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Books.

As we draw closer to Summer, and free time for folks.. any volunteers to pick the first book?

Things I've read/am reading/have culled from the herd to read soon:
Have read:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / The Girl who Played with Fire by Larson:
These were just good mindless fun. I liked them about the same as The Davinci Code, and put them on about the same level. The author really wanted to write this deep book about gripping issues... but fell short and wrote a good episode of Law and Order. It's well done, but at the end of the book(s) it's just fluff. These would be good ones for the beach... nothing too serious, and a good story to get lost in. Fair warning: there are some graphic scenes and whatnot, so don't think you're getting into anything too light. (I know there's a third book.. but I don't really feel like reading it... so I won't)
The Walking Dead by Kirkman
It's a comic series that uses the zombie apocalypse as a catalyst to bring out all the truly horrible aspects of what we are as humans (racism, fascism, sadism, apathy, etc) as well as the wonderful aspects (love, faith, camaraderie, bravery, etc) and lay them out for inspection. It's really an amazing series, the zombies are simply a plot device, and take a back seat tot the interactions of the broad cast of characters and really looks hard at how would we react of the rules and constructs of our world stopped existing tomorrow. What would the new rules be? Again, fair warning, this is some seriously graphic and shocking material, not for the faint of heart.... but there are few comics/stories I would recommend more.
The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History by Free Darko
In spite of myself, I dig pro basketball. I try to tell myself that I don't... and tell others that I don't..but if it's on I'm watching. Free Darko is a pro basketball blog (it unfortunately went dark this past Monday.. a loss for all)that writes essays on Pro Basketball like most philosophy majors write papers for their masters class. The book opens with an article comparing John Naismith to Martin Luther (Naismith invented the game, FYI... take that to your weekly trivia competition, free of charge).. and it doesn't stop from there. It's a very funny, incredibly smart, and really accurate book. If you like sports, or pop culture, I would highly recommend it.
God Save the Fan by Leitch
Again, a sports book from the writer of a sports blog. Will Leitch founded Deadspin, the first (and among the most fearless) arm of the new media found solely online. This book takes on the fact that the people behind the SportsasEntertainment machine don't actually give a shit about the fans, and how their slowly but surely ruining it for the those of us that simply enjoy catching a game. It's very (veryveryveryvery) funny, and takes on subjects from asshole athletes to asshole owners to asshole media members. Again, sports fans, or someone looking for a quick laugh need apply.

Currently Reading:
Swamplandia! by Russell
This woman writes like a magician. I love this book so far. It's about a the youngest daughter of an alligator wrestling family and her interactions with the underworld, ghosts, the real world (she grew up on her family-run amusement park on an island in the swamp called... Swamplandia!), and growing up all set against the back drop of the mangrove swamps of Florida.

Going to read:
True Grit by by Portis
B&N synopsis:
The story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash money. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father's blood. With the one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available U.S. Marshal, by her side, Mattie pursues the homicide into Indian Territory.

An Exclusive Love by Adorjan
B&N synopsis:
“This book tells the story of Vera and István, Hungarian Jews who survived the Holocaust, fled during the 1956 uprising in Budapest to Denmark and in 1991 in Copenhagen took their own lives. They were found in their bed, hand in hand. It is the story of an unusual love. The story of my grandparents."—Johanna Adorján. (I found this one and Swamplandia! in the book reviews section of NPR.org... I will be returning there in the future and would highly recommend you do the same.

Winter's Bone

This title sounds fitting this week! I just started this book this morning, so I'm only about half way through, but really only wanted to put it down so I could tell others to read it!
This has been made in to a movie, which I haven't seen, and after reading what I have read so far, I can't imagine it could match the quality of the novel. This is very well written. I was hooked from the very first paragraph, which you can read, along with the first 2.5 chapters on Amazon for free. The descriptions are awesome, with some "one-liners" (if you will) that just say it all.
The story line is interesting and suspenseful. I don't want to give too much away because I think the author's way of moving the plot is a big part of why I'm hooked. It takes place in a poverty stricken area of the Ozarks. The main character is a 16 year old girl whose mom is mentally ill, father cooks meth, and has two younger brothers to look after. She is looking for her father who is out on bond and has disappeared ...and that's all I'm giving away!
I highly recommend this one. Now, I'm going to go finish it, I'll post again to let you know if I still like it after I'm finished.
Did I mention I really like the writing?

Brandon, I know you don't prefer female narrators, however, this girl has bigger balls than most of the guys we hang out with...I'm just sayin'...

Emily

Essays: Because who has time for a whole novel right now anyway?

Well hello there, fellow book-sharers. Schmei here. (It's pronounced like "pie", which, incidentally, is something I like to eat.) Most of you know who I am in real life, but I have this delusion about trying to remain somewhat anonymous on the interwebs, so humor me. 

Because I, in turn, will humor you, with my best book recommendation of late. 

Over Christmas, my librarian brother-in-law, Jon, gave me a book I'd never heard of. This is always a Good Sign. Jon is a master of the well-selected book, and I'm always excited when it's a complete unknown to me. 

As I hoped, he hit this one out of the park. So I'm sharing it with you, and I hope you'll have a chance to read it soon, so I can talk about it with someone other than my long-suffering husband who hasn't had time to pick it up yet. 

The book is  The Fiddler in the Subway by Gene Weingarten. 

I should note that I greatly enjoy journalistic writing, and for a brief time in a past life I considered becoming a features writer, so there's a part of me that essentially wants to be Gene Weingarten, without the facial hair. And damn, people, the man can write like I've never seen before. These essays made me laugh out loud and cry... more quietly, only because I didn't want to startle people around me. The essays about his father managed to do both at once, perfectly. The final essay - and the title piece - made me think about life. 

I mean Think. About Life. 

(Though I have to throw out that DC is a crazier town than Chicago. Things would have been different here, I just know it. I'll leave it at that.) 

Oh, and don't skip over the introduction. Weingarten gives some insight into his way of looking at life, and you can see how that informs his writing. It also offers some of the best writing advice I've seen since Stephen King's On Writing. Which is saying plenty. 

I feel that I should also note this: the essay entitled Fatal Distraction - Weingarten won a Pulitzer prize for it - is extremely difficult to read. I had heard about this essay from a few folks who read it when it was originally published because the subject matter is troubling. Weingarten gives a warning before the piece, and if you have a small child in your life, or, hell, if you're human, you may have some difficulty getting through it. 

But you should try. Because he manages to find some redemption there, in a painfully arbitrary, irredeemable situation.

And then he follows that up with a funny essay, because he knows what he just did to you. He's a man who respects his readers, that's what he is.  

So please, go check out this book, and read the whole thing, and when you've finished, and then after you re-read a few of the essays three times (that's not just me, right?) - let me know what you think of it. 

New Format... finally

So, as you all have seen... production and participation around here has ground to a damn-near halt. The reason: primarily school and the holidays. Most members on here are either in school or work in a shcool. So, with the increase in work and workload... a decrease in recreational reading time. So, here's my idea: traditional round robin book club format May through October; and November through April, it'll be a forum for reading. You read something good? Post on here, tell everyone about it, let them know if it's any good. We can still discuss the books in the comments, it'll just be more freeform so people can participate as they're able.

To post on here, it's simple. Just write your post (including any html to have pictures etc... for a quick primer: click here ) in an email, and send it to this address: Webb.brandon.twofold@blogger.com . Whatever you write will be posted as a new post, with the subject line being the post title. Thoughts on the new set up?

Procede with caution...

For those of you who don't know, they are currently in pre-production of a 'Hunger Games' movie. No one has been cast yet (that I'm aware of), and the set release is sometime in 2013. Stumbled across this fan movie though.. and wow, this book could make an awesome movie.. if done right. Fair warning on the vid: it is violent.. and is the scene of Rue's death.. so if you're the crying type (it got a little dusty for me watching it...), don't watch at work.

Productivity is at an all time low.

Emily's picking the next book. It'll be up soon. Watch for structural changes to our little corner of the interwebs, coming soon. I'm gonna make it more interactive, with more updates.