currently reading?

[grady]

Did the thread fall victim to spam?

[m.g.]

Yes... was a great thread... can it by re-upped or... :( ?

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Yeah, I was a bit confused with that too.

Next up for me both by a Mary Roach: Spook & Stiff. Someone's told me her humor is as twisted as mine. I'll see about that.


****
Skip Chapters 6 & 7 in Stiff, not the right time for these right now.


My and this girl are going out dancing someday.

[King of Snake]

hmmm weird... another casualty of the forum change...
Maybe someone is trying to kill the bound forum just like Interrupt... :rolleyes:


anyways, I'm currently reading Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is pretty cool.

[grady]

I hope that old thread can be re-upped as there was a great deal of history and recommendations that I never copied to a personal text file.

sigh....

I'm finishing Sandman book 1 and moving on to book 2 at the moment on the comic front. A friend also gave me When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro.

[ceramic'cow]

I am currently reading this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-Guide-Charles-Darwin/dp/1845297202/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208539688&sr=8-27), which I got for my birthday the other day, basically because I have a huge hard-on for evolution, but also because I've always been fascinated to know how the man himself felt about the importance of his work, and the significance of publishing a book which basically undermined one of the Christian faith's major claims to validity.

It's very well written, so I'm ploughing through it at quite a pace, but it's definitely focussed on his life rather than his science, so I think I'll definitely look out a more scientific-based account in the near future.

[m.g.]

anyways, I'm currently reading Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is pretty cool.Bram Stoker's Dracula is actually a monument. Currently reading Henning Mankell's "One Step Behind" (as I'm still exploring the Inspector Wallander (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Wallander) series...)

[Deckard]

I am currently reading this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-Guide-Charles-Darwin/dp/1845297202/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208539688&sr=8-27), which I got for my birthday the other day, basically because I have a huge hard-on for evolution, but also because I've always been fascinated to know how the man himself felt about the importance of his work, and the significance of publishing a book which basically undermined one of the Christian faith's major claims to validity.

It's very well written, so I'm ploughing through it at quite a pace, but it's definitely focussed on his life rather than his science, so I think I'll definitely look out a more scientific-based account in the near future.
That one looks v interesting, I might have to get hold of it.

I've just started reading The Ancestor's Tale (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancestors-Tale-Richard-Dawkins/dp/0753819961/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208619816&sr=8-1) (Dawkins' pilgrimage through 3 billion years of life on earth).

As someone with absolutely no scientific background whatsoever (and who dropped those subjects as quickly as possible at school in favour of art-based subjects) I'm hoping it won't become too much for me. Certainly Unweaving the Rainbow (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unweaving-Rainbow-Science-Delusion-Appetite/dp/0141026189/ref=pd_sbs_b_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1208619816&sr=8-1) was both fascinating and well written, and aside from a tangent on DNA, I found it accessible enough (ugh, hate using that word!) for a layman like me.

And besides, at least the Ancestor's Tale can't be as tough as Chaucer's original, which I studied at school and found tedious in the extreme!

[ceramic'cow]

Hmmm. I've sort of got Ancestor's Tale on the go as well. I've got some scientific background, and I think it does get a bit heavy going at times. But I'm never sure if that's just Dawkins' writing style. I raced through God Delusion, but get him on to genetics and I find him harder going.

I love Steve Jones (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?ie=UTF8&tag=firefox-uk-21&index=blended&link%5Fcode=qs&field-keywords=steve%20jones&sourceid=Mozilla-search)' writing though. I've just recently finished Almost Like a Whale, his re-working of Origin of Species, but everything I've read of his has been really enjoyable. His sense of humour tends to shine through, which is unusual, in my experience, for Science writers. Anyway, his The Single Helix is a good introduction to his style; a collection of short essays about science - not just biology, but astronomy, chemistry, and all sorts of related stuff too.

[froopy seal]

Tad Williams - Otherland, Volume Two: River of Blue Fire.

The first part (City of Golden Shadow) had its lengths. Part two starts off very energetic. I agree with the critics that the characters are well-drawn. Also, I like the casual way of introducing/mentioning technologies and science - short and comprehensible, neither self-indulgent nor arrogant.

[froopy seal]

I hope that old thread can be re-upped as there was a great deal of history and recommendations that I never copied to a personal text file.Seconded.

[grady]

After seeing the Alain Resnais film Last Year in Marienbad twice this past weekend I've been on a binge consuming essays on the film and searching for the British Film Institute's a book on the film as part of their BFI Classics series.

After locating the book I've dropped other readings and made the following my primary focus.

Last Year in Marienbad by Jean-Louis Leutrat.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

After seeing the Alain Resnais film Last Year in Marienbad twice this past weekend I've been on a binge consuming essays on the film and searching for the British Film Institute's a book on the film as part of their BFI Classics series.

After locating the book I've dropped other readings and made the following my primary focus.

Last Year in Marienbad by Jean-Louis Leutrat.


aaaah, truth is stranger than fiction.

[grady]

aaaah, truth is stranger than fiction.

You know the film?

[stimpee]

Did the thread fall victim to spam?no its fallen victim to Yan not uploading the rest of the old forum posts. :(

[grady]

no its fallen victim to Yan not uploading the rest of the old forum posts. :(

ok, it's good to know they still exist in some form.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

no its fallen victim to Yan not uploading the rest of the old forum posts. :(


OK, get off Yan. He's busy. j/k

Yep. Need to view again though. I'm kinda slow with movies.

[grady]

OK, get off Yan. He's busy. j/k

Yep. Need to view again though. I'm kinda slow with movies.

It was a pretty great film. Having never seen it I was confused and attracted to it. The first showing I went to Saturday evening, four people walked out about an hour in. Sunday afternoon for my second viewing two people walked out.

It's such a strange and compelling film, but not for everyone.

The BFI book, though short has been enlightening with a large amount of production anecdotes and information, but has been a bit unsatisfying as far as the criticism and interpretation of the film goes.

[ceramic'cow]

Hmmm. I've sort of got Ancestor's Tale on the go as well. I've got some scientific background, and I think it does get a bit heavy going at times. But I'm never sure if that's just Dawkins' writing style. I raced through God Delusion, but get him on to genetics and I find him harder going.


I'm going to have to make a bit of a U-Turn here. I've dived back into Ancestor's Tale and I'm racing through it now. I think it was all the early-human stuff that I got bogged down in. Australopithecus this, proto-hominid that Sahelanthropus the other . . .


But since then, it's been really good. I'm still on mammals, which is kind of my area, I guess, but it's definitely been much easier going once out of the Human evolution stuff.

[Deckard]

^^ That's good to know.

If my memory serves, I'm sure Adam (does he still frequent these boards?) had good things to say about it as well.

[BeautifulBurnout]

I like my crime thrillers, and I accidentally stumbled upon The Take by Graham Hurley in a charity shop one lunchtime when I had time to kill last week. I hadn't come across him before as an author. His writing style is not extraordinary, but he knows how to tell a good story that will keep you turning the pages, if you enjoy police procedurals in an Ian Rankin (Rebus) or Reginald Hill (Morse) style.

[Rog]

The making of 'Unknown pleasures' by jake somebodyorother - about the making of Joy Divisions first album........its ok

[ceramic'cow]

The making of 'Unknown pleasures' by jake somebodyorother - about the making of Joy Divisions first album........its ok

i think i read that. it was a bit rubbish. might give it another go

[grady]

midway through the following two books at the moment:

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
the league of extraordinary gentlemen Vol. II

[oceanic]

Just read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Started and finished in a day... absorbing isn't even the word for it. Very easy read but of the darkest subject matter I've come across in a long, long time. Post-apocalypse America is the setting and the plot explores a pilgrimage being made by a father and son from mid-western states towards the coast (presumably the Gulf-Coast around Texas). Horrifying images of societal collapse and the violence that has taken over. No faith, no morality, no hope - only desperation and the brutality that comes out of desperation. Scary in the way that only few details can conjure scariness. Did anyone feel the same way I did about Cloverfield in that the scariest thing about that movie was the many unknowns? Where did the monster come from? How old? What's it made of? Why's it angry? What's its purpose? Why here? Why now?
Same with The Road. Where did it all go wrong? When? Who started it? Where is the goodness? What's happening in the rest of the world? Where is the requisite "safe haven"? Why? Why? Why?
Disturbing and sad.

The movie is coming soon, which is an alluring and unnerving notion for me.

[grady]

Just read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Started and finished in a day... absorbing isn't even the word for it. Very easy read but of the darkest subject matter I've come across in a long, long time. Post-apocalypse America is the setting and the plot explores a pilgrimage being made by a father and son from mid-western states towards the coast (presumably the Gulf-Coast around Texas). Horrifying images of societal collapse and the violence that has taken over. No faith, no morality, no hope - only desperation and the brutality that comes out of desperation. Scary in the way that only few details can conjure scariness. Did anyone feel the same way I did about Cloverfield in that the scariest thing about that movie was the many unknowns? Where did the monster come from? How old? What's it made of? Why's it angry? What's its purpose? Why here? Why now?
Same with The Road. Where did it all go wrong? When? Who started it? Where is the goodness? What's happening in the rest of the world? Where is the requisite "safe haven"? Why? Why? Why?
Disturbing and sad.

The movie is coming soon, which is an alluring and unnerving notion for me.

The last part of your message with the questions reminds me a great deal of one of the internal monologues/voice overs of a character in The Thin Red Line.

I didn't have quite as an adverse reaction to Cloverfield as the The Road but each is incredibly bleak at times and borderline unbearable in their own unique ways. I found The Road to be far more gripping in that the unknowns feel much greater and powerful. Not to devalue a giant beast ravaging the isle of Manhattan as not terrifying or gripping but rather the idea that the great nuclear apocalypse has already happen in The Road, maybe 5 years prior and we're reading about the fallout(no pun intended). What I find so amusing is that it's a post apocalyptic sci-fi-type setting but all that stuff has been stripped away. It's also amusing that it's kept in the literature section at most book sellers but could easily be kept in sci-fi.

