The Long walk by stephen king
I'm such a science fiction nerd when it comes to books, all I really read anymore are Bradbury books cause they're all that will hold my attention.
But if you're looking for recommendations, I used to be really into Don DeLillo, back when I went to high school and was a sadder person. I'd still highly recommend White Noise though.
You spelled Isaaac's name right. Love his Foundation stuff but I read at least 2 of them out of order and have never even seen prelude to Foundation anywhere.Expand QuoteI'm such a science fiction nerd when it comes to books, all I really read anymore are Bradbury books cause they're all that will hold my attention.
But if you're looking for recommendations, I used to be really into Don DeLillo, back when I went to high school and was a sadder person. I'd still highly recommend White Noise though.[close]
Ever Read the Foundation series by Asimov (sp?). I read book one and plan on reading the rest soon. I like to read Sci Fi after reading to much serious stuff, even though Sci Fi is good at slipping some serious stuff in the mix.
i've never read any of his stuff but 2 of my good friends always hype the dude up. he's on some next level shit is what i hear. i'll be sure to check it out. have you read "something in this book is true..." by bob frissell as well?I have, I like Nothing in this book better though. IDK why just did. It's like "Ishmael" and "Story of B" Ismael was my favorite of the 2, I'm yet to read "My Ishamael"
I have, I like Nothing in this book better though. IDK why just did. It's like "Ishmael" and "Story of B" Ismael was my favorite of the 2, I'm yet to read "My Ishamael"Expand Quotei've never read any of his stuff but 2 of my good friends always hype the dude up. he's on some next level shit is what i hear. i'll be sure to check it out. have you read "something in this book is true..." by bob frissell as well?[close]
I couldnt sit through Ishmael.
Im reading Franny and Zooey right now, and its good.
I also read "the road" last week and i kinda liked it
(http://bondibooks.ocnk.net/data/bondibooks/product/3b912a6842.jpg)
anything salinger
good choice on the Huxley stuff. I'm always reading vonnegut books halfway through, then losing interest..
But if you're looking for recommendations, I used to be really into Don DeLillo, back when I went to high school and was a sadder person. I'd still highly recommend White Noise though.White Noise is a very interesting book.
halfway through franny and zooey. just finished 'journey to the east' by herman hesse(sp?), pretty good. also just finished 'hocus pocus' by vonnegut, was a great story as always but i cant stand his comedy whatsoever, its almost to the point where i dont want to read anything more by him for fear im going to start hating him.
anything by richard brautigan. currently reading "revenge of the lawn" collection of short stories.
Speaking on that topic, a couple of years ago I bought Lords of Chaos and someone stole it from my book case before I even got a chance to read it. Needless to say I was bummed.
I only read books about bands, or musicians.
White Noise is a very interesting book.Expand QuoteBut if you're looking for recommendations, I used to be really into Don DeLillo, back when I went to high school and was a sadder person. I'd still highly recommend White Noise though.[close]
Although unrelated a cool book is Confederacy of Dunces.
Is anyone else into non-fiction. I recommend books in the CBC Massey Lectures series, such as:
(http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/massey/images/2004/images/book_cover.jpg)
and The Triumph of Narrative by Robert Fulford.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lSzps3vbL._SS500_.jpg)
i recommend this for anyone no matter what they believe.
has anyone here read "Choke", I was wondering whether or not it was worth reading before i saw the movieIt's worth reading.
It's worth reading.Expand Quotehas anyone here read "Choke", I was wondering whether or not it was worth reading before i saw the movie[close]
(http://www.railroadbookstore.com/photopost/data/501/1Outside_Lies_Magic.jpeg)
i need a non-fiction book over 150 pages for school. anybody have suggestions?
i need a non-fiction book over 150 pages for school. anybody have suggestions?
i need a non-fiction book over 150 pages for school. anybody have suggestions?A People's History of the United States
"Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon
i need a non-fiction book over 150 pages for school. anybody have suggestions?
(http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/SundownTowns.jpg)
An interesting look into a "hidden dimension" of American racism. If you have ever wondered why blacks tend to live in bigger cities and urban centers this book explains how it wasn't an accident. It also talks about how racist states like Illinois and Indiana really where and shows that the South really wasn't the center of racism in our country.
Expand Quote(http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/SundownTowns.jpg)
An interesting look into a "hidden dimension" of American racism. If you have ever wondered why blacks tend to live in bigger cities and urban centers this book explains how it wasn't an accident. It also talks about how racist states like Illinois and Indiana really where and shows that the South really wasn't the center of racism in our country.[close]
Weren't you arguing that the South WAS the center of racism in the country just a few months ago?
have you ever read loewen's book "lies across america"? such a promising topic, sbut uch an intensely superficial book... hopefully his work has improved since then. you might like to follow up with robert fogelson's excellent book on restrictive convenants in american suburbs:
http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300124170
Expand Quote"Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon[close]
did you manage to finish it? is it worth the struggle?
like most things in my life, i've used the "drunk" factor into what is great or not. so...any hemingway, bukowski, palahnuik, kerouac, fitzgerald, burgess
Expand Quotelike most things in my life, i've used the "drunk" factor into what is great or not. so...any hemingway, bukowski, palahnuik, kerouac, fitzgerald, burgess[close]
finished on the road recently, and wasn't really into it. Didn't feel like it went anywhere; maybe I'm missing the point?
Slaughterhouse 5 and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave are both popular books but are really good.
Norwegian Wood by Murakami was really good. There are some excellent reads here.
gotta back you up on the time traveler's wife, that shit was good.Expand QuoteNorwegian Wood by Murakami was really good. There are some excellent reads here.[close]
i bought the book a while back but could never get past the 4th chapter, i should really go back and finish it....
the stranger by albert camus is short and amazing....
essays by Franz Kafka is good too....
The catcher in the rye is fun....
I would recommend the time travellers wife, even grown men cry when reading it... on a side note, its a great book to pass to girls to seduce them....
Expand QuoteSlaughterhouse 5 and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave are both popular books but are really good.[close]
My favoritest book ever
Vonnegut rules!
(http://www.recreatingtampa.com/readingtampa/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/vonnegutsmoking.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2577158482_18b4a6a5f5.jpg?v=0)
and as dude bro as this shit got it was still hilarious
(http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2008/04/beer-in-hell.jpg)
Agree on the Murakami. Reading Dance Dance Dance.
anything by Paul Theroux
currently reading camus. its good stuff.the stranger?
the stranger?Expand Quotecurrently reading camus. its good stuff.[close]
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_A0OjNbJK3p0/SbdKNDWPZnI/AAAAAAAAAJs/83s0jdTaCeQ/s400/atlas+shrugged.jpg)
Finally got around to reading Ayn Rand. I'm like 900 pages in and don't want it to end. She truly had a gift. This book is inspiring.
kinda cliche choices, but george orwell's 1984 and bukowski's women are both really good reads.
Expand Quote
kinda cliche choices, but george orwell's 1984 and bukowski's women are both really good reads.[close]
i love orwell's work. I've only read excerpts of bukowski's stuff, very strabge. Sadly im not as big of a reader as i wished, its hard to get me into books
Expand Quote
kinda cliche choices, but george orwell's 1984 and bukowski's women are both really good reads.[close]
i love orwell's work. I've only read excerpts of bukowski's stuff, very strabge. Sadly im not as big of a reader as i wished, its hard to get me into books
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PyWKNgTzEhY/SRXqbYFDLEI/AAAAAAAADN0/sqKmVtvp0GQ/s400/2666Cover.jpg)
Pretty good so far, though I dont really have much time to read for pleasure.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote
kinda cliche choices, but george orwell's 1984 and bukowski's women are both really good reads.[close]
i love orwell's work. I've only read excerpts of bukowski's stuff, very strabge. Sadly im not as big of a reader as i wished, its hard to get me into books[close]
read bukowski then. his books were made for that type
(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x0/x805.jpg)
this book has me fucked up in all kinds of ways. he breaks down how people are controlled by images and words, among other things
I didn't go through this whole thread yet, but here's a few I read this summer that I would recommend
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/adaptiveblue_img/books/best_of_h_p_lovecraft_bloodcurdling_tales_of_horror_macabre/hp_lovecraft)
(http://home.planet.nl/~brouw724/images/Huxley4.jpg)
Got this a few weeks ago, but haven't had as much time to read as I'd hoped.
I don't think anyone on here has mentioned Freakonomics yet? Great book changes the way you look at everything. I think I read it in a week. Also SuperFreakonomics comes out on the 20th
Basically looking at everyday things and breaking them down in a way an Economist would. Focusing only on the facts and numbers.
from Amazon
Some of his conclusions are less than earth-shattering. For example, African-American names (DeShawn, Latanya) don't influence African-American test performance. As a second example, Levitt compiled data regarding online dating websites and concluded that bald men and overweight women fared badly. Not rocket science.
However, Levitt livens up the book with some controversial discussions. He believes that the dramatic drop in crime in the 1990s can be traced to Roe v. Wade. He thinks that the children who would have committed crimes (due to being brought up by impoverished, teenage, single mothers) are simply not being born as often.
He also writes about the man who more or less singlehandedly contributed to the KKK's demise by infiltrating their group and leaking their secret passwords and rituals to the people behind the Superman comic book (Superman needed a new enemy).
Interestingly, he also discusses how overbearing parents don't contribute to a child's success. For example, having a lot of books in the house has a positive influence on children's test scores, but reading to a child a lot has no effect. Highly educated parents are also a plus, while limiting children's television time is irrelevant. Similarly, political candidates who have a lot of money to finance their campaigns are still out of luck if no one likes them.
In the chapter entitled "Why Drug Dealers Live With Their Mothers," Levitt explores the economics of drug dealing. An Indian, Harvard-affiliated scholar decided to get up close and personal with crack gangs and got some notebooks documenting their finances. Levitt concludes that drug dealers' empires are a lot like McDonald's or the publishing industry in Manhattan - only the people on the very top of the pyramid do well financially, while the burger flippers, editorial assistants, and low-level drug runners don't (indeed, some of them work for free, or in return for protection!)
The topics in Superfreakonomics which comes out on the 20th.
How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
How much good do car seats do?
What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
Did TV cause a rise in crime?
What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
Are people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness?
Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
Which adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor?
Expand QuoteBasically looking at everyday things and breaking them down in a way an Economist would. Focusing only on the facts and numbers.
from Amazon
Some of his conclusions are less than earth-shattering. For example, African-American names (DeShawn, Latanya) don't influence African-American test performance. As a second example, Levitt compiled data regarding online dating websites and concluded that bald men and overweight women fared badly. Not rocket science.
However, Levitt livens up the book with some controversial discussions. He believes that the dramatic drop in crime in the 1990s can be traced to Roe v. Wade. He thinks that the children who would have committed crimes (due to being brought up by impoverished, teenage, single mothers) are simply not being born as often.
He also writes about the man who more or less singlehandedly contributed to the KKK's demise by infiltrating their group and leaking their secret passwords and rituals to the people behind the Superman comic book (Superman needed a new enemy).
Interestingly, he also discusses how overbearing parents don't contribute to a child's success. For example, having a lot of books in the house has a positive influence on children's test scores, but reading to a child a lot has no effect. Highly educated parents are also a plus, while limiting children's television time is irrelevant. Similarly, political candidates who have a lot of money to finance their campaigns are still out of luck if no one likes them.
In the chapter entitled "Why Drug Dealers Live With Their Mothers," Levitt explores the economics of drug dealing. An Indian, Harvard-affiliated scholar decided to get up close and personal with crack gangs and got some notebooks documenting their finances. Levitt concludes that drug dealers' empires are a lot like McDonald's or the publishing industry in Manhattan - only the people on the very top of the pyramid do well financially, while the burger flippers, editorial assistants, and low-level drug runners don't (indeed, some of them work for free, or in return for protection!)
The topics in Superfreakonomics which comes out on the 20th.
How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
How much good do car seats do?
What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
Did TV cause a rise in crime?
What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
Are people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness?
Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
Which adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor?[close]
interesting thanks for the tip I'm gonna have to check this one out.
"He thinks that the children who would have committed crimes (due to being brought up by impoverished, teenage, single mothers) are simply not being born as often." I am more than willing to bet that's true. Thanks to planned parenthood there is now one black child aborted for every black child born. Margaret Sanger specifically wrote in her own publications that her reason for inventing birth control was to exterminate the black race. I shit you not.
Beware, however, downloading or owning any of these could very likely get you put on an "enemy combatant" list and if you push it too far you can be secretly imprisoned for three years with no contact from your lawyer or family, and in that time they are allowed to torture and execute you without a trial or due process of any sort...
1984 ~George Orwell
All books suck.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteBasically looking at everyday things and breaking them down in a way an Economist would. Focusing only on the facts and numbers.
from Amazon
Some of his conclusions are less than earth-shattering. For example, African-American names (DeShawn, Latanya) don't influence African-American test performance. As a second example, Levitt compiled data regarding online dating websites and concluded that bald men and overweight women fared badly. Not rocket science.
However, Levitt livens up the book with some controversial discussions. He believes that the dramatic drop in crime in the 1990s can be traced to Roe v. Wade. He thinks that the children who would have committed crimes (due to being brought up by impoverished, teenage, single mothers) are simply not being born as often.
He also writes about the man who more or less singlehandedly contributed to the KKK's demise by infiltrating their group and leaking their secret passwords and rituals to the people behind the Superman comic book (Superman needed a new enemy).
Interestingly, he also discusses how overbearing parents don't contribute to a child's success. For example, having a lot of books in the house has a positive influence on children's test scores, but reading to a child a lot has no effect. Highly educated parents are also a plus, while limiting children's television time is irrelevant. Similarly, political candidates who have a lot of money to finance their campaigns are still out of luck if no one likes them.
In the chapter entitled "Why Drug Dealers Live With Their Mothers," Levitt explores the economics of drug dealing. An Indian, Harvard-affiliated scholar decided to get up close and personal with crack gangs and got some notebooks documenting their finances. Levitt concludes that drug dealers' empires are a lot like McDonald's or the publishing industry in Manhattan - only the people on the very top of the pyramid do well financially, while the burger flippers, editorial assistants, and low-level drug runners don't (indeed, some of them work for free, or in return for protection!)
The topics in Superfreakonomics which comes out on the 20th.
How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
How much good do car seats do?
What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
Did TV cause a rise in crime?
What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
Are people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness?
Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
Which adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor?[close]
interesting thanks for the tip I'm gonna have to check this one out.
"He thinks that the children who would have committed crimes (due to being brought up by impoverished, teenage, single mothers) are simply not being born as often." I am more than willing to bet that's true. Thanks to planned parenthood there is now one black child aborted for every black child born. Margaret Sanger specifically wrote in her own publications that her reason for inventing birth control was to exterminate the black race. I shit you not.[close]
sanger didn't invent birth control. she started planned parenthood and brought the diaphragm to the states. russell marker invented the pill, one of the first "widespread" birth control products. i can't really make a comment on her eugenic policies, but she didn't want to exterminate blacks. and connected to your list of books that could get me placed in a secret prison, i own several of those and very few of them have anything absurdly anti-government or delves too much into anything conspiracy related. especially "welcome to the monkey house." and the republic, while somewhat eye-opening, is nowhere near a "must read." plato and his ideal/absolutism is one of the worst philosophies ever.
well, this is not the place to get into this debate nor do i really want to. but i do disagree that birth control was invented for eugenic purposes. just because one of its largest supporters was a eugenist, doesn't mean the invention itself existed for that reason.
About to start: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I heard an interview with her on NPR the other night and now I am curious to read her stuff.finished that a couple weeks ago, its prety good like a theocratic 1984 from a woman's perspective
well, this is not the place to get into this debate nor do i really want to. but i do disagree that birth control was invented for eugenic purposes. just because one of its largest supporters was a eugenist, doesn't mean the invention itself existed for that reason.
Expand Quotewell, this is not the place to get into this debate nor do i really want to. but i do disagree that birth control was invented for eugenic purposes. just because one of its largest supporters was a eugenist, doesn't mean the invention itself existed for that reason.[close]
yah think about it for a minute. if we didn't have birth control we would have even more oyrish and italians running around. they are white folk with big families. maybe we could have white washed the world without birth control
besides, i think the main point of that chapter of freakanomics was that legalizing abortions in the early 70's resulted in less crime during 90's
this thread's a goldmine, all i have to add is this:
(http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Inferno_the/dante_s_inferno_image__1_.jpg)
revisiting it again and felt it worthy.
Expand Quotewell, this is not the place to get into this debate nor do i really want to. but i do disagree that birth control was invented for eugenic purposes. just because one of its largest supporters was a eugenist, doesn't mean the invention itself existed for that reason.[close]
yah think about it for a minute. if we didn't have birth control we would have even more oyrish and italians running around. they are white folk with big families. maybe we could have white washed the world without birth control
besides, i think the main point of that chapter of freakanomics was that legalizing abortions in the early 70's resulted in less crime during 90's
(http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/images/american_freemasons_book_cover.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand Quotewell, this is not the place to get into this debate nor do i really want to. but i do disagree that birth control was invented for eugenic purposes. just because one of its largest supporters was a eugenist, doesn't mean the invention itself existed for that reason.[close]
yah think about it for a minute. if we didn't have birth control we would have even more oyrish and italians running around. they are white folk with big families. maybe we could have white washed the world without birth control
besides, i think the main point of that chapter of freakanomics was that legalizing abortions in the early 70's resulted in less crime during 90's[close]
Ironically that's exactly what Darwin said in Descent of Man: That the Irish were all evolutionary dead ends and that if the preferred breeding stock mixed with the common stock that history would, "March backwards into the swirling mists of the dawnless past."
Why do people revere as some great scientific leader a man who only ever earned a degree in THEOLOGY, anyway? Maybe it's because they've been indoctrinated into a religious belief without even realizing it.
And, as for reducing crime, maybe if we hadn't been herded into artificial civilizations (the "beehive" as Plato called it, and was consequently criticized by the brothers of his particular order of the Orphic mystery cults for revealing the true meaning of one of their symbols) via the dialectic process and then given a grotesque and barbaric mass culture we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. Last i checked the bushmen haev been the same for millenia and they don't kill, steal, or rape each other.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quotewell, this is not the place to get into this debate nor do i really want to. but i do disagree that birth control was invented for eugenic purposes. just because one of its largest supporters was a eugenist, doesn't mean the invention itself existed for that reason.[close]
yah think about it for a minute. if we didn't have birth control we would have even more oyrish and italians running around. they are white folk with big families. maybe we could have white washed the world without birth control
besides, i think the main point of that chapter of freakanomics was that legalizing abortions in the early 70's resulted in less crime during 90's[close]
Ironically that's exactly what Darwin said in Descent of Man: That the Irish were all evolutionary dead ends and that if the preferred breeding stock mixed with the common stock that history would, "March backwards into the swirling mists of the dawnless past."
Why do people revere as some great scientific leader a man who only ever earned a degree in THEOLOGY, anyway? Maybe it's because they've been indoctrinated into a religious belief without even realizing it.
And, as for reducing crime, maybe if we hadn't been herded into artificial civilizations (the "beehive" as Plato called it, and was consequently criticized by the brothers of his particular order of the Orphic mystery cults for revealing the true meaning of one of their symbols) via the dialectic process and then given a grotesque and barbaric mass culture we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. Last i checked the bushmen haev been the same for millenia and they don't kill, steal, or rape each other.[close]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAZ8xwXE5UY
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/3003039207_4ce9c15121.jpg)
ps. newspeak, stop posting, you're giving me a headache with all your mumbojumbo doodoo talk.
no not at all.
you're straight doodoo kid.
and don't quote someone who posted right above you, it's bad etiquette.
better yet, don't post at all.
and the republic, while somewhat eye-opening, is nowhere near a "must read." plato and his ideal/absolutism is one of the worst philosophies ever.
Reading this right now:I'm reading this right now too.
(http://madfear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/zombiesurvivalguide.jpg)
Its dope and might increase your chances of survival once the inevitable occurs.
Expand QuoteI didn't go through this whole thread yet, but here's a few I read this summer that I would recommend
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/adaptiveblue_img/books/best_of_h_p_lovecraft_bloodcurdling_tales_of_horror_macabre/hp_lovecraft)[close]
Just finished The Call of Cthulhu by Lovecraft. I wanna read more. Any recommendations on what to read next??
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/sk8er4life26/Debt_of_Honour.jpg)
started out slow, but I'm really getting into it now.
Expand QuoteI'm reading this right now too.Expand QuoteReading this right now:
(http://madfear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/zombiesurvivalguide.jpg)
Its dope and might increase your chances of survival once the inevitable occurs.[close][close]
My girlfriended texted me today saying zombies had arrived... there's a zombie walk going in Toronto. I saw a couple. At first I tripped out and starting planning our escape from the city to the Great White North...
Which brings me to my next point, it would fucking suck being in a zombie outbreak in Canada... due to our tight guns laws.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm reading this right now too.Expand QuoteReading this right now:
(http://madfear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/zombiesurvivalguide.jpg)
Its dope and might increase your chances of survival once the inevitable occurs.[close][close]
My girlfriended texted me today saying zombies had arrived... there's a zombie walk going in Toronto. I saw a couple. At first I tripped out and starting planning our escape from the city to the Great White North...
Which brings me to my next point, it would fucking suck being in a zombie outbreak in Canada... due to our tight guns laws.[close]
our gun laws aren't really too tight, it's pretty easy to get your liscence and ownership, you just have to do a weekend course or something.
On the other hand, finding automatics in the event of a zombie outbreak would be hard to come by around here.
Fortunately, I think if you had a decent shotgun for close range and a hunting rifle for mid to long rang you'd be just fine.
xmas? carbonite, i thought you were jewish. my world just ternt upside down.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/sk8er4life26/Debt_of_Honour.jpg)
started out slow, but I'm really getting into it now.
I've got these two lined up next:
(http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/backcover/files/2009/12/look-at-the.jpg)
Been working on this lately- it's a quick and interesting read, and you don't need to be too much of an urban planning nerd.
(http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/9781400066742.jpg)
labyrinth of solitude by octavio paz. im an annoying college student now so ive been reading all that nietzche stuff. society and its discontents by freud was good shit i read recently. real interesting stuff. im on break now so i finally have a chance to read some stuff i want to, lately its all been sartre/ camus. open to suggestions from anyone whos read the same sort.
just received a kindle reader as a gift; gonna look into Black Swan Green by David Mitchell.
Expand Quotejust received a kindle reader as a gift; gonna look into Black Swan Green by David Mitchell.[close]
let me know if those are worth the money... was seriously thinking about getting one but i still don't see how any other way to read would be better than a printed book.
bill simmons is the man, although he is a huge celtic homer, this is going to be an amazing 700 page read.
(http://image.dealoz.com/image/us/716/663716.jpg)
Expand Quotebill simmons is the man, although he is a huge celtic homer, this is going to be an amazing 700 page read.
(http://image.dealoz.com/image/us/716/663716.jpg)[close]
fuck--that's relatively new, right? gotta put that on the list...
now im reading this. its been good so far. i was reading too much burroughs recently so something educational is a good change
Expand Quote
now im reading this. its been good so far. i was reading too much burroughs recently so something educational is a good change[close]
William S. Burroughs? You can never read too much of him!
Just read this:
(http://mockduck.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/0876853904-01-lzzzzzzz.jpg)
Really good.
^ get "one quick move or i'm gone" on dvd from netflix. cool doc about kerouac after On The Road, when he was writing his next one, Big Sur.
just wrapped up Blood Meridian by cormac mccarthy. pretty incredible. no country for old men, the road, all the pretty horses and blood meridian all back to back over the last few months. interesting writing style that guy has.
Right now I am reading Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. It's about his traveling to various cities to perform music or do art installation and his observations on life and culture. It's interesting, but it's not like a book that I pick up and can't put down. it's slow going.
Expand QuoteRight now I am reading Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. It's about his traveling to various cities to perform music or do art installation and his observations on life and culture. It's interesting, but it's not like a book that I pick up and can't put down. it's slow going.[close]
that sounds kinda cool. i was reading the art and zen of motorcycle repair and it was that way. it was so slow going that i put it down for a little while and im now reading hells angels. next is the road.
Ripping through Factotum right now. First Bukowski I have read and I really do love it. I am peeling through the pages faster than anything I have read.I've yet to read the novel, but I have seen the film which some good, I think some HBO type channel released it.
mccarthy just seems like a cool guy. he signed like 250 copies of the road and boxed them up and has them locked away so when his kid turns 18, he can sell them and use the money to do whatever he wants with it. those are the only signed copies in existence.
Expand Quote^ get "one quick move or i'm gone" on dvd from netflix. cool doc about kerouac after On The Road, when he was writing his next one, Big Sur.
just wrapped up Blood Meridian by cormac mccarthy. pretty incredible. no country for old men, the road, all the pretty horses and blood meridian all back to back over the last few months. interesting writing style that guy has.[close]
I read Blood Meridian for the second time a few months ago. I've read All the Pretty Horses and the two books after it, Suttree, The Road and a few other books by him. I think some symbolism stuff probably goes over my head, but I really like Cormac McCarthy.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteRight now I am reading Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. It's about his traveling to various cities to perform music or do art installation and his observations on life and culture. It's interesting, but it's not like a book that I pick up and can't put down. it's slow going.[close]
that sounds kinda cool. i was reading the art and zen of motorcycle repair and it was that way. it was so slow going that i put it down for a little while and im now reading hells angels. next is the road.[close]
Hells Angels by Hunter S. Thompson? You should follow that up with Hells Angel by Sonny Barger, the Ex-President of the Angel's life story.
Ripping through Factotum right now. First Bukowski I have read and I really do love it. I am peeling through the pages faster than anything I have read.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteRight now I am reading Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. It's about his traveling to various cities to perform music or do art installation and his observations on life and culture. It's interesting, but it's not like a book that I pick up and can't put down. it's slow going.[close]
that sounds kinda cool. i was reading the art and zen of motorcycle repair and it was that way. it was so slow going that i put it down for a little while and im now reading hells angels. next is the road.[close]
Hells Angels by Hunter S. Thompson? You should follow that up with Hells Angel by Sonny Barger, the Ex-President of the Angel's life story.
chuck palahniuk is the best writer i've come across in a long time. In the past 2 weeks i've read Rant, Invisible Monsters, Survivor, and
Choke.
they'll blow your mind
Expand Quotechuck palahniuk is the best writer i've come across in a long time. In the past 2 weeks i've read Rant, Invisible Monsters, Survivor, and
Choke.
they'll blow your mind[close]
im reading pygmy right now. its hard to read because he writes it as a thirteen year old indoctrinated militant child but some of the views on midwest american life are funny. i would suggest haunted though, its my second favorite book by him (after fight club of course)
i'm looking for a couple good books for the rest of this winter, any recommendations on novels involving travel experiences, travels with charlie and open road look quite good but anything else?
(http://www.oneworldclassics.com/shop/images/books/159_large.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8lJ7NBEiyCQ/ShBoDDmjqgI/AAAAAAAABPk/9ObqZPdFrn4/s1600/Quiet%2BDays%2Bin%2BClichy%2B(1968,%2BFrance).jpg)
Travel experiences?
The ones that come to mind immediately are Kafka on the shore and On the Road.
Kafka on the shore is about this kid (who calls himself Kafka) running away from home and this old regular man who leaves home for the first time after speaking to some talking cats.
this old regular man who leaves home for the first time after speaking to some talking cats.
Expand QuoteTravel experiences?
The ones that come to mind immediately are Kafka on the shore and On the Road.
Kafka on the shore is about this kid (who calls himself Kafka) running away from home and this old regular man who leaves home for the first time after speaking to some talking cats.[close]
+1 on Kafka. Or any other Haruki Murakami book.
Currently reading The Road.
Currently reading The Road.
Expand QuoteCurrently reading The Road.[close]
finished this the other day and now half way through the zombie survival guide. up next is the rum diary.
(http://a7.vox.com/6a00cd978b1b4af9cc00d09e75b57fbe2b-500pi)
Reading this for school. It's not bad, but I definitely wouldn't pick it up for pleasure reading.
It's definitely interesting, but it's pretty hard to take in. I have to reread some sections more than once just to get the gist of what he's saying.
Expand QuoteTravel experiences?
The ones that come to mind immediately are Kafka on the shore and On the Road.
Kafka on the shore is about this kid (who calls himself Kafka) running away from home and this old regular man who leaves home for the first time after speaking to some talking cats.[close]
+1 on Kafka. Or any other Haruki Murakami book.
mens health ;D, catcher in the rye, are you my mother?, just watch movies(way more interesting,saves alot of time,)haha
Finally reading The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. somehow it is even better than I was brought to believe.
Expand QuoteFinally reading The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. somehow it is even better than I was brought to believe.[close]
Word. Such a good book.
Expand Quote(http://a7.vox.com/6a00cd978b1b4af9cc00d09e75b57fbe2b-500pi)
Reading this for school. It's not bad, but I definitely wouldn't pick it up for pleasure reading.[close]
Weird, I was JUST checking this out at the bookstore the other day. Why wouldn't you recommend it for pleasure reading?
I just finished The Dragons of Eden a week ago and I'm onto Cosmos now. I love Carl Sagan's style of writing. He really "paints a picture" in your mind with how descriptive he is. I'm really interested in the whole space exploration, evolution, astronomy stuff recently so if anyone has any recommendations let me know! Either way, I'm gonna read Pale Blue Dot next since it's the sequel to Cosmos. Can't wait!
(http://i30.tinypic.com/2pobitw.jpg)
I've been looking at Finnegans Wake for the past couple days, it is hard to read.
Give this a read, there's a story based just outside of the town I live in. It concerns a former jockey turned amateur subbuteo player.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteTravel experiences?
The ones that come to mind immediately are Kafka on the shore and On the Road.
Kafka on the shore is about this kid (who calls himself Kafka) running away from home and this old regular man who leaves home for the first time after speaking to some talking cats.[close]
+1 on Kafka. Or any other Haruki Murakami book.[close]
Haven't read Kafka on the Shore but I really liked Murakami's short stories. When I read 'A Wild Sheep Chase', I felt the style was a bit too much for a full length novel. But in small doses I love him.
Because his short story collections, I now decided to try this:
(http://server40136.uk2net.com/~wpower/images/product_images/9780099435013.jpg)
Expand QuoteFinally reading The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. somehow it is even better than I was brought to believe.[close]
Word. Such a good book.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote[img]http://a7.vox.com/6a00cd978b1b4af9cc00d09e75b57fbe2b-500pi
Reading this for school. It's not bad, but I definitely wouldn't pick it up for pleasure reading.[close]
Weird, I was JUST checking this out at the bookstore the other day. Why wouldn't you recommend it for pleasure reading?
I just finished The Dragons of Eden a week ago and I'm onto Cosmos now. I love Carl Sagan's style of writing. He really "paints a picture" in your mind with how descriptive he is. I'm really interested in the whole space exploration, evolution, astronomy stuff recently so if anyone has any recommendations let me know! Either way, I'm gonna read Pale Blue Dot next since it's the sequel to Cosmos. Can't wait!
[img]http://i30.tinypic.com/2pobitw.jpg[close]
if your into evolution check out the ancestor's tale by dawkins. it goes through all the steps of evolution starting from humans and going all the way back to microbes. it's big though and takes some dedication but it will give you a complete picture
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteFinally reading The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. somehow it is even better than I was brought to believe.[close]
Word. Such a good book.[close]
I bought this a few years ago after seeing you mention it on here and now I always try and recommend it to as many people as possible. Beautiful imagery and probably the funniest piece of Russian literature I've read.
Give this a read, there's a story based just outside of the town I live in. It concerns a former jockey turned amateur subbuteo player.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteTravel experiences?
The ones that come to mind immediately are Kafka on the shore and On the Road.
Kafka on the shore is about this kid (who calls himself Kafka) running away from home and this old regular man who leaves home for the first time after speaking to some talking cats.[close]
+1 on Kafka. Or any other Haruki Murakami book.[close]
Haven't read Kafka on the Shore but I really liked Murakami's short stories. When I read 'A Wild Sheep Chase', I felt the style was a bit too much for a full length novel. But in small doses I love him.
Because his short story collections, I now decided to try this:
(http://server40136.uk2net.com/~wpower/images/product_images/9780099435013.jpg)[close]
(http://server40136.uk2net.com/~wpower/images/product_images/9780099483595.jpg)
brett easton ellis is awesome, youll dig his shit if you like chuck palahniuk. david sedaris is pretty similar.
RZA - pretty good but but a lot of crap in there as well
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MOkuifufI_o/SusNkKKvyCI/AAAAAAAAAM4/P4-nBUHSnOM/s320/tao-of-wu_final-570x907.jpg)
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n29/n147300.jpg)
fucking recommended
(http://manybooks.net/covers/sachermaetext04vnsfr10.jpg)
Just got this from the school.
<img src="http://theatlassociety.org/gifs/anthem-audio.jpg">
I heard that it's similar to 1984.
Re-reading the Grapes of Wrath. People really lose sight of how good this book is because of its length and its attention to detail.
stoked, got this for $32that's nice! i've read burmese days and coming up for air besides the obvious 1984 and they are all really really good. one of my favorite authors for sure.
(http://www.housmans.com/images/Orwell%20Complete.jpg)
its got animal farm, burmese days, a clergyman's daughter, coming up for air, keep the aspidistra flying and nineteen eighty-four
I've wanted to read burmese days for a while now, and have often times just about got it.that's nice! i've read burmese days and coming up for air besides the obvious 1984 and they are all really really good. one of my favorite authors for sure.Expand Quotestoked, got this for $32
(http://www.housmans.com/images/Orwell%20Complete.jpg)
its got animal farm, burmese days, a clergyman's daughter, coming up for air, keep the aspidistra flying and nineteen eighty-four[close]
^
catch-22
takes a while to get use to the non-chronological format, but i loved it
Started this last week.I've been reading this all week too, it's going by a lot quicker than I remembered it last time but it's just as good.
(http://students.cup.edu/rus2028/catcher.jpg)
(http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/everything_is_illuminated.large.jpg)
a good read
Jonathan Safran Foer amazing
http://www.amazon.com/Extremely-Loud-Incredibly-Close-Novel/dp/0618711651/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266336095&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Extremely-Loud-Incredibly-Close-Novel/dp/0618711651/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266336095&sr=1-1)
Blood Meridean is one of my favorite books ever written.I heard there's a tree full of dead babies. My professor said it's one of the most brutal books out.
This was just recommended to me.
(http://a5.vox.com/6a00bf76cd5bbc58ce00e39899a9950003-500pi)
Should I go for it?
This was just recommended to me.Yes.
(http://a5.vox.com/6a00bf76cd5bbc58ce00e39899a9950003-500pi)
Should I go for it?
I heard there's a tree full of dead babies. My professor said it's one of the most brutal books out.Expand QuoteBlood Meridean is one of my favorite books ever written.[close]
Cormac McCarthy is so brutal in the best possible way. I loved No Country for Old Men.Expand QuoteI heard there's a tree full of dead babies. My professor said it's one of the most brutal books out.Expand QuoteBlood Meridean is one of my favorite books ever written.[close][close]
think im gettin this next
i loved the movie but i know that really doesnt mean anything when it comes to the book, but im definitely gonna check out McCarthy's work.Cormac McCarthy is so brutal in the best possible way. I loved No Country for Old Men.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI heard there's a tree full of dead babies. My professor said it's one of the most brutal books out.Expand QuoteBlood Meridean is one of my favorite books ever written.[close][close]
think im gettin this next[close]
the doors of perceptionthe doors of perception is great, i've never read brave new world but the rest of huxleys literature is outstanding
metamorphosis
the doors of perception is great, i've never read brave new world but the rest of huxleys literature is outstandingExpand Quotethe doors of perception
metamorphosis[close]
this is the truth. huxley has not written single bad book. brave new world is great but not his best in my opinion. i read doors of perception & heaven and hell last summer and they blew my fucking mind. i think they might have actually changed the way i think. they also make you think about huxleys novels differently and for me opened a lot of new interesting ideas in them.the doors of perception is great, i've never read brave new world but the rest of huxleys literature is outstandingExpand Quotethe doors of perception
metamorphosis[close]
i'm still waiting to read heaven and hell. one of the great aspects of huxley's writing is that each sentence is meaningful and thought provoking. also he was very open minded for a time period full of taboosthis is the truth. huxley has not written single bad book. brave new world is great but not his best in my opinion. i read doors of perception & heaven and hell last summer and they blew my fucking mind. i think they might have actually changed the way i think. they also make you think about huxleys novels differently and for me opened a lot of new interesting ideas in them.Expand Quotethe doors of perception is great, i've never read brave new world but the rest of huxleys literature is outstandingExpand Quotethe doors of perception
metamorphosis[close][close]
(http://a5.vox.com/6a00bf76cd5bbc58ce00e39899a9950003-500pi)
this is the truth. huxley has not written single bad book. brave new world is great but not his best in my opinion. i read doors of perception & heaven and hell last summer and they blew my fucking mind. i think they might have actually changed the way i think. they also make you think about huxleys novels differently and for me opened a lot of new interesting ideas in them.
and this
(http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/thisweekineducation/upload/2007/10/teacher_suspended_for_graphic/017890.jpg)
Pretty much set for spring! Gotta figure out where to start, though.
Expand Quoteand this
(http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/thisweekineducation/upload/2007/10/teacher_suspended_for_graphic/017890.jpg)
Pretty much set for spring! Gotta figure out where to start, though.[close]
Child of God is so fucked up. Necro and pedaphilia......pretty enjoyable in a rather twisted way.
Expand Quoteand this
(http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/thisweekineducation/upload/2007/10/teacher_suspended_for_graphic/017890.jpg)
Pretty much set for spring! Gotta figure out where to start, though.[close]
Child of God is so fucked up. Necro and pedaphilia......pretty enjoyable in a rather twisted way.
I'm reading the second in the Border Trilogy right now.
"Naked Lunch" is so fucking good though.So is Junky and The Soft Machine.
currently reading this... awesomeness!!!my girlfriend is reading this, stoked to read it next
(http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/electric-kool-aid-acid-test.jpg)
my girlfriend is reading this, stoked to read it nextExpand Quotecurrently reading this... awesomeness!!!
(http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/electric-kool-aid-acid-test.jpg)[close]
The Book of Negroes(in the US it was released as Someone Knows My Name). It's really, really good.
currently reading this... awesomeness!!!
(http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/electric-kool-aid-acid-test.jpg)
currently reading this... awesomeness!!!'from bauhaus to our house' is next on my recreational reading list
(http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/electric-kool-aid-acid-test.jpg)
'from bauhaus to our house' is next on my recreational reading listBauhaus is one of my favourite movements, that should be a pretty excellent read.
slaughterhouse fivejust finnished this, on to the next one
best book i've read in quite some time:
(http://anatomylesson.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/siddhartha-book-cover.jpg)
Fuck yes! The first two are the definitive books of my late pre-teen years. Almost every diary entry is a gem, and so many unforgettable characters.
I've only read True Confessions* and watched the Cappucino Years but those first two books were seriously special and captured the 80's for me along with being some of the funniest I've ever read.
*The Margaret Thatcher childhood diary excerpts are hilarious as well...
^ a friend of mine is reading eating animals right now and really likes it a lot.shes gonna give it to me after shes done and also let me borrow this...i actually like everything is illuminated a bit more, but all his work is super good!!!
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n28/n142353.jpg)
maybe im not sophisticated or maybe i gave up too early on, but as i read into everything is illuminated i found it so hard to follow and so uninteresting i just put it away...it is kinda hard to read, definitely a book you have to read a few times to grasp whats going on. I really like Foer's work tho. on a side note as im reading "eating animals" i get a call from the local grocery store about the steak taquitos i just ate have been recalled because they may contain e coli... fucking great!!!
anyway currently hocus pocus
Expand Quote(http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/everything_is_illuminated.large.jpg)
a good read
Jonathan Sanfran Foer amazing
(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss8/ghostlytoast/extremelyloud.png)
here a youtube link for anybody that hasnt seen the movie
http://www.youtube.com/user/Juliassnowflake#p/u/12/onNrD1SNQEs (http://www.youtube.com/user/Juliassnowflake#p/u/12/onNrD1SNQEs)[close]
finished catch 22 last night, what a great fucking book. wasn't too stoked on the first 50-100 pages, feeling that it was getting redundant, but once i got past the hump... damn, it was good. that book tells the story of all humanity.
immediately following the conclusion of 22, i tore through WS Burroughs Queer, which wasn't really a great read, but i was through in less than 2 hours.
Post Office by Bukowski is a good read.
I also finally finished the Lord of the Rings books last week and i was kind of sad to see them go, i enjoyed company from middle earth quite a bit...
(http://www.theviennawoodskiller.co.uk/images/vienna-woods-killer_big.jpg)
It's about this guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Unterweger).
it is kinda hard to read, definitely a book you have to read a few times to grasp whats going on. I really like Foer's work tho. on a side note as im reading "eating animals" i get a call from the local grocery store about the steak taquitos i just ate have been recalled because they may contain e coli... fucking great!!!Expand Quotemaybe im not sophisticated or maybe i gave up too early on, but as i read into everything is illuminated i found it so hard to follow and so uninteresting i just put it away...
anyway currently hocus pocus[close]
^haha damn, The mental picture I got from that was FUCKED.Thing is, that's not even the worst of it. Those infants got away with their scalps it sounds like.
(http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs31/f/2008/212/a/2/A_Clockwork_Orange_book_design_by_throatwolf.jpg)
(http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0393314413.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
Started this today, seen the movie, but never read the book.book is better, have fun.
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n691.jpg)
(http://thewaterbreak.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/hells-angels1.jpg)I liked this book alot, it was extremely insightful on the Hell's Angels and their mentality, as well as you giving a look a Thompson before he became the Hunter Thompson everyone knows and loves. I just finished Fear and loathing in Las Vegas and am moving onto Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, I hope to get through most of his major works before 2010 is over.
I liked this book alot, it was extremely insightful on the Hell's Angels and their mentality, as well as you giving a look a Thompson before he became the Hunter Thompson everyone knows and loves. I just finished Fear and loathing in Las Vegas and am moving onto Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, I hope to get through most of his major works before 2010 is over.Expand Quote(http://thewaterbreak.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/hells-angels1.jpg)[close]
Im reading The Tao of the Wu written by the RZA right now so far its an excellent book definitely recommended to any Wu fan
Expand QuoteIm reading The Tao of the Wu written by the RZA right now so far its an excellent book definitely recommended to any Wu fan[close]
have you read the wu manual? anything by rza should be good, gonna check these fine american classics out fosho
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/breakfast-of-champions-1.gif)eerie how much we have in common(among literacy). pretty stoked on the bob frissel book, dont know of anyone else who reads his shit.
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/158322713X01_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/lg86383-3on-the-road-jack-keroua-1.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/Book_cover_1984.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/158322536601lzzzzzzz.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/95-4570.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/087685086701LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/ERoom_lg.gif)
(the fuck up)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/067102763801_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/188331901301LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
anything by any of these authors will absolutely never disappoint.
eerie how much we have in common(among literacy). pretty stoked on the bob frissel book, dont know of anyone else who reads his shit.Expand Quote(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/breakfast-of-champions-1.gif)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/158322713X01_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/lg86383-3on-the-road-jack-keroua-1.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/Book_cover_1984.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/158322536601lzzzzzzz.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/95-4570.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/087685086701LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/ERoom_lg.gif)
(the fuck up)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/067102763801_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/188331901301LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
anything by any of these authors will absolutely never disappoint.[close]
like 3 days a week after skating i used to go to barnes&nobles and steal a book or two. this went on for about a year until i took 'johnny got his gun'' and the alarm went off. i got away but not before their suspicions about me were sealed.
Expand Quoteeerie how much we have in common(among literacy). pretty stoked on the bob frissel book, dont know of anyone else who reads his shit.Expand Quote(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/breakfast-of-champions-1.gif)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/158322713X01_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/lg86383-3on-the-road-jack-keroua-1.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/Book_cover_1984.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/158322536601lzzzzzzz.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/95-4570.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/087685086701LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/ERoom_lg.gif)
(the fuck up)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/067102763801_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/PedroTheBear/188331901301LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
anything by any of these authors will absolutely never disappoint.[close]
like 3 days a week after skating i used to go to barnes&nobles and steal a book or two. this went on for about a year until i took 'johnny got his gun'' and the alarm went off. i got away but not before their suspicions about me were sealed.[close]
You could go to the library. Unless, you live in Texas and books is outlawed.
Picked this up today.
(http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/2007/images/cover-TheRoad-blaze.jpg)
(http://everseradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Ask%20the%20Dust.jpg)fuck yeah, really great book.
fuck yeah, really great book.Expand Quote(http://everseradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Ask%20the%20Dust.jpg)[close]
i've been reading these two
(http://www.musowls.org/library/images/Brave-New-World-Book.jpg)
(http://www.tantor.com/BookImage/1050_HelmetPillow_D.jpg)
(http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/61joBugcgxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Evasion_cover.jpg)
(http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/covers/all/7/8/9780141188287H.jpg)
I been wanting to read this for a pretty long time. Any thoughts so far?
(http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/9/9780876856499.jpg)
(http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/9/9780876856499.jpg)
Expand Quote
(http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/covers/all/7/8/9780141188287H.jpg)
I been wanting to read this for a pretty long time. Any thoughts so far?[close]
Haven't gotten to it yet. My brother was stoked on it though.
^^^ Just talked about "The Metamorphosis" in my Nabokov class today. I love Vonnegut, but a word of warning for "Player Piano"-it's not like most of his other works and it'll take a little longer to get through than his other stuff.
tom Wolfe's fiction is awful. I am Charlotte Simmons was one of the worst books I have ever read.I disagree.
Those seem like the kind of books I wouldn't read before bed.
Got this yesterday and can't put it down, so good:
(http://www.illiterarty.com/files/www.illiterarty.com/img/254/invisible_monsters.jpg)
Just picked these up, don't know how they'll turn out.
(http://www.happyhorror.com/pix/666_Jay_Anson_Book_Novel_Amityville_Horror.jpg)
(http://www.clivebarker.info/weaveush2.JPG)
I disagree.Expand Quotetom Wolfe's fiction is awful. I am Charlotte Simmons was one of the worst books I have ever read.[close]
I Am Charlotte Simmons is a great book.
A Man In Full and The Bonfire Of The Vanities are also great works of fiction by Tom Wolfe.
The only non-fiction of his that I have read is The Right Stuff and it was not bad.
Expand QuoteI just ordered a book called "A Long Slow Screw" by Eugene Robinson of the band Oxbow. apparently it is some noir style/Mickey Spillane ultraviolent type book. I am hoping something similar to Sin City and the movie China Town.[close]
Well, someone just got a gun jammed up their asshole and the trigger pulled. These dudes don't mess around.
second that. i am charlotte simmons was horrible. it read like an old man's imitation of young people, which is exactly was it was.Expand QuoteI disagree.Expand Quotetom Wolfe's fiction is awful. I am Charlotte Simmons was one of the worst books I have ever read.[close]
I Am Charlotte Simmons is a great book.
A Man In Full and The Bonfire Of The Vanities are also great works of fiction by Tom Wolfe.
The only non-fiction of his that I have read is The Right Stuff and it was not bad.[close]
I don't care how long an old man hangs out at chapel hill, his imitations of slang are always going to be embarrassing. plus having grown up in a small mountain town in nc he has no idea how to write a character from that region. plus the man himself is awful
has anyone read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace? a friend of mine who's opinion i value recommended it to me but it looks really long (1000+ pages) so i want to know if i should put the time into it
Is Gravity's Rainbow really that good? I think I got a couple hundred pages in last summer and liked it alot but am kind of dreading going back to it and being completely lost but also don't really want to start all over.
Long and good books are crazy. I think Kesey's Sometimes A Great Notion was the longest I've finished recently, maybe ever. Highly recommended. Possibly a must read for any American.
Has anyone read Proust?
(http://benpeterson.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/all-the-presidents-men.jpg)
Might start reading this soon, has anyone read it? I'm deciding between this or another Easton-Ellis novel.
I first read this book over 25 years ago, and it stunned me. Only a fool or the bitterest cynic could come away from this book unchanged. Whether or not you agree with all or even some of its premises and conclusions, Science and Sanity will make you keenly aware of language, psychology, and communication in all aspects of your life. You will realize how little most people know or understand about the deep and complex role language plays at home and on the world stage. This book will give you a different platform to stand on. Yes, it is a difficult book to read, but like another difficult book, Samuel Hahnemann's timeless Organon of the Medical Art, it rewards the patient and thoughtful reader in countless subtle ways over the course of time. I'd rate this book in my top ten books of a lifetime spent reading everything under the sun.
just read
(http://img.infibeam.com/img/dab6af1f/991/3/9780060533991.jpg)
both of them are good (although 13 3/4 maybe for teens, whatever, i want to read the whole series and i might as well start at the beginning)
(http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/less_than_zero.large.jpg)
Got it as a birthday gift the other day and I have about 50 pages left, it's good.
I'd read Rules of Attraction, it's probably my favorite thing I've read from him so far. Isn't there a sequel to Less Than Zero coming out this month?Expand Quote(http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/less_than_zero.large.jpg)
Got it as a birthday gift the other day and I have about 50 pages left, it's good.[close]
Pretty decent book. Its strange how some of the interactions in American Psycho between Patrick Bateman, his mom, and his main female are almost verbatim from Clay's conversations in Less Than Zero. American Psycho is in definitely in my top 5 books so far. Don't know if i should read his other books?? ATM? Kilgore?
just read
(http://designrelated.tv/inspiration/vonnegut_redesign/vonnegut_mother_night_buckley.jpg)
Went to a Tanger Outlet at North Myrtle Beach with my dad Saturday morning, they have a outlet book store, got these.I won this book from them Emerica site last year, has a bunch of autographs from legends and shit.
4 Bucks:
(http://www.vaporsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/stalefish-cover2.jpg)
(http://endoftheblock.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/9780876852637.jpg)I second that emotion
Cat's Cradle is one of my favorites. I also really liked Timequake, but you should read a bit more of his stuff before that one. It has a lot of tie ins to his other books.Expand Quotejust read
(http://designrelated.tv/inspiration/vonnegut_redesign/vonnegut_mother_night_buckley.jpg)[close]
woah...first time in this thread, about to post this very book and it's on this page...small world. i'm just getting into vonnegut, and this is my favorite so far. i read slapstick right before, and sirens years back in school. just started jailbird...seems like a slower read, but good so far nonetheless.
i need some advice on what (vonnegut) to read next, and i don't like reading reviews because they ruin books for me. anybody have any suggestions?
Cat's Cradle is one of my favorites. I also really liked Timequake, but you should read a bit more of his stuff before that one. It has a lot of tie ins to his other books.Expand QuoteExpand Quotejust read
(http://designrelated.tv/inspiration/vonnegut_redesign/vonnegut_mother_night_buckley.jpg)[close]
woah...first time in this thread, about to post this very book and it's on this page...small world. i'm just getting into vonnegut, and this is my favorite so far. i read slapstick right before, and sirens years back in school. just started jailbird...seems like a slower read, but good so far nonetheless.
i need some advice on what (vonnegut) to read next, and i don't like reading reviews because they ruin books for me. anybody have any suggestions?[close]
(http://rjdent.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/portrait_cover_2.jpg)
3/4 of the way through this. Quite liking Joyce, thinking about reading Ulysses next
If you liked "Football Factory" then you should check out this one:
(http://hommestar.thepop.com/files/2009/10/among-the-thugs.jpg)
timequake is easily my least favorite vonnegut book i've read. couple great quotes but overall, kind of whatever.
Expand Quotetimequake is easily my least favorite vonnegut book i've read. couple great quotes but overall, kind of whatever.[close]
i mean if you've read his other stuff there are a lot of repeated stories in timequake, but i laughed just as much as i laughed the first time i read them in the other books. he got to be pretty bitter by the time he wrote timequake, but he makes his bitterness funny. it's a quality i can appreciate in vonnegut and nobody else in the world.
Expand QuoteExpand Quotetimequake is easily my least favorite vonnegut book i've read. couple great quotes but overall, kind of whatever.[close]
i mean if you've read his other stuff there are a lot of repeated stories in timequake, but i laughed just as much as i laughed the first time i read them in the other books. he got to be pretty bitter by the time he wrote timequake, but he makes his bitterness funny. it's a quality i can appreciate in vonnegut and nobody else in the world.[close]
It's mainly because you have to build more of a relationship with Kilgore Trout to understand how monumental and important Timequake's ending is for him.
Expand QuoteExpand Quotetimequake is easily my least favorite vonnegut book i've read. couple great quotes but overall, kind of whatever.[close]
i mean if you've read his other stuff there are a lot of repeated stories in timequake, but i laughed just as much as i laughed the first time i read them in the other books. he got to be pretty bitter by the time he wrote timequake, but he makes his bitterness funny. it's a quality i can appreciate in vonnegut and nobody else in the world.[close]
It's mainly because you have to build more of a relationship with Kilgore Trout to understand how monumental and important Timequake's ending is for him.
third. reading women right now. fucking loving it so far.I second that emotionExpand Quote(http://endoftheblock.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/9780876852637.jpg)[close]
(http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/signet-books/664-1.jpg)
third. reading women right now. fucking loving it so far.Expand QuoteI second that emotionExpand Quote(http://endoftheblock.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/9780876852637.jpg)[close][close]
Expand QuoteIf you liked "Football Factory" then you should check out this one:
(http://hommestar.thepop.com/files/2009/10/among-the-thugs.jpg)[close]
Salman Agah still getting covers.
bout to start thisGoing to read this after I finish Lunar Park.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GFeMYOcnQuM/S7A2XQY6QHI/AAAAAAAAAr4/0Hjs_CWs2EU/s1600/BEE+Imperial+Bedrooms.jpg)
bout to start this
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GFeMYOcnQuM/S7A2XQY6QHI/AAAAAAAAAr4/0Hjs_CWs2EU/s1600/BEE+Imperial+Bedrooms.jpg)
And I found this in with my other books a while back and read it in an afternoon. A girlfriend made me borrow it. We broke up and I never read it (until now) or returned it. Thanks for the book, bitch!
(http://emeraldhillsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/blink.jpg)
and i'm halfway done with
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS9isyLnrqSIbk4LgZJCWhs9M_JOjLKLlRStx8Ob81J_D_1FM4&t=1&usg=__vi4ItbZ2zdY2tNJIIXZEZAa-IYM=)
not sure yet why people hate ms. rand so much.... i'm really enjoying it.
reading ''pattern recognition'', william gibson
basically about this chick researching these weird videos on the net while meanwhile "coolhunting" for this corporation in order to come up w/ the next big thing. yeah i realize that doesnt make you run out of your house for a copy, but gibson is a fucking legend in the sci-fi universe and has managed to make the modern world seem utterly futuristic. he has a couple pages on the alternate realty of the internet, like forums, and talks all sorts of cool shit about modern phenomenons like hipsters and corporate culture being embedded into our brains such that when we see a brand we dont see the image, we see everything it stands for. i still realize this doesnt sound exciting at all but like i said, will gibson is a fucking master for sci-fi.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteIf you liked "Football Factory" then you should check out this one:
(http://hommestar.thepop.com/files/2009/10/among-the-thugs.jpg)[close]
Salman Agah still getting covers.[close]
Great book. I recently read one about the firm from West Ham, but it was shite.
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/521633988_7b60903a5a_o.jpg)just picked this up, can't wait to read. gotta finish 'in cold blood' first.
This is one of those books that I was supposed to read in high school and maybe got through 2 chapters cause I thought it was boring. I recently read it again and it's a brutal and consuming tale. Also, a historically significant piece, mainly for the way it exposed how grotesque and unhealthy the conditions were in the meat packing industry during the turn of the century.
Also, vivid descriptions of industrial Chicago, life for new immigrants during this time, political corruption, and the terrible conditions that manual laborers had to face every day.
" Boris Yeltsin looked at Amalfitano with curiosity, as if it were Amalfitano who hadExpand Quote(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PyWKNgTzEhY/SRXqbYFDLEI/AAAAAAAADN0/sqKmVtvp0GQ/s400/2666Cover.jpg)
Pretty good so far, though I dont really have much time to read for pleasure.[close]
read this over the summer. so good. the book of amilfitano is my favorite. the crazy thing is that this book gets so much hype for covering the murders in juarez yet when you get to the part about the murders it's basically a laundry list and feels very clinical. awesome read.
just picked this up, can't wait to read. gotta finish 'in cold blood' first.Expand Quote(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/521633988_7b60903a5a_o.jpg)
This is one of those books that I was supposed to read in high school and maybe got through 2 chapters cause I thought it was boring. I recently read it again and it's a brutal and consuming tale. Also, a historically significant piece, mainly for the way it exposed how grotesque and unhealthy the conditions were in the meat packing industry during the turn of the century.
Also, vivid descriptions of industrial Chicago, life for new immigrants during this time, political corruption, and the terrible conditions that manual laborers had to face every day.[close]
(http://www.booksmustread.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/wuthering-heights.jpg)
I have to read this book for AP Lang, not digging it.
The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Absolute masterpiece.
Remains of the Day Get your dignity on.i've had my eye on this for months now, i hover over it every time i enter a bookstore. worth it?
Dark, fucked, quick read.
I highly recommend this.
(http://kimbofo.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451bcff69e20120a52f56e7970c-300wi)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzrHevR1Hjs
Expand Quotejust picked this up, can't wait to read. gotta finish 'in cold blood' first.Expand Quote(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/521633988_7b60903a5a_o.jpg)
This is one of those books that I was supposed to read in high school and maybe got through 2 chapters cause I thought it was boring. I recently read it again and it's a brutal and consuming tale. Also, a historically significant piece, mainly for the way it exposed how grotesque and unhealthy the conditions were in the meat packing industry during the turn of the century.
Also, vivid descriptions of industrial Chicago, life for new immigrants during this time, political corruption, and the terrible conditions that manual laborers had to face every day.[close][close]
If I were to judge a book by it's cover, I'd say that one looks pretty righteous. Is that a Charles Burns design?
(http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kyup1yzUlo1qawa4g.jpg)
the sheer size of it (and the introduction) makes it a bit daunting, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about it. Can't wait.
(http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o63/shoelessl13/n58644.jpg)Good ole Nicky, best dick in Los Angeles.
first bukowski i've read in a while. everything else just seems stupid and contrived compared to bukowski. for once the hipsters are onto something. sometimes shit's so good even the kooks get it right.
I have to read "The Fountainhead" for AP language, anybody read it?
I have to read "The Fountainhead" for AP language, anybody read it?ayn rand doesn't understand reality.
(http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o63/shoelessl13/Kitchen-Confidential-Bourdain-Anthony-9780060899226.jpg)
read this in like 2 days. cooking bomb shit is tight. one of the few joys in life.
(http://www.sixpack.fr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/daniel_clowes_wilson-499x649.jpg)
Just finished
(http://www.sixpack.fr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/daniel_clowes_wilson-499x649.jpg)
Just finished
Women by Bukowski and Tropic of Cancer by Miller
It sure is, i am on my 4th copy now, i always keeps giving em away.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteWomen by Bukowski and Tropic of Cancer by Miller[close]
I lent my copy of Women to my friend and he went and lost it :([close]
That is a damn shame. that book is excellent.
Women by Bukowski and Tropic of Cancer by Millerthis book gave me countless boners.
Whoa dude, you've never read Hammett? That's like a rite of passage for all humans with a Y-chromosome. If you like slow talking, chain smoking and hard drinking tough guys, dangerous dames and light gun play, this is it. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler are the godfathers of this kind of detective fiction. Granted, I've read more of Chandler's stuff than Hammett's.Expand Quote(http://robertarood.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/red-harvest.jpg)
I plan on reading all of Dashiell Hammet's novels sequentially.[close]
tell me more! this looks awesome!
(http://lagrandelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/the-catcher-in-the-rye-cover.jpg)
I'm about 2/3's of the way thru it and I'm enjoying it so far. I like that the main character is a smartass, because he reminds me a lot of myself.
I recently read Factotum and by the end was bored. I really like Ham on Rye. Factotum was just more of the same. Then, I read Junkie by William Burroughs which was even worse. What a dull ass dude.ham on rye is by far his best novel. i liked factotum but it's a lot like ham on rye. i read women, hollywood, and post office in between, so by the time i got to factotum i wanted more ham on ryeness. try post office. william burroughs is a weirdo.
don't read the soft machine. it's the biggest waste of time
burroughs is the fucking man.
Just reached Part II of this. Cormac McCarthy writes so damn good.WIN
(http://dentonlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/all-the-pretty.jpg)
The Stranger by Albert CamusI was stoked to find this in my Library's collection, I'll check it out when I'm done with these other two books.
(http://lololit.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/the-stranger.jpg)
Short read. Almost a perfect book.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AZ7OJznlHow/S_PwId5KhvI/AAAAAAAAANc/Zx2GgWuPMlg/s1600/The%2BWisdom%2Bof%2Binsecurity.jpg)
READ THIS BOOK.
Not a lame self help book.
READ THIS BOOK.
His philosophy is spot on. Sorts through existential confusion in a profound and eloquent manner.
Read this book... Can't stress it enough.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167301334l/20941.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IkuSwW4mbrA/TDTju4BFtZI/AAAAAAAABbk/RLE7RWSn8Ns/s1600/Gravity.Rainbow.jpg)
Expand Quote
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167301334l/20941.jpg)[close]
Woah, that's a lot of Harold Bloom.
The Border TrilogyThis is next for me, just finished The Road and Blood Meridian.
Seriously. I think you need a field guide to get through this one.Expand Quote(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IkuSwW4mbrA/TDTju4BFtZI/AAAAAAAABbk/RLE7RWSn8Ns/s1600/Gravity.Rainbow.jpg)[close]
Good luck. Took me like 2-3 years to finish.
The Slap demographic seems to be violent tinfoil wearers, it's true.
Grow a beard, wear some half-cabs, drink whiskey and moan about how the government is keeping you down. Man.
Meself, I just finished reading this:
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/isbnthumbs/087/685/0876857640.jpg)
And starting on this:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JRkSjD7Wpc0/SzlfBXRibKI/AAAAAAAAArE/c877BKRMEGA/s400/camus+the+fall.jpg)
Anyone recommend me some Cormac McCarthy? I read Blood Merridian a whiles back and loved it. Not too familiar with his other work.
All The Pretty Horses.Expand QuoteThe Slap demographic seems to be violent tinfoil wearers, it's true.
Grow a beard, wear some half-cabs, drink whiskey and moan about how the government is keeping you down. Man.
Meself, I just finished reading this:
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/isbnthumbs/087/685/0876857640.jpg)
And starting on this:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JRkSjD7Wpc0/SzlfBXRibKI/AAAAAAAAArE/c877BKRMEGA/s400/camus+the+fall.jpg)
Anyone recommend me some Cormac McCarthy? I read Blood Merridian a whiles back and loved it. Not too familiar with his other work.[close]
the road.
(http://www.usedbooks.co.nz/images/Book/0553380966.jpg)
I loved this one, Stephenson does a great job at creating a pretty believable future post-state world. Definitely recommend this one.
The Slap demographic seems to be violent tinfoil wearers, it's true.this motherfucker just tried to call out some slap demographic shit and then posted a buk book about barfly?
Grow a beard, wear some half-cabs, drink whiskey and moan about how the government is keeping you down. Man.
Meself, I just finished reading this:
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/isbnthumbs/087/685/0876857640.jpg)
And starting on this:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JRkSjD7Wpc0/SzlfBXRibKI/AAAAAAAAArE/c877BKRMEGA/s400/camus+the+fall.jpg)
Anyone recommend me some Cormac McCarthy? I read Blood Merridian a whiles back and loved it. Not too familiar with his other work.
this motherfucker just tried to call out some slap demographic shit and then posted a buk book about barfly?Expand QuoteThe Slap demographic seems to be violent tinfoil wearers, it's true.
Grow a beard, wear some half-cabs, drink whiskey and moan about how the government is keeping you down. Man.
Meself, I just finished reading this:
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/isbnthumbs/087/685/0876857640.jpg)
And starting on this:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JRkSjD7Wpc0/SzlfBXRibKI/AAAAAAAAArE/c877BKRMEGA/s400/camus+the+fall.jpg)
Anyone recommend me some Cormac McCarthy? I read Blood Merridian a whiles back and loved it. Not too familiar with his other work.[close]
HA.
I too fall into the SLAP violent/tinfoil wearer category.? Ah well.
Just finished rereading Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer.? Not sure what is next, possibly a book on Swedish Death Metal or something with short stories.? Humor wouldn't be bad either, I've been reading some dark ass shit lately.
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0141182342.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
Junkie by William Burroughs which was even worse. What a dull ass dude.no
What's the deal with italo calvino? Good? My friends used to be real into his stuff and i never got around to it.I've read If on a Winter's Night a Traveller. I had heard great things about him as a writer but
On the topic of William Gibson, this book is real relevant to all keyboard wranglers.YESSSSSSSS
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4b/Neuromancer_%28Book%29.jpg/361px-Neuromancer_%28Book%29.jpg)
the stranger is in my opinion the best under 200 page book ever written, without question.
it is also my favorite, because the same thing the character suffered mentally is what i suffered (depersonalization) but i have not killed anyone yet. it's just relates to my personal experiences like no other book has yet to do.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223649787l/4625.jpg)
Books are weird man. Such a long personal experience. It's really difficult to talk to people about what you liked about a book. I find that even when I am talking to someone who has read the same one as me the conversation is usually just "Yeah, that's a good one." Only time it really works is when you and the other person are reading it at the same time.
Finished The Stranger in 5 reads and damn was it good. I like the first half because when I read it, I felt warm in the mind, I don't know how to explain it.
Expand Quotethe stranger is in my opinion the best under 200 page book ever written, without question.
it is also my favorite, because the same thing the character suffered mentally is what i suffered (depersonalization) but i have not killed anyone yet. it's just relates to my personal experiences like no other book has yet to do.[close]
it hit pretty close to home for me as well.
And now I know where Robert Smith got the inspiration for the song "killing an Arab".
Got this yesterday for a train ride and got about halfway through it already.
(http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/TODAY/Sections/Today%20Books/TodayBooksBIOGRAPHYANDMEMOIRS/2010/07-July/Clegg_PortraitOfAnAddict.grid-3x2.JPG)
Seems good so far. I like reading about other people's dark places and hedonistic ruin.
I also looked at some HP Lovecraft book at the shop, are his works worth looking into, and what would be a good starting point? I'm not usually a big fan of fantasy or horror fiction, but I'm at a loss with current literature and have been looking in to the classics more. Also, I'm a fan of minimalistic writing, and while reading the Master and Margarita it was kinda weary for me that there was always 2-3 pages of setting the scene before anything of value happens.
Has any one read "boob" from Dave Carnie?Where'd you find it? I've been looking around for it, but to no avail.
I was just looking at it, had no idea it would be so big, not that he has ever been short of anything to say. I figure parts of it are entertaining, but is it worth the money?
My mother (knowing I am into weird shit) bought me this for Christmas
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/Haruki_murakami_hardboiled_9780679743460.jpg)
and I've been reading this, some of the most interesting analogies I've ever read.
(http://www.plunderguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/undisputed-guide-basketball-history-1.jpg)
If you like that Murakami book, read A Wild Sheep Chase next. I fucking love both of those books so fucking much. Enjoy.This is my personal Murakami collection.
Where'd you find it? I've been looking around for it, but to no avail.Expand QuoteHas any one read "boob" from Dave Carnie?
I was just looking at it, had no idea it would be so big, not that he has ever been short of anything to say. I figure parts of it are entertaining, but is it worth the money?[close]
This was painful. It's about this dude who murders some old lady and her daughter. Then almost the entire book is about him freaking out about it, stressing, getting sick, losing his mind, and on and on. It was just sort of stressful. Not a bad book, though.Okay.
(http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o63/shoelessl13/crimepunishment.jpg)
Just my honest opinion, bro. I obviously wasn't trying to include every theme and nuance in the book in the couple of sentences I wrote. I like it when other people give a quick synopses and/or opinion about what they've read on here, so I do the same. It helps me get ideas about what I'd like to read next. Like I said, it was not a bad book, but I just didn't really enjoy reading it. It just didn't hit home to me and I didn't think the major themes were anything too mind blowing. Yes, people in power kill and they're made heros; poor people kill and they're murderers. I think most people understand this. Maybe not. It definitely wasn't revelatory to me. I also found the main character to be pretty annoying. I felt bad for the poor mother that had to deal with a selfish person of a son fucking up her life. On the other hand, I really liked some parts of it. I don't know...I could go on, but why bother? I'm aware that the great weight of literary thought is against me on this one, but I don't really care. I was just giving my honest impression. Maybe I missed something huge. Feel free to enlighten me if you'd like.Okay.Expand QuoteThis was painful. It's about this dude who murders some old lady and her daughter. Then almost the entire book is about him freaking out about it, stressing, getting sick, losing his mind, and on and on. It was just sort of stressful. Not a bad book, though.
(http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o63/shoelessl13/crimepunishment.jpg)[close]
Now, no insult to your intelligence or opinion, but if you think this book is just about a murder and some dude ''freaking out about it'', then Sarah Palin is the new Nikolas Tesla.
This book is about so much more than 99.99999999% of what all other books can adduce. That being said, if you didn't enjoy it that much, then that's your decision - and I respect that. I just think that there are so many themes and issues implicitly addressed in this book that it is considered one of, if not, the most venerable book of all time.
If somebody asks me to recommend a book I generally either suggest either of the classics, 1984 or Crime and Punshment; the former because it deals with more accessible issues to society. It is also conventionally a great novel. However I would refer the latter as there's a subtlety to Dostoyevsky's writing that is no longer achieved in modern literature; the depiction of his mental state, the description of the horror of (the) murder, the delineation of Russia in the nineteenth century, solitude.
Dostoyevsky wrote this after having been in exile for five years in Siberia. If the ending of the book didn't make you cry, then just listen to Blink 182 and get a face tattoo.
Okay.Expand QuoteThis was painful. It's about this dude who murders some old lady and her daughter. Then almost the entire book is about him freaking out about it, stressing, getting sick, losing his mind, and on and on. It was just sort of stressful. Not a bad book, though.
(http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o63/shoelessl13/crimepunishment.jpg)[close]
Now, no insult to your intelligence or opinion, but if you think this book is just about a murder and some dude ''freaking out about it'', then Sarah Palin is the new Nikolas Tesla.
This book is about so much more than 99.99999999% of what all other books can adduce. That being said, if you didn't enjoy it that much, then that's your decision - and I respect that. I just think that there are so many themes and issues implicitly addressed in this book that it is considered one of, if not, the most venerable book of all time.
If somebody asks me to recommend a book I generally either suggest either of the classics, 1984 or Crime and Punshment; the former because it deals with more accessible issues to society. It is also conventionally a great novel. However I would refer the latter as there's a subtlety to Dostoyevsky's writing that is no longer achieved in modern literature; the depiction of his mental state, the description of the horror of (the) murder, the delineation of Russia in the nineteenth century, solitude.
Dostoyevsky wrote this after having been in exile for five years in Siberia. If the ending of the book didn't make you cry, then just listen to Blink 182 and get a face tattoo.
Hear the wind sing will cost you about a tenner or so, mate. So just stop by ebay for that one.This is my personal Murakami collection.Expand QuoteIf you like that Murakami book, read A Wild Sheep Chase next. I fucking love both of those books so fucking much. Enjoy.[close]
Still need Kafka (which I've already read) and his first two novels (have to get on ebay for that).
(http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp147/hhhHenry/DSC01967.jpg)
I forgot about this thread for a while. Here's what I've been up to for the past while (as if anyone cares)
(http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4xvpm05Xa1qzvsijo1_400.jpg)
Really good. Funny insights into phony intellectualism and consumerism. I haven't read any other DeLillo novels but this one seems to be a good starting point.
Has anyone here had their hand at writing they're own novel?
I have an idea, and have had others. I just can never stretch out any idea to no more than a short story. I especially get discouraged to even write one when reading a book and thinking I could never write as well. Writing a novel is definitely a life goal I would love to reach.Expand QuoteHas anyone here had their hand at writing they're own novel?[close]
It sucks and it's hard. I barely got anywhere before I hit a major writer's block/lack of free time.
edit: Which makes me even more amazed by the author's who have such a huge catalog of (legitimate) works.
Expand QuoteWhere'd you find it? I've been looking around for it, but to no avail.Expand QuoteHas any one read "boob" from Dave Carnie?
I was just looking at it, had no idea it would be so big, not that he has ever been short of anything to say. I figure parts of it are entertaining, but is it worth the money?[close][close]
Local skate shop, got it through AWH skateboard distribution in Chicago. If your shop uses them, you are in there.
I have an idea, and have had others. I just can never stretch out any idea to no more than a short story. I especially get discouraged to even write one when reading a book and thinking I could never write as well. Writing a novel is definitely a life goal I would love to reach.Life experience.
