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It sounds like you’ve graduated as a reader. Congratulations and enjoy your stay in the Land of Literacy. And I think this is your metaphorical proof in the pudding. Well done. - - - - - - Over the weekend I finished up Tim O’Brien’s _The Nuclear Age_ (1985), which was a great...

Ack. Totally my bad...I only recently saw the cover (having noooooooo desire to even pick it up) of…[looking] _Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister_ and assumed (with the cringing 3 seconds of thought I gave it) he was playing with the Oz/Witch thing still. Now, feeling even more repulsed I see...

I don’t disagree. I enjoyed the first one and have given it as a gift several times. My comments are based strictly at trying to follow-up what should have been a stand-alone book. But this is just Industry now. I see the chap who did _Wicked_ is also continuing with the Oz themes. Dan...

Needless to say, just my stern opinion. A cute idea general gets deflated once the well has been taped too many times. Ffrorde, not a skillful writer by any measuring stick, solely has his nifty little ideas to rely on. Once the idea becomes dilute -and he completely ruins his only real creation...

One of these days I’ll learn my lessons and just stop reading really popular, let alone award winning, recent books…but I ‘caught’ these 2 at a BookCrossing café so at least didn’t contribute to the profits these, um, writers are banking in: _Vernon Gawd Little_ by DBC Something Chalk it up...

Orrrrrrrrrrrr just be content with the first one, as the series, which should have stayed at 1 book, slopes downhill verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry quickly and poorly. Finally, I hear Fforde is getting away from it, although probably just momentarily… j

I don’t agree that a good writer will continually regurgitate. There may be a familiarity in style (Saramago, for example) or themes (Kafka, for example) but this usually isn’t achieved by hammering it into the ground. A style happens, it can’t be forced. But Chuck forces it. It’s a bit like...

Since we were somewhat following it, week-ending June 4th: _Haunted_’s 5th week on the NYT list, it still remains in the eleventh spot. j

That’s what I would have assumed. As I’ve rambled in the past, ‘gross out’ humour may be cute when one is 15, or loaded on watered-down beer, but not in many other situations… As for “art” school, I worked many years in the ‘medical area’ of Boston, neighboring Mass College of Art, and took...

Misreading, misinterpreting, not quite comprehending…I’ve been called worse. Logic is unfortunate. Curious… Frankly, conversation of any kind, and certainly about books, is not always about “loving” something. In general a good, informed critique can be far more interesting (for all...

First off, and I imagine it’s what you meant, Chuck may not be a well thought of *writer*. Aside from my lack of interest in his newer works, the “man” is a great guy. Anyone meeting him, hearing him talk or even writing him a letter will more than likely confirm this. Anyway, as you state...

Probably any book that parents teach them to read. I wasn’t aware parenting now needed the help of the media. Years ago that was called brainwashing. No wonder we’re devolving. But I’m not talking about the kids here… Tomorrow will undoubtedly be a dark, dark day. But heavily...

That wasn’t cliché???????? …sigh… _The Kite Runner_: the first 100 pages are ok, Hassan is a nice little character, then the story avalanches downhill at near record pace with the writer (and subsequently his editors) making just about every blow-story mistake one could make. To a nauseating...

This thread has a 1000 word per post minimum! Jus’ kidding. Enjoy it & drop your thoughts herein when you’re done. j

Simple. Yes. Effective in getting more than a few people involved? No. Not by a long shot. Well, more like likely those interested in pap like Harry P are going to read it anyway, and I, for the life of me, can’t really seeing much of an engaging conversation coming from such... Anyway, my...

Yes, it all depends on the mood, I guess. Someone like Faulkner I have also read back-to-back books and had no problem enjoying them. I don’t know if I was in the right frame of mind or Faulkner just lends himself to that kind of reading. With some other writers I even get a little burnt out...

slight spoil-stuff on _The Kite Runner_ Well, I've got fingers crossed that ...he (the writer) completely farged up the middle, so I can't see a proper ending coming... will post more tomorrow, I should finish it by then unless it pisses me off and I start glancing at the TBR (to be read)...

Yes. Sticking with the baseball imagery: with damn near every story she swings at the first pitch (first line) and cracks a homerun. j (who will one day type up every first line of all her stories and add them to their respective page on that site…)

Yes, please do. She’s really amazing. And you can clearly see what Chuck is somewhat _trying_ for, but that still doesn’t make it right. I can’t swing a baseball bat like Mickey Mantle, so I developed my own swing. Nor can I paint like van Gogh or achieve ‘connected’ moments with liver like...

I don’t mean to be dissuasive. Not my intention. Not at all. But I believe many of those that like Chuck’s earlier work rank _Choke_ pretty highly. And I think it was his best attempt at character; Denny (Danny?) being a favourite of many…maybe even CP himself (I think I recall him saying...