aricandover Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Now:Really looking forward to this... I got that for Christmas, and I've been loving it. Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Started this months ago, but want to pull it back out and finish it as I am seeing Greg Mortensen speak in a few weeks..... I am also loving this.....which is a sequel to Rosie which I finished a couple weeks ago. Christy - I just ordered The Glass Castle - looks really good! Thanks for posting it! Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I'm determined to re-start and actually finish this book this year. One of my brothers gave it to me about 5-6 years ago and I've started it at least 4-5 times but I lose steam with it after about 50-75 pages. Everybody, and I mean everybody, I know who's read this book has great things to say about it. I've enjoyed the first 50-75 pages even though it's a bit of a struggle to grasp what's happening in the tale. The book gets much better as it goes on, I've been told. The book is enormous, physically. It has to weigh 5-7 lbs. and is actually hard to hold when reading in bed. It's very long, too, and has fairly small print in the edition I possess. I will no longer allow these issues to stop me from finishing this supposed great piece of literature. So, this is the year I start and complete David Foster Wallace's: Link to post Share on other sites
Basil II Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I loved Bluebeard. Read it in college many moons ago.... Along the same vein as Hodie, I started this a few nights ago. It came out a couple of years ago but I couldn't put it down at the book store: What great book........ -Robert. Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 What great book........ -Robert.It is. The Butthole Surfers section was bizarre. A fascinating read for anybody even slightly interested in the 80s neo-punk/hardcore scene. Link to post Share on other sites
WildMercurySound Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape, his memoir about his marriage to his first wife who died suddenly from a pulmonary embolism. If you came of age in the eighties or nineties, there's a lot to like about this. I stumbled across this while browsing round the internet last night and it sounds intriguing. It doesn't seem readily available in the UK but the nearest Borders might have an import. I didn't come of age in the 80s or 90s (i don't think i've come of age yet, actually!) but I've always been fascinated by the making and receiving of mixes and the intimacy of them. I picked up a couple of memoirs last week that I'm going to alternate with the stack of Palahniuk novels my friend has lent me. Augusten Burroughs Running with Scissors and Nick Flynn's Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. It used to be rare for me to drift into the biography section, but since reading Dave Eggers A Heartbreaking Work..., it's made me realise that it can be immensely rewarding...particularly American memoir. Link to post Share on other sites
kathyp Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I'm determined to re-start and actually finish this book this year. One of my brothers gave it to me about 5-6 years ago and I've started it at least 4-5 times but I lose steam with it after about 50-75 pages. Everybody, and I mean everybody, I know who's read this book has great things to say about it. I've enjoyed the first 50-75 pages even though it's a bit of a struggle to grasp what's happening in the tale. The book gets much better as it goes on, I've been told. The book is enormous, physically. It has to weigh 5-7 lbs. and is actually hard to hold when reading in bed. It's very long, too, and has fairly small print in the edition I possess. I will no longer allow these issues to stop me from finishing this supposed great piece of literature.So, this is the year I start and complete David Foster Wallace's: I got about 40 pages into Infinite Jest a couple years ago. Never attempted it again. I love David Foster Wallace, but I prefer his short stories to...that tome. Oblivion was great; funny. People talk about his, at times, well, most of the time, turgid prose, but he's really, really funny in small doses. Link to post Share on other sites
kathyp Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I so want to read this. Have you read Bird By Bird? It was required reading for a writing workshop I took years ago. Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I have Bird by Bird on my shelf, and have read a little bit of it, but never finished it. I am usually not much of a fiction reader, but do love Anne Lamott's stuff. Her writing is so delicious and relaxing. My favorite, of her fiction, I have read is Blue Shoe. I read it while held up, unable to walk for a few weeks early last year and it was such a soothing book to read. I loved Rosie and am thoroughly enjoying Crooked Little Heart. It is my bedtime reading, and I look forward to it every night. (sorry, I am too tired to italicize my titles) Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Bird By Bird is really great, Kate. If you like her stuff in general, then that one is worth picking up again. Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I'm a huge Anne LaMott fan. New mothers should absolutely read "Operating Instructions", and I highly recommend all of her books. For spiritual rejuvenation, read either (or both) "Traveling Mercies" and/or "Plan B".....both are beautiful & non-judgemental explorations of trying to live life with a sense of purpose and meaning. She makes me laugh so hard in recognition of how silly and flawed we are as humans, and yet goodness is a thing so worth striving for, even if we fall really short, so very often. Her books give me hope and make me content to be a clumsy, struggling human being. Link to post Share on other sites
El Picador Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed the time spent with it. Definitely not for the casual reader. I was amazed at how Wallace had the patience to write all that. He's obviously very dedicated to his work. Somewhat of a genius you might say. Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I'm a huge Anne LaMott fan. New mothers should absolutely read "Operating Instructions", and I highly recommend all of her books. For spiritual rejuvenation, read either (or both) "Traveling Mercies" and/or "Plan B".....both are beautiful & non-judgemental explorations of trying to live life with a sense of purpose and meaning. She makes me laugh so hard in recognition of how silly and flawed we are as humans, and yet goodness is a thing so worth striving for, even if we fall really short, so very often. Her books give me hope and make me content to be a clumsy, struggling human being. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have read so many of her books - You are the one who gave me Blue Shoe I, too, love Plan B and Traveling Mercies. Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Ah, damn grad. class reading...I just got Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions but must read this for class first...ugh. It's alright though but not something I would have sought out for myself. Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 My 10 year old just finished this, and said of it, "Awesome. You should read this, mama."I'll be starting it this weekend. Being a mom has certain advantages. Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I read that too, for the same reason! You'll love it. Spooky little book. Link to post Share on other sites
wheelco Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Ah, damn grad. class reading...I just got Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions but must read this for class first...ugh.read that years ago, great, but struggling to remember the details! Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I read that too, for the same reason! You'll love it. Spooky little book.Ha! Can't wait. Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I'm a huge Anne LaMott fan. New mothers should absolutely read "Operating Instructions", New fathers should read it too! When my son was born, my wife and I would read it aloud to each other. Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 My 10 year old just finished this, and said of it, "Awesome. You should read this, mama."I'll be starting it this weekend. Being a mom has certain advantages. "Behind him, across the vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo." Damn. I'm going to have to start reading kid's books more often. What a read. Link to post Share on other sites
tweedyisgod Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 i've been gone from vc for what seems like forever, but oh how i missed perusing this thread! i'm currently chipping away at: She's one of my favorite authors. Oryx and Crake is a fun read. Link to post Share on other sites
Hodie Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Just finished this: and it was really fun reading. Link to post Share on other sites
jahilia Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Just finished:I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book this much. I finished it (600 pages) in two days, I couldn't put it down. On the surface it's a murder mystery about crack dealers - but the characters are so colorful and the story is so much fun I think I'll be reading this again very soon. Clockers is a hard book to follow, but I just startedI've heard great things about it, and started it 3 or 4 times before, but have never gotten very far. Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Clockers is a great book. I was just thinking about that one last week as I was reading a George Pelecanos book (Drama City). And now I'm reading another Pelecanos book: Link to post Share on other sites
Boots Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I've heard great things about it, and started it 3 or 4 times before, but have never gotten very far. I did the same thing with White Noise, kept starting and never got too far. Finally finished it last year and glad I did. If you ever finish this one let us know if it's worth a go Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts