Nov
18
I did something I hate doing. I put a book down and I don’t plan on picking it up again. Ever. Wait, it gets worse. What could possibly make it worse, you ask? It’s a Star Wars book. I know! Star Wars: Millennium Falcon to be more precise. It just wasn’t good! I got about halfway through and I hate to say it, but I just wasn’t enjoying it. The thing about me, is that I like things big. Say what? I like reading stories that are epic in scope. And when I read Star Wars books I want good versus evil, galaxy-ending stakes, that span over a series of books, with cliffhangers and battles galore!
What is Star Wars: Millennium Falcon about then? It’s a standalone adventure where Han and Leia investigate the history of the Millennium Falcon, which it turns out is a key to finding a hidden treasure. Really? Is that really the case? And they never found the clues that have been hidden on the Falcon until now? Lame. And the story is just filling in a lot of backstory about who piloted the Falcon before Han. But who wants to know all that? It takes away from the mystique of Han and his ship. According to this book, he’d only owned it for five years before meeting Luke and Obi-Wan. Who wants to know that?
So I made the tough decision to put it down. I told myself I was just going to read something else for the time being, and then go back to it, but I know that’ll never happen. Now I’m reading Hero, which was a pretty big deal about a year ago and everyone was talking about it, but as usual I’m late to the party. But I read the other day that Showtime is turning it into a series, so that’s pretty cool. The book is about a gay high school student who discovers he’s a superhero. I’m just two chapters in, but I love it already. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a gay protagonist before (unless you count David Sedaris, but that’s non-fiction). I didn’t realize what a difference it would make, but it’s really quite refreshing. I may never go back to breeder books ever again! Kidding.
So what was the last book you stopped reading halfway through because it was so awful?
November 18th, 2008 at 5:56 am
I don’t remember the names, but there have been several recently. I’ve gotten pretty good at putting down books if they don’t interest me part of the way through. The worst is a book that’s JUST good enough to keep me going, but then never actually justifies it so that I feel grumpy at the end, like I completely wasted my time. Bleh.
Right now I’m reading “Home” by Marilyn Robison and also “Twilight”. I really like both, but Twilight is the one that has most of my attention right now.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:41 am
I do love “Hero.” Maybe I’ll start rereading it.
The last book I quit halfway through was called “The Town that Forgot how to Breathe.” It was a sci-fi book about a fishing town in Canada where people were dying because… wait for it… they forgot… wait for it… how to breathe. It was terrible and convoluted and there was something about a psychic little girl who smelled like dead fish. Ugh!
November 18th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I love Stephen King. I read my first King novel when I was just a tyke — probably way too young really. “The Stand” is possibly the most brilliant American novel ever written. However, quite possibly the worst book I’ve read anywhere was a King’s “Lisey’s Story.” Made it through about a third of it and just couldn’t take it anymore. It was going nowhere. And it was boring. And the character development — usually his strong point — was total snail’s pace. Ugh.
I’m currently not reading anything due to my busy schedule, though I just finished rereading the “Watchmen” graphic novel to prep for all the movie hoopla. It’s funny to remember how groundbreaking it was back in the 80’s, but is total ho-hum now.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Good for you. Life is too short to spend time finishing a book you’re not enjoying. Once I get a few chapters into something and discover I’m not enjoying it, I think of all the books on my TBR pile and how one of them is almost certain to give me more pleasure than what I’m currently reading. Makes jettisoning it much easier.
I’m contractually bound not to discuss the last thing I read that made me toss it across the room out of frustration. But I can say that HERO is good and you should keep at it. Then, if you’re in the mood for some fantasy, give THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND a try. Not a gay protagonist but told from the POV of a djinn with a sense of humor just wicked enough to suggest he might bat for our team.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:53 am
The last book I didn’t finish was The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams. I loved Watership Down, but I couldn’t get into the Plague Dogs. I made it more than half way through, but he last quarter was an act of tenacity rather than actual interest.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:53 am
I have only ever put down 2 books in my entire life. The second one was just a few months ago, but I have no idea what it was called or what is was about, I just remember it was horrible. I can read pretty much anything, so it has to be a real piece of crap for me not to finish it.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:57 am
in response to Dave S. - I also agree 100% with you on Stephen King - I’ve read just about every book (except Carrie - had just seen the movie too many times to really enjoy the book). I started Lisey’s Story and it took about a year to get through it, because I kept putting it down. It was super slow, it picked up a little in the middle, and the end was “eh.” I think what got me was the baby-talk all the characters insisted on using. But the part where the guy used a can-opener on Lisey as torture was pretty cool - just because it’s something I hadn’t heard of before.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Anything by Tollkien. Also, the books that True Blood are based on, but I might go back and give those another chance.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Lordy, too many books to count. If you haven’t caught me in the first couple of chapters, you lose. And I really have to grit my teeth to get through anything written in first person. There is only one series by Jeaniene Frost that I love in first person and its because you don’t notice it. I just like to get perspective from all the characters not just one. I read alot though, I read about 15-20 books on my 3 week vacation so when you read that much there are bound to be lots which fall by the wayside. Too many good ones to slog through the crap.
