Time for an August thread already!

The Marching Season by Daniel Silva
Fight Club (second time through)
Che: A Revolutionary Life (it's a reading long book, plus I read three books in the meantime)

then
don't know

I posted this elsewhere, but I think it should be here...

Has anyone read I, Lucifer? If yes, how was it, it is on the top of my pile of August reading which includes:

Maggie Cassidy
The Book of Three
Ham on Rye
The Outsider (the last book of the series of Camus that I have yet to read)
Stiller
Genius
and if I can find a copy of it At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom

Finished
Stephen King - On Writing
Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without A Country

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]
Reading:
[I]Demon Theory[/I][/QUOTE]

I'm going through this as well right now.

The script style narrration is a bit jarring to start off with, but damn does he fill in a lot of foot notes with references to this and that like you wouldn't believe.

After this I have

Philip K. Dick - The Cosmic Puppets
Jones - Bleed Into Me (like to hear your thoughts on this since I recall you having purchased it back in june)
Leonard Cohen - The Favorite Game (put this down to finish up on other stuff going back to it shortly after these.)

Just finished: [U]The Monkey Wrench Gang[/U]- Edward Abbey

Reading: [U]Walden and Civil Disobedience[/U]- Henry David Thoreau

Plan on reading this month: [U]Desert Solitaire[/U]- Edward Abbey, A re-read to go along with the other Abbey I just finished and the nature and influence of Thoreau.

[U]A Prayer for Owen Meany[/U]- John Irving: Have only read "Garp" and "Cider House" and was told this was his best, which is good b/c I thought the others were just meh.

[U]Midnight's Children[/U]- Salman Rushdie: Loved [U]The Satanic Verses[/U] and have always wanted to read this but never have for some reason. It is coming off the shelf this month!

Today I sat on the beach, skimming through Choke for enough hours to give me a minor burn... Laughed out loud many, many times... It was great... when I wasn't reading, I made sure Choke was in obvious sight (minus neon-flashing lights) hoping someone would notice it, 'cuz anyone who digs Chuck P is cool in my books... no one noticed it.. will try again.

I was reading Ulysses... like many (and most that I've heard of) I'm thinking of giving up on it... I don't 'get it' nor does anything make me want to turn the page (75pgs in and only three lines I enjoyed)... maybe I'm missing something, if anyone enjoyed it, reply or pm me, curious to hear what it is you like about it.. maybe I'd try it again (I really do want to read it because it is said to be such a 'classic'.. but...

I got the new Amy Hempel hardcover with "at the gates..."; I've been reading a short story from ATGotAK each night before dozing off... Amy's amazing; it's so wonderful to read stories of hers that are new [to me].

Thinking about reading "the bell jar" again -- having finished Plath's unabridged journals last month, it sheds some light (some? lots!) on who she was... belljar is said to be somewhat of an autobiography (the narrator is based on herself)... much of the journals detailed her struggle with writing what would be the belljar, so... I'm interested to go back to it.. think I will.

I'm not totally sure what to read now.. it's been a while since a book REALLY grabbed me.

Wow, is this post long winded with many superfluous details...

[QUOTE=tyler branson]Just finished: [U]The Monkey Wrench Gang[/U]- Edward Abbey

Reading: [U]Walden and Civil Disobedience[/U]- Henry David Thoreau

Plan on reading this month: [U]Desert Solitaire[/U]- Edward Abbey, A re-read to go along with the other Abbey I just finished and the nature and influence of Thoreau.

[U]A Prayer for Owen Meany[/U]- John Irving: Have only read "Garp" and "Cider House" and was told this was his best, which is good b/c I thought the others were just meh.

[U]Midnight's Children[/U]- Salman Rushdie: Loved [U]The Satanic Verses[/U] and have always wanted to read this but never have for some reason. It is coming off the shelf this month![/QUOTE]

Are you a john irving fan? If so you do not want to read Until I Find You. I think it was an absolute failure on his part to create this character based on a character he used in a previous book. I am glad I read it, but I would not recommend it to anyone, especially someone just beginning to read Irvings' work

The World According to Garp, the Cider House Rules and I personally liked the Hotel New Hampshire (although I have heard mixed emotions about it) are really well written, enteratining and enjoyable. I have read every piece by Irving and his biggest failure is that he is inconsistent with quality work. This is probably why I keep coming back to him, because I want more of what I know he can do and less of what is more consistent at being---one of the worst contemporary american writers.

[U]Brothers Karamazov[/U] - this has been a long process but I'm getting through it.

