Reading Is Sexy: Books Part III

[Dalton]

Wow. Just wow.

 

[No spoken words]

The real wow will be how many fucking people read it.

 

[powerhour24]

I read the first 30 pages or so of Shutter Island over Thanksgiving, but then sat it down and read some other things in December. Guess I should finally get back to it with all the Lehane-lovin' going on here. Of course, I don't remember any of what I read in November now, so it'll all be read again.

Pick it up, it's a book you won't want to put down until you're done, and then you'll want to go back and look at it again. As gorgeous as the visuals and talented as the cast are for the film, I know something will be lost in translation, so do yourself a favor and read it before you watch the movie.

 

[powerhour24]

I'm such a big Lehane fan. My Dad turned me onto him after his first novel and I've been along for the ride ever since. Also, love that he was involved with the best drama ever, The Wire.

Mystic River is easily my favorite novel from the past decade, and constantly threatening as my favorite book ever. I loved the Kenzie/Genarro series, not for the mysteries (they were fun though) but because of his deeply drawn protagonists (and their interesting cast of friends, all a part of their process), it's not something you see in works like those, and why even before Mystic River, and Given Day he was a writer that NEEDED to be distinguished from the likes of Harlan Coben or Lee Childs (respected current detective-yarn-spinners, but genre-writers nonetheless).

 

[No spoken words]

Absolutely.

The mysteries were definitely secondary to the people populating his stories.

 

[onebloodonelife]

Finished The Autobiography of Malcolm X, finally. It never fails to amaze and move me to read through his transformations of self. It is such a shame that he was murdered before he could expand on his later beliefs of working together with people of all colors and make good on his move away from the racist beliefs of the Nation of Islam.

And, started:

The Black Panthers Speak (an anthology of various Black Panther writings and documents)
Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art by Susanne K. Langer

 

[powerhour24]

Absolutely.

The mysteries were definitely secondary to the people populating his stories.

All the Kenzie/Genarro books are great drama, except Sacred, that one was kind of lame as a mystery and as a character story. Also, I never understood people thinking clowns were creepy until reading Darkness, Take My Hand... messed up.

 

[u2popmofo]

it's a book you won't want to put down until you're done

Well I've already ruined that, but I certainly still want to get through it before the movie.

 

[powerhour24]

Yeah, I meant if you gave it another chance .

 

[Dalton]

The real wow will be how many fucking people read it.

I borrowed it from my mother-in-law. That woman's a fuckin' idiot.

ambiguity is intentional

 

[corianderstem]

Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin

Sometimes Kathy Griffin makes me laugh really hard, and other times I find her like nails on a chalkboard. After reading her book, I like her a lot more. Girlfriend has worked her ass off to make it in the biz, and I have to give her credit for that.

The book, not surprisingly, was really funny and very honest. The most shocking thing is a chapter about her oldest brother, who, as it turns out, was a pedophile. That must have been difficult to write.

Anyway, I really liked the book.

 

[Pearl]

I've set aside Love in the Time of Cholera. Or rather, I rushed through it and skipped pages to see how it ended and once that was clear, I closed it for good.

It was OK. The only thing good about it was Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writing style. The book was beautifully written. But the storyline was lame and ridiculous!

Basically, it is about a young man who takes one look at a young girl and falls madly in love with her. Or as I see it, pathetically infatuated. The young girl falls in love too, but then comes to her senses and realizes it was all "illusory." She rejects him and marries someone else. Fifty somewhat years later, her husband dies and the rejected lover returns to confess his love for her again. In other words, he spent 50+ years pining for someone! I found myself rolling my eyes a lot at this.

ETA: Next, I'll be reading The Case for God by Karen Armstrong. Back to nonfiction.

 

[No spoken words]

^

The book is a classic exploration of love and its different forms and varying levels of impact......what an interesting response.

 

[powerhour24]

Also NSW, did you know Lehane's currently finishing a 6th Kenzie/Genarro book?

I thought I was clued in with Lehane, but last I knew when Given Day came out he was badmouthing the genre and saying he'd never do it again.

 

[Pearl]

^

The book is a classic exploration of love and its different forms and varying levels of impact......what an interesting response.

