The Book Discussion Thread

[D_Davis]

In J.G. Ballard's Crash, almost every single line is about sex in some way, his obsessiveness and single-minded vision is astonishing, and yet it is also probably the most unerotic novel ever written. I'm pretty sure the Harry Potter novels are more erotic. Ballard strips away every last ounce of romance, emotion, and passion, and examines the human body as a machine, it's fluids and motions no different than the oil and pistons in an automobile engine. It is relentlessly tasteless, exquisitely written, and ultimately a disturbing trip into the very darkest regions of the human mind.

[Mara]

So... this book exists? Revealing Eden: Save the Pearls

http://www.amazon.com/Revealing-Eden-Save-Pearls-Part/dp/0983650322/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Summary:


Eden Newman must mate before her 18th birthday in six months or she'll be left outside to die in a burning world. But who will pick up her mate-option when she's cursed with white skin and a tragically low mate-rate of 15%? In a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian, underground world where class and beauty are defined by resistance to an overheated environment, Eden's coloring brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. If only she can mate with a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class, she'll be safe. Just maybe one Coal sees the Real Eden and will be her salvation her co-worker Jamal has begun secretly dating her. But when Eden unwittingly compromises her father's secret biological experiment, she finds herself in the eye of a storm and thrown into the last area of rainforest, a strange and dangerous land. Eden must fight to save her father, who may be humanity's last hope, while standing up to a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction. Eden must change to survive but only if she can redefine her ideas of beauty and of love, along with a little help from her "adopted aunt" Emily Dickinson.

Apparently, our delicate white flower puts on black-face and then boinks an animal. As far as I can tell. Read through the comments for some true vitriol.

Wow.

[kuehnepips]

Anyone here read anything by Boris Vian? I have just started Heartsnatcher and it is some of the most vividly written stuff I have read.

A lot when I was young.

He was huuuge in the 60/70 where I live, and I still read some of his works when I'm mad or sad or nead a flower to come out of strange places. In my body or that of my lover. Lovers. Of the bodies

you know. I recommend Chloe.

[dreamdead]

Finished out Collins's The Hunger Games. It's decent genre fare--the fact that it actually concerns class (even if it's dealt with only minutely) is invigorating. That said, the cliffhanger structure means that the ramifications of Katniss winning are postponed, which is unfortunate, given that how she adapts to her newfound fame and power would be interesting. There's not much here to study, though, beyond a commentary on how she controls (or at least affects) the narrative instituted by the Capitol. There's some stuff to do with power relations there, I think. The muttations at the end, however, was ill-conceived. It doesn't work, nor does Katniss's inability to reconcile herself for the entirety of the book that someone actually likes her. I suspect I'll see the adaptation this week at a cheap theater, so the transition should be interesting.

Moved from that to King's The Stand. Two hundred fifty pages in and it seems like I've made no dent in the book's length. Oddly, I remember the Nick storyline fairly well from the miniseries when it originally aired, but that's the only real thematic detail that still seems familiar. Everything else is, happily, new. Excited to see where it goes from here...

[dreamdead]

Over a third of the way through The Stand now. King's pacing and detailing of the superflu from multiple perspectives is incredibly effective. Although I dig all of the characters, there's something about the wide-screen handling of the novel's "extras," those asides that get just a page or two sketch, that deepens the overall experience. It's something that I also felt was handled well in Under the Dome. I suspect these are the passages that mostly got cut in the initial publication of the novel.

I find it interesting how quickly these characters descend into primitivism, how centrally sexuality (or at least the prospect of it) short-circuits logic. I've just gotten to where Nick has sex with Julie, and how that changes the dimensions of her character so immediately. At first I worried about the pubescent streak of sexuality in King's oeuvre, but the immediate undercutting of her age suggests that King's aware of that trend and likely going to play with that element here.

I'm excited to see where this all is going narratively... Stu's encounter with the sociologist so far is the early highlight.

[D_Davis]

I love King's epics - he is a master of handling large groups of characters.

[Irish]

Previously unpublished F Scott Fitzgerald story appearing in this week's New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/08/06/120806fi_fiction_fitzgerald?cu rrentPage=all

[Kurosawa Fan]

Previously unpublished F Scott Fitzgerald story appearing in this week's New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/08/06/120806fi_fiction_fitzgerald?cu rrentPage=all

Thanks for posting. Didn't much care for it, but it's always cool to see freshly published works from deceased authors.

Your turn, Salinger. :|

[Irish]

Thanks for posting. Didn't much care for it, but it's always cool to see freshly published works from deceased authors.

Your turn, Salinger. :|
Hit up a good college library and track down Hapworth 16 from the early 1960s.

This'll cure you of the desire for more Salinger.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Hit up a good college library and track down Hapworth 16 from the early 1960s.

This'll cure you of the desire for more Salinger.

One bad story, no matter how bad, could never put me off from wanting to read more Salinger.

[Irish]

One bad story, no matter how bad, could never put me off from wanting to read more Salinger.

Years back, I was something of a Salinger fan, too.

It's not so much that it's just a bad story (although it is), Hapworth is every one of Salinger's weaknesses distilled & concentrated into a single effort.

[dreamdead]

About halfway through The Stand now. The biggest drawback at this point is Frannie's needfulness for Stu. It'd be one thing if she was constantly drawn to him because she's trying to find a husband figure to help her with her child, but she seems far too skittish and hysterical, not fully drawn or developed. Her diary entries actually emphasize this trend rather than offer more dimension. Strange.

I really dug Mother Abagail's backstory, though.

[Mara]

I finished... or, rather, "finished" The Pale King. Fascinating, and absolutely worth reading, even in its nebulous state.

[Mara]

After many strong recommendations, I'm reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. So far, I'm not really sold on the format of the book, especially the author's self-insertion, which doesn't add anything to the narrative. However, the story she is telling far makes up for any deficiencies, as Henrietta Lacks' life (and life after death) is fascinating, sad, and thought-provoking.

Henrieta Lacks was the woman whose cancerous cells (taken without her knowledge or permission) because the first immortal cell line in cellular research (HeLa cells.)

[dreamdead]

Finished out the 1400+ pages of The Stand. It is likely the perfect distillation of King's concepts of faith and destruction, God and the devil, that he'll ever achieve. The religious allegories and echoes are quite effective, if sometimes too overt (which sometimes leads to a bit of a letdown that he's doing the active reading work for me), even as it works as a retelling of modernday good and evil. Nonetheless, the storytelling is wonderfully controlled. Glen's ending was sad since I'd rather identified with him the most throughout the narrative, but I found the conclusion's hesitance to confer salvation onto the characters so rewarding, especially as post-nuclear concerns proliferated throughout the 1980s. That sense of "I don't know" if we're OK now... that was powerfully drawn. Meantime, I suspect that some critic will do a wonderfully intelligent reading of King's treatment of mental disability someday, and I'll want to read that treatment at that point.

Now onto Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, which Sarah's super-excited for me to read.

[Mara]

Now onto Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, which Sarah's super-excited for me to read.

It's very strong. It's not my favorite Atwood, but it is a good read.

[Mysterious Dude]

About halfway through The Stand now.

Finished out the 1400+ pages of The Stand.
You read ~700 pages in five days?!

I'm reading Les Misérables right now and it took me about 50 days to get to page 700. I must be doing it wrong.

[dreamdead]

You read ~700 pages in five days?!

I'm reading Les Misérables right now and it took me about 50 days to get to page 700. I must be doing it wrong.

I am pretty sure that Hugo writes a much different prose than King... ;)

[Raiders]

I am pretty sure that Hugo writes a much different prose than King... ;)

Yeah, my wife read the entirety of the last book of Harry Potter, which is something like 700 pages, in two days (admittedly over the weekend so she spent like, 7 or 8 hours each day reading). Meanwhile, she took four weeks to read Anna Karenina a few months back and she read at least two hours almost every day.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Cuelho says Ulysses is harmful to literature:

http://m.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/aug/06/paulo-coelho-james-joyce-ulysses?cat=books&type=article

Hey, Paulo. Want to know what's really harmful to literature? When mediocre nonsense like The Alchemist weasels its way into popular culture. You are no Joyce, sir, so go back to fooling book clubs into thinking your work is important.

[D_Davis]

Finished out the 1400+ pages of The Stand. It is likely the perfect distillation of King's concepts of faith and destruction, God and the devil, that he'll ever achieve. The religious allegories and echoes are quite effective, if sometimes too overt (which sometimes leads to a bit of a letdown that he's doing the active reading work for me), even as it works as a retelling of modernday good and evil. Nonetheless, the storytelling is wonderfully controlled. Glen's ending was sad since I'd rather identified with him the most throughout the narrative, but I found the conclusion's hesitance to confer salvation onto the characters so rewarding, especially as post-nuclear concerns proliferated throughout the 1980s. That sense of "I don't know" if we're OK now... that was powerfully drawn. Meantime, I suspect that some critic will do a wonderfully intelligent reading of King's treatment of mental disability someday, and I'll want to read that treatment at that point.


Nice. It's a great read, an American classic I think. What did you like better, The Stand or Under the Dome? One of these two is King's singular masterpiece, but I'm not sure which one.

[dreamdead]

Nice. It's a great read, an American classic I think. What did you like better, The Stand or Under the Dome? One of these two is King's singular masterpiece, but I'm not sure which one.

I allow that it's more immediately on my mind, but I think I lean toward The Stand. Some of this comes from my appreciation of religious (tS) rather than political allegory (UtD). It should be noted, however, that I find the latter messier and thus more interesting to study, since its reach is a lot less seamless and unconnected. Normally that would be a deficiency, but I found The Stand almost too seamless in its allegory, which renders mute some of its critical acumen since so much of it is King spelling out connections. Although the characters are a lot more one-note in Under the Dome, the 9/11 parallels exist in a more abstract and disparate way, which allows for counter-readings and analyses. The ability to read multiple angles into Under the Dome will continue to intrigue me.

That said, I think they're thematic twins, examining nuclear destruction in similar ways--how politics will sweep through a community and disarm them from real threats, how single-mindedness to control has its own limitations, how heroism is located in the mundane, etc. The Stand, though, develops its characters just a bit more. And I think it's deux ex machina works better, even if I don't view UtD's as necessarily limiting.

[D_Davis]

Very nicely said.

In the long run, I'd probably lean towards The Stand simply because it is more timeless. However, those first 250 pages of UTD are the best pages King ever wrote, and technically I think UTD is better.

UTD, while amazing, is more of the here and now. I can't remember the exact quote, nor who said it, but it goes something like this, and pertains to UTD: in a time of war, the first thing to go in art is subtlety. There is no subtlety in UTD, and there aren't really any metaphors - it's all on the surface. It's all about the Bush Jr. years and the rise of the extreme right in the political landscape.

The Stand is more timeless in its themes of good and evil.

[Grouchy]

I'm also reading The Stand right now. I'll only read the discussion when I'm finished, which won't be soon. I'm, like, on page 60.

Who posted some magazine's list of the best Stephen King books a while back? That's what made me buy The Stand, and I'd like to continue using it as a guide.

[dreamdead]

I'm also reading The Stand right now. I'll only read the discussion when I'm finished, which won't be soon. I'm, like, on page 60.

Who posted some magazine's list of the best Stephen King books a while back? That's what made me buy The Stand, and I'd like to continue using it as a guide.

I look forward to your thoughts once you finish. I think you'll enjoy it. Meantime, I was the one who posted the ranking list of King's oeuvre, and here (http://www.vulture.com/2012/04/ranking-all-62-stephen-king-books.html) it is again.

I've got The Shining to get to as well, but I'm going to save that one for the winter, I think, to give it more resonance.

[D_Davis]

Who posted some magazine's list of the best Stephen King books a while back? That's what made me buy The Stand, and I'd like to continue using it as a guide.

I did (on another site). :)

edit.

[D_Davis]

I'm also reading The Stand right now. I'll only read the discussion when I'm finished, which won't be soon. I'm, like, on page 60.


You'll blow through it. It's a super fast read. When I was reading it, I wanted to stay up all night multiple times.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Speaking of King, does he have anyone who rivals him in terms of prose and scares?

[D_Davis]

In the novel department I'd say that Clive Barker is up there with King, especially in terms of mainstream, populist stuff. Barker gets a little more weird (especially with the sex and body horror), and he might actually be a better writer, but he lacks King's great handling of character.

In the short story department, Joe R. Landale is up there, and might surpass King in all areas except for popularity (although that's hard to say, because King's short fiction is incredible). However, Lansdale goes deep - he starts where other authors might draw the line and stop.

[Kurosawa Fan]

See, I've read Barker, and the weirdness puts me off. Also, like you say, there's nothing particularly memorable about the way he crafts a character.