One more bit of amusement: It was an Oprah book club of the month selection! I regaled in the image of soccer mom's and Oprah viewers reading this book and being terribly frightened or potential disgusted by the novel.

Then it went on to win a Pulitzer.

After reading The Road in the Fall 06 I've been somewhat fearful of how the eventual film translation would turn out. Particularly that you're dealing with two different mediums and so much of the novel is internalized.

The film does seems to have a good creative team behind it though. John Hillcoat is directing the film. He made a film a couple years back written by Nick Cave and starring Guy Pearce called The Proposition. If you haven't seen it do check it out, it's an Australian western. Viggo Mortensen has been cast as the lead in the film along with Charlize Theron as his wife in what I presume will be periodic flashbacks.

Over the next couple weeks the film will be shooting scenes here on the Oregon coast. Part of me wants to go rubber neck and see if anything can be seen, but I imagine they'll be shooting in pretty damn remote areas away from the peering eyes of locals and Viggo fans.

Have you read any other novels by Cormac McCarthy oceanic?

One other thing to check out is the following link to an enjoyable book review of The Road written by Michael Chabon and published in the New York Review of Books last Winter.

link (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19856)

[oceanic]

The last part of your message with the questions reminds me a great deal of one of the internal monologues/voice overs of a character in The Thin Red Line.

I didn't have quite as an adverse reaction to Cloverfield as the The Road but each is incredibly bleak at times and borderline unbearable in their own unique ways. I found The Road to be far more gripping in that the unknowns feel much greater and powerful. Not to devalue a giant beast ravaging the isle of Manhattan as not terrifying or gripping but rather the idea that the great nuclear apocalypse has already happen in The Road, maybe 5 years prior and we're reading about the fallout(no pun intended). What I find so amusing is that it's a post apocalyptic sci-fi-type setting but all that stuff has been stripped away. It's also amusing that it's kept in the literature section at most book sellers but could easily be kept in sci-fi.

One more bit of amusement: It was an Oprah book club of the month selection! I regaled in the image of soccer mom's and Oprah viewers reading this book and being terribly frightened or potential disgusted by the novel.

Then it went on to win a Pulitzer.

After reading The Road in the Fall 06 I've been somewhat fearful of how the eventual film translation would turn out. Particularly that you're dealing with two different mediums and so much of the novel is internalized.

The film does seems to have a good creative team behind it though. John Hillcoat is directing the film. He made a film a couple years back written by Nick Cave and starring Guy Pearce called The Proposition. If you haven't seen it do check it out, it's an Australian western. Viggo Mortensen has been cast as the lead in the film along with Charlize Theron as his wife in what I presume will be periodic flashbacks.

Over the next couple weeks the film will be shooting scenes here on the Oregon coast. Part of me wants to go rubber neck and see if anything can be seen, but I imagine they'll be shooting in pretty damn remote areas away from the peering eyes of locals and Viggo fans.

Have you read any other novels by Cormac McCarthy oceanic?

One other thing to check out is the following link to an enjoyable book review of The Road written by Michael Chabon and published in the New York Review of Books last Winter.

link (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19856)


Media of all kinds try so hard to "give the people what they want", with the common belief that what they want is choice, options, detail. Do these things make consumers feel safe, in control or sophisticated? I don't really know. I'm hugely interested in the psychology of marketing and the methods of selling, although I admit I don't really have a critical eye for that kind of stuff and am often times very, very opposed to its manipulations. My danger is that I might head towards the point where I stop being analytical and just blindly angered. I need to stay wary of that. Anyways, with Cloverfield the thing that stood way out for me was the way the film snatched all that choice, all those options and any real details away from the viewer and left us all hanging, clinging onto visual, real-time image, often blurry, and nothing else. It was like all that choice obsession finally did away with itself and from its ashes emerged the new choice which, unbelievably, is NO choice. With all the viral marketing and commerical success of Cloverfield, I'm willing to believe that the makers of the film are marketing-savvy individuals. I couldn't stand the acting in the film and thought the characters were empty, but even still, the film makers obviously knew what they were doing by using the actors they did and succeeded in reeling in the hardcore movie-going demographic that consists of late-teens and twentysomethings. That, coupled with this strange new absence of choice, made me feel very, very uneasy. Maybe the same thing was done in Blair Witch... I don't remember that movie too well and when i did see it all those years ago I wasn't nearly alert enough about these kinds of things to have a say in the matter. I felt the same way reading The Road as I did watching Cloverfield, and both blew me out of the fucking water. I knew The Road won a Pulitzer, but I didn't know it was an Oprah book. I know Oprah doesn't want to coddle or placate her followers, but still... what a horrible story. Much more terrifying and with what seem to me to be much more massive implications and judgments than something like A Million Little Pieces. I really wonder what loyal Oprah fans had to say about it. I also wonder what kind of effect the story would have had if the ending had not taken a turn for the hopeful. Any thoughts on the conclusion, Grady?

I understand your fears on the movie adaptation. I'm guessing the internalized nature of things will come through as facial expression and hopefully nobody overdoes anything. Considering Mortensen's body of work, I've got some faith, and I've heard nothing but good things about The Proposition and I'm surprised at myself for having not gotten off my ass and checked it out yet. Among other reasons, because I've become really interested in the Western genre over the past few months. I'm guessing a lot of people have and McCarthy's No Country probably had a lot to do with it. It did for me.
Speaking of which, The Road is the only book of his that I've read. Got any other recommendations for me? At the back of The Road, there are a few short summaries of his other works. They all sound interesting, to be honest. In the meantime, I'll check out that review of The Road. Thanks for the link.

[grady]

Media of all kinds try so hard to "give the people what they want", with the common belief that what they want is choice, options, detail. Do these things make consumers feel safe, in control or sophisticated? I don't really know. I'm hugely interested in the psychology of marketing and the methods of selling, although I admit I don't really have a critical eye for that kind of stuff and am often times very, very opposed to its manipulations. My danger is that I might head towards the point where I stop being analytical and just blindly angered. I need to stay wary of that. Anyways, with Cloverfield the thing that stood way out for me was the way the film snatched all that choice, all those options and any real details away from the viewer and left us all hanging, clinging onto visual, real-time image, often blurry, and nothing else. It was like all that choice obsession finally did away with itself and from its ashes emerged the new choice which, unbelievably, is NO choice. With all the viral marketing and commerical success of Cloverfield, I'm willing to believe that the makers of the film are marketing-savvy individuals. I couldn't stand the acting in the film and thought the characters were empty, but even still, the film makers obviously knew what they were doing by using the actors they did and succeeded in reeling in the hardcore movie-going demographic that consists of late-teens and twentysomethings. That, coupled with this strange new absence of choice, made me feel very, very uneasy. Maybe the same thing was done in Blair Witch... I don't remember that movie too well and when i did see it all those years ago I wasn't nearly alert enough about these kinds of things to have a say in the matter. I felt the same way reading The Road as I did watching Cloverfield, and both blew me out of the fucking water. I knew The Road won a Pulitzer, but I didn't know it was an Oprah book. I know Oprah doesn't want to coddle or placate her followers, but still... what a horrible story. Much more terrifying and with what seem to me to be much more massive implications and judgments than something like A Million Little Pieces. I really wonder what loyal Oprah fans had to say about it. I also wonder what kind of effect the story would have had if the ending had not taken a turn for the hopeful. Any thoughts on the conclusion, Grady?

I understand your fears on the movie adaptation. I'm guessing the internalized nature of things will come through as facial expression and hopefully nobody overdoes anything. Considering Mortensen's body of work, I've got some faith, and I've heard nothing but good things about The Proposition and I'm surprised at myself for having not gotten off my ass and checked it out yet. Among other reasons, because I've become really interested in the Western genre over the past few months. I'm guessing a lot of people have and McCarthy's No Country probably had a lot to do with it. It did for me.
Speaking of which, The Road is the only book of his that I've read. Got any other recommendations for me? At the back of The Road, there are a few short summaries of his other works. They all sound interesting, to be honest. In the meantime, I'll check out that review of The Road. Thanks for the link.

Sorry for the delay in this reply, I will begin from the top.

Cloverfield I wasn't terribly sold on, but enjoyed what it did for the most part and admired it's execution, both in it's production and promotion. The viral aspect of the campaign was quite essential, but I'm not one to get involved in those for the most part, but instead keep an arm's length if not further, quietly observing.

I too had similar problems like you did with Cloverfield but it did have a couple choice moments throughout.

As for Oprah and her book club, I didn't really keep up with it, but did join the book club to gain access to her interview with Cormac McCarthy that she did for her show. It was the first televised interview he had ever conducted and the first interview in I believe almost 15 years. It's worth a look.

link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNuc3sxzlyQ)

Signing up for her website, I didn't lurk around in the forums to see what readers had to say about it, but I was mighty curious. Judging from friends who picked up the book after the success of the Coen's adaptation of No Country for Old Men, reactions have been either incredibly positive or terribly disappointed.

I usually reply with the suggestion of going further back into McCarthy's work to say All the Pretty Horses or if they're feeling really adventurous, Blood Meridian(probably my favorite of his and one of my favorite books.)

As for the film adaptation of The Road, I have some trepidation about the film, but there really isn't much else that can be said or done. Just hope for the best and that the source material is treated with a decent amount of respect. In light of the success of No Country for Old Men this past year I doubt this will be a problem. But there is always the dark side to something so positive. Billy Bob Thorton's adaptation of All the Pretty Horses was eviscerated by Harvey Weinstein in 2000 and eventually trimmed from a three hour film to a taut 1 hour and 55 minutes gutting most of the film.

