Slap MessageBoards
General Discussion => WHATEVER => Topic started by: SneakySecrets on January 28, 2023, 11:41:53 AM
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Anyone have any interest in a slap book club? Like stuff that isn’t related to skating.
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Im totally down for that.
Currently Im reading 2 books, a biography on Wernher Von Braun and Beyond the God Particle by Leon Lederman
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I’d be down
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Hell yeah. I'd rather read than watch mindless telly. Mostly read historical books. Sign me up
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I'd be down as long as the choices were reasonable
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Ok I was thinking about how to go about choosing what we are all agreeing to read and I have some suggestions:
-Recommendations should be more short stories/novella type stuff instead of some 1400 page behemoth to lessen the time investment for everyone, making it more likely people will actually participate.
-Classics and things with broad appeal over some weird little sub genre with niche appeal no one but you cares about.
Leave your suggestions and I’ll make a voting thing and maybe we’ll start something here.
My suggestions are:
“Harrison Bergeron” - a dystopian science fiction short story by Kurt Vonnegut
“Animal Farm” - the classic George Orwell novel
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Yeah keen I’d be down for the Vonnegut one
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Im totally down for that.
Currently Im reading 2 books, a biography on Wernher Von Braun and Beyond the God Particle by Leon Lederman
Care/ dare to share about Beyond the God Particle? I love quantum physics.
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Yeah keen I’d be down for the Vonnegut one
Same. Might need help finding a copy thou as live in France and fuck Amazon
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I will go and try to find the Kurt Vonnegut book today. I've already read 1984 too many times.
What actually happens in a book club though? My mum has been in a book club for my whole life with some of her friends but it just seems like an excuse for middle class women to get drunk together once every few months.
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I'm actually really down to read some sci-fi stuff right now. I've been trying to get into the genre. I wrote it off when I was in university but I recently read Dune and I was just like oh fuck yeah this is sick. Since then I'm now up to the 4th book in the Dune series although I think after this one I will not bother reading the next two. I tried to read a couple of Robert Heinlein books too but I find his writing style very jarring so I didn't finish either of them.
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I believe I’ve got digital copies of all of Vonnegut’s books, I’ll check when I’m home later and upload them if anyone wants em
Think I also have all of Cormac McCarthy’s books, except the most recent two. I’d be super down to do Blood Meridian, would give me a reason to re-read it & analyze it more.
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I'd love to read Blood meridian too, that's another classic I've never read.
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I believe I’ve got digital copies of all of Vonnegut’s books, I’ll check when I’m home later and upload them if anyone wants em
Think I also have all of Cormac McCarthy’s books, except the most recent two. I’d be super down to do Blood Meridian, would give me a reason to re-read it & analyze it more.
Please do. I'd rather read a physical copy thou.
Also I have no idea what a book club is like we read and discuss? Sounds good.
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TLDR: Maybe start a poll on what book the club should read and then determine deadlines? Is that how this works? I'm in dawg.
I believe I’ve got digital copies of all of Vonnegut’s books, I’ll check when I’m home later and upload them if anyone wants em
Gnarx3 Please upload my brethren!
I bought Slaughterhouse 5 on Audible and THEN found out it's read by James Franco. Not only is he out here predatoring minors and teaching classes at prestigious colleges: this dude fucking slurs every other pages while reading with -1000 tonality. I can't even do it. I'm like 82 years old and just started reading my first Vonnegut book, he fully ruined my intro to Vonnegut.
I 'finished' blood meridian last month and would love to know what the fuck was going on there. I had to have no country for old men explained for me too but i'm a fan of everything from Suttree to The Road. The road was the only one I didn't have to immediately look for CliffsNotes to remedy my stupid ass. I'm too intimidated to start CMacMc's newest book.
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In for Vonnegut or McCarthy.
Vonnegut is my guy.
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this is a great idea that i'd be down to participate in, but between teaching a class i've never taught before this semester and trying to research/write the third chapter of my dissertation, i know i will probably have trouble keeping up with more reading
i've read almost everything from McCarthy and there's lots there to tussle with--i might be able to contribute based off of memory, even if i can't necessarily keep up wit the reading. all of that being said, short-stories seem solid and one of my all time favorites is Flannery O'Connor...either way, it looks like there's a free pdf of her collection A Good Man is Hard to Find here
https://www.boyd.k12.ky.us/userfiles/447/classes/28660/a%20good%20man%20is%20hard%20to%20find.pdf
edit: upon looking further, that pdf does not have all of the short stories--for one, it's missing "Everything That Rises Must Converge" which is a favorite. here's a long url to the whole collection on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Stories-FSG-Classics-ebook/dp/B009LRWWMM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1675020108&sr=1-2-9e7645f9-2d19-4bff-863e-f6cdbe50f990
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Advice Not Given: A Guide To Getting Over Yourself by Mark Epstein (Epstein didn't kill himself) changed my life. It's written by an American psychologist who studied Buddhism for decades. It blends western psychology and traditional Buddhist ideals and goes deep into the Eightfold Path while making it palatable for Westerners and first timers interested in Buddhism.
