response 145 of 298:

May 29 19:06 UTC 1997

I have finished reaing "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" by Douglas
Adams. Adams is one of my favourite authors. This book features his
holistic detective Dirk Gently  aka Svlad Cjelly. Norse gods
mingle with men and the situations are
as hilarious as can be expected from Adams. Though not in the same
class as "The Hitchhiker's Guide" or "Dirk Gently's ...", the book is a good
and satisfying read.

response 147 of 298:

Jun 14 00:36 UTC 1997

i have finished reading "anything considered" by peter mayle. it is
supposed to be an international bestseller and what-not. but i found it
rather boring. but it is a useful book if you are going on a vacation to
nice or monaco -- it is as good as a guidebook :)

response 149 of 298:

Oct 14 21:41 UTC 1997

Nope, it's not a dead item -- but it has been sleeping for a while. 

I recently read "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", the first part of 
Maya Angelou's autobiography.  I was supposed to read it in school, but 
was caught up in other things and never got around to it.  I discovered 
Ms. Angelou's poetry several years ago, and then heard her speak on a 
radio program,  I decided it was time to read the book.

Wow!!

I hated to see it end and will definitely be picking up the later 
installments.

This book covers Ms. Angelou's childhood from the time her mother left 
her in the care of her southern rural grandmother when she was 4 through 
the birth of her son, when she was about 16.  A mere synopsis doesn't do 
it justice, though.  Even as a youngster, Angelou had a poet's eye for 
detail and a novelists eye for the moments that make us human.  

Caged Bird isn't just a laundry list of past events - it transports you 
into the world of a young black girl growing up in the 1930s in the 
rural south and then in Los Angeles.  She shows you "white folk" who 
exist only on the periphery of her life, like phantoms.  She invokes, in 
a very visceral way, the pain, confusion, and guilt of an eight-year 
old, molested and raped by her step father.  She communicates her 
youthful curiosity and her two fisted grip on the joy that life offers, 
even in the face of poverty and in a painfully segregated and racist 
world.

I recommend it to people of all ages who want to read a gripping, 
involving story and who want to understand life in someone elses skin.  
Few have managed to convey that so clearly. 

response 151 of 298:

Oct 28 17:59 UTC 1997

I recently read Al Frankin's _Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot_. Very
intelligent and *very* funny! He attacks everyone from Rush to Ralph Reed to
Newt Gingrich, and smartly backs up all claims he makes. Highly recommended.

response 153 of 298:

Oct 30 15:56 UTC 1997

Working on Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. I think I can safely recommend
any of his books (in particular Good Omens!), and it's a sure bet if you
happen to enjoy humor (Douglas Adams comes to mind).
Recently finished Hogfather by Pratchett (why is it that the US is so late
in getting his book anyway? ;) I went to Toronto, a 1 1/2 hour drive for me,
and picked it up in Canada a few weeks ago, but it probably won't appear until
sometimes next summer in the US. Oh well. :)

response 155 of 298:

Jan 26 07:59 UTC 1998

  I just finished re-reading Tim Powers' very entertaining fantasy novel,
  "The Anubis Gates"  Powers is a master at juggling bizarre sets of story
  elements that you think couldn't possibly be related until, surprise!
  he fits them all together so naturally that you sit there stunned, saying
  "Of course, it all makes sense now!"

  From the back-cover blurb -- "only Powers.. could have assembled such an
  insane cast of characters:  an ancient Egyptian sorcerer, a modern
  millionaire, a body-switching werewolf, a hideously deformed clown,
  a young woman disguised as a boy, a brainwashed Lord Byron, and finally,
  our hero, Professor Brendan Doyle."  What's most amazing to me is that
  by then end of the book that seems like a perfectly sensible collection,
  in fact it wouldn't work without any of those elemnents..

  Also highly recommended is Powers' "Last Call", which concerns poker,
  sorcery, and the Fisher King legend..  By any chance has anyone here
  read his latest book, "Earthquake Weather"?

response 157 of 298:

Feb 1 03:29 UTC 1998

I finished Any Rand's "We The Living" last night.  Deep depressing material
even for her first novel.  She's conveyed a sense of hopelessness and
despair which she demonstrates to be the essential result in a society
dominated by the philosohpy of man living for the state.  Lots of seeds
planted in this book for ideas which later see growth in "The Fountainhead"
and more than likely full development in "Atlas Shrugged", which I will
be reading next.

response 159 of 298:

Apr 24 05:40 UTC 1998

   I just finished "The Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy. 
  
   This one is about Tom Wingo, his twin Savannah and older brother Luke.
Tom is the narrator. He starts out by introducing himself, and his family,
but then travels to New York to see about Savannah who has once again
attempted suicide. The doctor treating Savannah wants to talk to Tom about
the family, and the way they were raised. It is through flashbacks that we
learn about the family Wingo. 
   Father Henry is a Army veteran, and shrimp boat captain who is a rough but
loving father. He is abusive and rough, but there is love. The mother, Lila
is dedicated to Henry, but barely notices the kids. There is a lot more to
the book than I have time to relate here, but it is a must read. Conroy crafts
the language so well, and his descriptions are so vivid you will swear that
you are sitting in the same room with Tom, listening to him tell you about
his family.

   "Man wonders, but God decides
    when to kill the Prince of Tides"

  Only when you read this book, will you know what that means.

response 161 of 298:

Apr 24 17:04 UTC 1998

  It is classed as a novel. Probably fiction, but one never can tell these
days.

response 163 of 298:

Apr 27 05:40 UTC 1998

 Just finished re-reading "The Lord of the Rings". Tolkien just doesn't stop
amazing me. Everytime I read anything he has written, I am overawed by the
imaginative powers of this creative genius. But somehow, the majority of
people I recommend this book to put it down before the first fifty pages are
barely past! I don't understand this at all ...

response 165 of 298:

Apr 29 15:47 UTC 1998

I would say that understanding and appreciation improved as that bottle
circulated....

response 167 of 298:

May 1 04:58 UTC 1998

Going by Misti's experience( and modifying it a bit, in the process), I read
Dune(Herbert) with a bottle of wine as (the sole) companion. And somehow, it
appears as imaginative and wel written as LOTR. I've read only the first book
of the Dune series, but I am HUGEly impressed. And to think of the time when
I thought tolkein had no parallel.....