Books I've recently read/bought, (or plan to) - April/May '06 edition

[El Diablo]

OK. It has been a little while since I did one of these. Very long multi-part post here.

First, a quick update on some previous book threads for a bunch of good recommendations from me and other OOT readers:

Yobz nonfiction thread - lots of good books listed here

Ruth Reichl - Garlic & Sapphires (NY Times restaurant critic memoir)

August '05 Books thread

Oct '05 Books thread

Jan '06 Books thread

I've read all of the books I listed in the original posts of those threads with the exception of:

The Known World (Edward P Jones) - This book seems very heavy/deep and I haven't been motivated to read it yet.

The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) - I actually bought this for my sister and wasn't really interested in it.

Bel Canto (Ann Patchett) - My sister took this and hasn't returned it yet.

American Pastoral (Philip Roth) - I'm a little more than halfway through this right now. It's really good writing and I'm enjoying it, but I haven't gotten really pulled in yet. I've finished two or three other books since I started reading this one.

Happy to provide reviews of any of the books I listed in those previous threads if anyone is contemplating a purchase.

OK. On to the new stuff. As always, your comments, your lists, and your recommendations are very appreciated!!! Here's what I bought today.

The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown) - Yeah, I know. And I don't expect very much out of it, though I imagine it'll be an easy, fast-paced, entertaining read like Crichton/Grisham/etc. It's just that with 40 million copies sold, I feel like I should know what's going on with this.

The Orientalist (Tom Reiss) - "traces the true story of a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince in Nazi Germany." That was pretty much enough to hook me.

A Long Way Down (Nick Hornby) - I'm a big Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy, etc) fan. Don't know anything about this besides it involving suicide.

The Man Who Ate Everything (Jeffrey Steingarten) - Another food writer/critic book (I just recently read the Ruth Reichl book), this one about his exploring the world trying out all sorts of stuff.

China, Inc (Ted Fishman) - Business book about the growing influence/importance of China as a global economic power.

never drank the kool-aid (Touré) - A bunch of pop culture essays, largely centered around hip-hop/black culture, but including broader topics like entertainment/music/sports. Many of the essays are from Rolling Stone.

A few books I added to my potential reading list, but did not buy this time (I spent a lot of time in the food section):

Comfort Me With Apples (Ruth Reichl) - I skimmed her first book (Tender at the Bone) and it didn't seem that exciting to me, but this one looked pretty good.

How to Read a French Fry (Russ Parsons) - A cooking/cooking science book. Looked interesting, maybe I'll pick it up next time.

It Must've Been Something I Ate (Jeffrey Steingarten) - Yet another food book, I bought his first book instead, so maybe I'll check this one out if I like the first one.

Wine & War: The French, the Nazis & the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure (Donald Kladstrup, Petie Kladstrup) - recommended by a friend, sounds interesting.

Mysteries of Pittsburgh (Michael Chabon) - by the author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a book I really liked a lot. I decided I should finish American Pastoral and give The Known World a shot before getting this one.

Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips (Jim Derogatis) - I'm sure this will be a fun read about a band I really like.

There are also a bunch of good recommendations from posters in the other threads I listed. I'll go through those and list the ones I'm planning to get later.

[LittleOldLady]

[ QUOTE ]
OK. It has been a little while since I did one of these. Very long multi-part post here.

First, a quick update on some previous book threads for a bunch of good recommendations from me and other OOT readers:

Yobz nonfiction thread - lots of good books listed here

Ruth Reichl - Garlic & Sapphires (NY Times restaurant critic memoir)

August '05 Books thread

Oct '05 Books thread

Jan '06 Books thread

I've read all of the books I listed in the original posts of those threads with the exception of:

The Known World (Edward P Jones) - This book seems very heavy/deep and I haven't been motivated to read it yet.

The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) - I actually bought this for my sister and wasn't really interested in it.

Bel Canto (Ann Patchett) - My sister took this and hasn't returned it yet.

American Pastoral (Philip Roth) - I'm a little more than halfway through this right now. It's really good writing and I'm enjoying it, but I haven't gotten really pulled in yet. I've finished two or three other books since I started reading this one.

Happy to provide reviews of any of the books I listed in those previous threads if anyone is contemplating a purchase.

OK. On to the new stuff. As always, your comments, your lists, and your recommendations are very appreciated!!! Here's what I bought today.

The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown) - Yeah, I know. And I don't expect very much out of it, though I imagine it'll be an easy, fast-paced, entertaining read like Crichton/Grisham/etc. It's just that with 40 million copies sold, I feel like I should know what's going on with this.

The Orientalist (Tom Reiss) - "traces the true story of a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince in Nazi Germany." That was pretty much enough to hook me.

