[Haymaker]

it's july, so my francophilia has come out to play. this is so fucking good.

http://www.ozarts.com.au/__data/assets/image/0010/30997/Arabella_Edge_-_The_God_of_Spring_-_Picador_2005.jpg

Set in Paris in 1818 during the upheavals of the French Revolution, the Empire, and the Restoration, The God of Spring tells the story of painter Théodore Géricault.

Having won a gold medal at the prestigious Salon for his painting Charging Chasseur at the tender age of twenty-one, Géricault is now, seven years later, searching for the subject of his next masterpiece. But he is lovesick, hopelessly addicted to his benefactor-uncle's young wife, Alexandrine, six years his senior. Every moment without her is an eternity.

At the house of his worldly neighbor he hears the story of the shipwreck of the French frigate Medusa off the shores of the West African coast and the abandonment of one hundred fifty souls on an unseaworthy, makeshift raft. The catastrophe, with its tales of betrayal, madness, murder, and cannibalism, has fascinated and horrified the French public. "Against all odds," Géricault is told, "Henri Savigny, the frigate's surgeon, evidently returned to Paris alive."

When Géricault finds Savigny and his mate, he has discovered a pair of unlikely muses who hold the key to the rendering of the painter's next great work. If only he can maintain his sanity.

[Lynndog]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ipnuGV68iVc/SxR-TtNJxEI/AAAAAAAABZ8/uhpdAjCIrmM/s1600/await+your+reply.jpg

[libowski]

Hercules Rockefeller, on 23 July 2008 - 06:01 AM, said:

Have you (or anyone else) ever read Devil in the White City? Totally fascinating book that tells parallel stories of what really happened at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago (aka Columbian Exposition). It's about one of the most important events in American architectural history, which prompted a serial killer to prey on the crowds that came to visit Chicago for the Fair. Awesome. :hugs: It may go on my re-read list.

i'm enjoying getting my non-fiction on with Devil in the White City right now. agreed - fascinating and creepy parallel stories.

http://chud.com/articles/content_images/5/devil-white-city.jpg

This post has been edited by libowski: 19 July 2010 - 04:41 PM

[Greta]

Nigel, on 19 July 2010 - 12:06 PM, said:

......
I'm also reading a book called Still Waters, White Waters which is a series of first hand accounts of canoe trips through various parts of North America. I stole it from the senior center where my grandmother lives. :oops: It's from the early 70's I believe, and it smells great, contains great photography, and gives me a nostalgic feeling.

Just wanted to make sure you knew we saw this. Grandma book stealer! :headshake:

[elsbieta]

I'm just starting my third J.M. Coetzee for the summer, one I haven't read for a few years, which needs re-reading. The man is such a genius.

http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Waiting-for-the-Barbarians-by-J.M.-Coetzee-300x453.jpg

Greta, on 14 July 2010 - 04:17 PM, said:

Also working on this one now. Had it on the shelf, and decided to pick it up because I'm heading to San Francisco in Sept. and might have to check this place out.

I highly recommend going on a night tour. It is exquisitely creepy.

Rnoke420, on 16 July 2010 - 04:38 AM, said:

if you're interested in Darfur, this book is just amazing. Heartwrenching at times, but ignoring these realities is far worse than some depression you feel after reading this.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1586483889.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

I've read this - agreed. Extremely difficult to read, but just amazing and I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Haymaker, on 19 July 2010 - 01:42 PM, said:

it's july, so my francophilia has come out to play. this is so fucking good.

hmmmm..... I like the looks of this.... it looks like it could be outstanding escapist art history lake house reading for next week.....I might have to have my mama pick it up and bring it to the lake for me!

[Kevin]

http://a609.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/81/l_2bc6a0aafd7ed4a2d88f10c6e7d5f5d0.jpg

Her short stories are pretty good.

[Yidaki]

I've decided to give Palahniuk another go with Haunted (I'm still on the fence with Chuck, as I loved Survivor, hated Choke, and liked Fight Club). I'm smack in the middle and I must say that it is pretty creative - however it still has it's pretentious gaudiness. I'm held captive to see where it goes.

[MoffTarkin]

I haven't read Haunted, but I must plug Rant in here one more time. It's seriously fantastic. I didn't think Palahniuk was capable of a book like that.

[pode316]

I am not a fan of him at all.

[MoffTarkin]

pode316, on 20 July 2010 - 06:10 PM, said:

I am not a fan of him at all.

I love Fight Club and Survivor. Aside from those and Rant, the only other I've read has been Choke which I found bland and formulaic. My friends who have kept up with his later stuff say that he's been phoning it in for years. Rant, however, seems to have been his last gasp of creativity. At least that's the word around the campfire. He's nothing to stroke your beard over, but I stand by several of his books that I've found to be very enjoyable reads.

[Lucas]

pode316, on 20 July 2010 - 06:10 PM, said:

I am not a fan of him at all.

MoffTarkin, on 20 July 2010 - 06:16 PM, said:

I love Fight Club and Survivor. Aside from those and Rant, the only other I've read has been Choke which I found bland and formulaic. My friends who have kept up with his later stuff say that he's been phoning it in for years. Rant, however, seems to have been his last gasp of creativity. At least that's the word around the campfire. He's nothing to stroke your beard over, but I stand by several of his books that I've found to be very enjoyable reads.

The only book of his that I've read is Diary, and it left me very underwhelmed... I loved the Fight Club movie though. What's his best book?

[Lynndog]

Survivor. But I haven't read Rant yet.

[MoffTarkin]

Lucas, on 20 July 2010 - 06:32 PM, said:

The only book of his that I've read is Diary, and it left me very underwhelmed... I loved the Fight Club movie though. What's his best book?

I've only read four, so I'm not the most qualified to say. Of those, either Survivor or Rant for me.

[Hydrogen]

http://rgr-static1.tangentlabs.co.uk/images/bau/97803930/9780393064742/0/0/plain/supreme-power-franklin-roosevelt-vs-the-supreme-court.jpg

For a subject I thought I knew a lot about, I find myself learning all kinds of things I didn't know. Very good read. (I'm about 300 pp. in.)

[MoffTarkin]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KZ4BG74QL.jpg

[pskept]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/WelcomeToTheMonkeyHouse.jpg  

[space cat]

http://thecoolsideofapillow.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/p-640-480-d224c50e-5491-4098-ac1c-0aa49a087c9a.jpeg

[Yidaki]

space cat, on 30 July 2010 - 12:28 PM, said:

http://thecoolsideofapillow.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/p-640-480-d224c50e-5491-4098-ac1c-0aa49a087c9a.jpeg

You should start a thread... oh wait...

[Dr Gonzo]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5131V0V495L._SL500_AA300_.jpg


I love this book. A friend loaned it to me, but I've already ordered a copy for myself. It's about the disappearance of Louisiana's coast, and broadly, the loss of the cajun culture. I've been recommending this to anyone who will listen, mostly because it's such a personal topic for me.

If you consider yourself an environmentally conscious person in any sense, you should read this. It details how we are losing 40% of America's saltwater marshes at a rate of 25 square miles a year and how nothing is being done to stop it. I feel like it is a topic that is not on most people's radar.

It's a pretty entertaining read too. Cajuns are funny people.

This post has been edited by Dr Gonzo: Today, 03:48 PM