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Welcome to the Exploding Garrmondo Weiner Interactive Swiss Army Penis. |
GFF is a community of gaming and music enthusiasts. We have a team of dedicated moderators, constant member-organized activities, and plenty of custom features, including our unique journal system. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ or our GFWiki. You will have to register before you can post. Membership is completely free (and gets rid of the pesky advertisement unit underneath this message).
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This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it. |
I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
I just JUST got Eats, Shoots, & Leaves in the mail today and am about to read it after I click 'Post Quick Reply." Being the grammar Nazi that I am, I expect to find this book immensely enjoyable (as it deals with such grammatical and punctuation issues in the English language).
I was speaking idiomatically. |
Jem is my name, bitch! |
<3 Amy Tan. Most of her other stuff is really awesome, too. I haven't read her newest book yet, though. I'm currently reading all the Blue Monday TPBs by Chynna Clugston-Major, except for Painted Moon, which I don't have yet. I read these at the beginning of every summer, just about. They're so cheerful. I just finished reading Night, by Eliezar Wiesel, which I picked up for a buck at a used book store, and Obasan, by Joy Kogawa. Both despressing WW2 books, but very worth the time. Night is especially short and minimalist. Extremely powerful. What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now? |
I'm reading a book called Duel in the Sun, by John Brant. It's about the '82 Boston Marathon. If you're not into running, it probably wouldn't be as interesting, but I think it's a good book so far. FELIPE NO |
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings
by Edgar Allan Poe I've only read some short stories by Poe in school, but lately, I've been reading alot of horror themed books and I'm really starting to like it alot. My sister recommended this one and she even bought me this copy, along with H.P. Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu (can't wait to get my hands on this one, from what I've read about it and some excerpts, it seems very interesting). So far, Poe's writings have proven to be more than I expected. For the first time I ever, I feel like I've found my "genre". What, you don't want my bikini-clad body? |
Chocobo |
I'm reading "A Lesson Before Dying" for school now, "Armed Madhouse" by Greg Palast, and the newest book by Robert Fisk, "History of Civilsation in the Middle East." Jam it back in, in the dark. |
Having recently reread Anchee Min's Red Azalea and finished another title of hers, Becoming Madame Mao, I took an interest in communism and Mao Tse-Tung. I've a copy of Mao's Selected Military Writings of Mao Tse-Tung from my East Asian Military Traditions class so I've been reading selected passages here and there. It's a rather tedious read, as you can imagine, and I much prefer Sun Tzu's The Art of War, but once you cut through Mao's ego it's not too bad.
For lighter fare I keep my copy of Golding's Lord of the Flies at work for slow lunches and Anchee Min's Wild Ginger on my nightstand. Oh, and assorted manga, too. There's nowhere I can't reach. |
This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it. |
I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
blue |
I just finished reading The Ditchdigger's Daughters. It's a biography about a poor black family--with 5 girls--whose father wants them all to be doctors. They work extremely hard (despite having many doors closed to them because of their race--but their father insists that they only use that as an excuse to try harder) and all become very successful women.
It was a very interesting read, and addressed racism in a unique way. The main character (the middle daughter) describes it like the frog whose leg is tied down because scientests want to see how long it will take it to atrophy, but it ends up being the strongest leg because he struggles against the rope for so long. Most amazing jew boots |
During my enormous flight delay home I picked up the Perfect Dark Zero novel, Initial Vector. I finally had time yesterday to sit down a read some of it.
At first glance it's very technologically detailed in explaining situations. The story is so far is a bit scattered. The exposition has always been my least favorite part of books. I'm hopeful that it won't disappoint. There will be a sequel to this book released in August so I'm guessing it might be a bit of a cliffhanger. What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now? |
At this point I'd like to bring up my hatred of the classics. I think it's no wonder that today's schoolchildren don't enjoy reading, when they're forced to read such droll and unbelievably boring titles. We did read a few great books (such as Night, which I loved), but for the most part I hated school-assigned reading, and I love to read.
My least favorite books, that I would not use for anything other than wiping my ass: - The Scarlet Letter - Great Expectations - The Grapes of Wrath I'm sure they were more but I've forgotten them, which is really no surprise since these books were dull, depressing, and totally lacked any vision other than encyclopedically cataloguing melodramatic human misery. I hate Charles Dickens beyond words - he specialized in this genre. FELIPE NO |
There are plenty of 'classics' that I thought were good reads. In fact, that's the reason I took AP World Lit. in high school (not that I couldn't have read the books outside of school, but I figured I might as well get credit for reading them ). I mean, these were 'required reading' for me when I was young, and I enjoyed them then and now:
- Anything by Edgar A. Poe - Jane Eyre - Wuthering Heights [yes, it's completely depressing, but still is a good book] - Ender's Game - Brave New World - Dante's Inferno - Watership Down Also, I did not have to read the Grapes of Wrath (argh I hate John Steinbeck) or anything by Dickens. It seems that writings about human misery are almost guaranteed to be lauded 'the best book ever' and are bestsellers, like Frank McCort's Angela's Ashes. I have no idea why this is, because I really don't like to be depressed by my entertainment. But whatever -- my grandma likes that kind of stuff, so maybe it's the old people that dictate this. There are other classics that I think should be read in American schools (ie: The Master and Margarita or the Gormenghast novels), but they're not. How ya doing, buddy?
