What Book Are You Reading? [Archive] - Page 4

MC Moot

08-10-2009, 03:10 PM

halfway through The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac.

Love it...his writing style is hypnotic..

That’s my fave Kerouac book...you may dig Gary Snyder… ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Snyder)he’s the beat most influenced by nature and the environment…"Japhy Rider" was based on Snyder...(y)

MC Moot

08-10-2009, 03:22 PM

I've just installed a new shelf over my favorite chair and I've started making a list of what books I'm going to keep on it. It's going to be my reading chair and I'm going to plow through the books on the shelf, keeping it updated constantly. Although I haven't actually started the list, I've been thinking about it, for serious. It's going to be a long list, too. Right now my first priority is to finally decide on the correct angle of the chair.

Good stuff!...I alway's try and keep one piece of fiction,one piece of fact or autobiography and a graphic novel on hand or within reach at most times...switching them up according to mood...but I much prefer a prone couch position...I don't have a comfy chair...boo hoo...

roosta

08-10-2009, 04:51 PM

I
I've just installed a new shelf over my favorite chair and I've started making a list of what books I'm going to keep on it. It's going to be my reading chair and I'm going to plow through the books on the shelf, keeping it updated constantly. Although I haven't actually started the list, I've been thinking about it, for serious. It's going to be a long list, too. Right now my first priority is to finally decide on the correct angle of the chair.

that is a very good idea!

I'm stealing it!

kleptomaniac

08-10-2009, 06:18 PM

the green mile

MC Moot

08-12-2009, 01:27 PM

Bible Illuminated: The Book New Testament… (http://bibleilluminated.com/)it’s pretty engaging and interesting…really trick idea format wise…anyone could get into it..the beliver,the atheist,the agnostic,the uniterested or the undecided…good knowledge and reference…easily digested..

Gareth

08-13-2009, 05:03 AM

i read dharma bums a while ago
wasnt feeling it
maybe i just didnt get it

yellow

08-13-2009, 08:44 AM

I just finished up "Pacific Beat" - it was ok; it had a great surprise ending

hpdrifter

08-17-2009, 04:29 PM

I love the potato peel book!

hpdrifter

08-17-2009, 04:31 PM

Also, anyone ever read Wuthering Heights? I'm kinda curious but I don't know.

paul jones

08-17-2009, 04:33 PM

Also, anyone ever read Wuthering Heights? I'm kinda curious but I don't know.

no but I always liked Kate Bush's song about it

HEIRESS

08-17-2009, 04:43 PM

Also, anyone ever read Wuthering Heights? I'm kinda curious but I don't know.

I'm so glad you enjoyed the potatoe peel pie book!
a movie is in the works, and I demand Rachel McAdams be in it!

and regarding wuthering heights: yeap, read that shit!

I'm in the middle of "House of Mirth" by Edith Warton and I'd recommend that as well.

roosta

08-17-2009, 05:39 PM

although I just got a bunch of books in the post to make my way through, I watched Gonzo and now i wanna read "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail"

hpdrifter

08-17-2009, 06:08 PM

I'm so glad you enjoyed the potatoe peel pie book!
a movie is in the works, and I demand Rachel McAdams be in it!

and regarding wuthering heights: yeap, read that shit!

I'm in the middle of "House of Mirth" by Edith Warton and I'd recommend that as well.

Okay, Wuthering Heights it is. Though every time I think of it I am reminded of this red carpet interview Johnny Depp did in the 90s, probably for Don Juan De Marco.

Interviewer: Are you a romantic?

Depp: Am I a romantic? I've read Wuthering Heights 12 times, what do you think?

I never thought he was capable of coming off a pretentious douchebag but somehow he pulled it off.

Rachel McAdams would be wonderful. If I were Hollywood I would cast her in everything.

Speaking of... I finished the Time Traveler's Wife. It did make me cry at the end but it wasn't as mind-blowing as I thought it would be.

HEIRESS

08-17-2009, 06:22 PM

I don't find wuthering heights very romantic at all really. It's a fucked up story about some fucked up people.

Bob

08-17-2009, 06:28 PM

i read wuthering heights in either high school or middle school. well, the cliff's notes, anyway.

was that the one with a guy named heath, or cliff, or heathcliff or something?

i am currently reading the first book in the song of ice and fire series. it's very good. it's like lord of the rings for grown-ups

MC Moot

08-17-2009, 07:40 PM

(y)although I just got a bunch of books in the post to make my way through, I watched Gonzo and now i wanna read "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail"

Have you seen this?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081748/

P.S: the best thing I've read post mortem:

http://www.amazon.com/Jokes-Over-Bruised-Memories-Thompson/dp/0151012822

Junker

08-18-2009, 06:54 PM

Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling

Some cyberpunk stuff.

MC Moot

08-19-2009, 09:44 AM

"Letters" by Don Rickles… (http://www.amazon.ca/Rickles-Letters-Don/dp/1416596631)...Rickles used to be the man...he had edge,he was hard,mean,fast and suave...form the catskills to the sunset trip...ratpack styles...this book is terrible...it's so soft...probably like most of the food he eat's these day's...*ba dum bum*...it's lame...but a safe bet if you're looking for a gift for someone over 65,maybe...(n)

"Stuff White People Like" Christian Lander… (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/)...amusing,self apparent,blatantly obvious...you'll wish you wrote it and you likely could have...the farmers market bit is my fave...:rolleyes:

hpdrifter

08-28-2009, 07:42 PM

hpdrifter

08-31-2009, 11:38 AM

Almost done with SH5. If I ever thought I could be a writer I was wrong.

yeahwho

08-31-2009, 02:29 PM

Finished Wuthering Heights. Wow. Not at all what I expected. Could almost be called a horror.

Half way through Slaughterhouse-five. "This book is a failure because it was written by a pillar of salt." Fucking brilliant.

Great book, great quote and it reminds me of the great Thermals (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Iobo18U9w) song.

HEIRESS

09-01-2009, 03:03 PM

going to start City of Thieves (http://www.amazon.com/City-Thieves-Novel-David-Benioff/dp/0670018708]) tonight.

Mid-way through The Master Butcher's Singing Club

just a real nice smooth read (y)

MC Moot

09-09-2009, 06:22 PM

I'm reading Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Meridian

I'm enjoying more than "All the Pretty Horses" which I quite liked and "No Country For Old Men" which was solid pulp and much more than "The Road" which I wasn't big on...it's powerful sparse prose...(y)...if you like Cormac you may dig Thomas McGuane : http://tommcguane.com/

p-branez

09-09-2009, 07:51 PM

yiddish policeman's union - michael chabon

every time i come on this board i check to see if anyone has commented on the books i have been reading.

well, they haven't.

but i liked amazing adventures of k&c better. i think i liked the all-american comic book stories more than jewish alternate histories.

i finished infinite jest by david foster wallace.
if you have a spare month pick it up and read it every day and watch out for depression. it's not as daunting as it seems. and it's being made into a movie and john krasinski - the guy from the office - made shorts out of the stories from brief interviews with hideous men. so get up on the dfw while you can.

then i tried to read gravity's rainbow by thomas pynchon and just couldn't take one more mega-long book with school starting soon.

HEIRESS

09-09-2009, 09:52 PM

going to start City of Thieves (http://www.amazon.com/City-Thieves-Novel-David-Benioff/dp/0670018708]) tonight.

Mid-way through The Master Butcher's Singing Club

just a real nice smooth read (y)

I would recommend both books. I'm still trying to think about who would be the best actors to star as the characters in "City of Thieves"

I have no idea what I'm going to read next. I need to go inspect "the pile" and will report back.

hpdrifter

09-10-2009, 12:07 PM

Just starting "Invisible Allies ("http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Allies-Microbes-Ribbon-Nonfiction/dp/0374336083/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252598792&sr=8-1)

Should be interesting.

MC Moot

09-10-2009, 06:53 PM

Viva la biblioteca...not sure where to start… (http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x265/mcmoot/reads.jpg)(y)

Pee Wee

09-10-2009, 08:48 PM

Martian Chronicles is the shit!!

Ray Bradbury is a badass!!!

mathcart

09-10-2009, 09:42 PM

Half way through Slaughterhouse-five. "This book is a failure because it was written by a pillar of salt." Fucking brilliant.

That book changed my life. True story. Kurt Vonnegut is the most influential and at the same time under appreciated genius in the history of ever! (at least to me).

In a totally unrelated genius maneuver I'm halfway through this little slice of awesome:
World War Z (http://www.amazon.com/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie/dp/0307346617/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252632796&sr=8-1)

I just wanted it to be entertaining but its mind blowingly good societal critique/ unflinching look at humanity/ homage to studs terkel and the power of first person histories. Plus there's zombies! cannot recommend it enough especially since I'm sure it will be made into a not as good movie inside of 15 minutes.

Its like if David Simon, Ken Burns and George Romero collaborated on the definitive work of documenting the human condition from ALL conceivable angles as viewed through the zombie apocalypse. Have I said that I love this book, no? Well I do. In fact fuck this stupid shit- I'm gonna go read the shit out of it some more.

(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)

Bob

09-14-2009, 02:47 AM

i finished the first book of a song of ice and fire and am moving onto the second one now - very addictive reading. the author's fearless willingness to kill main characters without warning makes it really engaging. in other books, when a character gets into a tight spot, you're meant to think "how are they going to get out of this one?" but in this series when a character gets into trouble you think "will they get out of this one?" it's a very clever idea

i also like how it's a fantasy novel, but the fantasy elements take a back seat to the human drama. but at the same time, while the people are fighting with each other for power, there is this nasty magical shit going on in the background that the other people ignore on account of their obsession with their power struggles.

it's also incredibly brutal at times. lots of rape. bad rape, even as rape goes. i don't like the rape parts so much

cookiepuss

09-15-2009, 05:14 PM

I just read The Time Travelers Wife. LOVED it. (y)(y)(y)(y)

I won't be seeing the movie version. I can't now, it will never live up.

hpdrifter

09-15-2009, 05:26 PM

In a totally unrelated genius maneuver I'm halfway through this little slice of awesome:
World War Z (http://www.amazon.com/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie/dp/0307346617/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252632796&sr=8-1)

(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)

I bought this book today, it was already on my list but your post re-inspired me to bump it to the top.

