Hodie Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 I finished this on my California trip. It was freaking me out in a very scary way at the beginning (a spooky existential angst sort of sensation). But then it just became a beautiful novel, and I loved it. I have yet to read a book by Glen Duncan that I didn't find wonderful, though from the reviews it looks like he's written a couple of bad ones. So far, I've liked: I, Lucifer; Weathercock (also containing some very creepy moments, though of a different kind); and Death of an Ordinary Man. Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 A well-written, well-researched even-handed look at the people who now shape our Eraserhead-baby-like relationship with the rest of the world. Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 bjorn, thanks! I just looked up that book and grabbed it on Amazon for $4.....looks like an interesting read Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 "So I went to visit an organic potato farmer and this farm was a completely different place. His soil was completely different. It smelt like life." Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Just finished Nick Hornby's "Long way Down". Overall I liked it and would say that I enjoyed it more than "How to be good".The way in which the narrative was delivered by the four principal characters was effective and while I can see where it might turn some people off I thought it worked pretty well. NR:Dylan's Chronicles(This book really does live up to the hype. Very good so far....) Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs. Peel Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Haven't started it yet, but I'm in NYC for a class and once I leave the class I don't have access to a computer in my shoebox hotel room so I think I might actually read the entire book tonight. Link to post Share on other sites
ms. yvon Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 "So I went to visit an organic potato farmer and this farm was a completely different place. His soil was completely different. It smelt like life." m, do you recommend this? Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 m, do you recommend this?Oh yes! This is the second book of his that I have read. The chapters are arranged like this: Introduction The Human Bumblebee xiiiChapter 1 Desire: Sweetness / Plant: The AppleChapter 2 Desire: Beauty / Plant: The TulipChapter 3 Desire: Intoxication / Plant: MarijuanaChapter 4 Desire: Control / Plant: The Potato His premise is that there is no existential difference between human being's and bumblebee's role in the garden. He is such a wonderful, sensual writer. His descriptions of the rose Cuisse de Nymphe Emue in Second Nature made me blush. Link to post Share on other sites
ms. yvon Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 next time i'm at the library! thanks for the tip our Eraserhead-baby-like relationship with the rest of the world. well put. (you can work the eraserhead baby into almost any context. ) Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 It's my metaphor for the week. It'll get in my newspaper somewhere, I promise! Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and i'm not ashamed either... it was time to take a break from Dotoyevsky anyhow... Link to post Share on other sites
ms. yvon Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 CHALLENGE: sisterhood of the travelling pants/Dostoyevsky mash up! GO! Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 CHALLENGE: sisterhood of the travelling pants/Dostoyevsky mash up! GO! Plot- the sisterhood meets up with the bros. karamazov(sp?) in some sort of crazy timewarp thing, and the brothers are mystified by the crazy powers of the pants! Link to post Share on other sites
ms. yvon Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 Plot- the sisterhood meets up with the bros. karamazov(sp?) in some sort of crazy timewarp thing, and the brothers are mystified by the crazy powers of the pants! and the sisterhood is confounded by the tendency of each russian brother to have 47 names. they go out for pizza, which they all enjoy, but the brothers all are melancholy, seeing the pizza as a fleeting pleasure. one of them tries to throw a kitten into the river as a gesture of the futility of cuteness, but is stopped by Amber/Melinda/Meagan who convinces him to adopt the kitten. He names it Justine, after the first character to be killed by the monster in M. Shelley's Frankenstein. Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 and the sisterhood is confounded by the tendency of each russian brother to have 47 names. they go out for pizza, which they all enjoy, but the brothers all are melancholy, seeing the pizza as a fleeting pleasure. one of them tries to throw a kitten into the river as a gesture of the futility of cuteness, but is stopped by Amber/Melinda/Meagan who convinces him to adopt the kitten. He names it Justine, after the first character to be killed by the monster in M. Shelley's Frankenstein. i love it! Link to post Share on other sites
Hodie Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 I'm drunk on wine, so I dare not add anything except: HA!!! That's hilarious. Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 they go out for pizza, which they all enjoy, but the brothers all are melancholy, seeing the pizza as a fleeting pleasure. Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 they go out for pizza, which they all enjoy, but the brothers all are melancholy, seeing the pizza as a fleeting pleasure. one of them tries to throw a kitten into the river as a gesture of the futility of cuteness, but is stopped by Amber/Melinda/Meagan who convinces him to adopt the kitten. He names it Justine, after the first character to be killed by the monster in M. Shelley's Frankenstein.This is terrific stuff. I'll be thinking about this all day long. Link to post Share on other sites
ms. yvon Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 bumping this for cryptique...because i don't know how to link to an old page... Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 Just bought: Because I have to buy everything he writes because I've heard so much about it. I'm reading the franken one first, and then getting myself prepared for the Frey book. From what I heard, I'm not sure if I can handle it. Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Going back a bit. I recently finished Dylan's "Chronicles". While I enjoyed his stylized descriptions it actually became a little difficult for me to finish near the end. I became impatient with his moving foreword and backwards within the timeline of events and his slow eloquent manner of illustration. I may skip Vol II and try a biography instead. Just finished David Sedaris's "Naked".This may be my favorite of all of his work yet; (have not read "Barrel Fever" and don't even know if it too is a memoir). NRFrey's "My Friend Leonard". Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things... That Aren't as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn't Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LEMONY SNICKET A collection of stories for wise young people and immature old people, written by favorites of all ages: Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy), Jon Scieszka (The Stinky Cheese Man), Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, American Gods), and many others. Each story features color illustrations by a different artist, including Barry Blitt, Marcel Dzama, and Lane Smith. Lemony Snicket adds an introduction and a story of his own -- at least, he starts one, and then it is up to the reader to finish. The story appears on the inside of the dust jacket; you add your own thrilling, joyful, or disgusting ending. The jacket then folds up into a fancy envelope, addressed to us. Our favorite ending will receive a fabulous prize of some sort. FOR YOUNG ADULTS FIRST, ALL OTHER ADULTS SECOND --------- I got this on Saturday when I went to 826 Chicago with one of our teachers and a student to an event for the book. We started reading it outloud last night in my house......the first one is Nick Hornby and it was a fun story. Defintiely worth picking up for kids and adults alike. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest rwrkb Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Next up: Someone recommended this months ago. Can't wait to start. Link to post Share on other sites
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