Recommend & Review

[channingonfire]

Chick lits are okay...IDK really how to decribe what type of book I like. I like books that make you think.

Has anyone read The Myth Of Sysphus(sp)?

[oclover24]

^ If you like books that make you think, I recommend "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.

It's a story of Christopher McCandless, who, in 1992, died alone in Alaska on the Stampede Trail. McCandless was a dropout of society by choice, wandering America while hitching rides The author also integrates stories of other hitchhikers, and his own personal story of climbing Canada's Devils Thumb. It's really great and it makes you think about your own life. It's very inspiring.

[channingonfire]

Read it. Didn't like it.


lol, I'm sorry, I'm like the worst person when it comes to recommendations, because I want them, but at the same time I am so darn picky.

Add to that I was a bookworm in my earlier days.

I read White Oleander, and LOVED IT, so then my friend told me to read Prozac Nation and I got bored with it.

[oclover24]

You didn't like it? Why? It's one of my favorites.

I liked Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell To Arms." It's a bit tough to read, but it's a good story.

[channingonfire]

Like I said, I'm a complete snob when it comes to finding things I like, but hey look on the brightside, when I find something I do like, I not only like it. I love it.

I think I've heard of that book before. What is it about?

I recomend any books by Sarah Dessan. They are great

[oclover24]

I think I've heard of that book before. What is it about?

It's about a solider in WWI who falls in love with a woman. It juxtaposes love and war. I really liked it.

[channingonfire]

Sort of like "Year Of My German Solider"?

[Andrew]

I agree with "Catcher in the Rye"... HATED it.

If you're getting into Bukowski, definitely pick up "Post Office"; extremely short, yet strangely effective.


Others...

• Richard Yates' "Revolutionary Road"

• Joseph Heller's "Catch 22"

• George Orwell ("1984"; "Animal Farm")

• Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist"
(although I found the ending to be overly simplistic)

• Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer"

• Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything is Illuminated"

• Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five"

• Stuff associated with the Beats Generation:
- Jack Kerouac ("On the Road"; "The Dharma Bums")
- Tom Wolfe's "The Election Kool-Aid Acid Test"
- Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"

• For simple amusement:
- Tom Perotta ("Election"; "Little Children")
- Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity"; "A Long Way Down")
- Augusten Burrough ("Running With Scissors"; "Dry" --> read them in that order)

[channingonfire]

Finally, someone who isn't chewing me out for not liking "Catcher In The Rye".

I've read both "1984" and "The Alchemist" for school. We just got done reading "All Quiet On The Western Front" and I liked it alot considering I HATE reading war books (for the most part).

I tried reading one of Jack Kerouac's book "Big Sur" and ended up not finishing it. I'm afraid to pick up "On The Road" because of fear of disappointment. And I've read excerpts from "The Electon Kool-Aid Acid Test" so I've been thinking of reading that.

Other then that, your list is awesome, I've heard of most the authors, but you know how things go when your trying to make a list. Thanks.

[Manon]

If you haven't read it yet, read "To kill a mockingbird" and "breakfast at tiffany's"
I just finished reading to kill a mockingbird and absolutely loved it. I read breakfast at tiffany's a couple of weeks ago and i read it in like 1 day, because it's really short and i couldnt stop reading. I also loved "the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime"

[Webeh]

• Joseph Heller's "Catch 22"

Best book ever!! This is one of those rare books that makes you laugh out loud. That doesn't happen often.

Tom Wolfe's "The Election Kool-Aid Acid Test"

I heard that's a good book. My friend recommended it the other day.

I've read "I Am Charlotte Simmons" and I found that I loved to hate it. I enjoyed it and all. But, I absolutely loathed all of Wolfe's characterizations of students. They were either dumb@$$es or "freak". In the latter category, he included feminists or any other sort of activist. I thought that was unfortunate.

I tried reading "On the Road", but I found that I couldn't get through the whole book. The continuous slackerdom activities got tiring to read after the 150 page range.

I also loved "the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime"

I found that I didn't love this book as much as other people did. I enjoyed it and all, but it wasn't as great as I expected it to be.

Some books I'd recommend (I didn't bother putting the author's names because those could easily be looked up in Amazon):

The Fountainhead
Ella Minnow Pea
Catch-22 --> I'm doubling the recommendation here. It really is that good.
Trainspotting
House of Spirits
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --> If you need a good easy laugh
Snobs
Intuition --> I recommend it if you're at all into the world of academia

Tom Perotta ("Election"; "Little Children")

Little Children. I just saw that the other day. Fantastic movie.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by channingonfire

Finally, someone who isn't chewing me out for not liking "Catcher In The Rye".

Yeah. I mean, I get it... a teen in angst. So what?

We just got done reading "All Quiet On The Western Front" and I liked it alot considering I HATE reading war books (for the most part).

Oh cool! Coincidentally, I have to read that novel for my history class. When I bought the book, I originally thought the "greatest war novel of all time" tagline was a bit ostentatious, but maybe it'll live up to the claim.

I tried reading one of Jack Kerouac's book "Big Sur" and ended up not finishing it. I'm afraid to pick up "On The Road" because of fear of disappointment.

Originally Posted by Webeh

I tried reading "On the Road", but I found that I couldn't get through the whole book. The continuous slackerdom activities got tiring to read after the 150 page range.

I must admit, Kerouac can be very self-indulgent (I personally find this true in all books written in a "stream of consciousness" prose). But "On the Road" is probably the most accessible. So if you can't get through it, definitely avoid other titles of his like "Visions of Cody"

dumb@$$es

Funny you should write the word like that. It's actually very prevalent in "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test": quirky text and onomatopoeia.

Little Children. I just saw that the other day. Fantastic movie.

Yeah. Kate Winslet
Although I do prefer the book's ending; a little darker and less quixotic.

[Webeh]

Yeah. Kate Winslet

Speaking of Kate Winslet... I know this is mean, but I kind of hope that she doesn't win an Oscar for a nice longtime. Apparently winning as Oscar for a female results in some kind of curse. For a lot of actresses (especially if they're reasonably young) the career stagnates afterwards. (Ex. Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Swank to a degree, Annette Benning hasn't done anything cool in years, even Nicole Kidman has been doing a lot of s**tty movies, etc.) I don't want this to happen to Kate Winslett. (Although, not all of her films are great either. But, she does get a lot of amazing projects to make up for it.)

Although I do prefer the book's ending; a little darker and less quixotic.

I'll have to read the book. Thanks for the suggestion. I added that to my reading-list. (I have this notebook that's basically a freakishly long list of books. I have not yet made a significant dent in this list. )

[oclover24]

All Quiet on the Western Front was a tough read, but the language was beautiful. I think it made me cry, but I don't remember.