Brandon's profile

355 ratings | 62 reviews
avg rating: 3.06

Brandon's bookshelves

read (374)
currently-reading (2)

to-read (9)
failed_to_read (12)

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Brandon is currently reading

	06/17 Brandon is currently reading: Bright Shiny Morning (Hardcover) by James Frey bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	Brandon said: "I really hated A Million Little Pieces, which I only tried to read after hearing him read from a draft of his second novel. As soon as the whole controversy started, I thought it was amazing that people were getting so hurt by this. I tried to...more " add a comment
	04/30 Brandon is currently reading: Remainder (Paperback) by Tom McCarthy bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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Brandon's recent updates (rss)

June 17

Brandon is currently reading:
Bright Shiny Morning (Hardcover)
by James Frey
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

Brandon said: "I really hated A Million Little Pieces, which I only tried to read after hearing him read from a draft of his second novel. As soon as the whole controversy started, I thought it was amazing that people were getting so hurt by this. I tried to...more I really hated A Million Little Pieces, which I only tried to read after hearing him read from a draft of his second novel. As soon as the whole controversy started, I thought it was amazing that people were getting so hurt by this. I tried to read A Million Little Pieces again. No luck.

I did not read the second novel.

I picked Bright Shiny Moring up because it's about LA.

Early reviews said it's hackneyed, Frey continued in his "quirky" syntax and the novel is pretty much what a reader would expect out of Frey. Critics also warned of wikipedia-type (or plagiarized) factoids. I worried the factoids would be among the prose, but they serve as intercalary segments between the larger movements of the storyline.

The factoids are relatively interesting and so far very contained. They all refer to the development of the city.

The main characters are stock, and really, the few secondary characters I've come across are more interesting than the main characters.

Frey's syntax: Once is interesting, I guess. Is it gimmick? I'm not sure why he writes the way he does, but I don't speak or think in the rhythms he punctuates in, but I've learned that I wont miss a nuance if I just keep reading instead of going back and understanding how a group of words ending in a period work together. And the repetition of phrases makes me think Frey is 25 years younger, much more in need of neon signs pointing to poignancy or drama due to an inability to construct a rhetorically evocative sentence. Group of words with a period at the end... sentence, whatever he likes to call what he writes.

Now, for my main concern: I was born in LA, left, went to grammar school here, left, then college, left, and now live in LA again. Due to the coming and going, and a grandfather who would take me to the damn strangest places, I've seen a lot of LA and seen it change in 29 years. I was afraid James Frey's version would be an outsiders view of the place. The characters -- Mexican maid, a homosexual, two young couples from nowhere, &c -- are stereotypes for good reason. We have more than one of each. Fine. There are some good personalities (all secondary characters, but not all of the secondarys) and the main players aren't all that bad.

Not bad enough to want to close the book. Or, better put: I tend to read in bed in the morning. I have an easy time putting the book down in order to get to work on time, but there hasn't been a morning where I had to skip a shower or drive too fast to make it into the office.

In the end, I like the novel, but I'm not completely drawn in. I will hold out and see what happens....less "

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April 30

Brandon added:
The Deer Park (Paperback)
by Norman Mailer
bookshelves: failed_to_read

my rating:

Brandon said: "While I very much enjoyed many parts of what I read, I can't stand to read any more. It's like an annoying friend. "

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Brandon added:
The Worst Intentions (Paperback)
by Alessandro Piperno
bookshelves: failed_to_read

my rating:

Brandon said: "It's there, laying on the floor next to my bed and I can't bring myself to begin reading it again. This is a shame considering I finally read enough a few months ago to actually get into the story. "

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Brandon is currently reading:
Remainder (Paperback)
by Tom McCarthy
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

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Brandon marked as to-read:
All for a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora (Hardcover)
by David Rensin (Goodreads author!)
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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April 18

Brandon marked as to-read:
L'égoïste romantique (Paperback)
by Frédéric Beigbeder
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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Brandon gave

to:
To Kill a Mockingbird (Mass Market Paperback)
by Harper Lee

my rating:

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New comment on maria's review of Complete Works : Two : The Caretaker, the Dwarfs, the Collection, the Lover, Night School, Revue Sketches

Brandon wrote: "Strange: I have #3 in my bag, but you don't have it posted here.

I think I like my memory of his pl...more "

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Brandon gave

to:
Twelve (Paperback)
by Nick McDonnell

my rating:

Brandon said: "I happened to bring this book into a bar where one of my friends was playing. A casting agent friend saw it and said: "Oh, THE Nick McDonell." She was not friendly about it.

You know what: McDonell very well accomplished what he set out ...more "

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March 04

New comment on Brandon's review of Grey

Brandon wrote: "pretend furry was an accepted, and highly fashioned, choice.

thankfully sparse, but there. "

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Brandon's groups (recent posts)

Books I Loathed — 948 members — last activity 1 hour, 31 min ago
This is a public forum for people to kvetch (cleanly, please) about books they absolutely hated, and for others to respond. Though nonfiction is certa...more

¡ POETRY ! — 1039 members — last activity 15 hours, 59 min ago
No pretensions: just poetry.

Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to re...more

Best Bookstores! — 17 members — last activity 2 days ago, 08:23AM
Favorite bookstores for whatever reason including:
a) most comfortable
b) biggest selection
c) best prices
d) hottest staff
e) "act the most...more

Brandon's friend comments

showing 1-3 of 3. (add a comment | view all)

from mary

09/18/2007 12:06PM

Which one!?
The first: very soon, if you like, I could send you a copy when I finish this revision before the Faulkner conference (November 14). I already have plans to send to Hope.
The second: I have to finish it first (my self-imposed deadline for Books 1-4 is the end of this summer - I'm thinking of breaking the 17 books up into three novels, because they're going to run about 900 pages, as currently mapped out!).

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from Ryan

08/21/2007 08:49AM

I didn't realise that we weren't friends on here yet! Ha!

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from John

07/10/2007 06:27AM

You are quite the contrarian with these one and two star reviews.

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Brandon's friends (36)

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	Joel 49 books 9 friends

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