I know it's been done before but this place is dying anyway, so beggars can't be choosers.
What are you reading now?
What did you just finish?
What is your favorite novel?
What is your favorite non-fiction book?
What is your favorite quotation?
Which book did you love initially and now feel 'eh' about?
Don't you think it's silly they've never made a really good movie about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda?

I'm reading "Cross Talk In Comp Theory."
I just finished "Don Quixote"
May fave novel is "The Elemetary Particles"
My fave non-fic is "Dark Star Safari"
My fave quote is "There are no more novels to be written, thank God."
Initially love then 'eh'? "Book of Leaves"
No good movie could be made of FSF and Zelda, though I have enjoyed the Zelda games.

*************************************

I ain't got nothing but love for you now.

that houellebecq looks interesting.
i would love to see someone try to make a fsf and zelda movie. even a shitty one would be fun if only for the outrage.

Reading now: Black Ice, a Mexican narco thriller by Bernardo Fernandez. 12 people dead already, and that's just the first chapter.

Just finished: Limonov, by Emmanuel Carrere. French biography (that takes a few too many liberties to be called a biography, hence the subtitle A Novel) of Edward Limonov, a Russian author/politician. Not the best book ever but a fascinating character, this Limonov. I want to read his novels next, especially It's Me, Eddie (or as it's known in French: the Russian Poet Prefers The Large Negro).

Favorite novel...that's like my favorite record, it changes every day. The novel that had the most impact is probably Journey To The End of The Night, by Louis-Ferdinand Céline.

Favorite non-fiction: The World As Will And Representation, by Arthur Schopenhauer.

Favorite quotation: "Someone threw a dead dog after him down the ravine." (last sentence of Malcolm Lowry's Under The Volcano)

Initially loved, than meh: Kerouac's On The Road.


Best thing I've read recently: Scagboys, by Irvine Welsh.

Just finished 99 Francs by frederic beigbeder. If houellebecq floats your boat (seems he does for many) check it out.

They made a pretty good film about it too, directed by jan kounen, who also made blueberry, another good film.

Favourite book? I dunno. Crime and punishment, maybe.

The Earth is an asshole.

Thanks for the good thread btw. It won't get the love that meade threads do, though. Let's see.

What's the fattest book you've read?

The Earth is an asshole.

I Am reading Wolf Hall - Hillary Mantel

I just finished The Dog Stars - Peter Heller....about a few people after most have died off due to disease. I enjoyed it. Kind of a less bleak The Road.

Just noticed Ian McEwan has a new book out, Sweet Tooth. I want to read that one soon too.

"The World As Will And Representation, by Arthur Schopenhauer"

Did you read the complete tome? It's like two bibles.

Of course. Took about a year.

can you summarise it in one sentence please?

"The worst is yet to come."

I always liked Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. Might fall in the fiction category though..

The Earth is an asshole.

"The worst is yet to come."

Thank you! saved me a year's work. I have a bit of an ADD when it comes to these things.

The Earth is an asshole.

What are you reading now? Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel
What did you just finish? The Chemistry of Tears - Peter Carey
What is your favorite novel? I have to be a twat here and pick three - they're all completely different and all embody different things that I think make a great novel: Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey; Immortality by Milan Kundera and Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck.
What is your favorite non-fiction book? M (biography of Caravaggio) by Peter Robb

------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

I am currently reading 3rd hunger games book and I love it.

I read 7 chapters of 50 shades of grey and hated it. I was pissed that 7 chapters of my time was wasted. I am told that there must be something wrong with me bc I didnt like it. Makes me hate it more, and also makes me hate the human race.
~~~
I have very broad shoulders tapered down to a thin, narrow waist - Meade

That shades of grey stuff is unbelievably awful. Not sexy, not well written - just a bad bad day for standards of erotic fiction.

I've sent texts with more erotic development than that book.


------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

I will private twitter tweet you my phone number
~~~
I have very broad shoulders tapered down to a thin, narrow waist - Meade

Now: History of Infamy - Borges (re-reading it actually)
Just Finished: Gaia's Garden (permaculture book)
Favorite: Cannery Row (Steinbeck) tough to pick one
Nonfiction: At the moment, An Omnivore's Dilemma, maybe River of Doubt (Roosevelt's journey in the Amazon)
***********************************

Sheeple stuff...
***********************************

I have only ever sent these texts to people I have actually slept with. Like all good bits of writing, it's important to do your research.

