Author Topic: books to read  (Read 431332 times)

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Joust Ostrich

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Re: books to read
« Reply #870 on: March 17, 2011, 01:58:14 PM »
Did anyone here read this?  I borrowed it yesterday, would like to know if its worth it. 
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kilgore.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #871 on: March 17, 2011, 02:02:34 PM »
i saw the documentary, it was whatever. kinda cool i guess.
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Re: books to read
« Reply #872 on: March 17, 2011, 04:11:17 PM »
reading this....


Mackattack

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Re: books to read
« Reply #873 on: March 17, 2011, 07:28:30 PM »
Last few weeks:


Reading this now. Hesse always hits close to home.


Fucking Vonnegut. You know the scope.


Murakami came highly reccomended from a few of my peers. This book probably isn't his best but it was a pleasant, liquid read.


Redundant. Sappy. Couldn't finish it. Figured I'd have to read it eventually, but after attempting to I wouldn't consider it a necessary contemporary read.

Going to be concentrating solely on Henry Miller and James Joyce for the next few months. See if I can find the time to tackle all of their best work.
Anyone ever try to read Finnegans Wake?


sven thorkel

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Re: books to read
« Reply #874 on: March 17, 2011, 08:24:13 PM »
^
I know you'll probably catch flak for not finishing On The Road, but I'll give you my support. I couldn't finish Dharma Bums. I'm not to into Western Buddhists, so it really wasn't my thing.

Recent reads:

I haven't read any other Murakami, but these seems like it was a good introduction. Lots of weird Japanese sex, cats talking with humans, a "guy" with a major gender crisis, and a metaphysical being disguised as Colonel Sanders. Pretty good.


A nice quick read. I feel dumb for not reading it before. Meursault just doesn't give a fuck.


Reading this now. I'll see this thread in a month.     
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Brandon

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Re: books to read
« Reply #875 on: March 17, 2011, 08:49:39 PM »
a very satisfying book.


also, if you're in the mood for something quick:





Mackattack

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Re: books to read
« Reply #876 on: March 18, 2011, 12:03:37 AM »
^
I know you'll probably catch flak for not finishing On The Road, but I'll give you my support. I couldn't finish Dharma Bums. I'm not to into Western Buddhists, so it really wasn't my thing. ? ? ? ?

It really just bored the shit out of me. Seems like he was trying to convince himself that his story was worth telling. Maybe it was just his "spontaneous" style of writing. Like one long facebook post for lack of a better description.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2011, 12:07:12 AM by Macklin »

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #877 on: March 18, 2011, 12:37:16 AM »
Anyone ever try to read Finnegans Wake?



I've been reading Finnegans Wake off and on for about four years now and am halfway through it. You are going to need more than a month or two to get through Ulysses or the Wake while getting anything out of them.  With Finnegans Wake, you get into the rhythm of it, finish ten pages or so, and realize you have to go back and re-read because nothing stuck or once you're done, you don't have too much of a desire to go back to it for a little bit. Those 10 pages re exhausting. Make sure you take notes on it as you go through it. I'm a HUGE Joyce fan, so if you want to talk about Ulysses or Finnegans Wake (I'm very rusty on Dubliners and less rusty on A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ), feel free to PM me. I love talking about the guy.

Mooley

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Re: books to read
« Reply #878 on: March 18, 2011, 01:55:44 AM »
I can't possibly imagine getting anything out of Finnegans Wake. Ulysses was a ridiculous enough task to get through.

frig deuce

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Re: books to read
« Reply #879 on: March 18, 2011, 08:02:26 AM »
Expand Quote
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rereading this at the moment.
[close]

Is it super dense?
I've wanted to read it for a while but I'm kind of torn between taking it on in Spanish or just copping out and just getting the English translation.
[close]

the quality of the writing makes it flow despite it being a bit dense with all the characters. its density is subtle. theres a family tree mapped out in the first page that helps you keep track of who's who.

gabriel garcia marquez has actually said that he prefers the english translation by gregory rabassa over the original spanish, if that helps you decide which to read.

