Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 947361 times)

Steve of Bloomington

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #855 on: August 07, 2009, 04:46:37 PM »
'The Russian Debutante's Handbook' by Gary Shteyngart. I liked 'Absurdistan', and so far I like this.

Matt

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #856 on: August 07, 2009, 04:53:44 PM »
Dashiell Hammett's RED HARVEST. I think we could all stand to be a little more like the Continental Op. I know I could.
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Christina

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #857 on: August 07, 2009, 07:33:30 PM »
'The Russian Debutante's Handbook' by Gary Shteyngart. I liked 'Absurdistan', and so far I like this.

I too like Absurdistan and have been meaning to read Russian Debutante ... lemme know if you like it as much ...
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Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #858 on: August 07, 2009, 09:36:11 PM »
My daughter talked me into reading "The Giver", a Newbery winner; it's written at about an eighth grade level, but it describes a fairly inventive dystopian world. Very entertaining!

I suspect that a lot of the public schools in NJ assign this, as every semester I have to deny 3 or 4 students' proposals to write papers on it.

About a month ago, in a used bookstore in DC, I found a copy of Robert A. Heinlein's 1980 novel The Number of The Beast, which I read and liked when I was 11.  It is the worst piece of shit I have ever read.  I got about 150 pages in, thinking I could find whatever I liked about it as a kid (probably just parallel universes and descriptions of boobs), and eventually got so outraged that I tore the goddamn thing in half. 

Life, Inc actually turned out to be pretty great, if bleak.  While on vacation in The Outer Banks, I bought an anthology of ghost stories called Spooky South.  You Southerners are awesomely insane!  Or at least you used to be!  Now I'm reading Syd Field's Four Screenplays, which is actually a lot better than his more famous book.
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buffcoat

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #859 on: August 07, 2009, 10:43:00 PM »
Try Flannery O'Connor if you haven't or haven't in awhile.
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Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #860 on: August 09, 2009, 09:49:26 PM »
Try Flannery O'Connor if you haven't or haven't in awhile.

Yep, read her complete stories about a year ago.  She's one of my favorites.
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JonFromMaplewood

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #861 on: August 09, 2009, 10:29:20 PM »
I am reading "Tigers of the Snow" by Jonathan Neale.  Interesting book about climbing in the Himalayas, but from the point of view of the Sherpa.  How they deal with American and European aristocrats out to kill themselves is beyond me.

This book specifically documents a fateful ascent of Nanga Parbat by Nazis in the 30's.  You kinda wish throughout the whole book that the Sherpa would do the world a favor and ditch these assholes somewhere near the summit.
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dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #862 on: August 11, 2009, 10:30:22 AM »
My daughter talked me into reading "The Giver", a Newbery winner; it's written at about an eighth grade level, but it describes a fairly inventive dystopian world. Very entertaining!

I suspect that a lot of the public schools in NJ assign this, as every semester I have to deny 3 or 4 students' proposals to write papers on it.

About a month ago, in a used bookstore in DC, I found a copy of Robert A. Heinlein's 1980 novel The Number of The Beast, which I read and liked when I was 11.  It is the worst piece of shit I have ever read.  I got about 150 pages in, thinking I could find whatever I liked about it as a kid (probably just parallel universes and descriptions of boobs), and eventually got so outraged that I tore the goddamn thing in half. 



I had the same experience with "Time Enough for Love". I was so impressed by it in the 7th grade.

I have read three books on Game Theory in the last week so I could have something to put in the "Professional Development" portion of my self-evaluation.

yesno

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #863 on: August 11, 2009, 11:01:32 AM »
I'm reading Boob Jubilee, which is good (pieces from the Baffler) but DEFINITELY not what I was hoping for.

Best part:  I got it used and it came with a little slip of paper inside reading "Happy 90th Birthday! Love, Ellen".

B_Buster

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #864 on: August 11, 2009, 12:48:40 PM »
I just started it, but Pynchon's Inherent Vice is a lot of fun.
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Chris L

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #865 on: August 11, 2009, 12:53:57 PM »
I just started it, but Pynchon's Inherent Vice is a lot of fun.

Yeah, I'm someone who's given up on Gravity's Rainbow twice but I'm 40-some pages into this and already really enjoying it. I'm getting Big Lebowski vibes off of it. 

masterofsparks

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #866 on: August 11, 2009, 01:26:36 PM »
I just started it, but Pynchon's Inherent Vice is a lot of fun.

Yeah, I'm someone who's given up on Gravity's Rainbow twice but I'm 40-some pages into this and already really enjoying it. I'm getting Big Lebowski vibes off of it. 

I have also given up on Gravity's Rainbow twice but IV is on deck and I'm looking forward to it. I'm currently reading The Crying of Lot 49 since I thought it might function as a Pynchon gateway and so far it's delivering.
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Pastor Josh

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #867 on: August 11, 2009, 01:35:12 PM »
I loved The Crying of Lot 49 and have since started and put down every other of his novels, finding them either incpmprehensible or boring.  I'll take a look at his new one.  What do you mean by Big Leibowski vibes?
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B_Buster

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #868 on: August 11, 2009, 01:42:09 PM »
It's been quite a while since I read The Crying of Lot 49 but I don't remember enjoying it that much. The only previous Pynchon book I read with enjoyment was Vineland and that's considered one of his worst. Gravity's Rainbow was over my head and Mason and Dixon wore me down (even though it contained some very good bits).
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Chris L

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #869 on: August 11, 2009, 01:52:36 PM »
I loved The Crying of Lot 49 and have since started and put down every other of his novels, finding them either incpmprehensible or boring.  I'll take a look at his new one.  What do you mean by Big Leibowski vibes?

Like I said, I just started but they both feel like Chandler supplanted with stoners and the main character has some Dude-like qualities.