Author Topic: books to read  (Read 431229 times)

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Alan

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1860 on: November 05, 2013, 04:54:16 AM »

Right now I'm reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.  It's short and the chapters go by quickly, but they're really fun and interesting.  His descriptions of the cities are really inventive and playful and it's really interesting to see what he comes up with next.  Hard to describe what I mean there, but if you read it, it makes more sense.

Read an excerpt for an urban sociology class I took. On my 'to read' list for sure.
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Ollie Ringwald

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1861 on: November 05, 2013, 09:57:11 PM »
Expand Quote

Right now I'm reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.?  It's short and the chapters go by quickly, but they're really fun and interesting.?  His descriptions of the cities are really inventive and playful and it's really interesting to see what he comes up with next.?  Hard to describe what I mean there, but if you read it, it makes more sense.
[close]

Read an excerpt for an urban sociology class I took. On my 'to read' list for sure.

"On a Winter's Night.." was sick.

sametelt

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1862 on: November 06, 2013, 02:47:30 AM »


Pretty entertaining so far. The fact that it was postponed because he insisted that it had to be published as a Penguin Classic in its first print run is hilarious.

Alan

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1863 on: November 06, 2013, 08:35:58 AM »
Hahaha, classic Mozzer.
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Nosferatu

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1864 on: November 06, 2013, 10:25:21 PM »
Expand Quote
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Right now I'm reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.?  It's short and the chapters go by quickly, but they're really fun and interesting.?  His descriptions of the cities are really inventive and playful and it's really interesting to see what he comes up with next.?  Hard to describe what I mean there, but if you read it, it makes more sense.
[close]

Read an excerpt for an urban sociology class I took. On my 'to read' list for sure.
[close]

"On a Winter's Night.." was sick.

I bought an old esquire that had his story The Argentine Ant in it. It was super good. Similar to Kafka. Makes me want to read more. thanks for reminding.
I thought it wasnt just him solo, shouldve stuck with my og thought.
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shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1865 on: November 06, 2013, 10:46:43 PM »
i usedta read so prolifically but i've slacked a bunch lately. i remember really liking a book called 'slackjaw' about a guy w/ degenerative retinas who kept trying to kill himself. 'candy girl' by cody diablo a fictionalized account [i believe] of her yr stripping. some cool band references. 'jails, hospitals and hip hop' by danny hoch aka 'flip dawg' from whiteboyz. its a one man play and the book is just monologues by the different characters he plays. flip dawg is a genius, who you thought it was?

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1866 on: November 07, 2013, 09:05:45 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote

Right now I'm reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.?  It's short and the chapters go by quickly, but they're really fun and interesting.?  His descriptions of the cities are really inventive and playful and it's really interesting to see what he comes up with next.?  Hard to describe what I mean there, but if you read it, it makes more sense.
[close]

Read an excerpt for an urban sociology class I took. On my 'to read' list for sure.
[close]

"On a Winter's Night.." was sick.
[close]

I bought an old esquire that had his story The Argentine Ant in it. It was super good. Similar to Kafka. Makes me want to read more. thanks for reminding.

I have no idea what his short stories are like in comparison to his novels, but I'm liking Invisible Cities so far and I liked If on a winter's night a traveler when I read it a few months ago.  Like I said, he's playful in his experimental/meta constraints and you can tell that he really enjoys writing.  The thing about IC is that it is hard to keep all of the cities straight because there are so many of them and he describe them very similarly (stylistically speaking).  You kind of have to catch shades of differences if you know what I mean.  They "feel" different from one another.  I just reached the point where Marco Polo is pretty blatant about what he is trying to do/describe with all of these cities, so I'm excited to see how that changes things.

Harem

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1867 on: November 10, 2013, 05:41:39 PM »
Last few months -



Loved this. Probably the most refreshing thing I've read in quite some time. Totally reminds me of the movie Synedoche, New York. Highly recommended.




Polished this off under a week. Really enjoyed this. I've always been a fan of The Smiths & Morrissey, but purely from a musical point. So most of what was in the book was news to me. Chronologically this book is out of sorts at times, but it's a small over sight.


Nosferatu

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1868 on: November 10, 2013, 09:23:44 PM »
Last few months -



Loved this. Probably the most refreshing thing I've read in quite some time. Totally reminds me of the movie Synedoche, New York. Highly recommended.
whattt.... love that movie.


I just finished this:

which was a short but good read. The main character pretty much goes from being an upstanding academic to not giving a shit about anything.


