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Jul 09Recommended reading.
“I’m always losing bookmarks. I resolved to have my manhood judged by how long I can hang on to this one.” – Ta-Nehisi Coates
From a more serious post about talent and hard work, this little throwaway line made me realize that the only bookmark I currently own, a gift from a former coworker, has never been used. I don’t read anything longer than NYer articles anymore. This needs to change.
Suggestions for non-Twilight, non-Harry Potter books, please. No Ayn Rand, either–I saw some sixteen-year-old girl reading Atlas Shrugged on the Metro the other day, but refrained from telling her she was a) wasting her time and b) if she liked that book, she was probably going to be an asshole when she grew up.
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Oooo.
Well, read In Cold Blood if you haven’t. Otherwise, not sure where to even begin.
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
For comics go read ‘Acme Novelty Library 19′… just trust me. Also ‘The Walking Dead is both enjoyable, human, and fucked up beyond belief.
For books – I am reading ‘The Virgin of Flames’ and it is artsy and interesting. If you’ve never read Borges, he’s the greatest thing in the world, but most of his stuff is essays and short stories (try his essay on Nightmares)
July 24th, 2009 at 10:44 am
The World According to Garp! I’m reading Saul Bellow’s Humboldt’s Gift right now. It’s really excellent and has awesome descriptions of Chicago in it. Also, have you read an Ian McEwan? Atonement is a really outstanding book (ignore the movie.) Amsterdam is intriguingly fucked up and is a quick read.
July 30th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I read Atlas Shrugged at about that age. I’m glad I did. It’s good to know your enemy. Although I skimmed the absurd 60 page non-stop monologue by John Galt.
I’m reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which is heart-breaking and amazing. Also Perdido Street Station which is one of the strangest scifi novels I have ever read. Also very good.
If you haven’t read the comic Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman, you should. The guy has a design background and the innovative layouts and his manner of storytelling really feeds off of it.
I also second The World According to Garp. It was the source of my online pseudonym for a few years.