I just stopped reading this book, 150 pages in. Its a very well written book but there isn't a point, or a purpose to everything that happens. Its just like x happens then y then a then k and so on. Its interesting at times and it can really suck you in, but nothing ties back to each other and it doesn't really go anywhere in particular, it just goes, somewhere. There was no suspense or intriguing factor about the story line, thats why I had to put it down after 150 pages, I could care less about what was going to happen.
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Inbred Jed

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Re: books to read
« Reply #880 on: March 18, 2011, 08:32:00 AM »
Expand Quote
^
I know you'll probably catch flak for not finishing On The Road, but I'll give you my support. I couldn't finish Dharma Bums. I'm not to into Western Buddhists, so it really wasn't my thing. ? ? ? ?
[close]

It really just bored the shit out of me. Seems like he was trying to convince himself that his story was worth telling. Maybe it was just his "spontaneous" style of writing. Like one long facebook post for lack of a better description.

I understand that the Beat era writers did a lot for defying traditional American values and battling censorship, but I think a lot of the books are pretty overrated.

Joust Ostrich

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Re: books to read
« Reply #881 on: March 18, 2011, 10:27:43 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
^
I know you'll probably catch flak for not finishing On The Road, but I'll give you my support. I couldn't finish Dharma Bums. I'm not to into Western Buddhists, so it really wasn't my thing. ? ? ? ?
[close]

It really just bored the shit out of me. Seems like he was trying to convince himself that his story was worth telling. Maybe it was just his "spontaneous" style of writing. Like one long facebook post for lack of a better description.
[close]

I understand that the Beat era writers did a lot for defying traditional American values and battling censorship, but I think a lot of the books are pretty overrated.

On the Road and Atlas Shrugged are the only two books I couldn't finish. 
Glad I'm not the only one.
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Inbred Jed

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Re: books to read
« Reply #882 on: March 18, 2011, 10:30:05 AM »
I couldn't get through The Electric Kool Aid Acid test and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Not Beat era writing, I guess, but early counterculture whatever.

StabMasterArson

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Re: books to read
« Reply #883 on: March 18, 2011, 11:55:47 AM »
this guy, right here. It's not as good as "the stranger", but has some really good parts.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #884 on: March 18, 2011, 12:09:02 PM »
I can't possibly imagine getting anything out of Finnegans Wake. Ulysses was a ridiculous enough task to get through.

There's stuff in there, but it takes a lot of digging to get there. I found it helpful to read papers on the book (or even Wikipedia's synopsis/overview) to start with an understanding of what Joyce was influenced by within writing the Wake.

Mooley

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Re: books to read
« Reply #885 on: March 18, 2011, 07:14:48 PM »
Expand Quote
I can't possibly imagine getting anything out of Finnegans Wake. Ulysses was a ridiculous enough task to get through.
[close]

There's stuff in there, but it takes a lot of digging to get there. I found it helpful to read papers on the book (or even Wikipedia's synopsis/overview) to start with an understanding of what Joyce was influenced by within writing the Wake.

Yeah I'm pretty sure if I were to even attempt it I'd end up doing just as much secondary reading just to unearth whatever semblance of a narrative there is. Ulysses was exhausting.

LesbianPUNCH

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Re: books to read
« Reply #886 on: March 19, 2011, 05:14:13 AM »
Has anyone here read How I Became Stupid by Martin Page?  My friend Charles just finished it enthusiastically and handed it off to me for ingestion.  I'm 28 pages in and it's pretty damn hilarious.  Any thoughts?

everypennyfedcar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #887 on: March 19, 2011, 07:21:55 AM »
I just stopped reading this book, 150 pages in. Its a very well written book but there isn't a point, or a purpose to everything that happens. Its just like x happens then y then a then k and so on. Its interesting at times and it can really suck you in, but nothing ties back to each other and it doesn't really go anywhere in particular, it just goes, somewhere. There was no suspense or intriguing factor about the story line, thats why I had to put it down after 150 pages, I could care less about what was going to happen.
Hahahaha, this is the funniest thing I've read in a while.
You put a book down and gave up not even getting halfway into it? And then have the nerve to say there's no point, and that it doesn't go anywhere? How would you know, you didn't even finish it.
Spray it like a high-rank sniper in the West Bank.

