The only thing of his I've read is The Corrections.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

How was it? I tried to skip the big fawned over book

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

It's a long time ago that I read it. I remember liking it. It's about a fucked up family but I think it has a relatively happy ending. I think it's one of those metaphor for changes in postwar America books like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay.

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

I read it about twenty years ago and remember enjoying it, but I was in my 20's when I read it and I don't know if its depictions of married life and the other trappings of adulthood would still hold up now that I've experienced many of them. I thought the message was something along the lines of "accept things for what they are, and stop trying so hard to change them."

It's both great advice and the worse advice. "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference"

I've really soured on religion, but there are still some nuggets of wisdom to be mined from the religion of my upbringing, that prayer is one of them.

“The Devil All the Time”

Whole lot of dread and irredeemable people.

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Amen

My daughter just came down and asked if we could take her to the library for a classic novel that she has to read. Anyway I've read very few, lots I think I'd like to read or should read. What are some of your faves and not faves?


I hate hate hate the Scarlett letter and great expectations. I loved the catcher in the rye, to kill a mocking bird, and Twain novels.

Dracula. I'm not kidding.

Elmer Gantry Sinclair Lewis - Lewis won a Pulitzer in 1926 but, like an NHL team not touching the Campbell Cup, declined to accept it b/c he felt he deserved the Nobel Prize in Literature, something no American had ever won. Lewis would go on to be the first American awarded the Nobel Prize a few years later. I think Lewis might've been from the same small Minnesota town as Rose from Golden Girls.

Orwell's Animal Farm - this book makes your face look smart when you quote it. Try to get the version with Steadman's Illustrations, an acceptable coffee table book for when your right-wing friends and family visit. Steadman also provided illustrations for Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Catch-22 Joseph Heller - once when being interviewed by an impertinent young journo decades after the publication of Catch-22, the journalist finished up the interview by asking Heller, "Be honest, nothing you've written since Catch-22 has been as good" Heller's response "No one has written a book as good as Catch-22 since Catch-22" or something along those lines. I like Picture This better overall, but Catch-22 is more culturally significant/canonical.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Flannery O'Connor - sex, violence, family, strangers - like the ID channel set in mid 20th century American South, dripping with Roman Catholic imagery.

All the King's Men Robert Penn Warren - He's got Penn for a freaking name, so he has to be a good writer. Starts off in a large automobile driving too fast on a dark back road in Loozyanna carrying men (and women) with guns and ambition and never takes its foot off the gas--good story, well-told. Someone once observed that all American novels are political novels e.g., Moby Dick as allegory for Second Bank of the United States, Wizard of Oz about the battle between the gold backed dollar and silver backed dollar (Dorothy's slippers are silver, not ruby, in the novel) . All The King's Men is the best of the bunch

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again David Foster Wallace - if you like Mark Twain you might enjoy Wallace's non-fiction travel writing enough to give Broom of the System or IJ a go. Wallace's college commencement 2005 message to the graduates is worth a re-listen every few years.

Love in the Ruins and Thanatos Syndrome Walker Percy - it's like Walker Percy time-traveled five decades forward and then returned to document what he saw there--and now we're livin' it.

The Basic Eight Daniel Handler Lemony Snicket author and accordion player in The Magnetic Fields earlier work

The Canterbury Tales - Chaucer - timeless tales of men behaving badly. recommend listening to audiobooks of these stories while following along with a copy of the text.

Grendel John Gardner - Gardner ran over and killed his brother with one of these . As penance, Gardner voluntarily taught at the University of Detroit around the same time Dick Vitale coached U of D's men's hoops team. Beowulf re-told from the POV of the monster.

Homeboy Seth Morgan

The Odyssey Homer and Paradise Lost Milton - if you wanna go back that far. The most enjoyable/accessible of the epics.

Ethan Frome Edith Wharton - quick read, under 200 pages, that ending tho

The Great Gatsby
Lord of the Flies
Moby Dick
Old Man and the Sea
The Call of the Wild
The Count of Monte Cristo

my personal favorite is The Jungle

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

It's taken a bit longer than I hoped but I am trying to finish this book before I go on vacation in 3 weeks. I have no idea which direction to go for a book to read. I really try to lean towards the classics but that is really hit or miss. I am tempted to go down the David Foster Wallace wormhole but not sure I would really enjoy that. Another go to is a good biography. Found a book on Napoleon that is probably the leader in the clubhouse right now. The Franzen book has been good but it goes WAY into depth about a family that is all messed up. I'll likely circle back and read more of his stuff but I need a break after this one.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I enjoyed the way The Expanse series ended.

