summer reading

[Gren the cake]

ive really lucked out on my current job - 4 hours a day, M-F. Minimum wage is $7.25, and im making $8.50. all i do is sit there and sell books. ill sell anywhere from 1-13 books. the most ill ever do is pick up a box, or run the CC machine

So ive had plenty of time to read. sometimes its been unbearable, some books better than others. sometimes im energized sometimes im not. yesterday was fuckin Killer but i had 20 some odd ounces of Coffee today so that helped

Anyway, I thought id share some of the books ive read. Maybe some of you would find some of interest. Id love for anyone else to, to share anything theyre reading. I never get into reading cuz i never go to book stores or libraries. theres thousands of books and im to pick one? i cant even order in a restaurant. These books my cuosin has lent me in some cases.

BUT, im taking night classes and i finally bought my gov't book today. so i wont be able to read so much, but its ok cuz thatll give me good reason to study this semester.

[AUSTIN316426808]

Originally posted by Gren the cake
[B] Minimum wage is $7.25[B]


Where?

[Gren the cake]

The Innocents Abroad - Mark Twain (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/048642832X/qid=1120168392/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_ur_2/102-6782157-4888931?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Readers Digest edition, 430 pages.

Type: old ass book

Time: roughly 20-25 hours

Synopsis: Mark Twain goes on a trip to Europe mainly, some parts of the middle east. He talks about people on the ship, people in the countries, things he buys etc etc.

Excerpt: "They have a grand mausoleum in Florence, which they built to bury out Lord and Saviour and the Medici family in. It sounds blasphemous, but it is true, and here they act blasphemy. The dead and damned Medicis, who cruelly tyrannized over Florence..."

Thoughts: ^^i added the above because its interesting how he pokes and prods at people. He has no problem referring to certain races as ugly, inferior, or stupid. Here he is totally dissing the Medicis who had a huge part in shaping Italy. LOL. ANYWAy over all, this book was so painful to read. but i took the 1 1/2 weeks to read it cuz i figured if i started why not finish? I thought there wuold be some cool ass interactions with people but it never happened. Its cool though how much he saw, and how he can write about so much. Also. its written with words like 'countenance' and 'betwixt'

***Note: im not THAT much of a dousche of a reader. its tiny print, big pages, LOTS of em, and on top of that i was reading it during my busiest week. so id read, be interrupted, then end up rereading LOL

[Gren the cake]

Running with Scissors - Augusten Burroughs (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/031242227X/qid=1120168802/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/102-6782157-4888931?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

320 pages

Type: Autobiographical, psychological, crazy

Time: 1-2 hours

Synopsis: Burroughs writes about his childhood, his alcoholic father, crazy poet of a mother, and having to move in with his mother's psychiatrist, and meeting HIS crazy family.

Excerpt: I dont have the book.. but here is one part that i could remember, more or less
"I walked into the living room with Fern's head buried in between my mother's legs...... It dawned on me - Fern was a muff diver. And she was diving in my mother's muff"

Thoughts: ^^thats exactly how the book is. its hard to believe that all this could happen to this one kid, that people DO these kind of things. my first thought was 'they GOT to make a movie of this' ... and they are ;)

[Gren the cake]

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140366709/qid=1120169052/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/102-6782157-4888931?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

My version was Reader's digest 'for young readers.' LOL. anyway, couldnt find a link

Type: ...myth?

Time: 1-2 hours

Synopsis: Legends/stories of King Arthur, Sir Launcelot, Sir Galahad, among others

Excerpt: I don't have the book right now. But you've all probably heard abou this stuff, or read it in school

Thoughts: neat stuff, although i would get tired of the 'smote him' 'betwixt' 'thrust it in twain' 'countenance. BUT the stories are pretty fuckin cool. even tho it said for young readers, it was in that old fashioned kind of type. I guess the way it was supposed to be..?

[The STE]

funniest first sentence ever:
"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."
from The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore

[Gren the cake]

Dibs in Search of Self - Virginia M. Axline (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345339258/qid=1120169208/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/102-6782157-4888931?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

220 pages

Type: Biography, psychology

Time: 1-2 hours (im not done yet, but almost)

Synopsis: About a Kid (Dibs) who won't play with any of the other kids in school, wont talk to his parents, and is all alone. It is written by Axline, who is the psychologist who worked with him. You learn alot about him, trying to find out why he is the wya he is, how his family is, etc...

