Author Topic: books to read  (Read 431253 times)

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tumulishoomaroom

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2310 on: July 15, 2015, 09:54:58 AM »
Pynchon is really hard to read. By hard I mean that you NEED a notebook and an pen and take your time otherwise you just miss so much... Anyway that's how I feel and althought I've read several of his books it's always a little discouraging (yet rewarding).

I've just finished Saul Bellow's Humbolt's Gift which I thoroughly enjoyed although it goes really quite nowhere for a good portion of the 500 or so pages. The characters are very very well crafted. I'm going to read more books of him, anyone has recommandations on where to continue with this guy ?

Also just bought some Anthony Trollope short stories.

Makaveli

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2311 on: July 15, 2015, 12:55:00 PM »
Pynchon is really hard to read. By hard I mean that you NEED a notebook and an pen and take your time otherwise you just miss so much... Anyway that's how I feel and althought I've read several of his books it's always a little discouraging (yet rewarding).

I've just finished Saul Bellow's Humbolt's Gift which I thoroughly enjoyed although it goes really quite nowhere for a good portion of the 500 or so pages. The characters are very very well crafted. I'm going to read more books of him, anyone has recommandations on where to continue with this guy ?

Also just bought some Anthony Trollope short stories.

Even though you guys recommended the book, I can't help but feel discouraged to read Gravity's Rainbow now.

I have Bellow's Augie March, I started reading it awhile back and stopped for some reason. Maybe I'll go back to that.
I’m a ghost that everyone can see.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2312 on: July 15, 2015, 04:14:28 PM »
Don't be discouraged, but have you read any other Pynchon (sorry if you've mentioned it before)?  If yes and you liked him, then give it a shot.

abudabi

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2313 on: July 15, 2015, 06:29:28 PM »
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?

Righteous Victim

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2314 on: July 15, 2015, 07:13:00 PM »
I can't read shit anymore but 4 or 5 years ago I was reading like crazy. I read Gravity's Rainbow 3 times in 6 months. Yes read it, it's the funniest most entertaining book ever. But it needs to be read twice because he reverses cause and effect a lot: a scene often needs context which is provided in a later scene and the whole thing unravels in a strange way. The V-2 rocket, which is the main motif/symbol, works the same way: travels faster than the speed of sound so you hear the explosion before you hear the approach. I think he was deliberately making this the style of the book. But it's the most fun I've had with a book:

There once was a man named Slattery
who was fond of the course gyro battery.
with that 50 volt shock,
what was left of his cock
was all slimy and sloppy and spattery.

And Celine is dope. Journey to the End of the Night and Death on the Installment plan are some of my favorites. He's unlike anyone else. I've also read Guignol's Band part 1, but that's it. I'd consider the first two essential.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2015, 07:17:07 PM by Righteous Victim »

abudabi

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2315 on: July 15, 2015, 07:15:18 PM »
And C�line is dope. Journey to the End of the Night and Death on the Installment plan are some of my favorites. He's unlike anyone else.
that's a pretty good endorsement. my dad a has a celine book, ill see if i can borrow it. dont know what it is.

Bobby Peru

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2316 on: July 15, 2015, 07:58:13 PM »


About to begin this. Talks about how corporate America conflated capitalism and Christianity to kind of recruit religious communities in their battles against socialism, unionization, etc.

Read about this on NPR. I'd like to check it out.

I think I might read Pynchon's book Gravity's Rainbow, but it seems like quite the endeavor at 1000 or so pages. Anyone read it?

The Crying of Lot 49 was exhausting for me at 100 something pages. Not boring, just difficult. Just a heads up.

http://www.amazon.com/Lyrics-Poems-1997-2012-John-Samson/dp/1894037588
People probably won't care about if they aren't into the weakerthans, fortunately I've been obsessed with john since his demo tape and thus this is book porn to me!

I've always been impressed with his lyrics. One thing about The Weakerthans is that he keeps the same cadence most of the time, which gets repetitive to me, but his lyrics have always been on point.