Lansdale is on my radar, but I was hoping for something novel-length.

[D_Davis]

You might want to check out T.E.D. Klein's novel, The Ceremonies. It's a classic. Klein is an interesting writer. He finds writing incredibly difficult and almost impossible to do - he struggles with every single word, and thus has only had one collection of novellas (Dark Gods) and the one novel published - both of which are masterpieces. He's a lifelong editor of horror/SF fiction as well.

Have you read Dan Simmons? What about Peter Straub?

[EvilShoe]

Anyone interested in behind the scenes politics of movies should definitely read The Devil's Candy by Julie Salamon. Really interesting novel.

(Probably best to have read The Bonfire of the Vanities though.)

[Grouchy]

He finds writing incredibly difficult and almost impossible to do - he struggles with every single word, and thus has only had one collection of novellas (Dark Gods) and the one novel published - both of which are masterpieces.
I find non-prolific writers fascinating. That's probably because I read a very good book about them once, Bartleby & Co. by Enrique Vila-Matas. I always recommend that. His insights on Juan Rulfo and Salinger are incredible, and it's a perfect combination between an essay and literature.

[dreamdead]

It's very strong. It's not my favorite Atwood, but it is a good read.

Finished out Oryx and Crake. I read some of the criticisms that reviewers made at NYTimes (where they actually dig the second novel more), so I'll allow that Crake's back-story leaves him too oblique and thus uncoordinated as a "villain," which renders him one-note, but Snowman's narrative and the way that he drifts into the past is surprisingly affecting. A lot of Crake's methodology for fixing human mistakes actually make a lot of sense, which itself speaks to Atwood's vision. And although Snowman's affections for Oryx are self-evident, her attraction to him is suspect, not quite revealed enough to be anything less than another machination.

I liked it, and certainly appreciate the depth of the themes (environmental, psychological, psychosexual) that Atwood explores. However, I would hope that the third novel in the trilogy answers more of Crake's history, otherwise I don't think this will quite work as a series.

Onto Allegra Goodman's Kaaterskill Falls next.

[D_Davis]

I find non-prolific writers fascinating. That's probably because I read a very good book about them once, Bartleby & Co. by Enrique Vila-Matas. I always recommend that. His insights on Juan Rulfo and Salinger are incredible, and it's a perfect combination between an essay and literature.

That sounds interesting. I wonder, is Harper Lee the most famous of all the non-prolific authors?

[dreamdead]

Mara, what do you hold to be Margaret Atwood's best work? I've read Surfacing (good, but I most like where it ends, not the journey to that point), The Handmaid's Tale (excellent, though it has been years since I read it), and now Oryx and Crake. I'm most interested in Robber Bride next down the road, I think...

[Mara]

Mara, what do you hold to be Margaret Atwood's best work? I've read Surfacing (good, but I most like where it ends, not the journey to that point), The Handmaid's Tale (excellent, though it has been years since I read it), and now Oryx and Crake. I'm most interested in Robber Bride next down the road, I think...

I think in terms of form, The Blind Assassin is close to perfect. It's not as ambitious as some of her work, but it is astonishingly good. In terms of content, The Handmaid's Tale is a really important, thoughtful work, although I have some reservations with the way it all comes together, especially at the end. I liked Oryx and Crake pretty well, and The Year of the Flood a little less. The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, and The Penelopiad are worth reading, and the rest have problems.

Wow... I have apparently read all her novels. I didn't quite realize that. I haven't read all her short stories, but I the ones I have read have been great.

[Hugh_Grant]

I recently got back from a trip, and I swear to god, I lost count of how many copies of Fifty Shades of Grey I saw at various airports.

Me, I was reading Colossal Canadian Failures 2, which I found at the wonderful Denver bookstore, The Tattered Cover.

[Grouchy]

Seriously. Everyone's reading that shit.

That's the one that started out as Twilight fan fiction, right?

[Derek]

Anyone read or know anything about The Contortionist's Handbook? I'll be reading it for a new book club I'm in and am wondering what I'm in for. It sounds interesting from the plot synopsis at least.

[Melville]

What are people's favorite books of the last decade or so? I've read only one book, Atonement, from these two lists:
http://www.themillions.com/2009/09/best-of-the-millennium-pros-versus-readers.html

[Mara]

What are people's favorite books of the last decade or so? I've read only one book, Atonement, from these two lists:
http://www.themillions.com/2009/09/best-of-the-millennium-pros-versus-readers.html

I haven't read many, either, but I thought Atonement was kind of awful.

I quite liked Never Let Me Go, Middlesex, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

The Kite Runner was also kind of awful.

[D_Davis]

During the last decade, I've read two of the best books I've ever read, and discovered my all-time favorite author - Michael Cisco.

Last Dragon, by J.M. McDermott - best fantasy book I've ever read
The Great Lover, by Michael Cisco
Celebrant, by Michael Cisco

Others:

Under the Dome, by Stephen King
A Fine Dark Link, by Joe R. Lansdale
Miracles of Life, by J.G. Ballard
The Ice Trilogy, by Vladimir Sorokin
Merkabah Rider, by Edward Erdelac
Kingdom Come, by J.G. Ballard
Crazy, by William Peter Blatty
John Dies at the End, by David Wong
Shambling Towards Hiroshima, by James Morrow
Teatro Grottesco, by Thomas Ligotti
Dark Harvest, by Norman Partridge


Books on this list that you (Melville) would like: zero. ;)

[Melville]

I haven't read many, either, but I thought Atonement was kind of awful.
I didn't care much for it either. Much of it felt too self-consciously writerly in a way that irks me in a lot of contemporary literary fiction.


Books on this list that you (Melville) would like: zero. ;)
Ha. Even the Ligotti? I'm a fan of Lovecraft. I also like and love two of the Ballard collections I've read (Vermillion Sands and The Atrocity Exhibition, respectively).

[D_Davis]

You might like Ligotti, and maybe even Cisco. Cisco is the most difficult author I've ever read. I doubt I will ever fully comprehend The Great Lover and Celebrant.

And you like Ballard? Awesome! We found another author we both like. :)

[Benny Profane]

2666 is in my top 10 all time. Of all on the list, seems like Melville would like this most.

The Corrections was the best book I read that year (2010 I believe)

Cloud Atlas is tremendously awesome.

As is The Road

I really liked Atonement

Middlesex was pretty good.

I hated The Kite Runner and White Teeth.

[Kurosawa Fan]

On that list, I'd strongly recommend 2666, The Road, Atonement, and Cloud Atlas, in that order.

I also liked The Corrections and The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay, with some reservations.

I was "meh" on The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Never Let Me Go.

HATED The Kite Runner. One of the worst books I've read.

[Mara]

I know I've read The Corrections and Empire Falls, but I remember nothing about them. That's not really a glowing recommendation.

[Milky Joe]

Definitely 2666 and The Savage Detectives and By Night in Chile and basically any Bolaño.

David Foster Wallace - Oblivion, absolutely be on there. His most mature and complete collection of short fiction.

I might throw Nicole Krauss's The History of Love also. Beautiful little fresh breeze of a book.

Of course, Philip K Dick's Exegesis, if that counts.

[D_Davis]

Of course, Philip K Dick's Exegesis, if that counts.

Did you finish it? I doubt I ever will. And to think there are like 7,000 more pages of it! :D

[Milky Joe]

Nooope. :) I'm barely a third of the way through it. I wonder if they will bother publishing any more of it? When it was announced they said it would come in two volumes, but I think they scrapped that idea.

[D_Davis]

I have a feeling a large portion of that print run is going to be remaindered - I can't imagine that it sold well at all.

[ledfloyd]

2666, The Corrections, Cloud Atlas, The Road, The Fortress of Solitude and The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay would all make my top ten of the decade. 2666 is the one i feel is most up your (Melville) alley.

i enjoyed Austerlitz and Atonement enough.

didn't really care for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao or Never Let Me Go.

i didn't finish White Teeth and Kafka on the Shore is garbage.

that covers everything i've read from that list.

[Hugh_Grant]

My 2₵ from the Millions list:

I highly recommend Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, especially those of you who are interested in postcolonial literature.

[D_Davis]

Isn't everything written in the last 10 years post-colonial? ;)

[Hugh_Grant]

Isn't everything written in the last 10 years post-colonial? ;)
But how many books have been written about the Nigerian-Biafran War? (Aside from some offerings from Achebe...)

[D_Davis]

I don't even know what that is.

[dreamdead]

Yeah, the Millions love for Kafka on the Shore is bewildering. I dig Wind-Up Bird a lot, but Murakami hasn't really stretched himself in some time, to my knowledge (haven't read 1Q84). I'm planning to read Gilead some time this fall--I've wanted to since last summer, when I read up about it.

Finished Allegra Goodman's Kaaterskill Falls, which was surprisingly solid and nuanced in its treatment of Jewish identity and traditionalism weighted against the forces of modernity in 1970s New York life. Goodman knows how to tell a story and shift fluidly between characters' mindsets, so that the narrative reveals a tapestry of perspectives rather than being tied to just one. And the refusal to overtly sentimentalize either tradition or modernity allows for these forces to weigh on the reader equally, so that we determine how the novel should be read, rather than Goodman force-feeding us. I think I still value The Cookbook Collector since it was my first foray into Goodman's work, but this was quality.

I was getting ready to read Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night next, but a library visit has left me starting Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons instead. It's a bit clunky in terms of structure, and far more detailed in its social details than in psychology, but hopefully it'll prove worthwhile. I'm interested in those writers like Tarkington and Cabell who were once important to the American literary canon but have since been largely abandoned...

[D_Davis]

Terms of Endearment up next.

[Mysterious Dude]

I read Les Misérables in 83 days. It actually took me less time to read War and Peace (72 days), even though it's longer and I didn't like it as much. Maybe I had other shit going on this year. So, some scattered thoughts.

Tolstoy wrote an article called "A Few Words Apropos of the Book War and Peace," in which he responded to some criticisms he'd received about the book. One of them was how he'd basically ignored the plight of the serfs, how poorly they were treated at the time of the story, and, when they do appear, they are little more than dumb slaves, barely even people. I was intrigued by this because it was something I had thought of when I was reading it, but Tolstoy's response was basically that he didn't write about it because it doesn't matter. When I read that, I realized that Tolstoy and I are really not on the same page at all, and that probably prevented my enjoying the book.

Hugo is different, though. While Tolstoy's characters were all princes and aristocrats, Hugo's hero is a criminal. Indeed, Hugo is far more interested in matters of class than Tolstoy was, for a great many classes are represented in the characters of Les Misérables, and some of the characters get to experience more than one class during their lives. Sometimes, the way Hugo looks at class is a bit quaint, but at least he was looking at it. It seemed like almost every class was represented in some way in the book.

Now, there are times when Les Misérables strains credibility. The story is awfully reliant on coincidence, and Jean Valjean, Marius, Cosette and Thénardier are constantly, inexplicably crossing paths with one another or their relatives. I guess France is a pretty small country. I never noticed this phenomenon in War and Peace.

I didn't like that Jean Valjean confessed to Marius but not Cosette in the end. Cosette is the one person he should be telling! But I have this curious modern notion that women are people. I know it is probably realistic for Cosette to be treated like a child by her husband and her father (I was reminded of how Betty Draper is treated by her husband in Mad Men) but man it's annoying.

There were parts of the book where Hugo would drop a lot of names on me, and while there were end notes to explain them, I didn't read them very often, and sometimes I felt like Captain Picard trying to understand that guy who only speaks in metaphors.

In related news, I also like Victor Hugo's paintings.

http://www.free-photos.biz/images/architecture/buildings/hugo-painting1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Victor_Hugo1300.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0M8-_vUCD10/S9WD0MliYnI/AAAAAAAAAYU/5eDNqbknY1U/s400/Victor_Hugo_Dessin037.jpg

http://www.latribunedelart.com/IMG/jpg/Hugo_Chateau.jpg

http://patatorandco.free.fr/extras/hugo/index_fichiers/60.jpeg

[dreamdead]

I don't know if I've ever more vehemently hated a protagonist more than Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons's George Amberson Minafer, who is callous and judgmental and classist for 470 pages before getting his comeuppance in the last forty pages. Tarkington excuses George's failings by continually pointing out how handsome and mature his brooding ways make him to otherwise intelligent women, which just further infuriate any of my possible enjoyment.

The epitome of a "classic" novel that doesn't work because of gender imbalances and lack of psychological, rather than catalogues of social, detail. I'm tempted to rewatch the film based on this light.

Onto Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night now...

[D_Davis]

So far Terms of Endearment has been absolutely wonderful. McMurtry continues to inch his way ever closer to becoming my number one favorite author.