If you are looking for a book with a gay hero Craig I highly recommend Tanya Huff’s Smoke series. She’s Canadian and its set in Vancouver where her main protaganist Tony is gay (with a vampire ex-lover - but don’t let that put you off). Its really funny and snarky and is considered urban fiction I guess, lots of fighting demons, wizards and ghosts but in a fun way that isn’t too dark, plus dealing with Tony and Henry’s friendship after they split, Tony’s mad crush on his TV star coworker, lots of wacky secondary characters. Anyway, there are three books (I’m hoping for a 4th). I’ve read them over and over because I just love the characters and the writing style. My recommendation of the day. 2 thumbs up.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I have to say the book I couldn’t get though was Two towers. I read the hobbit when I was about 15 and loved it. I tried to go back and read the LOTR trilogy and only got though half of it. I know I should have my geek card revoked but I just can’t stand Tolken. And I think
And Hero looks interesting so I am going to have to hurry up and finish Papertowns and Alice in Wonderland so I can go read it.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:15 am
The last book I didn’t finish was Missisippi Sissy, which read like a therapy session at a shrink and I didn’t feel compelled enough to suffer through it. I read it for our Gay Book Group in Orlando and all except one voted after the discussion not to recommend it.
I loved Hero when I read it last year and reread it a few times, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you want fantasy with a gay protagonist try Mercedes Lackey’s ‘Last Heral Mage’ trilogy.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Wow - someone else who’s read Tanya Huff! How cool, Tam.
I’d second her recommendation. I read tons of sf, horror and cyberpunk books in the 90’s and many of them had gay protagonists, which was very refreshing. Another great vampire series is the Austra family books by Elaine Bergstrom. Her vampires are fairly classy.
I also remember one of my favorite books/authors being Drawing Blood and Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite. I’m not sure if you would like them or not Craig because they are very heavy on the sex and gore (defintely skip Exquiste Coprse - that I did have to stop midway) . The characters however were great, particulary the warped love story of Trevor and Zach in Drawing Blood.
Those are the ones that first come to mind, I’ll let you know if I remember others.
I don’t read nearly as much as I used to so I usually finish the ones I do start. Right now I’m reading Peyton Manning’s bio after finishing Eli Manning Making of a Quarterback. Yes, I’ve become so obsessed with Football, it’s crept into my reading as well.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Glad to read that I’m not the only one who doesn’t like Tollkien. Midway through 2 towers I started to skip pages and chapters if nothing interesting was happening and the last 60 pages of Return had me deeply depressed.
I haven’t touched a Stephen King book in almost 20 years. I never got through Tommyknockers and that was the last. My favorite of his’ is IT, though, that read like a movie. The Stand (78) was also fab.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Ohhh Michelle. Supernatural AND Tanya Huff? And sexy vampires? Are you my soul mate?Oh, well maybe not so much with the football thing, although I don’t mind football and even had CFL season tickets for a couple of years in my youth. Oh hell, I can deal with football.
Craig: I am taking the Golden Compass with me on my trip, lots of time hanging in airports and flying and on the train so I should have it read and will report back upon my return (or during since I’ll have internet access).
November 18th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Bernd: I’ve never read Tolkien (I keep feeling like I should just because everyone seems to have) but you read like I watched the movies “fast foward” “watch movie” “fast forward” “watch movie”.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:35 am
I love reading Tolkien! Such beautiful writing. And while I love the movies, I kinda hate them for being so darn long and preventing me from watching them more often. Who has 3-4+ hours to sit and watch a movie? Anyone?
Tam: I’m excited to hear what you think of The Golden Compass! Yay!
I’ve never read any Steven King. I need to work on that.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Michelle: Ack! “Drawing Blood” was one of those few books that I didn’t finish! I just couldn’t figure out why Brite wrote the book — it just never seemed to have a point. And the characters were so…I don’t know…unbelievable? Yeah, that’s a good word. Brite never convinced me that the characters could ever live in the real world. It just seemed very self-indulgent to me.
