books, books, books

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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miss buenos aires
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Post by miss buenos aires »

I picked up Zadie Smith's new one (The Autograph Man) at the library over the weekend, and it just kind of sucked me in, you know, all of a sudden you realize you're three-quarters of the way through. But it's not really in the same league as White Teeth.
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

Great cartoons and whitewater commentary: Kayaks to Hell by William Nealy.
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Lipstick
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Post by Lipstick »

Is there anything new out from Kurt Vonnegut? Or has he finally retired?
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Post by josie cat »

A Pillar Of Iron, by Taylor Caldwell
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Post by noiseradio »

Vonnegut is said to be working on a new novel. Due in the next year or two. Don't know the name. The last things I found of his were a collection of short stories (Bogambo Snuff Box) and a collection of musings on the hereafter called God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian. I thought Timequake was really good, so I'm excited that he might give us another novel.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
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miss buenos aires
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Post by miss buenos aires »

Finally finished Bleak House (it's worth it). Now working on Washington Square, by Henry James (my roommate has a pretty canon-heavy library).

I also just read (and need to recommend) Fanny: A Fiction, by Edmund White. It's a fake biography of Fanny Wright, a nineteenth-century utopian reformer, ostensibly written by Fanny Trollope, mother of Anthony. It's anachronistic in its tone, but highly enjoyable.
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Post by BlueChair »

Just finished:

Birchwood by John Banville, and Dining With The Dictator by Dany Ferierre.

I now will begin Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh.

Most of these books, btw, have been for my British Fiction Since 1960 course, including Trainspotting.
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Post by so lacklustre »

You may need a translator for Trainspotting it's partly in scottish dialect/slang.
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Post by BlueChair »

I did alright with The Canterbury Tales. :D

I'll do my best. If I have any problems I'll ask laughingcrow for help.
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Post by noiseradio »

In the middle of On The Road, by Kerouac. Great book.
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Post by martinfoyle »

BlueChair"]Just finished:

Birchwood by John Banville
Banville is great, I loved The Untouchable. His books are sort of mood pieces, wonderful turns of praise, I've had his most recent book by my bed for a while now, I must get stuck into it once I've finished the Vernon Little book, which is great , btw.
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Post by Elfslut »

I'm reading Bloodline from Sidney Sheldon at the moment..So many books..so little time
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Post by BlueChair »

I enjoyed Banville a lot more than I expected. I'm going to have to seek out some more of his work at some point. I think my favourite book I've read for that course so far this year though is The Rotter's Club by Jonathan Coe.
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Post by bobster »

Interesting pair of books, Ms. BA --

Read "Bleak House" several years back. Loved parts of it, but I really got irritated with the narrator of the first person sections (if memory serves, the book is about half first person, past tense and half third person/omniscient). She was just so darn "good" and "nice" that it was sort of like reading a book narrated by Melanie from "Gone with the Wind." I really started to hate her.

"Washington Square" on the other hand, is a real favorite. Absolutely wonderful book. (And the fact that Henry James and I both April 15 babies has nothing to do with it -- nor the fact that we're both prone to lengthy digressions...)
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

"Washington Square" on the other hand, is a real favorite. Absolutely wonderful book. (And the fact that Henry James and I both April 15 babies has nothing to do with it -- nor the fact that we're both prone to lengthy digressions...)

And another fine performance by Montgomery Clift in the film adaptation, "The Heiress".
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Post by mood swung »

noiseradio wrote:
In the middle of On The Road, by Kerouac. Great book.

doesitmakeyouwanttodotonsofspeed????huhhuhhuh??
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noiseradio
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Post by noiseradio »

To the contrary. It confirms that I don't need the drugs I don't take.

