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I was waiting for a couple holds from the library, so decided to finally read The Da Vinci Code while I was waiting. God, it's hokey. I can't tell if Dan Brown thought the big reveal of the "secret password" was supposed to make us all say "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" or make us internally yell at the supposed 'expert' characters who were so stumped by it for so long, but it was definitely the latter for me. :)
Anyway, it is mildly entertaining for all its faults.
On the last chapter of American Dirt what a story. Starts with a scene straight outta hell and never lets up. Highly Recommended and fuck the controversy over the color of who wrote it. It's just a damn good bit of fiction pulled straight from the headlines.
Just got that out of the library, looking forward to it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marshall Tucker
Recently finished The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Interesting novel about black people "passing" for white. I only read it bc somebody gave a copy to my wife. It wasn't a waste of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The AD
have you ever read “the name of the rose” by umberto eco? Better.
tdc was the end of the airport thriller novel buy
88 Names - Matt Ruff
Sadly, it's not as distinctive in voice as either Bad Monkeys or Lovecraft Country. And, despite being unable to shake the spectre of Ready Player One and borrowing elements of the films Dreamscape and The Game (amongst other fairly obvious influences; often times it feels like a Mission: Impossible storyline), this is still a fun read (I knocked it out in a day).
Red November.
Fantastic book on the Cuban Missile Crisis and all the stuff you didn't know because it was classified until around 2006. Basically, you knew there were fingers on buttons but the nuke carrying Russian subs (four of them) that we couldn't track and that were parked around Cuba and Maryland with no way to comminicate to Moscow sure added an interesting twist. Turns out the heros of the Cuban Missile Crisis were actually four Soviet boomer captains.
Red November is a great book for history buffs or anyone who wants to crap their pants .
The Quiet Boy - Ben H. Winters
This is a slow-burn mash-up of courtroom/legal procedural, mystery/detective fiction, and supernatural/cult thriller, with a little bit of romance and family bonding tossed in for good measure.
Slightly more mellow in style than Winter's two previous novels, Golden State and Underground Airlines, but no less engaging.
RIYL
As She Climbed Across The Table - Jonathan Letham
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
Coupla graphic novels to recommend:
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Bryan Talbot's detailed art makes this modern fable, which mixes up Beatrix Potter mythology and real life trauma, an engaging effort.
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Paul Pope's style is like a cross between Goya and Bakshi.
This particular tale mixes some Blade Runner-styled futurism with a storyline following the intersecting lives of three couples.
+1. Just finished Harlem Shuffle. Sometimes uber-hyped writers disappoint, but Colson Whitehead is the real deal. I was impressed with his writing style and deft observations. Plus just the whole 1960s Harlem setting was interestingly crafted. Definitely going to read something else by him.Quote:
Originally Posted by ::: :::
THE MANY DEATHS OF LAILA STARR
So author Ram V popped up on my radar earlier this year. I tracked down this series last week and devoured all 5 issues today. I don't wish to be premature, but I might be a Ram V convert/fanboy.
The art supplied by Filipe Andrade is visually arresting and Ines Amaro's palette is stunning.
This is a wonderful meditation on life, death, and fate rendered in richly muted pastels and deceptively detailed sinewy art.
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Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels.
Absolutely fascinating look at the scrolls unearthed near Nag Hammadi in Egypt.
Plot twist: Jesus wasn’t physically crucified, the Orthodox Churches is a political hydra and martyrs are idiots. Oh, and it turns out Jesus respected women as equals, if not as closer to God.
In all seriousness, a great book looking at relatively recently unearthed gospels that portray a different New Testament that closer resembles Buddhism. Less fire and brimstone, more logical, universal energy. Some of the gospels predate Mark, meaning they were written closer to Jeebus actual lifetime.
Really interesting stuff for anyone raised in or around the orthodox churches of Catholics, Presbyterian, Episcopal, etc.
LESS THAN ZERO
Re-read this for the first time since 1988 when it was part of the curriculum for a Modern Romance lit course in college.
This book is brilliant, operating on so many different levels—satire, horror, ennui, melodrama, coming-of-age. It’s funny, sad, sickening, detached, and just as relevant today as it was in the late ‘80s.
About to re-watch the film and then read the sequel, Imperial Bedrooms.
I've been enjoying The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin recently. It's an interesting take on a modern, violent western with some supernatural elements to the story.
