i'm sick sick sick

[glowbelly]

of hearing all of you talk about the same books over and over again. therefore, i am passing on a reading list that i wrote out for my friend aaron. i guarantee that if you read any one of these books on this list that you will be satisfied.

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
this book is huge, but well worth the read. it's about a tennis player, his wacky family, drug abuse and a video tape that kills people because you can't stop watching it (ala the ring?). the tape stars a girl who is labeled PGOAT (prettiest girl of all times). the backdrop is the near future, where canada and the us are at war and the years are named after the highest corporate bidder (whose product is proudly displayed on top of the statue of liberty.) it's brilliant, if you can get through the first 100-150 pages. i actually forced an ex of mine to read this and made him continue when he wanted to quit. now this guy is one of his favorite authors.

I Married A Communist by Philip Roth
this is about a radio show communist who is black listed in the mccarthy era. it's a good portrait of american society and paranoia during the 50's. it's a fiction, but the setting is all too real and rather poignant considering the state of things in our country right now.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
beautiful, beautiful story about what happens to gods once the people who worshipped them die off, or give up on their religion. the book bases itself on the premise that the gods still live on, even though there is nobody to worship them anymore. this is the same guy who wrote Sandman, the comic book series. he's one of the most talented fantasy fiction writers of our era. i'd put him right up there with Harlan Ellison.

Cryptomonicon by Neal Stephenson
great sci-fi, cyberpunk, historical novel about code breaking that flip flops between the settings of WWII and the present day. this is another big book, but it's pure genius. sometimes it's hard to understand because there are all kinds of complex math and code breaking explanations, but the way the story ties up at the end is amazing. very, very good read. (haha, funny sidenote: this is the book that i took away from michael when he came up here to see his first baseball game. he was going to take the book to the ballpark and read. i wouldn't let him).

and, of course, i must recommend an english classic, just to round things out:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
ok, ok...i know a "girl book." but really, this is a great story about a woman who didn't think she should take any crap from anyone. i think, once you get past the vernacular of the book, and realize the setting in which it takes place, that you will really like this. plus, it's a classic and everyone should read the classics.

[Protoclown]

Say...have you ever read Catcher in the Rye?

[glowbelly]

wasn't that required reading in ninth grade? hey! you know what other book i've read?

catch 22.

you betcha i'm smart like that.

[kellychaos]

Read Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon ... Sam Spade will make you love him ... 'cause he's a tough guy ... and youse dames is crazy about that stuff in a big way! ... you betcha! :)

EDITED FOR STUPIDITY

http://www.reelclassics.com/Actors/Bogie/images5/maltesefalcon_poster.jpg

[glowbelly]

errrr...the maltese falcon was written by dashiell hammett, and yes, i've read it.

[sspadowsky]

And Chandler's protagonist was Phillip Marlowe, not Christopher.
________
Mario Almondo (http://www.ferrari-wiki.com/wiki/Mario_Almondo)

[glowbelly]

somebody has his wires crossed :(

[kellychaos]

And Chandler's protagonist was Phillip Marlowe, not Christopher.

That's why I was getting my internet search all messed up. It's been a while since I read anything from the genre. I actually was going to use The Big Sleep originally but couldn't find a good picture of Humphrey Bogart. I then found The Maltese Falcon pic and forgot to go back to re-edit the text ... excuses, excuses ... I know. Sam Spade is in The Maltese Falcon. I still like Parker's Spenser even though I know it's pretty derivative.

[glowbelly]

what it really comes down to is that we're smarter than you. :p

[Protoclown]

The only book on that list I've read is American Gods. It was good, but Sandman is much better :(

[kellychaos]

The only book on that list I've read is American Gods. It was good, but Sandman is much better :(

I liked the basic premise, the author's sense of humor about the topic, and some of the religious history he discussed. Outside of that, though, the actual plot of the story wasn't all that great.

[kellychaos]

what it really comes down to is that we're smarter than you. :p


:lol ... :lol ... :) ... :suicide

[FS]

I saw American Gods in a bookstore today when I was shopping for new reads, but I didn't pick it up cause it was translated. I don't like reading translations, and I prefer reading English books anyway.

So I just ordered American Gods and Dante's Divine Comedy (been wanting to read that for ages) on Amazon. :love online ordering :love

[kellychaos]

I'll try to read your list if you try to read mine:

Look Back All the Green Valley: A Novel
by Fred Chappell

http://www.picadorusa.com/picador/lookback.html


The Solitaire Mystery
A Novel About Family and Destiny
By Jostein Gaarder

http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides/solitaire_mystery.asp


Stranger In A Strange Land
By Robert Heinlein

http://www.wegrokit.com/siasl.htm


Prey by Michael Crichton

http://members.aol.com/sfandfbookclub/prey_crichton.htm


On A Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

http://www.consumerhelpweb.com/books/bphorse.htm

[glowbelly]

deal, but first i have to read my two new harlan ellison books.

