If Music Could Talk

Heston wrote:

eumaas wrote:Situation of redneck + Bauhaus. I don't dress redneck.

I know, I was joking.

We're having a bad day aren't we....

I'm a little off anyway. Women on the brain. Always leads to muddled thinking.

A few more that I forgot about …
Don DeLillo's Libra. Semi-fictional account of Oswald and what led to him being involved in the conspiracy to kill JFK. Um, I was lukewarm on this, probably because DeLillo's writing doesn't do much for me. I can see why he's gained so much praise over his career, tho, as he's a very deliberate writer.
Oliver Stone's JFK: The Book of the Movie. Annotated screenplay including source material for the film, plus (and this is the good stuff) dozens of articles, interviews, and op eds about the film. I don't recall the level of fury that Stone had thrown at him at the time, but it's all there (minus a few, like George Will, who refused to let their pieces be republished). The level of intellectual dishonesty by most of Stone's critics is breathtaking. Because they don't buy his theory, they disregard his critique of the Warren Commission. It's not an either/or matter—I don't buy the extent of Stone's conspiracy, but that doesn't change the fact that he quite capably dismantled the lone shooter theory. Just because you don't think JFK's assassination was about Vietnam doesn't mean that Oswald must have acted alone. Or: just because Garrison wasn't as noble a figure as he's portrayed in the film, that doesn't mean there was no conspiracy. Just shameful critiques. There are some excellent defenses in the volume, too. I was very surprised at how fascinating the whole discussion of Stone's work was at the time. Highly recommended if you have any interest in the assassination and it's larger ramifications.

Took a few highway trips in December, and listened to:
Chuck Palahniuk's Survivor. When I read it, I ranked it among CP's lesser books, but the audio version has caused me to re-evaluate and rank it much higher. Typical CP black comedy about the last survivor of a religious cult from Nebraska that committed mass suicide. It's a post-modern story of expectations, obligations, and celebrity. (BTW, I got another autographed CP novel for Christmas, this time Fight Club. He refers to me, oddly, as a lovely snowflake. )
William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories. It's Shatner. It's Shatner talking about Trek. It's Shatner reading his own words. It's great, duh. He's funny, he's insightful, he's self-deprecating. He's also an ass, but it's hard not to love the guy. Especially interesting is his original premise for Star Trek V, which would have been a lot heavier and tackled the whole notion of god and the devil. If you like Trek, I can't recommend highly enough both his Trek Memories books, especially in audio form.

I'm currently reading Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust by Richard Rhodes. It is seriously bumming me out and I'm a man who has read a few Holocaust books.

Bankrobber wrote:I'm currently reading Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust by Richard Rhodes. It is seriously bumming me out and I'm a man who has read a few Holocaust books.

I've often wondered about the psychological stress involved in researching and writing those types of books, of living with and regurgitating those atrocities, making sense of them, for month after month. It's bad enough for the reader, but to immerse oneself voluntarily like that—I know I wouldn't have the stamina.

I know the writer of certain in-depth personal biographies occasionally develop some of their subject's charactersitics. For instance, the man who wrote Dear Boy, the brilliant Keith Moon one got more destructive and drank lots and lots of brandy. You can only imagine what spending all that psychological time in the holocaust does to a person.

Taking a break from Mencken and O'Rourke to read some fiction. Currently reading Disappearances by Howard Frank Mosher. Haven't dug in enough to comment. Next on the list:
The Road by Cormac McCarthy--been putting this off for a while
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

eumaas wrote:The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Me dad just finished reading that, he said he really enjoyed it.

MadModWorld wrote:

eumaas wrote:The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Me dad just finished reading that, he said he really enjoyed it.

I've never read any Chabon. I've wanted to read Wonder Boys for years, but the premise of Yiddish Policemen's Union is a grabber.

eumaas wrote:

MadModWorld wrote:

eumaas wrote:The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Me dad just finished reading that, he said he really enjoyed it.

I've never read any Chabon. I've wanted to read Wonder Boys for years, but the premise of Yiddish Policemen's Union is a grabber.

I've only read The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay (surprise surprise). It's pretty awesome.

Wolter wrote:I've only read The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay (surprise surprise). It's pretty awesome.

Seconded.

eumaas wrote:

MadModWorld wrote:

eumaas wrote:The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Me dad just finished reading that, he said he really enjoyed it.

I've never read any Chabon. I've wanted to read Wonder Boys for years, but the premise of Yiddish Policemen's Union is a grabber.

My dad reckons that it's hard in places if you're not Jewish or know a lot about Judaism & Jewish culture & that.

MadModWorld wrote:

eumaas wrote:

MadModWorld wrote:

eumaas wrote:The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Me dad just finished reading that, he said he really enjoyed it.

I've never read any Chabon. I've wanted to read Wonder Boys for years, but the premise of Yiddish Policemen's Union is a grabber.

My dad reckons that it's hard in places if you're not Jewish or know a lot about Judaism & Jewish culture & that.

Should be an easy read, then.

The thread title keeps bringing Bill Hicks to mind. "Whutchoo readin' for?"

Silent Majority wrote:The thread title keeps bringing Bill Hicks to mind. "Whutchoo readin' for?"

I love that bit.

eumaas wrote:

MadModWorld wrote:

eumaas wrote:The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Me dad just finished reading that, he said he really enjoyed it.

I've never read any Chabon. I've wanted to read Wonder Boys for years, but the premise of Yiddish Policemen's Union is a grabber.

You (especially) will love YPU.