The hands down best book read lately?
What was the last book that honestly jolted you? I mean, it was so good, and you didn't expect it, that it just hit you. Has this happened to you lately? It happened to me last night.
Flann O'Connor's [i]Wise Blood[/i]. It was that good.
What was your last one?
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
Yes, yes. Vonnegut is the homie. I have this wonderful feeling whenever I pick up another of his books, like "This is going to be great." My favorate thus far is Slapstick. But I've only read four of his books. I'm taking my time; just ever few months I'll pick up and read another Vonnee. Like a special treat or something.
Good ish!
-Kabol
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
"Red Earth and Pouring Rain" Vikram Chandra. it was a great book based on the tradition of storytelling. it also made me realize that too much else of what i've read doesn't bother with telling a story and that they rely to heavily on action or shock to induce readership. REaPR's method of storytelling makes good use the story-within-story technique, and extremely good combination of modern day storytelling mixed with traditional epic tale storytelling.
Both of Baer's novels just kicked my ass with how good they were. The kind of books where you read parts aloud to anyone near you. I read Penny first and the Judas and then Penny again. Then I joined Nerve so I could read the two stories he has there. Then I tracked down Bomb magazine and bought back issues for stories he published over ten years ago. He's [i]that[/i] good!
Also, 'A Prayer for the Dying' by Stewart O'Nan. Its about a small town dealing with plague and quarantine. Gave me the chills. Think a cross between Flannery O'Conner and Shirley Jackson in terms of material.
[QUOTE=mirkah]I read Penny first and the Judas and then Penny again.
Then I joined Nerve so I could read the two stories he has there. Then I tracked down Bomb magazine and bought back issues for stories he published over ten years ago. He's [i]that[/i] good![/QUOTE]
Yes, he is [i]that[/i] good!
How many stories were you able to find, counting back issues and all; I mean to date?
Were you able to track down 4 or 5?
Or 7 or 8? There is no such thing as too high of a number 
Baer is hands down one of the big dogs. I'm glad that I was intro'd to his work by this-site-mix'd-with-CClev. But there is one problem. Judas, Dread and Suffer were the only stories that I have been able to get my hands on.
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
[QUOTE=JKabol]Yes, he is [i]that[/i] good!
How many stories were you able to find, counting back issues and all; I mean to date?
Were you able to track down 4 or 5?
Or 7 or8?[/QUOTE]
Hi Jkabol! 
Four stories (so far). Two on nerve.com. It only costs $7 bucks to join for a month and definately worth it. Also 2 in Bomb Magazine but one of those is the same one that is posted on this site.
i really really really liked Choke. really
but the one before that was The Anatomy Lesson by.... John Morley- i think...
funking awesome book that everyone should read.
An impulsive read, like a little kid hiding under the blankets at bedtime, just to read more, more, more.......
it's been a while since I read it, but is one of my past affairs, and probably again soon.
[I][COLOR=Red]REPLAY[/COLOR][/I] - [COLOR=Silver]Ken Grimwood[/COLOR]
[IMG]http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/3760/rosinhighminsig3jo.gif[/IMG]
i haven't really read much since i finished 'the heart is deceitful above all things' by jt leroy. that book drained me.
[QUOTE=big S]i haven't really read much since i finished 'the heart is deceitful above all things' by jt leroy. that book drained me.[/QUOTE]
yeah, I second that. I'd read that book a few weeks ago and immediately ordered [i]Sarah[/i] and received it a about a week ago. But I'd plunged myself into Bret Easton this past week and I just read O'Connor's [i]Wise Blood[/i] and I don't remember before that, but I will get to [i]Sarah[/i] maybe Monday. &, Again, I agree, JT's work is draining.
[b][size=3]Mirkah[/size][/b]
You havn't the slightest idea how much I owe you. No, really; you don't. But I'm'a tell ya: it's a lot. Thank you. I'd like to make a trade with you to maybe help to make up for all you've done for me...
You say that you have a story from [i]Bomb[/i] mag. I was wondering if you'd make a copy of that story to send to me, because I very much want to read anything that I can by The-Homie-Baer, then I'd make a trade for it.
I know that you collect autographs, like Clev's and Chuck's and whatnot. I'd send you a first edition, first printing of [i]Judas[/i], autographed by the Baer (on the first page) via priority mail -- my expense, not yours -- for it.
Do we have a deal? If yours is the same address, I'll send it one Monday, if not Sat.
Whatta ya say? Deal or no-deal?
-Kabol
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
Max Barry's Syrup. I read it less than 2 months ago, and I'm already ready to reread.
Classic. Just motherfucking classic.
Carrie's Story by Molly Weatherfield.
"The Silmarillion", by Tolkien.
I had first read it in 1988, during my first and only trip to the USA, and I enjoyed much more this time. Very impressive work.