[U]Invisible Monsters[/U] - cause why not read it again?

I'm trying to muster the guts to pick up [U]Atlas Shrugged[/U] again and finish it. Can you say long?

I'm in a funny in between where I almost want to finish up what I'm reading right now and focus on writing for a month or two... is this a good idea or will I go nuts?

i got shit laying all over the place to be gone through
i don't know where to start!

[QUOTE=nathaniel parker]i got shit laying all over the place to be gone through
i don't know where to start![/QUOTE]

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with everything you want to read?

I have a whole journal just on things that I have to read (per recommendations), plus piles of books to get through...

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]Finished:
[I]Motherless Brooklyn[/I] (a big disappointment. Story fell through the floor into oblivion.)
[I]The Breast[/I] (Funniest damn thing I've read in a long time. I recommend it. A fast eighty sum pages. If you're a slow reader you'll polish it off in an hour or two.)

Reading:
[I]Big Sur
Demon Theory[/I]
lots of [I]absurd [/I]essays
and Sam Shepherd's new play [I]God of Hell[/I]
[COLOR=Red]RUN[/COLOR]![/QUOTE]

motherless brooklyn.... a movie that Edward Norton is directing and playing in. Not finished yet. does it rlly have a bad plot? Wow Ed needs to choose better. Im looking forward to this one. As i am with the Illusionist.

[QUOTE=inkpen78]Do you ever feel overwhelmed with everything you want to read?

I have a whole journal just on things that I have to read (per recommendations), plus piles of books to get through...[/QUOTE]
i don't know about [i]overwhelmed[/i]
but it sure is a mess here

I'm reading Jack by AM Homes. I liked her newest book so am going through her back catalogue and thought I'd start with a teen book she wrote at 19 (damnit!). In the spirit of getting authors' back catalogues, I also bought Double Fault by Lionel Shriver after reading We Need to Talk About Kevin (which was one of the best books I've ever read).

I'm rereading Sayonara, Gangsters by Genichiro Takahashi.

who heres read Pattern Recognition? thoughts opinions ?
I may read that while I'm still [i]Waiting[/i] for DrJ&MrH to type out something about that Kafka on the shore

[QUOTE=UbikRex]Finished
The script style narrration is a bit jarring to start off with, but damn does he fill in a lot of foot notes with references to this and that like you wouldn't believe.
Jones - Bleed Into Me (like to hear your thoughts on this since I recall you having purchased it back in june)[/QUOTE]
Jones' style is dense, demanding you to pay attention. I read about half of the stories in Texas. They call for a second read. [I]Halloween [/I]blew me away. Thought it was one of the most compact and hard hitting short shorts I've read. As for [I]Demon[/I], ehh, after [COLOR=Blue]house [/COLOR]of leaves footnotes are whirllywheeljoints. The narrative style is innovative , though I'm only twenty pages in.

YO...[COLOR=Red][I]only [/I][/COLOR]a month till [COLOR=red][I]Revolutions[/I][/COLOR]!
[QUOTE=JackNorton]motherless brooklyn.... a movie that Edward Norton is directing and playing in. Not finished yet. does it rlly have a bad plot? Wow Ed needs to choose better. Im looking forward to this one. As i am with the Illusionist.[/QUOTE]
Uggg...really? uggg. Yeah, the story went to shit. Great characters, but Lethem really doesn't do anything with them. The initial exposition of their childhood and the narrator's tourettes is funny and interesting, but once it goes into the "mystery" it's a whole lot of nothing. The plot is a straight line to the toilet. Hope the screenplay concocted a more elaborate story. Notorn would kick ass in the role of the herky jerky verbal spongcake narrator.
[QUOTE=nathaniel parker]I may read that while I'm still Waiting for DrJ&MrH to type out something about that Kafka on the shore[/QUOTE]
You're still biting my ass! I'm not even squibbled in the area I left that book! Actually while in San Fran they were pimping [I]Norwegian Wood [/I]in every bookstore. Supposedly one of his best.

I can see it now
OR is going to make me break my vow to not buy anything new until i thinned out my to read pile
and by god i can't wait to break that promise!!!

[QUOTE=inkpen78]The World According to Garp, the Cider House Rules and I personally liked the Hotel New Hampshire (although I have heard mixed emotions about it) are really well written, enteratining and enjoyable. I have read every piece by Irving and his biggest failure is that he is inconsistent with quality work. This is probably why I keep coming back to him, because I want more of what I know he can do and less of what is more consistent at being---one of the worst contemporary american writers.[/QUOTE]

This isn't good, b/c I wasn't much of a fan of either "Garp" or "Cider House," I don't think they were bad at all just nothing exciting, earth-shattering, or anything that made me fall out of my chair, so I am going with what I was told was his "other great" book. He is an author I haven't really got into, but I am also the type that likes/tries to read everything and give everyone a chance. So hopefully I will enjoy "Owen."