corytate

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Re: books to read
« Reply #888 on: March 22, 2011, 06:44:10 PM »
glad to see death of a salesman in here
the grapes of wrath, the good earth, a raisin in the sun, macbeth, hamlet.

stephen king, and if you aren't a fan of "horror" novels, read the dark tower series. The gunslinger, all that. If you get through the gunslinger then you're hooked. all the books are out now so you won't have to wait like I did to find out how everything turns out. Theres a good 5k or 6k pages in there.

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Smell Good

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Re: books to read
« Reply #889 on: March 22, 2011, 07:18:04 PM »
I'm well past 600 pages on the third book of the Song of Ice and Fire series. I usually have a few books going at once because of school, but this shit right here is basically my guilty pleasure morning coffee read so please don't judge me. It's just so damn juicy.

smokecrack

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Re: books to read
« Reply #890 on: March 23, 2011, 02:35:08 PM »
i bought this for my gf as a birthday present. hope i get to read it soon.







Robert Crumb's quote on the back of the book sums up Burns perfectly "it's almost as if the artist weren't quite... human!"

http://www.theaoi.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=240&Itemid=47

(the book itself/packaging is really nice too)
« Last Edit: March 23, 2011, 02:46:07 PM by smokecrack »

Joust Ostrich

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Re: books to read
« Reply #891 on: March 26, 2011, 10:44:11 AM »
Has anyone here read How I Became Stupid by Martin Page?  My friend Charles just finished it enthusiastically and handed it off to me for ingestion.  I'm 28 pages in and it's pretty damn hilarious.  Any thoughts?

Yeah I read that a year or two ago.  It's quick and fun, not great, but for sure worth the read.
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steve

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Re: books to read
« Reply #892 on: March 26, 2011, 11:41:56 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
^
I know you'll probably catch flak for not finishing On The Road, but I'll give you my support. I couldn't finish Dharma Bums. I'm not to into Western Buddhists, so it really wasn't my thing. ? ? ? ?
[close]

It really just bored the shit out of me. Seems like he was trying to convince himself that his story was worth telling. Maybe it was just his "spontaneous" style of writing. Like one long facebook post for lack of a better description.
[close]

I understand that the Beat era writers did a lot for defying traditional American values and battling censorship, but I think a lot of the books are pretty overrated.

the beats are interesting. so many come up thinking that their works, especially in poetics, are liberating through defying or redefining ideas of form and i suppose cultural acceptance. kerouac and ginsberg attended columbia. Olson attended Wesleyan.  they emulated the form and ideas of the modernist era as exemplified by EzPound, Eliot, and really as she is being studied more, Mina Loy. Modernists were concerned with with redefining the world through eyes that had been subjected to the flash of WWI and the psychological upheaval presented by Freud and Nietzsche. Bring into the scope educated Harlem writers like Hughes with the Bukka White blues train back beat or McKay with Jamaican patois developing poetry in response to the lynchings, popular Jazz, blues recordings, shit, Birth of a Nation was the most popular film in the US until 1930 or so, and you've got something that has never before been attempted in the literary world- call it cohesion through reconstruction of the world. Shelley said "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."

so following this modernity the Beats were just a natural response to the modernist era- look at the world, the US in particular during the early post modern era as a recent creation built of rubble. 25 monarchies had been overthrown during WWI, there's no way stability can come about, anywhere, in 40 year time frame. So of course the ideas of "Western Buddhism" are attractive- with the world a disastrous place, living through nothingness is the grand scheme.  Nothingness, however, cannot be achieved without the right knowledge- understanding the rudiments of form, literature, history, and culture.

