What are you reading?
September 3rd, 2007
What are you currently reading and what do you think? Let us know by posting a comment here. Be sure to tell us the title, the author, and why you liked the book (or didn’t).
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I just finished reading The Beach by Alex Garland. It’s about an oasis that the main character, Richard, comes across after the man in the hotel room next to him leaves a map taped to his door. The man then commits suicide by slitting his wrists. So… Richard comes in contact with some French people, Etienne and Françoise, and they set out for the beach. The beach itself is completely surrounded by cliffs, so they have to jump off a waterfall to go there. The people there panic because visitors are not wanted (they don’t want it to become ruined by tourism). And the story continues, in a captivating writing style. I recommend this to people who enjoy beautiful places, but I should warn that it contains adult language and situations.
I attempted to read Finnegan’s Wake By James Joyce, but promptly sustained a head injury (that’s what it felt like) from his style, it is full of puns, words from different languages, references to art, books, music, news, and made up words. If you enjoy a challenge, try reading it!
i am currently reading the golden compass it is good
Just a couple days ago i finished reading “chibi vampire”. Its a hilarious comedy (btw, is Young Adult) about a backwards vampire who doesnt suck out peoples blood, but rather gives it. here, I’ll read the back:
“Karin Maaka bites throats like a proper vampire, but where others of her kind need hot red blood, she has too much of it! Every month, she’s compelled to inject blood into her victims the way a snake injects venom. And her handsome classmate Kenta Usui makes her feel like she’s going to spurt blood like a geyser. Talk about embarrassing!
when karins latest victim turns out to be as rich as he is good looking it causes hilarious chaos at her school. Will she ever live in peace?
The much talked about manga is now a supernatural-love-comedy-mystery novel starring our favorite clumsy blood injector, Karin!
I got this book in Idaho Falls, (Barnes and Nobles) if you cant go there, you can order it online at http://www.TOKYOPOP.com (jeez, i sound like a comercial…)
I’ve finished my second consecutive book this year. This time the book is called Skinny Dip and is written by Carl Hiaasen (HIYA-SEN!) it starts with a husband pushing his wife overboard on a cruise ship because he thinks she say him faking the polution readings for the Everglades. Needless to say…she gets revenge, ultimately. I recommend this book for people who like nature and revenges.
…i’m reading “the shining”
…it’s too scarry *cry*
I’ve finished a book that doesn’t need much said about it because I don’t want to give too much away because you HAVE TO read it. The book is Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer. I know, it’s about to be made into a movie; that’s not why I read it. It is basically about man versus nature. It is a true story about a man named Chris McCandless. READ IT!
I am in the act of reading “Dave Barry’s History of the Millennium (So Far)” by Dave Barry. It’s basically a history of the world since 2000. If you have ever read anything by Dave Barry, you’ll know what to expect (laughs, guffaws, rolling around on the floor). If you are in a really bad mood, read this. Then you’ll be sent to the hospital for uncontrollable giggling.
Ott Lindstrom AKA The Guy on the Boat
Leif,
I like what appears to be weekly postings on good books by Leif! Here’s one that I just finished this morning (and also just started this morning). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie with artwork by Ellen Forney. Alexie is primarily a writer of adult novels. He is also a poet and filmmaker. This is his first book for young adults and delivers all of the same great writing, humor, and pathos that all of his other work contains. It is a contemporary story (based upon much of his own life) of a 14 year old Spokane Indian boy living on the “Rez”. It is funny, sad, honest, and heartbreaking all at the same time. I think it would be a great read for you and will tie into your history project as well.
See ya in the MC!
Ms. S
I am now reading a novel called “Watership Down” by Richard Adams.The main characters are rabbits. If you have read the Redwall series, you might have the jist of what “Watership Down” is like. However, “Watership Down” is a lot more gruesome and gritty than Redwall, more like George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” in its content. It’s an amazing read, but not for the faint of heart. If you like novels about happy little talking animals frolicking in the warm spring sunshine, don’t read this.
