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September 24, 2009

Thursday Links

A Brooklyn Loft Transformed on a Budget [NY Times]
Building a Sukkah with Jonathan Safran Foer [Forward]
Brooklyn Family Keeps Latino-Jewish Traditions Alive [CNN]
Robot Monkey Fighting Comes to Brooklyn [NBC New York]
8 Million Stories: Brooklyn's Own Delphi [NY Press]
D.A.’s Office Welcomes Attorneys from City’s Biggest Firms [Brooklyn Eagle]
Photo by Several Seconds, Brownstoner Flickr pool

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Comments

The potato scene from Everything is Illuminated is hilarious. I've not had much of an urge to read Foer's later stuff yet. Anyone have any recommendations?

Posted by: dittoburg at September 24, 2009 9:08 AM

i like today's pic.

dittoburg - not a fan of safran-foer but recently read the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay after avoiding michael chabon for years and for no good reason. it was really good. also cannot mention authors without mentioning my very favorite, kazuo ishiguro.

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 9:20 AM

Later stuff? Only one later novel, altho he has another coming out soon. Still, he's managing to pay that big mortgage...

Posted by: denton at September 24, 2009 9:42 AM

Really? I imagined from the hype that Foer was much more prolific.

CG - I'm a bit of a movie-watcher when it comes to certain authors. I did see Kazuo give a reading at Barnes and Noble once, enjoyed it. But as far as his books go, I've only watched Remains of the Day. Excellent understated performance by Anthony Hopkins. And if anyone pronounces the "th" as a "th" I'm gonna clock them one.

Posted by: dittoburg at September 24, 2009 9:57 AM

Ishiguro's writing is hauntingly poetic and in some books almost tearfully frustrating. That said, he is amazing. Highly recommend When We Were Orphans or if you don't mind having seen the movie, you can still enjoy Remains of the Day. The Unconsoled and When We Were Orphans were also excellent, but more frustrating to read in some ways. I'd say not to start with those two so as not to put you off him. I'm kind of into that Ishiguro/Eugenides/Murakami style of writing though Chabon and Auster and some of the other local guys are great as well.

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 10:07 AM

I'm reading some light-hearted Augusten Burroughs at the moment.

Posted by: dittoburg at September 24, 2009 10:21 AM

I like AB. He came to my office for a reading. The event was sponsored by the LGBT group and maybe because a lot of people aren't out(?) so the event wasn't as widely attended as I would have thought. Nothing wrong with a fun easy read! I re-read Anthony Bourdain's books all the time. I'd rather be home reading either AB's books (how funny, I just realized they are both AB). Both of those guys are great examples how charm comes out in one's writing.

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 10:33 AM

AB (#1) is light, but every now and then he has a turn of phrase or an observation which is genius.

Posted by: dittoburg at September 24, 2009 10:45 AM

Did anyone see the story about the supposed Baptist group that's planning to picket Brooklyn shuls on Saturday before Yom Kippur? So unbelievably creepy.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/38/32_38_gk_beth_elohim_protest.html

Posted by: mopar at September 24, 2009 10:56 AM

AB's Dry is one of the most memorable, humorous books I've ever read.

You guys might enjoy Junot Diaz. "Drown" is an amazing bunch of short stories, and the subsequent "Life of Oscar Wao" received a lot of praise, although I didn't like it.

Posted by: tiptoe at September 24, 2009 11:16 AM

Hi Mopar. check yesterday's OT. it was discussed in great detail including a respectful counterprotest headed up by bxgrl and MM.

i've heard good things about the Life of Oscar Wao. I have a lot of books waiting for purchase on my amazon wish list. thanks for the suggestion! :)

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 11:20 AM

Great photo.

Auster, Murakami, Chabon--three of my absolute favorites, with Murakami holding the top spot.

Posted by: wasder at September 24, 2009 12:28 PM

we should have a brownstoner book club :)

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 12:32 PM

cg ups, big fan of kazuo ishiguro, but it's tough to recommend some of his novels(they can be brutal), especially "never let me go" which is now being made into a film. Life of Oscar Wao had some slow parts but overall a great read.

Posted by: DeLepp at September 24, 2009 12:57 PM

Thank you so much CG!!!

Posted by: mopar at September 24, 2009 1:16 PM

I've purchased at least 3 Murakami books, each time hoping I'd "get" the hype and never did. His kind of story-telling never did anything for me.

PS, if anyone starts up a book club, let me know. I'd be in.

Posted by: tiptoe at September 24, 2009 1:25 PM

DeLepp--Never Let Me Go is brutal and depressing. Hard to see that as a movie.

Posted by: wasder at September 24, 2009 1:40 PM

Tiptoe--ease into Murakami with "Norwegian Wood" which is the least weird book he has written. Then do Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance, which are meant to be read in succession. Then dive into the crazier stuff.

Posted by: wasder at September 24, 2009 1:40 PM

i'm the odd one out; i thought never let me go was one of his best and most beautiful books. the unconsoled on the other hand... holy frustrating! agree with wasder that norwegian wood is one of the shorter and less weird murakami books. i started out with the windup bird chronicles which at first i thought was completely weird and freaky and wtf it was so long but then it really stuck with me. i heard gwyneth paltrow is going to play kathy. scratch that, just checked imdb. keira knightley to play ruth. odd casting choice in my opinion but should be interesting.

i'd consider a book club! where are people located? i'm in carroll gardens but can do BH / BoCoCa or PS fairly easily.
maybe someplace central to trains 1x/month or so?

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 1:47 PM

ooooh and the wonderful charlotte rampling is going to be in the movie as well! :)

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 1:47 PM

wasder and cg ups, the movie...don't even know what to say. I can't imagine a large audience.

Can either recommend a starter murakami book? Never read him and would rather ease into it.

Posted by: DeLepp at September 24, 2009 1:52 PM

I love Never Let Me Go. It's one of those premise novels that shouldn't work... and yet it does.

Posted by: Heather at September 24, 2009 1:53 PM

have you all read middlesex by jeffrey eugenides? that might be my favorite book ever. or a very odd tie for first with faulkner's the sound and the fury.

delepp, above a few of us recommend starting with norwegian wood. :)

Posted by: CG_ups at September 24, 2009 1:59 PM

norwegian wood it is then, thanks
middlesex was a super read, preferred it too the sound and the fury

Posted by: DeLepp at September 24, 2009 2:15 PM

I'm in PS, so count me in for a book club. I think we need a few more to really get started.

Also a huge fan of Middlesex!!

Posted by: tiptoe at September 24, 2009 4:26 PM