Excerpt: "Cats live in this house, the fighting man has a cat, a real cat. And here is the duck. THe duck has no pond and the duck wants a pond. You watch. Two ducks, there are. Here is the big duck and it is brave. Here is the littel duck, but not so brave. The big duck may have a nice safe pond someplace. But this little duck does not have a pond of its own and it does want its own pond. But now these two ducks have met and they are standing here together and theya re both watching the truck drive up outside the window"

Thoughts: An amazing book. it's hard to believe, this child is only 6. He starts off not saying a thing, no one can reach him. Then all of a sudden he starts waking up. He is speaking during play therapy, hence ^^^^ the convo about the ducks. you can see the childishness in his speech, but then u see theres so much more meaning behind it. The doctor who wrote this had permission from the mother to record al interviews, all the play times, which is where these come from.

[Gren the cake]

Originally posted by AUSTIN316426808
Where?
CA

[Kemal]

You are one fast goddamn reader. I might have to check out the Twain book.

I'm reading The Case for Mars (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684835509/qid=1120180554/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/102-0702180-2086524?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by an aerospace engineer named Robert Zubrin. It's about how exploration and colonization of Mars is possible in the near future.

[Gren the cake]

^^^twain was difficult but i dont at all regret reading it. i guess its just one of those things that u SHOULD read. anyway, its fuckin dope how he can talk about SOOOOO much. mainly europe, yeh, but im sure he coulda gone on and on about tons of other places.

Mars eh? let me know how that one turns out. outerspace type shit generally doesnt turn me on so much but that sounds kinda neat!

i like to be well rounded, so that just may be something i shuold look into. ya know,, just some FYI.

[XFeaRX]

Originally posted by Gren the cake
ive really lucked out on my current job - 4 hours a day, M-F. Minimum wage is $7.25, and im making $8.50. all i do is sit there and sell books. ill sell anywhere from 1-13 books. the most ill ever do is pick up a box, or run the CC machine

So ive had plenty of time to read. sometimes its been unbearable, some books better than others. sometimes im energized sometimes im not. yesterday was fuckin Killer but i had 20 some odd ounces of Coffee today so that helped

Anyway, I thought id share some of the books ive read. Maybe some of you would find some of interest. Id love for anyone else to, to share anything theyre reading. I never get into reading cuz i never go to <a style='text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=book%20stores" onmouseover="window.status='book stores'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">book stores</a> or libraries. theres thousands of books and im to pick one? i cant even order in a restaurant. These books my cuosin has lent me in some cases.

BUT, im taking night classes and i finally bought my gov't book today. so i wont be able to read so much, but its ok cuz thatll give me good reason to study this semester.

7.25 minimum wage? Lmao

[Gren the cake]

The Gift of Valor (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0767920376/qid=1121208005/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/104-3285249-9284710?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

256 pages

Type:war story, biography

Time: 2-3 hours

Synopsis: Story involving some battles in Iraq (namely, Husaybah), mostly about Corporal Jason Dunham, who placed his helmet over a grenade, absorbing most of the blast. He ended up dieing a couple weeks later (pretty much never came too) and has been nominated for the medal of Honor.

Thoughts: Good story, although the tone of the book is a little too GI Joe for my liking. Understandbly so, though, but considering i work around a buncha marines and see how much of morons they can be.. then again, this IS in wartime. They play him out as a hero, which i dont doubt at all that he is.. but well you get the idea

I actually got to meet the writer of the book. He had toured Iraq 4 times. Kinda neat.... It's pretty sad, and you think about how he had to interview everyone, especially the family, who had to relive jason's death all over again (gradual death which went on for dozens of pages)

The author had his book signed, from some people he had worked with as well as the family. I saw some chicken scratch writing thinking 'WTF'. i finaly got to look at it and it was written from the sister of Jason, who wrote 'Thank you for writing abou my brother'

[Gren the cake]

Prozac Nation (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1573225126/qid=1121208273/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_ur_2/104-3285249-9284710?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

384 pages

Type: Memoir, psychological

Time: 7-10 hours

Synopsis: Elizabeth Wurtzel talking about her childhood/teenage years, including over a decade of depression

Thoughts: Good book, extremely honest.. although i have to say that it was pretty hard to relate too. She was extremely depressed, crying all the time - uncontrollably, EVERYWHERE. Some cool, slightly shocking stuff. She makes a lot of references to people, books, and movies which i'm gonna look into.

Apparently, its a movie. she made a reference to 'girl, interrupted' so it wasnt that. Looking for it on Amazon, turns out its a movie by the same name starring Christina Ricci.. which ended up going striaght to television. So, i'm not sure how great the movie was. in the end tho, as great a book as it is i tihnk it would bea pretty boring movie. But im guessing ricci must've done a pretty good job protraying her...

[Elvis_Christ]

Some of those sound interesting. I'm about to start reading Treasure Island.

[Gren the cake]

^^^ive been wanting to read that. maybe thatll be my nextone

i read '20,000 leagues under the sea.' but that was years ago.