I never picked up another Poppy Z. Brite book. Let me know if I’m missing the boat.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Bernd: Tommyknockers was one that could definitely knock you off the King fence. Not his best by a longshot.
I absolutely loved IT. Great book. I so loved the characters that I didn’t want it to end.
If you get a chance, read Needful Things. Really good.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Craig: Start with King’s “Carrie” or “Salem’s Lot” — both are a quick reads and really really good. Or pick up his first collection of shorts “Night Shift,” which is also a lot of fun.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I tried to read Tolkien, but just couldn’t get through it.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I’m talking to myself again…
November 18th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Yeah, we see that a lot from you Dave S.
And it was SORELY missed last week, I mean, did you LOOK at the comments numbers while you were gone? Seriously?? It was like the Dow Jones…
November 18th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Just to add to the conversation and since my brain is filled with cotton candy today so work is pretty much a write-off, I can’t read scary books. I’m so wimpy. And Stephen King is scary to me. Well, not the man personally, although I think he’s a little freaky. No gore please.
Damn, another freaking headache that even drugs hasn’t staved off this morning.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Ha. I stopped reading Catcher in the Rye after maybe 10 pages. I was being forced to read it in high school and I just couldnt’ get into. I feel it’s important to mention that I have A.D.D. and absolutely no respect for the classics…..
….ok that’s not true. I have some respect for them…..but that doesn’t mean i have to read them.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Craig, who has time to watch those long Lotr movies? I had this summer. On my 11+ hours flight from Israel to Newark they had VOD in coach and I watched all 3 of them. Total bliss, my fastest transcontinental flight ever. But you have a point, I own the extended versions and almost never watch them.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I don’t think I’ve ever put a book down because it’s bad. Even the worst one I’ve read, “Hey, Joe”, I suffered through to see how it ended. I know I’ve put plenty of books down while in the middle of them since things just got too busy to keep reading, King’s IT is one of them, but the intention is there to pick them up again.
Gay protagonists? I love those books! If you want to keep with that theme, I would highly recommend “How I Paid for College” and “Attack of the Theatre People” by Marc Acito; “Boys Like Us” and its sequels by Peter McGehee and “Out of Bounds” by Mike Seabrook.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:51 am
ADD = Another Dating Desaster (yes, I know, it’s from Sex and the city)
November 18th, 2008 at 10:53 am
If we’re talking books we HAD to read, for me in university it was A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. I think I too made it to page 10 and was thankful for class discussions when it came exam time. It sat on my book shelf for probably 5 years with the bookmark still at page 10 until I got rid of it. BORING!
November 18th, 2008 at 10:56 am
But FDot, you don’t have to read the whole book to see how it ends. I am horrible for skipping to the end, reading it, then going back and reading the rest if I think its worth it. That’s bad right? Patience is not one of my virtues I guess.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Tam, why do I think that you watched different parts of the movies, than I would have? Except for their action-sequence I ff through all Arven and Treebeard stuff.
Sorry to hear that you still have your head-ache. Maybe you should head to the next pharmacy and get Tylenol Head & Sinus. You’ll still have your head-ache but will be to spaced out to care.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Count me in as someone who could never make it more than 50 pages in, in any Tolkien novel. I tried as a child and an adult. nope, not for me.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:07 am
On another note a year ago I bought a “serious” novel called the childrens hospital. It was about a second biblical flood and this childrens hospital was the ark and everyone in the hosptital that day survived and the rest of humanity was wiped out. Then the children started getting better and the non sick people started dying. yeah. it was so HORRIBLY DEPRESSING, my boyfriend was finally like, you don’t have to read this you know. so I stopped.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:24 am
On the opposite end of the spectrum. I did recently start reading Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. It’s a whole series and I can’t put them down. Very Very good books and a fun read. I read the first one in a day….I couldn’t put it down.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_the_City
November 18th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Bernd: Yeah yeah yeah. Not enough nudity I tell ya. Battles, schmattles. Who needs em.
I’m serious considering Joe’s recommendation for drugs.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Tam: Honestly if you’re stopped up go get some “Simply Saline” a little nasal lavage will help. It’s horrible while you’re filling your sinuses with saline but after a while it makes you feel so much better.