Hey JKabol, no way am I taking a signed first edition from you buddy BUT I did PM you the details about ordering back issues
"junky" by william s. burroughs.
[SIZE=1][CENTER] i sold my soul on ebay. [/CENTER][/SIZE]
the politics, by aristotle. fucking mad
Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genious by Eggers. I love this book. I"m in the Process of reading You Shall Know Our Velocity! now.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Lazlosdead/completeLazloSig.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Lazlosdead]Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genious by Eggers[/QUOTE]
Dogg, I've been hearing about this book from various friends and strangers. What did you enjoy about it, personally[img]http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/community/images/icons/icon5.gif[/img]
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
[QUOTE=JKabol]Dogg, I've been hearing about this book from various friends and strangers. What did you enjoy about it, personally?[/QUOTE]
At no point in the book does he ever take himself too seriously. He tells a true story about a portion of his life but no matter how bad things were or weren't he kept it interesting and light. He also messed around with his writing style( but not so much it was annoying like in House of Leaves), for example he auditioned for THe Real World a few years ago, and he turned the interview into a way to talk directly to the reader. All that seems to be available to read lately are people who are taking themselves way to seriously. It's nice to read someone who can still have a good time. It's weird now that I think about it, no one wants to listen to someone stand there and bitch out loud, but its all we want to read. Anyway, check out Eggers.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Lazlosdead/completeLazloSig.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Lazlosdead]...check out Eggers.[/QUOTE]
That's what it was...
Maybe 3 weeks ago Saturday, I had a sitdown chat with a friend of mine named Jay; he was reading that book and I was reading some short story collections by Anton Chekhov and O'Henry. Anyway, we had a conversation about Eggers, about "his mother and him and oh-my-god, you should read it just-for-this-part" hahaha. I'd forgotten to remember it. Hence forgotten
Anyway, thanks for reminding me.
-Kabol
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
it sounds all sweet and sappy and religious.... totally not
it has its sweet moments
but its also harsh and the such
anyway i really enjoyed it
and hello to everyone i havent talked to in forever
Read this:
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.
It is genuinely one of my two or three favourite books. Funny, savage - with an incredible writing style (lines just zip off the page, you'll be remembering them for weeks after), best narrative voice since I don't know when, superb character, brilliant depiction of a Texas town, hilarious set-peices, scathing attack on hypocrisy in America (and beyond)...
It's just brilliant. And it's the first Booker Prize winner I've read where I haven't had the dull nagging feeling that I was reading something "worthy".
[QUOTE=Riddlegimp]Read this:
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.
It is genuinely one of my two or three favourite books. Funny, savage - with an incredible writing style (lines just zip off the page, you'll be remembering them for weeks after), best narrative voice since I don't know when, superb character, brilliant depiction of a Texas town, hilarious set-peices, scathing attack on hypocrisy in America (and beyond)...
It's just brilliant. And it's the first Booker Prize winner I've read where I haven't had the dull nagging feeling that I was reading something "worthy".[/QUOTE]
This will be the next book for me I think. I bought it months ago, but I had a backlog of books I wanted to get through first (currently half way through Trainspotting, so I'll probably start VGL next week). I read the first chapter of VGL in one of the Sydney papers after it was awarded the Booker and I was hooked, so I have been looking forward to reading it.
[QUOTE=NoMercuryAdded]This will be the next book for me I think. I bought it months ago, but I had a backlog of books I wanted to get through first (currently half way through Trainspotting, so I'll probably start VGL next week). I read the first chapter of VGL in one of the Sydney papers after it was awarded the Booker and I was hooked, so I have been looking forward to reading it.[/QUOTE]
Hey No Mercury - good to hear someone's about to read it! I think I might read it again soon.
You've read the first chapter - what about the line:
"Normal times just ran howling out of town"
What a way to set the scene...
Enjoy it mate...
Incidentally: Trainspotting's a bloody good book 'n all!
[QUOTE=Riddlegimp]Hey No Mercury - good to hear someone's about to read it! I think I might read it again soon.
You've read the first chapter - what about the line:
"Normal times just ran howling out of town"
What a way to set the scene...
Enjoy it mate...
Incidentally: Trainspotting's a bloody good book 'n all![/QUOTE]
Yeah I remember how great the language was in the part I have read; a criticism in a review said at times the language was a little florid throughout the book, a little too debut novelish in its descriptions/wording, but he painted such a vivid scene and character introductions in the first chapter, that I embraced it.
It was good to see a book like this get the Booker, instead of Peter Carey, Atwood, or Amis etc winning - plus he has strong links to Australia (still has an Aussie accent), that it felt like a local had won; the author has led an interesting life too, by the sounds of it.