I highly recommend it for anyone interested in mindfulness and traditional Buddhist beliefs.
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I’m down. Would actually love this.
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Advice Not Given: A Guide To Getting Over Yourself by Mark Epstein (Epstein didn't kill himself) changed my life. It's written by an American psychologist who studied Buddhism for decades. It blends western psychology and traditional Buddhist ideals and goes deep into the Eightfold Path while making it palatable for Westerners and first timers interested in Buddhism.
I highly recommend it for anyone interested in mindfulness and traditional Buddhist beliefs.
It’s fiction, but you might enjoy “When I’m Gone, Look for Me In the East”. It’s about two brothers in Mongolia tasked with finding the reincarnated spirit of a teacher
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Also down. Currently working on a book called On Zionist Literature and it’s interesting but kinda academic for what I want to read rn. I’m really into the historical/ non fiction genre- some standouts include Nothing to Envy, it’s basically a realistic look at life in North Korea. Another one is Ghosts of Gold Mountain, basically a story about the chinese people that built the Transcontinental Railroad
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TLDR: Maybe start a poll on what book the club should read and then determine deadlines? Is that how this works? I'm in dawg.
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I believe I’ve got digital copies of all of Vonnegut’s books, I’ll check when I’m home later and upload them if anyone wants em
Gnarx3 Please upload my brethren!
I bought Slaughterhouse 5 on Audible and THEN found out it's read by James Franco. Not only is he out here predatoring minors and teaching classes at prestigious colleges: this dude fucking slurs every other pages while reading with -1000 tonality. I can't even do it. I'm like 82 years old and just started reading my first Vonnegut book, he fully ruined my intro to Vonnegut.
I 'finished' blood meridian last month and would love to know what the fuck was going on there. I had to have no country for old men explained for me too but i'm a fan of everything from Suttree to The Road. The road was the only one I didn't have to immediately look for CliffsNotes to remedy my stupid ass. I'm too intimidated to start CMacMc's newest book.
Happy there is so much interest. I’m also new to the book club thing but I believe that’s the gist. We’d read like a chapter week, then come back here and say what we thought.
I actually downloaded the Kurt Vonnegut story and it’s literally only 6 pages, haha. I had read it a long time ago in high school and I always thought about it from time to time- but I don’t know if there is enough to talk about.
I actually just bought Blood Meridian and have liked other Cormac McCarthy books so I’m putting my vote down for that one too. Seems shortish, of general interest. Then move on to some of the other good suggestions.
Anyways, I’m just the person that came up with the idea, so if everyone wants to read something else that’s cool too.
Also TL;DR I’m for discussing Chapter One of Blood Meridian in 2 weeks. One week for everyone to get the book and another to read a chapter. Does that sound agreeable?
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Lurk the Books to Read thread and you all have put me on to very good stuff. This is a good idea!
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TLDR: Maybe start a poll on what book the club should read and then determine deadlines? Is that how this works? I'm in dawg.
Expand Quote
I believe I’ve got digital copies of all of Vonnegut’s books, I’ll check when I’m home later and upload them if anyone wants em
Gnarx3 Please upload my brethren!
I bought Slaughterhouse 5 on Audible and THEN found out it's read by James Franco. Not only is he out here predatoring minors and teaching classes at prestigious colleges: this dude fucking slurs every other pages while reading with -1000 tonality. I can't even do it. I'm like 82 years old and just started reading my first Vonnegut book, he fully ruined my intro to Vonnegut.
I 'finished' blood meridian last month and would love to know what the fuck was going on there. I had to have no country for old men explained for me too but i'm a fan of everything from Suttree to The Road. The road was the only one I didn't have to immediately look for CliffsNotes to remedy my stupid ass. I'm too intimidated to start CMacMc's newest book.
Happy there is so much interest. I’m also new to the book club thing but I believe that’s the gist. We’d read like a chapter week, then come back here and say what we thought.
I actually downloaded the Kurt Vonnegut story and it’s literally only 6 pages, haha. I had read it a long time ago in high school and I always thought about it from time to time- but I don’t know if there is enough to talk about.
I actually just bought Blood Meridian and have liked other Cormac McCarthy books so I’m putting my vote down for that one too. Seems shortish, of general interest. Then move on to some of the other good suggestions.
Anyways, I’m just the person that came up with the idea, so if everyone wants to read something else that’s cool too.
