What are you reading? What was the last book you enjoyed?
- Thread starter Hatter
- Start date
R
RockPile
Lurker
Just read Jennie by Douglas Preston. The plot is very simple but the story is surprisingly engrossing and in the end, poignant. About an anthropologist in the 60's who brings the baby of a dying chimpanzee mother home to Massachussets to be raised by his family and taught ASL in an animal language study. It is a well researched book told in the various viewpoints of the fictional family members and researchers who come to find the ape sees itself as human. Surprisingly compelling for such an easy read.
S
So Sumi
Lurker
Hip, if you haven't read Cannery Row, that's a fun book, much lighter than Grapes. And if you want serious and great, In Dubious Battle and The Winter of Our Discontent are among my other Steinbeck favorites.
Say anyone on this thread ever read, Independent People by Halldor Laxness? My friend recommended it, it won the Nobel, and I hear it's VERY tough. I'll eventually get to it, but just wondering...
jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
This whole 'what was the last book you really enjoyed'...look I read solely for pleasure. If I have to slog through a book simply for the sake of finishing, I will say so.
Anyway, i am not a biography reader...except on the can. It's funny I can read a couple pages whilst doing my...abolutions...and walk away
so, being a huge Chuck Barris/Gong Show fan,
This is just brilliant. Better than the movie, which was also very under-rated.
Anyway, i am not a biography reader...except on the can. It's funny I can read a couple pages whilst doing my...abolutions...and walk away
so, being a huge Chuck Barris/Gong Show fan,
This is just brilliant. Better than the movie, which was also very under-rated.
K
KingsOvAllKings
Lurker
Amazing so far...
gescom
devenir gris
Amazing so far...
you know, every time i go to specifically pick this up, they are amazingly out of it... EVERY TIME!
K
KingsOvAllKings
Lurker
Yeah i could never find it at bookstores, amazon is your friend!
I think the hardcover sells for a ton nowadays.
How could I forget?
So ****ing funny.
Yeah, this and Confederacy are probably the two funniest books I have ever read.
jerseydevil
I'llPutPenniesOnYourEyes
You may have seen the billboards or some of the hype for this book. I bought it with a certain amount of skepticism due to all the comparisons the Steven King's The Stand. Yes, I can say the comparisons are valid. It is a large scale apocolyptic tale and it is epic in scope(800 pages and that is just the first book of a proposed trilogy). So, I started reading it, kinda with a built in grudge because The Stand is, i.m.o. the greatest book i have ever read 30 times. Alright, I am only 100 pages in but i am hooked...hard. I am having a hard time not going over and grabbing it out of my work bag and just reading till i can't no more. Great writing style...very relaxed and believable. You can feel the pain of the characters immediately. And there is a lot of pain. Very affecting and heartbreaking. PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY OF THE REVIEWS...too spoilerific. Just get this book and start reading. It won't be too hard. I cannot wait to see where this tremendous story by a writer who has apparently come out of nowhere is going to take me. READ THIS!
W
Watti
Lurker
Just picked this up the other day... Opened it up and before I know it, I'm 200 pages in. Awesome story so far.
I'd say more, but I'm going to head over to the couch and read some more.
S
So Sumi
Lurker
Justin Cronin is no slouch to the literary world. He's won the PEN/Hemingway Award previously, and this new book, while a departure from his more "normal" work, is garnering tons of publicity. (They gave him a HUGE advance for it). The publisher wants to grab that money making "vampire" audience. Hope you guys enjoy your read.
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Diehard
Elegant
just finished reading a couple of great books
The first book in The Border Trilogy. Might be my favorite McCarthy novel I've read, as I've said before his prose is absolutely beautiful. For me it was a book that I didn't want to end, every page is filled with such vivid imagery (and, of course, the story's great too). After I read through a few more things I'll probably continue with the trilogy.
First book by Hemingway that I've read, not sure if it was the best book to start on but I thought it was fantastic. I've read a ton of McCarthy and I can tell that he was definitely influenced heavily by Hemingway's writing style and tone. Great anti-war novel that kept me engrossed the whole way through.
The first book in The Border Trilogy. Might be my favorite McCarthy novel I've read, as I've said before his prose is absolutely beautiful. For me it was a book that I didn't want to end, every page is filled with such vivid imagery (and, of course, the story's great too). After I read through a few more things I'll probably continue with the trilogy.
First book by Hemingway that I've read, not sure if it was the best book to start on but I thought it was fantastic. I've read a ton of McCarthy and I can tell that he was definitely influenced heavily by Hemingway's writing style and tone. Great anti-war novel that kept me engrossed the whole way through.
V
VCRW
Lurker
My GF gave me this for my b'day. I love Christopher Moore. I hate vampire stuff. Just started reading it.
Dr. No
Hyperbolic V.I.P.
Just got done reading this:
Pretty sad book overall. It gave me some new insight into the history and happenings in Afghanistan over the last few decades.
I thought before that there was no clear reason that the US should be involved in a war with the Taliban there (besides oil/natural gas, of course). But now I'm thinking a bit differently about it. What the outcome of the war will be is debatable, but I now do see some legitimacy to helping free the Afghan people from Taliban tyranny.
Now I'm reading this one. A bit of a departure for me since I usually like to read fiction, but it's been interesting and entertaining so far.
Pretty sad book overall. It gave me some new insight into the history and happenings in Afghanistan over the last few decades.
I thought before that there was no clear reason that the US should be involved in a war with the Taliban there (besides oil/natural gas, of course). But now I'm thinking a bit differently about it. What the outcome of the war will be is debatable, but I now do see some legitimacy to helping free the Afghan people from Taliban tyranny.
Now I'm reading this one. A bit of a departure for me since I usually like to read fiction, but it's been interesting and entertaining so far.
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BoobyTrap
Adgy's my BITCH!
Just got done reading this:
I loved that book even though it made me cry. I think it's better than Kite Runner. It also made me realize how I wouldn't even last a second over there. I'm sure they would have shot me for being defiant.
Recently gave up on Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've seen Adgy run around with all of these books in his face and I wanted to see what the hoopla was about. I didn't make it. I could not get past all the detailed information with the Vanger family. 200 pages in and nothing seemed to be happening and I was bored. Finally I got so frustrated I just looked up what happened.
I finished The Corner by David Simon.
It's the book that they based the series The Wire on. I've been a fan of his since I started watching Homicide in the 90s. It was interesting to see what the drug trade and drug addiction is like from their standpoint is like as well as the attitude of the police and city bureaucracy. It's also pretty depressing. Yeah this is not a book where you can expect the characters rise above everything. Apparently they also turned the book into a mini series which I would be interested in watching.
R
roenick
Lurker
Booby, sorry to hear you fell out on this:
The story really picks up just about where you fell out of (I am exactly half way through). I really like it actually. Definitely going to read the next one and the last one. Salander is such a compelling character.
The story really picks up just about where you fell out of (I am exactly half way through). I really like it actually. Definitely going to read the next one and the last one. Salander is such a compelling character.
