Read Any Good Books Lately?

tree of smoke by denis johnson
a natural history of the senses diane ackerman

1. Peter Godwin - When an Alligator Eats the Sun:
It got 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon (for whatever that's worth). It's very readable (don't let the review below steer you away from it as being too depressing because it is also uplifting).

Reading this now and it's amazing!

^that book is called "When a Crocodile Eats the Sun" and I guess I have a strange aversion to reading it. Not sure why, since I know a few people who liked it

also, Samuel Johnson is Indignant, Almost No Memory, and The End of the Story, two books of short stories and a novel, all by Lydia Davis. She is awesome.

I added "Shot Through the Heart".

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

arrbecca wrote: Netherland: it is seriously so good.

ack. Am reading this - about 125 pages in and not loving it. The cricket stuff is just ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Does it get better?

I'm reading the Inspector Wexford series by Ruth Rendell. Luckily, there appears to be about 25 of them.

I'm reading the Inspector Wexford series by Ruth Rendell. Luckily, there appears to be about 25 of them.

The Dream Hunters Sandman book 11 by Neil Gaiman

snooze

The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama

bore

Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions About Uncertain Democracies by Philippe C. Schmitter, and Lawrence Whitehead

eh, this was review of an old gradschool book. i decided to skim it before i sold it online.

Portraits of American Politics by Bruce Allen Murphy

actually kinda interesting. it's a collection of essays by various authors and political observers about important periods, institutions, or people in the history of american politics. they're short and easy to read , not academic or didactic, and often give you new insight.

The Dream Hunters Sandman book 11 by Neil Gaiman

snooze

The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama

bore

Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions About Uncertain Democracies by Philippe C. Schmitter, and Lawrence Whitehead

eh, this was review of an old gradschool book. i decided to skim it before i sold it online.

Portraits of American Politics by Bruce Allen Murphy

actually kinda interesting. it's a collection of essays by various authors and political observers about important periods, institutions, or people in the history of american politics. they're short and easy to read , not academic or didactic, and often give you new insight.

Motherless Brooklyn
Brideshead Revisited

mr. met wrote: Motherless Brooklyn
Brideshead Revisited

I second Motherless Brooklyn, but I wonder if there's even a chance that Flexi hasn't read it already. I want to read Lorrie Moore's new book. "A Gate at the Stairs." Anyone read it?

Yep...Read Motherless... :-)

Just finished "Netherland". Eh.

Next up will likely be "The Hour I First Believed".

Flexi--I knew you read Motherless. Did you like it?

Flo wrote: Flexi--I knew you read Motherless. Did you like it?

Yes.....from what I remember (ha...I read too much and pay attention to too little).

Read "Hour I First Believed" which was mostly good, but he pushes his anti-Bush agenda a bit too hard in a novel (and I am anti-Bush as well) and seemed to try to incorporate too many social issues into the story line.

Reading "Shot Through the Heart" now (wasn't into it much, but it seems to be getting better).

Bought "Beat the Reaper" today. It may be next up

Just finished Sing Them Home, liked it quite a bit, currently reading Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rentboys and it's awesome. Next up, A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore.

Almost done with Lucky Wander Boy by DB Weiss. Sort of in the same vein as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, though using early home-format video games (pong, pac-man, etc.) to build the story instead of the early comic book industry, as Chabon does.

Recently finished Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

Where the hell is that 5th George RR Martin book anyway? Its like 3 years overdue.

"A Home At The End Of The World" by Michael Cunningham.
Better than "The Hours". Cunningham has such keen subtle understanding and observation...and as cute as whasshisface is in the movie, the book is galaxies better.

in non-fiction, Garbageland by Brooklynite Elizabeth Royte

ntfool wrote: Recently finished Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

This is the book I have been trying to find at my bookstore. Did you purchase it? Can you tell me what bookstore (PS I refuse to Amazon at this point and time for a personal reason).

I am dying to read The Forgotten Garden but refused to pay full price for a book. Has anyone read it yet?

PS - For all the teachers and educators out there - Borders is offering you 30% off any book with your id.

hey stacey -- you should ask unnameable books on vandy if they have it. if they don't they'll order it for you and give you 20% off. local business, and adam is a great guy.

600 Vanderbilt Ave
(between Dean St & St Marks Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 789-1534
unnameablebooks.net

http://www.yelp.com/biz/unnameable-books-brooklyn-2

sweet tea wrote: hey stacey -- you should ask unnameable books on vandy if they have it. if they don't they'll order it for you and give you 20% off. local business, and adam is a great guy.

600 Vanderbilt Ave
(between Dean St & St Marks Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 789-1534
unnameablebooks.net

http://www.yelp.com/biz/unnameable-books-brooklyn-2

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know they would order it. I have been dying to give my business to this place.

Two nine-inch hitchhiking thumbs up for Yiddish Police (very funny) & Garbageland (everything you wanted to know about Brooklyn garbage but were afraid to ask). Am reading the butterfly book (non-fiction) for the intriguing title alone-- "The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists". Ha.

just noticed that the address for unnameable (copied and pasted from yelp) is wrong. it's on vandy between st marks and prospect.

Flo wrote: "Beat the Reaper" by Josh Bazell entertained me recently. Kind of like ER meets The Sopranos. Its about a doctor in a witness protection program.

I started reading this last night. So far, so good.

Finished "Shot Through the Heart" by Mikal Gilmore - about his childhood and being the brother of Gary Gimore, who was executed for murder. Such a tragic life for the whole family.

Just finished Lisey's Story by Stephen King, he should stick to horror and that's coming from an insane King fan. I'm about to start The Swarm by Frank Schatzing or maybe Archenemy by Frank Beddor (I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland geek so I love these books).

I just finished Century Rain by Alistair Reynolds. Great Brit Sci Fi. This one wasn't part of his Revelation Space series (which was also awesome), but he creates an equally compelling world (worlds, actually) in this stand-alone.

Flexichick wrote: Finished "Shot Through the Heart" by Mikal Gilmore - about his childhood and being the brother of Gary Gimore, who was executed for murder. Such a tragic life for the whole family.

how do i not know about this book? flexi, have you read the executioner's song? does mikal mention it at all? i've always been curious to hear what some of the people involved thought of it, but i've been too lazy to put any work into finding out.

^I didn't read the executioner's song, but I saw the movie after I finished the book. I'd say that Mikal has mixed feelings about it......but one thing that he was very pleased with is that they let him listen to the tapes of the interviews that were done with Gary, the mom and others, and that gave Mikal a lot of information that he never had before. there were a ton of secrets and lies in that family

p.s. It's actually called "Shot in the Heart". Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Shot-Heart-Mikal-Gilmore/dp/0385478003/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256317015&sr=8-3