Daytime Theraflu is also very good without making you too woozy.
but yeah tylenol cold and sinus will make you feel crazy.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Joe: I’m not stuff up yet, I’m afraid that the sneezing this morning may be a sign. But feeling a little crazy would be good right now. Sleeping in this morning and running around like a maniac not to be late didn’t help.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:37 am
The last book I couldn’t finish was Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. I took it out of the library TWICE just to try and finish but I couldn’t. And it’s a bad sign when your not interested in who done it in a mystery novel. It’s really too bad because I love Michael Chabon.
I tend to like Stephen King but The Cell really turned me off of him for a while, I actually groaned while reading it, and they’re suppose to be making a movie of it :/ I hear the Dark Tower series is suppose to be very good.
Read LOTR in my teens and made it through it. I do put it on my favorite book list.
I would recommend The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:43 am
If you want a really different sort of book that also features a gay protagonist, I can highly recommend “A Strong and Sudden Thaw.” You can find it on Amazon.com. It takes place in an America of the future and has some sci-fi/fantasy elements to it.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I can’t put a book down. I feel terrible.
BUT the only time I did it was because of time. I was reading Atlas Shrugged a few summers ago and was LOVING IT, but hundreds of pages in, the school year began and I started reading for school and poor Ayn Rand was ignored.
I loved the book and want to finish the whole thing, but I’ll have to start from the beginning. X |
And speaking of books, I finished Wicked a couple days ago. It was so good!
As for Stephen King, the Dark Tower is the best series EVER and I don’t even like that kind of genre (not really horror… like science fictiony?) but it is BRILLIANT. I’ve read lots of King, but the Dark Tower is his best work. And the comics they’re coming out with now are great too! I think Craig should read this series.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I have to agree with Tam; “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” was crap! I also had to put down Stephen Kings “The Gunslinger” as I couldn’t get in to it.
One series I love is the Night Runner series by Lynn Flewelling; it has gay protagonists and is a great fantasy story (Elves, magic. epic adventure).
I will have to give “Hero” a read, thanks for the tip!
November 18th, 2008 at 11:50 am
THE GUNSLINGER?! That makes me cry. It is the worst of the Dark Tower series (its all intro-like and so short), but you HAVE to get through it so you can realize the awesomeness of the others, ESP. the later ones (Song of Susannah and Wizard and Glass are both amazing, W&G being my fave of the series).
November 18th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Enrico: So glad you liked Wicked. I loved it. I liked that it made you look at things in a different way. The musical not so much, fun but pretty fluffy. Have you ever read the original Wizard of Oz? I picked that up when my daughter was young to read to her and wow, it was a lot more violent and dark then the movie. Better IMO.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:59 am
My Problem in that I just couldn’t connect with the main character, there isn’t enough back story, or even emotion from him for me to care about him or his story. I have been told that I was reading the revised version of the book, perhaps the original was better? If I get enough peer pressure I may pick it up again one day just to say I finished it.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Tam: I haven’t seen the musical but I hear its so different! I did read the original book (the other day in fact) so I could compare Wicked to the original. It is violent at times! Like when the tin woodsman cuts off all the heads of the Wicked Witch’s dogs (which was carried over to Wicked).
I actually have to do a presentation for the class based on the book and I’m doing a musical. I hope it goes well… Wish me luck! (It’s tomorrow).
M. Nicodemus - the character is built very well in the rest of the series, ESP W&G, the best book. Consider this peer pressure!
November 18th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I saw that book at Barnes & Noble a couple nights ago and thought about you. It’s funny that you were probably reading it at that time. It’s too bad that it wasn’t good.
I’m looking forward to Jim Butcher’s latest installment of the Codex Alera series. It comes out a week from today, and I’ve already pre-ordered it. I highly recommend the series. The first book is The Furies of Calderon.
For books with gay protagonists, I’ve enjoyed three of Christopher Rice’s four books (The Snow Garden is just bizarre at the end). Thanks for the recommendation of Hero. I’ll check that out.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
M. Nicodemus: I’ll have to check out that Night Runner series. Sounds interesting.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Dave: I haven’t read any of Brite’s books since they were released so its possible that I may not feel the same about them if I reread them now. I just remember loving them at the time, partly because they were different than other books I’d been reading.
Tam: Could be. So how do you like dogs? : ) I never ever expected to become a football fan since I hated ALL sports. Then I watched the Giants superbowl run dvds. My Mom explained the rules to me (amazing how much that helps!) and became addicted. Hope you feel better soon
Craig: I’ve seen the entire LOTR extended edition (including special features) several times. It’s great when you’re home stuck in bed. I do tend to love marathons though, as I’m doing now with Supernatural and did with Battlestar Galactica, thanks to you!
I read the books a few times. They are difficult but worth the effort.