[D_Davis]

The last time I wanted to throttle a character as much as I want to throttle Aurora Greenway was when I was reading The Last Picture Show; McMurtry has a way of creating characters that I love to hate. Aurora takes the cake, though. Good lord what a petty, conniving, selfish little maggot of a woman.

[bac0n]

Started The Chronicles of Narnia with my 7 year old earlier this week, going to read the series in CS Lewis' desired order, so we're starting with The Magician's Nephew. I loved these books as a kid, but haven't read them since, so basically it's like reading them for the first time all over again. Magician's Nephew, in particular, I have basically no recollection of, at all.

So, when I read these last, I was probably around 10, too young to appreciate the nuances of an author's style, to be sure. This time, around, however, I am finding the whimsy in Lewis' tone just as enjoyable as the story itself.

[Raiders]

The last time I wanted to throttle a character as much as I want to throttle Aurora Greenway was when I was reading The Last Picture Show; McMurtry has a way of creating characters that I love to hate. Aurora takes the cake, though. Good lord what a petty, conniving, selfish little maggot of a woman.

Ummm... you mean Jacy Farrow? I think you're getting your McMurtry all tangled up.

EDIT: Nevermind, I misread this and didn't see you were reading Terms of Endearment. I have not read it, but Shirley McLaine didn't give off this vibe.

[romantisaurusrex]

What are people's favorite books of the last decade or so? I've read only one book, Atonement, from these two lists:
http://www.themillions.com/2009/09/best-of-the-millennium-pros-versus-readers.html

White Teeth, MiddlesexThe Road, and Kafka on the Shore were amazing, but I'd dig anything from Eugenides or McCarthy

[Mara]

Started The Chronicles of Narnia with my 7 year old earlier this week, going to read the series in CS Lewis' desired order, so we're starting with The Magician's Nephew. I loved these books as a kid, but haven't read them since, so basically it's like reading them for the first time all over again. Magician's Nephew, in particular, I have basically no recollection of, at all.

I have a whole issue with the "Lewis' desired order" thing. I don't think it's as good that way, from a stylistic perspective. But that's a nitpick.

I love Lewis' prose. I think these books are great.

[romantisaurusrex]

Mara, what do you hold to be Margaret Atwood's best work? I've read Surfacing (good, but I most like where it ends, not the journey to that point), The Handmaid's Tale (excellent, though it has been years since I read it), and now Oryx and Crake. I'm most interested in Robber Bride next down the road, I think...


I'll agree with Mara about TBA and would also recommend Alias Grace and The Year of the Flood (esp since you've read O&C) before Robber Bride ...also some of her compilation works are her best stuff like The Tent and Moral Disorder (probably my favorite of hers).

It really depends on if you find her intriguing or hokey when she gets science fiction-y.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, the series work better if you read it in the published order.

Not really a fan of C.S. Lewis, though. I read the books as an adult and although they are harmless fun at first, from Dawn Treader onwards they get incredibly pandering and annoying.

[D_Davis]

EDIT: Nevermind, I misread this and didn't see you were reading Terms of Endearment. I have not read it, but Shirley McLaine didn't give off this vibe.

I haven't seen the movie. I imagine the character would be extremely hard for even the best actress ever to pull off in the way that McMurtry writes her. Absolutely fascinating, completely nuanced and interesting. McMurtry is still on his way to becoming my number one author.

[dreamdead]

I'll agree with Mara about TBA and would also recommend Alias Grace and The Year of the Flood (esp since you've read O&C) before Robber Bride ...also some of her compilation works are her best stuff like The Tent and Moral Disorder (probably my favorite of hers).

It really depends on if you find her intriguing or hokey when she gets science fiction-y.

I looked into Alias Grace, but I'm not too keen on historical fiction. I find Atwood's material that examines a text's "contemporary" society most fascinating, rather than books set in the more distant past, which is why I've prided RB over AG. Moral Disorder, however, also sounds fascinating--a bit like Carol Shields' excellent The Stone Diaries, from the sounds of it. Thanks for the heads-up!

And I notice that you still (seemingly) like The Year of the Flood. Do you find it as problematic as Mara, or are you more forgiving that it retreads some of the same territory?

-

In unrelated news, the first section of Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night is seemingly the weakest, as this section section I'm in right now much more affords a critical examination of Dick Diver and his travails, rather than the carefree and consequence-free treatment of infidelity in the first section. I have a much stronger understanding of the novel's aims now, whereas that first section meanders and seems unconnected to the larger narrative, even if it symbolically echoes Nicole's mental instability.

[romantisaurusrex]

I looked into Alias Grace, but I'm not too keen on historical fiction. I find Atwood's material that examines a text's "contemporary" society most fascinating, rather than books set in the more distant past, which is why I've prided RB over AG. Moral Disorder, however, also sounds fascinating--a bit like Carol Shields' excellent The Stone Diaries, from the sounds of it. Thanks for the heads-up!

And I notice that you still (seemingly) like The Year of the Flood. Do you find it as problematic as Mara, or are you more forgiving that it retreads some of the same territory?



Not sure what you mean by that? I liked YOTF because it wove in some of what Atwood does best into her more ambitious stuff that she tends to not do so well. I mean her distopianism in books like Oryx and Crake and Surfacing sometimes comes off as overly obvious and almost kind of adolescent, but I didn't think YOTF was this way because it was told from a female perspective and had this sort of feminine subtlety to it that the story told from Snowman's perspective didn't have.

Which reminds me that somehow I completely left out Cat's Eye, which now that I think of it was actually my favorite work of hers. She doesn't try to do anything overly ambitious with the story, and comes off saying some really courageous stuff.

[D_Davis]

I love this quote from an i09 user about how many times Atwood has defined and redefined "science fiction" in her mind to make sure that she's not a part of it:


New definition of science-fiction: "that which Margaret Atwood does not write".

[romantisaurusrex]

I love this quote from an i09 user about how many times Atwood has defined and redefined "science fiction" in her mind to make sure that she's not a part of it:


Hater.

[dreamdead]

Not sure what you mean by that? I liked YOTF because it wove in some of what Atwood does best into her more ambitious stuff that she tends to not do so well. I mean her distopianism in books like Oryx and Crake and Surfacing sometimes comes off as overly obvious and almost kind of adolescent, but I didn't think YOTF was this way because it was told from a female perspective and had this sort of feminine subtlety to it that the story told from Snowman's perspective didn't have.

Which reminds me that somehow I completely left out Cat's Eye, which now that I think of it was actually my favorite work of hers. She doesn't try to do anything overly ambitious with the story, and comes off saying some really courageous stuff.

If I remember Mara's comments corrrectly, she disliked how Atwood structured parts of YOTF so that it recapitulated parts of Oryx and Crake's narrative, rather than seeking new territory. I found OaC quite stimulating, but I'm hesitant to get to it until A) the last in the trilogy is announced or B) I know that it truly builds upon the world and doesn't just echo the first.

Will look into Cat's Eye... thanks to you two for the Atwood knowledge!

[romantisaurusrex]

If I remember Mara's comments corrrectly, she disliked how Atwood structured parts of YOTF so that it recapitulated parts of Oryx and Crake's narrative, rather than seeking new territory. I found OaC quite stimulating, but I'm hesitant to get to it until A) the last in the trilogy is announced or B) I know that it truly builds upon the world and doesn't just echo the first.

Ohhh. Well I think at times she was trying to be sort of winky-winky insider on people who had read OaC maybe (imo it's VERY hard not to do this in overlapping plots, Ender's Game/Ender's shadow is coming to mind as another example), but overall I'd argue she succeeds at redefining her world here.



Will look into Cat's Eye... thanks to you two for the Atwood knowledge!

We are happy to tag team advice relating to all things Atwood, Eliot, or Bronte. ;)

[dreamdead]

We are happy to tag team advice relating to all things Atwood, Eliot, or Bronte. ;)

For you and Mara on the Brontes (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202)'. It rather makes me want to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall...

[Mara]

For you and Mara on the Brontes (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202)'. It rather makes me want to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall...

Love it.

And LOVE The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I keep trying to single-handedly raise its profile in the literary world. It was ahead of its time.

[Melville]

Finished The Corrections yesterday. It was ok. I'm not a fan of Franzen's prose, which feels overwritten, boggy with tedious details.

He does write extremely well about the petty power struggles in the characters' marriages, however; the section about Gary was the book's highlight. Gary's flailing battle with his own notions, his hazy muddled feelings, attempts to keep afloat, to control himself and the situation, and his surrender to his falsely doe-eyed wife's insidious control, allowing him to reassert his falsely assertive control, was all good.

But other stuff annoyed me. Everything to do with Chip was laden with contrived postmodern tropes: consumerism, cultural studies in academia, quirky humor, ending with a wacky, implausible adventure. It felt almost like a White Noise pastiche. His father's attachment to him at the end was very affecting, though.

Much worse was Denise's story. For most of it, Denise felt only vaguely like a character, wholly amoral and barely cognizant (a problem running through the book's characterization of women). But the bigger issue was her storyline's blithe attitude toward infidelity. It was loathsome. And the twist toward the end made it feel cheap, as if the infidelities were absolved of any moral dimension in order to lend the twist more force.

[ledfloyd]

have you guys (mara and rex) read the brontes by juliet barker? as i was driving home from school today they were reviewing an updated edition on NPR. the reviewer said it contains 130 pages of "thrilling" new footnotes. thrilling, i'm assuming, being relative, but i immediately thought of you two.

[Mara]

have you guys (mara and rex) read the brontes by juliet barker? as i was driving home from school today they were reviewing an updated edition on NPR. the reviewer said it contains 130 pages of "thrilling" new footnotes. thrilling, i'm assuming, being relative, but i immediately thought of you two.

I read it in college. It was amazing.

I cannot believe I missed out on the 130 pages of thrilling footnotes.

[dreamdead]

I kinda want to reread Franzen's The Corrections again; just to see if the good stuff rises up enough to mask the bad. I've contemplated reading his earlier work to see if that has a better balance...

Finished up Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night, which never really materializes into anything resembling brilliance. There are scattered passages of great lyricism, but the structure loses something from its first Book, which concentrates on the Divers through the lens of a Hollywood child star, and who valorizes Dick Diver to such an extent that the narrative seems to build Dick up far too much (and he seems too much like a Fitz surrogate, too, which comes off as petty ego fulfillment). The novel improves in the second Book, but it never balances everything quite right. Symbolically a few echoes resonate (Nicole being preyed on by her father, and then Dick preying on Rosemary like an incestuous father), but it just never works. I'll try This Side of Paradise someday, but this isn't the second excellent Fitzgerald book.

Onto Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist next.

[Melville]

I kinda want to reread Franzen's The Corrections again; just to see if the good stuff rises up enough to mask the bad. I've contemplated reading his earlier work to see if that has a better balance...
What did you think were the good and bad? Same things as me, or different?


Finished up Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night, which never really materializes into anything resembling brilliance...(and he seems too much like a Fitz surrogate, too, which comes off as petty ego fulfillment).
I thought the whole thing read too much as 'poor me, I was young and great and then Zelda was crazy'.

[ledfloyd]

I read it in college. It was amazing.

I cannot believe I missed out on the 130 pages of thrilling footnotes.
sounds like the perfect excuse to buy the new edition.

[Mara]

sounds like the perfect excuse to buy the new edition.

You think I'm not going to ask for it for Christmas, but you're wrong.

[Melville]

Got Teatro Grottesco in the mail today. Might read that after finishing the Chekhov collection I've been reading. I also got At the Mountains of Madness, which I haven't read.

[amberlita]

Didn't Match-cut have a quasi-book-club (or the suggestion of one) at some point? What ever happened to that? It's a neat idea.

[dreamdead]

Didn't Match-cut have a quasi-book-club (or the suggestion of one) at some point? What ever happened to that? It's a neat idea.

I killed it when I suggested Tristram Shandy a couple years back. The club is usually spoken of fondly, but most don't seem to have the time to commit to it...

[Lucky]

I would participate when I'm done with school in April.

[amberlita]

I would participate when I'm done with school in April.

That's be good. Cause you've been reading Black Swan Green for what seems like 2 years. :)

I'm teasing you know. I read all of maybe 2 books during my first year of fellowship.

[Lucky]

That's be good. Cause you've been reading Black Swan Green for what seems like 2 years. :)

I'm teasing you know. I read all of maybe 2 books during my first year of fellowship.

Hah, I actually finished that one. I've been reading A Storm of Swords for months. I'm moving at a snail's pace, but I'm over a third through. Hopefully I finish in time for GoT S3.

[romantisaurusrex]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-82qNBh1Eo3s/T_VzSghHTBI/AAAAAAAAAIs/OidQQCj91ho/s1600/El%2Bguardian%2Bentre%2Bel%2Bc enteno.jpg

Holden's slang is actually really amusingly translated.

