Author Topic: books to read  (Read 431651 times)

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Mark Renton

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1650 on: March 21, 2013, 09:12:44 AM »
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About to start 'Du cot? de chez Swann' first of 7 books of In search of lost time by Proust

It's been a couple of years I wanted to read it I hope I won't be disappointed!
[close]

Good luck and let me know what you think.

From your post, I assume you're reading it in French? One of my literature teachers told me that he couldn't really get into Swann's Way (in English), but a friend of his read all of ? la recherche du temps perdu in both English and French and claimed the French version changed his life.

I originally read some extracts in my french class back in the day, my teacher was a big proust fan, spent a lot of time in text analysis, themes and all that stuff..I was so stoked by those paragraphs...
I'm reading it in my mother tongue, I went and try to find the french version but didnt find it, too bad because I wanted to strengthen my french ,words, verb forms and so on
video tape yourself saving monks. dont just do it. make sure its caught on film.

Gnarfunkell

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1651 on: March 21, 2013, 11:50:34 AM »
Camus is brilliant and inspiring. I'd definitely recommend this to someone shopping for a new book to read.


Greg Ostertag

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1652 on: March 21, 2013, 02:40:58 PM »
Long story, but I've been on a Norwegian literature kick as of late.

This guy Karl Ove Knausgaard is a big deal in his native Norway. He wrote a series of painfully honest and revealing books about him and his family in a kind of rediculously detail-oriented, "Proustian" style... And named it after the magnum opus of our pal, Adolf Hitler.
Good read if you are socially awkward and have father issues. I am both.


Tor Ulven was a Norwegian poet who killed himself. From the back cover-

"Replacement, his only novel, published two years before Ulven?s suicide, is a miniature symphony, wherein the perspectives of fifteen unrelated characters are united into what seems a single narrative voice: each personality, having reached a point of stasis in their lives, directing the book in turn. These people reminisce, dream, reflect, observe, and talk to themselves; each stuck in their respective traps, each fantasizing about how their lives might have turned out differently. A masterpiece of compression and confession, Replacement dramatizes the tension between the concrete realities we think we cannot alter, and our interior lives, where we feel anything might still be possible."

It's a book about sweet, sweet isolation.


Starting this behemoth today: (not a literary product of Norway)




Cold Ghengis

Ripped Laces

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1653 on: March 23, 2013, 12:29:49 PM »
Got a plane to catch tomorrow and am fiending to read a book.

Preferably non-fiction or sociology...
Any recommendations?

If you have a good fiction, mmmaaaayyyybeeee I'll try it. ::)
Beggars can't be choosers.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1654 on: March 23, 2013, 03:02:16 PM »
Goffman, Gary Allan Fine, or Hochschild.  Anything except The Outsourced Self from Hochschild should be good.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1655 on: March 23, 2013, 03:14:44 PM »


too lazy to look through this whole thing. but this book is amazing.

Cockaigne

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1656 on: March 23, 2013, 03:49:39 PM »
Got a plane to catch tomorrow and am fiending to read a book.

Preferably non-fiction or sociology...
Any recommendations?

If you have a good fiction, mmmaaaayyyybeeee I'll try it. ::)
Beggars can't be choosers.

Modernity & Identity by Anthony Giddens, if you haven't already...

Beer Keg Peg Leg

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1657 on: March 23, 2013, 06:38:44 PM »
Got a plane to catch tomorrow and am fiending to read a book.

Preferably non-fiction or sociology...
Any recommendations?

If you have a good fiction, mmmaaaayyyybeeee I'll try it. ::)
Beggars can't be choosers.


Merked

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1658 on: March 25, 2013, 07:18:51 AM »
Got a plane to catch tomorrow and am fiending to read a book.

Preferably non-fiction or sociology...
Any recommendations?

If you have a good fiction, mmmaaaayyyybeeee I'll try it. ::)
Beggars can't be choosers.





Funny/Interesting non-fiction that I read.  Ironically, found these recommendations in this thread.  They were both amazing.
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HyperBeam

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1659 on: April 02, 2013, 08:19:52 PM »
not being able to read proust in the original french is one of my life's greatest disappointments.

Nosferatu

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1660 on: April 02, 2013, 08:26:11 PM »
not being able to read proust in the original french is one of my life's greatest disappointments.

your gost/blind?
I thought it wasnt just him solo, shouldve stuck with my og thought.
R.I.P Rusty. One of us.