Also TL;DR I’m for discussing Chapter One of Blood Meridian in 2 weeks. One week for everyone to get the book and another to read a chapter. Does that sound agreeable?
chapter one of Blood Meridian sounds like a plan
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TLDR: Maybe start a poll on what book the club should read and then determine deadlines? Is that how this works? I'm in dawg.
Expand Quote
I believe I’ve got digital copies of all of Vonnegut’s books, I’ll check when I’m home later and upload them if anyone wants em
Gnarx3 Please upload my brethren!
I bought Slaughterhouse 5 on Audible and THEN found out it's read by James Franco. Not only is he out here predatoring minors and teaching classes at prestigious colleges: this dude fucking slurs every other pages while reading with -1000 tonality. I can't even do it. I'm like 82 years old and just started reading my first Vonnegut book, he fully ruined my intro to Vonnegut.
I 'finished' blood meridian last month and would love to know what the fuck was going on there. I had to have no country for old men explained for me too but i'm a fan of everything from Suttree to The Road. The road was the only one I didn't have to immediately look for CliffsNotes to remedy my stupid ass. I'm too intimidated to start CMacMc's newest book.
Happy there is so much interest. I’m also new to the book club thing but I believe that’s the gist. We’d read like a chapter week, then come back here and say what we thought.
I actually downloaded the Kurt Vonnegut story and it’s literally only 6 pages, haha. I had read it a long time ago in high school and I always thought about it from time to time- but I don’t know if there is enough to talk about.
I actually just bought Blood Meridian and have liked other Cormac McCarthy books so I’m putting my vote down for that one too. Seems shortish, of general interest. Then move on to some of the other good suggestions.
Anyways, I’m just the person that came up with the idea, so if everyone wants to read something else that’s cool too.
Also TL;DR I’m for discussing Chapter One of Blood Meridian in 2 weeks. One week for everyone to get the book and another to read a chapter. Does that sound agreeable?
chapter one of Blood Meridian sounds like a plan
I’d recommend a dedicated post for the book and update with the Chapter number as you advance
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This should be all of Vonnegut's stuff, and everything Cormac McCarthy did (excluding the two that came out recently)
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/b3b29bfcd97410dd5284af83cf35a38c20230130011726/2daf81305ec1e1586fc28744ea4d32ac20230130011743/c23ec7/grid
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Fuck yeah thanks for all the books. I get pdfs off the internet all the time but just realised epubs are A LOT easier to read on a phone
So we’re reading blood meridian?
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hell yeah thanks @childhood
So its Blood Meridian? First chapter?
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Yeah let's do it
The schedule should probably be adjusted/figured out at some point (Blood Meridian is 23 chapters + an epilogue, but I don't think it'll take us ~5 months to get through it), but doing a chapter a week at first sounds good
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I'd be down too. I've read Blood Meridian so I'd be more down for the Vonnegut, but can do both (Blood Meridian is one of the best books I've read so no problem reading it again). So what's the current plan, the thread kind of lost me at some point
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It seems like Blood Meridian is the first on our list. I'm so down for Vonnegut to be the next choice. Thanks @Deputy Wendell & @childhood for consistently being true Brahjes
In case you're legally illiterate like me: here's the unabridged first half of the audiobook. for your hour-long commute (also like me)
https://youtu.be/sE12km0BvRQ
Let's say have first chapter read by Wednesday, February 15? Too much time? Not enough?
I’d recommend a dedicated post for the book and update with the Chapter number as you advance
This is a good idea but how u do dat? Please show me the way, Dark Man of Slap Woods
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I'm in for Blood Meridian. Although I'm about to take a month long vacation on a desert island so I will probably have it finished within like 7 days
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Let's say have first chapter read by Wednesday, February 15? Too much time? Not enough?
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I’d recommend a dedicated post for the book and update with the Chapter number as you advance
This is a good idea but how u do dat? Please show me the way, Dark Man of Slap Woods
Ok let’s do that. Chapter one by the 15th. We can adjust as necessary so we don’t have too many people either out in front waiting or dragging behind. Those that already read it can tell the rest of us what the hell is going on.
I’d also like to have that explained @Atiba Applebum. Or if you’d rather just make it, that’d be fine too,
I’m excited. Talk to ya’ll in ~2 weeks and maybe we’ll all learn some shit… and see who didn’t do their homework. 👀
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Can you do spoiler things on here? On some websites you can black out certain text and then it is revealed when you hover your mouse over it. Could be useful for this thread...
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Let's say have first chapter read by Wednesday, February 15? Too much time? Not enough?
