i just finished jimmy carter's new book, "palestine: peace not partheid," and it was pretty good. the history included left a bit to be desired but if you're not up on your middle east history its a good overview. his position on current and future affairs was dead on, though.

today...actually, about 5 minutes ago...my barnes and noble delivery arrived. today i'll start "war and peace."

see you in a year.

this man gets on my nerves something fierce but i cannot put this book down to save my life. it's kind of like reading something written by an orger.

never heard of him. what's the book like?

sallysassalot said:

mostly music essays and pop culture criticism. he reminds me a lot of nick hornby, only (don't kill me, ace) not as generous or as steeped in literature. if hornby were a freshly made chipotle burrito, i would say klosterman is a big bag o' taco bell seven layer burritos. which, you know, i'll gladly eat either or both if you put them in front of me.

I'm just finishing up "Star Wars: Outbound Flight".

Next I'm either going to re-read "Harry Potter; Order of the Phoenix" or buy the 4th DUNE book.

Anx said:

Never read Hornby, except for a really brief piece on Springsteen. But he is a Born to Run man and I'm a post-U.S.A. guy, so I think we have irreconcilable differences.

I don't have a problem w/Chuck not being steeped in literature - hell, I don't even care about his lack of generosity - he just has a tendency to disappear up his own ass, for me. That said, I laughed out loud at a couple of sentences of his piece in the current Esquire. And no matter what he does (even coming across as a pretentious douchebag on Amazon Fishbowl), I will always love him for "This is Emo". And I usually get off at least one hearty guffaw per piece of his. Have you read the piece on Bono yet?

P.S. Speaking of the current issue of Esquire and things you're reading, everyone here should read the cover story (about the soldier who lost three of his limbs in Iraq). You'll never take what you have for granted again.

Anx said:

I didn't care much for Killing Yourself to Live at all. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs had a few decent chapters. I loved Fargo Rock City. I hope I can find this at the airport bookstore tomorrow.

PurpleJedi said:

I just got a friend of mine this for Xmas:



I had a quick flip through, 'cause the dharma angle interested me. But I just couldn't hang with the Star Wars part.

I am almost finished with this...



A bit dry but I am learning a lot.

i'm halfway through stephen king's Cell at the moment...it's okay.

evenstar3 said:

Did you know Eli Roth, the guy who did "Hostel" and "Cabin Fever" is slated to direct the film version?

Lammastide said:

i don't do horror movies... so nope.

..but I also want to start this one:

Just finished Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa (Writing in Latinidad) by Rigoberto Gonzalez

and now starting, at long last, Cervantes' Don Quixote

valgame Dios, i'm in for the long haul with this one!

TMPletz said:

An awesome collection of stories!
Did you get to Boba Fett yet???

I've been reading Eragon to my kids.

Sextrology: The Astrology of Sex and the Sexes
~Starsky & Cox

I'm breezing through the book I'm currently reading, but when I'm done I'm likely going to get back to tackling Swann's Way. Is there a secret to reading Proust? Is it okay that I zone out now and then, or do I need to hang on every word? I love the writing, but it tends to hypnotize me and I realize I haven't been paying attention for the past page or two.

I'm about to start...



...Autographed by the man himself.


There's a possibility that this will be his last book.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Neil Gabler just published a new biography about Walt Disney with a lot of never-before-known ish. It's wildly fascinating and I'm burning through it.

Anx said:

I had that trouble the first time I read Proust. The second time, I was much more focused. I find that being in a place without distraction helps. Or just save it for a time when your mind isn't busy.

Since we've had a power outage the past few days, I've been bundled up and reading Joyce's Ulysses...this is my 3rd time through, and talk about 'no distractions!'. I really don't have much available to me but the words on the page. Only the occasional shiver interrupts.

evenstar3 said:

you pussy! go and watch the shining!

Cloudbuster said:

You love Professor Dickie Dawkins, don't ya

It's like reading Shakespeare without all the colorful language. You know the end is going to be bad.