NergTurtleson

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1661 on: April 02, 2013, 08:32:57 PM »
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The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz. It's an adventure book that is very similar to Endurance by Alfred Lansing, about the will power to survive.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. One of those books I have been told to read for years but always shrugged off. Once I finally picked it up I was fully blown away. Really recommend.
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You read it and didn't like it? Pretty long book to power through unhappily.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1662 on: April 02, 2013, 08:44:19 PM »
Rand discussion's aren't that fun.  She's so polemic that they never go anywhere.

Shooting myself in the foot, I haven't read a complete piece by Rand, but I read a section of The Fountainhead at the urging of my friend and although I barely remember what she wrote, I do remember thinking that she wasn't a good writer.  I've been told her plots are good, but she can't really do much with them.

NergTurtleson

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1663 on: April 02, 2013, 09:01:15 PM »
Rand discussion's aren't that fun.  She's so polemic that they never go anywhere.

Shooting myself in the foot, I haven't read a complete piece by Rand, but I read a section of The Fountainhead at the urging of my friend and although I barely remember what she wrote, I do remember thinking that she wasn't a good writer.  I've been told her plots are good, but she can't really do much with them.

Try the full book. It takes a minute to get into but I think it's well worth the time. I found her to be a very good writer, though not until a fair way through.

And yes, I can see what you mean my Rand's discussions being not very fun, being about altruism vs. selfishness. But once you get enough into the book and see character development and how the plot line is actually starting to build it is really intriguing. The book itself is broken up into different sub-books. Maybe try to pick it up again starting at Gail Wynand (merely to see the writing structure). The first couple chapters of that section are quite good and don't give away from the actual plot.

Beer Keg Peg Leg

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1664 on: April 03, 2013, 12:27:42 AM »
rand is disgusting and so is her writing.

NergTurtleson

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1665 on: April 03, 2013, 07:34:09 AM »
rand is disgusting and so is her writing.

Ok. But will you at least explain yourself. I understand a difference of opinions in literary preference, but can you be more articulate in your argument. Merely curious.

ChronicBluntSlider

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1666 on: April 03, 2013, 08:58:16 AM »
Rand discussion's aren't that fun.  She's so polemic that they never go anywhere.

Shooting myself in the foot, I haven't read a complete piece by Rand, but I read a section of The Fountainhead at the urging of my friend and although I barely remember what she wrote, I do remember thinking that she wasn't a good writer.  I've been told her plots are good, but she can't really do much with them.

I found this interesting. Modern Library compiled two lists of the 100 greatest english language novels of the past 100 years, one by a panel of experts, the second by the public. Her or L. Ron Hubbard don't appear on the panel's list, but make up 7 of the top 10 of the public's. Obviously this doesn't reflect the size of their fan base or quality of work, but the fanaticism of their fans. Not saying Nerg is one, but people who like them definitely tend to over blow their literary value.

http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/

NergTurtleson

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1667 on: April 03, 2013, 10:00:11 AM »
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Rand discussion's aren't that fun.  She's so polemic that they never go anywhere.

Shooting myself in the foot, I haven't read a complete piece by Rand, but I read a section of The Fountainhead at the urging of my friend and although I barely remember what she wrote, I do remember thinking that she wasn't a good writer.  I've been told her plots are good, but she can't really do much with them.
[close]

I found this interesting. Modern Library compiled two lists of the 100 greatest english language novels of the past 100 years, one by a panel of experts, the second by the public. Her or L. Ron Hubbard don't appear on the panel's list, but make up 7 of the top 10 of the public's. Obviously this doesn't reflect the size of their fan base or quality of work, but the fanaticism of their fans. Not saying Nerg is one, but people who like them definitely tend to over blow their literary value.

http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/

Damn dude. Getting put in my place by being compared to a Scientologist. That's fucking rough.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1668 on: April 03, 2013, 11:50:59 AM »
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rand is disgusting and so is her writing.
[close]

Ok. But will you at least explain yourself. I understand a difference of opinions in literary preference, but can you be more articulate in your argument. Merely curious.

Again, haven't read her significantly, but here's my problems with her as a person: her homophobia, support of discrimination, misogyny, a poorly designed and thought out philosophy that scholars have called not only illogical and inconsistent, but also acts as a monument to her personal ego (she claims it sprung completely from her with a little Aristotle, but that's not true), and her hypocrisy with taking government aid to pay for her cancer treatment under a fake name (although she would argue that this wasn't hypocritical regardless of what other people say).