While we're sort of on this note:

lately i've grown TMZ shtoops and if i can get a biography of a rock star or whatever i'll fuck w/ that.



I read Songs Only You Know by Sean Madigan Hoen fairly recently and it's fantastic. It's a memoir by the frontman of Thoughts of Ionesco, who were a Michigan hardcore band with a niche following partially for their talent and progression, but mostly for their infamous collective bout with mental illness, which made for the most authentic presentation of fury and dissociation I've seen in a band. While I was primarily interested to learn more about the band, I was pleasantly surprised that Hoen is actually a great writer. It's a great portrait of metro-Detroit in the 90s and an honest relation of mental illness, dysfunctional family settings, and more. Did not disappoint.



The last book I read was Ghettoside by Jill Leovy. It's a neat study and commentary on the conditions surrounding (mostly) black on black murders in inner-city ghettos and how cops pursue and solve such murder cases, related primarily through one Los Angeles case. Recommended if you like The Wire.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2317 on: July 16, 2015, 01:42:31 AM »
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?

I read Journey to the End of the Night a couple of years ago. Celine was the major influence on a lot of "tough male misanthropist" kind of authors (such as Bukowski). He pretty much revolutionized that style of writing. If you're into that stuff, give Celine a go! He has a very intense voice and his book will have you on the edge of your seat. It's interesting and well-crafted, but I still wasn't into it too much (which has a lot to do with me not being into that style of writing in general). Overall, I can recommend Journey to the End of the Night though!

I'm in the middle of Knausgaard's first book right now... It's one of the easiest books I've read in a long time, which really surprised me. You can easily read the whole 500 pages in less than a week; I started the English translation 3 days ago (with English not being my native language). My Struggle 1 is way more interesting than I expected; as a reader, you're definitely bound to identify with the narrator/author. His style is brutally honest; he's not portraying himself as a "cool guy" at all but emphasizes his own weaknesses. It was eerie how similar I feel to Knausgaard's character in some ways; he definitely hits pretty close to home with a lot of descriptions. Yet I feel like I am consuming the book more than actually engaging with it; as said, despite some philosophical passages, it's a very light read. Some have called it "soul pornography," and while I don't fully agree, I can definitely share that sentiment to an extent. I also feel like there's a lot of weaknesses in his narrative form... why is the New Year's story at the core of the first part? It doesn't shed light on any important character traits, doesn't help to develop any of the themes (death, his relationship to his father, etc.) and it isn't particularly interesting in any other way. I thought it was the weakest anecdote from the first part and don't understand why 100 pages revolve around it. Apart from that, I enjoy reading Knausgaard though and would definitely recommend it!
« Last Edit: July 16, 2015, 01:47:01 AM by AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice »

Watt

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2318 on: July 16, 2015, 08:07:34 AM »
Pynchon is really hard to read. By hard I mean that you NEED a notebook and an pen and take your time otherwise you just miss so much... Anyway that's how I feel and althought I've read several of his books it's always a little discouraging (yet rewarding).

I've just finished Saul Bellow's Humbolt's Gift which I thoroughly enjoyed although it goes really quite nowhere for a good portion of the 500 or so pages. The characters are very very well crafted. I'm going to read more books of him, anyone has recommandations on where to continue with this guy ?

Also just bought some Anthony Trollope short stories.

Pick up Henderson the Rain King and Herzog in that order.

tumulishoomaroom

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2319 on: July 16, 2015, 11:15:57 AM »
Expand Quote
Pynchon is really hard to read. By hard I mean that you NEED a notebook and an pen and take your time otherwise you just miss so much... Anyway that's how I feel and althought I've read several of his books it's always a little discouraging (yet rewarding).

I've just finished Saul Bellow's Humbolt's Gift which I thoroughly enjoyed although it goes really quite nowhere for a good portion of the 500 or so pages. The characters are very very well crafted. I'm going to read more books of him, anyone has recommandations on where to continue with this guy ?

