-"Girl With A Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier
Great debut novel... I think I've said this before on a board (not this one), but there's not a lot of movement to the novel ; it really relies on a certain tension between characters, one that just keeps you reading. A fascinating glimpse into 17th century Dutch life, as well as an imaginative perspective on Vermeer. Very cool.

- "Bukowski: A Life" by Neeli Cherkovski
I'm a Bukowski fan, so I was bound to like this book. In terms of quality, it's not the best biography ever written. However, it covers all its bases, and it focuses on the relationships he forms with editors and publishers a great deal, which is really enlightening. Like I said though, not the greatest biography - it has a lot of holes in terms of time, with no explanation as to why. Perhaps because you can fill them by reading...

- "Post Office" by Bukowski
I just reread this, and it's a killer. Real easy read, strikingly poignant, boldly hilarious. If nothing else, Buk can grab a reader's attention. Anyone stuck in the monotony of a corporate/perfunctory job, this is a crass version of dilbert.

- "Invisible Cities" by Italo Calvino
Shit. Only 140 pages (or something), and this book completely throws you in a different world. For nights when you need an escape, this book is it. Sometimes I just pick it up and read one or two pages, any of them, and it's a sort of rejuvenation. Calvino's a mastermind, I'm convinced.

- "A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius" - Dave Eggers
I just saw this author, so I'm plugging this book everywhere. Hilarious. If you can make it through the middle portion (where he ruminates on his magazine and his Real World audition), you'll thank yourself. Also, there's a real brutal honesty to be had (which is most prevalent in the faux-Real World Audition, which is why you'll thank yourself!). He even confronts some of his tendencies to rationalize rather coarse behavior... such as subtle forms of racism.

That's good enough for now... these are my most recent picks... I could go on for days.

-thebigfunk
"And you may ask yourself... what is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself... where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself... Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may ask yourself... MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!" - "Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads

"Trouble in transit/got through the roadblock/we blended with the crowd
We got computer/we're tapping phone lines/I know that ain't allowed
We dress like students/we dress like housewives/or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle/so many times now/I don't know what I look like!
You make me shiver/I feel so tender/we make a pretty good team
Don't get exhausted/I'll do some driving/you ought to get some sleep
Get you instructions/follow directions/then you should change your address
Maybe tomorrow/Maybe the next day/Whatever you think is best
Burned all my notebooks/What good are notebooks?/They won't help me survive...
My chest is aching/Burns like a furnace/The burning keeps me alive..." - "Life During Wartime" - Talking Heads