Also, for fans of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies there is now a Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters.

mathcart

09-15-2009, 08:38 PM

I bought this book today, it was already on my list but your post re-inspired me to bump it to the top.

Also, for fans of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies there is now a Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters.

True story- the day I bought World War Z I was holding it in one hand and pride and prejudice and zombies in the other. In the end I think I made the right choice. 3/4 of the way through it and still loving it!

checkyourprez

09-15-2009, 09:19 PM

major problems in American foreign relations. volume 1: to 1920 by Dennis Merrill and Thomas G. Paterson.

(y) for school

MC Moot

09-17-2009, 09:37 AM

”Zeitoun”… (http://www.amazon.ca/Zeitoun-Dave-Eggers/dp/1934781630)by Dave Eggers...I’m about half way through...I think Eggers may be trying to reinvent/reimagine the idea of the “great American literary narrative”...Like Eggers “What is the what? “ it depicts fact based immigrant experiences in the Unruly States of America...great stuff,first book I’ve read that is set in New Orleans during Katrina...(y)

Waus

09-17-2009, 09:38 AM

"The Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius

"Notes From Underground" by Dostoevsky

hpdrifter

09-29-2009, 04:33 PM

Almost done with WWZ.

Really really good book people, do yourselves a favor and pick the shit up.

HEIRESS

09-29-2009, 05:39 PM

I was trying to get away from memoirs because that's all I read for a couple years it seems but I kept seeing The Glass Castle (http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X) at the store, so I finally bought it. And thus far, I am glad I did.

Zoli (http://www.amazon.com/Zoli-Novel-Colum-McCann/dp/1400063728)

I've read better gypsy(roma) literature before. If you haven't, you may find yourself a little lost at times because this author is lacking when it comes to background info regarding some of their odder customs etc. The story itself is quite good though.

Bob

09-30-2009, 10:59 PM

finished book 2 of song of ice and fire and am going on to the third now. it's a really good series, but also very depressing, because i don't think that at any point in the 700 pages of the book, anything good happened to anyone, it's all suffering. and rape. there is so much rape in this series. you literally can't go 50 pages without someone getting raped and/or murdered. 50 might actually be a bit generous. either the medieval age was really rough on women or the author (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/George_R._R._Martin_2005.JPG) has girl problems and is taking it out on the women of his fictional universe. or both.

still, looking forward to reading the next books

MC Moot

10-06-2009, 09:48 AM

I finished “Generation Kill”…actually to say I finished would be incorrect...I really just started skimming after page 70 or so…turn's out I'm not much in the mood for the subject or the way the book is compiled/presented…after “Jarhead” the subject of the modern day American marine is lost on me somehow…pretty depressing…

I’m gonna try this ”The McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes” (http://www.amazon.com/McSweeneys-Joke-Book-Jokes-Vintage/dp/030738733X) 2 level the scale...pollo loco...

MC Moot

10-13-2009, 10:17 AM

War Dances… (http://www.fallsapart.com/)by Sherman Alexie...I’ve said it before I’m a big supporter and fan of Sherman’s stuff...in particular his poetry and short story work...I think he’s got a good handle on the “novella” but full novels such as “Reservation Blues” and “Indian Killer” don’t read as well but still have alot of merit...He also penned the screenplays for “Smoke Signals” and “The Business of Fancy Dancing”...Seattle’s most prominent author next to the almighty Tom Robbins...(y)

jackrock

10-13-2009, 12:04 PM

The Cave by Jose Saramago. I like his writing style, "He uses periods sparingly, choosing instead a loose flow of clauses joined by commas. Many of his paragraphs extend for pages without pausing for dialog, which Saramago chooses not to delimit by quotation marks; when the speaker changes, Saramago capitalizes the first letter of the new speaker's clause."

HEIRESS

10-13-2009, 03:07 PM

HEIRESS

10-13-2009, 03:08 PM

They had the hardcover version of Young Stalin (http://www.amazon.com/Young-Stalin-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/1400044650) on sale for like 5 bucks @ chapters so I'm giving it a go.

MC Moot

10-13-2009, 03:21 PM

my brother and I still quote this scene from Smoke Signals (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1lnvNmh8fE)

It’s a funny bit but also terribly sad...awesome movie, awesome read… (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Lone-Ranger-and-Tonto-Fistfight-in-Heaven/Sherman-Alexie/e/9780802141675)

destructo

10-13-2009, 11:12 PM

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Not too bad so far.

Also, I read World War Z a few years ago and yes, it is so good. I know there is a movie in the works, but this book deserves the HBO mini series treatment. I think 8 episodes would work.

trailerprincess

10-14-2009, 08:54 AM

I have just finished reading two Harlan Coben books and they were pretty alright thrillers so I got a third one today. I read The Woods and Gone for Good.

MC Moot

10-19-2009, 10:02 AM

I started "Fool" by Christopher Moore...got about 40 pages into it and I knew that it was just not gonna work for me...which is strange cause even his weaker books have some appeal...but this is 2 lame releases in a row for him...(n)

”The Men Who Stare at Goats” (http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.5119.Spider-Man_) by Jon Ronson...in anticipation of going to see the movie......I mean I’m ½ way through and I feel like a jokes being made at the the expense of my intelligence...but he links the whole psychic soldier program to historical instances in U.S foreign policy in a way that makes you dizzy...really entertaining...(y)

*^note: some violent content towards hamsters is present*

MC Moot

11-02-2009, 11:55 AM

Chuck Klosterman’s “Eating the Dinosaur” (http://www.amazon.ca/Eating-Dinosaur-Chuck-Klosterman/dp/1416544208)…the first 30 pages were meandering and convoluted but in the next 30 the pieces start to weave together…Mr Klosterman really doesn’t want us to like him and this time he’s being quite blunt about it…

hpdrifter

11-02-2009, 12:45 PM

Invisible Enemies by Jeanette Farrell, the partner to Invisible Allies.

Next up is In Cold Blood. I totally forgot I had bought it until yesterday when I was playing on the floor with my stepson and I noticed it on the bookcase.

NicRN77

11-02-2009, 01:49 PM

I'm reading Slash's autobiography. Always love to read books about musicians. Always interesting.

paul jones

11-03-2009, 03:33 AM

I'm reading Slash's autobiography. Always love to read books about musicians. Always interesting.

anything in there about him owning a pet Lion ?

NicRN77

11-03-2009, 03:39 AM

anything in there about him owning a pet Lion ?

Nothing about that yet...although I'm only about 175 pages in. In the process of making Appetite for Destruction. He talks about his snakes quite a bit. And lots of smack.

paul jones

11-03-2009, 03:44 AM

Nothing about that yet...although I'm only about 175 pages in. In the process of making Appetite for Destruction. He talks about his snakes quite a bit. And lots of smack.

top hats? groupies? maybe later....

(y)

NicRN77

11-03-2009, 04:57 AM

top hats? groupies? maybe later....

(y)

Ah yes...he talks about stealing his hat and then putting some belt on it. Groupies...the thing that really grossed me out was when he was talking about a three way with him and Izzy...well, not really a three way. Just they were both having sex with the same girl at the same time and Izzy jizzed on his leg. Eww.

Bob

11-03-2009, 05:15 AM

well, not really a three way. Just they were both having sex with the same girl at the same time

i may be a bit inexperienced but how is that not a three way?

anyway these things happen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeBNKCBZCcA#t=01m21s)

NicRN77

11-03-2009, 09:33 AM

i may be a bit inexperienced but how is that not a three way?

anyway these things happen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeBNKCBZCcA#t=01m21s)

I think of a three way as everyone getting it on with everyone. Slash and Izzy didn't get it on...they just got it on with the same chick.

MC Moot

11-09-2009, 11:20 AM

”Face”… (http://www.fallsapart.com/face.htm)by Sherman Alexie…another book of outstanding modern social poetry from one of the hottest writers in the U.S of A…

”Look at the Birdie”… (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038534371X?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwvonnegutcom&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=038534371X)the next posthumous publication from Kurt Vonnegut’s camp...pretty good stuff...rather pulpish in nature…a K.V illustration at the start of every story…

paul jones

11-09-2009, 11:30 AM

Seinfeld Coffee Table Book that is included in the dvd box set .I recently completed every episode in order even though I've seen a lot of them before but not every one.So now I'm going through each episode in the book which gives you info on everything and nothing you need to know.(y)

HEIRESS

11-09-2009, 12:44 PM

Middlesex (http://www.amazon.com/Middlesex-Novel-Jeffrey-Eugenides/dp/0312422156)

just finished it. engrossing.

The Belton Estate (http://www.amazon.com/Belton-Estate-Anthony-Trollope/dp/1607620316)

I am such SUCH a sucker for Anthony Trollope.

skra75

11-10-2009, 11:41 PM

Middlesex (http://www.amazon.com/Middlesex-Novel-Jeffrey-Eugenides/dp/0312422156)

just finished it. engrossing.

HEIRESS you read some crazy ass shit

I was thinking of getting this one. (http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Ancient-Maya-Solving-Collapse/dp/0500051135/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_2_1) Someone I know is reading it and it looks interesting.

Drederick Tatum

11-12-2009, 04:34 AM

I just bought World War Z after the indirect recommendation from various members here. so far so brains.

destructo

11-13-2009, 12:53 AM

I just bought World War Z after the indirect recommendation from various members here. so far so brains.

Great Choice.

After that, try "John Dies @ the End"
Terrifying and hilarious at the same time. (y)

jackrock

11-19-2009, 09:38 AM

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood.

Junker

11-19-2009, 10:04 AM

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Very funny book.

