I dunno how many folks around here read books on a regular basis, just wondering if anyone's read anything good lately? Here's what I've been reading...
White Teeth by Zadie Smith - This one was actually assigned for school, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. I did some research on Smith and apparently she got some huge advance (somewhere around a million, I believe) from the publishers, even though she was only like 23 or so at the time. Pretty inspiring for an aspiring writer. Anyway, the book follows various generations of a lower middle class half white/half Jamaican couple and a Bengalese family, both living in England. It's really witty and has some great characters, personally I think Smith deserved every penny she got for it.
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk - This book was sort of good, I guess. Thing is, it's a really depressing story, to the point where I had to put it down after reading ten pages or so. This is the third book I've read by Palahniuk (I hope I'm spelling that right) and they all seem to be more or less the same in tone and style. Basically, just rent Fight Club, and don't bother reading his stuff unless you want to be really bummed out.
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby - I love Nick Hornby (High Fidelity is one of my all-time favorite books and movies) and this book was really good, but it was a little hard for me to get into. I think this may have just been because it was written from the point of view of a married woman in her thirties contemplating a divorce. Anyway, I didn't have time to finish it before I had to return it, I'm not sure if I'll end up getting it again or not.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers - I'm reading this book once again, for probably the fourth or fifth time since this summer. It's so great, probably my favorite book of all time. It's a memoir about how Eggers' parents both died within two months of each other (his father from a heart attack, his mother from cancer) and how he was forced into becoming a surrogate parent for his younger brother, Toph, at the age of 22 or so. But it's so much more than that, if I could ever in my life write a book or something half as good as this, I would be unbelievably happy.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith - This one was actually assigned for school, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. I did some research on Smith and apparently she got some huge advance (somewhere around a million, I believe) from the publishers, even though she was only like 23 or so at the time. Pretty inspiring for an aspiring writer. Anyway, the book follows various generations of a lower middle class half white/half Jamaican couple and a Bengalese family, both living in England. It's really witty and has some great characters, personally I think Smith deserved every penny she got for it.
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk - This book was sort of good, I guess. Thing is, it's a really depressing story, to the point where I had to put it down after reading ten pages or so. This is the third book I've read by Palahniuk (I hope I'm spelling that right) and they all seem to be more or less the same in tone and style. Basically, just rent Fight Club, and don't bother reading his stuff unless you want to be really bummed out.
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby - I love Nick Hornby (High Fidelity is one of my all-time favorite books and movies) and this book was really good, but it was a little hard for me to get into. I think this may have just been because it was written from the point of view of a married woman in her thirties contemplating a divorce. Anyway, I didn't have time to finish it before I had to return it, I'm not sure if I'll end up getting it again or not.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers - I'm reading this book once again, for probably the fourth or fifth time since this summer. It's so great, probably my favorite book of all time. It's a memoir about how Eggers' parents both died within two months of each other (his father from a heart attack, his mother from cancer) and how he was forced into becoming a surrogate parent for his younger brother, Toph, at the age of 22 or so. But it's so much more than that, if I could ever in my life write a book or something half as good as this, I would be unbelievably happy.
