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Book Club - by Luke

Book Club - June 2006

In Cold Blood

June 30th 2006 05:03
In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood


Yeharrrr! Another bargain buy – this one was in the vicinity of $8 or something. Obviously, this was before all the Truman hype that came with that ‘Capote’ movie – now you gotta pay full price, fools. Yeharr! Take that! Whoop-pa!


Sorry. Anyway, I grabbed this just because it was cheap and I knew it was some kind of classic. Probably not the best way to choose a book to read, but it works for me all the same. ‘In Cold Blood’ is considered to be Truman Capote’s biggest work (closely followed by ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ I guess). It’s an early true-crime book, written at a time when crimes weren’t reported by the media in any kind of detail and the general public were still very much in the dark when it came to the darker aspects of society. Capote broke that all wide-open with this intensely-researched and groundbreaking book.

‘In Cold Blood’ starts with the now-infamous and unexplained murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. We follow both the killers and the cops desperately trying to track them down, right up to the solving of the case and the execution of the killers on death row. The book is written like a fictional novel, but it’s all true… the details are amazing and frightening in their scope. It took Capote six years to research and write this account of apparently unmotivated murder, and every minute of that time shows in the realness of this novel.


‘In Cold Blood’ was surprisingly modern to my jaded, 21st century eyes. It reads like a contemporary crime-film, ala Tarantino or Goodfellas. It goes to show how ahead of it’s time this book is, that it still feels all-too-real some forty-something years after it’s original publication. Capote claimed to have invented a new genre with this book, ‘the nonfiction novel’ and it has certainly had a massive influence on writers since, some of whom have taken this book as the starting point for the New Journalism movement. Plenty of true crime novels and journalistic tour-de-forces owe a lot to this fascinating and cutting edge book. It’s scary, compelling and tragic reading… Capote gets inside the minds of the killers, their victims and the harassed police who did so much to try and crack a case that terrified the living shit out of everyone in the county. Definitely a must-read for anyone who's a fan of true crime, high-credibility writing, or just a well-told story.

Capote
Capote. Doesn't really look like Philip Seymour Hoffman in the slightest.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Classics
   


Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

June 29th 2006 04:16
'Chamber of Secrets' is the second Harry Potter book and probably the most unpopular (judging from general opinions heard by yours truly). It's easily my least favourite... that's not to say it's bad, it's just saying that it's easily eclipsed by the following books and it aint as good as 'Philosopher's Stone'.

Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets


'Chamber of Secrets' is probably best remembered for introducing us to the character of Gilderoy Lockhart. In case you've been living in some kind of mushroom tray away from the rest of society, each Harry Potter book features a new teacher filling the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. The position seems cursed and each book ends with the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher leaving in some manner, leaving the position open for a new character to fill it in the following book. This book sees the fabulously vain and conceited Lockhart (played perfectly by Kenneth Branagh in the film) take up the mantle, and he is easily the best thing in the entire book.

Harry is entering his second year at Hogwarts this time round and some kind of monster is lurking in the halways and petrifying children and kitty cats alike. It appears that the fabled Chamber of Secrets has been opened, releasing the monster, and that Voldemort may again be pulling the strings. All eyes are on Harry as his fellow students and teachers learn that he is a 'parselmouth', a talent said to belong to those who practice the Dark Arts! Oh no, Harry's in trouble now!

This book also gives us some back history on Harry's arch-enemy Voldemort, and continues the development of the three lead characters, Harry, Hermione and Ron. Like 'Philosopher's Stone', a lot of this book is represented in the film and not much is left out - mainly due to it's short and adaptable length (unlike the following books), so if you've already seen the film you'll only really pick up a few extra details and further development of the supporting characters in reading this novel. It's probably worth reading though just so you you can follow all the little threads and character arcs that J. K. Rowling has put through the whole series. It's not a bad book, but the best is yet to come!

Viva la Potter!
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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Lullaby

June 28th 2006 06:26
Lullaby
Lullaby


'Lullaby' is the first novel by Chuck Palahniuk that I've read. He's a fairly hip young dude as far as authors go and is most famous for the book 'Fight Club'. He writes anti-authoritarian/almost nihilistic stuff that riffs on pop culture and modern society, and he usually gets lumped in with authors like Brett Easton Ellis and Irvine Welsh, which is fair enough I guess. To put it shortly, he's hip and cutting edge!

I wasn't really sure what to expect beyond what I'd seen in the film to 'Fight Club'. I guess the book is similar in that it follows a small group of people who make themselves outsiders by facing off against society as a whole. There are a lot of ideas in Lullaby.

