A confederacy of Dunces
When I was in the US of A, I picked up a copy of the “Confederacy of Dunces” from Powells. Powells is a great book shop and if you in Portland, be sure to visit one of their branches. I am sure you will end up with books that you always wanted to buy but could not find easily anywhere. The nice bit is that the pricing is pretty comparable to Amazon and you also benefit from the large collection of used books that they sell.
Anyhow, it has been a long while since I read a paperback and was looking forward to reading the book since I got good recommendations and the blurb was all praises. The book indeed was good and I was thoroughly enjoying the first few chapters when I reached Japan. I read a few more pages and got to about 150 pages when I decided I will save the rest of the book for the flight, I planned to keep awake to get rid of the jet lag.
Unfortunately, when I checked out of the room and reached the airport, I realized that the book stayed back in my room. Doh.
The story thus far was very light, very Woodhouse’sque, but set in more recent America, specifically 70′s New Orleans. There is actually no story, the fun comes more from the witty descriptions of the places and characters rather than the plot. A bit different from the typical Wodehouse fare but I am not sure if there is a more subtle plot that builds up and climaxes at the end.
Guess I will have to buy one more copy to figure that out. If anyone is in the lookout of a good read, take the “confederacy of Dunces” as recommended.
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August 21st, 2009 11:03
Fret not. Try ebook version or audio version such as: http://www.top-audiobook-downloads.com/title.aspx?titleId=7343
August 21st, 2009 17:09
26bucks for the audio version… Nah. It is more fun as a paperback (costs <8USD) I like to kick back and imagine the nuances. Similar to read a Wodehouse. The enjoyment is in really reading slowly…
August 30th, 2009 04:09
I got stuff from Powell’s while stranded at the Portland airport for 5 hours. A book about how CIA operates like Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”. It’s called “Legacy of Ashes” and it was signed by the author! But I haven’t read it yet 1 year later…
August 31st, 2009 11:55
They get that often, I suppose book signings are a standard marketing mechanism in the publishing industry. I recall I picked up a lot of other books, ‘difficult to find’ from there. Of course, Amazon does have ‘everything’ but still sometimes, you can find out of print used books at Powells.
There is something cool about being in a nice book shop and rummaging through their shelves and discovering nice nuggets… I found some really cool comics this time, Lucky Luke, Issac the Pirate, Gus and the gang., Flying Starts, etc… Much success.
September 3rd, 2009 08:57
Yet we all shop @ Walmart – how ironical!