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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-23 13:57 [#00612033] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | ive been rummaging through my parents books and taken what ive wanted and acquired literally like 75 new books from our
 house and from used bookshops etc.  ive just gotten more
 books by dostoevsky, tolstoy, camus, orwell, huxley, golding
 and so many others that would take a while to
 type....anyways what are you reading now, whats your
 favorite author and book.
 
 I am reading George Orwell's Coming Up for Air which is
 veryy good and I only have 30 pages left.  After that I'll
 probably read some short stories by Dostoevsky.
 
 by the way is anyone familiar with Russell Banks or know if
 he's writing anything at the moment?
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-23 13:57 [#00612035] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | I realize there have been quite a few book threads but it felt appropriate to create this new one for some reason.
 
 
 
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         |  pantalaimon
             from Winterfell (United Kingdom) on 2003-03-23 14:02 [#00612041] Points: 7090 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag
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 | i'm reading The Wind-up Brird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, it's really good so far.
 
 Neil Gaiman is my fave author at the mo and my fave book is
 could possibly be the one i'm reading now :)
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-23 14:04 [#00612045] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | im not familiar with either of those, ill look into them. what did Neil Gaiman write that you like the best so I could
 try one out.
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-03-23 14:06 [#00612050] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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 | "The Wind-up Brird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami" 
 I was planning on rreading that ages ago, but neverr got
 rround to buying it.
 
 I don't have a fav authorr orr book. I am generrally rreally
 into the authorr and the book i am rreading at the time.
 
 I set up a book group a couple of weeks ago so i would be
 forrced almost to rread what i wouldent pick myself.
 We arre rreading The Shining (i say we, i leant the book to
 someone in the grroup, so i'm in limbo)
 
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-23 14:08 [#00612054] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker | Followup to Anus_Presley: #00612050
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 | I havent read that or seen the film yet but I'll probably end up just seeing the film and not reading it since im not
 that interested in it.
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-03-23 14:10 [#00612059] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker | Followup to MachineofGod: #00612054
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 | the book is much betterr storry wise comparred to the film. 
 
 
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         |  pantalaimon
             from Winterfell (United Kingdom) on 2003-03-23 14:12 [#00612063] Points: 7090 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag
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 | i'd reccomend Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, best book of his i've read so far.
 
 Anus_presley, you should, its excelent!
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-23 14:12 [#00612065] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | i like kubrick but im not really into horror type books at all or films that much either.
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-23 14:13 [#00612068] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker | Followup to pantalaimon: #00612063
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 | ok thanks, ill try Neverwhere out(sometime, I have so much books to read as it is).
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-03-23 14:15 [#00612070] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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 | i like horrrrorr books, but not films, i would class the shining as chillerr.
 
 
 
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         |  Charles D Ward
             from ASS, okay? (United States) on 2003-03-23 14:30 [#00612093] Points: 1072 Status: Addict
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 | lovecraft is teh best old writer :( 
 
 
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         |  child810
             from boston (United States) on 2003-03-23 14:38 [#00612099] Points: 2103 Status: Lurker
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 | I just started a book - Jennifer Government - by Max Barry 
 It's great so far.
 
 Imagine a future society where corporations like McDonalds,
 Ford, the NRA, and Microsoft rule the world?  Consumers and
 employees don't have last names anymore.  Rather, you take
 the name of the company you work for.  (imagine having to go
 by Julie Dunkin Donuts)  The way we're heading... this
 actually isn't a hard future to imagine at all.
 
 
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-03-23 14:40 [#00612100] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker | Followup to child810: #00612099
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 | hahaha sounds grreat. 
 
 
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         |  danbrusca
             from Derbyshire (United Kingdom) on 2003-03-23 15:06 [#00612122] Points: 4570 Status: Lurker
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 | I'll just chuck a random recommendation into the ring, a book called Scepticism Inc. by Bo Fowler.
 
 Basically, it's about a guy who sets up a chain of
 metaphysical betting shops where people place bets on things
 that can't be proven, which are effectively matters of
 faith. Leads to such madness as the Pope betting the entire
 catholic church on the belief that god is good etc.
 