But the comment on being a skateboarder wouldn't really matter. Cause no one is going to put a book down if they found whoever wrote the book skated when he was young.No, I'm saying if you, as a skateboarder, wrote a book right now, I would just refuse to read it.
Yeah I totally agree, people just take skateboarders for retards, but we're really not with the exception of a few people.
Expand QuoteI forgot about this thread for a while. Here's what I've been up to for the past while (as if anyone cares)
(http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4xvpm05Xa1qzvsijo1_400.jpg)
Really good. Funny insights into phony intellectualism and consumerism. I haven't read any other DeLillo novels but this one seems to be a good starting point.[close]
This is a great book and also the only one of his that I have read. I hear good things about his other works. I should re-read this one.
Yeah I totally agree, people just take skateboarders for retards, but we're really not with the exception of a few people.
I'm surprised that not more of you SLAP dudes read Raymond Carver's stories.
Expand QuoteI'm surprised that not more of you SLAP dudes read Raymond Carver's stories.[close]
I read a collection of his called "Where I'm Calling From" recently. Some good stuff in there. I like how his stories are all pretty basic plotwise, but there's good depth to 'em. He manages to squeeze a lot into a few pages.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410191RD07L.jpg)
picking this up again after only getting a hundred or so pages in when I put it down. I have a hard time finishing books sometimes.
I read A Movable Feast and it made me want to read some F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby was a good short read. I couldn't put it down. This one is a bit slower but I'm still enjoying it.Yes! I just started New York Trilogy, it's my first foray into Paul Auster's books.
I also got a Paul Auster book for Christmas that was a real page turner. I want to read more from him,
My older sister keeps recommending White Noise so I'm sure I'll pick that one up at some point.
Expand Quote(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410191RD07L.jpg)
picking this up again after only getting a hundred or so pages in when I put it down. I have a hard time finishing books sometimes.[close]
it only gets harder. enjoy the pages that require a mirror to read or that are written in a spiral.
i'm kind of taking a break from "serious" literature and am reading clive barker's "books of blood 1-3." i usually hate people that act like low brow is somehow always more fun than serious or interesting anything, but i totally forgot how breezy reading can be until you pick up someone like stephen king again. a lot of stories in books of blood are good writing wise, clive barker isn't going to be getting a nobel or anything, but i'll be damned if 50 pages minimum don't go by every time i pick it up. it's like popcorn.
'Hitler Studies.'Expand QuoteI forgot about this thread for a while. Here's what I've been up to for the past while (as if anyone cares)
(http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4xvpm05Xa1qzvsijo1_400.jpg)
Really good. Funny insights into phony intellectualism and consumerism. I haven't read any other DeLillo novels but this one seems to be a good starting point.[close]
This is a great book and also the only one of his that I have read. I hear good things
about his other works. I should re-read this one.
I read A Movable Feast and it made me want to read some F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby was a good short read. I couldn't put it down. This one is a bit slower but I'm still enjoying it.
(http://robertarood.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/tsop.jpeg)
I also got a Paul Auster book for Christmas that was a real page turner. I want to read more from him,
My older sister keeps recommending White Noise so I'm sure I'll pick that one up at some point.
Has anyone here had their hand at writing they're own novel?
Leonard Cohen is one incomprehensibly talented son of a bitch...
(http://www.photobooth.net/in_print/img/beautiful_losers.jpg)
I'm 14 pages into this book, and it's already one of the top ten books I've read in my relatively short lifetime.
wait till the 22nd?Fuck yeah, I didn't think it was on amazon yet! Thanks!
http://www.amazon.com/Boob-Collection-Stories-Nonsense-Magazine/dp/098666250X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295025779&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Boob-Collection-Stories-Nonsense-Magazine/dp/098666250X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295025779&sr=8-1)
I didn't see the movie but I heard it wasn't very good.
The book is really good. All about secret military programs
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W7upwPD46LM/SX8U7ZmewCI/AAAAAAAAAA4/9NvEqne60p8/s400/men+who+stare+at+goats.jpg)
breakfast of champions is awesome, as it Akira.
Im still waiting for my library to get the last book for me but Im pretty excited to get it done.
X'ed out looks interesting, whats it about?
i'm too lazy to look if anyone's mentioned em. but the last book I finished was Breakfast of Champions, that was really good.
i just got Atlas Shrugged, hoping to be as interesting as I've been told.
Expand Quotebreakfast of champions is awesome, as it Akira.
Im still waiting for my library to get the last book for me but Im pretty excited to get it done.
X'ed out looks interesting, whats it about?[close]
X'ed Out is about? ? a drug addled youngster having a hard time dealing with reality.? ? I enjoyed it, but it's supposedly only the first part of a three part storyline.? ? Charles Burns takes forever to come out with new stuff because he does like 10 drafts of each panel or something regular like that, so that book might leave you hanging a bit.? ? He's fuckin stellar though if you haven't read him before, so I'd recommend any of his other stuff, Black Hole, Big Baby, Skin Deep, it's all gravy with biscuits.
Haaaaaa so stoked. Ordered some books saturday, one of which "Ol' Mah & teh C" by Hemingway, just because of it's legacy, stoked!
Also after some spiritual drug trip(xtc) I decided to get The Dharma Bums
aand I was thinking of getting The Electric Kool-Aid Acid test, but should I try LSD myself first? Won't reading it first spoil my un-acid ass?
Expand Quotebreakfast of champions is awesome, as it Akira.
Im still waiting for my library to get the last book for me but Im pretty excited to get it done.
X'ed out looks interesting, whats it about?[close]
X'ed Out is about a drug addled youngster having a hard time dealing with reality. I enjoyed it, but it's supposedly only the first part of a three part storyline. Charles Burns takes forever to come out with new stuff because he does like 10 drafts of each panel or something regular like that, so that book might leave you hanging a bit. He's fuckin stellar though if you haven't read him before, so I'd recommend any of his other stuff, Black Hole, Big Baby, Skin Deep, it's all gravy with biscuits.
just started this.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156897088l/350.jpg)
Expand Quotejust started this.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156897088l/350.jpg)[close]
finished this a few weeks ago...it gave me lots of boners!
i meet jonathan safran foer tomorrow, i'll tell you if he's as much of a prick as i've heard.
the layout in house of leaves is nothing short of fucked upi'm half way through it. It's a difficult read, but entertaining.
Expand Quotei meet jonathan safran foer tomorrow, i'll tell you if he's as much of a prick as i've heard.[close]
Are you in the NYU Creative Writing program or something?
Expand Quotei'm too lazy to look if anyone's mentioned em. but the last book I finished was Breakfast of Champions, that was really good.
i just got Atlas Shrugged, hoping to be as interesting as I've been told.[close]
*chant
Left, Right... Left, Right, Left
Left, Right... Left, Right, Left
i meet jonathan safran foer tomorrow, i'll tell you if he's as much of a prick as i've heard.
Expand QuoteExpand Quotejust started this.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156897088l/350.jpg)[close]
finished this a few weeks ago...it gave me lots of boners![close]
nearly finished it...zero so far.
Expand Quotei meet jonathan safran foer tomorrow, i'll tell you if he's as much of a prick as i've heard.[close]
Does he look as much like Harry Potter in person as I've been lead to believe?
Expand QuoteExpand Quotei meet jonathan safran foer tomorrow, i'll tell you if he's as much of a prick as i've heard.[close]
Does he look as much like Harry Potter in person as I've been lead to believe?[close]
yeah, he sort of looks like a grown-up, vegan harry potter. he's actually a really nice guy, he just kept turning the conversation back around to himself, haha. i'm going to be working with him a lot in the next year and a half. let's see how it goes.
i'm supposed to write a short story for him by sunday, and i have a page and a half. dope
anybody want to be my ghostwriter? i think that skating is what makes my creativity run, because since winter hit, and i haven't been able to skate, i haven't been able to write shit.
Soo good. A good combination of intelligent humor and slapstick comedy. I wish David Foster Wallace wrote more fiction novels (can't wait for The Pale King).
Expand Quote
Soo good. A good combination of intelligent humor and slapstick comedy. I wish David Foster Wallace wrote more fiction novels (can't wait for The Pale King).[close]
i know, he ruled. why do so many awesome writers kill themselves?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quotejust started this.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156897088l/350.jpg)[close]
finished this a few weeks ago...it gave me lots of boners![close]
nearly finished it...zero so far.[close]
I pushed myself through half of this book and still didn't see what made it a classic. maybe back when it was written a lot of the stuff was some new age, out the box type ideas but...i don't know, the story line was cool enough I guess, but his style of writing didn't do a damn thing for me.
I'm guessing you didn't read Atlas Shrugged?Expand QuoteExpand Quotei'm too lazy to look if anyone's mentioned em. but the last book I finished was Breakfast of Champions, that was really good.
i just got Atlas Shrugged, hoping to be as interesting as I've been told.[close]
*chant
Left, Right... Left, Right, Left
Left, Right... Left, Right, Left[close]
i don't get it.
Seriously so excited about the pale king; it's out in a couple months isn't it. Have you read any of the extracts - it sounds amazing
(http://simplystacie.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/the-broom-of-the-system.jpg)
Expand Quote(http://simplystacie.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/the-broom-of-the-system.jpg)[close]
just picked this one up..it's killing it so far
700 pages in is way past the giving up point too. I was getting pretty jaded up until around page 300, then it describes the formation of ONAN, the failure of cable TV with the rise of InterLace, and the Great Concavity. At that point it was too interesting to give up and I went through the rest fairly quickly (because I wasn't doing anything else).
(http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/red_100_years.jpg)
rereading this at the moment.
Expand Quote(http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/red_100_years.jpg)
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.
^
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. ? ? ? ?
Anyone ever try to read Finnegans Wake?
(http://houseput.com/img/Books/finnegans-wake-by-james-joyce-isbn.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/red_100_years.jpg)
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.
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.
Expand QuoteExpand 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.
I can't possibly imagine getting anything out of Finnegans Wake. Ulysses was a ridiculous enough task to get through.
Expand QuoteI 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.
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.
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?
Expand QuoteExpand 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.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote(http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/red_100_years.jpg)
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.
Sounds interesting, will definitely check out Charles Olson.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand 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.
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.
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.
(http://books.google.com/books?id=C_s8GwAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&l=220)
Sounds interesting, will definitely check out Charles Olson. ?Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand 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.[close]
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 (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':
(http://thephotobook.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/the_americans-cover.jpg?w=800&h=691)
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:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KRRG3SZYL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
not as great as I thought it would be
Picked this up the other dayI love Gatsby, but i hate what it is associated with these days:
(http://www.all-art.org/world_literature/images/d/54.jpg)
Looking forward to getting to it once I have time, really fell in love with Fitzgerald after I finally read Gatsby.
Post Office and Factotum are two of my favourite books. If you liked Ham On Rye then you'll love them too.Thanks dude, I actually just bought Factotum online, should be buying Post Office after I finish that one.
my girl just gave me this to read, she was really into it.
(http://abbyf.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/extremely-loud-incredibly-close.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand 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.
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/ (http://blog.frankdelaney.com/re-joyce/)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand 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.
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/ (http://blog.frankdelaney.com/re-joyce/)[close]
Wrong. Herbert Huncke coined the term "beat" find his shit, it's all OOP. The Herbert Hunkce reader these days runs for 50 bucks plus, he's the voice and reason. Plus my favorite, personally.
if you want to know about native american history, read this.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qmI-KrXv-8A/TNbaaiRz5jI/AAAAAAAAAH4/6R9xvaqhmDE/s200/bk_DeeBrown-BuryMyHeartAtWoundedKnee.jpg)
highly recommended. pick it up if you've got the time. they also made a movie based on the book but it does not come close to the same level of greatness.
I've also got a copy of this at the moment,
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0394740181.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
(http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/Medium%20Raw.jpg)
Almost done with this, if you liked Kitchen Confidential, then you'll like this.
Anyone read this?Like many, the only Bola?o work I've read was 2666. Once I got to "The Part About the Crimes" it lost a lot of its steam and I lost interest.
http://thecultureconcordance.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/the-savage-detectives.jpg?w=300&h=429 (http://thecultureconcordance.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/the-savage-detectives.jpg?w=300&h=429)
Finished it last night. Super good. But you gotta get to the end.
Which is like... sci-fi Siddhartha. This is probably the most original Hugo award winning book that I've read. Apparently Neil Gaiman was pretty into this book and American Gods was partially influenced by it.
Has anyone read American Gods? I browsed through the plot on wikipedia and it seems like something I would be into. What do you guys think?
Anyone have any recommendations of short novels? I'm not so good with longer considering I only read two chapters, most, at night.
just finished huck finn, it was awesome
^^^
the first three palanuiak books were really easy to get into- rant, choke, and something about a tranny- after that, well with the exception of fight club, they were contrite. don't waste your time
Expand Quote^^^
the first three palanuiak books were really easy to get into- rant, choke, and something about a tranny- after that, well with the exception of fight club, they were contrite. don't waste your time[close]
Ummm...Fight Club was his first book. Choke was his fourth, and Rant was much later on in his career. The tranny one (Invisible Monsters) was the only one that was in his first three.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote^^^
the first three palanuiak books were really easy to get into- rant, choke, and something about a tranny- after that, well with the exception of fight club, they were contrite. don't waste your time[close]
Ummm...Fight Club was his first book. Choke was his fourth, and Rant was much later on in his career. The tranny one (Invisible Monsters) was the only one that was in his first three.[close]
ahhh, my bad dude!!!!! i meant to write that the FIRST THREE THAT I READ were much easier to get into!
duly noted. I've seen some of his short stories published in mags or online from time to time, and they vary from being semi-amusing to dull episodes of medical horror stories.Expand QuoteExpand Quote^^^
the first three palanuiak books were really easy to get into- rant, choke, and something about a tranny- after that, well with the exception of fight club, they were contrite. don't waste your time[close]
Ummm...Fight Club was his first book. Choke was his fourth, and Rant was much later on in his career. The tranny one (Invisible Monsters) was the only one that was in his first three.[close]
Yep, the other one was Survivor. Chuck P has progressively gotten worse with Rant being ok. Diary fucking sucked. Lullaby had it's spots, but everything else was very subpar.
Not a huge fan of Palanuik, seems that he writes solely for shock value. Currently reading:
(http://www.bookpoi.com/images/Front%20cover%20For%20Whom%20the%20bell%20Tolls.jpg)
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-3pkPRpOL.jpg)
Reading this right now, really well done.
(http://www.jackherer.com/images/emperor_book.gif)
Re-reading this at home, I can't recomend this book enough.
You guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?
Expand QuoteYou guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?[close]
Read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I can't recommend it enough. It's hilarious. Don't be tricked by its plot synopsis or it being labeled post-cyberpunk, just read it and laugh at its take on future America.
Also, a lot of Philip K. Dick novels are pretty interesting. I've read A Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. They're pretty out there but worth reading.
Read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I can't recommend it enough. It's hilarious. Don't be tricked by its plot synopsis or it being labeled post-cyberpunk, just read it and laugh at its take on future America.Expand QuoteYou guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?[close]
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteYou guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?[close]
Read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I can't recommend it enough. It's hilarious. Don't be tricked by its plot synopsis or it being labeled post-cyberpunk, just read it and laugh at its take on future America.
Also, a lot of Philip K. Dick novels are pretty interesting. I've read A Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. They're pretty out there but worth reading.[close]
Yeah, I was going to recommend PKD as well.? I just finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and enjoyed it.? Scanner Darkly and Man in the High Castle are good too.? There are points in each one where he just takes it too far for me and either can't explain it well or I can't wrap my head around it but for the most part they are just cool spot-on critiques of our modern world.? I don't read much SF though.
Hell House is just about the best haunted house story there is. A homeowner hires a group of scientists and a group of people who believe in the spirit stuff to prove why his house is all fucked up.
I'm 100 pages into Ulysses and... FUCK! It's great but I've needed 15 minutes for every single page. So much shit in there.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm 100 pages into Ulysses and... FUCK! It's great but I've needed 15 minutes for every single page. So much shit in there.[close]
Wait until it starts getting hard.[close]
I can't be the only one whose brain went right to the big ol' gay gutter.
You guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy - Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune. Not so much an end of the world/doomsday story, but a detailed and spectacular analogy to our industrialised world, with all the related complexities of economics and power. It blends sci-fi, politics and religion in a very holistic way to create a universe as messy as our own, and has a great story arc to boot.
it is my goal to someday complete, and understand at least 20%, of Ulysses. re-reading Portrait after I finish my current bookExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm 100 pages into Ulysses and... FUCK! It's great but I've needed 15 minutes for every single page. So much shit in there.[close]
Wait until it starts getting hard.[close]
I can't be the only one whose brain went right to the big ol' gay gutter.[close]
;) :-*
Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy - Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune. Not so much an end of the world/doomsday story, but a detailed and spectacular analogy to our industrialised world, with all the related complexities of economics and power. It blends sci-fi, politics and religion in a very holistic way to create a universe as messy as our own, and has a great story arc to boot.Expand QuoteYou guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?[close]
Also, giant sandworms:
(http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Science/Images/dune-sandworm-2.jpg)
avoid the prequels by his son Brian (House Atreides, et. al.) like Shai-Hulud avoids water.
it is my goal to someday complete, and understand at least 20%, of Ulysses. re-reading Portrait after I finish my current bookExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm 100 pages into Ulysses and... FUCK! It's great but I've needed 15 minutes for every single page. So much shit in there.[close]
Wait until it starts getting hard.[close]
I can't be the only one whose brain went right to the big ol' gay gutter.[close]
;) :-*[close]
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm 100 pages into Ulysses and... FUCK! It's great but I've needed 15 minutes for every single page. So much shit in there.[close]
Wait until it starts getting hard.[close]
I can't be the only one whose brain went right to the big ol' gay gutter.[close]
;) :-*[close]
You're the best sweetie :-*
Trying to bump this thread back.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xZLZEszNcwU/TN6KIul_KwI/AAAAAAAABTM/SzmE2h3E5AY/s1600/anna%2Bkarenina.jpg)
I'm about 500 pages into this and I've been enjoying it but its starting to get a bit tiresome.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eyZ4V09HL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)
If you want a short, easy read that will put you in a good mood go for this one.
Thinking about picking this up next:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5AUaygzczrQ/TEVs-vUmsQI/AAAAAAAAADE/tFP47GZpzDo/s1600/the_trial_large.jpg)
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x2/x10782.jpg)
Just finished this. Absolutely brilliant collection of essays, journalism and non-fiction. The story on the Adult Video Awards alone is more than enough reason to pick it up.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RjGp768_KYw/ThyyeVEtFTI/AAAAAAAAAcE/3OVkORtMRgA/s1600/houseofleaves.jpg)
This book is so good. It's really weird because I'm over halfway through it, I don't feel like I'm really making much progress through it. You have to jump around a lot in it.
Expand Quote
This book is so good. It's really weird because I'm over halfway through it, I don't feel like I'm really making much progress through it. You have to jump around a lot in it.[close]
Guy at work noticed I "read a lot" and recommended this book. I think I'll check it out now that you've posted it.
It's irritating, slow, and not much happens. There's a few parts that shot my attention up but overall I felt like I wasted a lot of time on it. Come to think of it I think I put it down before the last couple chapters.Expand QuoteExpand Quote
This book is so good. It's really weird because I'm over halfway through it, I don't feel like I'm really making much progress through it. You have to jump around a lot in it.[close]
Guy at work noticed I "read a lot" and recommended this book. I think I'll check it out now that you've posted it.[close]
It's very good and it grabs you. Ironically, it also requires you to read a lot. And to read oddly at that (like reading it in a mirror because one part is backwards).
(http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lleq2pi2431qc5bqmo1_250.jpg)
It's irritating, slow, and not much happens. There's a few parts that shot my attention up but overall I felt like I wasted a lot of time on it. Come to think of it I think I put it down before the last couple chapters.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote
This book is so good. It's really weird because I'm over halfway through it, I don't feel like I'm really making much progress through it. You have to jump around a lot in it.[close]
Guy at work noticed I "read a lot" and recommended this book. I think I'll check it out now that you've posted it.[close]
It's very good and it grabs you. Ironically, it also requires you to read a lot. And to read oddly at that (like reading it in a mirror because one part is backwards).[close]
Just finished Brave New World. Starting this . I love me some dystopia.
I found this book to be brilliantly written and readable in 2 hours. It's about the emotional/physical trials of life in post apartheid South Africa and just about life and being a human in general. Would recommend it to anyone who can read and is interested in culture and morality.
(http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb307/trustthedarkmen/disgrace.jpg)
Can anybody recommend some middle grades/young adult books for me? I'm writing a kids book and have been re-reading a lot of stuff I read when I was little.
You guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?
Expand QuoteYou guys have recommendations for any Horror, SciFi or End of the world/Doomsday books?[close]
currently reading this and its pretty good so far http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/910863.Spin (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/910863.Spin)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5072472797_7580e151fc.jpg)
It's the funniest book I've read.
^ Just to warn you, it takes perseverance. A lot of my free time was shed on that book, but in the end, it was worth it.
I think it was written out of vanity and with no heart, but I didn't finish it so my opinion is void. Guy was brilliant.
I've got mixed feelings about Hitchens.
I'm actually reading this. Back in highschool last may we analized "Eveline" and I was pretty interested in the whole idea of paralisis and ephiphany, definetly blew my mind. However, now that I'm reading it on my own I find it pretty hard to understand, like link the different stories and hidden meanings of the single novels. I'm actually starting "The boarding house", I hope things get clearer, still amazing writing techniques though. Anyone can share his idea on this?
Expand QuoteI'm actually reading this. Back in highschool last may we analized "Eveline" and I was pretty interested in the whole idea of paralisis and ephiphany, definetly blew my mind. However, now that I'm reading it on my own I find it pretty hard to understand, like link the different stories and hidden meanings of the single novels. I'm actually starting "The boarding house", I hope things get clearer, still amazing writing techniques though. Anyone can share his idea on this?[close]
Weirdly this was the last book I read. The stories aren't meant to have any discerning linkage. Sure, the book is a resounding delineation of dublin's characters, but really, there's not meant to be any parallels drawn between the short stories...at least I think anyway.
As for the bold text - what?
Wait wait, not being a smartass but Eveline isn't paralysed - her muscles function...are you sure you haven't mixed up your terms? - if you mean "paralysis", it probably must be accompanied by another word or else it doesn't really transpose to literature.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm actually reading this. Back in highschool last may we analized "Eveline" and I was pretty interested in the whole idea of paralisis and ephiphany, definetly blew my mind. However, now that I'm reading it on my own I find it pretty hard to understand, like link the different stories and hidden meanings of the single novels. I'm actually starting "The boarding house", I hope things get clearer, still amazing writing techniques though. Anyone can share his idea on this?[close]
Weirdly this was the last book I read. The stories aren't meant to have any discerning linkage. Sure, the book is a resounding delineation of dublin's characters, but really, there's not meant to be any parallels drawn between the short stories...at least I think anyway.
As for the bold text - what?[close]
Haha yeah, maybe I'm just too curious and I forced myself to see links even though there weren't, my bad. I was looking for further explanation in the following stories, just my fault.
Bold text: paralisis and ephiphany are two of Joyce's main features to express the personalities of people from Ireland and Dublin in general. For what I can remember from what I studied those people hate their state of life and want to escape their reality, but can't because of their weak personality.
E.g. in "Eveline" she wants to live her life abroad with her boyfriend but can't sail with him because she's paralised, like a weak animal, and tortured in her mind with the promise she made to her mother to keep the family together.
One the other hand epiphany is the trivial gesture (somehow similar to the "madeleine" of Proust) that marks the impossibility of the change; it's given by a sound, a memory and whatnot, something absolutely trivial but really important for the character. In Eveline this is given by the sound of an organ or something, that reminds her the night her mother died.
This is just my two cents, really. I hope this helped to understand the bold text.
He means paralysis as in inaction. Obviously not physically paralyzed, but perhaps psychically, emotionally, metaphysically--which is a huge aspect of Joyce's novels. An inability of the characters, for whatever reason, to make changes that they know are necessary.
Cool, I understand...and sorry to be pedantic.Expand QuoteHe means paralysis as in inaction. Obviously not physically paralyzed, but perhaps psychically, emotionally, metaphysically--which is a huge aspect of Joyce's novels. An inability of the characters, for whatever reason, to make changes that they know are necessary.[close]
This is what I meant.
(http://thisnerdinglife.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/blood-meridian-cover.jpg)
Just finished this. Its unpleasant and pretty archaic but ultimately highly rewarding.
I'm actually reading this now:
(http://speakaweek.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man-penguin-modern-classics-14682549.jpeg)
It's too early in the book to give a resolute opinion.
are you guys into Houellebecq?
Is Robinson Crusoe worth reading? I just found it, read a chapter. Debating if it's worth the time investment. I'd appreciate your feedback.I finished it the other day. Had an on and off relationship with it, I needed 2 months for the first 200 pages but finished the rest pretty quickly. Why? I don't know but it's definitely worth reading, sometimes it's kinda boring, however, the sections where he builds his shit are pretty cool. All in all: go ahead
I finished it the other day. Had an on and off relationship with it, I needed 2 months for the first 200 pages but finished the rest pretty quick. Why? I don't know but it's definitely worth reading, sometimes it's kinda boring, however, the sections where he builds his shit are pretty cool. All in all: go aheadExpand QuoteIs Robinson Crusoe worth reading? I just found it, read a chapter. Debating if it's worth the time investment. I'd appreciate your feedback.[close]
Started Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf
I just meant the language is pretty archaic, especially with some of the dialogue which works for the novel but could act as a barrier for some people, I've just begun watching Deadwood and can't really get down with all the Effing, Blinding and Pussying that goes on. I'm presuming its fairly historically accurate but hearing "motherfucking" in the context of the 1870s seems so jarring.Expand Quote(http://thisnerdinglife.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/blood-meridian-cover.jpg)
Just finished this. Its unpleasant and pretty archaic but ultimately highly rewarding.[close]
...Archaic? It was written in '85... it's not Shakespeare here.
An "archaic" western would be something like Shane or John Wayne's early movies. Westerns today are wholly different from the clear-cut good/evil lines they drew back then.
(http://img.wareseeker.com/software/iphone/Reference/details_the-divine-comedy-of-dante_145045906.jpg)Hmmm...
Watched Seven afew days ago , got inspired to read some of the books on John Does book list ( not in a weird psycho way ) .
Hmmm...Expand Quote
Watched Seven afew days ago , got inspired to read some of the books on John Does book list ( not in a weird psycho way ) .[close]
You know this is a really really really really really long poem, right? Apparently, if one is to assess the Trinity; "Inferno" is the most accessible to readers whilst "Purgatoria" and "Paradiso" are tantamount to a switch flip 50-50 up el-toro. I think a supposed masterpiece like that can only truly be appreciated with a very fine-tuned knowledge of theology and philosophy. I would absolutely love to have the wisdom to be able to appreciate a work like this.
Just bought Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum, which completes my trilogy of the Bourne series. Unless there's others I don't know about.
Well ive read some shakespeare . Romeo and Juliet , Macbeth , Othello . And yeah it was hard to read in old english , but usualy you understand most of it , or kinda most of it . some stuff was just wtf .
And I knew The divine comedy will be a hard read , Ill be the first to admitt Im not a schoolar or super smart . If I can read it I can , if not well I guess Ill miss out . But Im not not gonna read it because its suposed to be a hard read .
Just bought Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum, which completes my trilogy of the Bourne series. Unless there's others I don't know about.Those are the one's tat Ludlum wrote. Someone else wrote the others.
To summarize Zinn's own words on the book: an American history book written from the perspective of the underrepresented people including slaves, servants, minorities, etc and not the leaders or winners of wars who have the privilege to write history how they see fit. Basically the real shit you only got a taste of in history class. The founding fathers are assholes, Columbus was more deliberate than imaginable, this entire plot of land was incredible before white people found it and the US has been founded on greed since the start.
(http://www.jclondon.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Brian-Welch-Save-ME-from-Myself-Book.jpg)(http://www.iamit.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/never_go_full_retard1.jpg)
If you like laughing at idiots, this book is for you. This guy is full person.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteWell ive read some shakespeare . Romeo and Juliet , Macbeth , Othello . And yeah it was hard to read in old english , but usualy you understand most of it , or kinda most of it . some stuff was just wtf .
And I knew The divine comedy will be a hard read , Ill be the first to admitt Im not a schoolar or super smart . If I can read it I can , if not well I guess Ill miss out . But Im not not gonna read it because its suposed to be a hard read .[close]
I hope you didn't take what I was trying to say as an insult or something. I was just sharing a bunch of stuff that I learned while I was reading the poem that I think'll enrich reading the work. I love the poem and would love to become fluent enough in Italian to read it.[close]
Nah didnt take it like that . its all good
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LfdYEOHDwmA/TekViXAanVI/AAAAAAAADrk/waE9saJHvkQ/s1600/ADWD.jpg)
And started reading some disc world books . Any Terry Pratchett fans ? . Most of the books are around 300+ pages so you can finish one a day
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n1043.jpg)
(http://quarterlyconversation.com/images/oblivion.jpg)
Expand Quote(http://quarterlyconversation.com/images/oblivion.jpg)[close]
I was reading this and I had to stop. I actually find it horrifying. It was too unsettling. That's a testament to Wallace's talent, if anything.
What's the title of Rodney Mullen's Biography/Autobiography? (don't know which one's which)I think his autobiography is called Mutt: how to skateboard and not kill yourself. Great read.
Wouldn't mind checking that one out, and any other names of interesting books which appeal to the skateboarding culture.
Like to become a little more literate.
(http://notdarkyet.blog.com/files/2011/01/fahrenheit451raybradbury.jpg)I know everyone always recommends this book, but i absolutely hated it.
Just started this:
(http://hellogiggles.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/lolita-novel-350x546.png)
I know everyone always recommends this book, but i absolutely hated it.Expand Quote(http://notdarkyet.blog.com/files/2011/01/fahrenheit451raybradbury.jpg)[close]
Based on the lack of any comment, i'm guessing you did too.
Has anyone here read "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers? I've been thinking about picking that up
I don't want to be a double poster, but nobody else is reviving this thread.
(http://www.historylink.org/db_images/stilllifewood.jpg)
If you ran out of Vonnegut books to read, and want to read something similar, this is a pretty good substitute. Tom Robbins is more sillier, and less sad/dark though.
(http://dauntlessmedia.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/the_waste_lands.jpg)
Dark Tower series. Cyborg bears n shit
Currently reading:But found this,
(http://chuckpalahniuk.net/files/images/books/damned-us-1.jpg)
(http://wvlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/lost_city_of_z.jpg)
Just started this today, seems pretty interesting so far.
(http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/stephenson02_b.jpg)
I started this one year ago and still haven't managed to finish it... not every essay in it is that interesting in my opinion, however, you feel smarter while reading it
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/3170%2BWou3yL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Beginning this too. Like it.
Expand Quote(http://wvlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/lost_city_of_z.jpg)
Just started this today, seems pretty interesting so far.[close]
Let me know how you like that. I keep seeing it and I want to know if I should bother.
I started this one year ago and still haven't managed to finish it... not every essay in it is that interesting in my opinion, however, you feel smarter while reading itExpand Quote
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/3170%2BWou3yL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Beginning this too. Like it.[close]
Expand Quote(http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/stephenson02_b.jpg)[close]
Fukk yea, just got it. Will start soon. Ever read The Diamond Age?
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170391682l/52588.jpg)
really cool and informative
I love reading the Hunger Games series. Mainly because it not all cupcakes and happiness, it's one of the most depressing series i've yet, and it's entertaining as fuck. I also just finished this book, Peak it's only 246 pages, but it has some of the best writing I've ever seen. And then Black like me is a really good book, basically about a white man who dyes his skin black (which he can't wash out) and then he writes about his experiences about what it's like to be treated like a black person. That's a very good read, if you're black, you can't not read it.
(http://images.twomillionbooks.com/9780141439778.jpg)
I'm thinking of adding The History of Bestiality (Moment of Freedom, Powderhouse, and The Silence) by Jens Bj?rneboe to my already long list of books I need to read/finish.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Thecorrectionscvr.jpg)
So good. It's size is intimidating, but it's worth the read.
Has anyone read Freedom? If it's anything like The Corrections, I'll be reading it soon enough.
Expand QuoteI'm thinking of adding The History of Bestiality (Moment of Freedom, Powderhouse, and The Silence) by Jens Bj?rneboe to my already long list of books I need to read/finish.[close]
Do it. It's amazing.
into the first 100 pages of this and loving it. "last exit to brooklyn" left me distraught for nearly a week, i feel this creeping into me in the same sort of way...They made a book out of that movie? Weird.
(http://rjdent.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/the-room.jpg?w=310&h=475)
(http://covers.openlibrary.org/w/id/6617464-L.jpg)
(http://www.atomicbooks.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/q/1q84_1.jpg)I just made it to Book 3 this morning. I don't hate it but it feels like a bit of chore to get through sometimes (and this is coming from a guy who owns all of the other Murakami books save for the two first novels)
just read:
The Alchemist. It's possibly my favorite book ever. I could have read it in a sitting hadn't I stopped myself.
(http://aswinindraprastha.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/the-alchemist.jpg)
Expand Quote
just read:
The Alchemist. It's possibly my favorite book ever. I could have read it in a sitting hadn't I stopped myself.
(http://aswinindraprastha.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/the-alchemist.jpg)[close]
Ive heard about the book befor but never thought of reading it befor , but saw that awsome cover and orderd it right away , should be a good read if ppl aint faking reviews
I always assumed that Coelho's audience consisted of nothing but post-menopausal white women with short hair and crafty earrings.
sorry alan, er hat recht.[/b]Expand Quote
I always assumed that Coelho's audience consisted of nothing but post-menopausal white women with short hair and crafty earrings.[close]
There are always outliers.
(http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/5571845-L.jpg)
sorry alan, er hat recht.Expand Quote[/b]Expand Quote
I always assumed that Coelho's audience consisted of nothing but post-menopausal white women with short hair and crafty earrings.[close]
There are always outliers.[close]
ich musste coelho in der schule lesen.
Expand Quoteich musste coelho in der schule lesen.[close]
Lass mich raten. Deine Lehrerin war eine "post-menopausal white women with short hair and crafty earrings".
With spring semester kicking in, I have a lot of reading to do. I'm set for a while.
(http://www.realfuture.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/DeeBrown_BuryMyHeartAtWoundedKnee1.jpg)
I fucking love Nabokov.
any of y'all fuck with Goodreads? it's like last.fm for books but way more detailed in its recommendations
Site never really interested me. Can you make groups on there? If so, A SLAP book club would be sweeeet.
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS (http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS)
There it is. Not sure what to do with it but please everyone make an account and join.
Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends and Influence Peoplethe anecdotes are nice, but sometimes I feel like it should be titled How to be a Doormat. not to be a cynic, but from what I've seen the way to get ahead in business applications (what the book is mainly intended for) is to be an unapologetic, single minded asshole.
I wish I read this sooner.
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS (http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS)I sent a request
There it is. Not sure what to do with it but please everyone make an account and join.
I sent a requestExpand Quotehttp://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS (http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS)
There it is. Not sure what to do with it but please everyone make an account and join.[close]
Not a slap pal but I sent a request anywaysExpand QuoteI sent a requestExpand Quotehttp://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS (http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS)
There it is. Not sure what to do with it but please everyone make an account and join.[close][close]
Going by my first name though.I sent a requestExpand Quotehttp://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS (http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS)
There it is. Not sure what to do with it but please everyone make an account and join.[close]
Expand QuoteI sent a requestExpand Quotehttp://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS (http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64583.SLAP_PALS)
There it is. Not sure what to do with it but please everyone make an account and join.[close][close]
What is Monopoly Capitalism?
-Essentially, it is a link-up between high finance, big industry and the national gov't.
-More and more, the national economy is directed by the monopoly system which controls large holdings of shares.
-Stocks, shares and state loans increase the amount of power of surplus-capital.
-This surplus-capital is exported beyond the national borders as investments and loans to 'backward' countries.
-A struggle develops between the supra- or multi-national monopolies to control the world-market.
-But since the world has already been divided up by imperial Great Powers, the rival monopolists struggle to re-partition the world - to muscle in.
-Therefore, the economic disparity between rival monopolists - and the uneven development of rival capitalist nations - make imperial wars inevitable...
I'm starting getting really psyched on Franz Kafka stuff.
Used to study it in my German Language Class back in HighSchool, need to find the time to read more of it
Not a book, but I really like Das Urteil (the Judgement), a short story
I just bought Ulysses by James Joyce. Let the torment commence.
Expand QuoteI just bought Ulysses by James Joyce. Let the torment commence.[close]
Buy the annotation book. It'll help with the old Irish slang, history, and Dublin's layout which makes it way more intelligible.
Here's the Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452 (http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452)
I love the book, it's probably my favorite (I read it three times in four years, two were for two different classes), so I'm always down to discuss it if you want. Just PM me.
Just ordered the annotation book, and I may be pm'ing you because I don't have a class or a professor to talk about it with anymore so I'm gonna chill on starting til i get the annotations and then go at this fucker research paper style.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI just bought Ulysses by James Joyce. Let the torment commence.[close]
Buy the annotation book. It'll help with the old Irish slang, history, and Dublin's layout which makes it way more intelligible.
Here's the Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452 (http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452)
I love the book, it's probably my favorite (I read it three times in four years, two were for two different classes), so I'm always down to discuss it if you want. Just PM me.[close]
when you've got a good prof. it makes it all the better. had an irish lit II seminar last semester and we fucked with this on and off throughout. the instructor was so hyped on all of it that it made me, and most of the class, want to do more work with it.
Just ordered the annotation book, and I may be pm'ing you because I don't have a class or a professor to talk about it with anymore so I'm gonna chill on starting til i get the annotations and then go at this fucker research paper style.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI just bought Ulysses by James Joyce. Let the torment commence.[close]
Buy the annotation book. It'll help with the old Irish slang, history, and Dublin's layout which makes it way more intelligible.
Here's the Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452 (http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452)
I love the book, it's probably my favorite (I read it three times in four years, two were for two different classes), so I'm always down to discuss it if you want. Just PM me.[close]
when you've got a good prof. it makes it all the better. had an irish lit II seminar last semester and we fucked with this on and off throughout. the instructor was so hyped on all of it that it made me, and most of the class, want to do more work with it.[close]
Expand QuoteJust ordered the annotation book, and I may be pm'ing you because I don't have a class or a professor to talk about it with anymore so I'm gonna chill on starting til i get the annotations and then go at this fucker research paper style.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI just bought Ulysses by James Joyce. Let the torment commence.[close]
Buy the annotation book. It'll help with the old Irish slang, history, and Dublin's layout which makes it way more intelligible.
Here's the Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452 (http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Annotated-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0520067452)
I love the book, it's probably my favorite (I read it three times in four years, two were for two different classes), so I'm always down to discuss it if you want. Just PM me.[close]
when you've got a good prof. it makes it all the better. had an irish lit II seminar last semester and we fucked with this on and off throughout. the instructor was so hyped on all of it that it made me, and most of the class, want to do more work with it.[close][close]
Sick man. That's definitely a good way to go at it. I have a notebook almost full of notes/points I took from my class, so I'll have more than enough to talk about.
I went on a kick of buying a bunch of stuff on Ulysses and Finnegans Wake for a little bit there. Stay away from the Stuart Gilbert's Ulysses book. A lot of it was just Joyce fucking around with Gilbert, who didn't realize it.
Expand Quote[close]
Just because no one has mentioned The Illiad doesn't mean that no one has read it.
(http://franklyfrancis.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/The-Confusion.jpg)
Just bought a copy of this. I'm almost finished with Quicksilver. Love Neal Stephenson and love the humor and breadth of these books.
Cryptonomicon was my introduction to Neal Stephenson, after which I read Reamde and now I'm just about to wrap up Quicksilver and dive into The Confusion.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote[close]
Just because no one has mentioned The Illiad doesn't mean that no one has read it.[close][close]
I just said no-one mentioned it. I hate it when ppl make up these sort of conjectures out of a harmless post. do you want a medal or something for having read it? im already getting tired of you, oyolar.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote[close]
Just because no one has mentioned The Illiad doesn't mean that no one has read it.[close][close]
I just said no-one mentioned it. I hate it when ppl make up these sort of conjectures out of a harmless post. do you want a medal or something for having read it? im already getting tired of you, oyolar.[close]
on the contrary, swiftfootedbird, slap is already getting tired of you[close]
at least you've been honest. I shall not post anymore.
(http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/2009/11/17/eating_animals_main.jpg?1258460084)
Just finished this book. It was very interesting and well written without picking sides. You're simply left more educated and curious as to where your food comes from and become more aware of the factory farming industry as a result. After 9 years of being a vegan/vegetarian, I recently started eating meat again. Naturally, I wanted to know where my food was coming from, the process and whether it was truly a healthier alternative than what I had been doing for the past 9 years. I'm still left somewhat confused about my choices as far as eating goes but I feel more enlighten and thankful for reading this book. Enjoy it.
Expand Quote(http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/2009/11/17/eating_animals_main.jpg?1258460084)
Just finished this book. It was very interesting and well written without picking sides. You're simply left more educated and curious as to where your food comes from and become more aware of the factory farming industry as a result. After 9 years of being a vegan/vegetarian, I recently started eating meat again. Naturally, I wanted to know where my food was coming from, the process and whether it was truly a healthier alternative than what I had been doing for the past 9 years. I'm still left somewhat confused about my choices as far as eating goes but I feel more enlighten and thankful for reading this book. Enjoy it.[close]
Eating Animals has its flaws, but I'm all for the general purpose of it - to make people more aware of what they're eating/supporting/doing to themselves and the environment.
Currently reading this
(http://www.opendemocracy.net/content/articles/2746/images/al-qaeda.jpg)
Saw this on Colbert report this morning and am interested as shit.
(http://chipbruce.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/the-new-jim-crow.png)
Has anyone else picked it up by any chance?
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312051518l/8686068.jpg)
Expand Quote(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312051518l/8686068.jpg)[close]
I read the synopsis and ordered it from amazon for 9 pounds. Looking forward to reading it after my exams.
Finished this
(http://andscifi.com/storage/Rendezvous.jpg)
Expand QuoteFinished this
(http://andscifi.com/storage/Rendezvous.jpg)[close]
I loved that series so much. sci-fi at its very best. make sure to read the rest of them, they are pretty amazing.
Talking about books is weird for me. There's just so many out there, that when someone names an author they're into, I've usually never heard of them. I've mostly been reading "classics" that everyone has heard of. I finished Robinson Crusoe not long ago, and last night I started Tarzan the Untamed.
It's nice to read books of my choice now that class is out... I've been doing one or 2 a week. I've been tearing apart the free book shelves outside faculty offices at the University and have come out with some great reads.
Faith and the Good Thing-Charles Johnson
I never knew that the movie Fletch was based on a series of novels.
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n12/n61764.jpg)
about to start the summer reading list. On deck I have:
On the Road- Still haven't read it. Read other Kerouac shit and loved it.
Grapes of Wrath- Steinbeck is rad. I read Of Mice And Men recently and loved it. I feel like I have to.
Expand Quoteabout to start the summer reading list. On deck I have:
On the Road- Still haven't read it. Read other Kerouac shit and loved it.
Grapes of Wrath- Steinbeck is rad. I read Of Mice And Men recently and loved it. I feel like I have to.[close]
i thought you were teaching high school, not still attending it.
now I started to read guenther grass "cat and mouse" in polish. this is a tough one. I've never learned to read polish, so this is pretty hard. 4year old children have a bigger vocabulary then me, which makes reading real literature a not easier. anyway, I'm very proud of myself that I started this project. next time I'll get myself some french books.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D9cWf075QuU/TArbXqMWClI/AAAAAAAAANA/Wvpu_qG5Rbo/s1600/Friedrich+Nietzsche+-+Thus+Spoke+Zarathustra+OXFORD+CLASSICS+--+OKEEH.jpg)
I think you're the only person I know who has also read The Wasp Factory. Good and a little fucked up.
about to start the summer reading list. On deck I have:
On the Road- Still haven't read it. Read other Kerouac shit and loved it.
Grapes of Wrath- Steinbeck is rad. I read Of Mice And Men recently and loved it. I feel like I have to.
I read it already in my German class in school, but this happened 12 years ago. This book cought mostly my attention, because I grew up in the area that Grass is writing about. He even mentions the hospital I was born(the book takes place in german Nazi Gdansk, while I was born there in polish cummunism, still being half polish, half german). This was the first time I could contribute something about a book in class (I had straight D's in German for most of my school life).Pretty badass just reading any book in a foreign language.Expand QuoteQuite a difficult book in any language, but a really important novella. Enjoy!Expand Quotenow I started to read guenther grass "cat and mouse" in polish. this is a tough one. I've never learned to read polish, so this is pretty hard. 4year old children have a bigger vocabulary then me, which makes reading real literature a not easier. anyway, I'm very proud of myself that I started this project. next time I'll get myself some french books.[close][close]
cummunism
Expand Quotecummunism[close]
Paging Perfect Cock!
This mesmerizing exploration of the most subtle, elusive, and effective form of power is a masterful analysis of civilization's greatest seducers, from Cleopatra to JFK, as well as the classic literature of seduction from Freud to Kierkegaard and Ovid to Casanova. Robert Greene once again identifies the rules of a timeless, amoral game and explores how to cast a spell, break down resistance, and, ultimately, compel a target to surrender. Presenting the timeless profiles of each type of seducer and the twenty-four maneuvers that will guide you step by step in the game of seduction, The Art of Seduction is an indispensable primer of persuasion that reveals the timeless power of this age-old art.
When raised to the level of art, seduction has toppled empires, won elections, and enslaved great minds. In this volume, Greene asks readers what kind of seducers they want to become.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson is a genius, and the illustrations throughout are awesome.
Guys, I am in a mood. I need something excessively violent and/or nihilistic. My favorite novel of all time is Blood Meridean if that helps. Don't bother recommending anything by Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Pahaliniuk (his quality has sucked for awhile anyway), Cormac McCarthy, Hunter S. Thompson, Nietzsche, Kafka, Bukowski or Burroughs- I've read and reread all their stuff. I'm looking for that gem I've never heard of.
Oh, and I just wrapped up Siberian Education by Nicolai Lilin. It's a true account of a criminal from Siberia. Really awesome book.
Guys, I am in a mood. I need something excessively violent and/or nihilistic. My favorite novel of all time is Blood Meridean if that helps. Don't bother recommending anything by Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Pahaliniuk (his quality has sucked for awhile anyway), Cormac McCarthy, Hunter S. Thompson, Nietzsche, Kafka, Bukowski or Burroughs- I've read and reread all their stuff. I'm looking for that gem I've never heard of.
Oh, and I just wrapped up Siberian Education by Nicolai Lilin. It's a true account of a criminal from Siberia. Really awesome book.
Guys, I am in a mood. I need something excessively violent and/or nihilistic. My favorite novel of all time is Blood Meridean if that helps. Don't bother recommending anything by Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Pahaliniuk (his quality has sucked for awhile anyway), Cormac McCarthy, Hunter S. Thompson, Nietzsche, Kafka, Bukowski or Burroughs- I've read and reread all their stuff. I'm looking for that gem I've never heard of.
Oh, and I just wrapped up Siberian Education by Nicolai Lilin. It's a true account of a criminal from Siberia. Really awesome book.
This was lent to me last year and I got through it pretty quickly. It's a really, really good book.
(http://ia600801.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/29/items/olcovers234/olcovers234-L.zip&file=2340064-L.jpg)
Guys, I am in a mood.? I need something excessively violent and/or nihilistic.? My favorite novel of all time is Blood Meridean if that helps.? Don't bother recommending anything by Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Pahaliniuk (his quality has sucked for awhile anyway), Cormac McCarthy, Hunter S. Thompson, Nietzsche, Kafka,? Bukowski or Burroughs- I've read and reread all their stuff.? I'm looking for that gem I've never heard of.I'm slightly late on this, but I suggest Twilight of the Idols by Nietzsche. It's one of his roughest assails to morallity.
Oh, and I just wrapped up Siberian Education by Nicolai Lilin.? It's a true account of a criminal from Siberia.? Really awesome book.
Guys, I am in a mood. I need something excessively violent and/or nihilistic. My favorite novel of all time is Blood Meridean if that helps. Don't bother recommending anything by Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Pahaliniuk (his quality has sucked for awhile anyway), Cormac McCarthy, Hunter S. Thompson, Nietzsche, Kafka, Bukowski or Burroughs- I've read and reread all their stuff. I'm looking for that gem I've never heard of.
Oh, and I just wrapped up Siberian Education by Nicolai Lilin. It's a true account of a criminal from Siberia. Really awesome book.
Expand QuoteGuys, I am in a mood. I need something excessively violent and/or nihilistic. My favorite novel of all time is Blood Meridean if that helps. Don't bother recommending anything by Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Pahaliniuk (his quality has sucked for awhile anyway), Cormac McCarthy, Hunter S. Thompson, Nietzsche, Kafka, Bukowski or Burroughs- I've read and reread all their stuff. I'm looking for that gem I've never heard of.
Oh, and I just wrapped up Siberian Education by Nicolai Lilin. It's a true account of a criminal from Siberia. Really awesome book.[close]
George Bataille. Story of the Eye. Short, sweet, totally fucked. See also everything else he ever wrote. Someone already said Celine right? Don't miss that.
thank's but I just compared some book prices and amazon germany is way cheaper (for german books). bought some kafka, murakami and a french book last week - I have now 12 books that need to be read in the next time, really looking forward to.
right now i'm reading thomas mann "die buddenbrooks", the story about his family. it's not bad, but sometimes I have the feeling that it's one of these books my grandma used to read. you know, a bit of history, a bit of love, drama and all people are kind of the upper class.
(http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r617/mudozine/families.jpg)I picked this one up yesterday from the library and am about 200 pages deep, pretty entertaining. Just have to kind of let go of everything while reading it because some of the twists and characters seem so ridiculous..
Half way through this gem of a book, it has had me hooked sine the first page. Some parts have literally given me that weightless falling feeling where you cant beleive what you are reading as you desperatly flip back through the pages in search of some context that you may have missed.
A real new contender for my top ten, highly recomended.
I'm gonna take a gamble and recommend a book I'm only 3 chapters in. The Wettest County In The World by Matt Bondurant. I totally forgot that this was the book that the movie Lawless is based on, but the author has a lot of folks comparing him to Cormac McCarthy. I gotta say, they're not lying. Dude has a really cool writing style and it's already pretty gnarly. Thoroughly psyched.
Expand Quotethank's but I just compared some book prices and amazon germany is way cheaper (for german books). bought some kafka, murakami and a french book last week - I have now 12 books that need to be read in the next time, really looking forward to.
right now i'm reading thomas mann "die buddenbrooks", the story about his family. it's not bad, but sometimes I have the feeling that it's one of these books my grandma used to read. you know, a bit of history, a bit of love, drama and all people are kind of the upper class.[close]
Have you read Der Tod In Venedig by Mann? Really eerie story about obsession and loss of self control.
Also, anyone ever read any Alastair Gray? Finished 1982, Janine a while ago which was so dark and nihilistic but completely sympathetic at the same time. It's the interior monologue and elaborate sexual fantasies of a middle-aged Scottish alcoholic as he slides towards overdose, definitely reccomended.
(http://www.sudhirvenkatesh.org/img/gangleaderforaday_cover_large.jpg)
Guy gives an In Cold Blood style look into 80's gang life in Chicago. I found it very interesting. As if Freakonomics met Capote in the 80's.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Slaughterhousefive.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/BreakfastOfChampions(Vonnegut).jpg/200px-BreakfastOfChampions(Vonnegut).jpg)
I would recommend you read both these books, one after the other in any order. Especially, Slaughterhouse-5, it's probably the best book ever written besides ulysessExpand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Slaughterhousefive.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/BreakfastOfChampions(Vonnegut).jpg/200px-BreakfastOfChampions(Vonnegut).jpg)[close]
I finally read a Vonnegut book...Cat's Cradle. It was pretty damn good and those short chapters make you feel you're actually getting somewhere haha. Based on the plot descriptions I'd probably read Sirens of Titan next. For now I'm going back to non-fiction reading the People's History of the United States. I'm only one chapter deep though.
I would recommend you read both these books, one after the other in any order. Especially, Slaughterhouse-5, it's probably the best book ever written besides ulysessExpand QuoteExpand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Slaughterhousefive.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/BreakfastOfChampions(Vonnegut).jpg/200px-BreakfastOfChampions(Vonnegut).jpg)[close]
I finally read a Vonnegut book...Cat's Cradle. It was pretty damn good and those short chapters make you feel you're actually getting somewhere haha. Based on the plot descriptions I'd probably read Sirens of Titan next. For now I'm going back to non-fiction reading the People's History of the United States. I'm only one chapter deep though.[close]
(http://tmcms.techmethods.com/hucklebe/JScottNicol_East_Of_Eden.jpg)
I finished to read a Kafka book with basically all his stories..it's been really harsh but rewarding, to be honest I guess I understood barely just 50% of the content, like meanings and whatnot were REALLY hard to comprehend most of the time, but the things I got were really inspiring and mindblowing!
Anyone that experienced this?
I've been getting into Brautigan. The store I went to didn't have any of his classic works like "Trout Fishing In America" or "In Watermelon Sugar" so I opted for this.
(http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/09/78/03/95/54/0978039554703_500X500.jpg)
Man, I've never read someone who could be both hilarious and totally depressing at the same time. He's got a great ability at engaging the reader with just a few simple lines. I suppose he was tied in with the 60's counter culture (which he resented apparently) but I wouldn't group him with the beats or anything. Highly recommended to those into the silly and strange
other stuff I've read this year:
Ask The Dust by John Fante (brilliant)
My Life With Charles Manson by Paul Watkins (you're not gonna find this in stores or even on Ebay, I had to download a PDF of it and squint my way through. It was written by a member of the family and is pretty much the only book you need. Everything is here.. the orgies, killings etc in full detail by a guy who saw it)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GtFLxv2VL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
The sun also rises - Ernest Hemingway.
Half through, I wish I was a man like those guys.
Expand QuoteThe sun also rises - Ernest Hemingway.
Half through, I wish I was a man like those guys.[close]
save some money, travel to another country, get drunk, get fucked, and write about it. make sure you tell the stories of your exploits in an explosive way.
Ya, it's definitely a literary ABD. Hemingway's ideal of masculinity is impossible to live up to anyway, no matter how much drinking and fucking you do.
Could be fun though...
Expand QuoteYa, it's definitely a literary ABD. Hemingway's ideal of masculinity is impossible to live up to anyway, no matter how much drinking and fucking you do.
Could be fun though...[close]
Goddamn, I can smell your halitosis through the screen! You don't deserve to read his books. Tosser.
Expand Quote
I wasn't completely happy with the ending, but really enjoyed the overall concept. It's basically Cabin In The Woods set in a corporate office.[close]
Whoa, really? Just that sentence has me very curious!
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ewjplkd5_nU/TcBv5oE65eI/AAAAAAAAEO8/1j_F06z9uMQ/s1600/%252522City%2Bof%2BThieves%252522%2B%252B%2BBenioff.jpeg)
Just finished rereading it. Not the most challenging read, but one of my favourites by far.
(http://www.studentpulse.com/article-images/uploaded/348_1.jpg)
Incredible, of course. Don't know why I'd never read Joe Conrad before this. What do y'all think about his other stuff? Any recommendations?
I've been into reading shorter novels and novellas lately. It might just be laziness, but I'll take a pared down, powerfully written novella over a fluffy, narcissistic epic any day.
I loved child of god. On one of James Franco's websites they are doing a bunch of behind the scene clips. I can't think of a film I've anticipated more than this one.
(http://www.studentpulse.com/article-images/uploaded/348_1.jpg)I would recommend watching the movie "Apocalypse Now" and compare the themes in Heart of Darkness.
Incredible, of course. Don't know why I'd never read Joe Conrad before this. What do y'all think about his other stuff? Any recommendations?
I've been into reading shorter novels and novellas lately. It might just be laziness, but I'll take a pared down, powerfully written novella over a fluffy, narcissistic epic any day.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Company%28novel%29.jpg/406px-Company%28novel%29.jpg)
I wasn't completely happy with the ending, but really enjoyed the overall concept. It's basically Cabin In The Woods set in a corporate office.
(http://www.studentpulse.com/article-images/uploaded/348_1.jpg)
Incredible, of course. Don't know why I'd never read Joe Conrad before this. What do y'all think about his other stuff? Any recommendations?
(http://images.word-power.co.uk/images/product_images/9780141188225.jpg)
So good. Haven't read anything by Delillo in a long time, almost forgot how brilliant his writing is.
Expand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Company%28novel%29.jpg/406px-Company%28novel%29.jpg)
I wasn't completely happy with the ending, but really enjoyed the overall concept. It's basically Cabin In The Woods set in a corporate office.[close]
Such a great recommendation! I needed a book like this. Highly entertaining, witty, and fun. Thanks a mil!
Have you read his other two novels?
The Secret Agent i read recently and it was pretty dope, altho not as good as H of D, gonna read Lord Jim soon too which is supposed to be really coolExpand Quote(http://www.studentpulse.com/article-images/uploaded/348_1.jpg)
Incredible, of course. Don't know why I'd never read Joe Conrad before this. What do y'all think about his other stuff? Any recommendations?[close]
I really enjoyed Nostromo. It's doesn't really resemble Heart of Darkness that much, but if you're psyched on Conrad you should definitely check it out.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Company%28novel%29.jpg/406px-Company%28novel%29.jpg)
I wasn't completely happy with the ending, but really enjoyed the overall concept. It's basically Cabin In The Woods set in a corporate office.[close]
Such a great recommendation! I needed a book like this. Highly entertaining, witty, and fun. Thanks a mil!
Have you read his other two novels?[close]
I've read Jennifer Government. Also really entertaining and smart. If you liked Company, you'd be into it. It's about corporations and advertising in the near future. Nike hiring contract killers to murder people that buy Nike's new shoe, so as to help with Nike's street cred.
Expand Quote(http://images.word-power.co.uk/images/product_images/9780141188225.jpg)
So good. Haven't read anything by Delillo in a long time, almost forgot how brilliant his writing is.[close]
Any suggestions for Delillo? I read Great Jones Street a couple years ago, and loved it, but haven't followed up with anything else.
(http://theorwellprize.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Down-and-Out-in-Paris-and-London.jpg)yeh i read that last week too, really enjoyed it actually. kinda weird the whole simultaneously non-fiction/literary thing it has going on, makes it harder to read critically, - and the overtly politicised bits toward the end i found a lil bit compromising - but still a rly awesome endeavour and very earnest.... can see elements of beat/bukowski pre cursoring in it too
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Company%28novel%29.jpg/406px-Company%28novel%29.jpg)
I wasn't completely happy with the ending, but really enjoyed the overall concept. It's basically Cabin In The Woods set in a corporate office.[close]
Such a great recommendation! I needed a book like this. Highly entertaining, witty, and fun. Thanks a mil!
Have you read his other two novels?[close]
I've read Jennifer Government. Also really entertaining and smart. If you liked Company, you'd be into it. It's about corporations and advertising in the near future. Nike hiring contract killers to murder people that buy Nike's new shoe, so as to help with Nike's street cred.
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348988611l/33313.jpg)Check out Medium Raw.
Borrowed this from my uncle and took a break from more serious books. It was a super fun and quick read. I finished it in like 4 days. If you like Anthony Bourdain, I would definitely recommend picking it up.
yeh i read that last week too, really enjoyed it actually. kinda weird the whole simultaneously non-fiction/literary thing it has going on, makes it harder to read critically, - and the overtly politicised bits toward the end i found a lil bit compromising - but still a rly awesome endeavour and very earnest.... can see elements of beat/bukowski pre cursoring in it tooExpand Quote(http://theorwellprize.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Down-and-Out-in-Paris-and-London.jpg)[close]
awesum
(http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4152/4843972787_2935826bf3_z.jpg)
started to read dietrich schwanitz book about eduction. well, it's more an encyclopedia about the most important things you need to know about history, religion, culture, philosophy, writing and whatnot. kind of the the things that you missed in school because it bored the hell out of you when you were 15 and greek history had nothing in common with keenans switchstance crooks. this is going to be something that I'll have to read a couple of times in my life I guess (over 600 pages full of informations).
(http://anonpic.ws/i/bildung.jpg)
(http://www.aquabooks.ca/images/goler.jpg)dude that sounds so good, I'll have to check that out
It's about these mountain people who live in filth and impregnate their own kids/siblings so everyone is disabled and/or deformed. It's a true story too, made national headlines in the 80's. What's crazy is that it happened just a couple hours from my town. And there's probably still some messed up people back there. Needless to say, it's a pretty intense read. Guilt is starting to kick in too, because for the past year my friends and I have frequently used "Goler" as an insult.
These showed up on my door. An ex girlfriend sent them to me. Wondering if there is hidden meaning in her selections.Kavalier and Clay is so good
(http://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/1174701.jpg)(http://anyiko.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/one_hundred_years_of_solitude.jpg)
(http://wp.stockton.edu/goodfellowlc/files/2011/12/2364302.jpg)
Expand Quote(http://wp.stockton.edu/goodfellowlc/files/2011/12/2364302.jpg)[close]
Holy guacamole, that early story about the boy and the pool was nutty. There's some pretty wild stuff in that book. Definitely one of the better Palahniuk's, right?
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(http://wp.stockton.edu/goodfellowlc/files/2011/12/2364302.jpg)[close]
Holy guacamole, that early story about the boy and the pool was nutty. There's some pretty wild stuff in that book. Definitely one of the better Palahniuk's, right?[close]
For sure one of Chuck's best. Check out Rant and Survivor. Two of my favorites.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote(http://wp.stockton.edu/goodfellowlc/files/2011/12/2364302.jpg)[close]
Holy guacamole, that early story about the boy and the pool was nutty. There's some pretty wild stuff in that book. Definitely one of the better Palahniuk's, right?[close]
For sure one of Chuck's best. Check out Rant and Survivor. Two of my favorites.[close]
Haunted is the book that turned me off from Palahniuk. I'd read Rant, Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, and Choke- digging all of them. Especially Rant with the post apocalyptic thread. The entire premise of Haunted revolves only around being as nutty as possible. It's gets redundant from the get go, becoming almost kitschy.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote(http://wp.stockton.edu/goodfellowlc/files/2011/12/2364302.jpg)[close]
Holy guacamole, that early story about the boy and the pool was nutty. There's some pretty wild stuff in that book. Definitely one of the better Palahniuk's, right?[close]
For sure one of Chuck's best. Check out Rant and Survivor. Two of my favorites.[close]
Haunted is the book that turned me off from Palahniuk. I'd read Rant, Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, and Choke- digging all of them. Especially Rant with the post apocalyptic thread. The entire premise of Haunted revolves only around being as nutty as possible. It's gets redundant from the get go, becoming almost kitschy.[close]
I thought it was more about how people choose to narrate their own lives and the desire for something to happen even if it is awful. And also about the different layers of removal and lenses individuals use to view the world.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote(http://wp.stockton.edu/goodfellowlc/files/2011/12/2364302.jpg)[close]
Holy guacamole, that early story about the boy and the pool was nutty. There's some pretty wild stuff in that book. Definitely one of the better Palahniuk's, right?[close]
For sure one of Chuck's best. Check out Rant and Survivor. Two of my favorites.[close]
Haunted is the book that turned me off from Palahniuk. I'd read Rant, Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, and Choke- digging all of them. Especially Rant with the post apocalyptic thread. The entire premise of Haunted revolves only around being as nutty as possible. It's gets redundant from the get go, becoming almost kitschy.[close]
I thought it was more about how people choose to narrate their own lives and the desire for something to happen even if it is awful. And also about the different layers of removal and lenses individuals use to view the world.
(http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-call-of-the-wild/9780141321059_custom-5dded1a6fa27cd792bcb0328843b6dc58bea5cf7-s15.jpg)I like dogs and wilderness, but I was not into that book.
about wolves and shit
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote(http://wp.stockton.edu/goodfellowlc/files/2011/12/2364302.jpg)[close]
Holy guacamole, that early story about the boy and the pool was nutty. There's some pretty wild stuff in that book. Definitely one of the better Palahniuk's, right?[close]
For sure one of Chuck's best. Check out Rant and Survivor. Two of my favorites.[close]
Haunted is the book that turned me off from Palahniuk. I'd read Rant, Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, and Choke- digging all of them. Especially Rant with the post apocalyptic thread. The entire premise of Haunted revolves only around being as nutty as possible. It's gets redundant from the get go, becoming almost kitschy.[close]
I thought it was more about how people choose to narrate their own lives and the desire for something to happen even if it is awful. And also about the different layers of removal and lenses individuals use to view the world.[close]
I can sort of see that, but it might be going deep for Palahniuk.
I like dogs and wilderness, but I was not into that book.Expand Quote(http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-call-of-the-wild/9780141321059_custom-5dded1a6fa27cd792bcb0328843b6dc58bea5cf7-s15.jpg)
about wolves and shit[close]
I read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and liked about half of the stories in there and no where near as much as I had expected. I hope his other stuff is better. I have a copy of Infinite Jest (and I'm glad I do), but it's no where near the top of my list. I think I might try The Broom of the System at some point before trying IJ and see if DFW is just not for me.
Expand QuoteI read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and liked about half of the stories in there and no where near as much as I had expected. I hope his other stuff is better. I have a copy of Infinite Jest (and I'm glad I do), but it's no where near the top of my list. I think I might try The Broom of the System at some point before trying IJ and see if DFW is just not for me.[close]
Broom isn't really representative of DFW's main body of work. If you don't have the time to read IJ I suggest you check out Oblivion.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and liked about half of the stories in there and no where near as much as I had expected. I hope his other stuff is better. I have a copy of Infinite Jest (and I'm glad I do), but it's no where near the top of my list. I think I might try The Broom of the System at some point before trying IJ and see if DFW is just not for me.[close]
Broom isn't really representative of DFW's main body of work. If you don't have the time to read IJ I suggest you check out Oblivion.[close]
i support this suggestion, ij is by far his richest and yet most tedious, oblivion or girl with the curious hair would be better to start with. with brief interviews with hideous men, he is working within a pretty narrow conceptual frame
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and liked about half of the stories in there and no where near as much as I had expected. I hope his other stuff is better. I have a copy of Infinite Jest (and I'm glad I do), but it's no where near the top of my list. I think I might try The Broom of the System at some point before trying IJ and see if DFW is just not for me.[close]
Broom isn't really representative of DFW's main body of work. If you don't have the time to read IJ I suggest you check out Oblivion.[close]
i support this suggestion, ij is by far his richest and yet most tedious, oblivion or girl with the curious hair would be better to start with. with brief interviews with hideous men, he is working within a pretty narrow conceptual frame[close]
Except for the interviews themselves, what was his conceptual frame? Topic wise, it was really no different from what I've been told DFW writes about in his novels and it wasn't much different from his quotes and articles I've read. It really just seemed overly tedious and pretentious and like I've read it all before, both stylistically and subject matter wise. I feel like I was sitting there going, "I see what you're doing, but you could be doing it better." You can tell he was influenced by Joyce and Pynchon and admittedly, it's hard to hold a candle to those guys, while his extensive use of footnotes didn't surprise me since I saw it before with House of Leaves albeit DFW came first. Like I said, some of the stories I really liked, but even those did not leave much of a lasting impression. I seem to be in the minority of this and I'm completely open to the fact that I might not have read the right book and am interested in his other works.
I think too that I might have gone in with too high of expectations since a friend of mine loves DFW and gushes over him.
if you all are into world lit I suggest a series by Amitav Gosh, starting with Sea of Poppies.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and liked about half of the stories in there and no where near as much as I had expected. I hope his other stuff is better. I have a copy of Infinite Jest (and I'm glad I do), but it's no where near the top of my list. I think I might try The Broom of the System at some point before trying IJ and see if DFW is just not for me.[close]
Broom isn't really representative of DFW's main body of work. If you don't have the time to read IJ I suggest you check out Oblivion.[close]
i support this suggestion, ij is by far his richest and yet most tedious, oblivion or girl with the curious hair would be better to start with. with brief interviews with hideous men, he is working within a pretty narrow conceptual frame[close]
Except for the interviews themselves, what was his conceptual frame? Topic wise, it was really no different from what I've been told DFW writes about in his novels and it wasn't much different from his quotes and articles I've read. It really just seemed overly tedious and pretentious and like I've read it all before, both stylistically and subject matter wise. I feel like I was sitting there going, "I see what you're doing, but you could be doing it better." You can tell he was influenced by Joyce and Pynchon and admittedly, it's hard to hold a candle to those guys, while his extensive use of footnotes didn't surprise me since I saw it before with House of Leaves albeit DFW came first. Like I said, some of the stories I really liked, but even those did not leave much of a lasting impression. I seem to be in the minority of this and I'm completely open to the fact that I might not have read the right book and am interested in his other works.
I think too that I might have gone in with too high of expectations since a friend of mine loves DFW and gushes over him.[close]
from what ive read Infinite Jest is my favorite, and i highly recommend it even though its such a time devotion. if you want something easier to digest i would go with Consider The Lobster, or like kilgore said, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. i wasn't really feeling The Broom Of The System, mind you i read that after Infinite Jest, and i only like a few stories from Girl With Curious Hair ("Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way" is worth the read though).
Fellow SLAP readers,
I come seeking advice. I read a considerable amount at my job (which is awsome). The only thing that hinders my reading is finding out new authors/books to divulge in. Therefore, I come asking for some recommendations. I do not like books that are too old. I have read alot older short stories and novels and they just don't do it for me. So, I am interested in new literature including...
1) A grotesque novel, but with a good plot.
2) A hilarious novel that will have me shitting my pants.
3) A random novel that you think should be read by everyone everywhere (basically, your favorite novel of all time).
Thanks in advance for the advice and I will let you know what I think of them upon completion.
Expand QuoteFellow SLAP readers,
I come seeking advice. I read a considerable amount at my job (which is awsome). The only thing that hinders my reading is finding out new authors/books to divulge in. Therefore, I come asking for some recommendations. I do not like books that are too old. I have read alot older short stories and novels and they just don't do it for me. So, I am interested in new literature including...
1) A grotesque novel, but with a good plot.
2) A hilarious novel that will have me shitting my pants.
3) A random novel that you think should be read by everyone everywhere (basically, your favorite novel of all time).
Thanks in advance for the advice and I will let you know what I think of them upon completion.[close]
Its kind of old, 60s I think, but Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is one of the funniest novel I've read, and one of my favorites.
Expand QuoteI like dogs and wilderness, but I was not into that book.Expand Quote(http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-call-of-the-wild/9780141321059_custom-5dded1a6fa27cd792bcb0328843b6dc58bea5cf7-s15.jpg)
about wolves and shit[close][close]
You're tripping. Love that book, haven't read it in years, might pick it up again
Expand QuoteI like dogs and wilderness, but I was not into that book.Expand Quote(http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-call-of-the-wild/9780141321059_custom-5dded1a6fa27cd792bcb0328843b6dc58bea5cf7-s15.jpg)
about wolves and shit[close][close]
You're tripping. Love that book, haven't read it in years, might pick it up again
Fellow SLAP readers,
I come seeking advice. I read a considerable amount at my job (which is awsome). The only thing that hinders my reading is finding out new authors/books to divulge in. Therefore, I come asking for some recommendations. I do not like books that are too old. I have read alot older short stories and novels and they just don't do it for me. So, I am interested in new literature including...
1) A grotesque novel, but with a good plot.
2) A hilarious novel that will have me shitting my pants.
3) A random novel that you think should be read by everyone everywhere (basically, your favorite novel of all time).
Thanks in advance for the advice and I will let you know what I think of them upon completion.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and liked about half of the stories in there and no where near as much as I had expected. I hope his other stuff is better. I have a copy of Infinite Jest (and I'm glad I do), but it's no where near the top of my list. I think I might try The Broom of the System at some point before trying IJ and see if DFW is just not for me.[close]
Broom isn't really representative of DFW's main body of work. If you don't have the time to read IJ I suggest you check out Oblivion.[close]
i support this suggestion, ij is by far his richest and yet most tedious, oblivion or girl with the curious hair would be better to start with. with brief interviews with hideous men, he is working within a pretty narrow conceptual frame[close]
Except for the interviews themselves, what was his conceptual frame? Topic wise, it was really no different from what I've been told DFW writes about in his novels and it wasn't much different from his quotes and articles I've read. It really just seemed overly tedious and pretentious and like I've read it all before, both stylistically and subject matter wise. I feel like I was sitting there going, "I see what you're doing, but you could be doing it better." You can tell he was influenced by Joyce and Pynchon and admittedly, it's hard to hold a candle to those guys, while his extensive use of footnotes didn't surprise me since I saw it before with House of Leaves albeit DFW came first. Like I said, some of the stories I really liked, but even those did not leave much of a lasting impression. I seem to be in the minority of this and I'm completely open to the fact that I might not have read the right book and am interested in his other works.
