The Book Thread (Official Thread) [Archive] - Page 20

garggggh

11/24/09, 09:02 AM

Finally finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Wonderful book, in my opinion.

Agreed.

really? what was the occasion?

This was the link that was sent to me. Have to clue what went down. Googling doesn't turn up much, so maybe they're all sticking with the rules of FC.

http://projectmayhemla.com/

As for recs, I got rec'd Water for Elephants last night. Anyone read that?

eucademix

11/24/09, 02:09 PM

as much as i want to read 2666, i just can't find the time to read it along with the edible woman and tara road. i'll have to check it out again in the future.

lindZ629

11/24/09, 02:12 PM

Agreed.

This was the link that was sent to me. Have to clue what went down. Googling doesn't turn up much, so maybe they're all sticking with the rules of FC.

http://projectmayhemla.com/

As for recs, I got rec'd Water for Elephants last night. Anyone read that?
Water for Elephants is great, definitely check that out.

dakota0135

11/24/09, 02:21 PM

I just finished Little Children, which I enjoyed as much as the film, not a bad read.

I've currently reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's a 'young adult' book, so it's pretty easy to read, but I like it because it's set in a dys(o?)topian society which isn't often for 'young adult' books. Anyway, I'm only a few chapters in but I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read.

Red Lion

11/24/09, 04:23 PM

This was the link that was sent to me. Have to clue what went down. Googling doesn't turn up much, so maybe they're all sticking with the rules of FC.

http://projectmayhemla.com/

Ah, okay. Yeah they had some screenings on the tenth anniversary/Blu-Ray release date. They've been pushing Fight Club like crazy (http://www.welcometoFC.com) for a while now.

TJ Wells

11/24/09, 07:50 PM

http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51AXswG0JUL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Anyone else pre-order this yet?

TJ Wells

11/24/09, 08:03 PM

Ok, so this Half-Price books place by my house is having a 20% off sale until 10:00am on Friday, so I'm looking for suggestions. Anything would be great, but I've been really wanting to get into more existential stuff lately. Thanks in advance.

Red Lion

11/25/09, 02:04 PM

I've also heard fantastic things about HOUSE OF LEAVES

ForlrnPerplxity

11/25/09, 02:07 PM

Just finished Under the Dome last night. It's one of King's most entertaining books. I loved it, and I also didn't feel like the whole thing was really roughly 1,100 pages long after finishing it.

Up next is Great Expectations.

open mind

11/25/09, 02:16 PM

i've been chipping away at catch 22 for a couple weeks and i usually finish a book in a day or 3.
it's not that i'm disliking the book (the insanity is pretty hilarious) so much as the main plotline (or lack thereof) still doesn't seem to be going anywhere so i keep putting it down and coming back to it a day or 2 later.

TheBaroness

11/25/09, 05:05 PM

http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51AXswG0JUL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Anyone else pre-order this yet?

I want to, waiting until the xmas money drain is over.

TJ Wells

11/25/09, 05:13 PM

I want to, waiting until the xmas money drain is over.
I am hitting 3 used book stores Friday, hoping to find SOMETHING of his I haven't read (which is everything minus TSD and the first 100 pages of 2666)

dakota0135

11/26/09, 01:45 PM

Currently reading Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I'm not very into it, but now I've started it I'm gonna have to finish it cause I hate leaving books half way through.

Next I'm either reading Island by Huxley, or American Psycho.

Wake Up

11/26/09, 01:49 PM

dakota0135

11/26/09, 02:08 PM

nice choice, i prefer Glamorama over this though.
I've not read any Bret Easton Ellis stuff, but my friend keeps recommending them to me. I'm starting with American Psycho because I've got the film sitting on a shelf to watch, but I want to read the book first.

Thriftstoresuit

11/26/09, 11:12 PM

has anyone read And the Hippos were Boiled in their Tanks? I've been thinking of checking it out.

Wake Up

11/27/09, 07:06 AM

I've not read any Bret Easton Ellis stuff, but my friend keeps recommending them to me. I'm starting with American Psycho because I've got the film sitting on a shelf to watch, but I want to read the book first.

I haven't read a book of his that I haven't liked. The film is a little different from the novel.

TJ Wells

11/27/09, 09:35 AM

TJ Wells

11/27/09, 09:36 AM

I've not read any Bret Easton Ellis stuff, but my friend keeps recommending them to me. I'm starting with American Psycho because I've got the film sitting on a shelf to watch, but I want to read the book first.
I don't know if you've ever seen Less Than Zero (RDJ, Spader) but the book is so unbelievably much better than the movie it's almost like they're two different things.

BryterJonah

11/27/09, 09:40 AM

Lot 49 is a breezer.

Mitch

11/27/09, 09:43 AM

Really liking Cloud Atlas so far, but I'm worried I won't enjoy it as much now that I seem to have finished reading the journal entries and letters (beginning the third section of the book today, so we'll see).

BryterJonah

11/27/09, 09:50 AM

Sloosha's Crossin' was one of the most enjoyable portions of any book I've ever read. Once you get used to that strong dialect, it flows like velvet.

Colorblind!

11/27/09, 10:03 AM

I want to get Nausea by Sartre.

Just bought Shutter Island and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close last night.
Before those, I have to get through:
The Corrections
A Million Little Pieces (no shame)
Blindness
Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenace
1984
Alligator

Mitch

11/27/09, 10:19 AM

Sloosha's Crossin' was one of the most enjoyable portions of any book I've ever read. Once you get used to that strong dialect, it flows like velvet.

Is the whole book good? I loved the first two chapters--I'm just nervous that since the format of those two chapters has apparently ended (I haven't started the third section but glanced a page ahead), it will lose its enjoyment level.

BryterJonah

11/27/09, 10:23 AM

Is the whole book good? I loved the first two chapters--I'm just nervous that since the format of those two chapters has apparently ended (I haven't started the third section but glanced a page ahead), it will lose its enjoyment level.

It's different. There's one that reads like an interview, one that reads like a suspense novel, another one that reads like letters being exchanged again, etc. But their all connected in some way which adds to the coolness. Some portions you may not like as much as others, but as a whole I found it very enjoyable.

Mitch

11/27/09, 10:24 AM

It's different. There's one that reads like an interview, one that reads like a suspense novel, another one that reads like letters being exchanged again, etc. But their all connected in some way which adds to the coolness. Some portions you may not like as much as others, but as a whole I found it very enjoyable.

Sweet.

I think the second chapter was one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a while.

saysmydoctor

11/27/09, 11:06 AM

doyouhas?

11/27/09, 11:07 AM

Plow through Camus.

That's what she said.

Thomas Balkcom

11/27/09, 05:22 PM

Just got all these today:

Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Plague by Albert Camus
Man's Fate by Andre Malraux
Beyond Good & Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

Suggestions on what to go with after I finish 2666?

start with Camus and end with either Being and Nothingness (such a dense fucking read, and impossible to take all of it in on one read) or Beyond Good & Evil (just because I love it so much)

That's what she said.

got 'em

TheBaroness

11/27/09, 09:57 PM

Just got all these today:

Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Plague by Albert Camus
Man's Fate by Andre Malraux
Beyond Good & Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

Suggestions on what to go with after I finish 2666?

Great purchases. Suggest you read Steppenwolf after 2666 to destroy any remaining sanity and sense of reality.

anamericangod

11/27/09, 10:14 PM

Brokenhill

11/27/09, 10:22 PM

http://richardwiseman.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/bible2.jpg
The New Testament, in a semi-chronological layout.

brenByah

11/27/09, 10:53 PM

I read "In Our Time" by Ernest Hemingway today. I didn't really find it to be anything special, at times reading Hemingway's writing can be incredibly irritating.

