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Grex > Books > #3: What Was the Last Book You Read? | |
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| Author |
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| 25 new of 298 responses total. |
mcnally
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response 181 of 298:
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Mar 12 07:07 UTC 1999 |
Currently reading "The Shipping News", which made a big splash a couple
of years ago and has been on my list of eventual reads for quite some
time. Actually, though, I'm now glad that I didn't read it a few years
ago when it was first recommended to me. Since that time I've had a
chance to visit Newfoundland (last summer) and the book is very successful
at evoking memories of that forlorn and eerie place.
I'm enjoying it so far but unless there's a really *huge* payoff at the
end I'm not sure I'd consider all of the attention it received (including
the Pulitzer Prize) completely justified. I'd recommend it without much
reservation; I'm just not convinced that 100 years from now people will be
talking about it as one of the most memorable novels of the century...
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bookworm
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response 182 of 298:
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Mar 12 07:12 UTC 1999 |
The last book I read was _Sesame Street Unpaved_.
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remmers
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response 183 of 298:
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Mar 13 13:56 UTC 1999 |
RE resp:181 - I read "The Shipping News" a few years ago and enjoyed it
immensely. I don't know far you are into it or what your payoff
standards are, but I certainly found the book more than rewarding enough
in the evocation of place, character development, and variety of
incident categories.
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md
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response 184 of 298:
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Mar 13 16:51 UTC 1999 |
I liked Shipping News, not so thrilled with Accordion Dreams.
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mcnally
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response 185 of 298:
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Mar 13 18:34 UTC 1999 |
re #183: I'm certainly enjoying it. It's just that I'm not bowled over
by it.. Perhaps it's a case of over-enthusiastic recommendations creating
exaggerated expectations. As I say, though, I'd certainly recommend it
myself.
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atticus
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response 186 of 298:
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Mar 26 22:02 UTC 1999 |
I am another of those who liked reading "The Shipping News".
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bookworm
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response 187 of 298:
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Mar 28 00:13 UTC 1999 |
The last book I read was Morgenstern's _The Princess Bride_
Currently, I am looking into reading something new. I am unsure, yet
as to what I want to read next.
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mcnally
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response 188 of 298:
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Mar 28 18:12 UTC 1999 |
For those trying to find it in the library, you'll find "The Princess
Bride" filed under "Goldman, William", and not "Morgenstern, S."
(Goldman presents the story as the creation of the fictional S. Morgenstern)
"The Princess Bride" is a delightful book, even better if you haven't
had it spoiled for you by the movie..
Has anyone read "S. Morgenstern's" other book (the one about the
gondoliers)? Is it any good?
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jazz
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response 189 of 298:
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Mar 29 15:39 UTC 1999 |
There's a used bookstore on Cross street in Ypsilanti near Vinyl Joe's
that has a rare two-colour edition of _Princess Bride_, with the 'real'
portions in red and the 'story' in black (or is it vice versa?) that might
be a real find for a fan.
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bookworm
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response 190 of 298:
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Mar 31 02:55 UTC 1999 |
Amen
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gelinas
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response 191 of 298:
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Sep 27 05:03 UTC 1999 |
The book I finished most recently is _The_Number_of_the_Beast_, by Robert
Heinlein. I think this is the second time I read it; the first time was
July, 1980 (the publication date is August, 1980).
I'm working on _The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_. I have a copy of
_Symbolic_Logic_ from the library, which I will probably read before I
return it. (I read it the first time in 1980, too.)
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lilmo
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response 192 of 298:
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Oct 1 18:15 UTC 1999 |
I had to watch the movie version of _Temptation_ a couple years ago for a
class, and, even tho' I am a Christian, I was not offended by it, as I had
feared, after all the hype about it. There were certainly a number of things
about it that I did not like at all, but it wasn't as bad as I had feared.
Of course, it wasn't a terribly good movie even on its own terms, but that's
beside the point.
Sorry about the movie talk. I have right beside me the book version of
_The_Phantom_MEnace_. :-) So far, so good (p36, of 300+).