Just started this:

Seems good so far. Any scandinavians got insight on this one?

I thought it wasnt just him solo, shouldve stuck with my og thought.
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oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1869 on: November 11, 2013, 07:58:40 AM »
Just a heads up to people I was talking to about Invisible Cities--I'm in the last chapter now and the city descriptions are harder to get through.  The language is the same, but it's requiring more effort to get through them.  After 45-50 descriptions, you get burnt out on them.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1870 on: November 15, 2013, 09:53:40 AM »
I'm reading King, Queen, Knave by Vladimir Nabokov now.  It feels like it is going very quickly or smoothly.  Definitely as easy of a read as possible for Nabokov.

Big Baby Jesus

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1871 on: November 15, 2013, 12:07:11 PM »


some pdfs of it online

Merked

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1872 on: November 15, 2013, 12:27:38 PM »
Read this:



Corny ass fucking title, but it was recommended by an associate of mine and it was pretty damn entertaining.  Deals with Al Queda and portrays how absolutely dangerous some terrorists affilates can be.  It was an easy read, sometimes cliche, nothing really profound, but good nonetheless.
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Greg Ostertag

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1873 on: November 15, 2013, 01:34:20 PM »
Expand Quote
Last few months -



Loved this. Probably the most refreshing thing I've read in quite some time. Totally reminds me of the movie Synedoche, New York. Highly recommended.
[close]
whattt.... love that movie.


I just finished this:

which was a short but good read. The main character pretty much goes from being an upstanding academic to not giving a shit about anything.


Just started this:

Seems good so far. Any scandinavians got insight on this one?



Not a Norwegian, but a 'Merican who happens to have read Knausgaard... Can't remember why or how I even came across Mein Kampf 1?
It's like the Harry Potter of Norway; everyone in Norwegian Oprah's studio audience got a free copy, etc...

The few reviews I've read describe Knausgarrd's stuff as "Proustian," which means, I guess, that the book is really long and unrelenting in it's banal descriptions of life.

The payoff for virtually living in tandem with the author through the everyday putting around, aspiring to be someone, and the smoking of thousands of Norwegian cigarettes (Knausgaard is at his best, stylistically, when writing about the act of smoking.), is that you are allowed to be there for the most excruciating events of his personal life. He has essentially written down his entire life on paper without excluding any of the embarrassing private stuff, hence the struggle.

My Struggle 1 is largely about the author's strained relationship with his father and said father's alcoholism and eventual death. Apparently Knausgaard's literary honesty has taken a toll on his family relationships, which to me seems like a strong factor in the book's popularity in Norway. That and the title.

500 pages books aren't typically my thing, but I liked it. Don't know If I have time to devote to 6 more My Struggles. Part 2 was released in the English not too long ago.
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Re: books to read
« Reply #1874 on: November 16, 2013, 03:01:45 AM »


The descriptions of what it was like to fly the SR-71 are so gnarly.

Ollie Ringwald

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1875 on: November 16, 2013, 04:19:49 AM »
Just a heads up to people I was talking to about Invisible Cities--I'm in the last chapter now and the city descriptions are harder to get through.?  The language is the same, but it's requiring more effort to get through them.?  After 45-50 descriptions, you get burnt out on them.

I'm about 60% through this (Kindle) and although I'm sure I'll finish it I'm pretty underwhelmed by it at the moment, I enjoyed OAWNATC way more.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1876 on: November 16, 2013, 09:20:32 AM »
Yeah, I agree with you.  Those are the only two books of his I've read, and Invisible Cities was the worse of the two.  I enjoyed some of te city descriptions though.

ÜterZörker

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1877 on: December 16, 2013, 07:14:53 PM »


Just finished this, definitely worth a read.

Rusty Shackleford

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1878 on: December 16, 2013, 07:21:17 PM »

jack burton

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1879 on: December 17, 2013, 10:33:38 AM »
Came in here to post that ^. Been reading this on the toilet for awhile now and really enjoy it.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1880 on: December 17, 2013, 10:44:31 AM »
Just finished Naked Economics by Wheelan.  A good intro, but nothing too too crazy or illuminating.  I have a lot of Econ fronds, so I picked up some degree of the concepts through my conversations with them.  I'm going to try and buy the expanded edition that includes comments on 2008 (I think) versus my super old version. 

