books

[beegee]

I don't even know where Chelsea Handler came from.

It's like I woke up one day last week and she was famous.

 

[No spoken words]

I've never heard of her. Does that take her fame down a notch? Maybe two notches? Pwned.

 

[beegee]

Seriously.

People shouldn't just be allowed to get famous without at least one of us knowing who they are.

 

[corianderstem]

I hadn't heard of her until recently, either. She was apparently a stand-up comic I'd never heard of, doing guest appearances on a bunch of shows I don't watch, and now has a show on E! called "Chelsea Lately."



She's not not funny, the book was just a little more vulgar than I like my funny memoirs.

 

[No spoken words]

I hadn't heard of her until recently, either. She was apparently a stand-up comic I'd never heard of, doing guest appearances on a bunch of shows I don't watch, and now has a show on E! called "Chelsea Lately."



She's not not funny, the book was just a little more vulgar than I like my funny memoirs.

You're very particular about your funny memoirs, and, really, can you be blamed?

Anyway, my not having heard of this Chelsea person means her Q rating just took it on the chin. Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame, lady.

 

[corianderstem]

and, really, can you be blamed?

Well, yes. And for a multitude of things.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy

Brilliant but very tragic and sad. Somehow I never got around to reading this before now, but I'm glad that I finally have. After taking in its almost relentlessly cynical observations of human nature though I think I'll need some time out with a few light happy stories or something. Even the happier/funnier moments were tinged with sadness, knowing the tragedies that were to follow. I guess that's no accident, with the way the story swings back & forth in time like a pendulum until it finishes with the central unforgivable act that marks the beginning of the end.. Well worth reading though. I loved catching the little back & forth references thrown in everywhere, and I especially loved Arundhati Roy's ability to channel the crazy little thought processes of children. She's well and truly in touch with her inner child, woe be to the little bugger that ever tries to put one over her. Can't wait 'til she releases the second book, be damned if I'll wait as long to get around to reading it.

This is one of my very favorite books. It's sad but stunningly beautiful at the same time, and I really loved her style. For a long time, Roy said she was never going to write another novel because she was still so overwhelmed by the sadness she felt about the characters in this one, but I think I heard more recently that she is writing fiction again.

I promise before I get famous, I'll be sure to put a note here to let you all know

 

[corianderstem]

#40 Dispatches From the Edge by Anderson Cooper

Good stuff, often very moving. I can't believe he got his start as a foreign correspondent because he pretty much just decided he was going to do it. Made a fake press pass and took off to Thailand, where he met up with some Burmese refugees who wanted to overthrow their country's dictatorship.

I mean ... wow.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

I read that a few months ago and really loved it. I'm thinking that might've been the book that put me on my nonfiction kick this year.

 

[beegee]

Non-fiction is my favorite.

 

[Pearl]

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy

Brilliant but very tragic and sad. Somehow I never got around to reading this before now, but I'm glad that I finally have. After taking in its almost relentlessly cynical observations of human nature though I think I'll need some time out with a few light happy stories or something. Even the happier/funnier moments were tinged with sadness, knowing the tragedies that were to follow. I guess that's no accident, with the way the story swings back & forth in time like a pendulum until it finishes with the central unforgivable act that marks the beginning of the end.. Well worth reading though. I loved catching the little back & forth references thrown in everywhere, and I especially loved Arundhati Roy's ability to channel the crazy little thought processes of children. She's well and truly in touch with her inner child, woe be to the little bugger that ever tries to put one over her. Can't wait 'til she releases the second book, be damned if I'll wait as long to get around to reading it.

One of my all-time favorite books. I adore Roy's style of writing. I read the book when I was in high school, and I would write my essays in a similar way to Roy's style! It is a sad and tragic story, but the writing is spectacular.

 

[corianderstem]

I've had The God of Small Things on my bookshelves since ... um ... I think since I lived in Wisconsin, which was before 2000.

I have no idea why I've never gotten around to reading it - I've loved the other Indian-focused literature I've read in the last few years. Maybe I'll finally give it a go this summer.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

Read it!



I should actually reread it this summer. I wrote an essay about it a few years ago in a class, and the professor encouraged me to revise it and send it to a scholarly journal, but I was either too busy or too lazy (or both), and now I can't revise it without rereading it first.

 

[Carek1230]

I just finished My Scottish Summer and enjoyed it. It was a good quick read.

 

[corianderstem]

#41 Memoirs Of An Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Kates Shulman

The title makes it sound like a big, fluffy chicklit tale, but it's actually a coming-of-age-and-then-some tale about a woman in 1950s America. I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to, even though sometimes the narrator drove me batty.

