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July 24
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Matt
gave
 
to:
Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative (Paperback)
by Mieke Bal
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Matt
gave
to:
God Is Dead (Hardcover)
by Ron Currie
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Matt said:
"This is a book that's not terribly consistent in terms of the writing, or really, my basic level of interest in it. But when it's good, like in the first story, it's really quite wonderful, and throughout, I think there's enough here to make it rewar...more
This is a book that's not terribly consistent in terms of the writing, or really, my basic level of interest in it. But when it's good, like in the first story, it's really quite wonderful, and throughout, I think there's enough here to make it rewarding to read, in terms of the freshness of the stories being told, the generally high quality of the writing, and the imaginative work of the book overall....less
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July 17
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Matt
gave
to:
The Girl on the Fridge: Stories (Paperback)
by Etgar Keret
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Matt
gave
to:
The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories (Paperback)
by Etgar Keret
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Matt
gave
to:
The Nimrod Flipout: Stories (Paperback)
by Etgar Keret
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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July 14
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Matt
gave
to:
The Sheltering Sky (Paperback)
by Paul Bowles
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Matt said:
"I'm just past a run of books that left me kind of cold, so maybe I'm in danger of over-praising this book, but I really enjoyed Bowles' _Sheltering Sky_.
I am a notorious hater of Bowles' "A Distant Episode," which always feels like rea...more
I'm just past a run of books that left me kind of cold, so maybe I'm in danger of over-praising this book, but I really enjoyed Bowles' _Sheltering Sky_.
I am a notorious hater of Bowles' "A Distant Episode," which always feels like real dull wedge of a story, loaded up with un-necessary masculine privilege and a heavy dose of orientalism, leavened with an untasty batch of sub-Hemingway prose. This book, though it shares a broad narrative arc with the story, is just so much richer: a lot of it is the decision to let the breakdown of cultures and pschy affect the character of Kit instead of Port, but the recovery is also much more convincing. And the writing throughout, instead of being reticent, is crisp and often quite beautiful.
Like I said above, I might be over-praising this in comparison to some recent things I've read, but this was really good, and I'm glad I read it.
Matt...less
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July 13
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New comment on Matt's review of
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
(see all 2 comments)
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July 12
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Matt
gave
to:
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (Hardcover)
by Michael Pollan
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Matt said:
"I liked this, and read it as much for the way he constructs an argument as for what he actually says.... I mean, I think I know, more or less, what I need to do to eat better, aside from a couple catch phrases (leafs not seeds, etc), but it was still...more
I liked this, and read it as much for the way he constructs an argument as for what he actually says.... I mean, I think I know, more or less, what I need to do to eat better, aside from a couple catch phrases (leafs not seeds, etc), but it was still pretty good to see it all articulated and laid out as it is.
That said, I am a little surprised Pollan is as big a name as he is-- I found his tone a little insulting, honestly, and in places, I think his logic was a little spotty in places, or else he was building some parts of his argument from shorthand developed someplace else. It's a good read, and I think he's clearly a sophisticated writer. But he can also be something of an asshole. But maybe it's just me, or maybe his other books, esp _Omnivore's Dilema_ are better, or better places to start with him....less
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July 10
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Matt
gave
to:
Last Notes: And Other Stories (Hardcover)
by Tamas Dobozy
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Matt said:
"A really strange collection of stories, and ones that I think fall just to one side of working. These meta-fictions are sometimes too self-conscious, too driven by ideas and not enough by language, and the stakes of the stories often seem either uncl...more
A really strange collection of stories, and ones that I think fall just to one side of working. These meta-fictions are sometimes too self-conscious, too driven by ideas and not enough by language, and the stakes of the stories often seem either unclear or too indirect, the endings too often imagine accepting stalemate rather than resolution. It's interesting work, don't get me wrong, but it's not quite there, at least for me and in this collection....less
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July 08
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Matt
gave
to:
Selected Short Stories (Penguin Classics)
by Guy de Maupassant
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Matt said:
"I'm not even sure if this is the same book as mine (mine has a different cover, for one), but it's got this story I'm writing about, "At Sea." A great story, and a writer who I think is consistently undervalued, based on most readers only b...more
I'm not even sure if this is the same book as mine (mine has a different cover, for one), but it's got this story I'm writing about, "At Sea." A great story, and a writer who I think is consistently undervalued, based on most readers only being exposed to his less-than-killer story "The Necklace."...less
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On Reading Graphic Novels
— 456 members
— last activity 16 hours, 39 min ago
Same to you, Becky. It's been a busy week here, but I'm waiting for a spare minute to browse your books:)
Hey!