A more detailed account of said situation can be found in Peter Biskind's gossipy style book, Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film. In that book you learn that Thorton was incredibly faithful to McCarthy's text and then had it torn down by Harvey Weinstein.

But, with The Road, I'd imagine there is a higher expectation for the film as the novel had won the Pulitzer and is coming off the heels of No Country...
The crew making the film, Viggo and the director included, seem like a good team. But film and literature/writing are two different mediums so obvious liberties throughout will be taken whether in structure or presentation.

I would recommend reading the following McCarthy books next if you're interested. Blood Meridian, All the Pretty Horses, and No Country for Old Men. If you were to read them in that order you would see the progression of his prose style that you experienced in The Road. Blood Meridian is quite a bit longer and brutal, but well worth the read. All the Pretty Horses is a great western and the first part of his Border Trilogy. No Country... is the book that preceded The Road.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Just devoured The Woods by Harlan Coben in a day and a half. I hadn't read any of his, and, frankly, had never heard of him before until I saw the French movie "Ne Le Dis a Personne", based on Tell No One, which I really enjoyed.

He has a wonderful way with plotlines, snaking their way all over the place until they all come to a wonderful denouement at the end, which is everything I expect from a good crime thriller. His characters are solid and well written, and entirely believable. And I really had difficulty putting The Woods down. I will be looking for his other titles now too. Highly recommended. :)

[chuck]

Holy shit!

Someone used denouement in a sentence.

I've been beating my students over the head (not literally) about writing book reports - using words like protagonist, antagonist, denouement.

They look at me like I'm a mad person. But then - they're 11 - so I can but hope they slowly learn to appreciate novel structure - and appreciate how hard it can be to write and to write well.

[GforGroove]

Im reading Against the Day by Thomas Python. Its so huge.. i don't know when im going to finish.. Is fun: anarchist from the 1900's with a crazy dog flying in a zepellin.

[grady]

Not too get too nerdy here but one of my co-workers also works at Powell's (http://www.powells.com)books here in Portland.

This past weekend the fluttering gossip around the store involved the arrival and customer, Cormac McCarthy. Apparently he was in this past Saturday, the 10th. The giveaway to his true identity finally came after a few hours of speculations when the credit card he was paying for his purchases said, Cormac McCarthy.

All that nonsense aside, a segment of the adaptation of The Road is being shot on the Northern Oregon coast. Perhaps his arrival in the area is to visit the production of the film?

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

BOOM! - Tom Brokaw. A must read for everyone.

Race - Marc Aronson. Why this is not available in every public library is beyond me.

Bonk - Mary Roach. Not as good as Stiff and Spook. It kinda grossed me out.

[m.g.]

I know... I often posted here about Henning Mankell's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henning_Mankell) novels, but I think that he's one of the very best authors in crime fiction. Just finished Firewall (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Firewall-Henning-Mankell/dp/0099459051/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211549003&sr=8-8) (which is the last in the Wallander serie) that I nearly couldn't stop reading it in the last 3 days. Amazing.

[grady]

A Wild Haruki Chase - Reading Murakami Around the World

A book of essays by translators of Haruki Murakami's work. Many of the pieces are from a symposium on Murakami's work for a year or so back. Some interesting pieces throughout.

Murakami also has a new book of non-fiction coming out next month here in the states called, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. An excerpt from the book was published in the most recent issue of the New Yorker as part of it's summer fiction issue. (Unfortunately, the New Yorker did not make the piece available online.)

link (http://www.amazon.com/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0307269191/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213137521&sr=8-8) to the book.

[Strangelet]

A Wild Haruki Chase - Reading Murakami Around the World

A book of essays by translators of Haruki Murakami's work. Many of the pieces are from a symposium on Murakami's work for a year or so back. Some interesting pieces throughout.

Murakami also has a new book of non-fiction coming out next month here in the states called, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. An excerpt from the book was published in the most recent issue of the New Yorker as part of it's summer fiction issue. (Unfortunately, the New Yorker did not make the piece available online.)

link (http://www.amazon.com/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0307269191/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213137521&sr=8-8) to the book.


to a clear fan, can I ask what is the deal with this guy? Why would I want to read his books, and what should I start with?

[grady]

to a clear fan, can I ask what is the deal with this guy? Why would I want to read his books, and what should I start with?
The deal with the guy is that he can write pretty engaging, entertaining, and intriguing novels and short stories from time to time. He's not perfect, but is pretty darn enjoyable when he's on. You may want to read his book to experience a strange blend of science fiction, pop culture iconography, music, cooking, and history all balled up into one and written by a Japanese writer.

I would recommend starting with the novel Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. If you like that, try a short story collection like The Elephant Vanishes.

Murakami recommendations seem to vary from person to person though and a good discussion can be found over in the following thread.

link (http://www.darktrain.org/dirty/forums/showthread.php?t=4368&highlight=murakami)

Reading the collection of essays by his translators has made the need to revisit some of his novels and short stories again in the near future a priority.

[Strangelet]

I would recommend starting with the novel Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

picked it up. thanks mate.

[grady]

picked it up. thanks mate.
Cool. I'm curious to know your reaction.

[Caprice]

The Art of Happiness

[Rog]

High rise - J.G.Ballard ....................very interesting read:D

[holden]

"What is the What" by Dave Eggers, based on the life story of Valentino Achak Deng.
http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/
Wonderful mix of biography/fiction and history.

[lloyd]

kafka - collected work

[Strangelet]

Cool. I'm curious to know your reaction.

Thanks for the recommendation, will definitely have to pick up another one. what's next on the list? wind up bird chronicles?

What I loved most about the book was the sense of resignation combined with bewilderment. And not just because he's obviously mixing kafka with anime pop culture. I think the writer really sees the world this way. The honesty of it, outside of the device, I think was what hit me. This could potentially be a zeitgeist book by a zeitgeist writer. Like a jd salinger or jack kerouak, someone you best enjoy reading when you're young or young in spirit, forming your opinion about the world's mechanics. This time around being the anxiety and horrific dread of a kafka scenario injected with disco lights, kareoke and cowboy bebop. Strange, powerful dynamics of beauty and evil whirling around the individual in current times.

or it could be about sex. which is alright too.

great read.

[Rog]

the crow road - Iain Banks ......very good but probably only for brits maybe......

[grady]

Thanks for the recommendation, will definitely have to pick up another one. what's next on the list? wind up bird chronicles?

What I loved most about the book was the sense of resignation combined with bewilderment. And not just because he's obviously mixing kafka with anime pop culture. I think the writer really sees the world this way. The honesty of it, outside of the device, I think was what hit me. This could potentially be a zeitgeist book by a zeitgeist writer. Like a jd salinger or jack kerouak, someone you best enjoy reading when you're young or young in spirit, forming your opinion about the world's mechanics. This time around being the anxiety and horrific dread of a kafka scenario injected with disco lights, kareoke and cowboy bebop. Strange, powerful dynamics of beauty and evil whirling around the individual in current times.

or it could be about sex. which is alright too.

great read.

Awesome! Glad to learn that you enjoyed it. Since recommending it to you I had an interesting argument with an individual who felt the entire conceit of the novel was very contrived and useless. You can't win over everyone I guess.

If you enjoyed that one a great deal I must ask if you would rather read another novel first or a short story collection?

If you're thinking novel, read his first novel A Wild Sheep Chase. While not technically his first novel it was the first to be translated into English. If a short story collection is what you may be interested in, The Elephant Vanishes is a worthy second.

My vote for you is A Wild Sheep Chase though.

[Rog]

tonight i have been mostly reading.............beer mats:p:D:o

[potatobroth]

U.S.! (http://www.amazon.com/U-S-Songs-Stories-Chris-Bachelder/dp/1582346364/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214854948&sr=8-1) by Chris Bachelder.

I really loved his first novel Bear v. Shark (http://www.amazon.com/Bear-v-Shark-Chris-Bachelder/dp/0743219473/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214854948&sr=8-2) and this is pretty good so far, but quite different.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Twilight - Stephenie Meyer. A bit heavy on the romantic side. Girls are going to eat this s. up.

Hitler's Scientists - John Cornwell. Scary how interesting this is.

Started reading Nymphos of Rocky Flats for a chuckle. Who comes up with this s?

[Rog]

john, you are very interesting and strange, i must come over to the us of a again and maybe meet you sometime as i think we could have a laugh:D:D:D...unless you fancy coming over to the shitehole to see us.....

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

You are now part of the problem.

Do you think Reznor's gonna sue me for that one?

I'm feeling a need to add, ironically, I'm not the crazy one.(winky)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Recently bought the rest of the Twilight series. On book two now, and I have to say the whole, "His voice that brought me to heaven" and "His eyes that drowned me blah, blah, blah" is getting annoying.

I think I'm going to start The Host for now and there's any of this romance s. Stephenie, I'm done.

[King of Snake]

recently read William Shatner's autobiography, "Up till now" which was very entertaining.
Currently reading Stephen King's "Cell". I've never read King before but it's a great page-turner of a book I must say.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Currently reading Stephen King's "Cell". I've never read King before but it's a great page-turner of a book I must say.

Aha! Stephen King is the King of the page turners :D

Once you get to know him, you also get to know some of his "hooks" - I find myself smiling when I read one now and almost saying "Ah, c'mon, Stephen, I know what you're up to..." but that doesn't stop me turning the pages for all that.

[matt]

recently read William Shatner's autobiography, "Up till now" which was very entertaining.
Currently reading Stephen King's "Cell". I've never read King before but it's a great page-turner of a book I must say.Yes but Cell is decidely average compared to his earlier work. I'd recommend you try The Shining, Misery or It next to see what he was like at the peak of his powers.

[King of Snake]

I would like to read IT cause i remember seeing the tv mini series as a kid being quite scared by it ;)

[IsiliRunite]

I'm gonna read Misery just because I haven't heard anything about it; I think It is about a clown!