I put off reading VGL to first read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and then Trainspotting (both which I loved), mainly because they are considered such 'classics' and I have wanted to read them because I loved both movies. I have a feeling VGL will comfortably sit beside them.
The last book I read was "The Best Thing That Could Happen To a Croissant" By Pablo Miralles. This book was amazing. It takes you through a week in the life of the biggest slacker ever. It reminds me of the movie "Eyes Wide Shut" Instead of Tom Cruise, add Victor form Chuck's book "Choke." The main character is extremely intelligent, self-aware, sarcastic, hedonistic, and good at blowing the most foolproof plans.
It all adds up to a mystery novel heavily sprinkled with dark humor and lots of things that make you pause a few moments for introspection.
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][B]"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."
— F. Scott Fitzgerald[/B][/COLOR][/FONT]
[IMG]http://members.aol.com/vastcatse/pandas.jpg[/IMG]
[mr_hash]: gotta love the baby ninja kiss
[jane s.]: dude, me either. Also I fell on a Spanish lady on the way to the
bathroom.
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut. At first it was eh, but by the end it managed to absolutely blow me away.
[I]The Blind Side[/I] by Michael Lewis.
It's about left tackles (and one in particular) in football. Sounds engrossing, don't it?
It is--at least for a bigtime football fan.
players piano- kurt vonnegut
i never really feel too strongly about a vonnegut book until about 100 pages in, next thing i know i cant stop thinking about the story and the underlined message and i find my self reading till 4 in the morning.
Penny Dreadful. I read Judas maybe six months ago, after I bought the three-book paperback edition, but I didn't start Penny until two days ago. And I read the entire fucking book. This Baer cat does not suck, my friends, not at all. No one I have read in a long time is as good at grabbing you by the throat and dragging you along for the ride, and no one, but no one, can fuck with perception and perspective like WCB.
Man. Wow. My mind has been blown.
[QUOTE=Lazlosdead;329934]Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genious by Eggers. I love this book. I"m in the Process of reading You Shall Know Our Velocity! now.[/QUOTE]
You Shall Know Our Velocity! was very good. i liked it alot. it was the only Eggers book i read, i want to get into him more.
So Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious was good? do you reccomend i read it?
usually if someone says they [i]love[/i] a book, thats a recommendation
thanks man. you're very helpful
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
I think it took her like 10 years to write it and you can feel it....epic.
I was sad when it ended.
"I thought I had mono once for an entire year. Turns out I was just really bored."
Wayne Campbell
kafka's metamorphosis just hit the spot perfectly for me. I love stories that are fairly far fetched, but presented in a realistic/reasonable fashion.
[i]The Monkey Wrench Gang[/i] by Edward Abbey. Not without flaws, and has (I think) a troubling ideaology, but it's bloody good writing. Though an environmentalist manifesto of sorts, it's not for the politically correct or sociologically sensitive.
Supposedly a film slated for this year, but I haven't found much information about it. If they don't cast Hayduke correctly I'm going to cry.
P.S. Has anybody out there read [i]Hayduke Lives![/i]? I'm curious to know if it's any good, though part of me would like the mystery of his reappearance to remain just that.
No one has mentioned [I]The Sirens of Titan[/I] by Vonnegut. Best book ever!!!
King of the Inverted Laugh
Anyone read Man Without a Country yet? I swear, everytime I get a new Vonnegut book it's like this warm fuzzy feeling...knowing I have this new book to savor and enjoy. Unfortunately I've already read all of his fiction, and almost all of his non-fiction, so I don't have much to look forward to.
Anyway, Vonnegut is still just as sharp as ever.
Seems like a lot of Chuck fans are big Vonnegut fans too. Add me to that list although the last Vonnegut I read was Hocus Pocus about 6 yrs ago. Might have to dig it back out and re-read.
I read Paulo Coelho's 'Eleven Minutes' a few months ago and while it didn't blow me away, I liked it a lot more than the other books I read around that time, like Janet Fitch's 'Paint It Black' which was a total waste of time. If you've never read Coelho, try 'Veronika Decides to Die'. He's not near as dark as Chuck et al but interesting nonetheless.
Edit to add: I bought Heartbreaking Work... by Eggers when it first came out. Never finished it. It bored me.
Well. I can't remember the last book that was really really good...I remember it happening a few months ago, but I can't think of what it was now.
But books I've read recently that are really good. Breakfast of Champions - 3/4 through it. I like Kurt Vonnegut, but this book is so good and entertaining, it's bumped Vonnegut up to Chuck Palahniuk level for me. Where I can't wait to get all his books and read them all. Before BofC I was going to get them all, but now I want to read them all now. Anyway.
And Last Exit to Brooklyn. Some of the stories got old, like the strike...but it was really good and was my first Hubert Selby Jr. book.