TommyD's World....
Welcome to Planet Tommy
Books
Chuck Palahniuk
Well with me just finishing Haunted
(super awesome review just right below) I have read all of Chuck Palahniuk's
fiction books and here I am going to rate them from best to worst. I
think all of his books are good so when I say worst it does not mean it is a
bad book but just not his best. Also I am not going to rate his most
famous book Fight Club because I saw the movie first and I knew the surprise
twist going into it and I think what makes Chuck's book so good are his
twists. So here you go from eight to one...
8. Diary
7. Survivor
6. Rant
5. Haunted
4. Snuff
3. Lullaby
2. Invisible Monsters
1. Choke
Haunted
I finished another book, this one is called Haunted, and it is by Chuck Palahniuk. This book is about a group of people who go on a writers retreat for 3 months and when they get there, they are trapped inside. Haunted is 24 short stories that are all connected with the overall story of these people being trapped. Some of the stories are dumb but some are really gross and twisted...it is kind of a hit and miss. One of the stories almost made me puke and later I found out that on his book signing tour he read that story aloud and over a couple months span 74 people passed out during the reading. I also found out it was a true story...the story I am talking about if you ever read this book is the very first short story. Also reading about the book, I found out it was written about reality TV and how people have no shame and always want to be the center of attention... which is neat if you read this as a Real World episode. Overall, this was a solid read and I will give this book a nice 3.75 out of 5 stars.
Lullaby
Finished up another book the other day and surprisingly, it is another one from Chuck Palahniuk and this one is called Lullaby. I will give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. This book is another crazy and wacky story that is common to Chuck Palahniuk's books. Lullaby is a book about a culling song which when read will kill anyone who hears it except for the reader. A news reporter finds this out when researching a story about SIDS, then he goes across the country trying to get rid of the book that has the culling song in it and of course, there are many deaths on the way. Overall, this is a good book with the usual plot twists and turns. When I looked online about this book,when I was finished reading it, I found out this book was influenced and written right after Chuck's dad was murdered and the judge asked the family to write what they felt about on whether giving the person who did it a death sentence. Which is somewhat crazy to think about when you look at the book in that light.
JarHead
I just finished another book, this one is called Jarhead, and it is written by Anthony Swofford. I really enjoyed this book and would rate it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I saw the movie a couple years ago, I really enjoyed it, and I saw this book in the clearance bin at Borders for two bucks so I bought it. I feel this book is better than the movie in that it is more dark and depressing and less politically correct than the movie. The movie seems to have more of a lighter side and makes the lead seem like at times a wussy. This book is a true story about the Gulf War and Anthony Swofford's career in the Marines. I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoyed the movie or are into war books.
Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey
I just finished Rant and it is
another one from Chuck Palahniuk. I will give this book a nice 3.75 out
of 5 stars. It is written in an oral biography style, which is written
from first person accounts, and sometimes people differ on what actually
happened. As with all of Chuck Palahniuk books, it is a weird and wacky
story, and this one is about a serial killer named Rant Casey. Rant is weird
and does weird thing and as the story goes on the story becomes crazy and
confusing. This book is similar to Survivor as it starts out really good
then just becomes so crazy you have no idea what is going on. After I
finished the book, I was so confused about what happened I looked it up on Wikipedia
to see what went down. What Wikipedia had to offer is how I would have
summed it up so either the person who wrote the summary did not know what happened
or I was right and got what was going on. Overall, if you are a Chuck fan
this is a nice solid book.
Diary: A Novel
Just finished up another book and this
one is called Diary: A Novel and it is by Chuck Palahniuk.
I would give this book a very solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. This book is
written from the viewpoint of the lead character Misty who is writing a coma
diary for her husband who is in a coma after he tried to kill himself.
This book is somewhat different from the other books written by Chuck Palahniuk in that
it is more of a horror novel than a crazy messed up story. It is a crazy
messed up story but I think it would be put on the horror shelf if it were made into
movie. Overall, it is a solid book and if you have read some of his
"better" books (Fight Club, Choke, and Invisible Monsters) then I
would recommend this book.
Ivy Briefs
I just finished another book, this one is
called Ivy Briefs, and it is by Martha Kimes
This book is a true story about
Martha and her three years at Columbia Law School. I really enjoyed
reading this book and thinking about how similar our first semesters
were. The beginning of the book is good but as she goes on to her second
semester and beyond, she skims over the school part and talks more about what
she is doing outside of school. She briefly goes over some things
at school that I know from personal experience that took up all of her time for
months but she just dedicated a brief time about it in the book. In
addition, things come very easy to her like good grades and jobs and she does not go
into much detail about how hard she worked. This is supposed to be a
modern day ONE L but I think it falls short of that very good book. It
does give some insight into the struggles of law school and if you are thinking
about going to law school, I would first read ONE L and then read this
one. I would give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Peril at End House
Finished up another book and this one was
Peril at End House and it is by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie is the great murder mystery writer and this
book shows it off. Usually when reading books like these I have an idea
half way through the book on what the plot twist is going to be but in
this book I had no clue that what happen was going to happen. The book is
about a flashy young woman who lives in a house called the End House. There had been four attempts of murder on
this young woman’s life and the detective was sure number five was going to be successful. All of the young woman's close friends are the
suspects and then the craziness follows.
I would give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. Agatha wrote the book in
the 40's so there is some use of old time slang and talk but that did not
change a thing. It was a quick and easy read and I would definitely
recommend this book if you are into murder mysteries!
The Soul of Baseball....
I would definitely give this book 5 out of 5 stars!! This book is about Buck O'Neil, the great ambassador of the Negro Leagues and Baseball in general. Joe Posnanski, who wrote the book, spent a year on the road with Buck and this book is about that journey. The book talks about the road trip across the United States and all of the great stories Buck had about the Negroes Leagues and Baseball players. It showed what a great outlook on life Buck had, even when times were tough. By the end of the book, your eyes will probably get teary eyed multiple times, and if they do not then you are a heartless jerk. Even though most of the stories are about baseball, all the stories could apply to everyday life and I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I think this book should be required by all students to read when growing up. Great book!
Invisible Monsters
This is another crazy and wacky story that deals with a model that gets her face shot off in a horrible accident. The book deals with the model after the accident and has some flash backs to the past. I really cannot go into any detail about the book because it will give away some aspect of it. All you need to know is that it is what you have come to expect from a Chuck Palahniuk book...funny, sick and twisted. I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars and even though I would rate Fight Club and Choke higher this one is a must read for any Chuck Palahniuk fan!
SNUFF
I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you know anything about Chuck Palahnuik books then you know he always has a gang of crazy messed up characters along with crazy plot twists and this book is no exception. The book is about a porn star who wants to break the world record by having sex with 600 men in one day. Chuck wrote this book from the viewpoint of three men who are waiting in the back room for their turn. It is very interesting how this book meshes the three different points of views of the men and the three different reasons why they are there. I would definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of Chuck Palahnuik or if you have a messed up sense of humor.
Ball Four
I would give it a 4 out 5 stars and a must read for any baseball fan. It is a very entertaining book, which reveals some of the crazy locker room stories of ball players and how they act off the field. It talks about Mickey Mantle being an alcoholic, beers after the games, shooting beaver (looking at girls in the crowds), taking greenies and so much more. You do not have to be a sports fan to enjoy this book because for the most part it is about life and not so much about baseball. It is a lengthy 450 pages but it is a quick read because it is broken down into single days and has quick little story about each day. Overall, it is a great book!
