I really liked Cryptonomicon, Quicksilver didn't do a whole lot for me, my interst petered out after about 400 pages. People tell me tho that the Confusion is really great, so I might have to go back and finish QS.

Bob Weston wrote:Reading the Keith Moon biography, Moon, at Todd Trainer's suggestion right now.

One of my favorite biographies, rock or otherwise - serving as an excellent illustration of just how much consistent self-medicated abuse a human being can take.

Would second the reading of The Confusion - am planning on re-reading both before the release of The System of the World.

Here's a few from recent memory:

Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Cavlier and Clay--comic books, escape artists, jews, brilliant writing. Mr. Dylan, if you haven't read this, I think it might be right up your alley. It earned its pulitzer.

Howling at the Moon by Michael Yentikoff. The annoying memoir of the guy that broke Thriller and was the head of Sony. He sucks. The book was fun.

So you wanna be a rock and roll star by the drummer from Semisonic. The band was crap, but he's a fabulous and funny writer. Great tour diary of a Major Label band.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I'd actually recommend her collection of shorts called The Interpreter of Maladies first.

Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance. India at the time of the Emergency. Great emotional writing. I envisioned the whole thing happening in my Grandmother's house. Kind of a downer.

I've got Preston's Demon in the Freezer (smallpox/superpox) on deck as well as the Mixerman book to finish and there's a box of em on the way. Hooray magic book day!


Faiz

the Classical wrote:

Dylan wrote:
I'm in the middle of Delillo's Cosmopolis, which is okay so far, but not his best. It may get better, but I'm not liking the writing style. It's more clipped and slangy than his usual.

lord help me how I hated this book!

Just finished it. I can't sell it fast enough. Boy, did it suck.

kerble wrote:Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Cavlier and Clay--comic books, escape artists, jews, brilliant writing. Mr. Dylan, if you haven't read this, I think it might be right up your alley.

That was an awesome book. I have not looked at his follow-ups, though - any thoughts?

Mr. Chimp wrote:Also Lethem's Fortress of Solitude (halfway through).

Another awesome book. It would be interesting to get your reaction, once finished, especially if you have read his older work.


I'm starting Cuckoo's Egg today, which I found for fifty cents at the thrift store.

By the way, has anyone ever heard of Thomas Bernhard? Any opinions?

Dylan wrote:

kerble wrote:Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Cavlier and Clay--comic books, escape artists, jews, brilliant writing. Mr. Dylan, if you haven't read this, I think it might be right up your alley.

That was an awesome book. I have not looked at his follow-ups, though - any thoughts?

I've only read Wonder Boys, which to be honest was a better movie. It made me want to smoke a lot of dope, if that's your thing, but the book kinda fizzled in the way he told the ending.

Dude, he totally wrote Spiderman 2, which rocked.


Faiz

well im always reading books cause im a bit of a geek, but i think thats ok cause i heard being a geek now is cool. woo hoo

Any way the one book that i have to mention is American Physco. If anyone here has read it please tell me that i was not the only one thinking that i was going to be sick any minute. It is an amazing book but boy it's a bit full on. Murder and lots of the other stuff:) everyday for 4 weeks kinda gets to you( thats how long it took me to read it). I was glad to put it down casue i do believe that it was slowly driving me crazy. Let me know if anyone else has read this.

If you have, are you now totally crazy?

I actually just finished American Psycho last night at about 2:00am. Yes, it was nauseating, but I was actually impressed at how well Ellis managed to get you into this person's (pat bateman's) mind. The excessive descriptions of what everyone was wearing every single time he encounters them solidified his insanity for me.

I also felt that because Bateman was constantly mistaken for someone else (at least fifty times) it worked as some sort of comment on yuppie conformity that really sunk in and made me believe that all the other male characters were equally interchangeable.

Good read. Gross.


Faiz

kerble wrote:

Dylan wrote:

kerble wrote:Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Cavlier and Clay--comic books, escape artists, jews, brilliant writing. Mr. Dylan, if you haven't read this, I think it might be right up your alley.

That was an awesome book. I have not looked at his follow-ups, though - any thoughts?

I've only read Wonder Boys, which to be honest was a better movie. It made me want to smoke a lot of dope, if that's your thing, but the book kinda fizzled in the way he told the ending.

Dude, he totally wrote Spiderman 2, which rocked.


Faiz

I've read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which was not unlike Wonder Boys in theme and topics, but subtract the interesting parts (the Professor's immese novel, etc.) A good read for Chabon's style, but not too broad of a story.

The other one was Summerland which was a very good read, but would be an exceptional read for maybe a precocious 13 year old - Chabon's take on a world with a Narnia/Potter twist, but centering around baseball. Fun.

I thought the second Man-Spider movie was well done....except by the conclusion, more people know that Peter Parker's face is under the mask than during the whole decades-long run of all of the comic book titles.
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