Whatcha Readin' While ILB is on the Rocks?

I'm partway through George Saunders' 'The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil', which is really good, although I'm wondering whether the consistency of theme for each story is going to wear me out before I get to the end of the collection.

in the inbox are:
michael herr-dispatches
david mamet-oleanna
milan kundera-the book of laughter and forgetting (began this and abandoned for oblomov...it was good but maybe not so much the frame of mind I am in)

Because he writes over and over again about both Bohemian New York and Blue Collar New York with that characteristic blend of anger and humor that is his alone.

All my reading might be doomed now that I have borrowed Martin M.'s PS2 for Katamari-rolling purposes.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401210821?ie=UTF8&tag=artandlies-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401210821

thanks dad. i love the graduation present.

hahahahaha! See you in the spring sometime :) Once I get home again (possibly tomorrow), I still have to send you that "thing" for MM.

Maybe I should visit V before school starts up again.

now i'm finishing daphne du maurier's 'don't look now' and other stories.

Sara, what's 'Julie and Julia' like? It's in the pile of books I bought my foodie wife for Christmas, and I'm hoping it's not a dud.

Elvis, I'd forgotten about Tim Powers - I read 'The Anubis Gates' years ago, and really enjoyed it. Thanks for reminding me about him - must get more!

I'd suggest going with either Last Call or Declare next.

It's pretty funny; lots of swearing, though. (I worry that traditional "foodies" might find this offensive...) I read the blog while the Julie/Julia Project was actually happening and found it hilarious, so I was anxious to read the book. I haven't been disappointed; I hope your wife enjoys it!

Gore Vidal- Lincoln
Janwillem van de Wetering- Maine Massacre
Gore Vidal- Empire
Minette Walters- Acid Row
PG Wodehouse- Ukridge
Stuart Woods- The Run
Gore Vidal- 1876
Gore Vidal- Hollywood
PG Wodehouse- Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
Robert Tannenbaum- Irresistible Impulse
Howard Swindle- Jitter Joint
PG Wodehouse- Right Ho, Jeeves
Anne Tyler- Back When We Were Grownups
Leo Tolstoy- The Cossacks
Gore Vidal- Smithsonian Institute

A large Norton volume of Percy Shelley's poetry, as well as a couple of cantos from Byron's Don Juan. I was not overly impressed by much of it.

A failed attempt at reading Emma -- I only managed to finish the first volume.

Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, which was very compelling and full of interesting insights. Also, one of the more demanding reading experiences that I have had in some time.

Four of Christopher Marlowe's plays, of which my favorite was Dr. Faustus. That bit about the fellow riding his horse into the water and then demanding a refund was hilarious. The dramatic excess of his plays is a strongpoint for me.

In process/Coming up:

The Caxton version of Le Morte D'Arthur, which is a long-term reading project.

Plays by Shakespeare and Aeschylus.

Wittgenstein's On Certainty, when I can find it in the coming week.

And I'm getting the Penguin Russian Short Stories collection tomorrow too. Right now I'm reading Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim in a final surrender to Sedaris mania and Pamuk's My Name is Red for a book club.

Am reading Gerard Woodward's 'August' now, which I'm loving, though I'm getting to the very bleak (but still very funny) parts. Before that I reading henning Mankell's 'Depths', which reminded me of a subzero (literally and emotionally) Tom Ripley, and the Persephone books reissue of the clever and gripping 'The Expendable Man' by Dorothy hughes.

I finished the Sedaris yesterday and have started John McGahern's Amongst Women. I read about his works in the TLS and thought he sounded like someone I'd want to read. I was right. His clear, authentic, piercing style makes a deep impression on me. I always feel sad that I learn about such great authors after their death.