books #12-14 (plus meme)
12. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley. I put this on hold at the library after reading Julie (at Bookworm)'s post on it and I wasn't disappointed. It was very sweet. The only problem was that it only took me about an hour to read. I'll have to get the sequel next. Oh, and you can even read it online.
13. The Big U by Neal Stephenson. I loved the rest of his books that I've read (I've had the first in the Baroque cycle since it was published, but it seems like a big commitment so I haven't started it yet). This one was his first book, I think, and was only brought back into print due to his later success. It was a bit over the top and some of the characters' idiocy reminded me, unfortunately, of A Confederacy of Dunces, but I still enjoyed it.
14. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard. After Phantom posted about the inchworm, I had to request this as well. Even though I haven't really tried to write anything since going on a young writers camp in grade 8, I still love reading about writing and her little vignettes are wonderful. Some of her avoidance tactics are rather similar to my efforts at procrastination; I just wish I could claim they were all part of the scientific process...
I was probably going to put this post off for another book, but Andrea posted another book meme, this time Literary Speed Dating from Julie (at No Fancy Name), so I had to follow her lead.
The idea is to pick 3 favourite books to have with you while speed-dating.
1. Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)
2. Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
3. Paradise (A.L. Kennedy)
Alternates: (what? I read the original article, the event is held in a bookstore, where you're meant to find your books; they might not have my first three)
4. Prodigal Summer (Barbara Kingsolver)
5. About a Boy (Nick Hornby)
6. So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish (Douglas Adams) (or the entire trilogy if they have it as one volume)
To quote Andrea: "narrowing it to three felt like chopping off an arm" and I'm relying on my poor memory to let me post this without further anguish. I'll probably feel terribly guilty for betraying much-loved books when I realise what I've forgotten.
posted by Lucy @ 10:21 PM
3
comments
3 Comments:
I totally agree about the daunting commitment to the Baroque Cycle, especially since I have the first two piled up now. I like long books, so I don't know why those particularly daunt me. Maybe it's the density of his writing.
Big U was just too silly for me, especially as it devolved into machine gun battles with rats and Russians (or whomeverans). I heard that for a while, he was advocating destroying all copies of this book (around the time Snow Crash hit), and it was hard to find. But then it was reprinted... I say stick with your instincts, Neal.
His books take longer to read and require more concentration than a lot of others with similar page counts.
The war was incredibly silly, but it was enjoyable if I suspended my requirement for continuity of style and credibility.
Cryptonomicon is why I haven't yet started the Baroque Cycle. I loved all the detail and the intricately related storylines and the maths, but it did require a lot more concentrated effort than most fiction.
Neil Gaiman's novels are all pretty different from each other. Stardust is the one I've read most often because it's so sweet. Have you read Anansi Boys? It's awesome too, and peripherally related to American Gods.
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