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]

You're still biting my ass! I'm not even squibbled in the area I left that book! Actually while in San Fran they were pimping [I]Norwegian Wood [/I]in every bookstore. Supposedly one of his best.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, man. Norwegian Wood is great. Not his normal style, though. It's much more straightforward than most his other stuff. I love it, though.

But for his masterpiece, probably Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It's amazing.

Been meaning to read Kafka on the Shore. My bro tells me I'll like it best of all. His favorite is Wind-up Bird, too. It's long, but you get so into it it doesn't really matter.

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]
Reading:
[I]Big Sur[/I]
[/QUOTE]

Good luck with that. I've never gotten past the first 15 - 20 pages of it or [U]The Dharma Bums[/U]... which is a shame since I actually enjoyed [U]On the Road[/U].

Just finishing [U]Eater of the Dead[/U] by Crichton, which is probably the only book I've ever found to be inferior to the subsequent movie.

Also working on [U]Big U[/U] by Stephenson and looking for some Gemmell, just for fun.

[B]Destination : Morgue ![/B] (James Ellroy) : excellent

Still mowing through the series of horror shorts, I'm up to Hot Blood XI: Fatal Attractions.

[QUOTE=tyler branson]This isn't good, b/c I wasn't much of a fan of either "Garp" or "Cider House," I don't think they were bad at all just nothing exciting, earth-shattering, or anything that made me fall out of my chair, so I am going with what I was told was his "other great" book. He is an author I haven't really got into, but I am also the type that likes/tries to read everything and give everyone a chance. So hopefully I will enjoy "Owen."[/QUOTE]

You will like Prayer for Owen Meany...definitely one of his better work even though I failed to mention it. I think the best way to go into it is with no expectations. I gave him a chance a few years back even though everyone I had talked to said do not waist your time. The best way too look at his work is like the way some people look at Danielle Steel or Nora Roberts (for pure entertainment).

Have Fun with Owen!

[QUOTE=sal79parody]
Been meaning to read Kafka on the Shore. My bro tells me I'll like it best of all. His favorite is Wind-up Bird, too. It's long, but you get so into it it doesn't really matter.[/QUOTE]
Kafka was a fun ride, though I felt a bit too familiar with the philosophy & psychology--id/ego, absurdity, Oedipus complex (running away from fate only seals the deal) and dream. Some of the middle felt like he was chewing gum and going in circles. His language is kind of, um, I don’t know read it, but I got the impression some texture was lost in translation. The dialogue felt a bit forced. Though again, I chalk that up with translation. Still a great read.
[QUOTE=XyZy]Good luck with that. I've never gotten past the first 15 - 20 pages of it or [U]The Dharma Bums[/U]... which is a shame since I actually enjoyed [U]On the Road[/U].
[/QUOTE]
I thought [I]Dharma Bums [/I]was hilarious. But yeah, [I]Sur [/I]is laborious, first five chapters are really one sentence, but I just got back from that area so it’s interesting.

Anybody know anything about Hornby’s [I]a Long way Down[/I]?

A Long Way Down was....okay. I don't think it was great, but it held my attention and I enjoyed reading it if that helps!

The pile has grown in the last month.

right now - [I]The Rules of Attraction[/I]

After:
All the Beautiful Sinners
The Contortionists Handbook
Glamorama
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
and about 10-15 other books in no discernible order.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Finishing it after three months almost ( taking my time, one of the greatest book i've ever read)
Poe - coudn't translate in english the freakin thing i'm reading cuz i did not find it on the net but it is his novel that i'm finishing and its not that great.
Matheson - i think i'll read A stir of echoes in one sitting today, the movie is one of my favorite so i'm pretty glad to read that.

Oh yeah!
"Where's [URL=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691122946/103-2469814-2315055?v=glance&n=283155]bullshit[/URL]?"
"Western philosophy."

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]

Anybody know anything about Hornby’s [I]a Long way Down[/I]?[/QUOTE]

I read it about a year ago. I thought it was pretty good, but highly unrealistic. He might be a little too happy go lucky for me (Hornby). The main thing I like about it was that he used multiple POV, which he nailed. It was just funny to see the character's takes on each other.

