sacks too.

Claire Danes is playing her in a new HBO movie. I have a chance to check out a free sneak preview at a theater here.

(that was a Big Brother joke)

Just started The Yiddish Policeman's Union, by my favorite author du jour, Michael Chabon.

Yeah, it's the movie tie-in version with Danes on the cover. I don't have HBO so I'll have to wait for it to meander over to netflix. Let me know how it is if you end up going to the preview. You should!

Over the past couple weeks I read:

I read Lucky, by Alice Sebold, the lovely bones author.
I read it within a day or so. I really liked I suppose.
But like any other piece of work tus far,
I can't really recall much, nothing really life changing,
not even a funny joke to share.

Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. I liked the play.
I took from the work a few timeless bits about living,
really living or simply watching others live.
and the advice from back then--to learn about a man, ask his pastor.

I am almost finished with Between, Georgia by uhh...Joshilyn Johnson I think.
I truly enjoyed reading this book. I laughed outloud a few times.
You can see everything she writes VIVIDLY. Her analogies are even better than
Palahniuk at times! I like this author and will be picking up
her other novel gods in Alabama as soon as I can.

I read Rant. I liked that a lot. I like the similar fight club type themes
and as always, there was plenty of wit and humor.

I am beginning Pygmy. Only on the first few pages.

February 1st I go back on reading hiatus. I am trying to get as much read before then as possible.

i really like that one, it's probably his best older book. the ending was cool as hell. i might reread it now.

Im looking forward to satrting Angel Falls by Michael Humbled in the old Country Gongagez.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. It's written in such beautiful language. I highly recommend it!

The Room by Hubert Selby Jr

Just finished The Picture of Dorian Grey, and am going to start Angel Falls as well as Great Expectations.

Last Nights of Paris --- Philippe Soupault

It's good and weird, and I will be rereading it, no doubt.

The Girl on the Fridge by Etgar Keret.

Life is a Dream - Pedro Calderon de la Barca

TELL ME MORE DE LA BARCA??????

You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon.

I read about a fourth of Mystery  by Peter Straub and was enjoying it very much, but I just got three more books by Dan Chaon and I'm diving in. 

and

All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland, Im halfway through and I feel like skipping the football tonight for it.

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller.

It's about time!

The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore

I found this in the library and I'm about halfway through, so far I'm really disappointed. The thing I liked the most about Blindness was how plausible it all seemed, that's what made it so horrifying. I'm just not getting that from 'Seeing'. Like you say it's a great concept, but he just doesn't do it justice, so far it's hardly been explored at all. Most of it seems devoted to discussing the power plays going on in the various government organisations that are dealing with the issue and it's just boring me. I'm going to solder through in the hope that it gets better.

Angel Falls by Michael Paul Gonzalez.

A 10th of the way in and I am really digging it.

I finished Angels Falls in 2 days and its as good as anything I read last year. AWESOME!

Next up for me is How the Hula Girl Sings by Joe Meno, so far Im really liking it.

Hahaha, for a second I thought I was in the 'Books You stopped Reading' thread and was like, "Aw, what an asshole."

I was reading the picture of dorian gray, but I was bored so i decided to wiki the rest of it, and i realized i gave up at the part JUST before it starts to pick up. Maybe i'll try again. I'm now reading Amsterdam by Ian McEwan. It's good. I like him. Although I couldn't finish Chesil Beach. barf

i'm reading 'blade of the immortal'. good stuff there. i dig the artwork too.

Beat the Reaper by Johs Bazzell, Im 60 pages in and as soon as the Barca game is over I'm spending the night with this.

Twilight by William Gay.

I almost liked it, but it was too one sided, and felt unbalanced to me. It had potential.

I just finished:

YOU REMIND ME OF ME and FITTING ENDS both by Dan Chaon. I'm starting Chaon's AMONG THE MISSING next.

YES! I forgot to post about it when I read it last week. Instead, I went crazy over at the interview that Rob Hart conducted with Bazell,  here. I read it twice, the book, not the interview.

So my absolute favorite show on TV right now is Californication. It's about an author who had a hit novel, became famous, and his book (God Hates Us All) gets turned into a movie (A Crazy Little Thing Called Love) starring Tom and Katie. He gets writers block and basically just sleeps around a drinks himself stupid.

So now the book from the show has been published under the character's name (Hank Moody). I'm currently reading that. It's ok. Trying too hard to carry the characters voice into the book. But I'm really wondering who actually wrote this book...

I saw that on Amazon and seriously thought about getting it. Love the show but I just had a feeling that the book would be rubbish. The reviews have compared it to Charles Bukowski and Bret Easton Ellis except not as good. Let me know if it's any good.

Thoughts?

I loved it.

I've only read 'Twilight' and 'The Long Home'. Both impressed the hell out of me. I plan on reading his collected short stories soon.

I guess I can see the comparison to BEE, but just in the general tone maybe. It's definitely a different style.

It's worth reading if you're a fan of the show. Otherwise it would just be an ok book. I like it because I'm a fan and predisposed to like it I think. Sort of like if you read a lot of reviews of a book calling it "shitty" and you decide to give it a shot. You usually find it shitty. But a year later reflecting on reading that book - you find you might have actually liked it...

Is that a rant? Or does it make sense?

i read the first book of that one, it was pretty good. i'll get back to it when i'm done with this one though. i can't read 2 samurai books at once, i'll get confused.