books to read

[swagdragon123]

[toque]

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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.

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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.

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:

[Greg Ostertag]

Read this badboy in a day. Tricky conceptuals made considerably less tricky for the layman.


Kind of corny at times, but also very insightful and inspiring. Bucky was an intellectual juggernaut. I especially like his use of the phrase "humid process regenerative machines" (humans).


Seneca; just being morally and ethically sound and shit.


...and the obligatory Bukowski for the in between days.

[A.J.K.]

Bought and finished yesterday, seeing as it's only 90 or so pages depending on the edition.  So good.

[ChronicBluntSlider]

Bought and finished yesterday, seeing as it's only 90 or so pages depending on the edition.  So good.

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.

[Beer Keg Peg Leg]

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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:

Dance, Dance, Dance is a sort-of sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase, which is also awesome. Those two are easily my favorite books of his I read.

As for IQ84: I don't feel the usual sense of awe and wonder I feel after reading a Murakami. A lot of the mystical elements in this book seemed arbitrary to me. Maybe I'm too dumb to wrap my brain around ALL the unanswered questions arising from its 1300 pages, but I'm not really inspired to try. I enjoyed it for the story but I dunno...it all seemed kind of forced on his part.

[Bloody Matt]

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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.

Finished this last night:



I really really enjoyed it.

[sexualhelon]

Ay Merked, I'd love to read some of your stuff if you want to post a link.

[Ollie Ringwald]

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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:



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.

[sametelt]

Halfway through this and I'm loving it. Never read anything by Saunders before, will definitely check out some of his earlier work.

[macgruber]

Been reading The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. Easy read albeit I'm doing it slowly. I'd recommend it or any of his Marlowe books.

[Dontfearthereefer]

Probably has been posted before, but i aint sifting through 50 pages

[Bloody Matt]

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.

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.

[Ollie Ringwald]

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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.

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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.

Infinite Jest? Honestly, I'd say don't bother.

[Beer Keg Peg Leg]

ohhh damn kilgore about to go super saiyan on u fool

[A.J.K.]

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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.

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.

Five chapters into 1Q84, loving it so far.  Saying Marukami's writing is easy to read would almost be discrediting it, but it's smooth and digestible without being obvious.  Does that make sense?

[oyolar]

By criticism, he means analysis/discussion. Not discrediting or tearing down the book.

Your description of Murakami reminds me of how my one literature teacher described Vonnegut: he's like a good whiskey after dinner--he goes down smooth and is a good palate cleanser.

[A.J.K.]

By criticism, he means analysis/discussion. Not discrediting or tearing down the book.

My bad, that certainly makes more sense. 

[Merked]

Probably has been posted before, but i aint sifting through 50 pages

Read this.  Wasn't my favorite Palahniuk.  It never really captivated me.  It was a decent read though.  I enjoyed Rant and Survivor alot more. 

[Merked]

Sorry for the double post.  Just read this though:



It was pretty fucking mindblowing.  It is about two dope and crack feinds in L.A. Hollywood.  It was super fucked up, yet had some powerful meaning IMO.  Interesting to see how certain addicts can live their lives.  If you like fucked up literature, I would definately recommend it.  Also, the author is a recovering crack/dope user.  Great read.

[oyolar]

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.

[The Human Condom]

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Probably has been posted before, but i aint sifting through 50 pages

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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.

Hey no one,
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.

[The Human Condom]

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Probably has been posted before, but i aint sifting through 50 pages

[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 no one,
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?

I think so.  Like the director's cut of "Blade Runner," right?

[Kinch]

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.

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?

[Binomial Nomenclature]

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.

[nino brown]

[Merked]

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.

I couldn't get through this one either.  I just read Snuff instead.  It was okay.  Not Chuck's best work.

[Nosferatu]

How is it?

[oyolar]

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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.

[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?

I'm just starting this time, but hopefully it'll last.  I'm already about half way through it.  I've been reading it very slowly over the past six years or so.  Luckily, it's the kind of book where a 6, 9, 12 month gap between readings doesn't really affect what you get from it.  It takes a little bit to get back in the swing of understanding it though.  But those few days don't bother me because I'm already missing a lot in the section I do understand, so 20 pages of missing stuff isn't a big deal, you know?

[steve]

just started this one a few days ago. Quite enjoyable so far, at points reminding me of a lighter pynchon.



i really dig some of what upski writes about, in this book especially, and would love to teach some of it to a class of students between the ages of 14-20 as lessons in empowerment and self advocacy.