Also just bought some Anthony Trollope short stories.
[close]

Pick up Henderson the Rain King and Herzog in that order.

Thanks for the tip man.

abudabi

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2320 on: July 16, 2015, 11:50:30 AM »
Expand Quote
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?
[close]

I read Journey to the End of the Night a couple of years ago. Celine was the major influence on a lot of "tough male misanthropist" kind of authors (such as Bukowski). He pretty much revolutionized that style of writing. If you're into that stuff, give Celine a go! He has a very intense voice and his book will have you on the edge of your seat. It's interesting and well-crafted, but I still wasn't into it too much (which has a lot to do with me not being into that style of writing in general). Overall, I can recommend Journey to the End of the Night though!
im not sure im into that style. i dont like bukowski. is raymond chandler in that category? hes the writer who convinced me books could actually be cool.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2321 on: July 16, 2015, 12:50:55 PM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?
[close]

I read Journey to the End of the Night a couple of years ago. Celine was the major influence on a lot of "tough male misanthropist" kind of authors (such as Bukowski). He pretty much revolutionized that style of writing. If you're into that stuff, give Celine a go! He has a very intense voice and his book will have you on the edge of your seat. It's interesting and well-crafted, but I still wasn't into it too much (which has a lot to do with me not being into that style of writing in general). Overall, I can recommend Journey to the End of the Night though!
[close]
im not sure im into that style. i dont like bukowski. is raymond chandler in that category? hes the writer who convinced me books could actually be cool.

Chandler is definitely in that category, haha. In fact, he'd be the second name on that list. I'd recommend you just give Celine a try! If you don't like it, there's no punishment for putting the book down after a while.

Smell Good

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2322 on: July 16, 2015, 02:01:08 PM »
I've come to regard Raymond Chandler as far too sanitized and clean having read James Ellroy.

People who like Raymond Chandler may not always like James Ellroy because it's too "weird". The crimes are gruesome, his novels are populated by deviants and perverts, thoroughly corrupt cops and government officials. You can't help but have these books inform your conception of that era in America. The corruption and malfeasance, the racism, homophobia and misogyny. There's a lot of humor too in these novels

I've never read Celine (or Bukowski for that matter) but the mention of Raymond Chandler bought to mind James Ellroy, a writer whose work I would wholeheartedly recommend.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2015, 03:51:31 PM by Smell Good »

abudabi

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2323 on: July 16, 2015, 03:12:22 PM »
kinda weird to look at it that way. chandler was from a different era.
im willing to bet ellroy's stuff is light compared to naked lunch, and i wouldnt want everything to be as fucked as naked lunch is.

sametelt

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2324 on: July 17, 2015, 12:27:20 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?
[close]

I read Journey to the End of the Night a couple of years ago. Celine was the major influence on a lot of "tough male misanthropist" kind of authors (such as Bukowski). He pretty much revolutionized that style of writing. If you're into that stuff, give Celine a go! He has a very intense voice and his book will have you on the edge of your seat. It's interesting and well-crafted, but I still wasn't into it too much (which has a lot to do with me not being into that style of writing in general). Overall, I can recommend Journey to the End of the Night though!
[close]
im not sure im into that style. i dont like bukowski. is raymond chandler in that category? hes the writer who convinced me books could actually be cool.
[close]

Chandler is definitely in that category, haha. In fact, he'd be the second name on that list. I'd recommend you just give Celine a try! If you don't like it, there's no punishment for putting the book down after a while.

Journey to the end of the night was good, but it kind of bored me after a while. I've been reading a lot of Michel Houellebecq lately, I sometimes feel like he's the modern day Celine. He's got a pretty similar tone.