HEIRESS

11-19-2009, 11:04 AM

"the enormous room" by e.e. Cummings (http://www.amazon.com/Enormous-Room-Classic-20th-Century-Penguin/dp/0141181249)

I adored it. the first half had me with a constant smirk on my face. really unique voice. I wish he had stuck to doing prose instead of verse because this dude really knows how to right a good book.

Currently:
"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood (http://www.amazon.com/Handmaids-Tale-Margaret-Atwood/dp/038549081X)

the first time I've given Atwood a chance, extremely quick and easy read thus far.

MC Moot

11-19-2009, 11:08 AM

Currently:
"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood (http://www.amazon.com/Handmaids-Tale-Margaret-Atwood/dp/038549081X)

the first time I've given Atwood a chance, extremely quick and easy read thus far.

That's my second fave Atwood read next to "The Blind Assassin"...(y)

p-branez

11-19-2009, 09:31 PM

man, i didn't really enjoy middlesex. i thought the detroit portion of it was so contrived and basic, the sort of tried and true detroit story about riots, racism, and poverty. and the author went to private school in grosse pointe which is like a ritzy resort next to extreme poverty.

i'm reading more about detroit in a book called "origins of the urban crisis"

HEIRESS

11-19-2009, 09:43 PM

I don't think the author set out with any intention to write THE book on the 60/70s experience in Detroit.
The star of the story was more the mini man-penis hanging out in a pseudo vagina character.

MC Moot

11-23-2009, 10:45 AM

I’m reading “The Castle” by J. Robert Lennon… (http://www.jrobertlennon.com/)I’d read “The Mailman” some years back and it kept throwing up back up, onto my conscience,periodically...there’s something about the way his protagonist is completely maniacal and so utterly oblivious to their condition...the proverbial train wreck scenario...except you’re not watching the train crash, you’re the engineer...wake up Casey Jones!

roosta

11-23-2009, 06:09 PM

back making my way through the work of alan watts.

Reading "Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown: A Mountain Journal"

like alot of watts, its pretty much the same ideas just him taking a new angle on it. It came at the end of his life, so its kind of a culmination of his ideas. This book however is a bit more Taoist then Zen. Still, a nice breezy read, nicely summing up his core philosophies.

Waus

11-23-2009, 06:23 PM

Just finished "Inherent Vice" by Thomas Pynchon. I found it overall underwhelming but sprinkled with parts that made me laugh or think.

MC Moot

11-24-2009, 10:55 AM

Just finished "Inherent Vice" by Thomas Pynchon. I found it overall underwhelming but sprinkled with parts that made me laugh or think.

I need to read some Pynchon...do you have a fave?...I saw Tom Robbins years ago and he talked about hanging out with Pynchon and Timothy Leary in Mexico,very entertaining...

Q: Who do you read?

Tom Robbins: My tastes are pretty eclectic. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Everything he writes. Everything Jim Harrison writes. Everything Thomas Pynchon writes. Nancy Lemann. Andrei Codrescu. The non-living: Nabokov and Henry Miller and James Joyce. My all-time favorite novel was The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary. A nice Irish gentleman.

Q: Not Finnegan's Wake?

Tom Robbins: Well yeah, I read Finnegan's Wake. I've been reading Finnegan's Wake for almost 15 years. It's on my bedside table and I try almost every night to read a little before I go to sleep. And I'm now on page 39.

:D

Waus

11-24-2009, 11:51 AM

I need to read some Pynchon...do you have a fave?

I dunno - I've never read Pynchon before, I meant to listen to Gravity's Rainbow on tape, but Inherent Vice was on CD and that was just more convenient. Now I'm not sure how interested I really am.

I have been planning to read Tom Robbins "Another Roadside Attraction" but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Is that any good?

MC Moot

11-24-2009, 12:14 PM

I have been planning to read Tom Robbins "Another Roadside Attraction" but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Is that any good?

oh yeah...it's hilarious and clever...the characters are so ripe...Plucky freakin Purcell!...it was the first Robbins I read...and then went on to read it all...fantastic stuff...religion,sex,death,wit and sass...it's a great starting point for Robbins...

My order of preference:

Skinny Legs and All (1990)
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates (2000)
Still Life with Woodpecker (1980)
Villa Incognito (2003)
Jitterbug Perfume (1984)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976)
Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas (1994)

B is for Beer (2009) *A children's book for grown-ups,a grown-up book for children* (y)

Wild Ducks Flying Backward (2005) *Essay's and stories,don't bother,nothing noteworthy* (n)

MC Moot

12-08-2009, 02:33 PM

”And Another Thing:Part Six of Three in a Trilogy”… (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Another_Thing..._(novel))by Eoin Colfer...I’m about 70 pages in...it’s made me smile a couple of times, but he just doesn’t have Adam’s shrewd wit or deeper sense of humour...everything is presented directly, so far...not thought invoking at all...lacking subtlety...his constant “Guide references” are wearing thin...it’s like he spent alot more time trying to make up/imagine funny names and places then he did working with the characters and the traits we all loved in the originals...I’ll finish it...and then see how I feel...

mathcart

12-08-2009, 06:01 PM

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Very funny book.

Agreed!
I think there was a time that I could practically quote that book verbatim!
(y)

In other news I'm slowly making my way through Chabon's "Yiddish policeman's union".
So far I like it quite a bit!

(y)

roosta

12-23-2009, 12:13 PM

Just started Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and i'm mesmerized.

Excellent stuff so far.

Ty Webb

12-23-2009, 01:12 PM

hustler magazine

Funky Pepp

12-23-2009, 01:39 PM

I Just started Slam by Nick Hornby. I hope the christmas-holidays are long enough to finish it :)

Ty Webb

12-23-2009, 01:47 PM

but for real, i'm getting "I slept with Joey Ramone" by Legs McNeil for christmas.

NicRN77

12-23-2009, 02:24 PM

I Just started Slam by Nick Hornby. I hope the christmas-holidays are long enough to finish it :)

I read that one a couple months back. Was a quick read. I just finished his latest book Juliet, Naked. Was quite good!

I'm going to attempt to read the Lovely Bones again. Couldn't get into it before and everyone keeps telling me how awesome it is.

Funky Pepp

12-23-2009, 03:28 PM

I read that one a couple months back. Was a quick read. I just finished his latest book Juliet, Naked. Was quite good!

I'm going to attempt to read the Lovely Bones again. Couldn't get into it before and everyone keeps telling me how awesome it is.

Yeah it seems to be great til now. I read "How to be good" from Hornby last year. That one was brilliant. And "A long way down" wasn't bad either.

paul jones

12-23-2009, 03:48 PM

Just started Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and i'm mesmerized.

Excellent stuff so far.

I've got 3 of his books that I haven't started reading yet properly...

Kafka on the shore
sputnik sweetheart
after dark

MC Moot

12-28-2009, 05:02 PM

Christmas gifts:

"The Continual Condition" by Charles Bukowski...another fantastic post mortem publication by the bastard bard...(y)

"Gravity's Rainbow"...by Thomas Pynchon...having trouble with the style...

"Fargo Rock City" by Chuck Klosterman...the only thing of his I hadn't read...very sophmoric...baby,he's come along way...

nodanaonlyzuul

12-28-2009, 05:10 PM

Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk and The Alcoholic, a graphic novel written by Jonathan Ames (same guy that created Bored to Death).

The Alcoholic was entertaining and reminds me a lot of Bored to Death.

Pgymy I am having a hard time getting through. It's written in the main characters accent/choppy english so it can be difficult to read. That and one of the early, very graphic scenes of the rape of another boy kind of freaked me out. I know it's relevent to the story but I got way too much detail of the rape itself for my liking.

yeahwho

12-28-2009, 05:23 PM

Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk and The Alcoholic, a graphic novel written by Jonathan Ames (same guy that created Bored to Death).

The Alcoholic was entertaining and reminds me a lot of Bored to Death.

The Alcoholic sounds great, I am an alcoholic and I love Bored to Death.

I'm reading Raymond Carver, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

gbsuey

12-29-2009, 03:41 PM

The Lovely Bones, reading it quick as i also have The End of Mr Y to read which is apparently an awesome book

MC Moot

01-12-2010, 10:36 AM

Buying Cigarettes for the Dog… (http://www.freehand-books.com/books/2009-spring/Buying-Cigarettes-for-the-Dog.html)by Stuart Ross...it’s fantastic...I say read it if you can find it...if you can’t, buy it...

HEIRESS

01-12-2010, 02:21 PM

Now I can't remember what I read over the holidays...

But Currently:

The Man Game by Lee Henderson (http://www.amazon.ca/Man-Game-Lee-Henderson/dp/067091147X)

Holy Shit I love this book.
most striking scene thus far was the image of these early Vancouverites having a new year's eve dance and using the stump from a huge fallen tree as their dance floor.

Jerks! (http://www.sierracollege.edu/ejournals/jsnhb/v2n2/img/BigTree/BigTrees8.jpg)

I think it would make a good movie. It could be Canada's version of Gangs of New York.

na§tee

01-13-2010, 09:59 AM

middlesex is an amazing book. i've given it to three friends since i've read it, and they felt the same way.

some of us have started a book club at work. first pick is let the great world spin (http://www.amazon.com/Let-Great-World-Spin-Novel/dp/0812973992/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263390111&sr=8-1) by colum mcann as the colleague who selected it has a boner for irish american writers. about a third of the way through - beautifully written, enigmatic stuff.

gbsuey

01-13-2010, 10:41 AM

I just finished The end of Mr Y, great book, bit intellectual in parts where it goes into thought being matter and conciousness creating time and matter and shit like that but it's a great book.

The guy who walks the dog at work is well into his quantum science stuff and lent me a book that he said was funny by a guy called Robert Anton Wilson, but i have no idea what the fuck it's even supposed to be about??

started Salman Rushdie's Enchantress of Florence last night but have just been brought Boy in the striped pyjamas and A short history of tractors in Ukrainian, so might give it a raincheck.

Will try and get hold of middlesex

MC Moot

01-15-2010, 02:24 PM

Library run… (http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x265/mcmoot/library-2.jpg)

mathcart

01-16-2010, 12:06 AM

Wen't through 3 books in the past 2 months that were all pretty good.

