Maurice wrote:

sparky wrote:Other than that, I am about to start a book called The Box Man, by Kobo Abe. I've only just begun it (it begins with instructions on how to assemble a box, and the story is in the title), but it looks great.

You are in for a treat. Great, disturbing book, and Abe's best, I think.

Thank you. I was sold on it after reading a couple of sentences when a friend showed it to me. I really like the matter of fact oddness of the conceit. Are his other novels worth seeking out?

sparky wrote:Are his other novels worth seeking out?

I bought a bunch of them after reading The Box Man, but I don't think the others have quite the same twisted, austere aesthetic. They're generally worth reading, but for whatever reason they didn't have quite the impact, especially in the handling of the endings. The Woman in the Dunes is good too, as I recall, though a recent rereading of Ruined Map revealed it to be not as good as I remembered. It's been a long time since I read the others, though. (I have Secret Rendezvous, Face of Another, and, I'm pretty sure, Ark Sakura around here as well, though The Box Man is the one I recommend without hesitation.)

Milky Joe wrote:

daniel robert chapman wrote:Today I finished Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda - the letters between Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. And gosh darn, if this book hasn't made me sad.

how much of your enjoyment for that book came from your love for fitzgerald? i read and enjoyed the great gatsby recently, but i haven't really got into that style or era otherwise. would you still recommend it?

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I reckon quite a lot of the enjoyment was from being a fan, yeah. I've read pretty much everything (barring letters) by Scott and Zelda and so this was always something which would interest me. If you've only read the Great Gatsby, I would read another Scott Fitzgerald at least before going on to any letters or anything. 'Tender Is The Night' is good, and is rooted in the actual events of Scott and Zelda's relationship.

As part of research (though I enjoy books like this anyhow) I am nearly finished reading The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer"

It's a really smartly written book. I have some problems with some of the author's writing quirks, but overall it's a page-turner. Turn of the century magicians were pretty much all jerks, it seems.

Since there's two movies about turn of the century magic out now or being released soon (The Illusionist, The Prestige), reading this is a nice compliment. The armchair engineer in me really enjoyed reading about how the illusions were built, and made me kinda sad that I hadn't thought about "magician's assistant" as a career option earlier on.

burun wrote:As part of research (though I enjoy books like this anyhow) I am nearly finished reading The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer"

I may read this book. I presume you've read Phantoms Of The Card Table?
On a similar tack, I enjoyed this New Yorker article on Ricky Jay's website a lot. There's a great bit about Jay trying to wrest an incredible magic library from David Copperfield.
Anyway, see you in the 'other place'....

johnnyshape wrote:

burun wrote:As part of research (though I enjoy books like this anyhow) I am nearly finished reading The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer"

I may read this book. I presume you've read Phantoms Of The Card Table?
On a similar tack, I enjoyed this New Yorker article on Ricky Jay's website a lot. There's a great bit about Jay trying to wrest an incredible magic library from David Copperfield.
Anyway, see you in the 'other place'....

Chung Ling Soo used to perform down the road from here, in Hoxton Hall.

johnnyshape wrote:I may read this book. I presume you've read Phantoms Of The Card Table?
On a similar tack, I enjoyed this New Yorker article on Ricky Jay's website a lot. There's a great bit about Jay trying to wrest an incredible magic library from David Copperfield.
Anyway, see you in the 'other place'....

Phantoms is on my list, but after a couple of other things. I'll get to it eventually.

That Ricky Jay article is one of the best things ever written about him. I wish On The Stem were still running - I saw it three times and was completely entertained every time.

daniel robert chapman wrote:If you've only read the Great Gatsby, I would read another Scott Fitzgerald at least before going on to any letters or anything. 'Tender Is The Night' is good, and is rooted in the actual events of Scott and Zelda's relationship.

ive got into the habit of looking in second hand bookshops/charity shops whenever im in town, and ive seen that one around a bit, ill pick up a copy next time i do

I just finished Teacher Man by Frank McCourt. Damn, can that guy tell a story. It's no small feat for a writer to carry on such a conversational, confessional tone without ever dipping into sentimentality. He's a wonder.

I also recently finished Consilience: The Unity of Human Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson. Jesus skull-crushing christ, that guy's smart. An incredible polymath. And his argument for both the necessity and inevitability of the unification of academic disciplines across the boundaries of art and science is impressive, not to mention hearteninig. This is a HIGHLY recommended book, but it can be a bit of a slog.

Right now I'm reading Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga fantasy series. I can't believe this guy didn't get sued by Tolkien back in the 70s when the books first came out. The direct ripoffs are so blatant, I almost admire his balls. And despite this, I can't stop reading. No idea why.

I'm now reading Take Me To The River, a book about the 2005 WSOP. As I page through it, I realize that I know many of the people he talks about personally, and it is kind of strange.

Have any of you read books which either have characters based on you/someone you know, or non-fiction books that talk about people you know? I know Steve's dad figured in Young Men And Fire, for example.