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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/20/2011 5:53:43 PM

Snort

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quote:

ORIGINAL: samboct

I dunno about V...

I preferred Garvity's Rainbow, actually. Here is a comment about that novel:

quote:

Gravity's Rainbow was a joint winner of the 1974 National Book Award for Fiction... In the same year, the fiction jury unanimously recommended Gravity's Rainbow for the Pulitzer Prize though the Pulitzer board vetoed the jury's recommendation, describing the novel as "unreadable", "turgid", "overwritten", and in parts "obscene", and no prize was awarded.

With Pynchon, just let the stories flow and find delight in the crazy juxtaposition of images and stories. Consider it a non linear novel lol.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/20/2011 5:56:24 PM

Rule

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Snort
Who has a recommendation?

Dickens?

Or Gibsons "The rise and fall of the Roman empire"?

"The adventures of Sherlock Holmes"?

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/20/2011 6:39:16 PM

DesFIP

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Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon.

Brooks People of the Book is a great book but not something I would recommend for vacation. Not quite fluffy enough.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/20/2011 11:28:30 PM

Iamsemisweet

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How about some PG Wodehouse? That will take the gloom out of almost any day.

Too bad about the snow, tho. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and July this year was a wetter month than this December is turning out to be.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/20/2011 11:54:00 PM

MistressDarkArt

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Snort

Some very nice suggestions here. I enjoy books that look at history and culture through a very specific lens. Just as great art can provide a timeless insight into the culture that produced it, we can also look at the impacts of disease or technology or weather to gain perspective on the factors that change or stabilize or energize society.

Which reminds me of another Geraldine Brooks: Year of Wonders, A Novel of the Plague

(PS: I liked People of the Book better, so if you only have time for one...)

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 12:43:29 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Rule

quote:

ORIGINAL: Snort
Who has a recommendation?

Dickens?

Or Gibsons "The rise and fall of the Roman empire"?

"The adventures of Sherlock Holmes"?

Wow, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 1 was free. Now I just have to find the other volumes...

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 12:48:56 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DesFIP

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon.

Brooks People of the Book is a great book but not something I would recommend for vacation. Not quite fluffy enough.

Ok, looks like People of the Book got two recommendations. I'll check it out.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 12:49:11 AM

GreedyTop

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If you haven't already, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is AWESOME!!

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 12:57:57 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Iamsemisweet

How about some PG Wodehouse? That will take the gloom out of almost any day.

Too bad about the snow, tho. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and July this year was a wetter month than this December is turning out to be.

I need my own Jeeves, I think. The books are free online, so I downloaded one into my reader.

I turned down an invitation to spend Christmas in Oregon, figuring it would be wet and miserable. Nope. Not this year!

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 1:01:12 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

If you haven't already, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is AWESOME!!

Yep, it was a fun read! Did they make a movie out of that?

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 1:05:14 AM

DarkSteven

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Iamsemisweet

How about some PG Wodehouse? That will take the gloom out of almost any day.

I LOVE Wodehouse and have about fifty of his books. About half his books, IOW.

I like detective fiction. John McDonald's Travis McGee series is good, and James Lee Burke's Dave Robichaux books are a modern version of the wandering plot books. Tony Hillerman's Navajo-themed books as well.

Donald Westlake's books are hysterically funny.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 1:07:01 AM

GreedyTop

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Snort

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

If you haven't already, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is AWESOME!!

Yep, it was a fun read! Did they make a movie out of that?

yeah, I think SHowtime or HBO (maybe STarz?) made a mini-series of it (grr! which meant I didn't get to watch it...).
There's a sequel to the book, too, but the title escapes me.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 1:30:28 AM

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ORIGINAL: DarkSteven

Donald Westlake's books are hysterically funny.

Ok, I downloaded a couple of short stories to sample :)

I like writers who can add humor...

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 1:45:24 AM

GreedyTop

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Terry Pratchett and DOuglas Adams are timeless treasures, IMO.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 4:10:04 AM

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+1s for a lot of writers already mentioned: Wodehouse and Gaiman (who is not cyberpunk in any way shape or form) in particula. The Jeeves stuff is best known, but another of Wodehouse's series (Blandings Castle)is better still, believe it or not. Gibbon's Decline And Fall is a fine history, but the single volume edit is a lot easier to get through than the full version.

If you like horror, Kim Newman's wonderful Anno Dracula (in which Van helsing and the boys fail to deal with the undead Carpathian cad and he marries her majesty Victoria, leading to London being overrun by vampires) has just been reprinted.

Alfred Bester's Tiger! Tiger! (aka The Stars My Destination) is the best science fiction novel ever published. Bruce Sterling once described cyberpunk as the 8o's version of the regular rediscovery of Bester's work. His earlier novel, The Demolished Man isn't quite as good, but is still better than most other sf. Other cyberpunk books worth a look are Frontera by Lewis Shiner, Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling, Hermatech by Storm Constantine and Metrophage by Richard Kadrey.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 5:12:55 AM

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The Odd Thomas series by Koontz is amazing (and NOT horror)

Anything by Robert B. Parker.

Anything by Amy Tan.

The Number One Ladies Detective series.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 5:56:17 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

quote:

ORIGINAL: Snort

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

If you haven't already, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is AWESOME!!

Yep, it was a fun read! Did they make a movie out of that?

yeah, I think SHowtime or HBO (maybe STarz?) made a mini-series of it (grr! which meant I didn't get to watch it...).
There's a sequel to the book, too, but the title escapes me.

The sequel is called "World without End".
While the first was an okay read, even if I found it over hyped, the sequel did nothing for me. But that might just be the historian having trouble with the inconsistencies.

The mini-series is available on dvd by now.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 6:17:26 AM

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Glad to know there are some other Wodehouse fans. I have a long commute, so I listen to lots of Audible books. Nothing makes the time fly by like Martin Jarvis reading PG Wodehouse.

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Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 6:19:50 AM

GreedyTop

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Thanks, Sandra!

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RE: Reading suggestions for my failed vacation... - 12/21/2011 7:15:08 AM

Iamsemisweet

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Oh, thought of another choice. Since you will be in the mountains, try "Into Thin Air" by John Krakuaer. In fact, anything by John krakauer is good, with the exception of "Into the Wild". Another good choice is anything by the late, great Christopher Hitchens.

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Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.

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