The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Chabon (http://www.amazon.com/Yiddish-Policemens-Union-Novel-P-S/dp/0007149832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263613212&sr=8-1)

Hard to get into at first but it got better and better and by the end frankly I'm pretty sure I thought it was much more enjoyable than Caviler and Clay (which I quite liked!)

Then I forced myself to get through Bill Simmons "Book Of Basketball" (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Basketball-NBA-According-Sports/dp/034551176X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263613655&sr=1-1)
because I am both a sports nerd AND a masochist!

And I should be finished with Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" (http://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263613604&sr=1-1) by the end of the night.
That book is staggeringly good. Really eye-opening in terms of focusing in on how much the orthodoxy of thought has effected or ability to comprehend basic causality in the world. Cannot recommend this book enough, it might be the smartest thing I've read in ages...

kaiser soze

01-16-2010, 12:11 AM

About to crack open Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Never checked him out but he looks promising

Gareth

01-16-2010, 07:42 PM

The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Chabon

Bill Simmons "Book Of Basketball

Gladwell's "The Tipping Point"

yiddish policeman's union is pretty good...am reading kavalier and clay now
want to pick up the book of basketball, cos i love basketball and read page 2 all the time.
although i will say that simmons appears to know nothing about rugby as evidenced in his review of 'invictus' - http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/091231.
(simmons on francois pienaar - "You know how Dwight Howard stands out on a basketball court? That was Pienaar on a rugby field. Six-3, built like granite, bowled over guys like Brandon Jacobs." come on now, the only physical freak playing at that time was jonah lomu)
never read gladwell apart from his email convos with simmons and some piece he wrote about nfl players and brain damage
anansi boys is nice, neil gaiman rules

MC Moot

01-20-2010, 11:41 AM

I finished ”In The Spirit Of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the F.B.I’s War on the American Indian Movement” … (http://www.amazon.ca/Spirit-Crazy-Horse-Peter-Matthiessen/dp/0140144560)a great book on a fascinating/infuriating subject...I’d highly advise reading it...along with ”Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance” (http://www.amazon.ca/Prison-Writings-Life-Sun-Dance/dp/0312263805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264000384&sr=1-1) by Leonard Peltier,himself and ”Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West” (http://www.amazon.ca/Bury-My-Heart-Wounded-Knee/dp/0805066691/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b)by Dee Brown...all three should be in your personal library...(y)

Waus

01-20-2010, 11:50 AM

For whatever reason I decided to actually read "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby.

It's kind of being ruined for me by how much the movie illustrated the novel.

Also reading Thomas Merton's "Contemplative Prayer."

p-branez

01-31-2010, 10:28 PM

arc of justice: a saga of race, civil rights, and murder in the jazz age
by kevin boyle

it's one of those historical non-fiction books told as a narrative so it reads fast and you get to learn something without really realizing it.

jackrock

02-02-2010, 05:13 PM

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood.

Laserface

02-02-2010, 09:17 PM

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood.

i just finished it; shit was pretty awesome. i heard "year of the flood" is not as good, though

MC Moot

02-04-2010, 11:57 AM

”Wild Things”… (http://www.amazon.ca/Wild-Things-Dave-Eggers/dp/1934781614)by Dave Eggers... He co-wrote the screenplay with Spike Jonze,and the book is sorta his take on how the Maurice Sendak story impacted him as a kid and how he related it to his family….it’s wonderful…a perfect read for when you’re sick in bed…Eggers has the hottest hand in the bidnezz right now…(y)

Waus

02-04-2010, 12:27 PM

Meister Eckhart - Selected Writings

It's from the Penguin Classics series.

HEIRESS

02-04-2010, 12:41 PM

MC Moot

02-10-2010, 01:57 PM

”Russian Disco”… (http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Disco-Wladimir-Kaminer/dp/0091886694)by Wladimer Kaminer...Funky Pepp sent me this as part of Secret Santa exchange!...it’s a great little read, anecdotes of a Russian immigrant to Berlin in 1990’s...really interesting, great madness, reminds of “Goodbye Lenin!” at times...it could be the basis of a screenplay for sure...if anyone wants to read it P.M me and I’ll send it to you, catch being,then you read it, review and pass it on to another BBMB member...we can see how far we can it around, it’s small so shipping should be no big deal...(lb)

paul jones

02-10-2010, 03:54 PM

" The Comic Book Holocaust" + " The Klassic Komix Klub " both by Johnny Ryan

Waus

02-15-2010, 10:40 AM

"White Noise" by Don Delillo. Books on tape make the commute bearable.

MC Moot

02-16-2010, 11:21 AM

I’m reading George Carlins post mortem auto-bio “Last Words”…it’s so,so…If you’ve read his other books and know his work,you know about his hang-ups with his mother, the church and his upbringing…so that’s about the first 6 chapters,I think I’m at the part where hippy George is born,so hopefully it’ll become interesting again...

roosta

02-17-2010, 06:23 AM

Finally finished "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami eventually.

It is amazing. Recommended.

Waus

02-17-2010, 10:17 AM

Finally finished "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami eventually.

It is amazing. Recommended.

It was good?

I read some of "Norwegian Wood" by him when I was too young to do so. I sort of lost interest. What made this novel good?

roosta

02-17-2010, 10:48 AM

It was good?

I read some of "Norwegian Wood" by him when I was too young to do so. I sort of lost interest. What made this novel good?

the usual, great story, great characters, beautiful prose..

it's intriguing, complex, mysterious.

it's probably too long, and a bit meandering, but over-all i loved it.

gbsuey

02-22-2010, 06:38 AM

About to crack open Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Never checked him out but he looks promising

How are you liking it....love neil Gaiman's books and this is particularly good, i thought so anyway!

Just finished the Boy in striped pyjamas....not sure i want to see the film now i know the ending. Quite hard to keep reading as it's aimed towards older kids so is over-simplified and feels a bit patronising! Good way of getting the subject over to kids though

roosta

02-26-2010, 07:41 PM

Crooked Cucumber : The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki by David Chadwick.

Really great book. "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind" by Suzuki is a great book, and this very nicely tells his story.

By accident this and the last book I have read strongly feature material about Japan's involvement in World War 2. Fascinating subject.

nodanaonlyzuul

02-26-2010, 08:08 PM

Recently finished Cat's Cradle and Fahrenheit 451.

Really liked Cat's Cradle.

Fahrenheit 451 I also liked, but at times the descriptions of things went a little over board. I don't need half a page describing one thing as it gets a little over indulgent and I start getting bored by it and skip ahead. Also, I wish I didn't pursue more information because the author tends to contradict the things he says when commenting on the work.

MC Moot

03-09-2010, 01:51 PM

I’m reading ”Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp” (http://www.amazon.com/Youth-Revolt-Journals-Nick-Twisp/dp/0385481969)... by C.D Payne…I didn’t even clue into the fact that it was a movie until I saw Micheal Cera’s mug on the cover…I hate when they use movie stuff for cover images…anyway’s it’s stupid amusing fun…I’d have really loved it when I was 16…:rolleyes:

MC Moot

03-29-2010, 03:30 PM

MC Moot

04-19-2010, 11:28 AM

I’m reading “I Drink For a Reason” by David Cross …it’s a bit edgier than I predicted, brazen, sharp and a little sick on the side…I’m thinking of a particular slight he makes against the Koran that I read yesterday…:eek:

http://idrinkforareason.com/

HEIRESS

05-04-2010, 07:14 PM

”Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-City Shantytown”… (http://www.amazon.ca/Down-This-Splendour-Big-City-Shantytown/dp/0679312277) I think Heiress dropped this title ages back…any way’s it’s totally raw, very engrossing,particularily with regards to the field I currently find myself practicing in…a little like “Into the Wild” meets “Into the Inner City Shanty City”…(y)

Glad you liked it!

Last week finished Animals by Don LePan (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-animals-by-don-lepan/article1335702/)
The most annoying usage of footnotes EVER, and the dude totally needs a new editor, but it was still a decent enough read.

Last night finished Harry Heathcote of Gangoil by Anthony Trollope (http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Heathcote-Gangoil-Anthony-Trollope/dp/1425004350).
the usual Trollopey dramalamadingdong, but this time set in the Australian bush. Im such a sucker for his writing :o

JoLovesMCA

05-04-2010, 07:53 PM

Just picked up The Inner Journey (views from the Buddhist Tradition). I really AM enjoying it. Very enlightening.

abcdefz

05-04-2010, 09:49 PM

yiddish policeman's union is pretty good...am reading kavalier and clay now
want to pick up the book of basketball, cos i love basketball and read page 2 all the time.
although i will say that simmons appears to know nothing about rugby as evidenced in his review of 'invictus' - http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/091231.
(simmons on francois pienaar - "You know how Dwight Howard stands out on a basketball court? That was Pienaar on a rugby field. Six-3, built like granite, bowled over guys like Brandon Jacobs." come on now, the only physical freak playing at that time was jonah lomu)
never read gladwell apart from his email convos with simmons and some piece he wrote about nfl players and brain damage
anansi boys is nice, neil gaiman rules

Kavalier and Clay made me kinda angry. I'd like to grab Chabon and John Irving both sometimes and shake them. Just because you can write something well doesn't make it believable. They love quirk more than people sometimes, and both are too smart to be so unobservant -- not to mention artistically dishonest at worst.

b i o n i c

05-06-2010, 01:05 AM

i didnt get very far last time, but i picked up the 'egyptian book of the dead' again. its not that long at all but it takes a little to get into it

trailerprincess

05-06-2010, 05:55 AM

Read a couple of Mark Gimenez books - not especially great (Grisham type lawyer/thriller stuff) but The Common Lawyer was set in Austin and it was nice to read about places I knew

HEIRESS

05-07-2010, 02:46 PM

MC Moot

05-07-2010, 02:51 PM

Just picked up Darwin’s Bastards (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlwgqy-EV7Y)...

