From: Fox Subject: books ... send me your top 5! > > Fox, > > So how are you likng that novel about WWI. Were you able to get through the > first section (pre-war)? Let me know. > > J John, Do I like the book? Did I ever tell you about when I had my wisdom teeth out? Something went wrong with the air drill and a pocket of air worked through my face and ended up below my eye. I think it had something to do with the way the blessed sap of the lord high was flowing through the universe. I had to say unnh unnh unnh hnnhuh to get the dentist's attention and then he said "what?" and I pointed at my ballooned face just below my eye and he said "wow! I've never seen this before!". I ended up at an eye doctor, backed up behind 10 patients who had real appointments, my pain pill prescription clutched in my hand, the novacaine wearing off, and just then some of the stitches must have been stretched the wrong way because the back of my mouth started bleeding profusely and I started spitting out blood in the eye doctor's waiting room. True story. The book is better than that. I did get through the first part and kept struggling. I was hesitant to give up but was about to when the incident on the boat occurred and that kept my interest. So I'll probably finish it. I've left it for weeks at a time but managed to knock off about a hundred pages sitting in the hotel room bathroom while waiting for Tom to fall asleep. We were on a trip, which included Gettysburg by the way which was all right and you probably should check it out the next time you are in Harrisburg. Anyway, you said this was the best book ever written and its not bad but I do think that's a bit of a stretch. Have you ever read "For whom the bell tolls"? Set on the same continent as A Soldier of the Great War, at about the same time, but I think its a much better book ... of course, I haven't fought my way through this one yet. Do the zahmbies still read? I suggest that all zahmbies send to me their list of the best five books they have ever read. I'll tally the results and comments and send the results out to everybody. Let's say that the books are rated in your mind based on the effect they had on you at the time. If "Candy" made an indelible impression on you at 22 but wouldn't do much for you know that you are worldly men, you can still include it on your list. Maybe I'll even post the results off the cyberzahm page. Willo, if you haven't read five books you can include just one or two on your list, but classics illustrated and cliff notes don't count. Fox PS to John .... have you picked up "where the red fern grows" by Wilson Rawls to read to your kids ... I think you will enjoy it. ************************************************************************** From: John Subject: Re: books ... send me your top 5! Ouch -- dentists, eyeballs and blood. Instead of top five books (Willo could'nt play), let's start with each of our best doctor's stories. These historical diddies may interest our Maryland cyberzahm doc. Imagine this: One time I had a cyst under my right top eye lid. To remove it they had to put my eye to sleep. This occurred while I was comfortably leaning back in my chair looking up and away. I noticed the doc approaching with a long needle. I asked: "Where are you going to put that?" He said directly: "Into your right eyeball. Keep your eye open, don't move, and especially don't jerk yourself forward in the chair." Great tip. I did as he said, and was eventually treated to the burning scent of my flesh as he had as it with a scapel and soldering iron. Fixed me right up, he did. About the book, Fox. Sorry it reminded you of your wisdom teetth extraction. It also took me quite a long time to read. It's not a sit down and read em up action text. It takes awhile. Some nights I could only get through one page. But it does hook you in and the guy can write. When I was done I was awestruck. How does an individual writer know all that stuff? For Whom the Bell Tolls? Terrific book. Maybe in my top 5. Got to think about it. Andrew, this should be right up your alley... John ************************************************************************ From: DD Subject: Re: Catching Up Fox: I'll have to think long and hard about your question. First, to remember the names of five books. Second, to put them is some kind of order. One of the entries on my list will be Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. I started it about 6 times before I got past the first hundred pages. Those Russian novels are great if you have the time to navigate the maze of names and subplots. That was during my Sr. year in high school, the well known and highly regarded Lima Central Catholic. Right now I'm reading East of Eden, at the rate of about 20 pages per week. I'd recommend it highly. D.D. *********************************************************************** From: Andy Subject: Summer Reading All, Top 5? Too close to call. Try these on for summer reading pleasure (sorry, no Ruskies please). 1) Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe. NYC in the 80's. Real life, real people. A cameo appearance by Al Danza. 2) Heart of Darkness, Josef Conrad. Follow the zany antics of the Tamales, the Bombers, the Muskrats and a host of others as they trip, bumble and stumble their way through the cyberzahm jungle in search of moral certainty while seeking wins and a low ERA. 3) The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. This IS the great American Novel. Too bad this guy drank too much and got bleep crazy over the wrong woman. 4) Light in August, William Faulkner. So it came one day on the internet, a call to list Dr.'s office visits and top novels in no apparent order as rotisserie action took a distant sounding movement, like the whisper of winds over parade grounds long before trampled with bands and marching lines of citizenry now too departed; movement that blends it way into the past like rivers flowing through murky side walls of towns, hamlets, cities, even now churning products like the scraps of paper over those streets and alleys forming rows of order from the chaos that once lay unrecognized but now startles in appearance and smell; and Lena thinks this is further than I have ever been, a long way further than I have ever seen this road and dust comes over the hill which could be a wagon or it may not be but this is still further than I have ever been and my feet are aching too. 5) As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner. Faulkner cracks the list with two. No, this is not the story of the Red Foxes' 1997 season. 6) Mother Night, Kurt Vonnegut. A personal favorite, one of Vonnegut's lesser read works in which Howard W. Campbell the most despised person in the free world loses the one character who knows the secret of his heroic involvement in WW II, and his true character hidden beneath all of his traitorous actions. Remember: be careful of what you are pretending to be. 7) The Hawkline Monster, Richard Brautigan. Containing one of my favorite characters, Sherrif Billy. He didn't need a jail in his town because if you caused any trouble he would just punch you in the mouth and throw you in the creek. 8) Rabbit Redux, John Updike. Number two in the Rabbit series, dated now, but still recognizable for the rabbit in us all. 9) The Sandy Koufax Story, as told to Dick Schapp. Kid from Brooklyn makes good. 10) Hot and Horny Housewives, annonymous. From the R.P. Devlin collection. That's my list. Anybody else? Andy ************************************************************************** From: Rp Subject: Re: Summer Reading Considering the number of times that Andy has reread "Hot and Horny Housewives" I do believe that its lowly #10 position is rather misleading... RPD ************************************************************************** From: Johm Subject: Re: Summer Reading In a message dated 97-07-17 13:28:28 EDT, Andy writes: << Light in August, William Faulkner. So it came one day on the internet, a call to list Dr.'s office visits and top novels in no apparent order as rotisserie action took a distant sounding movement, like the whisper of winds over parade grounds long before trampled with bands and marching lines of citizenry now too departed; movement that blends it way into the past like rivers flowing through murky side walls of towns, hamlets, cities, even now churning products like the scraps of paper over those streets and alleys forming rows of order from the chaos that once lay unrecognized but now startles in appearance and smell; and Lena thinks this is further than I have ever been, a long way further than I have ever seen this road and dust comes over the hill which could be a wagon or it may not be but this is still further than I have ever been and my feet are aching too. >> Andy, that was terrific! You should try your hand at a novel. But tell me, why is that by the time I got to the line where Lena's feet were aching, I found that my head was aching too? ************************************************************************** From: Fox Subject: top 5 books Gents, I decided to address my own challenge and list my top 5 books. Top 5 eh? But how do we define "top"? Most entertaining ... Hot and Horny Housewives might have the edge here. Or how about those Calvin and Hobbes Collections - I love them. Watterson is a genius. Most influential ... I read a book called Asia Overland by Dan Spitzer in 1978 and as a direct result found myself backpacking around the world in 1980. Most difficult ... I read Joyce's Ulysses while taking a lit course ... ouch! Most thought provoking ... How about Bill James' Baseball Abstracts? Best at the time of reading ... or now? ND's pig book had its time for example, but wouldn't make my current list. Based on my list I guess I expected a book to be an acknowedged "classic" in order to make my top five ... but what's a "classic"? My list, in no particular order: Lord Jim, by Joseph Conrad. Beautiful language, straightforward storytelling with an edge, classic tale of sin and redemption. For whom the bell tolls, by Ernest Hemingway. Great love story, wonderful dialogue. I can remember reading the final third of the book in one sitting at my parents house in the basement with a nice fire in the firepalce keeping me company. Shocked my mom when she called down to tell me dinner was ready and I replied that I wasn't going anywhere until I finished my book. Turned down a homemade steak dinner! Keys to the Kingdom, by A.J. Cronin. Chinese missionary story. This is one of my father's favorite books. I read it once as a young man (early 20's?) and again in 1989, and enjoyed it very much both times. On the beach, by Nevil Shute. Very thought provoking end of the world story by one of my favorite authors. Dune, by Frank Herbert. Nowadays I read mostly science fiction so I felt I had to include at least one on my list. Dune was a good read, although it was so well received that it spawned a flock of "sequels", none of which were very good in my opinion. Herbert should have left well enough alone. All five of these books were made into movies. Except for the Dune movie, which was a disaster, all of the movies were also excellent, doing a good job of capturing the spirit of the book. See most of you next week. Fox ************************************************************************** From: Willo Subject: Re: top 5 books After reading the E-Mail passages over the past few months I offer these as my summer fiction highlights: 'The enjoyment of finding the big stone'...by Mr. McGee 'I haven't found a job I can't expense'...Mr. New York 'The Oregon Trail(er)....Mr. Nature boy 'Partnereering or is it Rackateering?'.....Mr. Nutlesss 'Paying the liquor bill mascarading as an umpire'....The aging athlete 'I love you, man'...The Hans 'Bring on some heat'....Sir Texan 'Lawyers = Waste'.....Mr. Clinton's advisor 'The value of integrity'....Mr. Coveylike *********************************************************************** From: Mags Subject: RE: top 5 books What about "Tunneling for Dummies" by Mole-in-the-hole Edwards? *********************************************************************** From: Mags Subject: FW: top 5 books Fox, You asked for this to be resent. Hardly thought it was worth a second copy! But since I sending, add Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity" as my favorite airport book. ----------------------------------------------------------- Ok, just to give you guys something to talk about next week at bedtime, these are five I remember as having made a big impact on me, for some reason or another. I don't know if that means they are my top five, but at least I remember them. In no order: The Sound and the Fury - Faulkner "life is a tale, told by an idiot..." etc., etc The World According to Garp - Irving - Gabes, this one would make an impression on you Trout Fishing in America - Brautigan - Ah, to be a hippie The Wine Buyer's Guide - Robert Parker - Willo, read this book. tie: The Dilbert Principle - I LIVED this book for 17 years serving the old US government Rock Forming Minerals - Deer, Howie, Zussman - ask any geologist, it's the best Mags---------- *************************************************************** From: Ike Subject: RE: top 5 books All: Reading lists/recommendations are always fascinating. Some reflect books long-regarded as masterpieces ("Sound and the Fury") while others are great reads but may not stand the test of time. Most of us have a period when reading a novel (or anything else, for that matter) was out of the question given the volume of reading already on the plate for law/medical/graduate school. I don't honestly recall some, if not many, of those "best reads" (especially during some of those "colorful" days at Notre Dame) but here's my own somewhat eclectic list covering both fiction and nonfiction: "The Fountainhead"/"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand; capitalism vs. altruism with a bullet. "The Sun Also Rises"/"A Farewell to Arms"/"For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Hemingway; take your choice. "Being There" by Kosinski; a little book that shouts. "Earthly Powers" by Anthony Burgess; a master of the English language. "American Tabloid" by James Ellroy; hard-boiled crime fiction incorporating the Kennedy's, the Mob, Hoffa and Hoover into a wild ride. "On the Road"/"The Dharma Bums" by Kerouac; oh, to be young again... From the nonfiction side: "The Best and the Brightest"/"The Fifties" by David Halberstam "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by Shirer "The Path to Power" by Robert Caro; volume one in a trilogy on the life of LBJ "Men At Work" by George Will; terrific baseball book, right up there with "Season Ticket" by Roger Angell. Everybody...go read!! Best, TE