So to say that many of their books are overrated, you're probably right but should try to wrap around the idea that Beat works aren't weren't written for everybody. The idea of a rating of a piece of work comes about when a writer isn't trying to gain a particular audience and it is read as though it should be something... It's like attempting to define "nothingness."

Anyhow, if you're interested, Charles Olson wrote poetry and coined the term "Beats." there are some interesting collections of letters too.

I'm reading a collection of letters written by Pound while he was in an open air cage at the end of WWII on charges of treason called Letters of Captivity.

The Sun Also Rises is a good one by Hemingway.

If you're at all interested in Modern literature check out Stravinsky's Rites of Spring on Youtube. It's a strange play- when released such confusion was aroused in the audience that they erupted in fist fights and tore the theater apart.  

Whoever was writing about Ulysses, Frank Delaney does a podcast breaking it down at http://blog.frankdelaney.com/re-joyce/
« Last Edit: March 26, 2011, 11:45:16 AM by steve »

David

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Re: books to read
« Reply #893 on: March 27, 2011, 03:01:06 PM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote

rereading this at the moment.
[close]

Is it super dense?
I've wanted to read it for a while but I'm kind of torn between taking it on in Spanish or just copping out and just getting the English translation.
[close]

the quality of the writing makes it flow despite it being a bit dense with all the characters. its density is subtle. theres a family tree mapped out in the first page that helps you keep track of who's who.

gabriel garcia marquez has actually said that he prefers the english translation by gregory rabassa over the original spanish, if that helps you decide which to read.
[close]

I just stopped reading this book, 150 pages in. Its a very well written book but there isn't a point, or a purpose to everything that happens. Its just like x happens then y then a then k and so on. Its interesting at times and it can really suck you in, but nothing ties back to each other and it doesn't really go anywhere in particular, it just goes, somewhere. There was no suspense or intriguing factor about the story line, thats why I had to put it down after 150 pages, I could care less about what was going to happen.

the book has a cyclical quality to it, so you have to be dedicated. after a few generations into the family you really start appreciating what Marquez has to say. its not a facile endeavor, but i can say that it gets more intense towards the second half.

heres another book to read.


there was a huge pbs series based on the book which can be found online.

here's the author playing grabass with henry kissinger

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.




« Last Edit: March 27, 2011, 07:26:03 PM by David »

crunk juice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #894 on: March 27, 2011, 03:52:42 PM »
great book.  dude was a real bad ass.  anyone contemplating joining the military should read this.  the stuff about friendly fire and the incompetence of the people in charge is fucking astounding.  and that's coming from someone who came in with pretty much the lowest possible view of the military.  i already thought it was full of retards and was still shocked.  crazy shit.


thought i'd hate this because of all the annoying rave reviews about "serious literature," but i liked it.  not as good as the reviews, but not nearly as bad as some people claim.  good read.


regular.  the chicks i'm boning always try to buy me their favorite book when they see i read.  shit's annoying.  women have terrible taste in books.


this book's rad.  dude basically pulled a gator: his chick dumped him so he started killing people.  not as good as in cold blood, but still awesome.  first 1000+ page book i've read that didn't feel long.   

corytate

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Re: books to read
« Reply #895 on: March 27, 2011, 04:06:17 PM »
if you're looking for something amazing that will be a quick two day read, go pick up the absolutely true diary of a part time indian. it's great.

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foamin

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Re: books to read
« Reply #896 on: March 27, 2011, 04:18:50 PM »
I'm reading the Zombie Survival Guide right now... With all this shit happening in Japan, radiation and such, who knows what we're in for.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #897 on: March 29, 2011, 06:44:09 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
^
I know you'll probably catch flak for not finishing On The Road, but I'll give you my support. I couldn't finish Dharma Bums. I'm not to into Western Buddhists, so it really wasn't my thing. ? ? ? ?
[close]

It really just bored the shit out of me. Seems like he was trying to convince himself that his story was worth telling. Maybe it was just his "spontaneous" style of writing. Like one long facebook post for lack of a better description.
[close]