HEIRESS

05-07-2010, 02:54 PM

youtube book trailers!?

oh oh, good-bye Friday afternoon productivity...

HEIRESS

05-17-2010, 01:21 PM

Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life (http://www.amazon.ca/Trauma-Farm-Brian-Brett/dp/1553654749)

awesomeawesomeawesome. Equal parts informative passages about farming history/food production/natural life etc combined with enjoyable anecdotes about the writer's actual farm/family.

huge (y) thus far.

Absolutely loved it.

Finally starting "A People's History of the United States: 1492 - Present" (http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States-1492-Present/dp/0060528370).

p-branez

06-04-2010, 12:38 AM

Absolutely loved it.

Finally starting "A People's History of the United States: 1492 - Present" (http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States-1492-Present/dp/0060528370).

read fast. i think i made it to p300 a few years ago.
i think my tolerance for extremely long books is higher now. i read 'infinite jest' by david foster wallace last summer and this summer am working on 'the wealth of nations' by adam smith.

Ty Webb

06-04-2010, 03:42 AM

a kevin smith book. it's boring as fuck for the most part. here and there some interesting fanboy tidbits have popped up.

MC Moot

06-04-2010, 11:04 AM

“From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain”... (”http://www.amazon.com/Notebooks-Dr-Brain-Minister-Faust/dp/0345466373/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c ")by Minister Faust…the first of the eaze breez-e suma readz… his first book ”The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad” was so,so but may be the only book ever set in Edmonton…:rolleyes:

nodanaonlyzuul

06-04-2010, 01:13 PM

Got through The Shadow of the Wind (http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zafon/dp/1594200106) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (http://www.amazon.com/One-Flew-Over-Cuckoos-Nest/dp/0451163966)

I really loved One Flew. At first it was hard for me to get in to it but after a bit it picked up and was really wonderful.

Shadow was very good as well. Wouldn't say it's on the level of One Flew but I'd recommend it. (y)

I was going to pick up the Sookie Stackhouse novels (what True Blood is based on) but it read like a teen book so I decided to pass on it. I'll just take my teen type entertainment via the show. :p Instead I picked up Patient Zero (http://www.amazon.com/Patient-Zero-Joe-Ledger-Novel/dp/0312382855/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275669411&sr=1-1). So far the general concept is really awesome BUT some of the dialogue is like something you'd hear in CSI or a Michael Bay movie...

...
...

we'll see how far I get. :mad: :(

nodanaonlyzuul

06-04-2010, 01:15 PM

also, is it weird that I get somewhat offended when a the type in a book is fairly large? Not only am I not that blind, but it makes me assume the reading level of the book is fairly low.

:/

MC Moot

06-04-2010, 01:31 PM

roosta

06-04-2010, 04:00 PM

One of those Introducing....books on Evolution

and

Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity by David Lynch. pretty interesting.

cookiepuss

06-08-2010, 02:21 AM

just finished Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins. loved it. easily the most quotable book I've ever read.

I'm infatuated with robbins so next on the list:
Jitterbug Perfume
Half asleep in frog pajamas

MC Moot

06-08-2010, 10:24 AM

^ quoting myself...;)

My order of preference:

Skinny Legs and All (1990)
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates (2000)
Still Life with Woodpecker (1980)
Villa Incognito (2003)
Jitterbug Perfume (1984)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976)
Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas (1994)

B is for Beer (2009) *A children's book for grown-ups,a grown-up book for children* (y)

Wild Ducks Flying Backward (2005) *Essay's and stories,don't bother,nothing noteworthy* (n)

MC Moot

06-22-2010, 12:29 PM

”And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks” (http://www.amazon.com/Hippos-Were-Boiled-Their-Tanks/dp/0802144349/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1277218600&sr=1-1-fkmr0)...William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac...it’s a little like a beat version of “in Cold Blood”....Burroughs wrote one characters perspective and Kerouac the other...very cool trade off/back and forth stuff,pretty dark...

Last night I started ”Hello Junk Mail!” (http://www.amazon.com/Hello-Junk-Mail-Ted-Nancy/dp/0980059216/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277218771&sr=1-3)...another bit of sweet madness from Ted L Nancy...this time he’s answering his neighbours junk mail with grave concerns and points of inquiry...makes me smile ear to ear,funny,funny...(y)

NicRN77

07-08-2010, 12:36 PM

I'm about halfway through I Am Ozzy. Very entertaining read!

hpdrifter

07-08-2010, 12:56 PM

Finished In Cold Blood.

My goodness what gorgeous writing. Clever and witty and beautiful imagery at the same time. This book exemplifies storytelling as an art form.

Capote, you are on my list. (y)

Edit: Now I'm about half way through this book called Genome. I think I mentioned it in my other thread. It's a good read, interesting philosophical concepts. But the writing is not very good and I've noticed at least 5 typos. I really hate that, it makes me feel like I'm reading something no one cared enough about to copyedit. Also, it's kind of old now, published in 1999. I didn't realize it was that old when I bought it. Oh well.

For those that have read this Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, I talked to a friend this weekend about them and she said they're very good but contain a LOT of violent imagery toward women (i.e., rape scenes). Is this right? I'm curious but if it's going to leave me with images I can't shake I'd rather not.

MC Moot

07-08-2010, 01:41 PM

”The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon”... (http://www.amazon.ca/Lost-City-Deadly-Obsession-Amazon/dp/0385513534)by David Grann...great subject,great narrative,excellent summer reading...(y)

HEIRESS

07-08-2010, 04:19 PM

Absolutely loved it.

Finally starting "A People's History of the United States: 1492 - Present" (http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States-1492-Present/dp/0060528370).

Stalled out in the 400s somewhere, will probably pick it back up once summer is over...

Onto more light summer reading: Crime & Punishment!
Just passed the half-way mark and it's really good thus far, but as always with russian novels some of the time I never know who is being referred to because each character has like 4 different variations of their name :mad:

I also read Michael J. Fox's first memoir Lucky Man (http://www.amazon.ca/Lucky-Man-Michael-J-Fox/dp/0786888741) sometime last month. Totally worth picking up.

roosta

07-09-2010, 05:07 AM

Just finished Kurt Vonnegut's "Man Without A Country"

Really liked it. Very political, very anti-George W, but very funny and clever.

Deep_Sea_Rain

07-21-2010, 12:28 PM

White Fang

MC Moot

07-29-2010, 02:22 PM

”The Bear Went Over the Mountain”... (http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Went-Over-Mountain-Novel/dp/0805054383)by William Kotzwinkle...this is a really nice book...read it and you will laugh and be happy...you have my personal guarantee...(y)

:)

Waus

07-30-2010, 12:15 AM

The Golden Sayings of Epictetus

I love Stoics.

roosta

09-01-2010, 06:04 AM

Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Very good.

MC Moot

09-02-2010, 12:44 PM

Summer reads:

”Matterhorn” (http://www.amazon.com/Matterhorn-Novel-Vietnam-Karl-Marlantes/dp/0979528534)...by Karl Marlantes...pretty epic novel about a marine lieutenants experience in Vietnam...great read...right up there with war novels like“The Thin Red Line”,”The Big Red One”,”All Quiet on the Western Front”...just when I thought the subject matter was exhausted for films,this would translate very well...(y)

“Absence of the Hero” (Uncollected Stories/Essays Vol 2)... ( http://www.amazon.com/Absence-Hero-Uncollected-Stories-Essays/dp/0872865312/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283442491&sr=1-1-spell )by Charles Bukowski...more post mortem treasure from the bastard bard...(y)

”The Fan Man” ( http://www.amazon.com/Fan-Man-William-Kotzwinkle/dp/0679752455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283442580&sr=1-1 ) by William Kotzwinkle...what a riot...makes my shortlist for novels set in NYC,man...:D

HEIRESS

09-03-2010, 01:14 PM

Summer reads:

”Matterhorn” (http://www.amazon.com/Matterhorn-Novel-Vietnam-Karl-Marlantes/dp/0979528534)...by Karl Marlantes...pretty epic novel about a marine lieutenants experience in Vietnam...great read...right up there with war novels like“The Thin Red Line”,”The Big Red One”,”All Quiet on the Western Front”...just when I thought the subject matter was exhausted for films,this would translate very well...(y)

”The Fan Man” ( http://www.amazon.com/Fan-Man-William-Kotzwinkle/dp/0679752455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283442580&sr=1-1 ) by William Kotzwinkle...what a riot...makes my shortlist for novels set in NYC,man...:D

Oooooo, noted.

Finished "The Help (http://www.amazon.ca/Help-Kathryn-Stockett/dp/0425232204)"
SO GOOD!

Halfway through War & Peace... :eek:

I've also started "Under the Dome (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-under-the-dome-by-stephen-king/article1361059/)" by Stephen King.
My brother and I have a weird bond over stephen king books because we devoured them during our teeny bopper years so Im trying to burn through all 1100 pages of this beast so I can lend it to him when comes to visit in about 2 weeks.
whew!
ps. It's pretty fucking good so far.

TAL

09-03-2010, 03:19 PM

My brother and I have a weird bond over stephen king books because we devoured them during our teeny bopper years

I know the feeling, I have at least 30 King books from back in the day.

MC Moot

10-05-2010, 12:23 PM

”McSwenney’s #26”... (http://store.mcsweeneys.net/index.cfm/fuseaction/catalog.detail/object_id/7e3092c7-bdf7-4966-87b1-2870ee02f922/McSweeneysIssue26.cfm)guaranteed goodness...I like the alternative format...spooky and smart...(y)

”Last Days of the Incas”... (http://www.amazon.ca/Last-Days-Incas-Kim-MacQuarrie/dp/0743260503/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i/176-2395983-8887334)Spanish conquest and cultural destruction of Peru...fascinating...just how much damage can a 168 conquistadores do?

“Under the Dome” by Stephen King...Heiress made me...