Colorblind!

11/27/09, 11:58 PM

A Million Little Pieces is one of my favorite books.

Zen is a snoozefest. Painfully boring.

Sucks to hear that, I've had a bunch of people recommend it to me. I picked it up for like ten bucks, so if I don't like it, no harm done.

I am Mick

11/28/09, 12:02 AM

I've had a horrible time focusing on reading lately, so it's taking my like weeks to make it through short books, currently in the middle of Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End Of The World by Murakami.

zion the lion

11/28/09, 01:31 AM

A few people in my family are seriously pushing for me to read the art of war.

dakota0135

11/28/09, 04:18 AM

I haven't read a book of his that I haven't liked. The film is a little different from the novel.
They usually are. I don't like it when people try and claim that books made into films are two completely different pieces of art and shouldn't be compared, because they're not. That's like saying a Chocolate Gateau is a completely different cake to a Chocolate Gateau with stawberries on top... Sorry for the cake analogy...

I don't know if you've ever seen Less Than Zero (RDJ, Spader) but the book is so unbelievably much better than the movie it's almost like they're two different things.
I haven't seen that film, but I normally like to read books first anyway.

TJ Wells

11/28/09, 04:54 AM

They usually are. I don't like it when people try and claim that books made into films are two completely different pieces of art and shouldn't be compared, because they're not. That's like saying a Chocolate Gateau is a completely different cake to a Chocolate Gateau with stawberries on top... Sorry for the cake analogy...

I haven't seen that film, but I normally like to read books first anyway.
Yeah, definitely do that, it's what I did. After I watched the movie, all I could think was "How did you get THAT from that book?"

Wake Up

11/28/09, 06:51 AM

overdrive91

11/28/09, 07:15 AM

Had to read importance of being earnest (Oscar Wilde) and Dolls house (Henrik Ibsen) for my exam a week ago. Oscar Wilde is a witty fellow.

TheBaroness

11/28/09, 10:45 PM

Just got myself a Kindle. Reading Cloud Atlas on it.

bouttogetfancy

11/28/09, 11:12 PM

I don't see the appeal of a kindle. I don't like reading off a computer screen and it seems similar to doing that.

odizzle_word

11/28/09, 11:37 PM

I'd also much rather read an actual book than text off a screen, but if I had to pick some kind of eReader, I'd go for the nook (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp?cm_mmc=Redirect-_-nook.com-_-Storefront-_-nook). That thing looks badass.

brenByah

11/28/09, 11:43 PM

I'm reading more Hemingway for class and struggling to get into him. His structure in parts is absolutely atrocious.

dakota0135

11/29/09, 03:50 PM

Yeah, definitely do that, it's what I did. After I watched the movie, all I could think was "How did you get THAT from that book?"
I normally prefer reading the books first, they just feel like the original. Never worked with LOTR, I saw the films before I even tried to read the books, which I then couldn't read.

i definitely lol'd at the cake comparison
It was the first thing I could think of to put my point across :-)

anamericangod

11/29/09, 04:20 PM

I'm reading more Hemingway for class and struggling to get into him. His structure in parts is absolutely atrocious.

I'd be okay if I never read another Hemingway novel. The Sun Also Rises was an absolute snoozefest. I get that he likes to write short, concise sentences, but who cares? The story is boring as hell, and the characters are so one dimensional it's unbearable.

josepablo32

11/29/09, 04:47 PM

I'm currently reading
-Delirium by Laura Restrepo
-Watchmen
-Las batallas en el desierto by José Emilio Pacheco
-100 years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

brenByah

11/29/09, 09:43 PM

I'd be okay if I never read another Hemingway novel. The Sun Also Rises was an absolute snoozefest. I get that he likes to write short, concise sentences, but who cares? The story is boring as hell, and the characters are so one dimensional it's unbearable.

That's the way I feel now, after being exposed to so many of his short stories. I read In Our Time for class and I didn't find it at all interesting. I don't want to read 10 pages about catching a fish. I find his form pretty irritating too, I came upon this 2 pages into the book and cringed:

So I had a look at her and just then she died and went absolutely stiff. Her legs drew up and and she drew up from the waist and went quite rigid. Exactly as though she had been dead over night. She was quite dead and absolutely rigid.

Awful.

Wake Up

11/30/09, 06:42 AM

I'm currently reading
-Delirium by Laura Restrepo
-Watchmen
-Las batallas en el desierto by José Emilio Pacheco
-100 years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Nice.

lindZ629

11/30/09, 09:03 AM

TheReckoner

11/30/09, 09:09 AM

I'm actually studying the Tibetan Book of the Dead at the moment.

chokemeout

11/30/09, 09:23 AM

Recently read The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath - It wasnt as good as I expected.
Steppenwolf - Herman Hesse - I say I read, I got to a point where I just had to put it down, was soooo boring, it felt like he was going round and round in circles.
Then picked up some proper genius - The Captain is out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship - Bukowski
currently reading Treasure Island

IAmNietzche

11/30/09, 09:33 AM

I don't see the appeal of a kindle. I don't like reading off a computer screen and it seems similar to doing that.
Apparently you haven't read anything about the Kindle because it is nothing like reading off a computer screen.

CstSnow

11/30/09, 12:40 PM

Apparently you haven't read anything about the Kindle because it is nothing like reading off a computer screen.. I'm glad somebody else mentioned this as well. Reading from a e-ink screen is ridiculously close to reading a regular book. The tech behind it is really awesome.

Colorblind!

11/30/09, 02:42 PM

Just finished up Julie & Julia and How We Are Hungry and now I think I'm gonna restart The World Is Flat. You give it to me for an assignment for class and I'll either not complete it or do it half-assed. I got up to page 200, the class then ended and I never got back to it. It was actually pretty interesting, so I'll finish it up.

How was this?

I'm halfway through The Corrections right now and I'm absolutely loving it. Every sentence feels like it was carefully crafted.

AliceLovely

11/30/09, 03:09 PM

Just finished reading Nokosee: Rise of the New Seminole on a friend's Kindle. You can get it as a real book, but the Kindle version was surprisingly readable. The story is told from the view point of a 17-year-old "punk rocker" who gets herself lost in the Everglades. A Seminole who's never seen a white girl before who's been raised deep in the Everglades by a nutcase dad finds her. Nokosee's old man has groomed his kid to be the first of the "New Seminole" who will mount an attack on the "Outside" to take back Florida. This Tarzan and Jane story was a hoot. It's like West Side Story meets Romeo and Juliet but with a whole lot of violence and screw you attitude thrown in. I highly recommend it.

Also, I highly recommend "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. Set in New Orleans, this comic novel should be made into a movie. Toole killed himself before it was published and that only happened because his mom kept busting the chops of some guy who finally read it, fell in love with it, and got it published. It later went on to win a Pulitzer Prize.

doyouhas?

11/30/09, 03:14 PM

dakota0135

11/30/09, 03:15 PM

Just finished up Julie & Julia and How We Are Hungry and now I think I'm gonna restart The World Is Flat. You give it to me for an assignment for class and I'll either not complete it or do it half-assed. I got up to page 200, the class then ended and I never got back to it. It was actually pretty interesting, so I'll finish it up.
What did you think of this? I checked it out a few weeks ago and still haven't got round to reading it.

