Frankie Reads 2010

[frankie]

These I picked up from Nick Hornby's The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, to add to my wishlist. I thought it might be fun to see and compare what other people might pick up from the list.

 

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

George and Sam: Autism in the Family by Charlotte Moore

How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer (also on RG-

Enemies of Promise by Cyril Connolly

Old School by Tobias Wolff (also on RG-

True Notebooks by Mark Salzman

Early Bird by Rodney Rothman

Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler

Candide by Voltaire (also on RG-

Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson

What Good Are the Arts by John Carey

Pure Pleasure by John Carey

Ghosting by Jeanie Erdal

Scenes from a Provincial Life by William Cooper

The Dirt by M

[Kylie]

Wow, I haven't even heard of most of them. I've been interested in reading Freakonomics for a little while. It's supposed to be very good.

[frankie]

Wow, I haven't even heard of most of them. I've been interested in reading Freakonomics for a little while. It's supposed to be very good.

 

Freakonomics is about all kinds of different weird and interesting statistics that don't always have anything to do with each other but are linked to each other by the authors in curious ways. It sounded like a real quirky read

 

For example, the first chapter is about discovering "cheating as applied to teachers and sumo wrestlers"

Edited May 25, 2010 by frankie

[AbielleRose]

Wow, that's quite a list frankie! The Polysyllibic Spree sounds a bit dangerous I can't say I've heard of any of those titles. Did you hear about them before reading the book or does he give some little blurb in SS?

[ethan]

Anne Tyler is one of my favorites, and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is one of her best. You can't go far wrong with Jonathan Lethem, either, although I've not read The Fortress of Solitude.

[frankie]

Wow, that's quite a list frankie! The Polysyllibic Spree sounds a bit dangerous I can't say I've heard of any of those titles. Did you hear about them before reading the book or does he give some little blurb in SS?

 

It is indeed a dangerous book Hornby doesn't give out the actual storylines through and through but he does give you an idea what the title in question is about, or how it's written. There are a lot of memoirs and (auto)biographies on the list so that might be one reason why some of the titles don't seem familiar, if one's not into biographies. I've heard of some of the titles before (The Fortress of Solitude, How to Breathe Underwater, Old School, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Candide by Voltaire, The Dirt and Freakonomics) but I added them now to my wishlist because of The Polysyllabic Spree. (The Rory Gilmore books were already on my wishlist of course)

 

Anne Tyler is one of my favorites, and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is one of her best. You can't go far wrong with Jonathan Lethem, either, although I've not read The Fortress of Solitude.

 

I've heard of Anne Tyler but I have no idea what her books are like, I thought she was a chick lit author but I don't think Hornby would praise that kind of novel, so I'm really curious about it now

[AbielleRose]

Thats cool I'm really looking forward to reading it. Can't belive you've already finished! Will you be starting The Bell Jar soon then?

[ethan]

Anne Tyler writes of dyfunctional families, or more precisely, dysfunctional people trying to learn how exactly to function in a confusing world. Not neccessarily my favorite subject matter, but Tyler writes with great humor, compassion and insight. If you've seen The Accidental Tourist with William Hurt and Geena Davis, that was based on one of her novels.

[frankie]

Thats cool I'm really looking forward to reading it. Can't belive you've already finished! Will you be starting The Bell Jar soon then?

 

I hope everyone else enjoys Spree as much as I did

 

I already started The Bell Jar during the weekend and finished it Too bad it was such a short and quick read, I could've spent more time with it easily!

 

Ethan: Thanks for the Tyler info! It sounds like I might enjoy her novels, I think I'll be wanting to pick one of her books up rather soonishly.