A Long Way Down (Nick Hornby) - I'm a big Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy, etc) fan. Don't know anything about this besides it involving suicide.

The Man Who Ate Everything (Jeffrey Steingarten) - Another food writer/critic book (I just recently read the Ruth Reichl book), this one about his exploring the world trying out all sorts of stuff.

China, Inc (Ted Fishman) - Business book about the growing influence/importance of China as a global economic power.

never drank the kool-aid (Touré) - A bunch of pop culture essays, largely centered around hip-hop/black culture, but including broader topics like entertainment/music/sports. Many of the essays are from Rolling Stone.

A few books I added to my potential reading list, but did not buy this time (I spent a lot of time in the food section):

Comfort Me With Apples (Ruth Reichl) - I skimmed her first book (Tender at the Bone) and it didn't seem that exciting to me, but this one looked pretty good.

How to Read a French Fry (Russ Parsons) - A cooking/cooking science book. Looked interesting, maybe I'll pick it up next time.

It Must've Been Something I Ate (Jeffrey Steingarten) - Yet another food book, I bought his first book instead, so maybe I'll check this one out if I like the first one.

Wine & War: The French, the Nazis & the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure (Donald Kladstrup, Petie Kladstrup) - recommended by a friend, sounds interesting.

Mysteries of Pittsburgh (Michael Chabon) - by the author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a book I really liked a lot. I decided I should finish American Pastoral and give The Known World a shot before getting this one.

Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips (Jim Derogatis) - I'm sure this will be a fun read about a band I really like.

There are also a bunch of good recommendations from posters in the other threads I listed. I'll go through those and list the ones I'm planning to get later.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Da Vinci Code is really truly a stinker, even as a light entertainment read. I don't much care for Crichton, but the Da Vinci Code is way worse. It stinks not only because the Holy Blood Holy Grail stuff is utter nonsense, but because the book is poooorly written.

I cannot imagine you or any other male being interested in The Red Tent (which I stumbled upon before it became a sleeper hit in certain circles). Give it to your sister--don't bother with it yourself.

[Clayton]

I just bought Life of Pi and In Cold Blood. Goot?

[El Diablo]

LoL: Every review and everything I've read about that book has made me think the worst and I've always avoided this book. But, still, 40 million sold, possibly the best-selling novel of all time, there has to be SOMETHING to this phenomenon.

Clayton: I liked Life of Pi a lot. In Cold Blood is a classic, very well written. It has been many years since I've read it. I think I'll pick up a copy and read it again.

[El Ishmael]

Thoughts on DaVinci Code? No chance I'll read it, but it seems you were reluctant to, so I'm curious what you think.

BTW, Red Tent is LOL bad. Burn it before opening it, seriously. Anita Diamant is a [censored] [censored].

[El Ishmael]

Oh, nvm, you haven't read the books yet.

[Mike Jett]

LittleOldLady: Have you read Andromeda Strain?

[jba]

I just started reading the first of neal stephenson's Baroque cycle, Quicksilver. seems great so far, but it will probably take a couple weeks to get through this brick.

I just ordered In Cold Blood from amazon because of this thread. amazon prime + bunch of money left on my bday GC from the rents = impulse shopping at its best!



RE: Da Vinci Code; yeah it's basically like a mediocre grisham, entertaining while you read it but nothing really memorable. I think people are mostly fascinated with JC getting laid.

[LittleOldLady]

[ QUOTE ]
LoL: Every review and everything I've read about that book has made me think the worst and I've always avoided this book. But, still, 40 million sold, possibly the best-selling novel of all time, there has to be SOMETHING to this phenomenon.

Clayton: I liked Life of Pi a lot. In Cold Blood is a classic, very well written. It has been many years since I've read it. I think I'll pick up a copy and read it again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re Da Vinci Code--there are a lot of dopey people who think everything is a conspiracy (most especially the Catholic Church). Apparently many people think that the content of Brown's book is TRUE and religiously significant. I think the same folks who bought a ton of those Left Behind books are lapping up the Da Vinci Code since it feeds into their delusions that Opus Dei is taking over the world, although apparently Opus Dei has to fight the Elders of Zion for world domination. I bought and read the damned thing because so many of my students were asking me questions about it (the same reason I went to see First Knight which was godawful--although anything in which Sean Connery appears has some redeeming value, O, the hotness of Sean). Trust me, the Da Vinci Code sucks donkey's balls, even if you are just reading it as an airport timefiller.

[theBruiser500]

"LoL: Every review and everything I've read about that book has made me think the worst and I've always avoided this book. But, still, 40 million sold, possibly the best-selling novel of all time, there has to be SOMETHING to this phenomenon."

that's a logic i used. it looked like the crappiest book ever but so many people said it was good that i figured i'd give it a shot. i already made this mistake, no need for you to also.