I'm currently reading Island by Aldous Huxley, will probably go onto something crappy and quick after this.

dakota0135

11/30/09, 03:16 PM

Your IQ drops a couple of points every time you make a post. Maybe it's time to give up AP.
It's a forum, it's about opinions. His opinion is no less valid than yours, and I doubt there is any IQ loss in not liking a certain book/author.

doyouhas?

11/30/09, 03:20 PM

It's a forum, it's about opinions. His opinion is no less valid than yours, and I doubt there is any IQ loss in not liking a certain book/author.

When it concerns Hemingway there is.

dakota0135

11/30/09, 03:30 PM

When it concerns Hemingway there is.
I've never read Hemingway, does that make me retarded? I don't think so...
It's a matter of opinion. I don't think you'd take too kindly on having "dropped IQ points" for not liking something.

lindZ629

11/30/09, 03:32 PM

How was this?

I'm halfway through The Corrections right now and I'm absolutely loving it. Every sentence feels like it was carefully crafted.

What did you think of this? I checked it out a few weeks ago and still haven't got round to reading it.

I'm currently reading Island by Aldous Huxley, will probably go onto something crappy and quick after this.
It was pretty short, but I enjoyed every one of the short stories, so I'd say it's worthwhile. Each one is pretty different, although you'll know they were all written by Eggers. "The Only Meaning of the Oil-Wet Water" is sort of a sequel to You Shall Know Our Velocity, which is cool, although you don't have to have read that to be able to follow it.

AliceLovely

11/30/09, 03:34 PM

dakota0135

11/30/09, 03:35 PM

It was pretty short, but I enjoyed every one of the short stories, so I'd say it's worthwhile. Each one is pretty different, although you'll know they were all written by Eggers. "The Only Meaning of the Oil-Wet Water" is sort of a sequel to You Shall Know Our Velocity, which is cool, although you don't have to have read that to be able to follow it.
I picked it up cause I heard good things about Eggers from here, and I felt bad for just reading The Wild Things. I'm glad it's worthwhile.

doyouhas?

11/30/09, 03:37 PM

Yeah, don't mess with Hemingway. He's one of literature's giants. Too bad you can't get into his work. Still, Hemingway did off himself and I think one reason was he knew he was losing his talent. I'm sure he wouldn't know what to make of some of today's successful authors, especially Elmore Leonard who writes even shorter sentences then Hemingway. Of course, Leonard is also famous for saying he edits out all the words people don't want to read.

Actually, Hemingway killed himself because he had electro-shock therapy and forgot everything. He was so depressed from reading his books and not remembering any of those experiences, he killed himself..

lindZ629

11/30/09, 03:40 PM

I picked it up cause I heard good things about Eggers from here, and I felt bad for just reading The Wild Things. I'm glad it's worthwhile.
You should eventually go through his body of work. Not a bad one in the bunch.

dakota0135

11/30/09, 03:44 PM

You should eventually go through his body of work. Not a bad one in the bunch.
I'll have to reserve some of them from the library, thanks for the rec :-)

TJ Wells

11/30/09, 04:16 PM

Yeah, don't mess with Hemingway. He's one of literature's giants. Too bad you can't get into his work. Still, Hemingway did off himself and I think one reason was he knew he was losing his talent. I'm sure he wouldn't know what to make of some of today's successful authors, especially Elmore Leonard who writes even shorter sentences then Hemingway. Of course, Leonard is also famous for saying he edits out all the words people don't want to read.
Seriously. A Farwell to Arms was one of the few books from high school I really loved (along with Catcher, Gatsby and Blindness).

takingbackrufio

11/30/09, 04:31 PM

I don't care if someone doesn't like Hemingway, but at the very least he deserves respect. Being appreciative of what an author has contributed to the history of ideas is not really a matter of opinion. There is more to evaluating art than simply taste.

josepablo32

11/30/09, 04:34 PM

Nice.

He's a great writer, I haven't read a lot of him but what I have seen I have liked it so far. The way in which he presents magic realism is pretty cool.

anamericangod

11/30/09, 06:24 PM

Your IQ drops a couple of points every time you make a post. Maybe it's time to give up AP.

When it concerns Hemingway there is.

Nah.

Colorblind!

11/30/09, 08:17 PM

You should eventually go through his body of work. Not a bad one in the bunch.

I've read Wild Things, AHWOSG, and What Is The What. Hopefully getting You Shall Know Our Velocity for Christmas.

brenByah

11/30/09, 10:24 PM

When it concerns Hemingway there is.

How so? I respect his accomplishments, but after reading some of his work I really don't find it to be anything special, and pretty dull.

timemuncher

12/01/09, 12:26 AM

I just started reading Palahniuk's Snuff. Does anybody have any suggestions as far as superb stephen king/richard bachman?

AliceLovely

12/01/09, 11:08 AM

Seriously. A Farwell to Arms was one of the few books from high school I really loved (along with Catcher, Gatsby and Blindness).
It's funny you bring up Catcher in the Rye. When I was reading Nokosee, its female "Jane" character, Stormy Jones, reminded me of Holden Caulfield. In fact, I might go as far as saying Holden could easily have been the first punk.

AliceLovely

12/01/09, 11:15 AM

Actually, Hemingway killed himself because he had electro-shock therapy and forgot everything. He was so depressed from reading his books and not remembering any of those experiences, he killed himself..
Sounds like the official line from the Hemingway camp but with all due respect, the Old Man was a raging alcoholic by the time he killed himself with a shotgun blast through his mouth, leaving his brains on the wall for his wife to clean up. Same with Hunter Thompson. Both men were "a man's man" with enormous talent but also very much self-absorbed with addictive personalities that finally got them in the end.

doyouhas?

12/01/09, 11:50 AM

Sounds like the official line from the Hemingway camp but with all due respect, the Old Man was a raging alcoholic by the time he killed himself with a shotgun blast through his mouth, leaving his brains on the wall for his wife to clean up. Same with Hunter Thompson. Both men were "a man's man" with enormous talent but also very much self-absorbed with addictive personalities that finally got them in the end.

I understand and agree with this, just not the person who said he killed himself because he was losing his talent. Hemingway definitely had his problems but they were a big part of what made him such prodigy.

brenByah

12/01/09, 01:46 PM

Sounds like the official line from the Hemingway camp but with all due respect, the Old Man was a raging alcoholic by the time he killed himself with a shotgun blast through his mouth, leaving his brains on the wall for his wife to clean up. Same with Hunter Thompson. Both men were "a man's man" with enormous talent but also very much self-absorbed with addictive personalities that finally got them in the end.

It seems like many writers of the time followed similar paths: Join the military, Spend a considerable amount of time living abroad (Paris especially), Alcoholism.

TJ Wells

12/01/09, 05:38 PM

Ok, so I'm looking at this Google Books thing. You can read basically any book you want online? For free? How did I never hear about this before?

lindZ629

12/01/09, 06:03 PM

Ok, so I'm looking at this Google Books thing. You can read basically any book you want online? For free? How did I never hear about this before?
It seems like a lot have pages unavailable, but there's some decent ones when you click full view.

anamericangod

12/01/09, 06:12 PM

Ok, so I'm looking at this Google Books thing. You can read basically any book you want online? For free? How did I never hear about this before?

A lot, if not all books, have big sections missing.

brenByah

12/01/09, 06:14 PM

I don't see myself getting into Google Books, or The Kindle. I like having a physical copy of the book in hand.