Watt

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2325 on: July 17, 2015, 12:58:43 PM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?
[close]

I read Journey to the End of the Night a couple of years ago. Celine was the major influence on a lot of "tough male misanthropist" kind of authors (such as Bukowski). He pretty much revolutionized that style of writing. If you're into that stuff, give Celine a go! He has a very intense voice and his book will have you on the edge of your seat. It's interesting and well-crafted, but I still wasn't into it too much (which has a lot to do with me not being into that style of writing in general). Overall, I can recommend Journey to the End of the Night though!
[close]
im not sure im into that style. i dont like bukowski. is raymond chandler in that category? hes the writer who convinced me books could actually be cool.
[close]

Chandler is definitely in that category, haha. In fact, he'd be the second name on that list. I'd recommend you just give Celine a try! If you don't like it, there's no punishment for putting the book down after a while.
[close]

Journey to the end of the night was good, but it kind of bored me after a while. I've been reading a lot of Michel Houellebecq lately, I sometimes feel like he's the modern day Celine. He's got a pretty similar tone.

How did you like/ are you liking Platform? It's his only work I haven't read.
I've put down all the Celine I've tried to read. I don't do that very often.

sametelt

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2326 on: July 20, 2015, 01:17:54 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?
[close]

I read Journey to the End of the Night a couple of years ago. Celine was the major influence on a lot of "tough male misanthropist" kind of authors (such as Bukowski). He pretty much revolutionized that style of writing. If you're into that stuff, give Celine a go! He has a very intense voice and his book will have you on the edge of your seat. It's interesting and well-crafted, but I still wasn't into it too much (which has a lot to do with me not being into that style of writing in general). Overall, I can recommend Journey to the End of the Night though!
[close]
im not sure im into that style. i dont like bukowski. is raymond chandler in that category? hes the writer who convinced me books could actually be cool.
[close]

Chandler is definitely in that category, haha. In fact, he'd be the second name on that list. I'd recommend you just give Celine a try! If you don't like it, there's no punishment for putting the book down after a while.
[close]

Journey to the end of the night was good, but it kind of bored me after a while. I've been reading a lot of Michel Houellebecq lately, I sometimes feel like he's the modern day Celine. He's got a pretty similar tone.
[close]

How did you like/ are you liking Platform? It's his only work I haven't read.
I've put down all the Celine I've tried to read. I don't do that very often.

Haven't started it yet, still waiting for my girlfriend to finish it.

Gray Imp Sausage Metal

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2327 on: July 20, 2015, 01:25:49 AM »
I've always been impressed with his lyrics. One thing about The Weakerthans is that he keeps the same cadence most of the time, which gets repetitive to me, but his lyrics have always been on point.

fair enough... I eat up anything john k. samson related so I'm probably way too biased to make any sort of criticism about him and his music.
 

***

I started reading Scott Bourne's book and so far I'm really digging it

Impish sausage is definitely gonna blow up as a euphemism this year

Rusty Shackleford

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2328 on: August 08, 2015, 09:43:51 AM »

hardcover under $20...great insight and even better illustrations!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618083618?refRID=F6RNY4438TDZWHBA6AN2&ref_=pd_ybh_l_9

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2329 on: August 08, 2015, 10:20:18 AM »
The poetic style gets into my nerves but it is a nice read for people who hate the society as is.




shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2330 on: August 08, 2015, 10:24:26 AM »
found myself downtown w/ nothing to do for a half hour so i ended up grabbing the new palahniuk book 'make something up'. it's short stories, i'm 3 in and digging it so far. there's some good jokes in one of the stories.