 The whole thing is told from the perspective of a sentient
 supermarket trolley. Very good.
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-03-23 15:11 [#00612133] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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 | i'm rreading (on and off) Rain Days now by William Trevor, which is a book of shorrt storrys. But they all leave me
 wanting morre like i have just scrrached the surrface. I
 like his style so i might pick a novel of his up, like The
 Story of Lucy Gault.
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-03-23 15:12 [#00612135] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker | Followup to danbrusca: #00612122
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 | is it easy to rread? 
 
 
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         |  danbrusca
             from Derbyshire (United Kingdom) on 2003-03-23 15:13 [#00612137] Points: 4570 Status: Lurker | Followup to Anus_Presley: #00612135
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 | I guess depends on how good you are at reading. The style of writing is different, but I don't think it's difficult.
 
 
 
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         |  child810
             from boston (United States) on 2003-03-23 15:15 [#00612142] Points: 2103 Status: Lurker
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 | yeah Dan that sounds interesting but heavy to sort through. 
 I'm still reading Chuck Palhniuk books over and over, they
 just don't get old.
 
 
 
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         |  danbrusca
             from Derbyshire (United Kingdom) on 2003-03-23 15:19 [#00612150] Points: 4570 Status: Lurker | Followup to child810: #00612142
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 | I keep meaning to read some of his stuff, but I'm on a mission to catch up on the 3 Carl Hiaasen novels I haven't
 had a chance to read yet.
 
 That said, at the rate I'm reading these days that could
 take me to 2010. Until last September I had a job that
 required I spend about 2 hours a day on a bus, so I read a
 lot. Since then all I've managed to get through is the last
 Tom Clancy novel and that took months.
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-03-23 15:30 [#00612163] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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 | *cuts and pastes* 
 "The Bell Jar" - Sylvia Plath
 "Prozac Nation" - Elizabeth Wurtzel
 "Girl, Interrupted" - Susanna Kaysen
 
 I bought The Bell Jar because my book grroup might be
 rreading it, and amazon kinda rroped me into getting the
 otherrs.
 
 Anyone rread any of them?
 
 
 
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         |  Ganymede
             from Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius on 2003-03-23 19:45 [#00612485] Points: 1045 Status: Lurker
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 | I ought to check out those books by Berry and Fowler. 
 Anyone read "Good Omens" by Gaiman and Pratchett?
 
 
 
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         |  Ganymede
             from Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius on 2003-03-23 19:50 [#00612492] Points: 1045 Status: Lurker
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 | Speaking of "older" authors, I'm reading "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco right now. I know he has a
 reputation for being a heavy writer, but I'm really enjoying
 it. At heart, it's really just a big mystery story.
 
 
 
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         |  zaphod
             from the metaverse on 2003-03-23 21:45 [#00612668] Points: 4428 Status: Addict
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 | i just finished american gods by gaiman. good, but bogged down in too much detail. just overly long.
 i'm picking up some lewis carrol now.
 
 
 
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         |  dan7250
             from Osaka (Japan) on 2003-03-23 22:08 [#00612704] Points: 598 Status: Lurker
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 | michel houellebeucq(sp) - Atomised 
 kurt vonnegut - slaughterhosue five
 
 william burroughs - junky
 
 matthew lewis - the monk
 
 salman rushdie - shame
 
 
 
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         |  neetta
             from Finland on 2003-03-23 22:16 [#00612707] Points: 5924 Status: Regular
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 | i do recommend the cool russian/soviet writes, such as nikolai gogol and mihail bulgakov.
 
 i'm a big fan of gaiman but i can't even get started in
 american gods - it's just too slowly starting.
 
 
 
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         |  LeCoeur
             from the outer edge of the universe (United States) on 2003-03-23 22:18 [#00612708] Points: 8249 Status: Lurker | Followup to child810: #00612142
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 | i didn't really like the last book i read by him.....Choke, it was OK, but not mind blowing. i think maybe he's been
 overhyped or something, cos i expected SO MUCH MORE, and was
 disappointed.
 
 i'll prolly read another to see if maybe it was just the
 story i didn't care for, or his writing style.
 
 
 
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         |  Charles D Ward
             from ASS, okay? (United States) on 2003-03-24 02:24 [#00612823] Points: 1072 Status: Addict
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 | I'm on a HPL/Solzhenytsin obsession, Solzhenitsyn was a writer sent to ccamps by Soviet government, he wrote about
 his stay there a lot, now getting a nobel prize for it...
 
