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Pit Book/Discussion Thread

Sorry for the bump but I stayed up until 1:30 last night finishing Defending Jacob. Has anybody read this yet? What a mindfreak of an ending.
 
Bringing this back for all the Pit readers. I'm about a quarter of the way through Kurt Eichenwald's "The Informant" about the massive price fixing scandal perpetuated by Archer Daniels Midland. It's a pretty good read, extensive and thorough. "Conspiracy of Fools" about the rise and fall of Enron, also by Eichenwald, is even better if you're into that kind of thing. Both are 650+ pages though so be ready for a commitment.
 
I recently finished We Need to Talk About Kevin and it was phenomenal. Couldn't put it down. The movie that came out last year didn't really work for it, though. But the novel made for a very fascinating companion piece to Columbine, which I read last year. It's also set in Nyack, NY, where I lived for a little while, which was neat.

I'm currently reading Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks. Very good so far, and the chapter in which he talks about his drug use in the 60s was hilarious. I wish he'd go a little deeper into the neuroscience of it, but it's definitely accessible to everyone the way it's going.
 
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Glad this got bumped. If anyone is looking for a new book, here is a list I complied from a 'favorite book' thread; all of these books were recommended by more than one person on the boards (I am slowly working my way thru the list).

1984 George Orwell
Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand
Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Wolfe
Brave New World Aldous Huxley
Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Catch 22 Joseph Heller
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card
For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway
Islands in the Stream Ernest Hemingway
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
Sometimes a Great Notion Ken Kesey
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Road Cormac McCarthy
The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Milan Kundera
 
Those are all great, freaka. Well, except the hemingway and bronte.
 
Then skip reading the third one.

I could only imagine. Didn't read the first and was underwhelmed by the movie. The book was in our beach bag so I picked it up. I don't absolutely hate it, but Hemingway it is not.
 
I could only imagine. Didn't read the first and was underwhelmed by the movie. The book was in our beach bag so I picked it up. I don't absolutely hate it, but Hemingway it is not.

Eh, don't be so hard on YA. Hemingway ain't Evelyn Waugh.
 
I can't remember if they were discussed earlier here or on another thread, but over the last few months/year I have read:

Gone Girl
Reconstructing Amelia
Defending Jacob

And would recommend all of them. I think Gone Girl is the best and has the most interesting narrative style, but the other ones are good as well (and slightly similar in the way the story is unveiled).

Just started Life After Life yesterday after reading a lot of good things about it. Enjoying it so far.

And the Mountains Echoed was good, but I didn't like it quite as much as I expected based on his first two novels.
 
Bossypants - Tina Fey

Highly recommend. It's very funny. Lots of female-centric humor, but also just plain funny. I defy you to read it without laughing out loud multiple times. Quick read too. Lots of insight to writing on SNL and coming up as through improv, etc.
 
I loved Bossypants, the letter to her daughter was really poignant. I thought Gone Girl, Reconstrucing Amelia, and Defending Jacob were all really good. I also enjoyed reading "The Woman Upstairs" if anyone is thinking about it. Right now I'm trying to get through Devil in the White City and am kinda struggling through it so far.
 
I loved Bossypants, the letter to her daughter was really poignant. I thought Gone Girl, Reconstrucing Amelia, and Defending Jacob were all really good. I also enjoyed reading "The Woman Upstairs" if anyone is thinking about it. Right now I'm trying to get through Devil in the White City and am kinda struggling through it so far.

Devil in the White City is really worth it, IMO, if you stick with it.

I read "Fated" over the weekend, a pretty funny and easy read about what it would be like if things like Fate, Destiny, Gluttony, Sloth, etc. were all people. Just starting "Where the Bodies are Buried" by Christopher Brookmyre.

Not sure if it's been mentioned in this thread (it probably has), but 11/22/63 by Stephen King was a great read.
 
After finishing 11/22/63 and Hell House, decided to tackle The Stand since so many people have recommended it to me. Hope it lives up to the hype.
 
Bossypants - Tina Fey

Highly recommend. It's very funny. Lots of female-centric humor, but also just plain funny. I defy you to read it without laughing out loud multiple times. Quick read too. Lots of insight to writing on SNL and coming up as through improv, etc.

I loved Bossypants, the letter to her daughter was really poignant. I thought Gone Girl, Reconstrucing Amelia, and Defending Jacob were all really good. I also enjoyed reading "The Woman Upstairs" if anyone is thinking about it. Right now I'm trying to get through Devil in the White City and am kinda struggling through it so far.

I recommend listening to Bossypants if you can get it from Audible or from your library. Tina Fey reads it, and they also play the real audio of the SNL skits she references (Sarah Palin, etc). One drawback is not seeing the pictures from the book. But I think hearing Fey's narration is worth it.
 
I recommend listening to Bossypants if you can get it from Audible or from your library. Tina Fey reads it, and they also play the real audio of the SNL skits she references (Sarah Palin, etc). One drawback is not seeing the pictures from the book. But I think hearing Fey's narration is worth it.

Ah I gotta find it! I read and loved the book but this sounds really awesome.
 
Just finished "Gone Girl" & "Dark Places" by Gillian Flynn. Both were great reads & I moved through them quickly. Really enjoyed the alternating narrative style in Gone Girl. Dark Places told the story through flashbacks which worked well for that book.
 
Been on a run of Bukowski lately:

Post Office
Ham on Rye
Hollywood

I think Post Office is my favorite of everything I've read of him. Just absolutely hilarious stuff. Henry Chinaski is a great American hero.
 
Been on a run of Bukowski lately:

Post Office
Ham on Rye
Hollywood

I think Post Office is my favorite of everything I've read of him. Just absolutely hilarious stuff. Henry Chinaski is a great American hero.

Just excellent stuff. I agree with you on Post Office off that list. Ham on Rye is a close second.
 
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