TJ Wells

12/01/09, 06:21 PM

It's weird, you'd think the encyclopedic way "The Part About the Crimes" is written would make me bored, but I am finding this the most fascinating of the sections so far.

needles & pins

12/01/09, 06:29 PM

It seems like many writers of the time followed similar paths: Join the military, Spend a considerable amount of time living abroad (Paris especially), Alcoholism.

A lot of them spent time abroad during that time period because America was still under prohibition, and they loved their booze.

Speaking of booze, I'm re-reading the Portable Dorothy Parker. Too bad she's dead cause I'd love to have a martini with her.

takingbackrufio

12/01/09, 07:20 PM

I said I never would, but I kind of want a Kindle. I've heard it's much different from simply reading on a computer screen.

zion the lion

12/01/09, 07:34 PM

I just started reading Palahniuk's Snuff. Does anybody have any suggestions as far as superb stephen king/richard bachman?

I was going to read that when I was 15, but my mom decided she would have to read it first, was it good?

IamTheINDUSTRY

12/01/09, 07:36 PM

currently reading "this much i know is true" and it is highly engrossing.

needles & pins

12/01/09, 07:58 PM

Digital Classics (http://imgs.zinio.com/retail_srvs/classics/) - over 100 classic books online. Kind of like Project Gutenberg but high tech (and not as big a selection).

I just started reading Palahniuk's Snuff. Does anybody have any suggestions as far as superb stephen king/richard bachman?

"Bag of Bones" by King. I read it in high school and had to sleep with the lights on. I'm still afraid to re-read it, haha. I'm sure it's not as scary as I remember, but still...

"Salem's Lot" is good too.

Thriftstoresuit

12/01/09, 11:36 PM

I've really wanted to start reading some Bukowski for some time now. so, as a beginner, what would be a good recommendation as to where I should start?

eraserhead

12/02/09, 12:21 AM

Currently reading Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison for my Intro to Texts class. Really a great book.

TheBaroness

12/02/09, 02:49 AM

Apparently you haven't read anything about the Kindle because it is nothing like reading off a computer screen.

Correct.

I was actually surprised by how good the device is. Ordinarily I'd be perfectly content with printed books, but I've got no space left in my house for them, and I won't borrow from the library because people shit on their hands and then touch the books.

open mind

12/02/09, 03:59 AM

I won't borrow from the library because people shit on their hands and then touch the books.

haha, that must be an australian thing.

TheBaroness

12/02/09, 04:00 AM

haha, that must be an australian thing.

Read the statistics about how many people have poop on their hands. Scary stuff.

open mind

12/02/09, 04:04 AM

Read the statistics about how many people have poop on their hands. Scary stuff.

i dunno if not washing your hands after taking a dump equals shitting on your hands.....i know when i wipe my hands don't end up with (much) crap on them.

you must be deathly afraid of hotel rooms.

edit:read the new stephen king collection of short stories recently....think it's called just after sunset. stories are kind of hit and miss but you could spend your time in worse ways.

open mind

12/02/09, 05:30 AM

I just started reading Palahniuk's Snuff. Does anybody have any suggestions as far as superb stephen king/richard bachman?

snuff is a total piece of shit that relies on shock value alone.

it, salems lot, the stand, the talisman, insomnia, desperation, and the majority of his short stories/novellas are all excellent brain junk food.
the dark tower series is in my mind a work of genius because it ties most of his stories together but it isn't for everyone.

chokemeout

12/02/09, 06:43 AM

I've really wanted to start reading some Bukowski for some time now. so, as a beginner, what would be a good recommendation as to where I should start?

Most people would say Post Office but dont... I recommend any of this short story/poetry collections published by Ecco - The Pleasures of the Damned takes work from all of them and some previously unpublished stuff, so that could be a good start. Although you can read some of his stuff here... http://bukowski.net/

laxcrs

12/02/09, 11:33 AM

haha, that must be an australian thing.

hahahaha

Thriftstoresuit

12/02/09, 05:19 PM

Most people would say Post Office but dont... I recommend any of this short story/poetry collections published by Ecco - The Pleasures of the Damned takes work from all of them and some previously unpublished stuff, so that could be a good start. Although you can read some of his stuff here... http://bukowski.net/

Thanks. I'll definitely look into it.

AliceLovely

12/02/09, 05:44 PM

A lot, if not all books, have big sections missing.
Thank God for the authors. Only hobbyists, volunteers, zealots and schmucks write for free.

AliceLovely

12/02/09, 05:46 PM

I don't see myself getting into Google Books, or The Kindle. I like having a physical copy of the book in hand.
Learn to love the Kindle and its bastard offspring, young brenByah, because it is the way of the book.

AliceLovely

12/02/09, 05:48 PM

A lot of them spent time abroad during that time period because America was still under prohibition, and they loved their booze.

Speaking of booze, I'm re-reading the Portable Dorothy Parker. Too bad she's dead cause I'd love to have a martini with her.
So would Lorelai Gilmore. Rory too.

AliceLovely

12/02/09, 05:50 PM

I said I never would, but I kind of want a Kindle. I've heard it's much different from simply reading on a computer screen.
Check out Kindle's competition before rushing out to buy one. They are expensive and the competition offers more for less-- as any good competitor would.

AliceLovely

12/02/09, 05:51 PM

Correct.

I was actually surprised by how good the device is. Ordinarily I'd be perfectly content with printed books, but I've got no space left in my house for them, and I won't borrow from the library because people shit on their hands and then touch the books.
Poop good. It grows things.

needles & pins

12/02/09, 06:31 PM

So would Lorelai Gilmore. Rory too.

Oh they would, definitely. I don't know how Rory carried the Portable DP around with her at the school dance - my copy is huge, haha.

I miss that show.

AliceLovely

12/03/09, 09:53 AM

Oh they would, definitely. I don't know how Rory carried the Portable DP around with her at the school dance - my copy is huge, haha.

I miss that show.
I would have missed it except I watch it every day in reruns (ABC Family Channel). It was one of the best TV shows ever put together. So clever and funny.

IAmNietzche

12/03/09, 09:59 AM

I recommend Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano. It's the closest thing to Ulysses I've ever read.

Stephen Chamberlain

12/03/09, 12:51 PM

I recommend Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano. It's the closest thing to Ulysses I've ever read.
It's great. Movie's not too bad either.

In Dies: A Sentence, Vanessa Place does a pretty nice job of pastiching Molly Bloom's ending monologue.

http://www.lesfigues.com/lfp/28/dies-a-sentence

And obviously Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway is sort of the female equivalent of Leopold's lifetime-within-a-day.

I need to come back to this thread if we're talking about stuff like Ulysses and Under the Volcano. Last time I stuck my head in it was Stephen King and the like. :thumbdwn:

IAmNietzche

12/03/09, 02:14 PM

It's great. Movie's not too bad either.

In Dies: A Sentence, Vanessa Place does a pretty nice job of pastiching Molly Bloom's ending monologue.

http://www.lesfigues.com/lfp/28/dies-a-sentence

And obviously Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway is sort of the female equivalent of Leopold's lifetime-within-a-day.

I need to come back to this thread if we're talking about stuff like Ulysses and Under the Volcano. Last time I stuck my head in it was Stephen King and the like. :thumbdwn:
I did not enjoy Ulysses. I found sections of it absolutely breathtaking, but as a whole I found it maddening to read. In my opinion Joyce's best gift to literature was Faulkner.

Mitch

12/03/09, 02:18 PM

So would Lorelai Gilmore. Rory too.

Despite the fact you're talking about Gilmore Girls, I wish to commend you for the wonderful avatar.