Expand Quote
I’d recommend a dedicated post for the book and update with the Chapter number as you advance
This is a good idea but how u do dat? Please show me the way, Dark Man of Slap Woods
Ok let’s do that. Chapter one by the 15th. We can adjust as necessary so we don’t have too many people either out in front waiting or dragging behind. Those that already read it can tell the rest of us what the hell is going on.
I’d also like to have that explained @Atiba Applebum. Or if you’d rather just make it, that’d be fine too,
I’m excited. Talk to ya’ll in ~2 weeks and maybe we’ll all learn some shit… and see who didn’t do their homework. 👀
copy that, on all of the above
funny thing is, out of all of McCarthy's books on my shelf, it's probably been the longest since i read Blood Meridian. it was actually on my reading list for my qualifying exams (which i finished back in 2015), so i can...uh...cheat a bit, if i can't keep up with the reading, because i have a few pages of notes from that reading...ha. also, we're just finishing Willa Cather's The Professor's House in the class i'm teaching right now, and the "Cliff People" on the "Blue Mesa" in that are based on the Anasazi, which play a part in Blood Meridian...i love when seemingly unrelated stuff overlaps in cool ways...
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Let's say have first chapter read by Wednesday, February 15? Too much time? Not enough?
Expand Quote
I’d recommend a dedicated post for the book and update with the Chapter number as you advance
This is a good idea but how u do dat? Please show me the way, Dark Man of Slap Woods
Ok let’s do that. Chapter one by the 15th. We can adjust as necessary so we don’t have too many people either out in front waiting or dragging behind. Those that already read it can tell the rest of us what the hell is going on.
I’d also like to have that explained @Atiba Applebum. Or if you’d rather just make it, that’d be fine too,
I’m excited. Talk to ya’ll in ~2 weeks and maybe we’ll all learn some shit… and see who didn’t do their homework. 👀
copy that, on all of the above
funny thing is, out of all of McCarthy's books on my shelf, it's probably been the longest since i read Blood Meridian. it was actually on my reading list for my qualifying exams (which i finished back in 2015), so i can...uh...cheat a bit, if i can't keep up with the reading, because i have a few pages of notes from that reading...ha. also, we're just finishing Willa Cather's The Professor's House in the class i'm teaching right now, and the "Cliff People" on the "Blue Mesa" in that are based on the Anasazi, which play a part in Blood Meridian...i love when seemingly unrelated stuff overlaps in cool ways...
You can make a thread and I believe the OP can edit the title as needed like they do for each new Heck Ride interview
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Im totally down for that.
Currently Im reading 2 books, a biography on Wernher Von Braun and Beyond the God Particle by Leon Lederman
Care/ dare to share about Beyond the God Particle? I love quantum physics.
Its pretty good so far. So far Lederman is introducing the concept of the Higgs Boson and the LHC in simple terms that isnt too complex. Whats interesting was how the US was already building a particle accelerator much larger than the one at CERN but canceled the contruction cuz of some bullshit congressional spending.
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Stoked on this. Yeah 15th is cool. Gonna sneaky print it off at work tomorrow
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Blood Meridian, Feb 15, copy that
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Advice Not Given: A Guide To Getting Over Yourself by Mark Epstein (Epstein didn't kill himself) changed my life. It's written by an American psychologist who studied Buddhism for decades. It blends western psychology and traditional Buddhist ideals and goes deep into the Eightfold Path while making it palatable for Westerners and first timers interested in Buddhism.
I highly recommend it for anyone interested in mindfulness and traditional Buddhist beliefs.
It’s fiction, but you might enjoy “When I’m Gone, Look for Me In the East”. It’s about two brothers in Mongolia tasked with finding the reincarnated spirit of a teacher
Will definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation :)
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Just flipped through my copy, Chapter 1 is only 17 pages. To end of chapter 2 is 30 pages. I say we read chapters 1 and 2.
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Yeah I was gonna say I mean we probably all read differently but these chapters are tiny
Dude the book’s like gta type shit, or red dead redemption I should say
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Buy the book or check it out from a library if you can/are financially able. Both could use your support.
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Just a reminder that this is starting in a few days.
Be sure to get started reading about the kid, Judge Holden, and the wacky shenanigans they get up to.
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I’m in, just so the next time someone calls me stupid on here I can be like “oh yeah? If I’m so stupid then explain why I’m an active participant in the SLAP book club?!?!”
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I personally think you should do White Noise first considering a big catalyst in the plot is literally happening in Ohio right now like it does in the Ohio of the book
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Absolutely down to do White Noise next after BM, I've read that book a ton of times. Yeah that whole Ohio situation is disgusting and would be great for discussion.
I also wanted to suggest doing Galapagos at some point. It's a Vonnegut book with some science fiction aspects, and I feel like it doesn't get as much love as some of his other works.
