Reading is Sexy: Books Part II

[UberBeaver]

One of my favorite books, but the ending for one of the characters did piss me off and I can only remember vaguely why.

Beav, being zen makes you unzen and that's the problem. You can't try or actively use your mind which makes it hard to ...well read. Try putting it under your pillow. Someone told me I could absorb my chemistry book that way, it didn't work :angry

Looks like they were practicing osmosis - but that's biology. That's why that plan failed. And for the record - I took chem twice and all I know is Hydrogen is #1 on the list. I don't know the relevance of that.

 

[beegee]

I've really liked everything I've read by Kingsolver

Any recommendations as to which one I should read next?

 

[corianderstem]

I think my favorite after The Poisonwood Bible would be The Bean Trees. That book had a follow-up with the same characters, Pigs In Heaven, but I didn't like it as much.

 

[U2isthebest]

I think my favorite after The Poisonwood Bible would be The Bean Trees. That book had a follow-up with the same characters, Pigs In Heaven, but I didn't like it as much.

I had to read The Bean Trees for my Modern Lit. class. I loved it. The story was so well-written and I grew to love the characters. I felt like I was actually in the story. I haven't read anything else by her, mainly because I heard, like you said, that the sequel to it wasn't very good. I've been meaning to read The Poisonwood Bible because it was my former roommate's favorite book, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I have to finish "Fear of Flying", up next is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, then I'm going to do books 4-7 of Harry Potter, and, then, I think I'll pick up The Poisonwood Bible

 

[corianderstem]

Animal Dreams and Prodigal Summer by Kingsolver were also good. The only one I've read by her I didn't care for all that much was Pigs in Heaven.

 

[U2isthebest]

Animal Dreams and Prodigal Summer by Kingsolver were also good. The only one I've read by her I didn't care for all that much was Pigs in Heaven.

Thanks! I'll look into those.

 

[lazarus]

Sad news from the world of writing, and I know he has some fans here:

Writer David Foster Wallace found dead - Los Angeles Times

Thanks for posting this for everyone, Cori. Anyone who's been through Infinite Jest is probably hurting really bad right now, because to read that book is to really forge a deep connection with the writer.

I urge anyone who's not familiar with Wallace to buy or check out one of his story or essay collections, you will be in for a real treat.

A sad day.

 

[powerhour24]

My reading derailed at the end of the summer and now the beginning of school but I'm trying to get back on track, recently finished Stewart O'Nan's Snow Angels which was a brilliant gut-punch of human tragedy and filled with excellent prose, and I'm currently reading Alex Garland's The Beach and mad that I left it at my apartment this weekend.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Really sad about DFW. I loved his writing so much. I met him a couple of times years ago through my work and he was kind of strange but sweet and I really liked him. So brilliant. And apparently a wonderful teacher. What a waste.

 

[beegee]

Thanks for the suggestion, cori.

up next is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

One of my favorite writers, and another sad loss.

Bell Jar is one of my favorite books.

 

[U2isthebest]

Thanks for the suggestion, cori.



One of my favorite writers, and another sad loss.

Bell Jar is one of my favorite books.

I've heard great things about it. I'm really looking forward to it! My aunt has a couple of books of Plath's poetry, and I'm thinking about borrowing them from her sometime.

 

[corianderstem]

I can't remember which of DFW's books I'd read before - it might have been Brief Interviews..., but I remember not being able to get into it.

I'll definitely be trying again - I didn't really know much about him, but in several places I frequent online, the response to his death is making me want to try again.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I can't remember which of DFW's books I'd read before - it might have been Brief Interviews..., but I remember not being able to get into it.

I'll definitely be trying again - I didn't really know much about him, but in several places I frequent online, the response to his death is making me want to try again.

He had a huge cult following.

I liked Brief Interviews but not nearly as much as A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. I recommend starting with that and reading the title piece which is about his experience on a cruise ship. It's just unbelievably funny.

Here's an old Charlie Rose interview that's pretty good.

An interview with David Foster Wallace - Charlie Rose

 

[joyfulgirl]

DFW was also a great reader. I saw him read once and laughed until I couldn't breathe. Check him out (it's the second video):
Stupid Celebrities Gossip � David Foster Wallace Suicide (Photos)

About 10 mins into it he reads from the cruise ship essay. Pure brilliance.

 

[No spoken words]

I can't remember which of DFW's books I'd read before - it might have been Brief Interviews..., but I remember not being able to get into it.

I'll definitely be trying again - I didn't really know much about him, but in several places I frequent online, the response to his death is making me want to try again.