National Geographic's "Ancient Iran"

[BeautifulBurnout]

I'm gonna read Misery just because I haven't heard anything about it; I think It is about a clown!

National Geographic's "Ancient Iran"

Misery and It are two of my fave Stephen Kings. My #1 is still The Stand though. Amazing journey that book takes you through. :)

[matt]

Misery and It are two of my fave Stephen Kings. My #1 is still The Stand though. Amazing journey that book takes you through. :)Actually, I though Cell was kind of a The Stand rip off which tells you how far Kings fallen when he has to start plagiarising his own books for ideas. I was going to recommend The Stand in my choices above but I feel it's a bit too long and could have done with some better editing, although I do own the unabridged version so that might be a bit of an unfair comment.

And for anyone else unfamiliar with his work if you fancy something different I recommend you also check out King when he's on a bit of a fantasy/science fiction tip by reading the wonderful Eyes of the Dragon and also the Dark Tower series

[grady]

Picked up the following a few weeks ago, finally getting around to it now.

Green Shadows, White Whale - Ray Bradbury

It's a novel about Bradbury's experience working on the adaptation of John Huston's film of Moby Dick in Ireland.

[Strangelet]

Reading "The Dirt" - the motley crue story and I absolutely love it.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Reading "The Dirt" - the motley crue story and I absolutely love it.

Damn, I wish I wasn't on a budget.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

O.K. I'm a little more than half-way through book two and I'm getting why this was rcmnded(too lazy for the dictionary on this one) to me.

This is way dramatic to the truth BTW.

[Jafs]

Sweet Soul Music by Peter Guralnick

[King of Snake]

Since I've never actually read a Philip K. Dick book before I thought I'd better start, so currently reading A Scanner Darkly.
Very good so far. I did see the movie and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, though I think I enjoyed it (been a while ago). Maybe I'll try watching again after reading the book.

[stimpee]

Reading the new Nick Hornby - Slam. Nice take on a teenage kids life and when he meets a girl things take a turn for the worse. He's a skater who's bible is Tony Hawke's autobiography, complete with loads of quotes from said book. Amusing but sad and gritty too.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Watchmen (I think, I'll need to read it twice)

Breaking Dawn (I know, I talked total trash on this series. Gotta find out what happens in the end, no?)

The Dirt - Motley Crue

[stimpee]

Finished Slam pretty quickly and so i picked up a book thats been on my shelf a good few years and believe it or not, ive never read it....

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Aaaaarghh Jim-lad. Excellent swashbuckling stuff so far. Fifteen men on the dead mans chest! Yo-ho-ho and a rottle of rum!

[holden]

"Galapagos" by Kurt Vonnegut. I do most of my pleasure reading while travelling, so this one got polished off waiting for airplanes. Vintage Vonnegut mix of sci-fi and social commentary.

[Sardo]

Howdy good ppl.

I only come to Dirty these days to get more book recommendations unfortunately (but well done for that fact!). I last came and learned about Murikami and have just read/listened to (i drive a lot so audiobooks are my ideal form of travel entertainment) The Wind Up Bird Chronicles and Kafka On The Shore.

I really enjoyed Kafka as my first exposure to HM and was fairly satisfied with the conclusion. Talking to cats, passing out on expeditions in the woods (I was sure this was going to be caused by some UFO interaction but they never mentioned it which confounded me), Mr Nakata and the guy with the Dragon baseball hat were all very interesting. The story thread behind the young lad who ended up being Johnny Walker's son was a bit slack and I zoned out a few times with these parts. Closing the stone and entering the wood-land was a crock of shit tho. Overall it was a very interesting insight into Japanese life and has inspired me into directing my love of snow skiing towards Japan in order to explore the place further.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles prolly should have been preceeded by something other than more Murikami, but I had d/loaded two by the same author. I won't do that again. It started to frustrate me with its unanswered and dead end story lines. I thought it had some great moments. The Brother in law was a great nemesis but wasnt focussed on as much as Id have liked. I love the idea that people can start to get paranoid that some others are manipulating their lives. This was a strong thread. I have many questions about the rest of the story though. The red vinyl hat? The mysterious event that hurt Cretacano? WTF? Maybe I need to stop reading stories that rely on so much wishywashy thought/dream/altered reality?

I also scored a copy of The Talisman by Steven King. Like Janie says, King is an easily consumeable writer. This story was full of that altered reality plane stuff but you expect it with him and its all very easily explained. There are some great scenes and it flows very easily along. I havent read much King so cant compare it to those classics you guys have mentioned (It, Misery and The Stand etc). I have read that Dragon one that is fantasy based and loved that and read it while I was into Feist and Eddings to which it measured up well.

From reading this thread I am now interested in McCarthy's stuff. Maybe getting into The Road before the flick comes out. Im tossing that up with Iain M Banks after being told tha it is the king of current Sci-Fi - better than Hamilton and Simmons. I havent heard much from you guys about him or his alter-ego Iain Banks (I think when he drops the 'M' he writed Non-Fiction but am not sure this is true..). I know some of you guys have read him. What are your thoughts please? Where is a good starting point and should I go him with or without his 'M'?

Howdy to those members who Ive shared music with via cd swaps and of course you, BeautifulBurnout.

:D Croz

[matt]

Im tossing that up with Iain M Banks after being told tha it is the king of current Sci-Fi - better than Hamilton and Simmons. I havent heard much from you guys about him or his alter-ego Iain Banks (I think when he drops the 'M' he writed Non-Fiction but am not sure this is true..). I know some of you guys have read him. What are your thoughts please? Where is a good starting point and should I go him with or without his 'M'?
:D CrozIain Banks is worth checking out both with & without the 'M'. Basically, he uses the M when he's writing science fiction and drops it when he's writing 'normal' fiction. Think he's only written one non fiction book but could be wrong. His Culture novels are phenomenal and I recommend you check out Excession and The Player of Games. I'd say he's on a par with Dan Simmons for sci-fi excellence and that both are absolutely streets ahead of Peter Hamilton who, IMO, writes overblown space opera that is in dire need of a good editor.

His fiction work is worth checking out too and my faves include The Wasp Factory, Whit, Complicity and The Bridge (the latter could almost have been written using the M)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

This Watchmen shit is kind of scary in an ironical twist of paradoxial(sp?) WTF? How did...? way.

1/2 way through it.

[gambit]

Oh, it only gets better, jOHN. :)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

I have to put down sometimes.

Certain pages have really hit close to home(metaphorically speaking).

[GforGroove]

im reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy and is HORRIBLE.
and i can't stop reading it..

will be done soon. hopefully.

[stimpee]

Finished Treasure Island just in time for Talk Like a Pirate day. a great read.

Now reading some Tony Parsons book i picked up at the Book Market for 2 euros... Stories We Could Tell. Seems to be drawing on his time at the NME as a writer but according to Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stories-Could-Tell-Tony-Parsons/dp/0007151268/) it doesnt get very good reviews. We'll see.

[grady]

Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

Started it a few months back, had to return it to the library. A friend gave me his copy, now I'm back at it.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Howdy to those members who Ive shared music with via cd swaps and of course you, BeautifulBurnout.

:D Croz

Crozza! Good to see you gracing the boards again. Don't be such a stranger!

[GforGroove]

Im reading a little book with no author named CALL.

i think i just realized a few pages ago that is an actual communist manifesto. and is so wonderfull. Oh i love this book.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

A biography on Arnold Schwartzenegger(sp?).

The fourth of the Twilight Series.

and

a book on the history of gothic in fashion, art, architecture, etc.

[froopy seal]

Im reading a little book with no author named CALL.

i think i just realized a few pages ago that is an actual communist manifesto. and is so wonderfull. Oh i love this book.Where do I get this? Any name, ISBN? Or is it just a print-out of some geek's Internet ramblings?

[GforGroove]

I don't know how you can get it. No author or ISBN sorry. Is not a geek internet rambling. It's a real book!. I wish the book would be on internet, but..supposedly... it has been distributed hand hand by hand. If you really super die for reading it, send me a pm and i send you a copy. is really small. But if you are not into "non-Bolshevik revolutionary milieus" (http://www.metamute.org/en/content/burdened_by_the_absence_of_the_billions) (!) you might not even want to read it.
Is really beautiful and inspiring though.

[holden]

"Barrel Fever" - by David Sedaris... this is his first collection (1994) of stories and essays. Unlike his hilarious later autobiographical accounts, these works are mostly fictitious...sarcastic and occasionally funny, but he hadn't yet found his niche or voice.

"The Lost Continent" -by Bill Bryson (just finished during a weekend plane-trip). Travelogue of small-town Americana. Scathing in its criticism of dumpy two-bit towns and stripmalls/tourist traps; heartwarming when he assesses the essence of life out in the wilds of America.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

I have two other books going on too, but I've been warned to not let anyone know what I'm reading. ??? Bit odd, no?

One's on American folklore in american writing, the other is about this handicapped man who achieves great success in everything he does despite the odds. I'm beginning to think it was just his good looks that got him through, but that's just me.

[IsiliRunite]

"The Lost Continent" -by Bill Bryson (just finished during a weekend plane-trip). Travelogue of small-town Americana. Scathing in its criticism of dumpy two-bit towns and stripmalls/tourist traps; heartwarming when he assesses the essence of life out in the wilds of America. Were you too content with yourself to notice his criticisms of (sub)urbia? :p

[holden]

Were you too content with yourself to notice his criticisms of (sub)urbia? :p

Content with myself how? For finishing the book? :confused:

Thing is, he didn't really visit "suburbia" as the term applies to affluent outskirts of a larger town (with the exception of visits near Detroit and Philadelphia). The criticisms in the book are mostly on the consumerism excess of truck-stop or tourist-magnet towns and the resultant disappearance of a pre-suburbian small town way of life. His eventual return to his home in Iowa made it pretty clear that for all the tiny towns he'd seen, that sort of lifestyle is still quite charming.

