Book recommendations

[Giuseppe Zangara]

snuffbox, where should I start with Tom Robbins.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates is a good read.

[snuffbox]

I started with Still Life W/ Woodpecker...and that led me to read them all. I would suggest starting with either that, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, or Another Roadside Attraction.

 

Fierce Invalids was awesome, Villa Incognito not as much.

[C Dubya 04]

I read Another Roadside Attraction first and was so taken by the book I read everything else available by Robbins.

 

ARA is still my favorite (probably because of reading it first), but in addition to the ones mentioned above I would strongly recommend Jitterbug Perfume. One of these two or Still Life would be where I would start.

[snuffbox]

Another Roadside Attraction is really amazing considering it was Robbins' first effort.

[Edwin MacPhisto]

Just started reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being on my lunch break. I should be done with this before the weekend's over at this rate. It's the kind of book that makes me want to do nothing but hunker over a keyboard and write myself.

[snuffbox]

I like when books do that.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Anyone ever check out How I Became Stupid by Martin Page? I have it on hold for me at work, it's a short read but I'm going through a couple books beforehand (including Revolting Youth, the sequel to Youth In Revolt which I have heard is not as good).

 

I'm the kind of guy that has a queue of books ready to read but I can only consume one at a time.

[Your Paragon of Virtue]

I'm the kind of guy that has a queue of books ready to read but I can only consume one at a time.

 

I assume most are like that, especially due to other things that keep you busy.

 

I know I can't keep up with multiple books at once.

[Guest Felonies!]

I'd like to find a book about the glory days of FM radio, when mainstream stuff was still on the AM band.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Has anyone else read Gogol's Dead Souls? I almost picked it up at the library the other day, since I was in the mood for something darkly comedic and satirical.

[Giuseppe Zangara]

Sixty pages into Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day. I'm liking it so far, but there's still another 1,000 pages to go.

[snuffbox]

What happened to Tom Robbins?

[Giuseppe Zangara]

Pynchon pulled rank.

[snuffbox]

I met northern Wisco author Michael Perry at a speaking engagement yesterday. Very funny, down to earth, fellow.

 

http://www.sneezingcow.com

[snuffbox]

Currently reading Kerouac's Visions of Cody and having a good time of it.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Hey, Snuffy, I got Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 for my birthday.

 

Hey, Inc, I also got Gravity's Rainbow.

 

Hey, viva, I was going to buy some Garcia Marquez (filed under G) today, but I didn't know which to get. Again. I need to consult this thread before I shop.

[Giuseppe Zangara]

About 750 pages into Against the Day and new characters are still being introduced. I was enjoying this book for the most part, but this is getting a little frustrating.

[vivalaultra]

For Garcia Marquez, I'm on the fence as to whether his best work is One Hundred Years of Solitude or Love in the Time of Cholera. I'd go One Hundred Years of Solitude first just because it's his most well-known and the one that won him the Nobel Prize.

 

As for me, after finishing and very much enjoying the new Stephen King book, I started reading Tomcat In Love by the second best author of this last half-decade/century, Tim O'Brien. So far, it's widely hilarious and extremely well-written. I love Tim O'Brien.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

The reason I didn't buy 100YoS was because the cover said "the newest selection in Oprah's book club!" on it. I'm so shallow.

[vivalaultra]

Yeah, I saw the episode of Oprah where her and 7 other soccer moms were discussing Garcia Marquez over margaritas. There were lots of "umms" and "uhhs" and "I had no idea what was going on...". Oprah should stick to Steinbeck.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

My mom got the Faulkner boxed set. If there's a way I can de-Oprah that, I'm going to assume possession. It's just sitting in the basement.

[vivalaultra]

Yeah, I'm not sure how Oprah stumbled onto Faulkner or Garcia Marquez for her book club. Middle-aged women shouldn't be reading that stuff. It'll just confuse them. However, Oprah does endorse Toni Morrison, and I love Toni Morrison.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Middle-aged women shouldn't be reading that stuff. It'll just confuse them.

Quality literature is the exclusive domain of twentysomething males!

 

I turned 20 today. Ugh.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH!]

The only Oprah Book Club book I've ever bought is Anna Karenina. Luckily the Oprah logo on that was a wrap-around sleeve that I was able to easily remove before making the purchase.

[Edwin MacPhisto]

I think most of the Oprah book club things are just stickers. My mom got the Faulkner box set and was able to peel them off easily.

 

I made a mistake in choosing to read Gravity's Rainbow now; it's a bit large to carry back and forth to work, and not ideal for the short bursts of reading I get on the metro. Good so far, though.

[snuffbox]

I hope you like Fear/Loathing/72. Nixon & The Hube take a good beating.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

I'm on page 125 now. I really like it. Nixon hasn't even gotten that much attention yet, since it's still primary season, so Humphrey and Muskie are getting the worst of it.

[snuffbox]

Both worthy candidates for Hunter's fury.

[snuffbox]

Been reading some old Richard Brautigan, among other xmas gifts, lately. Good times.