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What five books do you wish everyone had read/you most love to talk about? And WHY???

 
 
View Profile jespah
 
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Reply Mon 18 May, 2009 01:11 pm
Mulling, but any list has to include Kafka because he was so damn nuts.
View Profile chai2
 
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Reply Mon 18 May, 2009 01:18 pm
DrewDad wrote:

Try getting his audio tapes; he's one of the few authors that can read his own prose and actually improve the tone.


I heard him do a book reading at book people a few years back.

jesus christ, with his voice, his stature and his stories, it was hard to keep from falling over from laughing.

the first time I heard him was on "this american life" when he was telling the tale of how he and his sister amy went to greece.....oh god....amy's a hoot in her own right. put the 2 of them together, well, I won't be held responsible for the results.
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View Profile dlowan
 
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Reply Mon 18 May, 2009 03:34 pm
jespah wrote:

Mulling, but any list has to include Kafka because he was so damn nuts.


That's odd..because I am kind of reading a biography of Kafka!
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View Profile dlowan
 
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Reply Mon 18 May, 2009 03:38 pm
Wow! never heard of any of 'em!! Faskinating.
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Reply Tue 19 May, 2009 08:56 am
farmerman wrote:

David Sedaris and his sister are guests on several PBS shows . They are great humorists with a "early Woody Allen mixed with James Thurber " bent. They always celebrate personal incredulity and incompetence . One of my favorite short stories was Sedaris tale of being hired to play an "elf" in a Santa diplay for Wanamakers or some dept store like that.
Sedaris often incorporates his gayness into his stories and he does it in a way that straight [people are engaged and not kept out. Hes a really good writer of the sad and funny human condition.

I love that story. Sadly, I never read any of his books either (though my sister did get me "Me Talk Pretty One Day" on tape). My favorite part was when they made him sing so he decided to to a Billy Holliday impression.

For a good read about the horrors of humanity told in a detached and humorous way, you have Slaughterhouse Five. And then there's Catch 22 -- a perennial favorite.
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Reply Tue 19 May, 2009 12:04 pm
Quote:
Wow! never heard of any of 'em!! Faskinating.


I typically read a little off the beaten path.

Did you ever read anything by Christopher Moore? You might like the books I listed if you liked Moore.

Freeduck, I agree about Vonnegut. "Slaughterhouse 5" is wonderful!
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Reply Thu 21 May, 2009 03:27 pm
Burrowing through this thread (happily) in search of my next few books for my (fiction) library book group.

Thanks so much, bunny!
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