IT is my favorite book of all time. If you’re going to read King, start there.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Dave S.: The Watchmen are NEVER ho-hum! And The Stand is outSTANDing!
I could never get into Tolkien books, I tried twice.
There have been several books of gay fiction (NOT porn), that I started, and went nowhere, so I put them down, knowing I’d never go back to them. No great loss either.
joemo: read ALL the Tales of The City books about ten years ago. LOVED THEM all!!! I have the newest one on my pile of ‘to-read’ books right now.
And Craiggers, Hero is an awesome read! Definitely one of the best books I read last year. Enjoy it!
HUGS…
November 18th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Enrico: Good luck with your musical.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Michelle: Dogs are good, if they like my cats. Understanding the rules definitely helps. I like lots of sports live, I even played intramural girls hockey in university and I love going to games, but on TV not so much. My daughter knows waaaaay more about the players and teams thanks to her father. She keeps me up to speed on what’s happening. But we don’t watch NFL, have to support the national teams of the CFL.
Not sure I could read a book about sports though. I’m a fiction girl all the way.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Tam: you won’t regret it!
Ryan R: I am reading the Codex Alera books right now and I am loving them. I liked Christopher Rice, but his stuff is a little too angst-y for me.
Enrico: I’ll think about it if I can’t get to the book store soon after I finish the three books currently in my queue (I live 90 miles from the closest book store so I usually stock up during a big shopping trip) and break a leg tomorrow!
BTW is anyone else as excited as I am about the last book of the Wheel of Time series coming out?
November 18th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
M. Nicodemus: I know my Dad will be excited. I haven’t had a chance to read the series yet though. It’s such a shame about Robert Jordan’s passing. I wonder how much he had finished before he passed away?
November 18th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Craig: he only finished a few chapters, but he dictated and wrote copious notes about what was supposed to happen so someone else could finish it. If you want more info check Brandon Sanderson’s website (www.brandonsanderson.com) as he is the one writing the book (I also recommend his other works)
November 18th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Nicodemus, I wouldn’t call it excited, but I so want that Wheel of Time series to be over. All of the dozens of plot-lines resolved (Hahaha), happy end and they lived happily ever after and break a wind. I started to read the series around the time # 6 came out and think the last couple of books are painful. Whenever a new one comes out I have to reread the previous 2 just to get back into it.
Rhoddy, yeah, I couldn’t get into the yiddish policeman’s union, too and stopped halfway through. I didn’t care about any of the characters or the mystery, so why bother? His fantasy baseball novel Summerland was also a head-scratcher that I never finished.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
For those of you whom enjoyed Robert Jordan’s books this blog entry by Brandon Sanderson about his passing was quite touching:
http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/550/EUOLogy-Goodbye-Mr.-Jordan
November 18th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Claudia, I read The Children’s Hospital last year and really liked it most of the time (except for the flashbacky and angely things, which I mostly skipped) but MAN it got depressing at the end. I don’t think you missed much by skipping it — it’s just too much when you spend 500 pages building up characters and then 100 pages killing them off.
I made it through two pages of Wicked and was bored. Not one of my better attempts.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Heather, haven’t read Wicked yet, but maybe 2 pages is not enough? I remember that it took me 1 week to get through the first chapter of HP & the sorcerers stone and then 1 day for the rest of the book. All others I finished in less than 24 hours.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I agree with Bernd there Heather. 2 pages? The beginning is a bit slower, setting things up but I found it worth it. I find even with some series the first book spends a lot of time setting things up and is not always the best, then it just flies after that. There’s a sequel to Wicked, Son of a Witch its called. I looked at it the other day but didn’t buy it yet. I might see if I can get it from the library.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I love the middle and end of Wicked. The beginning was good too (once Elphaba is born), but the college years were a little boring to me.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Huh, in playing around on amazon I just noticed there is a book 3 in the Wicked series called A Lion Among Men about the cowardly lion. Interesting. On my wish list I guess. Not that anyone buys me anything from there. LOL
November 18th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Stephen King can crank it out that is for sure but I do like Clive Barker better than him….
November 18th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Yay - Book discussion. They sent me home from work because I have no voice. Now I can put my jammies back on and comment.
Tam (maybe your ponytail’s too tight) and M. Nicodemus: I’m joining the “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” non-fan club. “Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo ‘. I mean, c’mon. Ugh. If it hadn’t been required reading I would have chucked it.
Dave S. and Polt: Loved the Stand. Couldn’t get into Lisey’s Story. Read Duma Key recently. It was okay. To me, it seems like a lot of King’s books fall apart at the end. I read On Writing by King and he isn’t much for outlines and plotting.
