Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 947681 times)

fonpr

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1920 on: November 19, 2013, 05:01:23 PM »
"Like it or not, Florida seems dedicated to a 'live fast, die' way of doing things."

deathdrive83

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1921 on: November 20, 2013, 01:17:53 PM »
Some time in the past year, I listened to an episode with a guest who had created a book full of fake essays that he had hired people at essay mills to write. I am having a really hard time figuring out who that was. Does anyone remember? Thanks.

Kormodd

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1922 on: November 20, 2013, 02:24:33 PM »
Read the Book of Numbers again. Kind of a snooze. Lots of senseless violence. In one part, God kills a good portion of the Israelites for eating quail or something (What a great guy! He loves all his children!) Could have done without the laundry list of burnt/sin offerings that have to be made at certain times of the year.
Ever do nothing and gain nothing from it?
Ever feel stupid and then know that you really are?
Ever think you're smart and then find out you aren't?
Ever play the fool and then find out that you're worse?

byort

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1923 on: November 20, 2013, 03:20:24 PM »
Some time in the past year, I listened to an episode with a guest who had created a book full of fake essays that he had hired people at essay mills to write. I am having a really hard time figuring out who that was. Does anyone remember? Thanks.

That was Mindsploitation by Vernon Chatman. I'm reading it right now. Great read!

nec13

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1924 on: December 01, 2013, 12:02:41 AM »
I'm currently reading Peter Baker's excellent book "Days of Fire," which chronicles the triumphs and travails of the George W. Bush administration. While there were certainly more travails than there were triumphs, Baker does a good job of remaining even-handed and impartial, perhaps too much so. Nonetheless it's a compelling and worthwhile read.
Nobody ever lends money to a man with a sense of humor.

Blake

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1925 on: December 20, 2013, 04:46:29 AM »
Hey everybody. After attending a FOT meetup in LA, I got thinking about how neat a book club with awesome people from our FOT community would be. Where we read the same thing in a certain window of time, and get together to talk about it.

Initially I wanted to do a google hangout as a way to discuss the books, the way a real book club would meet. But that's too limited in the number that can participate. So, I just started a facebook group as an expiramental way to do a book club for FOT where anyone who's interested can vote on a book to read, then read it at the same time with us and discuss it at specified intervals. Please come check it out: https://www.facebook.com/groups/767914569903938/ and it is a closed group because I'm trying to keep it to FOT and fans of the Best Show, so if you need an invite friend me and let me know you're FOT at https://www.facebook.com/blake.williams.75685

Book nominations and voting will close on Dec 31st and we'll start in January 2014. Thanks!

Blake

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1926 on: December 30, 2013, 11:19:33 PM »
Sorry for the back-to-back posts on this thread. But I just started and finished reading Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) and it was pretty terrific.
It spans the recounting of her childhood to her present television-comedy-writing career as well as touching on topics that matter to Ms Kaling like proper Karaoke etiquette, why comedy roasts are terrible, and dating men vs boys among others. It's a quick read (I tackled it in a weekend) and it's even funnier than I expected. It made an instant fan out of me for her work. Hers is definitely a case of the good [gals] winning.

Bryan

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1927 on: December 31, 2013, 01:21:02 PM »
Some time in the past year, I listened to an episode with a guest who had created a book full of fake essays that he had hired people at essay mills to write. I am having a really hard time figuring out who that was. Does anyone remember? Thanks.

That was Mindsploitation by Vernon Chatman. I'm reading it right now. Great read!

Yep, it's pretty funny. I guess it doesn't really matter, but do we think that those essays were really written by essay mills, or by Chatman?

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1928 on: January 01, 2014, 01:12:31 AM »
Andy from Knoxville gave me David Byrne's "How Music Works" for Christmas. More fun than I expected so far.

effecT

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1929 on: January 01, 2014, 07:07:45 AM »
http://www.amazon.de/Rätsel-Komplotte-Kriminalliteratur-Paranoia-Gesellschaft/dp/3518585983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388577631&sr=8-1&keywords=luc+boltanski

I got this for Christmas and it currently has no English translation, but do pick it up if you can read the French original or the German translation. If you are a creative writer this book will be very interesting to you, but also if you like sociology.
Take this article by Adam Curtis as a starting point which picks up on the same nexus of issues:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/posts/BUGGER

ben

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1930 on: March 22, 2014, 07:44:48 PM »
I just got "A Man Called Destruction" the new Alex Chilton biography and I like it.
Sounds like someone was working as a conduit for nature's natural vengeance.  Just like Jesus.  And some of the others.

Steve of Bloomington

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1931 on: April 07, 2014, 09:37:08 AM »
I read T.C. Boyle's 'East is East' on vacation. I also took along short story collections by Sam Lipsyte and Charles Yu. I love both of those guys' writing but the darkness was just too much for the feeling I was going for whilst drinking and relaxing. 'East is East' was an entertaining read w/out being lightweight and a nice chance to re-visit T.C. Boyle after my period of reading a lot of him in the early-mid 00s.

I'm also reading a 'critical biography' of Mingus but the lack of depth of my music knowledge is slowing me down.

novafot3000

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1932 on: April 20, 2014, 11:42:49 AM »
I'm currently reading Behind the Hits by Bob Shannon and John Javna and also Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

On Scharpling's recommendation on Twitter, I read the Leigh Montville Evel Knievel biography.

Maow

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1933 on: June 03, 2014, 09:46:24 AM »
This current term at university I have had to read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace, and The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. I liked all those. Was also meant to read Sylvia Plath and Thomas Pynchon but I slacked off a bit.

I'll be on holidays in a couple of weeks and might get started on one of these J. G. Ballard books on my shelf currently collecting dust. Never read him before. My bookshelf is mostly there to make me feel important.

agent_jimmy

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1934 on: June 06, 2014, 09:39:58 AM »
hello,

I'm reading Fargo Rock City right now. has anyone else read it? I imagine there are more than a few KISS fans (or at least people who know a lot about KISS) on here.