Murakami's style. I don't know. He's highly influenced by Ray Carver, so his style is pretty simple. Yeah, in those wild works of his, he does sometimes try to explain the plot through dialogue and when you stop to think, it's absurd. The only one of his books I found disappointing was Sputnik Sweetheart. Norwegian Wood was cool, just because it seemed very personal to him. None of the magical elements to it that pervade his other stuff. Murakami has a book of shorts coming out at the end of August--Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. Should be good.

i just started jenifer government, due to all the recomendations it got in this forum, enjoying it so far, gotta get back to it...

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]

Anybody know anything about Hornby’s [I]a Long way Down[/I]?[/QUOTE]

I bought it last month but haven't got around to reading it yet. You want it when I'm done?

i read it last month, was nice but not super

If you live near a Goodwill Store, take the time once in awhile to browse through their books. Sometimes you get incredibly lucky. And you can't beat 99¢ hardcovers and 39¢ paperbacks.
I found [U]Hearts in Atlantis[/U], [U]Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim[/U], and [U]Wuthering Heights[/U] in paperback, and [U]The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon[/U] and [U]Walden[/U] in hardcover.

It's worth the digging if you can find a gem!

Reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. I love this guy, I've alreay read The Windup Bird Chronicles, and so far, i think think that one is better better because the main character was more complete and I loved all the Japanese war stories that were spliced in.

Not sure what to read next: Probably either Gravity's Rainbow again, because, well, i think i just have to. Or maybe some Shakespeare or something i haven't read like Bukowski. Who knows.

[QUOTE=McMuddle]I bought it last month but haven't got around to reading it yet. You want it when I'm done?[/QUOTE]
Yeah man:) But you've sent goodies so at least give me a list of books you're looking for. The wank bookdealer I worked for still owes me two-hundred in back-pay. I'm going to collect one way or another.
[QUOTE=franc tireur]i read it last month, was nice but not super[/QUOTE]
haha...first time i've heard a bunch of suicides called nice.
[QUOTE=ladydie]If you live near a Goodwill Store, take the time once in awhile to browse through their books. Sometimes you get incredibly lucky. And you can't beat 99¢ hardcovers and 39¢ paperbacks.
It's worth the digging if you can find a gem! :)[/QUOTE]
I spotted [URL=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193116004X/103-2469814-2315055?v=glance&n=283155]sick[/URL] at the will, but it's unread and buried somewhere.

I'm currently reading:

The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath
Last Exit to Brooklyn-Hubert Selby Jr.

Finished

See No Evil, by Robert Baer, which is the memoir that the movie Syriana is based off of. Parts were censored out by the CIA, which is annoying, but all together it was enjoyable.

Staring at Sound- the biography of The Flaming Lips. Worth reading if you dig the band. Probably not worth reading if you're not.

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson was very good. I loved it. The movie with Billy Crudup is also great. Makes me sad Already Dead was so damned dull.

Going to read...

Faust (possibly) though i'll probably get it and owe a couple of nickels when I return it unread to the library.

I'm probably also going to read something with Spider-man in it.

Finished Death of the Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell (excellent)
Reading the Ruins by Scott Smith (pretty intense)--still got skills after a simple plan
Dead Fish Museum by Charles D'ambrosio--Excellent. This guy is probably the best short story writer alive. His first collection since the out of print The Point.
Some Yeats and Baudelaire poetry--great

finish Jennifer government now reading Jim Thompson Wild town... Does anyone else in here read Jim T?

of course ! he's one of my top 3 writers. my personal fave : [B]Pop. 1280[/B]

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters by salinger. ive read and loved everything else salinger, so i aim to just get it done -- though, i will be rereading nine stories here in the next couple ah weeks because the stories have faded and that just aint right...

i picked up a few shakespeare mass market pbk plays: hamlet, romeo, and midsummers. so, i'll be getting to those next. it's just a bit of a trip, just now getting to shakes. shoulda stuck with em in high school, i guess. quit simply with macbeth and only macbeth and there is so much more than simply and only macbeth

ah, and i have been getting the evil eye from camus' stranger; i read it so long ago that I don’t remember much of it and my memory’s been ah itching. That book’s been leering at me from the bookshelf -- i can feel it when i walk by. I think it's been emitting hiss sounds at night, to the low hum of static. I'll get through most of my reading list by tomorrow, after i finish the current assignment in Baer's world: “I want a party scene, at least four people no more than six, I want a few thousand words, they have to break bread, and make it good.” With that is desire, so, perhaps, with the grace of good sleep, i'll get to hushing camus' quacking by as early as next week.

