The Bad Poetry Bookstore of Recommended Books

Liarbyrd's Selections

London Fields by Martin Amis

Simply the most stunning novel I have read this year. Amis takes a mixture of four very different characters, none of them nice people, and makes something so marvelous you either have to laugh or cry. The language swells up and washes over the reader, creating a world more surely and convincingly than any other writer now alive.

Bitch by Elizabeth Wurtzel

Well, it'll  make you angry. It'll make you want to throw the damn book across the room. You'll want to write a long and rambling letter to the author and thank her. Bitch takes not an even handed view on the trouble of 'troublesome' women in modern society, but it does address some interesting points and other views are considered. It's interesting, which is really the best thing I can say about a book.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

My favourite book. It's not just about a dirty old man. It's about love. It's about being abused by your own love. The language, never subtle, is stunning. Nabokov was a clever man, clever enough to show off and arrange it so that the reader never notices until after the fact.

Ada or Ardor a Family Chronicle by Vladimir Nabokov

Another stunning masterpiece by Nabokov. The narrative is far more complex, more twisting, in the tradition of the Russian novel. It's worth turning every page, caressing every word, even if your heart is broken at the end. But, all good love affairs run that course.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

Not nearly as troubling as the other selections, it is damn funny. Beyond funny. Meaningfully irreverent. You'll want to share this, read passages loud, to make your friends feel the same. Omouse: I read some other stuff by Neil Gaiman... mainly things that Liarbyrd shoves into my hands and says READ. Pretty cool guy... I like'm.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Connie Willis is by far one of the most gifted sci-fi writers living. This, her masterpiece, sucks the reader in and won't let you go until you've finished the reading. Once the fever has been purged, you're upset because it's over. It's a wonderful narrative of time travel, plague, historians, and angels. Read it.

Breakfast at Tiffany's : And Three Stories by Truman Capote

I love this book and I don't really know why. It took all of four hours to finish and once it was done, I needed to read it again. It's about finding a place where you belong, truly, and can be happy. Omouse: Cool movie... haven't read the book yet...

New Selected Poems of Stevie Smith by Stevie Smith

Stevie Smith is my favourite poet. She's smart, clever, and fun. All very important qualities. 'Not Waving but Drowning' is the best, in my opinion. Her work has an irrevent quality that says, 'Don't you know better?' 'Yes. But I can't be bother to play by the rules.' And how can you not love that?

Donne Poems and Prose by John Donne

Witty, intellegent, and never a ladies man. You have to love Donne simply because he tries so hard to be loved. And a very fine poet. I've visited his tomb at St Paul's Cathedral in London. It was a touchy moment- outside of the girl who asked, loudly, 'Who's John Donne?'Omouse: Dumb girl. His tomb is rather silly I think. He looked like a wimpy male impersonation virgin Mary. Not at all what I was picturing for the late great Johny Boy. But his poetry is cool. Even when he went into the church and tried to get rid of his risque non church like poetry, it was too good to be forgotten. Oh and click here for a poem by Omouse about John Donne.

Virtual Unrealities : The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester by Alfred Bester

Bester is the single most important writer in science fiction. His prose is damn near perfect. His novel 'The Demolished man' won the first Hugo. this, a collection of his short stories, spans his lenghty career. Bester practically invented quatum physics in 'Men Who Murderd Mohommed.' And 'Fondly Farenheit,' a mystery about a murdering android. The biggest clue is in the title. Beyond being simply brilliant, Bester has a certain quality to his prose than makes you suspect that he doesn't really know what he's doing. But he always proves you wrong. Every single time.

Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman is good. She draws you into a story using magic. Smoke and mirrors. Small details that make you fall in love with the characters and their story- and this is her finest. The prose creates a haunting love story that consumes the individuals involved. As a side note, I read it long before it was an Oprah book. I can find good books by my own means.