Take my forthcoming novel: The Delta of Uranus. One man's odyssey into discovering butt-pleasure. The research for that was long, hard and a real pain in the ass.


------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

We could arrange a meeting
~~~
I have very broad shoulders tapered down to a thin, narrow waist - Meade

Type in our post/zip codes and meet in the middle?


------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

sounds like a plan
~~~
I have very broad shoulders tapered down to a thin, narrow waist - Meade

I think it might be in the sea.


------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

Send me your number too, while you're at it

OK - at least you live nearer!


------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

Hah - I do.

THIS IS A BOOK THREAD, NOT A MEET FOR SEX THREAD! EXILE YOU CAN JUST START YOUR OWN THREAD IF YOU WANT TO MEET WINTERS FOR SEX!
~~~
I have very broad shoulders tapered down to a thin, narrow waist - Meade

Yes - this doesn't apply to kjo and me. That's been on the cards for ages.


------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

didn't take long to mention anal sex in the book thread..

The Earth is an asshole.

People who read books are more open minded. Perhaps just more open generally.


------------------------------
I kissed you once, kissed you again
My heart it tumbled like the stock exchange
------------------------------

That's true. I had to read de Sade in the university. Opened my mind to a lot of stuff.

The Earth is an asshole.

[deleted]

Fuckface, have you even read Proust? I doubt it.

The Earth is an asshole.

[deleted]

I'm not angry, on the contrary. Having a laugh, as usual.

The Earth is an asshole.

[deleted]

Can you summarise Recherche in one sentence please?

The Earth is an asshole.

What are you reading now?
The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides

What did you just finish?
An Object of Beauty - Steve Martin

[deleted]

No, just having a laugh. I've only one life, don't have time to read everything.

Too bad you are no help, but you provide laughs, and those make my life longer.

The Earth is an asshole.

What are you reading now? The Turkish Lover and The Soulforge
What did you just finish? Every Seventh Wave
What is your favorite novel? This year Every Seventh Wave but all time The Bell Jar
What is your favorite non-fiction book? This year The Five Love Languages but all time Guests of the Sheik
What is your favorite quotation? I don't have one
Which book did you love initially and now feel 'eh' about? The Art of Racing in the Rain
Don't you think it's silly they've never made a really good movie about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda? No

The 50 Shades books are just Twilight fan fiction.

[deleted]

You're already looking for fresh wank material? The olymics are barely over.

The Earth is an asshole.

[deleted]

Next time, pick on someone your size, if you can't take a kicking.

The Earth is an asshole.

[deleted]

50 Shades series is written so poorly...I have no words. Pure shit. I had a woman tell me it changed her life. I was so appalled I couldn't even think of anything to say.

What are you reading now? Life is Elsewhere by Milan Kundera, and the 2nd volume of Walking Dead.

What did you just finish? A Slipping Down Life by Anne Tyler, and before that Retromania by Simon Reynolds.

What is your favorite novel? On the Road/The Great Gatsby/The Catcher in the Rye/Summer Blonde

What is your favorite non-fiction book? The Twelfth Planet, or From Ritual to Romance

What is your favorite quotation? "I grow old, I grow old/I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled"

Which book did you love initially and now feel 'eh' about? Not sure...

Don't you think it's silly they've never made a really good movie about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda? I'm into Fitzgerald and his personal life, but any movie about them would probably be dumb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NO WAVES YOU CANNOT DIE WITH ME!
-kjoy

Current: The Lower River - Paul Theroux. 1st book I've read of his - not crazy about him. Every 3 pages he seems to need to remind the reader how deathly fucking hot it is in Africa.

Finished: Canada - Richard Ford. Love Ford. Really not about Canada in case you are wondering.

Fave: American Tabloid - James Ellroy

Non-fiction: The 2 books on Elvis by Peter Guralnick are as good as music bios get.




**********************************

The earth is a Brian

I really liked Canada...def, recommend it.

i havent done much reading lately. last book i tried to read was Infinite Jest but i only made it 200 pages before i gave up.

i don't care anymore. in fact, i've been giving away all my books.

i wasted my time in college studying literature. it got me nowhere.

"i wasted my time in college studying literature. it got me nowhere."

fucking surprising, isn't it. the education isn't the point, it's what you do with it that counts. stop whining and start working. there isn't an easy way.

The Earth is an asshole.

i am working. but i'm just a little pissed because i can't find work relevant to my degree.

