Reading Is Sexy: Books Part III

[Thora]

I wish we had something like that here. I loved visiting Half Price Books when I was living in Seattle. There are just NO good used bookstores around here. It's a shame, because I'd go there constantly, if there was one.

 

[corianderstem]

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.

Yeah, it's probably a good thing I don't live within spitting distance of one, but I was so very extremely happily thrilled when I found out they existed beyond Wisconsin. I had no idea they were in western Washington until I moved out here.

There are multiple locations in the greater Seattle area, and I have two favorites where I always find great stuff.

Thora, that just means you should come down here more often.

 

[Thora]

Thora, that just means you should come down here more often.

I really should! I'll be there in June, obviously, but I'm hoping to make one or two treks down before that. My grandma was harassing me at New Years to come stay with her for a weekend. When grandma harasses, granddaughter listens.

 

[powerhour24]

OK, who here has read Dos Passos' USA trilogy?? I think that's my next big undertaking.

 

[onebloodonelife]

I wish we had something like that here. I loved visiting Half Price Books when I was living in Seattle. There are just NO good used bookstores around here. It's a shame, because I'd go there constantly, if there was one.

Aw, that really is too bad! We have a ridiculous abundance of used bookstores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I guess it comes with being the most literate city in the U.S. (tied with Seattle, that is).

Yeah, it's probably a good thing I don't live within spitting distance of one, but I was so very extremely happily thrilled when I found out they existed beyond Wisconsin. I had no idea they were in western Washington until I moved out here.

There are multiple locations in the greater Seattle area, and I have two favorites where I always find great stuff.

I'm shocked they're a chain, to be honest.

OK, who here has read Dos Passos' USA trilogy?? I think that's my next big undertaking.

I have not read his trilogy, but remember reading some of his work in high school and enjoyed it quite a bit. Do let us know how it is, if you end up making it through the books.

 

[corianderstem]

I'm shocked they're a chain, to be honest.

I don't think they're in a lot of places, but I'm not sure. I think they're in Texas as well.

 

[adamswildhoney]

Just finished "Swimming to Antarctica" now starting book by author who wrote "Three Cups of Tea"

 

[beegee]

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

The story is told entirely in the voice of a dog but he was a charming character and it worked.

I would have preferred for the the ending to be a little little less hokey and obvious.

 

[corianderstem]

I really liked that book - although I don't really remember the ending.

I skimmed a lot of the car racing specifics, though.

Garth Stein is a local author - I really, really liked his first (?) novel, How Evan Broke His Head.

 

[beegee]

The dog's owner meets a young boy with a familiar name...

I don't want to give it away for anyone else but that should help you remember. Blech. I liked a lot of the racing metaphors but yeah, I skipped a few paragraphs of it, too. I'd definitely read something else by this author.

 

[corianderstem]

Oh, that's right. Yeah, it wasn't a great ending.

 

[corianderstem]

Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Wow, I had no idea that things were so different after Elvis returned from his army stint in Germany. I thought he was still the same, hip-swiveling, screaming girls, rock and roll Elvis for some years after he returned. But apparently not.

I also had no idea he made so many movies. I wasn't nearly as enthralled with this second book as I was the first, but that's probably just me not being as interested in increasingly lonely-isolated-drugged-up Elvis as I was with early Elvis.

What a depressing tale of fame.

 

[No spoken words]

Finished The Given Day. Liked it a lot.

Read the first 2 Scott Pilgrim books and also started a Richard Morgan book called Woken Furies. Don't think anyone else in here has read Morgan, but I'm a fan. The series of which Woken Furies is the latest and possibly last installment of are neat combos of the cyberpunk and detective genres.

 

[martha]

At Home in Thrush Green and The School at Thrush Green are done. Next up: Friends at Thrush Green.

 

[powerhour24]

Finished The Given Day. Liked it a lot.

Read the first 2 Scott Pilgrim books

Glad to hear it!

 

[No spoken words]

Glad to hear it!

Do you like my in-depth review?

 

[onebloodonelife]

I'm about a hundred pages into The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Beautifully written stuff.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I bought a collection of Washington Irving's short stories. And I've also been brushing up on my Orwell.

(None of that is true.)

 

[SethVincent]

I just finished Angels & Demons as well as The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown both were very very very good but I really liked The Lost Symbol

Now I am reading The Faith Instinct How Religion Evolved & Why It Endures by Nicholas Wade

 

[corianderstem]

Both were very, very, very good, but you really liked The Lost Symbol?

Does that mean you thought The Lost Symbol was very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very good?

 

[corianderstem]

Chronicles Volume One by Bob Dylan

I honestly had no idea I would love this book as much as I did.

Dear Bob: Plz to give us vol two now. kthxbye.

 

[SethVincent]

Both were very, very, very good, but you really liked The Lost Symbol?

Does that mean you thought The Lost Symbol was very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very good?

I will just say this so as not to ruin it for anyone who may read it

It has a TWIST I did not see coming

Plus I already love the study of Religion & Beliefs so......

 

[beegee]

Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor: More Rebellion and Fire For Your Healing Journey by Kris Carr.

Some of the advice was a little silly for my taste (writing positive things about myself on a mirror in lipstick, smashing my best dishes to bits, etc) but if it speaks to and helps even one person then that's fantastic. The rest of the advice was spot-on and I could relate to much of it.

I do love what Kris Carr has done with her blog, though. It's become a huge social network and support system for all types of people whose lives have been changed by all types of cancer.

 

[Zoobaby14]

Bought a copy of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Can't wait to start reading it

 

[Purplereign]

Just devoured the Millenium Series . . . funny how they all seemed to take a while to grip me but then, whooshka . . . hooked and unputdownable

 

[powerhour24]

^Exactly. Sucks we won't get to see all of them written. Although I suppose with moneygrubbing estates there is hope we'll see most of the 4th installment.

 

[onebloodonelife]

Marx - Capital Vol. 1

Yum, Marxism.

As a side note, it is amusing to me to see the wary looks people give me when I'm reading Marx...as if I'm a dirty Commie or something.

 

[Pearl]

The Case for God by Karen Armstrong.

Excellent book. I highly recommend it for theists and atheists alike. You would learn so much and find out how everyone has it wrong when it comes to God and religion these days. For example, it was only in the last 200 years that the Bible was considered infallible, whereas it was seen as an allegory from the very beginning (yes, even the book of Genesis).

I want to start a discussion about what this book says in FYM, but I'm afraid it would get derailed.

OK, onto "Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho.

 

[corianderstem]

Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall & Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson by Peter Ames Carlin

I'm in a stretch of reading all the music-related bios I've had languishing on my shelves for way too long. Another good one from the stack.

Now am struck with the need to listen obssessively to the Beach Boys and weep over the beauty of their harmonies.

Oh, and Mike Love is a dick.

 

[martha]

As a side note, it is amusing to me to see the wary looks people give me when I'm reading Marx...as if I'm a dirty Commie or something.

A dirty pot-smoking Commie, yet.