alison the wilca Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Finished Anne of Green Gables (which was lovely) and now onto another book I never read in my childhood. Link to post Share on other sites
bigshoulders Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Just finished Let Us Now Praise Famous Men a few days ago. Not an easy read, but certainly one worthy of reading. Aside: the song "Emma" by Richard Buckner is based on the "Emma" from this very book. Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I've been following the saga of the movie and/or mini-series, and I really hope it all comes to fruition. Chicago Tribune link Universal pulls plug on Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" Link to post Share on other sites
anthony Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I know there are a few DFW fans here. Anyone reading Pale King? I am about 400 pages in and I have questions. Minor Spoiler Warning I get the idea that the them of the book is boredom (and perhaps the heroism of people who endure sustained boredom). It seems to me the DFW is trying to proves this point by actually boring the reader of the book! This is either brilliant or horrifying. Anyone else have this feeling? Anyone have any thoughts? I am curious... Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Heartbreaking! Link to post Share on other sites
jimtweedy1977 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Currently reading a book called Going Down The Road: A Grateful Dead Traveling Companion. I want to tackle Band of Brothers next. I'm also currently listening to Girl With The Dragon Tattoo through Audible. Frankly, after seeing the movies, I found the book a bit boring and more detailed than necessary. Link to post Share on other sites
IATTBYB Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer last week and am now onto The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I recently got The Works of Mark Twain for my Kindle, and I will say it is the best 99 cents I ever spent - 8 novels, 5 collections of stories, 6 travel books and memoirs, and 5 books of essays, speeches and letters. Link to post Share on other sites
Al.Ducts Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Well it's official. I've become fully addicted to Kurt Vonnegut. After reading Slaughterhouse-Five about a year a go (and really enjoying it) I moved on to some other things, forgetting how great it was. Then, about a week ago I picked up a copy of Player Piano and was absolutely blown away. Before I had even finished it, I placed an order on Amazon for Cat's Cradle and The Sirens of Titan. As of today I have torn through all 3 of them, finishing each within 24 hours. I bought Galapagos awhile back but I think I'm going to give myself a little break on Vonnegut for now. I should be receiving Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" in the mail today or today and I've heard good things. Has anyone here read it before? Link to post Share on other sites
smells like flowers Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Oh, I loved "Anne of Green Gables" so much when I was 11 or 12! I should re-read it. Just finished being blown away by Siri Hustvedt's "The Summer Without Men." Prose (and poetry) to knock your socks off! Currently enjoying "Blood, Bones, and Butter," by Gabrielle Hamilton --a chef memoir, and a fantastic piece of writing. About 2/3 of the way through and I don't want it to end. Link to post Share on other sites
redpillbox Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Well it's official. I've become fully addicted to Kurt Vonnegut. After reading Slaughterhouse-Five about a year a go (and really enjoying it) I moved on to some other things, forgetting how great it was. Then, about a week ago I picked up a copy of Player Piano and was absolutely blown away. Before I had even finished it, I placed an order on Amazon for Cat's Cradle and The Sirens of Titan. As of today I have torn through all 3 of them, finishing each within 24 hours. I bought Galapagos awhile back but I think I'm going to give myself a little break on Vonnegut for now. I should be receiving Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" in the mail today or today and I've heard good things. Has anyone here read it before? Awesome about Vonnegut. If you're a fan you may recognize my avatar. His two biggest "hits" are "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle" - but I've always been partial to "Timequake" and "Breakfast of Champions." I hear the summation of all his philosophies and a soulful and resigned sadness in that book ('Timequake') that perfectly captures what I love about Vonnegut. Also, his last "fiction" book. I've tried reading Franzen's book three times and never made it very far. I'm positive someone will disagree, but it felt like a New York novel where the characters are all self-absorbed and ironic and I was struggling to be interested in what they were feeling and who they were as they didn't have any redeeming qualities (or the redeeming qualities they had were completely overpowered, by their other flaws). Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I liked the new Franzen better than the corrections but I liked both of them. The characters are kind of the same in both books, none of them come across as very likeable. But he does have a way with words at times. And of course there is the whole Jeff Tweedy shout out in the new one. Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Breakfast of Champions really screwed with my head for a long time. Link to post Share on other sites