[meetthecreeper]

Originally posted by Kemal
You are one fast goddamn reader. I might have to check out the Twain book.

I'm reading The Case for Mars (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684835509/qid=1120180554/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/102-0702180-2086524?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by an aerospace engineer named Robert Zubrin. It's about how exploration and colonization of Mars is possible in the near future.

That sounds like an interesting book, space exploration and travel has always intrigued me.

Currently reading several books, but this one is quite interesting.

Rommel and his Art of War by Field Marshall Erwin Rommel.

Interesting read about the Desert Fox. If you are interested in WWII history from a different perspective.

[The_Return]

Currently reading Falling Angel by [I just know this is goona be spelt wrong] William Hjortsburg. So far, it's pretty good.

[Gren the cake]

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060931418/qid=1121745796/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9906805-6126245?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

193 pages

Type: fiction, black, women's issues

Time: 6-10 hours

Excerpt: (this is the first line of the book)
Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in reisnation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.
Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember eerything they dont want to forget. The ream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.

Synopsis: The life of Janie, a half black half white baby born, raised by her grandmother. It's only a small portion of her childhood, and follows her throughout her adult life, getting married and such.

Thoughts: Excellent book! It's a story both about blacks (not so much slavery, but life afterwards) as well as a woman in search of self. Not only a woman, but a mixed woman, not quite fitting in here nor there. It mainly deals with search of love.

It's not that many pages, but the reason why it took so long was because whenever there was speaking, it was written in the way that they would say it. As in, so many of you complain about my grammatics/typos, so you probably wouldnt enjoy this book. It was pretty hard to read, although it did become easier overtime.

Excerpt:

"De snake won't bite yuh... He skeered tuh go intuh uh coil. Skeered he'll be blowed away. Step round dat side and swim off!"

See? Anyway, I've never read any african american sort of literature. I really liked it tho. It would make a great movie (i think it may be one, im not sure)

The chick, Janie, I really got to admiring at the end of the book.

[ItsAlive75]

I'm reading that "Haunted" book by Chuck Palahniuk... its fuckin sweet.

[Gren the cake]

Bad Cat - Jim Edgar (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761136193/qid=1121746363/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9906805-6126245?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

245 pages

Time: 1 hour

Type: picture book

Synopsis: It's a picture of 244 cats, all with names and hobbies (obviously, fiction)

Thoughts: Maybe I would like it more if i liked Cats. I mean, I like cats alright, but not nearly THIS much. Some pics were really cute, and others were ugly, while others I was pretty indifferent about.

Anyway.... each of the cat's have names. I found my bf's name (Damian) but I don't recall seeing mine. Anyway, it was kinda cute in a astrological sort of way. As in, I want to find which cat I am and what it says about it (me).

Note: I didn't buy this book, any of these books actually. My cousin lent em to me. I finished all the ones she lent me though, so for work this morning I grabbed the only paper back I had in the garage - Aliens v. Predator: Prey. LOL!!! although weird, it spretty creative, so I'll be finishing it.

[HappyCamper]

currently reading 'Obession' by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

[MisterSadistro]

'Prozac Nation' was awful. I wanted to strangle that chick for her constant whining and 'woe is me' crap Anyhoooo
What was the one you were reading on the phone to me ? The anal sex one ? LMAO I still need you to do my audiobook for me on that one.
CK

[Gren the cake]

^_^. SOME Of her insights were pretty cool but yeh.. she was buggin the shit out of me. It was a bit of a slow read, for that reason. Sorry, but I can't relate. I don't have the patience for that shit in real life OR in a book

As for the anal sex- that would be Running with Scissors.

[MisterSadistro]

...and I bet you didn't get mic for your computer yet either :(
Too bad. Wrote a new tune to play at end of film that will be really strange and out of place in it now.
CK

[Gren the cake]

not buying it till i see the song.

[MisterSadistro]

Check e-mail

[Gren the cake]

tou che.

except it wont open. ill try forwarding it to my HOTMALE

[Gren the cake]

^^wow. im impressed Chris. it sounds nice, pretty tune, although the digitialness of it is a bit killer. I would love the sheet music for it and play it on the pinano

anyway.. im still missing lyrics and melody

[MisterSadistro]

Thanks. It's still in rough stages. Haven't written out melody yet since I've been playing it live so far. What the hell is a "pinano" btw ?
CK

[Gren the cake]

a childrens version of a piano, sucker.

anyway. keep me posted. and ill b sure to take care of ym golden voice.

[MichaelMyers]

GRENNY FOR DUMMIES

[urgeok]

i'm almost finished the two towers (book 2 of lord of the rings)
It's been a while since i read the series and I have far more appreciation for it now - it's incredibly well written.

