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Post by bulaklak on Mar 15, 2006 22:03:52 GMT -5
Have you read any good books recently? Offer up your favorites. Any Topic/Genre Summary Comments/ reactions No spoilers please Here is my contribution: American Son by Brian Ascalon Roley (2001) The book is about two brothers who were born in the Philippines and grew up in California. Their mother is Filipina and their father is a white military officer. Their parents separate and their mother brings them to the United States for a better life. Tomas is the older brother who emulates a Mexican gang member raising vicious guard dogs to sell to wealthy people. Gabe is the "good" son who stays at home and helps his mom with chores but deep down he is ashamed of his mother. American Son is a very dark book that gives us a glimpse of the unpleasant side of the mixed race experience. The book deals with the American dream, assimilation, self-hatred, poverty, racism, stereotypes... etc. I found it very interesting. I have to get my brother to read it! He went through a phase where he pretended to be Mexican. It's also a fast paced, quick read. You won’t get bored. The author is Filipino/Caucasian.
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Post by ConceptDesign on Mar 15, 2006 22:29:44 GMT -5
George Orwell's "1984"
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Post by ineffable on Mar 15, 2006 22:54:09 GMT -5
Mmm George Orwell. I also like Huxley. But anyway, I reccomend Prey by Michael Crichton, or really any books by him (he wrote Timeline, Jurassic Park, ect...). Also Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, and theres a bunch of sequels and whatnot I have yet to read... Also, down w/ Harry Potter!
-Brandon
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Post by azalune on Mar 15, 2006 23:19:11 GMT -5
^^^ I recently picked up a hardcover edition of Jurassic Park. I loved that book when I was a kid.
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Post by supersonic74 on Mar 16, 2006 0:00:00 GMT -5
I have read a book called "Out of mind" by J. Bernlef..its from a dutch writer..a very good book..different...yet gripping..it has a creepy feeling when you get sucked into the story..you really forget things like the character of the book summary This is the first person narrative of Maarten, a seventy-one year old man who is experiencing a rapidly progressive loss of intellectual function. It is a harrowing yet poetic account of mental deterioration, revealed in an on-going chronicle of daily life and disjointed memories. The reader experiences what Maarten experiences, not only through descriptions of what life is like, but through the sequencing of thoughts and actions. At first Maarten is just aware of being uneasy and anxious, "this feeling of being absent while being fully conscious" and he knows, from the comments of his wife, that he must be behaving absent-mindedly. His hold on familiar certainties becomes shaky--he's not sure of how the rooms in his house are arranged. His wife, Vera, is his anchor and he realizes that his behavior has become deeply disturbing to her, as well as incomprehensible to himself. As Maarten becomes increasingly forgetful and unable to function, Vera is alternately worried, exasperated, and profoundly understanding. Finally, Maarten is institutionalized--his thoughts disintegrate--yet we know from his observations of "the utterly moronic community" that he still has some awareness of what is happening. Although he no longer recognizes his wife, he listens to "a woman" whisper that "the spring is almost beginning . . . ."
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Post by penguinopolipitese on Mar 16, 2006 0:28:40 GMT -5
well, I'm reading steve martin's "shopgirl" as I write this... or I was anyway. It's quite good so far. Introspective. I never would have thought the man so keen an observationist. But on the downside, I see myself in one of the characters and it's extermely depressing. Like going through the day thinking you looked good, only to catch a glimpse of yourself in a mirror, disheveled and gangly.
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Post by jenming on Mar 16, 2006 4:09:48 GMT -5
^ steve martin is a pretty good playwright, too. "picasso at the lapin agile" is a really enjoyable play.
I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's "Haunted" right now.
I read "V for Vendetta" a while ago. it was one of the most amazing novels i've read in years. Better writing than almost any regular novel. Alan Moore. man. everyone should read it before they see the movie.
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynmann" - a book by a nobel-prize winning physisict who worked on the manhattan project, and who is as brilliant as anyone i think i've ever read before, and who's damned funny. He's kind of full of himself and his brilliance, but he's one of the few people who really deserves to be.
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Post by Pocky Monster on Mar 16, 2006 5:37:01 GMT -5
I recently finished Michael Crichton's State of Fear. I enjoyed it along with some qualms. The characters seem to get themselves into impossible feats and still manage to live. Like being struck by lightening.. Except for one but he was a disposable asshole. I wonder if all his books have this same theme? Jurassic Park was a bit more believable.
It's also a bit controversial. If you believe in global warming full-heartedly you'd probably toss it in the trash within minutes. A lot of his references he backs up with graphs, data, quotes. Unless you research these for yourself you'd have take his word for them. But for a reader like myself who was just looking to enjoy the book for what it is, I'd recommend it.
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Post by Pocky Monster on Mar 16, 2006 5:43:56 GMT -5
The next read my sister recommended: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy InactionFrom Publishers WeeklyCheeky, irreverent and playfully ingenuous, this abbreviated history of democracy is everything one would expect from the writers of Comedy Central's fake news program, which recently (and somewhat scandalously) won the Television Critics Association's award for outstanding news and public affairs series. The book is laid out like a textbook, with "Discussion Questions" ("Why do you think the Framers made the Constitution so soul-crushingly boring?"), "Classroom Activities" ("Using felt and yarn, make a hand puppet of Clarence Thomas. Ta-da! You're Antonin Scalia!") and plenty of amusing graphics, including a board game that resembles the game Life but which follows a presidential term: "Optimistic press release on economy ineffective. Spin again." No one evades the authors' scrutiny, not even the Pilgrims, who came to America "to escape religious persecution... create a society where they could worship as they pleased and one day, God willing, even do some persecuting of their own." The media fares the worst, however. An entire chapter is devoted to telling the "inspirational" story of how the media "transformed itself from a mere public necessity into an entertaining profit center for ever-expanding corporate empires." But if this and other criticisms kindle a few unpatriotic feelings, a section describing how worse off the rest of the world is should buoy spirits. From its dedication ("To the huddled masses—Keep yearnin'!") to its final chapter, which lampoons the 2004 presidential candidates, this humorous sendup of American politics never fails to entertain, poke fun and provoke thought.
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Post by Altan on Mar 16, 2006 15:26:43 GMT -5
If you're a Californian! "Poisonous Plants Of California" Forget the author but it will be reprinted by UCBerkeley Press next June/July! Need to reserve my copy!
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Post by jonjon on Mar 16, 2006 17:07:22 GMT -5
Ron McClarty's The Memory of Running. Absolutely awesome book, central character similar to Forrest Gump. Bsically a down and out man goes on a huge cycle across America to rediscover his past and present. Class.
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Post by penguinopolipitese on Mar 16, 2006 17:16:09 GMT -5
I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's "Haunted" right now. jenming, are you a Palahniuk fan? I also recommend Survivor if you hadn't read it already. I reckon its his best novel. That's the second time I've heard someone say that...or write it. I will have to read that one. Or possibly have it read to me.
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Post by nazinji on Mar 18, 2006 8:03:57 GMT -5
of love & other demons - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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Post by angel on Mar 18, 2006 18:14:45 GMT -5
My favourite books are the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series by Douglas Adams - brilliant, thought-provoking and absolutely hilarious. I also love White Teeth by Zadie Smith.
At the moment I'm reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, after watching the Capote film. Cree-py. Makes you feel scared in your own home.
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Post by nazinji on Mar 18, 2006 18:33:03 GMT -5
I second 'In Cold Blood' & Zadie Smith. not least b/c The latter grew up not far from my old haunting grounds.
I just read south of the border, west of the sun by Haruki Murakami. I'd pretty much recommend anything by Him.
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