I think too that I might have gone in with too high of expectations since a friend of mine loves DFW and gushes over him.[close]
from what ive read Infinite Jest is my favorite, and i highly recommend it even though its such a time devotion. if you want something easier to digest i would go with Consider The Lobster, or like kilgore said, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. i wasn't really feeling The Broom Of The System, mind you i read that after Infinite Jest, and i only like a few stories from Girl With Curious Hair ("Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way" is worth the read though).[close]
dfws earlier stuff is more concerned with metafiction and emulating barth and barthelme etc., girl with the curious hair and oblivion have much of that stylistic feel, broom with the system has the same sort of philosophical underpinnings but the actual dialogue and writing through which he conveys it is more straigtforward, simple, and less convoluted...in his interviews he talks about trying to escape irony and reach for a sincere emotional thrust of his work, and the concept of BIWHM, in my opinion, is more or a less a bunch of character studies of "hideous men." men lacking empathy, treating others badly, and expositions of the sort of ugly behavior that should be morally reprehensible.
you know? like don't be like these guys. dfw on the whole is very cerebral, and definitely can be pretentious, but it always comes from a sort of formality that enjoys picking itself apart, if you don't find yourself enjoying it i would suggest someone else, maybe saul bellow?
GGM's novels are everything but funny. Even the bits of humor which do appear are dripping with melancholy.
@greg I meant as opposed to just writing with the tone and precision of an analytic philosopher and being just flat out pretentious look how smart I am, his writing tends to pick things apart to immense detail, go on inward spirals of thought processes and discussions, and take an ironic undercutting approach to any definitive or intelligent proclamations. it is never just stating complex things as much as it is going back over any ideas and arguments and always questioning any assumptions and never taking any fact or statement for granted. a lot of the overly scholarly (formal) language is used in an un-enthused or sardonic way to discuss the banalities of everyday life.
again all of this is offhand and my opinion, if you really are interested in extracting the essence of his work i recommend picking this book up
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/148730000/148738746.JPG)
i own it and it is not a difficult read and also very insightful. cheers.
I cannot get into GGM. I tried reading one if his short story collections that a friend loaned to me since he talked him up so much and I gave it back after a few stories after I was bored by every story. I also hate the phrase "magical realism." I find it unnecessary.
Expand QuoteI cannot get into GGM. I tried reading one if his short story collections that a friend loaned to me since he talked him up so much and I gave it back after a few stories after I was bored by every story. I also hate the phrase "magical realism." I find it unnecessary.[close]
how else would you frame the genre?
Just read my first book for 2013 in a couple of hours - Post Office by Charles Bukowski. Engaged enough interest to follow up on more of his works. But where to go from here?i'm guessing you're in high school. just go, grab it all.
Expand QuoteFinished my two Georges Bataille related books and started The Outsourced Self by Arlie Russell Hochschild last night. I'm kind of nervous because she seems to be walking a fine line between academic and pop sociology. Hopefully it turns out alright.[close]
Georges Bataille is excellent.
Just picked up Cormac McCarthy's Child of God and Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me.
There's been more talk on Instagram and Facebook about a Slap Book Club....?
Speaking of which, I was thinking about picking up Ulysses soon and wanted to hear some thoughts about getting the annotated book by Gifford as well or should I try to get through it without it?
Expand QuoteSpeaking of which, I was thinking about picking up Ulysses soon and wanted to hear some thoughts about getting the annotated book by Gifford as well or should I try to get through it without it?[close]
I've read Ulysses three times now and the Gifford annotations are really helpful. It is entirely possible to get through it without the annotations (I did for my first two times), but the annotations provide a lot of historical, geographical, and linguistic context (i.e. slang and the occasional translation). It provides little to no analytical work, so you still have to do all of that, but it will increase your comprehension of the text making analysis easier. I'd definitely recommend it. It's super thorough so what I did when I used it was just glance at it whenever I came across a confusing plot point or term.
One thing to be aware of is that the Gifford annotations are numbered for a specific printing of the book since Ulysses has a really odd publication history. I used the annotations while reading the hardcover "Modern Library" edition and I'm of the ilk strongly advising you to stay away from the Gabler edition (and supposedly there's a "Reader's Edition" of Ulysses that's just horrendous EDIT: Found out why. It was edited by Danis Rose and you should avoid any editions of Joyce that he has had a hand in). Gabler was released by the Joyce Estate after his edition came out and hundreds of errors were described line-by-line by critics. I honestly don't know why people still have it in circulation.
Sorry for all of the info. I just really like Joyce. Feel free to PM me once you start if you want to talk about it although it's been about 2 years since the last time I read it.
As fr the book club, I was actually going to resuggest The Crying of Lot 49 since it's on my personal list and didn't work out too well last time.
(http://blog.firstchoice.co.uk/img/uploads//2012/03/IQ84-by-Haruki-Murakami.jpg)
Half-way through this tome. It's the 5th or 6th murakami book i've read in the last year. super dank metaphysical scifi shit.
Expand QuoteJust finished this:
(http://patriciashepard.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sharp-objects.jpg)
And it was fucking amazing. Literally one of the most disturbing and dark books I have ever read. It resonated with me like a parasite infecting a human host. I still can't stop thinking about it. It was dark, witty, and interesting all at once. Fucking phenomenal. Also, the author, Gillian Flynn, is pretty fucking hot. Which makes it even more interesting. I don't know why, it just does. Read it and you will udnerstand. If you like dark literature, then I recommend you read this. ;D[close]
I read that a couple years ago and read her other one, Dark Places as well. She's a good author and knows her way around a thriller/mystery, but I just don't get the people going overboard on them being extremely dark and disturbing. Those are some pretty weighted terms and, quite frankly, they don't belong attached to her work. They're dark and they have some pretty fucked up characters and there are some cool twists, but they still read like light summer reading to me. Don't get me wrong, I dug 'em, and I'll read Gone Girl after my wife is done with it with her book club, but they're still pretty tame. If anything, I am more into HOW she writes. She's very visual and she can bounce back and forth between time (the way she handles flashbacks in Dark Places is great). I will say that she rachets up the tension expertly.
If you're into dark and disturbing, like shit that will start invading how you think, give American Psycho or Exquisite Corpse a try. Those are legitimately both.
Hell House, in my opinion, is the best haunted house story ever written. Definitely check out anything by Richard Matheson as I Am Legend and Stir Of Echoes are both excellent. Exquisite Corpse might be hard to track down. Poppy Z. Brite basically takes the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, turns him into two people (one being a cannibal, the other a necrophile) and well.... that's all I should say. Bret Easton Ellis can turn people off with his style, but he writes some gnarly shit.
It's been mentioned a million times in this thread, but anything by Cormac McCarthy is excellent. Blood Meridian being my, and many others', favorite. The violence and misanthropy combined with what I would imagine is a pretty accurate depiction of life in the mid 19th century is pretty excellent.
I'll think about it, I'm sure I can track down some other books that can creep under skin and stay with you for awhile.
Hell House, in my opinion, is the best haunted house story ever written. Definitely check out anything by Richard Matheson as I Am Legend and Stir Of Echoes are both excellent. Exquisite Corpse might be hard to track down. Poppy Z. Brite basically takes the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, turns him into two people (one being a cannibal, the other a necrophile) and well.... that's all I should say. Bret Easton Ellis can turn people off with his style, but he writes some gnarly shit.
It's been mentioned a million times in this thread, but anything by Cormac McCarthy is excellent. Blood Meridian being my, and many others', favorite. The violence and misanthropy combined with what I would imagine is a pretty accurate depiction of life in the mid 19th century is pretty excellent.
I'll think about it, I'm sure I can track down some other books that can creep under skin and stay with you for awhile.
You're getting it backward- Legend is about vampires, Echoes is about ghosts... or A ghost.
Story of the Eye is Bataille's book I just mentioned. It's not that it's bad, and in terms of sex shit, it's really wild, but it never lets you breathe and the story telling is sorta weak. It just bounces from one fucked up sex act to the next. It's like as it goes, it just keeps saying, "You thought that was fucked up? Check out THIS." It IS fucked up, but it's just way, way overdone with little else going on so the impact is lessened.
You probably found all of his fiction stuff. He was not a very prolific fiction writer. If I remember correctly, his fiction pieces are : Story if the Eye, Blue of Noon, The Impossible, Madame Edwarda, The Dead Man, and My Mother. But all of those are really short. Story of the Eye, like HATE! said, is rather repetitive and fairly weak. It makes sense in terms of Bataille's psychological/philosophical obsessions, but standing on its own, it does not fair well. His other works, except maybe My Mother and possibly The Dead Man, don't focus as much as fucked up sex scenes (although they are there) to my knowledge of skimming them, reading few of them and in-depth summaries and criticisms of them. I suggested them more so because for me, Batille will write these short scenes or chapters or even a sentence that I'll understand at the time and will continue to stick in my head and haunt me for hours later.
As for HoL, that's what I like so much about the book and Danielewski in general. His weird formats and visualizations are not an ad hoc gimmick to sell his books. They actually enhance the stories. I've read all of his stuff so far and if you're interested, I'd say read The Fifty Year Sword next. It's a really short modern ghost story that you can get through in an hour or two. I actually went to a reading by him of the entire book back in October and it was awesome. His second novel Only Revolutions is good in its own right, but very different from HoL and strange to get into. He's working on a 27 volume third book right now tht I'm excited for tht starts coming out later this year or next year. I think he's planning on shorter volumes every two or three months. He's said that HoL was meant to tackle cinema, T50YS was oral ghost stories, OR was music, and this new one is tackling TV series. He's an odd fellow.
Sorry for the lack of italics. I'm on my phone.
Kind of a stretch, but has anyone here thought about writing a book, or has already written one?
been rifling off a bunch of harry crews lately
this cover made me feel very uncomfortable at time. very awkward to flash in public
(http://clzimages.com/book/large/eb/eb_u212519_0_HarryCrews_Body.jpg)
fuck all that.
Kind of a stretch, but has anyone here thought about writing a book, or has already written one?
I actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.
I actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.
I actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.
Expand QuoteI actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.[close]
at least you know someone, that's always an advantage. I don't know anyone in publishing (or even a writer at that). I queried around 160 literary agents, got 50 rejection letters/emails and only 2 green lights (who rejected it after "reading" it)
I actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.
Expand QuoteI actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.[close]
you ever think about applying to MFA programs? there are so many solid programs that offer full funding with teaching assistantships. Two to three years of getting paid to write with other writers.
Expand QuoteI actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.[close]
at least you know someone, that's always an advantage. I don't know anyone in publishing (or even a writer at that). I queried around 160 literary agents, got 50 rejection letters/emails and only 2 green lights (who rejected it after "reading" it)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.[close]
you ever think about applying to MFA programs? there are so many solid programs that offer full funding with teaching assistantships. Two to three years of getting paid to write with other writers.[close]
No, I was going to journalism school a few years ago and dropped out to focus on the novel, because of amongst other reasons my teachers always talking about how the industry was dying. Since thenI've been pretty obsessively focused on writing, and haven't thought much about school full-time. I only have like 15-20 units left and plan on finishing my bachelor's, especially if the book doesn't get published/doesn't sell well, and that does sound pretty awesome, especially fully funded. I really enjoyed the workshop classes at UCLA opposed to more traditional college classes. I'd love to do more of that, especially with people totally committed to their craft. I have a friend who went to the program at UC Riverside (I think). She was the editor of the Coachella Review and really enjoyed the experience. I'll start looking into that.Do you have your MFA?
mandible claw teaches creative writing(?) at NYUExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.[close]
you ever think about applying to MFA programs? there are so many solid programs that offer full funding with teaching assistantships. Two to three years of getting paid to write with other writers.[close]
No, I was going to journalism school a few years ago and dropped out to focus on the novel, because of amongst other reasons my teachers always talking about how the industry was dying. Since thenI've been pretty obsessively focused on writing, and haven't thought much about school full-time. I only have like 15-20 units left and plan on finishing my bachelor's, especially if the book doesn't get published/doesn't sell well, and that does sound pretty awesome, especially fully funded. I really enjoyed the workshop classes at UCLA opposed to more traditional college classes. I'd love to do more of that, especially with people totally committed to their craft. I have a friend who went to the program at UC Riverside (I think). She was the editor of the Coachella Review and really enjoyed the experience. I'll start looking into that.Do you have your MFA?[close]
Right on!
I do not have an MFA. This past summer I completed my BA and want to travel a bit before I head into grad school, but I'm always looking at programs. This is a great site- https://www.awpwriter.org/programs_conferences/guide_writing_programs (https://www.awpwriter.org/programs_conferences/guide_writing_programs).
I'm not sure if I want to get an MFA. I'm really more interested in teaching literature, but usually end up falling back on "creative" writing when it comes to doing any kind of writing. I do find it, lately, a greater challenge to write a solid essay, than to write a poem.
Workshops can be awesome, especially if you've got a great teacher/leader that gets things going. I've been in workshops that totally lack, which means I've just got to write more. It's definitely frustrating. I've got a few buddies who I've been writing with, or talking about words with, for years, and it helps.
There was someone who posted on SLAP, some years back, who ended up in the NYU program. I don't recall who it was though.
Either way, good luck!!!
(http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4504992122667576&pid=15.1)
This is an important book. Read it!
mandible claw teaches creative writing(?) at NYUExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.[close]
you ever think about applying to MFA programs? there are so many solid programs that offer full funding with teaching assistantships. Two to three years of getting paid to write with other writers.[close]
No, I was going to journalism school a few years ago and dropped out to focus on the novel, because of amongst other reasons my teachers always talking about how the industry was dying. Since thenI've been pretty obsessively focused on writing, and haven't thought much about school full-time. I only have like 15-20 units left and plan on finishing my bachelor's, especially if the book doesn't get published/doesn't sell well, and that does sound pretty awesome, especially fully funded. I really enjoyed the workshop classes at UCLA opposed to more traditional college classes. I'd love to do more of that, especially with people totally committed to their craft. I have a friend who went to the program at UC Riverside (I think). She was the editor of the Coachella Review and really enjoyed the experience. I'll start looking into that.Do you have your MFA?[close]
Right on!
I do not have an MFA. This past summer I completed my BA and want to travel a bit before I head into grad school, but I'm always looking at programs. This is a great site- https://www.awpwriter.org/programs_conferences/guide_writing_programs (https://www.awpwriter.org/programs_conferences/guide_writing_programs).
I'm not sure if I want to get an MFA. I'm really more interested in teaching literature, but usually end up falling back on "creative" writing when it comes to doing any kind of writing. I do find it, lately, a greater challenge to write a solid essay, than to write a poem.
Workshops can be awesome, especially if you've got a great teacher/leader that gets things going. I've been in workshops that totally lack, which means I've just got to write more. It's definitely frustrating. I've got a few buddies who I've been writing with, or talking about words with, for years, and it helps.
There was someone who posted on SLAP, some years back, who ended up in the NYU program. I don't recall who it was though.
Either way, good luck!!!
(http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4504992122667576&pid=15.1)
This is an important book. Read it![close]
Expand Quotemandible claw teaches creative writing(?) at NYUExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI actually just finished a 113,000 word manuscript and am starting the process of looking for representation. I took classes at the UCLA Writer's Program(extension, you don't have to get accepted to the university, go full time, etc.) and it was very helpful. I'm meeting up with my teacher who is a published novelist in the next week or two to talk about agents. Starting to get super nervous.[close]
you ever think about applying to MFA programs? there are so many solid programs that offer full funding with teaching assistantships. Two to three years of getting paid to write with other writers.[close]
No, I was going to journalism school a few years ago and dropped out to focus on the novel, because of amongst other reasons my teachers always talking about how the industry was dying. Since thenI've been pretty obsessively focused on writing, and haven't thought much about school full-time. I only have like 15-20 units left and plan on finishing my bachelor's, especially if the book doesn't get published/doesn't sell well, and that does sound pretty awesome, especially fully funded. I really enjoyed the workshop classes at UCLA opposed to more traditional college classes. I'd love to do more of that, especially with people totally committed to their craft. I have a friend who went to the program at UC Riverside (I think). She was the editor of the Coachella Review and really enjoyed the experience. I'll start looking into that.Do you have your MFA?[close]
Right on!
I do not have an MFA. This past summer I completed my BA and want to travel a bit before I head into grad school, but I'm always looking at programs. This is a great site- https://www.awpwriter.org/programs_conferences/guide_writing_programs (https://www.awpwriter.org/programs_conferences/guide_writing_programs).
I'm not sure if I want to get an MFA. I'm really more interested in teaching literature, but usually end up falling back on "creative" writing when it comes to doing any kind of writing. I do find it, lately, a greater challenge to write a solid essay, than to write a poem. �
Workshops can be awesome, especially if you've got a great teacher/leader that gets things going. I've been in workshops that totally lack, which means I've just got to write more. It's definitely frustrating. I've got a few buddies who I've been writing with, or talking about words with, for years, and it helps.
There was someone who posted on SLAP, some years back, who ended up in the NYU program. I don't recall who it was though.
Either way, good luck!!!
(http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4504992122667576&pid=15.1)
This is an important book. Read it![close][close]
And I'm the chair of the English department at Columbia.
Expand Quote(http://blog.firstchoice.co.uk/img/uploads//2012/03/IQ84-by-Haruki-Murakami.jpg)
Half-way through this tome. It's the 5th or 6th murakami book i've read in the last year. super dank metaphysical scifi shit.[close]
I just read Kafka on the Shore. I thought it was pretty good. A little longer than it it needed to be maybe and I'm a little confused about the deeper meaning of the book. I know it was basically just a retelling of Oedipus like 1Q84 is to 1984. I'm not sure which Murakami I'd try next. Norweigan Wood or The Wind-up Bird Chronicle probably.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Oldmansea.jpg)
Bought and finished yesterday, seeing as it's only 90 or so pages depending on the edition. So good.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(http://blog.firstchoice.co.uk/img/uploads//2012/03/IQ84-by-Haruki-Murakami.jpg)
Half-way through this tome. It's the 5th or 6th murakami book i've read in the last year. super dank metaphysical scifi shit.[close]
I just read Kafka on the Shore. I thought it was pretty good. A little longer than it it needed to be maybe and I'm a little confused about the deeper meaning of the book. I know it was basically just a retelling of Oedipus like 1Q84 is to 1984. I'm not sure which Murakami I'd try next. Norweigan Wood or The Wind-up Bird Chronicle probably.[close]
Get Dance, Dance, Dance. Despite the less than wonderful title it's my favorite Murakami. Haven't read the new one yet.
School has been cutting into my reading but I'm about to finish up some Gabriel Garcia Marquez short stories and then start this:
(http://bookworship.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/unnamable.jpg)
Expand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Oldmansea.jpg)
Bought and finished yesterday, seeing as it's only 90 or so pages depending on the edition. So good.[close]
I'll see if I can find it online, I read some criticism on it talking about all this subtext about the old ways of fishing which the old man does, and the new industrialized fisheries that were emerging at the time. There's all this stuff about Dimaggio too. I guess scholars figured out the date each day of the story takes place based on the stuff he says about the Yankee's pennant race.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Oldmansea.jpg)
Bought and finished yesterday, seeing as it's only 90 or so pages depending on the edition.? So good.[close]
I'll see if I can find it online, I read some criticism on it talking about all this subtext about the old ways of fishing which the old man does, and the new industrialized fisheries that were emerging at the time. There's all this stuff about Dimaggio too. I guess scholars figured out the date each day of the story takes place based on the stuff he says about the Yankee's pennant race.[close]
Finished this last night:
(http://library.sc.edu/spcoll/amlit/hemingway/images/sun1.jpg)
I really really enjoyed it.
The Sun Also Rises is some top 5 shit for me. I'd love to read some terse manly hemingway-esque prose after trudging through Infinite Jest for what feels like the last 10 years of my life.
Expand QuoteThe Sun Also Rises is some top 5 shit for me. I'd love to read some terse manly hemingway-esque prose after trudging through Infinite Jest for what feels like the last 10 years of my life.[close]
My girl has had it on our bed stand for the past 8 months. I've been thinking of taking over for her but am fearful.
Try and check a used bookstore in your area, it'll be cheap and reading a hard copy cannot be beat. Criticism in what way though? That how the old man fishing is not accurate to the time period? If there are discrepancies there are discrepancies, but that in now way takes away from the story. But anyway, definitely try and get a hold of it, printed or not.Expand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Oldmansea.jpg)
Bought and finished yesterday, seeing as it's only 90 or so pages depending on the edition. So good.[close]
I'll see if I can find it online, I read some criticism on it talking about all this subtext about the old ways of fishing which the old man does, and the new industrialized fisheries that were emerging at the time. There's all this stuff about Dimaggio too. I guess scholars figured out the date each day of the story takes place based on the stuff he says about the Yankee's pennant race.
By criticism, he means analysis/discussion. Not discrediting or tearing down the book.My bad, that certainly makes more sense.
Probably has been posted before, but i aint sifting through 50 pages
(http://chuckpalahniuk.net/files/images/books/invisible-monsters-us-trade.jpg)
Expand QuoteProbably has been posted before, but i aint sifting through 50 pages
(http://chuckpalahniuk.net/files/images/books/invisible-monsters-us-trade.jpg)[close]
This and survivor are two of my favorites of all time. Just started reading Invisible Monsters remixed, which is the original format in which Chuck intended it to be in before the publishing house made it more "reader friendly."
Funny, no one would do that to him today ... but I'm pretty sure this was his first published novel (if not then it was second) so I'm sure they underestimated him somewhat at the time.
Also, the story about Chuck coming out of the closet is pretty damn amazing.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteProbably has been posted before, but i aint sifting through 50 pages
(http://chuckpalahniuk.net/files/images/books/invisible-monsters-us-trade.jpg)[close]
This and survivor are two of my favorites of all time. Just started reading Invisible Monsters remixed, which is the original format in which Chuck intended it to be in before the publishing house made it more "reader friendly."
Funny, no one would do that to him today ... but I'm pretty sure this was his first published novel (if not then it was second) so I'm sure they underestimated him somewhat at the time.
Also, the story about Chuck coming out of the closet is pretty damn amazing.[close]
Hey Brink,
will it be worth it to read the remix if I've already read the "reader friendly" publishing house version?
Also, have you read Stranger Than Fiction? It briefly touches on his father's bizarre murder.[close]
I love "Stranger" because, as more of a magazine-style writer myself, it's so rad to see how much he nails journalism in addition to fiction. The piece about Brad Pitt's lips is incredible. I remember really diging the one about high school wrestling too.
As for IM ... I would recommend ANY piece of art, music, literature that has finally surfaced in the form the artist originally intended it to be in ...
Know what I mean?
Today marks the beginning of my last foray into Finnegans Wake. I'm not reading another book until I finish it. After reading Ulysses as many times as I have, I don't have an excuse anymore.
Currently reading Palahniuk's Pygmy. So far it sucks. Why is it written in broken English? This is always annoying to me. The character is a spy in USA, why would he write his reports back to his home country in broken English? He'd write in his own language and the novel could then be in plain english as it would be a translation. I'm not articulating this well.
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKfSn-xhMvd_zhRVe1pTmeiEbgGgG5jOo3Ahb9oRVzBFsJ3Y4t)
Expand QuoteToday marks the beginning of my last foray into Finnegans Wake. I'm not reading another book until I finish it. After reading Ulysses as many times as I have, I don't have an excuse anymore.[close]
How is that going for you? I am also a Ulysses fiend but could never quite get into Finnegans Wake in the same way. Anybody here into Faulkner at all?
(http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4966378937321214&pid=15.1)
just started this one a few days ago. Quite enjoyable so far, at points reminding me of a lighter pynchon.
Currently reading Palahniuk's Pygmy. So far it sucks. Why is it written in broken English? This is always annoying to me. The character is a spy in USA, why would he write his reports back to his home country in broken English? He'd write in his own language and the novel could then be in plain english as it would be a translation. I'm not articulating this well.
100% true storys, man had a hell of a life. HIGHLY RECOMMEND if your into reading a sex,money and drugs.Expand Quote(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKfSn-xhMvd_zhRVe1pTmeiEbgGgG5jOo3Ahb9oRVzBFsJ3Y4t)[close]
How is it?
Expand QuoteCurrently reading Palahniuk's Pygmy. So far it sucks. Why is it written in broken English? This is always annoying to me. The character is a spy in USA, why would he write his reports back to his home country in broken English? He'd write in his own language and the novel could then be in plain english as it would be a translation. I'm not articulating this well.[close]
I agree. It really pissed me off. It's the worst of all his books I've read.
The Doors of Perception and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are both wonderful as well.
Expand QuoteThe Doors of Perception and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are both wonderful as well.[close]
Huxley wrote like a jockstrap full of potpourri.
Good choice.
Expand QuoteGood choice.[close]
Yeah, it's great. Think I'll give Pale Fire a shot when I'm done with it.
Read through the 3/4 this in the past 2-3 hours:
(http://sdsupress.sdsu.edu/ReviewINK/pulp.gif)
Really enjoy it.� Enjoying Bukowski in general.� Interesting mother fucker.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteGood choice.[close]
Yeah, it's great. Think I'll give Pale Fire a shot when I'm done with it.[close]
Pale Fire's great. The narrator is such a nut(maybe).
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!
been fucking with this lately...
Expand Quotebeen fucking with this lately...[close]
Neil Gaiman is the fucking man
(http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9781781250914/mastery.jpg)
(http://emwgradstudent.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/insanely-simple.jpeg)
Expand Quote(http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9781781250914/mastery.jpg)
(http://emwgradstudent.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/insanely-simple.jpeg)[close]
Did Robert Greene do a book with FIDDY CENT?
I read the 48 laws and the seduction one,got no pussy from it...
still was cool.
Id Fuck with that apple book the Jobs book was tight.
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.
Expand QuoteAbout 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.
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.
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.
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.
not being able to read proust in the original french is one of my life's greatest disappointments.
Expand QuoteThe 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.[close]
(http://nightwing2303.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DeAndre-Jordan-with-the-Dunk-of-the-Year-300x203.jpg)
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.
rand is disgusting and so is her writing.
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.
Expand QuoteRand 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/ (http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/)
Expand Quoterand 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.
(http://media.us.macmillan.com/jackets/500H/9780374270933.jpg)
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.
(http://media.us.macmillan.com/jackets/500H/9780374270933.jpg)
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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/sep/07/highereducation.news2)
(http://www.iinet.com/~annruleweb/images/stranger.jpg)
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.
Expand Quote
My boy Terry is right:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/sep/07/highereducation.news2 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/sep/07/highereducation.news2)[close]
Damn, harsh. Haha.
(http://www.tworoadsbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Reluctant-Fundamentalist.jpg[/img
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.
[/quote]
oooh, I want to read this one!!!
[img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51U1yJaY%2BeL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)
this is the book to read. It discusses how the US has had opportunities to broker peace in the Middle East, spec. Israel/Palestine, at 3 points, 1982 with the Reagan plan, 91-93 Madrid and the Oslo accords, 2010 with Obama refusing to insist on halting settlement on the west bank.
i was listening to NPR interview the cat who wrote it, Rashid Kahlidi, and it gets into the use of Orwellian language to justify the reasoning behind all of it. Sounds like a fantastic book!
I've just finished the Miles Davis autobiography, pretty much presents itself as a character study of one 20th century music's most influential figures, and really digs in and talks about what the jazz scene was really like in the 1940s-50s.
Getting through Homage to Catalonia, enjoying the historical/political context of it, Orwell had that perfect mix of concise yet perfectly descriptive writing, especially when he was on the ground living through what he wrote (before 'Homage...' I had finished 'Down and Out..", and thoroughly enjoyed it).
I would love to pick up 'Infinite Jest' again, it has grabbed me with the small amount I have got through. Wallace wrote with such heart, and a kind of hopeless/paranoid humour.
I need the short-snappy books of late, too attention-deprived to battle it at the moment.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/d/d6/20121014132525!Ficciones.jpg)
Expand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/d/d6/20121014132525!Ficciones.jpg)[close]
borges is my bro-ges-. I've only read the labyrinths collection, it was sick. i should pick up some more of his stuff.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/d/d6/20121014132525!Ficciones.jpg)[close]
borges is my bro-ges-. I've only read the labyrinths collection, it was sick. i should pick up some more of his stuff.[close]
borges is a fucking boss i would definitely recommend giving this a listen if you like him:
http://www.openculture.com/2012/05/jorge_luis_borges_1967-8_norton_lectures_on_poetry_and_everything_else_literary.html (http://www.openculture.com/2012/05/jorge_luis_borges_1967-8_norton_lectures_on_poetry_and_everything_else_literary.html)
Best place to start is probably either Ficciones or A Universal History of Infamy. All his stuff is just collected short stories for the most part. If you're into the whole Magical Realism movement he's one of the real forefathers of it. I've always been a particular fan of the story Funes el memorioso in Ficciones.
But if you check his stuff out and you're into it, give Julio Cortazar a shot. A lot of his short stories are amazing.
I've never read any Murakami stuff but I just picked up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle the other day, pretty stoked to get started with that.
Expand QuoteBest place to start is probably either Ficciones or A Universal History of Infamy. All his stuff is just collected short stories for the most part. If you're into the whole Magical Realism movement he's one of the real forefathers of it. I've always been a particular fan of the story Funes el memorioso in Ficciones.
But if you check his stuff out and you're into it, give Julio Cortazar a shot. A lot of his short stories are amazing.
I've never read any Murakami stuff but I just picked up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle the other day, pretty stoked to get started with that.[close]
Wind Up Bird was great, but the last little bit was kind of tough to get through.
Just started this in an attempt to workout my horrible memory problems. In turn, I ended up reading a great story and getting tips in the process. I know I'm probably making it sound like more of a self help book than it actually is but it's a good read. A little slow at first but after the first two chapters, it starts to pick up. Plus, the stories he references in order to explain how to unlock the true potential of memorizing are insanely interesting.
(http://abcnews.go.com/images/WN/ht_walking_with_einstein_ll_110324_main.JPG)
"Moonwalking with Einstein follows Joshua Foer's compelling journey as a participant in the U.S. Memory Championship. As a science journalist covering the competition, Foer became captivated by the secrets of the competitors, like how the current world memory champion, Ben Pridmore, could memorize the exact order of 1,528 digits in an hour. He met with individuals whose memories are truly unique?from one man whose memory only extends back to his most recent thought, to another who can memorize complex mathematical formulas without knowing any math. Brains remember visual imagery but have a harder time with other information, like lists, and so with the help of experts, Foer learned how to transform the kinds of memories he forgot into the kind his brain remembered naturally. The techniques he mastered made it easier to remember information, and Foer's story demonstrates that the tricks of the masters are accessible to anyone."
making a note to myself to never read anything you contribute to this thread ever again
(http://www.dispatch.com/content/graphics/2012/06/03/2-book-halpern-art-gnjhgsft-1i-suck-at-girls.jpg)
One of the funniest books I've read. Not as funny as Sh*t My Dad Says and his dad isn't in it as much, but some of the author's stories are pretty great. Pretty good pick me up and quick to finish. It's fun laughing out loud because of a book.
The only stuff of Murakami I've touched is Kafka on the Shore. It didn't click, the strangeness within it just came off as contrived.
I don't know if it makes any sense to compare the two, but I feel 'Everything is Illuminated' by Safran-Foer came off much better. Both being contemporary writers, and dealing with plots stuck in the present, historical and fantastical.
And I think The Master and Margherita kicks the shit out of both.
Expand QuoteThe only stuff of Murakami I've touched is Kafka on the Shore. It didn't click, the strangeness within it just came off as contrived.
I don't know if it makes any sense to compare the two, but I feel 'Everything is Illuminated' by Safran-Foer came off much better. Both being contemporary writers, and dealing with plots stuck in the present, historical and fantastical.
And I think The Master and Margherita kicks the shit out of both.[close]
I completely disagree. I've got to give it another go, but I felt that the novel, Everything is Illuminated, was too pretentious. Why, I'm not sure, it's been years. The film, however, is great. But as far as Murakami being too contrived, I think he digs into the possibility of dreamscape like no other. He's got a beautiful imagination and is comfortable with his intellect to not come off as a dick.
I'm now reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and continue to shit my pants in pleasure.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteThe only stuff of Murakami I've touched is Kafka on the Shore. It didn't click, the strangeness within it just came off as contrived.
I don't know if it makes any sense to compare the two, but I feel 'Everything is Illuminated' by Safran-Foer came off much better. Both being contemporary writers, and dealing with plots stuck in the present, historical and fantastical.
And I think The Master and Margherita kicks the shit out of both.[close]
I completely disagree. I've got to give it another go, but I felt that the novel, Everything is Illuminated, was too pretentious. Why, I'm not sure, it's been years. The film, however, is great. But as far as Murakami being too contrived, I think he digs into the possibility of dreamscape like no other. He's got a beautiful imagination and is comfortable with his intellect to not come off as a dick.
I'm now reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and continue to shit my pants in pleasure.[close]
Would you care to elaborate on this at all? I've had a few people recommend Murakami to me without being able to say much more than 'He's really good man.' but this piques my interest as the Circe chapter in Ulysses is one of my favourite things ever. (sorry about my British-ass spelling)
Expand QuoteThe only stuff of Murakami I've touched is Kafka on the Shore. It didn't click, the strangeness within it just came off as contrived.
I don't know if it makes any sense to compare the two, but I feel 'Everything is Illuminated' by Safran-Foer came off much better. Both being contemporary writers, and dealing with plots stuck in the present, historical and fantastical.
And I think The Master and Margherita kicks the shit out of both.[close]
I completely disagree. I've got to give it another go, but I felt that the novel, Everything is Illuminated, was too pretentious. Why, I'm not sure, it's been years. The film, however, is great. But as far as Murakami being too contrived, I think he digs into the possibility of dreamscape like no other. He's got a beautiful imagination and is comfortable with his intellect to not come off as a dick.
I'm now reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and continue to shit my pants in pleasure.
I always try to steer new Murakami readers to Hard Boiled Wonderland. I might just have to reread it after this conversation.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteThe only stuff of Murakami I've touched is Kafka on the Shore. It didn't click, the strangeness within it just came off as contrived.
I don't know if it makes any sense to compare the two, but I feel 'Everything is Illuminated' by Safran-Foer came off much better. Both being contemporary writers, and dealing with plots stuck in the present, historical and fantastical.
And I think The Master and Margherita kicks the shit out of both.[close]
I completely disagree. I've got to give it another go, but I felt that the novel, Everything is Illuminated, was too pretentious. Why, I'm not sure, it's been years. The film, however, is great. But as far as Murakami being too contrived, I think he digs into the possibility of dreamscape like no other. He's got a beautiful imagination and is comfortable with his intellect to not come off as a dick.
I'm now reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and continue to shit my pants in pleasure.[close]
I guess I was basing my preference on something different, I thought the balance of humour and heavyness in "Everything..." was done particularly well, where 'Kafka..." doesn't focus so much on humour, and just seems more steeped in the strange.
the characters are are always, in some way, grounded in the present, of the story that is, but while making a grocery list or biking to the cleaner, might move through states that feel like lucid dreams. Both the reader and protagonist (not always the other characters) are well aware of the bizarre turn of events, but it's safe to say that Murakami crafts these imaginary places so well, that it's a completely surreptitious slide into home, whether in the kitchen of a man who murders cats to steal their souls, watching oneself get raped from a safe physical distance while trapped in a ferris wheel, or just plain dreaming of meeting a 100% perfect mate. It's not just these seemingly strange turns that make the stories great, they're all fairly easy to read while also offering points of thought; Kafka on the Shore isn't named such as a literary cliche. I feel safe saying that his characters aren't so hard to relate to, to empathize with.
Give them a shot!
A lot of Vonnegut's work is like that. Mother Night, Breakfast of Champions, Jailbird, Cat's Cradle, Bluebeard, etc.
I can't get into that Fine book, so I'm starting on A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by DFW.
Expand QuoteA lot of Vonnegut's work is like that. Mother Night, Breakfast of Champions, Jailbird, Cat's Cradle, Bluebeard, etc.
I can't get into that Fine book, so I'm starting on A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by DFW.[close]
Yeah I really like Vonneguts stuff too. Anything that's more bounded in reality? I'm loving kafka on the shore, but I might need a break from all the metaphysical stuff.
You might like his short stories. There are a few collections of them at bookstores (or online) for relatively decent prices.Expand QuoteA lot of Vonnegut's work is like that. Mother Night, Breakfast of Champions, Jailbird, Cat's Cradle, Bluebeard, etc.
I can't get into that Fine book, so I'm starting on A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by DFW.[close]
Yeah I really like Vonneguts stuff too. Anything that's more bounded in reality? I'm loving kafka on the shore, but I might need a break from all the metaphysical stuff.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteA lot of Vonnegut's work is like that. Mother Night, Breakfast of Champions, Jailbird, Cat's Cradle, Bluebeard, etc.
I can't get into that Fine book, so I'm starting on A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by DFW.[close]
Yeah I really like Vonneguts stuff too. Anything that's more bounded in reality? I'm loving kafka on the shore, but I might need a break from all the metaphysical stuff.[close]
A lot of Vonnegut's middle stuff is bounded in reality (not sure how much you've read of his). I haven't read his novels, but apparently David Foster Wallace's longer novels have a lot of black humor in them, as do Kafka (fittingly enough).
I think i bit off more than i can chew...
The only stuff of Murakami I've touched is Kafka on the Shore. It didn't click, the strangeness within it just came off as contrived.
Just started this in an attempt to workout my horrible memory problems. In turn, I ended up reading a great story and getting tips in the process. I know I'm probably making it sound like more of a self help book than it actually is but it's a good read. A little slow at first but after the first two chapters, it starts to pick up. Plus, the stories he references in order to explain how to unlock the true potential of memorizing are insanely interesting.
(http://abcnews.go.com/images/WN/ht_walking_with_einstein_ll_110324_main.JPG)
"Moonwalking with Einstein follows Joshua Foer's compelling journey as a participant in the U.S. Memory Championship. As a science journalist covering the competition, Foer became captivated by the secrets of the competitors, like how the current world memory champion, Ben Pridmore, could memorize the exact order of 1,528 digits in an hour. He met with individuals whose memories are truly unique?from one man whose memory only extends back to his most recent thought, to another who can memorize complex mathematical formulas without knowing any math. Brains remember visual imagery but have a harder time with other information, like lists, and so with the help of experts, Foer learned how to transform the kinds of memories he forgot into the kind his brain remembered naturally. The techniques he mastered made it easier to remember information, and Foer's story demonstrates that the tricks of the masters are accessible to anyone."
Expand QuoteJust started this in an attempt to workout my horrible memory problems. In turn, I ended up reading a great story and getting tips in the process. I know I'm probably making it sound like more of a self help book than it actually is but it's a good read. A little slow at first but after the first two chapters, it starts to pick up. Plus, the stories he references in order to explain how to unlock the true potential of memorizing are insanely interesting.
(http://abcnews.go.com/images/WN/ht_walking_with_einstein_ll_110324_main.JPG)
"Moonwalking with Einstein follows Joshua Foer's compelling journey as a participant in the U.S. Memory Championship. As a science journalist covering the competition, Foer became captivated by the secrets of the competitors, like how the current world memory champion, Ben Pridmore, could memorize the exact order of 1,528 digits in an hour. He met with individuals whose memories are truly unique?from one man whose memory only extends back to his most recent thought, to another who can memorize complex mathematical formulas without knowing any math. Brains remember visual imagery but have a harder time with other information, like lists, and so with the help of experts, Foer learned how to transform the kinds of memories he forgot into the kind his brain remembered naturally. The techniques he mastered made it easier to remember information, and Foer's story demonstrates that the tricks of the masters are accessible to anyone."[close]
Thanks for posting this. Got my copy in the mail today, can't wait to get into it.
yes or no on this one? not sure if I should start it...
(http://www.lanecrothers.net/politicalprof/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/953343.jpg)
Dumbing this thread down a bit by saying World War Z is an entertaining read. Skip the fucking movie, though.This is the wrong approach. When there is a film adaptation of a book out, watch the film first, then read the book. You'll then develop a favorable bias towards the film while still being able to enjoy the book fully.
I could recommend a lot of books but apparently the Slap forum only reads hipster and artsy books. You guys are trying way too hard.
Good point. I never went to college and I don't go into hipster book stores.Expand QuoteI could recommend a lot of books but apparently the Slap forum only reads hipster and artsy books. You guys are trying way too hard.[close]
It's cool man. We all have to start somewhere and you could do worse than Dr. Seuss.
Good point. I never went to college and I don't go into hipster book stores.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI could recommend a lot of books but apparently the Slap forum only reads hipster and artsy books. You guys are trying way too hard.[close]
It's cool man. We all have to start somewhere and you could do worse than Dr. Seuss.[close]
Good point. I never went to college and I don't go into hipster book stores.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI could recommend a lot of books but apparently the Slap forum only reads hipster and artsy books. You guys are trying way too hard.[close]
It's cool man. We all have to start somewhere and you could do worse than Dr. Seuss.[close]
My dad put me on to this guy. Excellent writer who's able to make completely mundane things like smoking a cigarette and staring at a wall seem beautiful. A lot of his work doesn't have a concrete ending or beginning so if your looking for an action packed thriller this isn't your best bet. It is, however, easy to read and digest but full of depth.Carver is the best. I really like pretty much all of his stories.
(http://neversinkcreative.com/images/portfolio/print-thumbs/carver-thumb.jpg)
Finished reading Combray by Proust aaand what to say, I personally found it so boring.
I mean there's definitely some pages or paragraphs that had me like 'holy shit how can it be so good' but overall I couldnt get past the lack of relevant events of this book.
I'm about to start 'Un amour de Swann' and I really hope this is going to be more exciting!
Expand QuoteFinished reading Combray by Proust aaand what to say, I personally found it so boring.
I mean there's definitely some pages or paragraphs that had me like 'holy shit how can it be so good' but overall I couldnt get past the lack of relevant events of this book.
I'm about to start 'Un amour de Swann' and I really hope this is going to be more exciting![close]
what do you mean by 'exciting'?
It's definitely hard to keep attention, I agree. The sentences are long as hell and contain so many relative and subordinate clauses that it's hard to even remember what it's about once you reach the main verb. On top of that, the novel isn't really about much aside from fashionable society. It's not really very thrilling, if you know what I mean.
I just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?
Expand QuoteI just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?[close]
Yes. In my eyes it is completely overrated.
I've never been a huge fan of Sartre. Or Simone de Beauvoir for that matter. Camus is by far the most (read: the only) exciting writer of the "French Existentialists".
However, in all fairness, people have tried to imitate Sartre for so long that his style seems really bland, played out, unoriginal, and boring nowadays. He's like the modern hipster of the 1950/1960s.
I'm almost through with the third installment and I feel like I've just become adequately familiar with the style to a point where I can thoroughly appreciate the ramblings. You almost have to build a tolerance to it, it seems. It is very rewarding reading Proust (or Moncrieff, to a certain extent, for those who don't speak French). Dude is brilliant.Expand QuoteIt's definitely hard to keep attention, I agree. The sentences are long as hell and contain so many relative and subordinate clauses that it's hard to even remember what it's about once you reach the main verb. On top of that, the novel isn't really about much aside from fashionable society. It's not really very thrilling, if you know what I mean.[close]
Yes, exactly what I'm talking about!
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?[close]
Yes. In my eyes it is completely overrated.
I've never been a huge fan of Sartre. Or Simone de Beauvoir for that matter. Camus is by far the most (read: the only) exciting writer of the "French Existentialists".
However, in all fairness, people have tried to imitate Sartre for so long that his style seems really bland, played out, unoriginal, and boring nowadays. He's like the modern hipster of the 1950/1960s.[close]
Started and failed to finish Nausea twice.
Was never really into reading but I dunno if I can handle the heat this summer, so I'll be reading a lot more.
halfway through this:
(http://themoderatevoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2007-october/6a00d41430ceb86a4700e3989848890001-500pi_1.jpg)
Picked these two up:
(http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1Q84.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/Factotum.jpg)
I read post office a looooong time ago and loved it, but never found the time to read bukowski's other stuff.
edit: I enjoy books with humor in it, but overall melancholy (sorta like post office). Any good recommendations?
Expand QuoteWas never really into reading but I dunno if I can handle the heat this summer, so I'll be reading a lot more.
halfway through this:
(http://themoderatevoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2007-october/6a00d41430ceb86a4700e3989848890001-500pi_1.jpg)
Picked these two up:
(http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1Q84.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/Factotum.jpg)
I read post office a looooong time ago and loved it, but never found the time to read bukowski's other stuff.
edit: I enjoy books with humor in it, but overall melancholy (sorta like post office). Any good recommendations?[close]
You should read Ham on Rye if you liked Post Office I thought it was a fun read
Expand QuoteWas never really into reading but I dunno if I can handle the heat this summer, so I'll be reading a lot more.
halfway through this:
(http://themoderatevoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2007-october/6a00d41430ceb86a4700e3989848890001-500pi_1.jpg)
Picked these two up:
(http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1Q84.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/Factotum.jpg)
I read post office a looooong time ago and loved it, but never found the time to read bukowski's other stuff.
edit: I enjoy books with humor in it, but overall melancholy (sorta like post office). Any good recommendations?[close]
I just finished 1Q84 a few months back. Murakami's writing style is excellent, though I'm not sure how close the translation into English is from the original Japanese. His characters are wonderfully realized, their thoughts are almost your own. My only critique is in the narrative of the stories themselves. This book doesn't end with the final page. You sort of sit there and wonder about everything for weeks after reading, feeling almost cheated, but in a good way. Hard to explain. I'm actually reading another of his works, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, which thus far is much darker but equally tense in sexual strangeness. Good stuff.
(http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/26/f5/26f5b2deae883030e3df357260e59fe0.jpg?itok=erZI5yPE)
Currently reading this. It's alright, but I'm already kind of bored with it. Figured it was worth checking if the hype was warranted. About to move on to
(http://prevailprevail.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/85313f.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteWas never really into reading but I dunno if I can handle the heat this summer, so I'll be reading a lot more.
halfway through this:
(http://themoderatevoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2007-october/6a00d41430ceb86a4700e3989848890001-500pi_1.jpg)
Picked these two up:
(http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1Q84.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/Factotum.jpg)
I read post office a looooong time ago and loved it, but never found the time to read bukowski's other stuff. ?
edit:? I enjoy books with humor in it, but overall melancholy (sorta like post office).? Any good recommendations?[close]
I just finished 1Q84 a few months back.? Murakami's writing style is excellent, though I'm not sure how close the translation into English is from the original Japanese.? His characters are wonderfully realized, their thoughts are almost your own.? My only critique is in the narrative of the stories themselves.? This book doesn't end with the final page.? You sort of sit there and wonder about everything for weeks after reading, feeling almost cheated, but in a good way.? Hard to explain.? I'm actually reading another of his works, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, which thus far is much darker but equally tense in sexual strangeness.? Good stuff.[close]
Reading Murakami leaves me feeling so melancholy and confused. His books are obviously artfully crafted but I feel like it has to be something lost in translation that leaves me so confused.
I had Ulysses in my hand the other day ready to buy it but I chickened out. I have a pile of books I already bought that I haven't started yet. One day....
Are you currently reading Pale Fire? It gets really interesting once you start reading the footnotes and really going through it. The index fucks you up too. The first time I read it, I though it was good and clever, but still pretty straightforward. It's not until the second or third reading and a little bit of digging/research that you start realizing how difficult and messed up it is. It's kind of like that old iceberg adage.
Expand QuoteI had Ulysses in my hand the other day ready to buy it but I chickened out. I have a pile of books I already bought that I haven't started yet. One day....[close]
It's well worth the investment. If you do decide to go for it I strongly recommend getting a good annotated edition, especially if you're not familiar with the historical context. I started out with a copy of just the text of the novel and found it very difficult to get going with, having the annotations makes reading/understanding it a lot easier.
Also whilst it is a difficult book at first it does get easier and a lot more enjoyable as you persevere with it and your understanding of it grows. My copy now lives in my bathroom and is picked up at a random spot whenever I'm in there for any length of time; I never thought that would be possible while I was reading it for the first time. I was in a class of 15 people for the course I read Ulysses for. Of those 15 easily less than half actually got past the first chapter and just read whichever parts they had to do assignments on. On the flip side pretty much everyone that persevered with it at least up until Bloom enters seemed to absolutely love it.
It's easily the most rewarding reading project I have ever undertaken simply because there is so much to it. Reading around the circumstances the novel came to be written and published in was also really interesting. James Joyce by Richard Ellmann was pretty informative on many aspects of Joyce's life and their relevance to the novel.
Sorry for ranting on this but it's a fascinating book and would probably be my favourite if I had to pick just one (hence my username). In short be prepared to give it a lot of time and it will be very rewarding. Also enjoy your coffee/study dates with Oyolar :)
I've mentioned this before, but for annotations to Ulysses, DON'T buy an annotated edition. I have yet to see one that does a good job because there are so many things to note. This is my personal recommendation: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0520253973. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0520253973.) It does exactly what annotations should do--explain historical, political, linguistic, social, etc. context with little to no summarizing or analysis. If you want something more summary and slight analysis focused, use this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0415138582/ref=aw_1st_sims_2?pi=SL500_SY115. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0415138582/ref=aw_1st_sims_2?pi=SL500_SY115.)
To brag slightly, but also reassure you that I know hat I'm talking about, I've read Ulysses three times in a span of four years. Once was by myself and the other two were for two different classes. The first time was a struggle, but I wanted to get out of it whatever I could with little to know help and personal research. The second time was a wash. The third time, I used those two guides and it seriously felt like I was reading a completely different book. I cannot recommend them enough.
An one last note--don't buy the Gabler edition. He added a lot of his own edits to the book. I recommend the Vintage editions. My go to test is to check the end of Episode 17. If there's a big dot after the last question, it's usually a good edition.
Yeah, don't get me wrong--they're definitely helpful and better than nothing, but I like a lot of information so that I can pull what I want out of it and ignore what I don't which is what that Gifford book gives you. Once you open that up, you realize that there is way too much going on to settle for a small section in the back of the novel. I mean, the annotations are thicker than some editions of Ulysses! It's just my preference though, but it was so helpful to me that I can't help but mention it.
Expand QuoteI just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?[close]
Yes. In my eyes it is completely overrated.
I've never been a huge fan of Sartre. Or Simone de Beauvoir for that matter. Camus is by far the most (read: the only) exciting writer of the "French Existentialists".
However, in all fairness, people have tried to imitate Sartre for so long that his style seems really bland, played out, unoriginal, and boring nowadays. He's like the modern hipster of the 1950/1960s.
HAHAHA HOW IRONIC :DExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?[close]
Yes. In my eyes it is completely overrated.
I've never been a huge fan of Sartre. Or Simone de Beauvoir for that matter. Camus is by far the most (read: the only) exciting writer of the "French Existentialists".
However, in all fairness, people have tried to imitate Sartre for so long that his style seems really bland, played out, unoriginal, and boring nowadays. He's like the modern hipster of the 1950/1960s.[close]
I'm going to pick up 'The stranger' tomorrow since I'll have a whole week at the beach doing nothing..I hope this is going to be exciting/inspiring
could someone briefly explain why I ought to read ulysses? it seems overhyped.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?[close]
Yes. In my eyes it is completely overrated.
I've never been a huge fan of Sartre. Or Simone de Beauvoir for that matter. Camus is by far the most (read: the only) exciting writer of the "French Existentialists".
However, in all fairness, people have tried to imitate Sartre for so long that his style seems really bland, played out, unoriginal, and boring nowadays. He's like the modern hipster of the 1950/1960s.[close]
I'm going to pick up 'The stranger' tomorrow since I'll have a whole week at the beach doing nothing..I hope this is going to be exciting/inspiring
Expand Quotecould someone briefly explain why I ought to read ulysses? it seems overhyped.[close]
It is not.? It really pushes the boundaries of literature stylistically and linguistically while still being intelligible (for the most part).? It's a prescient novel that save for some references here and there deal with the totality of the human experience and is just timeless.? You learn more about it, about art in general, and about yourself and humanity with each reading (sounds corny, but it's true).
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?[close]
Yes. In my eyes it is completely overrated.
I've never been a huge fan of Sartre. Or Simone de Beauvoir for that matter. Camus is by far the most (read: the only) exciting writer of the "French Existentialists".
However, in all fairness, people have tried to imitate Sartre for so long that his style seems really bland, played out, unoriginal, and boring nowadays. He's like the modern hipster of the 1950/1960s.[close]
I'm going to pick up 'The stranger' tomorrow since I'll have a whole week at the beach doing nothing..I hope this is going to be exciting/inspiring[close]
Thats perfect to read on a sunny day at the beach
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI just picked up Nausea by Sarte, anyone else read it?[close]
Yes. In my eyes it is completely overrated.
I've never been a huge fan of Sartre. Or Simone de Beauvoir for that matter. Camus is by far the most (read: the only) exciting writer of the "French Existentialists".
However, in all fairness, people have tried to imitate Sartre for so long that his style seems really bland, played out, unoriginal, and boring nowadays. He's like the modern hipster of the 1950/1960s.[close]
I'm going to pick up 'The stranger' tomorrow since I'll have a whole week at the beach doing nothing..I hope this is going to be exciting/inspiring[close]
Thats perfect to read on a sunny day at the beach[close]
Last summer I read a whole Kafka book at the beach so it's alright
Exactly, still really fun to read though. So much is based deep in Japanese culture/history/mythology/psychology.
I read this and gave it to my girlfriend.
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSUwQCGvTt1p_FMRq_6A8L5TGF3UKzLRIuqTaLWjgJ9yvGMz2I8OQ)
She was bummed haahahahaha. The stories are all pretty depressing.
(http://www.awesomestories.com/images/user/2f555f79a9.gif)
Want to get into Ancient Roman history but that shit intimidates me, honestly wouldn't even know where to start considering the breadth of works on that topic
Reading Women by Charles Bukowski atm, I really wanna read books by that dude Haruki Muramuki that keeps popping up on here but our public library doesnt have it, worth buying?
Expand QuoteReading Women by Charles Bukowski atm, I really wanna read books by that dude Haruki Muramuki that keeps popping up on here but our public library doesnt have it, worth buying?[close]
If you look hard enough you will find free downloadable Murakami ebooks. I've read Dance Dance Dance and I loved it; it was very easy to get into and the sense of piecing together the mystery at the heart of the story kept me coming back. Murakami's characters were likeable and he manages to make them surreal enough to be interesting and to fit with the weirder elements of the texts, but also human and believable. I say this but somehow I am yet to start another of his books.
I just finished this as a friend wrote his dissertation on it.
(http://www.nachtkabarett.com/ihvh/img/lolita_nabokov_lolita_lips_cover.jpg)
It's interesting how different the text actually is from the popular perception of it; it's not bawdy or lewd, but thought provoking on a difficult subject. It doesn't really come with a black and white moral (or immoral) message as many seem to think. Nabokov's afterword on the critical and publishing reception it received was also illuminating on this.
I'm now probably going to start on another Murakami book thanks to this reminder.
Just finished Neil Gaimans American Gods, was ok but not totally blown away by it. Read that because I read his Neverwhere and really liked it. In between those I read Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith which was fucking ace. Best book I've read in a while.
Still trying to recover after reading all the Game of Thrones books.
Hell yes, especially The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. Both amazingly well-written and beyond fucking weird.
Reading Women by Charles Bukowski atm, I really wanna read books by that dude Haruki Muramuki that keeps popping up on here but our public library doesnt have it, worth buying?
[/quote]
Hell yes, especially The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. Both amazingly well-written and beyond fucking weird.
Sexy English major bitches kept posting this on FB and I finally got around to reading it
"Don't date a girl who reads" -Charles Warnke
http://sean.terretta.com/dont-date-a-girl-who-reads-charles-warnke (http://sean.terretta.com/dont-date-a-girl-who-reads-charles-warnke)
Revisit this thread after you've read the book and giggle at this post.
Kurt Vonnegut
Read Slaughterhouse-five and thoroughly enjoyed it. His description/concept of time was tittilating to say the least. Reminds me of how Dr. Manhatton from Watchmen percieved time.
Also, almost done with Breakfeast of Champions and it is just as good if not better than Slaughterhouse-five. I love the way his mind works and the structure of his novels is captivating.
His style is probably not for everyone, but I would highly recommend.
Going to get on Cat's Cradle soon too.
Expand QuoteKurt Vonnegut
Read Slaughterhouse-five and thoroughly enjoyed it. His description/concept of time was tittilating to say the least. Reminds me of how Dr. Manhatton from Watchmen percieved time.
Also, almost done with Breakfeast of Champions and it is just as good if not better than Slaughterhouse-five. I love the way his mind works and the structure of his novels is captivating.
His style is probably not for everyone, but I would highly recommend.
Going to get on Cat's Cradle soon too.[close]
Vonnegut's awesome. I've read just about everything he's put out (I have to read the most recent collection of his two unfinished novels). I read almost all of his stuff really quickly and while I was fairly young and haven't had much of a desire to go back and re-read him though oddly enough. Usually I have no problem doing that with authors I like. He's definitely a good author to have a lot of knowledge about. He's a good guy to decompress with after you've read someone extremely difficult or involved too.
So it goes.Poo-tee-weet.
That's one of my favorite, I guess literary devices of all time.
Poo-tee-weet.Expand QuoteSo it goes.
That's one of my favorite, I guess literary devices of all time.[close]
just wantnt to say how fucking gay it was that merked thought vonnegut was 'tittilating''' god you fucking suck so hard merked pleasse focus
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.
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.
Expand QuoteExpand 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.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand 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.
Last few months -whattt.... love that movie.
(http://cdn01.strandbooks.weblinc.com/resources/strand/images/products/partitioned/3/f/e/0307278352.1.zoom.jpg)
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.Expand QuoteLast few months -
(http://cdn01.strandbooks.weblinc.com/resources/strand/images/products/partitioned/3/f/e/0307278352.1.zoom.jpg)
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]
I just finished this:
(https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/6602393-M.jpg)
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:
(http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Knausgaard_MyStruggle1.png)
Seems good so far. Any scandinavians got insight on this one?
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.
Just finished The Name of the Rose and liked it.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DR9o7xaEXns/TN4KO1vgf7I/AAAAAAAACEo/DwYsSr80ln4/s1600/nameoftherose.jpg)
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.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9cFewmu6R4I/TNPNYCLo1xI/AAAAAAAACW4/D0_PKa74deI/s320/SafeAreaGorazde.jpg)
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.
(http://poetry.arizona.edu/sites/poetry.arizona.edu/files/images/events/2013/October/Lolita.jpg?1382573166)
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.
anyone pick up the new pynchon?
Last few months -nice, cool book eh? he came in to talk to my experimental fiction class about that book last week, interesting dude
(http://cdn01.strandbooks.weblinc.com/resources/strand/images/products/partitioned/3/f/e/0307278352.1.zoom.jpg)
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.
(http://lipmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/in-cold-blood.jpg)
Expand Quote(http://lipmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/in-cold-blood.jpg)[close]
Great book, good movie too.
I've been reading a lot of Cormac McCarthy. So far my favorite of his is Outer Dark. That may change because I'm only half way through Blood Meridian.
That's impressive. Gravity's Rainbow was one of the few books I had to take breaks from reading in order to finish. All told, it took me about a year and a half to finish it.
I read the first chapter of Blood Meridian on the train this morning and it really didn't do anything for me. I'm not a fan of Westerns, so maybe that's it?
Should get better as they start going out on their raids and stuff and the Judge's character develops. He's a fuckin trip.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/83/Debt_Graeber.jpg/200px-Debt_Graeber.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tkcSAhSDL.jpg)
(http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348417503l/160145.jpg)
Yeah, I'll give it a little more time. I guess it was a little disappointing since I've heard everyone talk about how awesome it is.
Merked, I've read House of Leaves and I agree that it is awesome and warrant another reading (although I haven't given it one yet). I've read all of Danielewski's stuff so far and am excited to see what he does with his next project.
Yeah, Only Revolutions was super difficult. It required a lot of internet help and just heads down reading through it regardless of understanding. It was meant to be a reinvention of music and (love) poetry, like how HoL is a re-imagining of film and literary criticism. It made more sense once I realized that, but it still wasn't easy. I know that I definitely missed a lot. The Fifty Year Sword is awesome. I actually went to see Danielewski read it right before the reissue came out and it was really cool and well done. It's a super quick read since it's basically a ghost story (the reading lasted about an hour and a half I want to say and it was the entire book). It's a lot better than i]Only Revolutions[/i].
Expand QuoteYeah, Only Revolutions was super difficult. It required a lot of internet help and just heads down reading through it regardless of understanding. It was meant to be a reinvention of music and (love) poetry, like how HoL is a re-imagining of film and literary criticism. It made more sense once I realized that, but it still wasn't easy. I know that I definitely missed a lot. The Fifty Year Sword is awesome. I actually went to see Danielewski read it right before the reissue came out and it was really cool and well done. It's a super quick read since it's basically a ghost story (the reading lasted about an hour and a half I want to say and it was the entire book). It's a lot better than i]Only Revolutions[/i].[close]
Word up, I am going to see if I can get my hands on a copy of The Fifty Year Sword ASAP. Glad I am not the only one who felt that way about Only Revolutions though. Been reading up about Danielewski today and found out that he has a cult-like following. http://forums.markzdanielewski.com/ (http://forums.markzdanielewski.com/) - a whole forum dedicated to his work. Pretty intense.
i hope you get killed by gypsies you sack of shit
That's impressive. Gravity's Rainbow was one of the few books I had to take breaks from reading in order to finish. All told, it took me about a year and a half to finish it.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteYeah, Only Revolutions was super difficult. It required a lot of internet help and just heads down reading through it regardless of understanding. It was meant to be a reinvention of music and (love) poetry, like how HoL is a re-imagining of film and literary criticism. It made more sense once I realized that, but it still wasn't easy. I know that I definitely missed a lot. The Fifty Year Sword is awesome. I actually went to see Danielewski read it right before the reissue came out and it was really cool and well done. It's a super quick read since it's basically a ghost story (the reading lasted about an hour and a half I want to say and it was the entire book). It's a lot better than i]Only Revolutions[/i].[close]
Word up, I am going to see if I can get my hands on a copy of The Fifty Year Sword ASAP. Glad I am not the only one who felt that way about Only Revolutions though. Been reading up about Danielewski today and found out that he has a cult-like following. http://forums.markzdanielewski.com/ (http://forums.markzdanielewski.com/) - a whole forum dedicated to his work. Pretty intense.[close]
I'm a huge Danielewski fan - I think House of Leaves is his best, being such a cool fucking story. Only Revolutions was pretty cool too - what did you need help with while reading it? doesn't it say in the beginning to read like six pages in one side than flip it and carry on that way. It was cool. I finally found a copy of Fifty Year Sword and wasn't too impressed with it. I've read his next book (or books) are going to be released as mini books or something over a period of time. Should be interesting.
House of Leaves would be a pretty cool movie - I've also heard he refuses to sell the rights thus denying anyone the chance to make a movie from it.
I've been reading On the road by Kerouac and it's rad.
Of course I'm hyped to do something similar, although I have the feeling I'm going to get raped/shot/robbed of a kidney while doing it.
Expand QuoteI've been reading a lot of Cormac McCarthy. So far my favorite of his is Outer Dark. That may change because I'm only half way through Blood Meridian.[close]
Haven't read that but I fuckin loved Blood Meridian. Will check that out.
Expand QuoteI've been reading On the road by Kerouac and it's rad.
Of course I'm hyped to do something similar, although I have the feeling I'm going to get raped/shot/robbed of a kidney while doing it.[close]
Finished it about a week ago, it was pretty interesting.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI've been reading a lot of Cormac McCarthy. So far my favorite of his is Outer Dark. That may change because I'm only half way through Blood Meridian.[close]
Haven't read that but I fuckin loved Blood Meridian. Will check that out.[close]
Now my debate is whether to start Dharma Bums or All the Pretty Horses, haven't read any Cormac McCarthy in a long time. What's his book about the dude that bangs his sister and has a kid?
Anyways have to finish this book first:
(http://withfriendship.com/images/i/44433/A-Canticle-for-Leibowitz-pic.jpg)
Man, I've read a bit of Nabokov before.justified ain't on tonight, much to my displeasure. that reminded me of elmore leonard's 'raylan novels'. i didn't start reading them before the series but they come in good when FX be boolshitting. i haven't read 'fire in the hole' which the whole series is based off of but i've read a few and asides raylan having a larger estranged family and some other minor differences they are pretty faithful to the show. vice versa.
Can't recall if it was one of his short stories or novels but it was a few years ago and I just couldn't finish it. Just the wrong time in my life I guess. There was a melancholy quality to it that just hit me too hard, maybe melancholy isn't the right word but that's the closest word I can find. It didn't make me feel good.
I know some people will keep cheat sheets of all of the characters in their copies of War & Peace.
Expand QuoteI've been reading On the road by Kerouac and it's rad.
Of course I'm hyped to do something similar, although I have the feeling I'm going to get raped/shot/robbed of a kidney while doing it.[close]
Finished it about a week ago, it was pretty interesting.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI've been reading a lot of Cormac McCarthy. So far my favorite of his is Outer Dark. That may change because I'm only half way through Blood Meridian.[close]
Haven't read that but I fuckin loved Blood Meridian. Will check that out.[close]
Now my debate is whether to start Dharma Bums or All the Pretty Horses, haven't read any Cormac McCarthy in a long time. What's his book about the dude that bangs his sister and has a kid?
I'm about 250 pages into The Brothers Kamarazov right now. It's one of my brother's favorite novels and he's been trying to get me to read it for awhile. I just always lean more towards reading three or four shorter books than one super long one. Prior to this I've only read shorter stuff by Dostoyevsky like Poor People, Notes from the Underground, and The Crocodile (I think that's it) all of which I really liked. I'm liking The Brothers too, but it's kind of dragging for me, kind of like the British and American Romantic novels from around the same time that were also printed in serial where it just seems like there's a lot of fat that could've been trimmed around the gems. The characters are a lot more interesting than the hoity-toity characters in a lot of those books though. Maybe it will all come together further along or maybe I'm just off on this but have about 500 pages left and am already looking forward to reading something else.i really enjoyed that and crime and punishment. the latter got me all curt and vodka drunk but i more identified w/ the ivan brother in karamazov. maybe all the brothers and goofball dad at different points. when i lived in cleveland there was a band named 'stinking lizaveta' which i thought was sick. never listened to them but nice homage.
Man, I've read a bit of Nabokov before.
Can't recall if it was one of his short stories or novels but it was a few years ago and I just couldn't finish it. Just the wrong time in my life I guess. There was a melancholy quality to it that just hit me too hard, maybe melancholy isn't the right word but that's the closest word I can find. It didn't make me feel good.
just finished 100 years of solititude, now reading the secret agent by joey joe joe jr. shabadoo conraad. both are dank as some purple nuggets of chronic
anyone is half an asshole.
Expand Quotejust finished 100 years of solititude, now reading the secret agent by joey joe joe jr. shabadoo conraad. both are dank as some purple nuggets of chronic[close]
what did you think of 100 years of solitude? i tried to get into love in the time of cholera but it just never clicked for me.
here's another 'liberating truth'Expand Quoteanyone is half an asshole.[close]
One of the liberating truths literature offers.
(http://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2012/02/07/p16-120207-book1.jpg)
Tony Judt was one of the greatest historians of the 20th century. He died in 2010. Before he died he co-authored this book with another historian, Snyder. Half conversation, half autobiography (Judt's), it's a great voyage through historical issues central to the understanding the previous century. Despite that, it is not overly scholarly. Don't be mislead by the subtitle. The reason I'm posting this book here is because I think it could be thoroughly enjoyable for non-historians as well. I guess some previous knowledge is necessary, but if you have a a background in humanities or social sciences you won't find the content foreign.
Breakfast of Champions is awesome even though Vonnegut didn't seem to be too big of a fan of it.It wasn't my favorite of his. Then again, there's no such thing as a bad Vonnegut book.
^I have only read Kafka On the Shore and I enjoyed it.
It wasn't my favorite of his. Then again, there's no such thing as a bad Vonnegut book.Expand QuoteBreakfast of Champions is awesome even though Vonnegut didn't seem to be too big of a fan of it.[close]
Sorry about Judt, Chock. Hope you give it a go some other time.
Expand QuoteIt wasn't my favorite of his. Then again, there's no such thing as a bad Vonnegut book.Expand QuoteBreakfast of Champions is awesome even though Vonnegut didn't seem to be too big of a fan of it.[close][close]
I agree.? I still haven't read his most famous book, but I have it so I will one day.? I'm about to start The Corrections, it looks long as fuck I hope it's worth it.
Throughout the vast American West, nature is being vicitimized by a Big Government / Big Business conspiracy of bridges, dams and concrete. But a motley gang of individuals has decided that enough is enough. A burnt-out veteran, a mad doctor and a polygamist join forces in a noble cause: to dismantle the machinery of progress through peaceful means, or otherwise.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. A bunch of people recommended it. It's a common book for my old high school to teach, but I wasn't in that literature course, so I missed that chance. I'm about a quarter of the way through and am rather indifferent to it so far. It's cool to see where the Eastern/Buddhist mystique for the West came from and read the book that influenced so much of the "find yourself" tourism culture, but I think it really has suffered from that phenomenon. It just feels cliched at this point.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteIt wasn't my favorite of his. Then again, there's no such thing as a bad Vonnegut book.Expand QuoteBreakfast of Champions is awesome even though Vonnegut didn't seem to be too big of a fan of it.[close][close]
I agree.? I still haven't read his most famous book, but I have it so I will one day.? I'm about to start The Corrections, it looks long as fuck I hope it's worth it.[close]
I prefer Breakfast of Champions to Slaughterhouse 5 for what its worth.
Anyway, the Corrections is really good and doesn't feel like a long book when you're reading it.
would it be cool if there was a prequel written to the bible? like, you know, before God created the heavens and the earth.Do you have a physics book?
I have been consuming Palahniuk books lately at a rapid speed (survivor, rant, haunted, fight club, choke, lullaby)but was hesitant to read a book with the main character being a 13 year old girl. That book being damned but the shit is great. Especially if you find the concepts of heaven and hell completely ridiculous and humorous.i think his skills are in retrograde. that 'hello satan, are you there? it's me margaret' [or whatever her name was] book was pretty terrible but i read it on the strength of all his older books. the one w/ the culling song is the dopeshow. imagine if you could just sing someone to sleep forever? america's population would be cut in half real quick.
Went on a Knut Hamson rampage. Vagabonds, its sequel August, and Growth of the Soil. Enjoyed them all. Vagabonds probably best. They were all longer books, around 500 pages, but read fast. My favorite book of his is still Hunger.Hamson's Hunger is a fucking great book! One day i will get around to reading another one of his books as well as Miller. I thought tropic of cancer was great so I think i will give air conditioned nightmare and Vagabonds a chance. Thanks for the recommendations. Did you know that Hitler kicked Hamson out of his house for talking shit? Also there is a fable/rumor that Knut cured himself of tuberculosis by riding on top of a train breathing through his mouth. It seems like you enjoy transgressive literature so here are some more authors in this category you might enjoy-Palahniuk, Bataille(on some porn de sade shit), Bukowski, Currie Jr, Selby Jr, and of course Thompson. I think everyone must read Bukowski! Also, when you're at the party and you move you're body, do you feel you gotta get up and beeeee somebody?
In between August and Soil, a quick little read: The Fall by Albert Chamus. Regret is a hell of a thing.
Then I just finished The Air Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller. First thing I've read of his.
And now I'm on this 2 story book by JD Salinger: Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters and Seymour, An Introduction. The first one was good.
I have not, but I've had several friends that have. I'm waiting until I read his first novel before I start on Infinite Jest because I'm still ambivalent about DFW as a fiction writer. I have done similarly structured and really long/dense books before and I've found that it's very helpful to set daily goals to get through the length. Like, give yourself three months and figure out how many pages you have to read per day to finish in that time. That way, if a section is dragging, you can tell yourself, "I only have 10 more pages to read today." instead of "This is taking forever and I still have 900 pages to read."
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Inherent_vice_cover.jpg)I've been meaning to read this. I'm stoked for the movie.
Hoping to finish on Pynchon In Public Day.
Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine is worthy of a skim.
Expand QuoteJourney to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine is worthy of a skim.[close]
understatement of the year right here...
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteJourney to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine is worthy of a skim.[close]
understatement of the year right here...[close]
How the fuck do you skim journey to the end of the night?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteJourney to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine is worthy of a skim.[close]
understatement of the year right here...[close]
How the fuck do you skim journey to the end of the night?[close]
Why bother reading him when you can watch him fight Rip Torn?
