Now reading...

[thedwork]

i just finished this last night. i definitely enjoyed it and laughed plenty. also some very personal revelations on her life but she still comes off as somewhat guarded. and that's fine. i just count on her to make me laugh most of the time, and she does.

essentially, if you like her already, you'll dig the book. she can really write (which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone familar with her stuff...). but if you're one of the many people out there who find her offensive, don't waste your time. this book will not change your attitude toward her.

[jlhoots]

David Fulmer: Jass

[BillF]

Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction Firsts

Collection of first stories to deal with major science fiction themes. Some very readable stuff here.

What are some of the stories in this anthology? Amazon won't tell me a thing.

John D Clark, "Minus Planet" (1937)

Fritz Leiber, "Yesterday House" (1952)

Larry Niven, "Neutron Star" (1966)

Lester del Rey, "The Faithful" (1938)

Don Wilcox, "The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years" (1940)

- that's as far as I've got!

[Van Basten II]

Finished it.

Was sad learning that the author killed himself, read two books of him, the other being Big trouble and he could sure tell a story. Heard little prior to reading this book about busing. To resume this book, I would say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Next book is

Never read him before, have started picking up what I can find from him at the used bookstore, will start with this one, as the jacket says the first stories are a bit Orvellesque indeed, any other recommendations ?

[jeffcrom]

Next book is

Never read him before, have started picking up what I can find from him at the used bookstore, will start with this one, as the jacket says the first stories are a bit Orvellesque indeed, any other recommendations ?

The wonderful and bizarre Slaughterhouse Five is generally considered to be his masterpiece. Although I haven't read Vonnegut for years, perhaps my favorite is Mother Night, about a guy who is a Nazi propagandist, or maybe isn't a Nazi propagandist. The conclusion is "Be careful what you pretend to be, because that's what you are."

Edited May 21, 2010 by jeffcrom

[Jazzmoose]

Next book is

Never read him before, have started picking up what I can find from him at the used bookstore, will start with this one, as the jacket says the first stories are a bit Orvellesque indeed, any other recommendations ?

You simply have to read Slaughterhouse Five, but I'd recommend pretty much anything by Vonnegut. Player Piano is a little conventional, but even it is worth reading.

Damn; did you have to post this? I feel one of my periodical Vonnegut binges coming on...

[BruceH]

At the height of my Vonnegut phase my favorite was Cat's Cradle.

Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction Firsts

Collection of first stories to deal with major science fiction themes. Some very readable stuff here.

What are some of the stories in this anthology? Amazon won't tell me a thing.

John D Clark, "Minus Planet" (1937)

Fritz Leiber, "Yesterday House" (1952)

Larry Niven, "Neutron Star" (1966)

Lester del Rey, "The Faithful" (1938)

Don Wilcox, "The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years" (1940)

- that's as far as I've got!

Gee, the only one of those I'm familiar with is "Neutron Star."

[BillF]

At the height of my Vonnegut phase my favorite was Cat's Cradle.

Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction Firsts

Collection of first stories to deal with major science fiction themes. Some very readable stuff here.

What are some of the stories in this anthology? Amazon won't tell me a thing.

John D Clark, "Minus Planet" (1937)

Fritz Leiber, "Yesterday House" (1952)

Larry Niven, "Neutron Star" (1966)

Lester del Rey, "The Faithful" (1938)

Don Wilcox, "The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years" (1940)

- that's as far as I've got!

Gee, the only one of those I'm familiar with is "Neutron Star."

How do you shape up with the rest? (The last is the only one I've come across before.)

Edgar Allan Poe, "Cosmic Disaster" (1839)

Murray Leinster, "A Logic Named Joe" (1946)

Fitz-James O'Brien, "What Was It?" (1859) and "The Diamond Lens" (1858)

Richard Matheson, "The Test" (1954)

Isaac Asimov, "Reason" (1941)

H G Wells, "The Land Ironclads" (1903)

[paul secor]

Penelope Fitzgerald: The Bookshop

[paul secor]

Ann Beattie: Follies

[BruceH]

At the height of my Vonnegut phase my favorite was Cat's Cradle.

Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction Firsts

Collection of first stories to deal with major science fiction themes. Some very readable stuff here.

What are some of the stories in this anthology? Amazon won't tell me a thing.

John D Clark, "Minus Planet" (1937)

Fritz Leiber, "Yesterday House" (1952)

Larry Niven, "Neutron Star" (1966)

Lester del Rey, "The Faithful" (1938)

Don Wilcox, "The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years" (1940)

- that's as far as I've got!

Gee, the only one of those I'm familiar with is "Neutron Star."

How do you shape up with the rest? (The last is the only one I've come across before.)

Edgar Allan Poe, "Cosmic Disaster" (1839)

Murray Leinster, "A Logic Named Joe" (1946)

Fitz-James O'Brien, "What Was It?" (1859) and "The Diamond Lens" (1858)

Richard Matheson, "The Test" (1954)

Isaac Asimov, "Reason" (1941)

H G Wells, "The Land Ironclads" (1903)

I've read the Leinster, Asimov, and Wells stories. None too thrilled with any of them, although as I recall "Reason" was part of the I, Robot collection, which means I read it several times growing up.

[BillF]

Always liked Sillitoe's "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" from the 1950s, but hadn't realised he'd continued to write novels into the 90s until I read a recent obituary.

[jazzbo]

[ejp626]

Coincidentally, a copy of Mahfouz's The Mirage showed up at the library through interlibrary loan, so I'll basically read these together, and this seems a good pairing.

I'm just about done with this. It is a long novel (nearly 400 pages) and while each chapter is easy to read, the cumulative effect is kind of wearying. Mahfouz has come up with the ultimate mamma's boy, milksop character who only occasionally rouses himself to action and then usually regrets it afterward. I do find it hard to read such an unsympathetic character. Now I wasn't crazy about Ignatius (Confederacy of Dunces) or Ed (a near cousin in Guy Vanderhaeghe's My Present Age) in the sense that I would have hated to be next-door neighbors. But they were interesting characters to read. This guy, even if he ends up snapping, isn't very interesting. He's basically just the most pathetic man who ever lived. So I wouldn't recommend The Mirage unless that's your thing.

Next book up appears to be Karinthy's Metropole.

Actually, there are some parallels between Metropole and Malcolm Bradbury's Rates of Exchange. I've skimmed a bit of the Bradbury; it was fairly droll. Perhaps I should take the opportunity to read it first. Hmmm...

Edited June 2, 2010 by ejp626

[BillF]

Returning to this one after about 40 years! Yes, it's true what they say - it's a classic!

[jlhoots]

Peter Guralnick: Dream Boogie

[Swinger]

Returning to this one after about 40 years! Yes, it's true what they say - it's a classic!

It's a real classic for sure!

[alankin]

Returning to this one after about 40 years! Yes, it's true what they say - it's a classic!

It's a real classic for sure!

And remarkably prescient about the advertisement industry culture!

[Bright Moments]

the girl who kiscked the hornets' nest

[Brad]

Just started reading the White Tiger, for my book club

[jazzbo]

A Cornell Woolrich novel (written under one of his pseudonyms).

[ejp626]

Just started reading the White Tiger, for my book club

That's a good one, though I actually thought Between the Assassinations (by the same author) was better. Something to look for later perhaps.

[alankin]

[paul secor]

Ulysses in Paris, a pre-publication excerpt from Sylvia Beach's memoir, Shakespeare and Company.

Picked this up in a local book shop - makes me want to read the whole of Shakespeare and Company plus the edition of Sylvia Beach's letters that was published recently.

[Jazzmoose]

Pheonix by Richard Cowper. I read his book Clone back in high school and swore I'd try something else by him someday. Thirty-seven years later...