City of Thieves by David Benioff--About a teenager and a deserter in the siege of Leningrad who are arrested on the same night. They are not executed, however--they are given the task by one of the Russian commanders to find for him a dozen eggs within a week (?) for his daughter's wedding cake in a city with all supply routes cut off. Loved it, but violent, vulgar, shocking, and gruesome. I like stories about wartime because they get my brain going--I am also fascinated by/horrified by stories of any sort of apocalyptic nature (I was on a mind buzz for weeks from reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Richard Matheson's I am Legend back to back). I don't know if it's the desperation, the loneliness, or what, but I am generally riveted by books like these. I read through most of City of Thieves in one sitting, waiting to get my brakes replaced during car repair month.
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, for the second time. Hornby blends the protagonist's obsession with music and obsessing over details of his love life so well, with humorous top 5 lists, etc. I had read the book and watched the movie 10 years ago (?), and did the same again this time. Maybe I just like to see myself on the big screen:
The wife and I recently saw a clip on YouTube with Nick Hornby and Ben Folds that was funny:
I know how much Todd likes Dickens (and recent Ben Folds), so I'm sure he'll appreciate this the most of all. Enjoy.
Oh, and if I remember any more books, I'll be sure to tell you (all three of you).
It's actually the Pomplamoose that I like best there, Jeffrey. Just -- so adorable. They realized that there's no reason to make ironic covers of bad songs when you can make cutesy ones. I was actually liking the Hornby stuff when he was sounding irascible and angry at people for wasting their time, but then he had to go all sophomore philosophy class with his last comment, and kind of ruined it for me. (Good book list, though. I tried reading Gregory McDonald many years ago and was bitterly disappointed at how non-funny the books are. Not nearly as funny as reading Dan Brown.)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get the clip to play. But I will keep checking back for more books.
ReplyDeleteP.S. What number am I?