The copycats suffer greatly in comparrison (Terry Brooks, David Eddings, etc) are a bunch of hacks ...

Stephen R Donaldson who wrote the Chronicles of Thomas the Unbeliever series came the closest .. his writing was richer .. but his hero was unlikeable .. an interesting spin but it makes for frustrating reading.


Lord of the Rings is a finely crafted piece of work ..if you havent read it in a while, do so again - it's one of the most entertaining books i know of in any genre.


(and as i thought i had remembered - .. Legolas and Grimli had much more important rolls in the books than in the films)

[Haunted]

I can't stand LOTR. I don't know why.

I'm getting ready to read this book: The Historian
It's about this young girl's quest to find Dracula (Vlad Tepes).

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Haunted
I can't stand LOTR. I don't know why.

I'm getting ready to read this book: The Historian
It's about this young girl's quest to find Dracula (Vlad Tepes).

the last time i read it i didnt appreciate it as much as i do now ...
Tolkien was a master word crafter..

[Gren the cake]

Originally posted by Haunted
I can't stand LOTR. I don't know why.

I'm getting ready to read this book: The Historian
It's about this young girl's quest to find Dracula (Vlad Tepes).
......ths is gonna sound kinda dumb.. but thats fiction right?

... ^_^. I only ask because i'm prettty sure dracula existed. Ok, maybe not as the vampire.. im thinking more along the lines of vlad the impaler

OK. so i coulda looked it up on amazon. ah well.

--------
Today, i forgot my 'Aliens v. Predator' book (RATS!) so i started reading 'my father, my coutnry' or something to that extent. It's an autobiography about a guy who escaped Vietnam right before the war. He didnt meet his father until 17 years later, and he later joined th Marine Corps. I've read about 60 pages or so.. the last 10 being a blur on account it was all about bombs and flying and shit. It's very interesting, hearing his view. But its a book that im selling, and odds are i'll hafto quit reading the books i'm trying to sell.... :/. its quite long, but i'd love to finish it if i could.

[Zero]

I agree with Urg on the LOTR. I read it as a kid and enjoyed it but now I find I really appreciate the complexity of the language and story. I do a lot of long-distance hiking (when I can get away) and I always take one of the books with me. Its a perfect match since most of the books are filled with the characters marching to and fro.

[nine9]

Just finished The Future Of Spacetime : Hawking, Thorne, Novikov, Ferris, Lightman...........very interesting.....they make it easy to understand, and those guys are funny too!

Now......To The Lighthouse: Virginia Wolf.........I love her books, but I find this one harder to get into for some reason.........

[novakru]

Originally posted by nine9
Just finished The Future Of Spacetime : Hawking, Thorne, Novikov, Ferris, Lightman...........very interesting.....they make it easy to understand, and those guys are funny too!

Now......To The Lighthouse: Virginia Wolf.........I love her books, but I find this one harder to get into for some reason.........



Just wondering.....Did you see the movie"What the Bleep Do We Know"?
...and the website has alot of books that seem interesting. I picked up "The Hidden Messages in Water"by Masaru Emoto. Very good imo.

[urgeok]

started the latest harry potter book ...

getting a bit darker ...

i see a possible parallel storyline with Star Wars (will Harry go to the dark side ?)

oooooooohhh !

i cant help but wonder what impact the movies have on her writing now - she's in a unique position ..

[taylorsmommy]

Everything's Eventual
14 Dark Tales
by Stephen King

[nine9]

Originally posted by novakru
Just wondering.....Did you see the movie"What the Bleep Do We Know"?
...and the website has alot of books that seem interesting. I picked up "The Hidden Messages in Water"by Masaru Emoto. Very good imo.

I'll look into it :)

[filmmaker2]

Here is a portion of the front and a portion of the back cover of "THE WEREWOLF VS. VAMPIRE WOMAN" by Arthur N. Scarm, published in 1972. It is a marvelous and refreshing summer read. Basically, this is a "novelization" of the Paul Naschy film that has nothing whatsoever to do with the film.

[Gren the cake]

Originally posted by novakru
Just wondering.....Did you see the movie"What the Bleep Do We Know"?
...and the website has alot of books that seem interesting. I picked up "The Hidden Messages in Water"by Masaru Emoto. Very good imo.
i bought it ^_^.. that water shit is extremely trippy!

only probnlem was... my first DVD was shit. it played for like 1 minute.. then wouldnt play anymore

so we went back to the store and traded it in, opened it there and i played it at the store, fast forwarding...

watched it at home, and around the last 45 minutes or so, it would skip around a bit.. not skipipng parts, but kinda freeze up... :/ especially the last 5 minutes. fuckin great movie on some cheap quality dvd :mad:

PISS ME OFF