[Winston]

reading brisingr by christopher paolini, 3rd book of inheritance cycle

[Sardo]

Thanks ppl re Banks. He is hard to find near me. I wanted to buy some for my dad first but couldnt get any so got Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. He wrote A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard both of which I enjoyed a lot.

Anyway, dad liked this and he gave me one in return, Weapons Of Choice by John Birmingham. I was thinking that it might be the same guy who wrote He Died With A Falafel In His Hand, but it looked like a Clive Cussler cover... turns out to be the same guy after all. This is real different to HDWAFIHH but the same aussie slacker humour is apparent and it works so well.

Weapons is about a close future maritime war situation off the coast of Western Australia. We are at war with the Indos and Malaysians and the high tech gadgetry is headed by a research vessel commandeered by the navy which is still carrying out its research regardless. When they execute their experiment the fleet is moved to Midway circa 1942 as the yanks prepare to nuke Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The fleet lands right in the middle of the large US '42 fleet and in some cases fuses ships together as the suddenly take up the same space - this is really interesting in fact. Im currently here in the story. The mess is slowly being realised.

There are 3 books in the series it seems. Im hooked to reading an actual book again as opposed to those audiobooks.

Still want to get those Banks recommendations still and will try ordering them if no luck.

Onya Underworlders.

Croz

[grady]

Tricked by Alex Robinson

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Widows of Eastwick, John Updike. What a let down. Felt like reading stories in Good Housekeeping.

Now,

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

[grady]

Widows of Eastwick, John Updike. What a let down. Felt like reading stories in Good Housekeeping.


link (http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9495)

Updike was on Charlie Rose last week. It was terribly compelling in swaying my interest towards the books.

[grady]

more graphic novels this week:

Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine

El Borbah by Charles Burns

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

link (http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9495)

Updike was on Charlie Rose last week. It was terribly compelling in swaying my interest towards the books.


Don't get me wrong, it's a good read and the man know how to weave words keeping the reader in the moment. It could also be a self-help guide for women.

[Strangelet]

The Hell-Fire Clubs : sex, satanism and secret societies by Evelyn Lord.

probably the "definitive" book on the subject as she puts the work in required to say "this is what we know happened and this is what we speculate".

Catriona, by Robert Louis Stevenson. A sequal to Kidnapped! !!!!! who knew??!?!?! Get more Alan Breck for your fix!!! (because he really is the coolest character that came out of this genre)

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. Dood, get a pen name!!!.... Especially when you're writing such cracking good american style horror/hard boiled detective novels, where people like Raymond Chandler and Steven King envy your ideas (or should). And thanks for the manly pages of booze, cigs, brawls, and sex. i'm getting tired of all this secret lives of bees bullshit.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

The Hell-Fire Clubs : sex, satanism and secret societies by Evelyn Lord.

probably the "definitive" book on the subject as she puts the work in required to say "this is what we know happened and this is what we speculate".

Catriona, by Robert Louis Stevenson. A sequal to Kidnapped! !!!!! who knew??!?!?! Get more Alan Breck for your fix!!! (because he really is the coolest character that came out of this genre)

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. Dood, get a pen name!!!.... Especially when you're writing such cracking good american style horror/hard boiled detective novels, where people like Raymond Chandler and Steven King envy your ideas (or should). And thanks for the manly pages of booze, cigs, brawls, and sex. i'm getting tired of all this secret lives of bees bullshit.

Damn, OK whip cracker. I'll do one like that(booze, cigs, brawls, and sex). There'll even be some women in it too.

[holden]

David Sedaris: "Me Talk Pretty One Day" (2000, Bay Side Books). A few years old, but still mighty hilarious. Sedaris is at his best with personal essays rather than fiction, although his dry wit and sarcasm may blur the line between these anyway!

And off the shelf, an old favorite: J.D. Salinger: "Franny & Zooey" (Little Brown, 1957). Book one, a tight little story about being sick of ego, ego ego! and having yourself a little breakdown. Book two: Glass family self-help (the original Tannenbaums), and moving toward a state of peace and self understanding after said breakdown.

[grady]

The Shock Doctrine - Naomi Klein

[stimpee]

Currently readin old Raymond Chandler - Philip Marlowe mysteries. this one is a bunch of 4 short stories called Trouble Is My Business. i love it. paints a great picture of LA in the 1930s.

http://flickr.com/photos/32422243@N00/2769085093/

[GforGroove]

I finished 'boring, boring, boring, boring, boring' by Zach Plague. which is not really a good book but has some very good moments that at the end worth read the whole book to get them. It makes such an amazing ridicule of the art world. Is not that is bad neither.. maybe is just a normal book. I liked it i think.

Im reading now "2666" by Roberto Bolaños. Way too much to go. But i think is a beautiful apocalypse garantee in this one.

[gambit]

Currently reading "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible" by A.J. Jacobs, and I'm in love with it. Jacobs's last book, which I need to read too, is called The Know-It-All, where he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z. For this book he follows every rule as literally as possible and chronicles all the hilarious adventures from not touching his wife for a week after she menstruated to stoning an adulterer with pebbles.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Currently reading "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible" by A.J. Jacobs, and I'm in love with it. Jacobs's last book, which I need to read too, is called The Know-It-All, where he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z. For this book he follows every rule as literally as possible and chronicles all the hilarious adventures from not touching his wife for a week after she menstruated to stoning an adulterer with pebbles.


What kind of pebbles?

[gambit]

What kind of pebbles?Little ones he found in a park. Some cranky old guy was accosting him because of his beard (I believe), and one thing lead to another, and he threw pebbles at the old guy.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Little ones he found in a park. Some cranky old guy was accosting him because of his beard (I believe), and one thing lead to another, and he threw pebbles at the old guy.

Sounds a little boring now. j/k

[Rog]

Spook Country - William Gibson........it's good

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Almost finished with Clive Barker's authorized biography from 2002. Never really took a liking to his writing, but have always felt tied to his ideas. After reading this, I'm a little freaked out and inspired.

Also,

John Adams bio.

and

A book on St. Francis of Azzizi(sp?).

[chuck]

Audacity of Hope - Barak Obama

Lucid thinking. Clear writing. The structure for policy.

Good god - an articulate POTUS - what the hell's going on??


The Atrocity Archives - Charles Stross

Snappy writing. Crazy ideas. Loved it.

[Deckard]

Audacity of Hope - Barak Obama
I have that to read straight after his first one, Dreams from my Father.

[Strangelet]

the victoria vanishes (http://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Vanishes-Peculiar-Crimes-Mystery/dp/0553805029/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231877967&sr=8-1) - by christopher fowler

This being my first foray into the mystery genre I don't want to be too negative. Did I enjoy it? Besides the few interesting tidbits on the history of english pubs, not really. alexander mccall smith is on my pile, if that doesn't go much better i'll have to nix mystery books. (patricia highsmith is always exempt)

Catherine the Great: love sex and power (http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Great-Love-Sex-Power/dp/0312378637/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231878218&sr=1-2) - by Virginia Rounding

I haven't read a lot of history but I'm starting to notice a trend. Women historians tend to mark the passage of history with social events and relationships. Men historians tend to measure history by acts of violence. Which can be jarring when you hear about the the existence of the crimean war only because Catherine bangs the war hero, fresh from the field of battle.

The Rest is Noise (http://www.amazon.com/Rest-Noise-Listening-Twentieth-Century/dp/0312427719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231878526&sr=1-1) - Alex Ross

Finally!!! Something awesomez to read!!! A history of the twentieth century as reflected by its music. This man sounds incredibly smart. And if that doesn't turn out to be true, he's at least incredibly interesting. Haven't got past Shoenberg, Webern, and Berg (germans are LOL) but man what fun to read.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

What a great read:

My Name Escapes Me: The Story of a Retiring Actor

Boys, look up the definition of innuendo in your dictionary and I think you may find this hilarious. I did not learn until the ripe age of 8 that the name was not Obi Juan Kanobi and thought, "Well, FU too Mr. Lucas." I have now found God and regret thinking that thought.

[winjer]

Roberto Bolano - 2666

best book I've read in years?

[holden]

"The Daily Coyote" by Shreve Stockton.

True account of a young woman in Wyoming raising an orphaned coyote cub and her efforts to respect it's wild nature, as well as protect it from hunters. Very touching, especially for animal lovers or those (like me!) that prefer wide open spaces in nature.

[Strangelet]

Roberto Bolano - 2666

best book I've read in years?


what's it about about? why did you like it? :)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Reading: Mysteries of the Unknown: Eastern Mysteries (hint, hint) Really, it's o.k. to just look at the pictures and read the captions in this one.
Soldier, a Colin Powell bio
Another book on personality & brain traits.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Road to Cana - Anne Rice. Not as good as the first in this series, but almost finished reading within a 24 hour period.

[grady]

American Sucker by David Denby

A book about the obsession a film critic from the New Yorker devloped with money and the stock market following his divorce and the height of the dot.com craze in the 99/early 00.

[mmm skyscraper]

The Best of Tharg's Future Shocks

[GforGroove]

Nothing like the Sun - Antony Burgess

amazing!!!

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

I FINALLY GOT THE DEWEY CAT BOOK!!!!


Appetite for Self-Destruction. I think it might suck, but I hold off saying that for now.


After the War Zone: A Practical Guide for Returning Troops and Their Families.

[psychophysio]

The whole Discworld series by Terry Pratchett again. I am up to Lords and Ladies thus far. It is really good fun to go back and see how various characters develop through the course of the books....

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Jokes My Dad Never Told Me - Rain Pryor

Nightmares & Dreamscapes - Stephen King


Still working on the Colin Powell bio, very lengthy read & smaller print. Also, there's times when I have to put it down simply from being annoyed reading about the way racial tension was during his ascension.

