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Post by ZapRowsdower on Apr 6, 2007 0:21:47 GMT -5
Well, it took me long enough, but I finally finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Damn, it just keeps getting darker and darker. Can't wait to get started on my next read:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - of which the ending has already been spoiled for me. Now I must read it to learn the context.
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Apr 6, 2007 8:31:02 GMT -5
Recently read: Equus (Peter Schaffer) -- most may know this as the play that Daniel Radcliffe's doing right now to insure that his career doesn't go down the tube. It's a disturbing little piece about a kid who blinds six horses and, told through the psychiatrist's perspective, why he did it. Dark, depressing, compelling. Until the ending, when one of the characters pretty much spells out what's going on. A-. Killshot (Elmore Leonard) -- typical Leonard story about a couple who gets mixed in with something accidentally and now two psychotic killers are out to get them. Violent, but sometimes pretty funny, as Leonard tends to go. The very ending was kind of a let-down, but there was plenty of tension beforehand. A nice, good, short read. I think John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) has an adaptation coming out later this year with Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. B. The Aleph (Jorge Luis Borges) -- another great collection from Borges, though I don't think the stories really resonate as much as his "Ficciones." I mean, some of those just stick with you and you think about them over and over and over again, like " The Library of Babel", "The Garden of Forking Paths" and "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius." Crazy stuff, very labyrintian, infinite libraries, and underexposed cultures all exposed. Best stories: The House of Asterion, The Immortal. A-. City Life (Donald Barthelme) -- strictly postmodern stories kind of in the same vein as Raymond Carver in that nothing generally happens and there's no real plot for most of the stories, but unlike Carver, the stuff's more interesting, fascinating, and more exploding to read. Don't really have the resonance of the Borges stories, however. (The first and last stories were the best, and one about angels, then another about brain damage.) B+ |
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Post by Pulpmariachi on May 5, 2007 21:50:31 GMT -5
Against the Day (Thomas Pynchon) -- clocking in at 1085 pages, I think that "Against the Day" could easily count as four books, and indeed it feels like four books are fighting for your attention, but as anyone who reads Pynchon can attest to that's pretty much how all of his books are. These are things that require attention because he seems to say, "If you're going to be pay (insert price here, most of his books are less than 20 bucks, but the hardcover "Against the Day" is $35), I'm going to give you your money's worth." Does he pull through? Oh yeah, definitley and if you pay attention enough, take it at a steady pace, you'll be rewarded.
The first thing anyone asks is "What is the book about?" and it might be easier to say, what's it NOT about? There's a group of ballonist boys in an airship, anarchists, revolutions, families, journies to other worlds, surreal creatures, bizarre friends (including a scene where one character befriends a piece of ball lightening named Skup), conspiracies, evil tycoon owners, a world war, assassinations (one attempted by mayonaisse in a particularly digusting passage), and loads more that could fill up a small notebook. Pynchon also throws in all sorts of styles, from the spy thriller, to the revenge epic, to the escape journey, to boys' adventure fiction. Complete with an ending reminiscent of Shakespeare comedies and a strong sense of families throughout, this really is a good read, but not for everybody (particulary those who LOVE drivel like "The DaVinci Code," who have to have everything spelled out for them...they'd miss a lot more than I'd miss, because unless you're Pynchon or his wife or editor ((and even then)) you're not going to capture everything, but I suppose if you love "DaVinci Code" you might not make it past page 10 and I pity you). No, it's not "Gravity's Rainbow II: World War I" because it does exist on different wavelenghts, as do the books I've read from him so far, but it's a great novel regardless. It's not flawless either, Pynchon seems to write about the events then zoom in on some characters caught in-between, and a lot of people say that they're not really developed and some parts do kinda fall flat or into a blur, but with further readings there might be more understanding. You can't read these once. A.
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on May 21, 2007 18:01:34 GMT -5
Just finished up Burnt Bones by Slade. I really liked this one, one of my favorites of the series so far. Fixing to start on Hannibal Rising.
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 6, 2007 16:49:19 GMT -5
Finished Hannibel Rising, not too bad, but not near as good as the rest of the Lecter series. Started on Forever Odd, by Koontz, really good so far, about half way through.