The book follows a journalist, Carl Streator, as he investigates cot death across America. Carl is actually trailing an ancient African culling song - a lullaby that kills the person who it is read to. This is the cause of the cot deaths he is investigating. It was also the cause of the death of his daughter and wife twenty years previously. This idea, that of the culling song, is the seed from from which the entire events of Lullaby stems, but it only pertains to a small portion of the book itself.

Lullaby concerns itself with ideas like that of the nuclear family, necrophilia, absolute power and the corruption it causes, the homogenisation of culture, the power of words, Big Brother-as-noisemaker, the apocalypse, magic spells, trauma, the sanctity (or lack therof) of life, etc, etc. I could on and on. And the book only goes for 250 pages or so.

Now, while I easily prefer too many ideas to not enough, I think there is way too much going on in this book. Obviously, I can't comment on whether this is Palahniuk's normal style or not, but I think this story would've been better served by either focusing on a few of the excellent points it raises or extending it's page count to give all it's points a fair examination. Then again, I could be missing the point... Palahniuk may not care to exam his points, he may be on a one-man blitz of information saturation.

It's interesting to note that this book started as a kind of therapy for Chuck Palahniuk - his father had recently been murdered by an ex-con (for the circumstances, go here - Wikipedia page) and Palahniuk had helped get his father's murderer the death penalty. Some of this book's themes stem from his coping with that.

Anyway, I enjoyed this a lot. It's an entertaining read but also made me think, which is everything a good book should be, so I think I'll definitely read more. Also, the name 'Chuck Palahniuk' sounds so good when you say it out loud.

Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk
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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


Angus and Robertson Top 100

June 27th 2006 09:09
Da Vinci Code
The No. 1 book
Angus and Robertson have had this Top 100 for a while. It was voted by the employees of the company (the last time they had a Top 100 it was voted by the customers... I guess this time they decided some taste was in order, ho ho ho!) Not surprisingly, a lot of the books were from the classics or literature section... very few non-fiction books made it through. I wouldn't be surprised if it was rigged to an extent, either to ensure availability for all titles or that they'd be books that would sell... I mean, come on - every Harry Potter book (at the time of the list's genesis) is in there! You gotta question some of these choices (that's part of the fun I suppose). As far as Top 100s go, it's a little cliched but I guess it's okay... it's fun to read through it and count how many you've read (23 for me), and count how many you intend to read. I find these lists to generally be useful guides to what I might like to read next...

1. The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown
2. The Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkein
3. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
4. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
5. Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
6. Angels and Demons Dan Brown
7. Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
8. My Sister's Keeper Jodi Picoult
9. Tomorrow When the War Began John Marsden
10. The Magician Raymond E. Feist
11. The Bronze Horseman Paulina Simons
12. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling
13. The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkein
14. Bridget Jones' Diary Helen Fielding
15. Cloudstreet Tim Winton
16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J. K. Rowling
17. The Power of One Bryce Courtney
18. April Fool's Day Bryce Courtney
19. Tully Paulina Simons
20. Across the Nightingale Floor Lian Hearn
21. The Alchemist Paolo Coelho
22. The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy
23. The Ice Station Matthew Reilly
24. Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett
25. Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom
26. Perfume Patrick Suskind
27. The Bible Jesus and his pals
28. The Bride-Stripped Bear Anonymous
29. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling
30. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling
31. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis
32. Cross Stitch Diana Gabaldon
33. Looking for Alibrandi Melina Marchetta
34. Mao's Last Dancer Li Cunxin
35. The Secret History Donna Tartt
37. Gone With the Wind Margarett Mitchell
38. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
39. Jessica Bryce Courtney
40. The Notebook Nicholas Sparks
41. The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
42. The Kite Runner Khaled Housseni
43. One For the Money Janet Evanovich
44. Little Women Louisa May Alcott
45. Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon
46. Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
47. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Helen Fielding
48. The Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom
49. Great Expectations Chartes Dickens
50. The Life of Pi Yann Martel
51. The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
52. The Poet Michael Connelly
53. A Child Called It Dave Pelzer
54. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson
55. On The Road Jack Kerouac
56. Tell No One Harlen Coben
57. 1984 George Orwell
58. Almost French Sarah Turnball
59. An Equal Music Seth Vikram
60. Not listed on website (I think it's 'The Fountainhead' Ayn Rand)
61. The Blind Assassin Margaret Attwood
62. The Day After Tomorrow Allan Folsom
63. Desert Flower Waris Dirie
64. The English Patient Michael Ondaatje
65. The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde
66. Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk
67. A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey
68. Girl with a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier
69. The Godfather Mario Puzo
70. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets J. K. Rowling
71. The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans
72. Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
73. Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
74. The Pact Jodi Picoult
75. The Time Traveller's Wife Audrey Niffenegger
76. Wild Swans Jung Chang
77. Animal Farm George Orwell
78. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
79. Atonement Ian McEwan
80. Captain Corelli's Mandolin Louis de Bernieres
81. Cold Mountain Charles Frazier
82. Crime and Punishment F. M. Dostoevsky
83. Emma Jane Austen
84. Enduring Love Ian McEwan
85. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
86. The Handmaiden's Tale Margaret Attwood
87. Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice
88. It Stephen King
89. Like Water For Chocolate Laura Esquival
90. Not Without My Daughter Betty Mahmoody
91. Plain Truth Jodi Picoult
92. First To Die James Patterson
93. A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry
94. Alias Grace Margaret Attwood
95. The Assassin's Apprentice Robin Hobb
96. Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand
97. The Potato Factory Bryce Courtney
98. The Redemption of Althalus David and Leigh Eddings
99. Retribution Jillianne Hoffman
100. River God Wilbur Smith

