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So I'm taking off for the wilds of Pennsylvania to go camping over the weekend and I just finished reading the latest book last night and, for once, don't have one on-deck. What should I read???
SF? Peter Hamilton's new book, Pandora's Star. Literary Fiction? I finally read The Corrections two weeks ago, and I thought it was fantastic. Just in case you haven't read it yet. The Time Traveler's Wife lives somewhere in the misty intersection of those two worlds. You've probably read it though. But I only read it, too, a couple of weeks ago and I liked it a lot. Damn, but wasn't it melancholy.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm surfing Amazon, reading about them right now. Keep 'em coming.
(btw, someone, or several someones here recommended "Sparrow", and I just finished reading it and the sequel. THANK YOU for turning me on to those books. Amazing reads.)
Oh btw, re Fiasco, I seem to remember it was a bad idea to read the back cover before reading the book. For some reason the publishers decided to give the endgame away which was irretrievably dumb imo. A fantastic book, tho.
I'm trying to think of what I've read recently in paperback that was good & all I get is this oldie but goodie: Heavy Weather, by Bruce Sterling. Which is alarmingly apropos. I'm also reading my way through Guy Gavriel Kay, but you've probably read all his stuff.
My camping book suggestion, FWIW, is to go to the Goodwill and buy a couple of paperbacks. (That's where I found Heavy Weather!) Camping can be hazardous to books, also, hardcovers are a) heavy, b) hard to read flat on your back in a tent while holding a flashlight. Do not, however, buy anything about monsters lurking around in the woods eating people.
Oh, what's the super-hurricane science-fiction book I read last year? Can't recall the name. You know, built around the possibility of a catastrophic clathrates methane release? That was good and I learned a lot about the science of hurricanes, too.
I got to work on (and listen to) the new Anthrax double CD compilation today. Takes me back, man. NYC Metal in the house. And any metal band that has a Sabbath cover, a Joe Jackson cover, and a version of "Bring The Noize," with Chuck and Flav (the original version of the rap has a shout out- "Wax is For Anthrax/still it can rock bells") has gotta have something going for it.
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson? If you read Neuromancer in high school or while high at school, and didn't see anything in it, keep in mind that this is around 8 books later and he's changed his style quite a bit.
papercake, I've been feeling Richard Price quite a bit lately, everything is good, but you can start with clockers if you've never read it. Or go to the used bookstore and wild out, that's a good point.
Jonmc: ANTHRAX! Why do I keep forgetting about Anthrax. Awesome.
The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger was a pretty solid read, despite what I thought was a wee bit of a flat ending. I've been hearing many people raving about both the Secret History and the Little Friend by Donna Tartt. But they're further down the line for me, I've lined up Hopeful Monsters and Elementary Particles (and a couple more) first. I loved both Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String by Ben Marcus. I thought Notable American Women was a little more accessible. The anthology of short stories he edited was quite fine as well. And finally, V. is a book I love to push if you haven't read it yet, but I figure you have.
The latter-day Price is great, but start with Ladies Man from his pre-Hollyood period. The Wanderers is his first book, it's great, but it's not for the faint of heart.
The back of my notebook where I keep my "books to read" list is getting nice and full.
I'm a huge Chabon fan from waaaay back (stumbled onto Mysteries of Pittsburgh when it first came out) and so I'm going to nod my head and agree with the Kavelier and Clay praises. (Although I do need to re-read that.)
Capn: I did read Neuromancer and am guilty of thinking just as you suggest. I'll check the new books out.
amberglow: Iron Council, yes. Thanks. Oh, and I passed by you again last night whilest you were smoking a cigarette talking to some tall fella outside the bar. I almost said hello but was laden down with too many bags of groceries -- stocking up for the trip. So, I'm sort of passively stalking you, I guess.
safetyfork: many of those sound great, especially Elementary Particles (I didn't love Secret History, myself. V was great, tho.)
Lots of books to read. I'm a happy man. Thanks everyone.
And Stephen Hunter sniper novels are great for camping. Long live Bob the Nailer!
If you can get through Gaddis, Agapē Agape is great, though it all seems to start in JR (which would be a good book for, say four months in the woods. Agapē Agape is a slimmer volume).
The Black Tulip, by Alexandre Dumas, is a fine read as well.
So I was in hog heaven with Ken Smith's Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945-1970. a book chock full of information about those crappy little 10 minute films your teacher showed when she needed to duck outside for a smoke. Films about how good posture and "fitting in" would make you happier and more popular but "running with a crowd" would lead to bad things.
It also contains great information about the men who produced these little gems, men like Sid Davis who borrowed some money from John Wayne so he could make a movie to teach little kids all about strangers who want to rape you...starring his own daughter. She also went on to star in another movie where she falls and stabs herself with scissors.
I enjoyed this book so much I bought his Raw Deal: Horrible and Ironic Stories of Forgotten Americans which is short biographies of Americans who got shafted big time such as Charles Goodyear. Charles was insanely crazy about rubber which was unusable because it became fragile in cold weather and melted in hot weather. For 10 years Charles (no scientist) tinkered with the stuff rather than work at a real job while 6 of his 12 children died from poverty related diseases. But at last he stumbled on the secret to vulcanizing and patented his idea. So he made millions, right? No, he died $190,000 in debt because although thousands of new items were being produced yearly with his name stamped on them, he wasn't being paid a fraction of the royalties due and any money he was paid ended up being plowed back into research (look! a rubber suit! with rubber buttons!)
After his death when congress was asked by the family to renew the patent they refused because it was commonly believed he had made tens of millions. The Goodyear Company was started up many years later to profit on the well recognized link between Goodyear and Rubber but not one penny ever went to the family.
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