Stephen Chamberlain

12/03/09, 02:34 PM

I did not enjoy Ulysses. I found sections of it absolutely breathtaking, but as a whole I found it maddening to read. In my opinion Joyce's best gift to literature was Faulkner.
Oh, that's disappointing to hear, although I like how you phrased it, haha. The only thing more breathtaking than Ulysses for me is Finnegans Wake. I do enjoy Faulker as well, though. Still, you could make the case he's more indebted to Proust than Joyce.

IAmNietzche

12/03/09, 03:04 PM

Oh, that's disappointing to hear, although I like how you phrased it, haha. The only thing more breathtaking than Ulysses for me is Finnegans Wake. I do enjoy Faulker as well, though. Still, you could make the case he's more indebted to Proust than Joyce.
I guess I'm a Southern Gothic type of guy (Faulkner and McCarthy are in my Top 5). I have read exactly none of Proust's work. Where should I start?

EDIT: I lied, I've read Finding Time Again.

topher465

12/03/09, 03:18 PM

I got the copy of I Am Legend with some of his short stories as well. Some of them are meh, but some of them are really good.

Stephen Chamberlain

12/03/09, 04:00 PM

I guess I'm a Southern Gothic type of guy (Faulkner and McCarthy are in my Top 5). I have read exactly none of Proust's work. Where should I start?

EDIT: I lied, I've read Finding Time Again.
I like McCarthy as well. But stuff like Suttree and Blood Meridian rather than his most recent two.

Finding Time Again? Wtf is that? Oh haha, I had to look that up. I've never heard of that translation name, but now that I have I'm appalled as it's horrible. I've always heard it as Time Regained. Regardless you shouldn't have read that one first since it's part of his seven-volume novel À la recherche du temps perdu (sometimes translated as In Search of Lost Time, sometimes Remembrance of Things Past). Find yourself a year of free time and start at the beginning with Swann's Way. Life-changing stuff.

IAmNietzche

12/03/09, 04:18 PM

I like McCarthy as well. But stuff like Suttree and Blood Meridian rather than his most recent two.

Finding Time Again? Wtf is that? Oh haha, I had to look that up. I've never heard of that translation name, but now that I have I'm appalled as it's horrible. I've always heard it as Time Regained. Regardless you shouldn't have read that one first since it's part of his seven-volume novel À la recherche du temps perdu (sometimes translated as In Search of Lost Time, sometimes Remembrance of Things Past). Find yourself a year of free time and start at the beginning with Swann's Way. Life-changing stuff.
Going into my first year of law school next year finds me at the point in my life where free time is at an all time premium. Is it possible to get through it (noting that I will indeed want to read Time Regained again in its proper context) between now and June? I think my buddy had the entire collection and left that one at the crib so I picked it up and read it.

Suttree is my favorite McCarthy and second favorite book of all time. Blood Meridian probably finds its way into the top 10. Only All The Pretty Horses of his remaining novels makes its way into my top 50.

Stephen Chamberlain

12/03/09, 04:25 PM

I guess I'm a Southern Gothic type of guy (Faulkner and McCarthy are in my Top 5). I have read exactly none of Proust's work. Where should I start?

EDIT: I lied, I've read Finding Time Again.

Going into my first year of law school next year finds me at the point in my life where free time is at an all time premium. Is it possible to get through it (noting that I will indeed want to read Time Regained again in its proper context) between now and June? I think my buddy had the entire collection and left that one at the crib so I picked it up and read it.

Suttree is my favorite McCarthy and second favorite book of all time. Blood Meridian probably finds its way into the top 10. Only All The Pretty Horses of his remaining novels makes its way into my top 50.
Yeah, you could probably get through it by then if you were ambitious.

Out of curiosity, what would your top ten books be? They can be fiction or poetry.

AliceLovely

12/03/09, 06:01 PM

Despite the fact you're talking about Gilmore Girls, I wish to commend you for the wonderful avatar.
To quote David Lynch, "Golly, thanks!"

IAmNietzche

12/03/09, 06:53 PM

Yeah, you could probably get through it by then if you were ambitious.

Out of curiosity, what would your top ten books be? They can be fiction or poetry.
1. Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
2. Suttree - Cormac McCarthy
3. You Bright and Risen Angels - William T. Vollmann
4. Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
5. Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges
6. The Happy Birthday of Death - Gregory Corso
7. Invitation to a Beheading - Vladimir Nabokov
8. Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake
9. Absalom! Absalom! - William Faulkner
10. A Frolic of His Own - William Gaddis

Stephen Chamberlain

12/03/09, 08:08 PM

1. Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
2. Suttree - Cormac McCarthy
3. You Bright and Risen Angels - William T. Vollmann
4. Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
5. Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges
6. The Happy Birthday of Death - Gregory Corso
7. Invitation to a Beheading - Vladimir Nabokov
8. Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake
9. Absalom! Absalom! - William Faulkner
10. A Frolic of His Own - William Gaddis
Interesting list. Absalom! is definitely my favorite Faulkner. I see post-modernism is well represented.

brenByah

12/03/09, 08:22 PM

You two are convincing me to read Absalom! all I've read from Faulkner is "Barn Burning" mulitple times for different lit classes.

Stephen Chamberlain

12/03/09, 08:38 PM

"Barn Burning" is a solid short piece, but Absalom! is a completely different style; very dense. This isn't to dissuade you, just letting you know what you're in for.

dakota0135

12/07/09, 04:49 AM

Currently reading "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman. I really enjoyed American Gods when I read it so I thought I'd try some more of his work. Plus, I liked the Stardust film.

I just finished "Island" by Huxley, which was quite good although not a lot happened till like the last 2 pages. They just talked about stuff. Some of it was quite interesting, but most of it was just trying to highligh the utopian-ness of the society which I got pretty early on...

Mitch

12/08/09, 09:37 PM

Finished Cloud Atlas...I enjoyed it.

Will probably read either If on a Winter's Night a Traveler or Siddhartha next.

Mitch

12/08/09, 10:57 PM

Lies, I am going to read Blood Meridian next. Then Siddhartha.

dakota0135

12/09/09, 05:55 AM

Currently reading How We Are Hungry.

SincerelyMe

12/09/09, 12:19 PM

Just finished Life of Pi and I loved it. Awesome book, but mine was missing chapter 22, which is apparently a crucial chapter. I'll probably get another copy so I can read it.

brenByah

12/09/09, 01:09 PM

I'm about to resume reading Life of Pi after finals week.

Colorblind!

12/09/09, 03:07 PM

Lies, I am going to read Blood Meridian next. Then Siddhartha.

I had such a tough time with this, even though I've heard nothing but good things about it. I didn't give it as much attention as I probably should've, so let me know what you think when you're done. I want to go back to it.

Mitch

12/09/09, 03:36 PM

I had such a tough time with this, even though I've heard nothing but good things about it. I didn't give it as much attention as I probably should've, so let me know what you think when you're done. I want to go back to it.

I'm worried about having a tough time with it because I've heard it's not an easy read, but oh well. Going to purchase it tonight or tomorrow but probably won't start it until next week after exams.

Colorblind!

12/09/09, 03:37 PM

I'm worried about having a tough time with it because I've heard it's not an easy read, but oh well. Going to purchase it tonight or tomorrow but probably won't start it until next week after exams.

It's really dry, I just couldn't stick with it but I think you'll be rewarded if you do. I plan on it...eventually.