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What’s White Noise about?
If anyone wants to read something non-fiction, I’m also reading the new Michael Malice book White Pill which is a really well-written history of the USSR.
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Absolutely down to do White Noise next after BM, I've read that book a ton of times. Yeah that whole Ohio situation is disgusting and would be great for discussion.
I also wanted to suggest doing Galapagos at some point. It's a Vonnegut book with some science fiction aspects, and I feel like it doesn't get as much love as some of his other works.
I’ll check that out. I think I tend to like the deep cuts of KV better than the hits
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Absolutely down to do White Noise next after BM, I've read that book a ton of times. Yeah that whole Ohio situation is disgusting and would be great for discussion.
I also wanted to suggest doing Galapagos at some point. It's a Vonnegut book with some science fiction aspects, and I feel like it doesn't get as much love as some of his other works.
Fucking love that book, 100% down.
I’m in on BM as well, heard a bunch about it while lifting the BtR-thread, got me interested.
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I just read Blood Meridian a month ago so I won't read it again but I'm in for the next book.
White Noise seems cool, never read it.
I'm currently reading Jez Usbourne's favorite book Mr. Nice... it's so stupid but mildy entertaining.
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What’s White Noise about?
If anyone wants to read something non-fiction, I’m also reading the new Michael Malice book White Pill which is a really well-written history of the USSR.
White Noise is mostly about this middle aged college professor who teaches Hitler studies & becomes obsessed with death and his own mortality.
But there's also a major subplot that weirdly mirrors that recent train derailment crisis that just happened in Ohio https://www.levernews.com/rail-companies-blocked-safety-rules-before-ohio-derailment/
There's a Noah Baumbach film adaptation of it that just came out on netflix too, but I haven't watched it yet.
TBH I first got interested in the book cause it's referenced in this Bright Eyes song I really like:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbZ9w_iPjeg
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I might need a week to catch up with y’all but I really wanna read BM, been on my list a while. This is a good idea.
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Gonna make a proper post when I finish up work for the day, thought it'd be cool to start it off with the original NYTimes review from when it was first released though
https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/28/books/blood-meridian-by-cormac-mccarthy.html
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What happened to book club? So far this book reminds me of a Jim Thompson x Stephen king (dark tower) collabo. I’ve not read any McCarthy before, looking forward to the rest.
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You guys are in for a treat 'Blood Meridian' is high up there. When you contrast the prose style with 'The Road' it's amazing that they were written by the same person.
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This is such a good idea . I’m heading down to the library now . I’ve always wanted to read this .
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Shit I'm a couple years off this novel but I think I got about halfway before life detracted me but sounds like time to revisit. Shit was sick
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Alright I guess I'll start. This is my second round with BM but I'll try to limit it to the first two chapters.
What's truly amazing to me with this book and what makes it so absorbing to me is how McCarthy manages to create the impression that what happens is both completely arbitrary and utterly inevitable. Fate and chance become one. The kid appears to be a totally random character who stumbles from one arbitrary fight into another like he's barely even there, drifting through the hellscape of McCarthy's Southeast as insubstantial as dust, meeting other nameless and largely faceless men who spontaneously become either his friends or his mortal enemies for no particularly good reason. This is reminiscent of ancient Greek and Roman epic in a way, but the Gods who direct stuff there remain completely invisible here, creating this sense of random inevitability. It's like watching a play unfold for which there's no script, but everything that happens is predetermined anyway.
I love how McCarthy then uses the inscrutable nature of this world he's created to make Judge Holden stand out against it like some sort of demigod. Against the kid's face-and aimless drifting, Holden has a name and a purpose from the start and comes into view pursuing a clear course of action - spreading chaos by slandering a preacher and getting him killed, and thereby mocking the idea of God's existence in a world such as this as absurd. Yet the ability to pull this off positions Holden himself as a potentially supernatural (if demonic) force. So once again there's this sense of existentialist contradiction built into the story that chimes with the combination of fate and chance: God does not exist, but the devil well might.
Looking forward to hearing what you guys thought of it, let's get this ball rolling!
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i dropped the ball, went on a vacation to a super rural area and haven't been able to pick up a copy... once i get back to the city ill catch up with everyone on blood meridian
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Yo is this thing already dead in the water before the first round has even begun or what? Come on slap!