NergTurtleson

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1669 on: April 03, 2013, 12:07:14 PM »


Again, haven't read her significantly, but here's my problems with her as a person: her homophobia, support of discrimination, misogyny, a poorly designed and thought out philosophy that scholars have called not only illogical and inconsistent, but also acts as a monument to her personal ego (she claims it sprung completely from her with a little Aristotle, but that's not true), and her hypocrisy with taking government aid to pay for her cancer treatment under a fake name (although she would argue that this wasn't hypocritical regardless of what other people say).
[/quote]

Wow. I know nothing about her, other then the one book I read. But yeah, everything you said above makes her to be a shitty person.

Chris Hansen is back

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1670 on: April 03, 2013, 12:56:07 PM »
Rand is cool when you're 16 and going through that "fuck the government" stage when you get taxed 7 bucks on your Burger King pay check.

Merked

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1671 on: April 23, 2013, 06:40:29 AM »
Just finished reading this.  I loved it.  Depicts the raw passion present in the NYC Graffiti Scene.  Also, it is a rare example of why fiction is the absolute shit.  I highly recommend this novel.

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ChronicBluntSlider

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1672 on: April 23, 2013, 08:46:27 AM »






Read these recently. Finishing The Things they Carried right now. All of them are fantastic. Was reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist during the whole Boston bombing shit storm, which made it more poignant. Its about an American educated Pakistani who becomes an Islamic fundamentalist after 9/11.

ConnyMas

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1673 on: April 24, 2013, 08:38:45 AM »


Reading Straw Dogs.  It's the first really intellectual read I've done in a long time, and I am kind of struggling with it, having to read passages multiple times for understanding, etc.  That being said it's been very enjoyable, and John Gray brings up some very interesting points about humanity. 

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1674 on: April 24, 2013, 09:06:26 AM »


Reading Straw Dogs.  It's the first really intellectual read I've done in a long time, and I am kind of struggling with it, having to read passages multiple times for understanding, etc.  That being said it's been very enjoyable, and John Gray brings up some very interesting points about humanity. 

My boy Terry is right:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/sep/07/highereducation.news2

jerrys_kids

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1675 on: April 24, 2013, 09:59:56 AM »
Great book, it's all about how capitalism is a pyramid scheme and it discusses the how all the different parts of society function to serve those at the top of the pyramid.


sametelt

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1676 on: April 24, 2013, 01:59:23 PM »


Reading Straw Dogs.  It's the first really intellectual read I've done in a long time, and I am kind of struggling with it, having to read passages multiple times for understanding, etc.  That being said it's been very enjoyable, and John Gray brings up some very interesting points about humanity.  

Weird, I just started reading Black Mass. He's a huge influence on one of my favorite professors, so I've been meaning to check him out.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2013, 02:01:32 PM by sametelt »

sametelt

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via

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1678 on: April 24, 2013, 02:11:25 PM »


I found this book on the ground a few weeks ago. It's pretty fucking crazy. The author basically had a longstanding work/personal relationship with Ted Bundy at a suicide hot line center, while she was also working with the police looking for the person commenting all these heinous murders, who obviously turned out to be Ted Bundy. They were friends for years, going to each other christmas parties, talking about his failed relationships, ect. He confided in her about "the one that got away", eventually coming to light that the woman he loved and was left by was the catalyst to all of his murders. Most of his victims resembled her.

I was about halfway through, then I came home a few nights ago and my dog had eaten it.

Bummer.

Greg Ostertag

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1679 on: April 24, 2013, 04:24:51 PM »


I found this book on the ground a few weeks ago. It's pretty fucking crazy. The author basically had a longstanding work/personal relationship with Ted Bundy at a suicide hot line center, while she was also working with the police looking for the person commenting all these heinous murders, who obviously turned out to be Ted Bundy. They were friends for years, going to each other christmas parties, talking about his failed relationships, ect. He confided in her about "the one that got away", eventually coming to light that the woman he loved and was left by was the catalyst to all of his murders. Most of his victims resembled her.

I was about halfway through, then I came home a few nights ago and my dog had eaten it.

Bummer.

Man, that book paid its dues.
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