Towering Book Slush

[dotinthesky]

I'm going to Brasil on a five-week holiday next week.

Please recommend some holiday reading, and tell me why you think I'll enjoy it.

Comments

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I love reading crime novels while on holiday so I'll keep that in mind. I'm also hoping to read a history book, or a biography - hopefully of the page-turning variety.

[rag-and-bone.livejournal.com]

The New York Trilogy (Paul Auster) is pretty great, although a little off-kilter. Also, Case Histories, Kate Atkinson, is pretty good so far as simpler crime novels are concerned.

[stevek.livejournal.com]

You might enjoy Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold. I found it a very easy and enjoyable read.

[foucaultonacid.livejournal.com]

santa evita, the peron novel or the tange singer by tomas eloy martinez - some of the finest contemporary writing around with a harsh and sometimes hilarious eye for the ebautiful deadly fantasms that huant los porte~nos

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Never heard of them. Will keep an eye out when I go book shopping this weekend. Cheers.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy! Aaahhh, so funny! Nearly completely hysterical Irish dialogue. But I'll bring it for you. I'll have to remind myself, though.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've read them! :-) Yes, they are very good.

You might not need to worry about bringing books (if you want) because we have tons at my mom's. Just in case your suitcase is too heavy.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Ah, fine. Ok, I may bring whatever I'm reading at the moment, but in Mexico, maybe I'll be reading Spanish language books!

[beeorkendurkey.livejournal.com]

myra breckinridge by gore vidal. just because it's perhaps the best and funniest novel i've ever read. or did i already suggest this? eh, i stand by my choice.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

oooh! that sounds good. You haven't recommended it to me before; I'll look for it.

[beeorkendurkey.livejournal.com]

if you can, try to get it as the double version with both myra breckinridge and myron, the sequel. i didn't think it was as good, but it had its moments. plus, there's a locale that i had problems visualising and i want to see if others have the same problem.
added bonus: film version with raquel welch for superhappy enjoyment, though it's terribly convoluted and admittedly produced "under a haze of pot smoke." plus mae west makes one of her last film appearances, practically blind with glaucoma and really creepy with her old lech lasciviousness.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the kind of book hard to find; but I'll keep my eyes peeled for it.

[rag-and-bone.livejournal.com]

Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson. If you have not read this book, you must. Nothing I say can get near the beauty of it.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Straight to my list.

[amberholic.livejournal.com]

The Historian is pretty good and a great read for when you're travelling. I liked it because of the subject matter (Dracula), the parallel storylines, the vivid and accurate descriptions of the various locations they travel through and that it was very tastefully creepy in a lot of parts.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I've seen this book around bookshops and my local library; I thought about picking it up a few times. I'll check it out.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved that book when I first read it. ;-)

There's a film version, I think, with Mia Farrow.

[vrax.livejournal.com]

desayuno_ingles said I should check you out, and she was right. I like your writing, and we share an interest inReiki (which I write about often). Thus, I am adding you, I hope you don't mind.

For the reading you should check out "The Reiki Sourcebook" by Frans and Bronwen Steine. It's the best book I've seen on the subject.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Cool, I've added you back. I would suggest you say hello to sublimevisions, who is an awesome guy as well as a Reiki practitioner. He writes often about Reiki.

Have a good weekend!

[vrax.livejournal.com]

Great! And thanks for the recommendation as well as the add.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I JUST FINISHED READING IT YESTERDAY!

And, actually, it was a re-read. I love that book.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

It's not a coincidink; it's our sinookas telling us we belong to the same karass... or am I just guilty of a granfalloon?

I haven't read many of his books, which is a shame. Any favourites yourself? Any as good as Cat's Cradle?

[wwidsith.livejournal.com]

Your posts make me almost miss London, so I'm going to go for the obvious and say Peter Ackroyd's London: A Biography, which is fucking amazing and you've probably already read it. In fiction I'll say Will Self, maybe How the Dead Live? And for biography may I recommend a book called Fear and Loathing in Fitzrovia, a biography of Julian Maclaren-Ross who lived a ridiculous and hardly plausible life of debauchery in Soho in the 40s.

I'm trying to think of any Brazilian writers, but all I can think of is Coelho [spits]..

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I finished reading London: A Biography this year; it took me forever and a day to get through it, but I enjoyed it a lot.

I used to be ambivalent about Will Self, but I hated his Book of Dave and made a promise to never ever read a book by him again. I've never heard of Julian Maclaren-Ross so I'll check him out. :-)

I also don't like Paulo Coelho. It's a complete mystery to me how he still sells books!

Do you like Henning Mankell's mysteries?

[hyong-jin.livejournal.com]

Good for summer vacation.
"One Step Behind" is my fave.
anyway I just added you as my friend.
Dance & Drink & Screw - good motto.

Re: Do you like Henning Mankell's mysteries?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of Henning Mankell, but I love mysteries and I do agree they are good for holidays.

I'll add you back. I guess you found me through Twin Peaks? Are you as excited as I am about the second season finally being released on DVD? :-)

[gorecky22.livejournal.com]

Did you finally read "Les Miserables"?? It's a long, long book perfect for holidays... I read it on my holidays when I was 20th and it remains as one of my favourite books ever: it has a great plot, fucking deep character's psychologies and it's great to lear about history (French Revolution, Waterloo Battle...).

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Victor Hugo? I dunno... I think of those old classics as anything but holiday reads! When Im on holiday, I like to read easy, contemporary stuff. :-)