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2009-11-05 12:45 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
Paulettejo - 2009-11-05 12:59 AM

Book nerd here...this thread totally got me al hott and bothered:

 

Let's see..


Garden of Eden (by FAR hemmingway's best!)




      oh my. sighs heavily.Tongue out



2009-11-05 1:14 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
MadMathemagician - 2009-11-04 10:17
Most anything by Poe. 

You want nerd?   I double majored in college in math and physics.   Lately, I have just finished getting a B.A in English.    Just for the bloody hell and joy of it....


Love Poe as well. Even Travels with a Donkey.


B.A in English=  not good

double major in math and physics=  far beyond not good

double major in math and physics and a B.A in English=  rather well rounded.

I think your getting thrown off the nerd boat for that last one. You were doing so well!


So nobody thinks any of the Beat Generation belong on their must read list? No Kerouac? I read 'On the Road' and could not get into it. Seemed quite aimless. Rather like following COJ sometimes...Embarassed  

2009-11-05 6:55 AM
in reply to: #2498489

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Subject: RE: Must read books
blairrob - 2009-11-05 1:14 AM

MadMathemagician - 2009-11-04 10:17
Most anything by Poe. 

You want nerd?   I double majored in college in math and physics.   Lately, I have just finished getting a B.A in English.    Just for the bloody hell and joy of it....


Love Poe as well. Even Travels with a Donkey.


B.A in English=  not good

double major in math and physics=  far beyond not good

double major in math and physics and a B.A in English=  rather well rounded.

I think your getting thrown off the nerd boat for that last one. You were doing so well!


So nobody thinks any of the Beat Generation belong on their must read list? No Kerouac? I read 'On the Road' and could not get into it. Seemed quite aimless. Rather like following COJ sometimes...Embarassed  



I liked On the Road; it spoke to the wanderlust side of America - that side that is searching for something great, in the midst of personal problems and irresponsibility. The stream technique of writing has been difficult to get into the flow for several others I know. As for the Beat Generation - most of their greatest work was done in the form of poetry - so that's probably why we aren't seeing much of it here. Howl by Ginsberg is a great piece.
2009-11-05 7:37 AM
in reply to: #2495365

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Subject: RE: Must read books
I can't believe I forgot these two... both by Neil Peart:

The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa
Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road

Two VERY different books, but both very well written. I actually read them out of order (time-wise). I strongly suggest Ghost Rider.
2009-11-05 9:20 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
laughingman - 2009-11-05 12:08 AM x2 or x3 for Kafka's "The Trial"--I read it last summer and now I can't stop seeing echoes of it everywhere I go...

I liked Junot Diaz's short story collection "Drown" but I hated "Brief and Wonderous Life..." (I couldn't manage to finish it.)

My quick picks for "must reads" go to:

"The Collected Stories of John Cheever"
"Jesus' Son" by Denis Johnson
and
"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

My "must reads" for high school kids are:
"The Lord of the Flies" by Golding
"A Separate Peace" by Knowles
"The Catcher in the Rye" by Salinger
"Death of a Salesman" by Miller
"The Crucible" by Miller
and, well,
"The Things They Carried" by O'Brien

My 'pretentious picks' are:
Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground"
Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina"
and
Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!"

"Chick Lit":
"Emma" by Jane Austen


Huge props to the thread starter and the contributors to the thread--have I mentioned lately how much I love the BT community???

-laugher







+1,000,000,000 on The Things They Carried.
2009-11-05 9:26 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
For some light hearted reading I would suggest:

The Zombie Survival Guide
World War Z
Day by Day to Armafgaedon (sp?)- almost done with this one now


I don't know if I'd call WWZ "Light hearted"... but I did really, really like it.


2009-11-05 9:30 AM
in reply to: #2498473

Subject: RE: Must read books

laughingman - 2009-11-05 1:08 AM

My 'pretentious picks' are:
Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground"
Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina"
and
Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!"


I was pretty sure I was the only person on earth who'd read that one

And yes, Absalom, Absalom! is fantastic. Faulkner's style takes some getting used to, I think, but once you get into it, it's great.

2009-11-05 9:35 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
Flowers for  Algernon is another good one...though it might make you cry.
2009-11-05 9:59 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
To a truely impressive list of books, I will add:

Sophie's World  -  Jostein Gaarder
The Black Rose  -  Thomas B Costain
Of Human Bondage  - W. Somerset Maugham
2009-11-05 10:30 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
"The Omnivore's Dilemna"
"The Burgess Shale"
" Guns, Germs, and Steel."
" The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
"The Art of Happiness"
"A Place of My Own."

Just a few of my favorites.
2009-11-05 11:08 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
mrbbrad - 2009-11-02 2:47 PM My wife and I started on an American Classics Crusade of sorts; Vonnegut, Steinbeck, Salinger, etc. and I have hit a bit of a wall with Hemingway. I struggled through Sun Also Rises and am almost done with Farewell to Arms. Frankly, I don't get it. Why is he considered by many to be a great author? Mind you, there are gems throughout both books but you really have to mine for them. I have skimmed over several pages of inane dialogue and pointless prose. What is the deal? Any lit majors out there?

eta whole words


The best thing Hemingway ever did for American lit was pull the trigger.   And if I had been forced to read any more of his books, I'd have likely explored the option myself.


mmrocker:   If you like "command of the language" check out something by Neal Stephenson.   "Cryptonomicon" is a good starter.   (or maybe "Snow Crash" or "Diamond Age")


2009-11-05 1:50 PM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
some fiction yall?

how bout Tolkien and Lewis?

say what you like but I love em.

lets say I enjoy almost any thing.

next in line for me is Manalive by G.K. Chesterton.
2009-11-05 6:23 PM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
ANOTHER vote for "A Prayer for Owen Meany".   John Irving writes such unusual heros.
2009-11-06 11:50 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books

jeffnboise - 2009-11-05 5:23 PM ANOTHER vote for "A Prayer for Owen Meany".   John Irving writes such unusual heros.

A Prayer for Owen Meany - x 1000 - I think I might re-read it this weekend if I can find it at home

Where the Truth Lies - Rupert Holmes (there's a movie too, though not as good)

Foucault's Pendulum, and Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein (moving and motivating)



Edited by tracyhmcd 2009-11-06 11:51 AM
2009-11-06 1:03 PM
in reply to: #2501073

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Subject: RE: Must read books
tracyhmcd - 2009-11-05 12:50 PM

Where the Truth Lies - Rupert Holmes (there's a movie too, though not as good)



Like "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" Rupert Holmes?

just checked.   indeed:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Holmes
2009-11-06 1:04 PM
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Subject: RE: Must read books
tracyhmcd - 2009-11-06 1:50 PM=

= Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

 

Good call- I had forgotton about that one. That was an enjoyable read for me.




2009-11-07 10:40 AM
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Subject: RE: Must read books

moondawg14 - 2009-11-06 12:03 PM
tracyhmcd - 2009-11-05 12:50 PM

Where the Truth Lies - Rupert Holmes (there's a movie too, though not as good)


Like "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" Rupert Holmes?

just checked.   indeed:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Holmes[/QUOTE]


Yes - and his "Swing" is also a good novel...



Edited by tracyhmcd 2009-11-07 10:41 AM
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