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August 04
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Derek
gave
 
to:
In the Fascist Bathroom: Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992 (Paperback)
by Greil Marcus
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Derek
added Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century
to the book list Best Non Fiction About Music
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June 29
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Derek
gave
to:
When You Are Engulfed in Flames (Hardcover)
by David Sedaris
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Derek said:
"More than any other David Sedaris book, I could hear him reading these stories aloud as I read. In the short essay "Of Mice and Men," Sedaris talks about having a story that he just can't wait to work into a conversation at a cocktail party...more
More than any other David Sedaris book, I could hear him reading these stories aloud as I read. In the short essay "Of Mice and Men," Sedaris talks about having a story that he just can't wait to work into a conversation at a cocktail party. And that's how When You Are Engulfed in Flames reads, as if you're listening to the wittiest person at a cocktail party regaling others with perfect, charming, funny anecdotes about his own obsessions and the interesting characters he has known. Highlights include "That's Amore" (about a crazy neighbor), "April in Paris" (about a spider in his home that he adopts and cares for), and "The Smoking Section" (about his move to Tokyo for three months to quit smoking)....less
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Derek
gave
to:
Armageddon in Retrospect (Hardcover)
by Kurt Vonnegut
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Derek said:
"Trademark Vonnegut, Armageddon in Retrospect is incisive, moving, and funny. With a collection of essays spanning his career from before the beginning (a letter home from Dresden to his family penned in 1945, seven years before Player Piano was publi...more
Trademark Vonnegut, Armageddon in Retrospect is incisive, moving, and funny. With a collection of essays spanning his career from before the beginning (a letter home from Dresden to his family penned in 1945, seven years before Player Piano was published) to after the end (a speech he was supposed to give two weeks after his death), each of these previously unpublished writings demonstrates the horrors of war from a different perspective. If this book doesn't leave you wishing and working for peace, nothing will....less
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Derek
gave
to:
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (Hardcover)
by Mary Roach
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Derek said:
"Mary Roach is one funny lady. Her books always demonstrate thorough research and fascinating subject matter - she explores the history of her subjects as well as talking with current researchers in the field. After her breezy, lighthearted looks at d...more
Mary Roach is one funny lady. Her books always demonstrate thorough research and fascinating subject matter - she explores the history of her subjects as well as talking with current researchers in the field. After her breezy, lighthearted looks at dead bodies in Stiff and ghosts in Spook, she turns her attention to sex in Bonk. If you're a person who never reads footnotes, force yourself to break the habit: Roach's footnotes contain some of the funniest anecdotes and weird facts in her books. Roach's writing is cheeky, and at times I can see her mugging for the camera/reader a la Ferris Bueller. I want to find this narrative tic annoying, but she's so clever that I have to appreciate it every time....less
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Derek
gave
to:
Chasing Darkness (Hardcover)
by Robert Crais
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Derek said:
"Crais writes great hardboiled detective novels - taut, lean prose and action-packed storylines. Elvis Cole is a worthy heir to any of the tough guy noir detectives of the past, and his sidekick Joe Pike is a great tough guy character as well. I read ...more
Crais writes great hardboiled detective novels - taut, lean prose and action-packed storylines. Elvis Cole is a worthy heir to any of the tough guy noir detectives of the past, and his sidekick Joe Pike is a great tough guy character as well. I read Chasing Darkness as fast as any other book I've read - just couldn't wait to find out how it ended. Even though it's part of the genre that there will be a surprise twist at the end, it was still surprising and satisfying to see the pieces come together they way they did....less
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Derek
gave
to:
Snuff
by Chuck Palahniuk
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Derek said:
"Disturbing as all get out, completely offensive, obsessively constructed, and wickedly funny. Every time I read Palahniuk, I'm offended and/or grossed out, and every time he comes out with a new book, I can't wait to get it. The best book about the a...more
Disturbing as all get out, completely offensive, obsessively constructed, and wickedly funny. Every time I read Palahniuk, I'm offended and/or grossed out, and every time he comes out with a new book, I can't wait to get it. The best book about the adult film industry you'll read this year....less
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Derek
gave
to:
The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport (Hardcover)
by Carl Hiaasen
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in June, 2008
Derek said:
"It was good fun to see Carl Hiaasen turn his wicked sense of humor on himself. There are a few laugh out loud moments, and Hiaasen is in fine form as a storyteller, but ultimately this book confirmed for me that I'm not interested in reading about go...more
It was good fun to see Carl Hiaasen turn his wicked sense of humor on himself. There are a few laugh out loud moments, and Hiaasen is in fine form as a storyteller, but ultimately this book confirmed for me that I'm not interested in reading about golf....less
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June 06
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Derek
gave
to:
Signs of Our Times (Hardcover)
by John Margolies
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Derek
gave
to:
See the USA: The Art of the American Travel Brochure (Paperback)
by John Margolies, Eric Baker
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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