'knock knock.'
who's there?
'radio'
radio who?
'radio or not i'm gonna come in your mouth'

so this polack hunter is walking through the woods w/ a shotgun. he stumbles onto a beautiful blond sunbathing, nude as the news. she's got her legs spread and she asks the polack hunter 'what are you doing?'
i'm hunting for game he  answers.
'i'm game' she tells him.
POW!!!
the polack shoots her

Beer Keg Peg Leg

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2331 on: August 09, 2015, 06:11:03 PM »
i remember reading once that celine described jews as a fecalised rot

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2332 on: August 26, 2015, 11:51:29 PM »


Very enjoyable read. About a light-skinned black college professor during the Clinton-puritanical-witch hunt-impeachment trials who has spent his entire adult life posing as a white Jewish man. I'm typically annoyed by the subject of political correctness because I feel most people who complain about it the most are racists who are upset it is no longer polite to be racist in public, but on the other hand there is the kind of ridiculous political correctness as Nick Dagger demonstrates  in the libtards thread. But this book is a good satire/critique of the kind of hyper-PC culture on college campuses even back in the late 90s.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2333 on: August 27, 2015, 08:21:10 AM »
Nice! Philip Roth rarely disappoints in general. I haven't read The Human Stain yet, but Portnoy's Complaint is one of my all-time favs!

I've been reading stories from George Saunder's collection Tenth of December. Saunders is really good! One of the best contemporary writers. His fiction is really funny but also criticizes 21st-century American capitalism in an intelligent way. There is usually an intense moral conflict at the heart of his stories that makes it hard to decide whether or not to identify with the protagonist.



Next up is Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist. Race and Feminism. Interesting and relevant.


oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2334 on: August 27, 2015, 03:32:42 PM »
That Roxane Gay book is supposed to be really good.

I'm currently balancing three books right now for some reason:






AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2335 on: August 28, 2015, 06:13:12 AM »
That's a pretty heavy reading list right there. I've only heard good things about the Kahneman book. That Bataille cover is pretty badass... literally.

I've only read the first two short essays from Bad Feminist, but these have been really good and insightful.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2336 on: September 06, 2015, 04:11:34 AM »
Bad Feminist was really good. It's easy to read and enlightening at the same time. Gay's writing is admirably concise, clear, and painfully honest while covering complex issues such as gender and race. Her analyses of female depictions in contemporary music and television are really sharp; they don't re-invent the wheel, but they're worth reading nonetheless. Some critic has stated that Gay "is the brilliant girl-next-door: your best friend and your sharpest critic." This is a perfect summary of her book.

I ordered Consider the Lobster by DFW and Dear Life by Alice Munro (German bookstores only have very limited selections of English books). Alice Munro sure is an awkward choice for a Slap pal, but one of my best friends swears that Munro is the truth. She's a writer herself and knows what she's talking about, even though we have different tastes in literature. Still, it's always good to read out of your comfort zone.

However, since amazon is really slow for some reason (fuck 'em), I've been reading Thomas Bernhard's Wittgenstein's Neffe in the meantime. It's a rather short autobiographical "novel" about Wittgenstein's nephew, who was one of Bernhard's best friends and ended up in a madhouse. I had never read any of Bernhard's books before and Wittgenstein's Neffe is supposed to be a good introduction. I like Bernhard's style so far, especially when he starts raging about medical institutions and Austrian society, but I guess this is not his best work. There's some good moments, but overall, the book doesn't really have me on the edge of my seat. Since I haven't finished it yet, I'm gonna give it the benefit of the doubt until then though.


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Re: books to read
« Reply #2337 on: September 07, 2015, 05:55:12 AM »
I really enjoyed Tenth of December (Saunders) too.

Just finished Submission by Michel Houellebecq. Super good, one of his best for sure. I think it came out in English this week, highly recommended.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2338 on: September 07, 2015, 04:10:25 PM »
is brave new world worth reading if youve read 1984?

shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2339 on: September 07, 2015, 05:40:03 PM »
is brave new world worth reading if youve read 1984?
read it so you recognize references to it in pop culture or from your ace boon coon. i feel like a lot of that stuff you should just read for those purposes. i've got a pal who doesn't read and he can bluff his way through a bunch of shit but he's painfully awkward at other times. like it's fine if you're dumb, just run w/ that.
sartre's nausea, i don't think everyone has to read it to gather it's influence on pop culture but those widely known/name dropped books, knock em out.