Last man standing.

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Put what appears to be an interesting, but long biography about Leonardo di Vinci in the Amazon basket.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

My brother wrote a hilarious and altogether disturbing account of his years as a cop on the West and North Sides in the 80s. What stands out os the number of bad cops--thieves, thugs, and morons--he worked with.

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Found a book called Murder in Canaryville. Pretty good so far.

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True story, too. Sounds interesting. I think I'll read this at some point.

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I went back and reread "Report From Engine Company 82" by Dennis Smith. He worked in the busiest firehouse in the South Bronx in the late 60's into the 80's. An officer from the ladder company stationed in the house (31 Truck) recently published a book about the same time called "The War Years". A BBC film crew did a video during this time as well that added faces to the names.

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An unjust law is no law at all--St. Augustine of Hippo

Cause tried and true
I see the light in you
Oh, can you dig in my soul?
Could you smell my whole...
life?--Gener and Deaner

I just finished the first Chapter on Ray Dalio’s book. He is not a gifted writer like Michael Lewis, but the book lays out a compelling set of data on the rise and fall of Empires. And it is scary how far along the U.S. is on the decline path. My two big concerns- education and over indebtedness, are big warning signs in his analysis.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Step By Step Booklet For Him To Get

Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office. Compiled by Brian Baumgtner (Kevin from the show).

Quick read, amusing. Shares a similar story with many other successful shows: We were afraid of getting cancelled, etc. Always fun to read those. Focuses on the directors as much as the performers. Would have liked to have heard more from Steve Carell.

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The People In the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara.

A much-heralded novel from about ten years ago that deals with a mild-mannered monster (and colonialism, capitalism, etc.).

Yeah, it's well-regarded and all, but the first 350 pages are so dull and boring that it reminded me of being in college, just before finals, when I would say to myself, "Man, I wish it was next Tuesday, because finals would be finished!" Not much suspense, either.

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I lived right where it happened. the first house they came to was ours. I remember that night still. fucking scary as hell

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Well Tommy, I'll jump right on that after I finish sticking a fork in my eye

And just wait until you hear what it's about . . .

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The Fisherman, by John Langan.

Pretty good horror novel. It has a nested story structure that works pretty well. It shares a few story elements with Pet Sematary and It, but the story is overall much different. The first few chapters are long and drag on a bit, but after that, it's good. It's been described as Lovecraftian, and it is safe to say that it is.

Worth the read if you're looking for a horror novel. Not even 300 pages, but a solid read. Not as good as a few people said, but I am glad to have read it.

EDIT: Nardi would like this one.

See ya in the summah.

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Didn't want to start a new thread.

Where do you guys get your books from? I got a couple sources .I like to own the physical sometimes but it can get out of hand. At one point I had over 400 paperbacks. So now it is mostly electronic or Library

1) Local library for something I just maybe want to read, this is for mostly politics and new authors I am trying

2 Amazon. I have been a Kindle guy from when they first came out. being a prime member they have all kinds of free stuff. If I am buying I always go to an Amazon affiliate that you can get for lower price especially for older stuff,abebooks.com. Great selection,easy to find and great prices.

3) for just kind of browsing and reading all kinds of things Scib.com Only downside it is a pay site,$9.99 a month but for what they have it is worth it and for the majority of things you can download and keep even if you cancel the service.

4) lastly specialist store. I read mostly historical/military stuff so lots of what I want I have to go to specific places. Good thing is they have great customer service because they are such a niche service.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

You can get cheap books from so many places, and I can be kind of a cheap ass, so it kills me to pay full price for a book. My favorite places are:

1. paperbackswap.com- you post books you want to get rid of on their website, someone requests one, you send it to them, you get a credit, and then you can use that credit to request a book from another member;

2. Myopic Books in Wicker Park- it's a little expensive by used book store standards, but it's absolutely huge;

3. The Book Table in Oak Park- they have a section tucked behind the register where they sell advance uncorrected proofs for $3; and

4. The Printers Row Litfest- tons of desirable books for less than $10.

Really enjoyed the biography on Da Vinci so going back to the bio well on another guy I wish I knew more about. American Lion which is a biography on Andrew Jackson arrived from Amazon yesterday. Usually when I complete a book I donate it to one of the many local neighborhood libraries we have scattered around the area I live. It’s free for anyone to take or donate a book and they are in peoples front yards randomly. If I like the book and it’s a hardcover version I’ll usually keep it for my shelf.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami