I also loved A Heartbreaking Work..., so YPMV, I guess. Or at least, YTOP.
Yesterday, my life's like, 'Uh-oh, pop quiz!' Today it's like, 'rain of toads.'
Xander ,'Beneath You'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Polter-Cow - Nov 04, 2010 8:56:41 am PDT #12841 of 28289
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
megan walker - Nov 04, 2010 9:09:55 am PDT #12842 of 28289
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
I loved both those books, but I really had to get over the style of both in the early pages.
I don't want some elaborate "found manuscript" set-up or cutesy narrative element. Just tell the story dammit.
Amy - Nov 04, 2010 9:11:06 am PDT #12843 of 28289
Because books.
The actual text in Eggers's book was good, but the author's notes and appendices and blah blah blah BLAH really made my teeth itch.
lisah - Nov 04, 2010 10:01:03 am PDT #12844 of 28289
Punishingly Intricate
You know what book is awesome? Room! Has anyone else read it?
Dana - Nov 04, 2010 10:07:07 am PDT #12845 of 28289
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
I want to but my library doesn't seem to have it.
Polter-Cow - Nov 04, 2010 10:18:30 am PDT #12846 of 28289
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
I don't want some elaborate "found manuscript" set-up or cutesy narrative element. Just tell the story dammit.
So not a House of Leaves fan either? (Personally, I heart narrative conceits.)
The actual text in Eggers's book was good, but the author's notes and appendices and blah blah blah BLAH really made my teeth itch.
Whereas I loved them and found them hilarious. I tend to enjoy metanarrative, though, although sometimes it can be annoying, I agree.
Volans - Nov 04, 2010 10:21:28 am PDT #12847 of 28289
move out and draw fire
I love House of Leaves and hated A Heartbreaking Work... so much so that I haven't finished reading it. Eggers just annoyed the crap out of me; it wasn't the narrative conceit per se, more that I just wanted to slap him.
Laga - Nov 04, 2010 11:15:22 am PDT #12848 of 28289
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
I love it when the author calls me, "reader".
Consuela - Nov 04, 2010 4:02:00 pm PDT #12849 of 28289
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
I couldn't read Heartbreaking Work (bounced hard off the first 30 pages), but I really loved The Book Thief. That said, I suspect Zukas could have done more with the conceit.
Megan, I know I'm a little late, but I recommend Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert or The Most Dangerous Place for California Dreaming. I have often suggested that the state should give copies of CD to new arrivals as they cross the border.
DavidS - Nov 04, 2010 5:57:43 pm PDT #12850 of 28289
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
A short, interesting video interview with Bernard Cornwell of the Sharpe novels. (He also discusses the American Revolution and the historical basis for Arthurian legend.)