Currently reading Powderhouse by Jens Bjoerneboe.  I read the first book of his The History of Bestiality trilogy, Moment of Freedom, earlier this year.  But I took a big gap in between since they're only loosely tied together.  It's fairly short and I'm trying to get as many books in in the last few weeks of the year.   This will be my 28th actual book read this year.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1881 on: December 21, 2013, 07:57:27 PM »

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1882 on: December 22, 2013, 05:01:44 AM »
Just finished The Name of the Rose and liked it.



Just started reading Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco this morning. Thanks to christmas holidays and a train ride coming later today, I expect to be done with it rather quickly.



After that I'm going to give Nabokov a go and read his Lolita. I haven't ever read any Nabokov, so I'm excited to see what the novel has to offer.


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Re: books to read
« Reply #1883 on: December 23, 2013, 07:03:12 AM »
Just finished The Name of the Rose and liked it.



Just started reading Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco this morning. Thanks to christmas holidays and a train ride coming later today, I expect to be done with it rather quickly.



After that I'm going to give Nabokov a go and read his Lolita. I haven't ever read any Nabokov, so I'm excited to see what the novel has to offer.



I couldn't get into Lolita for some reason.  I enjoyed the writing and his prose was on point, but I couldn't into the pedoness.  Wasn't feelin it.  Might pick up a lesser known work of his and check it out.  Anyone have recommendations?
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oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1884 on: December 23, 2013, 08:43:25 AM »
You are one of the first people I have heard say that they couldn't get into Lolita.  I mean, yeah the subject matter is kid of heavy but it's not graphic at all.  And you're not supposed to "get into" the pedophilic desires of Humbert.  The point is to experience the disconnect and discomfort of a cruel man and the artistic prose.  It's supposed to be jarring and off-putting.

Nabokov is a fan of creating that discomfort and being "cruel" through his literature.  If you want to try him, you could probably try The Defense or King, Queen, Knave.

UgolinoTheSignificant

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1885 on: December 23, 2013, 08:56:54 AM »
anyone pick up the new pynchon?
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Merked

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1886 on: December 23, 2013, 10:20:17 AM »
You are one of the first people I have heard say that they couldn't get into Lolita.  I mean, yeah the subject matter is kid of heavy but it's not graphic at all.  And you're not supposed to "get into" the pedophilic desires of Humbert.  The point is to experience the disconnect and discomfort of a cruel man and the artistic prose.  It's supposed to be jarring and off-putting.

Nabokov is a fan of creating that discomfort and being "cruel" through his literature.  If you want to try him, you could probably try The Defense or King, Queen, Knave.

Thanks for the recommendations.  I'll have at Lolita again if I like his other work.
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oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1887 on: December 23, 2013, 10:55:07 AM »
anyone pick up the new pynchon?

Yeah, I got it right when it first came out.  It's pretty good.  I liked it.  It's a lot more straightforward than typical Pynchon and, aside from the huge cast of characters, it's a lot easier to keep track of than some of his other works.  If you're a Pynchon fan, you'll definitely like it.  I could say some more, but I don't want to spoil it or seem too critical.  It's definitely worth a read.

Merked--that could be it.  Like most people, I got into Nabokov through Lolita, but he's one of my favorite authors, if not my favorite.  I'm working my way through his Russian novels now to finish off his entire body of work.  You might also like The Real Life of Sebastian Knight.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1888 on: December 23, 2013, 11:44:33 AM »
Last few months -



Loved this. Probably the most refreshing thing I've read in quite some time. Totally reminds me of the movie Synedoche, New York. Highly recommended.
nice, cool book eh? he came in to talk to my experimental fiction class about that book last week, interesting dude

also, here's an ebook download link for it (and another book i cant remember) if anyone wants http://www.solidfiles.com/d/5c697603ae/


some other tite books iv read recently are:
ollinger stories - john updike
pale fire - nabokov
the golden apples - eudora welty
molloy - beckett
the unfortunates - bs johnson (each section of the novel is a selfcontained pamphlet and u shuffle the like 30 different sections so that u read it in a random order)
and all of james baldwins novels, not sure which is my fav, maybe go tell it on the mountain , another country or just above my head
« Last Edit: December 23, 2013, 11:53:39 AM by cringe. »

UgolinoTheSignificant

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Re: books to read
« Reply #1889 on: December 30, 2013, 08:06:42 PM »
@oyolar I picked it up (usually I try to avoid topical stuff {9/11}) am about 55 pages in and am really liking it. usually I like more cerebral stuff but I haven't read more than bits and pieces of his older stuff (and some analysis of them) but I am psyched to start out with this and move back more thoroughly.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2013, 08:08:52 PM by UgolinoTheSignificant »
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