MC Moot

10-13-2010, 12:34 PM

”The Lampshade”... (http://www.amazon.ca/Lampshade-Holocaust-Detective-Buchenwald-Orleans/dp/1416566279)by Mark Jacobson...I recommend you pick up and read this ASAP...totally engrossing...Mark Jacobson is one of New York’s greatest journalists in my opinion...sometimes parts Jimmy Breslin sometimes part Chuck Klosterman...this guy knows NYC history past to present like no other...what I ride this book becomes intertwined in a most ghastly and fascinating manner...you’ll be better read and educated for taking it on...(y)(y)(y)

MC Moot

11-08-2010, 09:44 AM

I’m about half way through Bill Cotters ”Fever Chart” (http://www.amazon.com/Fever-Chart-Bill-Cotter/dp/193478141X)...wow...what a great book...READ THIS BOOK!…Ken Kesey would have been in awe…thanks be to McSweeneys…(y)

roosta

11-21-2010, 03:35 AM

Just finished "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami.

V good.

Now i want to read some George Orwell. Animal Farm first, then 1984 I think.

p-branez

11-21-2010, 07:32 PM

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley

After this, I'm running out of good books at my limited-selection local library. At least it will encourage me to start the shelves of personal books I still haven't read.

HEIRESS

11-22-2010, 03:00 PM

Fortress of Solitude (http://www.amazon.com/Fortress-Solitude-Novel-Jonathan-Lethem/dp/0385500696)
Throws you a curve-ball about half-way through but just roll with it and you won't be disappointed. excellent read.

A Moveable Feast (http://www.amazon.ca/Moveable-Feast-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/068482499X)
ADORE x1000!

About 3/4 way through The Last American Man (http://www.amazon.com/Last-American-Man-Elizabeth-Gilbert/dp/0142002836)
Yeah, yeah its the "eay pray love" author (which I've never read) but she actually hung out with Eustace Conway (and his family members) so give this book a shot.
Every few pages you switch between loving/hating Mr Conway and that alone makes it an awesome read.

Reading Eating Animals (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0316069884/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=485327511&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0316069906&pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_r=1XJVZE7D03EBF1K2W4XD) next, just waiting on the dang boyfriend to finish it before it's my turn. Pfffffft just cause I bought it for you as a birthday present doesn't mean you automatically get to read it first GEEZ

MC Moot

11-22-2010, 03:07 PM

Reading Eating Animals (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0316069884/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=485327511&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0316069906&pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_r=1XJVZE7D03EBF1K2W4XD) next, just waiting on the dang boyfriend to finish it before it's my turn. Pfffffft just cause I bought it for you as a birthday present doesn't mean you automatically get to read it first GEEZ

Oh yes it does!...we know your kind...spine bending,ear marking,bathtub pulping and water damaging...hell,you probably even make on page footnotes!...:rolleyes:

jackrock

11-23-2010, 11:38 PM

roosta

11-24-2010, 03:28 AM

Just between Norwegian Wood and Animal Farm, i've snuck in "The Communist Manifesto" by Marx and Engels

Pretty interesting stuff. Obviously of its time, but then again, possibly more relevant than ever.

kll

11-24-2010, 09:00 AM

The Art of Racing in the Rain - told by a dog's point of view throughout his life with his "owner". Really a must-read for any dog lover. The idea of your dog being reincarnated and meeting him later on in life is interesting.

Junker

11-26-2010, 11:38 AM

Douglas Adams 'Life, the Universe and Everything'. (y)(y)

This guy's hilarious.

MC Moot

12-08-2010, 03:16 PM

”The Convalescent” (http://www.amazon.com/Convalescent-Mcsweeneys-Jessica-Anthony/dp/193478110X) by Jessica Anthony...another incredible title from McSweeney’s...just really,really great stuff...twisted,dark,hilarious,foreboding,maniacal ...loving it...(y)

”All New Letters from a Nut: Includes Lunatic Email Exchanges” (http://www.amazon.com/All-New-Letters-Nut-Exchanges/dp/0307716287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291842882&sr=1-1) by Ted L Nancy...I thought the first 2 volumes were good stupid fun but the joke is dead now...bunk...(n)

Planetary

12-08-2010, 06:22 PM

life by keith richards

witty and entertaining. also sort of inspiring.

MC Moot

12-09-2010, 09:22 AM

I'm expecting that one to be under the tree this year ,so to speak...(y)Or maybe this... (http://www.amazon.ca/Call-Me-Russell-Peters/dp/0385669631)

gbsuey

12-09-2010, 09:46 AM

The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abrams- Kind of hard to explain but it's great. About how we(humans) have evolved away from the natural earth, goes into detail about how the advent of writing and alphabetization have helped that shift, need to read bits of it 10x over just to understand it but am loving it

Drederick Tatum

12-09-2010, 09:55 AM

Descent into Chaos (http://www.amazon.com/Descent-into-Chaos-Building-Afghanistan/dp/B003NHR70I/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1) by Ahmed Rashid. legendary journalist.

HEIRESS

12-09-2010, 10:56 AM

The Bell Jar (http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Jar-Novel-Perennial-Classics/dp/0060930187) - Sylvia Plath

How I haven't come to read this book until now, I have no idea.

The Known World (http://www.amazon.com/Known-World-Edward-P-Jones/dp/0060557540) - Edward P Jones

Really good so far but Imma having trouble getting all the characters straight in my head right out of the gate.

nodanaonlyzuul

12-09-2010, 02:20 PM

I just finished the Black Dahlia.

A great read but the ending kind of went on, and on, and you thought it was over but NOPE, it still goes on. After a while I was thinking "ENOUGH ALREADY! Let's be done with it!"

Still, I'd say it's worth a shot if you need a book to read.

Avoid the movie like the plague though.

rirv

12-09-2010, 02:35 PM

Dispatches by Michael Herr.

A madcap stumble through Vietnam and a glimpse at the innermost human psyche when faced with the absurd and horrific.

Moments of Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket clearly show themselves.

MC Moot

12-09-2010, 02:50 PM

nodanaonlyzuul

12-09-2010, 05:09 PM

the novel by James Ellroy. No photos.

MC Moot

12-21-2010, 12:17 PM

I got this for her stocking,started to thumb through it last night and ended up about a hundred pages in...quite a riot...she gonna love it...

I Don't Care About Your Band: What I Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated”... (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Care-About-Your-Band/dp/1592405614/)by Julie Klausner...(y)

jackrock

12-22-2010, 06:16 AM

Just picked up Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, damn this shit is fun!

Drederick Tatum

12-22-2010, 08:48 AM

Just finished Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. it turned out to be a very good thriller. no wonder it's sold so many copies.
I definitely wasn't expecting such violent scenes. one particularly violent episode seems to have no real bearing on the plot other than to establish that the Salander character is totally ruthless. at first I was kinda hohum on this character, but after tearing through this book I'll be reading the next two instalments in the near future.

this article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/01/goran-lindberg-sweden-crime-palme) probably sheds a bit more light on the trilogy's background.

TAL

12-22-2010, 08:55 AM

Just finished Nikki Sixx's The Heroin Diaries

It was pretty boring. If you're thinking about reading this, go with The Dirt insead.

p-branez

12-22-2010, 10:14 AM

About 3/4 through Crime & Punishment. The footnotes are at the back, and of course the geniuses put the 'bookclub discussion' facing the first page of notes, one sentence in, flip to the first note, glance at the other sheet bam ending ruined. Thoroughly enjoying it though.

Up next, Midnight's Children by Sal Bass.

"Midnight Voices"?

The "Midnight's Children" I know is by Salman Rushdie, a fanstastic book, winner of the Booker of the Bookers prize.

I picked up "Crime and Punishment" recently at the library... Russian literature is on my reading list for this coming year, but I knew I just couldn't do it. Not right now.

Instead, I picked up "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike... figured I could read the Rabbit series since I received "Rabbit at Rest" a few years ago for holiday. So far it's slow, don't know how there can be enough to sustain four books. Also checked out "Nine Stories" by J.D. Salinger to mix in some quick short stories.

YoungRemy

12-22-2010, 11:19 AM

Thundering Silence: Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Catch a Snake
Thich Nhat Hanh

nodanaonlyzuul

12-22-2010, 11:25 AM

jackrock

12-23-2010, 06:57 AM

Just picked up Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, damn this shit is fun!

You might even say I'm pooned to it eeheheh

miss soul fire

12-26-2010, 07:46 AM

L'élégance du hérisson - Muriel Barbery.

TAL

01-01-2011, 09:58 PM

Just finished Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis.

I enjoyed it as a sequel to Less Then Zero, but if it had been just another book by whoever it would've been just ok.

Kid Presentable

01-01-2011, 10:15 PM

HEIRESS

01-02-2011, 10:43 PM

MC Moot

01-03-2011, 12:14 PM

Just annihilated this book in 3 days, AMAZING.

Gave it to my mom to borrow today and she hasn't put it down for the past 4 hours!

Yeah it's a great read...I also strongly recommend ”What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng”... (http://www.amazon.com/What-Autobiography-Valentino-Achak-Deng/dp/1932416641)by Eggers as well...that's his best in my opinion...”A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” (http://www.amazon.com/Heartbreaking-Work-Staggering-Genius/dp/0375725784) is a tough but great read I put it down twice,before I could finish it,cause of the cancer stuff...oh and his novelization of “Where the Wild Things Are” called “Wild Things” is pretty nice as well...(y)

MC Moot

01-05-2011, 12:59 PM

Started the first of the Christmas gift reads...“Sexy Book Of Sexy Sex” ( http://www.amazon.ca/Sexy-Book-Sex-Kristen-Schaal/dp/0811871266 ) by Kristen Schaal...hilarious and really quite horny...like my crush on her wasn’t serious enough before I read this...the diagrams and picts are a riot...wonderfully perverse in the best way...never mind the kama sutra this is the book for your bedside...(y)

hpdrifter

01-05-2011, 02:30 PM

Hmmm, I kept seeing older Mom's and Grandma's who were all over Eat, Pray, Love picking up this trilogy so I stayed away from it. Considering your feedback though my interest is piqued. Perhaps I'll pick it up during Christmas break. (y)

They are super violent and only get more twisted after the first book. I actually knew about that in advance and it almost convinced me NOT to read them.

