WAKE ME UP!
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 | PermalinkI’ve been in a funk lately, and I’m dying for a good book to read. I don’t care if it’s a comic book, fiction, non-fiction, or a religious text. It just has to be a book that swings for the fences. A book that won’t let me put it down. A book that smacks me around and makes me want to live.
Leave me a comment if you can fill this tall order, please.
Or just tell me your favorite book.
Feed me some ideas.
September 12th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Haven’t finished it yet, but I’m reading Watchmen for a class (the graphic novel). It’s very well drawn & seems fairly political thus far.
http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen.....amp;sr=8-2
September 12th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
i’ve read that!
what class are you reading it for?
September 12th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
You still haven’t read my #1 all time favorite book - Agatha Christie’s Autobiography
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September 12th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Let’s see… glancing through my book reviews for the last year… I’d suggest, more or less in this order, alternating inspirational intellect with inspirational hijinks…
Ordinary People, Judith Guest
Plastic Man, the newer Kyle Baker stuff
The Paris Review Interviews, I
The Surrogates, Robert Venditti
The Ghost Map, Steven Johnson
September 12th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
You mentioned planning to read The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay back in June - if you haven’t yet, and you aren’t saving it… well, it’s flippin’ great. And as far as Murakami goes, I’d recommend Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. But Hard-Boiled Wonderland isn’t nearly as epic as Kavalier and Clay.
September 12th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Reading it for Narrative & Digital Technology, which is a class for the game design minor taught by Laura Mandell. We’re reading it in order to see how graphic novels/video games relate.
September 13th, 2007 at 2:08 am
Lord of the barnyard or The dice man. The last one really shook me up. The first one is just a beautiful story.
September 13th, 2007 at 2:57 am
Whenever I feel that way I just reach for The Cute Manifesto. Or any nearby Lynda Barry book, but you know that already.
September 13th, 2007 at 6:25 am
Oh! Read Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. Ignore everything else I said.
September 13th, 2007 at 8:24 am
–Kavalier & Clay
–Yiddish Policeman’s Union
–Summerland
And in the non-Chabon category:
–Love in the Time of Cholera
–One Hundred Years of Solitude
And in the non-Chabon/non-Garcia Marquez/nonfiction category:
–Mountains Beyond Mountains
September 13th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Man, this is when i LOVE having a blog—thank you all!
September 13th, 2007 at 9:04 am
Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass, The Amber Spyglass, The Subtle Knife) — supposedly for children, but way deeper and better than Harry Potter
Annie Lamott’s books of essays — Traveling Mercies, Plan B, Operating Instructions, Bird by Bird
Liar’s Club and then Cherry by Mary Karr (gut-wrenching working-class Texas memoir)
PrairyErth: A Deep Map by William Least-Heat Moon
A History of God by Karen Armstrong (actually, anything by her)
The Chanur series (five books total), best sci-fi ever, by C.J. Cherryh — I read this every half-year
September 13th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Ander Monson’s “Other Electricities” swings for the fences, and connects. As does James Meek’s “The People’s Act of Love.”
September 13th, 2007 at 11:49 am
The current JKB favorite (we’re all working on them, I just started) Steven King’s Dark Tower Series.
The first is The Gunslinger!
With King, it’s pop all the way…not too easy to put down…reads fast…and it has a hardass gunslinger main character!
September 13th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I really, really love that everyone’s posted so many suggestions! Thank you!
THINGS I’VE READ ALREADY:
Other Electricities (****)
Watchmen
Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott (****)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
THINGS YOU MENTIONED WHICH HAVE BEEN ON MY LIST, so I’ll hit them first:
A History of God, Karen Armstrong (I REALLY want to read this one)
The Pullman Trilogy
Chabon
Murakami
The Dark Tower
Keep ‘em comin’ if you get ‘em!
September 13th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
wonderous book just read tracy chevalier’s latest “burning bright” how can you go wrong when william blake is one of the characters!
I also seem to the zone of reading books about fictional characters. recently finished “march” by geraldine brooks - all about what mr. march was up to when he was away - fantastic book (brooks wrote one of my all time favorite books ‘year of wonders’ about the black death amazing novel) and currently reading “finn” another book about a character not often thought of - in this case huck’s father….so far so good.
always recommended - the dark is rising series by susan cooper.
you asked for it…. today’s post on the mouse is related….concerns my bookgroups upcoming ‘year of reading’ if interested….
September 13th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
@Maggie
The Pullman trilogy is really good from what I’ve heard…I’m working on The Golden Compass right now.
I was surprised how elegant/intelligent Pullman’s writing is, especially after reading Harry Potter…
September 17th, 2007 at 12:05 am
The Foundation Series by Issac Asimov (so good!)
September 17th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
i have been planning to read shelley jackson’s “half-lives” for a while, and i do know the first couple of chapters are really good.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
thanks everyone for your suggestions!!
September 18th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I know this is late but I second, third and fourth Shelley Jackson’s half life and also suggest robinson by muriel spark. If you haven’t read Mothers & Other Monsters yet do so immediately. More reviews at my blog if you are interested…
September 19th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Have you read Ursula LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness?
September 19th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
No, Stuart, I haven’t. I’ve heard she’s good.
Carrie: Maureen’s book is awesome, isn’t it?