Sat out on the patio of my building for a large part of the afternoon today, reading Bill Bryson’s “The Lost Continent” (thanks to John’s recommendation). It’s funny and wry and biting, and while it takes some on-the-edge-of-cheap shots at small-town America, they’re mostly of the “it’s funny because it’s true” variety.
“I never felt insulted when he came to europe and made fun of Europe, because he was write!”
-from an Amazon comment on the book
I realized I don’t talk about books much, if ever, on this page. I want to read more this fall and comment about it here. A man does not live by Anna Nicole alone. What books have you all read recently? Looking for some good recommendations.
“Solaris” by Stanislaw Lem. Good book, and you’ll be ready for the new movie.
“Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace will quench your appetite. Perhaps too well. Try “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” by Michael Chabon first. (They’re yours for the borrowing if you like.)
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I go now.
Matt
Moby Dick- very interesting. Always nice to read a classic.
Make sure you get a good translation of “Solaris” — Lem is crappy in a lousy translation and there are different ones out there. The Cyeberiad is a lot of fun — a LOT of Fun. I’m still working through Kav and Clay, and “Infinite Jest” has not yet called to be on my list.
Consider joining a reading group (Or starting one — I did) either at a local bookstore or online. Some of the best fun I’ve had is discussing a book I’ve just read with other people who’ve just read it.
Perdido Street Station by Chine Mieville was a major tour de force in what the author called “wierd fiction”. It totally swept me up, but it’s important to note that it’s a book to be read slowly and carefully savored.
“Neuromancer” by William Gibson is a pretty nice ride on the beginnings of the cyberpunk genre, I read it in my wonderfully fun “Digital Culture” class..
Grendel, is my other recommendation, I’d suggest familiarizing yourself with Beowulf first, if you aren’t already, so you fully appreciate everything. But Grendel is close to, if not my favorite book of all time.
i lyke boks with lots of picturs
Justin, if you are talking about John Gardner’s Grendel, then you rock. That *is* my favorite book of all time.
“Grendal” and the Heany poetic translation of “Beowulf” are the January selections for my reading group (aka, the group I pick books for). It makes me feel so smart to know someone else actually likes something I like, especially when I think that peson has worthwhile opinions.
xkot: that reminds me of a questionnaire response by an ex-boyfriend of mine:
Q: Favorite kind of book
A: Closed
When I asked my brother a couple of years ago what he wanted for Christmas, he said, why not get me a book. When I asked him what kind of books he liked, he said,
“I like books about people and situations.”
I was so tempted to walk into Barnes & Noble and ask at the information desk for them to recommend a book about “people and situations.”
I vote for “Waiting for Godot”. That’ll teach him.
I just finished a fictional biography (they know so little about her, it has to be fiction) of Murasaki Shikibu, the 11th century Japanese authoress of Tale of Gengi. I haven’t been able to make it through Gengi yet, but if you’re interested in ancient Japanese culture, the biography is interesting.
Speaking of, I need to update my bookblog — I’m trying to track what I’m reading and what I think of it. Naturally, I’ve read almost entirely fluff since starting it (a little embarassing). (The link above will take you there, if you’re interested.)
Just finished reading Steven Hawking’s “The Universe in a Nutshell.” Being an artist at heart, and the direct opposite of a physicist, I’m getting ready to read it again. Unfortunately my curiosity about the universe conflicts greatly with my brain’s ability to understand the most modern and complicated physics theories.