BOOKS THREAD

1. Straight Man
2. Nobody's Fool
3. Empire Falls
4. The Risk Pool
5. Mohawk
6. That Old Cape Magic
7. The Whore's Child (short stories)
8. Bridge of Sighs

My (minor) issues with Empire Falls are that it, for the most part, lacks the humor of his other books. In fact, while it's obviously very good, it takes itself a bit too seriously in parts, particularly the (SPOILER ALERT) shooting thing.

 

I am very surprised you ranked Straight Man as your favorite, probably because I didn't enjoy it that much. I remember not really liking it all that much while I was reading it, maybe because it was a departure from the other books he had written up til then. I only ranked his novels, though I didn't love The Whore's Child all that much either.

Still, that's a pretty impressive list of fiction whether or not I love all of them, and all written in the last 25 years.

 

I think Staraight Man is one of the funniest books ever. I grew up in academia so there is a personal connection to a lot of what I love. I just think Hank is his best protagonist. It's exactly who I imagine Russo was when he was teaching at Colby.

 

Just got my first Kindle. I am looking forward to spending entirely too much money on e-books, especially with three boxes of actual books still stuck on the other side of the world. I think I'll start with Penn Jillette's new book.

 

Finally finished the Bruce bio. It had its moments but the definitive bio is yet to be written. Started J.K. Rowling's "A Casual Vacancy." Very good so far.

 

I am eager to read "A Casual Vacancy," and curious if I'd like it. I tried to read a couple Harry Potter books, but couldn't get into them, so I gave up.

"Beautiful Ruins" is one of my top books of the year. Walter was able to jump time periods and keep the story going at a great pace.

 

Haven't read the Carlin book yet, but if this and the Marsh books aren't definitive - given the access each had to Bruce and his team - then that book will never be written. I don't see Springsteen writing a Keith Richards/Pete Townshend-type memoir.

 

A couple oldies but goodies ... "All the President's Men" (have previously read it several times) and "The Final Days" (for the first time).

About the latter, it's clear that Woodward started to impose his writing and research style in it. Instead of providing the "stories behind the stories" of their Watergate reporting, "Final Days" switches into retelling behind-the-scenes stuff through the eyes of Nixon's staff, friends, even family.

It's a successful style that Woodward achieves through intense research and hundreds of interviews, and it obviously would serve him well all the way through G.W.'s presidency and beyond.

"Final Days" is a packed with interesting details and an accurate narrative about a paranoid and unstable president, but I still prefer the structure of "All the President's Men."

 

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon -- what a brilliant book. Also a chore to read. It's Chabon's attempt at Ulysses. This is a grand book that could be used to teach a literature class.

 

That's a great description of Telegraph Avenue.

 

I'm glad you said that TSP, because I'm going to give it another try. I read about 80 pages and like it a lot, but you're right it was a chore. I wimped out and started reading Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (which is great). But I'll reboot on Chabon, who I typically love.

 

Game Change authors have signed to produce a book about the 2012 campaign......called Double Down.


http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/penguin-to-publish-2012-campaign-book-from-authors-of-game-change/