[Weave]

Toni Collette is also in 'The Sixth Sense' Frankie, I think she got an oscar nomination for the part she played, she was really good

[frankie]

Toni Collette is also in 'The Sixth Sense' Frankie, I think she got an oscar nomination for the part she played, she was really good

 

That's one of the movies everybody knows and keeps talking about but I haven't watched it for some reason or another. I had no idea she was in that movie as well. There's something really interesting about Toni Collette, she's such a chameleon and can be transformed to play just about any part

[Weave]

That's one of the movies everybody knows and keeps talking about but I haven't watched it for some reason or another. I had no idea she was in that movie as well. There's something really interesting about Toni Collette, she's such a chameleon and can be transformed to play just about any part

 

I agree, she is a very versatile actress, 'Muriel's Wedding' is my favourite

 

Toni Collette ~ IMDB Click here

[frankie]

Thanks Weave I looked her up on that link and noticed that she's been on Emma as well, the 1996 version. I had no idea, I've certainly not recognised her and I've seen the movie at least 2 times. That's just goes to show how versatile and unrecognisable she can be

[Chrissy]

'Muriel's Wedding' is a brilliant film. I can definitely recommend it as an early Toni Collete film!

[AbielleRose]

If you're looking for Toni Collette films then try Connie and Carla. She stars in it with Nia Vardalos (spl? The lead in My Big Fat Greek Wedding). Its about two women who dress up as men who are drag queens. Its absolutely hillarious and one of my all time favorite films.

[frankie]

Thanks everyone, I definitely need to look into those suggestions!

[Kate]

Which Nick Hornby novel do you think is the best? I'm thinking of reading one of his fiction pieces after I've finished The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, see what it is like

[frankie]

Which Nick Hornby novel do you think is the best? I'm thinking of reading one of his fiction pieces after I've finished The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, see what it is like

 

A great question, Kate, one that I was actually thinking about myself just recently, having been reading so many Hornby novels lately My least favorite so far has been How to Be Good. I liked High Fidelity, but I have to say that compared to A Long Way Down and Juliet, Naked (which I'm currently reading) it's a rather average novel. I think I would recommend A Long Way Down, although there's a lot of cursing in it, do you mind that kind of thing? It's also about suicide, but not in a really depressing way. There's a lot of black humour in it. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then I'd suggest you read Juliet, Naked.

 

How could I forget About a Boy, eventhough I just finished it?? That's also very good Would you like more details about J,N and/or AaB and/or ALWD, or do you think you'll just trust my taste?

[Kate]

What is Juliet, Naked about? I think I'll try About a Boy - I loved the film! I don't really like swearing in books, I find it unnecessary

[frankie]

Juliet, Naked is a book about two people in a relationship that isn't really going anywhere, and about the other person's obsession with Tucker Crowe, a singer-songerwriter in the 1960s-70s. (Juliet, Naked is the title of an album by him, it's nothing to do with the people being naked all the time ) This obsession leads to quite surprising incidents. As always with Hornby, I always seem to think I know how the book is going to go and end and then I'm always surprised that I had no clue in the first place, which is something I really enjoy.

[Kate]

I'll try that one too then, thank you!

[frankie]

You're very welcome Kate, I'll be looking forward to hearing what you thought of the novel(s)

[Maureen]

I've only read one Gerritsen, 'The Bone Garden,' and loved it! I'm hoping to read more of hers .

 

 

Fantastic book. Just finished it. I should say devoured it actually - I barely paused to sleep.

[AbielleRose]

Juliet, Naked is a book about two people in a relationship that isn't really going anywhere, and about the other person's obsession with Tucker Crowe, a singer-songerwriter in the 1960s-70s. (Juliet, Naked is the title of an album by him, it's nothing to do with the people being naked all the time ) This obsession leads to quite surprising incidents. As always with Hornby, I always seem to think I know how the book is going to go and end and then I'm always surprised that I had no clue in the first place, which is something I really enjoy.

 

That sounds good, I might need to go pick that one up

[Peacefield]

Fantastic book. Just finished it. I should say devoured it actually - I barely paused to sleep.

 

I'm so glad you enjoyed The Bone Garden, Maureen! It was very interesting and definitely hard to put down .