Thomas Balkcom

12/09/09, 04:09 PM

this thread is over five and a half years old and it still hasn't reached 5,000 posts

/random observation

mcalphabet

12/09/09, 04:25 PM

Just started Atlas Shrugged a couple days ago.

lindZ629

12/09/09, 04:28 PM

Currently reading How We Are Hungry.
How do you like it?
this thread is over five and a half years old and it still hasn't reached 5,000 posts

/random observation
Shot making the new thread! That's how I'll leave my legacy on this site.

SincerelyMe

12/09/09, 04:46 PM

this thread is over five and a half years old and it still hasn't reached 5,000 posts

/random observation

People don't read enough. Or they just don't post about it. :shrug:

Wait_For_It

12/09/09, 04:51 PM

I picked up Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass for something fun to read as a break from finals.

Pat k

12/09/09, 04:52 PM

A lot of people reading a lot of unfun books. It's cool though. I'm reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I think that's the title. No wonder it's popular- Wes Anderson-esque narrator, post-9/11 content, etc. Not bad so far. I had to know what all the norms who read were talking about.

Also, I ditched Sanctuary by Faulkner 100 pages in. That book sucked.

Currently enjoying David Shield's Handbook for Drowning. Just enjoyed Shield's Black Planet and Franzen's The Discomfort Zone.

Pat k

12/09/09, 04:53 PM

Also, not to squash your dreams of reading Atlas Shrugged, but if you're 18 and reading that book, my guess is that you will fail and fail hard.

coryatlarge

12/09/09, 04:55 PM

sup book thread? i havent been in here in quite a while. mostly because i havent been reading as much as i should be. i read me talk pretty one day and i'm almost finished with when you are engulfed in flames both by david sedaris. i just finished in defense of food by micheal pollan which i reccommend to anybody :-). i've also been slowly catching up on the fables comics as well. oh and i finally got around to reading american gods due to the high praise from this thread and i was very impressed.

lindZ629

12/09/09, 04:55 PM

I picked up Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass for something fun to read as a break from finals.
I'm planning on reading that when I'm done with my current book, which will be in about a week or two. Probably two. Love B&N Classics.

SincerelyMe

12/09/09, 05:04 PM

I picked up Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass for something fun to read as a break from finals.

These have been on my list forever.

I'm planning on reading that when I'm done with my current book, which will be in about a week or two. Probably two. Love B&N Classics.

Yes. They also have really nice, cheap hardcover collections. I have the Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens.

Pat k

12/09/09, 05:05 PM

A book I recommend to all readers is Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.

lindZ629

12/09/09, 05:43 PM

These have been on my list forever.

Yes. They also have really nice, cheap hardcover collections. I have the Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens.
I think I'd rather keep with the paperback, they're easier to handle for me, but are the prices similar? I've never looked too closely at them.

As of now I only have Pride and Prejudice and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland..., but I've been meaning to pick up Great Expectations, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and probably some others that I haven't decided on yet.

TJ Wells

12/09/09, 05:45 PM

SincerelyMe

12/09/09, 05:54 PM

I think I'd rather keep with the paperback, they're easier to handle for me, but are the prices similar? I've never looked too closely at them.
As of now I only have Pride and Prejudice and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland..., but I've been meaning to pick up Great Expectations, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and probably some others that I haven't decided on yet.

I generally prefer paperbacks for carrying around, but for collections like these I prefer hardcover since I usually only read them at home anyway. When I got them they were about $13, which is pretty reasonable.

I only have a few B&N Classics, but I absolutely love them. I've been meaning to pick up Alice's Adventures in Wonderland forever, but lately I've been buying off Amazon.

lindZ629

12/09/09, 06:02 PM

I generally prefer paperbacks for carrying around, but for collections like these I prefer hardcover since I usually only read them at home anyway. When I got them they were about $13, which is pretty reasonable.

I only have a few B&N Classics, but I absolutely love them. I've been meaning to pick up Alice's Adventures in Wonderland forever, but lately I've been buying off Amazon.
Oof 13's a little steep, I'm all about the ones under 8 bucks haha. But really that's not bad. I read mostly at home too, but paperbacks are more flexible and take up less room on the bookshelf which is key for me.

I feel like most of the fun with buying books is going to an actual bookstore and walking around, picking them up, looking through them. But Amazon usually has great deals, which is why I have a love/hate relationship with it.

SincerelyMe

12/09/09, 06:21 PM

Oof 13's a little steep, I'm all about the ones under 8 bucks haha. But really that's not bad. I read mostly at home too, but paperbacks are more flexible and take up less room on the bookshelf which is key for me.

I feel like most of the fun with buying books is going to an actual bookstore and walking around, picking them up, looking through them. But Amazon usually has great deals, which is why I have a love/hate relationship with it.

$13 is more than I pay for most of my books, but for these (this is the one I have: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Edgar-Allan-Poe/Edgar-Allan-Poe/e/9780760782217/?itm=4&USRI=edgar+allan+poe) I think it's pretty fair. It's better than you'd find anywhere else.

Paperbacks are definitely better though. They're lighter and smaller in my bag and I can bring them wherever I go.

I love walking through bookstores, especially used bookstores where I don't feel guilty about buying 20 books because they're $1 each. Some of that fun is definitely lost with amazon, but they do have the "look inside" feature, which is pretty neat. It's not the same, but if I'm paying half the price, I'm not going to complain.

AliceLovely

12/09/09, 06:31 PM

A book I recommend to all readers is Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.
Bradbury is so worthy, his prose so poetic. I love his Something Wicked This Way Comes. The guy is closing in on 90 and still writing (unless, of course, he's dead and I missed the obit). A true inspiration.

Pat k

12/09/09, 07:30 PM

Bradbury is so worthy, his prose so poetic. I love his Something Wicked This Way Comes. The guy is closing in on 90 and still writing (unless, of course, he's dead and I missed the obit). A true inspiration.

Yeah, but he sucks now. The follow-up to Dandelion Wine, I think it was called Farewell, Summer, was utter shit. His chapters last like one page. Most authors write tomes when they get old.

Fahrenheit 451 is amazing, like all the old stuff. Very abstract, Orwellian, and entertaining.

Pat k

12/09/09, 07:32 PM

A couple questions for those that have read 2666:

Who exactly IS Harry Magana? If they expand on him later, please don't tell me. Also, when he breaks into that guy's house, is he killed? Sort of seemed left open. Is he the American sheriff who is discussed as "missing" later on in "The Part About the Crimes?"

Thanks.

I can't talk about what you're asking even though I read the majority of 2666. I read the first four novellas, then stopped. Fuck, that fourth novella about all the killings was so boring. Such a bummer after the first three and especially the first. I can barely remember what happened in that book now, and I quit it this summer. Haha.

TJ Wells

12/09/09, 08:14 PM

I can't talk about what you're asking even though I read the majority of 2666. I read the first four novellas, then stopped. Fuck, that fourth novella about all the killings was so boring. Such a bummer after the first three and especially the first. I can barely remember what happened in that book now, and I quit it this summer. Haha.
It's an unbelievably brilliant shift in tone.

Pat k

12/09/09, 09:02 PM

It's an unbelievably brilliant shift in tone.

I'll agree that there's a shift in tone, and it makes the fourth book incredibly unfun and chore-like to read. I can't buy into the 2666 hype because of the fourth book, and it prevented me from finishing. Am I a quitter? Maybe, but I moved on to books I had a lot more fun with.

mrnegativezero

12/09/09, 09:19 PM

geebee889

12/09/09, 09:22 PM

I just started reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned.Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors. I realized how much I wanted to write like him after reading The Great Gatsby and Collected Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: Flappers and Philosophers and Tales of the Jazz Age (the one with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.")

