Books!!

I know there's already a book club thread, but it seems to be limited to one book at a time. So this thread is for discussion of whatever you're currently reading, suggestions on good books to read, etc.

Right now I'm reading Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende.
I'm only on like page twenty because I'm reading it in Spanish and have to look up a bunch of words, but its very bueno.

Before that I read the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, which was super depressing. Anyone read that?

What's your favorite book ever?

Mine is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz...Or maybe God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut.

I'm reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith right now. It seems pretty good so far, I guess I'll hold off judgment til I finish.

I've read the Bell Jar. Crazy depressing. It was recommended to me by my then girlfriend, who was an absolute nutter herself.

My favorite book of all time is either "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand or "Stranger in a Strangeland" by Robert A. Heinlein. Both are absolutely fantastic and changed the way I look at and interact with the world.

I'm re-reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Fight Club".
Amazing books! and mainly because I let everyone else borrow every other book I have and they haven't given them back.....grrr....

oh well!

I'm reading 1984 right now, just got it yesterday though and I'm only on page 20.

SirIan wrote:

I'm reading 1984 right now, just got it yesterday though and I'm only on page 20.

Me, too! Though, I'm a very slow reader, and read very sparsely (bad habit of falling asleep, instead), and as such am only on like the 3rd or 4th chapter.

I just recently finished Slaughterhouse Five. Now i'm reading The Watermelon King by Daniel Wallace (Big Fish)

StoolPigeon wrote:

SirIan wrote:

I'm reading 1984 right now, just got it yesterday though and I'm only on page 20.

Me, too! Though, I'm a very slow reader, and read very sparsely (bad habit of falling asleep, instead), and as such am only on like the 3rd or 4th chapter.

Race you to the end!

I'm almost done reading On the Road by Kerouac. It's pretty good

1984 is a fantastic book. one of my favorites. animal farm is good too.

reading is for suckers.

Mark Narra wrote:

hard drugs for suckers / cab rides are for lovers

FTFY

The Bell Jar is a good book. I liked Plath all throughout high school and have all her literature, but now her work annoys me. Have you seen Sylvia (bio movie)? Why'd she have to go and kill herself and leave the kids there? Her plan to get rescued before she died totally failed.

I'm reading Scar Tissue, Anthony Keidis' (Red Hot Chili Peppers) autobiography, and it's more interesting than I thought it would be.

Facts:

-Dad introduced him to marijuana
-Dad supplied him with marijuana
-Dad let him have sex with his 18 year old gf when he was only 12
-He did coke, heroin, pot, acid, and quaaludes by age 13
-Hung out and partied with Who and Led Zeppelin members at a club in Hollywood
-Slept with a naked Cher at age 14

Ana wrote:

The Bell Jar is a good book. I liked Plath all throughout high school and have all her literature, but now her work annoys me. Have you seen Sylvia (bio movie)? Why'd she have to go and kill herself and leave the kids there? Her plan to get rescued before she died totally failed.

I'm reading Scar Tissue, Anthony Keidis' (Red Hot Chili Peppers) autobiography, and it's more interesting than I thought it would be.

Facts:

-Dad introduced him to marijuana
-Dad supplied him with marijuana
-Dad let him have sex with his 18 year old gf when he was only 12
-He did coke, heroin, pot, acid, and quaaludes by age 13
-Hung out and partied with Who and Led Zeppelin members at a club in Hollywood
-Slept with a naked Cher at age 14

What kind of a 12 year old has an 18 year old girlfriend? Or more importantly, what kind of 18 year old has a 12 year old boyfriend? That guy sounds fucked up.

SirIan wrote:

StoolPigeon wrote:

SirIan wrote:

I'm reading 1984 right now, just got it yesterday though and I'm only on page 20.

Me, too! Though, I'm a very slow reader, and read very sparsely (bad habit of falling asleep, instead), and as such am only on like the 3rd or 4th chapter.

Race you to the end!

It's on... Like Donkey Kong.

ashley wrote:

1984 is a fantastic book. one of my favorites. animal farm is good too.

I've heard that it's pretty much the same as every other Orwell book. Though, the only other one I've read is Animal Farm.

I'm reading "world war Z". It's about zombies, I thoroughly enjoy it. It's got a very cool post civilization look in the later chapters.

I've been reading that a bit, actually. I have it on my computer.

Really? You virtual book thief.

BradGodfrey wrote:

What kind of a 12 year old has an 18 year old girlfriend? Or more importantly, what kind of 18 year old has a 12 year old boyfriend? That guy sounds fucked up.

rock stars that lie so they can sell books.

i'm working on about 3 or 4 books at the moment. i hate doing that, but i planned on reading 25 books this summer and i only got through 10 or so. so right now i'm doing:

"liar's club" by mary karr
"rabbit run" by john updike
"the collected stories" by grace pailey
"death in venice" by thomas mann

death in venice, combined with less than zero by brett easton ellis, is one of my all-time favorite stories. it's utterly brilliant and all-encompassing, pushing fiction to its limit and beyond. if anyone wants to talk about it, let's do this.

StoolPigeon wrote:

ashley wrote:

1984 is a fantastic book. one of my favorites. animal farm is good too.

I've heard that it's pretty much the same as every other Orwell book. Though, the only other one I've read is Animal Farm.

That's a gross oversimplification. His fictional works certainly have a similar theme, but are entirely different in tone, message, and style. If any of you haven't read any of his nonfiction, but enjoyed 1984 or Animal Farm, read Down and Out in Paris and London. That book is about poverty and is fucking CRAZY.

StoolPigeon wrote:

turn that smile upside down!

Mark Narra wrote:

BradGodfrey wrote:

What kind of a 12 year old has an 18 year old girlfriend? Or more importantly, what kind of 18 year old has a 12 year old boyfriend? That guy sounds fucked up.

rock stars that lie so they can sell books.

i'm working on about 3 or 4 books at the moment. i hate doing that, but i planned on reading 25 books this summer and i only got through 10 or so. so right now i'm doing:

"liar's club" by mary karr
"rabbit run" by john updike
"the collected stories" by grace pailey
"death in venice" by thomas mann

death in venice, combined with less than zero by brett easton ellis, is one of my all-time favorite stories. it's utterly brilliant and all-encompassing, pushing fiction to its limit and beyond. if anyone wants to talk about it, let's do this.

what is death in venice about? I've never heard of it before but you make it sound so incredible.

BradGodfrey wrote:

What kind of a 12 year old has an 18 year old girlfriend? Or more importantly, what kind of 18 year old has a 12 year old boyfriend? That guy sounds fucked up.

His dad had the 18-year old gf. He let him give her a go.

Ana wrote:

BradGodfrey wrote:

What kind of a 12 year old has an 18 year old girlfriend? Or more importantly, what kind of 18 year old has a 12 year old boyfriend? That guy sounds fucked up.

His dad had the 18-year old gf. He let him give her a go.

Whoa.
Thats even worse.


Anyways. 1984 > Animal Farm by far. I got really annoyed by Animal Farm. Of course that may be because we read it in my freshmen year, and we spent like a bajillion years on having every little detail analyzed and explained when its a fairly simple allegory that takes like five minutes (hyperbole!) to read. 1984 is just brilliant.