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Post by Bartwald on Jun 11, 2007 10:58:28 GMT -5
...I've started on Burnt Bones by Slade. On a side note I read on a mb and then on Slade's official site that Head Hunter is being made into a movie which is supposed to come out sometime next year. Glad you keep the Slade fire burning, LDG! Burnt Bones is Slade's only novel I haven't yet read - look forward to it! And yeah - there's going to be a Headhunter movie and Slade is helping with the script from what I know. This might be one of my favourite 2008 films! |
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 11, 2007 20:45:02 GMT -5
Of course I'm keeping the Slade fire burning!  Since you suggested reading his stuff he's become one of my favorites! Can't wait to see the Head Hunter movie! Any new info? Have they said who's directing? |
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Post by Bartwald on Jun 13, 2007 9:19:57 GMT -5
No, I haven't heard anything about the director yet. But I need to check their forums, there may be something new since I last visited the place. Will tell you as soon as I find out anything.
And now: has anyone here read John Everson's Bram Stoker-winning novel? I wondered what I should expect from it.
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Post by Phoenix on Jun 18, 2007 12:06:09 GMT -5
I bought Storm Front by Jim Butcher, which is the first book of The Dresdon Files. I'm about 1/2 way done and it's very well written with a very good storyline.
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Jun 18, 2007 15:53:17 GMT -5
Of Love and Other Demons (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) -- a very twisted love story delivered in a very sweet, beautiful way. B+.
The Kite Runner (Khaled Housseni) -- it's written well enough and when I read it it held my attention, but I had to say, "Okay, I guess it's time to read". Unfortunatley, the story is predictable and it kind of annoys me that there's suddenly a happy ending all around once he finds God and then that the villain is a gay pedophile. I mean, come on. C+.
After that I tried reading a boatload of other books including "On the Road," "The Raw Shark Texts," "Vineland," "The War at the End of the World," "The Pleasure of my Company," and there was another but I forgot (I actually started all of them, it just happened that I couldn't hold any interest despite a lot of them being from favorite authors), so I decided maybe I just needed some shitlit, stuff that was simple, fun, and enjoyable, especially after quite a while of literary relevance. So I got:
The Mark of Zorro (Johnston McCullen) -- simple, fun, enganging, if not totally predictable original telling of the southwestern Robin Hood, Zorro. Since the novel was written in 1919 for pulp audiences, mainly men who just wanted a good adventure, with plenty of action and damsels in distress (who could hold their own too) and blatant villains. Fun. B.
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 18, 2007 17:36:26 GMT -5
I bought Storm Front by Jim Butcher, which is the first book of The Dresdon Files. I'm about 1/2 way done and it's very well written with a very good storyline. I've been planning on reading those since I watched the first season of the show on Sci Fi and really liked it. Let me know what you think when you get done. Finished Forever Odd this weekend, it was really good. As soon as the third one (Brother odd) comes out in paperback I'll get it. |
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Jun 26, 2007 16:37:38 GMT -5
Batman: Year One (Frank Miller) -- great imagining of the first year Batman came about, told through the perspective of Lt. James Gordon. Great action sequences though there's not really any of the famous Batman villains...just corrupt politicians, but they're evil enough. B.
No One Writes to the Colonel (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) -- sad tale about an old war hero whose life is slowly diminishing as well as his hope. One of the few stories where magic realism doesn't make a presence, though there's still a certain air about it. B+.
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Back (Frank Miller) -- Corruption runs around all over and Batman makes his return from the underground. Though Superman tends to have more running time in the graphic novel, but there are more awesome action sequences and great colors, plus a role call of DC's most famous heroes....B.
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Post by Phoenix on Jun 27, 2007 13:03:27 GMT -5
Butcher's Storm Front was great. A lot better than I expected and much different than the TV show, although the characters have the same names. It's much more adult. It ends a little "off" - maybe because he wasn't sure if he would ever get to write another since it's the first book. He ties everyone together so fast! But I think that probably isn't like that for the rest of the series. I ordered the second book- I hope it's as good as the first.
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 29, 2007 21:07:17 GMT -5
Cool, I'll have to put them on my reading list!
Just started on Wolves of the Calla, fifth in the Dark Tower series.
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Post by frankenjohn on Jul 8, 2007 8:05:07 GMT -5
I read Winter Moon by Dean Koontz.
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Since you suggested reading his stuff he's become one of my favorites! 