Hm, I've never read that one before. You'll have to let me know how it is because I really like his writing quite a bit.

lindZ629

12/09/09, 10:35 PM

$13 is more than I pay for most of my books, but for these (this is the one I have: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Edgar-Allan-Poe/Edgar-Allan-Poe/e/9780760782217/?itm=4&USRI=edgar+allan+poe) I think it's pretty fair. It's better than you'd find anywhere else.

Paperbacks are definitely better though. They're lighter and smaller in my bag and I can bring them wherever I go.

I love walking through bookstores, especially used bookstores where I don't feel guilty about buying 20 books because they're $1 each. Some of that fun is definitely lost with amazon, but they do have the "look inside" feature, which is pretty neat. It's not the same, but if I'm paying half the price, I'm not going to complain.
That looks pretty sweet, definitely something I'll think about getting...eventually.

I can never do used bookstores for the same reason I don't take books out from the library anymore. Someone has read them previously. I'm not a huge fan of germs. I need mine to be in perfect condition when I first buy them, read them, and then put them back on my shelf. I wish I could though, I'd be saving a lot of money.
I have been using the "look inside" feature a lot now, even if I don't end up getting it from Amazon. It's definitely a good way to get a feel for the book.

yeknom

12/10/09, 01:03 AM

I'd die without the library. I go through books too quickly and I"m way too poor. I love the feeling of walking out of my library with 3 or 4 'new' books.

Thomas Balkcom

12/10/09, 01:06 AM

started The Fall the other night and had to immediately put it down to force myself to study for this week's finals. The forty or so pages I read were fascinating. Great outlook on human behavior so far, I really can't wait to finish it.

SincerelyMe

12/10/09, 04:35 AM

That looks pretty sweet, definitely something I'll think about getting...eventually.

I can never do used bookstores for the same reason I don't take books out from the library anymore. Someone has read them previously. I'm not a huge fan of germs. I need mine to be in perfect condition when I first buy them, read them, and then put them back on my shelf. I wish I could though, I'd be saving a lot of money.
I have been using the "look inside" feature a lot now, even if I don't end up getting it from Amazon. It's definitely a good way to get a feel for the book.

I absolutely love used bookstores, but I'm not a fan of libraries. I like to own my books, mostly because I underline things and write little notes in them.

AliceLovely

12/10/09, 08:57 AM

I absolutely love used bookstores, but I'm not a fan of libraries. I like to own my books, mostly because I underline things and write little notes in them.
Once E-book readers drop in price even further, E-books are the answer to anyone who needs a book but can't afford to buy one or can't stomach the idea of buying/borrowing a book that might have germs or more on them.

TJ Wells

12/10/09, 09:24 AM

I tried an e-Book reader (iPod Touch) for awhile, and I couldn't stand it. I need to turn pages.

Colorblind!

12/10/09, 10:53 AM

About to read Blindness, hope it's still enjoyable even though I've already seen the film.

dakota0135

12/10/09, 02:02 PM

How do you like it?
I quite liked it, but I'm pretty sure there were deep philosophical ressonings behind the stories that I must have been too tired to try and figure out. It was a good read nonetheless.

Started The Wild Things yesterday.

dakota0135

12/10/09, 02:06 PM

I'd die without the library. I go through books too quickly and I"m way too poor. I love the feeling of walking out of my library with 3 or 4 'new' books.
This.

SincerelyMe

12/10/09, 02:13 PM

Once E-book readers drop in price even further, E-books are the answer to anyone who needs a book but can't afford to buy one or can't stomach the idea of buying/borrowing a book that might have germs or more on them.

I like having a physical book though. I like being able to carry it around and put it on my bookshelf and write little notes in it. I guess I'm just old fashioned.

takingbackrufio

12/10/09, 03:42 PM

I just started reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned.Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors. I realized how much I wanted to write like him after reading The Great Gatsby and Collected Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: Flappers and Philosophers and Tales of the Jazz Age (the one with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.")
For some reason I started rereading Gatsby again today. I still maintain that the writing in the last two pages is some of the best writing in history.

TJ Wells

12/10/09, 03:48 PM

I like having a physical book though. I like being able to carry it around and put it on my bookshelf and write little notes in it. I guess I'm just old fashioned.
No, you're normal.

brenByah

12/10/09, 03:52 PM

I just started reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned.Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors. I realized how much I wanted to write like him after reading The Great Gatsby and Collected Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: Flappers and Philosophers and Tales of the Jazz Age (the one with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.")

He's easily my favorite author, he's unbelievable. It always bothered me in all my lit classes to hear him always mentioned along with Hemingway, I think Fitzgerald is miles better. The Great Gatsby is my favorite book, and I love his short stories too.

alexa_ATL

12/10/09, 03:56 PM

just finished "Choke" by Palaniuk after hearing his praise on this site.

i really enjoy his writing style alot, and the story was great. the plot wasn't well-developed in any sense, but i think that made it better. there was no resolution really, but i definitley think that speaks for the realism in the book, if that makes sense. in real life resolution is death, ultimatley, so that there was no real huge resolution in the book just makes it more relatable for me.

brenByah

12/10/09, 03:58 PM

I like having a physical book though. I like being able to carry it around and put it on my bookshelf and write little notes in it. I guess I'm just old fashioned.

I do as well, I never see myself getting an E-reader, I really enjoy having a physical copy of a book.

TJ Wells

12/10/09, 04:08 PM

I do as well, I never see myself getting an E-reader, I really enjoy having a physical copy of a book.
does it make me a douche that i like people to see what i'm reading?

brenByah

12/10/09, 04:13 PM

does it make me a douche that i like people to see what i'm reading?

Not in my book (no pun intended), for some reason I have a goal of having bookshelves full of books I've read in the future. It's nice to be able to come back to somethings, or be able to talk to people about what you've read or are reading with the book in hand.

TJ Wells

12/10/09, 04:14 PM

I do as well, I never see myself getting an E-reader, I really enjoy having a physical copy of a book.
This is why used book stores exist. For US.

itsmesean0630

12/10/09, 04:16 PM

I'm finally going to be able to read for pleasure now that school is almost over! My first book will be Dubliners by James Joyce.

TJ Wells

12/10/09, 04:22 PM

I'm finally going to be able to read for pleasure now that school is almost over! My first book will be Dubliners by James Joyce.
GREAT choice.

brenByah

12/10/09, 04:30 PM

I'm finally going to be able to read for pleasure now that school is almost over! My first book will be Dubliners by James Joyce.

School ends for me next week, I'm so ready to read for pleasure again.

Pat k

12/10/09, 04:34 PM

Dubliners is awesome. Eveline is the most legit of them all.

As for Fitzgerald, I've only recently read Gatsby, and I think Hemingway is much better. Someone brought that question up a couple posts back, and this is my response. I don't understand what qualifies Gatsby as a relic of the "jazz age"- whatever that is. It's a neat social novel, and for that, I was happy I read it.

josepablo32

12/10/09, 04:46 PM

For this vacations I'm planning on finish reading Watchmen.
And my list after that will be something like this:
- To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
- Los relámpagos de Agosto- Jorge Iberguengoitia
- Albert Camus- The Stranger
- Fedor Dostoievski- Crime and Punishment
- Fernando Savater- A rienda suelta
- Milan Kundera- The Unbearable Lightness of Being
- Juan Rulfo- El llano en llamas

And I hope that I can get to read other more.

SincerelyMe

12/10/09, 04:47 PM

He's easily my favorite author, he's unbelievable. It always bothered me in all my lit classes to hear him always mentioned along with Hemingway, I think Fitzgerald is miles better. The Great Gatsby is my favorite book, and I love his short stories too.