[SisterOFMercy]

piss off you slagger..

[glowbelly]

who the fuck are you talking to and what's with the tone?

[Johannas]

Be nice to Glowbelly, you fag!

[SisterOFMercy]

you both need to wash out your mouths..you filthy pigs..

[glowbelly]

do you have something to say about books?

no?

then may i suggest you shut up.

as for johannas, i don't have the slightest clue who you are, but it's kinda nice to have a semi-anonymous internet stalker again.

[Les Waste]

Oh God. I had to read Jane Eyre for AP English back in High School. I hated that book so much. Maybe I would have liked it better if I was reading it for fun instead of for school, but I doubt it. It easily could have been half as long without compromising the story at all.

And I started the Catch-22 thread because there wasn't already one. And because it really is the best book ever which is why everyone talks about it. :rolleyes

[ShanghaiOrange]

Analysing books in school is the most useless thing you can do.

Catch 22 is even better the second time.

[Krythor]

You have a way with describing books, it seems. The first three particularly interest me, I'll start from the top down (excluding Jane Eyre >:) Also, I have no problem with big books, I breeze through the first few hundred pages with ease, I put an insane amount of dedication into the first day of reading because you can't really begin to judge how good a book is until at least 200 pages in, and then if it's a halfway decent book, the pacing and plot development is entertaining enough to keep me hooked.

[kellychaos]

Okay! Okay! Honesty got the better of me, Glow. I probably will NOT read Jane Eyre. The remainder of your suggestions looked interesting, though. I just couldn't live with the guilt on my conscience. Feel free to cross one of the books off of my suggested list. No need for you to feel to feel obligated. :)

[glowbelly]

chickenshits. why wouldn't you read it? afraid you might like it?

[kellychaos]

chickenshits. why wouldn't you read it? afraid you might like it?

Nah ... guilty pleasure doesn't scare me ... explaining it to my friends does, though. :)

[glowbelly]

why don't you just tell them that you're reading 5 books that someone suggested to you and she's reading 5 books that you suggested to her?

hrmmmm?

[FS]

Glowbelly, REALLY. They'd have his reputation for breakfast, they would! Why, mind yer manners, young lady. :rolleyes :shame

[glowbelly]

oh yeah. i forgot that it's not "cool" to do things that your friends would make fun of you for. my bad. :(

[kellychaos]

oh yeah. i forgot that it's not "cool" to do things that your friends would make fun of you for. my bad. :(

Not exactly high school ... but in the "blue collar" job I work, it might as well be. These guys are smart but smart in a different way. I see no advantage to my airing my literary laundry. I like my balls and would rather not take them home with me in a bag from work. And so, if I DO end up reading that particular novel, it will not be known to them. :)

[FS]

Why. You is one o'them book-readin types, aintcher?

[glowbelly]

i wasn't aware that part of kelly's job was to inform his fellow employees what he was reading for his own enjoyment that week.

[kellychaos]

i wasn't aware that part of kelly's job was to inform his fellow employees what he was reading for his own enjoyment that week.

Of course it is. In our discussion group, we try to fit it in between "Belching For Volume" and "Comparing Weenie Sizes". :rolleyes :)

[kellychaos]

K ... So I read this:

I Married A Communist by Philip Roth
this is about a radio show communist who is black listed in the mccarthy era. it's a good portrait of american society and paranoia during the 50's. it's a fiction, but the setting is all too real and rather poignant considering the state of things in our country right now.

... and liked it. I liked the way Ira's tiwisted character was seen through the point of view of both Murray and Nathan. I also liked the "behind the scenes" view of the movement as opposed to the communist threat painted by the usual media terrorists. It's kind of scary how much influence the media and government had at the time ... and still does to some degree. 8-) I was kind of wondering whether the Ira character was supposed to be a metaphor for one person (or many people). Interesting nonetheless. Thank you. :)

Now ... have you read any of my picks? ... hmmm.

[Grazzt]

I suggest some Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock and Spider Robinson.

[Protoclown]

I suggest some Spider Jerusalem. ;)

[Grazzt]

Why don't we combine the two and have Robinson Jerusalem?

:eek

[kellychaos]

Why don't we combine the two and have Robinson Jerusalem?

:eek

And his boy Frtiz ... stuck on a desert island with no comforts from home ... I'm babblin' ... whateva :/