if i knew that i'd be working in restaurants, cleaning carpet, and whatever job i can find to scrape together a living, i would have skipped college entirely.

but, i believed the idiot lies of my professors... the lines of bullshit they strung me along by like "writers and english majors are in high demand in corporate america." "don't listen to the pessimists, you'll find a job and open a lot of doors with an english degree."

my biggest obstacle is that i'm still way too introverted. i live in a city where being social and having a strong spirit means the difference between living in a building and sleeping in your car or on the street.

i need to work on developing that old human spirit that has become lodged deep inside my depressed attitude.

fuck

Don't blame it on your city.
This for everyone to read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/greg-carey/mark-5-1-20-exorcism-and-community_b_1628605.html?&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

i didn't. i blamed myself for not having the right type of personality to thrive in a city.

What? So you would thrive in the woods? The glaciers of Antarctica?

Yesterday I spoke with a man who hsd to walk 30 miles to school without shoes every day to receive basic education. You represent the typical lazy western slob who has it so good and doesn't even know it. Never really had to try whilst growing up, which has left a feeling of entitlement based on nothing. You have to work for a living? Everything isn't give to you on a silver platter? Boo hoo.

The Earth is an asshole.

You are a mega-pussy who has derailed a good thread. Either grow a pair or move to a 'city' where your personality type can thrive.

*************************************

I ain't got nothing but love for you now.

I am going to comb this thread for recommendations. Thanks everybody.
Also, I can't believe more people don't want to see a Fitzgerald movie. I haven't seen that one they made with Jeremy Irons, but I understand that it's about his last few years. There should be one about the 20s.

What are you reading now? In One Person (new John Irving) and Wild Thing by Josh Bazell.

What did you just finish? A really trashy novel (One Fifth) and several thrillers by Lee Childs.

What is your favorite novel? Justine by Lawrence Durrell (first book in the Alexandria Quartet.)

What is your favorite non-fiction book? Dont read much non-fiction as my job requires me to read lots of poorly written fiction dressed up as non-fiction. Most recent non-fiction read was My Cross to Bear by Gregg Allman, which I loved.

What is your favorite quotation? Several quotes from Hemingway's A Moveable Feast (my copy of which has vanished and I dont have them memorized.)

Which book did you love initially and now feel 'eh' about? Not sure. If I feel "eh" about it, I push it out of my head.

Don't you think it's silly they've never made a really good movie about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda? No. Good movies are difficult to make as evidenced by everything in the theatres and video stores.

Aside from 'Vincent and Theo' I've seen very few bio-pics that didn't outright suck.

*************************************

I ain't got nothing but love for you now.

sara-
I've never read A Moveable Feast but I recently read a biography of Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, and it makes me want to take it up. I've only heard that one lovely, ridiculous bit "I wish I'd died before loving anyone but her."
highlife-
I've never heard of Vincent and Theo, but I'll be sure to look into it if only because Tim Roth is wonderful.

It really is the best film ever made about the artist's role in society.

Plus the visuals are right on, thank you very much Robert Altman.

*************************************

I ain't got nothing but love for you now.

I'll keep an eye out for it. Vincent and Theo.
Also, I REALLY want to harp on this FSF and Z thing. It could be amazing! Who dies in a nuthouse fire anymore?? Nobody.

A Moveable Feast is a great book and filled with lots of really good quotes. The first part of the book, when he is living in Paris with Hadley, trying to write, poor as a church mouse, hungry, and cold but oh so happy...... is really well done. People are so convinced that hunger is bad and lots of money solves problems. It isnt quite that simple.

You have exactly identified the quote (tho it wasnt on the list of 58 quotes from that book I found on the internet) I was thinking of. Out of context, it does sound rather ridiculous. But in the whole of the book, it is totally heartbreaking. It is at that time in his life when he is on the edge of being poor and unknown with a simple life and the love of a good woman and he is making a choice to run off with another woman. The complications deceit and adultery creates and the yearning for the way things were is something very powerful.

But that whole book is made a cartoon when 'Tropic of Cancer' is taken into consideration. Now that's real. Hemingway at best hints at what Miller is living and writing about.
*************************************

I ain't got nothing but love for you now.

You've made me want to pick it up tomorrow.*
I feel like it's probably one of those things where you idealize the person that you loved when you were full of potential and "clean and brave".
*A Moveable Feast

BTW- here's a link to all of Hemingway's Toronto Sun articles.

In case anyone needs any inspiration.

http://ehto.thestar.com/

Looking at that stuff, we could all be huge writers.

*************************************

I ain't got nothing but love for you now.

"What did you just finish? A really trashy novel (One Fifth) and several thrillers by Lee Childs."

Lee Child is a guilty pleasure of mine. Jack Reacher comes across as an insufferable asshole who's biggest claim to fame is that he doesn't need a watch to tell what time it is (a point that's made every other five pages or so). And yet I've read almost all of his books.

Ha...I am listening to A Lee Childs book now. the Affair.

Amy, I have a stack of Lee Child books by the front door. If you want a package of books, I will pop it in the mail. Even tho they are pretty trashy, unless I am backpacking, I cant burn a book. I would pass them on to you, Joost, if there is one you havent read.

Thanks sara, but I'm good: I have a whole pile of books lying around, begging to be read.

I do expect you to post here more though, now that EL is no longer with us. Someone has to give a feminine touch to this board, and Shadow and Balv are failing miserably.

That is an awfully big pair of shoes to fill. And Monkey and Balv have the bickering of a bunch of teenage girls down to a science. That being said, I will do my best.

Just read on imdb that they're making a movie out of Lee Child's One Shot. And who do you think they chose to play Jack Reacher? Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Lundgren, Willis? No, Tom Cruise.

A midget!

What are you reading now? Nothing Daunted (Dorothy Wickenden)
What did you just finish? Chinaberry Sidewalks (Rodney Crowell).
What is your favorite novel? Desolation Angels
What is your favorite non-fiction book? The Woody Guthrie bio by Joe Klein or Patty Smith's Just Kids

Don't you think it's silly they've never made a really good movie about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda? Not qualified to answer this one because I've only ready a few Fitzgerald books and loathed the characters in all of them for being ridiculous, pompous, lazy twats. In fact, I wrote a one sentence "take away" after I read The Beautiful and Damned. It said "what a couple of shitheads".

SARA...wow...that is so very generous of you. I would love that if you still have them. My email is in my profile.

:)


Joost...Peter Dinklage is playing Reacher? That's actually really awesome.

I'm probably not very qualified to ask it as I've only read two of his novels and some short stories, but I think a lot of them. Usually I really don't have any use for stories that romanticize being a selfish asshole. I never liked On the Road and I was annoyed at the kid from Into the Wild. I'm certain that that means I'm pretty lame, but that's how it is. Maybe it's because I have an affinity for the history and style of the 20s and 30s or maybe it's because I like his writing style- It's pretty, at the very, very least, you have to admit.
I read something he said about his wife that was clearly on the defensive, like he was responding to some criticism of her, that seemed to boil down to his knowing she was a mess but how he would always love her because of her courage and her "flaming self-respect". You have to admit, those are pretty attractive qualities. Even the jackasses you know that are like that are fun to watch, to be around. I think a story about them could be a really good show.

"Usually I really don't have any use for stories that romanticize being a selfish asshole."

I love those kind of stories. Money, by Martin Amis, is a perfect example. The Dirt (Motley Crue's biography) is another.

What are you reading now?

The Crimson Petal And The White, by Michael Faber (love it)

What did you just finish?

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, by David Mitchell (pretty good)

What is your favorite novel?

I usually go with Thirteen Moons, by Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain guy's follow-up that nobody seemed to like half as much as I did). Pretty clear top five also includes Lonesome Dove, Blood Meridian, Lolita, Breakfast At Tiffany's

What is your favorite non-fiction book?

I almost never read non-fiction, but I read "Life" by Keith Richards earlier this year and absolutely loved it. I'll go with that.

What is your favorite quotation?

I don't usually seem to memorize good lines/passages. A passage in Thirteen Moons is way up there (as well as the opening and several other places), the first paragraph of Lolita... I don't know, this question's too broad. Too many to even begin ranking.

Which book did you love initially and now feel 'eh' about?

Kerouac's stuff, Chuck Palinuik (?)'s stuff, maybe Steinbeck. I haven't even revisited most of it, but I have a feeling these guys won't seem as good as I used to think they were, especially the first two.

Don't you think it's silly they've never made a really good movie about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda?

