Reading Is Sexy: Books Part III

[anitram]

So a few weeks ago, I had a long flight (13 hours) and I wanted to read something stupid, since that is my usual go-to on flights...case in point, when I flew to Mexico in February, I read Twilight. Anyway, I have no idea what possessed me to get Angels & Demons since I hated the DaVinci Code. Actually I do know what possessed me - it was on sale for $2.99 and I had Canadian change I wanted to get rid of.

Dear Lord it is BAD. I would almost prefer to read Danielle Steel or Sidney Sheldon, at least then there is tacky sex to look forward to!

Luckily, I found my copy of Paul Theroux's The Pillars of Hercules, which I started reading a couple of years ago and then forgot it at my parents' house, so now I have something decent to move on to.

 

[No spoken words]

So a few weeks ago, I had a long flight (13 hours) and I wanted to read something stupid, since that is my usual go-to on flights...case in point, when I flew to Mexico in February, I read Twilight. Anyway, I have no idea what possessed me to get Angels & Demons since I hated the DaVinci Code. Actually I do know what possessed me - it was on sale for $2.99 and I had Canadian change I wanted to get rid of.

Dear Lord it is BAD. I would almost prefer to read Danielle Steel or Sidney Sheldon, at least then there is tacky sex to look forward to!

Luckily, I found my copy of Paul Theroux's The Pillars of Hercules, which I started reading a couple of years ago and then forgot it at my parents' house, so now I have something decent to move on to.

Sigh.

 

[major_panic]

At least you didn't watch the Twilight movie. I made the mistake of reading the books then watching the movie... and yes, both are terrible.

The only things the entire series has going for it are: a) Supermassive Black Hole in one of the scenes and b) that girl what plays Bella.

 

[Saracene]

I've just finished The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. It's about a family that basically goes through hell when the youngest boy is kidnapped and the case is unsolved for many years. I've read a great lot of books on the similar family-that-lives-through-trauma theme but this was a good book still. The characters aren't always likeable (especially the mother) but they still remain sympathetic, and I liked that the ending doesn't wrap up things neatly and happily.

 

[LMP]

At least you didn't watch the Twilight movie. I made the mistake of reading the books then watching the movie... and yes, both are terrible.

The only things the entire series has going for it are: a) Supermassive Black Hole in one of the scenes and b) that girl what plays Bella.

The only scene I've seen from the movie is the one with "Supermassive Black Hole," you know, where they play Vampire Baseball.

What the fuck?

 

[anitram]

At least you didn't watch the Twilight movie. I made the mistake of reading the books then watching the movie... and yes, both are terrible.

The only things the entire series has going for it are: a) Supermassive Black Hole in one of the scenes and b) that girl what plays Bella.

Oh I did that too.

And frankly the girl that plays Bella is one of the most awful things about the movie.

 

[corianderstem]

I was surprised that I enjoyed the movie to the extent I did. Which is to say, I was appalled by the book and only amused by the movie.

Compared to how many things I hated about the book, I thought the movie wasn't nearly as bad.

 

[LMP]

Clearly the Vampire Baseball scene is an examination of the overabundance of steroids in professional baseball. Clever subtext, indeed.

 

[No spoken words]

Clearly the Vampire Baseball scene is an examination of the overabundance of steroids in professional baseball. Clever subtext, indeed.

Don't post in here again until you've finished Dune.

I will fucking death clock you if needs be.

 

[LMP]

It worked so well the last time.

 

[No spoken words]

It worked so well the last time.

Holy shit.

You ended up watching the films you were on the clock for, no?

 

[LMP]

I was agreeing with you! Yes I did.

I can do things.

 

[No spoken words]

The "holy shit" was due to incredulity that you are posting in here still.

 

[LMP]

Alright. Last one.

 

[corianderstem]

The Gospel According to Sydney Welles by Susi Rajah

God, what a stupid book.