I am wagering a guess that I am the only student in the middle school who has even tried to read “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville. It’s actually a lot more interesting than one would guess, despite its reputation as being extremely tedious and dull. I’m on page 100 at the moment (I got it two days ago). If you are one of the people who is phobic of books over two hundred pages in length, read something else (Moby is 821 pages long).
wow, I would not have the guts to read a book that long. I am currently reading Inkspell which is about 650 pages long. By the way, click on my name on this entry. It will take you directly to my website. Let me know what you think about my poems on my shoutbox. By the way, for those of you who don’t know, my website is called http://www.honukitty99.piczo.com. Go to it, PLEASE! I’m practically begging!
Currently I’m also in the middle of reading the book posted by Mrs. Swiggum by Sherman Alexie, it sure is hilarious and has splendid illustrations.
Two books I’ve finished but won’t say much about because I already wrote about them in the book bistro page are Kesey’s Jail Journal: Cut The M************* Loose and The Portable Obituary. Good Night!
I finished the book Mrs. Swiggum did a review on, but since she explained it so well you can just scroll up and read her review for that particular book. Today I will tell you primarily about God Grew Tired of Us By John Bul Dau. Along the lines of Dave Egger’s What is The What? God Grew Tired of Us is a fantastic primary account of the Civil War of Sudan told by the brilliant and tall John Bul Dau who I unfortunatly missed due to a test when he came to talk to the students here at the Middle School. It is a must read book about finding redemption in the U.S after fleeing from his village which was subsequently attacked by djellabas (Arabs, angry ones)…it is a must read as it teaches you the proper way of life via Dinka customs, get on that holding list now!
Ott, I like the books you are reading! You got Herman Melville’s classic, Moby Dick, about Whalers and Battleship Down (which is somewhat science fiction-esque) then there’s Dave Berry’s delightful blend of satire and Floridian wit, Dave Berry’s History of The Millennium (So Far)! Happy Halloween.
I finished God Grew Tired of Us By John Buld Dau. It is about the Lost Boys journey! It is absolutely fantabulous. My mouth was agape with amazement when I finshed it. O
Actually, Watership Down is about rabbits killing each other as opposed to a sci fi. But it was great!
No reading for me, it’s really a lot more writing right now. Have to have a whole book done by christmas to get it published. So viva la writing?
Have a good Week to any of the few who read these blogs- Jimmie
And just because I want to show some of the upcoming joy of a new book with you here’s a excerpt from the story:
The days began to grow shorter and shorter. Everyone could tell that old man winter was at the door and knocking, eager to spread his white blanket over the landscape. He had seemed a bit reluctant to send out his snowstorm friends to leave their own marks, but his courage was growing and already he was blowing his frosty breath upon the valley.
I just finished reading “Old Yeller” by Fred Gipson. I know that everyone says that it’s really depressing and really good, but I disagree. Sure, it might be depressing, but I don’t think it was written very well. Gipson utilizes a very simplistic, anarchic style that I think really takes away from the story. There was very little plot and it was quite dull with all the boring, frontier dialog (”I was fixin’ to thrash ‘im real good” and that sort of thing). If Gipson had written it with a bit more description and feeling, it would probably have been a fairly interesting read. As it is, however, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone except dog lovers.
I thought it was okay, but I agree, I’ve read better I book I am reading is Called Brother Odd, by Dean Koontz, it’s really has an interesting story to it, monks and dead that refuse to die, lots of neat stuff. Interesting book, worth checking out if you’re up for a “Odd” Read
I am currently reading the novel “The Sword of Shannara” by Terry Brooks. I’ve finally gotten around to reading it after someone named Fitch Fmith (not his real name)recommended it. It’s a high fantasy novel about a human-elf hybrid who is destined to defeat the Warlock Lord in the fictional land of Shannara. Anyone who liked “Lord of the Rings” will really enjoy this book.