ps...blood meridian. like, [i]god damn[/i]. Ive been missing out. ordering all the pretty horses today. Im not gonna stay missin out
kabol

[QUOTE=jmizair]I'm currently reading:

The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath[/QUOTE]ive been wanting to get to this for a while now. even held it in a boodstore once -- there are always so many choices. Soon.. soon.
kabol

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]Yeah man:) give me a list of books you're looking for. [/QUOTE]

Well Sir, no reciprocation was expected, or it wouldn't have been a gift........however....it does seem that two 'keepers' are missing from my collection. If you run across a nice copy of Dunn's Geek Love or Talbot's Holographic Universe, there is a place on the shelf for them.

[QUOTE=JKabol]

ps...blood meridian. like, [i]god damn[/i]. Ive been missing out. ordering all the pretty horses today. Im not gonna stay missin out
kabol[/QUOTE]

Yeah, man. That's probably my favorite book. Amazing. Burned onto the page. Probably his most difficult book, though. You can tell it's highly influenced by Moby Dick--the language, etc.

[B]Garlic and Sapphires[/B] - Ruth Reichl. A great read, but very odd. The book is amazing but it has reviews she wrote as the NY Times food critic that are so bad. I can't believe she could write such a great book about being a food critic while being such a godawful food critic!

[B]Feast of Snakes[/B] -Harry Crewes. A great book that I wish I'd never read. One of those like [B]The Collector [/B]by John Knowles.

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]Anybody know anything about Hornby’s [I]a Long way Down[/I]?[/QUOTE]

I really enjoyed it. There's humor in there- no worries. I don't want to say too much to ruin it for you.

I spent hours in the bookstore yest. and could not find a single book that I was interested in. I think I have literary ADD or something. I need a good read desperately.

For someone who loves Nick Hornby, Max Barry, Douglas Coupland, WCB . . .can someone suggest another author that I might like? (someone unlike those authors would be fine)

I finished See No Evil by Robert Baer (nonfiction, the book which Syriana was based upon) last month. It's the first non-fiction spy stuff I've read. It's like 24 in the Middle East.

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]Finished:
[I]Motherless Brooklyn[/I] (a big disappointment. Story fell through the floor into oblivion.)
[/QUOTE]

What the hell?

I love this book. Best Lethem to date, and one of my faves of all contemporary fiction. I worked for a dude with Tourette's for five years, a guy with Minna-esque gangster ambitions, too, and Lethem nailed it.

Also love the audio book, Frank Muller's finest hour. He must know someone with the big T, because you couldn't do that good a performance of the book without a frame of reference.

[QUOTE=JKabol]ive been wanting to get to this for a while now. even held it in a boodstore once -- there are always so many choices. Soon.. soon.
kabol[/QUOTE]
i'm only a few chapters through it (again), having finished her journal i can already see the similarities between her life and the narrator... it's quite interesting to see how the book was written; to first read of her experiences then see how see writes them to a character, definitely something to be learned there..

[QUOTE=Chixulub]What the hell?
I love this book. Best Lethem to date, and one of my faves of all contemporary fiction. I worked for a dude with Tourette's for five years, a guy with Minna-esque gangster ambitions, too, and Lethem nailed it.
[/QUOTE]
DUDE.......
[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]
Great characters, but Lethem really doesn't do anything with them. The initial exposition of their childhood and the narrator's tourettes is funny, accurate, and interesting, but once it goes into the "mystery" it's a whole lot of nothing.
[/QUOTE]
That story didn't fall extremely flat for you? Felt too predictable. No arguments on the characters believability.
[QUOTE=Lisa]
I finished See No Evil by Robert Baer (nonfiction, the book which Syriana was based upon) last month. It's the first non-fiction spy stuff I've read. It's like 24 in the Middle East.[/QUOTE]
I'm really itching to read some good nonfiction. Anybody have any other suggestions?

Now i have to make it a point to read this, to see what all of this fuss is about. From the looks of things, you could both write conflicting papers on the subject. Long, in-depth papers, and that intrigues me

[QUOTE=Dr.Jekyll&Mr.Hyde]DUDE.......

That story didn't fall extremely flat for you? Felt too predictable. No arguments on the characters believability.

I'm really itching to read some good nonfiction. Anybody have any other suggestions?[/QUOTE]

[IMG]http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/P/0140047433.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/IMG]
My favorite non-fiction book: Biology with a philosophical, almost poetic twist. Truly awesome.