[dreamdead]

Finished up Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist, which blends race relations with a noir alternate universe where elevators and getting vertical (no giggity, sadly) are the epitome of privilege. Whitehead shuffles up the chronology and concocts a world where minor characters are constantly important, so that those first seventy pages are a blur of (seemingly) minor characters. I feel like I need to reread those pages to get the most out of the novel, as I blazed through the rest in a day's time (yay holiday!) but feel like there are narrative gaps that are my fault for not remembering. That said, the last 50 pages are a marvel, succinct yet layered, continually deepening the scope of the novel. Echoes of Ralph Ellison, but also Pynchon's Crying of Lot 49. D_Davis, Duncan, and Melville, I could see you three digging this...

Since the local library actually ordered a novel I blindly asked them to purchase, I'll be doubling up my reading with Don Lee's The Collective and Atwood's Moral Disorder.

[D_Davis]

Terms of Endearment is very good. While I do prefer more plot in my novels, ToE is a character-driven "literary" work, it is well written and completely entertaining. McMurtry really is one of the greatest writers I've ever read - any writer who can make me interested in a book about the relationship between an old lady and her daughter must be pretty damn amazing.

Not as good as Lonesome Dove (but then again, what is? NOTHING, that's what) nor as good as The Last Picture Show, but still really great.

[D_Davis]

I'm returning to the world of Gus and Call - Dead Man's Walk.

[Benny Profane]

Much worse was Denise's story. For most of it, Denise felt only vaguely like a character, wholly amoral and barely cognizant (a problem running through the book's characterization of women). But the bigger issue was her storyline's blithe attitude toward infidelity. It was loathsome. And the twist toward the end made it feel cheap, as if the infidelities were absolved of any moral dimension in order to lend the twist more force.

I don't remember all the particulars of the twist but I thought it had more to do with Alfred, who, other than being written as a drooling cranky mess in his senior years, was portrayed as a stoic, uncaring, "you did it, you deal with it" father type while raising his kids.. It was the only glimpse of him being a loving father and I thought added a lot of dimension to his character. That was what resonated with me. I didn't even think about Denise other than she was a young girl who made poor decisions and needed help. Hers was actually my favorite storyline though that may be due in some part to it being set in Philly. I agree that Chip's part was unsatisfying but I still liked it. I thought the scenes in Alfred's house when the kids were growing up were just superbly done.

[D_Davis]

It makes sense that in my search this year for something as good as Lonesome Dove, I would have to return to the world of that seminal masterpiece. Dead Man's Walk is awesome. So far, it's a lot more action packed than LD, but I have a feeling that McMurtry is just setting up a situation from which Gus and Call are going to have to survive and mature.

[Benny Profane]

It makes sense that in my search this year for something as good as Lonesome Dove, I would have to return to the world of that seminal masterpiece. Dead Man's Walk is awesome. So far, it's a lot more action packed than LD, but I have a feeling that McMurtry is just setting up a situation from which Gus and Call are going to have to survive and mature.


What age are they in this one?

[Benny Profane]

I'm nearly finished A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by Wallace. I'm saving the Lost Highway David Lynch essay until I watch the movie which I hope to do this weekend. What an enjoyable read this is though. His essays about television and it's effects on society and postmodern literature, as well as the Illinois state fair, the pro tennis qualifiers, and the caribbean cruise are all so fascinating. He takes an amusing, quizzical approach to things that many humans find totally normal but are actually incredibly strange. It's borderline aloof but it's also self-deprecating and introspective. Wallace constantly recognizes and struggles with his own inadequacies. The result is a lot of wry but poignant humor. He is also a fantastic organizer and chronicler of events. It's 8 or so essays in chronological order spanning 5 years and he definitely improves with age. But what's with all the fucking footnotes?

[D_Davis]

What age are they in this one?

Young 20s? It's about their first time in the Rangers. They are very young.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

But what's with all the fucking footnotes?

You must not have gotten around to Infinite Jest yet :lol:

[Benny Profane]

You must not have gotten around to Infinite Jest yet :lol:

Is it that bad? Like, 1200 pages with lots of footnotes? I'd like to read it but I don't know if I can handle all the interruptions.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Is it that bad? Like, 1200 pages with lots of footnotes? I'd like to read it but I don't know if I can handle all the interruptions.

In IJ they're technically endnotes and not footnotes, but they constitute something like 150 pages if I remember correctly. The most common reading method (or at least what I and my friends needed to use) is two separate bookmarks, for easier cross-referencing. Annoying at first, but you definitely get used to it, and (at least in my opinion) the reward is worth the perseverance.

Also worth noting that they're not conventional endnotes, but often literal extensions of the text, punch-lines to set-ups, etc.

[D_Davis]

In modern fiction, I often find footnotes and endnotes to be nothing but little jokes and asides by an author attempting to be cute and clever. Similar to the overly-long preface in A Heart Breaking Work....

[Milky Joe]

Comparisons of Wallace to Eggers make me feel like I have incipient bladder tumors.

[Benny Profane]

In IJ they're technically endnotes and not footnotes, but they constitute something like 150 pages if I remember correctly.




Jesus.

[D_Davis]

Dead Man's Walk continues to be amazing. I love seeing Gus and Call grow into the men I got to know and love in Lonesome Dove. McMurtry inches ever closer to being my favorite author.

[dreamdead]

Really was impressed with Atwood's Moral Disorder. The last two stories, about each of Nell's parents, were just brutal. The deterioration of their mental health was quite impressive in how acute the depictions were, especially given that Atwood was conveying this information in such a miniature form. Good, good stuff.

[ledfloyd]

Has anyone picked up Zadie Smith's NW yet? This piece (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/sep/27/cards-identity/) by Joyce Carol Oates is intriguing.

[dreamdead]

I've read several lackluster reviews on it on the NYTimes Books page. Since I haven't read White Teeth yet, I figure I'll start there and then do On Beauty at some point.

Meanwhile, I finished Don Lee's The Collective, a novel chronicling Korean identity, authorship, art and politics, and sexual desire. It's structured as a semi-Gatsby tale, where the main character evokes new beliefs and understandinge from his fraternity of Asian friends, but it's especially interesting in its assessment of what the role of the ethnic writer is, specifically as it relates to literary culture. Who can write a story about ethnic immigrants? Are ethnic writers to commit themselves only to this task? Interesting stuff that's discussed without becoming a treatise, and so fascinating that it covers up some of the creakiness of the plot (which treads melodrama during a few places).

Up next is JG Ballard's High Rise.

[ledfloyd]

for some reason i decided today that i should see what this eugenides guy is all about. i went to the library and got all three of his books. 30 pages into the virgin suicides it seems promising, and i feel like revisiting the movie.

[Mara]

for some reason i decided today that i should see what this eugenides guy is all about. i went to the library and got all three of his books. 30 pages into the virgin suicides it seems promising, and i feel like revisiting the movie.

I found The Marriage Plot to be disappointing. Middlesex is his strongest, I think.

[D_Davis]

Dead Man's Walk, by Larry McMurtry

Let's get the obvious out of the way - Dead Man's Walk is not as good as Lonesome Dove. No d'uh. And then again, I doubt I'll ever read anything better than LD. It is however, completely awesome.

It is also a very different book. Chronologically, it is the first of the LD series. Gus and Call are young and inexperienced, and they are not in control of their adventure. They are along for a wild ride that leads them into the very depths of hell; this book is violent, gorey, and dark. Very dark. It details the survival of the Texas Rangers and their battles against nature, the Mexican army, a killer Apache named Gomez, and two evil Comanche Indians named Buffalo Hump and Kicking Wolf.

At it's core, Dead Man's Walk is a survival book. McMurtry pushes Gus and Call to the very limits, and through each confrontation they grow stronger, more confident, more humble, and become more like the men I grew to know and love in Lonesome Dove. There are parts where the survival stuff gets a little long and drawn out, but just as it is about to wear out its welcome the tone and atmosphere change and the book becomes almost metaphysical and very bizarre.

I've read a lot of complaints about this ending section, and I have to say that I completely disagree with the naysayers. The final portion of this novel is unbelievably good. Yes, it does get very weird, but it does so in a way the builds upon the very nature of the myth and legend of the old west. In many ways, it becomes a grand and sweeping fantasy. One of the final set pieces is something that I will not soon forget, and the final two chapters contain some haunting imagery that will linger in my mind for some time.

I'm am very glad that I made the decision to read the entire series, and I can't wait to start the next volume - Comanche Moon.

[D_Davis]

Comanche Moon has been started. So far, it's hilarious. It's also really nice to see the old gang somewhat back together -Pea Eye, Deets, and Jake Spoon have already made an appearance.

[dreamdead]

Finished up Ballard's High Rise. Quite a fan of the 175-page novel; I'd like to see more contemporary writers explore this form. I thought the study of primitivism and classism treated in spatial terms fascinating, and found a lot of the text's critique of misogyny pleasantly surprising. The text regards the men as endlessly cannibalistic of women's emotions, and so the reversal at the end, where women seem to gain power of the building but do it through non-violent means (or, at least, less violent means), was interesting in its suggestions. Equally interesting was how the high-rise society refuses to admit the tribal qualities now consuming it to policemen who examines the trash and other demolished cars just outside the building.

I think I'm starting Edith Wharton's The Customs of the Country next...

[D_Davis]

Ballard has a number of great novels < 200 pages. I, too, am a fan of that length.

[Mara]

I was really, really ambivalent about reading Book of Mormon Girl by Joanna Brooks. But then I finished it in one evening and stayed up half the night talking about it with my roommate and I may have cried a little bit. So there's that.

[Benny Profane]

I think next year (for fun!) I am only going to read ~1,000+ page books. Here is what I have so far:

Don Quixote
The Count of Monte Cristo
Infinite Jest
The Recognitions
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Stand

What am I missing?

I'd like to read a definitive nonfiction book on The Civil War, too, if anyone has any recommendations.

1000 page books I've already read are:

The Executioner's Song
Atlas Shrugged
Against the Day
War and Peace

[Mara]

It's not a really popular opinion, but I find Alexandre Dumas' prose close to unreadable. I think The Count of Monte Cristo might be his best work, but that's not saying much. I'd be interested to hear your reaction.

[Melville]

What am I missing?
The Brothers Karamazov is 1000+ pages in some editions. And it's the best book ever.

Ulysses is as well (1000+ pages in some editions, not the best book ever). Those editions might be very heavy on annotations.

The Lord of the Rings. Doesn't seem like your kind of book, though.

Les Miserables, though I've only read an abridged version.

In Search of Lost Time. I don't know if it's available in a single volume, but the Guinness Book lists it as the longest novel ever written. I've read the first two volumes, and they're both great.

The Man Without Qualities is supposed to be one of the all-time greats. But I've never known anybody to actually read it.

[Benny Profane]

It's not a really popular opinion, but I find Alexandre Dumas' prose close to unreadable. I think The Count of Monte Cristo might be his best work, but that's not saying much. I'd be interested to hear your reaction.

I read an abridged version in 8th grade, about 300 pages, assigned by the teacher, but I didn't know it was abridged. At that time it was the longest book I'd ever read. I was so proud I finished it. For a few years it was my favorite book. Then about 10 years later a co-worker of mine brought the REAL version to work, which I think is close to 1500 pages. I had no idea. I was a little disappointed. Feel like I have to finish it.

[Benny Profane]

The Brothers Karamazov is 1000+ pages in some editions. And it's the best book ever.

Ulysses is as well (1000+ pages in some editions, not the best book ever). Those editions might be very heavy on annotations.

The Lord of the Rings. Doesn't seem like your kind of book, though.

Les Miserables, though I've only read an abridged version.

In Search of Lost Time. I don't know if it's available in a single volume, but the Guinness Book lists it as the longest novel ever written. I've read the first two volumes, and they're both great.

The Man Without Qualities is supposed to be one of the all-time greats. But I've never known anybody to actually read it.

I've read Karamazov but I think my edition was only 750 pages or so (unabridged).

I'm not really interested in either of Joyce's longer works. I'm one of the few people who didn't care for A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I did like Dubliners and for now I'll leave it at that.

No interest in Lord of the Rings, correct.

Les Miserables is a good one. I'm adding it.

I thought about Proust but it's such a daunting idea that I left it off. It will happen eventually though, and might be something I will do straight through rather than in parts.

The Man Without Qualities looks pretty damn interesting. Never heard of it before.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Haven't read it, but Joseph McElroy's Women and Men has been on my list for a while. Pretty sure that's over 1,000.

[kuehnepips]

...

The Man Without Qualities looks pretty damn interesting. ...

But it is not. I've been reading this since the early 80s...:frustrated: ... but I'll finish it some day!

Infinite Jest I'll never finish. Neither you BTW.