Have you read From President to Postman?

I do as well, I never see myself getting an E-reader, I really enjoy having a physical copy of a book.

I can understand it for textbooks, but I never saw the point for novels. It's just as easy to carry around a novel as it is to carry around an E-reader.

does it make me a douche that i like people to see what i'm reading?

Nope. I think everyone who reads a lot does.

mrnegativezero

12/10/09, 05:03 PM

For some reason I started rereading Gatsby again today. I still maintain that the writing in the last two pages is some of the best writing in history.

The last two pages? I think everything about that book is some of the best writing in history, but I'm going to have to reread those pages to remember what you're talking about particularly.

He's easily my favorite author, he's unbelievable. It always bothered me in all my lit classes to hear him always mentioned along with Hemingway, I think Fitzgerald is miles better. The Great Gatsby is my favorite book, and I love his short stories too.

From what I read from Hemingway (Old Man and the Sea, the Sun Also Rises), I would say that I agree. Fitzgerald is way better.

As for Fitzgerald, I've only recently read Gatsby, and I think Hemingway is much better. Someone brought that question up a couple posts back, and this is my response. I don't understand what qualifies Gatsby as a relic of the "jazz age"- whatever that is. It's a neat social novel, and for that, I was happy I read it.

Maybe it will help if you knew a bit more about the jazz age? No offense, just a suggestion. Myself, I'm not too familiar with everything about the "jazz age," but I enjoy anything that deals with the 1920's.

brenByah

12/10/09, 05:08 PM

Have you read From President to Postman?

I can understand it for textbooks, but I never saw the point for novels. It's just as easy to carry around a novel as it is to carry around an E-reader.

Nope. I think everyone who reads a lot does.

I have not read it yet, is it a short story? I understand the logic behind the E-reader and think it's a cool idea, it's just not for me.

SincerelyMe

12/10/09, 05:17 PM

I have not read it yet, is it a short story? I understand the logic behind the E-reader and think it's a cool idea, it's just not for me.

It's a play. I think it's the only one he ever wrote. It's pretty interesting.

takingbackrufio

12/10/09, 05:25 PM

The last two pages? I think everything about that book is some of the best writing in history, but I'm going to have to reread those pages to remember what you're talking about particularly.

Well obviously I love the entire book, and I'm always awe-struck by Fitzgerald's writing, but the last two pages are absolutely stunning.

Pat k

12/10/09, 06:29 PM

Maybe it will help if you knew a bit more about the jazz age? No offense, just a suggestion. Myself, I'm not too familiar with everything about the "jazz age," but I enjoy anything that deals with the 1920's.

I don't take offense. I don't know why they call it the jazz age. Because jazz was invented or popularized around that time? Probably, but there's got to be more to it. It's an attitude thing. The characters can enjoy their social lives because there isn't a war or money problems. Big band jazz kind of reflects that attitude, but big band jazz isn't in the Great Gatsby. Shouldn't the best example of jazz age literature have jazz?

Now there's On the Road. That's a book where jazz and characters and plot and tone and voice mesh perfectly. In my opinion, a better chronicle of a time period and a better book. Not necessary to compare, but that's how my mind works.

My final point is that calling The Great Gatsby a book of the jazz age seems kind of invented and romanticized to lure readers and generate good vibes.

brenByah

12/10/09, 06:51 PM

I don't take offense. I don't know why they call it the jazz age. Because jazz was invented or popularized around that time? Probably, but there's got to be more to it. It's an attitude thing. The characters can enjoy their social lives because there isn't a war or money problems. Big band jazz kind of reflects that attitude, but big band jazz isn't in the Great Gatsby. Shouldn't the best example of jazz age literature have jazz?

Now there's On the Road. That's a book where jazz and characters and plot and tone and voice mesh perfectly. In my opinion, a better chronicle of a time period and a better book. Not necessary to compare, but that's how my mind works.

My final point is that calling The Great Gatsby a book of the jazz age seems kind of invented and romanticized to lure readers and generate good vibes.

Fitzgerald tends to deal with the Jazz Age mostly in respect to society and social class. It seems, from my experience at least, that Fitzgerald is the name that will come up most when speaking of Jazz Age literature, many even claim he's the father of it.

mrnegativezero

12/10/09, 07:04 PM

I don't take offense. I don't know why they call it the jazz age. Because jazz was invented or popularized around that time? Probably, but there's got to be more to it. It's an attitude thing. The characters can enjoy their social lives because there isn't a war or money problems. Big band jazz kind of reflects that attitude, but big band jazz isn't in the Great Gatsby. Shouldn't the best example of jazz age literature have jazz?

Now there's On the Road. That's a book where jazz and characters and plot and tone and voice mesh perfectly. In my opinion, a better chronicle of a time period and a better book. Not necessary to compare, but that's how my mind works.

My final point is that calling The Great Gatsby a book of the jazz age seems kind of invented and romanticized to lure readers and generate good vibes.

I guess I see your point. Perhaps it got that title because of Gatsby's parties? Although, as you said, it doesn't really deal with big band jazz.

takingbackrufio

12/10/09, 11:30 PM

I don't take offense. I don't know why they call it the jazz age. Because jazz was invented or popularized around that time? Probably, but there's got to be more to it. It's an attitude thing. The characters can enjoy their social lives because there isn't a war or money problems. Big band jazz kind of reflects that attitude, but big band jazz isn't in the Great Gatsby. Shouldn't the best example of jazz age literature have jazz?

Now there's On the Road. That's a book where jazz and characters and plot and tone and voice mesh perfectly. In my opinion, a better chronicle of a time period and a better book. Not necessary to compare, but that's how my mind works.

My final point is that calling The Great Gatsby a book of the jazz age seems kind of invented and romanticized to lure readers and generate good vibes.

Not really. First off, On the Road was written 25 years after Gatsby. I love Kerouac too, but his novel is a way of understanding the Beat generation and their values. The Great Gatsby is called a book of the Jazz age because it really is about the time period that is referred to as the Jazz age, so whatever you want to call it is up to you, but to write it off as not an embodiment of that era is an injustice to a book that is inextricably linked with 20's culture.

brenByah

12/10/09, 11:39 PM

The 20's was a great time for literature, especially due to Fitzgerald.

Skadrist

12/11/09, 04:00 PM

Insurgent Mexico by John Reed

AliceLovely

12/11/09, 04:46 PM

I don't take offense. I don't know why they call it the jazz age. Because jazz was invented or popularized around that time? Probably, but there's got to be more to it. It's an attitude thing. The characters can enjoy their social lives because there isn't a war or money problems. Big band jazz kind of reflects that attitude, but big band jazz isn't in the Great Gatsby. Shouldn't the best example of jazz age literature have jazz?

Now there's On the Road. That's a book where jazz and characters and plot and tone and voice mesh perfectly. In my opinion, a better chronicle of a time period and a better book. Not necessary to compare, but that's how my mind works.

My final point is that calling The Great Gatsby a book of the jazz age seems kind of invented and romanticized to lure readers and generate good vibes.
Once you start talking about On The Road, you got to talk about The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test too. Tom Wolfe's account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters gives Dean Moriarity flesh and blood in the real-life inspiration of Neal Cassady. What a great work of art both are-- the men, the writers, and the books. I'm a great admirer of Kesey and Cassady because of their fuck you approach to living. But Wolfe reminds us that sometimes the people we most admire only end up disappointing us.