Rip Torn vs Norman Mailer - the infamous "Maidstone" brawl - UNCUT! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AzmhorISf4#)
Picked up my first Kerouac book, On The Road, at a used bookstore. I'm not too far in, but I love it so far. As a Canuck, it only deepens my fascination with the US. How massive it is, all the different types of people, history, natural landmarks, etc.
Slowly for maximum absorption. I do tend to understate things. Clearly it's a great read.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteJourney to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine is worthy of a skim.[close]
understatement of the year right here...[close]
How the fuck do you skim journey to the end of the night?[close]
Reading Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
i borrowed keith richards biography but i haven't started it yet. i will say that mick jagger's biography was through the roof, nonstop, balls and dick to the walls! that dude fucked every hot broad from his era through angelina jolie and most men too [clapton, bowie, brian jones, a bunch i don't remember]. wilt chamberlain's numbers ain't got shit on mick. carly simon wrote 'you're so vain' about him and some of his songs were about dudes [angie, i believe] dude was the most fucking-est man in show business. hopefully the keith richards book is better cause i feel like he's the more relatable stone.I realise you posted this a long time ago but I stumbled across it and didn't Carly Simon eventually say that Your so Vain was written mostly in reference to Warren Beatty? Also "Angie" I believe was involving Bowie but also a weird wife/husband swapping thing they all had going on at the time.
for carly simon, maybe so but this was mick's biography. as for the bowie thing, it was pretty clear the he was 'angie' not his wife.I realise you posted this a long time ago but I stumbled across it and didn't Carly Simon eventually say that Your so Vain was written mostly in reference to Warren Beatty? Also "Angie" I believe was involving Bowie but also a weird wife/husband swapping thing they all had going on at the time.Expand Quotei borrowed keith richards biography but i haven't started it yet. i will say that mick jagger's biography was through the roof, nonstop, balls and dick to the walls! that dude fucked every hot broad from his era through angelina jolie and most men too [clapton, bowie, brian jones, a bunch i don't remember]. wilt chamberlain's numbers ain't got shit on mick. carly simon wrote 'you're so vain' about him and some of his songs were about dudes [angie, i believe] dude was the most fucking-est man in show business. hopefully the keith richards book is better cause i feel like he's the more relatable stone.[close]
So far i've read:
The Art of Happiness - Tenzin Gyatso (Dalai Lama) and Howard Cutler Would recommend
Hagakure (The Way of the Samurai) - Yamamoto Tsunemoto Would recommend
Rashomon and Seventeen other stories - Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Currently reading:
Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Tao of Gung Fu - Bruce Lee
After i'm done with those i will read Zen and the Art of Archery. After that i'll probably visit the bookstore again, maybe get Mike Oldfield's biography, or American Psycho (Though i'm not very fond of fiction)
Expand QuoteSo far i've read:
The Art of Happiness - Tenzin Gyatso (Dalai Lama) and Howard Cutler Would recommend
Hagakure (The Way of the Samurai) - Yamamoto Tsunemoto Would recommend
Rashomon and Seventeen other stories - Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Currently reading:
Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Tao of Gung Fu - Bruce Lee
After i'm done with those i will read Zen and the Art of Archery. After that i'll probably visit the bookstore again, maybe get Mike Oldfield's biography, or American Psycho (Though i'm not very fond of fiction)[close]
Notes from the underground is one of my favorites. The first sentence is great. I suggest The House of the Dead by Dostoyevsky too if you don't like fiction. It's about his time in a Siberian prison
my bad. Big differenceExpand QuoteExpand QuoteSo far i've read:
The Art of Happiness - Tenzin Gyatso (Dalai Lama) and Howard Cutler Would recommend
Hagakure (The Way of the Samurai) - Yamamoto Tsunemoto Would recommend
Rashomon and Seventeen other stories - Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Currently reading:
Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Tao of Gung Fu - Bruce Lee
After i'm done with those i will read Zen and the Art of Archery. After that i'll probably visit the bookstore again, maybe get Mike Oldfield's biography, or American Psycho (Though i'm not very fond of fiction)[close]
Notes from the underground is one of my favorites. The first sentence is great. I suggest The House of the Dead by Dostoyevsky too if you don't like fiction. It's about his time in a Siberian prison[close]
Expand QuoteI have not, but I've had several friends that have. I'm waiting until I read his first novel before I start on Infinite Jest because I'm still ambivalent about DFW as a fiction writer. I have done similarly structured and really long/dense books before and I've found that it's very helpful to set daily goals to get through the length. Like, give yourself three months and figure out how many pages you have to read per day to finish in that time. That way, if a section is dragging, you can tell yourself, "I only have 10 more pages to read today." instead of "This is taking forever and I still have 900 pages to read."[close]
His first novel is a lot harder to get through, a lot less rewarding and generally worse than infinite jest.
Infinte jest is actually pretty fun to read for a lot of the time.
If you have read some of his essays and and short stories and like them then you'll like infinite jest - its one of the best reading experiences I've had
It is.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI have not, but I've had several friends that have. I'm waiting until I read his first novel before I start on Infinite Jest because I'm still ambivalent about DFW as a fiction writer. I have done similarly structured and really long/dense books before and I've found that it's very helpful to set daily goals to get through the length. Like, give yourself three months and figure out how many pages you have to read per day to finish in that time. That way, if a section is dragging, you can tell yourself, "I only have 10 more pages to read today." instead of "This is taking forever and I still have 900 pages to read."[close]
His first novel is a lot harder to get through, a lot less rewarding and generally worse than infinite jest.
Infinte jest is actually pretty fun to read for a lot of the time.
If you have read some of his essays and and short stories and like them then you'll like infinite jest - its one of the best reading experiences I've had[close]
I still decided to go through The Broom of the System first and it's not taking too long. I'm almost done with Part One after about three or four days of reading. It's just very transparent if you know anything about DFW. I've listened to a lot of his interviews (none of which really touch on The Broom of the System) and read all of his non-fiction collections, so that makes it a little obvious, but the book is very clearly written by an ambitious young adult. You can tell he is just getting into Pynchon and wants to write like him, but throws in a few curve balls so you can't say he is just copying him, you can tell that he is obsessed with Wittgenstein and linguistic philosophy, and you can tell he has dabbled in therapy and is annoyed by Freud/psychoanalysis and the role-playing and therapeutic games/techniques that they use. It's not a difficult read if you have any experiences with his influences and you can definitely see what he's going for, but he's not successful at it and you're right--it isn't very rewarding.
To be honest, unless Infinite Jest is exponentially better than The Broom of the System and his short stories, I just might not be convinced of DFW's prowess as a fiction writer.
Notes from the underground is one of my favorites. The first sentence is great. I suggest The House of the Dead by Dostoyevsky too if you don't like fiction. It's about his time in a Serbian prison
Finished The Broom of the System a few days ago and it didn't get any better. Probably the second worst book I've read do far this year. I like to cycle in non-fiction/sociology/theory every couple of books so I'm reading Art Worlds by Howard Becker.
Hamson's Hunger is a fucking great book! One day i will get around to reading another one of his books as well as Miller. I thought tropic of cancer was great so I think i will give air conditioned nightmare and Vagabonds a chance. Thanks for the recommendations. Did you know that Hitler kicked Hamson out of his house for talking shit? Also there is a fable/rumor that Knut cured himself of tuberculosis by riding on top of a train breathing through his mouth. It seems like you enjoy transgressive literature so here are some more authors in this category you might enjoy-Palahniuk, Bataille(on some porn de sade shit), Bukowski, Currie Jr, Selby Jr, and of course Thompson. I think everyone must read Bukowski! Also, when you're at the party and you move you're body, do you feel you gotta get up and beeeee somebody?Expand QuoteWent on a Knut Hamson rampage. Vagabonds, its sequel August, and Growth of the Soil. Enjoyed them all. Vagabonds probably best. They were all longer books, around 500 pages, but read fast. My favorite book of his is still Hunger.
In between August and Soil, a quick little read: The Fall by Albert Chamus. Regret is a hell of a thing.
Then I just finished The Air Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller. First thing I've read of his.
And now I'm on this 2 story book by JD Salinger: Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters and Seymour, An Introduction. The first one was good.[close]
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteWent on a KnutHamsonrampage. Vagabonds, its sequel August, and Growth of the Soil. Enjoyed them all. Vagabonds probably best. They were all longer books, around 500 pages, but read fast. My favorite book of his is still Hunger.[close]Hamson's Hunger is a fucking great book! One day i will get around to reading another one of his books as well as Miller. I thought tropic of cancer was great so I think i will give air conditioned nightmare and Vagabonds a chance. Thanks for the recommendations. Did you know that Hitler kickedHamsonout of his house for talking shit? Also there is a fable/rumor that Knut cured himself of tuberculosis by riding on top of a train breathing through his mouth.[close]
Never heard that about Hitler andHamson. That is nice to hear though. Because I thoughtHamsonwas accused of being a Nazi sympathizer and basically died broke because of it.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteWent on a KnutHamsonrampage. Vagabonds, its sequel August, and Growth of the Soil. Enjoyed them all. Vagabonds probably best. They were all longer books, around 500 pages, but read fast. My favorite book of his is still Hunger.[close]Hamson's Hunger is a fucking great book! One day i will get around to reading another one of his books as well as Miller. I thought tropic of cancer was great so I think i will give air conditioned nightmare and Vagabonds a chance. Thanks for the recommendations. Did you know that Hitler kickedHamsonout of his house for talking shit? Also there is a fable/rumor that Knut cured himself of tuberculosis by riding on top of a train breathing through his mouth.[close]
Never heard that about Hitler andHamson. That is nice to hear though. Because I thoughtHamsonwas accused of being a Nazi sympathizer and basically died broke because of it.[close]
Hamsun.
The Importance of Being Earnest is hilarious.
(http://s.s-bol.com/imgbase0/imagebase/large/FC/1/6/3/7/1001004001057361.jpg)
^^ Don't start shooting people.Awesome find. Have 6 or 7 of his compilations. Not that one though. I've always hated how Watterson never cashed in on merchandizing because he felt that it would disparage people's relationship to his characters. But then most people probably think of those stupid pissing on "insert brand" stickers when they think of calvin.
I found this at Goodwill for $1. Looks brand new.
(http://images.betterworldbooks.com/083/Homicidal-Psycho-Jungle-Cat-Ppb-9780836217698.jpg)
Has anyone mentioned the stranger by Camus?? If so I apologize. :oi think i did. that book is pretty dopeshow and sartre's fiction too. right now i'm reading 50 shades of grey cause i found it in a recycling bin. it's pretty horrible but i'm reading it so i don't know what that tells ya.
I've been wanting to read Flash Boys. Liar's Poker and The Big Short were both great. Super complicated stuff made palpable, definitely a sign of a great writer.
Reading this right now. My favorite novel I've read in a while. I love Great Depression era fiction
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385265834l/37380.jpg)
Just ordered the first two volumes of the English translation. Stoked to get a chance to read them.
has anybody read any really, really good non-fiction lately? i'm almost finished with my current book and have none on the horizon.not lately so much but 'black mass' was about all that whitey bulger shit in southie. if you're not familiar, basically what that movie 'the departed' was based on. i've read a few books on the subject but the other names escape me. one was by kevin [2] weeks and not about that so much but about growing up poor, white in southie and trying to be a good person, 'all saints'.
finished Notes from the Underground a while ago, now working on this. So far it's greatThat caught me for a second, I thought it was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Spoiler alert, it's not about motorcycle maintenance.
(http://s.s-bol.com/imgbase0/imagebase/large/FC/1/6/3/7/1001004001057361.jpg)
This is great
(http://bookriotcom.c.presscdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/american-psycho-book.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41K7TYBGF4L.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DoCbKqWfL.jpg)
Just finished this one. 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I had never heard of the author or book. But he died a few months ago and I saw a story about him on the news. The book is supposed to be a major classic. And his finest work. In Colombia (where he was born) and Mexico (where he lived), he is regarded as a national hero. So I decided to check it out.
According to the back cover (NY Times Book Review) this is the first piece of literature since the book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. Maybe a little too much hype. Which usually leads to being disappointed.
I enjoyed it for the most part. He has a nice flow. The parts dealing with "magic" as an everyday reality are fun. But, I ended up feeling sorry for most of the characters instead of rooting for them. A lot of loneliness. And incest.
I put in a request for another of his books, No One Writes to the Colonel. Because I did like the way he writes.
A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain. I needed a slightly less serious/intensive book after some deeper and difficult ones.
Expand QuoteA Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain. I needed a slightly less serious/intensive book after some deeper and difficult ones.[close]
How is it? I like his shows, and he seems like he'd have an interesting past.
Expand Quote
(http://s.s-bol.com/imgbase0/imagebase/large/FC/1/6/3/7/1001004001057361.jpg)[close]
I recommend this book to everyone who skates, it's only 100 pages and has the possibility to improve and change your perspective on skateboarding as a whole.
Reminds me of this:Expand QuoteExpand Quote
(http://s.s-bol.com/imgbase0/imagebase/large/FC/1/6/3/7/1001004001057361.jpg)[close]
I recommend this book to everyone who skates, it's only 100 pages and has the possibility to improve and change your perspective on skateboarding as a whole.[close]
(http://genealogyreligion.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Zen-and-the-Art-of-Motorcycle-Maintenance1.jpg)
Just finished this. It was good. I had heard it recommended somewhere sometime probably 15 years ago. Never checked it out until you refreshed my memory. Thanks.
Another book along the same vein, kind of; maybe a couple aisles over in a bookstore; is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I read that a few months ago and enjoyed it.
Been a while since this thread has come up.
(http://observatory.designobserver.com/media/slideshows/Glory.Venezky.m.jpg)
They do look nice, although I prefer the previous editions' covers just because I start buying a lot of Nabokov in those editions and I tried to keep it consistent. Luckily, the other covers look awesome too even though it's a completely different direction.
Expand Quote(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DoCbKqWfL.jpg)
Just finished this one. 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I had never heard of the author or book. But he died a few months ago and I saw a story about him on the news. The book is supposed to be a major classic. And his finest work. In Colombia (where he was born) and Mexico (where he lived), he is regarded as a national hero. So I decided to check it out.
According to the back cover (NY Times Book Review) this is the first piece of literature since the book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. Maybe a little too much hype. Which usually leads to being disappointed.
I enjoyed it for the most part. He has a nice flow. The parts dealing with "magic" as an everyday reality are fun. But, I ended up feeling sorry for most of the characters instead of rooting for them. A lot of loneliness. And incest.
I put in a request for another of his books, No One Writes to the Colonel. Because I did like the way he writes.[close]
I finished this a few weeks ago, and I chose to read it for the same reason haha. It's great, but man did it get annoying at times trying to keep up with all the characters that had similar/the same names.
I'm currently making my second round with this:
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394861337l/52036.jpg)
Anyone have any recommendations for a good history book? Specifically, I'm looking for something that delves into "what if?" scenarios and how the future may have been altered if significant events went differently.
Its probably been mentioned a 100 times through the thread
before but 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote is a really good book.
The guy is the most visceral writer I've ever come across,
really worth reading..
Anyone have any recommendations for a good history book? Specifically, I'm looking for something that delves into "what if?" scenarios and how the future may have been altered if significant events went differently.
Anyone have any recommendations for a good history book? Specifically, I'm looking for something that delves into "what if?" scenarios and how the future may have been altered if significant events went differently.
Expand QuoteIts probably been mentioned a 100 times through the thread
before but 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote is a really good book.
The guy is the most visceral writer I've ever come across,
really worth reading..[close]
I'm not too sure about Capote being a visceral writer, but In Cold Blood is pure gold. Literary Journalism at its very, very, very best.
I doubt Dostoyevsky intentionally made that pun just because I don't think those words are close enough in Russian.i didn't either but it's all apropos and shit
long time, no post. knausgaard and walkable city are on hold as i've gotten really into "stoner".
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61UbQXxc-iL.jpg)
(http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/cms/binary/10248549.jpg?size=620x400s)
Thorough work. Really depressing read.
Some recent good reads...
Atlas Shrugged (Rand) -> pretty epic. one of my favorite novels ever.
The Fourth Turning
Prometheus Rising (Robert Anton Wilson) -> made a bunch of my friends read it because it's an easy intro to psych and getting "out of the box"
Mind Lines (Michael Hall) -> fuck I've gotta re-read this shit to fully integrate it
The Ethical Slut -> got a new perspective on sex and open relationships...
Models (Mark Manson) -> one of the best books on pickup/seduction I've read.
Radical Honesty (Brad Blanton) -> pick it up, will change your life.
I just ordered:
Practically Shameless (Barry)... it's about working with your "shadow" as Carl Jung talked about. I read the intro and first chapter and it's hit home already.
Turtles All The Way Down (John Grinder)... a book about psychology and NLP if anyone's familiar with that... apparently a must read. pretty excited to get these two books soon.
Expand QuoteSome recent good reads...
Atlas Shrugged (Rand) -> pretty epic. one of my favorite novels ever.
The Fourth Turning
Prometheus Rising (Robert Anton Wilson) -> made a bunch of my friends read it because it's an easy intro to psych and getting "out of the box"
Mind Lines (Michael Hall) -> fuck I've gotta re-read this shit to fully integrate it
The Ethical Slut -> got a new perspective on sex and open relationships...
Models (Mark Manson) -> one of the best books on pickup/seduction I've read.
Radical Honesty (Brad Blanton) -> pick it up, will change your life.
I just ordered:
Practically Shameless (Barry)... it's about working with your "shadow" as Carl Jung talked about. I read the intro and first chapter and it's hit home already.
Turtles All The Way Down (John Grinder)... a book about psychology and NLP if anyone's familiar with that... apparently a must read. pretty excited to get these two books soon.[close]
Good list. If you/ or anyone is interested in doing a book trade, i'd be happy to mail some stuff off.
I just finished Cuck Palhniuk's 'Invisable Monsters'. Quite dark to read over xmas. If you're interested in transgender studies and people getting fucked up, this is could be a winner.
Currently reading:
Drive - Daniel H. Pink
Food of the Gods - Terence McKenna (druggggssss)
What Makes a Great Exhibtion? - Marincola
Consider the Lobster - David Foster Wallace
oh and im struggling through The Sound and Fury. fucking garbage, sorry.
am i the only person on here who has a hard time not disliking people who enjoyed atlas shrugged?nah, i dislike anyone who likes ayn rand also on gp
reading desolation angels by jack kerouac now. best book ive read so far.
y'all ever read a book by a woman other than ayn rand ?amy hempel, SE hinton. i fucks w/ her heavy. nah but she was sick when i was a kid. caroline knapp from the boston phoenix wrote a few memoir type books that i liked but then i tried to reread and wasn't so into. RIP.
literary sausage party in here
nah, i dislike anyone who likes ayn rand also on gpExpand Quoteam i the only person on here who has a hard time not disliking people who enjoyed atlas shrugged?
reading desolation angels by jack kerouac now. best book ive read so far.[close]
y'all ever read a book by a woman other than ayn rand ?
literary sausage party in here
Expand QuoteSome recent good reads...
Atlas Shrugged (Rand) -> pretty epic. one of my favorite novels ever.
The Fourth Turning
Prometheus Rising (Robert Anton Wilson) -> made a bunch of my friends read it because it's an easy intro to psych and getting "out of the box"
Mind Lines (Michael Hall) -> fuck I've gotta re-read this shit to fully integrate it
The Ethical Slut -> got a new perspective on sex and open relationships...
Models (Mark Manson) -> one of the best books on pickup/seduction I've read.
Radical Honesty (Brad Blanton) -> pick it up, will change your life.
I just ordered:
Practically Shameless (Barry)... it's about working with your "shadow" as Carl Jung talked about. I read the intro and first chapter and it's hit home already.
Turtles All The Way Down (John Grinder)... a book about psychology and NLP if anyone's familiar with that... apparently a must read. pretty excited to get these two books soon.[close]
Good list. If you/ or anyone is interested in doing a book trade, i'd be happy to mail some stuff off.
I just finished Cuck Palhniuk's 'Invisable Monsters'. Quite dark to read over xmas. If you're interested in transgender studies and people getting fucked up, this is could be a winner.
Currently reading:
Drive - Daniel H. Pink
Food of the Gods - Terence McKenna (druggggssss)
What Makes a Great Exhibtion? - Marincola
Consider the Lobster - David Foster Wallace
oh and im struggling through The Sound and Fury. fucking garbage, sorry.
I made a similar post a few pages back, but just in case somebody missed it...(http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/files/2010/04/MurderCity.jpg)
Does anybody have any really good non-fiction books they can recommend? It can be about anything really, I'm just dying for a new book and have been re-reading some of my old favorites to keep me occupied.
Currently re-reading the book Acid Dreams. I can't recommend this book enough... it's about the invention of LSD; first about the government funded creation/experimentation of the drug, then about what it did to the youth culture once it finally got out to the public. Although we all hate and are annoyed by hippies, the original hippy movement has always fascinated me, and the stories about Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters are as punk rock/anarchistic as anything Crass can think up.
Recommend me something, PLEASE!
Does anybody have any really good non-fiction books they can recommend? It can be about anything really, I'm just dying for a new book and have been re-reading some of my old favorites to keep me occupied.I got rid of mine, so here's what I remember that is worth sharing
Recommend me something, PLEASE!
And this is more philosophy than non-fiction, but I would Subjectivity by Nick Mansfield - introduces a bunch of theories, and some might interest you - I think Foucault is pretty rad.
I read the Black Dahlia sometime last year and it was pretty awesome. Takes me back to when I was pretty big into Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler stories and reading them in my car waiting for class to start in the winterraymond chandler is a badass writer, thank you for reminding me of his existence.
Expand QuoteDoes anybody have any really good non-fiction books they can recommend? It can be about anything really, I'm just dying for a new book and have been re-reading some of my old favorites to keep me occupied.
Recommend me something, PLEASE![close]
You might enjoy "Garcia: An American Life"--mentions some of the stuff you read in the book you listed.
Some other suggestions:
- "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand (just raced my dad through this one--amazing story that Hillenbrand had to write while dealing with her severe chronic fatigue syndrome)
- "Programming the Universe" by Seth Lloyd (kind of out there [for me, at least], but some interesting things to think about)
- "Blue Highways" by William Least-Heat Moon (English professor loses his job, his wife divorces him; he travels through the U.S. in a van, taking only Blue Highways and meeting the people and seeing the places out there)
- "Nothing to Envy" by Barbara Demick (the stories of some NK defectors--pretty depressing, but really well done)
-"Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder (pretty much anything by Tracy Kidder is pretty amazing--Paul Farmer's books, too. This book chronicles Dr. Paul Farmer's work with creating PIH [Partners in Health] which aims to make healthcare a human right. His brother is wrestler Jeff Farmer)
-"Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope" (a WWII biographic graphic novel illustrated by Emmanuel Guibert)
-Anything by Michael Lewis (Liar's Poker, Flash Boys, Moneyball, etc.)
-"The Billionaire's Apprentice: The Rise of the Indian-American Elite & the Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund" by Anita Raghavan (really interesting--reads like a financial thriller and explains financial concepts as it moves along)
-"World on Fire" by Amy Chua (this is pre-"Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" / "The Triple Package" Chua--pretty sure she just writes to be controversial these days)
-"A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal" by Ben Macintyre
-"Alan Turing the Enigma" by Andrew Hodges (Read this before seeing "The Imitation Game", if you can)
-"Howard Hughes: The Untold Story" by Brown & Broeske (so much more crazy stuff that The Aviator didn't really dip into)
-"Ghost in the Wires" by Kevin Mitnick (kind of hard to sympathize with him after finishing the book, but an interesting story)
-"The Signal in the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail, But Some Don't" by Nate Silver (actually, pretty much anything this superstar statistician writes is a really good read)
I got rid of mine, so here's what I remember that is worth sharingExpand QuoteDoes anybody have any really good non-fiction books they can recommend? It can be about anything really, I'm just dying for a new book and have been re-reading some of my old favorites to keep me occupied.
Recommend me something, PLEASE![close]
The Information by James Gleick
Chaos by James Gleick
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Oliver Sacks' books accounting his patients' stories are pretty nuts
I also heard the M�tley Cr�e autiobiography, The Dirt, is good whether or not you like the band
And this is more philosophy than non-fiction, but I would Subjectivity by Nick Mansfield - introduces a bunch of theories, and some might interest you - I think Foucault is pretty rad.
So is The Myth of Mental Illness pretty much Foucault's Madness and Civilization/History of Madness?
Yeah, it sounds pretty much Foucault with a little more medical rhetoric thrown in. To be honest, it doesn't sound too well done and like there are a lot of leaps in it (not only from your description, but from reading some reviews of it just now) and some logical flaws (your description of his argument for why mental illness is not a disease sounds a lot like begging the question). Some of it sounds interesting, but some of it sounds like controversy for the sake of controversy.
Expand QuoteYeah, it sounds pretty much Foucault with a little more medical rhetoric thrown in. To be honest, it doesn't sound too well done and like there are a lot of leaps in it (not only from your description, but from reading some reviews of it just now) and some logical flaws (your description of his argument for why mental illness is not a disease sounds a lot like begging the question). Some of it sounds interesting, but some of it sounds like controversy for the sake of controversy.[close]
I just figured I'd try and give the main gist of it so far since you asked, but I'm still skeptical myself.
It's definitely not quite what I was expecting...I read a good opinion of it somewhere a long time ago and just now got around to checking it out. I'm hoping he at least goes into specifics on some disorders and talks about iatrogenesis as opposed to it just being an anti-establishment philosophy of medical rhetoric text.
Chapter 2 of Cannery Row is one of my my favorite pieces of literature ever. Here's a link if anyone's interested. http://nale.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Literature/Cannery2A.html (http://nale.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Literature/Cannery2A.html) It's just like a 2 page vignette.sick, this has me stoked for when i get around to reading it.
Anyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho
Anyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho
what do you consider modern/ who are the exceptions?Expand QuoteAnyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho[close]
Blake, Keats, Neruda, Rilke, Whitman.
I have a hard time with more modern poetry. There are exceptions though...
what do you consider modern/ who are the exceptions?Expand QuoteExpand QuoteAnyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho[close]
Blake, Keats, Neruda, Rilke, Whitman.
I have a hard time with more modern poetry. There are exceptions though...[close]
edit: your post is kind of funny because i have trouble reading keats and blake because they seem almost too traditional to me, although i want to look thru their stuff still
no it's cool i appreciate the motivation. i get kind of annoyed with poetry that's overly concerned with rhyming tho, that's my main problem.Expand Quotewhat do you consider modern/ who are the exceptions?Expand QuoteExpand QuoteAnyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho[close]
Blake, Keats, Neruda, Rilke, Whitman.
I have a hard time with more modern poetry. There are exceptions though...[close]
edit: your post is kind of funny because i have trouble reading keats and blake because they seem almost too traditional to me, although i want to look thru their stuff still[close]
Blake is well worth persevering with. As is Keats. I'm not trying to be too pretentious, they just stuck with me from school.
As far as more modern stuff, that was a lazy term. I should say contemporary. No one in particular, just when I come across it, I find it hard to stomach. Maybe a bit of historical distance makes it seem less trite? I don't know.
I do like Dylan Thomas a lot but being from the same town helps.
More 'modern' would be like Linton Kwesi Johnson, Benjamin Zephaniah, Grace Nichols and Simon Armitage would be the exceptions for Brits. Maybe, Gary Snyder and Sylvia Plath for Americans.
And I'm not ashamed to say I like a lot of Bukowski also. He had some great moments in between the misogyny.
i don't really fuck w/ poetry except buk and not so much these days but sylvia plath's book about suicide was the dopeshow!Expand Quotewhat do you consider modern/ who are the exceptions?Expand QuoteExpand QuoteAnyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho[close]
Blake, Keats, Neruda, Rilke, Whitman.
I have a hard time with more modern poetry. There are exceptions though...[close]
edit: your post is kind of funny because i have trouble reading keats and blake because they seem almost too traditional to me, although i want to look thru their stuff still[close]
Blake is well worth persevering with. As is Keats. I'm not trying to be too pretentious, they just stuck with me from school.
As far as more modern stuff, that was a lazy term. I should say contemporary. No one in particular, just when I come across it, I find it hard to stomach. Maybe a bit of historical distance makes it seem less trite? I don't know.
I do like Dylan Thomas a lot but being from the same town helps.
More 'modern' would be like Linton Kwesi Johnson, Benjamin Zephaniah, Grace Nichols and Simon Armitage would be the exceptions for Brits. Maybe, Gary Snyder and Sylvia Plath for Americans.
And I'm not ashamed to say I like a lot of Bukowski also. He had some great moments in between the misogyny.
Expand Quotewhat do you consider modern/ who are the exceptions?Expand QuoteExpand QuoteAnyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho[close]
Blake, Keats, Neruda, Rilke, Whitman.
I have a hard time with more modern poetry. There are exceptions though...[close]
edit: your post is kind of funny because i have trouble reading keats and blake because they seem almost too traditional to me, although i want to look thru their stuff still[close]
Blake is well worth persevering with. As is Keats. I'm not trying to be too pretentious, they just stuck with me from school.
As far as more modern stuff, that was a lazy term. I should say contemporary. No one in particular, just when I come across it, I find it hard to stomach. Maybe a bit of historical distance makes it seem less trite? I don't know.
I do like Dylan Thomas a lot but being from the same town helps.
More 'modern' would be like Linton Kwesi Johnson, Benjamin Zephaniah, Grace Nichols and Simon Armitage would be the exceptions for Brits. Maybe, Gary Snyder and Sylvia Plath for Americans.
Anyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho
Expand QuoteExpand Quotewhat do you consider modern/ who are the exceptions?Expand QuoteExpand QuoteAnyone read poetry? I need some recommendations, no Bukowski tho[close]
Blake, Keats, Neruda, Rilke, Whitman.
I have a hard time with more modern poetry. There are exceptions though...[close]
edit: your post is kind of funny because i have trouble reading keats and blake because they seem almost too traditional to me, although i want to look thru their stuff still[close]
Blake is well worth persevering with. As is Keats. I'm not trying to be too pretentious, they just stuck with me from school.
As far as more modern stuff, that was a lazy term. I should say contemporary. No one in particular, just when I come across it, I find it hard to stomach. Maybe a bit of historical distance makes it seem less trite? I don't know.
I do like Dylan Thomas a lot but being from the same town helps.
More 'modern' would be like Linton Kwesi Johnson, Benjamin Zephaniah, Grace Nichols and Simon Armitage would be the exceptions for Brits. Maybe, Gary Snyder and Sylvia Plath for Americans.[close]
This.
Sylvia Plath must be one of my favorite poets. "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" are the two most intense poems I've ever read.
Other than that, I also second the notion of Blake persevering. Songs of Innocence and Experience has great poems in it. My favorite Romantic poet by far.
Whitman on the other hand... are you guys really into him? I don't know. To me, he's a) too spritual, b) too patriotic, and c) too optimistic. Growing up in our times I cannot relate to anything he wrote. I'm teaching literature at a university and everytime I read Whitman with a class my approach is as follows: "Ok, guys, Whitman wrote a bunch of bullshit. Let's figure out why." The amazing thing is: it always works. I went about Whitman seriously the first time and it totally didn't work.
Dylan Thomas and Pablo Neruda are great. Rilke too.
With Whitman, you have to understand that he pretty much changed poetry. Yes, French poets like Rimbaud (who is an absolute favorite of mine) and Baudelaire had already done some thing he'd done, but Whitman established free verse as well as establishing American poetry. No body had seen anything like his work. In my MFA program, all the teachers, many of whom are published poets, all gush over him.
I haven't read too much Whitman beyond 'Leaves of Grass' after getting reacquainted with the Norton Anthology of American Literature and deciding to plow through it. I see your points, for sure but there are some literary gems amongst it all.
How did you end up teaching Lit, AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice?
i love rimbaud. glad to hear you already knew him makaveli.
what about allen ginsberg? or gregory corso?
edit: will check out frank bidart and franz wright
second edit: just read the first poem that came up when i googled bidart. it was about killing/raping a little girl. you wanna recommend something more light hearted? or should i just skip this guy if im not into the dark stuff?
yeah herbert white. ill try the metaphysical dog if i can find parts of it online, sounds cool.
that is pretty hilarious about ginsberg. dude was a character. he must have done a lot of readings/lectures, im always hearing about people who met him.
corso is another beat writer, he was good friends with ginsberg. i wouldnt bother with him unless you liked ginsberg though.
do you know of any other important rimbaud stuff besides a season in hell, the illuminations, and the drunken boat?
i know he didnt write for very long, so maybe there is nothing else of value besides his letters. i never talk to other fans of his so i dont really know too much about him.
agreed about the importance of the translator, im bummed on whoever translated my copy of the illuminations. i read them online first and i like whoever translated that version way better. kind of maddening not to be able to read the original. sometimes i am amazed by the difference in translations, like "what the hell did this guy write that it translates to both this and that?"
I'm also reading Consider the Lobster. I've never read David Foster Wallace. Love his use of footnotes and parentheticals, I've actually encountered this before in Neal Stephenson's novels and I think it's a great way to sprinkle in humor
Oh man--I didn't like pretty much everything. It reads too obviously like a young writer. He is obviously very conscious in all of his decisions and fails in all of them. His characters are horrible and you don't care about any of them, which usually doesn't bother me except that DFW clearly wants you to empathize with them and care about them. He is way too influenced by Pynchon in the work and his little Pynchonian sidetracks and tangents are completely useless. They add nothing to the story or your understandings of the characters or plot. His parodies of psychoanalysis, psychiatry, education, and pretty much everything else are very heavy-handed and you can almost see him laughing to himself about how clever he is. He tries to create a fully realized, complex world composed of fully realized, complex characters and does neither. Plus, the ending is horrible and unsatisfying. He ties up maybe one of several dozen plotlines which, again, would not be a problem if he didn't structure the work in such a way that he should have wrapped everything (or almost everything) up. All of those things are not done in the way most postmodern work is where it actually adds something to the work. He clearly built up everything and then he was just like, "Well--if I don't do all of these things, everyone will think I'm clever and smart!"
I'm almost done (sorry man--I have a lot of feelings about this book). Finally, the book is transparently structured as a philosophical explication of Wittgenstein's work. I don't know much about Wittgenstein, but after reading some analyses of him and talking to some people who know him, the entire crux of the novel is based on a faulty extension of his thoughts. The idea that reality only exists in what can be said of it is not what Wittgenstein believes and in fact is an illogical conclusion to reach from his thoughts and is something that Wittgenstein himself would have probably railed against. It is simplistically reductionist and, as such, is a weak foundation from which to explore the relationship between reader, author, and text.
Pretty much the only good things are that it is not a difficult novel to get through, so it doesn't take long for its length (I got through with it in maybe 10-12 hours?) and to be honest, you can zone out for sections at a time and miss absolutely nothing.
And the character names! Holy shit are they horrible!
I need to talk to someone who has read it because I want to complain about how terrible Lenore Beadsman (the main character) is on pretty much every level and why I seem to have a completely different interpretation of the ending from the few interpretations I've come across online.
I feel you on a few points. He was pretty gassed up on his own intelligence, though I feel like this comes across in his non-fiction just as much as his fiction. I've spent the last few months reading all of it, and funny enough, I've left The Broom of the System for last...Infinite Jest was no joke. It might frustrate you, it drove me a little nuts at points, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It took me almost a full month going hard to finish it. I'd never spent that amount of time with fiction before. All of the complaints you have with BOTS are still present, but there is an underlying sensitivity that was absolutely moving. It was a hard world not to inhabit, after I'd finished.
Next up is The Crying of Lot 49. My first Pynchon book. I'm through the first two chapters and I like it so far. I have a feeling the plot's gonna get mixed up soon though.
I know some of you (oyolar in particular) are big Pynchon fans. You got any advice for reading the book? For example, symbols to pay attention to? Any help is much appreciated!
Expand Quote
Next up is The Crying of Lot 49. My first Pynchon book. I'm through the first two chapters and I like it so far. I have a feeling the plot's gonna get mixed up soon though.
I know some of you (oyolar in particular) are big Pynchon fans. You got any advice for reading the book? For example, symbols to pay attention to? Any help is much appreciated![close]
Here's a great website to use to catch allusions and references that are obscure in Pynchon works and a little analysis without getting too much in terms of spoilers or ruining anything: http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/?title=Main_Page (http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/?title=Main_Page)
I'm not too sure of symbols to pay attention to that need to be pointed out. Pynchon doesn't really have a deft hand with that stuff. Most of his symbols are big plot points so you can really miss them. If suggest thinking about the idea of the "play within a play"/"story within a story." That's a pretty strong concept and framework for the novel.
Remember historical context too. Not just when the novel is taking place but when it was published. It'll help illustrate just how intelligent and skillful Pynchon is. He uses metaphors that make sense to us and are common knowledge nowadays, but would have been very specialized back in 1966. But he makes them still easily understood and very elegant. Sorry if this sounds murky. I don't want to give away the scene because it's awesome and once you read it, my comment will make sense.
Last few months for me:thanks for the comments on Miller, you've probably saved me a bunch of time. people like a lot of bullshit.
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. Pretty terrible. He is so judgmental, sexist, racist. I'm not quite sure how this book made it onto my list to read. I guess I've just heard it referenced so many times that I figured I might as well check it out.
So what did I do after finishing this book I hated? I got its sequel, Tropic of Capricorn. Not quite sure why. This one was a little better. But not much. Pretty much the same as Cancer. He goes off on these esoteric rants and it just comes off as really fake. If there was a "Books not to read" thread, that is where I would put these 2.
If I were to actually recommend a book, it would be Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain. It's been about 3 or 4 years since I read this. But I'm not sure I've read anything better since.
Last few months for me:
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. Pretty terrible. He is so judgmental, sexist, racist. I'm not quite sure how this book made it onto my list to read. I guess I've just heard it referenced so many times that I figured I might as well check it out.
Expand Quoteagreed about the importance of the translator, im bummed on whoever translated my copy of the illuminations. i read them online first and i like whoever translated that version way better. kind of maddening not to be able to read the original. sometimes i am amazed by the difference in translations, like "what the hell did this guy write that it translates to both this and that?"[close]
Yeah, you have to familiarize yourself with the craft of translation. There's different theories, some try to mimic sound qualities while some take many liberties. It's not an exact science. Each translation you read is someone else's interpretation of the work. I'd recommend Varese or Revell for Rimbaud, though.
Expand QuoteLast few months for me:
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. Pretty terrible. He is so judgmental, sexist, racist. I'm not quite sure how this book made it onto my list to read. I guess I've just heard it referenced so many times that I figured I might as well check it out.[close]
I too didn't like Tropic of Cancer and found it overrated as well. I feel like it's one of these books that you must read in a certain period of your life in order to appreciate it. For example, if you read The Catcher in the Rye or just any work by Hermann Hesse in your twenties, you might not get why people who read them the first time when they were seventeen like these books so much. I guess if you're past a "bohemian" lifestyle, Tropic of Cancer is not for you anymore. If that makes sense.
By the way, I like your idea of listing terrible books. Here we go: Cat and Mouse by G�nter Grass. The most boring book I've ever read. Les Belles Images by Simone de Beauvoir. Beauvoir was an extremely important figure for second-wave feminism, but she wasn't really a gifted novelist. This novella is just super flat. Siddharta by Hermann Hesse. Hesse got me hooked on literature. I don't really enjoy reading his books anymore, but I owe him this. Siddharta is what alienated me from him when I was eighteen. If you want every single clich� about Buddhism, you might want to give it a try.
AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice, I am also a Roberto Bolano fan and this one is my favs
(http://[url=http://www.totallydublin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/third-reich-bolano.jpg]http://www.totallydublin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/third-reich-bolano.jpg[/url])
of course, it is also the one I am reading at the moment. Anybody thinking of reading something of his, just don't start with 2666: it's good, but a serious brick.
The scene I was talking about was when Oedipa watches The Courier's Tragedy. I can't remember exactly why, but that scene stood out to me.
I liked Inherent Vice and found it funny, but it definitely doesn't stand up to The Crying of Lot 49. I couldn't imagine reading those back to back. For me, Pynchon is an author that I'll pick up every once in a while but I can't go on binges on. He sticks to a similar convoluted structure and plays with a lot of similar themes in a lot of his works, so I'd feel that it would get repetitive after a while. So if you want to give him another shot, I'd say try Bleeding Edge, but definitely wait a little bit.
i ended up reading 2 other books and had to restart it, but Cannery Row by John Steinbeck was one of the best books ive read.
what's the next Steinbeck book i should read? is there anything similar to Cannery Row?
Awesome! I haven't read Third Reich yet. What makes it your favorite? I'm genuinely interested.
cool, i appreciate the info.Expand Quotei ended up reading 2 other books and had to restart it, but Cannery Row by John Steinbeck was one of the best books ive read.
what's the next Steinbeck book i should read? is there anything similar to Cannery Row?[close]
I recommend Tortilla Flats. It has that humourous, humane treatment of homebums that makes Cannery Row, but with a more sustained storyline. Both are set in Monterey, same feeling.
Tortilla Flats was written 10 years before Cannery Row, and in some ways I feel like the later book is kind of a postcard written on the occasion of a return visit.
Apparently there's another book set on Cannery Row called "Sweet Thursday", which I have not read: anybody read it, I'd be interested to hear about it...
Expand Quote
Awesome! I haven't read Third Reich yet. What makes it your favorite? I'm genuinely interested.[close]
In some ways it's a lot more even than his other books, set in a specific place, with a single narrator, and even a set literary device to carry the story (it is presented in the form of journal entries). The intangible, poetic and disturbing qualities are still all there, as well as the esoteric and exhaustive lists, they just seem more smoothly incorporated somehow. I feel like with this book, maybe Bolano had a clearer idea of the overall shape and details before he started it, and probably banged it out over a shorter period. Third Reich is not his most unique work (it reminds me a bit of Camus or Paul Bowles), but it's really tight. Even just the subtlety of the narrator's German-ness is a treat.
I don't mean Aleister Crowley type Esotericism, however that might be defined, I was referring more to the esoteric research/knowledge aspect of Bolano's books that often manifests itself in lists.
In 2666 you have these detailed police records, in Savage detectives and many other books he refers to minor characters in various literary scenes, in Third Reich it's war games strategy.
It's the type of information that will be known to almost no one, sort of like he was describing Simon Evans contribution to skateboarding.
Overly researched books are a pet-peeve of mine, there's something unpleasant about thinking of the author as an interloper, sucking the juice out of something to make art with it, but not actually being dedicated to the discipline they write about. Bolano doesn't comes across as an interloper though, it never seems like he's trying to convince you of anything, just relating experiences and information that means something to him.
knausgaard is new to me, haven't read him, but read a good Guardian article on him a couple weeks ago
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/26/dancing-in-the-dark-fourth-volume-my-struggle-karl-ove-knausgaard (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/26/dancing-in-the-dark-fourth-volume-my-struggle-karl-ove-knausgaard)
not sure it would be my cup of tea, thinking maybe this guy is rather self-absorbed? like I said, I speak whereof I know not...
What did you guys make of the New York Times Magazine travel feature he did? The toilet clogging scene had me in tears.
Reading a confederacy of dunces right now too. Hilarious from page 1.I've tried reading that book 3 times now, and for whatever reason I can never finish it. No fault of the author's. I should try again, because I never hear anything but good reviews about it.
The Little Prince
Expand Quoteknausgaard is new to me, haven't read him, but read a good Guardian article on him a couple weeks ago
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/26/dancing-in-the-dark-fourth-volume-my-struggle-karl-ove-knausgaard (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/26/dancing-in-the-dark-fourth-volume-my-struggle-karl-ove-knausgaard)
not sure it would be my cup of tea, thinking maybe this guy is rather self-absorbed? like I said, I speak whereof I know not...[close]
He's surprisingly not self-absorbed. Not anymore than anyone else who writes an autobiography or memoir is anyways. He's pretty open about his self-doubt and personal shortcomings in My Struggle.Expand QuoteWhat did you guys make of the New York Times Magazine travel feature he did? The toilet clogging scene had me in tears.[close]
I haven't read it yet. I have it up on my phone to read though. I see it's called "My Saga: Part 1." I assume that was the editor's title. I hope he doesn't get stuck with variations on that title for the rest of his career now.
What did you guys make of the New York Times Magazine travel feature he did? The toilet clogging scene had me in tears.
When I say it isn't "about" Bataille, I don't mean that literally, for it says more about him in a good sense than anything else I've read on the subject. It's just that it's not merely analyzing or criticizing Bataille, but engaging with him, and to a stunning effect ... I think this is a remarkable and powerful book - a work of literature - a rare thing indeed.
Sadie Plant, Birmingham University
My abnormal devotion to Bataille stems from the fact that nobody has done more than he to obstruct the passage of violent blanks into a pacified oblivion, and thus to awaken the monster in the basement of reason.
sf peeps probably know him, I just picked up a couple of his zines at a bookfair. Aaron Cometbus, always enjoyablehaven't seen one in forever [no indie bookstore around here] but i always dug his stories. read the KC one and assorted others at people's houses and that crazy bookstore in portland. forget the name, powells? think that's it.
(http://static.quimbys.com/image/cometbus55_lg.jpg)
haven't seen one in forever [no indie bookstore around here] but i always dug his stories. read the KC one and assorted others at people's houses and that crazy bookstore in portland. forget the name, powells? think that's it.
how do you guys become interested in current authors? book reviews?cool girls usually. john waters has a quote 'if you go to someone's house and they don't have books, do not fuck them!'
im curious because all the books i want to read are pretty old (usually mid 60s at the latest).
Goddamn John Waters is the best. I see him around town on occasion I want to high five him for that quote.cool girls usually. john waters has a quote 'if you go to someone's house and they don't have books, do not fuck them!'Expand Quotehow do you guys become interested in current authors? book reviews?
im curious because all the books i want to read are pretty old (usually mid 60s at the latest).[close]
usually i'd borrow something from a girl or maybe a buddy and then i spose there's book reviews in weeklies and other lowkey ads for modern books. whenever i'm in a new town i always read the wklies.
stomp on his foot to show gratitude. i've been diggin him since hairspray w/ ricki lake and then i went back and watched his gnarlier films as well as his mainstream newer joints. dude pretty much rules. my town has denis leary, i'd trade him for JW in a second.Goddamn John Waters is the best. I see him around town on occasion I want to high five him for that quote.Expand Quotecool girls usually. john waters has a quote 'if you go to someone's house and they don't have books, do not fuck them!'Expand Quotehow do you guys become interested in current authors? book reviews?
im curious because all the books i want to read are pretty old (usually mid 60s at the latest).[close]
usually i'd borrow something from a girl or maybe a buddy and then i spose there's book reviews in weeklies and other lowkey ads for modern books. whenever i'm in a new town i always read the wklies.[close]
word, its been a while since ive hung out with a girl who actually reads. i dont really trust book reviews a lot of the time, especially when things like infinite jest and ayn rands dumb ass get hyped up.cool girls usually. john waters has a quote 'if you go to someone's house and they don't have books, do not fuck them!'Expand Quotehow do you guys become interested in current authors? book reviews?
im curious because all the books i want to read are pretty old (usually mid 60s at the latest).[close]
usually i'd borrow something from a girl or maybe a buddy and then i spose there's book reviews in weeklies and other lowkey ads for modern books. whenever i'm in a new town i always read the wklies.
me neither lately and as such i ain't been reading as prolifically as i usedta. prolly this thread has given me some new ideas although a lot of folks are on the classics kick [nothing wrong w/ that] or some weird esoteric shit that don't interest me. lately i've grown TMZ shtoops and if i can get a biography of a rock star or whatever i'll fuck w/ that. public library fronted on me w/ al jourgenson's which apparently has an anecdote about sucking the dick of 'groovie mann' of 'my life w/ the kill thrill kult'.word, its been a while since ive hung out with a girl who actually reads. i dont really trust book reviews a lot of the time, especially when things like infinite jest and ayn rands dumb ass get hyped up.Expand Quotecool girls usually. john waters has a quote 'if you go to someone's house and they don't have books, do not fuck them!'Expand Quotehow do you guys become interested in current authors? book reviews?
im curious because all the books i want to read are pretty old (usually mid 60s at the latest).[close]
usually i'd borrow something from a girl or maybe a buddy and then i spose there's book reviews in weeklies and other lowkey ads for modern books. whenever i'm in a new town i always read the wklies.[close]
Does anyone have some recommendations of books in spanish? I'd greatly appreciate it!
AnotherHardDayATTheOffice - definitely feeling you with regards to Blood Meridian. I found the plot and characters to be lacking (although the flat, brusque characterization didn't bother me too much since I feel that it was intentional), but there were a lot of moments that were very poetic and stood out to me. The writing of ending scene really redeem a lot of the books other flaws in my opinion.
Does anyone have some recommendations of books in spanish? I'd greatly appreciate it!
Cant recall having seen any Houllebecq in this thread. His stuff is brilliantly depressing and always intellectually stimulating.
Expand QuoteDoes anyone have some recommendations of books in spanish? I'd greatly appreciate it![close]
In general, in case you're a learner of Spanish, I'm not sure books/novels are the best way to learn a language; for example, movies or newspaper articles are usually better sources of authentic Spanish. Another advice is to begin with short stories or poems before reading an entire novel in Spanish. Oyolar brought up Borges, who I personally consider one of my favorite authors as well! That being said, he uses an abundance of rare terms and I found him way more difficult to read than other Spanish authors (it's definitely worth it, but I prefer reading Borges in translation). If you wanna give him a shot, try "El Sur", which I find one of his easier stories. Other than that, try short stories and poems from the standard canon of Latin American and Spanish literature: Octavio Paz, Juan Rulfo, Baldomero Lillo, etc, etc.
If you want an entire book, I'd recommend the bilingual edition of Roberto Bolano's Tres. Tres is a book covering three of Bolano's prose poems. Prose poems are easier to read than lyric poems and you're forced to focus on individual words and grammar, which enhances learning. Having the translation at hand is also really useful. Above all, Tres, like all of Bolano's work, is just awesome as fuck!
(http://cdn2.lybrary.com/tres_bilingual_edition_by_roberto_bolano_0811224155.jpg)
If you already speak Spanish well or if you're a native speaker... the answer is Roberto Bolano, Roberto Bolano, and Roberto Bolano. Los Detectives Salvajes is the best book written in literary history and that's a fact ;)
I love Crass. So this seemed like a no brainer. Pretty philosophical and spiritual actually. I'm going to have to re-read this for it all to sink in though.
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.
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.
(https://friendsofjustice.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/one-nation-under-god.jpg)
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.
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?
http://www.amazon.com/Lyrics-Poems-1997-2012-John-Samson/dp/1894037588 (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!
lately i've grown TMZ shtoops and if i can get a biography of a rock star or whatever i'll fuck w/ that.
anybody read anything by Celine? any good?
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.
Expand QuotePynchon 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.
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.Expand Quoteanybody 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.Expand QuoteExpand Quoteanybody 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]
Expand Quoteim 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.Expand QuoteExpand Quoteanybody 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][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.
Expand QuoteExpand Quoteim 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.Expand QuoteExpand Quoteanybody 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][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.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quoteim 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.Expand QuoteExpand Quoteanybody 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][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.
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.
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.
is brave new world worth reading if youve read 1984?
is brave new world worth reading if youve read 1984?
That's a pretty heavy reading list right there. I've only heard good things about the Kahneman book.
Nice! Personally, I prefer actual hard copies, but I'm aware a kindle will make a lot of things easier...
Well, what are you into? Fiction or non-fiction? Poetry or prose? Historical novels?
I haven't thought about favorite books in a while... I'm not sure about top 5, but these two books stand out to me:
1) Roberto Bolano The Savage Detectives
2) Roberto Bolano Distant Star
Expand Quoteim 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.Expand QuoteExpand Quoteanybody 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][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.
the same gene that makes you struggle through books because you've started them is the reason you can't put the booze down once you've thrown back a few.Expand QuoteExpand Quoteim 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.Expand QuoteExpand Quoteanybody 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][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]
I wish I had learned that this was okay (for all books) years ago. So many times I'd trudge through a book someone had recommended or what I thought I had to read to be considered smart. Interest wanes and you read 5 pages a day, then you don't read anything for weeks on end because it's become such a chore. If something's not working for you, fucking heave it and read something that you want to read.
Just got a kindle and I'm looking to load it up with some books.cannery row by john steinbeck is so good, people were talking about it in here when i mentioned i was reading it.
So what's everyone's top 5 books?
Just got a kindle and I'm looking to load it up with some books.
So what's everyone's top 5 books?
Just got a kindle and I'm looking to load it up with some books.
So what's everyone's top 5 books?
Thank you all for the recommendations. I plan on getting every single one and reading through each. I'll let you know what I think of them. Right now I just started reading one hundred years of solitude and I dig it so far.
2 months without any posts in this thread? What's happening Slap?
Since my last post in this thread, here is what I've been reading (wow, it took me 10 months to read 7 books).
First, it was some Dickens. Oliver Twist and then Great Expectations. It seems like everyone reads these in school. But I didn't. I think I read Christmas Carol and that is it. They were alright. Kind of slow going for me. You know how when you have a good book and you look forward to reading it? These were the opposite. I'd read only a few pages at a time, it seemed.
Infinite Jest. Fucking journey right there, holy shit
I just finished reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. If you like dystopian novels such as 1984 or Brave New World, you might want to pick this one up at some point.
Expand QuoteInfinite Jest. Fucking journey right there, holy shit[close]
I still have this on my list and on my bookshelf, staring at me. I know I have to tackle it eventually but can't work up the will to do so yet since I prefer DFW's mon-fiction over his fiction.
I'm almost done with Knausgaard's My Struggle Book Three.. Might read Borges's Ficciones once I finish this. I'm a bigger fan of novels than short stories but I'm interested in his work since he and Nabokov are often described together.
Highly recommend "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat-Moon. It's a bit dense, but a good bedside book. Also recommend anything by Peter Hessler.
i'm reading 'freakanomics' right now and it's got some interesting insights that will seem profound for a moment and prolly get forgot.
I'm about to start The Savage Detectives by Bola�o. I don't remember who recommended it in this thread, but that's one of the main reasons I picked it up and I'm excited for it. I also picked up the recent collection of Clarice Lispector's short stories and am really looking forward to chipping away at that. She's supposed to be amazing.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510Obq72khL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
I read this a little while ago now, but one of my favorite novels I ever read. It begins with a writer and an editor in Soviet Russia discussing an article the writer was assigned to write about how Jesus never existed, then the devil shows up in human form, kills the editor and then unleashes chaos upon Moscow. Must've been Jagger's inspiration for Sympathy for the Devil. Some lines from the song are pulled directly from the book.
Haha. What a funny little circle of recommendations. I'll keep you updated with what I think about it.
Let me know your thoughts on Americanah. A good friend of mine actually finished either that one or another of her books (I can't remember right now) so I'm interested in how your impression of it aligns/differs.
Remarkable read. One of my all time favourites.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Yw4NA2ZJL._SX320_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x-i5jDS7L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Novel set in contemporary India about a guy from a lower caste trying to achieve upward mobility in the new and highly corrupt democratic/capitalist society. Really funny first person narrator and learned some shit about a different culture/place which I always enjoy in a novel.
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443114301l/24338377.jpg)
Talks about the false dichotomy of regulation vs. small government distracting people from the fact that small government/free market is used as a euphemism for regulation that favors the wealthy. The concentration of wealth leads to political power for the wealthy, which leads to greater concentrations of wealth, which leads to even more political power, etc. He was secretary of labor under Clinton but is very critical of him and talks about how campaign finance rules have left both democrats and republicans subservient to the wealthy, and corporations love when we argue over social issues to distract us from economic ones. Uses data to document the decline of the middle class that began around 1980 and concludes that every other time similar circumstances had occurred in America we have altered policy by taxing the wealthy, increasing collective bargaining power, etc. to save capitalism opposed to trying to destroy it and replace it with communism or something, and that we're overdue for similar changes again.
This sounds like utter bullshit. It either ignores Marxist and Leninist scripts or tries to hide their significance. Capitalism sooner or later ends up in Imperialism which is the monopoly stage of capitalism. It works like this, when companies compete some people win and some other lose. Those that win gain enormous power after winning much and dominate the world in certain sectors which are vital, and so they can blackmail whole economies. The only two ways capitalism can go from the monopoly stage it has come today is either war and restart capitalism from an earlier stage (WWI and WW2) until it becomes a monopoly capitalism again and war again for another reboot. The other one is going for a Marxist utopia. Actually what saved capitalism in early 20th century is the application of some soviet economic policies in West like abandoning the golden rule and going for more pro-Labor tactics..
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443114301l/24338377.jpg)
Talks about the false dichotomy of regulation vs. small government distracting people from the fact that small government/free market is used as a euphemism for regulation that favors the wealthy. The concentration of wealth leads to political power for the wealthy, which leads to greater concentrations of wealth, which leads to even more political power, etc. He was secretary of labor under Clinton but is very critical of him and talks about how campaign finance rules have left both democrats and republicans subservient to the wealthy, and corporations love when we argue over social issues to distract us from economic ones. Uses data to document the decline of the middle class that began around 1980 and concludes that every other time similar circumstances had occurred in America we have altered policy by taxing the wealthy, increasing collective bargaining power, etc. to save capitalism opposed to trying to destroy it and replace it with communism or something, and that we're overdue for similar changes again.
There is also a catch why Keynesian economics cant work at a disinflationary crisis TODAY. Because in a disinflationary crises debt becomes increasingly hard to service. Well that was not a case when public and private debt was pretty small back in the 40s and due to US being the ONLY global player the debt could be paid of. However debts now are in a fucked up level thanks to neoliberal credit bubbles. And with the margin profits of today global multiplayer economy no one would be able to service the further debt created by keynesian economics. Well my clock says that the next crisis will take place before the end of 2017. The fact is that economists dont have clue yet how to fix capitalism and I dont know if they will find a solution.
Let me know what you think about The Savage Detectives so far!
(http://booksellercrow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/A-Brief-History-of-Seven-Killings.jpg)
Only halfway through this but really really good. Similar approach to Irvine Welsh in that he tells the story through multiple characters' point of view.
Expand QuoteRemarkable read. One of my all time favourites.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Yw4NA2ZJL._SX320_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[close]
Fuck yeah! Alone in Berlin is THE most depressing book I've ever read. Hands down. And I mean that in the best way possible. Seriously, that book is so awesome but also incredibly sad.
The original title of that book is Jeder stirbt f�r sich allein, which translates to Everyone Dies Alone. Spoiler Alert: That's the plot in a nutshell. Just to give everyone else an idea of how melancholic that book is.
EDIT: This thread is killing it right now!
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteRemarkable read. One of my all time favourites.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Yw4NA2ZJL._SX320_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[close]
Fuck yeah! Alone in Berlin is THE most depressing book I've ever read. Hands down. And I mean that in the best way possible. Seriously, that book is so awesome but also incredibly sad.
The original title of that book is Jeder stirbt f�r sich allein, which translates to Everyone Dies Alone. Spoiler Alert: That's the plot in a nutshell. Just to give everyone else an idea of how melancholic that book is.
EDIT: This thread is killing it right now![close]
Shit, I never knew that. Yeah it's deeply depressing, but as quoted on the cover, it's redemptive. Certainly makes you consider how you'd react if you lived in Nazi Germany. Given the theme of 'banality of good' throughout the book, it's made me go out and buy Eichmann in Jerusalem, which is fascinating so far.
(http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/theoryandpractice/Eichmann%20book.jpg)
I'm liking Bola�o a lot so far. I just started the second section, but haven't had as much time to really dig into it as I would like this past week or two.
I just finished The Stand: Complete and Uncut. Probably the longest book I'll ever read. It's good though. My favorite parts were the "Come on dooown pu'lease" live game show, Nick helping Tom through his dreams, and pretty much any part with Trashcan Man. Flagg came off as a dorky and boring antagonist to me though, and if that were the only Stephen King book I ever read I would assume he was a horrible racist. I just kept telling myself it was an homage to Lovecraft or something.been 20 or so yrs since i read it but alot of books from earlier eras had casual racism that i believe is the author's attempts at capturing the zeitgeist of the day or at least a decent facsimile of real people's ways of talking. the opinions of the characters may not in fact be the opinions of the author of said characters type of thing.
Expand Quote
I'm liking Bola�o a lot so far. I just started the second section, but haven't had as much time to really dig into it as I would like this past week or two.[close]
Nice. I'm glad to hear that. One of the best parts about the second section is that you can just get in and out of it whenever you want.
Disclaimer: the second section is usually the most tiresome for readers. It shouldn't be too hard for someone who's into authors like Joyce and Pynchon, but it's a weird section anyway. Try to keep loose track of what happens to Belano and Lima. Enjoy the interviews you find interesting and don't hesitate to skip over the ones you don't. Don't worry, some of them will make sense in the end and some of them won't. It's interesting to keep the genre of the detective story in mind for this section and what the book does with it...
Yeah, Flagg = Walkin Dude = Dark Man = Hardcase and so on. I get that you can use racist dialogue in characters to portray certain perspectives, but everyone in the Free Zone (good guys) save Mother (who is, admittedly, the most Holy character) and Joe/Leo (psycho little Asian kid running around in his underwear trying to kill Larry with a butcher's knife) is white. All the heroes are white. All the intelligent bad guys are white. Then when it comes to Rat-Man (the only person Julie says she would never sleep with) or the squad of black soldiers executing white commanders on live tv, they all talk with rapist Huggy Bear language and he can't seem to stop himself from going on describing the inescapable blackness for five paragraphs. I don't assume him a racist though. I think he just doesn't know any black people so he ends up goes way overboard trying to get his point across. I honestly thought Glen was black until halfway through the book he's like "bald white head" and I kinda got bummed.King knows what he's doing. In 11/22/63, he talks about the amount of casual racism that goes on in America. From how I read him, he is 100% aware that he is capable of it too. You should also remember that one of his best and strongest characters is a split personality, handicapped black lady.
Dont know if this has been already posted here but i just finished this and it is simply amazing, I love Vonnegut.So it goes.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4120yizU-2L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
King knows what he's doing. In 11/22/63, he talks about the amount of casual racism that goes on in America. From how I read him, he is 100% aware that he is capable of it too. You should also remember that one of his best and strongest characters is a split personality, handicapped black lady.
(http://crustpunks.com/images/the-primal-screamer.jpg)
Light read, kind of a punk classic, gothic horror meets anarchopunk esthetic, or something like that. Not the greatest writing, but enjoyable.
So it goes.Expand QuoteDont know if this has been already posted here but i just finished this and it is simply amazing, I love Vonnegut.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4120yizU-2L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[close]
Went for a buisiness trip in UK. Read that on plane. Wilhelm Reich is my favorite.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517z%2BYtMDxL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Well I read it in greek so I posted a random cover in EnglishExpand QuoteWent for a buisiness trip in UK. Read that on plane. Wilhelm Reich is my favorite.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517z%2BYtMDxL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[close]
Note: This is no the actual book cover
I want something light to read, some fiction, just so I can chill somehow. I'm going to the library today and see what's what.
It says so in the pic. I had to squint to see the little fine print, so I wanted to share my effort with the world. Greek must be a great language to know.Well I dont know I am a native speaker. Ancient greek though are a pain in the ass. We did that at school, god I hated it.
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.Expand QuoteAnd 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.[close]
Expand QuoteWent for a buisiness trip in UK. Read that on plane. Wilhelm Reich is my favorite.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517z%2BYtMDxL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[close]
Note: This is no the actual book cover
I want something light to read, some fiction, just so I can chill somehow. I'm going to the library today and see what's what.
Expand Quotethat's a pretty good endorsement. my dad a has a celine book, ill see if i can borrow it. dont know what it is.Expand QuoteAnd 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.[close][close]
Finally got my hands on Journey to the End of the Night and finished it yesterday. I get all my books at the library. For years I would search for this book. Mainly due to Bukowski mentioning it in almost all his books. But they never had any copies. Then, I looked again, months ago, and it was finally in. 1 copy. And there was a waiting list.
I enjoyed it. It was depressing; insightful at times, in a depressing pessimistic way; funny at others.
I searched and they don't have Death on the Installment Plan. But I did put in a request for Fable for Another Time just to check out some more of Celine's work.
That Nazi resistance book sounds awesome. Do you know if it is out in English yet?
That Nazi resistance book sounds awesome. Do you know if it is out in English yet?
Expand QuoteThat Nazi resistance book sounds awesome. Do you know if it is out in English yet?[close]
Unfortunately, it's not and I'm sure it won't be :-[ It's a really small publication and the topic is very specific to a German context. But I'll look into it and let you know if it is!
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteThat Nazi resistance book sounds awesome. Do you know if it is out in English yet?[close]
Unfortunately, it's not and I'm sure it won't be :-[ It's a really small publication and the topic is very specific to a German context. But I'll look into it and let you know if it is![close]
Damn that sucks. I'm not a WW2 buff or anything by any means but I'm interested in sociology of deviancy and subcultures so it's right up my alley.
Alan--thanks for sharin those sources! I'll have to look into them.
Expand Quote
I'm liking Bola�o a lot so far. I just started the second section, but haven't had as much time to really dig into it as I would like this past week or two.[close]
Nice. I'm glad to hear that. One of the best parts about the second section is that you can just get in and out of it whenever you want.
Disclaimer: the second section is usually the most tiresome for readers. It shouldn't be too hard for someone who's into authors like Joyce and Pynchon, but it's a weird section anyway. Try to keep loose track of what happens to Belano and Lima. Enjoy the interviews you find interesting and don't hesitate to skip over the ones you don't. Don't worry, some of them will make sense in the end and some of them won't. It's interesting to keep the genre of the detective story in mind for this section and what the book does with it...
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteThat Nazi resistance book sounds awesome. Do you know if it is out in English yet?[close]
Unfortunately, it's not and I'm sure it won't be :-[ It's a really small publication and the topic is very specific to a German context. But I'll look into it and let you know if it is![close]
Damn that sucks. I'm not a WW2 buff or anything by any means but I'm interested in sociology of deviancy and subcultures so it's right up my alley.
Alan--thanks for sharin those sources! I'll have to look into them.[close]
Sorry about that. I guess Alan's books are as close as it gets as far as English publications on subcultures in Nazi Germany are concerned.
How are you liking The Savage Detectives?
What do you guys think is the best method for reading books on say an iphone or iPad. What app and what format should the books file be any help would be appreciated.
I use the kindle paper white. It's really good when I'm out working in the forest for 14 days straight. Less bulk to carry around, and I can read without a light on, so I don't disturb any one else in camp.
Expand QuoteI use the kindle paper white. It's really good when I'm out working in the forest for 14 days straight. Less bulk to carry around, and I can read without a light on, so I don't disturb any one else in camp.[close]
What if the battery runs out...?
Beekeeping the Gentle Craft
so far it's just the studying level. i convinced my mother to take a class [it's an hour away i only drive mopeds] so she's doing that once a wk and after 6 wks we get to take home NUC of bees, basically a young hive w/ a Queen and we've got suits, 2 'deep' hive frame boxes and 2 smaller 'honey supers' which are smaller frame boxes, a smoker, couple hive tools [look like scrapers] and a bee brush. mostly i think she'll handle smoking the bees while i'm gonna touch them or pick up the heavy, wax and honey laden frames. at first they'll be light, only bee-laden but they'll get heavy fast ideally.Expand QuoteBeekeeping the Gentle Craft[close]
How goes your new hobby? You probably posted about your progress elsewhere, still I'd like to know.
I finished The Savage Detectives last night and really like it. The middle section definitely dragged on for a while, especially because you're missing a big chunk with no hints about what happened between the end of section one and beginning of section two, but the disjointed and "off" atmosphere definitely shines through and makes more sense after you finish the book. That was really well done I felt.
2666 is definitely on the list but thanks for the advice. I'll definitely pick up his other novels before starting that one. The bookstore I was at had a couple of his other books, but I bought Amulet because Bola�o said it was the only novel of his that he wasn't ashamed of (or something like that). Obviously, that doesn't mean anything but I didn't know which book to get so that seemed like a good enough reason to pick it up.
(http://blog.trifinance.com/wp-content/uploads/Thinking-Fast-Slow.png)
I have been trying to read "Thinking fast and slow". Definitely not an easy read, and I'm struggling with chapters, but already the book has given good food for thought and ways to improve my professional and daily life.
I've been meaning to read Zadie Smith and it seems like White Teeth is the book I always see people mention when web she is brought up. What you describe regarding the relationships of Muslims and other members of society is really interesting and it's definitely a stark reminder of how much societies and perceptions can drastically change in a relatively short period of time. Let me know what you think when you finish it.
My reading has slowed down a little lately. I've just felt like I've been forcing myself to read instead of just picking up a book. I tried to mix in some sociology work by Howie Becker, but could not get into it. I'm about 115 pages into Knausgaard's book 4 right now and feeling ok. I have the goal of finishing by the end of the month so hopefully will be able to knock it out. I like Knausgaard because even those his books are long and there is a lot beneath the surface, a lot of the actual text can be kind of surface level and mundane so it's easy to just get into a flow and read at points without having to use a lot of effort or exerting yourself to get what is going on.
Expand QuoteI've been meaning to read Zadie Smith and it seems like White Teeth is the book I always see people mention when web she is brought up. What you describe regarding the relationships of Muslims and other members of society is really interesting and it's definitely a stark reminder of how much societies and perceptions can drastically change in a relatively short period of time. Let me know what you think when you finish it.
My reading has slowed down a little lately. I've just felt like I've been forcing myself to read instead of just picking up a book. I tried to mix in some sociology work by Howie Becker, but could not get into it. I'm about 115 pages into Knausgaard's book 4 right now and feeling ok. I have the goal of finishing by the end of the month so hopefully will be able to knock it out. I like Knausgaard because even those his books are long and there is a lot beneath the surface, a lot of the actual text can be kind of surface level and mundane so it's easy to just get into a flow and read at points without having to use a lot of effort or exerting yourself to get what is going on.[close]
Same here. I haven't read any of her other novels, but I gathered that White Teeth is both Smith at her best and the most logical starting point. I mean, it's the book that put her on the map in the first place. I'm really really liking it so far. It's funny, quirky but also very serious at times.
Again, we're in the same boat. Took me a month to finish that book about youth cultures during the 3rd reich. These kinds of periods come and go.
(https://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-400/2389-1/A5D/AA0/83/%7BA5DAA083-F21E-4739-807B-0E9AF2104411%7DImg400.jpg)
Expand Quote(https://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-400/2389-1/A5D/AA0/83/%7BA5DAA083-F21E-4739-807B-0E9AF2104411%7DImg400.jpg)[close]
Title got my interest, but saw it was Marxist, so wouldn't laziness in capitalism just further alienation?
Like from our essence/species-being?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI've been meaning to read Zadie Smith and it seems like White Teeth is the book I always see people mention when web she is brought up. What you describe regarding the relationships of Muslims and other members of society is really interesting and it's definitely a stark reminder of how much societies and perceptions can drastically change in a relatively short period of time. Let me know what you think when you finish it.
My reading has slowed down a little lately. I've just felt like I've been forcing myself to read instead of just picking up a book. I tried to mix in some sociology work by Howie Becker, but could not get into it. I'm about 115 pages into Knausgaard's book 4 right now and feeling ok. I have the goal of finishing by the end of the month so hopefully will be able to knock it out. I like Knausgaard because even those his books are long and there is a lot beneath the surface, a lot of the actual text can be kind of surface level and mundane so it's easy to just get into a flow and read at points without having to use a lot of effort or exerting yourself to get what is going on.[close]
Same here. I haven't read any of her other novels, but I gathered that White Teeth is both Smith at her best and the most logical starting point. I mean, it's the book that put her on the map in the first place. I'm really really liking it so far. It's funny, quirky but also very serious at times.
Again, we're in the same boat. Took me a month to finish that book about youth cultures during the 3rd reich. These kinds of periods come and go.[close]
Zadie Smith is awesome, one of my favourite writers. I read The Autograph Man first up, but White Teeth is my favourite. On Beauty is excellent, as well as NW. Read them all. She is also smoking hot and I say this in the most respectful way possible.
I just finished Moby Dick. It was a slog in parts and took me probably 4 months to finish, but immediately slots into my top 10. Definitely worth the effort and surprisingly funny.
You got recommendations for readings (novels, short stories, or non-fiction doesn't really matter...) on the region?
I'll definitely pick up another Smith novel soon, but I'll be reading Ivo Andric's The Bridge on the Drina next. I'm taking a trip through the Balkans this summer and I guess Andric is compulsory reading.
(http://www.dtv.de/_cover/640/die_bruecke_ueber_die_drina-9783423142359.jpg)
@ Alan: You're Croatian, right? You got recommendations for readings (novels, short stories, or non-fiction doesn't really matter...) on the region?