But it's still a great book.
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Post by El Vez »

Castro's Final Hour by Andres Oppenheimer
My Goodness: A Cynic's Short Lived Search For Sainthood by Joe Queenan
In The Hands of Dante by Nick Tosches
Nosferatu by Jim Sheridan

Bobster, in some ways you remind me of Joe Queenan. You're nowhere near as mean-spirited as he can be but I could easily see you writing something like Balsamic Dreams or Red Lobsters, White Trash & The Blue Lagoon.
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SoLikeCandy
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Post by SoLikeCandy »

All of my reading is for my classes; however, I am reading and thoroughly enjoying Jonathon Swift. "A Modest Proposal" is hilarious--Swift was the Dennis Miller of 17th century England.
If there's one thing you can say about mankind--there's nothing kind about man
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miss buenos aires
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Post by miss buenos aires »

SoLikeCandy wrote:All of my reading is for my classes; however, I am reading and thoroughly enjoying Jonathon Swift. "A Modest Proposal" is hilarious--Swift was the Dennis Miller of 17th century England.
Except for Dennis Miller sucks.

Bobster: I think Dickens has a weakness for saintly female characters (hello, Agnes from David Copperfield), so I just sort of take it as a lump. Yes, she's completely psychologically unrealistic, but she does get to marry the hot doctor she really loves. Despite the fact that the marriage is all prearranged by Jarndyce because he has a hunch that she's secretly in love, even though she doesn't really even admit it to herself.

Almost done with Washington Square, except for I read a large part of it whilst drunk last night, so I think I'm going to read it over (and I got conned into going to New Brunswick tonight, so I'll have plenty of time on the train). There's just something about the nineteenth century, in both French and English literature. I don't think novels have ever been as good as they were then.
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Post by SoLikeCandy »

I will not debate the suckness of Dennis Miller--I just meant that the two are brothers in sarcasm. Not many people could get away with making jokes about breeding Irish babies for the English aristocracy to eat...

And, Dennis Miller didn't always suck...
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Post by bobster »

El Vez --

Having not read (or even heard about) any of the books mentioned (I actually don't read that many movie books -- just lots of articles and movies), I'm still flattered to be compared to someone even slightly famous.

Queenen is funny, though. And, yeah, I strive not to be mean-spirited. Part of that comes from working a little bit in and around the movie world and knowing how very hard it is to make even the lousiest movie (or book or CD or whatever). It also comes from being from a family of civilians who were constantly criticizing me for being so mean-spirited towards their favorite movies and TV shows.

(My parents used to, I kid you not, tape "Family Feud" and "Wheel of Fortune"; my sister actually owned and listened to albums by Foreigner, Air Supply, the Little River Band and her husband is now obsessed with Shania Twain. My parents have freely participated in "the Chicken Dance." I even once had to watch my entire immediate family perform the Macarena. The horror. The horror.)
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Post by taz »

So i'm bored and searching through old threads...sue me...

Been reading Graham Greene lately...The Quiet American and The Third Man are two that I particularly enjoyed.





oh yeah...and I don't think Dennis Miller always sucked either... :D
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Post by noiseradio »

I'm reading Mostly Harmless, the last of the Hitchhiker's Guide books, and it's very good. I miss Douglas Adams.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
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Post by HungupStrungup »

I'm due to reread all five books of the Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy soon.

Mr. radio, this might interest you if you haven't discovered it already. Terry Jones of Monty Python fame has authored a book called Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic , which I think is based on an Adams-authored video game. Here's a blurb:

"A great architect on a far-off planet develops an idea for the universe's largest and most advanced spaceship, the Titanic. Given its name, it should come as no surprise that the whole thing is a massive disaster. When the ship takes off with only the architect and a journalist onboard, the two must contend with an assortment of cranky robot staff members and a ship's parrot with a mind of its own, among other distractions. And the three passengers that they pick up on Earth may just be the last straw."

Doesn't that sound quite like a familiar Adams plot? I've picked up a copy, which I'll probably end up reading during the holidays.

If that's not enough to pique your interest, the book's jacket promises that Jones wrote every word while stark naked.
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