[Winston*]

I think next year (for fun!) I am only going to read ~1,000+ page books. Here is what I have so far:

Don Quixote
The Count of Monte Cristo
Infinite Jest
The Recognitions
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Stand

What am I missing?

I'd like to read a definitive nonfiction book on The Civil War, too, if anyone has any recommendations.

1000 page books I've already read are:

The Executioner's Song
Atlas Shrugged
Against the Day
War and Peace

Bleak House or Little Dorrit?

[Benny Profane]

Dickens is a writer that I never consider for some reason. I liked Great Expectations in high school. I will add these to the list, thanks.

[EvilShoe]

I forgot I was reading The Book Thief. I read about 50 pages of it, thought the gimmick was quite enjoyable, then forget about it, and now don't really feel like finishing it.

*stares at copy of The Razor's Edge. Soon...*

[Grouchy]

You want long books, I finished The Stand on Sunday.

It is a very engaging book despite the monster lenght - as you might guess, I've been reading the Extended Edition. The reason for this is King's talent for writing the psychology of an ensemble cast and hamming it in so thoroughly that by the end you feel like you know all these people. My favorite characters are probably Larry (I enjoyed his survivor's guilt) and Glen, who just seems like someone I might want to know. Harold was also a great character, and his self-shunning from society was interesting enough that I was often rooting for him over the main characters, specially when it came to the Stu/Frannie dullness.

The story isn't new or particularly original, but the theological approach chosen by King is. Randall Flagg's impersonation of evil is probably one of the most interesting aspects of the story. And thus, I was a little disappointed when King chose to diminish Flagg's powers near the end of the story. It's clearly a deliberate choice, building him up as an invincible antagonist only to show his cracks and seams when the hour of the truth comes. But it was still less than satisfactory. Badass ending scene, though.

All in all, great read.

[D_Davis]

I've never been more sad after finishing a book than I was when I finished The Stand and Lonesome Dove. Closing those covers felt like I was leaving behind friends that I had grown to love and care for.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm almost done Catching Fire and I have a ton of problems with it. Why does the author portray Katniss to be some innocent naive little girl when she never makes a single mistake? She always acts out of anger or in the moment, and it's always the absolute correct decision? We already had an entire book where everything falls into place for her and the second book follows exactly the same way. I think I have 4 or 5 chapters left. I can pretty much guess what's about to happen.

So she was able to ally with two others, one of them will be killed by either the force field or other traps in the arena, one of them will turn on Katniss and Peta will defend Katniss and die in the process and Katniss will kill the other out of anger.

[kuehnepips]

Took me a month to read Middlemarch. :frustrated: I'm getting old.

[D_Davis]

Good God, Comanche Moon is intense as fuck. I was practically in a full-on sweat on the bus this morning. Parts of it I had to skim because it was so nasty. I had to put the book down every few sentences to breath and wipe my hands on my pants. I've never read another book that made me feel this way.

This book is amazing. Might even be better than Lonesome Dove. It's so magical - lot's of ritual and superstition. The way the thing unfolds is incredible; like a huge epic fantasy, the plot is snowballing into something grand. It might even be more like Lord of the Rings in this regard than LD is.

So good.

[kuehnepips]

Good God, Comanche Moon is intense as fuck. I was practically in a full-on sweat on the bus this morning. Parts of it I had to skim because it was so nasty. I had to put the book down every few sentences to breath and wipe my hands on my pants....

Guess you're reading this version

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513seEJxf0L._BO2,204,203,200_P Isitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU03_.jpg

[D_Davis]

Guess you're reading this version

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513seEJxf0L._BO2,204,203,200_P Isitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU03_.jpg

That's the one!

[radioman970]

Guess you're reading this version

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513seEJxf0L._BO2,204,203,200_P Isitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU03_.jpgOnly problem, from the neck up he's Fabio. :confused: :eek:

I sent you a PM. But, just wanted to say "hey" and "how goes it?" Been a long time since I heard from you.

[romantisaurusrex]

Took me a month to read Middlemarch. :frustrated: I'm getting old.

First time I read it was outloud with my mother...took us a whole Summer and a roadtrip across the country.

So, thoughts?

[dreamdead]

Moved on from Wharton's The Customs of the Country to Updike's Rabbit Run. I'll go back to Wharton some time later, but the immediate readability of Updike is appreciated, some forty pages in. I'm gonna be interested to see when or if the misogyny factor becomes overwhelming, but the prose is rather gorgeous in its depiction of the minor characters. I'll be interested in how it goes from here...

[Robby P]

Finished Karl Marlantes' Matterhorn a few days ago. It's a sprawling 600 page Vietnam epic that took over 30 years to write. It's a magnificent read and a wonderful addition to a field of literature that, for whatever reason, I find myself particularly drawn to. I enjoyed it quite a bit more than Dennis Johnson's Tree of Smoke which was another 600 page Nam odyssey released a few years ago. While that book was far more absurdist and satirical, Marlantes book is more invested in viscerally shocking realism. There's no sense of cynical detachment here, the violence is very intimate to Marlantes and he makes no effort to hide his contempt for those responsible. Highly recommended reading.

Currently invested in Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns and then it's back to the world of fiction as I have a copy of The Savage Detectives anxiously staring at me from my book shelf. Very excited to start that one.

[D_Davis]

Comanche Moon, by Larry McMurtry

In context to the series, Comanche Moon is my favorite of the Lonesome Dove books. It's not a great stand alone novel like Lonesome Dove is, but it is amazing as the middle chapter, and offers up a ton of action, adventure, sadness and memorable characters.

It's is a very different book than LD is. There is not a huge, driving quest pushing the characters along. Almost twenty years passes, and during these two decades McMurtry examines the important milestones in the characters' lives. We see Gus and Call grow; at the beginning they are still young, and a little annoying. But by the end they are the men that they are in Lonesome Dove, and their evolution is natural. We also get to see the budding relationships between Deets, Pea Eye, Jake Spoon and Newt, and we learn more about Buffalo Hump and his troubled son, Blue Duck.

And speaking of Newt, the story of his mother, Maggie, and her relationship with Call is one of the most tragic portions of the book. Call is kind of a jerk, and he doesn't redeem himself at all; I greatly respect McMurtry for keeping Call so narrow minded. Also tragic, but for different reasons, is Gus's failed relationship with Clara, a romance that will be revisited in Lonesome Dove. These two men are powerfully molded by the women that surround them, and McMurtry's mastery of romance and relationships is on full display.

But the book isn't all love and romance. It's also incredibly violent and shockingly gory. There were parts I had to skim, and parts that made my hands slick with sweat. Many of these had to do with Captain Inish Scull and the evil Black Bandit, Ahumado. This portion of the book is haunting and harrowing. The hell that Captain Scull goes through will stick with me for many, many years. Let's just say that modern torture porn doesn't come close to what happens in Comanche Moon; how this was ever a television series blows me away.

The final portion of the book is my favorite. Many years pass during these 200 or so pages, and the wind of change blows with great force. The Indians, including Buffalo Hump and his raiding Comanche warriors, are moving on to the reservations, or calling it quits, surrendering to the will of the white men and to their old age. The Civil War comes and goes. And Gus and Call enter middle age, full of regret and nostalgia. It is in this part that the book becomes more literary and ponderous, and it is here that McMurtry demonstrates his great understanding of humanity, and all of the motions we are capable of feeling.

[Benny Profane]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I will definitely get to these eventually.

[Mara]

Almost done with Mary Roach's Packing for Mars. It's pretty interesting, but I feel a little disappointed after how much I enjoyed her book Stiff. This one is about the way astronauts are trained/picked/evaluated for space travel, and also about the more grotesque aspects of space travel. Like in Stiff, Roach shows a fascination with bodily functions, examining in great depth vomiting, eating, excreting, having sexual intercourse, etc. in zero g. (Do you know what happens to your body after you don't have a shower for two months? Do you want to know? Because I'll clue you in: it's super gross.)

Unlike Stiff, this book feels more disjointed. It's just a compendium of anything Roach finds interesting or titillating about space prep and travel but doesn't give any real overview of the material. What Roach finds interesting and titillating usually is interesting and... well, kind of gross. But interesting. It still feels a little lacking, though.

[kuehnepips]

Hi radioman!

*passes bottle*


...

So, thoughts?

I read Middlemarch only because Mara loves it. Will not repeat this exp.

*opens another bottle*

[Mara]

I read Middlemarch only because Mara loves it. Will not repeat this exp.

*opens another bottle*

Ha.

I do love it. Sorry you didn't.

[D_Davis]

And now to read Lonesome Dove, again, before moving onto The Streets of Laredo, the last book of the series.

Greatest series ever? So far, yes.

[D_Davis]

It's good to be back in Lonesome Dove.

[ledfloyd]

"A Big Bang had occured, originating at the bridge of her nose, and the force of this explosion had sent galaxies of freckles hurtling and drifting to every end of her curved, warm-blooded universe. There were clusters of freckles on her forearms and wrists, an entire Milky Way spreading across her forehead, even a few sputtering quasars flung into the wormholes of her ears."

have i mentioned i'm loving middlesex?

[D_Davis]

"Her teeth were like stars, they came out at night."

[ledfloyd]

i think calliope stephanides might be among my top 5 narrators ever. right up there with ishmael and humbert humbert.

[TGM]

So hey, I'm doing a book giveaway (signed copy of my book, as well as the entire Leviathan Trilogy), and figured some of you guys might be interested. Check it out. (http://www.velcrotheninjakat.com/2012/10/velcros-leviathan-giveaway.html)

[Benny Profane]

Working by Studs Terkel is a really fascinating project. Terkel interviews over a hundred people, mostly strangers, from different occupations and gets them to talk about what they do for a living; how satisfied they are with the life they've chosen, how they see their role in society and how it fits into the bigger questions of the universe, what's important, what their dreams are. You rarely see Terkel's questions but you can tell that he is a master at getting people to open up. The book was published in the 70s, when there were a lot more labor/union issues than there are now, but it's still very relevant. I was constantly amazed at these essays. I would definitely recommend.

[D_Davis]

Working by Studs Terkel is a really fascinating project. Terkel interviews over a hundred people, mostly strangers, from different occupations and gets them to talk about what they do for a living; how satisfied they are with the life they've chosen, how they see their role in society and how it fits into the bigger questions of the universe, what's important, what their dreams are. You rarely see Terkel's questions but you can tell that he is a master at getting people to open up. The book was published in the 70s, when there were a lot more labor/union issues than there are now, but it's still very relevant. I was constantly amazed at these essays. I would definitely recommend.

That sounds great. Love Terkel's stuff, and I need to read more.

[Lucky]

Despite its excessive length, A Storm of Swords is easily the best entry in the series so far. Actual character arcs, plot seeds finally coming to fruition, and a bloodbath of death. Can't wait to watch this play out on TV.

[Lucky]

Started Elizabeth Gilbert's The Last American Man. Burning through it. Reminds me heavily of Into the Wild with a better writer.

[Benny Profane]

Going to see David Mithcell and Michael Chabon speak at the local library tonight. Anyone have a good question to ask?

I have read two by Mitchell and I just started Kavalier and Klay by Chabon.

[ledfloyd]

man, i wouldn't know what to ask either, but i'm jealous of the opportunity.

[Benny Profane]

I ended up asking Mitchell about a line from Frobisher's section where he tells Sixsmith about a new sextet he is composing from fragments and asks him if it's revolutionary or gimmicky. I asked Mitchell if that line was actually about himself being concerned/doubful about how his work would be received, because the structure is so unique and narrative so non-traditional, and because it's told in fragments from six voices (sextet). Revolutionary or a gimmick?

He answered in a pretty funny way. The short answer was yes.

[Benny Profane]

I ended up asking Mitchell about a line from Frobisher's section where he tells Sixsmith about a new sextet he is composing from fragments and asks him if it's revolutionary or gimmicky. I asked Mitchell if that line was actually about himself being concerned/shy about how his work would be received, because the structure is so unique and narrative so non-traditional, and because it's told in fragments from six voices (sextet). Revolutionary or a gimmick?

He answered in a pretty funny way. The short answer was yes.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

I ended up asking Mitchell about a line from Frobisher's section where he tells Sixsmith about a new sextet he is composing from fragments and asks him if it's revolutionary or gimmicky. I asked Mitchell if that line was actually about himself being concerned/shy about how his work would be received, because the structure is so unique and narrative so non-traditional, and because it's told in fragments from six voices (sextet). Revolutionary or a gimmick?

He answered in a pretty funny way. The short answer was yes.

Sounds like an awesome opportunity, it seems like both are cool guys. Did either mention what they're working on? I know Chabon just put something out, but I'm curious as to what Mitchell has up his sleeve.