Oh yes Shannara, that’s probably my favorite book ever, but It’s been a while since I’ve read it. Incredibly good book, plus Terry Brooks wrote an epic-sized amount of other Shannara books too. Another good fantasy series are the Icewind Dale books and they too have an incredible amount of books in the Series and I must claim that R.A. Salvatore is a great writer.
I am reading right now One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest… has anyone read it? I’ll update you with all the books I’ve read since last post later…
Here is ten books I’ve read since I last posted reading God Grew Tired of Us…
1.I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Life and Times of Warren Zevon by Chrystal Zevon-This book is an indepth look at the rockstars life. It shows the good points and the low points of his career.
2.Sick Puppy By Carl Hiaasen- The sixth Carl Hiaasen book I’ve read this year is about how a man trys to stop an island from becoming overdeveloped. As with most Carl Hiaasen books it involves Florida’s ecosystem and his hatred of tourists.
3.Esio Trot By Roald Dahl. Yes, Esio Trot is Tortoise backwards, that is what this book is about, a woman whose turtle won’t grow and a neighbor-man who switches turtles on her to make it look like her turtle is growing.
4.Your Disgusting Head By Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-On-Whey. This book is all about your head. It’s an absurdist fictional nonfiction encyclopedia writen by Dave Eggers and his brother Christopher under strange pseudonyms ask me if you want to borrow it, I garuntee (dire misspelling :() you won’t regret it!!!
5.Under The Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. About those scary Mormom Fundamentalists and their multiple wives whomb they abuse. Two brothers even murdered one wife.Nonfiction, not for the faint hearted; very emotional (if you can picture how different their lives are).
6.The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Required reading book about clique conflicts in a big city.
7.Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen. Once again, I’ve read a Carl Hiaasen book! This one is about a girl who dislikes telemarketers and her ultimate revenge!
8.Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim by David Sedaris. This is a strange collection of rather well written essays.
9.The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten: 100 Experiments For The Armchair Philosopher by Julian Baggini. I always have been interested in Philosophy.This book compiles philosophical musings by Plato, Socrates,Ludwig Wittgenstein, Frederick Nietzche, and many other great philosophers from the past including some of the authors own and explains them. This book will get you thinking until your head hurts and ultimately explodes.
10. Readymade by Shoshanna Berger. A book of Do-It-Yourself home projects like a waterbottle chair etc. Most are made from materials found around your house.
Until next time this is Leif Huot signing out.
I recently finished reading “Hotel Patis” by Peter Mayle. It’s a sort of romance/crime novel set in Provence, France. It’s about this guy who quits his job as the CEO of an advertising company and starts a hotel. At the same time he’s doing this, a group of bank robbers are planning a grand master plan to rob the high security vault at a nearby bank. They end up kidnapping the hotel owner’s friend’s son. The book is well written (and fairly funny), although the ending is a little disappointing.
Hi, this is Tyler, (I’m using my mom’s account) and lately I’ve been reading the Dragonlance series. Great for all fantasy freaks!!!!!
I finished another Carl Hiaasen book, my 6th Carl Hiaasen book this school year! This one was called Double Whammy and was about a guy with a dogs head permanately attached to his arm, cheating bass fishermen, and crime. Carl Hiaasen writes some great mystery novels about Florida! I’m reading currently Songbook By Nick Hornby. It features essays on the Nick’s favorite songs. A great read for musicians and music lovers alike.
Well, I just finished the entire series of THE RANGERS APRENTICE, which is basicly about a kid becomes the rangers aprentice. Quite self explanatory isn’t it, and he goes through things that every kid expiriences like killing trolls and monstrous creatures. Just the average life of a teenager.
I just finished reading The Polysyllibic Spree By Nick Hornby, it’s predecessor Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt and The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming By Lemony Snicket. The Polysyllibic Spree and Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt is about a fellow bibliophile and the books he reads. The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming is about a misunderstood fried potato who screams…a lot.