 

[Saracene]

When in Rome: Chasing La Dolce Vita by Penelope Green

It's about an Australian girl with a 30th birthday on the horizon who decides to change her life and move to Rome. As an immigrant myself I was interested to read about the joys and struggles she had with adjusting to another country and language, but all in all the book was a tad too chick lit for me.

 

[corianderstem]

That sounds right up my alley. I'll have to check that out.

 

[powerhour24]

Yeah, I'm obsessed with Graham Greene, I'm currently into A Burnt-Out Case


Also, can't fucking wait for The Girl Who Played with Fire to come out next tuesday, I prevented myself from buying the UK import (didn't want to devour the series toooo quickly, and the US cover is so much better).

 

[U2isthebest]

I've finally broken my reading dry spell and started on Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs after hearing so many good things about it. I'm really liking it so far. It's well-written, and funny. The chapter on Real World had me laughing out loud.

 

[adamswildhoney]

I finished "My Booky Wooky" by Russell Brand now just trying to find a new book to read.

 

[No spoken words]

Ulysses is the logical follow-up.

 

[adamswildhoney]

Ulysses is the logical follow-up.

hmmm maybe I just will.

Love the Avett Brothers too!

 

[corianderstem]

Ulysses is the logical follow-up.

 

[beegee]

I'm now reading She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall, which was written by Cassie's mother shortly after the Columbine shootings. Cassie is, of course, famous for supposedly being asked if she believed in God just seconds before being killed.

According to the book on Columbine that I just finished Cassie was never asked the question. Witnesses have apparently come forward to contradict the myth surrounding Cassie's death and claim that it was another girl who was asked the question. They claim the killers never said a word to Cassie. The other girl lived.

The book is more a book about troubled teens and the mother does make a vague disclaimer in the beginning but it's clear that she isn't willing to consider any other story than the one that's easiest for her to believe.

 

[U2isthebest]

I finished "My Booky Wooky" by Russell Brand now just trying to find a new book to read.

I need to get this book, ASP. Russell, FTW.

 

[Babydoll]

Summer reading list has so far comprised of "The Reader" (pretty good, a tad too fast paced in my opinion) and "Memoirs of a Geisha"... which was excellent.

 

[zuropa_fit]

Finished "Perfect From Now On - How Indie Rock Saved My Life" - it got a little boring at the end (unless you adore Guided by Voices the way certain people adore U2).

That will probably be my last "pleasure read" for awhile - now on to reading the first 10 pgs of about 50 scripts...

 

[Angela Harlem]

I'm reading a touching love story about the Bandidos and Hells Angels, called Dead Man Running - written accounts of a marked man who betrayed the Bandidos and is just counting down the days til he finds the meaning of life. Still slogging through Love in the time of Cholera. I plan to finish Anna Karenina some time soon. And an old favourite I'm rereading is Unicorn Mountain. Not even sure why it's a favourite as Michael Bishop is a pretty awful writer, and the characters are all weird.

 

[corianderstem]

The Dog Walker by Leslie Schnur

I think I'm running out of decent chick lit to read. I'd heard so many good things about this one, and I hated it just a little bit.

The main character is, duh, a dog walker, and one of her clients is a rich, giant U2 fan who travels all over the world, following them around on tour. Her teenaged son is named, naturally, Bono. I had a chuckle at the U2 bit, but it got annoying pretty fast, as did the entire book.

Plus, she has the U2 fan walking around with a hat that says "U2 World Tour 2003" at one point, which just grated my cheese. You couldn't check that one tiny detail through Google or something, Leslie? Jeez.

 

[Angela Harlem]

She also put that infernal stamp on White Oleander and Million Little Pieces which are a couple of my favorites.

The first time I tried reading The Road I couldn't get into it. I picked it up a couple years later and for the first time in all my years of reading, I read an entire book in one sitting.

White Oleander is one of the things I am most grateful to you for, bg. I'll never get rid of that book.