[Duncan]

Sounds like an awesome opportunity, it seems like both are cool guys. Did either mention what they're working on? I know Chabon just put something out, but I'm curious as to what Mitchell has up his sleeve.

I saw Mitchell speak about a year ago. Back then he read an excerpt from a novel that was supposed to be comprised of 40 some odd short stories and basically paint a very large scale picture of a world post-petroleum. Don't know how far along he is with it though, or if he even continued with it. Seemed in the early stages of development.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

I saw Mitchell speak about a year ago. Back then he read an excerpt from a novel that was supposed to be comprised of 40 some odd short stories and basically paint a very large scale picture of a world post-petroleum. Don't know how far along he is with it though, or if he even continued with it. Seemed in the early stages of development.

Sounds interesting, thanks!

[Benny Profane]

Sounds like an awesome opportunity, it seems like both are cool guys. Did either mention what they're working on? I know Chabon just put something out, but I'm curious as to what Mitchell has up his sleeve.


Nobody asked so I'm not sure. The event was only an hour long. They read from the books their promoting for about 20 minutes each. (Mitchell is re-promoting Cloud Atlas because of the movie coming out.) Then there was a Q&A for the remaining time. Glad I got the question in because they really only answered 4 or 5.

The new cover of Cloud Atlas is really freaking ugly, by the way. Not that I loved the old cover but this one looks like the floating head movie poster with Hanks and Berry. Shame.

[Benny Profane]

I will be seeing Tom Wolfe next Thursday if anyone can think of a good question to ask him.

Stoked.

[Robby P]

Jesus, that's one hell of a library. "Yeah, so I got to meet Michael Chabon and David Mitchell the other day. Oh and Tom Wolfe is stopping by to talk shop tomorrow. No big deal."

I recommend The Yiddish Policeman's Union if you're new to Chabon. I had a lot more fun with that one than Kavalier and Clay.

[Benny Profane]

I saw David Byrne there a few weeks ago.

Pete Townsend was there on Monday. Paul Auster and Irvine Welsh about a month ago. Jeffrey Toobin and Wyclef Jean have also been there this season.

Rushdie and Martin Amis will be there on 10/30. Not a fan of either but they're big names.

Zadie Smith and Bob Woodward also upcoming, not together. No interest in either. Andrew McCarthy will be there. Apparently he is a travel writer nowadays?

Not sure I'm loving Kavalier and Clay but I'm only 60 pages in. The story seems very interesting but the writing/prose is not on the level I'd like it to be. But I will definitely keep going.

[Mara]

I recommend The Yiddish Policeman's Union if you're new to Chabon. I had a lot more fun with that one than Kavalier and Clay.

I had the opposite reaction. I found The Yiddish Policeman's Union to be an interesting oddity, but didn't really connect with it emotionally, while Kavalier and Clay was a gut-punch.

Wonder Boys was also very good, while Summerland and Gentlemen of the Road were sort of fascinating misfires.

[Robby P]

My library smells like homeless people and was recently shut down due to sewage contamination. Believe it or not, Salman Rushdie is not listed on the upcoming attractions.

[ledfloyd]

I had the opposite reaction. I found The Yiddish Policeman's Union to be an interesting oddity, but didn't really connect with it emotionally, while Kavalier and Clay was a gut-punch.

Wonder Boys was also very good, while Summerland and Gentlemen of the Road were sort of fascinating misfires.
Have you read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh? It's quite good, if not quite on the same level as Wonder Boys and Kavalier and Clay. I'm reading Telegraph Avenue at the moment which is a bit meandering and all over the place, but it's never less than entertaining. It seems to be a return to his earlier literary fiction. "Fascinating misfire" and "interesting oddity" are pretty accurate descriptors for his genre experiments post-Kavalier. I enjoy them all, but outside of Yiddish wouldn't be too quick to recommend them to anyone that didn't already adore Chabon.

Mitchell and Chabon is an interesting pairing to me because I actually was turned on to Mitchell by Michael Chabon, who recommended Cloud Atlas in an interview.

[dreamdead]

Having a fascinating problem with Updike's Rabbit Run. I'm thoroughly invested in it and enjoying the prose and where the story's going, but I'm only able to devote about 10-15 pages to it every couple days or so. There's a denial of forward momentum as I'm reading this way, which pleasantly echoes Rabbit's trapped temperament, but I also wonder what it means that I cannot get much headway or propulsion here.

Anyone have favorite books of theirs that read this way, or am I just trying to justify a slow-going book?

[D_Davis]

Anyone have favorite books of theirs that read this way, or am I just trying to justify a slow-going book?

Michael Cisco's last two books - The Great Lover, and Celebrant - were both like this for me. Two of the best, most profound works of fiction I've ever read, but they were SLOW going. This was mainly due to the way Cisco writes - changing POV and tense mid-sentence, missing and sometimes wrong punctuation, garbled-up letters for words, all done for effect, style and purpose.

*****

Finished my re-read of The Great and Secret Show, and it was very good.

Now onto some non-fiction with Paul Lieberman's Gangster Squad.

[Benny Profane]

Anyone have favorite books of theirs that read this way, or am I just trying to justify a slow-going book?

JR by Gaddis. Pretty much any Pynchon novel.

I loved Rabbit Run but don't remember how fast I went through it.

[D_Davis]

Pretty much any Pynchon novel.


I can imagine.

I need to give one of his massive tomes a chance. What would you suggest? I've only ever read The Crying of Lot 49.

[Benny Profane]

I can imagine.

I need to give one of his massive tomes a chance. What would you suggest? I've only ever read The Crying of Lot 49.


Based on your taste, I think you would like V. the most.

[Mara]

Have you read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh? It's quite good, if not quite on the same level as Wonder Boys and Kavalier and Clay. I'm reading Telegraph Avenue at the moment which is a bit meandering and all over the place, but it's never less than entertaining. It seems to be a return to his earlier literary fiction.

I should check those out. Thanks!

[Grouchy]

Books bought in NYC:

The Illustrated Man. Ray Bradbury
Ham on Rye. Charles Bukowski
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Susanna Clarke
A Scanner Darkly. Philip K. Dick
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Callia. Stephen King
On Writing. Stephen King
The Greek Myths. Robert Graves
Groucho and Me. Groucho Marx
The Hunter. Richard Stark

[D_Davis]

I'm not going to be reading Gangster Squad - it is poorly written. At one point the author describes someone as being "dressed to the nines," and at another point he says "when the you-know-what hit the fan." More cliches than you can shake a stick at, and come on - if you're writing about a bloody war between gangsters and cops, I'm pretty sure your audience is capable of reading the word shit.

[Irish]

Ham on Rye. Charles Bukowski
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Susanna Clarke

V.interested in hearing wha you think of these two, when you read them.

[Hugh_Grant]

Zadie Smith and Bob Woodward also upcoming, not together. No interest in either.


Does. Not. Compute.

[Benny Profane]

Yeah. I thought White Teeth was absolutely brutal.

[Hugh_Grant]

Yeah. I thought White Teeth was absolutely brutal.

"The Girl with Bangs" is one of my favorite stories to teach first-year college students, and they love to discuss it. White Teeth falls apart a little at the end, but I still love it.

[dreamdead]

FINALLY finished Updike's Rabbit Run, which ended up taking a month to power through. The conclusion, especially Rabbit's lashing out at Janice during the funeral service, was powerful, as Rabbit's general asshole personality comes through starkly there. The exploration of Catholicism and guilt was fascinating, but Rabbit's indecision becomes monotonous after a while. I'll start Redux sometime next year since I want to finish out the series, despite the complaints. I'm confident the books become more culturally and politically aware as they go...

Onto John Dos Passos's Three Soldiers, a WW1 text that examines the war from both radical and patriotic angles. I'm looking forward to getting into it, though I know that it's some of his early work and won't contain some of the cinematic montage techniques that are so powerful.

[Lucky]

Recommendations for a gift to a 2 1/2-year old girl? I was thinking One Fish, Two Fish.

[Benny Profane]

Recommendations for a gift to a 2 1/2-year old girl? I was thinking One Fish, Two Fish.

Knuffle Bunny
Bear Snores On
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Giving Tree

[D_Davis]

The Big Blowdown, by George Pelecanos

The Big Blowdown is not original in any way. You've read books like this before; you've seen movies like this before. It is, however, an expertly told story, and contains a number of memorable characters and situations. It is a hard-boiled crime/gangster story, and an immigrant story, as it focuses on the Greek neighborhoods of D.C. and Baltimore; I've read more than one review call it "Once Upon a Time in Little Greece," and that's not a bad description, although it is a lazy one.

A couple decades are covered in the book, as the main character, Pete Karras, grows up, gets into trouble, fights in WWII, returns home, and finds his life drastically altered after an altercation with a small time mobster. Pete eventually ends up working at a small diner owned by Nick Stefanos (Nick's son, also named Nick, will end up being a returning character in Pelecanos' first series of books), and meets a young kid named Mike who is out looking for his sister, a whore addicted to junk in a neighborhood where a Jack the Ripper style serial killer is out hacking up the punchboards.

In typical noir fashion, no good deed goes unpunished, and thus a chain reaction of events is set in motion, events with dire consequences for more than a few of the players.

Pelecanos knows his subject, as is evident from his award-winning time spent producing and writing The Wire. In his novels he deftly mixes elements of racial tension, pop culture (lots of film and music discussion, all of the time - in this case the 1940s-50s), hardboiled thrills, and noirish conventions - lot's of drinking, smoking, hanging out in bars with hookers, and mystery.

The Big Blowdown is interesting in that everything about it gets better as it progresses. Even the writing, while a little clunky in the first few chapters, ends being very good by the novel's end. With each passing page I was caught up more and more in the lives Karras and Stefanos, and genuinely cared about the drama unfolding. I will definitely be reading more Pelecanos. I read the first Nick Stefanos novel, A Firing Offense, years ago, and recently purchased it and the following two novels. I think I'm going to like my time spent in Pelecanos' world.

[Grouchy]

Once again I bought a Ray Bradbury short story anthology (The Illustrated Man) that I seemed to recall having one of my favorite stories, "Usher II", which I'd first read in my Spanish edition of Martian Chronicles. Alas, pretty good reading, but the story eludes me one again!

Goddamn you, American publishers! Long live the Queen!

[dreamdead]

About halfway through John Dos Passos's Three Soldiers, his account of World War I impropiety, rampant womanizing, and radicalism among the soldiers. It's weird to see so little of Dos Passos's stylistic imagination prevalent here (no real imagism in the prose or experimental form, such as his U.S.A. trilogy or Manhattan Transfer engage in), but the story moves efficiently. I'm hoping the text ratchets up just a bit more once it gets into the actual combat, though. It's a solid enough record of the viewpoints held by the radical minority, but it could use a bit more emphasis on texture now...

[Robby P]

I am a little annoyed by this narrative shift in the second act of The Savage Detectives. I much preferred the first person perspective to this mishmash of countless, faceless narrators. I'm sure it will get better once I get used to it but for now it's quite the turn off.

[Grouchy]

I am a little annoyed by this narrative shift in the second act of The Savage Detectives. I much preferred the first person perspective to this mishmash of countless, faceless narrators. I'm sure it will get better once I get used to it but for now it's quite the turn off.
Heh. It's like a completely different book, isn't it?

Love The Savage Detectives.

[Benny Profane]

I am a little annoyed by this narrative shift in the second act of The Savage Detectives. I much preferred the first person perspective to this mishmash of countless, faceless narrators. I'm sure it will get better once I get used to it but for now it's quite the turn off.

I agree, and while I liked the middle portion, I far preferred the two bookends.

[amberlita]

Broke down and bought Team of Rivals. What a mother of a book! After recently struggling to put together but a couple of brief research proposals, I don't know how the hell one goes about constructing a book that requires over 120 pages to list the citations.

[EvilShoe]

Finally finished The Book Thief. What a chore that was: it managed to turn the holocaust into a bland affair.

70 pages into The Razor's Edge. Good stuff.

[Grouchy]

Ham on Rye might be the best I've read from Bukowski yet. I'm kind of depressed that I've read all the Chinaski novels. Will have to stick to short story collections for new material... and Pulp.

[Benny Profane]

Ham and Rye might be the best I've read from Bukowski yet. I'm kind of depressed that I've read all the Chinaski novels. Will have to stick to short story collections for new material... and Pulp.

Might be? C'mon now! :)

Weird that you read all his other novels before this one. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

For short stories - Hot Water Music is great. So is The Most Beautiful Woman (or Girl?) in Town.

[Grouchy]

I was gonna go with Hot Water Music next because it has Chinaski stories.

Well, it clearly is the best, then. I know the first one I read was Hollywood, which might be kind of weird, and I don't remember the exact reading order of the others. I know I ate them up very quickly.