Angus & Robertson - website
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Posted By: Luke - Category: News and Miscellany
   


Gormenghast

June 26th 2006 06:21
Gormenghast
The Gormenghast trilogy


The 'Gormenghast' trilogy... what can I say? I love these books, the writing style alone is enough to reccomend it to anyone who is interested in reading and/or writing in general. The author, Mervyn Peake, was a British poet, artist, illustrator and writer... a real renaissance man. The 'Gormenghast' trilogy is what he will remain most famous for though. Conceived as a chronicle of the life of the fictitious character Titus Groan, the three books that make up this trilogy follow Titus from birth to young adulthood. It was Peake's intention to follow his hero from birth to death but unfortunately his own death from Parkinson's Disease prevented this and so we are instead left with these books... 'Titus Groan' (1946), 'Gormenghast' (1950) and 'Titus Alone' (1959


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Where's Wally - The Great Picture Hunt

June 23rd 2006 13:17
Where's Wally
Where's Wally - The Great Picture Hunt
After nine years in hiding (ho ho ho), the stripey four-eyed one makes a triumphant return to the world of Children's books with his 5th outing, 'The Great Picture Hunt'.

Apparently it took a good three years to put together and has all sorts of slap-band wizardry and fun-bang-do in it. Now, if you were a kid of the 80s or 90s (like me) you would know that Wally was the be-all and end-all of literary coolness. In primary school, when we were forcibly herded into the library once a week, everyone would run for the Where's Wally books. I kind of wish I was a kid again just so I could relive the magic with this latest adventure. Sigh


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Posted By: Luke - Category: News and Miscellany
   


The Great Gatsby

June 22nd 2006 12:54
The Great Gatsby... this was one of those books I didn't get to read in school, though everyone else seemed to. I finally got around to reading it a few weeks ago and I tell ya... it sure was short for a classic! I like it. More short classics please. Less Tolstoy.

The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Classics
   


McQueen

June 21st 2006 06:48
McQueen
McQueen - The Biography
Being an actor, it must be strange to know that if you leave behind an impressive enough body of work that hundreds of people, nay thousands, will pore over all the minutae of your life in an effort to recapture who you were. Talk about a legacy! This is exactly what has happened to Steve McQueen in the book 'McQueen', the author (Christopher Sandford) has buried himself in a self-made catalogue of McQueen's life... the research that must've gone into this 500 page book would've been intensive.

The book follows McQueen from his childhood right through to his premature death. All 28 of his films are dealt with in-depth, as are his 'wilderness' years between jobs and film roles, his contempt for Hollywood, his death-defying love affair with all things fast, his paranoia, his business acumen, his wives, his lovers, and his stint in the marine corps. The hardest parts to take are the end sequences of this book, where McQueen fought against his cancer and sought out the help of a doctor with an alleged 'miracle cure'. It's all in the book, in vivid detail


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Film
   


Dan Brown

June 20th 2006 10:35
Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Will he blow it?

How can one possibly follow up on a runaway yet highly-criticised success like 'The Da Vinci Code' and meet the expectations that have been building steadily since 'The Da Vinci Code' first climbed to the top of Bestseller lists around the world two or three years ago


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Posted By: Luke - Category: News and Miscellany
   


Shardik

June 19th 2006 08:19
'Shardik' is an epic fantasy novel by Richard Adams, the author otherwise known for his famous book 'Watership Down'. 'Shardik' is somewhat more adult than 'Watership Down', if only in terms of it's size and level of detail.