The imagery of violence against women is intense in all three books, but so is the response from the main character.

I thought the story went a little too far into the stratosphere in the second two. I suppose, if he'd had time, he could have squeezed out a few more episodic stories before going in for the kill on the story arc. But it is what it is.

hpdrifter

01-05-2011, 02:32 PM

Also, got a kindle for Christmas and downloaded Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Almost done with Brothers Karamazov and then I can start it.

trailerprincess

01-06-2011, 02:57 PM

I read Into the Wild, the Jon Krakauer book. Very good.

MC Moot

01-06-2011, 03:00 PM

^ This is a really good read as well...(y)

http://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-Disaster/dp/0385492081

Rock

01-06-2011, 04:29 PM

I've been reading a lot of "Rock n Roll" Biographies recently. These past couple of months I've read:

Slash's - Good stuff..even though he comes across as kind of pompous I still liked it a lot. A little boring towards the last couple of chapters.

The Dave Navarro one - Sucked. Started off really really good, ended up being really really boring 1/3 into it.

Marilyn Manson's - Pretty damn good. ended kind of lame.

Bite Me - Christopher Moore...as usual, enjoyable, but let down by the ending.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Entertaining but a pretty weak last couple of chapters.

I seem to be let down a lot at the end of books these days. I'm all into the book as I'm reading them but the last couple of chapters tend to make me HAVE to pay attention more since they get stale.

Any suggestions for books with some OOOOOOO endings?

MC Moot

01-06-2011, 05:05 PM

Any suggestions for books with some OOOOOOO endings?

Sure:

http://www.amazon.com/Ninety-two-Shade-Thomas-McGuane/dp/0679752897/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294354757&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Another-Roadside-Attraction-Tom-Robbins/dp/0553349481/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294354690&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Kinds-Naked-Tony-Vigorito/dp/015603123X/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294354639&sr=1-14

http://www.amazon.com/Pulp-Charles-Bukowski/dp/0876859260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294354918&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Horses-Border-Trilogy-Book/dp/0679744398/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294354719&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.com/Lanark-Canongate-Classic-Alasdair-Gray/dp/1841959073/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

http://www.amazon.com/Mailman-Novel-J-Robert-Lennon/dp/0393057313

HEIRESS

01-08-2011, 08:26 PM

Yay more recommendations!

I bought `Fever Chart` (http://www.amazon.ca/Fever-Chart-Bill-Cotter/dp/193478141X) based on your review Moot, and yes, it is disturbingly awesome thus far.

Also reading `The Book of Negroes (http://www.amazon.ca/Book-Negroes-Lawrence-Hill/dp/1554681561)`. It is an excellent, excellent book.

roosta

01-09-2011, 03:24 PM

Just finished I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Stunning! Highly recommended. I always loved The Omega Man (and still do) but it and definitely not Will Smith's version touch this.

p-branez

01-10-2011, 10:20 AM

"Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

I'm a few years late on this one; received a handed-down copy for the holidays. I'm getting through it quick, mostly because I want to move on to another book; something a little heftier.

What do you think? I think that every time I tell someone I didn't like the book, I'm going to be seen as some peace-hater... for how could someone not like the book?

MC Moot

01-13-2011, 09:41 AM

How to Beat Up Anybody: An Instructional and Inspirational Karate Book by the World Champion... (http://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Anybody-Instructional-Inspirational/dp/006196977X) Judah Friedlander the most dangerous practitioner of the martial arts in the entire world!...with each page I become more dangerous and awesome than I ever believed I could be...I would suggest you read it but then we would have to engage in combat in order to prove my superiority once and for all...beware!

(y)
:D

TAL

01-13-2011, 10:18 AM

American On Purpose by Craig Ferguson.

Good, but not as wild as I thought it would be.

HEIRESS

01-13-2011, 11:53 AM

"The Town that Food Saved (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6851796-the-town-that-food-saved)"

Really good so far, I've heard alot of this town's story on radio programs etc already though...

TAL

01-14-2011, 09:54 AM

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis.

His only non-comic book book. An awesome and quick read with lots of filth.

TAL

01-15-2011, 11:37 AM

I'm Dying Up Here by William Knoedelseder

A great book about stand-up comics in LA during the 70s and the strike they had.

roosta

01-15-2011, 06:11 PM

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang

Really good. He's an Oxford Professor and he describes himself as a capitalist, but he's very much not a fan of the free-market philosophy, and in this book he exposes some of the free-market myths that get bandied about. Worth a look.

MC Moot

01-18-2011, 09:53 AM

”Oryx and Crake”... (http://www.amazon.ca/Oryx-Crake-Novel-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0770429351)by Margaret Atwood...I’m really liking it, last man on earth scenario of sorts...(y)

yeahwho

01-19-2011, 10:22 PM

life by keith richards

witty and entertaining. also sort of inspiring.

Agreed, thoroughly entertaining read. It's a great book.

MC Moot

01-28-2011, 10:39 AM

”I Found This Funny: My Favorite Pieces of Humor and Some That May Not Be Funny At All” (http://www.amazon.com/Found-This-Funny-Favorite-Pieces/dp/1934781908) edited/compiled by Judd Apatow...this book has a pretty strange rhythm but I’m digging it...another fine release from the amazing folks at McSweeney’s...featuring stories/bits written by his fave authors/comedians,an impressive list of contributors for sure:

1. Carson McCullers, "The Jockey."
2. Raymond Carver, "The Elephant."
3. Ian Frazier, "Coyote v Acme."
4. James Agee, "A Mothers Tale."
5. F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Pat Hobby and Orson Welles."
6. Faye Fiore, "Picture of Elvis and Nixon."
7. Simon Rich, "If Life Were Like Middle School "Five Greatest Boyfriends", "My Friend's New Girlfriend," "Columbian Tourism", and "Love Coupons."
8. Paul Simms, "For Immediate Release."
9. Dan Chaon, "I Demand to Know..."
10. Jon Stewart, "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Sitcom."
11. Judd Apatow, "How I Got Kicked Out of High School."
12. Michael Chabon , "Ocean Avenue"
13. David Sedaris, "Go Carolina."
14. Adam McKay, "Buckwell's Follies."
15. Adam Sandler, "Canteen Boy"
16. Paul Feig, "And Now a Word from the Booth"
17. Philip Roth, "The Conversion of the Jews."
18. Jonathan Ames, "No Contact, Asshole."
19. Flannery O'Conner, "Good Country People."

(y)

HEIRESS

01-28-2011, 12:37 PM

Ask the Dust (http://www.amazon.com/Ask-Dust-John-Fante/dp/0876854439)

Chronic City (http://www.amazon.com/Chronic-City-Novel-Jonathan-Lethem/dp/0385518633)

both are a (y).

rirv

01-28-2011, 12:46 PM

Last few books I've read:

A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway.

Heartbreaking. I could see the ending coming an absolute mile off but the way the whole novel progresses without recourse to vulgar description and cliche is phenominal. I loved the way simple everyday things were described so accurately - the one that I rememeber best is when he wakes up really early in the morning and sits awake for a few hours waiting for it to be time to get up, but then falls asleep again for a few hours.

Exile and the Kingdom by Camus

A colloction of short stories. The Adulterous Woman speaks of that longing to get away from whatever it is you're stuck in. The Renegade, whilst initially confusing, becomes a horrifying account of one man's torture and subsequent descent into madness and turning his back on everything he once believed in. A bit of research into the location of this added depth. The Guest could work excellently as a short film, a chilling ending. The other three stories you can take or leave.

Then I read a history of The Mossad.

Currently re-reading The Great Gatsby.

I studied it at school and at university, but it makes a lot more sense and is far more resounding now I am a bit older.

MC Moot

01-28-2011, 12:47 PM

Ask the Dust (http://www.amazon.com/Ask-Dust-John-Fante/dp/0876854439)

That's a fantastic book...Fante was Bukowski's biggest influence and best friend...(y)

I highly recommend the reader: http://www.amazon.com/John-Fante-Reader/dp/0060184965

MC Moot

02-15-2011, 11:42 AM

While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction (http://www.amazon.com/While-Mortals-Sleep-Unpublished-Fiction/dp/product-description/0385343736) by Kurt Vonnegut...what’s to say?...it’s “new” fiction from the man with a foreword by Dave Eggers... add it to your queue...and so it goes...(y)

MC Moot

03-15-2011, 02:53 PM

”The End of Major Combat Operations” (http://store.mcsweeneys.net/index.cfm/fuseaction/catalog.detail/object_id/efccfeb9-9b0d-4145-a1c1-288b2b75cf94/TheEndofMajorCombatOperations.cfm)...This is an important book...features bit’s of articles/stories and observations...very powerful,very insightful...read this book!...(and hey look it’s on sale for $7 bucks,can’t go wrong!)

paul jones

03-18-2011, 03:34 PM

'House of Fun- The Story of Madness' by John Reed

it's about the group Madness.

Drederick Tatum

03-23-2011, 04:00 PM

MC Moot

03-31-2011, 09:56 AM

”Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091983/) by David Sedaris...I’m loving it...animal fables of post modern humanism...he’s coming here in May...you could knock it off in anight but i want to savor it...if anyone goes to see his “An Evening With David Sedaris” tour let me know if it’s worth 50 bones...(y)

HEIRESS

04-01-2011, 01:22 PM

Shit, I know im forgetting some...

Paul Auster - The New York Trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/New-York-Trilogy-Contemporary-American/dp/0140131558) (totally awesome post modern "detective" stories)

Jessica Anthony - The Convalescent (http://www.amazon.com/Convalescent-Mcsweeneys-Jessica-Anthony/dp/193478110X) (McSweeneys picks never disappoint)

Just starting Jonathan Littell - The Kindly Ones (http://www.amazon.com/Kindly-Ones-Jonathan-Littell/dp/0061353450) (it's a beast of a book but I've been wanting to read it for awhile and lucked out and found a copy in a used bookstore in Montreal, almost put my suitcase over-weight coming home...)

venusvenus123

04-01-2011, 01:33 PM

Joseph Conrad-The Secret Agent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Agent). I average about a page a night. the writing is too dense for bedtime reading. I actually came in this thread for inspiration.