Nickers: Have you read any of the other Maguire books (Mirror, Mirror, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister)? After Wicked, he’s sitting pretty. There are a lot of fairy tales out there for the retelling.
Last books I put down were Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisenberg (she wrote the Devil Wears Prada) and One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell (Sex and the City). I wanted a good bubble bath chick lit book, but neither held my interest.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Michelle: Yay you are home, boo you are even sicker. Ummm, no ponytail for me, that would require hair much longer than mine. I would like to read some of the other Maguire books just to see a different twist on the fairy tales. Put that on my list of things to read someday. Sigh. The list is too damned long.
Seems to me the only way Portrait of an Artist gets any book sales is by being required reading for highschool/university. Otherwise it would be out of print.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Jomosexual: Thank you! I thought I was one of the only people in the world who hated Catcher In The Rye. My lord I *hated* that book. Call the girl, get a job and quit whining Holden. The Stranger is such a better example of that genre.
I highly recommend Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Excellent book.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
john: it’s going to be a movie - so I don’t have to read it?
Tam: Oh - sometimes my ponytail gives me a headache. Maybe you’re not getting enough chocolate. Can’t you get these books at your library? Our library is awesome. They have lots of copies of the new hardcovers or you can put them on hold. I heart my library.
My dad sent me Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. I felt obligated to read it (but probably wouldn’t have finished it otherwise)
November 18th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
John: I’m glad you can relate. It’s supposedly one of those “Golden standards” books that, if you haven’t read it, you’re literary white trash. So I was a little apprehensive about admitting my burning hatred for it….
but now that we are a “we”……..There’s a special place in hell for that book and for any teacher willing to force it on a class of unsuspecting students.
As for Wicked. I loved that book. There were a couple others by Gregory Maguire that I read. “Son of a Witch” was ok, but kind of hard to follow. I really liked his take on Cinderella in “Confessions of an ugly stepsister” Good books. YAY.
On a semi-unrelated note. Does anyone remember the “Book It” program from elementary school where you could earn free pizza from pizza hut by reading books. Yeah. I think it’s why I was such a fat kid…..and come to think of it, I didn’t lose all the weight until I stopped reading for a while. hm.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Michelle: I do love my library. I haven’t been regularly for awhile but I have to get back in the groove. I will have to go on-line although I think I owe them some money. Ahem. Or maybe a book or two. Ack!
I’ve never read Catcher in the Rye and likely never will. I don’t have much patience for angsty characters who whine too much. I will try and get the Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister if its better. The amazon reviews for Son of a Witch were so-so.
Joe: We didn’t even have pizza hut where I grew up (and they still don’t). But I was totally addicted to Scholastic book orders. Do you have those in the US?
November 18th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Mmmm, Clive Barker. The man who gave us the sentence “Within moments, the miracle of sight was muck on her cheek.”
I love his short stories (esp the Books of Blood), but his novels are way up there on the set-down-able list for me. His way with language is amazing, but I can’t get into his characters or plotlines for the most part.
The last novel I stopped reading part-way through was the third book in Orson Scott Card’s Ender saga. I remember reading it and liking it when it came out, but I just couldn’t get myself to care this time… and I’m one to re-read books fairly regularly. (And Card is one of my favorite authors.)
Probably means it’s time to rejuvenate my psyche. Time to pull out the big guns, the Bill Henderson Elvis stuff.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
“Ender’s Game” is my all time favorite book, but all the subsequent books were just kinda blah. Although I did enjoy “Ender’s Shadow” which told the story of “Ender’s Game” from the view point of a minor character.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
-Catcher in the Rye was just OK to me.
-The Stranger was SOOO boring after the first part.
-I haven’t read any other Maguire. This was my first one and it was required for my Witch in Literature class. But I want to continue with the Oz books.
-I remember Book It!! and Scholastic Book Orders! I forgot about them until ya’ll just mentioned them though. Wow. So long ago…
November 18th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Wow…I love Catcher in the Rye. I’ve read that book about 7-8 times. I’m still convinced that Holden is gay though….that might have something to do with it.
Has anyone else read any of the books by Helene Hannf? 84 Charing Cross Road, Apple of my Eye……She has a wonderful comic voice and reading her books just leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.
November 18th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Fdot: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
November 18th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I tried to read a biography about Roy Cohn once. He was such a horrible person I had to get away from it. Now, he was gay, but deeply closeted, so I don’t know how this fits into your formula.
