2009-10-08

help!

Ok, here it is: A long-awaited blog post (ahem).

However, I'm copping out.

I feel like I have nothing terribly good to say at the moment. It's all.... swimming in the sad end of The Time Traveler's Wife (brilliant on the second read, by the way).

And so, I need your help. I need book recommendations. What have you read lately that's hilarious? Inspiring? Really, really good? And not depressing. Because I totally can't handle depressing at the moment.

Love, thanks,
T.

2 comments:

TSS said...

I would highly recommend David Foster Wallace's essays. Either "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," or "Consider the Lobster." If you don't want to commit to a book of his essays, I can lend you his report from John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign.

Why? Because the writing is funny, erudite, brilliant and just plain good. He's a writer's writer. Just stay away from his scholarly articles which are, mercifully, few and far between.

Have you read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies yet? Or the follow up? Good fun.

Staying on the zombie theme, World War Z (the "Z" pronounced the American way) is way, way better than expected.

I just re-read Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America." It's counterfactual history, and it's one of his best.

If you've never read David Sedaris, you simply must. That's a great pick-me-up. Start with "Me Talk Pretty One Day."

"Little, Big" by John Crowley is a fun, weird little read. Harold Bloom thinks it's one of the finest novels of the last century.

I was going to recommend "The Forever War" by Dexter Filkins, because it is so incredibly well-written, but it is depressing. So depressing, in fact, that I cursed RWW for recommending it so highly and getting me hooked on it.

That's all I got for now...

erin said...

Not sure if it would be up your alley, but I finished a little while ago "Always Looking Up", Michael J. Fox's 2nd book. It is by no means prize-winning literature, but is an honest, insightful, straight-from-the-gut story from a guy who has been dealt some pretty disparate cards in life. Sub-titled "The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist", his dedication to Parkinson's research, his devotion to family, his courage in facing a disease head-on is actually kinda inspirational. Plus, it is really interesting to hear about his adventures in politics (did you know he campaigned as a teen for the Liberal candidate in his riding back in the era of Trudeau?).
Anyhow, that's my 2 cents... a very easy read, but certainly one that won't make you feel depressed at the end. If you're at all interested, I have a copy you could borrow.