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(https://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-400/2389-1/A5D/AA0/83/%7BA5DAA083-F21E-4739-807B-0E9AF2104411%7DImg400.jpg)[close]
Title got my interest, but saw it was Marxist, so wouldn't laziness in capitalism just further alienation?
Like from our essence/species-being?[close]
There's different brands of Marxism, each one being a little different from Marx himself. As far as I know, Lafargue's Marxism is rather unorthodox and his main point is that capitalism and its striving for efficiency and exploitation took away our right to be lazy (or to relax if you will). To oversimplifiy things, alienation is a result of "dull work", not laziness. I've only read excerpts from Lafargue (years ago), but that's what I got from it.
I'm reaching here... but does anybody have any recommendations for books about 1970's/early 1980's Italy? Whether it be about stuff like the political climate or Red Brigade, or culture/fashion/music/art.. just anything from that era. From what I understand that was a very violent/fiery point in Italian history. Thanks in advance
Anyone here read true crime books? I've been reading loads of books about the American Mafia lately and am open to any suggestions. Preferably stuff that doesn't focus on the New York families.Read David Simon's book "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets". It has nothing to do with the mob, but if you've ever watched The Wire, you'll definitely recognize some story lines.
I've just finished The Death of Ivan Ilitch, by Tolstoy. What a harrowing read, the last thing I needed right now. It's the only book that ever frightened me as an adult. There is too much of Ivan in me.
Just read "Wizard's first Rule" on the recommendation of a truck driver who picked me up hitchhiking. It was pretty good fantasy, but that's not why I'm posting about it: I am posting about it because of the author photo on the inside back cover, which looks like this
(http://dialhforhouston.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/goodkind.jpg)
I didn't do a thing to it, but it looks so damn weird. Actually very appropriate though, it's pretty much who you'd expect to be at the other end of the pen once you've read the book
That's amazing. It looks like he's travelling through time, but not moving.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI've just finished The Death of Ivan Ilitch, by Tolstoy. What a harrowing read, the last thing I needed right now. It's the only book that ever frightened me as an adult. There is too much of Ivan in me.[close]
Felt exactly the same man after I read it. Back it up with something feel-good![close]
I gave the book to my brother, warned him that it will probably fuck him up hardcore... or not. He's the kind of guy who just doesn't seem to overthink anything. Probably doesn't know what despair is. Good for him! I'm looking for a light, fun, feel-good read, so I'd appreciate suggestions.
I'm gearing up to re-read Infinite Jest. Wish me luck, folks! I bought the PT-BR translation as soon as it was available for pre-order, and I really wonder if there's too much that I missed due to the language barrier. It's not the only obstacle, of course, but I can't help but feel I've just skimmed through that Entertainment.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI've just finished The Death of Ivan Ilitch, by Tolstoy. What a harrowing read, the last thing I needed right now. It's the only book that ever frightened me as an adult. There is too much of Ivan in me.[close]
Felt exactly the same man after I read it. Back it up with something feel-good![close]
I gave the book to my brother, warned him that it will probably fuck him up hardcore... or not. He's the kind of guy who just doesn't seem to overthink anything. Probably doesn't know what despair is. Good for him! I'm looking for a light, fun, feel-good read, so I'd appreciate suggestions.
I'm gearing up to re-read Infinite Jest. Wish me luck, folks! I bought the PT-BR translation as soon as it was available for pre-order, and I really wonder if there's too much that I missed due to the language barrier. It's not the only obstacle, of course, but I can't help but feel I've just skimmed through that Entertainment.
Someone gave me this and it's surprisingly engaging. Anyone read anything by this guy? Apparently he wrote for The Wire, as well as writing a number of screenplays for films that we have all seen.I enjoyed clockers & read (think it's called) ladies man also cause clockers and freedom land were good urban novels. Ladies man was like set in the 70s, dude was just about hopping broad to broad but it was ok. Other 2 they made movies outta but books always better.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xJz4Gjbjdbi_RAM7CWjYgY1E5cVzIddxznrC6SVoC2HMSL_d6OIKwOTbvQxV-GqnZO2idUSZ_dxtV82zZlZAadltIq84XKfvm4B2b4TmX8yELozy1UE)
One of my favourite authors, also one of the only people I've read exhaustively. Just finishing this, which is the last thing of his I hadn't read. A bit sad that this is the end of the line, but the book is excellent.
Also really like the Black Sparrow Press editions, easy to find and really nice design.
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174771444l/438083.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a370/misterhayworth/33460_zpsyakn6ohg.jpg) (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/misterhayworth/media/33460_zpsyakn6ohg.jpg.html)Haaaa!
Read it before but always worth a re-read when I'm searching for a new book.
Half Price book finds last night. Some classics I've wanted to read/re-read along with both Bulgakovs I've wanted.
(http://i.imgur.com/AKPuDgQh.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteHalf Price book finds last night. Some classics I've wanted to read/re-read along with both Bulgakovs I've wanted.
(http://i.imgur.com/AKPuDgQh.jpg)[close]
The Old Man and the Sea is a bit meh IMO[close]
You take that back!
(Personally, my MEH IMO Hemingway book is The Sun Also Rises... so I really get what you mean)
Great haul, I want to re-read Blood Meridian as soon as I can. It's fucked up on so many levels, maybe the book that thrilled me the most.
Right now, I'm almost halfway through Infinite Jest... just finished the match of Eschaton. It's something I'd love to see happen in real life, but it's gotta be a dull game to just watch.
Expand Quotejust finished johnathan franzen's how to be alone. a- 9/10
currently reading the book of disquiet by fernando pessoa.[close]
Voce eh portugues? I never read Fernando Pessoa. Poetry is one thing that I don't really "get"... or do I? It's something that really worries me. The most that I feel when I read poetry is to think, "that's cool", "nice rhymes/metrics", but I feel it's just not for the likes of me.
On the other hand, reading The Old Man and the Sea felt really vivid for me, and thrilling. Maybe it's the simplicity of the tale, and the fact that I know that I just wouldn't even come close to catching the fish. It gives me the exact opposite feeling of watching a horror movie. When watching a horror movie, I feel like the characters are useless, and that I would fare way better than then. Reading takes me off my world entirely. I just let the author and the characters take me along to their mindset.
Nice choices! Finished up Murakami's full-length novels this summer; ended with "Kafka on the Shore"--it was probably my favorite, Nakata always telling people about "good dumps" slayed me. I also really enjoyed "After Dark" even though apparently it's not so well-liked generally..it's a quick read with an interesting concept. "Norwegian Wood" was for sure the most depressing one, to me. As far as his short stories go, I've only read "The Strange Library", which has the character the Sheep Man from the Rat Trilogy...you could read it as kind of a prequel to those, I guess. I'll probably try to move on to his short-story collections--he's also got a new book that is a conversation with his friend, composer Seiji Ozawa, which looks fun (have never read his nonfiction, though).You need to get "The Elephant Vanishes", made me more of a fan of his short stories than his long ones
You need to get "The Elephant Vanishes", made me more of a fan of his short stories than his long onesExpand QuoteNice choices! Finished up Murakami's full-length novels this summer; ended with "Kafka on the Shore"--it was probably my favorite, Nakata always telling people about "good dumps" slayed me. I also really enjoyed "After Dark" even though apparently it's not so well-liked generally..it's a quick read with an interesting concept. "Norwegian Wood" was for sure the most depressing one, to me. As far as his short stories go, I've only read "The Strange Library", which has the character the Sheep Man from the Rat Trilogy...you could read it as kind of a prequel to those, I guess. I'll probably try to move on to his short-story collections--he's also got a new book that is a conversation with his friend, composer Seiji Ozawa, which looks fun (have never read his nonfiction, though).[close]
just finished 48 Laws of power.Is it worth it? I feel like it's mandatory for hip hop intelligencIA.
yea its simple book finished it in 4 daysIs it worth it? I feel like it's mandatory for hip hop intelligencIA.Expand Quotejust finished 48 Laws of power.[close]
Recently finished re-reading What Is The What by David Eggers. Recommended by the NY Times, and Jason Dill. Very well written, very sad, very long, very glad to be done with it.
Just blew through Catcher In The Rye for the first time. Honestly had no idea what it was about beforehand. Didn't expect it to be glaringly similar to Ham On Rye (which I'm aware came out later). Glad to finally check it off the list, but it's one of those that when you relate to it, it scares you a bit.
Next up, Dharma Bums by Kerouac. I remember feeling somewhat invigorated while reading On The Road, so I hope this one is more uplifting than my recent bummer selections.
Expand QuoteJust blew through Catcher In The Rye for the first time. Honestly had no idea what it was about beforehand. Didn't expect it to be glaringly similar to Ham On Rye (which I'm aware came out later). Glad to finally check it off the list, but it's one of those that when you relate to it, it scares you a bit.[close]
I couldn't relate to Holden, and pretty much gave up on the book already. Maybe I'll finish it someday.Expand Quoteyea its simple book finished it in 4 daysExpand QuoteIs it worth it? I feel like it's mandatory for hip hop intelligencIA.Expand Quotejust finished 48 Laws of power.[close][close]
it basically breaks down how to use power and to see how power is abused. Its a shit ton of history lessons too which got me digging off topic.[close]
Maybe I'll pick it up, especially if it's simple.
The last book I finished was How to Win Friends and Influence People. It was kinda nice, but it teaches nothing extraordinary. It's all stuff that SHOULD be common knowledge. Still, I needed the reminder.
Expand QuoteSince I plan on picking up another Murakami novel soon, which one would y'all recommend? So far, I'm leaning towards either Norwegian Wood or The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I know some of you have been reading some Murakami lately, so I'd really appreciate some suggestions.[close]
Personally, I liked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle a little more, but Norwegian Wood is absolutely worth reading.
My copy of Norwegian Wood (Jay Rubin translation) has a translator's note at the very end that gives a bit of background that may help you make your decision:
(http://i.imgur.com/Nm4GEyP.jpg)
Once you read those two you will be well on your way to being able to play Haruki Murakami bingo :D
(http://i.imgur.com/jUq6iEN.jpg)
Finished the RZA bookI'd be down to read a RZA book.
I dug nausea, te-read it a few times. Once upon a time I had a crush on this Lesbo (who had a baby girl) & I audited philosophy class w/ her & borowed her 'sartre for dummies" & got hooked. Remember making out w/ her in boston, dropping in on the giant volcano at city hoapital, wallriding (bank riding) down stairs & sipping Sunday wine (back when couldn't buy package alcohol on sunday).Expand QuoteFinally finished "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". Jeez, I'm a very lazy reader, but that was almost a year of me meaning to get through a 300 page book... Polished off the last hundred pages in like 2 evenings though, which is a lot for me.
A friend gave me some introductory books on Post-Modernism, which I know nothing about. Might flip through them next, otherwise it might be Frankenstein, the Elephant Man, One Hundred Years of Solitude or something old and well out of my range of comprehension, like James Joyce or Charles Dickens...
These threads are the best for recommendations.[close]
A personal favorite... I gotta read it again.
Right now, I'm reading "What is Literature?", by Jean Paul Sartre, and feeling downright enlightened by it. I've read his Nausea before, didn't really enjoy it as I've been told I would. But that was as I was just starting college. That about covers it. I've been pretty mentally off this week.
To gism, if you weren't overseas & refered to me by my real name (shark tits) I'd totally lace ya w/ RZAokay, you're shark tits from here on in (sorry I wasn't around when you posted under that account). I'd be down for that lacing but yeah, you got the book from Rusty's parents too no? That's some treasure right there
Written in the early 90's, it's interesting to read this now and remember the shape of things back then.oh shit! that book kinda ruled. that and no more prisons were tight.
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/giles/peaces_111511/bomb.jpg)
Does anyone else think Murakami is a horrible writer whose books are full of cringeworthy cliches, embarrassing cultural references, and shitty attempts at profundity or is that just me? kafka on the shore was PAINFUL.
Does anyone else think Murakami is a horrible writer whose books are full of cringeworthy cliches, embarrassing cultural references, and shitty attempts at profundity or is that just me? kafka on the shore was PAINFUL.Do keep in mind that his works are mostly translated so it's not always easy to do his writing justice. Having said that I much prefer his short stories.
ive considered that, but, ive read a pretty sizable amount of authors in translation, some i'm sure a great deal more "nuanced" than murakami and therefore more of a challenge to 'capture', and none of them have been particularly marred.Do keep in mind that his works are mostly translated so it's not always easy to do his writing justice. Having said that I much prefer his short stories.Expand QuoteDoes anyone else think Murakami is a horrible writer whose books are full of cringeworthy cliches, embarrassing cultural references, and shitty attempts at profundity or is that just me? kafka on the shore was PAINFUL.[close]
how would you know?ive considered that, but, ive read a pretty sizable amount of authors in translation, some i'm sure a great deal more "nuanced" than murakami and therefore more of a challenge to 'capture', and none of them have been particularly marred.Expand QuoteDo keep in mind that his works are mostly translated so it's not always easy to do his writing justice. Having said that I much prefer his short stories.Expand QuoteDoes anyone else think Murakami is a horrible writer whose books are full of cringeworthy cliches, embarrassing cultural references, and shitty attempts at profundity or is that just me? kafka on the shore was PAINFUL.[close][close]
secondly, though murakami's writing pretty uninspired in my opinion, its more of the content that bothers me rather than the actual prose, and the translator would have to be taking some massive liberties to inject his writing with a buncha bad similes and contrived magical realism
About to start this. She broke the story on Baylor hiding rape charges on a football player. Fuck Penn State, Art Briles, and Baylor.
(http://jessicawluther.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/cover.jpg)
how would you know?Expand Quoteive considered that, but, ive read a pretty sizable amount of authors in translation, some i'm sure a great deal more "nuanced" than murakami and therefore more of a challenge to 'capture', and none of them have been particularly marred.Expand QuoteDo keep in mind that his works are mostly translated so it's not always easy to do his writing justice. Having said that I much prefer his short stories.Expand QuoteDoes anyone else think Murakami is a horrible writer whose books are full of cringeworthy cliches, embarrassing cultural references, and shitty attempts at profundity or is that just me? kafka on the shore was PAINFUL.[close][close]
secondly, though murakami's writing pretty uninspired in my opinion, its more of the content that bothers me rather than the actual prose, and the translator would have to be taking some massive liberties to inject his writing with a buncha bad similes and contrived magical realism[close]
Expand QuoteAbout to start this. She broke the story on Baylor hiding rape charges on a football player. Fuck Penn State, Art Briles, and Baylor.
(http://jessicawluther.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/cover.jpg)[close]
Is this more about her investigation process/history of working on the stories or does it look into systems/structures and how this stuff occurs and is allowed to take place?
Regarding Murakami, I'm not a fan Gabriel Garcia Marquez/magical realism so even though I have yet to read any of Murakami, I'm worried I won't like it.
good is relative. i'm not trying to be a dick, but the truth is you don't know.
this is something that frustrates me because there are a bunch of authors i like that i feel i've never really read, because i can't read the language they wrote in. voices are incredibly specific.
I definitely get what you and matta are saying, it is a nitpicky point I'm making and ultimately not all that helpful unless you plan on spending your life learning the native language of every author you come across that interests you. and I guess I should be honest and say that I was mainly thinking of poets when I wrote that.Expand Quotegood is relative. i'm not trying to be a dick, but the truth is you don't know.
this is something that frustrates me because there are a bunch of authors i like that i feel i've never really read, because i can't read the language they wrote in. voices are incredibly specific.[close]
It's a complicated question. I think you're right... to a point. If you read an author in translation, you're not only judging the author's writing, but also the translation. There's good translations and there's horrible translations and they can totally change your perception of a book. However, while the language of a book is totally affected by the quality of a translation, the plot and the characters aren't as much. And no matter how good or bad a translation is, it still went through enough editing to make sure it hits kinda close to home. It's not like you're reading a totally different book.
At the end of the day, I think it's really important to be aware of the fact that we're reading translations of Murakami's original writing. It's funny though: Murakami is way more popular outside of Japan than he is inside the country. This might also be due to his "Western" style, but it also means that the translations can't be all that bad, can they?
As for Murakami, even though he's considered a "magical realist", his magical realism is very different from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I would even say that he's more surrealist than they are "magical realist". Murakami creates dream-like worlds, in which the boundaries between reality, dreams and imagination aren't all that clear. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, on the other hand, writes modern fairytales where, for example, a baby with a tail is born like it's no big deal.
I definitely get what you and matta are saying, it is a nitpicky point I'm making and ultimately not all that helpful unless you plan on spending your life learning the native language of every author you come across that interests you. and I guess I should be honest and say that I was mainly thinking of poets when I wrote that.Expand QuoteExpand Quotegood is relative. i'm not trying to be a dick, but the truth is you don't know.
this is something that frustrates me because there are a bunch of authors i like that i feel i've never really read, because i can't read the language they wrote in. voices are incredibly specific.[close]
It's a complicated question. I think you're right... to a point. If you read an author in translation, you're not only judging the author's writing, but also the translation. There's good translations and there's horrible translations and they can totally change your perception of a book. However, while the language of a book is totally affected by the quality of a translation, the plot and the characters aren't as much. And no matter how good or bad a translation is, it still went through enough editing to make sure it hits kinda close to home. It's not like you're reading a totally different book.
At the end of the day, I think it's really important to be aware of the fact that we're reading translations of Murakami's original writing. It's funny though: Murakami is way more popular outside of Japan than he is inside the country. This might also be due to his "Western" style, but it also means that the translations can't be all that bad, can they?
As for Murakami, even though he's considered a "magical realist", his magical realism is very different from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I would even say that he's more surrealist than they are "magical realist". Murakami creates dream-like worlds, in which the boundaries between reality, dreams and imagination aren't all that clear. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, on the other hand, writes modern fairytales where, for example, a baby with a tail is born like it's no big deal.[close]
Pic is rad twinskates, cool to see someone else on here read that. I have the double book that has Satori in Paris with Pic and I was worried because Satori in Paris was terrible. all I could hope reading Satori was that Pic wouldnt suck and was pleasantly surprised!
Pic is rad twinskates, cool to see someone else on here read that. I have the double book that has Satori in Paris with Pic and I was worried because Satori in Paris was terrible. all I could hope reading Satori was that Pic wouldnt suck and was pleasantly surprised!
are there any decent italian books we need to find translations of?I haven't read anything from an Italian autor yet. I'm into reading from just some months..
wait, what? you met William Burroughs? how?nah, i meant scott bourne to me through skateboard media and william burroughs, through whatever media to my hippie sorta roommates. we each had an interest in the book independently of each other and there was a bookstore on the richmond side of the sunset w/ a 'hobo' section. hope they're still in business next to all the pho shops.
People were probably worried they'd be put on some watch list for being fluent in both German and Japanese.
Haven't been doing much reading outside of class recently. Has anyone here read Paul Beatty's The Sellout? Genius satire of race in contemporary America. Just getting into it.Yes! Every sentence is geniously written.
What's your guys' take on audiobooks? I've heard some people consider it cheatingit's definitely not reading but i've spent hours on youtube listening to prodigy [of mobb deep] read his book to me. some kind soul has edited out the boring parts and uploaded all the gunplay, fights at the tunnel and beef w/ nore and disses from nas.
I'm currently listening to 1Q84 on youtube right now and i think its great. I'm knocking out so many pages while doing the dishes or other chores. I do plan on buying it after I've completed it though.
What's your guys' take on audiobooks? I've heard some people consider it cheating
I'm currently listening to 1Q84 on youtube right now and i think its great. I'm knocking out so many pages while doing the dishes or other chores. I do plan on buying it after I've completed it though.
a great book about an extended road trip. such a good writer.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RupujsryL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue. Easily my favorite book released of 2016. Highly recommended for fans of Borges, Pynchon, Calvino, and Bolano. Good review by Alberto Manguel here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/30/sudden-death-by-alvaro-enrigue-review (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/30/sudden-death-by-alvaro-enrigue-review)
It's coming out in paperback in February, keep your eyes peeled.
Has anyone read Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk? This shit is so goddamn hard to read. The narration is written in broken english and that would be somewhat bearable if the story was at least a little interesting. I just want to hurry up and finish this shiti read it at the bookstore in oakland waiting for a train. sorta how clockwork orange is hard at first but then it makes sense, pygmy ended up being ok. never really explained what country that little devil was from, did it? wasn't my favorite or least favorite palahniuk book.
i read it at the bookstore in oakland waiting for a train. sorta how clockwork orange is hard at first but then it makes sense, pygmy ended up being ok. never really explained what country that little devil was from, did it? wasn't my favorite or least favorite palahniuk book.Expand QuoteHas anyone read Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk? This shit is so goddamn hard to read. The narration is written in broken english and that would be somewhat bearable if the story was at least a little interesting. I just want to hurry up and finish this shit[close]
i read it at the bookstore in oakland waiting for a train.
i don't think. it was by jack london plaza. it was about to be out of business barnes and nobles right on the water and the freight trains ride down the middle of the street and there's a building you can ollie sideways flat gap over stairs.Expand Quote
i read it at the bookstore in oakland waiting for a train.[close]
Was it near Rockridge bart?
Currently reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.
Also heard that Murakami is writing a new book, can't wait to try some Murakami Bingo.
I read The Road from Cormac McCarthy and couldn't put it down. I read it all in one sitting because I enjoyed it so much. Because of that, I started reading Blood Meridian, one of his earlier books, which is often said to be one of his best. I'm 3/4 of the way through and I'll be honest that it's been really hard for me to read. The style in which it's written and the different types of words, which I'm sure are more geared towards that time period, makes me read it real slow in order to gather everything together in my head. I'm hoping by the end I will have a better appreciation for it, but I'm trying to not be one of those dudes that say they love a certain book because it's a hipster classic or something.
Anyone read it and have some insight or want to share their take on it? I'd love to hear some thoughts.
anyone read Against the Day by thomas pynchon?
wondering how it compares to Gravity's Rainbow.
i read The Crying of Lot 49 a few days ago and really liked it in parts. ending sucked though.
An important detail about The Will to Power was collected and (originally) edited by Nietzsche's Nazi-sympathizing sister and has been critiqued a lot for mischaracterizing a lot of his thoughts and notes. I've always heard from friend who have read a lot of Nietzsche to take that collection with a massive grain of salt.
rereading...still gives me the chills..
(http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Md8e3983b86304785bd047f930fa984a5o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300)
[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51blXIyi6BL.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51blXIyi6BL.jpg)[/img]
[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41b3KoEMrdL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41b3KoEMrdL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[/img]
[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51p-TahLLwL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51p-TahLLwL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[/img]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEvsD7pyp5w (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEvsD7pyp5w#)
I've been on a Mexican prison gang kick for some reason.
Now I've moved on to this:
[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/415hpFhdXzL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/415hpFhdXzL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[/img]
I just finished reading it, got it through the inter-library system because of Rusty's post.Expand Quoterereading...still gives me the chills..
(http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Md8e3983b86304785bd047f930fa984a5o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300)[close]
ive started this book three times and just cannot get into it. i dont understand why. by all accounts i should love it as it has everything i love in a book but it just never really connects.
I just finished reading it, got it through the inter-library system because of Rusty's post.Expand QuoteExpand Quoterereading...still gives me the chills..
(http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Md8e3983b86304785bd047f930fa984a5o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300)[close]
ive started this book three times and just cannot get into it. i dont understand why. by all accounts i should love it as it has everything i love in a book but it just never really connects.[close]
it's really fucking interesting, I felt a little gross reading it at times because I'd catch myself forgetting it was non-fiction, but other than that I loved it. I don't know how far you read, but once I got through the first couple changes in perspective it really picked up for me.
the long walk.
I'll check it out.Expand Quote[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51blXIyi6BL.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51blXIyi6BL.jpg)[/img]
[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41b3KoEMrdL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41b3KoEMrdL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[/img]
[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51p-TahLLwL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51p-TahLLwL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[/img]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEvsD7pyp5w (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEvsD7pyp5w#)
I've been on a Mexican prison gang kick for some reason.
Now I've moved on to this:
[/img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/415hpFhdXzL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/415hpFhdXzL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[/img][close]
as someone who works tangentially with type of stuff i want to recommend you "Gangster Warlords" by Ioan Grillo. its not the "best" book but its really fucking accurate and closest to the reports i have read.
tortfeasor
yeah, sorta like bands first albums are better i think i dig richard bachman more than stephen king. long walk is more recent to me but running man reminded me of how the media makes people sound worse than they are [whoever was running man they called pediphiles and shit]. the end predicted 9/11 and palahniuk's survivor as well.
i guess just cause he's mainstream or whatever and the movies but stephen king can write.
I just finished reading it, got it through the inter-library system because of Rusty's post.Expand QuoteExpand Quoterereading...still gives me the chills..
(http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Md8e3983b86304785bd047f930fa984a5o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300)[close]
ive started this book three times and just cannot get into it. i dont understand why. by all accounts i should love it as it has everything i love in a book but it just never really connects.[close]
it's really fucking interesting, I felt a little gross reading it at times because I'd catch myself forgetting it was non-fiction, but other than that I loved it. I don't know how far you read, but once I got through the first couple changes in perspective it really picked up for me.
I'm reading a book of short stories by Chekhov. This is my first contact with the author, and they're all from early in his career. The stories are all really subtle and sensitive and the only reason I'm not bored to death with all of the middle class Russian drama is because they're all short and his writing flows perfectly. Reading a Virginia Woolf blurb on the back praising his style made it all make so much sense. Not my style at all!
This was a really quick read but great. True story too.i read the intro to this on vice or somewhere. dude getting busted by the nature cop sneaking food. looked interesting.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61CbvZnrDjL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
"Many people dream of escaping modern life, but most will never act on it. This is the remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality?not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own."
Took Gay Imp Sausage Metal's advice and checked out some of Murakami's short story collections--really liked The Elephant Vanishes.My wigga!
someone gimme some fiction.
My wigga!Expand QuoteTook Gay Imp Sausage Metal's advice and checked out some of Murakami's short story collections--really liked The Elephant Vanishes.[close]
My fav thing to do on business trips is to read Murakami's short stories while sitting on the plane having a drink
I'm digging my way through House of Leaves and it's an absolute clusterfuck but also one of the coolest books I've ever read. Danielewski has a newer series that I've been wanting to get into but I gotta finish this one first.
Expand QuoteI'm digging my way through House of Leaves and it's an absolute clusterfuck but also one of the coolest books I've ever read. Danielewski has a newer series that I've been wanting to get into but I gotta finish this one first.[close]
HoL is fucking amazing. I've been keeping up with The Familiar too (about to finish the most recent volume this weekend) and it is even more insane. I'm happy to share my thoughts on it if you care.
Anyone here read Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar? I am intrigued by its form:
"Written in an episodic, snapshot manner, the novel has 155 chapters, the last 99 designated as "expendable." Some of these "expendable" chapters fill in gaps that occur in the main storyline, while others add information about the characters or record the aesthetic or literary speculations of a writer named Morelli who makes a brief appearance in the narrative. Some of the "expendable" chapters at first seem like random musings, but upon closer inspection solve questions that arise during the reading of the first two parts of the book.
An author's note suggests that the book would best be read in one of two possible ways, either progressively from chapters 1 to 56 or by "hopscotching" through the entire set of 155 chapters according to a "Table of Instructions" designated by the author. Cort?zar also leaves the reader the option of choosing a unique path through the narrative."
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51nSq2hkNGL._SY346_.jpg)
This was fantastic. If you like true crime, read it. The Osage tribe once had the wealthiest people per capita in the world, as their reservation contained lucrative oil deposits. But one by one they kept dying under questionable circumstances. The book reconstructs the case, focusing on an Osage woman who survived the slaughter, and the FBI agent J. Edgar Hoover sent to solve it. It's not like you *need* more examples of the soul corroding impact of white supremacy, but you get a particularly pummeling instance in Killers of the Flower Moon. Apparently Leo is going to make it into a movie.
I heard this guy interviewed on a podcast and wanna read this so bad.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm digging my way through House of Leaves and it's an absolute clusterfuck but also one of the coolest books I've ever read. Danielewski has a newer series that I've been wanting to get into but I gotta finish this one first.[close]
HoL is fucking amazing. I've been keeping up with The Familiar too (about to finish the most recent volume this weekend) and it is even more insane. I'm happy to share my thoughts on it if you care.[close]
Just barely saw this. I'm about 400 pages into HoL so I've got a pretty decent chunk left. I bought the first book of The Familiar and flipped through it to see what I'm in for, it looks pretty insane. Isn't he supposed to do like 15 of them? I don't know how he can keep that all together but he's definitely working on another level than most writers. I'm at kind of a slow part in HoL but I think I'll try and power through it tonight and get to more of the weird shit.
Alan - Hopscotch sounds amazing. I'll put it on my list but not sure when I'll get to it.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm digging my way through House of Leaves and it's an absolute clusterfuck but also one of the coolest books I've ever read. Danielewski has a newer series that I've been wanting to get into but I gotta finish this one first.[close]
HoL is fucking amazing. I've been keeping up with The Familiar too (about to finish the most recent volume this weekend) and it is even more insane. I'm happy to share my thoughts on it if you care.[close]
Just barely saw this. I'm about 400 pages into HoL so I've got a pretty decent chunk left. I bought the first book of The Familiar and flipped through it to see what I'm in for, it looks pretty insane. Isn't he supposed to do like 15 of them? I don't know how he can keep that all together but he's definitely working on another level than most writers. I'm at kind of a slow part in HoL but I think I'll try and power through it tonight and get to more of the weird shit.[close]
What I find so fascinating about The Familiar is that he's balancing 9 storylines and even though you know that they'll all eventually intersect, you can imagine that being dragged out in a meaningful, entertaining, and impactful way over 27 volumes. Except they're already starting to intersect 4 volume in. So that just makes me wonder how insane will it get later on?
Just started this last night and got a pretty good chunk of it finished... Really funny and informative. and it sold out of majority of Barnes and Nobles in 24 hrs
(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/808763328923369475/3AB8ZncV.jpg)
I've tried to read Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevksy a few times but always end up reading something else. Has anyone read it and confirm its worth the read?i've had the same experience reading his 'the idiot'. every time i start it i end up getting kicked off the farm and leaving book behind/returning to library.
i've had the same experience reading his 'the idiot'. every time i start it i end up getting kicked off the farm and leaving book behind/returning to library.Expand QuoteI've tried to read Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevksy a few times but always end up reading something else. Has anyone read it and confirm its worth the read?[close]
crime and punishment goes though! raskolnikov is about the greatest name for a character, the cop's friendly ways of banter to get the confession, the whore [good whore forced by capitalism? before revolution] and the shitty landlady.
also, taking responsibilty and some other concepts.
i liked it a lot and also karamazov. read notes from underground but don't really recall anything about it.
I think it's just a bad time for me to be reading Crime and Punishment because I literally can only read at the most 5 pages before I get super bored haha.I wouldn't bother continuing with a book that bores you. that being said I have trudged through all kinds of bullshit for who knows what reason. the first 150 pages of Crime & Punishment are pretty fucking cool for a book that was written ages ago. after that, fuck it (at least in my opinion).
I started reading the bible the other day and I actually find it pretty compelling. I think it would be cool to finish the bible, quran and torah before my life is over
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41CZGJ-FDPL._SX348_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)i tried to put this on layaway at the library but those shitbirds reessrved me the hemingway book of the same title! i was pissed as punch so i didn't take out the hem version, i got a david sedaris book in protest.
Haruki Murakami is the shit.
I wouldn't bother continuing with a book that bores you. that being said I have trudged through all kinds of bullshit for who knows what reason. the first 150 pages of Crime & Punishment are pretty fucking cool for a book that was written ages ago. after that, fuck it (at least in my opinion).Expand QuoteI think it's just a bad time for me to be reading Crime and Punishment because I literally can only read at the most 5 pages before I get super bored haha.
I started reading the bible the other day and I actually find it pretty compelling. I think it would be cool to finish the bible, quran and torah before my life is over[close]
the bible starts out pretty good but goes to shit pretty quickly. it's so fucking weird. I haven't made it past leviticus cause leviticus sucks.
I'd also like to read the main holy books, but if I died tomorrow I'd probably consider the time I have spent reading the bible a waste.
the torah is pretty much just the first 5 books of the old testament so you should be able to knock that one off quickly if you want to.
i tried to put this on layaway at the library but those shitbirds reessrved me the hemingway book of the same title! i was pissed as punch so i didn't take out the hem version, i got a david sedaris book in protest.Expand Quote(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41CZGJ-FDPL._SX348_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Haruki Murakami is the shit.[close]
i'm almost done w/ 'langstroth's hive and the honeybees' by langstroth aka the 1800s priest who invented the popular 'box hive' that we all [mostly all] use today. he's got funny, flowery language about how the bee was given to us by god like the fruit tree and he really loves his bees so it's an enjoyable read. if you're not already into bees it might just spark your interest? or not....
I just can't shake this Steven king kick and I'm glad I didn't...
I just finished under the dome and it's easily one of the top 20 books I've ever read. Would be top 10 if the end didn't kind of turn into a clisterfuck... but that's typical king.
I really recommend it if you are looking for something to get burried into
Also on the books that bore you kick... if you are not feeling it why bother. If it was meant to be it will come around your way again. Books have a funny way of showing up on your lap when you are ready for them. No need to force it.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/The_Adventures_of_Tintin_-_02_-_Tintin_in_the_Congo.jpg)
I just can't shake this Steven king kick and I'm glad I didn't...
i read 'me talk pretty' and some other sedaris long ago. this one is called 'theft by finding' and it's all diary entries from late 70s-early 80s [so far]. dude lived a lot more wild than i remembered from his other books. doing meth and acid, hitchhiking around the country and such. i dig that sort of stuff and paragraph to page diary entries means you can pick it up anywhere or read any amount at a time.Expand Quotei tried to put this on layaway at the library but those shitbirds reessrved me the hemingway book of the same title! i was pissed as punch so i didn't take out the hem version, i got a david sedaris book in protest.Expand Quote(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41CZGJ-FDPL._SX348_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Haruki Murakami is the shit.[close]
i'm almost done w/ 'langstroth's hive and the honeybees' by langstroth aka the 1800s priest who invented the popular 'box hive' that we all [mostly all] use today. he's got funny, flowery language about how the bee was given to us by god like the fruit tree and he really loves his bees so it's an enjoyable read. if you're not already into bees it might just spark your interest? or not....[close]
That book about the bees sounds rad! Maybe I'll check it out. Also, I got a good laugh about the librarians reserving the wrong title for you. Haruki is big on paying homage, so the Hemingway title confusion makes sense. What Sedaris book do you get? I've read almost all of his work "Me Talk Pretty One Day, When You Are Engulfed In Flames, Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim, and Holiday on Ice". If you got his newest book, is it any good? I heard him promoting it on Fresh Air last week, just haven't gotten around to checking it out yet.Expand QuoteI just can't shake this Steven king kick and I'm glad I didn't...
I just finished under the dome and it's easily one of the top 20 books I've ever read. Would be top 10 if the end didn't kind of turn into a clisterfuck... but that's typical king.
I really recommend it if you are looking for something to get burried into
Also on the books that bore you kick... if you are not feeling it why bother. If it was meant to be it will come around your way again. Books have a funny way of showing up on your lap when you are ready for them. No need to force it.[close]
Steven King is the shit! Just read Salem's Lot on a recommendation about a month ago and got into a King kick too! Started reading some of his kid's stuff (Joe Hill) and really liked "Heart Shaped Box". It was a real quick read, kind of cheesy, but entertaining nonetheless. Tried to read Joe Hill's "The Fireman" afterwards and kind of got bored with it, hopefully, I can pick it up sooner than later and finish it.
About to finish Murakami's first novel "Norwegian Wood". Looking on recommendations for my next read.
Expand Quote(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/The_Adventures_of_Tintin_-_02_-_Tintin_in_the_Congo.jpg)[close]
I bought the hardcover version of this in NYC over a decade ago, thought it would be great b/c I was a huge Tintin fan, and it turned out to be terrible.Check out Rose Madder, that's a good one.Expand QuoteI just can't shake this Steven king kick and I'm glad I didn't...[close]
Last book I read I actually translated with my dad. It was a poetry book written by a woman I was insanely in love with and still am despite all the pressure and sadness. I also really miss reading regularly, I haven't read a novel in over two years.
Expand Quote(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/The_Adventures_of_Tintin_-_02_-_Tintin_in_the_Congo.jpg)[close]
I bought the hardcover version of this in NYC over a decade ago, thought it would be great b/c I was a huge Tintin fan, and it turned out to be terrible.Expand QuoteI just can't shake this Steven king kick and I'm glad I didn't...[close]
Check out Rose Madder, that's a good one.
Last book I read I actually translated with my dad. It was a poetry book written by a woman I was insanely in love with and still am despite all the pressure and sadness. I also really miss reading regularly, I haven't read a novel in over two years.
Can you say more about "being a huge Tintin fan" and thinking the book was "terrible"?
Also, you translated a book with your dad? And it was published? ELABORATE MAN.
dude you have to to elaborate on your entire post.... what languages are you translating? do you and your dad translate a lot together? is this like playing catch?
who is this woman who you love? tell me about her poetry. is she the reason you stopped reading?!?! i need answers!!
Expand QuoteCan you say more about "being a huge Tintin fan" and thinking the book was "terrible"?
Also, you translated a book with your dad? And it was published? ELABORATE MAN.[close]
Well I owned all the Tintin books since I was nine. Even visited the Tintin shop at the same time and bought a watch with the art from Destination Moon from it. I read all those books for years. Preferred the books to the TV show. Then I found out about the Alph-Art book and Congo book. Found the Congo book, started to read it, and it just seemed so racist - Tintin telling the Congolese "This is how a real man does things" etc.
Then I started to research Herge and he seemed to be pretty sketchy, but like R. Crumb he expressed his embarrassment with promoting stereotypes. But then I thought about how The Blue Lotus had a section where Tintin aimed to refute negative, outdated Chinese stereotypes. Still, I was just over it.Expand Quotedude you have to to elaborate on your entire post.... what languages are you translating? do you and your dad translate a lot together? is this like playing catch?
who is this woman who you love? tell me about her poetry. is she the reason you stopped reading?!?! i need answers!![close]
Haha, I honestly can't tell if you two are being sarcastic or not. Basically my dad and I don't spend too much time together, and we never did anything close to translating a book. The woman gave me a published poetry book of hers written in Arabic. Last year I visited my dad, and he translated it while I wrote down what he said.
It was a bonding experience for us, and to bond over her work was really meaningful for me. Her poetry was progressive. But she grew increasingly distant from me while I did everything I could to be there.
I never cared so much about someone before. There's more to the story but I'll leave it there, it's painful to talk about. I've been depressed for months.
Anyone here read Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar? I am intrigued by its form:
"Written in an episodic, snapshot manner, the novel has 155 chapters, the last 99 designated as "expendable." Some of these "expendable" chapters fill in gaps that occur in the main storyline, while others add information about the characters or record the aesthetic or literary speculations of a writer named Morelli who makes a brief appearance in the narrative. Some of the "expendable" chapters at first seem like random musings, but upon closer inspection solve questions that arise during the reading of the first two parts of the book.
An author's note suggests that the book would best be read in one of two possible ways, either progressively from chapters 1 to 56 or by "hopscotching" through the entire set of 155 chapters according to a "Table of Instructions" designated by the author. Cort?zar also leaves the reader the option of choosing a unique path through the narrative."
i just snapped into one called 'my damage' by mr keith morris [goldstein].
was a big fan of circle jerks as a kid and black flag w/ him as singer more than any other. idk what the hell he's up to today, diabetes and a band named 'deep woods off' or some shit. i'll know more when i finish but i'm digging the 80s stories.
kick it down when you're done, i'll mail you a jar of honey.Expand Quotei just snapped into one called 'my damage' by mr keith morris [goldstein].
was a big fan of circle jerks as a kid and black flag w/ him as singer more than any other. idk what the hell he's up to today, diabetes and a band named 'deep woods off' or some shit. i'll know more when i finish but i'm digging the 80s stories.[close]
Hahah, Off! is actually sick, check 'em out if you haven't yet Sharktits.
I've been keeping an eye out for that book myself too, haven't come across it yet. I did pick up Harley Flannagan's book "Hard-Core" though which is insane. The life this guy has lead, before he was even 16 is incredible. I'm not finished yet, but I definitely recommend it to fans of Cro-Mags and Hardcore in general, or anyone who just wants to read crazy shit.
So who was the Lispector guy again? I'm gearing up mentally to read her Agua Viva, which a classmate told me to check out. Although I've been told that, in typical Clarice fashion, it's really difficult to read even though it clocks under a hundred pages. Let's see what's up with it.
Expand QuoteAnyone here read Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar? I am intrigued by its form:
"Written in an episodic, snapshot manner, the novel has 155 chapters, the last 99 designated as "expendable." Some of these "expendable" chapters fill in gaps that occur in the main storyline, while others add information about the characters or record the aesthetic or literary speculations of a writer named Morelli who makes a brief appearance in the narrative. Some of the "expendable" chapters at first seem like random musings, but upon closer inspection solve questions that arise during the reading of the first two parts of the book.
An author's note suggests that the book would best be read in one of two possible ways, either progressively from chapters 1 to 56 or by "hopscotching" through the entire set of 155 chapters according to a "Table of Instructions" designated by the author. Cort?zar also leaves the reader the option of choosing a unique path through the narrative."[close]
Have you read Hopscotch by now?
I'm in the middle of it right now. It's one hell of a book I must say - just as crazy as your post made it seem. Even though it's a bit more linear than I thought at first: As recommended by the author, you read the first 56 chapters in the same order as you would read any other book. But between most chapters, you jump between one or more expendable chapters, which - more or less - enlighten your reading process. With each chapter, especially with the expendable ones, you never know what you're going to get: sometimes lyrics from a jazz song, sometimes a chapter from Morelli (a fictional philosopher), sometimes an extract from The Guardian, sometimes a director's cut-style additional chapter from the original plotline, sometimes a dialogue, sometimes an interior dialogue where every line belongs to a different sentence. The "main story" (in lack of a better world) centers around Horacio Oliveira, an Argentinian boheme living in 1950s Paris, and how he met, loved and lost "La Maga". Hopscotch is not a conventional love story, even though the relationship between Horacio and la Maga is gripping and at times heartbreaking. The book is not exactly a page turner either, but it's a redeeming read when you take your time. I like the book's crazy experiments with form, some more than others though. But that's ok, I guess Cortazar didn't want to write a novel like thousands before him and that's what makes it interesting.
(http://i.imgur.com/G9bhCDF.jpg)I have this on the shelf and hope to start it soon. Heard lots of good things. I read his Box Man which was fuckin' weird.
I'm not a huge reader, so I feel like I'm always just breaking the surface of books I'm "supposed" to read, or whatever. Anyways, I read The Stranger by Albert Camus a couple of weeks ago and loved it. I finished it in a few hours because I had a free afternoon.
Then I started reading Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, but put it down a quarter of the way through. I realized I don't like reading about war or military shit any more than I like watching movies about it. Just bores me to death.
Since I had good luck with Camus, I picked up The Fall and am gonna get busy with that.
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440319389l/4981.jpg)so it goes
just started reading this. dig his style
I'm not a huge reader, so I feel like I'm always just breaking the surface of books I'm "supposed" to read, or whatever. Anyways, I read The Stranger by Albert Camus a couple of weeks ago and loved it. I finished it in a few hours because I had a free afternoon.
Then I started reading Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, but put it down a quarter of the way through. I realized I don't like reading about war or military shit any more than I like watching movies about it. Just bores me to death.
Since I had good luck with Camus, I picked up The Fall and am gonna get busy with that.
I've readen "the stranger" from camus, twas a good read after haven't read any books for years, very immersing
now I've started 'the road" from cormac McCarthy, kinda slow at the moment(just a few pages in it, for days), couldn't find "blood meridian"at my local library
Then I started reading Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, but put it down a quarter of the way through. I realized I don't like reading about war or military shit any more than I like watching movies about it. Just bores me to death.
As for Camus... he is one author I read on my teens and that I definitely have to revisit. My most recent visit to his works was to watch the Luchino Visconti version of The Stranger. Which is a frustrating film adaption, not because it's "unfaithful" or anything: but rather, exactly because it is the novel, beat by beat by beat. Starring Marcelo Mastroianni as someone who is too much of a handsome hunk to, in my eyes, play the ever-so-distant "stranger" Mersault. I have read Camus's The Plague, which I personally enjoyed a lot more than The Stranger, although that's like apples and oranges. Camus's writings on philosophy pretty much went over my head, as appealing as they are.
Im about to start reading The Big Sleep tonight which I'm pretty excited about.
Expand QuoteIm about to start reading The Big Sleep tonight which I'm pretty excited about.[close]
Yes! Raymond Chandler is the best crime writer, imho. I reread all of his stuff every couple of years, which I never normally do.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteIm about to start reading The Big Sleep tonight which I'm pretty excited about.[close]
Yes! Raymond Chandler is the best crime writer, imho. I reread all of his stuff every couple of years, which I never normally do.[close]
I can also suggest some Jim Thompson if you really want a story that's gonna pull you in and keep you there. He's my #1 crime writer hands down.
Just picked up Slaughterhouse 5.... been having people tell me about Vonnegut for decades so figured I should give him a shot.
Not sure if it fully fits into the Vonnegut/Welsh category, but there's one by Kerouac/Burroughs called And The Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks that was funny/dark/enjoyable.
Tried to read Glue by Welsh and just couldn't handle the Irish pronunciation style writing which makes up most of the book. Was too busy deciphering words to enjoy the story.
Just finished Don Quixote a couple of weeks ago. That one was pretty epic.
‘Heart of A Dog’
just started this jawn.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MTGPSQQ0L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
Currently reading The Situationist International Anthology edited by Ken Knabb. A lot of interesting ideas from them, although the "How to Talk Like a Situationist" essay is probably the best thing to come out as a result of the group. They also claim responsibility for the May 1968 happenings in France, but I'm not sure how much of an influence was directly from these writings. Still an overall fun read.i always wanted to read guy debord. i think the situationists were a big deal [more so in paris than here] then and they kinda inspired adbusters [is that magazine still around?].
Also looking to start The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers soon.
I haven't read much but I remember liking "Artic Dreams" which I read on va ca in mex once. Great writing with mind blowing facts about how polar bears will travel 200 miles in a period of 3 days or how these whales or seals will have a hole a metre or two square that hasn't frozen yet that is the last connection between to VAST bodies of ocean that will freeze closed for the winter. They end up having to go thru one at a time and they travel thousands of miles to get there and its location obviously is different every year and they know where it is regardless, with a day or two to spare.
Is that a global warming ref. ? good oneExpand QuoteI haven't read much but I remember liking "Artic Dreams" which I read on va ca in mex once. Great writing with mind blowing facts about how polar bears will travel 200 miles in a period of 3 days or how these whales or seals will have a hole a metre or two square that hasn't frozen yet that is the last connection between to VAST bodies of ocean that will freeze closed for the winter. They end up having to go thru one at a time and they travel thousands of miles to get there and its location obviously is different every year and they know where it is regardless, with a day or two to spare.[close]
Nice one. It's important to learn about history.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51oD1Z3VLDL._SX266_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Late to the party but I like it.
just finished me talk pretty one day, I really enjoyed it! Friend lent it to me about a year ago and I finally started it last week. I'm on homage to Catalonia now. I was thinking about that book about the replacements called trouble boys if any of you have read it
If anyone liked "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk" (Stooges, MC5, Ramones, Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, Blondie, etc) check out "We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988-2001" talks about Oblivians, New Bomb Turks, The Spits, Mummies, Jay Reatard, etc. Great read if you're into this music. Even if you're not, most of these punk heroes got into some heavy stuff that's interesting to read about.
(https://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/margarita.jpg?w=1920)
Recently read this for the second time. It's a semi-autobiographical satire about the Devil coming to Moscow and laying bare hypocrisy and corruption. Bulgakov was never published in his lifetime - he struggled with censorship and was marginalized because his work didn't contain heroic communist characters. The Master and Margarita is his seminal novel and his life's work - he dictated revisions to his wife shortly before his death. A staggering, wonderful book.
handsclapanin, which Murakami book would you recommend to start on?
handsclapanin, which Murakami book would you recommend to start on?
Just finished Women by Bukowski and I do not know why I read so much Bukowski, but that had to have been the worst. It really lacked anything of substance.
Expand Quotehandsclapanin, which Murakami book would you recommend to start on?
Just finished Women by Bukowski and I do not know why I read so much Bukowski, but that had to have been the worst. It really lacked anything of substance.[close]
I’m not handsclapanin, but I would recommend Norwegian Wood. That was my first Murakami. Quick and easy read. Not as far out as some of the others.
Expand QuoteExpand Quotehandsclapanin, which Murakami book would you recommend to start on?
Just finished Women by Bukowski and I do not know why I read so much Bukowski, but that had to have been the worst. It really lacked anything of substance.[close]
I’m not handsclapanin, but I would recommend Norwegian Wood. That was my first Murakami. Quick and easy read. Not as far out as some of the others.[close]
Thank you. +1
"What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" is the only Murakam that I have read and man...such a damn borefest it was ,that I never dared to pick another book from that guy!Expand QuoteExpand Quotehandsclapanin, which Murakami book would you recommend to start on?
Just finished Women by Bukowski and I do not know why I read so much Bukowski, but that had to have been the worst. It really lacked anything of substance.[close]
I’m not handsclapanin, but I would recommend Norwegian Wood. That was my first Murakami. Quick and easy read. Not as far out as some of the others.[close]
Thank you. +1
Read Murakami's short stories, way better than his novels imho...
yeah, defs true for Murakami too ... or at least in my opinion.Expand QuoteRead Murakami's short stories, way better than his novels imho...[close]
I've always said the same about Bukowski. His short form is easily where he did his best work in my eyes.
Paul Auster’s “New York Trilogy” Anybody else read this one?
I'm taking a critical theory course for fun so going to be reading Bataille, de Sade, and a bunch of critical theorists and philosophers who engage with their work. So I'm excited for that since I don't get to do much analysis or discussion on them with other people even though I'd like to.
Expand Quote
I'm taking a critical theory course for fun so going to be reading Bataille, de Sade, and a bunch of critical theorists and philosophers who engage with their work. So I'm excited for that since I don't get to do much analysis or discussion on them with other people even though I'd like to.[close]
Good on ye. Hope it's a meaningful experience for you (the class) and I wouldn't mind an update once you get into it!
*edit: Reading this one for a class of my own. More excited than usual to get at it. (https://itsahistoryblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/large.jpg?w=750)
Read on, readers!
I'd feel that way too, going into it. I checked a Bataille reader (one of those Blackwell editions, I think?) out of the library and read the intro essay and sort of skimmed around. I was trying to feel out his conception of "base materialism," but I can't say I got very far before my energies were needed elsewhere. Hope to come back to him.Expand QuoteExpand Quote
I'm taking a critical theory course for fun so going to be reading Bataille, de Sade, and a bunch of critical theorists and philosophers who engage with their work. So I'm excited for that since I don't get to do much analysis or discussion on them with other people even though I'd like to.[close]
Good on ye. Hope it's a meaningful experience for you (the class) and I wouldn't mind an update once you get into it!
*edit: Reading this one for a class of my own. More excited than usual to get at it. (https://itsahistoryblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/large.jpg?w=750)
Read on, readers![close]
Thanks man! Yeah, I'll definitely give an update. First class is Thursday and it's 3 hours every Thursday this month. I'm stoked but like weirdly nervous too. I've got a fascination with Bataille and am like "What if I'm not getting enough out of him and my observations are like super trite?"
anyone read 2666 and how does it compares to Savage Detectives? both by Roberto Bolano.
To geneparmesan, I’ve only read the “New York Trilogy” and “1234” by Auster. I thought “New York Trilogy “ was about linguistics and epistemology more than noir. It was hardly a detective/crime novel.
anyone read 2666 and how does it compares to Savage Detectives? both by Roberto Bolano.
Expand Quoteanyone read 2666 and how does it compares to Savage Detectives? both by Roberto Bolano.[close]
Reading Bolano? Good on ya!
I'm a big Bolano fan and I've read both. In my eyes, 2666 is very different from the Savage Detectives. The overall writing style is comparable and both share a few themes and motifs, but that's about it. The Savage Detectives is a typical "young Bolano", full of dark humor, the energy and romanticism of youth and covering every topic relevant to 70s and 80s Latin America and world literature. 2666 seems more focused, more mature, more limited but also lacks the energy and fervor of the Savage Detectives. It's a typical "late work" and way darker than the Savage Detectives.
Personally, I liked the Savage Detectives better, but 2666 is still among my favorite books. Both are really good. I'd say, you should go for it! Have fun!
Expand QuoteExpand Quoteanyone read 2666 and how does it compares to Savage Detectives? both by Roberto Bolano.[close]
Reading Bolano? Good on ya!
I'm a big Bolano fan and I've read both. In my eyes, 2666 is very different from the Savage Detectives. The overall writing style is comparable and both share a few themes and motifs, but that's about it. The Savage Detectives is a typical "young Bolano", full of dark humor, the energy and romanticism of youth and covering every topic relevant to 70s and 80s Latin America and world literature. 2666 seems more focused, more mature, more limited but also lacks the energy and fervor of the Savage Detectives. It's a typical "late work" and way darker than the Savage Detectives.
Personally, I liked the Savage Detectives better, but 2666 is still among my favorite books. Both are really good. I'd say, you should go for it! Have fun![close]
So far I’ve only read Bolano’s Distant Star and Nazi Literature in the Americas[i/]. Two Spanish guys own a bookstore here and they tell me his short stories are his best work.
Recently finished an old book from school:
(https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/8633325.jpg)
His colorful language, the stories of struggle, tragedy, dreams, ethnic identity -- fuck! It was a memorable, touching one for me. I feel like i'm friends will all the characters, almost.
Havent been reading much lately but my favorites of all time are....
JD Salinger - 9 Stories
Fantastic collection of short stories that are all intertwined the final story "Teddy" is probably one of my favorite pieces of literature of all time.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quoteanyone read 2666 and how does it compares to Savage Detectives? both by Roberto Bolano.[close]
Reading Bolano? Good on ya!
I'm a big Bolano fan and I've read both. In my eyes, 2666 is very different from the Savage Detectives. The overall writing style is comparable and both share a few themes and motifs, but that's about it. The Savage Detectives is a typical "young Bolano", full of dark humor, the energy and romanticism of youth and covering every topic relevant to 70s and 80s Latin America and world literature. 2666 seems more focused, more mature, more limited but also lacks the energy and fervor of the Savage Detectives. It's a typical "late work" and way darker than the Savage Detectives.
Personally, I liked the Savage Detectives better, but 2666 is still among my favorite books. Both are really good. I'd say, you should go for it! Have fun![close]
So far I’ve only read Bolano’s Distant Star and Nazi Literature in the Americas. Two Spanish guys own a bookstore here and they tell me his short stories are his best work.[close]
I've only ready one of his short story collections and I liked it a lot, but I still think Savage Detectives is Bolano at his best. Distant Star is another favorite.
I know what you mean but I loved Book 3. It's super atmospheric and I think he does a great job giving you the feeling of what it felt like to be a child in his childhood situation. That said, I couldn't imagine reading it after Books 4 & 5. It would definitely be jarring.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quoteanyone read 2666 and how does it compares to Savage Detectives? both by Roberto Bolano.[close]
Reading Bolano? Good on ya!
I'm a big Bolano fan and I've read both. In my eyes, 2666 is very different from the Savage Detectives. The overall writing style is comparable and both share a few themes and motifs, but that's about it. The Savage Detectives is a typical "young Bolano", full of dark humor, the energy and romanticism of youth and covering every topic relevant to 70s and 80s Latin America and world literature. 2666 seems more focused, more mature, more limited but also lacks the energy and fervor of the Savage Detectives. It's a typical "late work" and way darker than the Savage Detectives.
Personally, I liked the Savage Detectives better, but 2666 is still among my favorite books. Both are really good. I'd say, you should go for it! Have fun![close]
So far I’ve only read Bolano’s Distant Star and Nazi Literature in the Americas. Two Spanish guys own a bookstore here and they tell me his short stories are his best work.[close]
I've only ready one of his short story collections and I liked it a lot, but I still think Savage Detectives is Bolano at his best. Distant Star is another favorite.[close]
yea i read nazi literature in the Americas and third reich. The 1st i wasnt too into until the last chapter or so. But maybe just because I was hoping for something more plot-driven. It made me wanna write again tho so thats a +.
Third reich was good but felt a bit "easy" compared to Savage Detectives, although interesting in alot of ways i.e. How he keeps writing some versions of himself into every novel.
Wanted to buy Distant star instead of Third Reich but was low on money and the latter is more book for the same cash... Was happy Distant star kinda appeared in the last chapter of Nazi Literature, and it really made me want to read all his books to see how they all fit together.
Either way thanks for the 2666 vs Detectives awnswer
Havent been reading much lately but my favorites of all time are....
JD Salinger - 9 Stories
Fantastic collection of short stories that are all intertwined the final story "Teddy" is probably one of my favorite pieces of literature of all time.
Cats Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Ice Nine baby
Philip K Dick - A Scanner Darkly
That quote about stealing insulin or just dying fucks me up every time
The Dark Elf Trilogy - RA Salvatore
One of the first big books I read. My Dad lent me the trilogy when I was 12 and crushed through it in a week.
For Comics...
Transmetropolitan (finished)
Preacher (finished)
Planetary Express (finished)
DMZ (almost finished)
Doom Patrol (just started)
Wanted (finished)
Bunch of others but i'll keep it short.
also re-read
Yusuf Atilgan's The Loiterer, If you've ever been to Istanbul, you undoubtly enjoy this one; A man alone in a city, contemplating his differences with contemporary (at the time) Turkish culture, while chasing women and searching a woman:
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504884008l/20740607.jpg)
and I read Bill Callahan's Letters to Emma Bowlcut; the story isn't all that much, Its a succession of letters to a woman, but you never get to read the replies. She does reply however, since Callahan refers to them and awnsers her questions in his own letters to her. Its interesting and if you enjoy his songwriting/ observations/ humour then its a good read and I find myself opening the book at random and re-reading letters.
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327877100l/8693156.jpg)
Expand QuoteHavent been reading much lately but my favorites of all time are....
JD Salinger - 9 Stories
Fantastic collection of short stories that are all intertwined the final story "Teddy" is probably one of my favorite pieces of literature of all time.
Cats Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Ice Nine baby
Philip K Dick - A Scanner Darkly
That quote about stealing insulin or just dying fucks me up every time
The Dark Elf Trilogy - RA Salvatore
One of the first big books I read. My Dad lent me the trilogy when I was 12 and crushed through it in a week.
For Comics...
Transmetropolitan (finished)
Preacher (finished)
Planetary Express (finished)
DMZ (almost finished)
Doom Patrol (just started)
Wanted (finished)
Bunch of others but i'll keep it short.[close]
DMZ it what got me back into comics as an adult. If you are looking for some really amazing standout comics check out "The Twelve" and the arc of "Rising Starts"
is planetary express the same as planetary? if so that and transmetropolitan are two of my all time favorite series. and if you love transmetropolitan give "chew" a read. very similar in all the best ways, none of the pontificating of transmetropoltian
Anyone have recommendations for short story collections or novels with short chapters around 3-15 pages? I need stuff to read during breaks at work.
Anyone have recommendations for short story collections or novels with short chapters around 3-15 pages? I need stuff to read during breaks at work.
Anyone have recommendations for short story collections or novels with short chapters around 3-15 pages? I need stuff to read during breaks at work.
i can type it out for ya, ts only like 60 pages half filled.I appreciate that b-guy but I don't want to be the reason his shit gets bootlegged.
I do that for a living anyways
I read No Country For Old Men in like 2 days or something. McCarthy wrote it originally as a screenplay, so it's basically just the movie plus a few extra or alternate bits. Chigurh makes more sense in the book. Moss, to me, was less sympathetic also. The movie is a better movie than the book is a book, but if you really liked one the other will complement it well.
Anyone have recommendations for short story collections or novels with short chapters around 3-15 pages? I need stuff to read during breaks at work.
Read my first McCarthy a few days back, Outer Dark. Great stuff, weird I never read him before. Went on to read the Border Trilogy and Suttree. Have liked everything so far.
Did someone on here mention In the Distance by Hernan Diaz? Or maybe I picked it up somewhere else. Unique take on the Western novel.
Expand QuoteRead my first McCarthy a few days back, Outer Dark. Great stuff, weird I never read him before. Went on to read the Border Trilogy and Suttree. Have liked everything so far.
Did someone on here mention In the Distance by Hernan Diaz? Or maybe I picked it up somewhere else. Unique take on the Western novel.[close]
I mentioned In The Distance. So good. It just got nominated for a Pulitzer too.
Here’s the NY Times article on him this week.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/books/hernan-diaz-in-the-distance.html
my buddy loaned me 'skateboarding, space and the city' and so far it's pretty awful. maybe i'm being harsh but it's not informative [to someone immersed in the language of skate] and it is pretty dry text. but im agnostic.So I was in 5th grade around the time I picked up this gem of a book, Skateboard Tough. Although cringe worthy now this was my favorite book when I was a kid. Use to cut up CCS catalogs and carve Popsicle sticks to fit the boards I cut out. Here's the pdf if interested http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/userfiles/896/file/Skateboard%20Tough.pdf
he loaned me another called 'death of nature' that's prolly better but of course i started the skating one first.
I cannot agree more. She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person. Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.
Expand QuoteI cannot agree more. She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person. Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.[close]
I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.
There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI cannot agree more. She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person. Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.[close]
I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.
There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.[close]
Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.
Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.
SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI cannot agree more. She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person. Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.[close]
I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.
There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.[close]
Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.[close]
Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.
SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.
Sixty Stories and Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme - Thanks to the slap pal who recommended him to me. There are some incredible short stories in these collections. Easily one of the best authors I've read.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI cannot agree more. She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person. Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.[close]
I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.
There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.[close]
Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.[close]
Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.
SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.[close]
Yea, Wild Detectives here in Oak Cliff. You live here or been there?
As I have mentioned before, I'm a huge Nabokov fan and will die on the hill of him being probably the greatest author in the English language (maybe after Joyce), so after reading this article, I picked up Adrienne Celt's Invitation to a Bonfire and have enjoyed it so far. I haven't gotten too far into it but that's because I've been busy at work and not felt like reading, not at all an indictment of her writing so if anyone is somewhat interested in Nabokov, it might be worth picking up.doesn't that word usually refer to your own artwork not art you consume? like if louie barletta took up poetry or mega ramp, that would be expanding his ouevre, not if he listened to rap.
https://electricliterature.com/vladimir-nabokov-taught-me-how-to-be-a-feminist-229f3dbade6f
I've also been really trying to read more POC/non-European or North American/male authors lately and am so glad I've made that choice. It's how I picked up Lispector and Bolano and has led to a lot of female written audiobooks as well as people like Alexandra Kleeman (who I cannot recommend enough to anyone and everyone - I love her writing so much), Yelena Moskovich, Paul Beatty. Anyone else been trying to expand their oeuvre?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI cannot agree more. She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person. Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.[close]
I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.
There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.[close]
Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.[close]
Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.
SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.[close]
Yea, Wild Detectives here in Oak Cliff. You live here or been there?[close]
He chose Die Verwandlung, not Der Prozess, Bartleby, not Moby Dick, he chose Un coeur simple and not Bouvard et Pecuchet and he chose A Christmas Carol, not A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Club. A sad paradox, Amalfitano thought. Even the educatedapothecary[BOOKSTORE OWNERS] do not brave the immense, imperfect ,impetious works that struggle their way into the unknown. They choose the perfect exercises of the great masters.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI cannot agree more. She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person. Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.[close]
I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.
There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.[close]
Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.[close]
Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.
SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.[close]
Yea, Wild Detectives here in Oak Cliff. You live here or been there?[close]
He chose Die Verwandlung, not Der Prozess, Bartleby, not Moby Dick, he chose Un coeur simple and not Bouvard et Pecuchet and he chose A Christmas Carol, not A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Club. A sad paradox, Amalfitano thought. Even the educatedapothecary[BOOKSTORE OWNERS] do not brave the immense, imperfect ,impetious works that struggle their way into the unknown. They choose the perfect exercises of the great masters.
As I have mentioned before, I'm a huge Nabokov fan and will die on the hill of him being probably the greatest author in the English language (maybe after Joyce), so after reading this article, I picked up Adrienne Celt's Invitation to a Bonfire and have enjoyed it so far. I haven't gotten too far into it but that's because I've been busy at work and not felt like reading, not at all an indictment of her writing so if anyone is somewhat interested in Nabokov, it might be worth picking up.
https://electricliterature.com/vladimir-nabokov-taught-me-how-to-be-a-feminist-229f3dbade6f
I've also been really trying to read more POC/non-European or North American/male authors lately and am so glad I've made that choice. It's how I picked up Lispector and Bolano and has led to a lot of female written audiobooks as well as people like Alexandra Kleeman (who I cannot recommend enough to anyone and everyone - I love her writing so much), Yelena Moskovich, Paul Beatty. Anyone else been trying to expand their oeuvre?
rusty's mom sent me a photo book called 'skate the world' by jonathan mehring.
not a book 'to read' per se but it's dope to look at.
distributed by national geographic, ya know what that means?
we're wildlife!
don't read that book out loud. next thing you know your wife will be host to candarian demons and you'll be forced to lock her in the fruit cellar.
And also this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead) Just some spells and stuff like that about how to achive the best in after life.. ..cool stuff though.
That's one of my favourite books of all times. Enjoy.
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. Its what I would call "burnout noir." Long-winded, but funny as fuck.
Expand QuoteInherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. Its what I would call "burnout noir." Long-winded, but funny as fuck.[close]
Super funny. Compared to a lot of his other stuff though, it's not too long-winded. It moved at a healthy and even pace in my opinion.
Summer by Knausgaard for me, the last of his seasons books and man did he mess up a compelling formula in the second half of the four. Spring was a compelling confessional to his daughter of his wife's breakdown during/after her birth so it deviated from his "one short piece on an everyday object a day" concept, which I liked because it felt very different from his My Struggle writing, but it eventually wore out its welcome. Summer brings back the daily essays but breaks up the two months with entries from his personal diary and they really fuck up the flow of the overall book and drag it down. The diary selections are longer than the rest of the book and each of the previous three volumes (separately) and are the worst of Knausgaard's tendencies: rambling, unrefined, somewhat shallow. There are decent enough moments in them but they really detract from the rest of the work. If anyone does read this, I highly recommend skipping them.
Every once in a while I want to read an anarcho-western, and nobody does it like Abbey.
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312010417l/764749.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteInherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. Its what I would call "burnout noir." Long-winded, but funny as fuck.[close]
Super funny. Compared to a lot of his other stuff though, it's not too long-winded. It moved at a healthy and even pace in my opinion.
Summer by Knausgaard for me, the last of his seasons books and man did he mess up a compelling formula in the second half of the four. Spring was a compelling confessional to his daughter of his wife's breakdown during/after her birth so it deviated from his "one short piece on an everyday object a day" concept, which I liked because it felt very different from his My Struggle writing, but it eventually wore out its welcome. Summer brings back the daily essays but breaks up the two months with entries from his personal diary and they really fuck up the flow of the overall book and drag it down. The diary selections are longer than the rest of the book and each of the previous three volumes (separately) and are the worst of Knausgaard's tendencies: rambling, unrefined, somewhat shallow. There are decent enough moments in them but they really detract from the rest of the work. If anyone does read this, I highly recommend skipping them.[close]
Thanks for the heads-up. I haven't picked up any book from his Seasons series and I'm not feeling compelled to do so now.
My Struggle 6 is out! Do you have a copy already? Due to a lack of time, I'm only 20 pages in. My only complaint so far is that the hard cover has the dimensions of an encyclopedia. Easily the heaviest and largest book in my collection. I don't think I will ever take it out of my apartment and I can only read it lying on my side. Kind of a weird complaint, I know...
Anyone ever read any of these 33 1/3 books? They've got a whole bunch and cover tons of classic albums that I love. I'm not a big reader, but I love these kind of musical history stories and these don't look too daunting to get through.
http://333sound.com/33-13-series/
It is though. And now you're locked in.
I put off reading Dune for a long while, cause for some reason I thought it was part of a long series of books
It is though. And now you're locked in.Expand Quote
I put off reading Dune for a long while, cause for some reason I thought it was part of a long series of books[close]
Anyone have any recommendations on biography books? Gotta get a gift so someone. Ideally in the sports, business, interesting person/event category.
Expand QuoteAnyone have any recommendations on biography books? Gotta get a gift so someone. Ideally in the sports, business, interesting person/event category.[close]
I got you
(http://dougbrownzone.tripod.com/myspace/660promo.jpg)
Anyone ever read any of these 33 1/3 books? They've got a whole bunch and cover tons of classic albums that I love. I'm not a big reader, but I love these kind of musical history stories and these don't look too daunting to get through.
http://333sound.com/33-13-series/
Still reading Knausgaard's My Struggle: Book Six and it's good so far. It gives you a lot of perspective on his project and answers a lot of important questions: How did it affect those around him? Did Knausgaard really remember every detail he put into the first five books? What does the relationship between memory and reality look like? From all I've heard, he's also going to ponder on the question of why he made such an obvious connection to Hitler's Mein Kampf in his project's title. I'm not there yet though.
Has anyone read anything by Virginie Despentes? I read a review of The Life of Vernon Subutex and I'm thinking about picking up a copy once I'm done with the monster that is Knausgaard.
just finished no country for old men. Its one of my favorite movies and now one of my favorite books.
Expand Quotejust finished no country for old men. Its one of my favorite movies and now one of my favorite books.[close]
Actually the one instance I can think of where I liked the movie more than the book. Obviously McCarthy is great, though.
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504377419l/142529.jpg)
Reading Nabokov for the first time in earnest and, damn, this is a good book. I'm flying through it.
However, I was thumbing through a collection of interviews Nabokov gave over the course of his life, and at times he comes off as deeply pretentious. The first line of his introduction is something like: "I think like a genius; I write like a distinguished writer; I talk like a child." Next to insufferable. Doesn't diminish his work, though.
That lead me into reading Butcher's Crossing by John Williams
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51W%2Bjsk93CL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Seconded on Sacco. His other stuff is ace, too.
Read In The Distance by Hernan Diaz recently which I picked up after reading SFblah's recommendation in this thread so thank you for that suggestion - great book.
That lead me into reading Butcher's Crossing by John Williams which I really liked. Not sure if this book has already appeared in this thread but I also recommend this one for anyone who's a fan of Cormac McCarthy's westerns. It was written in the 1960s so very likely even served as inspiration to McCarthy as it tackles a couple similar themes. It takes place in the 1870s and is about a Harvard student who drops out of school to move out west and live on the frontier. He arranges to go on a buffalo hunting expedition and some gnarly shit happens to his group (not Blood Meridian-level of gnarliness, but what is, really).
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51W%2Bjsk93CL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Just started reading Warlock by Oakley Hall. Another "revisionist western". Only about 100 pages in but enjoying it so far. Based on a few real events mixed in with fictional events (one of the main characters is at least partly based on Wyatt Earp). This one was written around the same time as Butcher's Crossing.
Expand QuoteExpand Quotejust finished no country for old men. Its one of my favorite movies and now one of my favorite books.[close]
Actually the one instance I can think of where I liked the movie more than the book. Obviously McCarthy is great, though.
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504377419l/142529.jpg)
Reading Nabokov for the first time in earnest and, damn, this is a good book. I'm flying through it.
However, I was thumbing through a collection of interviews Nabokov gave over the course of his life, and at times he comes off as deeply pretentious. The first line of his introduction is something like: "I think like a genius; I write like a distinguished writer; I talk like a child." Next to insufferable. Doesn't diminish his work, though.[close]
I fucking love Nabokov. He is super full of himself though. Apparently he could pull it off in person (at least for some people) and he'd often play it up in interviews and stuff, but it's definitely a prominent part of his personality. I can see why given how intelligent and accomplished he was and his family background but it is jarring to learn.
This was great
(https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_31998476-08e0-4a9e-aa00-8baa12560962)
Expand QuoteThis was great
(https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_31998476-08e0-4a9e-aa00-8baa12560962)[close]
Just started reading this one and it's pretty interesting
That's super easy to find out...http://lmgtfy.com/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usinflationcalculator.com%2F
(It's ~$2,333 - $4,667 a week.)
Fear And Loathing never gets old.I tried reading it but it's so close to the movie I gave up on the first few pages. Definitely should have read it before watching it.
