Sunday, August 09, 2009

Whatcha' Readin'?

The above picture is a compilation of what I have been reading, the past few weeks.
Overall, it's been an enjoyable time in the books.
I find [for whatever reason, unknown to me, but I am going to officially blame ABJECT LAZINESS as the culprit].... where was I? Oh yeah.... I find that that lately my desire to "review" and/or otherwise go on and on about what I am reading, has waned.
It has waned.
I'm lazy.
And yet, what is my blog called? Isn't it something like BOOKpuddle?
Supposed to be about books?
And yet, lately, every time Jack hacks up a unique-looking hairball, I find myself thinking, "Wow! I should blog about that!"
PUKEpuddle!

Some of you have probably long ago lost hope in me.
You say to yourself, "This guy does not even read anything! He should call his blog........ RANDOMpuddle!"

But I assure you.
When I'm not working, eating hamburger, sleeping, and...... [other stuff I can't mention here]... I am READING!

Here is my brief review of the above collage:
The Hotel New Hampshire -- Irving. Mmmmm.... delightful. Funny. Crazy. To use the word "typical" when talking about something Irving writes, does not have a negative connotation. [At least for me.] This book is CLASSIC, quirky, eccentric Irvingism! As "God" allows, I shall yet read all of his works. [Irving's, not "God's"].
The Innocent -- McEwan. You either like him, or you hate him. [See some of the blog-responses to my McEwan allusions if you don't believe me]. I choose to like him. And this book was simultaneously suspenseful and weird as hell. Well worth a purchase. Or, if you are cheap like me, a Library rental.
The Cement Garden -- McEwan. Older, and less good than The Innocent, but still pretty good. I may be biased though, after reading things like Atonement, Enduring Love, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan could write a novel called "For The Love of God, Do Not Read This" and there'd I'd be...... ass-deep in it!
Breaking The Spell -- Daniel C. Dennett. The author looks like Santa Claus. And [like Santa]... he knows what's what! He does. This thing is not fiction. But it's about fiction! To know what I mean, you must note the subtitle --> Religion As a Natural Phenomenon. Of all these here, I would say it is the most essential read in the photo.

Well, UNTIL you get to that fully erect one there.
That's the one I'm still dealing with.
WOW!
Saul Bellow.
Who peed kryptonite in this guy's Corn Flakes?
The book is called Herzog, and there are not words for me to describe how much you should read this book.
I have become a disciple.
Only have a few pages to go. But I am a convert!

Drop me a line here at Pukepuddle!
Tell me what you are reading. And add a brief thumb's up, or thumb's down.
Or, in lieu of this, at least direct me to a photo of something your cat recently hacked up?
Cheers!

********

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm reading an autobiographical book by J. M. Coetzee.
Two thumbs up.
Three maybe.
This looks like an interesting collection you have outlined on this blog entry.
--------
"It's not books you need, it's some of the things that once were in the books... books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us." - Faber, in Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 (1953)

Anonymous said...

2 Ian McEwan = puke puddle.

kingmonkey said...

I am currently reading The Baby Book by Dr. William Sears, however this is out of necessity. Otherwise, I am in-between books. The last one I read was Last Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko (anyone interested in a fresh, modern fantasy would do well to check out the Night Watch series by Mr. Lukyanenko).

I am actually taking a break from reading due to time constraints placed by my newborn son, and the fact that I really need to work on my own novel.

(If you were into chess, would this blog be rookpuddle?)

Anonymous said...

I'm reading Michael Gruber's The Book of Air and Shadows. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. My thumbs are in the "up" position!
I'm also reading The Maixims of Manhood by Jeff Wilser because I have this thing where I absolutely HAVE to read what my sons are reading to know what they're up to. It's really very funny and an easy read. You could learn a thing or two about being a real man, Cippy.
I've also started Into the Winter by Siegfried Stander for the second time (yep, I'm on of THOSE... I read more than one thing at once).
C.

Stefanie said...

Ah Cip, I'd still read your blog even if it were called pukepuddle :) I'm reading lots of stuff for school right now about digital librarianship. Also still managing to squeeze in Sword at Sunset an Authurian epic now and then and I read a good short story the other day about some men studying avalanches in the Swiss Alps.

Isabella K said...

I have yet to see my cat puke up anything! (It's kind of freaky how perfect she is.) So...

I'm on p 570 (about halfway) of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest: thumbs up (so far).

I started reading it as a break from some other 1000-page monster, 2666, also a provisional thumbs up.

I really, really need to read some more McEwan!

Cipriano said...

What a plethora of reading, going on out there in ReaderLand!
What if there was an amusement park called ReaderLand, and you could meet your favorite characters there!
Wow!
I'd love to meet Anna Karenina.
Well, before she met the train!

Anonymous:
Coetzee. Definitely a magnificent writer. Three thumbs, you say? Ahh, you remind me of my long-lost Uncle Ned.
Man that guy could deal cards!

Rhapsody:
I am guessing that the mathematical equation means you are not a McEwan fan?

Kingmonkey:
You are reading stuff there that I hope I never have to read. [That first book, like].

C:
Holy moly! You are a reading machine. I have seen that Gruber book here and there..... I love that funky monk-hat the author wears.

Stefanie:
Just think. a LIBRARIAN that is finding it difficult to find time for books! Now there's a conundrum.

Isabella:
You are into some real monstrous tomes there!
I've never read either of them, but yes.... MORE MCEWAN! [Don't listen to Rhapsody.]

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I really liked The Hotel New Hampshire; Irving, and am looking forward to his soon to be realeased book as well.