For those who liked Eco, and in particular The Name of the Rose, check out the short stories by Jorge Luis Borges. You can find a pretty good compilation in a paperback called "Labyrinths." The stuff will blow your mind: the stories are elegantly crafted riddles, sometimes mathematical, sometimes philosophical, sometimes contemplative of the infinite, always fascinating. Borges is clearly a key source of influence for Eco. Just finished a two-year MFA program in Fiction where we read all kinds of great stuff. Vocationally, the degree is a waste. But it was lots of fun: part of the curriculum was to read a novel every week. Some recommendations: If you're in a mood for dark, dark nihlism (but funny, though) -- Celine's "Journey to the End of the Night." Philip Roth's "American Pastoral" and "Sabbath's Theatre." The first is a quiet but moving domestic tragedy, the second is a savagely funny drama--a novel about the unraveling of a sex-cravet puppeter. Really. Yes, it's overhyped, but Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" is wildly entertaining. If you grew up anytime after 1950, trust me, you'll relate to it. Tells the story of a family through the eyes of the mother, father, and three siblings. The parents are old and the siblings are in their twenties and thirties. Generational values collide and general hilarity ensues. It's also surprisingly moving. Switching gears, check out the short stories by Hemmingway. They're less well-known than his novels, but for my money they're better. Specifically, the anthology called "In Our Time" just kicks all kinds of ass: terrible, gut-wrenching stories told with the most calm narration---really amazing how he evokes so much emotion with the scarcest of narrative tricks or description. Ditto for any of Chekhov's short stories. Great call on 100 Year of Solitude, Supermac34 --- Love in the Time of Cholera is also excellent. For those who liked Unbearable Lightness of Being ---- I think one of Kundera's other books -- "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting" -- is even better. (Although I liked Lightness a great deal, too). For a beach read, check out, ahem, Alex Garland's "The Beach." Much, much better than that awful Leonoardo movie. Any short story by Raymond Carver. They're the easiest to read stories you've ever seen--just plain, simple English--but each one brims with gut-wrenching emotional honesty. Carver dissects a wilting marriage like no one else. (Serious. In a Carver story, the husband can just set down his beer on the table, and by the way he sets the beer down, somehow you have this terrible sense of how awful the marriage is.) If you're really in the mood for something dark . . . and this is as bleak as it comes . . . Beckett's trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies, and the Unnamable. This is the only thing I read that truly, truly terrified me. It has the existential angst of Kundera without the tinge of optomism. I'm realizing this post is too long, and if I don't show some restraint, it could go on 10 more pages. So I'll stop. Before I do, though, here's the best book you've never heard of: "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates. Written forty years ago, the book feels timeless-- The hero is a man who feels trapped in his marriage, his middle-manager job, and his overall place in society. He looks at his children playing in the front yard and he fights back a vague feeling of disgust. Oh, and one more for the road -- an oldie but goodie, by Samuel Johnson -- "The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia" (Actually, I don't really recommend this, but for a weird reason it is my favorite book of all time, and I couldn't resist the temptation for a self shout-out. Sorry!) [phew] Apologies for the waste of bandwith. Back to the search for Lindsay nipple!
For a little non-fiction love, try any of these books by the great Mark Kurlansky "Salt: A World History" (truly fascinanting..no kidding!) "The Basque History of the World" and his book about 1968 that I am currently reading is superb.
For those who can handle some humor with their religion: Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Jesus's Childhood Pal. great book And I also recommend Ghost Soldiers....I read that while I was in Manila this winter. Great book.
I second (or third) the Umberto Ecco books. A few from my youth... The Plague by Albert Camus Hiroshima by John Hersey Siddhartha by Herman Hesse Catch 22 by Joseph Heller One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Fighting the Mafia and Renewing Sicilian Culture * by Leoluca Orlando boy wonder * by Robert James Baker Stone Junction: An Alchemical Potboiler * by Jim Dodge Water Music (The Penguin Contemporary American Fiction Series) * by T. Coraghessan Boyle
The fifth book is terribly overrated. Who really cared that ***** dies? Yawn. Shoulda killed off Ron, that woulda been ballsy!!!!
im still waiting for the newest harry to come out on paperback. its been so long since i have read those im gonna have to refresh.
anyone still reading raymond carver? god i love his stuff. a quick read concerning my idol: Feynman's Rainbow by Mlodinow Dick Feynman was an incredible human being (even without his professional accomplishments) AND: Zorba the Greek one of those books that, if my memory were better, i would quote constantly
I just finished all the Dennis LeHane detective novels. Really fun reads, and I usually don't like mysteries very much.
Yeah. Big Carver fan. Hey, dugtzu, if you haven't already, check out the short stories by Richard Yates. Any fan of Carver will appreciate them. They're crazy good. Here's a link to the reviews from Amazon . . . http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312420811/qid=1085241662/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1668468-0745421?v=glance&s=books
Agreed, and I even work at Scholastic Corp (the publisher for Harry Potter). Sorry, but Rowling can't write.
Has anyone read the book Fast Food Nation? I have to read that book over the summer and write a paper over it, its a requirement for the college I am going to.
yes i have read fast food nation. thought it was a good book. but the first half is definately better then the last.
well i think "fast food" is a mundane topic for an average person. especially a whole book about the subject. but really it just shows how big of an impact it has on our world now. there actually is a new film, or documentary on the subject also that sounds good called Super Size Me. i saw a flyer on it and it won quite a few awards.
The Zombie Survival Guide is my toilet reading book in my guest bathroom!!!! Hillarious book. Makes me want to play Resident Evil.
