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I enjoyed the Ripley series. Read them in a row about 6 years ago. Ripley is such a charming sociopath. Bought a few books recently for summer reading and two of them are by/about Highsmith--the short stories and the bio. If you end up liking her work, you could start an author thread. I would...

Voltaire, Candide (1759)

i adore dexter! reluctantly, but still. read the book first and loved the series. totally hooked even though i knew the plotline. i especially liked how his "code" developed via his foster father's influence. can't wait for more on that theme. thanks for starting the thread, i never thought to!

Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift i finally decided on this title because i would actually read this again if i had to and i can't say that for most of the classics i read (and loved).

I really enjoy Lawrence Block's "Hit Man" series. Keller is a fascinating character. The stories are criminal in nature, rather devious and amoral, but oddly amusing. Out of the genre, but very good, is TC Boyle's new novel "Talk Talk". It's about identity theft and vigilantism. Excellent...

I have done this many times over the years--just devouring an author's entire inventory. I had binges with Cheever, Austen, Capote, Kundera, Faulkner, Highsmith, Vonnegut, Thomas Mann, and Maugham. More recently with McEwan and Lethem. I do it when I like a certain voice (and I want to hear...

hey angerball, thanks for the tip on Grotesque. i'll keep my eye out for it. sounds interesting.

I love wikipedia too, but I am old enough and far enough past a thorough education to be able to sift thru the dubious info that sometimes shows up there. I shudder to think of young people using it as a definitive source. One of the neat things you can do is set up your own user page. I...

I don't know if these are considered series, but I loved Patricia Highsmith's Ripley books and am always entertained by Lawrence Block's Hit Man Keller. Both very charming sociopaths.

Fret not FrodoLIVES! Keep reading and you will see the possibilities that life has to offer just jumping off the page!

This was my first shot at Japanese crime fiction. In general, I do like the genre so I thought I'd try some more. Any other recommendations?

i opt for the blank page in safari. i'm a graphic designer and can't stand being bombarded with imagery, especially bad type, so i start clean every day and with every command-N.

i had my thyroid removed at 26 (cancer) so i have to take thyroxine every day to fool my brain that the gland is still there and working. that was 6570 pills ago! and counting... not too long ago, at a dinner party, someone posed the question of what one item we would all bring to a desert...

I read this in 1983, when I was in college, but not for a class. It's packed away in a box now and I don't have the time to find it much less read it again. However, I do recall being engaged wit the story and unable to put it down. I liked Capote's profiling of Smith and Hickock, although some...

Reading Henry Miller's Black Spring and he used... addlepated. (having a muddled mind)

well, in nyc people tend to hawk just about everything on the street--it's mind boggling. only books are legal though without a vendor's license, with any other product you can (technically) be arrested and your goods confiscated. i've had a few "stoop sales" myself (you sell in front of your...

This thread made me think of the street booksellers in NYC. There are a few reliables who specialize and one gets to know them after years of passing by, browsing and buying. One that I know in particular is a hippie-era guy who lives in a small rent-controlled apartment and has a storage unit...

I enjoy planning a trip and researching books to read while in the country: travel writing, history, politics, biography, even guides (baedeker, blue, rough). A third of my backpack is taken up by books! I find they're great conversation starters too. People are usually impressed if you are...

perhaps this is too topical, but i'd like to read a book by someone your age on being a digital native. you've grown up in an environment of hyper-communication: with a computer, dvd, cell phone, iPod, Iming, text messaging, etc. i'd like to know how different that is and what it means to you...

I tried desperately to figure out Masako's motivation too. The only conclusion I came to is that her background led her to this. She had been a strong, smart and hard-working woman who was underappreciated, disliked and ultimately phased out of her career. Besides her bitterness towards men...