Post Punk Kitchen Forum

My dad loved it.

I gave up on the Jess Smith book pretty much right after she said that America has a black president and therefore equality among the races. I was in the gym, and I actually threw my head back with that eye roll. I'm almost disappointed with myself for not liking it, but I really just couldn't continue.

I'm now reading a book about cold cases/miscarriages of justice. It's pretty interesting so far. I'm only on the second story, with which I'm somewhat familiar (Cameron Todd Willingham - went to TX death row on super dodgy evidence for killing his daughters in a house fire). Unless it ends up being a bunch of cases I've already read, I should enjoy it.

I wonder if it's possible to do a year of reading nothing but crime-related fiction and non-fiction. Actually, I'm pretty sure it is.

I have not but I will see if I can track it down. I think there's another book coming out soon as well, maybe by Lawrence Wright.

I finally started The Night Circus. So far I'm really not sure what to think... but I'm not putting it aside, either.

I actually just bought Going Clear a few days ago and cannot wait to read it!

Just started The casual vacancy last night.

Finished The Evening Hour last night. It must have at least been absorbing, because it only took me two days to read it, and it's not short. It's weird...I'm from and currently reside in West Virginia, so I know a lot about its people and heritage, but I didn't grow up in the way that is typically depicted in books about this place. I'm just outside of coal country, and I know people who live there and grew up there and I've visited and know what's up, so I feel a definite sympathy for the characters in these books that I read, even though I'm not technically a part of it. Anyway, a lot of it was about mountaintop removal which is JUST HORRIBLE and also it was about the growing prescription pill and meth problem here, which is sad and awful. So basically, the book made me feel sad and awful, but I'm glad I read it. I worry that someone who isn't from WV and doesn't understand that there are more parts to it other than coal country would think that we're all uneducated and a little backwards, even if we are kind and generally good people. Same old shiitake stereotype that is always perpetuated. Can you tell that I can't really decide if I liked it or not?

I also read Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic by Terry Jones in the past few days. It was a delightful no-brainer.

Going to start Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams today. I am pretty sure it's going to be awesome, but also make me sad. Awesome because Douglas Adams was the best but sad because the book is about endangered species.

Still reading The Night Circus. It does remind me a lot of the stories I thought up as a teenager: Very contrived dream-like aesthetics, set in a super safe and super stylised 19th century. All escapist kitsch and nothing for my mind to really engage with. Which might be awesome for those who like that kind of literature (No offense! There is a target group for everything, and that's okay!) - or are in need of a break from their own stressful routines - but not for me.
(Still finishing it, though - since I've promised myself to read 100 books again this year.)

Enjoying "This is How You Lose Her" by Junot Diaz. I think I liked Oscar Wao better though.

I will definitely add The Evening Hour to my list, even though I'm the same way, and it'll make me sad. Still there's just something special about WV; I just hope it's not completely lost with all of the 'development.'

Last Chance to See is indeed awesome.

And that would be the book I was talking about coming out soon, not another book. I mixed my titles.

I can't decide which fiction book to read next! I need to step away from reality a bit.

Have you read Kim Stanley Robinson? 2312 was good.

I'm working my way through unread books on my bookshelf. I'm reading The Seventh Commandment by Lawrence Sanders. I'm really enjoying it, much more than I thought I would. Next up will be Everything Under the Sun by David Suzuki.

^Yeah, I've only read a couple of Lawrence Sanders books and I really enjoy his writing. I think because he's a bestseller type writer he's overlooked and never taken too seriously, but I seriously like what I've read of his. His The Third Deadly Sin is one of my comfort books that I've read so many times I've lost count.

I've read quite a few of his before. I'm not sure where this one came from. Almost done (20ish pages left!).

P.S. Cute pun about canada! I'm Canadian too.

The only thing I've read by him is The Years of Rice and Salt, and it's one of my favorites ever.

Oh, wait. I think I read Antarctica, too, but I didn't like it nearly as much.

Forty Signs of Rain! That whole trilogy is smashingly good. He creates interesting characters. They all seem oddly offbeat somehow.

Red Mars is also good, but I've never read the other two. It's kind of interesting how good his Martian geology ended up being. I suppose it could be a slog for the non-geological minded since he talks about rocks a LOT.

The Orphan Master's Son is not disappointing--I almost missed my stop coming home tonight. I'm looking forward to really getting into it this weekend.

Red Mars is probably the best but I loved the follow ups as well. There are so many interesting themes in those books. I loved how the Martian children basically became another race and there was a lot of interesting thoughts on what it'd really be like to live forever.

Last Chance to See is definitely going to be good. Finally started it last night. I just love the way Douglas Adams wrote.

"...the monkeys were ambitious, and interested in all sorts of things, especially twigs, with which they found they could do all kinds of things that they couldn't do by themselves - dig for things, probe things, hit things." And then, "Thanks to astounding advances in twig technology, we arrived in canoes, then boats, and finally airplanes..."

That just tickled me. It's kind of in competition with that bit he wrote in Life, the Universe, and Everything about the mattresses living on Squornshellous Zeta.

I'm not much of a Sci fi fan but I'm trying to expand my genres as for years I only read horror then would get disappointed in my choices and not read for a while.

I decided to read a mystery/thriller called The Demon Colony which is based on the premise that America was founded with secret intentions or something. I'll see how it goes.

I'm not really either. KSR is a good genre expanding choice. He does alternative history stuff too.

I did add to my wishlist but I'll have to wait until I see something on sale or borrow from Amazon or I go to the library. :)