Originally Posted By Bucky N Satchel That describes my experience with The Dark Tower series pretty acurately
Originally Posted By DAR I wasn't a fan of Phantom Menace, but I love Star Wars(though I think you get my point)
Originally Posted By alexbook Okay, I'm officially on a Christopher Moore kick. Finished "You Suck" and "Bloodsucking Fiends" over the weekend and just picked up "Lamb".
Originally Posted By threeundertwo Just finished "Pride and Prejudice" (never thought those two would finally get together!) next up: The Widow of the South. Need to find a copy of "Something Rotten" so I can see what happens to Thursday Next next.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>Need to find a copy of "Something Rotten" so I can see what happens to Thursday Next next.<< Have you started Fforde's Jack Spratt books? I like them better than the later Thursday Next books; I think that series started to sputter out after a bit.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo I saw them at Amazon. I'll have to read them all. I just love his wit. Funniest stuff I've read in ages.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis Here's the synopsis: As he did so memorably for baseball in Moneyball, Lewis takes a statistical X-ray of the hidden substructure of football, outlining the invisible doings of unsung players that determine the outcome more than the showy exploits of point scorers. In his sketch of the gridiron arms race, first came the modern, meticulously choreographed passing offense, then the ferocious defensive pass rusher whose bone-crunching quarterback sacks demolished the best-laid passing game, and finally the rise of the left tackle—the offensive lineman tasked with protecting the quarterback from the pass rusher—whose presence is felt only through the game-deciding absence of said sacks. A rare creature combining 300 pounds of bulk with "the body control of a ballerina," the anonymous left tackle, Lewis notes, is now often a team's highest-paid player. Lewis fleshes this out with the colorful saga of left tackle prodigy Michael Oher. An intermittently homeless Memphis ghetto kid taken in by a rich white family and a Christian high school, Oher's preternatural size and agility soon has every college coach in the country courting him obsequiously. Combining a tour de force of sports analysis with a piquant ethnography of the South's pigskin mania, Lewis probes the fascinating question of whether football is a matter of brute force or subtle intellect. ---------------------------------------- If you like football or sports in general this is by no means a dry read. It's a wonderful stroy about this kid and the family that adopts him into their family along with interesting stories, examination and tibbits about the NFL.
Originally Posted By Bucky N Satchel Just picked up an Arther C Clarke called The Trigger at the thrift store. (Oh Alex, I was reminded of you Thursday night, I needed to get some air when visiting ESPN Zone and there was Compass Books :-D)
Originally Posted By peeaanuut I am currently reading: Best Damn Garage in Town: The World According to Smokey Awesome book on racing history.
Originally Posted By LVCajun Hannibal Rising Had to read it I've read and loved all of Thomas Harris' books on the subject. Can't say it's my favorite, BUT will probably see the movie anyway.
Originally Posted By MissCandice Alex, how are you liking Christopher Moore? I have always meant to read more of his but so far I have only read Lamb, which I loved. I am reading the 12th Lemony Snicket book and as soon as I read that I will read the 13th and last of that wonderful series.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>Alex, how are you liking Christopher Moore? I have always meant to read more of his but so far I have only read Lamb, which I loved.<< All of Moore's stuff is good, and some is great, IMNSHO. I've now read all of his books except "Coyote Blue," which I'll probably borrow next time Compass gets a copy. They're very silly and gruesome, and not to be taken too seriously. I'd put him in the same category as Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey. There are also similarities to Douglas Adams, Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket, Chuck Palahniuk, and Donna Andrews. "Lamb" is his only "historical" novel. "Fluke" is contemporary sci-fi, sort of. The rest of the books are contemporary fantasy/horror. Some of the characters from one book will show up again in a later book, but he usually reintroduces them enough that it's not strictly necessary to read them in order. For example, the demon Catch in "Lamb," had previously appeared in "Practical Demonkeeping." (The angel Raziel from "Lamb" later shows up in "The Stupidest Angel.") My favorite books of his are "The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror" and "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove," both of which are set in Pine Cove, CA, which is a fictional version of Cambria (near Big Sur). Here's the opening sentence of "Stupidest Angel": >>Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe.<< Kinda grabs ya, don't it?
Originally Posted By DAR <<Chuck Palahniuk>> I've read Fight Club, but are any of his other books worth a look?
Originally Posted By alexbook >><<Chuck Palahniuk>> I've read Fight Club, but are any of his other books worth a look?<< All the ones I've read have been good, but "Fight Club" is definitely the best. "Survivor" is similar in feel to "Fight Club," though not quite as unputdownable. "Lullaby" and "Diary" are more conventional fantasy/horror, somewhere in the neighborhood of Stephen King. "Fugitives and Refugees" is non-fiction, a travel guide to Portland, OR, with special reference to the strip clubs and haunted houses. "Stranger Than Fiction" is a collection of non-fiction magazine and newspaper articles. Some are as good and bizarre as you'd expect (e.g., "Frontiers"); others could have been written by any journalistic hack (e.g., "Reading Yourself"). I keep picking up his latest, "Haunted," and putting it back. It may be too creepy and gruesome even for me. YMMV. ;-)