I'm probably gonna start Sinclair Lewis' Babbit or the new Andrew Bacevich.

Read some William Boyd, if you haven't already!

Currently reading Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd.

Recently read Brazzaville Beach by him, which I highly recommend.

Adrock'sGirlie

04-03-2011, 08:08 PM

Kentucky Ham by Boroughs JR...so far so good

Splashleigh

04-04-2011, 06:27 AM

come thou, tortoise by jessica grant. i love it, it's one of the best books i've read in a long time.

MC Moot

04-04-2011, 10:00 AM

Jessica Anthony - The Convalescent (http://www.amazon.com/Convalescent-Mcsweeneys-Jessica-Anthony/dp/193478110X) (McSweeneys picks never disappoint)

Loved it...but McSweeneey's is not quite guaranteed fresh everytime…I ripped through this yesterday and didn’t really dig it at all…”Half Life” (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Half-Life-Darin-Strauss/dp/1934781703/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301932301&sr=1-1)…I don’t understand how or why it’s rated/reviewed so highly...:confused:

HEIRESS

04-04-2011, 11:11 AM

Shit, I bought that last month at Drawn & Quarterly, haven't read it yet. oh wells.

MC Moot

04-15-2011, 08:17 AM

”Zombie Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton Oswalt” (http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Spaceship-Wasteland-Patton-Oswalt/dp/1439149089)...about half way through and it reads kinda like a melancholy teenage memoir with laughs...clever stuff I suppose...

beastiegirrl101

04-15-2011, 04:17 PM

Watership Down by Richard Adams.

Apparently I've been robbed of my childhood because I didn't read it when I was young.

Splashleigh

04-16-2011, 07:49 AM

Crime by Ferdinand von Schirach. It's true crime written by a German defence lawyer. I really liked it, it's written in a really dry voice but has really shocking crimes in it that kinda point out the disparity between the actual nature of crime and our desensitized reaction to it. that and i'm a bit of a crime voyeur....

MC Moot

04-28-2011, 09:03 AM

”The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race” (http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Show-Stewart-Presents-Earth/dp/044657922X)...I'm not to fond of this format anymore and this one isn’t nearly as funny as “America”...the publishing format/layout is the same for all these books being put out by Daily Show alumni/writers...Colbert,John Hodgman,Kristen Schall...it’s wearing thin...

avignon

04-29-2011, 07:37 AM

a Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
just finished it. It was surprisingly very well done. terrific mix of historical fact, science, and supernatural claptrap; you can't write a best seller without vampires anymore. Ends on a major cliffhanger. It will at least be a trilogy.

NicRN77

04-29-2011, 07:40 AM

Dirt-the Motley Crue story. holy shit!

TAL

04-29-2011, 12:30 PM

Dirt-the Motley Crue story. holy shit!

Best thing ever!

ToucanSpam

04-30-2011, 11:07 PM

A Tale of Two Cities. 10 pages in, instantly regretted it. Cannot stop due to pride.

Splashleigh

05-01-2011, 02:52 AM

persist! my best friend felt the same way but eventually ended up loving it.

trailerprincess

05-01-2011, 10:05 AM

Waus

05-02-2011, 03:59 PM

"Mystics & Zen Masters" by Thomas Merton.

Enlightening stuff.

Splashleigh

05-02-2011, 07:51 PM

Am reading 'The Slap' - was going to lend it to my mother when I was done but is quite dirrrrty so will have to give her the cliff notes. It's quite good so far but not really like the racism in it.....

yeah i found it quite confronting but more because of the racism and hatred in it. just about every character is despicable. i work in a bookstore and am careful about who i recommend it to. i guess if it's confronting it's worth reading cos it's challenging you...

MC Moot

05-10-2011, 02:01 PM

”Sleepwalk with Me: and Other Painfully True Stories” (http://www.amazon.com/Sleepwalk-Me-Other-Painfully-Stories/dp/1439157995) by Mike Birbiglia...very funny,very awkward...in a memoir type style...(y)

jackrock

05-11-2011, 06:27 PM

Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson.

I almost puked it was so intense/hardcore at times. In a good way.

NicRN77

05-11-2011, 10:43 PM

has anyone read Tina Fey's book Bossypants? I just ordered it. I'm sure it will be a great read.

Splashleigh

05-12-2011, 02:13 AM

i just finished it, it's awesome!! just when i thought i couldn't love her anymore...

HEIRESS

05-12-2011, 07:46 AM

p-branez

05-12-2011, 08:07 AM

Also, got a kindle for Christmas and downloaded Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.

Have you finished it? It started off slow but grew on me. The dialogue was nearly painful to read.

Just finished Jay-Z "Decoded (http://www.amazon.com/Decoded-Jay-Z/dp/1400068924)." The actual "decoding" of lyrics is somewhat broad and predictable, but there are some real gems in the narratives about politics and art.

Now working on "The Best and the Brightest (http://www.amazon.com/Best-Brightest-David-Halberstam/dp/0449908704)" by David Halberstam. I saw it on some "Best of..." list somewhere and figured it would be beneficial to learn a little more about American history. I've been in and out of the book, and since the book jumps around, I've been less than following all the action. Regardless, I think I have the main take-aways from American foreign policy in the 1950s-1970s.

hardnox71

05-15-2011, 05:48 PM

Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office by Zack O'Malley Greenburg.

Haven't finished it yet but so far it's pretty damn good. It's more about Jay-Z's business acumen and how he's managed to amass roughly a half a billion dollar empire than it is a rap star diary.

Splashleigh

05-15-2011, 07:39 PM

I just finished Wall and Piece by Banksy, it's sick, the man's a genius. Lots of his art in there and not a lot of text but what there is is a great insight to his philosophy.

I'm reading butterfly cabinet by Bernie McGill now. It sucks.

gbsuey

05-16-2011, 06:37 AM

Zen & the art of Mortorcycle maintenance. Can't believe i've never read it before. Some bits have just flown straight over my head but is good so far.

MC Moot

05-16-2011, 09:52 AM

”Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” (http://www.amazon.com/Where-Men-Win-Glory-Odyssey/dp/0385522266) by Jon Krakauer...I really enjoyed “Into Thin Air” as well as “Into the Wild” but this one did little to nothing for me...I ended up flipping to the Jessica Lynch chapter as well as the actual specific events of his death...for which afterword’s I felt a little guilty and somewhat nauseous...mostly picked it up as I’m waiting on the Doc...cause Heiress propped it...I'd say pass on the book...

TAL

05-16-2011, 04:03 PM

MC Moot

05-26-2011, 11:54 AM

”The Death of Bunny Munro: A Novel” (http://www.amazon.com/Death-Bunny-Munro-Novel/dp/0865479100) by Nick Cave...of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds/Grinderman/Writer of the film “The Proposition”,etc,etc...his second novel features an oblivious sex addict on the road to where I don’t know...kinda comic,kinda depressing so far...

TAL

05-27-2011, 10:00 AM

ericg

05-27-2011, 10:58 AM

ishmael by barbara hambly is a fantastic book! it's about spock going back in time to save the world but anyway, it's dope.

cosmo105

05-27-2011, 11:37 AM

The Master and Margarita (http://www.amazon.com/Master-Margarita-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141180145/)by Mukhail Bulgakov.
Got it from someone years ago. Found it last week. Apparently it's one of the best books of the 20th century. Halfway through it at the moment and it's ok.

Tore through that a few weeks ago on some long train/plane rides. Absolutely loved it. Incredibly done - so enthralling.

About four chapters into Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Slow going at first but picked up a lot.

gbsuey

05-31-2011, 01:46 PM

I'm sure Master and Margarita was banned in the country it was written in for years 'cause of the devil connection....i think it's an amazing book.

The book of Lost Things (http://www.thebookoflostthings.com/)....kind of dark fairy-tale type stuff...hard to put down

MC Moot

06-08-2011, 10:55 AM

”Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir’ (http://www.amazon.com/Does-Noise-Head-Bother-You/dp/0061767891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307551744&sr=1-1)...by Steven Tyler...I was an Aeoroforce One kid/teen until about the age of 14...so this was disappointing...stuck with it till the first inset of picts and then just flipped through for relevant bits...bounces all over the place with no discernible narrative...major meh...pass on it...although I did find it interesting to find out that he's a beliver and once practitioner of Crowley's magik...oh and the bit about his 3 day audition for Zeppelin last year was neat...

gbsuey

06-10-2011, 04:15 PM

Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas. She wrote The End of Mr Y which was awesome and is now one of my favourite books, this is her most recent book and so far it's AMAZING. Maybe even better than Mr Y. Fiction but with loads of science type stuff in there. So worth a read, can't recommend enough. There's 3 more she's written i've yet to read but i'll bet they're all fab.

skra75

06-10-2011, 10:30 PM

I just finished up Earth Abides by George R. Stewart. It was pretty damn good.

Kid Presentable

06-10-2011, 11:06 PM

Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds. Incredible writing, oddly specific setting. Recommended, I guess.

Splashleigh

06-12-2011, 07:04 PM

The Women's Room by Marilyn French. This book is unbelievably good, everyone should read it.

icy manipulator

06-15-2011, 06:21 AM

I'm sure Master and Margarita was banned in the country it was written in for years 'cause of the devil connection....i think it's an amazing book.

i think it was more to do with that Bulgakov suggested Stalin was Professor Woland aka the devil so it wasn't released til 27/33 years (censored/uncesored) after his death. anyway it's by far my favourite novel. i love it. and i always tell people who want to read it just try and get through the 40 odd pages of the 2nd chapter where they just keep going on about the Pontius Pilate shit. it's fantastic after that. every time i re read The Master and Margarita i always skip those chapters :D