I remember when Laz and I were talking about him in the first books thread...you had mentioned reading something of his and I was really surprised when you said that you did not like it.

It's a big loss, at least it is to me. I'm still sort of coming to grips with it in my head.

 

[lazarus]

Cori I would recommend The Girl With Curious Hair (and not because of that birthday party picture you posted). It's a collection of short stories and I think a better intro to his work than Brief Interviews.

 

[corianderstem]

Thanks for the suggestion, laz. I'll definitely be checking out at least that one.

#61 Paint It Black by Janet Fitch

I can't believe it's been 13 whole days since I finished the last book. I'm slipping!

This was ... okay. Parts of it I thought were really good, but other parts were just ridiculous. I didn't like the main character all that much, and Fitch spent way too much time knocking around inside her head.

Josie is a young girl in the LA punk scene in 1980, and her oh-so-sensitive boyfriend offs himself. The rest of the book is about her and the boyfriend's mom and their volatile relationship.

I liked the parts that actually furthered the plot, and actually really liked the ending few chapters, but it was just too much. I couldn't tell if Fitch was trying to be very Deep and Sensitive, or if it was really the character who was trying to be very Deep and Sensitive, but either way, it was a chore to get through those sections that just dragged on and on.

 

[U2isthebest]

^That's a shame. I count "White Oleander" in one of my top 5 books of all time. Maybe I'll skip this one.

 

[No spoken words]

^That's a shame. I count "White Oleander" in one of my top 5 books of all time. Maybe I'll skip this one.

Don't let Crarky scare you off.

 

[corianderstem]

There was no crankiness in my criticism of the book.

For the record.

 

[lazarus]

Notice she only denies the crank, not the snark.

 

[corianderstem]

That wasn't even snark. It was a mild interpretation of the way the characters came across to me.

They annoyed me, and I didn't like either of them.

 

[No spoken words]

That wasn't even snark. It was a mild interpretation of the way the characters came across to me.

They annoyed me, and I didn't like either of them.

I did not sense snark or crankiness in your post, I just think that you're perhaps sometimes more easily annoyed by things others might not find annoying, and so she ought to read the book anyway if she likes the author.

I am not only easily annoyed, but, I also am very annoying, an interesting exacta.

 

[corianderstem]

I did not sense snark or crankiness in your post, I just think that you're perhaps sometimes more easily annoyed by things others might not find annoying, and so she ought to read the book anyway if she likes the author.

Oh, I completely agree! I was just voicing my thoughts on the book, it wasn't intended to scare anyone away. Had I liked the characters more, the things I disliked wouldn't have bugged me at all (or at least not as much).

Different strokes for different folks - someone might identify with either character more than I did, and think it's the greatest book ever.

I just thought it went without saying that my feelings on the book shouldn't dissuade anyone from checking it out for themselves.

 

[No spoken words]

Oh, I completely agree! I was just voicing my thoughts on the book, it wasn't intended to scare anyone away. Had I liked the characters more, the things I disliked wouldn't have bugged me at all (or at least not as much).

Different strokes for different folks - someone might identify with either character more than I did, and think it's the greatest book ever.

I just thought it went without saying that my feelings on the book shouldn't dissuade anyone from checking it out for themselves.

Well, u2isthebest expressed that she would perhaps not read it, and I just commented on it, that's all.

 

[corianderstem]

Yes, but you commented on it by implying that my criticism came from my inherent crankiness, which was not the case at all.

... which I realize is a funny thing to get defensive about, as it's been a running joke, I just felt the need to defend myself.

.... and I realize I'm making a far bigger deal about this than necessary, and I apologize.

 

[No spoken words]

Yes, but you commented on it by implying that my criticism came from my inherent crankiness, which was not the case at all.

... which I realize is a funny thing to get defensive about, as it's been a running joke, I just felt the need to defend myself.

.... and I realize I'm making a far bigger deal about this than necessary, and I apologize.

Apology accepted, shut up now.

 

[corianderstem]

But yeah, I loved White Oleander!

(And as a totally shallow comment on the other book, it kind of bugged me that the picture of the girl on the cover looked NOTHING like the main character as she was described in the book. It was weird.)

 

[Zoobaby14]

At the moment I'm reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

I'm not to sure what to make of it yet.

Penguin Books have re-relased a whole lot of books for $10.00

There are a few more on my list.

 

[beegee]

#61 Paint It Black by Janet Fitch

I waited so long (six years!) for Fitch's next book after White Oleander (which is one of my favorite books) and I was so disappointed in it I could have cried.