JRGoldman Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I read Marky Ramone's autobiography which was a fun look at a cool period of music. If you're looking for objectivity, I'm not sure you'll be happy, as Marky certainly thinks highly of his place in music history. He also tries to cast himself as a normal dude surrounded by crazies, which I'm positive was probably not the case. Aside from that, it has some fun anecdotes and he is able to write about his struggles with addiction and subsequent successes in AA without coming across as preachy, which is nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirSmUgly Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I've been reading non-fiction in print and listening to fiction in audio form in my car during my work commute. Right now, reading Scorpions by Noah Feldman, which is a cool look at FDR's Supreme Court and New Deal via the exploration of the lives of four of his justices. I just went through a John Grisham run on audio. Liked Sycamore Row. Thought The Litigators and The Racketeer were entertaining enough, though the latter was so wildly improbable even for a throwaway Grisham novel that it was a bit silly. Was meh on The Brethren. Outright disliked The Summons. I'm going to need some time off from Grisham now, but I have perfected my John Grisham Drinking Game in the process of running through some more of his stuff. Still think The Runaway Jury is definitely his most fun book by far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobholly138 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I read Marky Ramone's autobiography which was a fun look at a cool period of music. If you're looking for objectivity, I'm not sure you'll be happy, as Marky certainly thinks highly of his place in music history. He also tries to cast himself as a normal dude surrounded by crazies, which I'm positive was probably not the case. Aside from that, it has some fun anecdotes and he is able to write about his struggles with addiction and subsequent successes in AA without coming across as preachy, which is nice. I read that book last year. Not a big fan of Marky,hell I consider him the worst drummer the Ramones ever had. Yes even worse than Elvis Ramone/Clem Burke. But the book was decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Wasn't Marky the only one who got along with Phil Spector? That alone should be a red flag. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobholly138 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Wasn't Marky the only one who got along with Phil Spector? That alone should be a red flag. Pretty sure it was him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin877 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I have so many books, trade paperbacks and other things I need to read. But currently I am reading Emergence: Dave vs. the Monsters By John Birmingham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I'm reading Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates. It's about the abduction of a 19-year old girl. It builds to the eventual, predictable outcome, but it still is a gut-punch when it comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Glamorama: This is basically Zoolander if it were boring. (There was a lawsuit over the plot similarities, IIRC) I don't see the point in doing a novel about fashion models being recruited by terrorists if you're not going to have a little fun with it. As it is, only the first section when we're learning about the guy's life in New York is amusing. After that it's just the usual "The world is terrible and everyone is terrible and on drugs" stuff. This might be harsh but every book by Ellis feels like a guy exposing his soul, or trying to...except there's nothing there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Reed: Your last sentence is the most cogent, comprehensive statement on Ellis' body of work ever made. Bravo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Ellis is one of those people we should be grateful was blessed with good writing ability and expensive schools. Fuck knows the danger he would have been to society otherwise. I sincerely believe that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazorbladeKiss87 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Glamorama: This is basically Zoolander if it were boring. (There was a lawsuit over the plot similarities, IIRC) I don't see the point in doing a novel about fashion models being recruited by terrorists if you're not going to have a little fun with it. As it is, only the first section when we're learning about the guy's life in New York is amusing. After that it's just the usual "The world is terrible and everyone is terrible and on drugs" stuff. This might be harsh but every book by Ellis feels like a guy exposing his soul, or trying to...except there's nothing there. Oh Lord, yes. I hate to stop a book without finishing it but this was one I just could not get through. Luckily it was a Goodwill pick up so it didn't cost much at all. I enjoyed "American Psycho" for the most part, even though I felt the movie was better. I just started "The Stand" for the first time. I love King so I am fairly excited to finally read it. The library only had the original version so I may pick up the uncut one after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Has anybody read the Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer? I just started reading the first book, Annihilation. It is pretty short, just 199 pages. I am wondering if it is worth continuing on after I finish this book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobholly138 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Grabbed this from the used bookstore 4 or 5 years ago. Started it last night. The King story is fairly short. Farris I own 2 or 3 books from but have never read anything from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H. Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 1/2 way through Deadhouse Gates I think my only gripe is that Kalam should have seen he was being set-up after being handed the book. Otherwise I am so thoroughly engrossed in the events around the Whirlwind James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I'm a little more than halfway through the Cary Elwes Princess Bride memoir and it's good. Some stories I've heard, some I haven't. On some level, you start the book a little disappointed in Elwes that he never rose higher and that twenty five years later he's still sort of clinging to this but that fades due to how heartfelt he is about all of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Unfortunately, my eyes are shot so I couldn't make out what this was, but something with Farris, King, and Ed McBain certainly can't be that bad whatever it is. For those who don't know, John Farris is the great American Writer that only a select few know about (even though he's constantly selling and selling well, he gets ignored by the reviewers and academia alike). This is the guy that Stephen King patterned his career after, so that ought to tell you something. I should have mentioned this in the Southern Gothic thread, but All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By is, despite being marketed as genre horror, something you should put right there with your Collected Stories of Flannery O'Connor and Faulkner collection. You can smell the blood on the magnolia blossoms. Grabbed this from the used bookstore 4 or 5 years ago. Started it last night. The King story is fairly short. Farris I own 2 or 3 books from but have never read anything from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Has anybody read the Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer? I just started reading the first book, Annihilation. It is pretty short, just 199 pages. I am wondering if it is worth continuing on after I finish this book. I read ANNIHILATION last summer and really enjoyed it. Very trippy, and by the end, I was super invested in finding out what happens next. Then I read AUTHORITY and was fucking done with the whole endeavor. There are some cool, trippy moments that are reminiscent of the 1st book, but overall, it's just a slog to get through. It's a completely different type of story, and one that VanderMeer is apparently not any good at. Maybe I'll get around to ACCEPTANCE one day, but I don't fell any real urgency to do so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Thanks, I think I will just move on to the next book on my to-read list. I am just over half through with Annihilation, and am enjoying it. I am just past the point where the biologist gets to the lighthouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobholly138 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Unfortunately, my eyes are shot so I couldn't make out what this was, but something with Farris, King, and Ed McBain certainly can't be that bad whatever it is. For those who don't know, John Farris is the great American Writer that only a select few know about (even though he's constantly selling and selling well, he gets ignored by the reviewers and academia alike). This is the guy that Stephen King patterned his career after, so that ought to tell you something. I should have mentioned this in the Southern Gothic thread, but All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By is, despite being marketed as genre horror, something you should put right there with your Collected Stories of Flannery O'Connor and Faulkner collection. You can smell the blood on the magnolia blossoms. Grabbed this from the used bookstore 4 or 5 years ago. Started it last night. The King story is fairly short. Farris I own 2 or 3 books from but have never read anything from him. It is part of the Transgressions series Ed McBain edited. I own an old book by Farris,the Captors might be the title. I got it cause the cover was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobholly138 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Got the above cheap. Good read and fairly well done. I mean hell they got an entry on Star Comic's Planet Terry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Jeff Rovin! Wow, there's a blast from the past. Super-prolific writer in a thousand different fields, but mostly fondly remembered by me for his How To Win At Nintendo Games series of books, way back in the NES days when unauthorized game walkthroughs were nearly unheard-of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Before things like wikipedia, his encyclopedias were must haves for nerd research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobholly138 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 And most of his encyclopedias are dirt cheap. The one I posted a pic of was under a buck plus shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I remember Jess Nevins and i scouring bookstores in grad school for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Unholy Dragon Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Just started The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker. Only through the prologue so far but it's definitely been set up as an epic and fucked up ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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