I understand that the Beat era writers did a lot for defying traditional American values and battling censorship, but I think a lot of the books are pretty overrated.
[close]

the beats are interesting. so many come up thinking that their works, especially in poetics, are liberating through defying or redefining ideas of form and i suppose cultural acceptance. kerouac and ginsberg attended columbia. Olson attended Wesleyan.  they emulated the form and ideas of the modernist era as exemplified by EzPound, Eliot, and really as she is being studied more, Mina Loy. Modernists were concerned with with redefining the world through eyes that had been subjected to the flash of WWI and the psychological upheaval presented by Freud and Nietzsche. Bring into the scope educated Harlem writers like Hughes with the Bukka White blues train back beat or McKay with Jamaican patois developing poetry in response to the lynchings, popular Jazz, blues recordings, shit, Birth of a Nation was the most popular film in the US until 1930 or so, and you've got something that has never before been attempted in the literary world- call it cohesion through reconstruction of the world. Shelley said "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."

so following this modernity the Beats were just a natural response to the modernist era- look at the world, the US in particular during the early post modern era as a recent creation built of rubble. 25 monarchies had been overthrown during WWI, there's no way stability can come about, anywhere, in 40 year time frame. So of course the ideas of "Western Buddhism" are attractive- with the world a disastrous place, living through nothingness is the grand scheme.  Nothingness, however, cannot be achieved without the right knowledge- understanding the rudiments of form, literature, history, and culture.

So to say that many of their books are overrated, you're probably right but should try to wrap around the idea that Beat works aren't weren't written for everybody. The idea of a rating of a piece of work comes about when a writer isn't trying to gain a particular audience and it is read as though it should be something... It's like attempting to define "nothingness."

Anyhow, if you're interested, Charles Olson wrote poetry and coined the term "Beats." there are some interesting collections of letters too.

Sounds interesting, will definitely check out Charles Olson. 

The first time I read On the Road, I had to force myself to complete it because I felt it had no real plot arc.  I read it again later, this time within the period of a week, and found it a much better experience.  Almost as if the excitement in the book lay not so much in the words written but in the process of writing and, in a sense, 'living' it. 

I really liked Ginsberg's 'Howl', and think it is an important landmark in American literature.  For anyone that feels a little bored with On the Road, check this out first:
http://www.wussu.com/poems/agh.htm


And not to merge this with the photo thread, but I feel like the best things to come out of the Beat movement was Robert Frank's photobook 'The Americans':


If you have any interest at all in art photography, check it out.  Robert Frank singlehandedly changed the course of the medium forever with this book.



currently reading:


not as great as I thought it would be



Choad Muskrat

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Re: books to read
« Reply #898 on: March 29, 2011, 08:02:28 AM »
I'm well past 600 pages on the third book of the Song of Ice and Fire series. I usually have a few books going at once because of school, but this shit right here is basically my guilty pleasure morning coffee read so please don't judge me. It's just so damn juicy.

I'm about halfway through the first one and really liking it. My friend told me to read it because there's that HBO series coming.

Also, halfway through the 3rd book 'Memories of Ice' of Erik Erikson's Malazan book of the fallen series. But taking a break from this to read 'Game of Thrones'

And I'm reading "the regulators" by Stephen King on my iPhone. And also a PDF version of 'communion' by Wesley Strieber, somone had posted about alien abductions in this thread so i grabbed that. Reading PDF's on the iphone kinda sucks though, .epub's are a lot easier on the eyes to read.

Ever since I got this Kobo E-reader I kind of went to town at the "store". also been using iBooks on my iphone to read epubs. All this new technology has got me reading 2 or more books at the same time. It's awesome.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2011, 08:05:58 AM by Choad Muskrat »

Buddy G

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Re: books to read
« Reply #899 on: March 29, 2011, 10:47:24 AM »
this is probably worth downloading for anyone with a kindle/e-reader

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/6061975/Kindle_Books_Collection

a lot of shit you can get for free elsewhere but it's handy to have it one place and everyone should find at least a few things they want to read.