Excellent choices. especially on Kite Runner. I haven't read it yet, but for everybody, i recommend this book.
I read Gore Vidal's 'Creation' about a year ago and yeah, it goes from Zoroastrianism to buddah to Confucious and touches on much more before after and in between. As fascinating as all that is, Vidal's characters and adventures that place them in the company of those like Confucious are what make this book cook. It starts a little slow but hang in there as it soars away, and after 800+ pages, you only wish there was a part two. Plus, you probably got at least a little smarter about this world around us, if only by accident. I'm a BIG Vidal fan and would also HIGHLY recommend 'Julian'. Another book fascinating in it's interpretation of a historical legend and his last ditch attempt to temper christianity, conquer Persia and deal with his unexpected rise to emperor; but more important to most readers will be the way it draws you in with the diary like style it's written of the Emperor Julian's reign. It reads like a great adventure and considering the subject matter, never seems stuffy or preachy or overly opinionated. IMHO, like Graves' I Claudius, Julian is a must read for anyone even remotely interested in Rome's golden era.
I'm bummed. I was in Texas at a rally for the Kinkster and they all kinds of things, but not one of them was a talking action figure. I need to get one of those.
Done...what did you think? I felt the ending was too rushed and, even though the Aunt's interpretation of why and how it all went down was extremely interesting, I wish Roth would've actually told us why and how that came to be. I love fictional books with real-life characters. Before getting to the postscripts at the end, I had no idea Lindbergh really gave multiple speeches like that.
Yes. I am now in the China part of the book. The protagonist has just meet Confucious. I have learned a lot of ancient history. The cultures of Persia, Greece, India and China are compared and contrasted. The amount of research that Vidal had to do for this book is stunning.
I just picked up One Billion Customers : Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China.. I havent started it yet, but from what I hear it's good..
Books of the year 2005 Peerless pages Dec 8th 2005 From The Economist print edition Biography, history, politics, science, business or purely imaginative fiction—there is something for everyone in this round-up of the year's best books http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5278132
Life of Pi - Yan Martell finished...great read Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs just finished....wierd, but good A Million Little Pieces - James Frey still reading
Dry isn't nearly as good. They're making a movie out of this book, too. Maybe the first book that made me gag a couple of times. I've never had to go through rehab for anything and that book will probably help keep it that way.
I agree about AFFC. I am reading it now. It isn't as good as the others, and I realize that it is only half of the book it was going to be. I am still enjoying it, but not quite as much as the others.
The next book, A Dance with Dragons should pretty much kick ass though. It has all of my favorite POVs; Tyrion, Dany, Jon, Bran and a couple more Arya chapters. I'm pretty sure when all is said and done, AFFC will be the least out of the entire series.
Just Finished What's the Matter with Kansas? Starting Uncle Tom's Cabin In Progress at Ohio State ( I am in Houston so I cannot read it ) Anna Karenina
Just finished Spehere by Michael Crichton. Far better than the lame ass movie with Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Sam Jackson. Far better. Started reading Prey next, but couldn't get into it enough before it was due back at the library.
