May 7, 2010

2009 Reading



Purely for my own meticulous record keeping...

Ham On Rye -- Charles Bukowski -- 10/10
East Of Eden -- Steinbeck -- 10/10
Under the Banner of Heaven -- John Krakauer -- 9/10
Open -- Andre Agassi -- 9/10
Post Office -- Charles Bukowski -- 7/10
Factotum -- Charles Bukowski -- 7/10
Moneyball -- Michael Lewis -- 7/10
Game of Shadows -- Lance Williams -- 7/10
Choke -- Chuck Palahnuik -- 6/10
Women -- Charles Bukowski -- 5/10
Fugitives and Refugees -- Chuck Palahnuik -- 5/10
Manhood for Amateurs -- Michael Chabon -- 4/10
LA Diaries -- James Brown -- 4/10
Survivor -- Chuck Palahnuik -- 2/10

5 comments:

Sarah said...

I'm meticulously writing these down...

::athada:: said...

Krakauer's Morman piece was SCARY. I walk past a temple everyday on the way to language school.

Josh Jackson said...

SUPER scary. Maybe too scary even, since I still shiver a little around temples as well. I'm not sure Krakauer would want us feeling that way, but I can't help it.

Sarah- I would really suggest the top 3 of 2009...East of Eden and Ham on Rye are in my top 10 of all time. If you're looking for more books to read, here is my all time list:

East of Eden, Middlesex, Ham On Rye, Into the Wild, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Old Man and the Sea, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Slaughterhouse Five, All Families Are Psychotic, Perks of Being A Wallflower, Catcher in the Rye, and the essays of David Foster Wallace, Chuck Klosterman and David Sedaris.

Let me know if you end up reading any of those! Maybe we can talk about them on the trail in September! Wishful thinking, I know. :)

Sarah said...

Into the Wild (I loved this one and "Into Thin Air") I'm looking forward to reading his new one.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Read it in 4 days, couldn't put it down).

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (one of my favorites, beautiful writing).

Slaughterhouse Five (I love Vonnegut an unhealthy amount and this, in my opinion, is one of his best).

Perks of Being A Wallflower (sat in Barnes and Noble and read it in 2 days. I wanted to underline everything in that book).

Catcher in the Rye (One of the first books I ever truly loved).

All Families are psychotic - I have to be honest, I really really disliked it (maybe even...hated?). I'll have to try another Coupland and see if I like any of his others.

Krakauer's new one is next on my list, then Ham on Rye.

Thanks for all the recommendations!

Here's one for you: "The Brothers K" by David James Duncan. I loved it. The writing is beautiful and the characters...oh my.

Josh Jackson said...

Sarah,

Whoa...we have read a lot of the same books!

I'm excited for you to read Under the Banner of Heaven and Ham on Rye. You'll have to let me know what you think.

I think Slaughterhouse-Five is my favorite Vonnegut. I'd be interested to know yours, because I have a few sitting on my shelf that I haven't read yet. Maybe you can stir me back into action.

Coupland is definitely hit/miss with me. I think the Families book resonated with me because of what I was going through at the time. Even still, I wouldn't give Coupland another try if you dislike Families that much. His books are REALLY similar in style.

I ordered the Brothers K and will definitely keep you posted! I should get to it in June. Right now I'm reading Lonesome Dove and Three Nights in August.

If you like to own your favorite books (or get them for free), then I highly recommend paperbackswap.com. Check it out and if you sign up, make sure to include me as a reference so I can get a credit. :)

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