I hate getting into a comment thread at number seventy something. That is what happens when you wait until the afternoon.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
It was Alan Hollinghurst’s ‘The Folding Star’. Having enjoyed ‘The Swimming Pool Library’ and really being absorbed by ‘The Line of Beauty’ (which won the Booker) I assumed I would enjoy this but I just couldn’t get into it. I had no real connection with the main character.
Hollinghurst is a heavyweight literary author in the UK (and he’s gay but doesn’t define himself as a gay author, which I agree with).
November 18th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Michelle: I am reading Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita right now, well it is one of the books I am reading, I have about 5 going at once…
November 18th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Hayden - let me know what you think. I hear it’s also going to be a movie (I usually have a few books going at the same time, too ; ).
Does anyone like the Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child books? Relic is good (the movie was crap) and so was The Ice Limit. I skip the Pendergast novels.
And Blasphemy was where I learned about superconducting supercollider particle accelerators. So when the Large hadron Collider was recently in the news I felt all smart and shit.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
joemo: If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never read “To Kill A Mockingbird”, but I’m sure I’d hate it.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
FDot: Oh see that’s just wrong! (j/k) that does make me feel a little better.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I think Craig should give us some kind of prize for staying on topic for nearly 80 posts. Well, mostly on topic with a few posts about illness thrown in for variety.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Tam: illness and unread books - I never read The Plague by Camus.
I also never made it past “Call me Ishmael.”
November 18th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Michelle: true, but books and when you are ill reading in bed is great. I’ve never read the Plague, or To Kill a Mockingbird, or probably any of those “classics”. Guess I’m just not “sophisticated”. I have read the Illiad and the Odyssey though. Guess I like my classics a bit more from the classical era. A really funny Greek play is Lysistrata written by Aristophenes in 411 BC. Weirdness, I know.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Tam - Sophisticated, shmomisticated. I’m about to start reading “Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice.”
November 18th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Tam, Michelle: I’m not terribly sophisicated either, and not into the classics.
Well, “FratSex: Erotic Stories From College Fraternities” was written in the 80’s, that makes is classic gay fiction, right?
HUGS…
November 18th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Polt - the thought that something from the eighties is considered “classic” makes me feel oooold.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Michelle: Is that when Marcia confesses she slept with Peter? Was it Peter? The oldest boy.
Polt: Must say I missed that classic in my education. LOL Sounds more fun than To Kill a Mockingbird though.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Tam - Greg! How can you not know that Greg is the oldest?? I think they just made out. I’ll let you know after I read it.
Peter is the middle child: “Porkchops and applesauce.” You probably don’t know what that means *shakes head sadly*
November 18th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I know the “porkchops and applesause!” Also, the change song that Peter sings!
*SIGH*…God I am SO old….
HUGS..
November 18th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Michelle: gay fiction hasn’t been around that long, so 80’s could be considered classic, I suppose.
HUGS…
November 18th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Polt: found a little clip on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJxT5WqFksQ
November 18th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Michelle: Sorry, I was rushing to get out of the house and forgot Greg’s name. Please forgive me?
Polt: There is tons of m/m romance out there now. Of course like all romance its completely unrealistic with impossibly beautiful people falling in love at first sight with amazing sex (and LOTS of it), but its fun and pure escapism. Who wants to read about real life, that depressing.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Michelle: I obviously was not the Brady Bunch fan you were because I have no memory of pork chops and apple sauce. LOL
November 18th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
TwoPi & M. Nicodemus: I agree that the first set of sequels to Ender’s Game were quite disappointing coming off the greatness of the first book. However, the Bean spin-off and sequels were great. I see that Card has a new book out filling in Ender’s story between Ender’s Game and the sequels, but I am hesitant to read it.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Hero was $6 on bn.com, so I ordered it. I also took the opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Tam: I believe most of my familiarity with that phrase comes from my dad repeating it.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Romanitas by Sophia McDougall. Utter bilge. The Roman Empire never fell AND you have psychic powers? GTFO. Oh, and the writing was pretty dreadful. I had to give up when I read a sentence without a verb. Oh GOD, it was dire. OH GOD, it’s making me cross. Stop typing, Sveny.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I read To Kill A Mockingbird a few years ago for the first time. It is a fantastic book and worth a read.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
The Stones of Summer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stones_of_Summer ) by Dow Mossman was the last book I abandoned. I don’t think I even made it half way through. A friend lent me the book, and I made a solid effort to try to read it. The author waxed poetic about minutia that just did not engage me. I found myself frustrated with almost all of the characters. Once it became a chore to read it, I decided to give up.