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It’s hard bro it would be easier if we were sitting round a table with a few drinks
It was sick how the judge geed everyone up to kill the preacher. I liked how later someone asks him something and he admits he never seen the bloke before and they all laugh and someone buys him a beer
I liked what Rory said about god doesn’t exist but the devil might. What happened so far is pretty much saying god is dead. I liked it how the kid and toadvine went and killed that other bloke and burned the hotel down. It’s like in this story one can do whatever and get away with it. You probably could do shit like that back in the day
Sorry for not putting too much effort into this I am rooted from work it was hot today. Hopefully we have more intelligent discussion as we get further into the book
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It’s hard bro it would be easier if we were sitting round a table with a few drinks
It was sick how the judge geed everyone up to kill the preacher. I liked how later someone asks him something and he admits he never seen the bloke before and they all laugh and someone buys him a beer
I liked what Rory said about god doesn’t exist but the devil might. What happened so far is pretty much saying god is dead. I liked it how the kid and toadvine went and killed that other bloke and burned the hotel down. It’s like in this story one can do whatever and get away with it. You probably could do shit like that back in the day
Sorry for not putting too much effort into this I am rooted from work it was hot today. Hopefully we have more intelligent discussion as we get further into the book
No worries mate, much appreciated. A few more posts to get things going and then maybe we an develop some momentum with this
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Anyone still reading? I finally started getting into it. It's not what i was expecting but I'm enjoying it so far. I feel like it's hard to say much about a book when you're only 2 chapters in though.
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Anyone still reading? I finally started getting into it. It's not what i was expecting but I'm enjoying it so far. I feel like it's hard to say much about a book when you're only 2 chapters in though.
I'm still down if other pals are. Who else is still on board?
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I read the first two chapters. After the first page, I found it really hard to keep reading. The lack of punctuation makes reading dialogue an arduous task. I'm trying to keep an open mind because I like westerns and whatnot. Hoping the kid comes across a prospector at some point. I'm also hoping the plot becomes more than a series of bar fights and description of the kid traveling to another place and meeting some random person.
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Any recommendations on where I can read for free?
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Any recommendations on where I can read for free?
Check your PMs
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I read the first two chapters. After the first page, I found it really hard to keep reading. The lack of punctuation makes reading dialogue an arduous task. I'm trying to keep an open mind because I like westerns and whatnot. Hoping the kid comes across a prospector at some point. I'm also hoping the plot becomes more than a series of bar fights and description of the kid traveling to another place and meeting some random person.
Haha, it's a really difficult book to read. And it doesn't really go beyond descriptions of traveling around and various fights but rather it escalates to extremes. That's kinda the point of the book I think. There is a 'conflict' later in the book between characters but I think really the meat of the book is all the gruesome detail and relentless gore which was the foundation of the formation of the great country of the the U S of A.
I've read it twice and I don't really want to spoil it for those who are reading it currently, but I would recommend pressing on if you can. It is a very difficult book to read. It's not pleasant and it's not particularly 'poetic' or 'literary' but it does put you into a certain state of mind like a hypnosis or something.
No Country For Old Men is McCarthy's most beautiful and poetic book, but Blood Meridian is a book like no other, and therein lies its importance.
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My copy’s on its way. I’ll be playing catch up this week.
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If you're writing a post in this thread that contains spoilers you should alert people at the start of the post
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spoilers contained in this post I am at page 129.
I think I'm about a third of the way through right now.
This book is so gnarly. Although at times I'm finding the brutality is almost too much. Like when the group of Indian-hunters find that old village with the disheveled prospectors staying there and the Mexican child, then the next morning they wake up and the child is somehow dead and has his spine broken, and they just ignore it. How did that happen? He was alive the previous day and it was an uneventful night. There is just so much death and bloodshed. Or when the black guy cuts off his rival's head around the campfire and they all just kinda ignore it and ignore the corpse with blood spurting out of its neck. I suppose it's supposed to be just an overwhelming amount of death.
Overall I'm really enjoying it though. The lack of grammar was hard to read at first but I've gotten used to it now and it was definitely written in this way for a reason. The writing style of certain scenes has really portrayed how fast the bloodshed happens.
I'm waiting to see what kind of political angle this book will take. At this point it has painted a pretty nasty picture of the native Americans. We'll see where it goes though.
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Thanks for putting the spoiler alert in your post. I wonder if it would be helpful to specify where the spoiler is located?
Something like, "Spoiler alert: Do not read unless you have read up to chapter 3" or something of that sort.
I don't want to avoid reading someone's contribution if I do not have to. I am enjoying hearing the different perspectives and takes that people have on the book so far.
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Thanks for putting the spoiler alert in your post. I wonder if it would be helpful to specify where the spoiler is located?
Something like, "Spoiler alert: Do not read unless you have read up to chapter 3" or something of that sort.
I don't want to avoid reading someone's contribution if I do not have to. I am enjoying hearing the different perspectives and takes that people have on the book so far.
Good idea, i edited my post to contain my current page number.
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Shit Im in the middle of the passenger and might have to follow that up with his other new novel. But at the current pace of the thread I might be able to catch up later.
