|
Post by mikegarrison on Mar 24, 2019 18:12:16 GMT -5
Captain Underpants. Several in the series. Because I have a 6yo son. Ever read anything by Mel Gilden? Mostly writes for kids (and sometimes churns out stuff like Star Trek novelizations or 90210 novelizations). His original stuff is just really funny, in a very offbeat style. He wrote three books for adults about "Zoot Marlowe", an alien who has fallen in love with Phillip Marlowe radio shows and comes to Earth to be a private detective but doesn't consider a) Phillip Marlowe was fiction, and b) due to the lightspeed lag it's now many decades later on Earth. The first book is Surfin' Samurai Robots. Marlowe ends up hanging out with a bunch of surf bums, one of whom makes yoyogurt (a strong psychadelic snack) that all the rest of them are stoned on most of the time. Surfing is done by remote-control of a robot on a surfboard. The surfers all realize he's an alien -- pretty much everybody he meets realizes that, because he's 4-ft tall and really doesn't look very human at all -- but they shrug it off and pretend to accept that he comes from a place called "Bay City". But like I say, most of Gilden's books are for kids. I really liked Harry Newberry And The Raiders Of The Red Drink. Harry's hero is the superhero called Tuatara, and as the book progresses, Harry starts to suspect that Tuatara is his own mother. One of the characters is named "Pennyperfect Leiberman". Another is named "Pete Zamansky, he maneuvers". Part of the plot involves a restaurant that specializes in day-old cold pizza ("because pizza always tastes better cold the next day") and specifically a pizza with the toppings arranged as a map that forms a vital clue to the puzzle Harry is trying to solve.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2019 19:37:59 GMT -5
I'll check him out. The kid is always interested in new books.
|
|
|
Post by mikegarrison on Mar 24, 2019 20:08:34 GMT -5
I'll check him out. The kid is always interested in new books. I really enjoy well-written YA books, actually. Most of what I like would be a bit much for a six-yr-old, perhaps. That might be old enough for the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, however. Those books are wonderful! Even by six he may have enough background to realize how much Pat Wrede is sending up the standard fairy tale stories. The first book, Dealing With Dragons, is about a princess who doesn't quite fit in as a princess. She's pretty, but not beautiful like her sisters. She's not blond like her sisters. She's not much into marrying princes like her sisters. And most strangely of all, she loves to learn about things like fencing, economics, cooking, and many other un-princess-like subjects. Eventually she takes the advice of a magic frog and runs away from home. She ends up being a dragon's princess. (Dragons capture princesses to do their housework for them.) She cooks and cleans, but also gets to organize the library and the treasure vaults and learns magic and generally has the time of her life. Her only problem is that knights keep trying to rescue her. She also has a few run-ins with wizards, who are very annoying people. Anyway, I suggest you read it and see if you think your kid would like it. (Pat Wrede lives in Minneapolis, by the way.)
|
|
|
Post by mln59 on Mar 27, 2019 8:28:00 GMT -5
about 30 pages left in this one. i've decided to dip back into my back issues of the atlantic next.
i also signed up for another book club event at the blanton museum. going to read the art forger by b. a. shapiro
have about 5 weeks to read that one.
finished the snow child. good book. in the genre of magical realism.
picked up a copy of the art forger yesterday. gotta read that so i can be ready for the museum thing
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Mar 27, 2019 17:56:51 GMT -5
Red Notice
On p. 330. I have a newfound respect for John McCain, one of the few American politicians who was willing to help the author in the latter's quest to bring some corrupt Russian officials to justice -- or at least rain down some consequences.
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Mar 29, 2019 11:44:23 GMT -5
Red Notice (by Bill Browder)
Finished it yesterday.
Factual account = A- Writing Style = C (Too simplistic) Personal story = C+
The strength of nonfiction is usually in the intriguing factual details. Here, it's no different. Incredible make-you-angry story of Russian corruption.
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Mar 29, 2019 11:44:54 GMT -5
The Year of the Flood (by Margaret Atwood)
Started yesterday. I'm on p. 7. It's the second book in the trilogy.
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 3, 2019 16:35:12 GMT -5
The Year of the Flood
On p. 100.
There's one interesting section. If you've been caught and "convicted" of a crime, you have the choice of: (1) being executed immediately by spray gun (not sure exactly what this is), or (2) spending some predetermined time in the Painball Arena. The Painball Arena is something like a Hunger Games-type "arena" in a forest where you have to survive. You're given a painball gun, which is like a paintball gun except that if the paint gets in your eyes, you go blind and if the paint touches your skin, you start to corrode and thus you become an easy target. Apparently, you can kill other peeps in this "arena." According to the book, most political prisoners and women pick immediate execution by spray gun because they don't think they'll last long in the Painball Arena.
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 4, 2019 21:00:57 GMT -5
The Year of the Flood
On p. 136. I kind of like this book a bit more than its predecessor Oryx and Crake.
“What restless woman can resist a man with a shovel in one hand and a glowing rose bush in the other...?”
LOL!
So, THAT’S the key to sexual attraction!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 21:45:41 GMT -5
The Man in the High Castle was a letdown. It was probably incredibly deep and I just missed it, but I didn't like it. I probably shouldn't have been reading it while watching the terrible TV adaptation.
Dick is usually better than that.
Yes, that's what I just posted. Go ahead. I'm ready for all the jokes.
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 4, 2019 21:51:20 GMT -5
I'm not a fan of adaptations unless I haven't read the book. Once I've read the book, the adaptation is unbearable. I stopped watching The Handmaid's Tale after 2-3 episodes because it just doesn't measure up to the book.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 21:59:15 GMT -5
I felt the same way about Cheers.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 22:28:14 GMT -5
I'm reading The Russian Debutante's Handbook. I don't remember if I like Gary Shteyngart or not. Do any of you know?
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 5, 2019 14:35:59 GMT -5
I'm reading The Russian Debutante's Handbook. I don't remember if I like Gary Shteyngart or not. Do any of you know? I don't like the way he spells his last name, that's for sure. What's the oranges of his name?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2019 16:18:12 GMT -5
I think he got it from his Daddy.
|
|