[Rog]

his dark materials trilogy....its ok

[Deckard]

Flat Earth News, by Nick Davies

An award-winning reporter exposes falsehood, distortion and propaganda in the global media.

Only on Chapter 1 but already stunned by the extent of the crisis in journalism - at least "crisis" if you happen to be of the view that journalism should give a shit about, y'know, truth.

[King of Snake]

currently reading: The Lord of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring

been a long time since I read this. I'm a big fan of the movies so the version of LOTR that was in my head for a long time was the movie version. Interesting to go back and see how the movies and the books differ, which is quite a bit :)

[Strangelet]

daniel defoe - moll flanders. cannot believe how modern it reads and how sympathetic he is to a woman's experience.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1882747,00.html

Spell it out, boy. What have you to lose?


On a side note, I've wondered about Ronnie-O. of the Sacrament everyday.

[stimpee]

Just finally read Douglas Adams - Salmon Of Doubt - which was excellent and well worth it, not for the 11 chapters of the 3rd Dirk Gently novel but mostly for the other articles, interviews and speeches that he did which are either funny or very wise indeed.

Now reading: Lonesome Traveller by Jack Kerouac, a bunch of short stories with him travelling all over the world in 1950s america.

[holden]

"Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris.
Awesome first person plural account of a downturn in a Chicao advertising agency, and the gossip, disfunctional coworker dynamics and half-truths that go along with any work "Family".

[cock-a-doodle]

The world's pulse. :(

[//\/\/]

osho - meetings with remarkable people. can't wait for the buddhist take on hitler...

[grady]

The Pillowman - Martin McDonagh

[froopy seal]

Just finally read Douglas Adams - Salmon Of Doubt - which was excellent and well worth it, not for the 11 chapters of the 3rd Dirk Gently novel but mostly for the other articles, interviews and speeches that he did which are either funny or very wise indeed.True, there are some wise, hearty, and of course funny gems in there.

Did you read Last Chance to See? I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's one of my all-time favorite books; funny, sad, and witty throughout. Definitely belongs to the essential Adams, imo.

[//\/\/]

charlie brooker's 'screen burn' a little outdated, but the funniest thing i've ever come across. i was giggling constantly on the train this morning.

unfortunately the three were hell-bent on turning the entire show into an extended commercial for Planet Hollywood, their newly-founded chain of mediocre dunce troughs


has a face like a freeze-frame snap of a frog's head exploding

[mc boy]

ilja stogoff - dead can dance. he borrows name of the book from australian band. book is about stogoff`s travelling in intent to find timeless and untouched ancient parts of our world.

[GforGroove]

Omon Ra by Victor Pelevin. so so incredible = space, astronauts, russian communism a la catcher in the rye.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Just finished "Beat the Reaper", CAN'T WAIT FOR MOVIE!!!!

And, it's ALL true, even the plot!

[Strangelet]

Finished Tom Hodgkinson's How To Be Idle. What struck me most is not handbook side of the book, but the manifesto side. I've not once come across a more reasoned and solid argument for anarchy as a viable political system of thought.

Can't say I'm much changed by the book, but I do feel more in context. I am an idler.

Must read for any punk music scenesters.

http://idler.co.uk/

[Deckard]

charlie brooker's 'screen burn' a little outdated, but the funniest thing i've ever come across. i was giggling constantly on the train this morning.
That one's on my every-growing wish list.

(I trust you've been catching Newswipe on BBC4/iPlayer?)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

... i was giggling constantly on the train this morning.


POT-HEAD!!!!

[grady]

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.

[Strangelet]

Neil gaiman: the cemetery book

As in the jungle book but instead of lions and tigers and bears (oh fucking my) there are ghoulies and ghosties. Not as good as neverwhere but a damn sight better than stardust

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Who Is Mark Twain?

Required reading. Hard to believe we had to wait 100 years for this, it's all quite true even to today. AND SO FUNNY!!!

If [italics]I[end/italics] were a writer, I wouldn't hold back saying what needs to be said.


******

And I retract a comment of, "Straight boys just aren't very good in the wit department", which I made to a certain individual in the past. I stand corrected with @ pg. 145, now THAT'S golden shit talk.

[monochrome]

I'm deep into Roberto Bolano's work and would highly recommend it to those of you who lean a bit closer to the academic side of contemporary lit. I know 2666 is enormous and I'm sure you've heard the buzz about it... in my opinion it is really worth it. Kind of life-changing. Take it slow an you'll be rewarded.

Also, I've started a book-collecting blog, thought I'd plug it here:

http://theoxenofthesun.blogspot.com

take a look and let me know what you think.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Reading The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What it Means (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Storm-World-Economic-Crisis-Means/dp/1848870574/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242285732&sr=1-1) by Vince Cable.

Cable is the only UK politician that has spoken any sense at all about the current crunch. This is a really good book to get to grips with the causes of the crisis and what the effect is globally.

[Rog]

I'm reading 'Carra - my autobiography' by Jamie Carragher:o

[grady]

Lapham's Quarterly: vol. 2, issues 2 - topic: Crime & Punishment
ed. Lewis Lapham

link (http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Reading The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What it Means (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Storm-World-Economic-Crisis-Means/dp/1848870574/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242285732&sr=1-1) by Vince Cable.

Cable is the only UK politician that has spoken any sense at all about the current crunch. This is a really good book to get to grips with the causes of the crisis and what the effect is globally.

Hopefully a certain boy is reading this and will study a few courses on Economics. He's not very bright in the $$$ department of life, but most boys aren't. :D bitch!


*****


Still reading the E. Sawtelle book & however good it is it's not really a riveting page turner, then again most great novels aren't. I'll be starting "The Savage Detectives" tomorrow.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

bump.

I need some suggestions.

[happiness stan]

Just finished The Damned United, which I enjoyed.
I'll rent the film now, just to compare.

Now halfway through Paul Auster's Man In The Dark, which is great so far.
After that I'll go back to his Brooklyn Folllies, which I had started then promptly forgot about.

In way of recommendation check out his Moon Palace, I won't tell you anything about, but I loved it.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Smartass.

I'm just kidding, I always think of this when I see your user name.

[happiness stan]

Smartass.

eh?

[Andrea]

Ernst Billgren - Vad är konst? (What is art?) .....it´s my Bible by now :D

[stimpee]

Now reading:

The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/06/book_review_the.php
http://www.amazon.com/Ethics-What-We-Eat-Choices/dp/1594866872

[holden]

Re-reading "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" by Michael Chabon. sweet nostalgia for my undergrad years and hometown.

[happiness stan]

Just finished Paul Auster's Man In The Dark, enjoyed that.
Started Me Cheeta, The Autobiography this morning, I was chuckling on the way to work, a promising start.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Started Me Cheeta, The Autobiography this morning, I was chuckling on the way to work, a promising start.


That book does rock. Read it twice.


http://www.gifmania.us/South-Park/Stan/Vomiting/

O.K., I'll stop. It's not the same without the "blegh" sound anyways.

[happiness stan]

http://www.gifmania.us/South-Park/Stan/Vomiting/


You're pushing me towards a name change.













Don't tell me you've never listened to Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake?

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

goddamn hippies, or no, wait, it's just Club Mtv before Club Mtv was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkyhuuxJ6ss


I don't see what this has to do with reading? You're gonna get banned.

[happiness stan]

goddamn hippies

Hippies! Good god man. (Not to be read as "Good god, man")
A proper classic (concept) album, cloth ears. ;)


I don't see what this has to do with reading? You're gonna get banned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogdens'_Nut_Gone_Flake

Nothing to do with reading, it's the origin of my name.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

GREEEAT, I guess that makes me Mad John.

I don't get mad, I get even. ;)

[happiness stan]

GREEEAT, I guess that makes me Mad John.

I don't get mad, I get even. ;)


hee hee, I would never even think about suggesting that...



honestly though, it's a bloody masterwork, check it out.
ok, back to the literature...

loving Me Cheeta by the way.

[grady]

Live from New York: An uncensored history of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller

[stimpee]

Kes by Barry Hines.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

http://www.amazon.com/Kes-Lawrence-Till/dp/1854594869/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250151550&sr=8-3

That sounds stupid.


BAN ME, C'MON BITCH, BAN ME!!!

[chuck]

Belfast Confidential (http://www.amazon.com/Belfast-Confidential-Colin-Bateman/dp/075530926X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253012485&sr=8-1) - Colin Bateman.

Cracking crime novel - but from the point of view of a Belfast journalist, with a perpetual hangover, a love of taking the piss and the ability to be a "shit magnet".

Very, very funny at some parts - particularly if you can hear the Norn Iron accent in your head.

I don't usually read crime/detective books - but this was very enjoyable.

[//\/\/]

'the crossroads' by niccollo amaniti - quirky little tale of a small-town italian robbery plot. well-written and populated, with some nice comic touches that owe a lot to a good translation, it feels like.

[stimpee]

True, there are some wise, hearty, and of course funny gems in there.

Did you read Last Chance to See? I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's one of my all-time favorite books; funny, sad, and witty throughout. Definitely belongs to the essential Adams, imo.Yeah long time ago. Theres a new BBC TV series where Stephen Fry tracks down the animals in the book. Looks good.

[//\/\/]

'the death of bunny munroe' by nick cave

(it's lovely having time to read for now...)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Belfast Confidential (http://www.amazon.com/Belfast-Confidential-Colin-Bateman/dp/075530926X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253012485&sr=8-1) - Colin Bateman.

... with a perpetual hangover, a love of taking the piss and the ability to be a "shit magnet".

Very, very funny at some parts...

Not so sure why, but I always feel like you're talking trash. :p

[Andrea]

National Geographic - EarthPulse/state of the Earth 2010
(Collector´s Edition)

[IsiliRunite]

How to Woo a Queen by Benjamin Disraeli

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Had-Me-Hello-Networking/dp/0954360028

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Dark Impressions - The Art of Philip Hitchcock

[grady]

The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History by John Ortved

[//\/\/]

'the death of bunny munroe' by nick cave

not recommended... characters like this might work in songs where they only have time to make a brief impression; but not in novels...

