7-1-05
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the last 10 books I read
Jerzy Kosinski: Steps
A re-read of a book I thought was too creepy and yucky to ever read again. Densely packed with uncomfortable feelings and moments of brilliance.Charlie Brooker: Dawn of the Dumb
This is a collection of Charlie Brooker's columns in the Guardian from the last couple of years. If you don't read it, you really ought to start. http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/charliebrooker He writes about (british) TV and pop culture in a way that's so f'ing funny it makes me forget that I don't get the references. A bit formulaic when you read them all at a stretch.James Kelman: How Late It Was, How Late: A Novel
A claustrophobic stream-of-consciousness rant, the focus set so tight you feel like you yourself are blind. Review quotes refer to how funny it is, but perhaps I'm too American to find it anything but choking. In a good way.Bill Buford: Heat
Lots of traveling lately, so lots of books. This book's chronology seemed deliberately obfuscated - odd for its genre. I appreciated the irrational drive of food research and I envied his research budget.Michael Ondaatje: Coming Through Slaughter
A gift from my buddy Chow, a favorite of his, I think. I'm not sure what to say about it. A few passages were exceptionally poignant, but for the most part it didn't resonate. Strong, oppressive, dusty images.Mark Helprin: Freddy and Fredericka
I didn't find Candide terribly funny - people are stupid and often have endless wells of groundless optimism backing up their foolishness. Not funny. This book - same routine, but add a bunch of tiresome flights of fancy on the subjects of nobility, history and nature.Ernest Hemingway: A Moveable Feast
I love Hemingway like I love Bob Dylan. Pure, perfect, wonderful. Also a bit gossipy and fun.Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love
Read this in one long day in airports and on planes. The "Eat" part was so funny I no doubt annoyed my fellow travelers with my obnoxious laugh. Highly recommended for those going through major life transitions.Gautam Malkani: Londonstani
All the dust-jacket quotes were about how funny it was; I think that was to let you know how to read the book. Maybe this is another instance of me being a dumb American who doesn't get dry British humor? It's certainly plenty awkward. The narrator's voice shifts a lot which is intentional but sometimes clunky.Zadie Smith: On Beauty
Very well written book about awful people I'd rather not spend time with. If you know english people, you'll recognize that Ms. Smith's anglicisms have not been expurgated from her Americans' dialogue.
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