 

[Pearl]

I'm putting "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw aside for now. Not because I don't like the book - I do, its just that I am itching to read a novel. I can turn from non-fiction to fiction like a light switch. Whenever I feel the need to be educated, I read nonfiction. Whenever I feel the need to enjoy a good story, I read fiction. That's what's happening to me now. So, I am going to read "Kushiel's Dart" a sci-fi/fantasy book by Jacqueline Carey. It's gotten good reviews, so I'm expecting a lot here.

 

[Carek1230]

Good for you. I actually prefer non-fiction.

 

[Saracene]

I've just finished "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Wow, that was one of the bleakest, most harrowing books I've read, it really left a hollow feeling in my stomach. Beautifully written though, you'd never think that descriptions of a burned out post-apocalyptic world could be so poetic.

 

[lazarus]

That book really left me in tatters. One of those where you're just staring at the final page in total exhaustion.

I hope to god they get the movie right. Viggo Mortensen is a great choice for the man, in my opinion.

 

[angelordevil]

"The Assault on Reason" by Presi...ahem, Al Gore. Great book. Predictable in its biting of Bush, but also refreshingly direct and passionate.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I'm really into P.G. Wodehouse lately.

 

[lazarus]

Did I already mention that I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities? I thought it would take forever for me to slog through but I just read 150 pages on a bus ride and it's pretty damned compelling.

Any Dickens fans here? I'm considering tusslin' with Mr. Copperfield next.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Did I already mention that I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities? I thought it would take forever for me to slog through but I just read 150 pages on a bus ride and it's pretty damned compelling.

Any Dickens fans here? I'm considering tusslin' with Mr. Copperfield next.

I had to read Great Expectations for a class back in my college days (like two years ago ) and I really enjoyed it. I also liked the recent movie adaptation starring Gwyneth and Ethan Hawke.

Also, Desmond from LOST is a big Dickens fan so you can't go wrong there...can you brutha?

 

[lazarus]

See you in another life brutha...when you're a Cubs fan.

 

[No spoken words]

Did I already mention that I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities? I thought it would take forever for me to slog through but I just read 150 pages on a bus ride and it's pretty damned compelling.

Any Dickens fans here? I'm considering tusslin' with Mr. Copperfield next.

Dipshit, yes, Dickens fan here...but we discussed that a few pages back.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

I'm not a huge fan of the Victorian era, but I do like Dickens. The fact that he first published a lot of his books serially makes them pretty fast-paced reads. I remember particularly liking Great Expectations, though it's been awhile since I've read any of his work.

 

[No spoken words]

I'm a big Dickens fan, unabashed about it. I even like saying "Dickensian". A Tale of Two Cities is likely my favorite.

 

[Auhiz]

Cave Rats, by Kerry Greenwood

This was pretty ordinary, but to be fair I think it was written for a younger age group. Also it's my own damn fault for persevering with it, when I knew that it wasn't going to get any better. God the ending was ridiculous. But the author has received plenty of praise for her other work, to the point where I feel like I must have missed something in this book. So like a glutton for punishment I've borrowed another of her books, just to be sure that she hasn't been prematurely given the bum's rush. At least they're a quick read...

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Ditto this book, the rave reviews leave me wondering if I've completely misjudged it because although it was sort of fun I'm not keen to go back for more. Probably the biggest gripe is with the child genius characters, which is bad because they're meant to be the stars of the show. Hyper intelligent kids? No prob. Worldly wisdom without years of life experience? Hmm. Getting the balance right with their dialogue must have been difficult, and it seemed to be off the mark. Also some of the scenes with the kids were almost creepy, enough to have me worried about Mr Card. Anyway I was hoping that there'd be a different kind of twist at the end which probably would have made for a better story, but nope. Right now I still don't really understand why the book is so popular but I have a sneaking suspicion that it has something to do with the fact that the folks who enjoy sci-fi also tend to love games and good old fashioned warfare.

 

[Auhiz]

I've just finished "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Wow, that was one of the bleakest, most harrowing books I've read, it really left a hollow feeling in my stomach. Beautifully written though, you'd never think that descriptions of a burned out post-apocalyptic world could be so poetic.

Post-apocalyptic? Hello.. And with a movie to come?? Still, sounds a bit heavy going. Might tackle it after a happier dose of Jasper Fforde..

 

[Saracene]

I'm still thinking about "The Road". I went to the supermarket yesterday and the sight of all that abundant food, especially canned food, after reading that book, had an eerie and unsettling effect.