What a great job they did with Fear and Loathing, your right it's on par with the book. Very rare.I tried reading it but it's so close to the movie I gave up on the first few pages. Definitely should have read it before watching it.Expand QuoteFear And Loathing never gets old.[close]
The Tartar Steppe is a good one, has a cool suspense and doubt of people's sanity.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZRA585SQL._SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
I tried reading it but it's so close to the movie I gave up on the first few pages. Definitely should have read it before watching it.Expand QuoteFear And Loathing never gets old.[close]
The Tartar Steppe is a good one, has a cool suspense and doubt of people's sanity.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZRA585SQL._SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
What a great job they did with Fear and Loathing, your right it's on par with the book. Very rare.Expand QuoteI tried reading it but it's so close to the movie I gave up on the first few pages. Definitely should have read it before watching it.Expand QuoteFear And Loathing never gets old.[close]
The Tartar Steppe is a good one, has a cool suspense and doubt of people's sanity.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZRA585SQL._SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[close]
Pure Gonzo.
I'll most definitely check out The Tartan Steppe.
Have a rad day.
Asking this question cause I believe I’ve seen it brought up here a few times before..
Does anybody have any self-help/self-esteem books they recommend? I know of the more famous ones which seem to be focused on business/money (or at least seems like an end goal... maybe I’m wrong?). Just wondering if anyone has had any luck with a specific book or author? Thanks
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41JSCeyNlWL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Not a quick read at all. Mesmerizing.
Expand Quote(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41JSCeyNlWL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Not a quick read at all. Mesmerizing.[close]
Never read any Krasznahorkai but his Art of Fiction interview was stand out, if you’re into interviews with artists at all.
Just finished East of Eden, and boy, did it make me cry. Reading DeLillo’s Underworld now. Definitely not the emotional stinger Steinbeck was, which I’m glad for, but overall the book seems more sympathetic and involved than other DeLillo novels I’ve read, white noise especially.
I’m in SE Asia for the next two years and am desperate for some sort of literary talk, so I finally broke down and made an account. It’s strange a skateboard forum has, IMO, one of the Web’s most interesting book discussion threads. So many good reads in here, you guys have good taste.
many good reads in here, you guys have good taste.
I'm not sure if someone has said this before, but most books are made for reading.
studied the beats last year, fell in love with Kerouac. Any more American writers who write similarly to him?
Could you elaborate on the first point? It seems true, but I’m curious about how you think books tend to be marketed to other demographics. Like, people who read the New Yorker tend to only read books recommended by them?Expand Quotemany good reads in here, you guys have good taste.[close]
i think this is in part due to the fact that we are not a reading demographic that is marketed to, and we are therefore more likely to read widely and be influenced by a variety of sources. Also, there is little to no expectation for skaters to be literate, so unlike communities that are self-consciously intellectual, people here feel more free to talk about what they enjoy rather than what will impress. my 2 cents.
did you read it? i've always sided with Palestine against Israel but i really can't think of a livable muslim country. Lebanon is arabic but at least half christian.
maybe being anti-Islam is the same thing as being anti KKK? they both wear dresses, cover their face and terrorize people who are different than them. i mean, klan is an anachronism but peak klan was sort of a local, backwoods Islam, no?Expand Quotedid you read it? i've always sided with Palestine against Israel but i really can't think of a livable muslim country. Lebanon is arabic but at least half christian.[close]
No, but I’ve listened to her and she’s a pretty transparently anti-Islam, Western chauvinist type with a very myopic and narrow view of history.
The Woman in the Dunes.
maybe being anti-Islam is the same thing as being anti KKK? they both wear dresses, cover their face and terrorize people who are different than them. i mean, klan is an anachronism but peak klan was sort of a local, backwoods Islam, no?Expand QuoteExpand Quotedid you read it? i've always sided with Palestine against Israel but i really can't think of a livable muslim country. Lebanon is arabic but at least half christian.[close]
No, but I’ve listened to her and she’s a pretty transparently anti-Islam, Western chauvinist type with a very myopic and narrow view of history.[close]
well since she's an Arab herself, you can't really say it's racism against non-white/Arabic people. i'm gonna go out on a limb and say the reasons she has an issue with Muslims is they destroyed her idyllic life in Lebanon. i think it has more to do with cutting off clits, executing gays, throwing rocks at rape victims and you know, suicide bombs and the like. but maybe you're right and it's unwarranted. i don't want to keep going back and forth but i'd recommend reading this yourself and then we can chat about it. like men.Expand Quotemaybe being anti-Islam is the same thing as being anti KKK? they both wear dresses, cover their face and terrorize people who are different than them. i mean, klan is an anachronism but peak klan was sort of a local, backwoods Islam, no?Expand QuoteExpand Quotedid you read it? i've always sided with Palestine against Israel but i really can't think of a livable muslim country. Lebanon is arabic but at least half christian.[close]
No, but I’ve listened to her and she’s a pretty transparently anti-Islam, Western chauvinist type with a very myopic and narrow view of history.[close][close]
No, it’s not. Not at all. Particularly when most people use their Islamaphobia to mask just blatant racism and the fact that they don’t like Arabic / non-white people.
Could you elaborate on the first point? It seems true, but I’m curious about how you think books tend to be marketed to other demographics. Like, people who read the New Yorker tend to only read books recommended by them?Expand QuoteExpand Quotemany good reads in here, you guys have good taste.[close]
i think this is in part due to the fact that we are not a reading demographic that is marketed to, and we are therefore more likely to read widely and be influenced by a variety of sources. Also, there is little to no expectation for skaters to be literate, so unlike communities that are self-consciously intellectual, people here feel more free to talk about what they enjoy rather than what will impress. my 2 cents.[close]
P.S. This isn’t meant to be critical or snarky, I’m geniunly interested in understand this more.
well since she's an Arab herself, you can't really say it's racism against non-white/Arabic people. i'm gonna go out on a limb and say the reasons she has an issue with Muslims is they destroyed her idyllic life in Lebanon. i think it has more to do with cutting off clits, executing gays, throwing rocks at rape victims and you know, suicide bombs and the like. but maybe you're right and it's unwarranted. i don't want to keep going back and forth but i'd recommend reading this yourself and then we can chat about it. like men.Expand QuoteExpand Quotemaybe being anti-Islam is the same thing as being anti KKK? they both wear dresses, cover their face and terrorize people who are different than them. i mean, klan is an anachronism but peak klan was sort of a local, backwoods Islam, no?Expand QuoteExpand Quotedid you read it? i've always sided with Palestine against Israel but i really can't think of a livable muslim country. Lebanon is arabic but at least half christian.[close]
No, but I’ve listened to her and she’s a pretty transparently anti-Islam, Western chauvinist type with a very myopic and narrow view of history.[close][close]
No, it’s not. Not at all. Particularly when most people use their Islamaphobia to mask just blatant racism and the fact that they don’t like Arabic / non-white people.[close]
well since she's an Arab herself, you can't really say it's racism against non-white/Arabic people. i'm gonna go out on a limb and say the reasons she has an issue with Muslims is they destroyed her idyllic life in Lebanon. i think it has more to do with cutting off clits, executing gays, throwing rocks at rape victims and you know, suicide bombs and the like. but maybe you're right and it's unwarranted. i don't want to keep going back and forth but i'd recommend reading this yourself and then we can chat about it. like men.Expand QuoteExpand Quotemaybe being anti-Islam is the same thing as being anti KKK? they both wear dresses, cover their face and terrorize people who are different than them. i mean, klan is an anachronism but peak klan was sort of a local, backwoods Islam, no?Expand QuoteExpand Quotedid you read it? i've always sided with Palestine against Israel but i really can't think of a livable muslim country. Lebanon is arabic but at least half christian.[close]
No, but I’ve listened to her and she’s a pretty transparently anti-Islam, Western chauvinist type with a very myopic and narrow view of history.[close][close]
No, it’s not. Not at all. Particularly when most people use their Islamaphobia to mask just blatant racism and the fact that they don’t like Arabic / non-white people.[close]
About to start this which I’ve been stalling on because it’s 1,336 pages. All about the guy who basically built modern day New York.
(https://www.trevianbooks.com/trevian/images/items/012042.jpg)
Sounds like a great racist book.Thomas Sowell is from the hood stupid, what type of facts are those?..........
post books you are reading, or books other people should read
im in the middle of reading three books right now
subcommander marcos
(http://www.dukeupress.edu/books/images/covers/978-0-8223-3978-6.jpg)
im half way through the book and still dont know what to make of the guy. he was the spokesperson for the zapatista army during the mexican rebel movement. reading about his background life alone has been so interesting. really interesting portrayal of this guy, and stoked for it to be one of the first books i can actually read about him, seeing as i cant read spanish.
fahrenheit 451
(http://giaha.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/6a00c225290bfe604a00d41432c046685e-500pi2.jpg)
i had to read this book two years ago for school but didnt even open it. im stoked to be reading it now. it basically portrays how fucked up life will be in the future if we dont appreciate the things that make us human. enjoying little things, talking with other people, and most importantly, reading books. the main character is a fireman, only in the future, his job isnt to put out fires, its to start them by burning books.
blow back
(http://www.japanreview.net/images/Blowback.jpg)
the word "blowback" refers to the bullshit we bring upon ourselves by the government's secret policies. its a super in- depth look at how and why shit comes back to us, due to our superpower mindset (america) and how we are further fucking up relations and making enemies all around. i feel like im on some nickdagger type shit, i apologize.
This one was an interesting read for sure, dude lived in the woods alone for 27 years. Eventually got caught/arrested for stealing food and supplies from a nearby Summer camp and breaking into peoples vacation homes.
(https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9781101911532)
Just finished this one recently:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Qc0CdkC5L._SY346_.jpg)
Saw someone reading it on a bus once, so I searched it out for fun. The author details his story as an ego/power-driven gangbanger, and his eventual spiritual/political transformation into a black nationalist.
It read a bit dense at times, which isn't always enjoyable for me, but it was still very fascinating; pretty disturbing at times, too. It can almost serve as a "101" guide to everything in gang culture: from structure to protocols, and the overall mission statement. But it also brings the ultimate purpose of it into question: the criminal ideology as it's powerful appeal to recruits, but its failure and futility to achieve anything "real", as in liberation or freedom to peoples communities. It's just destruction for destruction's sake, often times in his vantage point: black on black. Reading up on him since then, it appears that he might be in jail again. Not totally sure what became of his life, but his one contribution to the world in this book will be remembered.
We get it dude - you think white people are the best. Please stop posting.what?
Expand QuoteJust finished this one recently:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Qc0CdkC5L._SY346_.jpg)
Saw someone reading it on a bus once, so I searched it out for fun. The author details his story as an ego/power-driven gangbanger, and his eventual spiritual/political transformation into a black nationalist.
It read a bit dense at times, which isn't always enjoyable for me, but it was still very fascinating; pretty disturbing at times, too. It can almost serve as a "101" guide to everything in gang culture: from structure to protocols, and the overall mission statement. But it also brings the ultimate purpose of it into question: the criminal ideology as it's powerful appeal to recruits, but its failure and futility to achieve anything "real", as in liberation or freedom to peoples communities. It's just destruction for destruction's sake, often times in his vantage point: black on black. Reading up on him since then, it appears that he might be in jail again. Not totally sure what became of his life, but his one contribution to the world in this book will be remembered.[close]
I've read that book. It's fucking gnarly for sure. There is so much crazy shit in there, almost on every page. It was like ten years ago when I read but doesn't he join the Crips and do his first drive-by when he's like 11 years old? I also remember a story where he's in a grocery store with his mom when he's around that age and sees a rival gang member so he "has" to try and kill him because it's a gang rule. 11 or 12 years old and trying to shoot someone in a grocery store with your mom. I remember the last part being a bit more of a slog to get through but the first half or two-thirds of that book is nuts.
We get it dude - you think white people are the best. Please stop posting.
i did read it, you wanna discuss? i read Soul on Ice too. it's about Eldridge Cleaver's 'revolutionary' sex crimes against white women. he was raping for 'black power' in the 60s. i reads it all and it didn't endear me to the 'rape ourselves out of oppression' crowd. i read Unabomber manifesto and dug that. didn't send any suspect devices. usedta read Chomsky and Hakim Bey and all that.Expand QuoteWe get it dude - you think white people are the best. Please stop posting.[close]
It also doesn't sound like he read the book either. But we already knew that shart tits is a fucking idiot who happens to be racists too.
I appreciate the explanation, thanks a lot.Expand QuoteCould you elaborate on the first point? It seems true, but I’m curious about how you think books tend to be marketed to other demographics. Like, people who read the New Yorker tend to only read books recommended by them?Expand QuoteExpand Quotemany good reads in here, you guys have good taste.[close]
i think this is in part due to the fact that we are not a reading demographic that is marketed to, and we are therefore more likely to read widely and be influenced by a variety of sources. Also, there is little to no expectation for skaters to be literate, so unlike communities that are self-consciously intellectual, people here feel more free to talk about what they enjoy rather than what will impress. my 2 cents.[close]
P.S. This isn’t meant to be critical or snarky, I’m geniunly interested in understand this more.[close]
Doesn't sound snarky at all. Books are marketed in various ways, but what I was talking about is the expectations that exist pertaining to readers as groups. If you go into City Lights, what you see on the shelf is in large part a reflection of who they think their customers are, and what they think those customers will be interested in. If you take a literature class, you mostly encounter canonical selections meant to illustrate whatever facet of literature is being explored. Since there is no specific literary tradition associated with skateboarding, we can't tailor our recommendations to what we think will be relevant- there is no relevant. Therefore, we get a more direct sample of people's individual backgrounds (geographic, cultural, professional, etc.). The part about skaters reading more widely is pretty questionable, but again, if you don't identify with a particular reading public, then I think you're less likely to have your tastes dictated to you.
I don’t read them because I tend to not give bigots my money or anything more than the bare modicum of my time. Again - I’m aware of these authors, their ideas, and their literary history. They’re prolific beyond the books you’ve posted. And what they’ve done beyond their written work tells me that they’re bigots with little understanding of anything that contradicts the arguments they’ve already decided are correct and as such, not worth my time.wait, so you 'heard' these people were bad guys/gals? you're running off gossip, my dude.
Also, your comment actually does dismiss my books out of hand soooooo...good job?
EDIT: We all see a “lol triggered the libs!” style poster when we see one so just fucking stop.
read The Strange Death of Europe not too long ago. jeesh, what a bleak picture it painted. we've got this amazing technology and can look up all of the world's knowledge on a phone but looks liek Europe is headed to a new dark ages via Islamification.
has anyone else read it or is in Europe and can confirm/deny?
hell yeah, i'll check that out! i hitched around KY for a few wks 10 yrs ago and it changed my life. coal miners, drinking on hollers, backwoods crime and cushaw. i'm wicked into the family agriculture style.Expand QuoteHillbilly Elegy was dece. i'm a fan of Appalachia and Kentucky in particular. book is back and forth from Kentucky/Ohio where a lot of hillbillies moved for work. then when outsourcing took the plants overseas, opiate addiction moved in.
the author went to college and then Ivy league school after that. pretty neat, broke the cycle and all that.
didn't really provide a roadmap for others but good for him.
one interesting stat 'the American dream is more alive in France and some European countries than in America'.
he also said it's not to blame Obama or Bush or faceless corporation or capitalism since all the destructive white trash shit, we do to ourselves.[close]
This is somewhat off topic, but you would probably like the doc - "the true meaning of pictures" by Shelby lee. Controversial, but as someone who lives/grew up in what you're describing its accurate. Its backwoods wild down here.
Finished Graham Greene’s The Quiet American. A lot has been said about its criticism of American attitudes towards Vietnam but I’m surprised to see so little written about its portrayal of Brits. It was not super kind to them either. The main character (who is British) isn’t a great dude.
Reading Belly Up by Rita Bullwinkel now, which is her debut short story collection. It’s fine. Weird, which I like, but I’m just not a short story person for most people so it’s not doing too much for me.
Dedicated to the oppressed and based on his own experience helping Brazilian adults to read and write, Freire includes a detailed Marxist class analysis in his exploration of the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized.
In the book Freire calls traditional pedagogy the "banking model of education" because it treats the student as an empty vessel to be filled with knowledge, like a piggy bank. He argues that pedagogy should instead treat the learner as a co-creator of knowledge.
Uncle Ted has some good stuff say and a lot of assertions that don't amount to much. If he wasn't the unabomber I doubt anyone would care what he has to say at all. There are better authors out there with similar viewpoints.
Expand Quote
Uncle Ted has some good stuff say and a lot of assertions that don't amount to much. If he wasn't the unabomber I doubt anyone would care what he has to say at all. There are better authors out there with similar viewpoints.[close]
Curious who you are referring to in saying there are others doing it better. I red that collected works when it came out and was aware of people like zerzan and derek jensen, but I didn't find them to be better. Lots I don't know obviously but genuinely curious who you might be thinking of.
john zerzan is awful to read and he mostly rides ted k's nutsack. not quite the same genre but edward abbey was against a lot of trappings of the modern world w/out being a luddite. he sabotaged for sport and was a great writer.
unabomber wrote a great short story called 'ship of fools' you can find online. kind of sums up what's going on today w/ every tiny special interest group hooting and hollering meanwhile we're destroying our habitat.
Journey to the End of the Night is alright. The faster and more attitude you have while reading it the better it comes across. It's decent enough, but I wouldn't go out of my way to read it.
@Mark Renton: I'd be interested in hearing your opinion on Proust once you get started.
@Mark Renton: I'd be interested in hearing your opinion on Proust once you get started. I'm currently thinking about reading another longer work of fiction. Right now, I'm torn between Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest, but Proust has been on my list ever since I started reading Knausgaard.
Expand Quote
Journey to the End of the Night is alright. The faster and more attitude you have while reading it the better it comes across. It's decent enough, but I wouldn't go out of my way to read it.[close]
I read this a while ago because Bulowski always hyped him up so much, but I found it to be a bit of a drag. Struggled to finish the last 60 pages or so. Bukowski’s minathropy is just way more overt and makes me laugh a lot more.
Currently reading The Brothers Karamazov and I’m really liking it. I’m not sure the book is meant to be all that comical, but I can’t help but relate Fyodor to Ignacious Reilly from A Confederacy of Dunces. The guy really is a funny character. All around good shit, IMO.
Anybody read Steinbeck's East of Eden? Worth it?
I can barely finish anything, as I get distracted easily, but I want to try and read it, as I have access to it
I feel like I might’ve posted this 50 pages back when I first read it, but just reread Pale Fire by Navakov and was floored again. I love the extent to which he goes with the unreliable narrator premise and the footnotes, index, etc. are hilarious and I imagine influential upon DFW. I loved Lolita too but as far as I’m concerned Pale Fire is his best book.
Just started War and Peace. See me in two months or so. I’m assuming someone on here has read it before—any tips for keeping the characters/scenes strait? After about 50 pages the characters are already starting to get pretty laborious to keep up with, and the footnotes/French translations are pretty disruptive.
Thanks for the input Hairy and Mike!! 8)
Some shorties I'm reading for school:
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1293016044i/9987837.jpg)
I've been sleeping on Charles Johnson. He works some good philosophical stuff into this one, including a nuanced take on race[ism]. Also features a "lost at sea" episode that makes me glad to be a land lubber.
Anybody read Steinbeck's East of Eden? Worth it?Wow, I was just about to come in here and post my love of Steinbeck. Started with Grapes of Wrath, then read like everything I could of his over the next 2 years. East of Eden is my favorite book. It's long but I loved it and didn't want it to end. When I was in the midst of reading all his stuff I took a trip to the Monterey and saw the lab he partied in that he basis Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday off of. Happened to show up the one day a month they give a private tour if you made a reservation, turns out some people didn't show and I got to see the place. Went to the museum as well and his house, which sucked because its not a restaurant. He's the man, supposed to be a new biography out on him this year. Favorite of all time.
I can barely finish anything, as I get distracted easily, but I want to try and read it, as I have access to it
Expand QuoteSome shorties I'm reading for school:
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1293016044i/9987837.jpg)
I've been sleeping on Charles Johnson. He works some good philosophical stuff into this one, including a nuanced take on race[ism]. Also features a "lost at sea" episode that makes me glad to be a land lubber.[close]
Charles Johnson is a nut. I read his Art of Fiction interview a while back (worth the read if your interested in that sorta thing) and he talks about editing his novels for, like, 7-10 years. I ordered Ox Tail online thinking it was gonna be this massive work and it was like 200 pages. Not to say that’s bad, I was just amazed he could spend so long editing a book of that length. Still haven’t read it though. How long is Middle Passage? I sort of assumed all his stuff is bout the same.
Anybody read Steinbeck's East of Eden? Worth it?Never read it, but I watched the 1950s movie adaptation with James Dean in it recently. I think it's still on Netflix.
I can barely finish anything, as I get distracted easily, but I want to try and read it, as I have access to it
Some shorties I'm reading for school:
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1293016044i/9987837.jpg)
I've been sleeping on Charles Johnson. He works some good philosophical stuff into this one, including a nuanced take on race[ism]. Also features a "lost at sea" episode that makes me glad to be a land lubber.
(https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/867/975/811975867.0.l.jpg)
A beautiful, heartbreaking story of one man's life in the rural American west during the first half of the 20th century, with just a hint of "magical realism," and all in a novella that you could read in an afternoon. Really moved me. Will probably read again.
(https://d1w7fb2mkkr3kw.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/lrg/9781/6068/9781606869802.jpg)
40 pages into this one and it's been very sad, but exquisitely written. The protagonist, a young, Native American, WWII veteran and former Japanese POW, returns to his home on a withering reservation and is embroiled in personal and communal trauma. Silko brings out the conflict between "white" (scientific, imperialist) and "Indian" (naturalistic, shamanic) ontologies in a really profound and unsettling way (since we know who has prevailed in the conflict, and at what cost).
Expand Quote[close]
You taking classes at UCLA? I took some novel writing classes there a few years back and we read middle passage and Skyped with Charles Johnson for a little guest lecturer/q&a one week. I guess the professor is friends with him and does it every semester. Johnson is a super chill thoughtful dude. He’s a Buddhist and is vegetarian, pacifist, etc. it’s ridiculous the amount that he wrote before he ultimately broke through. Just like thousands and thousands of pages.
I fucking love Bataille as fascinating and obscure as he is. He’s not an easy read by any means but every so often, you get these perfectly poetic and crystallizing moments and lines that blow your mind and make it worthwhile.
If you’re interested in Bataille, I recommend this fantastic biography about him to help understand his life and works: https://www.amazon.com/Georges-Bataille-Intellectual-Michel-Surya/dp/1859841538
I read it years ago but should probably reread it sometime soon as I’m more familiar with a lot of his works. Maybe after I finish The Accursed Share whenever I get around to it.
Whoa - I'll have to find that podcast. I'm always looking for more ways to learn / think about Bataille. Thanks for the info!I'm sure you won't have a hard time finding it but yeah enjoy
I'm sure I've mentioned it or just Danielewski in general. I'm a big fan of his and have read all of his work. But House of Leaves is definitely his best. I should probably reread it again to be honest.I really appreciate the response/insight. I’ll let everyone know (as I’m sure they’re interested) how I fair whenever I finally get around to it.
I'm happy to talk about it and you can find a bunch of resources online that really go through it word by word and do deep analysis of it. I didn't get into that until after I read it, but it's nice to know that's there as a resource.
I highly recommend it and can definitely talk to you about it to the best of my memory. I genuinely do think it's a great novel. The fun, weird, exciting layout adds a lot but it's not the only draw - it enhances an already compelling narrative (something I can talk about with his later books too as I don't feel that all of them execute what HoL does so well, despite his best efforts).
You'll know if it's something you want to finish pretty quickly and if it is, I don't think you'll get frustrated. My recommendation is to read through the main body of text and then read the footnotes and follow them as they go whenever they pop up (this sentence makes more sense once you start reading it). Because of this, you'll need a few bookmarks and to mentally keep track of which bookmark you're starting from next time you start reading. I think at the worst, I had 3 different bookmarks in my copy at one time, plus an index card I "translated" one chapter onto for later reading (it makes sense in the book). I didn't have much of an issue, but I also read it during a pretty relaxed summer where I could dedicated like 2 hours to just reading it if I wanted to (and I frequently did, which should give you a sense of how aresting it is). Beyond that, I'd say do outside reading after. It's rich enough by itself that you'll enjoy it and then all of people's commentaries are a fun addition.
The biggest frustration point for me was reading the book consistently for like a month and seeing one bookmark only like 150 pages in, which was demoralizing until I remembered all of the footnotes, etc. I had read, which was easily another 75 - 100 pages or so.
Do you know anything about the guy who hosts? I noticed he had Nick Land on as well as an episode about Evola and those are some pretty far right and anti-democratic waters. There are plenty of ways to have those conversations obviously but just curious.
I'm sure I've mentioned it or just Danielewski in general. I'm a big fan of his and have read all of his work. But House of Leaves is definitely his best. I should probably reread it again to be honest.
I'm happy to talk about it and you can find a bunch of resources online that really go through it word by word and do deep analysis of it. I didn't get into that until after I read it, but it's nice to know that's there as a resource.
I highly recommend it and can definitely talk to you about it to the best of my memory. I genuinely do think it's a great novel. The fun, weird, exciting layout adds a lot but it's not the only draw - it enhances an already compelling narrative (something I can talk about with his later books too as I don't feel that all of them execute what HoL does so well, despite his best efforts).
You'll know if it's something you want to finish pretty quickly and if it is, I don't think you'll get frustrated. My recommendation is to read through the main body of text and then read the footnotes and follow them as they go whenever they pop up (this sentence makes more sense once you start reading it). Because of this, you'll need a few bookmarks and to mentally keep track of which bookmark you're starting from next time you start reading. I think at the worst, I had 3 different bookmarks in my copy at one time, plus an index card I "translated" one chapter onto for later reading (it makes sense in the book). I didn't have much of an issue, but I also read it during a pretty relaxed summer where I could dedicated like 2 hours to just reading it if I wanted to (and I frequently did, which should give you a sense of how aresting it is). Beyond that, I'd say do outside reading after. It's rich enough by itself that you'll enjoy it and then all of people's commentaries are a fun addition.
The biggest frustration point for me was reading the book consistently for like a month and seeing one bookmark only like 150 pages in, which was demoralizing until I remembered all of the footnotes, etc. I had read, which was easily another 75 - 100 pages or so.
Expand QuoteDo you know anything about the guy who hosts? I noticed he had Nick Land on as well as an episode about Evola and those are some pretty far right and anti-democratic waters. There are plenty of ways to have those conversations obviously but just curious.[close]
His twitter handle/blog is 'meta nomad', I've only read his recent set of blog posts about 'exiting modernity' which has a couple of interesting ideas in it. I appreciate the broad scope of ideas he has on the podcast, and I guess Evola and Land are fair game if you are going to run a podcast on fringe philosophy. I like that he doesn't have any political or ideological leaning, but just wants to talk in depth about a certain topic.
How do you handle audio books? Is that an option?
You should for sure. The only reason I haven't gotten audible or something is because you only get a couple books a month which sucks. I too listen to a ton of podcasts, I've only listened to a couple audio books, I liked them, I just didn't want to pay for a subscription and they are hard to find pirated. I bet there area a lot of novels like that by small time independent writers nowadays, some of them had to have done an audio book. You could probably find a ton of that stuff.Expand QuoteHow do you handle audio books? Is that an option?[close]
I've thought about it, I listen to a lot of podcasts and that doesn't seem a problem.
My issue is I used to love picking up really trashy novels, a lot of op shop and salvo's second hand horror/sci fi and I doubt a lot are on audio.
I'll give it a look though, cheers.
Good looks on this podcast. My kind of stuff.I'm sure you won't have a hard time finding it but yeah enjoyExpand QuoteWhoa - I'll have to find that podcast. I'm always looking for more ways to learn / think about Bataille. Thanks for the info![close]
https://youtu.be/eyvO1US1LVs
Also on Spotify apparently
You should for sure. The only reason I haven't gotten audible or something is because you only get a couple books a month which sucks. I too listen to a ton of podcasts, I've only listened to a couple audio books, I liked them, I just didn't want to pay for a subscription and they are hard to find pirated. I bet there area a lot of novels like that by small time independent writers nowadays, some of them had to have done an audio book. You could probably find a ton of that stuff.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteHow do you handle audio books? Is that an option?[close]
I've thought about it, I listen to a lot of podcasts and that doesn't seem a problem.
My issue is I used to love picking up really trashy novels, a lot of op shop and salvo's second hand horror/sci fi and I doubt a lot are on audio.
I'll give it a look though, cheers.[close]
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy is my rec. since I've been playing Red Dead 2. I saw someone on reddit get recommended it when they asked for a book that was like Red Dead a few years back. It's super violent, pretty philosophical, and there is a bit of Spanish in it, but it's great. I would have my translate app ready when I would read it and I'm glad I did that instead of just skipping the Spanish.
I wanted to read I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
I gotta say I was disappointed in that Hermitix episode. As they noted, they didn’t talk much about Bataille and it seemed to turn into fawning over NRx with an obligatory “but Fascism is bad!” disclaimer. Ironic considering Bataille’s relationship to the far right.
what's the deal w/ bataille? what's his point of interest?
https://www.amazon.com/Meet-Me-Bathroom-Rebirth-2001-2011/dp/0062233106/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3Q97YWR4XCU9N&keywords=meet+me+in+the+bathroom&qid=1574091366&sprefix=meet+me+in+the+bat%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1'this band could be your life' was good. i read it and 'please kill me' back to back so i conflate the 2. think it was ian mackay, husker du, some other 90s luminaries. rollins? forget but it was good.
Finally read Meet Me in the Bathroom after hearing about it for years. It's solid if you're into music and grew up listening to a lot of the rock revival bands of the early 00's. The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol are kind of the main three they cover, but they touch on dozens of others from that time period. I'm not a fan of The Strokes and I still think they're one of the most overrated bands out there, but I still enjoyed learning about their history. I dig a lot of the other bands from around that time and they kept me interested.
If anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" books thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.
This is also probably only the second book I've ever read cover-to-cover outside of something for school. My wife and I don't always agree on what TV shows we watch at night, and I got tired of looking at my phone while she watched shows I didn't like and thats what pushed me to get that book. Spending the last bit of my dad reading and not look at a screen has been one of the best things I've done for myself though and I don't want to go back.
Finished The Heart is a Lonely Hunter recently, and now I’m reading A Journey to the West. I’m about 200 pages in and it’s okay so far, but I’m a little wary of the 1800 pages I still have left. Plus my friend just brought me a whole stack of books from the states, and I’m more excited to read most of those at the moment. One of the books he brought is House of Leaves, and just flipping through the pages gets me excited to jump into it. Does anyone have any tips about how to read/not get too frustrated with the book? (I’m fairly certain I’ve seen oyolar mention it before)
Expand QuoteFinished The Heart is a Lonely Hunter recently, and now I’m reading A Journey to the West. I’m about 200 pages in and it’s okay so far, but I’m a little wary of the 1800 pages I still have left. Plus my friend just brought me a whole stack of books from the states, and I’m more excited to read most of those at the moment. One of the books he brought is House of Leaves, and just flipping through the pages gets me excited to jump into it. Does anyone have any tips about how to read/not get too frustrated with the book? (I’m fairly certain I’ve seen oyolar mention it before)[close]
What did you think about the heart is a lonely hunter?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteFinished The Heart is a Lonely Hunter recently, and now I’m reading A Journey to the West. I’m about 200 pages in and it’s okay so far, but I’m a little wary of the 1800 pages I still have left. Plus my friend just brought me a whole stack of books from the states, and I’m more excited to read most of those at the moment. One of the books he brought is House of Leaves, and just flipping through the pages gets me excited to jump into it. Does anyone have any tips about how to read/not get too frustrated with the book? (I’m fairly certain I’ve seen oyolar mention it before)[close]
What did you think about the heart is a lonely hunter?[close]
I really enjoyed it. I grew up in a small southern town, and her descriptions had me feeling all sorts of nostalgia. The narrative moves around several different characters, so you get a good sense of how the town and it’s culture shape different people, and I think about anyone could read and appreciate it. All in all, it was a solid piece of “southern gothic” lit — sad, but with enough dark humor and absurdity throughout to sort of lighten the emotional toll. Would recommend.
Edit: currently reading go set a watchman. Definitely wouldn’t tell anyone else to pick it up. But I’m also moving through 40 stories by Donald Barthelme and those things are gooood.
If anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.
I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.So many quaaludes.
Expand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.[close]
I looked for Please Kill Me at the local library but they didn't have it. I put it on my Xmas list though, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TbSR339YL._AC_SY400_.jpg)
This book almost jumped off the shelf at me though. I'm obviously way too young to have experienced this place, but it played a big role in the Stooges and MC5's success, so I figured I had to read it. I've also been a big fan of the gig posters that were made in the late 60's and early 70's from the Grande for years. It wasn't the best book though. Fairly short read, but you had to get almost half way though before any mention of rock n roll. In my opinion it focused too deeply on all the owners, architects, promoters and not enough on musicians. I was hoping of hearing stories about the music, but 90% of the book was just stories about the building and the people who ran it. Not a bad book, but probably not for anyone outside of Detroit unless you've got a real love for late 60's Detroit rock music.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DEjZirsXL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Working my way though this right now. I'm not a huge RHCP fan, but I dig some of their stuff. My wife bought the book years ago and I found it in the basement when I was looking for something to read. It's actually really good so far. I've read though his childhood and he's about 18-19 where I'm at now. No band yet, but he's already living a wild life. The dude was doing quaaludes and coke and fucking adult women when he was in middle school.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.[close]
I looked for Please Kill Me at the local library but they didn't have it. I put it on my Xmas list though, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TbSR339YL._AC_SY400_.jpg)
This book almost jumped off the shelf at me though. I'm obviously way too young to have experienced this place, but it played a big role in the Stooges and MC5's success, so I figured I had to read it. I've also been a big fan of the gig posters that were made in the late 60's and early 70's from the Grande for years. It wasn't the best book though. Fairly short read, but you had to get almost half way though before any mention of rock n roll. In my opinion it focused too deeply on all the owners, architects, promoters and not enough on musicians. I was hoping of hearing stories about the music, but 90% of the book was just stories about the building and the people who ran it. Not a bad book, but probably not for anyone outside of Detroit unless you've got a real love for late 60's Detroit rock music.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DEjZirsXL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Working my way though this right now. I'm not a huge RHCP fan, but I dig some of their stuff. My wife bought the book years ago and I found it in the basement when I was looking for something to read. It's actually really good so far. I've read though his childhood and he's about 18-19 where I'm at now. No band yet, but he's already living a wild life. The dude was doing quaaludes and coke and fucking adult women when he was in middle school.[close]
RE: Scar Tissue
I read this over a 4 day camping trip on the beach. Drunk for 8-12 hours of the day and reading about his life was pretty gnarly. I had no idea he was so well connected as a kid (Cher, etc.).
While the content itself is entertaining, that's about the extent of what kept me in the book. I think the reading level of said book is probably aimed towards a 12-16 YO demographic.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.[close]
I looked for Please Kill Me at the local library but they didn't have it. I put it on my Xmas list though, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TbSR339YL._AC_SY400_.jpg)
This book almost jumped off the shelf at me though. I'm obviously way too young to have experienced this place, but it played a big role in the Stooges and MC5's success, so I figured I had to read it. I've also been a big fan of the gig posters that were made in the late 60's and early 70's from the Grande for years. It wasn't the best book though. Fairly short read, but you had to get almost half way though before any mention of rock n roll. In my opinion it focused too deeply on all the owners, architects, promoters and not enough on musicians. I was hoping of hearing stories about the music, but 90% of the book was just stories about the building and the people who ran it. Not a bad book, but probably not for anyone outside of Detroit unless you've got a real love for late 60's Detroit rock music.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DEjZirsXL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Working my way though this right now. I'm not a huge RHCP fan, but I dig some of their stuff. My wife bought the book years ago and I found it in the basement when I was looking for something to read. It's actually really good so far. I've read though his childhood and he's about 18-19 where I'm at now. No band yet, but he's already living a wild life. The dude was doing quaaludes and coke and fucking adult women when he was in middle school.
Those are great covers.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.[close]
I looked for Please Kill Me at the local library but they didn't have it. I put it on my Xmas list though, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TbSR339YL._AC_SY400_.jpg)
This book almost jumped off the shelf at me though. I'm obviously way too young to have experienced this place, but it played a big role in the Stooges and MC5's success, so I figured I had to read it. I've also been a big fan of the gig posters that were made in the late 60's and early 70's from the Grande for years. It wasn't the best book though. Fairly short read, but you had to get almost half way though before any mention of rock n roll. In my opinion it focused too deeply on all the owners, architects, promoters and not enough on musicians. I was hoping of hearing stories about the music, but 90% of the book was just stories about the building and the people who ran it. Not a bad book, but probably not for anyone outside of Detroit unless you've got a real love for late 60's Detroit rock music.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DEjZirsXL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Working my way though this right now. I'm not a huge RHCP fan, but I dig some of their stuff. My wife bought the book years ago and I found it in the basement when I was looking for something to read. It's actually really good so far. I've read though his childhood and he's about 18-19 where I'm at now. No band yet, but he's already living a wild life. The dude was doing quaaludes and coke and fucking adult women when he was in middle school.[close]
Ignoring FakieNollie's demographic comment haha I really liked Scar tissue, I read it a few years ago and in terms of music biographies it's one of my favourites. It's kind of nuts how when he gets off drugs he just decides to stop and basically could spend years off before deciding to jump back in. Great read though with some of his experiences
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.[close]
I looked for Please Kill Me at the local library but they didn't have it. I put it on my Xmas list though, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TbSR339YL._AC_SY400_.jpg)
This book almost jumped off the shelf at me though. I'm obviously way too young to have experienced this place, but it played a big role in the Stooges and MC5's success, so I figured I had to read it. I've also been a big fan of the gig posters that were made in the late 60's and early 70's from the Grande for years. It wasn't the best book though. Fairly short read, but you had to get almost half way though before any mention of rock n roll. In my opinion it focused too deeply on all the owners, architects, promoters and not enough on musicians. I was hoping of hearing stories about the music, but 90% of the book was just stories about the building and the people who ran it. Not a bad book, but probably not for anyone outside of Detroit unless you've got a real love for late 60's Detroit rock music.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DEjZirsXL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Working my way though this right now. I'm not a huge RHCP fan, but I dig some of their stuff. My wife bought the book years ago and I found it in the basement when I was looking for something to read. It's actually really good so far. I've read though his childhood and he's about 18-19 where I'm at now. No band yet, but he's already living a wild life. The dude was doing quaaludes and coke and fucking adult women when he was in middle school.[close]
Ignoring FakieNollie's demographic comment haha I really liked Scar tissue, I read it a few years ago and in terms of music biographies it's one of my favourites. It's kind of nuts how when he gets off drugs he just decides to stop and basically could spend years off before deciding to jump back in. Great read though with some of his experiences[close]
Hey hey, no jabs at anyone here who read it. I did like the book. Again, I think the reading level better suits a younger audience because, well, the author was taking quaaludes and high on coke while his brain was developing, lol.
Cranked through A Farewell to Arms and then read White Teeth. White Teeth was good, but it seemed lazy in the last hundred pages or so. I wish she would have held the stride she had in the first 3/4s and made the ending more worth while. Also read A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, which was great. I’ve got Brief Interviews With Hideous Men on my shelf and I’m probably gonna dig into that soon. I’m reading Anna Karenina now, and man, it’s really holding up to the hype built around it. Characters are all so well developed and Tolstoy was clearly committed to writing something all the way through.
Expand QuoteCranked through A Farewell to Arms and then read White Teeth. White Teeth was good, but it seemed lazy in the last hundred pages or so. I wish she would have held the stride she had in the first 3/4s and made the ending more worth while. Also read A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, which was great. I’ve got Brief Interviews With Hideous Men on my shelf and I’m probably gonna dig into that soon. I’m reading Anna Karenina now, and man, it’s really holding up to the hype built around it. Characters are all so well developed and Tolstoy was clearly committed to writing something all the way through.[close]
I’m a fan of DFW’s non-fiction but found Brief Interviews... not particularly memorable. It was one but that’s kind of it.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteCranked through A Farewell to Arms and then read White Teeth. White Teeth was good, but it seemed lazy in the last hundred pages or so. I wish she would have held the stride she had in the first 3/4s and made the ending more worth while. Also read A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, which was great. I’ve got Brief Interviews With Hideous Men on my shelf and I’m probably gonna dig into that soon. I’m reading Anna Karenina now, and man, it’s really holding up to the hype built around it. Characters are all so well developed and Tolstoy was clearly committed to writing something all the way through.[close]
I’m a fan of DFW’s non-fiction but found Brief Interviews... not particularly memorable. It was fine but that’s kind of it.[close]
What sort of criticisms would you lob at the book? Have you read any of his other fiction stuff?
Decided to put the game controller down and use the Kindle my wife got for me. Started myself off with a softball to get the vibe going.
Just finished When Breath Becomes Air - pretty good, easy enough to finish. A good look at how we tackle life with the specter of cancer looming over you.
I'll start on Brave New World tonight.
Expand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteIf anyone has any similar recommendations, let me know. I think I'm going to try to pick up that "Please Kill Me" book thats like a history of early punk. Looks pretty similar and has good reviews, plus I'm a but more into those early bands than the "Meet me in the Bathroom" bands.[close]
If you're more into those early bands (like I am) definitely read Please Kill Me next. I thought it was much better than Meet Me in the Bathroom (although I did enjoy that as well). Please Kill Me is just packed with interesting (and gnarly) stories, while I found Meet Me in the Bathroom to have sections I didn't much care about (like Vampire Weekend, for instance). I mean, Please Kill Me is worth reading just for the Iggy stories. Honestly can't believe that dude is still alive.
Our Band Could Be Your Life is also good, as others mentioned. There is also an L.A. version of Please Kill Me called We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. It's also an oral history book. But I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it.[close]
Get Lexicon Devil: Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash. It is by far my favorite punk 'interview style' book. It does an excellent job painting a picture of the earliest formation of the LA punk scene and where all those fucking weirdo's came from, and how they got that way. Tons of truly bizarre, unique individuals that created this amazing scene before hardcore came in and ruined it.
We Got the Neutron Bomb is a decent book but leaves a lot out.. mostly because there is just way too much to cover in L.A. punk. It's definitely worth reading if you are a fan, though.
If you're looking for books about the formation of punk (like the ground covered in Please Kill Me), you'd really like From Velvets to Voidoids. Gives a really detailed perspective of the creation of American punk, but unlike PKM it talks about Cleveland and Boston which was happening at the same time. The writer is a little biased, but still a good read.
Also check out Under The Black Sun, by John Doe of X. Great book about the early LA scene, but different then the Darby Crash book as it covers different regions in LA. Each chapter is written by a different person; someone who was there as a musician, writer, fan, filmmaker, etc..
I've got Jenny O'dell's How To Do Nothing on deck. I watched this talk and her views seemed really intriguing and the book has been pretty well reviewed so I'm excited to dive into that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izjlP9qtmBU
read a bunch of stuff but most has been mentioned earlier,
didnt see anyone talk about this one so:
Seven brief lessons on physics by Carlo Rovelli;
talks about/ explains things like the general theory of relativity, quanta, time, probabilty and heat etc.
Really (really) well written and only about 80 pages without feeling dense,
definitly recommend.
(https://image.bokus.com/images/9780141981727_200x_seven-brief-lessons-on-physics)
could anyone recommend me some (good) literary thrillers? having a bit of a readers- block down here in my cabin.
preferably somethingmoderncontemporary(post 2000)
Adding the Egan book to my list, ta!
At the moment, I'm reading quite light fare fiction wise, Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell. The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa is up next (thanks to Rich who recommended it here!). I read the first few pages the other day and I'm into it already.
Expand QuoteAdding the Egan book to my list, ta!
At the moment, I'm reading quite light fare fiction wise, Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell. The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa is up next (thanks to Rich who recommended it here!). I read the first few pages the other day and I'm into it already.[close]
Nice - let me know what you think of it!
Went through a few books since the last time this thread popped up:
Weather by Jenny Offill
Crash by J.G. Ballard
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices by Lisa Abend (great book about what it’s like to work a stage at elBulli. I devoured it in a weekend.)
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Has anyone read Otessa Moshfegh? I tried to start Eileen but made the mistake of reading a profile on Moshfegh beforehand that really did not make her sound great and it turned me off on trying. So I’m waiting to forget that profile before I try her again.
And then for audio books, I listened to Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener, which got a lot of hype but fell flat to me. It sounded like every other tech person who was disillusioned by the tech industries memoir, except she actually almost made it a career. It didn’t break new ground at all. You All Grow Up and Leave Me by Piper Weiss was really good though. I finished listening to that in no time. A great memoir of a woman growing up while being coached by Gary Wilensky, this well-respected tennis coach who ended up being a child predator and killing himself after failing to kidnap an ex-student of his. A really good blend of investigative reporting and personal writing.
Decided that now is as good a time as ever and started Infinite Jest this past weekend. Wish me luck.
I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a really good suspenseful horror-thriller type book, I'm about to start re-reading it actually. It's semi-recent too.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9f/Reid_I%27mThinkingofEndingThings.jpg/220px-Reid_I%27mThinkingofEndingThings.jpg)
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/cfb43b893890d5ab04813322743b24b020200406164012/ef37387e37f3174cb67570f7856eed1120200406164038/780696
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Thinking_of_Ending_Things
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteAdding the Egan book to my list, ta!
At the moment, I'm reading quite light fare fiction wise, Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell. The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa is up next (thanks to Rich who recommended it here!). I read the first few pages the other day and I'm into it already.[close]
Nice - let me know what you think of it!
Went through a few books since the last time this thread popped up:
Weather by Jenny Offill
Crash by J.G. Ballard
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices by Lisa Abend (great book about what it’s like to work a stage at elBulli. I devoured it in a weekend.)
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Has anyone read Otessa Moshfegh? I tried to start Eileen but made the mistake of reading a profile on Moshfegh beforehand that really did not make her sound great and it turned me off on trying. So I’m waiting to forget that profile before I try her again.
And then for audio books, I listened to Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener, which got a lot of hype but fell flat to me. It sounded like every other tech person who was disillusioned by the tech industries memoir, except she actually almost made it a career. It didn’t break new ground at all. You All Grow Up and Leave Me by Piper Weiss was really good though. I finished listening to that in no time. A great memoir of a woman growing up while being coached by Gary Wilensky, this well-respected tennis coach who ended up being a child predator and killing himself after failing to kidnap an ex-student of his. A really good blend of investigative reporting and personal writing.
Decided that now is as good a time as ever and started Infinite Jest this past weekend. Wish me luck.[close]
What did you think of Weather? I hadn’t read her first book so the short burst style took me a minute to get the pacing. I enjoyed it though.
i picked this up at a local bookstore like a week before everything got shutdown because of covid. i remember i could really feel the tension in some of the employees there, like they were a bit bummed every time i touched a book and potentially put my germs there. when you think about it bookstores are quite unsanitary in this way. but still awesome places and i want to visit them more when this virus situation chills out. my city has a lot of them which is a special thing.
anyways glad i found this book, i read and enjoyed the original book a lot, always fun to read about how well respected creative people in the past got to work. this one is exactly the same format and everything, except it focuses exclusively on women, which is cool. haven't started it yet but im sure it will be good like the first one
(https://i.ibb.co/g942QPM/813hd-QYk4-IL.jpg)
Yeah that's actually why I read it in the first place. Really looking forward to that movie, hopefully it won't wind up getting delayed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL9r3RN3VMU
Was he your cellie? how do you know this? Inquiring minds want to know!
Wes Watson sucks dick.
Hardcopy books are one of the only things i spend money on, but y'all ever heard of z library project? over 5million free ebooks, with really good titles, contemporary and out of print, texts, articles, and more...
peep this: https://b-ok.cc/ (https://b-ok.cc/)
Expand QuoteAdding the Egan book to my list, ta!
At the moment, I'm reading quite light fare fiction wise, Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell. The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa is up next (thanks to Rich who recommended it here!). I read the first few pages the other day and I'm into it already.[close]
Nice - let me know what you think of it!
Went through a few books since the last time this thread popped up:
Weather by Jenny Offill
Crash by J.G. Ballard
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices by Lisa Abend (great book about what it’s like to work a stage at elBulli. I devoured it in a weekend.)
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Has anyone read Otessa Moshfegh? I tried to start Eileen but made the mistake of reading a profile on Moshfegh beforehand that really did not make her sound great and it turned me off on trying. So I’m waiting to forget that profile before I try her again.
And then for audio books, I listened to Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener, which got a lot of hype but fell flat to me. It sounded like every other tech person who was disillusioned by the tech industries memoir, except she actually almost made it a career. It didn’t break new ground at all. You All Grow Up and Leave Me by Piper Weiss was really good though. I finished listening to that in no time. A great memoir of a woman growing up while being coached by Gary Wilensky, this well-respected tennis coach who ended up being a child predator and killing himself after failing to kidnap an ex-student of his. A really good blend of investigative reporting and personal writing.
Decided that now is as good a time as ever and started Infinite Jest this past weekend. Wish me luck.
I just started IJ and our experiences could not be any more different. Granted, I’ve not had much time to dedicate to it and am only about 100 pages in so I hope I can get more into it.
Expand QuoteI just started IJ and our experiences could not be any more different. Granted, I’ve not had much time to dedicate to it and am only about 100 pages in so I hope I can get more into it.[close]
Damn, sorry to hear that. I fell in love within the first 20 pages or so. I couldn't stop laughing from the beginning. What books are you generally a fan of?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI just started IJ and our experiences could not be any more different. Granted, I’ve not had much time to dedicate to it and am only about 100 pages in so I hope I can get more into it.[close]
Damn, sorry to hear that. I fell in love within the first 20 pages or so. I couldn't stop laughing from the beginning. What books are you generally a fan of?[close]
"Literary" fiction I guess is what it's generally classified as. I like experimental, post-modern stuff. Nabokov and Joyce are my favorite authors, as well as Knausgaard (haven't had a chance to read his fiction yet though), Danielewski (although his later stuff doesn't pack the punch House of Leaves did). I went through a Pynchon phase and still like him but haven't picked him up in a while.
I also really like DFW's non-fiction, but wasn't super into Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and hated The Broom of the System. But I heard IJ was exponentially better and have meant to read it for a while but I'm just not seeing it. It's a weird premise but it's stylistically the same as all of his other stuff and I just don't like his style for fiction.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI just started IJ and our experiences could not be any more different. Granted, I’ve not had much time to dedicate to it and am only about 100 pages in so I hope I can get more into it.[close]
Damn, sorry to hear that. I fell in love within the first 20 pages or so. I couldn't stop laughing from the beginning. What books are you generally a fan of?[close]
"Literary" fiction I guess is what it's generally classified as. I like experimental, post-modern stuff. Nabokov and Joyce are my favorite authors, as well as Knausgaard (haven't had a chance to read his fiction yet though), Danielewski (although his later stuff doesn't pack the punch House of Leaves did). I went through a Pynchon phase and still like him but haven't picked him up in a while.
I also really like DFW's non-fiction, but wasn't super into Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and hated The Broom of the System. But I heard IJ was exponentially better and have meant to read it for a while but I'm just not seeing it. It's a weird premise but it's stylistically the same as all of his other stuff and I just don't like his style for fiction.[close]
Sorry to quote myself but I threw in the towel on IJ. I got about 140 pages in and realized I hated every second of it and when I decided to completely skip a section written in DFW's offensive AAVE literation and then debated skipping the next section which was a transcript of Hal (AKA DFW) jerking himself off over analyzing old TV shows, I realized this book was never going to be for me. Did some googling to make sure I wasn't crazy and found this, which perfectly encapsulated my feelings (although I actually enjoyed Finnegans Wake): http://www.cosmoetica.com/B326-DES266.htm.
This is a much longer and more angsty article that's overall kinda "eh" but does a good job of describing a tendency that has crystallized for me the more I read DFW and read about DFW and feel more secure in my conclusion that he's overall an arrogant person and an arrogant novelist with little to no capacity for humanism or empathy outside of that which he can directly relate to and twist to grandize himself (see his article "Back in New Fire," but also his highly criticized Signifying Rappers and Everything and More, and his bigotry and dogwhistles in IJ itself i.e. describing Hal, who he portrays as hopelessly pot-addled as “atavistically dark-complected,” his repeated use of the word “faggy” not as some insight into a character but as a narrative adjective, and his inclusion of a character that was not only forced to disguise himself (herself?) in women’s clothing but it was also revealed was basically forced to live in blackface for a year?): http://exiledonline.com/david-foster-wallace-portrait-of-an-infinitely-limited-mind/
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that DFW actually perfectly describes himself in the book itself in a sentence that I’d probably say was ironic if only he didn’t hate that word and take himself super seriously: “a lot of it...was admittedly just plain pretentious and unengaging and bad, and probably not helped at all by the man’s very gradual spiral into...crippling dipsomania.”
Haha yeah, sorry that was such a detailed bitching about DFW. I dove deep because I thought I was going crazy. I can definitely see why people like him so much and like IJ because the things I don’t like in his fiction are what I like in his non-fiction.
I love Nabokov and partly enjoy his grumpy, asshole takes on other authors even if I don’t agree. I haven’t read much Dostoevsky, but know his opinion on him is highly contentious. It kinda makes sense when you remember Nabokov tried to downplay deeper meaning in his analysis and writings so they were really doing very different things with literature.
I have read Calvino and Borges and like them both but it’s been a few years since I picked them up. The only problem with Borges is I’m not a huge short story fan so I need to really be in the mood to go through a collection of stories. I’d rather pick up a novel or even a novella.
I’ll look into Autobiography of a Corpse - thanks for the rec!
Only thing I read from Nabokov is Despair. It was a mindfuck and emotionfuck as well, enjoyable yet disturbing. I think a lot of these Russian authors were puffing on the hashpipe heavily.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteOnly thing I read from Nabokov is Despair. It was a mindfuck and emotionfuck as well, enjoyable yet disturbing. I think a lot of these Russian authors were puffing on the hashpipe heavily.[close]
Lol, the hashpipe of suffering maybe. Most Russian shit I've read has a bleak undertone.[close]
true from the harsh winters and poverty and shit.. fuck around and read some Italo Calvino though, he was influenced by nabokov. but like weirder and trippier
(https://dactylreview.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/calvino-novel-cover-art.jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_on_a_winter%27s_night_a_traveler
Expand QuoteHaha yeah, sorry that was such a detailed bitching about DFW. I dove deep because I thought I was going crazy. I can definitely see why people like him so much and like IJ because the things I don’t like in his fiction are what I like in his non-fiction.
I love Nabokov and partly enjoy his grumpy, asshole takes on other authors even if I don’t agree. I haven’t read much Dostoevsky, but know his opinion on him is highly contentious. It kinda makes sense when you remember Nabokov tried to downplay deeper meaning in his analysis and writings so they were really doing very different things with literature.
I have read Calvino and Borges and like them both but it’s been a few years since I picked them up. The only problem with Borges is I’m not a huge short story fan so I need to really be in the mood to go through a collection of stories. I’d rather pick up a novel or even a novella.
I’ll look into Autobiography of a Corpse - thanks for the rec![close]
Krzhizhanovsky reminds me of a sort of soviet Borges or Calvino. If you aren't big on the short stories, you might not like him. Very creative writing though.
Even without attaching some deep analysis to his writing, Dostoyevsky is a beast of a writer. I think deep down inside, Nabokov resented him because he knew he would never be on his level. Nabokov is a great writer, a genius even, that being said, dude is nowhere close to Dostoyevsky in skill. He may be remembered for centuries to come but he'll never be one of absolute best writers to come out of Russia.
I went on a big Russian tear for like six years. Every other book I read was a Russian to English translation and I got a decent amount of enjoyment from comparing translations and whatnot. I wouldn't even put Nabokov in the top 5. Even when it comes to other writers alive at the same time, Solzhenitsyn beats him out pretty easily when it comes to quality. I genuinely think, outward ego aside, Nabokov was smart enough to realize this. He realized it and added credence to his legitimacy by being overtly intelligent and attacking other writers that brought something to the table that he simply could not.
Sorry for my Nabokov rant but that's kind of how I view him. Really great but not the best and much more insufferable than he needs to be because he can't admit he's not the best.
I still like him though.
i'm 2 chapters into my dissertation--in the area of "literary and cultural studies"--and this is the first time i've ever even entered this thread, which i think says a lot about the negative side of researching, writing about, and teaching literature. i usually teach a 1 or 2 "composition" courses each semester, and 1 literature course, so combined with my diss work, i have to go out of my way to make simply reading a book a leisurely/relaxing experience.
anyway, this is the last story that we're tussling with in the "World Masterpieces 2" course i'm teaching this insane semester (we have 3 class meeting left on Zoom), and i've never read it before, and it's incredible, and a little intimidating to teach:
i'm sure it's been mentioned in here before, but i highly recommend...
edit: wow, sorry about the hugeness of the image, but i'll leave it because it's a cool cover...
Expand Quotei'm 2 chapters into my dissertation--in the area of "literary and cultural studies"--and this is the first time i've ever even entered this thread, which i think says a lot about the negative side of researching, writing about, and teaching literature. i usually teach a 1 or 2 "composition" courses each semester, and 1 literature course, so combined with my diss work, i have to go out of my way to make simply reading a book a leisurely/relaxing experience.
anyway, this is the last story that we're tussling with in the "World Masterpieces 2" course i'm teaching this insane semester (we have 3 class meeting left on Zoom), and i've never read it before, and it's incredible, and a little intimidating to teach:
i'm sure it's been mentioned in here before, but i highly recommend...
edit: wow, sorry about the hugeness of the image, but i'll leave it because it's a cool cover...[close]
Just ordered it.
This has probably been mentioned before but Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Read it with his voice as the narration and you're good for the remainder of May.
Finished Memory Police a few days ago. I liked it. Definitely resonates more given the situation we're in. I had more thoughts but they've disappeared in the meantime, no pun intended.
This book is really good. Listened to the audio version. If you have any interest in the IRA and have ever heard of "The Disappeared" then I would definitely recommend it.
The same friend also suggested this book, which he can't read himself, because a German translation hasn't been published yet. I had never heard of it but it sounds amazing. It's won a bunch of awards for journalism and non-fictional writing in 2019, and from what I understand, it's one of Obama's favorite books.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51oYlpGb3rL.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteHaha yeah, sorry that was such a detailed bitching about DFW. I dove deep because I thought I was going crazy. I can definitely see why people like him so much and like IJ because the things I don’t like in his fiction are what I like in his non-fiction.
I love Nabokov and partly enjoy his grumpy, asshole takes on other authors even if I don’t agree. I haven’t read much Dostoevsky, but know his opinion on him is highly contentious. It kinda makes sense when you remember Nabokov tried to downplay deeper meaning in his analysis and writings so they were really doing very different things with literature.
I have read Calvino and Borges and like them both but it’s been a few years since I picked them up. The only problem with Borges is I’m not a huge short story fan so I need to really be in the mood to go through a collection of stories. I’d rather pick up a novel or even a novella.
I’ll look into Autobiography of a Corpse - thanks for the rec![close]
Krzhizhanovsky reminds me of a sort of soviet Borges or Calvino. If you aren't big on the short stories, you might not like him. Very creative writing though.
Even without attaching some deep analysis to his writing, Dostoyevsky is a beast of a writer. I think deep down inside, Nabokov resented him because he knew he would never be on his level. Nabokov is a great writer, a genius even, that being said, dude is nowhere close to Dostoyevsky in skill. He may be remembered for centuries to come but he'll never be one of absolute best writers to come out of Russia.
I went on a big Russian tear for like six years. Every other book I read was a Russian to English translation and I got a decent amount of enjoyment from comparing translations and whatnot. I wouldn't even put Nabokov in the top 5. Even when it comes to other writers alive at the same time, Solzhenitsyn beats him out pretty easily when it comes to quality. I genuinely think, outward ego aside, Nabokov was smart enough to realize this. He realized it and added credence to his legitimacy by being overtly intelligent and attacking other writers that brought something to the table that he simply could not.
Sorry for my Nabokov rant but that's kind of how I view him. Really great but not the best and much more insufferable than he needs to be because he can't admit he's not the best.
I still like him though.[close]
Are you judging just his Russian novels compared to other Russians? I'll admit that I don't have the ability to judge that, but his English works stand over so many people. But also no need to apologize for the rant - I did the same about DFW!
Yeah, I meant compared to other Russians. Other than a little calvino, borges, and some scifi here and there I'm pretty much stuck on Russian lit.
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-temporary-autonomous-zone-ontological-anarchy-poetic-terrorism
I really liked 'All Quite on the Western Front' by Erich Maria Remarque, I dont know if it has been mentioned on this thread before (its a well known novel so possibly.) Its a fictional story from the POV of a German soldier named Paul set during WW1, Once I started reading it I couldnt put it down (might not be the same for others though.)
Just finished If I fall, if I die by Michael Chrsitie. He had a part in one of the anti social shop videos in the early 2000s it would seem. Anyhow, a good book to escape into in these times and it incorporates skateboarding in a natural and careful way. I'm sure some of you older heads will appreciate the graphic he chooses as his first deck. I haven't read his other books but I plan on it now.
Any recommendations for non-Jerry Hsu sci fi/fantasy?
About to start DUNE. Heard a lot of good things about it, and can't wait, especially with the movie coming out soon.Expand QuoteAny recommendations for non-Jerry Hsu sci fi/fantasy?[close]
On the SF/fantasy tip, I recently got The Fifth Season/Broken Earth trilogy. Haven't started it yet though.
I don't know if I'm 100% on this author, just based off interviews I've seen, but I'm still looking forward to getting into this:
(https://i.imgur.com/7UfxDAg.jpg)
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/903554b54c0c11aa530aefff6ebeded720200706203826/b4a8cf337eb6aec8424b9ab6f87b1d7520200706203853/a55417
Who else is excited about Charlie Kaufman's book coming out tomorrow?
Expand Quotehttps://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-temporary-autonomous-zone-ontological-anarchy-poetic-terrorism[close]
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always
Expand QuoteExpand Quotehttps://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-temporary-autonomous-zone-ontological-anarchy-poetic-terrorism[close]
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always[close]
Damn dude you like books written by pedophiles?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quotehttps://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-temporary-autonomous-zone-ontological-anarchy-poetic-terrorism[close]
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always[close]
Damn dude you like books written by pedophiles?[close]
Let’s be real here, most creative art in circulation has been touched by a pedophile (figuratively) at some point.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quotehttps://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-temporary-autonomous-zone-ontological-anarchy-poetic-terrorism[close]
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always[close]
Damn dude you like books written by pedophiles?[close]
Let’s be real here, most creative art in circulation has been touched by a pedophile (figuratively) at some point.[close]
further realness, if you're over twenty you've hummed the bassline to thriller more than once and probably even broke it down on the dance floor to that sweet pedo sound.
just read roberto bolano "the skating rink" it's pretty good bolano. starts with a quote about skating that I imagined was about skateboarding, will put it in later can't remember right now.
Expand QuoteExpand Quotehttps://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-temporary-autonomous-zone-ontological-anarchy-poetic-terrorism[close]
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always[close]
Damn dude you like books written by pedophiles?
I’ve had Stoner on my shelf for years and always forget about it. I have to get around to it sooner than later. Thanks for the reminder!
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quotehttps://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-temporary-autonomous-zone-ontological-anarchy-poetic-terrorism[close]
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always[close]
Damn dude you like books written by pedophiles?[close]
Why not?
I've got some good stuff in rotation, y'all. Was perusing the NYRB title list and they've got a ton of underrated/somewhat obscure books:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/513Mmltt+PL.jpg)
Just dipped into this one. Real good, so far, and not too long. After that:
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0726/9203/products/Stoner_2048x2048.jpg?v=1528394345)
Stoner.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51S3J-sCwpL.jpg)
Learned about this one in the NYRB list, but opted for the cheapy Wordsworth edition. Late eighteenth century novel about a Calvinist who believes he's one of the saved and sets out to murder the unsaved. Supposed to be pretty trippy.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41TmE7ZBGeL.jpg)
Compilation of short pieces by an early-20th-century Austrian prodigy. The title piece is a fake letter to Francis Bacon about the eponymous narrator's language crisis. In another piece, a guy meets his Doppelgänger on the battlefield.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41pTxOW87JL.jpg)
Finally.
(https://i1.wp.com/www.audiobooktreasury.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/The_Wrong_Box_by_Robert_Louis_Stevenson_and_Lloyd_Osbourne_Audiobook.jpg?resize=300%2C422)
Supposed to be funny. Love RLS.
(https://broadviewpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/9781551114354.jpg)
More confessions; different sins.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61sPrbCRwhL.jpg)
Philosophy stuff
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41JzW0RUheL.jpg)
Kant is not fun to read, but I need to read this one.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61wm8oqdP5L._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Deleuze spices things up. I like him as a historian of philosophy.
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496787563l/35380408._SY475_.jpg)
Sterner rules. Trying to adopt his egoist ethic as my own.
peter zagreus, my take on why the special disgust for pedophilia is in a word, homophobia. As evidence of this, I direct anyone's attention to the plethora of "barely legal" straight porn that remains ever popular, and the fact that Lolita is so frequently referenced as a great contemporary novel. Doubt they'd be teaching Lolito in creative writing workshops, but sounds ripe for slash fic if it isn't already.
To be clear, I am in no way advocating for the sexualization of children, just pointing out a gendered double standard in the modern attitude towards it. If you'd said that Bey married a 16 year old girl, would noses have bent and hackles raised I wonder.
my mother has no fav true crime podcast, but I suspect the success of "The girl who kicked the hornet's nest" owes much to its finding a way to present the graphic molestation of a minor in a way that middle class audiences could feel okay about watching.
Why not?Expand Quote
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always[close]Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.
Butchers Crossing I really liked and have Stoner on shelve aswell but not read it yet either,
first finishing up McCarthy's Border triology which has been great and I'm dreading the end abit but as I haven't read any other McCarthy (not sure why) Ive got somethings to look forward to.
also read Olga Tokarczuk's Drive your plough over the bones of the dead after it being recommended on here and enjoyed that too, albeit flimsy ''plottwist''
the Hugo von Hoffmanstahl one sounds nice, read it yet? would love to know if it is worth picking up somewheres
have you heard about this one:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51yzw-DJJEL._SX310_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
https://www.amazon.com/So-Called-Utopia-Centre-Beaubourg-Interpretation/dp/B01FJ33QO4
you absolutely have to read Blood Meridian. There's nothing else like it.
https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/john-dillinger-slept-here-paul-maccabee/1103781240I own this book and agree, it's really cool. I used to live a few blocks away from the 1031 Robert St house that the Barker-Karpis gang lived in for a few months
Cool book about Saint Paul’s underworld. The old familia store was right in the area this stuff happened.
Expand QuoteWhy not?Expand Quote
Hell yeah. Hakim Bey is always a fun read, but - full transparency - he was affiliated with NAMBLA and is definitely a proponent of man-boy love. Just FYI. I think most of his stuff is great.
I'm in grad school, so I have to pack in all my free reading over the summer. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff in rotation, including:
Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy
Revisiting a bunch of Henry Miller stuff
Philosophical works of Bataille, plus Blue of Noon
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (sort of school related)
William Blake (hoping to read Northrup Frye in conjunction, but this might be asking too much)
Nietzsche, always[close]Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.[close]
Butchers Crossing I really liked and have Stoner on shelve aswell but not read it yet either,
first finishing up McCarthy's Border triology which has been great and I'm dreading the end abit but as I haven't read any other McCarthy (not sure why) Ive got somethings to look forward to.
also read Olga Tokarczuk's Drive your plough over the bones of the dead after it being recommended on here and enjoyed that too, albeit flimsy ''plottwist''
the Hugo von Hoffmanstahl one sounds nice, read it yet? would love to know if it is worth picking up somewheres
have you heard about this one:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50127845971_caafc2bfb7_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jnCjbp) (https://flic.kr/p/2jnCjbp) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188375956@N03/)Nickel Boys was one of the best books I read from last year. It was a brutal story. I plan to read The Underground Railroad soon.
Pretty good novel based on the Dozier School for Boys in Florida. A seemingly close to idyllic reform school turns out to be much more nightmarish behind the scenes. I really enjoy Colson Whitehead's succinct writing style, this and The Underground Railroad both had me hooked.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50128066297_ecdafa4128.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jnDrF8) (https://flic.kr/p/2jnDrF8) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188375956@N03/)
Started this a week ago and I've been immersed in Murakami's writing and atmosphere since. Read Kafka on the Shore a while back but was too intimidated to step to Haruki's magnum opus, now I can't put it down. Any pals have thoughts on this novel?
Expand QuoteI’ve had Stoner on my shelf for years and always forget about it. I have to get around to it sooner than later. Thanks for the reminder![close]
NP, dude. I've put it off for too long, myself. Williams' prose doesn't quite pull you in, but I feel like it pays to stick with him.
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370367234i/1004655._UY630_SR1200,630_.jpg)
Expand Quote
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370367234i/1004655._UY630_SR1200,630_.jpg)[close]
Read the John Hawkes yet? I read it a long time ago but its esthetic stuck with me.
Would be interested to know what you think/make of it.
Interested in superfascism?
Expand QuoteInterested in superfascism?[close]
Yes.
I'm almost 3/4 of the way through A Visit From the Goon Squad and I have to say I'm into it. It's easy prose with interesting character development. I'm not sure if this book has a bad rep, but I'm almost certain I've read some negative reviews... In any case, it's not bad, imho.
(https://i.ibb.co/phHrpFV/41j-Kp-R02b-EL-SX297-BO1-204-203-200.jpg) (https://ibb.co/phHrpFV)
“Superfascism” is just how Evola described the relationship between his personal beliefs / philosophies and the Italian Fascism that grew out of them. In Italian, it can mean both “before fascism” or “over / above fascism.” I think he meant both as he seemed to treat his ideas as the more pure foundation of Italian Fascism, which he didn’t view as all-encompassing enough.
I’ve seen a lot of it pop up recently too and have my own interests in it while being very anti-fascist myself. I just personally don’t have much desire to engage with things like Evola’s primary materials as I don’t feel the need to listen to his polemics on traditionalism, etc.
I do have some interest in the mindset and ideologies behind things like musical fascism but would rather listen / read the thoughts of experts or researchers on the topic.
I guess my comment above was whether the interest in Evola is because of an interest in understanding his impact on the far-right or because he’s someone with a philosophy you want to emulate.
“Superfascism” is just how Evola described the relationship between his personal beliefs / philosophies and the Italian Fascism that grew out of them. In Italian, it can mean both “before fascism” or “over / above fascism.” I think he meant both as he seemed to treat his ideas as the more pure foundation of Italian Fascism, which he didn’t view as all-encompassing enough.
I’ve seen a lot of it pop up recently too and have my own interests in it while being very anti-fascist myself. I just personally don’t have much desire to engage with things like Evola’s primary materials as I don’t feel the need to listen to his polemics on traditionalism, etc.
I do have some interest in the mindset and ideologies behind things like musical fascism but would rather listen / read the thoughts of experts or researchers on the topic.
I guess my comment above was whether the interest in Evola is because of an interest in understanding his impact on the far-right or because he’s someone with a philosophy you want to emulate.
Expand Quote“Superfascism” is just how Evola described the relationship between his personal beliefs / philosophies and the Italian Fascism that grew out of them. In Italian, it can mean both “before fascism” or “over / above fascism.” I think he meant both as he seemed to treat his ideas as the more pure foundation of Italian Fascism, which he didn’t view as all-encompassing enough.
I’ve seen a lot of it pop up recently too and have my own interests in it while being very anti-fascist myself. I just personally don’t have much desire to engage with things like Evola’s primary materials as I don’t feel the need to listen to his polemics on traditionalism, etc.
I do have some interest in the mindset and ideologies behind things like musical fascism but would rather listen / read the thoughts of experts or researchers on the topic.
I guess my comment above was whether the interest in Evola is because of an interest in understanding his impact on the far-right or because he’s someone with a philosophy you want to emulate.[close]
Ah! Thanks for clarifying that for me, oyolar. I imagine most of the people posting about Evola online are more in the emulation/inspiration camp than on the history of ideas side of things. I can't speak for ride the tiger, but their username and one-word response would suggest that they have a more personal connection to the work, and so I was fishing for a little more from them. Maybe I'll get it...
Frankly, all the "trad" stuff-of-late seems LARPy to me.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote“Superfascism” is just how Evola described the relationship between his personal beliefs / philosophies and the Italian Fascism that grew out of them. In Italian, it can mean both “before fascism” or “over / above fascism.” I think he meant both as he seemed to treat his ideas as the more pure foundation of Italian Fascism, which he didn’t view as all-encompassing enough.
I’ve seen a lot of it pop up recently too and have my own interests in it while being very anti-fascist myself. I just personally don’t have much desire to engage with things like Evola’s primary materials as I don’t feel the need to listen to his polemics on traditionalism, etc.
I do have some interest in the mindset and ideologies behind things like musical fascism but would rather listen / read the thoughts of experts or researchers on the topic.