[dreamdead]

Finished out Dos Passos's Three Soldiers. It never really is able to live up to the best of his work, lacking the expressionism and modernist play with form, but the last thirty or so pages capture, in minute strokes, the inability of the individual in wartime to escape systems of oppression. The nihilism embedded in those final pages is powerfully felt; in other areas, however, Dos Passos belabors his point. Still, I'm happy to have finished the last of his works that are currently in print.

Moving onto Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue, which I'm hoping lives up to the early praise. The premise seems a little generic, but hopefully there's greater complexity once I get deeper into it.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Getting perilously close to my every-year goal of 52 books read for the year. Sitting at 48 now, but one of the remaining ones I'm looking at is The Brothers Karamazov which is giving me the death stare.

[D_Davis]

Getting perilously close to my every-year goal of 52 books read for the year. Sitting at 48 now, but one of the remaining ones I'm looking at is The Brothers Karamazov which is giving me the death stare.

Nice!

I'm falling way short of my normal ~52 this year.

[Robby P]

I can't imagine reading one book a week. Unless I was a speed reader.

[dreamdead]

Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue is interesting. The prose, naturally Chabon's greatest strength as a writer, is impeccable; layered, detailed, and gifted with original metaphors and deft turns of phrases. And the story, which aims to deconstruct notions of a post-racial America in 2004 Oakland, has the markings of a worthy story. Chronicling both post-assimilation Jews and African Americans, Chabon focuses on fringe cultures, examining kung fu, vinyl, midwifery, and other topics within the framework of a lost father/son dynamic. However, some of the more fascinating arcs, specifically African American midwife Gwen's battle with white privileged mothers, rather than the minority mothers she thought she would work with, are neglected in favor of the father/son narratives. And when Obama shows up, the novel too stridently affects to comment on post-racial society, in a work that feels constructed rather than character-driven.

I haven't read Chabon's last few efforts, and I suspect that his notion of cool will appeal to some on these forums. It is, in general, well crafted and, again, the prose is a marvel. But the overall arc seems less weighty than it should be.

I've moved onto DeLillo's The Names now, as I'd like to finish some of the gaps that I have in DeLillo's oeuvre.

[dreamdead]

Benny,

Any thoughts on the Chabon book? Curious as to your general thoughts...

[ledfloyd]

i'm currently in the midst of Telegraph Avenue. it's actually taking me a really long time to read because, while i enjoy visiting it's world, it's not terribly gripping. perhaps because, as you stated, the overall arc is not very weighty. in regards to the stuff with Gwen, i read a review of the book that said that had been salvaged from a failed pilot Chabon had written about midwifery. in retrospect, it makes a lot of sense, it doesn't feel like it's given its due.

the prose is fantabulous though, and it's curious in the way that it attempts to reconcile the two phases of Chabon's career. the earlier literary works (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh through Kavalier and Clay) and the genre experiments (Summerland through Gentlemen of the Road). it appears to be a return to his earlier books, but there is a genre nerdiness that wasn't present even in Kavalier and Clay, with even the omniscient narrator making Star Trek references.

it's a fun world Chabon has created and it's an interesting amalgam of his career to this point, but it is definitely messy and feels, despite its size, like a minor work.

[Pop Trash]

Naturally, I want to read that Chabon novel.

[Marley]

Has anyone read Lonesome Dove? I only picked it up about a week ago (albeit, it is has been sitting on my shelf for years) and now almost finished. Such a wonderful story with great characters and I will be sad when it comes to an end. Easily one of the best novels I have read in a while.

[D_Davis]

Has anyone read Lonesome Dove? I only picked it up about a week ago (albeit, it is has been sitting on my shelf for years) and now almost finished. Such a wonderful story with great characters and I will be sad when it comes to an end. Easily one of the best novels I have read in a while.

:)

My favorite novel. Actually, the entire series is brilliant.

[ledfloyd]

Naturally, I want to read that Chabon novel.
it's absolutely worth reading, if that didn't come through.

[Pop Trash]

it's absolutely worth reading, if that didn't come through.

I live in Oakland and work on Telegraph Ave. so its gotten plenty of hype around these parts.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Machiavelli's The Prince. It's dry reading, and some of it reads harshly, even if you go in knowing that it's essentially about how to be pragmatic about your assholery - Machiavelli seems to advocate false flag operations. But a lot of the book is simple advice that makes logical sense, and I admire his brevity. He'll suggest a problem, give a practical solution, offer an example, and move on to the next topic. Reading it, your brain rushes through a dozen examples of why he's right, in politics, in management, in the workplace, in life in general.

Not that I agree...just that I found his candor and efficiency engaging.

[dreamdead]

it's absolutely worth reading, if that didn't come through.

Did you finish it yet, led? In retrospect, I'm finding that the book's treatment of sexuality might be its strongest angle. The fluidity with which the characters adopt a sexual interest, such as Julie and Titus, but also with Archy and the gender-switching female receptionist who works with the midwifes (because Archy totally has sex with her, right?)... that's the material that's most interesting here, especially in relation to the final pages, where Chabon extends the fluid approach to sexuality into avenues of modern role-playing with avatars and the like.

That said, I still don't think its themes are developed enough to be wholly successful. It's focus is so extreme on fringe cultures and fringe coolness that it never coalesces into a larger study of culture. And when it pops up as this year's candidate for "Great American Novel," I'm left feeling bereft, since I never experienced that connection.

[Benny Profane]

Benny,

Any thoughts on the Chabon book? Curious as to your general thoughts...

Although it's not in my top 10 I really did enjoy the book on multiple levels. It's difficult to intertwine motivations of real-world people with those of comic book characters and themes of magic and escapism but Chabon does a more than credible job without making it overly literary. It had a very grand, epic scope that I appreciated, but it was lacking in "big" moments. Just when I thought it would soar it kinda stayed grounded, if that makes any sense. His biggest achievement may be making someone with ZERO interest in comic books (me) have a modicum of respect for the medium. I have to disagree about his prose, though it's not a major disagreement. I found it clunky at times, missing the mark too often. But he can obviously dazzle, too. All in all it was a very solid read.

[Mara]

I've been remiss in updating my reading reactions, mostly because a few books I had little or no reaction to. Here are the exceptions.

I don't track the best books I read by year, but if I did, number one for this year would be The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt, a moral psychologist, which is apparently a thing. Haidt studies why people, both as a culture and as individuals, develop ideas of right and wrong, and how those ideas are demonstrated in our actions. His basic premise is that the whole human race cares about the same six or seven things, but the proportionate way we care about them creates a false sense of differences between people. Nobody is in the business of being evil: everyone thinks they are doing the right thing (or, at the very least, a bad thing justified by circumstances.) It's rare for me to read a book that really makes me question the way I think about other people, and I found this book both challenging and invigorating. Haidt's prose is not always pristine (he is an academic, not a creative writer) but the excellent content more than makes up for it.

The Righteous Mind was a little bit exhausting, so on a recommendation from a friend I thought Furious Love, a very thorough chronicle of the love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, would be a frothy distraction. And, honestly, I don't think I'm going to finish it. The story is interesting, but I have some problems with three main premises the authors cling to: 1: that Taylor and Burton were both excellent actors, 2: that they were truly, deeply, profoundly in love, and 3: that they were essentially good people.

I pretty much have a problem with that. Burton was a talented (if sometimes bombastic actor) but Taylor could barely read a line for most of her career. She had a couple excellent late-career performances, but they were the exception rather than the rule. Secondly, a relationship based on real or manufactured drama, physical and emotional abuse, and endless lies and manipulations, isn't a love story. It was an affair, possibly even a romance, but I don't think it was love. Lastly, even though the authors keep insisting that the Burtons were sweet, charismatic, and charming their actions paint them as shallow, angry, narcissistic, materialistic, self-involved, alcoholic, fame-hungry and deeply unhappy people.

I wash my hands of them. This is going back to the library.

A less-promising recommendation has been much more interesting. A friend of mine in her mid-teens suggested John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, a young adult novel about a girl with terminal cancer. Awful, right? Actually, no... it's a very involving and likeable read about a smart, funny, insightful young person who happens to be very slowly, if not immediately, dying. I've been seeking out online reviews and some reputable sources named it as one of the best books of the year. I'm not finished, but am really enjoying it so far.

[dreamdead]

Haidt's The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion has been on my radar after Fareed Zakaria highlighted it a few months ago. You make it sound just as stimulating as he did, Mara, and I'm especially interested if you found yourself challenged by it. That's what a good book should do.

For our three week excursion back to Illinois for Christmas break, I've got a ton of books I'm hoping to bang out, but my non-fiction book will be Jim Holt's Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story, which has similarly received raves by critics.

[ledfloyd]

Did you finish it yet, led? In retrospect, I'm finding that the book's treatment of sexuality might be its strongest angle. The fluidity with which the characters adopt a sexual interest, such as Julie and Titus, but also with Archy and the gender-switching female receptionist who works with the midwifes (because Archy totally has sex with her, right?)... that's the material that's most interesting here, especially in relation to the final pages, where Chabon extends the fluid approach to sexuality into avenues of modern role-playing with avatars and the like.

That said, I still don't think its themes are developed enough to be wholly successful. It's focus is so extreme on fringe cultures and fringe coolness that it never coalesces into a larger study of culture. And when it pops up as this year's candidate for "Great American Novel," I'm left feeling bereft, since I never experienced that connection.
not yet, i still have about 100 pages left. i'm having a weird relationship with it where i will pick it up, read 15-30 pages, and then put it back down for a day or two. his take on sexuality is intriguing, but i think that's been the case throughout his entire career. it's interesting that Tarantino is such a touchstone here, because much like Tarantino is often takes his influences, throwing them together in a blender, and creates a new concoction, it kind of feels like that's what Chabon does with his past work in Telegraph Avenue.

i'm hardpressed to connect with the "Great American Novel" accolades, but i can kind of see where they're coming from inasmuch as it's a messy, diverse book, like our country.

[dreamdead]

DeLillo's 1982 novel The Names stands out as the earliest invocation of his many talents. It's got early musing on the role of risk and terrorism abroad, dwellings on the role of film and media that benefit murderers, and extends the late-70s and early 80s ennui nicely. It drags a bit in the middle, but gains momentum again by the end.

Ben Fountain's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk was shortlisted for this year's National Book Award and while it didn't win, it's mighty solid. Described as a Catch-22 for the Iraq War in its exposé of the absurdity of media politics after Bravo Squad survives a firefight with Iraqi insurgents, it's plenty critical of the machinations that led to and perpetuated the fighting in Iraq. That said, it lacks the many linguistic games that Heller wove into his tale. Focused on simple desires (a good lay, a steady girlfriend, a loving family) that is routinely denied him, Fountain's construction of Billy Lynn's narrative voice is ingenious; the moroseness that is a part of the fears of going back overseas to continue fighting is powerfully felt. You could do far worse than this book, which is a quick but worthy read.

I'm thinking that next up is Stephen King's The Shining.

[ledfloyd]

Finally finished Telegraph Avenue. My thoughts have pretty much already been stated, but I would like to revisit it at some point in the future. I picked up Zadie Smith's The Autograph Man at an overstock store for $1. It seems to be her least highly regarded work, but I adored On Beauty, so I thought I'd give it a shot. We'll see how it goes.

[Grouchy]

Finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Remarkable book that never feels long in the way most best-sellers come off padded. I liked a lot of things about it - the style reminiscent of Dickens, the way it tackled issues of social and racial discrimination without even seeming to and the amazing, curious way in which it ends. This Clarke is a writer to watch, then. Comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable (it's a novel about English magicians) and this comes off the winner in every way although it's obviously seeking a different audience. Its moral relativism in particular stands in sharp contrast to the black and white world of J.K. Rowling.

I did not like the actual edition of the book. The cover is horrible and the illustrations inside pathetic. I imagine a lot of talented illustrators would find it a treat to do a book like this, so why they picked this one is beyond me.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

Started this last night. Made it through the first 50 pages and really liked the atmosphere and Clarke's writing, which is (like you said, comparisons are inevitable) its biggest advantage over HP, though as you also said, it's totally unfair to compair the two, as JS&MN is an adult read and much more sophisticated.

[Mara]

I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I'm considering trying to read the whole thing again before the BBC miniseries comes out.

[Grouchy]

I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I'm considering trying to read the whole thing again before the BBC miniseries comes out.
I didn't know that was happening, but I swear several times during the text, I was thinking, "this is impossible to make into a good movie but it should really be a BBC miniseries".

It's a long book but it reads very quickly. Sometimes I would pick it up and read up to five or six chapters non-stop.

[Irish]

I'm about half way through. Actually bought two copies (ebook and big, fat hardback version).