 
 
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         |  Key_Secret
             from Sverige (Sweden) on 2003-03-24 05:01 [#00612984] Points: 9325 Status: Regular
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 | Not reading any fiction at the moment. I haven't read many books, eventough I do enjoy reading, but
 some of my fav (fiction) books of thoose I've read are:
 "The process" (is this the english title? not sure) -Franz
 Kafka
 "American Psycho" -Brett Easton Ellis
 "Fight Club" -Chuck Palashniuk
 ... and more... I'm in a rush now...
 Lots of good books out there, almost too many ;)
 
 
 
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         |  Jarworski
             from The Grove (United Kingdom) on 2003-03-24 05:06 [#00612988] Points: 10836 Status: Lurker
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 | Man, I'm getting in a slump... I'm close to not finishing the last three or four books I started:
 
 'Chopper'
 'The Bonfire Of The Vanities'
 'LA Confidential'
 
 ... all boring, dull shit... I need a book to come along and
 really stimulate my brain, but I dunno what to look for
 anymore...
 
 
 
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         |  Ganymede
             from Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius on 2003-03-24 05:23 [#00613001] Points: 1045 Status: Lurker | Followup to neetta: #00612707
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 | Neetta, what do you recommend by Gogol? I finished "The Heart of a Dog" by Bulgakov recently.
 
 I read American Gods and felt a little let down by the
 ending...
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-24 10:34 [#00613497] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | I just finished Coming up for air which is very good.  I reccomend it to people who have only read animal farm or
 1984 to see his other style of writing, its got a bit of
 comic lines in it, great book just find out for yourself.
 
 some new things I just picked up:
 Point Counter Point - aldous huxley
 cat and mouse - gunter grasse
 franz kafka - metamorphosis and other stories
 dostoevsky - poor folk  (which I am reading next)
 
 I also just finished a short book called Wipe Your Face You
 Just Swallowed my Soul by Hugh Prather which was very
 interesting...I dont really know how to describe it with any
 other words.
 
 
 
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         |  LeCoeur
             from the outer edge of the universe (United States) on 2003-03-24 11:14 [#00613553] Points: 8249 Status: Lurker | Followup to MachineofGod: #00613497
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 | ohhhhhhhh you're gonna like 
 franz kafka
 dostoevsky
 
 good stuff!!
 
 
 
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         |  neetta
             from Finland on 2003-03-24 22:57 [#00614212] Points: 5924 Status: Regular | Followup to Ganymede: #00613001
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 | 'the dead souls' is very nice, also i like his novels which are probably published there in different editions than here
 :< have you read bulgakovs 'master and margarita'? i also
 loved 'the theatre novel' by him. (the title translations
 might be a tad false now)
 
 
 
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         |  Ganymede
             from Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius on 2003-03-25 06:38 [#00614854] Points: 1045 Status: Lurker | Followup to neetta: #00614212
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 | I didn't know if I should dive into "Dead Souls" right away or not. Haven't read "The Master & Margarita" yet.
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-03-27 16:40 [#00620189] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | heh, I already have like 100 books on my shelf that ill eventually read and now all these good suggestions, Ive
 gotta start to read quicker or something :P
 
 
 
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         |  mimi
             on 2003-03-27 20:42 [#00620571] Points: 5721 Status: Regular
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 | i just read two collections of short stories by AM Homes...Things You Should Know and The Safety of
 Objects...they were pretty off the wall, but entertaining
 and easy reads.
 
 
 
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         |  titsworth
             from Washington, DC (United States) on 2003-03-27 22:02 [#00620669] Points: 14550 Status: Lurker | Followup to mimi: #00620571
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 | elaborate... i read 'music for torching' and loved it, she's soooo naughty! ;)
 
 
 
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         |  mimi
             on 2003-03-27 22:22 [#00620704] Points: 5721 Status: Regular
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 | things you should know's "title story" (i haven't been into short stories for very long, i'm not down with the lingo or
 something..) is about this woman who stayed home sick in
 fourth grade and missed the passing out of a list of the
 things everyone ought to know but probably didn't because
 they are stupid.  she agonizes over missing this list to
 this day....
 
 homes's writing is just imaginative.
 
 i thought her most striking story was about nancy reagan
 (called "The Former First Lady and the Football Hero").  it
 didn't really seem as much like her other stories however.
 
 i'm terrible with describing books...you'd be better off
 reading reviews off amazon.com :)
 
 
 
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         |  LeCoeur
             from the outer edge of the universe (United States) on 2003-03-28 00:27 [#00620773] Points: 8249 Status: Lurker | Followup to titsworth: #00620669
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 | that was a good book! 
 'the ice storm' was also really good, it enriched the film
 for me AFTER i read the book!
 
