Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 947200 times)

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #285 on: March 05, 2008, 11:31:24 AM »
I finished George Singleton's Drowning in Gruel (it's fine, but I still recommend Why Dogs Chase Cars as a starting point.)

I have started up the second in my chronological tour through the works of Cormac McCarthy. It's called The Outer Dark. 30 pages in, there's 5 characters, and three of them are a couple waiting out and going through a birth, and the ensuing baby, who gets abandoned in the woods for dead by the father, who also appears to be the mom's brother. Good times in the old south!

B_Buster

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #286 on: March 05, 2008, 11:41:37 AM »
I finally finished reading Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, The Pioneers of Psychedelic Sound. It was a long slog with way too much detail for a general reader like me, but it did pick up in the end when Tommy Hall's LSD-induced House of Cards all came tumbling down. Also, it would have been nice if someone had copyedited the manuscript. I don't think I've ever spotted as many errors in a printed book before.

I'm currently reading Joseph Conrad's Victory. Great stuff, so far.
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bruce

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #287 on: March 05, 2008, 09:56:38 PM »
Just finished:

The Color of Blood - Declan Hughes.

B Buster would just love this book. So you know its light hearted fluff with just a enough whimsy.

About to start:

Dogtown/Soultown - Mercedes Lambert

Then maybe I'll crack open that happy little book called Child 44

bruce

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #288 on: March 07, 2008, 10:49:05 AM »


Ok not a real book, but I do love the actual series its based on. Also its from one of the only Val Kilmer films I like.

Spoony

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"Goodnight. Sleep poorly."
« Reply #289 on: March 07, 2008, 12:45:41 PM »
I loved 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.' Whenever I show it to someone, they act really surprised that it was any good.

bruce

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Re: "Goodnight. Sleep poorly."
« Reply #290 on: March 07, 2008, 12:50:48 PM »
I loved 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.' Whenever I show it to someone, they act really surprised that it was any good.
A lot of people told me to see it when it came out. Telling me to trust them that I'll get a huge kick out of something. Then when I saw it was based on a Mike Shayne book and pretty much aped the style of books in the film I was just giddy.

For those curious here is not only the style but the actual book that inspired the film



Rainer

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #291 on: March 11, 2008, 08:56:06 AM »
Those pulp book covers are wonderful.  They remind me of some of the selection at my friend Paul's place, The Wounded Bookshop.  If you find yourself in Fredericksburg, VA, I highly recommend visiting it.

samir

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #292 on: March 11, 2008, 12:55:42 PM »
I'm reading Absurdistan at the moment, by Shteyngart. It's pretty good, the main character reminds me of Ignatius J. Reilly from Confederacy of Dunces. But fatter and more Russian.
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Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #293 on: March 11, 2008, 11:23:19 PM »
Shteyngart is hilarious.  I saw him read and he's really funny in person, too - check him out if you can.
Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.

emma

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #294 on: March 12, 2008, 11:23:39 AM »
I'm reading Let It Blurt, Jim Derogatis's biography of Lester Bangs, and jesus jumping christ in a sidecar it is one of the saddest things I have ever read. It's not the best-written biography, but the story of this guy's life is depressing enough. Eesh.

bruce

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #295 on: March 12, 2008, 12:04:03 PM »
I'm reading Let It Blurt, Jim Derogatis's biography of Lester Bangs, and jesus jumping christ in a sidecar it is one of the saddest things I have ever read. It's not the best-written biography, but the story of this guy's life is depressing enough. Eesh.
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samir

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #296 on: April 01, 2008, 09:54:41 AM »
I just finished 'Banvard's Folly', which I learned about because the author was interviewed on the Best Show a few years back.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, so nice work, Scharpling!
"Son, there's a thin line between crazed and rabid"


JonFromMaplewood

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #297 on: April 02, 2008, 01:15:42 AM »
I am reading "The Rest Is Noise" by Alex Ross.  Interesting review of 20th Century avant-garde music.  Mostly focuses on classical composers, like Berg, Varese, and Adams (not the one who invented Pinkberry). But I guess that it goes into bands like Pere Ubu and Husker Dude later on...I am not there yet.

Avant-garde classical music was never much to my liking. But the book does a great job giving the music historical context, which breathes life into it.  Schoenberg turns out to be the real punk rocker, basically spitting on everything that came before him. Too bad I find his twelve-tone music unlistenable, even with historical context.  It seems to me like music for classically-trained musicians, like Richard Foreman is a playwright for playwrights.

And if describing music through text seems like a bad idea, Ross has some playlists on iTunes to supplement the reading. Good for novices like myself.
"I'm riding the silence like John Cage up in this piece." -Tom Scharpling

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #298 on: April 02, 2008, 10:09:54 AM »
Great post, Jon, and I've heard good things about that book.  But I don't know that I'd characterize Foreman as a playwright for playwrights.  I'm not sure who he's for, exactly.  People who like to hear a single phrase repeated over and over again by a recent college grad in a donkey outfit?

I kid, I kid, he's a good guy and I think he's kind of interesting as a visual artist.  But anyway, who cares!!!

I just read Harry G. Frankfurt's On Bullshit in pretty much one sitting, and just started Jonathan Lethem's Fortress of Solitude.  Good so far!

Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #299 on: April 02, 2008, 10:43:46 AM »
I am currently captivated by "Death of a Citizen". More soon. Still waiting on the library to re-send the copies of Handling Sin and The Adventures of Hucklebarry Finn that they so cruelly recalled from me afore Iza finished withum.