Prose is very good. Charcters and descriptions are strong. Increasing finding her choice of point of view curious, though.

[Grouchy]

So while we're at it, am I the only one who found the whole graphic design of the book very poor? I'm assuming everyone has the same black and white illustrations.

[Irish]

Yeah, the illustrations were disappointing.

Every time I saw one, I thought how much cooler it would have been to directly immigrate the stuff from The Strand in the 19th century.

Either way, surprised they didn't get a better illustrator.

[Mara]

So while we're at it, am I the only one who found the whole graphic design of the book very poor? I'm assuming everyone has the same black and white illustrations.

I assume they were trying to mimic period-specific etchings the way that Clarke mimicked period-specific language, but instead they were just murky and sloppy.

However, I really liked the cover of my edition (hardback):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4d/Jonathan_strange_and_mr_norrel l_cover.jpg/200px-Jonathan_strange_and_mr_norrel l_cover.jpg

[Kurosawa Fan]

I assume they were trying to mimic period-specific etchings the way that Clarke mimicked period-specific language, but instead they were just murky and sloppy.

However, I really liked the cover of my edition (hardback):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4d/Jonathan_strange_and_mr_norrel l_cover.jpg/200px-Jonathan_strange_and_mr_norrel l_cover.jpg


That's the same edition I have. I've only encountered one illustration thus far that I remember, so they haven't made much of an impression.

[Grouchy]

However, I really liked the cover of my edition (hardback):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4d/Jonathan_strange_and_mr_norrel l_cover.jpg/200px-Jonathan_strange_and_mr_norrel l_cover.jpg
That's not bad. However, my softcover...

http://www.melanielamaga.com/wp-content/uploads/ClarkeJonathanStrange.jpg

I know that's supposed to be a fairy road, but it was really a choice between that and the raven.

[Mara]

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan. What a terrible book. I think it's time to admit I don't like McEwan at all-- I wasn't going to dismiss him based on Atonement alone, although I did find that underwhelming.

I only picked this one up because I read a review that gave away the ending and the "twist" sounded interesting. I thought that the twist would happen halfway through the book or so, but instead it happened in the last few pages and, amazingly, made the book even worse.

The main problem was the protagonist, Serena. She is a terrible character, shallow and stupid, passive and vague, and completely defined by her relationships to men. Other characters mention how clever she is, but she makes stunningly stupid decisions without fail. McEwan also takes a potentially interesting angle-- espionage-- and makes it hopelessly banal. Serena is essentially an underpaid secretary, and she cares about her job as little as we do.

And really, no matter what twist you put on the end of the book, you're spending a great deal of time with this idiot.

Spoilers.

The article I read about it is here:

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/roiphe/2012/11/ian_mcewan_s_sweet_tooth_sexua l_politics_in_novel_form.html

It gives away the ending, that Serena did not write her own story, but instead it has been written for her by her lover.

However, the article makes it sound like McEwan did this to show how badly men misunderstand women. I was looking forward to that. Instead, the couple of pages at the end that are directly from the author show no insight into how badly written Serena is. Instead, it makes the lover/author look like even more of a asshole, who takes a self-aggrandizing view of her obsession with him.

Even if that commentary is there somehow, it's pretty well buried, and it doesn't really justify the 290 pages proceeding it.

The best parts of the book are the short stories written by Serena's lover, which are not included in their entirety, but instead are summarized with snippets of text. These are fascinating and unsettling, and make me think I might like McEwan much better as a short story writer.

[Lucky]

Did you read On Chesil Beach, Mara? That's the McEwan book I would recommend to you if you had never read one before.

And that's disappointing to hear, as I'm pretty sure I'll get that book for Christmas.

[Mara]

Did you read On Chesil Beach, Mara? That's the McEwan book I would recommend to you if you had never read one before.

And that's disappointing to hear, as I'm pretty sure I'll get that book for Christmas.

I haven't read it, and I'm not exactly yearning for more McEwan at the moment. I might give it a shot later.

If you have a different response to the book, I'd love to hear it.

[Benny Profane]

Here is another voice in support of On Chesil Beach. It's basically a long short story.

[dreamdead]

I just read On Chesil Beach during a day break from The Shining. It's all right, but it seems like average McEwan. Between this, Saturday, and Atonement, the only one I really come out impressed by is Atonement. While some of the understated treatment of Florence is nicely conveyed, the absolute abandonment of her voice in the last chapter is a mistake. Furthermore, we're asked to believe that Edward and Florence never discuss any aspect of intimacy at any point in their year-long relationship, which seems egregiously facile and constructed.

I still intend to try out more McEwan (Amsterdam especially), but he's not as major an author as others try to suggest.

[amberlita]

Spoilers.

The article I read about it is here:

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/roiphe/2012/11/ian_mcewan_s_sweet_tooth_sexua l_politics_in_novel_form.html

It gives away the ending, that Serena did not write her own story, but instead it has been written for her by her lover.

However, the article makes it sound like McEwan did this to show how badly men misunderstand women. I was looking forward to that. Instead, the couple of pages at the end that are directly from the author show no insight into how badly written Serena is. Instead, it makes the lover/author look like even more of a asshole, who takes a self-aggrandizing view of her obsession with him.

Even if that commentary is there somehow, it's pretty well buried, and it doesn't really justify the 290 pages proceeding it.


This is why I despise Slate. The most hyperbolic and misleading article headlines on the entire internet.

"Want to understand sexual politics? Read this novel."

:frustrated:

[Mara]

This is why I despise Slate. The most hyperbolic and misleading article headlines on the entire internet.

"Want to understand sexual politics? Read this novel."

:frustrated:

I read Slate regularly, but the headlines are often awful. Or, they ask a misleading question.

Headline: "Are Microwaves Killing Your Children?"

After skimming the first paragraph: no, they are not.

[amberlita]

I read Slate regularly, but the headlines are often awful. Or, they ask a misleading question.

Headline: "Are Microwaves Killing Your Children?"

After skimming the first paragraph: no, they are not.

Yeah. They actually do have some good articles, but I get so flustered at the inane headlines that I frequently bounce to another site and don't even bother to read the article.

[ledfloyd]

so, a question. who are the contemporary authors you get excited about when they have a new book coming out?

for me it's something like:
Michael Chabon
Jeffrey Eugenides
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Lethem
Cormac McCarthy
Zadie Smith

David Mitchell would be close, and Don DeLillo would've been on the list 10 years ago.

[megladon8]

Have begun reading "The Crimson Petal and the White" by Michael Faber.

Felt a reading spell coming on and decided to go to one of my boxes of books and just pick up the first one I saw and read it.

Anyone read this one?

I read the first 75 pages this aft and I'm enjoying it. Certainly looking like it won't be the most pleasant story. The way Faber describes the sexual acts that these women engage in on a daily basis is quite amazing, in how he removes any possible eroticism from them.

[D_Davis]

so, a question. who are the contemporary authors you get excited about when they have a new book coming out?


Stephen King
Michael Cisco
Joe R. Lansdale
J.M. McDermott
Thomas Ligotti

[Ezee E]

Cormac McCarthy is probably the only author that I'd buy a book without knowing the premise.

I've heard rumors he has one on the horizon. Anytime soon?

[dreamdead]

Authors I'll read anything by:

Chang-rae Lee
Allegra Goodman
Don DeLillo (his best days are likely behind him, but I do like Falling Man, so I don't think his decline is that bad)
Colson Whitehead (though I need to get to his books after The Intuitionist and before Zone One)
Tim O'Brien (it certainly seems like he's done, though, with nothing since 2002)

[megladon8]

Authors I'll read anything by:

Chang-rae Lee
Allegra Goodman
Don DeLillo (his best days are likely behind him, but I do like Falling Man, so I don't think his decline is that bad)
Colson Whitehead (though I need to get to his books after The Intuitionist and before Zone One)
Tim O'Brien (it certainly seems like he's done, though, with nothing since 2002)


Any recommendations for first-time reads from each author? I'd love to check some out!

[ledfloyd]

Authors I'll read anything by:

Chang-rae Lee
Allegra Goodman
Don DeLillo (his best days are likely behind him, but I do like Falling Man, so I don't think his decline is that bad)
Colson Whitehead (though I need to get to his books after The Intuitionist and before Zone One)
Tim O'Brien (it certainly seems like he's done, though, with nothing since 2002)

hadn't heard of the first two but they both seem really interesting. i've been meaning to get to whitehead for awhile.

[dreamdead]

Any recommendations for first-time reads from each author? I'd love to check some out!

Chang-rae Lee: Native Speaker
Allegra Goodman: The Cookbook Collector
Don DeLillo: probably Underworld, unfortunately
Colson Whitehead: The Intuitionist
Tim O'Brien: In the Lake of the Woods is my favorite

[Benny Profane]

Thomas Pynchon
Jon Krakauer
David Mitchell
Michael Lewis
James Salter
Cormac McCarthy
Jonathan Franzen

[megladon8]

Chang-rae Lee: Native Speaker
Allegra Goodman: The Cookbook Collector
Don DeLillo: probably Underworld, unfortunately
Colson Whitehead: The Intuitionist
Tim O'Brien: In the Lake of the Woods is my favorite


Thank you :)

*runs off to Amazon*

[dreamdead]

Finished out The Shining. I was intrigued by how much of the film isn't in the novel, and by the lasting remnants of Jack Torrence's struggle, as opposed to the ease with which the film shows him giving in to his addictions. The last hundred pages blow by, and the commentary on alcoholism and addiction in general is informative, but this somehow feels less weighty thematically than The Stand, Under the Dome, or 11/22/63. Still good, but not quite as dominant as I thought it'd be, somehow...

[megladon8]

About 1/3 into "The Crimson Petal and the White".

It's certainly much, err, dirtier than anything I was expecting. Not sure how I feel about Faber as a writer thus far. Descriptions often feel counter-intuitive (is the sex supposed to be erotic, or to make the reader feel uneasy? He can't seem to make up his mind).

The story itself is intriguing. Sugar remains a complete mystery, and William's love for her seems destined for tragedy.

The religious guilt vs carnal desire stuff shown with Henry bounces back and forth between genuinely interesting and painfully on the nose.

Liking the book so far due to its entertainment value, but it's hardly high literature.

[Mara]

I read that book when it first came out. I don't remember everything about it, but I do recall trying to decide if it was an arty cut above a dirty romance novel, or a dirty cut below an arty literary novel.

[megladon8]

I read that book when it first came out. I don't remember everything about it, but I do recall trying to decide if it was an arty cut above a dirty romance novel, or a dirty cut below an arty literary novel.


The former, for sure.

[D_Davis]

Finished out The Shining. I was intrigued by how much of the film isn't in the novel, and by the lasting remnants of Jack Torrence's struggle, as opposed to the ease with which the film shows him giving in to his addictions. The last hundred pages blow by, and the commentary on alcoholism and addiction in general is informative, but this somehow feels less weighty thematically than The Stand, Under the Dome, or 11/22/63. Still good, but not quite as dominant as I thought it'd be, somehow...

The Shining is on deck for my adult re-reading of King, sometime early 2013. I remember virtually nothing of it.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through It, and I'm loving it so much more than when I read it as a youngster.

It's so weird to me that King's books are generally read by people at such young ages. I talk to a lot of people who say they hate King, and come to find that they read his stuff in junior high, and they have mistaken memories about the books. I first read King in jr. high, and mainly for the gross of gory stuff. But his books are not juvenile, and they really do tackle very adult and mature themes. I'm getting so much more out of almost every single one now.

[Mara]

Finished up The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson for my book group. It's a nonfiction book that bounces between two storylines-- the difficulties of the architects and designers of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and the exploits of H. H. Holmes, an absurdly prolific serial killer who operated a few blocks from the fairgrounds.

I'm not sure how I really feel about the book. Although the events all take place at the same time and place, there really isn't any connection between the chapters on landscape design and sewage problems and the chapters on how to kill girls in gas chambers. I guess you could stretch and say that half the book is about building up and half is about tearing down, but the prose doesn't really lend itself to that kind of poetry.

To be honest, the chapters on the fair can drag. It's an almost endless litany of architects and engineers, bureaucratic red tape and financing. There's an interesting story there, but not enough to take up a whole book (or half a book.)

The chapters on mass murder are more interesting, but lurid and not particularly enlightening. The couple of chapters near the end that focus on the detective who uncovered many of Holmes' crimes through slogging, exhausting footwork were far more interesting than anything about Holmes himself.

I can't really say that I got anything out of this book.

[D_Davis]

That's a real bummer. Definitely one of my favorite books.

[Mara]

That's a real bummer. Definitely one of my favorite books.

I know the other women in my book group are loving it. I feel a little left out.

[megladon8]

Anyone read any Hilary Mantel?