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Author Topic: Rate the last book you read.  (Read 194183 times)

FroHam X

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #70 on: February 08, 2009, 02:17:54 PM »
The Road
Oh yeah, it's great. I think I loved most of all the conversations between father and son.

Can I ask you something? he said.
Yes. Of Course.
Are we going to die?
Sometime. Not now.
And we're still going south.
Yes.
So we'll be warm.
Yes.
Okay.
Okay what?
Nothing. Just okay.
Go to sleep.
Okay.
I'm going to blow out the lamp. Is that okay?
Yes. That's okay.
And then later in the darkness: Can I ask you something?
Yes. Of course you can.
What would you do if I died?
If you died I would want to die too.
So that you could be with me?
Yes. So I could be with you.
Okay.


That's from page 8-9. It really sets the tone for the whole novel. I'm really glad I read it, and I'm excited for the movie, although very, very scared at the same time.


That's my favourite passage from the book.
"We didn't clean the hamster's cage, the hamster's cage cleaned us!"

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Thor

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #71 on: February 10, 2009, 01:49:16 PM »


Pretty funny, though not as clever as the first book in the series.
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worm@work

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #72 on: February 10, 2009, 02:08:40 PM »


This was really strange but really fun. It's pretty much the sort of book you have to read in one sitting because the writing is just very stream-of-consciousness. The whole book feels like a delirious reverie but one that's part-hilarious, part-tragic but always interesting. The language is really rich and vivid even in translation and evokes lots of images and one can even feel the texture of landscapes and rooms and so on. I loved the way he is able to get into this tangential side-story and weave us back into the main narrative so seamlessly. Reading it did make me wish I knew more (or anything at all) about Chilean literature or history. It's an enjoyable read even without all that background though.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #73 on: February 10, 2009, 02:34:39 PM »
The Rise of Silas Lapham - Eh, it was interesting enough, though it was beautifully constructed. I'd probably not have read it on my own if it wasn't for class, but I'm glad I did. Realism kind of pisses me off though.

B-/B

ses

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #74 on: February 10, 2009, 07:04:44 PM »
On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
It's difficult to say that this, a novella, really, of just over 160 pages, is better than Atonement, a masterful, moving, passionate, intellectual, beautiful novel of 400 odd pages. And yet, my initial reaction is to say just that. This really is, potentially McEwan's masterpiece. It seems that every word has weight and depth, which is appropriate in a story that is, as the synopsis suggests, about the power of words not said, gestures not made.

People talk of Revolutionary Road being devastating to them, and whilst I don't agree, I understand, and this had exactly that affect on me. I can feel my heart beating, and I'm sort of half shaking with adrenaline or something similar. The way McEwan writes gives this novel so much a sense of melancholy, a sense of people failing to meet at the middle, when it could be so easy. It's a brilliant, introspective look at British social structures in the early '60s, at the dawn of a new era, and just like he does with Saturday and post 9/11 - pre-Iraq London, he captures the time, the place, and the conventions so perfectly.

It's pretty easily the best book I've read so far this year (although there've only been around 5, so I suppose that's not a huge achievement, but still). It's just amazing.

Just started reading this today.
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FifthCityMuse

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #75 on: February 10, 2009, 11:57:37 PM »
On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan

Just started reading this today.
I hope you like it.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #76 on: February 15, 2009, 10:39:06 PM »
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Mark Twain) - It's humorous and thought provoking enough I guess, Twain is really great with satire and the narrative is compelling, unlike most stories involving King Arthur's time. The last few chapters are beautiful as well. I'm not a huge fan of Twain, and I assume his intentions and attacks are not things I agree with, but as a reader I found a ton that I could still relate to modern American society, and that was enjoyable. It read slow at some parts, but overall a solid novel and worth checking out if only to get to the end.

B/B+

worm@work

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #77 on: February 17, 2009, 03:15:37 PM »
Ask the Dust (John Fante, 1939)

Yeah, so I read this based on how much Emiliana and Ronan seemed to have enjoyed it. It pretty much blew my mind. I love unreliable narrators and this narrator is just completely insane. I found the destructive nature of Bandini and Camilla's relationship and Arturo's self-absorption rather disturbing but not enough to want to stop reading apparently ::). Manic and utterly beautiful writing.

roujin

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #78 on: February 17, 2009, 03:18:19 PM »
Song of Solomon

Yeah.

Kevin Shields

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #79 on: February 17, 2009, 06:10:53 PM »
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons.

In anticipation for the film.  This is truly one of the greatest stories ever told.  I really think it changed the idea of the graphic novel and superhero folklores.  I loved the backstories for all of the major characters.  Notably how Jonathan Osterman became Dr. Manhattan, Adrian Veidt's ambition modeled after Alexander the Great, and my fave character, Rorschach.  I'm now excited for the film. 
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