FIVEEEEEE (5EEEEE)

[turkishpirate]

so today was my last day of work for the summer, and as some of you know, my job is v. demanding as far as time goes [10.5 hours a day after commuting is figured in], but not at all in any other way. daily routine at work breaks down to about 15% napping, 15% random filing, and 70% reading. As a result, i've read some ridiculous number of books

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[squarkz]

blonde redhead! man, they are the sexiest band ever. italian men and a japanese woman? it's like everyone's fetishes are satisfied and we all go home happy.

i have been meaning to read bright lights, big city forever. another book that seems in the vein you might like: everything is illuminated, by jonathan safran foer. it was on my to-read list for ages, and then i finally got around to it because i wanted to buy it before the only copy i could get would be the kind with a movie still on the cover and i hate those, but i am really, really enjoying it so far. maybe you would like it too.

[turkishpirate]

you know, JSF has been on my amazon reccommended list all over for a long time now, but every time i follow them up and read the reviews for his books people are constantly slamming him to the extreme. i mean, every book has it's negative reviews but it always seems like the people who reccommend the sorts of books that i love are talking shit about him. but i was thinking about going for at least one of his novels anyways just to see. I was leaning towards the Rules of Attraction, but just like you said, every time i clicked on it the movie book cover came up and that shit is lame. i'll look into your suggestion though.

[squarkz]

everything is illuminated is really pretty enjoyable, and it's even more fun thinking about the lead singer from gogol bordello as one of the main characters in the movie version. (that's the rumor, anyway.) i didn't like it at first just because i found his style frustrating, but now that i've gotten used to it and can concentrate on letting the story unfold, i like it much better. but since i'm busy with prelim exam stuff, it's slow going for a book i'd normally read in a couple of days or so. i don't know, maybe it'll end up completely sucking.

and most of my friends who recommend good books hate AHWOSG, anyway.

i've heard a lot of people say that JSF's new book (extremely loud and incredibly close, or whatever) is even better than everything is illuminated, so maybe i'll read that next.

[turkishpirate]

AHWOSG is far from being Great Literature, it's just an entertaining read. If you're into the weird sort of humor that McSweeney's + co. is known for, you'd definitely enjoy it. Although I didn't even know that the author was responsible for mcsweeney's until i was partway through the book, when he mentions it [it's an autobiography/memoir-type deal]. And i'm not even THAT big a fan of mcsweeney's. not as big as some other people i know, anyways.

[squarkz]

oh, no i mean that i've read it and really loved it despite the fact that my friends hate it.

mcsweeney's is so great at its best, but i also feel like i have to wade through a lot to get there. but i suppose that's true of most things.

[turkishpirate]

also, Bright Lights Big City has been around since the 80's and apparently i am completely artless for loving it. i guess it used to be one of those massively ubiquitous pop culture books that most people read because it's short and you could buy it at airport book stores. Regardless, it's definitely one of my 3 favorite books ever, and McInerney is a fantastic writer.

and the whole second-person narration thing -- i love it. plus that book has the best first chapter of any book i've ever read.