I am currently (and have been for some time now) reading Burr ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr_(novel) ) by Gore Vidal. I really like his historical fiction novels. I really enjoyed his books Lincoln and Julian. I feel like I am getting a little bogged down with Burr. I think I am getting a little muddled with the different political factions involved. I probably should take the time to review some political history from that time so that I can follow the story more easily. I don’t think that I am likely to abandon this book. I want to read all of Vidal’s historical fiction novels.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
“The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” and “tithe, a modern faerie tale”. Both were well reviewed… maybe I was just not in the right mood for those story-lines (I like big epic adventures as well). I got to about chapter 3 in both and had little interest in continuing. Reading a science book now, “Death from the skies,” but “Hero” sounds pretty interesting. I’ll need to pick it up.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
You should read John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigade and The Last Colony. Awesome epic military sci fi! do you even read the comments at the bottom? if you acknowledge this comment, publicly or privately, i will make a donation to your puntabulous fund.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Ray Ray: I cherish all of my comments equally, regardless whether they’re top, bottom, or versatile. No donation necessary!
I’ll have to look into all these books everyone is recommending!
I’m glad people are picking up Hero! Be sure to let me know what you think!
November 18th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Michelle and Tam: *snickering at the youtube thingee…
And ladies, I only know this from the incessent repeats they played on tv in the afternoons after school when I was a kid. I never saw one episode when it originally aired.
now the Brady Variety Hour…yeah, I saw a few of those at first airing…
HUGS…
November 18th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Oh and Craiggers, if you liked Hero, may I recommend “SuperPowers”. no gay characters, just 5 college kids wake up on day with superpowers. Very well done, very much like “what would happen if people got powers in the real world”.
HUGS…
November 18th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I loved To Kill a Mockingbird. Read it junior year of high school, but my favorite book junior year was Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God (and lack of italics is killing me!)
November 18th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Enrico: Step away from the Ayn Rand and put it on the big bookshelf in the sky. Her writings seem to have a tendency to make assholes out of people.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Polt: I JUST READ SUPERPOWERS!!!! I am yelling because I am that excited! I liked it too - don’t want to give anything away, but the ending really stuck with me. I double your recommendation
I’m with you on the Brady Variety hour. Also watched Donnie and Marie, Carol Burnett, and even Lawrence Welk (?) as a youngster. Boy, I sure did watch a lot of tv. Still do…
November 18th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Ohhh, Donnie and Marie. See I grew up in the backwoods of Canada where we only had 2 freaking channels, which while I watched incessantly caused me to miss out on some pop culture in my youth. I did recently read an article though that said people who watch a lot of TV are unhappier and have less sex than those who don’t. No mention of those who watch TV WHILE having sex. But I was a happy child and a total TV addict so I beg to differ with the scientists. I still love to watch old Carol Burnett sketches on YouTube. They were brilliant and its still roaringly funny today.
Damn, to stay on theme, guess I’ll have to see if my library has Hero since all the cool kids are obviously reading it.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:45 am
[...] wrote Going to that big bookshelf in the sky: where he talks about giving up on reading a book that is just horrible. There are two interesting [...]
November 19th, 2008 at 4:17 am
I have the same problem. 700+ paged books have trouble keeping me interested as events slowly happen and frankly i have other books Im reading so i just stop. Also really dense books I have trouble getting through, like the Autumn of the Patriarch, by the guy who did 100 Years of Solitude, which was an amazing book.
It seems like a lot of people here are fans of revisionism and Jasper Fforde takes classic books, English lit, and creates some type of mystery story out of it, that would be the Thursday Next series. He is very good with puns. Also I highly recommend the Nursery Crimes Division series by him. It is only two books right now but there the last one is coming I believe next year and they are just really funny.
I’m also trying to get through a book at the Australian aborigines, who I’m thinking about studying.
I do want to read Atlas Shrugged for the third attempt. I like the story, but the whole philosophy behind it, I have somewhat rejected it so I promise not to become a jerk.
Lately though I have been so busy with school and other things that I’m finding that I’m not reading as much, but with break coming up I think get some reading time in.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Damn impressive that everyone stayed on topic for over 100 comments! Of course, that accomplishment was most likely due to the fact that I wasn’t around most of the day…
November 19th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Ryan R - Don’t worry. I like the book because of the story, not the philosophy. And because if a book is made into a movie, I HAVE to read the book first, and Angelina Jolie is in talks to be Dagny, and I have to see the movie if she does take the role.