Shardik
Shardik

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Conspiracy Files

June 17th 2006 08:36
For good value, there's nothing more entertaining on this planet than conspiracy theories. So when I picked up this book for about $7 I was thrilled. Thrilled and amused. Thriled, amused and knocked out even! There's something about that mix of paranoia and the extraordinary that really hits on a certain nerve... I love it.
Conspiracy Files
Conspiracy Files, by David Southwell & Sean Twist

This is a slightly tongue-in-cheek guide to the what's what of the conspiracy world. Every conspiracy is broken down into a rundown of what happened, what was strange about it, who might've perpetrated it (including a list of the normal suspects, and then some more left-of-field suspects), the most convincing evidence that supports the theory, the most mysterious fact, and then to cap it off - what sceptics say to debunk the theory. It's pretty even-handed when it comes to these elaborate and mind-boggling theories... it even pokes fun at some of the stranger theories


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Posted By: Luke - Category: True Crime
   


DisneyWar

June 16th 2006 07:54
DisneyWar
DisneyWar, Australian cover.
I don't know the exact reason why I picked this book up. Maybe it was because it marginally had something to do with movies and I love reading about movies and the behind-the-scenes struggles. Maybe because it was about egos going out of control and everyone loves hearing about that. Or maybe it was just because I just really wanted to see Disney's squeaky-clean name rubbed about in the dirt? Who can tell. It's probably all of these things, and this book definitely delivers on all three as far as I'm concerned.

James B. Stewart is a big-time American writing journalist of some sort, and he released this book last year. It's quite big, about 800 pages or so and it follows a twenty year period from 1984 (or thereabouts) to the present day, charting Disney's re-birth in the late eighties to it's fiery internal multi-billion dollar bitchfights in the late 90s. It all starts and ends with the man named Michael Eisner... a man who sought to inherit Walt Disney's mantle, install himself as it's new figurehead, generate massive and obscene amounts of cash for himself and divorce the last remaining members of the Disney family from their legacy. Yes, he goes that far! Most troubling of all is the up-close view we get of the way he jealously guarded his position as CEO... for more than a decade the man refused to name a second-in-charge, fearing to give anyone any leverage against him. Disturbingly, in this book we watch him take on a protege in Jeffrey Katzenberg, a thoroughly unlikeable man who helped put Disney back on the map once and for all with The Lion King, only to push him away when it becomes clear that Katzenberg wishes to stand as second-in-charge and be officially recognised as next in line


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Business & Politics
   


1984

June 15th 2006 09:42
Considered by many to be the definitive George Orwell novel, 1984 is a bleak and cautioning science-fiction classic that can be found on many people's 'greatest novels' lists. Why is this? Well, you could say that it's fairly accessible to modern readers, that it (sadly) hasn't dated at all, and that it resonates with a real sense of tragedy and foreboding - all the more so for being Orwell's last completed novel - and will stay with anyone who reads it for a long time.
1984
1984 by George Orwell

Written more than fifty years ago, the world of 1984 is surprisingly unfuturistic. It isn't that far removed from either the world of 1948 (when it was released) or the world of 2006. Winston Smith is a lonely put-upon man who works for the euphemistically-named Ministry of Truth. Like all his fellow citizens, he lives under the pervasive scrutiny of Big Brother's surveillance. But unlike his fellow citizens, who live in a drug-addled stupor of fear, hate and depression, he sets about quietly resisting the measures of control laid out for him. He searchs for an outlet to rebel... he embarks on a secret love affair with a co-worker, and he seeks to join with a rumoured resistance group


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Classics
   


Mortal Engines

June 14th 2006 06:59
This is a British 'teen fiction' book that really deserves a lot more attention in Australia. While Harry Potter, Eragon, Dragon Rider, etc, continue to ride the conventions of fantasy and mine Dragon-lore for all it's worth (and more) there are authors out there like Philip Reeve, who are doing something truly original in fantasty fiction without the kudos or popularity the more derivative pap in Children's fiction tends to enjoy.
Mortal Engines
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeves

The first in Philip Reeves' four-book fantasy series is 'Mortal Engines' (the fourth book should see release either towards the end of this year or the beginnings of 2007). My copy has a variety of award stickers on the front declaring it the 'Nestle Book Prize Gold Award Winner', 'The Blue Peter Bok of the Year 2003' and (more impressively) a shortlisted entrant for the 'Whitbread Children's Book of the Year' (probably the most pretigous prize a children's book can win - past winners include books by Roald Dahl, J.K.Rowling and Philip Pullman). So... it seemed to do pretty well back in England. C'mon guys, England isn't that far removed from Australia - can't we show a little love