Not really. I love Fitzgerald, but I find most biopics cheesy. Something about making fake scenes out of real events... I realize that pretty much includes half the movies out there, but for some reason it really only irks me with biopics and not historical dramas or films based on a true story, etc. Though some are very good, I've never really fallen in love with a biopic.

Just noticed there's a new Lee Child novel: A Wanted Man.

Frogbelly,

Well put. I enjoyed reading them...Good writing, really entertaining and interesting. I just didn't really like the characters (as people, I do think they were good characters)...I kept rooting for them, that they'd finally see the light/come to their sense/whatever. But, we know how that worked out and my "take away" from Beautiful and Damned was the exact thought I had as I put the book down. Ugh, I was just so disappointed in them.

But I started This Side of Paradise immediately after. Ha!

On the Jack Reacher subject, I am reading A Wanted Man now. Somehow I missed Joost's gossip that Reacher will be played by Tom Cruise and read it today. I am mortified. First of all, Reacher should be played by Willie Cash. He is 6'5" and big. I dont see many movies so I usually dont care about this kind of thing but Cruise is just wrong.

Amy, I will email you tomorrow and pop the books in the mail. I was at Phil Lesh's restaurant/cafe tonight and need to get my beauty rest now.

I've seen Willie's picture, Jack Reacher is not build like Santa Claus.

Anyone familiar with R. J. Ellory? He's awesome, I'm reading my 4th or 5th book of his at the moment, Bad Signs, very good.

It's sad that he's now mostly known for pulling a Meade Skelton: he wrote a bunch of very positive reviews of his own work and put them on amazon under fake names. He also wrote a bunch of negative reviews of other writers' books and put them on amazon as well. Meade would never stoop that low.

I just finished The Wettest County in the World. I didn't realize that they had just made a movie about it, but I'll definitely see it now.
It's about bootleggers in 1920s-30s Virginia.
It's probably going to be a better movie than a book, although the book had some really great moments and a hell of a story to work with. It's amazing that the bones of it are true. I will say that his descriptions of violence were pretty captivating, and that is definitely not my thing usually. It needed a more linear plot line and the framing story didn't fit as well as it should've.

I just read Be Cool by Elmore Leonard, found it in a bargain bin for one euro. Now ima gonna read the rest of his books.

The Earth is an asshole.

For Amy and Joost, in case your Playboy subscription lapsed: Playboy is reporting that "Jack Reacher Author Lee Child is World's Most Productive Pothead." Child is this month's Playboy interview.

tomb - good choices! I love Lonesome Dove too, that'd be my number 1. I remember someone giving me it and staring at this 900 page Western thinking... really? I actually physically missed it for months after I finished it though, brilliant book. The Last Picture Show is great too, and also my favourite movie.

I personally wouldn't pick Blood Meridian by McCarthy though, I'd probably go for Outer Dark or Child of God. Or even The Road, which I loved. I really liked The Crimson Petal and the White too. I'll have to check out Thirteen Moons...

I'm reading A Confederacy of Dunces at the moment. Just started it though so nothing to share so far.

Oh and for no fiction, Julian Cope's autobiography is pretty cool.

Lee Child is a pothead? That explains a lot, for instance how he spends several pages on theories that end up being worthless. "The car must have been blue because you can hardly see the color of a blue car at night...then again, maybe not."

Still, I love him. I'm halfway through A Wanted Man, very annoyed and totally immersed.

Maybe your being a pothead explains your inability to wrap your head around his complicated theories??? (Just teasing.) Actually, I think the worthless theories is Child trying to put you in Reacher's head and see how he has 77 theories that dont pan out before he solves the caper.

I will be interested to know what you think when you finish A Wanted Man. ... I get the horrible bad luck (every time he turns around he is dragged into some crime) but his ability to avoid getting hit by flying bullets (except for once, in a house on the Hudson River in NY, I think) and keep out of the clutches of law enforcement are starting to border on preposterous. Almost as preposterous as that Scientology midget playing the 6'6 250 pound Reacher.

As a pothead I have already written several novels with much more complicated plots...in my head.

Yes, the ending was totally ridiculous. How he shoots a guy in the face by aiming at the concrete in front of him, or how he lends his gun to his partner, saying it deflects a little to the left, and then the partner shoots the next criminal dead with a single shot.

Loved it, can't wait for the next one.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt. There's a blurb on the cover that says it's McCarthy with a sense of humor, which seems like some useless, pandering crap to me. He's way more like Charles Portis, which is high praise from me because I think True Grit is a book that has everything you want.
It's not as good as all that, but it's still poetic and violent and funny and adventurous and moral.