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I'm a BEE fan and liked Imperial Bedrooms. It's a couple notches gnarlier than Less Than Zero.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX
Just finished Stephen King's Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch). Outstanding. Probably said it before but King is a national treasure. The audiobooks read by Will Patton are excellent.
Flash skimmed the NPR review. This book sounds awesome.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirshredalot
Thanks for putting it on my radar.
I, too, dig BEE.Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahman
Rules of Attraction is perhaps my favorite of his.
Recall digging American Psycho when I read it back in 1991.
Enjoyed Glamorama, too.
About to watch the film…
IMPERIAL BEDROOMS - Bret Easton Ellis
This 25 years later sequel to Less Than Zero ditches the diary-styled prose of the original for a very Raymond Chandler-esque neon noir (BEE even quotes Chandler in the Epigraph).
While the ending is a little murky and a tad anticlimactic, everything leading up to it is an engaging and slightly twisted mystery filled with horrible people backstabbing one another in richly demented and psychologically thrilling soap opera intensity.
At 165 pages, it’s short and sharp (I read it in about 6 hours give or take).
It’s a nice and intriguingly captivating coda to both Less Than Zero the novel and Less Than Zero the film.
Though, like the film, it really doesn’t have much in common with the original novel other than the characters having the same names and could very easily have been a stand-alone story (in some ways it feels like it is capitalizing on the success of the original novel, much in the same way the film did).
Despite this, it’s a fast and immersively thrilling read.
Die! Die! Die!
Written by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) and lavishly illustrated by Chris Burnham, this series is a gonzo mash-up of sci-fi, conspiracy theories, and mad assassin fueled espionage.
Burnham art is deliciously intricate and has elements of Sergio Aragones, Frank Quitely, John Romita, Jr., amongst others, all combined to create his own kinetic style.
And the story? Crazy, over-the-top and off-the-nuts ultra violence and backstabbing soap opera melodrama to the hilt.
RIYL
Kick Ass; The Boys; Frank Miller era Daredevil
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Just polished off this entertaining little ditty.
Picked it up a few weeks ago at the local used bookstore.
Hadn’t even known about it (published in 2020).
It’s basically a “found footage” horror story teeming with obvious, but still cool, social commentary that's squarely aimed at Tech Bro Culture.
It definitely takes a few cues from George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, too, but tweaks 'em nicely.
If you read Brooks’s World War Z and enjoyed it, chances are you’ll enjoy this, too.
I started reading Parable of the Sower last month. It really got into my head and I have put it down about half way through. Butler’s vision of today felt a little too close to reality in an unpleasant way. Never experienced that before in a novel.
I was recently asked to recommend a funny book, and an old favorite came to mind - Fup, by Jim Dodge. Well written, hilarious, poignant, and pretty insightful. It’s short, but a total gem - one of my all-time favorites. Check it out.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. Haruki Murasaki.
The only Japanese author I think I've read. But his ability to weave multiple story lines into one mind-fuck is gripping. I couldn't put it down and read it in a few days. Then bought another of his which I'm starting now. Norwegian Wood. Apparently IQ84 is his most famous, though.
Nightmare Alley - William Lindsay Gresham
IQ84 is sitting on my side table waiting for me to start it.
This is literally in bed next to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by basinbeater
Murakami is interesting, and 1q84 is a fascinating read, but not an easy one. It drags a bit since it's essentially three books, but I still recommend it all the time.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...639c99a278.jpg
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buddy has an interesting take on murakami boils down to: everyone loves him, he's getting old and is going to stop writing/die so i'll wait till he's done then have all his books to look forward to. and they won't have anything additional to read
can't say i agree, but i understand the premise, if only marginally
wish i read japanese and not the butchered versions
i went out to sea for 7 mo in '99 asked a book nerd friend for recommendations since I would usually read 3 books at a time out there.
recommended murakami a wild sheep chase with the comment "if you know what its about at the end let me know"
umberto echo il nome della rosa " if you get more than halfway through i'll buy you a beer"
and probably 10 others i can't recall
read dance, dance, dance after and called him with claims of somewhat understanding a wild sheep chase because of it
the overstory - richard powers, was alright for more contemporary work
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Sands Of Time by Sean Morton
I rarely read books and absolutely loved it!
If these ever gets made into movies or mini series, it'd be tremendous!
https://www.strangeuniverseradio.com...of-time-book-1
Caveat: I've always, always been a fan of John Irving.
