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Topic: books I should put on my Christmas list
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Jared
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 803
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posted 05 December 2002 04:06 AM
Local writer Grant Buday's novel "White Lung" is fantastically poignant in terms of chronicling the feelings of tedium and displacement that come with working graveyard shifts. Also tackles the contemporary scenario of plants packing up and moving south in the wake of NAFTA. Bonus: much of the action (it's set in Van) takes place scant blocks from my apartment. Well, bonus for me, though the rest of you could give a shit.Irvine Welsh's "Porno" is recommended for those who like their humour black, nihlistic, and, well, Irvine Welshian. It's been called a sequel to "Trainspotting," although characters from his last novel "Glue" also figure prominently in the action. Just wrapped up Hitchen's "The Trial of Henry Kissinger." What an awful man. A solid, quick read for the politicos on your list. Also, "The Zapatista Reader," (edited by Tom Hayden) overlaps some in terms of it's material. However, it's worth it alone for the treasure trove of Marcos' collected writings, as well as quality essays penned by reputable secondary sources. [ December 05, 2002: Message edited by: Jared ]
From: Vancouver | Registered: Jun 2001
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skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478
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posted 05 December 2002 12:07 PM
Some people may already have read John Bayley's memoirs of his life with Iris Murdoch, especially their life during the years she had Alzheimer disease. I know that Bayley's Englishness, or his Oxford-tweediness, can be a barrier to some people. The extent to which he managed to keep their life unmedicalized, simple and domestic, though, has touched many, I think, and given them courage to attempt the same thing.I have just read (in the NYReview of Books, 26 Sept) of an even more striking book about Alzheimer's: Losing My Mind, by the American writer Thomas DeBaggio, who was writing through the early stages of his own disease and attempting to grasp not only what was happening to his own memory but what memory and mind are for all of us. As the reviewer says, beyond the fear of Alzheimer's, there is in the disease and in the reflections it inspires something about human experience itself to be grasped, and this book sounds as though -- well, as though it has that kind of grasp.
From: gone | Registered: May 2001
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Woodnymph
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3118
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posted 15 December 2002 08:21 PM
I've read so many good books this year, I don't know where to start...The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) - beautiful, moving, story about strong women in biblical times. Generica (Will Ferguson) - especially good fiction for those that love to read fiction. Guns, Germs and Steel (Jared Diamond) - for someone who wants to see a different way to look at the world and its issues. But why not go to a bookstore (used or independent of course) and browse with the person in mind? I find that the appropriate titles often end up in your hands...
From: A little island on a big ocean | Registered: Sep 2002
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Tommy_Paine
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 214
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posted 15 December 2002 09:14 PM
I'm not one for current releases usually. So my choices might be a bit dusty.Both "Creation" and "Julian" by Gore Vidal are great books. The first is set about 500 BCE, and is a great primer on world religions, and a truer version of Greek history at the time of it's struggles with Darius and Xerxes. Perhaps Vidal's best. "Julian" is great. Set about 350 A.D., it chronicles the short riegn of Rome's last Pagan Emporer, "Julian the Apostate." You can smell the blood and dust before the gates of Ctesiphan. Never over look the classics. Voltaire's "Candide" is still a good read. As is Mackay's "Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds." Of course, I like Carl Sagan, and would recomend "Demon Haunted World" or maybe "Bocca's Brain" as good starting points. More will come to me later, no doubt. Christopher ? "Goodbye to Berlin". I'll remember the last name later, I always forget. Anyway, probably the best bit o' writin' from the 1930's, and an interesting view of Berlin during the pre war Nazi years. So precient, it's frightening.
From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001
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TommyPaineatWork
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2956
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posted 15 December 2002 11:41 PM
Isherwood. Christopher Isherwood wrote "Goodbye to Berlin."For ripping yarns, look no further than Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth." But, after you enjoy this story of the building of a 14th Century Welsh Cathedral, don't look to other Follet books to entertain even 10% as well. Along these lines, Gary Jennings' "Aztec" is a must, and if you like this, then "The Journeyor" and "Raptor" are also good reads. "Spangle" is also there if you didn't get your fill. For Canadiana, Berton never fails, and I'd say anyone on the left should probably read "The Great Depression," but "Vimy" is probably his best, and it leads nicely into Farley Mowat's "And No Birds Sang." Mowat's "Sea of Slaughter" is also an important read. Another book that might be interesting is Ray Frazakas' "The Donelly Album." If you studied the Donelly saga via the Orlo Miller or Kelly books, this one sets the record straight, and is the most informative and accurate history. In biographies you might try du Plessix-Gray's "At Home with the Marquis de Sade." A comprehensive and entertaining read about de Sade and his times. (1750 something to 1814, if memory serves) [ December 15, 2002: Message edited by: TommyPaineatWork ]
From: London | Registered: Aug 2002
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Trinitty
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 826
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posted 16 December 2002 04:01 PM
I tried reading Pillars of the Earth, but I didn't like Follet's tone. He was preoccupied with womens bodies, and violations thereof, IMO. Perhaps it got better, but, I can't handle much of that.I recommend The Handmaids Tale to anyone who hasn't read it already. AND, if you don't have the set yet, I STRONGLY recommend the Lord of the Rings, it wasn't named best fiction of the century for nothing! It's a masterpiece.... takes you into an intricate, deep world. He is a master of language, and he took three decades to write it.... and one can tell!!!Wonderful to read over the Christmas break.
From: Europa | Registered: Jun 2001
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shelby9
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2193
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posted 16 December 2002 04:59 PM
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.Warning: If you lean to the left politically, you may not agree with the premise of this tale. But it is a great story. I loved Pillars of the Earth! However, it did take me a long time to read it! Night Over Water, also by Ken Follett. Very good story. Very lengthy novel for a time frame of about 3 days. But a worthy read. [ December 16, 2002: Message edited by: shelby9 ]
From: Edmonton, AB | Registered: Feb 2002
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Tommy_Paine
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 214
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posted 16 December 2002 07:07 PM
quote:
I tried reading Pillars of the Earth, but I didn't like Follet's tone. He was preoccupied with womens bodies, and violations thereof, IMO. Perhaps it got better, but, I can't handle much of that.
Well, it's hard to create bad guys without them doing bad things. And, as disturbing as it may be, it's probably not too far removed from what women faced in those days. In examining laws laid down by Alfred the Great about 500 years earlier, we do find that rape was a crime. Whether one against person or property wasn't clear. I suspect the later. Be that as it may, you're quite entitled to feel that way. That being so, Trin, stay away from anything written by Gary Jennings. [ December 16, 2002: Message edited by: Tommy_Paine ]
From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001
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