The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Wow, this man is a genius. I can't wait for the movie - hopefully John Hillcoat (of The Proposition) can handle it properly.

Although I rarely get a taker, check out Blood Meridian for definitive proof that Cormac McCarthy is one of the most important novelists of the last 50 years. He uses language and imagery the same way that Walt Whitman did -- beautifully, without a spare part to drag the unwieldy chimera down. A little might go a long way but, man, what that little bit has inside of it.

I cannot agree with you more. Blood Meridian is genius. I second your recommendation to anyone here who loves great fiction.

Ah, the fabled Blood Meridian. I've heard great things about this, ranging from [insert adjective] to The Great American Novel. Seeing as I've enjoyed No Country and The Road so much and this is supposed to be his definitive work, I've promised myself that I'd find a copy and read it by the end of the summer.

Smart World by Richard Ogle.


I found this great interview with the author in which he talks about the concepts in the book.

http://www.ideaconnection.com/articles/ ... World.html

The Girl With the Dragon Tattooby Stieg Larsson.

Larsson's debut mystery/thriller(he would only produce two other as yet unreleased novels before his death) involving a disgraced journalist, a young trouble PI, a totally disfunctional family and corporate greed. The novel was a good quick read despite Larsson penchant for describing all the minor details in each scene. I look forward to his second novel when it is released later this month.

Re-reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as I'm about to plunge read the entire 5 part trilogy for the first time. Hope the rest is as good as the first book.

Recently finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I'm not a fan of children's literature (this is to say I haven't read much of anything designated for children but more frequently enjoyed by adults) but I am a semi-fan of Gaiman and assumed that there would be enough Gaiman in the mix to wash out the potential for Life Lessons Learned and all the rest. I probably don't appreciate what so-called 'children's literature' has to offer given my limited experience with it.

No matter. I wasn't moved one way or another by The Graveyard Book. Too often it had the feel of a serial, something that was written over the course of years with no intention of pulling together a strong character thread. This was likely by design but, as a result, I felt that the novel would function best as late-night reading in front of a campfire rather than in a library. The lack of strong, identifiable characters isn't a killing blow exactly but it does mean that the book can't transcend its genre to become a bona-fide classic. The story feels informed by Potter Fever -- I advise Gaiman to aim lower. Think Coraline in a graveyard, Mr. Gaiman.

The Last Amateurs - John Feinstein

A Civil War - John Feinstein

Feinstein's sports books has him embedding himself in locker rooms to get his stories. TLA has him following all the teams in the NCAA's Patriot League during men's basketball season. He does a fantastic job ov coering all the teams and coaches all the way from training camp to the conference tournament.

ACW follows the Army/Navy football teams from training camp to the season ending rivalry game. Great insight into the guys who will no longer play football after their career ends.

for reasons i do not know - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

power cut, boredom, heat - you see the book on the shelf...i can't explain it.

PS-its still good.

I never stop loving these, the Dirk Gently books are good too!

Late to the party but, yes, The Road and especially Blood Meridian are the truth

Right now, I'm just about wrapping up Katherine Dunn's Geek Love. It's revolting and all, but I'm pretty sure I like it. Probably not something I'm a gonna be picking up again anytime soon, but still

I started Underworld by Don Delillo this morning and I'm already hooked pretty hard

I've tried reading Blood Meridian twice. Both times I toss the book aside. It should be something I dig: bloody 'n grimy. But McCarthy's refusal to put quotations around his dialogue drives me nuts. It's a little thing, I know, but it's the little things that really get me steaming. It comes across as pretentious to me.

For simple kicks I read A Lion's Tale by pro wrestler Chris Irvine (Jericho). Good wrestling stories and some candid personal stuff as well.

Currently reading The Hope by Herman Wouk. So far so good. I enjoy historical fiction. After I finish I'll move onto the follow up The Glory or try my hand at Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon which two trusted sources have raved about.

Do try, it was wonderful. It's a massive book though, so I don't think you should start it if you're looking for a quick read.

Yesterday I finished reading If Chins Could Kill, Bruce Campbell's autobiography. It may not be great literature, but it was definitely a fun read. I enjoyed reading stories about his movies, especially The Evil Dead, which gave me the impression that there was enough material to write a book just about its production history.

Since around the beginning of June I've been slowly making my way through William Gibson's Neuromancer. I enjoy it when I actually sit down and tackle the thing, but for some reason I've been unable to work up enough motivation to read it in more than short spurts. Gibson has that particular type of prose, the kind that got really popular around the turn of the century, that plays with fanciful metaphors and combarisons and elaborate sentence structures just because, although Gibson never gets nearly as pretentious as most of his contemporaries (Hello, Neal Stephenson! Remember me? I'm the only person alive who finds you completely intolerable!). Every other sentence is a practically a work of art, which makes it difficult for me to get wrapped up in the story since I keep rereading and examining the individual parts of the puzzle instead of the whole, so unless I really don't have anything else do to like on a long car trip, I usually get distracted and go watch TV or surf the web after 10 or 20 pages.

My copy of If Chins Could Kill is signed by Bruce. He wrote "Come get some" in my book. My friend got "Shop Smart, Shop S Mart" in his.

God bless Bruce.

Hail to the King!

Love Klosterman. Fargo Rock City is exceptional.



Man, I'm jealous! Signed copies! That is awesome.

As for me:

I'm on a Lawrence Block kick right now. Just finished the HIT MAN series. Really REALLY good. His Scudder books are good as well.

Also re-reading I Love You, Beth Cooper, because it was so much fun the first time around.

Recently finished Elmore Leonard's latest, Road Dogs. I recommend anything by Leonard, without exception.

Matthew Polly's American Shaolin was a great read.

Twilight was a big pile of shit.

Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse. A fun read.

Ray Bradbury's Farewell Summer. Bradbury's another author I just love.

Agreed.

It's sorta funny how a guy as influenced by Faulkner as he is can write, as you say, "without a spare part to drag the unwieldy chimera down."

I think of Blood Meridian as being a little bit like going for a run when it's snowing. It's tough slogging initially, but once you find your rhythm (I got my rhythm at about the revival tent), the endorphines kick in and you never want to stop.

I'm currently re-reading Reminiscing in Tempo: A Portrait of Duke Ellington. Very much worth the time. If I were ever a contestant in some sort of pageant and the question, "which historical figure, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with?" came up, Duke Ellington would be my answer.

As I don't really see myself as pageant material, I guess I'll never get to share that with the world . . .

I am currently reading Blood Meridian and I must admit that it is a bit of a struggle for me. Maybe that's because I'm not a native English speaker and my vocabulary is sadly lacking. In contrast, the fantastic The Road was a real page-turner, one of the best novels I've read in years.