Read BM a few years ago. I enjoyed it but was casually reading with out thinking too much about it and in hindsight felt like i missed a lot. So Im looking forward to reading it again and forcing myself to actually write down a couple of thoughts per chapter. Only noteworthy thing I can remember is how there were hardly any insights on the thoughts or emotions of the characters, just a seemingly random stream of violence and the story still captivated me. Was my first book by McCarthy and it made me buy a few of his others (which all felt pretty different from BM)
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Snagged the book from my library today, way thinner volume than I expected. Excited to dig in.
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I don't want to rush anyone or exclude anyone from the conversation, but I wonder if it would be a good idea to have a general timeline as to when certain chapters are completed? I keep checking this thread periodically and I don't really know if I should continue on or wait for people to catch up. This is @SneakySecrets thread, so I will leave that decision up to him. So far I am not enjoying the book much, but am willing to keep reading if I know there is a definitive "due date." I very much enjoy the communal aspect of a book club and hearing different opinions.
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It’s not the end of the world but I read it all to last few pages and then someone posted a review on here that tells the ending I was a bit salty about that haha
But the ending sounds like a good one I like the book
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This is @SneakySecrets thread, so I will leave that decision up to him. So far I am not enjoying the book much, but am willing to keep reading if I know there is a definitive "due date." I very much enjoy the communal aspect of a book club and hearing different opinions.
I decided I wanted to read something different, so I’m out, haha. You all do what you want to, this belongs to you now.
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I havent read McCarthy before, just seen his work adapted for screen, and through two chapters, I’m certainly impressed with how rich his prose is, the economy of the storytelling, and McCarthy’s word choice for the most part, but…
SPOILER?
Damn, the amount of times the n-word gets tossed around is sort of astounding, and doesnt really seem character driven so much as McCarthy imposing his perceived sense of the time period, and for the shock value? Maybe it’s a well-trodden topic on this book, I havent done my research, but I wonder if what flew in 1985 for a ‘beloved white novelist’ wouldnt fly today? I personally couldnt rationalize the decision to use the word outside of dialogue here and there, and even then, I would do anything in my power to not use that word. Just my two cents, but it’s pulled me out of the story a bunch so thought I’d bring it up. Other than that, I’m enjoying this book quite a bit, in spite of my somewhat massive qualms, the writing is undeniably top tier.
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This is @SneakySecrets thread, so I will leave that decision up to him. So far I am not enjoying the book much, but am willing to keep reading if I know there is a definitive "due date." I very much enjoy the communal aspect of a book club and hearing different opinions.
I decided I wanted to read something different, so I’m out, haha. You all do what you want to, this belongs to you now.
damn. you made me read this bloodbath of a book for nothing.
i say next time we read theodore kaczynski's manifesto - industrial society and its future. someone mentioned it in another thread and i think it's a good idea to read it and have a discussion on what he got right/wrong etc because regardless of what you think of the man the manifesto is at least an interesting read. it also only takes an hour or two to read. so maybe that would get more people involved.
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I don't want to rush anyone or exclude anyone from the conversation, but I wonder if it would be a good idea to have a general timeline as to when certain chapters are completed? I keep checking this thread periodically and I don't really know if I should continue on or wait for people to catch up. This is @SneakySecrets thread, so I will leave that decision up to him. So far I am not enjoying the book much, but am willing to keep reading if I know there is a definitive "due date." I very much enjoy the communal aspect of a book club and hearing different opinions.
i think rather than have a 'read up to page 25 by x date' people should just make posts with spoiler warnings and a page number as i did earlier. that way there can be an ongoing discussion and the thread can stay bumped. and then when the majority of regular contributors to the thread are finished we just move onto another book/essay/short story etc. idk, it's all a bit messy, but the idea of the book club in general is great.
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SPOILERS i'm up to approximately page 190
Wow so the whites are just as bad if not worse than the indians. How historically accurate do you guys think blood meridian is? Obviously i don't think the events actually happened but were there similar battles/massacres happening in this time period?
Also i should also mention that i did not grow up in the USA so my knowledge of american colonial history is pretty much non-existent
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Yes. Apparently 'Blood Meridian' is loosely based on Samuel Chamberlain's "My Confession: The Recollections of a Rogue" which details similar events.
A good fictional companion novel to Blood Meridian is Burroughs' "The Place of Dead Roads."
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I’m currently reading a bunch of books by famed pan africanist authors on how much shit crackers did to africa and the global south. Horrifying but very informative
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I’m reading Jarett Kobek’s Motor Spirit: The Long Hunt for the Zodiac then hitting his How to Find Zodiac afterward. Usually go through a library for my reads but had to go the used route on these. I’ll update you guys if I make any breakthroughs on the case ;)
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So is no one else still reading?