Last edited by Arkhangelsk; Jul 19, 2006 at 01:25 PM.
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I just finished reading An Apology of Mathematics (actually, I read it in a day) by GH Hardy.
Now I'm reading Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh. It's rather un-technical, but I guess that's okay since I'm only an A-level (end of high school) student anyway. It's more of a story book about how Andrew Wiles solved it, and the origins and relatives of the theorem itself (The theorem goes something like "For integers x, y, z, n, x^n+y^n=z^n will never be true for n>2"). I'm gonna read some infinity book, after, and possibly Hawking's A Brief History of Time. Because I am just the apex of cool. Well. Naw, I'm gonna have some interviews for university soon, so I want to look like I'm a well read character, who reads as well as counts. Jam it back in, in the dark. By any other name, would smell as sweet.
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Okay, I guess I only meant certain classes. I never got to read any of the good ones. Several you listed I KNOW are good books. And I love depressing things, it's just that the protagonist has to be someone that I can actually feel for instead of wishing them a slow and painful death.
There's nowhere I can't reach. |
Just picked up a new copy of Lords of Chaos: History of BM. I've owned 2 different copies in the past, but i've loaned them out to people, before i've ever gotten the chance to read it and never got the loaned copies back.
This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it. |
I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
Started House of Leaves a few days ago. Man it's weird. It was suggested to me by many of my friends. Unfortunatly i can't give a good description on what it's about but it's about a man who buys a house that's bigger on the inside than on the outside, and weird shit starts happening in this labyrinth type deal he finds in his house.
It seems to be a written documentary about this thing, it's really interesting. Has anyone else read this? They'd probably be able to give a better idea as to what it's about. I was speaking idiomatically. |
Hell's Angels - HST. Interesting read albeit a bit slow in parts.
What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now? |
I just finished this book. Great commentary on the media. I was thinking picking up Thompson's Rum Diary, but I started on One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest instead. FELIPE NO
I STAND UP NEXT TO A MOUNTAIN...
... AND I CHOP IT DOWN WITH THE EDGE OF MY HAND |
Just started A Closed Eye by Anita Brookner. Her writing definitely brings to mind Henry James (and apparently Jane Austen, though I've never read anything of hers), with loads of great insight into the minds of the characters.
What, you don't want my bikini-clad body? |
Delicious Red |
A while ago, I started reading War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, and I made a bet with my sister that I would finish it before I started reading anything else. Good news is that I've kept my end of the bet and I'm relatively close to finishing the book. Bad news is that I made that bet over a year ago.
I'm not a slow reader, but during the school year I simply have no time to read. Maybe I'll get through a chapter a night, but the book has 20-30 chapters per book (the novel War and Peace is comprised of 15 'books' and 2 epilogues). Take that times 17 and it'll take me like a year and a half to finish the book. But anyway, I've only had time to read on the weekends, and I've always had something better to do. I'm more interested in the book now, so I'm taking time during the day and reading a few chapters at a time during my lunch break, but I still have almost two hundred chapters to go. >_>; It's one hell of a book, but I really love it. I am very, very glad I decided to sit down and read it (and stick with it, at that). Next up, The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment, by Dostoyevsky. (Well, maybe C&P can wait, since it's ridiculously huge as well. I need to start diversifying, or all of this 19th century Russia will be the end of me. ;_;) Most amazing jew boots |
I found an old copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People so I gave that a quick read.
I'll be traveling soon so I'll have to pick up something. Actually I'll probably just do crossword puzzles, but I'd like to read a book for a change. I'd love to finish Pynchon's V., which I did get about 2/3 through back in high school, but at this point I'd have to start from the beginning for what would be the third or fourth time. Maybe I'll try Gravity's Rainbow instead--I think I have a copy somewhere.
How ya doing, buddy?
Last edited by Will; Jul 28, 2006 at 11:39 PM.
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I'm now working on the Bhagavad-Gita. I finished the books I was reading before but I'm not starting any new ones, I'm too busy right now.
Books I wish I'd had to read in school: Catch-22, Fahrenheit 451, Ender's Game, since everyone says they're good. I'll probably never get around to them now though. Most amazing jew boots |