I guess my comment above was whether the interest in Evola is because of an interest in understanding his impact on the far-right or because he’s someone with a philosophy you want to emulate.[close]
Ah! Thanks for clarifying that for me, oyolar. I imagine most of the people posting about Evola online are more in the emulation/inspiration camp than on the history of ideas side of things. I can't speak for ride the tiger, but their username and one-word response would suggest that they have a more personal connection to the work, and so I was fishing for a little more from them. Maybe I'll get it...
Frankly, all the "trad" stuff-of-late seems LARPy to me.[close]
Im not into the fashy side alot of his new fans seem to be alt right larpers, im just interested in traditionalism and love his work.
Highly suggest any of his books.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote“Superfascism” is just how Evola described the relationship between his personal beliefs / philosophies and the Italian Fascism that grew out of them. In Italian, it can mean both “before fascism” or “over / above fascism.” I think he meant both as he seemed to treat his ideas as the more pure foundation of Italian Fascism, which he didn’t view as all-encompassing enough.
I’ve seen a lot of it pop up recently too and have my own interests in it while being very anti-fascist myself. I just personally don’t have much desire to engage with things like Evola’s primary materials as I don’t feel the need to listen to his polemics on traditionalism, etc.
I do have some interest in the mindset and ideologies behind things like musical fascism but would rather listen / read the thoughts of experts or researchers on the topic.
I guess my comment above was whether the interest in Evola is because of an interest in understanding his impact on the far-right or because he’s someone with a philosophy you want to emulate.[close]
Ah! Thanks for clarifying that for me, oyolar. I imagine most of the people posting about Evola online are more in the emulation/inspiration camp than on the history of ideas side of things. I can't speak for ride the tiger, but their username and one-word response would suggest that they have a more personal connection to the work, and so I was fishing for a little more from them. Maybe I'll get it...
Frankly, all the "trad" stuff-of-late seems LARPy to me.[close]
Im not into the fashy side alot of his new fans seem to be alt right larpers, im just interested in traditionalism and love his work.
Highly suggest any of his books.[close]
V cool. In my literary research, I've been looking a bit at "decadent" literature (mostly in &#127468;&#127463;) and trying to understand the concept/phenomenon of decadence as it takes shape in the minds of the "fin de siecle." Most of the critics/prognosticators of decadence come with a counter-decadent commitment to some kind of traditionalism, so I'm interested in thinking about tradition in that (academic) context.
With respect to the contemporary culture, I think we (me, other white, secular Americans) are often too quick to dispose of, or detach from, traditions in the name of "progress." From the perspective of deep history, progress is a really dubious idea. Cultures develop and bloom over long stretches of time and under different conditions, and I think we'd all do well to think comparatively about cultural values. I think the trad revival of the moment is helping to foster this kind of thinking in some corners of the internet. I'm of the opinion, however, that (barring civilizational collapse) we can never simply "go back" to the way things were; that cultures, like organisms, evolve with time, and that addressing the contingencies of today with yesterday's culture (developed organically in its own time) might prevent us from noticing and cultivating opportunities as they arise, developing new culture, etc...
tiger, are you also into anarcho-primativist stuff? I seem to remember you having a primitivist avatar. Also, any other traditionalists you'd recommend outside of Evola?
Just finished a bit of a Cormac McCarthy bender and have been looking for something to fill the void. Did Legends of the Fall & A River Runs Through It (all 3 short stories. Revenge was great.) I’m almost done with Travels With Charley by Steinbeck for my second time. Any McCarthyesque suggestions?
Well played comrade...Expand QuoteJust finished a bit of a Cormac McCarthy bender and have been looking for something to fill the void. Did Legends of the Fall & A River Runs Through It (all 3 short stories. Revenge was great.) I’m almost done with Travels With Charley by Steinbeck for my second time. Any McCarthyesque suggestions?[close]
don't talk about books so much, makes you sound like a commie.
Just finished a bit of a Cormac McCarthy bender and have been looking for something to fill the void. Did Legends of the Fall & A River Runs Through It (all 3 short stories. Revenge was great.) I’m almost done with Travels With Charley by Steinbeck for my second time. Any McCarthyesque suggestions?
Expand QuoteOn the SF/fantasy tip, I recently got The Fifth Season/Broken Earth trilogy. Haven't started it yet though.
I don't know if I'm 100% on this author, just based off interviews I've seen, but I'm still looking forward to getting into this:
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/903554b54c0c11aa530aefff6ebeded720200706203826/b4a8cf337eb6aec8424b9ab6f87b1d7520200706203853/a55417
Who else is excited about Charlie Kaufman's book coming out tomorrow?[close]
I’ve got Chaos on my to-listen list for my audiobook apps so let me know how it is. What makes you iffy about the author?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteOn the SF/fantasy tip, I recently got The Fifth Season/Broken Earth trilogy. Haven't started it yet though.
I don't know if I'm 100% on this author, just based off interviews I've seen, but I'm still looking forward to getting into this:
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/903554b54c0c11aa530aefff6ebeded720200706203826/b4a8cf337eb6aec8424b9ab6f87b1d7520200706203853/a55417
Who else is excited about Charlie Kaufman's book coming out tomorrow?[close]
I’ve got Chaos on my to-listen list for my audiobook apps so let me know how it is. What makes you iffy about the author?[close]
I'm still only like halfway through Chaos, I got sidetracked with reading Oil! by Upton Sinclair and some other stuff.
Tom O'Neill is clearly an extremely talented and dedicated investigative-journalist (honestly it sounds like he kinda ruined his life by being so focused on this book for so long), I just don't know if I always agree with the conclusions he draws from his research. It's an interesting book for sure though.
Charlie Kaufman's book is on here:
https://b-ok.cc/book/5439886/9d6f4d
Gonna try to finish that, and this:
https://b-ok.cc/book/1196749/2f63d9?dsource=recommend
before his new movie comes out in a couple weeks
yall keep your dust jackets or ditch em?
Congratulations!
By the way, next time you can do it more easily.
When I was young I also tried to translate a book, but there were not internet,information,articles with tips,websites like that (https://translationreport.com/) where you can look for any tool/instrument you need for translation, regret that I didn`t born later ;D
Hope you will go further!
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png/220px-Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png)
dont know if anyones mentioned this, but this book is fucking incredible. and its true. read it. i started reading it a second time as soon as i finished.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png/220px-Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png)
dont know if anyones mentioned this, but this book is fucking incredible. and its true. read it. i started reading it a second time as soon as i finished.
Just finished a bit of a Cormac McCarthy bender and have been looking for something to fill the void. Did Legends of the Fall & A River Runs Through It (all 3 short stories. Revenge was great.) I’m almost done with Travels With Charley by Steinbeck for my second time. Any McCarthyesque suggestions?
Expand QuoteJust finished a bit of a Cormac McCarthy bender and have been looking for something to fill the void. Did Legends of the Fall & A River Runs Through It (all 3 short stories. Revenge was great.) I’m almost done with Travels With Charley by Steinbeck for my second time. Any McCarthyesque suggestions?[close]
Bruce Machart wrote a few books that, while perhaps not as grim, might be McCarthyesque in tone and grit. Men in the Making is a solid short story collection and his novel In the Wake of Forgiveness is worth reading.
As bad as it sounds, "mein kampf" is an interesting read because you get understand little bits and pieces of A.H. thoughts, which in the end influenced a whole lot on this flat earth.VERY odd first post to make on a skateboarding forum
Reading this self-help book for gay men to try and get over early life trauma/ shame, but a lot of it is written in such a self-congratulatory way that I'm really struggling to make any progress in it. A lot of it is very relatable but the author writes it as if every gay man is a workaholic fashionista who goes from dinner party to dinner party. Bro I'm broke and out of shape, I just don't wanna hate myself.
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442026718l/49418._SX318_.jpg)
As bad as it sounds, "mein kampf" is an interesting read because you get understand little bits and pieces of A.H. thoughts, which in the end influenced a whole lot on this flat earth.
Expand QuoteReading this self-help book for gay men to try and get over early life trauma/ shame, but a lot of it is written in such a self-congratulatory way that I'm really struggling to make any progress in it. A lot of it is very relatable but the author writes it as if every gay man is a workaholic fashionista who goes from dinner party to dinner party. Bro I'm broke and out of shape, I just don't wanna hate myself.[close]
Was it written in the mid-00s? That’s like peak-that stereotype with Queer Eye, SaTC, and women being like “I need a gay BFF to pick out my outfits”. I feel like Kimmy Schmitt is one of the rare shows to feature gay people (mostly Mikey) who aren’t Bravo caricatures
Never read Mein Guy Kampfen, but I did just read Don Delillo White Noise and its main character is the head of a department of Hitler studies. Pretty good book and very prescient in its meditations on tabloid culture.
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1378080877l/118008.jpg)
I love White Noise. The "airborne toxic event" section feels weirdly relevant too, with Covid going on right now.
I think I'm finally gonna read DeLillo's book Libra, his historical-fiction novel about Lee Harvey Oswald, since the anniversary of the JFK assassination is coming up next week.
Working my way through this bad boyMeant to read this, but never got around to it. Do remember quite liking this one though:
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F3%2F3c%2FJamesKelmanHowLate.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
It's good, but it's also written entirely in a thick glaswegian accent, so proceed with caution.
Meant to read this, but never got around to it. Do remember quite liking this one though:Expand QuoteWorking my way through this bad boy
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F3%2F3c%2FJamesKelmanHowLate.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
It's good, but it's also written entirely in a thick glaswegian accent, so proceed with caution.[close]
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464709593l/89210.jpg)
Got a friend who won't shut up about Wyndham Lewis (despite his perhaps bad politics), so I picked up this book of short stories, and plan to pick one or two off before bedtime
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1176425190l/625155.jpg)
The great game, by Peter hopkirk.Cool, thanks for the rec, just downloaded this. Definitely seems extensive, but looks good.
It's pretty much a text book,, but very well written and gives a interesting history of the "middle east" as far as western occupation goes.
Word. Yeah looks sick. I'm pretty interested in the totality of the situation there. If you ever saw or read charlie wilsons war, there's a lot there. Will def read this jawn...plus this boul went to temple?! Doap. Thanks pal!Cool, thanks for the rec, just downloaded this. Definitely seems extensive, but looks good.Expand QuoteThe great game, by Peter hopkirk.
It's pretty much a text book,, but very well written and gives a interesting history of the "middle east" as far as western occupation goes.[close]
I recently read this book detailing the formation of ISIS, and the factors that contributed to its growth & spread:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Black_Flags_The_Rise_of_ISIS.jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Flags:_The_Rise_of_ISIS
and have been wanting to do more reading on similar topics.
Yall read some sus books
R.L. Stine is a king; I do not appreciate the tone of this post.Expand QuoteYall read some sus books[close]
hahaha, what a way to introduce yourself to the thread.
Go ahead and surprise me, love to hear what you are reading? A little R.L. Stine perhaps?
Expand QuoteMeant to read this, but never got around to it. Do remember quite liking this one though:Expand QuoteWorking my way through this bad boy
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F3%2F3c%2FJamesKelmanHowLate.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
It's good, but it's also written entirely in a thick glaswegian accent, so proceed with caution.[close]
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464709593l/89210.jpg)
Got a friend who won't shut up about Wyndham Lewis (despite his perhaps bad politics), so I picked up this book of short stories, and plan to pick one or two off before bedtime
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1176425190l/625155.jpg)[close]
i know this encompasses more than just literature, but it's crazy how much creativity and brilliance there is to be found amongst the early modernists, and also how many awful political perspectives and actions. right off of the bat, i always think of F.T.Marinetti and the Italian Futurists, a number of which were thugs for Mussolini at points. also, i was bummed to discover that Louis-Ferdinand Celine was pro-fascism and anti-semitic at points, because Journey to the End of the Night and Death on the Installment Plan are two of my absolute favorite novels. i have no idea how someone could end up espousing those ideals who had previously written this about his experience in WWI:
"I'd never felt so useless as I did amid all those bullets in the sunlight...
...A vast and universal mockery....That colonel, I could see, was a monster. Now I knew it for sure, he was worse than a dog, he couldn't conceive of his own death. At the same time I realized that there must be plenty of brave men like him in our army, and just as many no doubt in the army facing us. How many I wondered. One or two million, say several millions in all? The thought turned my fear to panic. With such people this infernal lunacy could go on for ever...
...Could I, I thought, be the last coward on earth?
How terrifying!...All alone with two million stark raving heroic madmen, armed to the eyeballs?...With and without helmets, without horses, on motorcycles, bellowing, in cars, screeching, shooting, plotting, flying, kneeling, digging, taking cover, bounding over trails, sputtering, shut up on earth as if it were a loony bin, ready to demolish everything on it, Germany, France, whole continents, everything that breathes, destroy, destroy, madder than mad dogs, worshipping their madness (which dogs don’t), a hundred, a thousand times madder than a thousand dogs, and a lot more vicious!
...Men are the thing to be afraid of, always, men and nothing else."
i know this post is long, but i also stopped in to mention that i am once again tussling with John Updike's Rabbit Tetralogy, specifically, Rabbit Redux and Rabbit is Rich (actually, Delillo may be playing a part as well). i'm researching and writing the third chapter of my dissertation, which is looking at how "working-class conservatism" amongst whites is tied to the "local," and how the local is tied to access to the single-family house and lot, and those two novels are my primary texts for this chapter. i know Updike isn't everyone's cup o' tea, but i'm enjoying the reading again...
R.L. Stine is a king; I do not appreciate the tone of this post.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteYall read some sus books[close]
hahaha, what a way to introduce yourself to the thread.
Go ahead and surprise me, love to hear what you are reading? A little R.L. Stine perhaps?[close]
I'm a Temple alumni too! My dad was a professor there as well, until he retired like a year ago.Word. Yeah looks sick. I'm pretty interested in the totality of the situation there. If you ever saw or read charlie wilsons war, there's a lot there. Will def read this jawn...plus this boul went to temple?! Doap. Thanks pal!Expand QuoteCool, thanks for the rec, just downloaded this. Definitely seems extensive, but looks good.Expand QuoteThe great game, by Peter hopkirk.
It's pretty much a text book,, but very well written and gives a interesting history of the "middle east" as far as western occupation goes.[close]
I recently read this book detailing the formation of ISIS, and the factors that contributed to its growth & spread:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Black_Flags_The_Rise_of_ISIS.jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Flags:_The_Rise_of_ISIS
and have been wanting to do more reading on similar topics.[close]
Oh I didn't go to college. I skated at temple and partied there. That's sick you went an yer da held it down there, what was he a prof of? If you don't mind me asking.I'm a Temple alumni too! My dad was a professor there as well, until he retired like a year ago.Expand QuoteWord. Yeah looks sick. I'm pretty interested in the totality of the situation there. If you ever saw or read charlie wilsons war, there's a lot there. Will def read this jawn...plus this boul went to temple?! Doap. Thanks pal!Expand QuoteCool, thanks for the rec, just downloaded this. Definitely seems extensive, but looks good.Expand QuoteThe great game, by Peter hopkirk.
It's pretty much a text book,, but very well written and gives a interesting history of the "middle east" as far as western occupation goes.[close]
I recently read this book detailing the formation of ISIS, and the factors that contributed to its growth & spread:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Black_Flags_The_Rise_of_ISIS.jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Flags:_The_Rise_of_ISIS
and have been wanting to do more reading on similar topics.[close][close]
Brandon Novak - Dreamseller Book Report:
(https://i.imgur.com/Q5Hm2GD.jpeg)
I read Brandon Novak’s memoir all the way through yesterday. It’s decently short (288 pages), and drug stories are always entertaining, so it was a pretty quick read.
Some of the writing itself is actually better than expected, and he gains some style points for constructing the book in a non-chronological & un-linear format (like Pulp Fiction or something), but overall it's mostly mediocre, and follows a pretty generic and un-insightful addict-to rehab-to sobriety arc. Pretty much just as good (or bad) as you’d expect the autobiography of someone from the CKY videos to be.
Like I said, drug stories are great, but some of Novak's definitely seem like BS. There’s a section in the book where he talks about a period of his life where he was smuggling cash for a heroin dealer, taping $100,000+ to his body and flying across the country, while he was still an underage teenager riding for Powell. The way it's written definitely doesn’t seem credible.
For me, the highlights of the book are the sections where you get to read about some behind the scene details on the filming of CKY3 and Haggard. Unsurprisingly, Brandon was smacked out for all of this.
It was also interesting to get a better understanding of the inter-personal dynamics within the CKY crew. I guess I always assumed that they were all bros, but the way that Novak writes it, he and Ryan Dunn really weren’t close at all, and it often sounds like Dunn actually actively hated him really.
Overall Score: 6.1/10
I was an anthropology major/ english minor, took all of the most useless classes (in terms of getting a job in that field post college). My dad taught business/finance type courses though.
Howard Zinn - A People's History of the United States
https://b-ok.cc/book/873319/cd8701
(https://i.imgur.com/7jHRn4C.jpeg)
Possibly the only book approved of by both AJ Soprano, and Dan Drehobl.
I was an anthropology major/ english minor, took all of the most useless classes (in terms of getting a job in that field post college). My dad taught business/finance type courses though.Sick. My girl majored in anthro and minored in russian. Zinns good stuff, and if ol corpsey backs it so much the better.
Howard Zinn - A People's History of the United States
https://b-ok.cc/book/873319/cd8701
(https://i.imgur.com/7jHRn4C.jpeg)
Possibly the only book approved of by both AJ Soprano, and Dan Drehobl.
Sick. My girl majored in anthro and minored in russian. Zinns good stuff, and if ol corpsey backs it so much the better.Expand QuoteI was an anthropology major/ english minor, took all of the most useless classes (in terms of getting a job in that field post college). My dad taught business/finance type courses though.
Howard Zinn - A People's History of the United States
https://b-ok.cc/book/873319/cd8701
(https://i.imgur.com/7jHRn4C.jpeg)
Possibly the only book approved of by both AJ Soprano, and Dan Drehobl.[close]
First post in this thread, didn’t know about it so kinda stoked.
Anyone read Lerner? What’s your take?
As far as Lerner, I think he goes a bit over my head tbh but the stories are interesting enough. Not my favorite by any means but decent. A lot of what you said went over my head too haha.Expand QuoteFirst post in this thread, didn’t know about it so kinda stoked.
Anyone read Lerner? What’s your take?[close]
I read 10:04 and some other one (,ame escapes me). I am not a fan. I feel like he epitomizes the insular, hierarchical nature of mainstream contemporary fiction, with attention given to the craft as "ordained" but with no real chances being taken or anything of substance being said. There's something impersonal and sad about his work that I'll admit is a very recognizable depiction of middle class capitalism, but I do what I can to not spend more time in that world than I have to. I once said something to this effect on the first day of grad school writing workshop and made some enemies.
Recommendation-wise, sounds like you might like Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore check it out. Be curious to hear how you like the Walker Ryan book.
My mom asked me what she should get me for Christmas and I told her Obama's memoir A Promised Land. Anyone else reading this?
I don't think I've ever read a politician's book, but I'm interested in some behind-the-scenes stuff.
Expand QuoteMy mom asked me what she should get me for Christmas and I told her Obama's memoir A Promised Land. Anyone else reading this?
I don't think I've ever read a politician's book, but I'm interested in some behind-the-scenes stuff.[close]
Most political memoirs are self-serving fluff. I don't think there's much value in them. Maybe just borrow it from a library?
Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.
Expand Quote
Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.[close]
Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.
Expand Quote
Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.[close]
Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote
Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.[close]
Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.[close]
I'm not sure what you mean with "the Chilean not the Mexican", but I second your suggestion! Bolano's one of my all-time favs. Los Detectives Salvajes is his best work in my opinion, but I recommend starting with something easier, like Estrella Distante or Nocturno de Chile.
Bolano was Chilean and later moved to Mexico. Many of his works were written against the background of the Pinochet regime in Chile, but Los Detectives Salvajes and 2666 (his most famous, yet not his best work) clearly focus more on Mexican society.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote
Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.[close]
Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.[close]
I'm not sure what you mean with "the Chilean not the Mexican", but I second your suggestion! Bolano's one of my all-time favs. Los Detectives Salvajes is his best work in my opinion, but I recommend starting with something easier, like Estrella Distante or Nocturno de Chile.
Bolano was Chilean and later moved to Mexico. Many of his works were written against the background of the Pinochet regime in Chile, but Los Detectives Salvajes and 2666 (his most famous, yet not his best work) clearly focus more on Mexican society.[close]
curious as to why you'd think so
just want to be absolutely clear, the reference to Bolano the Chilean not the Mexican is because there is another well-known author (in the spanish lit world) with the same name, only difference is an 񮍊
From what I've read the publishers wanted to capitalize on Bolano's hype and put out 2666 as one book against his explicit instructions (he was dead at that point but he'd been clear about this, it was supposed to be read as periodic installments). I think it's a great book but would have profited immensely from existing as separate, linked pieces.
As far as stand alone novels go The Third Reich is pretty strong as well.
I hear you, and 2666 could've definitly benifitted from being finished, its just that the way you put it made it seem like you argued it was a 'lesser' Bolano novel.
I thought I read that the only reason Bolano wanted it to be released in separate parts was because he knew he was dying and that in that way it would secure a prolonged income, he figured 5 books would make more money than one.
I think The Savage Detectives and Third Reich are great, but very polished and ''commercial'', in my reading of Bolano I' got the feeling he'd think of those two as the lesser novels himself. To me his writing shines best in A Distant Star or Amulet, Antwerp or 2666.
But, Savage Detectives would probably be the best one to start with.
I hear you, and 2666 could've definitly benifitted from being finished, its just that the way you put it made it seem like you argued it was a 'lesser' Bolano novel.
I thought I read that the only reason Bolano wanted it to be released in separate parts was because he knew he was dying and that in that way it would secure a prolonged income, he figured 5 books would make more money than one.
I think The Savage Detectives and Third Reich are great, but very polished and ''commercial'', in my reading of Bolano I' got the feeling he'd think of those two as the lesser novels himself. To me his writing shines best in A Distant Star or Amulet, Antwerp or 2666.
But, Savage Detectives would probably be the best one to start with.
I've been working my way slowly through Alexander Cockburn's Corruptions of Empire which is mostly a collection of magazine stories, personal vignettes and diary entries starting in the 1950s when Alex was in private school in Ireland through to the Reagan years ending in 1987 when the book was published. Alex was a socialist and a journalist with a very British sensibility. I would compare him to Hunter S Thompson, very biting in his take on American politics and politicians, but a lot less unhinged and drug addled. Topics range from discussions of the virtues of French cooking vs English cooking, the preservation of Miami's Art Deco district, the CIA's funding of death squads in El Salvador, PG Wodehouse's time in America when he wrote most of his famous books, to the concept of political punditry. It's all very informative, but it never feels like a slog as Cockburn peppers everything with his distinct British humor.
Here's a little excerpt from his section on the plight of Palestinians in 1980
Here is a practical proposal to you. Discuss the basic facts of the oppression of the Palestinians by Israel as much as you can and going right down to the basics of the racism of everyday. Point out the obvious contradiction between what the majority of American Jews demand for themselves in the USA, and what they defend in Israel. Do not be intimidated in the struggle against racism and for human dignity, equality and freedom, by any demagoguery about peace and democracy, if they are used in the cause of discrimination, and perhaps the words of the prophet (Amos 5:15) will come true : 'Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgement in the gate, it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.'
And another excerpt on how his father (himself a famous communist writer in the early 20th century) would deal with debt collectors.
Early in life in Ireland i learned to appreciate the color of the envelopes containing the day's mail. White envelopes were good. Brown ones weren't and my father would leave them up on the mantelpiece unopened. Over the months they would gradually get demoted from this high station to his study and then to the bottom drawer of a desk in his study. We would all laugh heartily over the form letter to creditors my father threatened to send: 'Dear Sir, I am in receipt of your fourth communication regarding my outstanding account. Let me explain how I pay my bills. I throw them all into a large basket. Each year I stir the basket with a stick, take out four bills and pay them. One more letter from you and you're out of the game.'
It's a joy to read and because the book is mostly a collection of little stories and excerpts you can read a little bit a day.
Expand QuoteI've been working my way slowly through Alexander Cockburn's Corruptions of Empire which is mostly a collection of magazine stories, personal vignettes and diary entries starting in the 1950s when Alex was in private school in Ireland through to the Reagan years ending in 1987 when the book was published. Alex was a socialist and a journalist with a very British sensibility. I would compare him to Hunter S Thompson, very biting in his take on American politics and politicians, but a lot less unhinged and drug addled. Topics range from discussions of the virtues of French cooking vs English cooking, the preservation of Miami's Art Deco district, the CIA's funding of death squads in El Salvador, PG Wodehouse's time in America when he wrote most of his famous books, to the concept of political punditry. It's all very informative, but it never feels like a slog as Cockburn peppers everything with his distinct British humor.
Here's a little excerpt from his section on the plight of Palestinians in 1980
Here is a practical proposal to you. Discuss the basic facts of the oppression of the Palestinians by Israel as much as you can and going right down to the basics of the racism of everyday. Point out the obvious contradiction between what the majority of American Jews demand for themselves in the USA, and what they defend in Israel. Do not be intimidated in the struggle against racism and for human dignity, equality and freedom, by any demagoguery about peace and democracy, if they are used in the cause of discrimination, and perhaps the words of the prophet (Amos 5:15) will come true : 'Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgement in the gate, it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.'
And another excerpt on how his father (himself a famous communist writer in the early 20th century) would deal with debt collectors.
Early in life in Ireland i learned to appreciate the color of the envelopes containing the day's mail. White envelopes were good. Brown ones weren't and my father would leave them up on the mantelpiece unopened. Over the months they would gradually get demoted from this high station to his study and then to the bottom drawer of a desk in his study. We would all laugh heartily over the form letter to creditors my father threatened to send: 'Dear Sir, I am in receipt of your fourth communication regarding my outstanding account. Let me explain how I pay my bills. I throw them all into a large basket. Each year I stir the basket with a stick, take out four bills and pay them. One more letter from you and you're out of the game.'
It's a joy to read and because the book is mostly a collection of little stories and excerpts you can read a little bit a day.[close]
This sounds great.
W Somerset Maugham "Of Human Bondage" has been a long read. It's not that the novel is particularly difficult to understand, but rather the depth of thought and its effect on interpersonal relationships experienced by each character, particularly Philip, is expansive and despite the book having been written in 1915, relatable. Not so much the background or tangible experience, but the growth of person and again, thought, presented through Philip is in some ways reminiscent of my own and that of others I've known in seeking a path in their early 20s. Granted, I didn't have a trust fund, but I owned a car and do remember well traveling around with a camera and skateboard, experiencing women and art, heroes quickly crushed. I've got about 1/3 left to read and hope to be done soon. No spoilers please
On a pulpy, LA, novels-from-1939 kick this week:Read day of the locust in school, sick. Is that the one with the graphic cock fight scene? Also the dudes homer simpson right?
(https://www.pulpcurry.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Day-of-the-Locust.jpeg)
(https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B2%2F0%2F3%2F8%2F4%2F20384298%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D)
Don't have these editions, of course. Both titles are great. I especially recommend the West, though. Really remarkable.
Yes to both! The cockfight scene really is remarkable, as hard to read as it is. West must have sat (stood?) in on a couple of real cockfights for research purposes.Yea thats a definite. Research or mayb he was low key a fan. Either case classic "pulpy l.a.novel" for sure.
Reading The Gulag Archipelago, written by a prisoner in the Soviet Union. Hard to read but really good. It’s the book that flipped a lot of Soviet sympathetic thinkers against the Soviet Union.
i'm working on the schedule for the literature class ("Encountering Modernity") that i'm fortunate enough to be teaching this semester. in addition to Shelley's Frankenstein, Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, and Hamid's Exit West the department makes us teach out of volume 2 of the Norton Anthology of World Literature.It's been a very long time since I read "Native Son", so it's hard for me to comment faithfully on similarities or deviations from the text that occur in the movie. I do know that when I watched this, the general plot made me feel like I was revisiting the book, if that makes sense. So I guess I would say that it is probably relatively faithful to the source material, just in a modern setting. Which, race and class relations in modern day Chicago probably haven't really changed that much since the time that Wright wrote the book. Anyway, I loved the book when I read it 20 years ago, and the movie was good too.
i'm definitely assigning James Baldwin's essay "Notes of a Native Son," and so while looking for some kind of brief clip on Youtube on Richard Wright's Native Son to provide some background/context--since Baldwin's essay (and the book of essays it comes from) is essentially a response to Wright's novel and the character Bigger Thomas--i came across this trailer for a film i did not even know existed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghfwH5jWTbc
Ashton Sanders is truly outstanding in Moonlight and this looks incredible...and i'm just curious for anyone who has seen it and is familiar with the novel, if you have any thoughts on specific scenes that are doing interesting things with Wright's original character of Bigger Thomas?
It's been a very long time since I read "Native Son", so it's hard for me to comment faithfully on similarities or deviations from the text that occur in the movie. I do know that when I watched this, the general plot made me feel like I was revisiting the book, if that makes sense. So I guess I would say that it is probably relatively faithful to the source material, just in a modern setting. Which, race and class relations in modern day Chicago probably haven't really changed that much since the time that Wright wrote the book. Anyway, I loved the book when I read it 20 years ago, and the movie was good too.Expand Quotei'm working on the schedule for the literature class ("Encountering Modernity") that i'm fortunate enough to be teaching this semester. in addition to Shelley's Frankenstein, Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, and Hamid's Exit West the department makes us teach out of volume 2 of the Norton Anthology of World Literature.
i'm definitely assigning James Baldwin's essay "Notes of a Native Son," and so while looking for some kind of brief clip on Youtube on Richard Wright's Native Son to provide some background/context--since Baldwin's essay (and the book of essays it comes from) is essentially a response to Wright's novel and the character Bigger Thomas--i came across this trailer for a film i did not even know existed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghfwH5jWTbc
Ashton Sanders is truly outstanding in Moonlight and this looks incredible...and i'm just curious for anyone who has seen it and is familiar with the novel, if you have any thoughts on specific scenes that are doing interesting things with Wright's original character of Bigger Thomas?[close]
Halfway through Obama's A Promised Land. As said, usually I'm not into politician's memoirs, but in the light of the shitshow of 2021, Obama's quite a refreshing read. As could be expected, it's at times overly dramatic and Hollywood-esque with him shedding tears over letters from parents of fallen soldiers, blablabla... but at its core, it also provides valuable insight into how different institutions and key players in America work in practice. In its best moments, Obama carries you through the conflicting ideas and feelings behind his decisions. Not being from the US myself, this has taught me a lot about certain unwritten rules in US politics that I hadn't been aware of. There's also some interesting behind-the-scenes stuff (probably not always the whole truth, of course).
I also like Obama as a person. Obviously, he's trying really hard to come off as the guy-next-door, but it's also nice to listen to a politician, who doesn't shy away from questioning himself and his motivations in politics and who somewhat believes in the value of modesty. I'm also buying his inner conflict between pragmatism and idealism. Obama never seemed like a power-hungry narcissist to me.
While Obama is being fair to almost all fellow politicians, he also proves that Mitch McConnell is a complete dipshit, and tells you not just between the lines.
That being said, it's about time to get back to my normal reading. Just had these in the mail. Can't decide which one to read first:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41o7bfcZJ1L.jpg)
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516QP9gTpRL.jpg)
(https://images.randomhouse.com/cover/9780525576716)
Expand QuoteHalfway through Obama's A Promised Land. As said, usually I'm not into politician's memoirs, but in the light of the shitshow of 2021, Obama's quite a refreshing read. As could be expected, it's at times overly dramatic and Hollywood-esque with him shedding tears over letters from parents of fallen soldiers, blablabla... but at its core, it also provides valuable insight into how different institutions and key players in America work in practice. In its best moments, Obama carries you through the conflicting ideas and feelings behind his decisions. Not being from the US myself, this has taught me a lot about certain unwritten rules in US politics that I hadn't been aware of. There's also some interesting behind-the-scenes stuff (probably not always the whole truth, of course).
I also like Obama as a person. Obviously, he's trying really hard to come off as the guy-next-door, but it's also nice to listen to a politician, who doesn't shy away from questioning himself and his motivations in politics and who somewhat believes in the value of modesty. I'm also buying his inner conflict between pragmatism and idealism. Obama never seemed like a power-hungry narcissist to me.
While Obama is being fair to almost all fellow politicians, he also proves that Mitch McConnell is a complete dipshit, and tells you not just between the lines.
That being said, it's about time to get back to my normal reading. Just had these in the mail. Can't decide which one to read first:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41o7bfcZJ1L.jpg)
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516QP9gTpRL.jpg)
(https://images.randomhouse.com/cover/9780525576716)[close]
I think reading through Obama's memoir and seeing him continue to try and argue in good faith and work in a bipartisanship manner after the midterms where they got swept by the tea party shows that he was dangerously naive. He should have been more combative and he should have followed Reid's example and pushed aggressively for his agenda instead of meeting in the middle with the frothing psychos who hated him.
I’ve uh, been reading a whole bunch of war books last couple weeks, they’re like crack to me.
Can anyone recommend?
Ones I read already are
Dispatches
Chickenhawk
Lone survivor
Marine corps tank battles
War
Black hawk down
A bright shining lie
Fearless
Seal team six
Matterhorn
We were soldiers once and young
American sniper
Kill anything that moves
Night drop
Seal of honour
Going after cacciato - almost finished and I have bogged down wtf is the whole book like a dream sequence or what? It’s alright though
I am not counting stuff like Vonnegut, Hemingway, Joseph Heller or any of the Russians. They’re great books but I read them already - I’m sorta locked in to more non fiction type stuff right now, but yeah a couple I listed above are fiction
Cheers
Edit
Where are you cunts stealing your books from I usually go to pdfdrive but I’d be interested if there’s other good sites. Many you gotta join, fuck around with all these links and bullshit and it just seems suss
Anyone know any ones like pdfdrive?
Expand QuoteI’ve uh, been reading a whole bunch of war books last couple weeks, they’re like crack to me.
Can anyone recommend?
Ones I read already are
Dispatches
Chickenhawk
Lone survivor
Marine corps tank battles
War
Black hawk down
A bright shining lie
Fearless
Seal team six
Matterhorn
We were soldiers once and young
American sniper
Kill anything that moves
Night drop
Seal of honour
Going after cacciato - almost finished and I have bogged down wtf is the whole book like a dream sequence or what? It’s alright though
I am not counting stuff like Vonnegut, Hemingway, Joseph Heller or any of the Russians. They’re great books but I read them already - I’m sorta locked in to more non fiction type stuff right now, but yeah a couple I listed above are fiction
Cheers
Edit
Where are you cunts stealing your books from I usually go to pdfdrive but I’d be interested if there’s other good sites. Many you gotta join, fuck around with all these links and bullshit and it just seems suss
Anyone know any ones like pdfdrive?[close]
b-ok.cc/ (http://b-ok.cc/)
anything you can imagine, no payment needed. z library, boyeee
Tolstoy, for sure. The golden age of Russian literature is the cats pajamas.
Expand QuoteHalfway through Obama's A Promised Land. As said, usually I'm not into politician's memoirs, but in the light of the shitshow of 2021, Obama's quite a refreshing read. As could be expected, it's at times overly dramatic and Hollywood-esque with him shedding tears over letters from parents of fallen soldiers, blablabla... but at its core, it also provides valuable insight into how different institutions and key players in America work in practice. In its best moments, Obama carries you through the conflicting ideas and feelings behind his decisions. Not being from the US myself, this has taught me a lot about certain unwritten rules in US politics that I hadn't been aware of. There's also some interesting behind-the-scenes stuff (probably not always the whole truth, of course).
I also like Obama as a person. Obviously, he's trying really hard to come off as the guy-next-door, but it's also nice to listen to a politician, who doesn't shy away from questioning himself and his motivations in politics and who somewhat believes in the value of modesty. I'm also buying his inner conflict between pragmatism and idealism. Obama never seemed like a power-hungry narcissist to me.
While Obama is being fair to almost all fellow politicians, he also proves that Mitch McConnell is a complete dipshit, and tells you not just between the lines.
That being said, it's about time to get back to my normal reading. Just had these in the mail. Can't decide which one to read first:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41o7bfcZJ1L.jpg)
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516QP9gTpRL.jpg)
(https://images.randomhouse.com/cover/9780525576716)[close]
I think reading through Obama's memoir and seeing him continue to try and argue in good faith and work in a bipartisanship manner after the midterms where they got swept by the tea party shows that he was dangerously naive. He should have been more combative and he should have followed Reid's example and pushed aggressively for his agenda instead of meeting in the middle with the frothing psychos who hated him.
Found a bunch of obscure philosophy books on that site so thanks for sharing! I’m still taking forever to get through the Knausgaard essays but am almost done. They’re fine but can get a little meh on their own. They definitely don’t have the same force as My Struggle and reading them all together is doesn’t work as well as reading them separately as they’re published elsewhere.
b-ok.cc/ (http://b-ok.cc/)
anything you can imagine, no payment needed. z library, boyeee
Expand QuoteFound a bunch of obscure philosophy books on that site so thanks for sharing! I’m still taking forever to get through the Knausgaard essays but am almost done. They’re fine but can get a little meh on their own. They definitely don’t have the same force as My Struggle and reading them all together is doesn’t work as well as reading them separately as they’re published elsewhere.[close]
Which essay collection are you reading? In the Land of the Cyclops?
I must say that - despite loving books 1 to 5 of My Struggle - I was a little put off by book 6. Never finished it to be honest and at this point, I'm not sure I ever will. It's not that I don't like a demanding analysis every once in a while, but I had no idea where exactly he was going with that Celan poem. I think what was really bothering me was the contrast to the emotional depth and style of previous books. Even though I might have missed something, it seems to me like Knausgaard is out of his element when he writes complex literary analyses. I'm not saying that he doesn't know what he's talking about - he obviously does - but I think he can't convey his points the same way he can when he talks about real life events. What did you think about book 6?
That being said, I feel some of his best writing is in this underrated gem of a a book. To me, it's up there with Fever Pitch as one of the best books about football ever. Hands down. Strong recommendation if you're into football.
Anybody else fuck with a short story?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteFound a bunch of obscure philosophy books on that site so thanks for sharing! I’m still taking forever to get through the Knausgaard essays but am almost done. They’re fine but can get a little meh on their own. They definitely don’t have the same force as My Struggle and reading them all together is doesn’t work as well as reading them separately as they’re published elsewhere.[close]
Which essay collection are you reading? In the Land of the Cyclops?
I must say that - despite loving books 1 to 5 of My Struggle - I was a little put off by book 6. Never finished it to be honest and at this point, I'm not sure I ever will. It's not that I don't like a demanding analysis every once in a while, but I had no idea where exactly he was going with that Celan poem. I think what was really bothering me was the contrast to the emotional depth and style of previous books. Even though I might have missed something, it seems to me like Knausgaard is out of his element when he writes complex literary analyses. I'm not saying that he doesn't know what he's talking about - he obviously does - but I think he can't convey his points the same way he can when he talks about real life events. What did you think about book 6?
That being said, I feel some of his best writing is in this underrated gem of a a book. To me, it's up there with Fever Pitch as one of the best books about football ever. Hands down. Strong recommendation if you're into football.[close]
Yep - In the Land of the Cyclops
I agree with you completely about Knausgaard. I definitely like his personal essay, recounting his life versus his criticism voice. Those parts of My Struggle were definitely my least favorite unless he directly tied it to his inner experiences. Book 6 suffered because of that, especially the middle third about Hitler (and Breivik to a much lesser extent). I understand what he was doing but the best parts of that section were the brief times he put his life in the fore and described how it personally impacted him. I will say that the last third is MUCH better. It's more in line with the other 5 books and I liked the first third (also save for the Celan analysis). It was altogether an uneven end to the series but does make sense as a whole and the last third makes up for it and is a satisfying conclusion.
I read George Saunders' Tenth of December book of short stories in college and really loved it, I'm a sucker for bleak shit. Also, something about the short story collection format is really attractive to me. Reminds me of when my parents would read Stephen King's collections to spook us out around the campfire or on Halloween.Anton chekov. His short stories are perfect. Pushkin has some shorts too.
I wanna give Pastoralia a shot. Anybody else fuck with a short story?
Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon is a classic and a fantastic work of art
I recently finished "The Hard Life" by Flann O Brian (Brian O'Nolan), it's a really bizarre yet captivating novella set in Ireland at the turn of the century (1900). It charts the adolescense of a young man in Dublin, and his brother and father, I wouldn't want to ruin the plot, it's odd and is riddled with criticism of the Irish education system, the Catholic Church. I picked up another of his books called "The Third Policeman", released posthumously (I think they found the book in his house after he'd died and got it published). Apparently he used to write in to the local newspaper pretending to be two different people, argueing with himself about different topics in the public opinions section, but they only figured out it was him after he died and they checked his house. I would definitely recommend The Hard Life if you enjoy odd fiction, it's told really well, I think you can find most of his work online for fairly cheap.
(https://biblioklept.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/img_5819.jpg?w=640)
I read a lot of post-war American Lit in university but this never came across my radar until now. Picked it up to honor Black History Month and so far its a stunning read.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png/220px-Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png)
dont know if anyones mentioned this, but this book is fucking incredible. and its true. read it. i started reading it a second time as soon as i finished.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png/220px-Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png)
dont know if anyones mentioned this, but this book is fucking incredible. and its true. read it. i started reading it a second time as soon as i finished.
Expand Quote(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png/220px-Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png)
dont know if anyones mentioned this, but this book is fucking incredible. and its true. read it. i started reading it a second time as soon as i finished.[close]
Got that one based on this recommendation, so thanks. Is there anything comparable but shedding more light on the loyalist side of the conflict?
Expand QuoteExpand Quote(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png/220px-Say_Nothing_%28Patrick_Radden_Keefe%29.png)
dont know if anyones mentioned this, but this book is fucking incredible. and its true. read it. i started reading it a second time as soon as i finished.[close]
Got that one based on this recommendation, so thanks. Is there anything comparable but shedding more light on the loyalist side of the conflict?[close]
(https://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.3384985.1518098627!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg)
Don't worry about it.
this thread is great, big thanks for linking z library.
currently reading and enjoying this one-
(https://i.ibb.co/QJmTWK9/images.jpg)
can't believe someone brought J.B.Jackson into this thread--i love it and it's great to see, and Discovering the Vernacular Landscape is one of my favorites.Honestly was a random thrift store find for me, I'm always on the lookout for university press stuff, frequently interesting if outside my normal range of reading.
honestly, throughout my graduate work and beyond, he's probably been more influential on me than anybody else (other than maybe David Harvey)--i consider myself to be an urban/suburban historian, i just approach it through a cultural lens, and he's definitely been an inspiration.
by the way, as i understand it, these folks were pretty tight with Jackson, and i've seen their seminal Learning From Las Vegas described as being a "version of JB Jackson's modern anthropology through the lens of ego-driven architects"
To be honest, I’m still making my way through it. It’s very intense and sad just as a warning so I’ve been reading it a few chapters at a time (and I haven’t felt much like reading overall) but I do like it and it is gorgeously done. And yeah, the author was originally commissioned to translate Gorman and Gorman’s reps agreed to it but the Netherlands press pointed out that they had a very different experience from Gorman and that no black Dutch translators or artists were considered so Rijneveld backed out when that came to light. I think it was a fairly cut-and-dry issue.
Good luck on book 6! I’ve talked about it before but that’s the first book I really had to work out a schedule to finish it in a reasonable amount of time. It’s definitely made me realize the enormity of 1000+ page works. I’ve never had a problem with traditionally long books but once you get past like 750-800 pages, it really is a whole different ball game.
Started this book a couple days ago and I'm halfway through it already, really enjoying it:
https://1lib.us/book/1316754/abd06a
It's mostly a memoir by this journalist who gets really into collecting antique opium pipes, decides to start using them, and winds up developing a severe opiate addiction. Throughout the book he also goes into a good in-depth rundown of the history/evolution of the usage styles & laws surrounding opium too.
shout out to whomever recommended The Big Goodbye and You Can't Win.
Working through those two now
Started reading The Fire Next Time on recommendation from @Deputy Wendell on this very page. It's good. Short too, I'm almost finished. Makes me feel like a braniac. Also picked up Confederacy of Dunces but it's way longer than I expected. I'll give it an honest try. Picked up a compilation of Groucho Marx letters, that one I'm really looking forward to.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31dVzO7bsTL._SX290_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
it has sparked a non-insignificant mental health heckride
Expand QuoteTo be honest, I’m still making my way through it. It’s very intense and sad just as a warning so I’ve been reading it a few chapters at a time (and I haven’t felt much like reading overall) but I do like it and it is gorgeously done. And yeah, the author was originally commissioned to translate Gorman and Gorman’s reps agreed to it but the Netherlands press pointed out that they had a very different experience from Gorman and that no black Dutch translators or artists were considered so Rijneveld backed out when that came to light. I think it was a fairly cut-and-dry issue.
Good luck on book 6! I’ve talked about it before but that’s the first book I really had to work out a schedule to finish it in a reasonable amount of time. It’s definitely made me realize the enormity of 1000+ page works. I’ve never had a problem with traditionally long books but once you get past like 750-800 pages, it really is a whole different ball game.[close]
Thanks for the heads up. I really appreciate it. In that case, I'll back off for now. The author sounds intriguing, but I'm sure she'll publish a second novel some time soon, which might not be as intense.
Yeah, I just read up on the issue and all in all it sounds about right.
Knausgaard's books are usually a page-turner for me. A 600-page Knausgaard book feels like a regular 200-page novel. Mentally, I haven't really prepared for the long haul. But maybe that's what's coming.
I hear what you're saying about long novels though. A 1000-page monster of a book is something you have to be ready for, because of the time and dedication it takes. However, these are also sometimes the most rewarding reads. 2666, War and Peace, and, despite its shorter length, Crime and Punishment, these books have stayed with me even long after I put them down. I'm thinking about reading The Brothers Karamazov as my next longer book project. Any other long reads that are worth the effort?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteTo be honest, I’m still making my way through it. It’s very intense and sad just as a warning so I’ve been reading it a few chapters at a time (and I haven’t felt much like reading overall) but I do like it and it is gorgeously done. And yeah, the author was originally commissioned to translate Gorman and Gorman’s reps agreed to it but the Netherlands press pointed out that they had a very different experience from Gorman and that no black Dutch translators or artists were considered so Rijneveld backed out when that came to light. I think it was a fairly cut-and-dry issue.
Good luck on book 6! I’ve talked about it before but that’s the first book I really had to work out a schedule to finish it in a reasonable amount of time. It’s definitely made me realize the enormity of 1000+ page works. I’ve never had a problem with traditionally long books but once you get past like 750-800 pages, it really is a whole different ball game.[close]
Thanks for the heads up. I really appreciate it. In that case, I'll back off for now. The author sounds intriguing, but I'm sure she'll publish a second novel some time soon, which might not be as intense.
Yeah, I just read up on the issue and all in all it sounds about right.
Knausgaard's books are usually a page-turner for me. A 600-page Knausgaard book feels like a regular 200-page novel. Mentally, I haven't really prepared for the long haul. But maybe that's what's coming.
I hear what you're saying about long novels though. A 1000-page monster of a book is something you have to be ready for, because of the time and dedication it takes. However, these are also sometimes the most rewarding reads. 2666, War and Peace, and, despite its shorter length, Crime and Punishment, these books have stayed with me even long after I put them down. I'm thinking about reading The Brothers Karamazov as my next longer book project. Any other long reads that are worth the effort?[close]
You posted this a while ago but the author did already publish a new novel, which I guess hasn't been translated to English yet. I haven't read it yet but from reading the synopsis and a couple pages in someone else's copy I know for a fact it's just as intense, if not more. (it's sort of a continuation of The Discomfort of Evening and delves into sexual abuse)
“...While I was in Chicago last summer, the Honourable Elijah Muhammad invited me to have dinner at his home. This is a stately mansion on Chicago's South Side, and it is the headquarters of the Nation of Islam movement. I had not gone to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad--he was not in my thoughts at all--but the moment I received the invitation, it occurred to me that I ought to have expected it. In a way, I owe the invitation to the incredible, abysmal, and really cowardly obtuseness of white liberals. Whether in private debate or in public, any attempt I made to explain how the Black Muslim movement came about, and how it has achieved such force, was met with a blankness that revealed the little connection that the liberals' attitudes have with their perceptions of their lives, or even their knowledge--revealed, in fact, that they could deal with the Negro as a symbol or a victim but had no sense of him as a man...Therefore, late on a hot Sunday afternoon, I presented myself at his door.
I was frightened, because I had, in effect, been summoned into a royal presence. I was frightened for another reason, too. I knew the tension in me between love and power, between pain and rage, and the curious, the grinding way I remained extended between these poles--perpetually attempting to choose the better rather than the worse. But this choice was a choice in terms of a personal, a private better (I was, after all, a writer); what was its relevance in terms of a social worse? Here was the South Side--a million in captivity-stretching from this doorstep as far as the eye could see. And they didn't even read; depressed populations don't have the time or energy to spare. The affluent populations, which should have been their help, didn't, as far as could be discovered, read, either--they merely bought books and devoured them, but not in order to learn : in order to learn new attitudes. Also, I knew that once I had entered the house, I couldn't smoke or drink, and I felt guilty about the cigarettes in my pocket, as I had felt years ago when my friend first took me into his church. I was half an hour late, having got lost on the way here, and I felt as deserving of a scolding as a schoolboy...
...I felt that I was back in my father's house--as, indeed, in a way, I was--and I told Elijah that I did not care if white and black people married, and that I had many white friends. I would have no choice, if it came to it, but to perish with them, for (I said to myself, but not to Elijah), ‘I love a few people and they love me and some of them are white, and isn't love more important than colour?’
Elijah looked at me with great kindness and affection, great pity, as though he were reading my heart, and indicated, sceptically, that I might have white friends, or think I did, and they might be trying to be decent--now--but their time was up. It was almost as though he were saying. ‘They had their chance, man, and they goofed!’...
...And I looked again at the young faces around the table, and looked back at Elijah, who was saying that no people in history had ever been respected who had not owned their land. And the table said, ‘Yes, that's right.’ I could not deny the truth of this statement. For everyone else has, is, a nation, with a specific location and a flag--even, these days, the Jew. It is only ‘the so-called American Negro’ who remains trapped, disinherited, and despised, in a nation that has kept him in bondage for nearly four hundred years and is still unable to recognize him as a human being. And the Black Muslims, along with many people who are not Muslims, no longer wish for a recognition so grudging and (should it ever be achieved) so tardy. Again, it cannot be denied that this point of view is abundantly justified by American Negro history. It is galling indeed to have stood so long, hat in hand, waiting for Americans to grow up enough to realize that you do not threaten them. On the other hand, how is the American Negro now to form himself into a separate nation? For this--and not only from the Muslim point of view--would seem to be his only hope of not perishing in the American backwater and being entirely and forever forgotten, as though he had never existed at all and his travail had been for nothing...
... It was time to leave, and we stood in the large living room, saying good night, with everything curiously and heavily unresolved. I could not help feeling that I had failed a test, in their eyes and in my own, or that I had failed to heed a warning. Elijah and I shook hands, and he asked me where I was going. Wherever it was, I would be driven there—'because, when we invite someone here,’ he said, ‘we take the responsibility of protecting him from the white devils until he gets wherever it is he's going.' I was, in fact, going to have a drink with several white devils on the other side of town. I confess that for a fraction of a second I hesitated to give the address--the kind of address that in Chicago, as in all American cities, identified itself as a white address by virtue of its location. But I did give it, and Elijah and I walked out onto the steps, and one of the young men vanished to get the car. It was very strange to stand with Elijah for those few moments, facing those vivid, violent, so problematical streets. I felt very close to him, and really wished to be able to love and honour him as a witness, an ally, and a father. I felt that I knew something of his pain and his fury, and, yes, even his beauty. Yet precisely because of the reality and the nature of those streets--because of what he conceived as his responsibility and what I took to be mine--we would always be strangers, and possibly, one day, enemies. The car arrived--a gleaming, metallic, grossly American blue--and Elijah and I shook hands and said good night once more. He walked into his mansion and shut the door...”
(https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/dl%2020th%20century/20th%20century%20collection%20items/down-at-the-cross-12208_a_1_2237_front_cover.jpg)
Finished Crying in H Mart and started on The Collected Schizophrenias. This book is excellent so far.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteTo be honest, I’m still making my way through it. It’s very intense and sad just as a warning so I’ve been reading it a few chapters at a time (and I haven’t felt much like reading overall) but I do like it and it is gorgeously done. And yeah, the author was originally commissioned to translate Gorman and Gorman’s reps agreed to it but the Netherlands press pointed out that they had a very different experience from Gorman and that no black Dutch translators or artists were considered so Rijneveld backed out when that came to light. I think it was a fairly cut-and-dry issue.
Good luck on book 6! I’ve talked about it before but that’s the first book I really had to work out a schedule to finish it in a reasonable amount of time. It’s definitely made me realize the enormity of 1000+ page works. I’ve never had a problem with traditionally long books but once you get past like 750-800 pages, it really is a whole different ball game.[close]
Thanks for the heads up. I really appreciate it. In that case, I'll back off for now. The author sounds intriguing, but I'm sure she'll publish a second novel some time soon, which might not be as intense.
Yeah, I just read up on the issue and all in all it sounds about right.
Knausgaard's books are usually a page-turner for me. A 600-page Knausgaard book feels like a regular 200-page novel. Mentally, I haven't really prepared for the long haul. But maybe that's what's coming.
I hear what you're saying about long novels though. A 1000-page monster of a book is something you have to be ready for, because of the time and dedication it takes. However, these are also sometimes the most rewarding reads. 2666, War and Peace, and, despite its shorter length, Crime and Punishment, these books have stayed with me even long after I put them down. I'm thinking about reading The Brothers Karamazov as my next longer book project. Any other long reads that are worth the effort?[close]
You posted this a while ago but the author did already publish a new novel, which I guess hasn't been translated to English yet. I haven't read it yet but from reading the synopsis and a couple pages in someone else's copy I know for a fact it's just as intense, if not more. (it's sort of a continuation of The Discomfort of Evening and delves into sexual abuse)
@AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice on the subject of long reads, not the highest page count, but James Joyce Ulysses probably took me the longest. I read it over the course of 2 years, taking breaks and rereading parts. When I tried to move too fast I found I wasn't able to parse or retain much. Like you said about your long reads, it was nonetheless a gratifying experience.
Expand Quote“...While I was in Chicago last summer, the Honourable Elijah Muhammad invited me to have dinner at his home. This is a stately mansion on Chicago's South Side, and it is the headquarters of the Nation of Islam movement. I had not gone to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad--he was not in my thoughts at all--but the moment I received the invitation, it occurred to me that I ought to have expected it. In a way, I owe the invitation to the incredible, abysmal, and really cowardly obtuseness of white liberals. Whether in private debate or in public, any attempt I made to explain how the Black Muslim movement came about, and how it has achieved such force, was met with a blankness that revealed the little connection that the liberals' attitudes have with their perceptions of their lives, or even their knowledge--revealed, in fact, that they could deal with the Negro as a symbol or a victim but had no sense of him as a man...Therefore, late on a hot Sunday afternoon, I presented myself at his door.
I was frightened, because I had, in effect, been summoned into a royal presence. I was frightened for another reason, too. I knew the tension in me between love and power, between pain and rage, and the curious, the grinding way I remained extended between these poles--perpetually attempting to choose the better rather than the worse. But this choice was a choice in terms of a personal, a private better (I was, after all, a writer); what was its relevance in terms of a social worse? Here was the South Side--a million in captivity-stretching from this doorstep as far as the eye could see. And they didn't even read; depressed populations don't have the time or energy to spare. The affluent populations, which should have been their help, didn't, as far as could be discovered, read, either--they merely bought books and devoured them, but not in order to learn : in order to learn new attitudes. Also, I knew that once I had entered the house, I couldn't smoke or drink, and I felt guilty about the cigarettes in my pocket, as I had felt years ago when my friend first took me into his church. I was half an hour late, having got lost on the way here, and I felt as deserving of a scolding as a schoolboy...
...I felt that I was back in my father's house--as, indeed, in a way, I was--and I told Elijah that I did not care if white and black people married, and that I had many white friends. I would have no choice, if it came to it, but to perish with them, for (I said to myself, but not to Elijah), ‘I love a few people and they love me and some of them are white, and isn't love more important than colour?’
Elijah looked at me with great kindness and affection, great pity, as though he were reading my heart, and indicated, sceptically, that I might have white friends, or think I did, and they might be trying to be decent--now--but their time was up. It was almost as though he were saying. ‘They had their chance, man, and they goofed!’...
...And I looked again at the young faces around the table, and looked back at Elijah, who was saying that no people in history had ever been respected who had not owned their land. And the table said, ‘Yes, that's right.’ I could not deny the truth of this statement. For everyone else has, is, a nation, with a specific location and a flag--even, these days, the Jew. It is only ‘the so-called American Negro’ who remains trapped, disinherited, and despised, in a nation that has kept him in bondage for nearly four hundred years and is still unable to recognize him as a human being. And the Black Muslims, along with many people who are not Muslims, no longer wish for a recognition so grudging and (should it ever be achieved) so tardy. Again, it cannot be denied that this point of view is abundantly justified by American Negro history. It is galling indeed to have stood so long, hat in hand, waiting for Americans to grow up enough to realize that you do not threaten them. On the other hand, how is the American Negro now to form himself into a separate nation? For this--and not only from the Muslim point of view--would seem to be his only hope of not perishing in the American backwater and being entirely and forever forgotten, as though he had never existed at all and his travail had been for nothing...
... It was time to leave, and we stood in the large living room, saying good night, with everything curiously and heavily unresolved. I could not help feeling that I had failed a test, in their eyes and in my own, or that I had failed to heed a warning. Elijah and I shook hands, and he asked me where I was going. Wherever it was, I would be driven there—'because, when we invite someone here,’ he said, ‘we take the responsibility of protecting him from the white devils until he gets wherever it is he's going.' I was, in fact, going to have a drink with several white devils on the other side of town. I confess that for a fraction of a second I hesitated to give the address--the kind of address that in Chicago, as in all American cities, identified itself as a white address by virtue of its location. But I did give it, and Elijah and I walked out onto the steps, and one of the young men vanished to get the car. It was very strange to stand with Elijah for those few moments, facing those vivid, violent, so problematical streets. I felt very close to him, and really wished to be able to love and honour him as a witness, an ally, and a father. I felt that I knew something of his pain and his fury, and, yes, even his beauty. Yet precisely because of the reality and the nature of those streets--because of what he conceived as his responsibility and what I took to be mine--we would always be strangers, and possibly, one day, enemies. The car arrived--a gleaming, metallic, grossly American blue--and Elijah and I shook hands and said good night once more. He walked into his mansion and shut the door...”
(https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/dl%2020th%20century/20th%20century%20collection%20items/down-at-the-cross-12208_a_1_2237_front_cover.jpg)[close]
One of the best books I've ever read. That whole portion with THEM is just fucking incredible.
Expand Quoteshout out to whomever recommended The Big Goodbye and You Can't Win.
Working through those two now[close]
I just downloaded You Can't Win cause it was referenced a few times in that opium book I just read. I love books about crimes & drugs, and that sounds like a good one.Expand QuoteStarted reading The Fire Next Time on recommendation from @Deputy Wendell on this very page. It's good. Short too, I'm almost finished. Makes me feel like a braniac. Also picked up Confederacy of Dunces but it's way longer than I expected. I'll give it an honest try. Picked up a compilation of Groucho Marx letters, that one I'm really looking forward to.[close]
Confederacy of Dunces is funny cause if Ignatius was born in the 90s and skated, he would totally post on Slap.
Expand Quote@AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice on the subject of long reads, not the highest page count, but James Joyce Ulysses probably took me the longest. I read it over the course of 2 years, taking breaks and rereading parts. When I tried to move too fast I found I wasn't able to parse or retain much. Like you said about your long reads, it was nonetheless a gratifying experience.[close]
Wow, 2 years is a long period of time, but I see where you're coming from. I tried to read Ulysses after attending a Joyce seminar at university (where we delved into Dubliners Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man), but I just read it like a regular novel, which I guess, isn't really the way to do it. I love Joyce though, and maybe close reading Ulysses a piece at a time makes sense. Did you use any secondary literature?
Speaking of long reads, I'm almost done with My Struggle 6. I enjoyed it much more than when I first tried reading it and stopped somewhere in the Celan essay. Now, I read the Celan poem he talks about beforehand and took away more from that part. The Hitler essay was really interesting, even though I'm not exactly sure how it relates to the rest of the book. I understand that Knausgaard felt like he had to address the topic due to the similarity of the title and he connects his own background to Hitler's and the theme of authenticity, but it still feels like a bit of a stretch. Still, I just thought it was interesting to learn so much I didn't know about Hitler's youth and the Weimar era. I'm in the middle of the last part and reading about his relationship to his (now ex-)wife is heartbreaking. This is where Knausgaard is strongest as a writer IMO: Touching readers on an emotional level, being brutally honest, talking about everyday experiences. It's all there.
Expand QuoteExpand Quote@AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice on the subject of long reads, not the highest page count, but James Joyce Ulysses probably took me the longest. I read it over the course of 2 years, taking breaks and rereading parts. When I tried to move too fast I found I wasn't able to parse or retain much. Like you said about your long reads, it was nonetheless a gratifying experience.[close]
Wow, 2 years is a long period of time, but I see where you're coming from. I tried to read Ulysses after attending a Joyce seminar at university (where we delved into Dubliners Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man), but I just read it like a regular novel, which I guess, isn't really the way to do it. I love Joyce though, and maybe close reading Ulysses a piece at a time makes sense. Did you use any secondary literature?
Speaking of long reads, I'm almost done with My Struggle 6. I enjoyed it much more than when I first tried reading it and stopped somewhere in the Celan essay. Now, I read the Celan poem he talks about beforehand and took away more from that part. The Hitler essay was really interesting, even though I'm not exactly sure how it relates to the rest of the book. I understand that Knausgaard felt like he had to address the topic due to the similarity of the title and he connects his own background to Hitler's and the theme of authenticity, but it still feels like a bit of a stretch. Still, I just thought it was interesting to learn so much I didn't know about Hitler's youth and the Weimar era. I'm in the middle of the last part and reading about his relationship to his (now ex-)wife is heartbreaking. This is where Knausgaard is strongest as a writer IMO: Touching readers on an emotional level, being brutally honest, talking about everyday experiences. It's all there.[close]
Glad you’re liking Book 6 a lot more and I agree with you 100%. The Hitler part does touch on how mundane his like was and how easily someone can become awful - same why he mentioned Breivik. Like, how evil isn’t always a once in a generation, born a monster type thing it instead a close accumulation of problems and deviancy and then suddenly you’re lost.
I can definitely find some secondary things to share about Ulysses. They’re somewhere in this thread. I’ve read it 3 times (once on my own, twice through two different undergrad classes) and the supplemental material really enriched the experience. I have it on my list to re-read again actually...
Expand QuoteExpand Quote@AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice on the subject of long reads, not the highest page count, but James Joyce Ulysses probably took me the longest. I read it over the course of 2 years, taking breaks and rereading parts. When I tried to move too fast I found I wasn't able to parse or retain much. Like you said about your long reads, it was nonetheless a gratifying experience.[close]
Wow, 2 years is a long period of time, but I see where you're coming from. I tried to read Ulysses after attending a Joyce seminar at university (where we delved into Dubliners Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man), but I just read it like a regular novel, which I guess, isn't really the way to do it. I love Joyce though, and maybe close reading Ulysses a piece at a time makes sense. Did you use any secondary literature?
Speaking of long reads, I'm almost done with My Struggle 6. I enjoyed it much more than when I first tried reading it and stopped somewhere in the Celan essay. Now, I read the Celan poem he talks about beforehand and took away more from that part. The Hitler essay was really interesting, even though I'm not exactly sure how it relates to the rest of the book. I understand that Knausgaard felt like he had to address the topic due to the similarity of the title and he connects his own background to Hitler's and the theme of authenticity, but it still feels like a bit of a stretch. Still, I just thought it was interesting to learn so much I didn't know about Hitler's youth and the Weimar era. I'm in the middle of the last part and reading about his relationship to his (now ex-)wife is heartbreaking. This is where Knausgaard is strongest as a writer IMO: Touching readers on an emotional level, being brutally honest, talking about everyday experiences. It's all there.[close]
Glad you’re liking Book 6 a lot more and I agree with you 100%. The Hitler part does touch on how mundane his like was and how easily someone can become awful - same why he mentioned Breivik. Like, how evil isn’t always a once in a generation, born a monster type thing it instead a close accumulation of problems and deviancy and then suddenly you’re lost.
I can definitely find some secondary things to share about Ulysses. They’re somewhere in this thread. I’ve read it 3 times (once on my own, twice through two different undergrad classes) and the supplemental material really enriched the experience. I have it on my list to re-read again actually...
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote@AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice on the subject of long reads, not the highest page count, but James Joyce Ulysses probably took me the longest. I read it over the course of 2 years, taking breaks and rereading parts. When I tried to move too fast I found I wasn't able to parse or retain much. Like you said about your long reads, it was nonetheless a gratifying experience.[close]
Wow, 2 years is a long period of time, but I see where you're coming from. I tried to read Ulysses after attending a Joyce seminar at university (where we delved into Dubliners Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man), but I just read it like a regular novel, which I guess, isn't really the way to do it. I love Joyce though, and maybe close reading Ulysses a piece at a time makes sense. Did you use any secondary literature?
Speaking of long reads, I'm almost done with My Struggle 6. I enjoyed it much more than when I first tried reading it and stopped somewhere in the Celan essay. Now, I read the Celan poem he talks about beforehand and took away more from that part. The Hitler essay was really interesting, even though I'm not exactly sure how it relates to the rest of the book. I understand that Knausgaard felt like he had to address the topic due to the similarity of the title and he connects his own background to Hitler's and the theme of authenticity, but it still feels like a bit of a stretch. Still, I just thought it was interesting to learn so much I didn't know about Hitler's youth and the Weimar era. I'm in the middle of the last part and reading about his relationship to his (now ex-)wife is heartbreaking. This is where Knausgaard is strongest as a writer IMO: Touching readers on an emotional level, being brutally honest, talking about everyday experiences. It's all there.[close]
Glad you’re liking Book 6 a lot more and I agree with you 100%. The Hitler part does touch on how mundane his like was and how easily someone can become awful - same why he mentioned Breivik. Like, how evil isn’t always a once in a generation, born a monster type thing it instead a close accumulation of problems and deviancy and then suddenly you’re lost.
I can definitely find some secondary things to share about Ulysses. They’re somewhere in this thread. I’ve read it 3 times (once on my own, twice through two different undergrad classes) and the supplemental material really enriched the experience. I have it on my list to re-read again actually...[close]
At long last, I'm done with Book 6 now. I'm glad I re-read it, and that last part was heartbreaking to take in. Still, it's a book with obvious weaknesses. If you spend 400 pages on Hilter and still don't make your point clear, there might be something wrong with the writing as such. Knausgaard's a terrific writer when he talks about everyday experiences and self-consciousness, but I'm not a fan of his non-fiction. It'll be a while until I pick up one of the Seasons books or one of his first novels.
Ulysses sounds intriguing and I hope to read it one day (thanks for the suggestions!), but I'm not feeling like reading a long book anytime soon. After the Obama memoir and Knausgaard, both of which I read in English (which is not my native tongue), I somehow yearn for short pageturners. Just went to the bookstore and bought the newest novel from one of Germany's best contemporary authors.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41WSpvNscRL._SX301_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quote@AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice on the subject of long reads, not the highest page count, but James Joyce Ulysses probably took me the longest. I read it over the course of 2 years, taking breaks and rereading parts. When I tried to move too fast I found I wasn't able to parse or retain much. Like you said about your long reads, it was nonetheless a gratifying experience.[close]
Wow, 2 years is a long period of time, but I see where you're coming from. I tried to read Ulysses after attending a Joyce seminar at university (where we delved into Dubliners Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man), but I just read it like a regular novel, which I guess, isn't really the way to do it. I love Joyce though, and maybe close reading Ulysses a piece at a time makes sense. Did you use any secondary literature?
Speaking of long reads, I'm almost done with My Struggle 6. I enjoyed it much more than when I first tried reading it and stopped somewhere in the Celan essay. Now, I read the Celan poem he talks about beforehand and took away more from that part. The Hitler essay was really interesting, even though I'm not exactly sure how it relates to the rest of the book. I understand that Knausgaard felt like he had to address the topic due to the similarity of the title and he connects his own background to Hitler's and the theme of authenticity, but it still feels like a bit of a stretch. Still, I just thought it was interesting to learn so much I didn't know about Hitler's youth and the Weimar era. I'm in the middle of the last part and reading about his relationship to his (now ex-)wife is heartbreaking. This is where Knausgaard is strongest as a writer IMO: Touching readers on an emotional level, being brutally honest, talking about everyday experiences. It's all there.[close]
Glad you’re liking Book 6 a lot more and I agree with you 100%. The Hitler part does touch on how mundane his like was and how easily someone can become awful - same why he mentioned Breivik. Like, how evil isn’t always a once in a generation, born a monster type thing it instead a close accumulation of problems and deviancy and then suddenly you’re lost.
I can definitely find some secondary things to share about Ulysses. They’re somewhere in this thread. I’ve read it 3 times (once on my own, twice through two different undergrad classes) and the supplemental material really enriched the experience. I have it on my list to re-read again actually...[close]
At long last, I'm done with Book 6 now. I'm glad I re-read it, and that last part was heartbreaking to take in. Still, it's a book with obvious weaknesses. If you spend 400 pages on Hilter and still don't make your point clear, there might be something wrong with the writing as such. Knausgaard's a terrific writer when he talks about everyday experiences and self-consciousness, but I'm not a fan of his non-fiction. It'll be a while until I pick up one of the Seasons books or one of his first novels.
Ulysses sounds intriguing and I hope to read it one day (thanks for the suggestions!), but I'm not feeling like reading a long book anytime soon. After the Obama memoir and Knausgaard, both of which I read in English (which is not my native tongue), I somehow yearn for short pageturners. Just went to the bookstore and bought the newest novel from one of Germany's best contemporary authors.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41WSpvNscRL._SX301_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)[close]
i love 1979. i actually haven't read anything else from him, but that is one of my favorite books ever. i read it when i was 16 and it was pretty new at the time, probably not even a year old. couldn't stop talking to my friends and even teachers at school about it.
I had no idea Kracht was an author people read around the world. Wow. That's unexpected I guess.
I was on the fence between Eurotrash and 1979. I simply picked the first because it's readily available at bookstore's counters outside (you can't enter bookstores due lockdown restrictions) and the lure of reading a book that just came out. 1979 is at the top of my list though.
I've only heard good things about The Man without Qualities from people who are into Modernist literature. It sounds exciting, but also like a difficult read. I'd be curious to learn what you take away from it.
Expand QuoteExpand Quoteshout out to whomever recommended The Big Goodbye and You Can't Win.
Working through those two now[close]
I just downloaded You Can't Win cause it was referenced a few times in that opium book I just read. I love books about crimes & drugs, and that sounds like a good one.Expand QuoteStarted reading The Fire Next Time on recommendation from @Deputy Wendell on this very page. It's good. Short too, I'm almost finished. Makes me feel like a braniac. Also picked up Confederacy of Dunces but it's way longer than I expected. I'll give it an honest try. Picked up a compilation of Groucho Marx letters, that one I'm really looking forward to.[close]
Confederacy of Dunces is funny cause if Ignatius was born in the 90s and skated, he would totally post on Slap.[close]
I thought the same about Confederacy of Dunces, not necessarily about being a Slap Pal, but he reminded me of disillusioned skaters from my generation.
Picked up a copy of The Redneck Manifesto by Jim Goad at the used bookstore yesterday. I'm about half-way through and it is pretty terrible so far.The author leans heavily on partial truths and is purposefully offensive in a dumb way.
It is basically a book written by everyone's angry racist white uncle that somehow thinks the best way of bringing attention to the problems of poor white men is to belittle the problems of everyone else. He also thinks throwing out racial slurs to support his belief that accusations of racism (not racism, which doesn't exist or matter as of 1997) are the real problem in society. And, he pretends that only poor white men are made fun of in society.
It is terrible as a completed book, but it is an interesting look into the angry world view of Goad and those like him. Sadly, it reinforces the stereotype that Goad supposedly wanted to break when writing this book. Goad is very much the angry, violent, dumb, and hateful person rednecks get stereotyped to be and his book is evidence of his poor character.
Working class white dudes need a better advocate/voice than this dipshit.
Jim Goad is the blueprint for guys like Gavin McInnes. It's interesting hearing how much Answer Me! ended up influencing people that ended up leading very, very different careers than Goad.
