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Reading this book now, really funny. Some parts are laugh out loud funny, his Working Boy diary entries are classic. I had no idea what a pyloric valve was until I read this. About halfway though and loving every minute.
I really enjoyed Freedom too. My one criticism, to the extent I have one, is that, while I really liked the device of using an autobiography within a novel (in a 4th wall kind of way), I think Franzen could have toned the writing down a bit in that section to make it a bit more realistic (the autobiography portions still felt a bit too much like Franzen's voice). But it's a pretty minor criticism, and it's probably the best novel that I've read that's come out within the last decade.
Recently finished this and agree that it's a worthwhile read if you enjoy social critique and dystopian literature. It's basically a feminist version of 1984 that criticizes both religious fundamentalism and the feminist movement. I thought the ending was good, honestly it did clear some stuff up for me.Now reading The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre.
I read that back in high school and liked it. I also enjoyed Archer's "As the Crow Flies," which I think I read right before C&A.
I liked most of Klosterman's stuff except for Downtown Owl (awful). Killing Yourself to Live was no exception. I haven't read the Duran Duran book, but I did like Sheffield's first book, Love is a Mix Tape. A little sappy, but made up for by his writing on his love for music and irony. I saw a lot of parallels between Klosterman and Sheffield and not just because they both write for music 'zines.
I also heard Downtown Owl was bad. I like him a lot but I have no intention of reading that one.Klosterman wrote a 'blurb' that was printed on the front and back cover of the Duran Duran book and made it sound awesome. That was a big factor in why I decided to check it out. I heard that Sheffield's first book was good too. They said it had a lot to do with his wifes untimely death... but that the Duran Duran book was much more lighthearted but still good. I am looking forward to reading the rest of it.
iirc, almost all of the payoff (of the story linkages) is in the 2nd half of the book. but for me, that aspect of CA was merely a bonus, and the core-value was in the quality of the writing per se.
1/2 way through and like it a lot. I love books like it.
Intern has been okay, 1/3 of the way through. I'm moving on to other books first.Good Soldiers was awesome. Mostly because 2-16 worked right next to my brigade in Baghdad and the battalion is part of the first regiment I was assigned to. Good story, seems to have stayed true to the facts and did a decent job encapsulating the Soldiers lives and LTC "lost" Kauz.
Wasn't that series translated from another language? Could just be a crappy translator, the book probably reads much better in its native language. Never read any of them, just a thought.
yeah it was originally written in Swedish tongue, but if it really was the translator not trying then that sucks since Google Translate could just convert from one language to another.Though much of the series so far is so extreme minded in that almost every male other then the main character is a sex offender/murderer/thief it is a little bit unrealistic but overall a great story which IMO will be a fantastic film (David Fincher is in middle of shooting the American version)
Translations really are an art form all their own. Word-for-word literal translations work for things like menus, but not for novels. That's why you'll never see a novel capably translated by a computer program.
One of these days I mean to get to that, let us know how it is.
This book has some funny dialogue, "His sperm was probably emitted in a rather offhand manner", "never become involved in an altercation with a pauper", "perhaps some vitamin deficiency in his growing body was screaming for appeasement".Reading this book now, really funny. Some parts are laugh out loud funny, his Working Boy diary entries are classic. I had no idea what a pyloric valve was until I read this. About halfway though and loving every minute.
Funny how tastes differ. I'm about 250 pages into Sanderson's latest and thus far it is fantastic. And probably my favorite aspect is the setting, based on many of the factors you list above. To me, this book feels like the very definition of epic fantasy. Nothing like having a massive tome in hand and knowing that there will be 9+ more just like it.I also admire the vision that Sanderson has with his master plan to pull together all of his various original worlds into one collective story several decades down the road.
Completely agree. While what you say about the autobiography is completely true I just chose not to think about it. Normally those kinds of things bother me, and I'd understand someone having a bit of a problem with it, but I'm a Franzen fan-boy and enjoyed every sentence of the book without objection. His narrative flow and ability to comb over such wide expanses of character's inner lives is extraordinary. He is the best there is right now at providing undeterred access to seemingly real human beings' minds, in so doing holding up a mirror to readers and allowing them to see whatever it is they choose to.
Maybe. But only because his buddy killed himself.
Agreed.Maybe. But only because his buddy killed himself.
I'm at 123 pages after starting it a little while ago, just setting the book down now to rave here. I've already laughed out loud several times.
Although if you're going to read a book about the molestation of underage retarded girls, this is the book to read.
Just read Duran Duran book. I liked it and found it better than Love is a Mix Tape. They were similar enough that if you liked one, you'd probably like the other by Sheffield.
Holy #### that turned out to be a great book. Best one I've read in the last few years. Highly recommended.Starting So Brave, Young and Handsome by Lief Enger, the guy who wrote Peace Like a River.
6/10 if you're into Soviet tactics it's worth reading.
Cool man. I will probably finish Duran Duran on a flight home tomorrow. I don't have much left. I really like it too. The chapter about him riding around Boston selling ice cream sticks out to me. You know, the Love is a Mix Tape book sounds really good but I'm just not sure if I want to read a book that is so sad. I usually go for lighter fare.ODoyleRules said:
