Thanks Espernaut

Have been away for a few days & haven't checked in. I am going to the local "book mine" tomorrow & will look for your suggestion. Sounds like something I'd enjoy! For me, besides dialogue, it's all about the characters & how the author describes them. Will let you know when I've finished it.

Ever read Vonnegut? I meant to ask you that earlier on when you mentioned fastasy, etc.

I know his first name is Kurt..and that's it. Give me a few examples?

Finally! A chance to get back to you.
Kurt V. has an imagination like no other and can be pretty damn weird!
I actually wanted to impress a guy who liked him in college and bought "Slaughterhouse 5" his most famous work, and ended up reading Galapagos (and loving it) , Welcome to the Monkey house, etc. Basically, the guy is whacked and a joy to read for all of his fantastical, uncanny & bizzare descriptions of his characters & life in general. Worth a read. Pick Galapagos if you do, or BlueBeard is another one.

Now, I went and picked up the B&B book last Sunday and also bought "Dry" by Augusten Burroughs (a young ad guy with a booze problem) and read through that pretty quickly. Started reading the B&B last night & had to put it down to go to bed. I LOVE it already!! Seems like a cute read (for lack of a better word) but I definitely love his wit & writing style . Thank again : )

Have a great fourth wherever you live & be safe!

Meredith

Enjoy your fourth as well Sgirl..
I'm glad you liked the B&B book.. Once again I'm bookmarking! lol! Regarding Slaughter House 5, I've heard of it also.. (I hear but never followed through before.) I will, I promise. You remind me of "Catch-22", if you remain interested in anti-war novels with satire and irony. I think you might enjoy the above as well. Take care & pop in more often!

Yes...good one!
I swear when I wrote my last email Catch 22 came to mind. But I've never read any Joseph Heller so I didn't bring it up. Love the MOVIE (even though when it came out I was 1 or 2 years old) but my fondness for Alan Arkin started there. I absolutely (thanks to my folks) love "The In-Laws" (the original, that is) and I think Alan Arkin is a phenomenal actor. I'm sure you've seen (b/c you seem the literary/ up-on-things type) Glengarry/Glenross (sp?).
Now I'm thinking about FILM & not writing....love Buck Henry/Mike Nichols.

I admit I haven't read the book, but saw the movie also, as you did. Ditto for Alan Arkin, he's quietly oddball and funny. Also saw the In-Laws (if that was Arkin & Faulk).

I liked Glengarry, btw.. more because you just don't see all the actors portrayed so "gritty" (?) J. Lemmon, A. Baldwin, Ed Harris (a particular favorite of mine) etc.
Yes, it's film.. I'm all for it.(We'll move if others object I guess) Buck Henry.. actor? Mild unassuming guy with glasses? (Cheated.. looked him up..) HIM.. In Heaven Can Wait.. I'd seen him and liked; had no idea he'd been the brains behind all those movies..The Graduate, etc.

Hey Espernaut -

How was your 4th?

I am almost done with Bachelor Bros...
Have really enjoyed reading it. I love his views on life. Makes me wish Hector & Virgil lived next door! You were right about the characters & how well-described they are. Good call. I'm all ears if you have any more suggestions. I am definitely in a "light" mood lately as far as what I'll read. Feel like I'm too busy this summer to really give something more thought-provoking any time right now, or reap the rewards.
Are you reading anything??

Sgirl122-
The B&B book I'd read was a borrowed library issue. I'm now looking for it in hardback (I may cave & go paperback instead.) I did discover a "sequel" while searching, but the majority of reviews said things like "forced humor, falls from original, etc." (Still.. I might get it after the 1st one.) One of the authors has a radio show in Canada, I believe. I'm flush out of new reading suggestins at the moment. (shame) I'm actually going backwards.. the last thing I've recently reread was the short story, "The Cask of Amontillado" (E.E.Poe), simply because a friend and I made each other crazy swapping "creep stories" and between us.. finally remembered the title. My July 4th was very uneventful.. spent at work. Did see a few fireworks.. enough to satisfy. Re your above: Definitely understand the want for summer light reading. I'll keep my eyes open for new titles for us.

I know what you mean about the BBB&B sequel. When I was looking for the book a couple weeks ago, I saw the "More stories from the BB&B...etc." (or whatever it's called), and my heart sank. OK, maybe not my heart, but I suddenly thought of James Redfield (?) and the Celestine Prophecy and how I loved it years ago. So much so that I picked up his second book (which I really didn't "get" like the first one). It was when the 3rd book came, and then I think a 4th, that I sort of became disgusted that an author who appeared so spiritual and wrote about such profound things would "cheese out" like that, exploiting his writing in order to make more dough.

Anyway, that's exactly what I thought of when I saw the BB book sequel.
I suppose it's easy to point the finger if you're not a best-selling author like those guys. Who knows if I'd stick to everything moral if I was famous. I'd like to think so...

Anyway, glad you didn't pick it up.
As for Poe, he scares the hell out of me.

Bon Nuit!

Hi Sgirl122, I caved. Bought the paperback version of the first B&B. But I haven't reread it yet.. (I know I like it. grin.) I remembered an old book I liked, "The Insect Warriors", by Rex Dean (nearly out of print now.. hmmm.) In searching for it.. I found this link for classics, and am putting in the link here for interest. (Not sure if you're a Sci Fi fan..)

http://www.basilisk.on.ca/bdbbits/classicsfpoll-results.html<BR>
I liked the concept of the book.. tiny humans on a planet with regular sized insects. (Meaning giant sized to them.) I'd have to explain the delight.. as I had a mechanical engineer for a dad.. who could inadvertedly "burst your bubble" in explaining the impossible physics of "giant insects" etc .. "couldn't move".. "gravity would crush", and so forth. This book neatly circumvents that snafu by "conceptionally" shrinking the people in the story. This Way, the physics now work to the readers advantage. You could be trapped beneath a drop of water (aka "A Bug's Life) and etc. Shields made of insect chitin were the equivalent of durasteel alloy etc, or wasp stingers' making wonderful swords. (Did I mention I'm also a "Bolo"/Keith Laumer fantatic?) About Poe.. very true.. lost cities and the noises and slithery things we found there! lol! Enjoy!