Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 947170 times)

Steeley Chris

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1665 on: July 12, 2011, 08:15:18 PM »

Stephen King - Night Shift


Classic. That was back when "Uncle Stevie" had skills.  Scared me bad.  Too bad so many awful movies were generated from this collection.
I dunno. I tore through Cell last Fall and Lisey's Story this past Spring. I think he's still got it. I still get sucked in after the first page. His character, author Scott Landon, in Lisey's Story brings up how well-received his books are and how terrible the movie adaptations turn out. Uncle Stevie knows.
"Dad gets mad."

Fido

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1666 on: July 15, 2011, 06:30:10 PM »
Just Kids, Patti Smith's memoir of her life with Robert Mapplethorpe.  I can't say enough good things about it. Pure pleasure to hear her remembrances, inspirations, which are really worth paying attention to, as well as her way of storytelling. She's a fine writer of prose as well as poetry, not to mention her musical and artistic achievements, the part of her with which I was most familiar going in. 

break

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1667 on: July 15, 2011, 10:34:47 PM »
Just Kids, Patti Smith's memoir of her life with Robert Mapplethorpe.  I can't say enough good things about it. Pure pleasure to hear her remembrances, inspirations, which are really worth paying attention to, as well as her way of storytelling. She's a fine writer of prose as well as poetry, not to mention her musical and artistic achievements, the part of her with which I was most familiar going in.

I finished that recently too, it was super great.  A vivid and touching remembrance of an era and of a friend.  I got a little choked up at the end.   

Fido

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1668 on: July 16, 2011, 10:27:30 PM »
I don't mind saying it -- I got a little choked up at the end too. Few things ever get me choked up.

Greggulator

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1669 on: July 17, 2011, 11:21:21 AM »
Reading American Hardcore, somewhat inspired by the Hammerhead phone call. I've read it in small doses in various friends' bathrooms over the years but not all at once.

I'm a fan (to various degrees) of a lot of the bands which are talked about -- Youth Brigade (first DIY show I went to was their reunion tour -- they played with Weston and quite possibly Chisel but I could be wrong on that), Black Flag, Minor Threat, DK, The Descendents, The Minutemen, etc.  It's interesting to hearing how these bands all got started.

But it's also so ridiculously amusing to read about how a lot of the people who ended up in "the scene" were just the biggest boneheads possible. The Hammerhead call could not capture this better, since I'm sure a lot of the meatheads from whatever rich suburb who went to shows to beat the hell out of smaller kids are now investment bankers or whatever.

I love Ian Mackaye more on paper than in reality. He's a completely inspirational guy on every level possible but... come on, man... it's okay to laugh!
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YuriDedman

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1670 on: August 14, 2011, 01:20:49 AM »
Currently reading 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks.

I bailed on this after about 40 pages. No one loves Albert Brooks more than me, but his prose is SO BAD. I'll get back to it eventually, but I'm in no rush.

Uhh... I started reading 2030 in the book store last week and could feel myself getting physically ill. It read like someone took all the emails from my grandparents, edited out the ellipses, joined the separated words, and made all the font the same size.

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1671 on: August 14, 2011, 11:15:40 AM »
Reading this for work:



It's a total snooze, but then I read on Moss Hart's Wikipedia entry that he was in the closet, which suddenly gave the whole thing an interesting subtext (and made certain story points make infinitely more sense). Almost done! Then onto this little gem I just picked up from the library:



Who knew that Brooklyn and Staten Island were full of footbridges and pagodas?
Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.

crumbum

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1672 on: August 14, 2011, 12:42:48 PM »
It's a total snooze, but then I read on Moss Hart's Wikipedia entry that he was in the closet, which suddenly gave the whole thing an interesting subtext (and made certain story points make infinitely more sense).

This is very similar to hat happened to me with Anatole Broyard's wonderful memoir Kafka Was The Rage, which I read perhaps ten years ago. It was only afterwards that I found out Broyard spent his adult life 'passing' as white, which gave a number of key scenes (e.g. the first time his girlfriend meets his parents) a very different tone in retrospect, in a way that seems almost planned by the author.

Key Loser

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1673 on: August 18, 2011, 11:47:07 AM »
For the sci-fi people: a friend recommended the Succession Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld after I mentioned I needed to read some sci-fi to mitigate my general unhappiness about the decline of the space program. I've started it (book one, The Risen Empire), and am hooked. Within, find mote sized fighting ships with synesthesia-based controls, so the pilots can use all senses, unlike today's drone pilots who have to make due with sight alone. It's a mix of new and interesting ideas with a bit of the good old fashioned space opera feel to it as well. It's very good so far.

Awesome. Ive been trying to get into the sci-fi genre. I started with the first book in the Foundation series by Asimov, but it didn't really click with me. Now I'm reading Gateway by Frederick Pohl. It seems like what I want from sci-fi is something thats focuses heavily on other races, different worlds, alien cultures etc, different species trying to co-exist in space.

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1674 on: August 18, 2011, 12:11:17 PM »
Try Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow".

Key Loser

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1675 on: August 18, 2011, 01:42:59 PM »
Try Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow".

That sounds great! Will do

buffcoat

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1676 on: August 18, 2011, 05:21:03 PM »
Awesome. Ive been trying to get into the sci-fi genre. I started with the first book in the Foundation series by Asimov, but it didn't really click with me. Now I'm reading Gateway by Frederick Pohl. It seems like what I want from sci-fi is something thats focuses heavily on other races, different worlds, alien cultures etc, different species trying to co-exist in space.


If you don't like the first Foundation book, you can safely skip the rest of Asimov, with the possible exception of the first book of the robot series.


I read all the Robot, Empire and Foundation books.  They all merge and get really weird toward the end, but not in the most interesting way.  As I remember, I liked both Robot and Empire better than Foundation in the end.  He's a much, much better idea guy than a writer.
I really don't appreciate your sarcastic, anti-comedy tone, Bro!

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1677 on: August 18, 2011, 05:51:15 PM »
Try Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow".

That sounds great! Will do

Capsule summary: Workers detect singing coming from deep space, and while the UN debates what to do, Jesuits secretly send an exploration team. Interesting. Some pages could have stood one more rewrite, but it's full of pretty interesting ideas.

Steve of Bloomington

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1678 on: August 19, 2011, 10:50:59 AM »
After reading Key Loser's comment I realize a lot of what I like in sci-fi are stories about discoveries of absent or dead alien civilizations and technology ('Rendezvous with Rama' by Clarke, or '2001'), or about future humans modified into something totally different from what they are today ('Childhood's End' by Clarke, 'Blood Music' or 'Eon' by Greg Bear, and this book I'm currently reading).

I read the Asimov stuff in high school and now would agree he's definitely more an ideas guy than a great writer. I believe he said that about himself on many occasions. I occasionally read stuff that's kind of crappily written (Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsey, lots of humans transforming in there) if the ideas are interesting, but a lot of times I bail out if things get too dopey.

buffcoat

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1679 on: August 19, 2011, 12:04:42 PM »
I read the Asimov stuff in high school and now would agree he's definitely more an ideas guy than a great writer. I believe he said that about himself on many occasions.



I think he did say this, but he was pretty hard to hear through those eyebrows.
I really don't appreciate your sarcastic, anti-comedy tone, Bro!