BOOKS: What are you reading?

[LarsVenice]

I haven't really started the James Dean one yet - only skimmed through parts of it, but there are episodes in that book that are taken from the Paul Newman bio, which I am still reading now. I read these very slowly because when I finish them, I won't have something as sensational to read. I stopped reading the Steve McQueen bio just one chapter before finishing and then went to Paul Newman.

The James Dean book is massive, and so I think that there might be more fabrication there, but the Paul Newman and Steve McQueen bios seem to be fairly well documented. I also read Full Service by Scotty Bowers, and according to LA Weekly, it is reasonably accurate. Living in Los Angeles, I find it very easy to believe and have no reason to doubt it. Women here generally expect men to be either gay or bisexual, especially if they are actors, but then they may be overly pessimistic. One female friend of mine always tries to take her new boyfriends to gay bars to see if they can resist the temptation.

 

[zoltanspawn]

I just finished Samuel Delany's Dhalgren (1974). It's a long and heady book that touches on many ideas, but is structured so incoherently that it dips between poesy and mental illness unnoticeably. It's trippy in a counter-culture 70's way, and its mysteries remain un-answered. Harlan Ellison read less than half and threw it across the room. But William Gibson claimed to love it.

 

[zoltanspawn]

A collection of Raymond Carver's short stories gathered under the title of one of his most famous, Cathedral. If you've never read his droll and pitiful works, give this a listen. Carver's wonderful.

 

[Thad1527]

It took me a while, but I've finished Nixonland by Rick Perlstein. So many parallels to today: lying politicians who distrust the media, a divided America, police brutality... But there's hope in that some things are different. There's not much race rioting. Open housing is a given.

 

[goldenmoth]

I must reading Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. Great so far. The perfect summer read

 

[theworldwithout]

Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

 

[Drugstore Cowboy]

Cold heart canyon by Clive barker.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Cold heart canyon by Clive barker.

Own a copy of that. Although I found the book enjoyable, the movie Sunset Boulevard and the Hollywood legend on which the book is based are far more interesting in themselves. Not Barker´s finest.

 

[herry1]

Restarting Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope 25 years after I started it. Just finished Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.

 

[justdra]

I"m listening to Jenifer Lewis: Mother of Black Hollywood. She is also reading it which makes its it extra funny.

 

[flyingfree]

Close To Shore: A True Story of Terror In An Age of Innocence by Michael Capuzzo (2001)

A great white shark takes up residency off the New Jersey shore in July, 1916. What a terrific storyline for a movie.

 

[Thad1527]

The Fourth Perspective by Robert Greer. An African-American antiques dealer in Denver becomes involved with a murder case - and a woman from his past who wants him dead. I like any book where one of the bad guys is dead on page 17.

 

[zoltanspawn]

Since The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage arrives on October 19th, I'm halfway through The Golden Compass (Northern Lights for you Brits) right now. A favorite.

I finished up re-reading The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, the second two books of His Dark Materials.

These are such extraordinary novels. You can never guess their ambition even after reading the first. They are thrilling, but more so, they reveal to us our hearts and minds.

 

[Matt89]

The Diana Chronicles By Tina Brown
The Plains Of Passage: The Earth's Children Book 4 By Jean M. Auel

 

[zoltanspawn]

The Plains Of Passage: The Earth's Children Book 4 By Jean M. Auel

I remember enjoying The Clan of the Cave Bear when I was in high school. Then I read the second book, and it didn't seem like much more than a smutty romance novel, so I gave up on the series.

 

[Drugstore Cowboy]

Own a copy of that. Although I found the book enjoyable, the movie Sunset Boulevard and the Hollywood legend on which the book is based are far more interesting in themselves. Not Barker´s finest.

I totally agree, I lost interest in the story almost about half way through. Currently I am reading exquisite corpse by poppy z brite.

 

[Matt89]

I remember enjoying The Clan of the Cave Bear when I was in high school. Then I read the second book, and it didn't seem like much more than a smutty romance novel, so I gave up on the series.

The sequels all have smutty romance in them but are still good.

 

[zoltanspawn]

A boozhy gaggle of manly men drink a whole lot. Hemingway's vague The Sun Also Rises (1926).

And the aforementioned La Belle Sauvage. As exciting as the other books, two youngsters must flee from all sorts of threats. It's premature to say whether it will be their artistic equal, though. This first book felt a little digressive.

 

[Kulindahr]

I remember enjoying The Clan of the Cave Bear when I was in high school. Then I read the second book, and it didn't seem like much more than a smutty romance novel, so I gave up on the series.

That's a great description of my reaction!



I'm currently reading December 1941, a day by day history of the month when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. So far I'm loving it because the author includes snippets of actual news articles published on those days, many of which have never been given attention by historians.


I just finished a novel by Greg Bear, Darwin's Radio, which takes some current hypotheses about human DNA and explores implications if they're true. It was both delightful and scary.

 

[MakeDigitalLove]

The comic series Saga.