Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire
Thorougly enjoyable tale constructed during the lifetime of the Wicket Witch of the West (Elphaba); good fairy-tale twisting rather than bad fairy-tale fan fiction. Long & fun!
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The Cider House Rules, John Irving
Really great read. Better than the movie, but i'm still glad i saw the movie. Engaging characters, fascintating information about the mores and women's-physiology issues of the times; a very strong pro-choice abortionist and arguments. Strongly recommended. Even Russell liked it!
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A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers
As Andy had heard, this book is exactly what it claims to be in the introduction. It gets a bit wanky at times, but is generally well-written, engrossing, and even occasionally poignant.
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Bone, Jeff Smith
I still don't read too many comic books, but most of the ones i do read list Smith's Bone as an influence, so we picked it up at Lee's. Fun and quick. (Lee's is a fabulous store, as a quick plug.)
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Midnight Days, Neil Gaiman
A collection of early comic-book works under the DC label, including a story written early on, and just drawn. If you're a Dave McKean fan, you've got a whole story worth of his art to look forward to. Fun, but i'm lost on a lot of the John Constantine/HellBlazer/Swamp Thing/ frame of reference.
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Ghost of Chance, William S. Burroughs
A giftie from James. Giant lemurs, drugs, and a foolish unleashing of a Pandora's Box of viruses and plagues.
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Class, Paul Fussell
Amusing; written in the 80's, so examples center around the Reagan Administration and yuppies. Good writing with a diverting style. James lent this to me; my addition for the 90's is that AOL is prole internet.
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How it Was for Me, Sean Andrew Greer
Good stories. Both text and imagry were vivid in a particularly pleasing fashion. And i'm not just saying that because Andy lives upstairs and is a friend; so go read it!
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Queen City Jazz, Kathleen Ann Goonan
Her first novel; general premise revolves around a "the world goes nanotech" idea. The ideas kept me reading, but i was always a little dissatisfied with the storyline or charaterization. Hard to put my finger on. Really nice concepts though, and an easy read. Lots of parallels to bees and their sociobiology.
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