Books a Man Has Given Me That Made Me Swear NEVER to Go on Another Date with Him EVER Again

milo, it depends on the woman.

the Pevear/Volohonsky translations would have gotten me to swoon.
(my husband decided to indulge my love of Japanese rock bands, theater/film and shiny things instead).

Another great breakup book: De Profundis.

that said, dianetics kinda pwns this thread

EMO HATER

I love that dude. I remember seeing him in the Olympics and how he had to escape Communist Bulgaria so he could change his name.

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Transformers: The Ultimate Guide is a detailed look at the fantastic world of these mechanical marvels. Follow each character's history and witness the amazing evolution of the Transformers, from physical structure and weaponry to personalities, alliances, and important battles. Detailed illustrations show exactly how each character "transforms" from warrior robot to high-powered vehicle. Special feature spreads cover all aspects of the Transformers' world and include specially commissioned maps and detailed city plans of their home planet of Cybertron, descriptions of the giant space ark in which the Transformers traveled to Earth, major wars in Transformers history, and much more.

Newest Remy Zero Release: Music for Middle Americans, February 6, 2002
The band Remy Zero released its third and newest album, The Golden Hum, under the Elektra label, striking a resonant political chord across America. Critic Gary Schaefer got it right when he said, "Bands like U2 and Remy Zero are bringing answers to a nation, which after Sept. 11 has come to ask a lot more questions." The captivating album indeed bears political significance. The lyrics reflect our national condition, and are a much better barometer of the State of the Union than any petty Beltway politician could provide.
Comprised of frontman Cinjun Tate, guitarists Jeffrey Cain and Shelby Tate (Cinjun's bro), bassist Cedric LeMoyne, and drummer Gregory Slay, the quintet began as kids in Birmingham, Alabama. Many say their style resembles that of Radiohead, U2, and Black Lab. Amazon.com's Adam Silverman describes their lyrics as simultaneously "dark and uplifting, cynical and hopeful," while other aficionados refer to them as "longing" and "moody."

The first single of the album, "Save Me," is also the theme song of the hit WB show Smallville, which chronicles the high school career of budding super hero Clark Kent. Twenty-four-year-old actor Tom Welling plays Kent, who in this period is the best friend of the young Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum). The able presence of Welling on the screen matches well with the message carried in "Save Me." Welling's Kent proves that nice guys finish last, yet he remains constant and true.

"Save Me" relies on a recurrent, subtly shifting chorus whose complex depth and beauty arises from its relative simplicity. The content is just as rich as the form: "I feel the waves crash down inside/ and they pulled me under/ I would give you anything you want, but know/ you were all I wanted/ and all my dreams have fallen down/ crawling around and around/ ...Somebody save me/ Let your warm hands break right through/ Somebody save me/ I don't care how you do it/ Just save me/ I made this whole world shine for you/ Just stay, stay/ Oh, come on/ I'm still waiting for you."

Listening to these lyrics brings pictures of a world encased in ice, knocked far from the stable orbit of a warm sun. Yet, the possibility ever remains that "warm hands" will "break right through" to save us, and we are desperate enough not to worry about how it happens. Practicality and effectiveness are what matter. The stage is set and the conditions are right for the man on a white horse (Clark Kent?) to arrive, just in time. An excellent and provocative suggestion that such a strongman is necessary to restore the pre-1913 American Republic is in Michael A. Ledeen's Machiavelli on Modern Leadership.

I have debated whether the passivity that comes at the receiving end of a hero's deeds is healthy for paleoconservatives to embrace, politically or spiritually. After all, Americanism means self-reliance, and even Tom Welling says in a WB interview that he does not like sheep.

However, there is no danger here. Men can dream. It helps to have ideals to compare reality to, a Northern Star, even as we recognize that our reality is forever doomed to fall short of those ideals. The journey and the effort are what count. There may be no man on a white horse, but there can be a damn good grassroots effort by Middle Americans. It is probably better that way, since a mass movement can never collectively compromise with the special interests, "banksters," and multinationals (not to imply that any of our leaders have sold out, but merely the foreclosure of the very possibility).

I envision a young, brooding, upcoming populist Right generation wielding Pat Buchanan's books with one hand and balancing The Golden Hum in the other. I also expect "Save Me" will play when the nominee takes the stage at the national party convention, the next time the grassroots conservatives field a presidential candidate.

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This, I just don't want to be given, at least not with any significance attached:
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that is an insane book...first lawrence i ever read after a tipoff from my english teacher.

=

ZapHershElhoff?

Actually, the book that would annoy me most would be one of those "how to write lovely journals" books, or rather, a "how to journal" book, since it has become a verb now. Thanks! I can write on my own! I'm not a baby!

OK, the lamest gift was an ex boyfriend who gave me two books - the Story of the Theremin and the Book of Moog - both of which were GRATE, but then a few weeks later, turned around and gave them (again) to a friend of his! Dude! WTF?

Srsly Andrew, that's mental talk.

A lot of the sort of rock boys I used to date just didn't read. They'd read magazines, but not books, and certainly never novels. (that said, some rock boys are literate, but I was surprised by how many aren't.)

Also, office people. I work with a lot of people in IT or accountancy. I swear to god, the last bloke I dated, he owned five books - 2 of which were Grisham and 2 Dan Brown. He simply did not read. I could not get my head around it.

My girlfriend in high school was forced to keep her books out of sight because her mother thought they were "messy". They watched TV in her family - even her sci fi/fantasy books were viewed with suspicion.

I kind of take it for granted that people read, because that's the kind of family I come from, and the kind of people that I have for friends. But there are lots of people that simply do not.

It's hard not to make it sound like a value judgement or snobbery, but honestly these people's way of thinking and worldview is so far removed from mine that I've learned not to even contemplate a relationship with someone who doesn't read voraciously. It just doesn't work, it's like you're speaking different languages.

And - again, this is my opinion, not a value judgement - I would never date someone whose only reading material was bestseller standards. I mean, it's one thing to read Harry Potter or Dan Brown as a supplement to a well-rounded reading diet, but quite another if that is the only thing a person reads.

-- accentmonkey (tris...), February 14th, 2007. (accentmonkey) (later)

yeah, really! there's something misaligned in your head/soul, my friend.

(Hrrmm, now that is one of my biases - I automatically equate "not reading" with "no imagination".)

I think the only books that could actually put me off someone if they were given to me would be extreme right-wing politics. I don't think I would dump someone just because they had different taste in fiction.

Cycling has kind of killed my bookreading - it should in theory get me home in time to get an hours reading in at the evening, but it never seems to work like that.

For example, many of the people in Mister Monkey's office do not read books or appear to engage in much culture beyond the internet and computer games in any way at all. And even, Andrew, a lot of the people we both know from the Place You Used to Work are not readers. As an example, I offer you the case of our friend C, who now runs his own company. He only reads books like "How to Maximize your Money" or else textbooks. My old friend Stephen C is the same. It's just how things are.

Is this our friend C who's now worked in two jobs with Mister Monkey? I didn't know he has his own company, but I'm not surprised. He's got a missus who does all the reading, no?

Framed black and white photos of two hobo children kissing made me think of this:

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It's not so much that I would dislike someone who liked this book as I would dislike someone who was so dim as to have ever spoken one word to me and yet still somehow think that I would like this book.

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That is the very chap.

Anne Geddes wants kicking.