To me, it was more like a classic exploration of obsession, infatuation and someone in desperate need of getting a life.

Really, if someone were to do what Florentino did - obsessing about one woman for 50 years - wouldn't he be committed to a mental institution?

 

[Saracene]

I loved Love in the Time of Cholera - I can see why the story and characters might come off as totally ridiculous, but to me the book creates its own exaggerated, fantastical world where all this ultra-melodramatic stuff totally makes sense

I've tried reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night, but it's one of those few books I've given up on and probably won't ever finish. There's something about his writing that just rubs me the wrong way; I had barely made it through The Great Gatsby.

 

[No spoken words]

To me, it was more like a classic exploration of obsession, infatuation and someone in desperate need of getting a life.

Really, if someone were to do what Florentino did - obsessing about one woman for 50 years - wouldn't he be committed to a mental institution?

I don't really even know how to begin to respond to this, so I'll just let it go.

PH24, had no idea that a 6th was forthcoming; that's good new.

 

[powerhour24]

I've tried reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night, but it's one of those few books I've given up on and probably won't ever finish. There's something about his writing that just rubs me the wrong way; I had barely made it through The Great Gatsby.

 

[powerhour24]

Lance will be happy that I'm thoroughly enjoying Scott Pilgrim.

 

[Zoobaby14]

Winter Ghosts - Kate Mosse

It's a bit different, it's written in 1st person

The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. He stumbles through woods, emerging in a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful woman also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries. By turns thrilling, poignant and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage. THE WINTER GHOSTS is a gorgeous illustrated novel inspired by The Cave, Kate Mosse's short story written for the Quick Reads Initiative for adult emergent readers.

 

[corianderstem]

Blame by Michelle Huneven

Patsy is a blackout drunk, and after one particular blackout, she wakes up in jail only to learned that she has killed two people.

The book really isn't just about that, though - fairly quickly, the book moves on through her life. It's about a lot of things. There's something that happens toward the end of the book that brings it back to that initial plot, and I honestly found that part a little bit of a letdown, but I might have just missed the point.

I loved the characters, and really enjoyed this book. I'd definitely read something by this author again.

 

[Dalton]

I've tried reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night, but it's one of those few books I've given up on and probably won't ever finish. There's something about his writing that just rubs me the wrong way; I had barely made it through The Great Gatsby.

I too hate F. Scott. It's the eyes.

 

[No spoken words]

Lance will be happy that I'm thoroughly enjoying Scott Pilgrim.

Lance is never actually happy, just occasionally less mad or bitter.

 

[onebloodonelife]

I started Infinite Jest this morning...again. Didn't make it through last time, got about 500 pages in and set it down for one reason or another. It's probably not the best move to start it again right before the spring semester begins, but oh well.

 

[powerhour24]

Scott Pilgrim book 2, in one brief sitting.

 

[martha]

Sickness was good for reading; now I find that working really cuts into my reading day.

I finished Barchester Towers; now I'll finish the Thrush Green books, starting tonight with At Home in Thrush Green.

 

[powerhour24]

Blame by Michelle Huneven

Patsy is a blackout drunk, and after one particular blackout, she wakes up in jail only to learned that she has killed two people.

The book really isn't just about that, though - fairly quickly, the book moves on through her life. It's about a lot of things. There's something that happens toward the end of the book that brings it back to that initial plot, and I honestly found that part a little bit of a letdown, but I might have just missed the point.

I loved the characters, and really enjoyed this book. I'd definitely read something by this author again.

I've been meaning to read that, glad to hear you enjoyed it.

 

[onebloodonelife]

After a Half Price Books run, I have lots of new reading material (for cheap, woot!).

Got about 200 pages into Richard Wright's Native Son today and will probably finish it tomorrow; I ended up engrossed. Pretty good, even if Bigger Thomas' actions are fairly predictable so far. Then again, the depictions of hopelessness and despair felt by many in the African American and poor communities are really the point of the book, and in that regard, it's fantastic.

 

[corianderstem]

Half Price Books

 

[onebloodonelife]

Seriously. Where else could I walk out with 10 books, a good chunk of them "classics," for $20? Half Price Books rocks my world. And, even better, I now live about a mile from one, so it's dangerous.