I'm about 25% done "The Last Chairlift" and it's vintage amazing Irving. If you like his stuff (like 43.8 million other earth dwellers), you'll like this one.
"Red Notice" By Bill Browder detailing the corruption in post Glasnost Russia that lead to the death of Sergei Magnitsky and the Magnitsky act. Surprisingly riveting.
"The Whiskey Robber" - A real story about a hockey player behind the Iron Curtain who robs to make ends meet. A bureaucratic farce.
"A Small Death in a Great Glen" - Engaging but sort of formulaic murder whodunnit.
"Mindf*ck" - Detailed recount of Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, right wing American politics, and Putin era psyops.
"Empty Mansions" - story about America's most reclusive golden age debutante and family and it's demise.
"The Invisible Bridge" - WW2 Brothers split, one studies architecture in Paris, gets a mysterious reference, really good story.
Recently read “A Distant Mirror “ generally about the 1400’s
https://www.amazon.com/Distant-Mirro...1-5cff1dc6b1dc
What struck me was the author’s writing about how society changed after the black plague (or it’s many renditions) and how the outlook and demands of the workforce shifted.
The book was written in the 70’s but it really mirrored what we have been seeing after covid. A distant mirror indeed.
Funny, one of my best friends just finished that and said the same thing. He remarked that the parallels to our world right now are startling. Really interested to pick that up next.Quote:
Originally Posted by babybear
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The second book in Ken Follett's "Kingsbridge" series titled World Without End covers this era and that workforce shift is one of the plot points in the book. I've read the first two books in that series (first one is Pillars of the Earth which is set in the 12th century and concerns building a cathedral in England). Both fun reads.Quote:
Originally Posted by babybear
Just finished Cormac Mccarthy's new one, The Passenger. I believe the follow up, Stella Maris, comes out today, but I think I need to give it a bit before I wade into that one.
I liked The Passenger - I love Mccarthy's writing, and he has a knack for painting brutal yet hilarious pictures. I'm not sure I'm really smart enough to understand what the book's about, because it certainly doesn't present any tidy resolutions to that question. It winds around through a series of tangents and vignettes that loosely present the relationship of a family, the patriarch of which was an inventor of the atomic bomb. But I'm still undecided if the book really had a central message or if it wanted to mostly just present an assortment of ideas to chew on.
I've re-read a few books since my magazine subscriptions stopped ("reading room" material), including The Book of Enoch as translated by R.H. White , The River Why by David James Duncan, and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.
Recently, I've started reading The Urantia Book, as some "Light reading". Wading through the forward's definitions of Deity, God, The Eternal Son, Heavenly Father, Supreme Being, the various energy states these names are assigned to, and the various types of reality we inhabit and may evolve to, has been challenging. It's heady stuff, from a distantly, otherworldly, perspective. :smile:
Is this thread mainly fiction? If so I apologize, I only read non-fiction.
Now reading Peril by Bob Woodward. Highly recommended for poly-sci buffs.
Golden Boy by John Glatt was a page-turner, especially for anyone familiar with the prep school > Ivy League > Wall Street pipeline.
At the moment my go-to for book recommendations is the excellent resource Books We Love: NPR which has an excellent search/filter function and covers 2022-2013
The Twilight World by Werner Herzog
I found this book fascinating. Incredible subject, amazingly talented writer/director. Notes from the publisher:
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In his first novel, Herzog tells the incredible story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who defended a small island in the Philippines for twenty-nine years after the end of World War II.
The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu
Thanks for the rec.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirshredalot
I dug it, although the ending was a bit predictable and it did succumb to a few familiar and worn tropes (most notably the noble savage/mystical native).
But it has some wonderful layers in regards to memory, reincarnation, and redemption.
In a similar vein I would highly recommend:
The Magic Wagon - Joe R. Lansdale
Dead In The West - Joe R. Lansdale
The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt
Dragon Teeth - Michael Crichton
Walking Wolf - Nancy Collins
Lynch - Nancy Collins
True Grit - Charles Portis
and while not a Western, it is about a traveling freak show:
Freezer Burn - Joe R. Lansdale
Also, this review of The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu is worth the read:
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/03/10021...es-of-ming-tsu
I'm in the middle of this, it's fantastic.Quote:
Originally Posted by schindlerpiste
Just finished Educated. Best book I've read in a long time.
Been listening to a couple Harlan Coben audiobooks recently. That guy never wastes a sentence. Great for passing the time driving to and from Big Sky.