 
 
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         |  gdansk
             from London (United Kingdom) on 2003-03-28 06:33 [#00621131] Points: 6 Status: Lurker
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 | Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow. That guy is the most crazy fucked encyclopedic genius writer the 20th century
 produced.
 
 And Don DeLillo.
 
 
 
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         |  marlowe
             from Antarctica on 2003-03-28 06:38 [#00621133] Points: 24636 Status: Lurker | Followup to Jarworski: #00612988
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 | You're not enjoying Bonfire of the Vanities Yavo? That's a damn shame, I thought it was a good book :|
 
 I'm reading "Dombey and Son" by Charlie Dickens
 
 
 
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         |  gnabes
             from Padova (Italy) on 2003-03-28 06:50 [#00621144] Points: 4 Status: Regular
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 | My best writer is Alan Moore. er.. do comic book count in this thread? :)
 
 
 
 
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         |  NeoExmnist
             from United States on 2003-03-28 06:51 [#00621145] Points: 1385 Status: Lurker
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 | if so then spawn is the best comic ever! 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-08-01 11:12 [#00804251] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | i finally picked up naked lunch (burroughs) the other day along with venus drive by sam lypsite, anyone read that(or
 the subject steve)? im on the fourth short story, lots of
 strange sexual references but its well written and he puts
 images across very well. i reccomend it and the following.
 
 
 also, ive read recently:
 
 tolstoy - the cossacks\the raid
 yevgeny zamyatin - we
 huxley - crome yellow
 hesse - siddhartha
 salinger - franny and zooey
 lightman - einsteins dreams
 kesey - 1 flew over the cuckoo's nest
 
 right now:
 anne tyle - dinner at the homesick restaurant(its for school
 but its surprisingly good too)
 
 up next:
 1)one day in the life of ivan denisovich - aleksandr
 solzhenitsyn
 2)the inheritors - william golding
 3)fast food nation - eric schlosser
 4)europa europa - solomon perel
 
 (theyre all for school but two of them were books of choice)
 
 
 
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         |  Anus_Presley
             on 2003-08-01 11:18 [#00804272] Points: 23472 Status: Lurker
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 | Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass arre rreally grreat even now.
 
 
 
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         |  welt
             on 2003-08-01 12:05 [#00804383] Points: 2042 Status: Lurker
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 | yes, HP LOVECRAFT is great. primaly the dreamland stories. because there his view on the world, which is similiar to
 mine is shown best. that's the reason i like him. about the
 horror blah i don't care too much.
 
 franz kafka, dostojewski, houellebecq, vonnegut, orwell,
 nikolaj gogol, eta hoffmann, strugatki are other writers i
 like.
 
 whom i hate is hermann hesse.
 
 
 
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         |  wayout
             from the street of crocodiles on 2003-08-01 12:15 [#00804410] Points: 2849 Status: Lurker | Followup to neetta: #00612707
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 | ooh yes, i'm reading gogol's 'diary of a madman and other stories' right now
 he has such an odd sense of humor, its great.
 
 as for favorite authors, i think bruno schulz is right up
 there, i spent the first half of this summer reading all of
 his stories.
 
 i think my favorite books would inlclude 'the hitchhikers
 guide...' and 'solaris'.
 
 
 
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         |  Inverted Whale
             from United States Minor Outlying Islands on 2003-08-01 12:46 [#00804445] Points: 3301 Status: Lurker | Followup to gdansk: #00621131
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 | We have the same taste in books. 
 Gravity's Rainbow is imponderable, but I would recommend The
 Crying of Lot 49 for an excellent introduction to Pynchon.
 
 Don DeLillo's White Noise is great as well.
 
 
 
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         |  MachineofGod
             from the land of halo's (United States) on 2003-08-01 17:17 [#00804816] Points: 3088 Status: Lurker
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 | ive been meaning to get white noise, ill look into it. gravitys rainbow and crying lot of 49 are also on my list of
 books to get eventually.
 
 why do you hate hesse? ive only read siddhartha which is
 unbelievably good, i have steppenwolf, demian, journey to
 the east, narcissus and goldmund and the glass bead
 game(magister ludi) on my shelf too.
 
 
 
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