[//\/\/]

just finished 'the girl with the dragon tattoo' by stieg larsson - superb thriller (i'm not usually one for the genre) now onto the second book in the trilogy. recommended...

[King of Snake]

recently read:
If Chins Could Kill - Confessions of a b-movie actor, autobiography of Bruce Campbell, the ultimate B-movie star :)
Really funny and full of great anecdotes. If you liked the Evil Dead films this is well worth reading.

Overlord by Max Hastings. WWII history about the D-day invasion and subsequent struggle for the breakout into France in 1944. I read his book Armageddon about the final battle for Germany which I found a gripping read. WWII has always fascinated me enormously and Hastings manages to bring it to life in vivid detail, all the way from the big strategic overview to the personal experiences of the people on the ground, while at the same time challenging a lot of the preconceived notions about it.

I've now started in Nemesis, his book about the war in the Pacific against Japan. This one is even bigger than the other two books so it will take me a while I think...

Also I just got part 3 of the Discworld series for my birthday so I'll start that pretty soon as well :)

[King of Snake]

just finished 'the girl with the dragon tattoo' by stieg larsson - superb thriller (i'm not usually one for the genre) now onto the second book in the trilogy. recommended...

ah, I saw the movie they made of this book (though it was called by the original title "Men who hate women" which I find a lot cooler :)) and it was really great.

[ThingInABook]

partially read - 'loup' by lady newell and friends, an art collective who likes little victorian child stories and linking them with actual topics, this time with the song 'wolf at the door' by radiohead.

over the rack - 'siutico' by oscar contardo, which is an analysis of the behaviour of the high classes in chile. wanted to read this book for quite a while, my boss brought it to work one day and asked me if i wanted to read it.

[Deckard]

Just finished Plato: a very short introduction (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/019280216X/). Nice punchy little guide. I'm a sucker for wanting to collect every book in a given series, but there are over 200 of these cute little buggers, so that won't be happening anytime soon. Still, some very interesting topics covered, and they're a good way into a subject you might otherwise not think about studying. Archaeology will be next I think.

Currently working my way through Dawkins' 1976 classic The Selfish Gene (30th anniv edition) (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfish-Gene-30th-Anniversary/dp/0199291152/). A beautifully explained gene's eye view of life, but still having to concentrate as I'm definitely no biologist. Having to keep reminding myself that it's a metaphor. His speculation about how life might have emerged from the primordial soup is fascinating.

Coming up next: I've just had the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517226952/) posted to me from the US, a lovely leather-bound collection of Adams' five Hitchhiker novels. Unbelievably, I've reached my mid 30's and never read any of these (so I figured I'd do it in style :)).

[Andrea]

Currently I´m reading Michael Jackson - Moonwalk. (Yes, I´m one of those who discovered MJ too late, in other words after his dead.)

The more I read about him now the more fascinating I find that substantiality and spirit he gathered around himself.
All the riches he gained by engaging all those talented artistic people is more than amazing, besides his own contribution of course.

But who is the real winner from a mortal/earthly perspective?
The one who manage to get thousands to serve his/her interest or the one who´s just watching the spectacle?
...and then there´s another perspective that Ingmar Bergman described so ingeniously...

"...you can never figure out or capture human holiness...
Only the poets, musicians and saints may depict that which we can but discern: the inconceivable. They´ve seen, known, understood, not fully, but in fragments..."
Private Confessions - Ingmar Bergman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjGw9p--t7A)

MJ seemed to be a rather interesting person with one foot always leaping in the dark, in the unknown, just like Bergman

...and I still wonder... is it only musicians and poets who are privileged or are there any other saints out there besides me? :)

[Strangelet]

Just finished Plato: a very short introduction (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/019280216X/). Nice punchy little guide. I'm a sucker for wanting to collect every book in a given series, but there are over 200 of these cute little buggers, so that won't be happening anytime soon. Still, some very interesting topics covered, and they're a good way into a subject you might otherwise not think about studying. Archaeology will be next I think.

Currently working my way through Dawkins' 1976 classic The Selfish Gene (30th anniv edition) (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfish-Gene-30th-Anniversary/dp/0199291152/). A beautifully explained gene's eye view of life, but still having to concentrate as I'm definitely no biologist. Having to keep reminding myself that it's a metaphor. His speculation about how life might have emerged from the primordial soup is fascinating.

Coming up next: I've just had the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517226952/) posted to me from the US, a lovely leather-bound collection of Adams' five Hitchhiker novels. Unbelievably, I've reached my mid 30's and never read any of these (so I figured I'd do it in style :)).

hey decks, I think you might enjoy Black Mass (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Mass-Apocalyptic-Religion-Utopia/dp/0374531528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258832262&sr=1-1): Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia by british philosoper John Gray. it uncannily resembles our discussion of evil in context with atheism and the religious elements of secular political and scientific movements.

[Deckard]

Hey thanks for that. Will add it to my wishlist (which is expanding so fast it will soon develop its own intelligence).

[Strangelet]

lets see, other books I've been reading...

I quite enjoyed Love Sex Fear Death (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Sex-Fear-Death-Judgment/dp/1932595376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258921959&sr=8-1) about the Process Church of the Final Judgment. The process church of the final judgment is yet another apocalyptic cult of the sixties, and by yet another I mean file this next to anton lavey's church of satan, scientology, the OTO, the manson family, etc.

What is the same in each of these cults is that their members all interchanged, they all involved celebrities, they all saw the world in dark terms of apocalypse, past or future, and they all had something to do with California. I don't know, you tell me what to conclude from that.

With respect to the PCOFJ, apparently the two founders decided that Scientology just wasn't batshit crazy enough for their tastes so they took a few e-meter machines and went home to devise a new level of weird. 5 to 6 years later : there are "coffee houses" in every major city in north america and the uk, that are the front for church communes where they worship jesus, jehova, lucifer, and satan, the holy tetraty, have sex orgies, and send their initiates out in black funereal robes and warped crosses on chains to hand out literature.

So yeah, just another weave in the rich tapestry of the human experience.

[froopy seal]

Yeah long time ago. Theres a new BBC TV series where Stephen Fry tracks down the animals in the book. Looks good.Thanks for the hint, hadn't heard of that.

[froopy seal]

Coming up next: I've just had the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517226952/) posted to me from the US, a lovely leather-bound collection of Adams' five Hitchhiker novels. Unbelievably, I've reached my mid 30's and never read any of these (so I figured I'd do it in style :)).Whoa, mighty late in the game, unbelievable indeed. Life-long learning, ey? ;)

I think I lil'ed (laughed inward loudly) more than once per page on the average. It's one of the very few books I read more than once.

[Deckard]

Yup, I'm going to read 'em back-to-back, followed by The Salmon of Doubt (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salmon-Doubt-Hitchhiking-Galaxy-Last/dp/0330323121/).

(Btw, the recent Last Chance to See (http://www.bbc.co.uk/lastchancetosee/) BBC series was very enjoyable - Carwardine and Fry shared a good chemistry.)

[grady]

Googled: The End of the World As We Know It by Ken Auletta

[Rog]

Blott on the landscape - Tom Sharpe:D

[froopy seal]

Just started the Dune series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_universe#The_original_series) by Frank Herbert. Inspiring topics, captivating writing, great language.

[//\/\/]

halfway through 'the girl who kicked the hornet's nest' by stieg larsson - 3rd book in the 'millenium' trilogy - absolutely brilliant stuff.

[negative1]

Yup, I'm going to read 'em back-to-back, followed by The Salmon of Doubt (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salmon-Doubt-Hitchhiking-Galaxy-Last/dp/0330323121/).

(Btw, the recent Last Chance to See (http://www.bbc.co.uk/lastchancetosee/) BBC series was very enjoyable - Carwardine and Fry shared a good chemistry.)

oops..maybe i shouldn't have started a new thread..

glad you're enjoying those..

i'm reading the latest 'and another thing'... in the hitchhikers series,
but its by another author, since douglas adams passed away..

later
-1

[froopy seal]

i'm reading the latest 'and another thing'... in the hitchhikers series,
but its by another author, since douglas adams passed away..Haven't read it yet, but certainly will. What do you make of it? I'm always highly suspicious when someone is appraised to "write like Douglas Adams" or "hit Douglas Adams' sense of humour", so that DNA fans "will surely love it".

I did read the first installment in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series and was rather underwhelmed.

[negative1]

Haven't read it yet, but certainly will. What do you make of it? I'm always highly suspicious when someone is appraised to "write like Douglas Adams" or "hit Douglas Adams' sense of humour", so that DNA fans "will surely love it".

I did read the first installment in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series and was rather underwhelmed.

well i just started reading it.. and yes, it emulates douglas adams
pretty well..

i don't know if he'll be able to sustain it though. i''m a fast reader..
so i'll let you know once i finish the book...

i was fortunate to meet douglas adams in LA for an E3 gaming convention,
for the 'starship titanic' game, and talked to him for a little while. he signed some books/laserdiscs, and the game for me. he was looking forward to the 'hitchhikers' movie coming out..

yes, he was very tall.
and yes, he was really kind, and funny!

i'll always remember that day..

later
-1

[Andrea]

I´m still in my "discovering MJ" era so I just started to read J. Randy Taraborrelli - Michael Jackson: the magic and the madness.

The book seems to be a quite detailed screening of the Jackson family not only MJ.
Interesting is the author´s rendering of situations, people and their behaviour in a way like if it was the matter of fact, nevertheless the book is MJ friendly so far.

[m.g.]

Just finished "Blood's A Rover" by James Ellroy, which I loved...