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


American Gods

June 12th 2006 08:25
I guess there's an expectation that a page called 'Bookclub' might only review books that are worth reccomending. I don't know... I kinda want to talk about every book I read, even the shit ones and even the mediocre ones. I guess this book fits into the mediocre category.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Fantasy
   


Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

June 11th 2006 07:24
This is almost a novella, very easy to read, fun and important and not at all a children's novel (as it's initial tone and size might suggest). Part coming-of-age story, part history, and part empassioned-ode to the power of storytelling... this is a simple, funny, bitter and moving story that can be read on several levels.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
I'm pretty sure the current edition of the book looks pretty much like this. My copy does anyway.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


Bent Books - 2nd hand Bookstore in Brisbane

June 9th 2006 05:48
Bent Books
Bent Books, West End, Brisbane, QLD
If there's one thing more enjoyable than reading a book it's eating a really good pizza... sorry, let me try that again.

If there's one thing more enjoyable than reading a book it's scouring secnd-hand bookshops for titles you're after. That's better. Whilst up in Brisbane two weeks ago I made it my mission to find at least one good secnd-hand bookshop. Thankfully a friend of mine knew of 'Bent Books' in West End (Brisbane), a small but cosy looking shop wedged between various takeaway stores and the like on Boundary Street. There was a fair bit of human traffic inside so I imagine it's a pretty popular store in Brisbane for book fans... I can easily see why


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Posted By: Luke - Category: News and Miscellany
   


Dead Famous (Big Brother)

June 8th 2006 05:11
Dead Famous
Dead Famous by Ben Elton
If there's one show that personifies reality TV it would probably be Big Brother. Somewhere in the vicinity of forty countries have made their own versions (more if you consider that the African and Pacific Island Big Brother shows are made up of several countries), and the media has been fascinated with the phenomenon for over five years now and doesn't seem to be letting up. It's with this in mind that I consider Ben Elton's timely satire 'Dead Famous' to have dated very little some five years after it's original publication. And unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your opinion of reality TV) I think it will be a valid novel for a very long time.

'Dead Famous' picks up on a fictional Big Brother-styled TV show. We start the story with some detectives, who are reviewing back tapes of the past 27 days of the show to look for clues... for someone has been murdered on the show and no one knows who did it! And the housemates have decided to stay in the house with the murdere, and they don't know which of them did it either


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy
   


How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

June 7th 2006 08:57
Another book to which a movie was based on. I was bloody well surprised by this one!

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days - The Book

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy
   


The Commitments by Roddy Doyle

June 5th 2006 08:12
The Commitments
The Commitments
The Commitments is one of my favourite movies. I've watched it nearly twenty times and it never gets old, and so - with this in mind - I was hesistant to read the book that spawned it. I've always been hesitant to read the books to which my favourite movies have been based on... what if the book is really good and makes the film seem weak to me? What if it takes away something I cherish?

Luckily, reading the Commitments didn't affect my enjoyment of the film in any way whatsoever. A sigh of relief


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


Eucalyptus, winner of the Miles Franklin Award

June 4th 2006 04:30
Eucalyptus
The edition currently available in Australia.
If Eucalyptus trees were as significant to humanity as the Bible then 'Eucalyptus' by Murray Bail would be their 'Da Vinci Code'. The 1999 winner of the prestiguous Miles Franklin Award (the highest Australian-conferred honour a fictional book can be blessed with) is littered with accumulated anecdotes and stories that illuminate and fascinate - much like the little pieces of trivia and forgotten facts that prop the 'Da Vinci Code' up. Okay, so the comparison might not really stand up all that well the more you think about it; the pieces that make up 'Eucalyptus' are altogether more geared towards exploring the nature of folklore and narrative, and the book is - on the whole - written far more eloquently and originally, and this is why you'll most likely find it in the literature section of your bookstore (and not in general fiction like the D.V. Code). If anything, this is the antithesis of 'The Da Vinci Code', but it uses a kind of history in much the same manner all the same.

Author Murray Bail attempts to create an Australian mythology here by using around 100 or so species of Eucalypts (gum trees) as a touchstone for his story/stories. The landscape is used as a metaphor for our national character, much in the way other countries have done for theirs', and whilst Bail might stretch the notion a little by going into so much depth he also saves it by approaching it from several angles


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Posted By: Luke - Category: Literature
   


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