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Preston
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Feb 07, 2013 12:41PM

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I've been neglecting summer reading but finally picked up 'Blindness' by Jose Saramago. I'm hooked, even if the book is horribly depressing! It's full of typical Saramago passages, which at this point just make me chuckle and read on.
'This is how you lose her' by Junot Diaz - I really enjoyed it, despite then not really liking his other work.
'Train dreams' by Denis Johnson - If you are in the mood for a reflective short novel, pick this up!
'Where I'm Calling From' by Raymond Carver - An anthology of his short stories, I believe culled from his previous collections. I had never read his work before and was truly blown away. If you have not read his works, you owe it to yourself to pick anything up and have a read.

Since then, I've been on Mary Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. It's very interesting and very entertaining so far, though I can't help but feeling that it comes off as a bit too humorous. Perhaps it's that 1491 read like a novelized research paper, while Stiff feels more like a research-heavy magazine article. I had no qualms about Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (which I read last Summer), so perhaps it's simply the change in tone that is jarring.
Up next (and wrapping up my non-fiction reading for the year) is either T. rex and the Crater of Doom or Disturbing the Universe. Whichever I can find first at a bookstore.

Currently over at r/books (the group that branch off originally from this goodreads group), we're reading The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson for our October book, and there's been a request for American Gods by Neil Gaiman so that might be in the works too!



I get really into dystopia so let me know if there is anything I must read!

Oooh I love dystopian (and apocalyptic) too! My go-to recommendation is always Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, but McCarthy's The Road is a must-read (although that one is apocalyptic rather than dystopian). Check out my book tags, I have a number filed under "dystopian," some with reviews.
I actually came on here to add How I Live Now to my to-read list. It was recommended by one of my professors and is YA apocalyptic.

Books mentioned in this topic
How to Learn: Any Skill or Subject in 21 Days! (other topics)The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life (other topics)
The Giver (other topics)
The Road (other topics)
How I Live Now (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jim Butcher (other topics)Terry Pratchett (other topics)
Neil Gaiman (other topics)
Shirley Jackson (other topics)
David Graeber (other topics)
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