And reading now "By Reason Of Insanity" by Shane Stevens, which makes "The Silence of The Lambs" looking like a fairy tale :)

[grady]

Finishing
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
(a reread in prep for his new novel, a sequel to Less Than Zero, Imperial Bedrooms)

Midway through
Although of course you end up becoming yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallce by David Lipsky

Coming up
Freedom: A Novel by Jonathan Franzen
Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis
The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin

[unwound floors]

A million Philosophy texts, and 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami.

[Andrea]

Reading poetry out of a memory book about Ruth Randall Edström (1867-1944), bellowed wife to Mr Electricity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigfrid_Edström

nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
can be retentive to the strength of Spirit

[King of Snake]

just finished the first Temeraire (http://www.amazon.com/His-Majestys-Dragon-Temeraire-Book/dp/0345481283) book, which I think was recommended earlier in this thread. Really good stuff, definitely gonna continue with the series.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

FINALLY finished 2666. Golden. Page 609(I think) is one of those occurrences where I get pissed that someone said it before me...

Also:

S. King's last set of short stories. Cat From Hell started good, but the last few pages got stupid. Final sentence rocks. LOVED "Mute", the priest bit is hilarious.


G.D.T. and someone else "The Strain". So/so. Not a bad read.

Some book on gardening too.

[chems1919]

I'm almost done with "A Simple Plan" by Scott Smith. Amazing book so far; I'm also looking forward to watching Sam Raimi's film version of it after I finish reading it.

[nosajmunson]

Trying to read 4 at a time:

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World with Brave New World revisited
The Cornell West Reader
Star Wars:Fate of the Jedi Abyss

[Deckard]

Just finished Catch22.

Loved it.

Currently halfway through Bryan Magee's The Story of Philosophy (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Story-Philosophy-Bryan-Magee/dp/1405353333/). It's a DK book, so really nicely laid out - and well written to boot.

[lectoid]

Guess I'll chime in.

Just finished "The Name Of The Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I don't read books much, but this was a great book, couldn't put it down.

I started re-reading Ringworld, I read it 10 years ago and can't remember much about it.

[stimpee]

Classic Len Deighton for me. Picked up a 1960s edition of Horse Under Water with Michael Caine on the front. Its good stuff!

[King of Snake]

Star Wars:Fate of the Jedi Abyss

that sounds....horrible ;)

[Caprice]

At work a good morale booster is to read during breaks. After burning through the 33 1/3 of Loveless I turned to The Beach by Alex Garland. I had read this book once in high school, learning about it from the movie. Reading it again, I am taking so much more away from it. After having smoked and drank and gotten to know mary I can understand the little things in this book a lot more. I'm already halfway through it again and I tried watching a little of the movie to refresh my memory on some things, but to my surprise, I can not enjoy the movie anymore, its terrible compared to the book. I never noted this before. Hollywood yet again ruining a perfectly good story. The book, however, is timeless.

[Sappys Curry]

I read a lot of books on religion and spirituality; especially eastern religion. I read a lot of books on Buddhism. I have a new one I'm reading by a Zen master named Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese) called Living Buddha, Living Christ. It is book centered on interfaith dialogues that he has conducted between Buddhism and Christianity, as well as research he has conducted. The book talks about what the two religions have in common and how both promote better living through ethics and virtue, and how this can be applied to help individuals and societies.

I suppose I should read more than I already do. I read every now and then. I should get into some good fiction. Maybe some sci-fi and fantasy.

[grady]

The City & The City by China Mieville

[Deckard]

Have been getting through the Hitchhiker's Guide... series, back-to-back. Currently just started Life, The Universe and Everything.

Several billion trillion tons of superhot exploding hydrogen nuclei rose slowly above the horizon and managed to look small, cold and slightly damp.

That's Adams setting the scene for a cold morning's sunrise.

Wonderful.

[the mongoose]

All the Dexter novels by Jeff Lindsay.:cool:

[//\/\/]

'love all the people' - bill hicks letters, interviews and routines

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

]It's Like the Fucking Reset Button On Pong

Still in progress, but it's ... Honestly, loss for words on this one.

[Andrea]

currently reading....

emails from lawyers and agreements with appendices that have to be signed before the end of this year

fancy

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Funeral Services Attending - Authors Unknown

I should be reading The Greatest Show On Earth though.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

The Little Train That Was Did

"It's a retake on the golden classic with a modern twist that reads like a reality television show..." I read in a review somewhere.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

]It's Like the Fucking Reset Button On Pong

Still in progress, but it's ... Honestly, loss for words on this one.

The follow up to this international best seller titled:

Pong Goes to the Chocolate Factory

[earthportal]

My friend Chip Walter's book "Thumbs, Toes and Tears"

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Best Well Greased Up & Organized Fuck Sets If You Were To Ask Me, But This Book Cannot Be Released For Another One Hundred Years Type Shit - Authors Unknown

Throw a shout out to your children's children! Sounds like a fun read...

[gcoleman99]

Currently reading Huan Of The Horn, by Andre Norton. Basically, a later addition to the Charlemagne cycle last translated into English by Sir John Bourchier (Lord Berners) as "Boke of Duke Huon de Burdeux" in 1534 & adapted by Andre Norton in 1951. Finished, and give it about a 3 out of 10. The ONLY reason I read this is because I'm a huge Norton fan, but I really wouldn't recommend it, even to a Norton completest.

[gcoleman99]

Now I'm reading Darkwalker on Moonshae, the first volume of the Forgotten Realms series of books, based on Dungeons and Dragons. I'm just starting Ch. 4 and so far? Worse than the Andre Norton book!

Edited to say: Yep, total crap!

[BeautifulBurnout]

This thread is waaay too long for me to look back, but I have just finished a fantastic book - in all the senses of the word - by Ben Aaronovitch called "Rivers of London" and am chomping at the bit to read the next one.

As one of the reviewers put it: Imagine if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Met? It is crime, humour and fantasy all bundled up into a roller-coaster of a ride through London, and is a really good read.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

isbn 0-394-47345-0

I was hooked after the dedication page...

[gcoleman99]

Currently reading the entire Wheel Of Time saga. On book 8 right now.

[stimpee]

Currently reading John Peel - Margrave of the Marshes. first half all peel, very entertaining. second half less so but very eye opening about the BBC / music biz / peel in the 70s/80s (which is where im at). good stuff.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Better Homes&Gardens from the past 3 months. The same for TIME. Some Nesbo The Bat currently(reading in the wrong order does not affect the romance. It is a bit like reading portcards)

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

MOREONTHISLATER

[holden]

Best Crosswords, January 2017 edition

[holden]

Just kidding. Actually, it's "e2" by Matt Beaumont. Sequel to the excellent epistolary novel, "e"

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

After Dark - Jayne Castle
&
The Magician's Land - Lev Grossman

[holden]

"Having the last word" by JR.
Junk, but worth the read for comic value and the last word...Until his next

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Just picked up Donald Jans' FREAK$ I'VE MET

[holden]

Still reading ( there's a lot of them) posts by Jr. Great stuff. Comedy, tragedy, action, and drama.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Finger Lickin' Good!: The
Story of Colonel Sanders
(Paperback) L. Henry Dowell

[holden]

Currently reading John's latest posts. He tries to keep up daily, and we're all glad for the content.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

What's Going On? Currently Active Users: 30 (1 members and 29 guests) Most users ever online was
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[holden]

Seems like you're lacking for reading material, jOHN. I can suggest some stuff, but you wouldn't like it...

And your response? I won't like it either. But at least one person will have read it. So good on you for enlightening.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

ooh holden holden holden

[holden]

ooh holden holden holden


Glad to provide you with new material! You've given me so much...

In all seriousness, jOHN.
You're entitled to your say.

Continue to post on and on and on. But you realize that you're really just posting for me, a guardian of the ol' dirts.

Waiting for your pithy response.

Here's the inside deal. Ready?

No one has really cared about these boards since 2007.
You might as well post your songs of the day to friendster. But bless you anyway.

I'll be here to always counter. It's pretty much just you and me, i'm ready for the laugh. Let's read up on some UW lyrics and take a break from posting nonsense, deal?

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Pithy ol'holden . . Doing his thing. Look at you go! Why so angry?
C'mon, suggest me some reading material, ya know, here in the 'bound' thread of Dirty Forums. Members here might begin to think you have autism. Not that that there would be anything wrong with that if you were.

[holden]

"Trolling for Attention" by jOHN rODRIGUEZ

Why am i so hard on you? Because you've contributed almost nothing to Underworld discussions for many years, just your song of the day and weird rambles. This is a forum for discussing Underworld the band, not your personal blog. I've been here a long time. A few others of the old guard remain. We post less because there's less UW news to share. But when i look at your post history, it's all about you, your songs, your clever responses. Ha. Try joining in on a linear conversation. Until then, i will continue to have the last word, since that seems to be your method here. But really, you're playing to a small choir.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

:-/
Anywho..I am quite enjoying the After Dark novel from the Jayne Castle women for leisure reading. Still undecided on Rice's Lestate though. . . Looking forward to Mark Billingham next Detective Thorne Series.

[holden]

"A Blogger's Book of Etiquette"

[stimpee]

https://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/lets-hear-it-for-the-deaf-man-1973-by-ed-mcbain/

Lets Hear It For the Deaf Man by Ed McBain

Old school police precinct detective series. This heavily influenced Hill Street Blues.

[gcoleman99]

Currently reading 5 novels at a time right now (and going through all of Stephen Kings short stories in the order that he published them):

Secret Of The Lost Race - Andre Norton
The Beholder - David Bishop
Dealer's Choice (Wild Cards #11) - Edited by George RR Martin
Enemies & Allies (Superman vs Batman) - Kevin J Anderson
Allegiant - Veronica Roth

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

The Dark Tower film script just to see if there is any difference...

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

MMMMMM, I'M LOVING IT? EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING...