massraider
Footballguy
Just finished Busted Flush, by Brad Smith. Novel about a guy that inherits a house with a bunch of Civil War memorabilia. Sounds weird, but it's hilarious. Fans of Carl Hiassan will love it.
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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (13 Viewers)
- Thread starter shuke
- Start date
krista4
Footballguy
Just came to post about this, which I recently finished. Wow, was I disappointed in this one. Was it well-written? Absolutely. But was I interested? No. I couldn't get into the characters and didn't care at all what happened. I find long passages of the book (esp. those about the title character's mother) painfully boring. Some of the Dominican history, about which I knew nothing, was fairly interesting, but that was it. I did find the overuse of Spanish idioms a bit distracting, though I don't fault him for that. Can't recommend this despite very good prose.On the other hand, I can highly recommend Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses, a Norwegian book. It's hard to describe a book as "quiet" but I think it's apt in this case. Despite being quiet, it's an extremely compelling and a gripping story. I was really taken with this from the first page. The writing style is similar to Raymond Carver, packing a lot into very simple sentences.2008 Pulitzer winner The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz was another fast read. The few Spanish language sentences and phrases weren't a real problem, but I did take high school Spanish. However, the prose here definitely did not match that in The Road, it was much more contemporary and conversational, with a lot of slang and swearing. The story concerned one immigrant family from the Dominican Republic and the curse that allegedly haunts them. The book was also structured a lot less conventionally than The Road, as it skipped around in time, place, and point of view, and much of the text is contained in footnotes that detail various anecdotes about the D.R., its recent history and culture. I enjoyed it, although I thought The Road more worthy of its award.
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I'm currently reading The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent by Pete Williams, and Oh, the Things I Know! by Al Franken.
E Street Brat
Footballguy
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.
The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon.
Good read, but I wish a I hadn't. Somethings are better of unknown.
The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon.
Good read, but I wish a I hadn't. Somethings are better of unknown.
Socrates11
Footballguy
For example? Feel free to use the spoiler tag...
E Street Brat
Footballguy
He was real ****. Beat his wife a few times and generaly ignored his kids. Mostly do to with his alcoholism. A lot of the book is writings from his personal journals, that suddenly stop when he is diagnosed with cancer and starts drinking again.I'm not sure if he stopped writing them or they were just left out of the book.For example? Feel free to use the spoiler tag...
Blood Meridian by McCarthy.
Just a couple chapters in but already WAY more interesting than The Road to me.
J
Just a couple chapters in but already WAY more interesting than The Road to me.
J
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
There's a decent amount of Blood Meridian discussion throughout this thread. Absolutely amazing. Keep us posted on your thoughts as you go. Ok, actually, keep me posted. I tend to get mocked a bit for my unconditional love for that book...but I'll take it like a man and ask for more.
adonis
Footballguy
Isn't that a short story?
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Damn you're quick. Do you have some type of alarm that goes off?
oso diablo
Footballguy
1. Unholy Fire by Robert Mrazek (former Congressman) - Civil War mystery
2. Traffic (Why We Drive the Way We Do) by Tom Vanderbilt - picked by Malcolm Gladwell as one of his favorite books
2. Traffic (Why We Drive the Way We Do) by Tom Vanderbilt - picked by Malcolm Gladwell as one of his favorite books
It's short, but it's not a story. It's a (humorous) advice book.
oso diablo
Footballguy
(i suspect)
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
I am The Judge.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Probably in my top 5 of all time, although I'm not sure I still get the last page.
prosopis
Arizona Chupacabra
I enjoyed that book. I really looked at the guy and listened to his music different after reading it.
Weapon of Mass Instruction
Watch my feet!
While we are on McCarthy, I'm reading the 2nd of the Border Trilogy -- The Crossing. It is great, just as the first one -- All The Pretty Horses, was.Once I finish the Trilogy, I'm going to start with his first 3. Dark books set in East Tennessee.
Sundays Rule
Footballguy
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao...incredible book so far and one of the best i've read in a long time. Highly recommended if you're into Marquez or Hundred Years of Solitude.
Shrek
Having a great season
I just finished this, and I really enjoyed it. Without spoiling anything, IMO it had to get involved in many of the details for a good reason. The story centers around a boy from India who is the teenage son of a zookeeper. His family decides to move to Canada. While they are on their way to Canada aboard a Japanese freight ship, they run into trouble. The bulk of the story is a tale of survival that I found to be compelling because everyone, at some point or another, wonders if they could endure the things that the title character does. And the end of the story is one that will keep you second guessing everything that you originally thought, not only about the book itself, but about your own fortitude. There is also a lot of interesting background on zookeeping, Indian culture, and oceanic life. I really would recommend this.
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D_House
Footballguy
I've only read a few books written in the past 20 years, but this one is at the top of the list.
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
One of those books that you get into...then it bogs down and you just try to finish it because you've already invested 200 pages worth of your time on it. Then, the last act is spectacular and changes your mind about a bunch of things you just read. Totally worth a read. Unique and a great conversation starter. Would be an awesome choice for a book club selection.
Shrek
Having a great season
When I say "just finished", I mean recently (a few days ago, actually). And I cannot get this story out of my head. It's horrific in some parts, it's a gut check in other parts, and in some parts, incredibly, it's funny and poignant. I find it hard to describe the feeling that I had at the end of the book. It's sad and happy, melancholy and hopeful all at the same time, kind of like the way I felt after I watched Field Of Dreams for the first time, for lack of a better way to describe it. I am really surprised that I had not heard of the book earlier than I did. And I'm glad I finally found it.
Shrek
Having a great season
Me too
Facecow
Footballguy
I read the Zombie Survival Guide which was good for a laugh or three. I'll now consider World War Z but man I feel overwhelmed by all the zombie stuff now.It's not a book per say but "The Walking Dead" is the best zombie/survival story I've read (and continue to read).
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
I would rank them Pretty Horses, then Cities of the Plain, then The Crossing. The middle third of Cities of the Plain is the best writing of any of them (the Magdelena, Edurado, John Grady stuff)...but the Epilogue is looney (Shuke, try that out if you think you're confused by Blood Meridian) and the beginning is really slow going. The opening of The Crossing with the brothers and the Indian is amazing as well. Don't be afraid to grab All the Pretty Horses as a stand alone novel. You don't need the other 2 if you don't want to invest that much time. Horses is awesome and has a satisfying ending that doesn't coincide with The Crossing at all. The only thing that bothers me with this trilogy is the age of the characters. John Grady is 16 in All the Pretty Horses. But he acts and gets treated like a 30-year-old. I know that people grew up faster in that area and at that time...but I really couldn't get over the love/fighting/surviving thing coming from somebody that young. Minor gripe...Weapon of Mass Instruction said:
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
Did we discuss that earlier? I have all kinds of thoughts (though I'm sure I'm wrong or just missing things with some of them).shuke said:Tough As Nails said:
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
I flipped through the Zombie Survival Guide and I didn't think it looked very good.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
We may have discussed it previously. I just remember being confused.Did we discuss that earlier? I have all kinds of thoughts (though I'm sure I'm wrong or just missing things with some of them).shuke said:Tough As Nails said:
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
About what happened to The Kid? About The Judge? Holden? What the outhouse thing was all about? Or just in general?We may have discussed it previously. I just remember being confused.Did we discuss that earlier? I have all kinds of thoughts (though I'm sure I'm wrong or just missing things with some of them).shuke said:Tough As Nails said:Probably in my top 5 of all time, although I'm not sure I still get the last page.
Socrates11
Footballguy
Agreed. World War Z is waaaay better than the Guide.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
No, not the end of the story. I'm talking about the 1 page epilogue at the end. Something about a man or men walking across the plains making holes.About what happened to The Kid? About The Judge? Holden? What the outhouse thing was all about? Or just in general?We may have discussed it previously. I just remember being confused.Did we discuss that earlier? I have all kinds of thoughts (though I'm sure I'm wrong or just missing things with some of them).shuke said:Tough As Nails said:
Tough As Nails
Glave Master
Ohhhhhhh. It was the 'taming' of the west. Dudes are building the railroad and putting an end to the brutality of the times. McCarthy and "hope" are usually closely tied together. Of course...you could say the opposite and think that the person making the holes is just hammering out more violence into the Earth while others follow him not knowing or caring what he's doing...just repeating his sins.No, not the end of the story. I'm talking about the 1 page epilogue at the end. Something about a man or men walking across the plains making holes.About what happened to The Kid? About The Judge? Holden? What the outhouse thing was all about? Or just in general?We may have discussed it previously. I just remember being confused.Did we discuss that earlier? I have all kinds of thoughts (though I'm sure I'm wrong or just missing things with some of them).shuke said:Tough As Nails said:Probably in my top 5 of all time, although I'm not sure I still get the last page.
Facecow
Footballguy
Completely different books. The Guide is a tongue-in-check survival guide while WWZ is an actual novel.
krista4
Footballguy
Oooo, I bought this for my boyfriend mostly because I wanted to read it. When I'm through traveling in a couple of weeks, I'm going to crack it open. Can't wait!Just started the fifth and last book of Roberto Bolano's 2666.
It's the best novel I've read in a long, long time.
roadkill1292
Footballguy
Finally got my hands on a copy of World War Z and enjoyed every page immensely.
Sabertooth
Footballguy
Reading a book called the Sunset Lands by S.M. Stirling. Post apocalyptic novel set in America. Pretty interesting reading. Kind of like "The Road" in a way, but a lot more action and dialogue. More like an adventure novel.
pricklypete
Footballguy
The Godfather
Can't believe how much more I enjoyed the book over the movie.
Can't believe how much more I enjoyed the book over the movie.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Just looked this up. I'm assuming you're talking about The Sunrise Lands? This looks like a series. How many books are in it?
Shrek
Having a great season
My copy of The Road is on reserve, so I decided to get through Hannibal Rising first. I have to say I was less than impressed. I think Harris has fallen too much in love with the Lecter character. Instead of making him the grotesque yet fascinating character we originally knew, he has made him a sort of anti-hero. So I guess we are supposed to feel compassion for Lecter now because of his past instead of the revulsion that we felt in Silence Of The Lambs after finding out about his bloody past. And the side characters were underdeveloped IMO. There is virtually no one in the book to connect with. You know what Lecter becomes, so that's out. The French inspector and the Japanese step-mother/aunt, the only other main characters besides the bad guys (Nazis, of course) are throwaways. I really only finished the book because I was more than halfway through it already. Very disappointing.
Hopheads
Footballguy
I just finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson.
It is a combination mystery and thriller, set in Sweden and has some great characters. I had a hard time putting this down once I got started and can't wait to read his next book. This is on of the best fiction novels I have read in the last year along with Shantaram and The Power of One.
It is a combination mystery and thriller, set in Sweden and has some great characters. I had a hard time putting this down once I got started and can't wait to read his next book. This is on of the best fiction novels I have read in the last year along with Shantaram and The Power of One.
pantagrapher
Footballguy
I'm about halfway finished with "Don Quixote." Decided I needed something fluffy to read at night, so I started "The Tipping Point." None more boring.
