Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 947118 times)

masterofsparks

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #675 on: June 01, 2009, 06:37:02 AM »
I may put off The Brothers Karamazov for the umpteenth time to catch up on some classic crime fiction, of which I've read unaccountably  little beyond Chandler.  Recommendations welcome.    I watched THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE last week and the dialogue was so sharp it made we want to check out the book, which doesn't often happen for me after watching a film adaptation first. 

I'd recommend any of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder books. When the Sacred Ginmill Closes is probably my favorite, but just about all of them are worth reading.
I'll probably go into the wee hours.

Bryan

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #676 on: June 01, 2009, 09:39:39 AM »
Patricia Highsmith's Ripley books are really, really good.

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #677 on: June 01, 2009, 10:13:01 AM »
Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the number of 'must-read' classics out there.  There's just not enough time in life.

I'm starting The Savage Detectives tonight.  Exciting.

Yeah, the other day I actually tried to calculate the amount of time it would take me to read all the books in my shelf of books I want to read next.  It was paralyzing.

Taking a quick breather to catch up on The New Yorker and Harper's, but did anyone catch the Jonathan Lethem story in the former?  It's about a female pit bull.  I thought about leaving it for Tom, but it's definitely too soon -- the story made me well up, and I've never even laid eyes on Dogmo.  In any case, it's a great short story.
Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.

B_Buster

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #678 on: June 01, 2009, 05:18:19 PM »
I may put off The Brothers Karamazov for the umpteenth time to catch up on some classic crime fiction, of which I've read unaccountably  little beyond Chandler.  Recommendations welcome.

I really enjoyed Hammett's Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon. Also, if you want something super breezy but also super fun, check out any of the Fletch books by Gregory MacDonald. Yup, the movies were based on them. Sort of.

I'd also add Hammett's The Thin Man which I'm reading now. I think I already like it better than the two mentioned above (mainly because it's funnier). Denis Johnson's Nobody Move was a fun literary thriller similar to No Country for Old Men (McCarthy seems to have started a trend; Pynchon's got something similar coming out in August called Inherent Vice). Jim Thompson is also great crime fiction. Pop. 1280 is my favorite, but The Killer Inside Me is also great. After The Thin Man, I thought I'd dive a little deeper into Elmore Leonard for the summer (Hombre, Swag, La Brava, and Killshot).
See God, Kai

fonpr

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #679 on: June 01, 2009, 06:36:38 PM »
I enjoyed Norman Mailer's "Tough Guys Don't Dance."
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AaronC

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #680 on: June 01, 2009, 06:59:31 PM »
The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam.  It is about the 1979 Portland Trailblazers. When the author died, ESPN raved about this book, calling it one of the all-time best sports books. Maybe you had to have grown up with these players, but I think this book is boring. I'm 75 pages in and the season hasn't even started.  I don't think I'll finish it. 

cutout

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #681 on: June 01, 2009, 07:16:34 PM »
George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia

jbissell

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #682 on: June 01, 2009, 07:28:12 PM »
I may put off The Brothers Karamazov for the umpteenth time to catch up on some classic crime fiction, of which I've read unaccountably  little beyond Chandler.  Recommendations welcome.

I really enjoyed Hammett's Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon. Also, if you want something super breezy but also super fun, check out any of the Fletch books by Gregory MacDonald. Yup, the movies were based on them. Sort of.

I'd also add Hammett's The Thin Man which I'm reading now. I think I already like it better than the two mentioned above (mainly because it's funnier). Denis Johnson's Nobody Move was a fun literary thriller similar to No Country for Old Men (McCarthy seems to have started a trend; Pynchon's got something similar coming out in August called Inherent Vice). Jim Thompson is also great crime fiction. Pop. 1280 is my favorite, but The Killer Inside Me is also great. After The Thin Man, I thought I'd dive a little deeper into Elmore Leonard for the summer (Hombre, Swag, La Brava, and Killshot).

I got a Hammett collection that has 5 books and it's been a great read so far (I finished Red Harvest and The Dain Curse).

I've only read the newish Leonard books, basically the ones that all became movies and I like him a lot.  Mike, after you read Killshot, I hope you check out the new straight to DVD Mickey Rourke adaptation.

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #683 on: June 01, 2009, 08:18:02 PM »
I have given up on difficult reading. I am running through the Spenser series.

Bryan

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #684 on: June 01, 2009, 08:23:18 PM »
I have given up on difficult reading. I am running through the Spenser series.

Edmund?

crumbum

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #685 on: June 07, 2009, 11:43:28 AM »
Just finishing Zadie Smith's On Beauty. I have mixed feelings about the political side of the book, but she's absolutely brilliant when she details the subtle psychological details and power struggles in a simple conversation.

Sarah

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #686 on: June 07, 2009, 12:42:07 PM »
I have given up on difficult reading.

Me, too.


Scot

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #687 on: June 07, 2009, 01:41:51 PM »
I'm reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins "for my job." It's terrific!

Keith Whitener

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #688 on: June 07, 2009, 03:37:15 PM »
I'm making my way through The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James for a summer class. What a slog!

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #689 on: June 08, 2009, 10:58:06 AM »
I have at least five books that I got 2+ years ago and have just been carrying around with me, and now that I have a little time to breathe I'm going to read them.  The first one is Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, and honestly I'm not sure what I think of it.  It's a brisk, clear read, and I'm glad such a good writer has dealt so honestly with the topics of death and grief, but I'm finding something about Didion's cool WASPish nobility really hard to connect with.  Maybe I've just read way too much about it.
Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.