jayseven Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Erm. Got The Road, A Scanner Darkly, Matter, and Xenocide sitting next to my bed, on top of Mr. Nice, Three Men In A Boat, Joy Luck Club and the Bible, all variously opened to pages that I can't seem to remember to read past. I hear The Road, while novel and smorgasmic, is unable to uphold its own spectacle, and Phillip K. Dick similarly has the genius ideas but tends to simmer on about the wrong thing for too long. I am just tempted to read my favourite book again while my flatmate is - and it's not a dostoyevsky for sure - it's The Time-Traveller's Wife. And I don't care what anyone thinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Dare Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 The Road is something else. Read it immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Marcuse - One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mundi Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Finished recently reading up About a Boy and Pay it Forward for school work but after that I´m gonna finish a few that I started but got set aside. Those would be: The Prince, 2001 A Space Oddysey and The Miserables @Jay Props for getting A Scanner Darkly, it was the first Philip K. Dick novel I read and I loved it. I have put it down as one of my life goals to read all of his novels and I got 3 down from loads of them :Þ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supergrunch Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I'm reading Ray Monk's biography of Wittgenstein at the moment, The Duty of Genius. Extremely interesting book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyBoy Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Anyone else read "One Hundred Years of Solitude"? I'm about half way and absolutely loving it. For lack of a better word, its quite 'magical'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan-likes-trees Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 C: I'm deeply enfatuated with Charles Bukowski, particularly Ham on Rye. YAY! So, yes, books, my fellow N-Ers, get to it, what the f have you been reading? I picked up Ham on Rye a while ago but never actually bought it, what is it about? Any relation (aside from obviously the namesake) to Catcher? Havn't been reading much of late myself, exams and the like, though I now have a hefty pile of books I've started and plan to finish in the summer... Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Virgin Suicides Real World Ghostwritten And moar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Anyone else read "One Hundred Years of Solitude"? I'm about half way and absolutely loving it. For lack of a better word, its quite 'magical'. *waves hand in the air* Yes, a mysticla book that is hard to put down. I've nearly finished it for the 2nd time. One of my faves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paj! Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I'm reading Mrs. Dalloway. Slowly. And technically not finished To The Lightouse yet. Both = great, great writing. The humanity Woolf puts into the work I've read is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Dare Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I fucking despised To The Lighthouse and promptly set about erasing the lamentable afternoon spent wasted on it from my memory with good books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 A trilogy of Danish fantasy books that I enjoy immensely: Striden om Natkrystallerne (roughly translated: The Fight for the Night Crystals) The story revolves around an English village, Compton Bassett, in which the main character, who most of the story is told to, experiences first-hand several strange events relating to the village's past. I've read the two first books, Det blå lys (The Blue Light) and Skyggeringen (The Shadow Ring), but it's so long ago that before I begin reading the third book, Stjernedråberne (The Star Droplets), I want to re-read the first two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paj! Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I fucking despised To The Lighthouse and promptly set about erasing the lamentable afternoon spent wasted on it from my memory with good books ... I can understand not liking it, but saying it's not a brilliant piece of literature? What's wrong with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganepark32 Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 ^ it's a slog to get through. Really, the book never steps out and grabs hold of you to make you read more. It may just be me but by christ, I felt so bored reading the damn thing. I will give it its dues as a classic piece of literature but it's by no means a truly great book for the reason I mentioned. A great book should grab you and make you want to read more; to read it several times. By the time you finish To The Lighthouse, you'll either want to blow your brains out or poke your eyes out due to the prolonged story. Just my opinion mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paj! Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 ^ it's a slog to get through. Really, the book never steps out and grabs hold of you to make you read more. It may just be me but by christ, I felt so bored reading the damn thing. I will give it its dues as a classic piece of literature but it's by no means a truly great book for the reason I mentioned. A great book should grab you and make you want to read more; to read it several times. By the time you finish To The Lighthouse, you'll either want to blow your brains out or poke your eyes out due to the prolonged story. Just my opinion mind. But...it's an exploration of time, and how it affects people and shit. I think it's brilliantly done. The way she plays with time too, emphasises many of the issues she tackles, I love that the long first section takes place over a single day, yet the short middle section spans 10 years. And so on. When I read it in class, It's annoying to read, as it requires a lot of concentration. But that doesn't make it bad. Not everything has to have pleasing hooks. It's not exactly a life-affirming book (in some respects, aspects could be seen as such, but overall, it's pretty sad/depressing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 It is a tricky book to read, and definitely benefits from re-readings over the years, but essentially it is egotistical and self-involved. While this is perhaps an accurate portrayal of the human mind's way of experiencing reality (the messing with time an attempt to parallel our reality with our thoughts and memories and day-dreams), it doesn't necessarily make for a 'fun' read. A classic, still, for the era and the movement it was involved in, but many might argue that it was the beginning of teh end of the golden age of literature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paj! Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 It is a tricky book to read, and definitely benefits from re-readings over the years, but essentially it is egotistical and self-involved. While this is perhaps an accurate portrayal of the human mind's way of experiencing reality (the messing with time an attempt to parallel our reality with our thoughts and memories and day-dreams), it doesn't necessarily make for a 'fun' read. A classic, still, for the era and the movement it was involved in, but many might argue that it was the beginning of teh end of the golden age of literature. You described why I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 haha - yeah, that's fair enough It is definitely the sort of book I would love to have written, mind you, but it sort of oversteps the idea that anyone should be able to appreciate good art on some sort of level by excluding a lot of people through its viscous nature. I think, simply, I would feel guilty if I liked it, to some extent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) On my bedside table I have Papillon, The Rum Diary, Life of Pi and The Fountainhead, an eclectic mix, heh. I need to spend more time reading them though. Edited April 27, 2009 by Molly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bard Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I read surprisingly little for an English student. Maybe that's just cause I refuse to waste my time reading anything that doesn't come with the highest reccomendation, seeing as I am a freaking slow as hell reader. I need more RAM. Anyway, been reading "Not I" by Samuel Beckett and "The Figure In The Carpet" by Henry James, the former being a load of babble so far, and the latter a pretty damn interesting exploration of the relationship between author and reader and simultaneously between critic and author. Going to read some Nietzche and some Melville over the holidays. Should be bare good. Brah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxigen_Waste Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 I picked up Ham on Rye a while ago but never actually bought it, what is it about? Any relation (aside from obviously the namesake) to Catcher? Just the namesake, and the ocasional nod. The main character (who, incidently, is the writer himself) is always the same in all of C.B.'s books, and is pretty much what give birth to the character of Hank Moody (from Californication). It's existentialism, pretty much. Anyone else read "One Hundred Years of Solitude"? I'm about half way and absolutely loving it. For lack of a better word, its quite 'magical'. Yup. And I actually read it on it's original language, so suck on that! Also, you should definitely read Love in the Time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold by monsieur Márquez. Life of Pi I also have that one on the bedside table, along with The God of Small Things. But it's gonna be tricky, I'm currently reading My Name Is Red (truly fantastic, by the way), and intend on reading Dune 2 & 3 after that and after those 2, I plan on re-reading Neuromancer. By the way, on the subject of Neuromancer, can anyone advise me on the sequels? Because I absolutely loved Neuromancer (the sig is a bit of a giveaway) and I don't really want to ruin it unless it's really worth it. So, Sprawl trilogy, yes? Or stick with no. 1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) My cyberpunk knowledge is only limited to Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash (and as for steampunk? I could never finish Diamond Age, but I've always been meaning to check out William Gibson. For some reason, I can picture it being apt to dig his way after some more Phillip K. Dick. Sorry I can't help you out, but from what one of my friends said, he found the other two enjoyable, the third mostly, but didn't think the middle one aged well? Ho hum. I just started/finished Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee. A tale of a south african university cassanova, whose affair with a student leads him to try life out in the country at his daughter's. A predictable series of events and not-so-subtle comparisons between dogs and the proles of, suggestively, pre-aparthaid days, then more-so-subtly, many allusions of the loss of ownership, of control; of retrospect and remorse - especially after finishing the book you realise there's a lot of loss. Anyway - good, succinct read, if not perhaps a little depressing, in that sentimental, nostalgic sort of way. EDIT: Oh, I read Life of Pi just before I came to uni. I thought it was going to be along the lines of Ishmael or The Alchemist, or even Empire of The Ants, so maybe I was a little dissapointed by the light-weight pseudo-philosophy it lurks about in. Well, I remember feeling that after I read it, but I couldn't say I truly remember the book much. I'm sure the indian boy has ice cream at some point... Edited April 30, 2009 by jayseven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganepark32 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) ^ I really need to get round to reading some J.M. Coetzee. My english tutor specialises in South African literature and constantly goes one about him and In The Heart Of The Country amongst other texts. She's also mentioned Zoe Wicomb and You Can't Get Lost In Capetown so I may get both and read through them. I'm not reading anything at the moment, although I need to read Frankenstein, Dorien Grey and Dr. Faustus for next semester at Uni. Also reminded I need to read Nostromo as it was recommended to me as well. Anyone read that and have an opinion on it? Edited April 30, 2009 by Ganepark32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Dare Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Man Neuromancer is the absolute tits. Jay, remind me to lend you my copy. Not read the sequels though. I read All Tomorrow's Parties which was really cool. edit: I'm reading The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler atm. Fascinating deconstruction of the mythic structure behind most modern stories. I dabbled in it during my creative writing classes last year but I'm going back to it now to really get in to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 although I need to read Frankenstein, Dorien Grey and Dr. Faustus for next semester at Uni. lol, read and did an essay on all of those :P The Picture of Dorien Gray can be read in a couple of hours, and is well worth reading several times. I'm sure you'll learn/read about there being two 'versions' - the latter one is miiles better and, er, probably the one you get by default when you buy it anyway. Wilde, as always, is TEH WIT MEISTROOPOO. Without the poo. Dr. Faustus I adore - got me a first on an essay comparing that to Everyman, which you should read. It's available online here, and I think you said you didn't like Waiting for Godot, but read this and Faustus first, then perhaps Rosencrantz and Guildenthorn are dead (i hope that spelling is right) and you'll hopefully love 'em all. Frankenstein is lovely nice MONSTAR GOFFIK shizzle. I had to force myself to read it, though. Man Neuromancer is the absolute tits. Jay, remind me to lend you my copy. Not read the sequels though. I read All Tomorrow's Parties which was really cool. edit: I'm reading The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler atm. Fascinating deconstruction of the mythic structure behind most modern stories. I dabbled in it during my creative writing classes last year but I'm going back to it now to really get in to it. Lend me both! Yayaya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supergrunch Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Reading Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey. "And I, who claim to know so much more, isn’t it possible that even I have missed the very spring within the spring? Some say that we shall never know, and that to the gods we are like the flies that the boys kill on a summer day, and some say, on the contrary, that the very sparrows do not lose a feather that has not been brushed away by the finger of God." Good stuff so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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