smells like flowers Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I read The Corrections and found it well-written and engaging, but ultimately without a single character that seemed like an actual human being. Brought Freedom home from the library, just b/c of the Jeff Tweedy references, but decided not to read it after all. Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 In regards to Vonnegut, don't skip "Bluebeard", lighter fare maybe, but still really good. NR: Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Probably every bit as good as the film. Loving it!!! EDIT:Also, thrilled to find out that William Goldman grew up in the same town that I am from. Not many things make me proud to say that I am from Highland Park, IL, but this, along with the fact that it is the birthplace of the Steppenwolf Theater, do make me proud. Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I have been rereading the entire John Dos Passos U.S.A. trilogy, which I first read in college about 25 years ago. It's hard to believe there used to be an actual socialist party in the U.S., or that people sat around talking about "putting the brakes on capital." If you talked like that here now, someone would probably lynch you. Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I've just finished reading "Room" by Emma Donoghue (yes, I'm a couple years behind the curve). Fascinating to look at the world through the eyes of a child born into captivity, as Jaycee Dugard's 2 daughters were (children of a kidnap victim). I don't know if Dugard's story was the inspiration behind "Room", but it's a good read. Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I have been rereading the entire John Dos Passos U.S.A. trilogy, which I first read in college about 25 years ago. It's hard to believe there used to be an actual socialist party in the U.S., or that people sat around talking about "putting the brakes on capital." If you talked like that here now, someone would probably lynch you. I am just about done with Book 2 - think I am going to take a break for bit before I venture into 3. Good, interesting read. Like his style and form. Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I am just about done with Book 2 - think I am going to take a break for bit before I venture into 3. Good, interesting read. Like his style and form.Wow, what are the odds of that? I had to go straight through all three, otherwise I would forget who any of the characters were...they're almost types, more than characters, but it still holds up pretty well after over 80 years. Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Wow, what are the odds of that? I had to go straight through all three, otherwise I would forget who any of the characters were...they're almost types, more than characters, but it still holds up pretty well after over 80 years. I am pretty bad at sticking with reading one book at a time, so I will put down 1919 for a week or two and go onto another book. Each time I go back to the 1919 book, it takes me time to go back into the book to figure out the character's relationships again, which is why it is taking me so long to get through it. When I saw your post, I thought I mentioned that I was reading USA in this thread and I did a search and found the post from around February. I didn't realize it was that long ago. While reading Dos Passos' Trilogy, I happen to watch Warren Beatty's Reds movie - good companion movie to the book. There is a mention to Jack Reed in one of the "history interludes" in the 42nd Parallel. Link to post Share on other sites
Welsh Rich Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Finished Blood Meridian on holiday. Wow. What a book. Going to leave a lasting impression that. To continue with the darker side of things, I've moved onto Hunger by Knut Hamsun. Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I have been rereading the entire John Dos Passos U.S.A. trilogy, which I first read in college about 25 years ago. It's hard to believe there used to be an actual socialist party in the U.S., or that people sat around talking about "putting the brakes on capital." If you talked like that here now, someone would probably lynch you. the ironic thing is that those who would do the lynching are the ones getting totally fucked by a capitalist society. go figure. humanity at it's best. i need to read these books. thanks for the recommendation. Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Just finished this:First-hand account of a young kid's growing up with Tourrette's and OCD. Very quick, entertaining read. Link to post Share on other sites
Fritz Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I find something new in this every time I read it. Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 John Irving at his best is darn good. WATG is a phenomenal story. I recently started the Bob Mould autobiography. Coming on the heals of the Keith Richards one, I'm finding this one harder to get into even though Bob's music has been a MUCH bigger part of my life than the Stones. Just starting to get into the early Husker Du days, so maybe it'll get better. Link to post Share on other sites
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