Expand QuoteJim Goad is the blueprint for guys like Gavin McInnes. It's interesting hearing how much Answer Me! ended up influencing people that ended up leading very, very different careers than Goad.[close]
I had no clue who this guy was before you posted this. I found an interview of McInnes interviewing Goad. What a shit show.
Also, this book is a wild ride. Overall it is terrible. The first few chapters are the absolute worst, but at times, he can be an interesting story teller: His discussion of the "working-class" bar is interesting, although it is framed through a lens that promotes/normalizes the worst aspects of "working-class" life and contradicts itself. And, I'm now at the part where he is comparing being raped by Bigfoot to wanting Jesus's love or (the stereotype of) a white woman wanting (the hyper sexualized/masculine) black guy's dick over his emasculated down trodden white working class counterpart. The book is fucking stupid, but I get why Simon and Schuster gave this huckster a book (same publisher that was going to give Milo a book).
It is weird some of his critiques of capitalism could be found in Marx and Engels. This I think this the most interesting aspect of this form of far-right conservatism. It hates capitalism and it hates the bosses, but its proponents wouldn't have it any other way.
Expand QuoteI had no idea Kracht was an author people read around the world. Wow. That's unexpected I guess.
I was on the fence between Eurotrash and 1979. I simply picked the first because it's readily available at bookstore's counters outside (you can't enter bookstores due lockdown restrictions) and the lure of reading a book that just came out. 1979 is at the top of my list though.
I've only heard good things about The Man without Qualities from people who are into Modernist literature. It sounds exciting, but also like a difficult read. I'd be curious to learn what you take away from it.[close]
1979 is super short, i reckon you can finish it in one sitting, that's what i did. german original isn't even a 100 pages irc.
i'm just getting back into books and i think i want to catch up on kracht now. i remember i wanted to start reading musil, too, way back. but my adhd makes it hard for me to even start works that big like the man without qualities, because it always intimidates me.
ashamed to admit i haven't even started reading the last book i purchased, terranauts by t.c. boyle. i'm a big fan of water music and world's end. i just bought it on a whim when i had a coupon for the book store. got another coupon, if you guys have suggestions for authors similar to t.c. boyle, or thomas pynchon maybe, that would be much appreciated. i like that light beatnik flavor and weirdness without everything going overboard or becoming too incoherent.
Someone a few pages back asked about Latin American author recommendations and you should look at Charco Press publishing. They are a Scottish based publisher of contemporary Latin writers. Ariana Harwicz’s Die My Love is great. Everything is about 200pg or less.
Also, Mario Levrero is a Uruguayan author about to have his second book translated into English.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand Quoteshout out to whomever recommended The Big Goodbye and You Can't Win.
Working through those two now[close]
I just downloaded You Can't Win cause it was referenced a few times in that opium book I just read. I love books about crimes & drugs, and that sounds like a good one.Expand QuoteStarted reading The Fire Next Time on recommendation from @Deputy Wendell on this very page. It's good. Short too, I'm almost finished. Makes me feel like a braniac. Also picked up Confederacy of Dunces but it's way longer than I expected. I'll give it an honest try. Picked up a compilation of Groucho Marx letters, that one I'm really looking forward to.[close]
Confederacy of Dunces is funny cause if Ignatius was born in the 90s and skated, he would totally post on Slap.[close]
I thought the same about Confederacy of Dunces, not necessarily about being a Slap Pal, but he reminded me of disillusioned skaters from my generation.[close]
This is a bit of an older post but I thought I’d respond nonetheless. I read CoD a couple times in college, and actually got the chance to go to New Orleans on this “research grant” to look at Toole’s old haunts and sort of connect Ignatius’ experiences to the actual city. After that, and reading some
biographies about the author (which is an interesting story in and of itself, not to mention the convoluted process of getting CoD published) the book got a lot sadder for me. Almost like the tears of a clown, if that makes sense—using irony as a way to really mask a lot of discontent or Weltschmerz.
On another note, after almost four months of reading, I’m down to the last fifty pages of the last volume of In Remembrance of Things Past. My god had it been a journey of a book. I feel like Proust has just totally hijacked my brain and revamped my thinking and the general structure of my thoughts. That being said, I already know I’m going to have to give it another perusal in a couple years; there’s just so much going on, so many things throughout the book that connect seemingly innocuous yet intricate ways. Anyone read Proust and have any takeaways from their experience? I’m keen to hear what other people got out of it.
Someone a few pages back asked about Latin American author recommendations and you should look at Charco Press publishing. They are a Scottish based publisher of contemporary Latin writers. Ariana Harwicz’s Die My Love is great. Everything is about 200pg or less.
Also, Mario Levrero is a Uruguayan author about to have his second book translated into English.
i'm 2 chapters into my dissertation--in the area of "literary and cultural studies"--and this is the first time i've ever even entered this thread, which i think says a lot about the negative side of researching, writing about, and teaching literature. i usually teach a 1 or 2 "composition" courses each semester, and 1 literature course, so combined with my diss work, i have to go out of my way to make simply reading a book a leisurely/relaxing experience.
anyway, this is the last story that we're tussling with in the "World Masterpieces 2" course i'm teaching this insane semester (we have 3 class meeting left on Zoom), and i've never read it before, and it's incredible, and a little intimidating to teach:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91tYnj-PxjL.jpg)
i'm sure it's been mentioned in here before, but i highly recommend...
edit: wow, sorry about the hugeness of the image, but i'll leave it because it's a cool cover...
Expand Quotei'm 2 chapters into my dissertation--in the area of "literary and cultural studies"--and this is the first time i've ever even entered this thread, which i think says a lot about the negative side of researching, writing about, and teaching literature. i usually teach a 1 or 2 "composition" courses each semester, and 1 literature course, so combined with my diss work, i have to go out of my way to make simply reading a book a leisurely/relaxing experience.
anyway, this is the last story that we're tussling with in the "World Masterpieces 2" course i'm teaching this insane semester (we have 3 class meeting left on Zoom), and i've never read it before, and it's incredible, and a little intimidating to teach:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91tYnj-PxjL.jpg)
i'm sure it's been mentioned in here before, but i highly recommend...
edit: wow, sorry about the hugeness of the image, but i'll leave it because it's a cool cover...[close]
apologies for quoting myself (again), but i just finished teaching a 10-week summer lit course, and we ended with Exit West again, and i continue to be blown away by what an incredible story this is and how directly it speaks to our current world...it continues to excite the most reluctant students in my courses and i highly recommend it...
Just picking up reading again for the first time since high school. What are some must-reads? For the record I always loved fantasy books but I'm open to reading anything
I bought The Sympathizer a few years ago but still haven’t gotten to it. Is it as good as people have said?
Just finished Poisoner in Chief by Stephen Kinzer. Super terrifying how much power one man had and how many lives he's responsible for ruining and ending. Book is about Sidney Gottlieb who ran the CIA's chemical research program. He ran MK Ultra and MK Naomi
Shall we start a book recommendation list?
There are just the cream of the crop, books that blew my mind in one way or another.
Feminism
Bell Hooks: The Will To Change~ Written especially for dudes, and how feminism is also beneficial for them
Revisited ‘Songs of a Dead Dreamer’ and ‘Grimescribe’ by Thomas Ligotti recently, fantastic reads. ‘Pale Fire’ by Nabokov, some really good Clark Ashton Smith compilations (The End Of The Story, The Door to Saturn, etc. named after some of his short stories), also revisiting all of the great old Clive Barker stuff I haven’t sat down with in awhile, like ‘Books of Blood’, ‘The Hellbound Heart’, ‘The Damnation Game’, ‘Scarlet Gospels’, all of that stuff.
Nothing too obscure, I suppose, but all highly suggested if you haven’t had a chance to read them.
Revisited ‘Songs of a Dead Dreamer’ and ‘Grimescribe’ by Thomas Ligotti recently, fantastic reads. ‘Pale Fire’ by Nabokov, some really good Clark Ashton Smith compilations (The End Of The Story, The Door to Saturn, etc. named after some of his short stories), also revisiting all of the great old Clive Barker stuff I haven’t sat down with in awhile, like ‘Books of Blood’, ‘The Hellbound Heart’, ‘The Damnation Game’, ‘Scarlet Gospels’, all of that stuff.
Nothing too obscure, I suppose, but all highly suggested if you haven’t had a chance to read them.
Expand QuoteI bought The Sympathizer a few years ago but still haven’t gotten to it. Is it as good as people have said?[close]
I read it around the time it came out, and it was pretty damned good. Don't know that I'd pick it up again, though.
I'm sure the following book has come up several times in the thread already, but...
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1cy7M6FkrL.jpg)
I'm about 450 pages in, and it's very good/a breeze to read, despite the brutality of the 4th book. I'm very impressed with the way Bolano renders the various nationalities of his characters, playing them off against each other for contrast. His vision of the Mexico/US border is tragically beautiful.
I'm not sure why all his characters need to make love for 3-6 hours, though. Are there really people out there who fuck like that? Maybe I'm not trying hard enough...
A glimpse into the shitshow that was the trump presidency, 'I alone can fix it' is a great read. he just didnt give a fuck, it's crazy
Expand QuoteShall we start a book recommendation list?
There are just the cream of the crop, books that blew my mind in one way or another.
Feminism
Bell Hooks: The Will To Change~ Written especially for dudes, and how feminism is also beneficial for them[close]
I pulled this from the Leftist thread, but i just started this book at work and I'm gonna have to stop until i get home because it was extremely emotional for me to listen to and examine things going on inside myself and my relationship with my father. I'm only in the first chapter and it's incredibly powerful
As for me, if I can muster up the fucking willpower to put down this phone, I need to finish ‘The Bookchin Reader’, snd start on Graeber and Wengrow’s “The Dawn of Everything”, which I’m looking forward to.
Despite being a fucking brick of a book.
...then cranked out The Grapes of Wrath. It wasn’t East Of Eden, but it was still pretty damn good. I’m just a sucker for mid 1900s American Lit, I think. Anyone who’s read it, what’d you think of the ending? I’m sure it was symbolic, but damn if it wasn’t weird. Still would recommend any and all of Steinbeck.
Expand QuoteAs for me, if I can muster up the fucking willpower to put down this phone, I need to finish ‘The Bookchin Reader’, snd start on Graeber and Wengrow’s “The Dawn of Everything”, which I’m looking forward to.
Despite being a fucking brick of a book.[close]
I feel as if I should read the Graeber (RIP) and Wengrow, but I watched a book talk about it on YouTube, and idk, maybe that's enough. I'd be curious to hear what you think about it.Expand Quote...then cranked out The Grapes of Wrath. It wasn’t East Of Eden, but it was still pretty damn good. I’m just a sucker for mid 1900s American Lit, I think. Anyone who’s read it, what’d you think of the ending? I’m sure it was symbolic, but damn if it wasn’t weird. Still would recommend any and all of Steinbeck.[close]
I forget my reading of Grapes, but just wanted to affirm your affirmation of Steinbeck. I'm working on a PhD in English, and I feel like Steinbeck doesn't get much play in the academy these days. I love his stuff, though - especially Tortilla Flats and Cannery Row.
I'm on fall break now, and this is the stuff I'm about to start reading:
(https://www.urbanomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Untitled-1.jpg)
This one's by a semi-independent scholar that I've been following for a while. It's a history of the idea of species extinction, which is a notion developed more recently than you might think.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51X3WDdjB7L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559331780l/40016._SY475_.jpg)
I mostly study British and German stuff at school, so whenever I get a break I try to be a good American and catch up on yankee lit. Usually, this involves reading Emerson, who never gets old to me. This time around, I'm also planning to read Emerson's lil homie Hawthorne (I love a steezy Dover thrift edition, and cheap paperbacks in general).
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteAs for me, if I can muster up the fucking willpower to put down this phone, I need to finish ‘The Bookchin Reader’, snd start on Graeber and Wengrow’s “The Dawn of Everything”, which I’m looking forward to.
Despite being a fucking brick of a book.[close]
I feel as if I should read the Graeber (RIP) and Wengrow, but I watched a book talk about it on YouTube, and idk, maybe that's enough. I'd be curious to hear what you think about it.Expand Quote...then cranked out The Grapes of Wrath. It wasn’t East Of Eden, but it was still pretty damn good. I’m just a sucker for mid 1900s American Lit, I think. Anyone who’s read it, what’d you think of the ending? I’m sure it was symbolic, but damn if it wasn’t weird. Still would recommend any and all of Steinbeck.[close]
I forget my reading of Grapes, but just wanted to affirm your affirmation of Steinbeck. I'm working on a PhD in English, and I feel like Steinbeck doesn't get much play in the academy these days. I love his stuff, though - especially Tortilla Flats and Cannery Row.
I'm on fall break now, and this is the stuff I'm about to start reading:
(https://www.urbanomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Untitled-1.jpg)
This one's by a semi-independent scholar that I've been following for a while. It's a history of the idea of species extinction, which is a notion developed more recently than you might think.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51X3WDdjB7L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559331780l/40016._SY475_.jpg)
I mostly study British and German stuff at school, so whenever I get a break I try to be a good American and catch up on yankee lit. Usually, this involves reading Emerson, who never gets old to me. This time around, I'm also planning to read Emerson's lil homie Hawthorne (I love a steezy Dover thrift edition, and cheap paperbacks in general).[close]
How far along your PhD track are you? Have you got a thesis idea pinned down yet? I’m applying to a couple English grad programs for next fall and thinking seriously about going the long haul for a possible phd, though right now I don’t know what in the hell angle I’d take for masters work.
Expand QuoteShall we start a book recommendation list?
There are just the cream of the crop, books that blew my mind in one way or another.
Feminism
Bell Hooks: The Will To Change~ Written especially for dudes, and how feminism is also beneficial for them[close]
I pulled this from the Leftist thread, but i just started this book at work and I'm gonna have to stop until i get home because it was extremely emotional for me to listen to and examine things going on inside myself and my relationship with my father. I'm only in the first chapter and it's incredibly powerful
Currently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteAs for me, if I can muster up the fucking willpower to put down this phone, I need to finish ‘The Bookchin Reader’, snd start on Graeber and Wengrow’s “The Dawn of Everything”, which I’m looking forward to.
Despite being a fucking brick of a book.[close]
I feel as if I should read the Graeber (RIP) and Wengrow, but I watched a book talk about it on YouTube, and idk, maybe that's enough. I'd be curious to hear what you think about it.Expand Quote...then cranked out The Grapes of Wrath. It wasn’t East Of Eden, but it was still pretty damn good. I’m just a sucker for mid 1900s American Lit, I think. Anyone who’s read it, what’d you think of the ending? I’m sure it was symbolic, but damn if it wasn’t weird. Still would recommend any and all of Steinbeck.[close]
I forget my reading of Grapes, but just wanted to affirm your affirmation of Steinbeck. I'm working on a PhD in English, and I feel like Steinbeck doesn't get much play in the academy these days. I love his stuff, though - especially Tortilla Flats and Cannery Row.
I'm on fall break now, and this is the stuff I'm about to start reading:
(https://www.urbanomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Untitled-1.jpg)
This one's by a semi-independent scholar that I've been following for a while. It's a history of the idea of species extinction, which is a notion developed more recently than you might think.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51X3WDdjB7L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559331780l/40016._SY475_.jpg)
I mostly study British and German stuff at school, so whenever I get a break I try to be a good American and catch up on yankee lit. Usually, this involves reading Emerson, who never gets old to me. This time around, I'm also planning to read Emerson's lil homie Hawthorne (I love a steezy Dover thrift edition, and cheap paperbacks in general).[close]
How far along your PhD track are you? Have you got a thesis idea pinned down yet? I’m applying to a couple English grad programs for next fall and thinking seriously about going the long haul for a possible phd, though right now I don’t know what in the hell angle I’d take for masters work.[close]
I'm 2.5 years in on a 6 year track, which means that I'm finishing up coursework next semester, and preparing for my field exams, which will take place a little less than a year from now. I'm not quite sure what I want to write my dissertation over just yet, but I'm building my exam reading lists around the English novel c. the 18th-19th centuries. My academic background is a bit scattered (did an MA in philosophy, mostly read German stuff, post-Kant), so I'm just trying to get a lot of the canonical English novels under my belt, so I can teach surveys on the history of the novel, etc.
Good on you for getting those applications out there. I hope you get in somewhere that works for you.
You'll have plenty of time to work our your ideas, especially if you're able to snag some funds. A good stipend makes all the difference!
Are you thinking you'd like to teach?
i'm reading some new neil stephenson book (seveneves) and i kinda hate it. it ain't snowcrash. who's got some good hard sci fi to recommend to this nerd?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteAs for me, if I can muster up the fucking willpower to put down this phone, I need to finish ‘The Bookchin Reader’, snd start on Graeber and Wengrow’s “The Dawn of Everything”, which I’m looking forward to.
Despite being a fucking brick of a book.[close]
I feel as if I should read the Graeber (RIP) and Wengrow, but I watched a book talk about it on YouTube, and idk, maybe that's enough. I'd be curious to hear what you think about it.Expand Quote...then cranked out The Grapes of Wrath. It wasn’t East Of Eden, but it was still pretty damn good. I’m just a sucker for mid 1900s American Lit, I think. Anyone who’s read it, what’d you think of the ending? I’m sure it was symbolic, but damn if it wasn’t weird. Still would recommend any and all of Steinbeck.[close]
I forget my reading of Grapes, but just wanted to affirm your affirmation of Steinbeck. I'm working on a PhD in English, and I feel like Steinbeck doesn't get much play in the academy these days. I love his stuff, though - especially Tortilla Flats and Cannery Row.
I'm on fall break now, and this is the stuff I'm about to start reading:
(https://www.urbanomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Untitled-1.jpg)
This one's by a semi-independent scholar that I've been following for a while. It's a history of the idea of species extinction, which is a notion developed more recently than you might think.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51X3WDdjB7L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559331780l/40016._SY475_.jpg)
I mostly study British and German stuff at school, so whenever I get a break I try to be a good American and catch up on yankee lit. Usually, this involves reading Emerson, who never gets old to me. This time around, I'm also planning to read Emerson's lil homie Hawthorne (I love a steezy Dover thrift edition, and cheap paperbacks in general).[close]
How far along your PhD track are you? Have you got a thesis idea pinned down yet? I’m applying to a couple English grad programs for next fall and thinking seriously about going the long haul for a possible phd, though right now I don’t know what in the hell angle I’d take for masters work.[close]
I'm 2.5 years in on a 6 year track, which means that I'm finishing up coursework next semester, and preparing for my field exams, which will take place a little less than a year from now. I'm not quite sure what I want to write my dissertation over just yet, but I'm building my exam reading lists around the English novel c. the 18th-19th centuries. My academic background is a bit scattered (did an MA in philosophy, mostly read German stuff, post-Kant), so I'm just trying to get a lot of the canonical English novels under my belt, so I can teach surveys on the history of the novel, etc.
Good on you for getting those applications out there. I hope you get in somewhere that works for you.
You'll have plenty of time to work our your ideas, especially if you're able to snag some funds. A good stipend makes all the difference!
Are you thinking you'd like to teach?[close]
Wow an MA in philosophy is way cool. I’ve thought a lot about going the philosophy route (metaphysics and mind, specifically), but not sure I’ve got the background for it. What did you study in your undergrad, if you don’t mind me asking?
But yeah, some sort of secondary or post-secondary position is where I’m hoping to land in the end. Ideally either creative writing or literature, but that’s still probably a decade away, so who knows?
at the small private university where i do the bulk of my teaching these days, i often teach sections of "World Masterpieces 2: Encountering Modernity." every academic year, we change up the last novel that we tussle with in the class, to try to keep it pretty contemporary, and they ask for instructors' input for choosing the novel. right now, we have a list of potential ideas to choose from, and over the holiday/break i am reading these two, to see if either will be something i'd like to suggest
i'm about half way through Tokyo Ueno Station, and i'm really enjoying it, but i'm not sure about trying to teach it...we'll see. it does really seem to speak to my own interests/work around "memory" and "history," and how the two can correspond, compete, and conflict...and how they do so in different landscapes, and in creating a "sense of place"...
i'm reading some new neil stephenson book (seveneves) and i kinda hate it. it ain't snowcrash. who's got some good hard sci fi to recommend to this nerd?I’m on the last book in The Three Body Problem trilogy and I’ve really enjoyed them. I’m sure you’ve read Neuromancer. Vurt by Jeff Noon is a pretty wild cyberpunk ride. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons (although not sci fi, his book The Terror is great.)
I’m on the last book in The Three Body Problem trilogy and I’ve really enjoyed them. I’m sure you’ve read Neuromancer. Vurt by Jeff Noon is a pretty wild cyberpunk ride. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons (although not sci fi, his book The Terror is great.)Expand Quotei'm reading some new neil stephenson book (seveneves) and i kinda hate it. it ain't snowcrash. who's got some good hard sci fi to recommend to this nerd?[close]
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood is a good read. I’d argue Cats Cradle by Vonnegut could sit near this list…
Grid City Overload was engaging, it’s fairly contemporary and I can’t remember the authors name right now.
The Annihilation series by Jeff VanderMeer. The novel for Under the Skin…
Ministry for the Future was the most realistic sci fi I’ve ever read (also terrifying) Apologies for the rambling list, just trying to get it out.
Currently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.
Anyone got some good recommends for books on medieval history?I haven't read any yet, but I plan on diving into some Dan Jones after this coming semester.
Expand QuoteCurrently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.[close]
I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?
Yeah there is that book about Bourdain and another one that I’m thinking about getting since I read all of the stuff he put out. I hope these are similarly interesting. Let us know what you think!Made it through all three. I read the Vonnegut one first. Super interesting. I wasn't expecting it to essentially be a dive into PTSD and how writing Slaughterhouse Five was maybe Vonnegut's way of coping with his, even though he denied having it.
I haven't read any yet, but I plan on diving into some Dan Jones after this coming semester.Expand QuoteAnyone got some good recommends for books on medieval history?[close]
Just finished Brave New World for the first time. Really impressive that he could write that in the early 1930’s, and how accurately his predictions seems to be unfolding.. but god damn things didn’t really pick up much until the end did they?
I just picked up reading again after deleting all my social media. Maybe BNW wasn’t the best choice to start with. I also read Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media by Jaron Lanier. Definitely an eye opener about how profoundly it’s fucking up society, but lacked the positivity I was hoping for in regards to the benefits of quitting. The author’s a Silicon Valley guy/writer, but captivating prose isn’t his strong suit, was a bit of a struggle to get through.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteCurrently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.[close]
I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?[close]
Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.
Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteCurrently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.[close]
I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?[close]
Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.
Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.[close]
Not necessarily related to the depression, but Raymond Carver’s stories have a similar style to bukowski and Fante. I’d also seriously recommend Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Really just an astounding cast of characters. Bukowski talks about her a lot, too. He’s got a poem about her alcoholism, IIRC.
Also, Iron Weed by William Kennedy for a straightforward depiction of a bum wino at the turn of the 19th century.
I’ll add Denis Johnson, Flannery O’Connor, and Murakami to the list of Fante/Bukowski like writers. Murakami might seem strange, but every one of his books I’ve read I’ve thought to myself, this is like a Japanese bukowski.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteCurrently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.[close]
I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?[close]
Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.
Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.
People talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers
Currently reading The Grapes of Wrath, not very far into it but I can already tell it's going to be emotive (I get attached to characters in a book far more than films & TV).
Expand QuotePeople talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers[close]
I went through a big Bukowski phase in my early 20s (which is probably pretty typical), and based on that distant memory I'd say that Post Office or Ham on Rye would be the best ones to start with. Maybe Women if you're feeling saucy.
*Edit: the aforementioned are novels; if you want to read his poetry, you might as well start anywhere, imo.
** Edit 2: I got an anthology with a bunch of Borges essays, and they are too good. Borges was a treasure.
Expand QuoteExpand QuotePeople talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers[close]
I went through a big Bukowski phase in my early 20s (which is probably pretty typical), and based on that distant memory I'd say that Post Office or Ham on Rye would be the best ones to start with. Maybe Women if you're feeling saucy.
*Edit: the aforementioned are novels; if you want to read his poetry, you might as well start anywhere, imo.
** Edit 2: I got an anthology with a bunch of Borges essays, and they are too good. Borges was a treasure.[close]
Thanks! I think Bukowski is one of these authors who is absolutely massive in the US but hasn't really got much credit abroad (or maybe I've just had a rather sheltered childhood/youth). I've had a big Henry Miller phase a few years back (they seem to be vaguely similar in terms of notoriety?), but Bukowksi has sort of passed me by til now. Will look at these two novels first, I generally prefer prose to poetry.
"Manufacturing Consent”
i rly like a lot of bukowski but also really hate some of his stuff. 'woman' is a shitfest but also highlights a lot of the issues with him as a person. he hates everything (especially women) just as much as he hates himself.Expand QuoteExpand QuotePeople talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers[close]
I went through a big Bukowski phase in my early 20s (which is probably pretty typical), and based on that distant memory I'd say that Post Office or Ham on Rye would be the best ones to start with. Maybe Women if you're feeling saucy.
*Edit: the aforementioned are novels; if you want to read his poetry, you might as well start anywhere, imo.
** Edit 2: I got an anthology with a bunch of Borges essays, and they are too good. Borges was a treasure.[close]
Thanks! I think Bukowski is one of these authors who is absolutely massive in the US but hasn't really got much credit abroad (or maybe I've just had a rather sheltered childhood/youth). I've had a big Henry Miller phase a few years back (they seem to be vaguely similar in terms of notoriety?), but Bukowksi has sort of passed me by til now. Will look at these two novels first, I generally prefer prose to poetry.
Funny I just re-read The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, should revisit The Heart too. One of my favorite authors.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteCurrently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.[close]
I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?[close]
Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.
Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.[close]
Not necessarily related to the depression, but Raymond Carver’s stories have a similar style to bukowski and Fante. I’d also seriously recommend Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Really just an astounding cast of characters. Bukowski talks about her a lot, too. He’s got a poem about her alcoholism, IIRC.
Also, Iron Weed by William Kennedy for a straightforward depiction of a bum wino at the turn of the 19th century.
I’ll add Denis Johnson, Flannery O’Connor, and Murakami to the list of Fante/Bukowski like writers. Murakami might seem strange, but every one of his books I’ve read I’ve thought to myself, this is like a Japanese bukowski.[close]
Carson McCullers is one of my favorite writers. And I agree The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a wonderful book. Seemed like an amazing woman as well.
Funny I just re-read The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, should revisit The Heart too. One of my favorite authors.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteCurrently reading, "The Bandini Quartet." I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor. Very good.[close]
I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?[close]
Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.
Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.[close]
Not necessarily related to the depression, but Raymond Carver’s stories have a similar style to bukowski and Fante. I’d also seriously recommend Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Really just an astounding cast of characters. Bukowski talks about her a lot, too. He’s got a poem about her alcoholism, IIRC.
Also, Iron Weed by William Kennedy for a straightforward depiction of a bum wino at the turn of the 19th century.
I’ll add Denis Johnson, Flannery O’Connor, and Murakami to the list of Fante/Bukowski like writers. Murakami might seem strange, but every one of his books I’ve read I’ve thought to myself, this is like a Japanese bukowski.[close]
Carson McCullers is one of my favorite writers. And I agree The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a wonderful book. Seemed like an amazing woman as well.[close]
Not sure how similar they are but I somehow group Ballad of the Sad Cafe with Leonard Gardner's Fat City. Maybe a similar economy of language, or possibly I just read them around the same time. Highly recommend that one as well.
Just finished Brave New World for the first time. Really impressive that he could write that in the early 1930’s, and how accurately his predictions seems to be unfolding.. but god damn things didn’t really pick up much until the end did they?
That's a good read @Huell Howser The dude experienced surfing like none of us ever will. The days of feral surf exploration and discovering new waves are long gone. I really liked his accounts of surfing OB SF the best though.
Fat City is great. The best boxing novel? Have you seen the film? Staring young Jeff Bridges, directed by John Huston.Yes & yes, the movie is so good, absolutely of the rare ones where both the book and movie are excellent.
Did the audiobook for Barbarian Days and it felt long as an audiobook, but it’s really cool.
That’s a good goal. Giving up on reading books when you’re not feeling a book is a good strategy. I’ve just recently started trying to get into that mindset last year and dropped out of like five books completely because I wasn’t feeling them (I eventually went back and finished one even though my opinion didn’t change after I finished it) and it was way better than tryin to force my way through them. 30-50 pages worked for me but if it’s a longer book, I’d recommend even giving 75-100 unless you absolutely can’t stand it.
For March I'll be reading Haruki Murakami's Norwegian wood. It's my girlfriend's favorite book. I got about halfway through another book by Murakami 'Kafka on the shore' a few years back because it was one of the only books in english i could find at the local bookstore while living overseas. I would love to start that one up again for this month but its over 500 pages and Barbarian days was around 450 which was a lot to get through on limited time for meNorwegian Wood might be my favorite from Murakami also, On the shore is great-but Norwegian Wood embodies that bittersweet feeling Murakami creates near perfectly.
Norwegian Wood might be my favorite from Murakami also, On the shore is great-but Norwegian Wood embodies that bittersweet feeling Murakami creates near perfectly.Expand QuoteFor March I'll be reading Haruki Murakami's Norwegian wood. It's my girlfriend's favorite book. I got about halfway through another book by Murakami 'Kafka on the shore' a few years back because it was one of the only books in english i could find at the local bookstore while living overseas. I would love to start that one up again for this month but its over 500 pages and Barbarian days was around 450 which was a lot to get through on limited time for me[close]
reading brothers karamazov. almost done the first book
nothing has happened yet but i love it. don't care if nothing happens next book either
i suppose this would belong in a poetry thread, but i dont feel it would get as many eyes there-
i recently read a book of poems by Han Shan/Cold Mountain(came across it through mount eerie), and quite enjoyed it. I know nothing about Buddhism, and I'm sure a moderate amount went over my head but if anyone has recommendations for similar poetry, or poetry books in general.
one of the standouts:
Sat on the cliff today,
sat so long the mist burned off.
Like a road the stream was, clear at its mouth,
a long time searching from a green crag top.
White clouds cast clear shadows in the silence,
light of the moon still floats, lingering.
No dust, no dirt on me,
how could this heart hold grief?
honestly, anything that you wish you read during formative years (im younger than most guys on here) im up for. really want to make an effort to educate myself.
reading brothers karamazov. almost done the first book
nothing has happened yet but i love it. don't care if nothing happens next book either
Been on a Cormac McCarthy kick lately. Finished "No Country For Old Men" a few weeks back. Wonderful read with brilliant characters and dialogue. Highly recommend reading, or even watching the movie as it pretty accurately depicts the events of the novel with a few changes to build more suspense.
Started another of his titled "The Road" over the weekend. Still great dialogue and characters, but so much darker and more bleak than No Country. Only about 1/3 of the way through, but I'm loving it so far.
I would lose my shit if I saw that on someone's bookshelf.lmfao truly a great conversation starter.Expand QuoteBeen on a Cormac McCarthy kick lately. Finished "No Country For Old Men" a few weeks back. Wonderful read with brilliant characters and dialogue. Highly recommend reading, or even watching the movie as it pretty accurately depicts the events of the novel with a few changes to build more suspense.
Started another of his titled "The Road" over the weekend. Still great dialogue and characters, but so much darker and more bleak than No Country. Only about 1/3 of the way through, but I'm loving it so far.[close]
If you haven't read Blood Meridian, it's maybe the bloodiest book I've read. It has other things to recommend it, but that's the main thing I've retained, which was enough to get me to pick up a used copy for my bookshelf even though I've already read it.
Which raises the question of what people like to have on their shelves? Some books I want to own and others I don't care. I like owning books I really enjoyed or have a personal connection to, but also eccentric or unusual books that make good conversation pieces. Okay, I very rarely have a conversation with someone about what's on my bookshelf, but I imagine maybe someone will have a little internal dialogue as a result of spotting a title such as this one:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sSP5r6-rqbw/T19q7Bb7M4I/AAAAAAAAALo/0mNOhk05Log/s1600/kobold_dildo.jpg)
I did some work in college around extremist groups, white nationalism, and domestic terror. This lead me to owning a copy of the Turner Diaries. I read it years ago, but now I don’t know what to do with it. I can’t have it out on the bookcase. I can’t donate it. It’s just in my garage, way up on a shelf. I’m afraid if I die someone will find it up there hidden and think I was a horrible person.Expand QuoteBeen on a Cormac McCarthy kick lately. Finished "No Country For Old Men" a few weeks back. Wonderful read with brilliant characters and dialogue. Highly recommend reading, or even watching the movie as it pretty accurately depicts the events of the novel with a few changes to build more suspense.
Started another of his titled "The Road" over the weekend. Still great dialogue and characters, but so much darker and more bleak than No Country. Only about 1/3 of the way through, but I'm loving it so far.[close]
If you haven't read Blood Meridian, it's maybe the bloodiest book I've read. It has other things to recommend it, but that's the main thing I've retained, which was enough to get me to pick up a used copy for my bookshelf even though I've already read it.
Which raises the question of what people like to have on their shelves? Some books I want to own and others I don't care. I like owning books I really enjoyed or have a personal connection to, but also eccentric or unusual books that make good conversation pieces. Okay, I very rarely have a conversation with someone about what's on my bookshelf, but I imagine maybe someone will have a little internal dialogue as a result of spotting a title such as this one:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sSP5r6-rqbw/T19q7Bb7M4I/AAAAAAAAALo/0mNOhk05Log/s1600/kobold_dildo.jpg)
Blood Meridian is so gnarly. To this day, the only book that almost made me throw up while reading it. There are certain images from that book that will stick with me probably for the rest of my life. Great book, though if I reread it I think I might skip past a certain scene involving a raid on an Native American camp.I did some work in college around extremist groups, white nationalism, and domestic terror. This lead me to owning a copy of the Turner Diaries. I read it years ago, but now I don’t know what to do with it. I can’t have it out on the bookcase. I can’t donate it. It’s just in my garage, way up on a shelf. I’m afraid if I die someone will find it up there hidden and think I was a horrible person.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteBeen on a Cormac McCarthy kick lately. Finished "No Country For Old Men" a few weeks back. Wonderful read with brilliant characters and dialogue. Highly recommend reading, or even watching the movie as it pretty accurately depicts the events of the novel with a few changes to build more suspense.
Started another of his titled "The Road" over the weekend. Still great dialogue and characters, but so much darker and more bleak than No Country. Only about 1/3 of the way through, but I'm loving it so far.[close]
If you haven't read Blood Meridian, it's maybe the bloodiest book I've read. It has other things to recommend it, but that's the main thing I've retained, which was enough to get me to pick up a used copy for my bookshelf even though I've already read it.
Which raises the question of what people like to have on their shelves? Some books I want to own and others I don't care. I like owning books I really enjoyed or have a personal connection to, but also eccentric or unusual books that make good conversation pieces. Okay, I very rarely have a conversation with someone about what's on my bookshelf, but I imagine maybe someone will have a little internal dialogue as a result of spotting a title such as this one:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sSP5r6-rqbw/T19q7Bb7M4I/AAAAAAAAALo/0mNOhk05Log/s1600/kobold_dildo.jpg)[close]
I did some work in college around extremist groups, white nationalism, and domestic terror. This lead me to owning a copy of the Turner Diaries. I read it years ago, but now I don’t know what to do with it. I can’t have it out on the bookcase. I can’t donate it. It’s just in my garage, way up on a shelf. I’m afraid if I die someone will find it up there hidden and think I was a horrible person.
The ironic part is, that Hitler would probably be totally cool with this.
Honestly, Bunk, if you’re not using that book for your job, just fucking burn it.
That’s the rub.The ironic part is, that Hitler would probably be totally cool with this.Expand Quote
Honestly, Bunk, if you’re not using that book for your job, just fucking burn it.[close]
I finished Graeber’s ‘Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology’ which is a great little book exploring the ideas of Anarchism and how a statist critique in Anthropology could help further our understanding of societies without governments.
Those ideas were expanded by him and another author in The Dawn of Everything, which is fucking huge, and I think I will put it on hold until I finish the Bookchin book I’m trying to get through and then Kim Stanley Ronbindin’s “The Ministry of the Future”
Right now reading Tibetan Book of the Dead. light reading.
Halfway through Upton Sinclairs Jungle, think it was spoken about in this thread earlier? Anyway, writing is beautiful, but fuck if this book isn’t harshing my mellow in the worst of ways. Just the sheer bleakness of it all, sheesh. I’d had a rough day, but thought I’d top it off by chilling out and reading before bed - instead I got left in a limbo being even more bummed than before, while utterly incapable of feeling sorry for my non-starving, non-bedridden, non-covered-with-frozen-cows-blood, ass.
Then I came in here and subsequently glanced through the plot of Blood Meridian… that ending… double-sheesh.
Still thinking of finishing Jungle, but then I need to do myself a favour and take my mind to some happier places haha.
Expand QuoteRight now reading Tibetan Book of the Dead. light reading.[close]
I read the Timothy Leary adaptation a number of years ago when I was really into eating drugs. I can’t say I personally made it through all of the bardos, but it was still a wild concept to have in your head while you’re tripping sack. Looking back now, Learys book seems a little gimmicky, and I wish I would have picked up the actual Book of the Dead instead. Alas.
Mostly unrelated to drugs and dying, but I recently finished The Idiot by Dostoyevsky. I didn’t think it was as entertaining as The Brothers K., just because it mostly dealt with Russian society and social laws etc. (at least on the surface), stuff I’m just not all of that interested in when it comes to plot. But hell if Ippolit wasn’t just an awesome character. Its obviously one of those books you have to read a number of times to really wring out, but I’m not sure I’ll dive in again any time soon.
That being said, the beatific simpleton (“the idiot”) has to be one of the best tropes in literature. Gabriel Garcia Marquez plays with it in 100 Years of Solitude, and Faulkner has a number of sketches with characters who only smile and nod. Something about the incongruity between modern times and a Christ-like figure is just so much fun to me.
I’m now onto the Glass family stories by Salinger. I haven’t read anything about the Glass family before, but so far the stories are proving to be enjoyably different than Catcher and the Rye (at least the prose seems more mature and crafted). Nonetheless, the first story, a perfect day for banana fish, is pretty gross in its content. Knowing Salinger had a weird thing for young girls does not help the story in the least. That being said, it’s pretty insane to think the man was able to create two totally different and distinct literary worlds—the Caulfield world and the Glass world. Allegedly Salinger’s son has a handful of stories still unpublished that round out both of the families’ genealogies. We’ll see when they come out, I guess.
Ps… McCarthy is slated to release two new books in August. Not sure what they’re about, but any news McCarthy gets me excited.
Kitchen Confidential is a fun read. Digging the McCarthy talk too, Blood Meridian may be his magnum opus. Insanely beautiful and violent all at once. I found Child of God to be more depraved, harder to read at times. All The Pretty Horses is fantastic too, some of the most gorgeous descriptions of scenery I've read.
Expand QuoteKitchen Confidential is a fun read. Digging the McCarthy talk too, Blood Meridian may be his magnum opus. Insanely beautiful and violent all at once. I found Child of God to be more depraved, harder to read at times. All The Pretty Horses is fantastic too, some of the most gorgeous descriptions of scenery I've read.[close]
All the Pretty Horses is my favorite McCarthy...
One of the best to do it in terms of describing scenery and other simple things (like eating beans) with such beautiful language...pages and pages of description that still holds your attention.
I definitely appreciate Blood Meridian, but had a harder time getting into it than his other stuff. It's obviously extremely gruesome, but it felt much less gruesome than I expected going in (aside from the raid at the Indian camp) from how violent people make it out to be.
Child of God - and also Outer Dark - both messed me up more after reading and still do.
The Road's another one I had a hard time getting into. Once again, maybe because it's built up so much that I was going in with extremely high expectations. Great book, but I didn't feel the bleakness/despair as much as I did in Child of God and Outer Dark.
Guess I need to read No Country next.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteKitchen Confidential is a fun read. Digging the McCarthy talk too, Blood Meridian may be his magnum opus. Insanely beautiful and violent all at once. I found Child of God to be more depraved, harder to read at times. All The Pretty Horses is fantastic too, some of the most gorgeous descriptions of scenery I've read.[close]
All the Pretty Horses is my favorite McCarthy...
One of the best to do it in terms of describing scenery and other simple things (like eating beans) with such beautiful language...pages and pages of description that still holds your attention.
I definitely appreciate Blood Meridian, but had a harder time getting into it than his other stuff. It's obviously extremely gruesome, but it felt much less gruesome than I expected going in (aside from the raid at the Indian camp) from how violent people make it out to be.
Child of God - and also Outer Dark - both messed me up more after reading and still do.
The Road's another one I had a hard time getting into. Once again, maybe because it's built up so much that I was going in with extremely high expectations. Great book, but I didn't feel the bleakness/despair as much as I did in Child of God and Outer Dark.
Guess I need to read No Country next.[close]
I don't want to do anything to condition your expectations, but I had a hard time getting into No Country, not so much because I had high expectations, but because I saw the film first, and it's one of the few instances I can think of where the film outshines the book. I suppose knowing the plot and characters beforehand (from the film) might do something to diffuse the suspense, intrigue, and McCarthyisms.
I think Suttree is among the more underrated in McCarthy's body of work - certainly one of my favorites. It's a little more of a traditional, "realist" novel in the 19th century model - sprawling plot, true-to-life characters, not hyperbolically violent - but it's still got that McCarthy grit, and shows off his sense of humor more than any of the other novels, I'd wager.
Anyway, check it out if you haven't read it.
@somefucker Who's the author of the Cherry you're talking about? Sounds interesting, but I'm seeing several books with that title.
wassup @PRISON IKE ? I feel like there's isn't that much sci fi / fantasy in here, it's nice to see.
@Jagr I have not but after reading Barbarian Days I was looking for something to fill that void and In Search of Captain zero came up frequently in recommendations. I bet it's a good read
just finished teaching the spring semester and i'm only teaching one online asynchronous class this summer, and although i do need to finish a dissertation chapter (i'm about 30 pages in) and get started on the next by the fall, i will have time to do some "pleasure" reading this summer i'm excited to say, and here it is. Child of God, Suttree, The Orchard Keeper, and Outer Dark are the latest additions to the stack, and the stories i have not read yet, so appreciate some of the comments above in this ongoing discussion...
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRe0ciB6yyE4gKmL9x7TTnQN8JI0iWfSPTnWzdL1frUVm_vCCHqqUXKzgfxXL6-LSGXX_kWCS73XMH3V7q3i0a2uF3HNFj1der_ASixlyuEbTac6wgqiapBWM1LHsqIbVutp9Ck_lHVltRr24ewt_RxfO1QM1OFXecvBuzwQarNm2PzF2Yn_XKe56rg/w480-h640/IMG_20220429_103509.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/zbngYYB/64-E78-D9-E-4-E0-A-49-B3-93-F4-832-C0-C8-CD34-C.jpg) (https://ibb.co/d6WvqqV)
(https://i.ibb.co/qrgfKMk/10991-D25-B867-4-A32-B93-C-A2-CB411-E1089.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mcywkC6)
this is not the optimal screen resolution (https://whatsmyscreenresolution.com/)
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81S2lA8GyoL.jpg)
Just finished the first book on my summer reading list. Super good, if you have any interest in how the American government constantly shoots itself in the foot when it comes to our dealings with Iran.
The victim by D’annunzio.
It made me put my phone on plane mode for the first time in ages. Recommended.
Expand QuoteThe victim by D’annunzio.
It made me put my phone on plane mode for the first time in ages. Recommended.[close]
What's it about? D’annunzio was a really, really huge and influential piece of shit in terms of fucking up the world but I only know about his poetry and politics
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteThe victim by D’annunzio.
It made me put my phone on plane mode for the first time in ages. Recommended.[close]
What's it about? D’annunzio was a really, really huge and influential piece of shit in terms of fucking up the world but I only know about his poetry and politics[close]
It’s about a family and cheating and discovering passion again through pain. It’s good but I can’t really explain it better, really flowy too I had a good time.
That’s a very “broad” thing to say..
I can try and understand what you’re saying but I can’t agree at all.
I see him as an Hedonist punk that’s it tho.. if you’re referring to him being a member of the fascist party, well during the regime you had to, in order to sell / promote your stuff or simply not to get murdered.
Also übermensch stuff was going hand in hand with the regime ideology. Same with Nietzche and mustache guy from Austria.
As soon as he became just a tiny bit influential they tried to get rid of him and then put him in exile in a house or something.
The last book I read is called The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg James. Kind of a serious read but a necessary one for myself.
Really excited to read Walden by Thoreau, requested that shit at my local library.
Trying to read The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy and By night in Chile by Roberto Bolaño next. Kinda want to check out Midnight in Chernobyl maybe. Fuck i got the reading bug...
Expand QuoteThe last book I read is called The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg James. Kind of a serious read but a necessary one for myself.
Really excited to read Walden by Thoreau, requested that shit at my local library.
Trying to read The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy and By night in Chile by Roberto Bolaño next. Kinda want to check out Midnight in Chernobyl maybe. Fuck i got the reading bug...[close]
I guess I shouldn’t make assumptions, but shocked you had to request Walden. That seems like the stuff libraries are obligated to have
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteThe last book I read is called The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg James. Kind of a serious read but a necessary one for myself.
Really excited to read Walden by Thoreau, requested that shit at my local library.
Trying to read The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy and By night in Chile by Roberto Bolaño next. Kinda want to check out Midnight in Chernobyl maybe. Fuck i got the reading bug...[close]
I guess I shouldn’t make assumptions, but shocked you had to request Walden. That seems like the stuff libraries are obligated to have[close]
The copy they were supposed to have was lost/misplaced :-///
(https://i.ibb.co/w7BRPvv/great.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YXP31rr)
Has anyone read this?
https://cup.columbia.edu/book/skateboarding-between-subculture-and-the-olympics/9783837647655
(https://i.ibb.co/Q8BBgqr/Screen-Shot-2022-08-02-at-4-06-56-AM.png)
I'm about two hours in to the Satanic Verses audio book in solidarity with ol Salman losing an eye for it. But I think I'm in over my head, it's tough to follow.
Ah that's all I do, really to pass the time on my commute.Expand QuoteI'm about two hours in to the Satanic Verses audio book in solidarity with ol Salman losing an eye for it. But I think I'm in over my head, it's tough to follow.[close]
I can't do fiction audiobooks as I know I'll feel the same way, regardless of what book it is.
I'm about two hours in to the Satanic Verses audio book in solidarity with ol Salman losing an eye for it. But I think I'm in over my head, it's tough to follow.
Gotcha maybe I’ll give that a try then.Expand QuoteI'm about two hours in to the Satanic Verses audio book in solidarity with ol Salman losing an eye for it. But I think I'm in over my head, it's tough to follow.[close]
"Midnight's Children" is a much easier read and helps contextualize the disaster that was Partition. I've tried with "Satanic Verses" but could never catch any thread to hold onto.
Someone here said "Most Fun Thing" was a sort of attempt to create a skateboarding version of "Barbarian Days", so I skipped the Beachy version and went straight to Finnegan (also my mom had a copy and I took it from her last time I visited). It was a tremendous book and Finnegan is a great writer (which is I guess how he came to get a Pulitzer) who really captures a certain time at the end of an era, when the world was a much bigger place and there were still some new things to discover for someone as committed as were he and his surfing partners. Honestly I haven't enjoyed a non-fiction book as much in a very long time and anyone who cares enough about skateboarding to post here will probably relate to his passion and drive.Hell yeah. That book rocks. I think I my have to even go back and read it again.
Gotcha maybe I’ll give that a try then.Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI'm about two hours in to the Satanic Verses audio book in solidarity with ol Salman losing an eye for it. But I think I'm in over my head, it's tough to follow.[close]
"Midnight's Children" is a much easier read and helps contextualize the disaster that was Partition. I've tried with "Satanic Verses" but could never catch any thread to hold onto.[close]
Anyone started/finished Heat 2?
I'm feeling kinda sick today so I'm gonna start it later
Been re-reading Vonnegut's Deadeye Dick. I think it's his best novel and highly underrated. The characters, plot, dialogue - all of it is so bleak but Vonnegut's humor still shines through. It's a really nice balance.
Read John Fante’s Arturo Bandini series. The humor is almost manic, and the stories so clearly inspired Bukowski that they make me reconsider my understanding of creative writing. By no means do I want to be a Bukowski clone , but it’s refreshing to read some of the stuff that inspired him and see how he really didn’t deviate from his source material all of that much.
It’s awesome to get into things I really want to respond to in my own work.
Seriously, if you like any American minimalism (Carver, Sherwood Anderson, Hemingway), I’d recommend John Fante. Or, if you just want to laugh at someone’s delusions of grandeur, read it. (Is it delusional when his books circle around the aspiration to be a writer? Do the published books not sort of confirm his sense of self and this theme of writing and genius? Is his understanding of himself actually delusional, or just sort of pompous?). He also really paints a “cool” picture of the struggling writer, which I’m just sort of a sucker for.
I will say though, he’s definitely objectifies women, and he’s got some ideas about Nazism which I don’t jive with at all, even though I think they’re included as a sort of satire on American life ca. 1930. With a little historical distance the novels are still a fun time.
TLDR: if you like Bukowski, read John Fante.
I've only read Crash but it definitely makes me want to read more of him.
Cut out media consumption for the most part and have been on a reading frenzy the past 5 months or so. Haven’t read so much and such varied perspectives since i was a teen.
Id always most appreciated Marquez’s 100 years of solitude, reckoning it was his best. I recently reread Love in the Time of Cholera and very much enjoyed it. While not as overtly magical, its a book with greater depth of feeling.
Matthiessen’s the Snow Leopard is another recent re-read and it was nothing short of excellent in the depiction of his Himalayan trek. Trek of the heart, mind, and across the glaciers. Fantastic. This lead me to his Shadow Country, or novel about a deep south, Florida outlaw in the 50 or so years following the US civil war. It was a long read and the liberal, conversational use of the N word, while appropriate to the time/place/character, left me a little ragged. Extremely violent novel of historical fiction and an open display of frontier capitalism. Some knowledgeable of reconstruction and post-reconstruction south might bring some sort of “sense” to the reader. I do however feel that perhaps to a reader from a place that is not the US and with limited or no historical context, the novel could be a morass of depictions drawn in the memory of Conrad and his Heart of Darkness.
Strap in for Fowles The Magus. Delightfully unpredictable mystery
Jamil Ahmad wrote the Wandering Falcon in his early 70s. He was a Pakistani civil servant. This is a collection of shorts leading to one greater story. Feel is that of hearing tales in. Bedouin camp. Read it. Easy enough and vastly rewarding
Gonna get back in here soon
Expand QuoteCut out media consumption for the most part and have been on a reading frenzy the past 5 months or so. Haven’t read so much and such varied perspectives since i was a teen.
Id always most appreciated Marquez’s 100 years of solitude, reckoning it was his best. I recently reread Love in the Time of Cholera and very much enjoyed it. While not as overtly magical, its a book with greater depth of feeling.
Matthiessen’s the Snow Leopard is another recent re-read and it was nothing short of excellent in the depiction of his Himalayan trek. Trek of the heart, mind, and across the glaciers. Fantastic. This lead me to his Shadow Country, or novel about a deep south, Florida outlaw in the 50 or so years following the US civil war. It was a long read and the liberal, conversational use of the N word, while appropriate to the time/place/character, left me a little ragged. Extremely violent novel of historical fiction and an open display of frontier capitalism. Some knowledgeable of reconstruction and post-reconstruction south might bring some sort of “sense” to the reader. I do however feel that perhaps to a reader from a place that is not the US and with limited or no historical context, the novel could be a morass of depictions drawn in the memory of Conrad and his Heart of Darkness.
Strap in for Fowles The Magus. Delightfully unpredictable mystery
Jamil Ahmad wrote the Wandering Falcon in his early 70s. He was a Pakistani civil servant. This is a collection of shorts leading to one greater story. Feel is that of hearing tales in. Bedouin camp. Read it. Easy enough and vastly rewarding
Gonna get back in here soon[close]
Matthiesson is amazing, Snow Leopard is one of my all-time favs.
Another all-time fav to share here is Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson. Not sure if it's this thread or not, but it's a book I imagine skateboarders would enjoy. It's a world a lot of us do/did operate in.
I also just read George Saunders newest short story collection, Liberation Day. He truly is the master of that form. Also recommend his last novel, Lincoln in the Bardo - very unique composition.
And last call out is Neal Stephenson. Have been making my way through his Quicksilver trilogy. He's just a genius on so many levels. His books are very impressive, yet extremly fun to read.
Expand QuoteI've only read Crash but it definitely makes me want to read more of him.[close]
Man yeah, I saw "Crash" when I was 16 and it's up there with "Gummo" or "Come and See" in the category of "movies which scarred me permanently". To be honest I forgot that it was based on a Ballard novel - High-Rise explores very similar themes.
I dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.
Expand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah[close]
Anything to seem cool. I know too many people in various scenes who I know have never watched a movie/read a book but still have a tattoo pertaining to it to seem in the know.
Also super fun fact I didn’t know for the longest, although it resembles a trumpet, it’s actually a post horn, a valveless instrument that - as the name suggests- used to be used to herald the arrival of the postman. Personally I think we should bring it back
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah[close]
Anything to seem cool. I know too many people in various scenes who I know have never watched a movie/read a book but still have a tattoo pertaining to it to seem in the know.
Also super fun fact I didn’t know for the longest, although it resembles a trumpet, it’s actually a post horn, a valveless instrument that - as the name suggests- used to be used to herald the arrival of the postman. Personally I think we should bring it back[close]
The biggest literary tattoo I’ve ever seen was someone got the gravestone from the end of Slaughterhouse Five giant on their forearm
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah[close]
Anything to seem cool. I know too many people in various scenes who I know have never watched a movie/read a book but still have a tattoo pertaining to it to seem in the know.
Also super fun fact I didn’t know for the longest, although it resembles a trumpet, it’s actually a post horn, a valveless instrument that - as the name suggests- used to be used to herald the arrival of the postman. Personally I think we should bring it back[close]
The biggest literary tattoo I’ve ever seen was someone got the gravestone from the end of Slaughterhouse Five giant on their forearm[close]
I love slaughterhouse five as much as the next guy but Jesus that person sounds insufferable
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah[close]
Anything to seem cool. I know too many people in various scenes who I know have never watched a movie/read a book but still have a tattoo pertaining to it to seem in the know.
Also super fun fact I didn’t know for the longest, although it resembles a trumpet, it’s actually a post horn, a valveless instrument that - as the name suggests- used to be used to herald the arrival of the postman. Personally I think we should bring it back[close]
The biggest literary tattoo I’ve ever seen was someone got the gravestone from the end of Slaughterhouse Five giant on their forearm[close]
I love slaughterhouse five as much as the next guy but Jesus that person sounds insufferable[close]
Do not remember the gender (but probably a guy). I believe it was their first tattoo as well and it was one of my co-workers at the coffee shop in Borders Books and Music because we don’t really have independent book stores in South Orange County, but we can have that energy
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah[close]
Anything to seem cool. I know too many people in various scenes who I know have never watched a movie/read a book but still have a tattoo pertaining to it to seem in the know.
Also super fun fact I didn’t know for the longest, although it resembles a trumpet, it’s actually a post horn, a valveless instrument that - as the name suggests- used to be used to herald the arrival of the postman. Personally I think we should bring it back[close]
The biggest literary tattoo I’ve ever seen was someone got the gravestone from the end of Slaughterhouse Five giant on their forearm[close]
I love slaughterhouse five as much as the next guy but Jesus that person sounds insufferable[close]
Do not remember the gender (but probably a guy). I believe it was their first tattoo as well and it was one of my co-workers at the coffee shop in Borders Books and Music because we don’t really have independent book stores in South Orange County, but we can have that energy[close]
Holy shit I haven’t been in a borders in forever. Also that somehow checks out perfectly.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah[close]
Anything to seem cool. I know too many people in various scenes who I know have never watched a movie/read a book but still have a tattoo pertaining to it to seem in the know.
Also super fun fact I didn’t know for the longest, although it resembles a trumpet, it’s actually a post horn, a valveless instrument that - as the name suggests- used to be used to herald the arrival of the postman. Personally I think we should bring it back[close]
The biggest literary tattoo I’ve ever seen was someone got the gravestone from the end of Slaughterhouse Five giant on their forearm[close]
I love slaughterhouse five as much as the next guy but Jesus that person sounds insufferable
And last call out is Neal Stephenson. Have been making my way through his Quicksilver trilogy. He's just a genius on so many levels. His books are very impressive, yet extremly fun to read.
inspired by the Ballard talk on here I've just finished Concrete Island. Wanted to read it ever since I first heard about the bizarre premise years ago. It was quite different from what I thought it would be.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteI dunno - I’ve tried Gravity’s Rainbow and Against the Day and both felt punishing to try and follow. Maybe his shorter works would work better for me.[close]
It’s simultaneously punishing and rewarding, but I one hundred percent can’t argue with anyone for wanting to choose something shorter because like I said, it is a lot.[close]
I love me a long book, but I’m guessing Lot 49 might reign in some of the stuff that makes it tough for me to focus. I see that muted trumpet tattoo on a few people who I know can’t handle complicated books hah[close]
Anything to seem cool. I know too many people in various scenes who I know have never watched a movie/read a book but still have a tattoo pertaining to it to seem in the know.
Also super fun fact I didn’t know for the longest, although it resembles a trumpet, it’s actually a post horn, a valveless instrument that - as the name suggests- used to be used to herald the arrival of the postman. Personally I think we should bring it back[close]
The biggest literary tattoo I’ve ever seen was someone got the gravestone from the end of Slaughterhouse Five giant on their forearm[close]
I love slaughterhouse five as much as the next guy but Jesus that person sounds insufferable[close]
Do not remember the gender (but probably a guy). I believe it was their first tattoo as well and it was one of my co-workers at the coffee shop in Borders Books and Music because we don’t really have independent book stores in South Orange County, but we can have that energy[close]
Holy shit I haven’t been in a borders in forever. Also that somehow checks out perfectly.
I bought the Monster Kody book 2 weeks ago, and am going to start on it this weekend while I"m out of town. I didn't think anyone would know what I'm talking about, but I've had a handful of people tell me they've read it and that it's good.I read that book a long time ago, but I definitely remember it being gnarly. Just hearing stories of the Crips back during their formation. There's also some good books about the Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia that are pretty good. too.
Expand Quote
And last call out is Neal Stephenson. Have been making my way through his Quicksilver trilogy. He's just a genius on so many levels. His books are very impressive, yet extremly fun to read.[close]
i love Neal Stephenson, and thank you for reminding me his stuff is fun...any time I read about him it's critics complaining he doesn't know how to finish his stories, and I'm like oh holy shit that's true...but god dammit I enjoy everything he's written. that quicksilver trilogy was fun when I was reading it, but I can't remember a single plot point...I think I'm a N.Stephenson completist because of his style and subjects, not so much for the plots? I really loved the MMPORG-themed one and the one with the space math monks, those were great action movies...
finally tried China Mieville and that dude is completely my shit. Ian McDonald too. Throw some majick in my hopeful near-future sci-fi and slide some steampunk in there too. Need more!
and yes, I'm aware this is fully on the nose for a Neal Stephenson message board post. ego death bro let it all go...I get hyped listening to metallica too
Death and the Penguin - Andrey Kurkov
Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk
Gaudy Bauble - Isabel Waidner
Bones was fine. Not sure why I went and bought her 1000 pager afte that, but a Nobel Prize will do that to you
Expand QuoteBones was fine. Not sure why I went and bought her 1000 pager afte that, but a Nobel Prize will do that to you[close]
I feel you, Books of Jacob is probably the one I'd skip unless I find it for a few £££ at a charity shop!
Read Flights after Drive Your Plow, and it was no where near as enjoyable.
Anyone else read the illustrated classics series as a child? I loved those things. Robinson Crusoe, Count of Monte Cristo, Swiss Family Robinson. Those books were suck a cool gateway to reading as a little kid
just finished Killers of the Flower Moon. Gah damn what an enthralling deep dive into the layered and heartbreaking story of the Osage tribe. Can't wait to sit through 3 hours of Scorcese directing the shit out of this while Dicaprio makes sad, serious faces all over tha screen
any other non-fiction recommendations u pals have? preferably less than 300 pages bc i'm a busy boy with a shortened attention span, thanks
Demon Copperhead - if anyone is looking for Appalachian/hillbilly David Copperfield, this book is pretty great so far and just won a Pulitzer
Expand QuoteDemon Copperhead - if anyone is looking for Appalachian/hillbilly David Copperfield, this book is pretty great so far and just won a Pulitzer[close]
Its an exceptional book. Kingsolver has grown so much since the bean trees and pigs in heaven. Both of those are excellent in their own way, but copperhead burns a bit more. There’s less fantasy and DC is a book without an overt spiritual component as is common in her other works, but goddamn if it isnt scathing indictment of its topics (that I won’t spoil). Characters and families were comparable to those ive met and lived with/near in rural America. Her use of slang was pretty spot on as well. A couple moments of “eh, this wasnt researched properly,” but overall, and evocative, thoughtful novel well worth reading.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteDemon Copperhead - if anyone is looking for Appalachian/hillbilly David Copperfield, this book is pretty great so far and just won a Pulitzer[close]
Its an exceptional book. Kingsolver has grown so much since the bean trees and pigs in heaven. Both of those are excellent in their own way, but copperhead burns a bit more. There’s less fantasy and DC is a book without an overt spiritual component as is common in her other works, but goddamn if it isnt scathing indictment of its topics (that I won’t spoil). Characters and families were comparable to those ive met and lived with/near in rural America. Her use of slang was pretty spot on as well. A couple moments of “eh, this wasnt researched properly,” but overall, and evocative, thoughtful novel well worth reading.[close]
Had you already heard of Melungeon people, like his father?
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteDemon Copperhead - if anyone is looking for Appalachian/hillbilly David Copperfield, this book is pretty great so far and just won a Pulitzer[close]
Its an exceptional book. Kingsolver has grown so much since the bean trees and pigs in heaven. Both of those are excellent in their own way, but copperhead burns a bit more. There’s less fantasy and DC is a book without an overt spiritual component as is common in her other works, but goddamn if it isnt scathing indictment of its topics (that I won’t spoil). Characters and families were comparable to those ive met and lived with/near in rural America. Her use of slang was pretty spot on as well. A couple moments of “eh, this wasnt researched properly,” but overall, and evocative, thoughtful novel well worth reading.[close]
Had you already heard of Melungeon people, like his father?[close]
I met a Basque dude who was working Amtrak outside NOLA back in probably 2013/14, actually it was the week of Thanksgiving 2014 because i had to be in Arcata by December 1. Anyways, in talking about Basque history and origin stories, he was talking about stories of groups of people similar to the Melungeon, if not the Melungeon themselves. So when i read the novel, the first couple mentions rang a bell and i put it togther. Long story short, i had a pretty solid idea before readinf the novel.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteDemon Copperhead - if anyone is looking for Appalachian/hillbilly David Copperfield, this book is pretty great so far and just won a Pulitzer[close]
Its an exceptional book. Kingsolver has grown so much since the bean trees and pigs in heaven. Both of those are excellent in their own way, but copperhead burns a bit more. There’s less fantasy and DC is a book without an overt spiritual component as is common in her other works, but goddamn if it isnt scathing indictment of its topics (that I won’t spoil). Characters and families were comparable to those ive met and lived with/near in rural America. Her use of slang was pretty spot on as well. A couple moments of “eh, this wasnt researched properly,” but overall, and evocative, thoughtful novel well worth reading.[close]
Had you already heard of Melungeon people, like his father?[close]
I met a Basque dude who was working Amtrak outside NOLA back in probably 2013/14, actually it was the week of Thanksgiving 2014 because i had to be in Arcata by December 1. Anyways, in talking about Basque history and origin stories, he was talking about stories of groups of people similar to the Melungeon, if not the Melungeon themselves. So when i read the novel, the first couple mentions rang a bell and i put it togther. Long story short, i had a pretty solid idea before readinf the novel.[close]
that's really cool. i think i'm def going to do a dive into groups of people like that over the weekend. The annoying thing about books is that movies, whether you love them or not, all take the same amount of time to watch, but you consume books you love so much faster than normal. I'm a third of the way through and hoping i don't finish it too quickly.
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteExpand QuoteDemon Copperhead - if anyone is looking for Appalachian/hillbilly David Copperfield, this book is pretty great so far and just won a Pulitzer[close]
Its an exceptional book. Kingsolver has grown so much since the bean trees and pigs in heaven. Both of those are excellent in their own way, but copperhead burns a bit more. There’s less fantasy and DC is a book without an overt spiritual component as is common in her other works, but goddamn if it isnt scathing indictment of its topics (that I won’t spoil). Characters and families were comparable to those ive met and lived with/near in rural America. Her use of slang was pretty spot on as well. A couple moments of “eh, this wasnt researched properly,” but overall, and evocative, thoughtful novel well worth reading.[close]
Had you already heard of Melungeon people, like his father?[close]
I met a Basque dude who was working Amtrak outside NOLA back in probably 2013/14, actually it was the week of Thanksgiving 2014 because i had to be in Arcata by December 1. Anyways, in talking about Basque history and origin stories, he was talking about stories of groups of people similar to the Melungeon, if not the Melungeon themselves. So when i read the novel, the first couple mentions rang a bell and i put it togther. Long story short, i had a pretty solid idea before readinf the novel.[close]
that's really cool. i think i'm def going to do a dive into groups of people like that over the weekend. The annoying thing about books is that movies, whether you love them or not, all take the same amount of time to watch, but you consume books you love so much faster than normal. I'm a third of the way through and hoping i don't finish it too quickly.[close]
Very true and ive never considered that about movies. I cruised thru that one in 3 or 4 days. Im a fast reader anyways, but I didn’t want to put it down!!!
Annie Proulx’s Barkskins is an epic novel that you might appreciate. A family and cultural history of french and indigenous folks, the land, etc from first contact to modern times. Super cool book
Been on a big Cormac McCarthy kick since I read Blood Meridian, as recommended by the book club thread.
After BM I read All The Pretty Horses which was absolutely beautiful - not as much depth here as BM but the prose is so breathtaking in parts and some great political takes on the Mexican revolution, all tied in with a tragic love story. Probably my favorite CM book so far.
Read The Crossing after that. Again, another beautiful book, but this one was very bleak and depressing. This won't spoil anything for anyone but the scene with the fucked up dog at the end almost brought me to tears. I did enjoy it though.
And the last book I read of his was The Road. Pretty different to the other books of his that I have read, ie not a western setting but still very engaging. I think I read it in like 3 days. It's a captivating and great book but I think it is my least favorite of the CM books I've read. I still rate it very highly though, obviously.
I have a list of other books from different authors that I've been planning to read but I just keep finding myself picking up another CM book every time I'm at the book store instead.
Expand QuoteBeen on a big Cormac McCarthy kick since I read Blood Meridian, as recommended by the book club thread.
After BM I read All The Pretty Horses which was absolutely beautiful - not as much depth here as BM but the prose is so breathtaking in parts and some great political takes on the Mexican revolution, all tied in with a tragic love story. Probably my favorite CM book so far.
Read The Crossing after that. Again, another beautiful book, but this one was very bleak and depressing. This won't spoil anything for anyone but the scene with the fucked up dog at the end almost brought me to tears. I did enjoy it though.
And the last book I read of his was The Road. Pretty different to the other books of his that I have read, ie not a western setting but still very engaging. I think I read it in like 3 days. It's a captivating and great book but I think it is my least favorite of the CM books I've read. I still rate it very highly though, obviously.
I have a list of other books from different authors that I've been planning to read but I just keep finding myself picking up another CM book every time I'm at the book store instead.[close]
You need to read Cities on The Plain. That completes the All The Pretty Horses, Crossing trilogy
Expand QuoteExpand QuoteBeen on a big Cormac McCarthy kick since I read Blood Meridian, as recommended by the book club thread.
After BM I read All The Pretty Horses which was absolutely beautiful - not as much depth here as BM but the prose is so breathtaking in parts and some great political takes on the Mexican revolution, all tied in with a tragic love story. Probably my favorite CM book so far.
Read The Crossing after that. Again, another beautiful book, but this one was very bleak and depressing. This won't spoil anything for anyone but the scene with the fucked up dog at the end almost brought me to tears. I did enjoy it though.
And the last book I read of his was The Road. Pretty different to the other books of his that I have read, ie not a western setting but still very engaging. I think I read it in like 3 days. It's a captivating and great book but I think it is my least favorite of the CM books I've read. I still rate it very highly though, obviously.
I have a list of other books from different authors that I've been planning to read but I just keep finding myself picking up another CM book every time I'm at the book store instead.[close]
You need to read Cities on The Plain. That completes the All The Pretty Horses, Crossing trilogy[close]
That's my tentative plan, I just haven't been able to find that one in the used book stores near me.
AbeBooks has worked well for me. It aggregates from bookstores around the US.
Could anyone recommend anything by Kurt Vonnegut? Reading Cat's Cradle at the moment, and absolutely adore it!
[quote author=TableClearer link=topic=24496.msg4030126#msg4030126 date=1686465592]
Could anyone recommend anything by Kurt Vonnegut? Reading Cat's Cradle at the moment, and absolutely adore it!
Expand Quote[quote author=TableClearer link=topic=24496.msg4030126#msg4030126 date=1686465592]
Could anyone recommend anything by Kurt Vonnegut? Reading Cat's Cradle at the moment, and absolutely adore it![close]
Breakfast of Champions and Slaughterhouse 5 are his other most famous ones.
I like Player Piano and I think Mother Night
Yep! That’s why it reads so different. Then it was Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, and Cat’s Cradle. I’m my mind, Cat’s Cradle is where he really lands on the classic Vonnegut voice and style, but as you read those four, you see him moving in that direction.
Cormac just died. Damn.
Def going to push the border trilogy and his new book to the front of the queue
Expand QuoteCormac just died. Damn.
Def going to push the border trilogy and his new book to the front of the queue[close]
Such a bummer but 89 is a good run. He was the best. I’m excited to start The Passenger.
Read Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son. It was an insane look at North Korea. I think it might have been the best book I’ve read since I read The Corrections three or four years ago, in how it brings all these seemingly innocuous details that occur throughout the book together for a satisfying final 50 pages or so. Intensely violent at times, other times deeply emotional and sad, just all around good.
I'm reading As I Lay Dying but due to the cultural distance, I think I might need a reading guide to go with. Some of the phrases go over my head. I've been wanting to get into southern gothic though and any other recommendations are welcome
I’m about to start Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. My girlfriend bought it because she liked the little stuffed animal on the cover but Murata’s other book Convenience Store Woman is supposed to be very good and weird
I’d say Donna Tartt books are definitely written in a style inspired by Southern Gothic.
I’m my mind, Cat’s Cradle is where he really lands on the classic Vonnegut voice and style
Expand QuoteI’m my mind, Cat’s Cradle is where he really lands on the classic Vonnegut voice and style[close]
100% percent!
Read Hocus Pocus recently as found it for cheap, and something about it's pacing drew me away from enjoying it as much as I did with Cat's Craddle.
Sort of felt like a book of one liners disguised as a novel!
(https://i.ibb.co/JpgyhJS/1.webp) (https://ibb.co/z2D7kvt)
(https://i.ibb.co/vc9Pv1t/2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wdtWryv)
(https://i.ibb.co/ct0Pzbp/3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tcgSyZN)
(https://i.ibb.co/YWz8Rss/4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Sxh0sCC)
Expand Quote(https://i.ibb.co/JpgyhJS/1.webp) (https://ibb.co/z2D7kvt)
(https://i.ibb.co/vc9Pv1t/2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wdtWryv)
(https://i.ibb.co/ct0Pzbp/3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tcgSyZN)
(https://i.ibb.co/YWz8Rss/4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Sxh0sCC)[close]
"We" is such an incredible book. i think i lost my copy at some point, which i'm super bummed about
for anyone into sci-fi, who hasn't read it yet: China Mieville – Embassytown is such an amazing book. great story, an incredible world building with some stunning ideas and – if you are into it – some really interesting linguistic ideas, discussion. Like the movie arrival but times better.
"Read" these over my winter break. "The Wager" and "Fever in the Heartland" I listened to. All really good.
I enjoyed 'Down and Out..." also. You'll likely enjoy "The Road to Wigan Pier" and "Homage to Catalonia" also, especially if you feel like arguing with your local leftist about selling out the revolution.
I'm currently making my way through the three part autobiography of Jon Gnarr, Reykjavík's Anarchist mayor.
“James: A Novel” by Percival Everett
Its a retelling of Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn,” thru the story of Jim.
Very enjoyable book
Expand Quote“James: A Novel” by Percival Everett
Its a retelling of Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn,” thru the story of Jim.
Very enjoyable book[close]
funny I don't remember a Jim in Huck Finn, could you elaborate?
that was my clyde singleton impression