Book Recommendations

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I liked "Girl With a Pearl Earring" when I first read it (a lot). I just reread it last week. I still liked it, but not as much as on my first read. (and most of her books since have been pretty terrible.)

I really liked Chevalier's Falling Angels (but again, I love fiction set in late Victorian/Edwardian England) but was pretty disappointed with The Virgin Blue (although I think that was written before Pearl Earring) and simply cannot get into The Lady and the Unicorn.

I was recommended The Girl in Hyacinth Blue based on my enjoyment of Pearl Earring (it also deals with Vermeer but in a more modern context) but found it to be not so great.

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q99, I just finished The Death and Life of Bobby Z. Excellent book! Thanks for mentioning it. I loved the ending. Usually endings like that leave me feeling too sickly-sweet, but the way the author wrote the character, and the way he just said, "Fuck it," and ran towards the boat, made me feel satisfied. I actually have Kiss Me, Judas on my book list and will probably pick that up next.

Edited b/c his name was Bobby, not Booby. Hee!

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Are you old enough to remember The British Invasion? Were you listening to Classic Rock the first time around, when it was just rock, before some suit came up with the idea to package it and market it back to you? Then you'll like Bill Fitzhugh's latest, Radio Activity. I'm only a couple chapters in and the main character, a DJ from wayback, is talking about Osibisa (world music decades before some suit came up with yada yada) and trashing the narrow focus of so-called "classic rock" stations and radio in general. My kinda guy.

I think this is Bill Fitzhugh's 6th book and I can recommend them all. Especially Fender Benders, also dealing with the music industry.

[heyalice]

I have Nancy Pearl's books BOOK LUST and MORE BOOK LUST. She has a chapter in the second book about Anthony Trollope. I'd ove some of your thoughts before I give his books a try.

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All I can say about Trollope is that I tried one of his novels last year and couldn't get into it. I don't think I got past the first chapter.

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I'd like to nominate The Five Gates of Hell by Rupert Thomson. I'm oddly compelled by the character of Jed Morgan. I haven't finished it yet, but I know when I do, I'm going to be sad that I can't find out more about him.

[razzy]

aldura said:

I've heard some good things about (possibly butchered title ahead) Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by I don't remember. Anyone here think it's worth the while?

I've read the book. Its funny and definitely a take on the Bible that you don't see every day. But I had issues with the author's portrayal of women. All of his women characters were just... awful. They basically were all just dying to suck the narrators dick. So that killed the fun of the book for me. But everyone else I know who read the novel really enjoyed it.

[razzy]

Thanks for the tip, stargirl.

For anyone looking for an enjoyable beach read, I ready 80% of The J.A.PChronicles. in one sitting. I randomly picked it up a few weeks ago while waiting for Nick Hornby to begin his reading at a bookstore and was pleasantly surprised. It isn't as cliched as most chick lit and the interplay of characters you expect to be one dimensional are actually more layered and surprising than I expected.

Currently reading: a Dorothy Parker biography and The Birth of Venus.

[treyother]

Peter Hedges' An Ocean in Iowa was amazing.
It's short, and a quick read about a seven-year old boy whose mother leaves the family, and what he does to get her back.

I had one small quibble with the ending, but I'm sure that'll be a rare opinion here.

Duke of URL, I am in total agreement with your Fitzhugh recommendation. I have read all of his books, and he has only written one clinker as far as I can tell, which was Organ Grinders. Loved the rest of his stuff, though.

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Last week I read "So Big" by Edna Ferber. It was pretty good. I'll be trying to track down other books by her, as I think they're mostly out of print. It won a Pulitzer prize, by the way. (No I'm not a book snob, reading books just for awards, it's just that I usually enjoy books that have won Pulitzers. Whereas, National Book awarded titles usually leave me cold.)