Spoiler: I'm up to page 265.
Chapter 17 probably has some of the best conversations in the novel and it's my favorite part of the book so far. It reminds me of the way Dostoevsky explores philosophy by having two characters discuss the topic, except it's savages in the American desert.
Here's a quote from the judge in this chapter which I had seen before but never knew the origin of:
'It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting it's ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way.'
This was the peak of this section for me but it goes on to the judge discussing this in more depth, and the implication (at least from my reading) that men engage in war to prove to themselves that they do have free will, and that by engaging in war they ascend above humans and animals that can not prove this to themselves, thus reaching divination. It reminds me a lot of ideas proposed by Nietzsche and further developed by Evola, especially in Metaphysics of War.
Another quote from earlier in the chapter that I had to read several times to comprehend:
'That night Glanton stared long into the embers of the fire. All about him his men were sleeping but much was changed. So many gone, defected or dead. The Delawares all slain. He watched the fire and if he saw portents there it was much the same to him. He would live to look upon the western sea and he was equal to whatever might follow for he was complete at every hour. Whether his history should run concomitant with men and nations, whether it should cease. He'd long forsworn all weighing of consequence and allowing as he did that men's destinies are given yet he usurped to contain within him all that he would ever be in this world and all that the world would be to him and be his charter in the urstone itself he claimed agency and said so and he'd drive the remorseless sun on to its final endarkenment as if he'd ordered it all ages since, before there were paths anywhere, before there were men or suns to go upon them.'
This quote made no sense to me when I first read it but after the Judge's later speech it makes sense that Glanton is subconsciously realising all that the Judge already knows.
I'm anxious to continue reading but at this point it feels like this chapter was really the culmination of all the brutality before it in this book and the thesis is being shown - men kill to prove to themselves that they are god.
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Anyone have any interest in a slap book club? Like stuff that isn’t related to skating.
This rules.
Tip top choices, especially Animal Farm. Never heard of that one by Vonnegut but know he’s a gem.
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Finished it. Probably one of my favorite books I've ever read. I actually plan to read it again straight away because I know there is a lot of stuff I missed which I will pick up on in a second reading.
SPOILER
The ending is pretty ambiguous and I will definitely need to read the last chapter again, maybe several times to understand what happened.
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Blood Meridian is a haunting and brutal masterpiece of American literature, written by Cormac McCarthy. The novel follows a teenage runaway known only as "the kid" who joins a group of ruthless scalp hunters led by the enigmatic and terrifying Judge Holden. Set in the 1850s on the Texas-Mexico border, Blood Meridian is a dark, visceral, and unflinching exploration of the human capacity for violence and the darkness that lurks within the American frontier.
McCarthy's writing is rich, poetic, and often bleakly beautiful, but it's also incredibly violent and disturbing. The novel is filled with graphic descriptions of violence and brutality that can be difficult to read at times. However, despite its challenging subject matter, Blood Meridian is a profoundly moving and thought-provoking work of literature that continues to captivate readers today. If you're a fan of Westerns or literary fiction that explores the darkest aspects of the human psyche, Blood Meridian is an essential read.
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I tried to read Blood Meridian long ago, probably only made it to chapter 3 myself!
yes the man said. they killed another indian and ten more indians. uh oh the kid said. what the man said. there is another indian over there. the head of the indian exploded then. too bad the man said. the man walked on. the kid followed the man.
I found it unreadable. Good luck to all...
Checking in for the next title.
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I'm re-reading Blood Meridian because it was so damn good.
If anyone still wants to do this book club I think we should do a short story or essay next instead of a whole book.
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Blood Meridian was great. Read it like 5 years ago, and translated the spanish I didn't know with google translate to get the whole story.
I used to read a book or two a month but 2 years and some months at this job its been hard to get intersted in my usual working my way through all of Steinbeck, so I went for a biography I have been wanting to read.
If anyone wants to read it, I started it last night, its "The Last Season" and I'm down to talk about it. I know it's going to be sad but I haven't read about the guy yet, I will when the book is done. It's about a Ranger in Yosemite valley that volunteered as seasonal. You live on site in the wilderness for like 6 months. Its like his 39th year, and he has major depression and he's already sounding like this is it in this first chapter. Theres a huge search for him as he goes missing and thats all I know.
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(https://i.ibb.co/2WhzWq5/IMG-8830.jpg)
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Sorry . I bailed out - didn’t like it . Well written , just wasn’t for me .
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I know I bailed out on our first book so no one has any reason to believe I’ll follow through on this one, but with that disclaimer out of the way,
If anyone feels like reading through (or just talk about) Infinite Jest with me, I just started reading it for the first time. I’m curious to see if it lives up to the hype.