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orinoco
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response 193 of 298:
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Oct 4 20:53 UTC 1999 |
I just finished _The Practice of the Wild_ by Gary Snyder, which I think was
reccomended somewhere in this conference, but I'm too lazy to find where and
by whom. I was really impressed -- most "save the earth, stop
oppression"-type books make my mind turn off immediately no matter how much
I agree or disagree, but Snyder's writing really held my attention. Not
surprising, given how much I like his poetry.
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oddie
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response 194 of 298:
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Oct 11 04:53 UTC 1999 |
Can somebody tell me what _The Last Temptation of Christ_ is about? The only
thing I know about it is that Peter Gabriel did the music for it :)
I read a lot of stuff over the summer which I will write something about later
'cause it's getting late.
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mcnally
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response 195 of 298:
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Oct 11 05:16 UTC 1999 |
It's about an alternate universe where Christ is seduced by the dark side.
(Oh, no, wait, that's the Star Wars "prequel".. Nevermind..)
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gelinas
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response 196 of 298:
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Oct 11 05:19 UTC 1999 |
Jesus, a carpenter in Nazareth, makes crosses for crucifixions. He has
been subject to fits since he realised that he loved his cousin Mary.
That rejection led Mary to a life of prostitution, also in rebellion against
her father (a rabbi). (So she has mixed motiviations. Don't we all?)
Some suspect that Jesus is the Messiah, but they neither can nor want to
believe it.
I've not gotten much farther than that, and I'm not willing to repeat
the summarisations offered by others.
It's written by the same guy who did _Zorba_the_Greek_.
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lilmo
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response 197 of 298:
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Oct 12 23:16 UTC 1999 |
To continue:
Jesus spends some time with a group much like the Essenes (kind of like Jewish
monks), and then begins a ministry much like that described in the Gospels,
but he is very unsure of himself. Eventually he becomes more self-confident,
and goes to Jerusalem. There, he sends his oldest and closest friend, Judas
Iscariot, to betray him to the Jewish leaders. While on the cross, he is told
by an angelic figure that his debt is paid, and he can come down. He marries
Martha *and* Mary (whose brother Lazarus was killed before he was arrested),
and later confronts Paul of Tarsus, who is preaching Christianity. He is
dying in bed as Jerusalem burns in AD 70, when Peter and Judas come to tell
him how badly he screwed up. He then prays for God to return him to the
cross, where he can correct the error that led to the rest. God does, and
the rest, as they say, is history.
Anyone who notices an error in my summary is free to say so.
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otaking
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response 198 of 298:
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Oct 14 13:48 UTC 1999 |
I finished _Ecstasy_Club_ by Douglass Rushkoff recently. It started out well
as a story about a motley bunch who decided to buy a warehouse and have raves
every day, with a different theme for different subcultures (goths, gays,
ravers). Then it turned into this bizarre conspiracy story involving Tesla
and Scientology (called Cosmotology in the novel). The ending was very
unsatisfying. I enjoy conspiracy theories, but this book left me feelin like
I wasted my time. Stick with his non-fiction if you read anything by Rushkoff.
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lilmo
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response 199 of 298:
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Oct 15 20:05 UTC 1999 |
By Tesla, you do'nt mean Nikolai Tesla, do you? He was dead long before raves
started, I think.
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omni
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response 200 of 298:
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Oct 17 07:28 UTC 1999 |
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otaking
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response 201 of 298:
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Oct 17 15:53 UTC 1999 |
Re #199: Yes, Nikolai Tesla. The conspiracy theory involved telepaths and time
travel.
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mcnally
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response 202 of 298:
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Oct 17 23:36 UTC 1999 |
Most of the better conspiracy theories do..
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otaking
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response 203 of 298:
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Oct 18 14:23 UTC 1999 |
My favorite conspiracy theories are either plausible or completely loopy. The
best are both.
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jazz
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response 204 of 298:
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Oct 18 17:48 UTC 1999 |
Like the one about that project where the government spent billions
researching some obscure physics theories that might have applications, while
a war was going on?
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pfv
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response 205 of 298:
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Oct 18 18:07 UTC 1999 |
hehe ..which war? ...which theories?
Yah, we all "know" the conspiracies are fantasies, eh?
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