My name might not be Maximos, but it is Leif-keeping you updated on those books I read!!!
Well. Over Spring Break I read Oil! the newest issues of Paste and Rolling Stone along with various Believer magazines, a bathroom reader on the topic of music, and am currently driving through Secret Lives of Great Authors. Oil! was a book written by Upton Sinclair in 1927. It centers around Bunny the son of an oil tycoon, and how he changes as he grows up and develops his own opinions. It starts with a car ride to the new oil field, it shows you how to buy a lot of land at the same time (without telling the property owners about the black gold beneath them), he becomes friends with a boy named Paul Watkins whose family is religious fanatics, Paul becomes a key member of the oil field worker strikes during the war, bulsheviks and Socialism comes up after the war, Socialism in a positive light (basically arguments for socialism are many throughout). Bunny becomes a socialist and is shunned by some newspapers calling him a “red”. College, love and lost love happens. The father marries a spirtualist and dies shortly after, and the ending I would be a fool to give away. I highly recommend this book. Like many classics it is rather long and at times can feel a bit slow, but an interesting view or plot twist is always within fifteen pages ahead. Rolling Stone and Paste are good music magazines and have my stamp of approval, they are well written, not trashy,and informative in the music, movies, and books of today (with emphasis on the music, of course). The Believer is one of the greatest magazines published today, and one of the most difficult to find in bookstores. It is foremost a literary magazine with no limit on length. The short stories and book reviews in this magazine are some of the best being released today by only the best writers. Nick Hornby has an excellent regular column on the books he reads and buys and all of the cover art is by the most fantastic illustrator of modern day, the great, Charles Burns! You can find it by googling it, or going to the mcsweeneys.net site then going to the McSweeney’s store then click on the believer. Some issues come with a dvd (the film issue) or a cd (the music issue). I recommend it to anyone who loves to read or likes art. I actually have an extra copy of the magazine (with a DVD!) available to anyone who is interested. Famous lives of Great Authors will be my next post. Also for those of you who like art. The art books I’ve read (or more accurately, looked at) lately are a book on African Tribal art and one on Photography. Oh! Oh! And I also read GIraffes! Giraffes? by Doris Haggis-on-Whey! I bet you didn’t know that giraffes came on a giant conveyor belt from the planet Neptune! Or that Giraffes’ necks are made of papier-mâché or that there tail is a pendulum. Or that Giraffes control what you see in mirrors! It’s all in this book published by McSweeney’s, The Haggis-on Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance (The H.O.W. series) is a very interesting series on a wide variety of topics from heads to giraffes to giant squids. Thanks!-Leif
Wow, Leif, you certainly are reading a lot. I’m currently reading Chesapeake by James Michner. It is a 1000 page chronicle of a fiction family called the Steeds and how they were part of the historical events that took place in and along the Chesapeake Bay (The Revolutionary War and the Watergate scandal, for instance). The time line reaches from the 1600s to the 1970s (the book was published in ‘78). The book, although long, is a fascinating read. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in American history.
For the history book I read (mostly) Killer Angels By Michael Shaara. It didn’t really hold my attention- most likely due to four other books I’ve been dying to read stacked up by the fireplace and lack of interest in war stories- it was very well written and concise with vivid imagery and great detail. However like I mentioned it didn’t really hold my attention. I’ll post again when I complete this.
Leif: Have you read “The Red Badge of Courage?” by Stephen Crane? It’s another novel about the Civil War, but told from the perspective of a grunt soldier. It’s a lot more action-packed and intense than “Killer Angels.” You might like it better than “Killer Angels” (although I didn’t).
I haven’t read that book but I finished Killer Angels. The last few chapters were some of the best written in the book, in my opinion. Now I’m reading Freakonomics By Steven J. Dubner. It has very interesting theories and statistics/facts.
You should also seriously consider Chesapeake by James Michner. An absolutely wonderful book.