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Sir Rockabye
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1158 Posts |
 Posted - 10/15/2003 : 13:08:39
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I have just finished re-reading "Cat's Cradle" and just like any other Vonnegut, it gets better every time. It struck me that I get the same satisfaction from reading a Vonnegut novel as I do from listening to a Pixies or Frank Black album. Anyone else get that from books? If so, lemme know, I would love to find some neat authors. Thanks.
"How many stars girl, can you both count, and then classify?" |
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interloper
= Cult of Ray =
440 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 13:59:59
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Great book.
Try Aldous Huxley or Herman Heese.
Although both great writers, neither remind me of Frank Black or the Pixies. |
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Dave Noisy
Minister of Chaos
Canada
4496 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 14:42:52
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I've only read a few.. Galapagos was awesome..Hocus Pocus seemed a little weak.
Made me laugh like hell tho. |
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frank_black_francis
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
895 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 14:52:37
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| A great (somewhat) new author is George Saunders (quite often compared to Vonnegut). He teaches creative writing at syracuse...i think. Anyways, he is 'extremely' satirical....and the object of his mis-affection is America (its malls, consumer culture, void of real values, and misguided dreams). He makes heroes out of the marginalized. He is truly genius in his craft and I admire the hell out of him. He has two fiction collections of short stories, 'CivilWarLand in Bad Decline' and 'Pastoralia'. Start with CivilWarLand In Bad Decline.....he is quite demented and funny as hell. This is one of those writers that you will one day be proud of saying, 'I read him way back when...' |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 15:05:00
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BRAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
mijn vriendin kan geen orgasme krijgen |
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Sir Rockabye
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1158 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 15:11:18
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quote:
Try Aldous Huxley or Herman Heese
I have read "Brave new world", and I really liked it. Not to the extent of some other Vonnegut, but it was a cool read. My band plays a song called "Wolves got it easy" which is in reference to the novel "Steppen wolf" by Hesse. I have never read it, but I intend to. And, I checked out those Saunders books on Amazon. Looks like some good stuff. Thanks.
"How many stars girl, can you both count, and then classify?" |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 15:16:08
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STEPPENWOLF is great. you oughtta read it. especially since your band has a song about it.
mijn vriendin kan geen orgasme krijgen |
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Sir Rockabye
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1158 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 15:20:53
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That might make sense. Now I either need to scrounge up some money, or go to the library.
"How many stars girl, can you both count, and then classify?" |
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NimrodsSon
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1938 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 15:33:51
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Brave New World is the only Aldous Huxley novel I've read and I loved it. I'll have to check out Cat's Cradle next time I go to the library
 " / " |
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mun chien andalusia
= Quote Accumulator =
Italy
2139 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 16:23:53
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strange that nobody mentioned slaughterhouse no5.it's a great book and the one that introduced me to vonnegut,though my favourite is "slapstick".other neat authors\books:
j.heller - catch 22
p.k dick - the man on the high castle
u.eco - foucault's pendulum
r.bradburry - fahreneit 451
g.orwell - 1984
t.robbins - all
i don't understand how people get to like h.hesse though...i 've read a few of his novels yet i continue to find him boring and terribly overated,like james joyce
 presented in mind control\where available
www.munchienandalusia.too.it |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 17:06:30
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I've only read Slaughter House Five and was pretty unimpressed. I have a few more books of his that I'll get around to someday. Hesse is a great great writer. Steppenwolf is indeed a masterpiece.
Semper ubi sub ubi. |
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Sir Rockabye
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1158 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 17:19:53
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'Slaughter House 5' is a masterpiece, as are 'Catch-22', 'Farenheight 451', and '1984.'
"How many stars girl, can you both count, and then classify?" |
Edited by - Sir Rockabye on 10/16/2003 18:16:57 |
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therewererumours
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1240 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 17:28:40
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Slaughter House 5 is a great book, it's so blackly funny and weird and it's the first book I read in one day. I was looking for more of his stuff the other day, any recommendations anyone? Ian Banks, The Wasp Factory, is pretty weird but a good satisfying read.
"Lets have a game of Go Johny, go, go, go , go. Everyboby knows, Go!, Johny, go, go, go, go" |
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interloper
= Cult of Ray =
440 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 18:35:48
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Brave New World is indeed the one, however, there's one called Ape & Essence that he Huxley wrote as well that I found more interesting. One of the few books that actually gave me strange dreams...Vonnegut is a true original. Don't forget about Mother Night, which is uncharacteristic of his "zanyness" for a lack of a better term, but is amazing. It's also a mildly great film with Nick Nolte and that one girl who played Laura Palmer. On the sci fi angle, HG Wells is the Iggy Pop of the genre...why just imagine ol' HG cutting himself with glass on stage before the Beatles had even broke up. On the non-fiction tip of sorts, Jim Goad's Redneck Manefesto must be acquired.
Yeah.
We should probably all go read. |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 18:47:39
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quote:
Originally posted by mun chien andalusia
strange that nobody mentioned slaughterhouse no5.it's a great book and the one that introduced me to vonnegut,though my favourite is "slapstick".other neat authors\books:
j.heller - catch 22
p.k dick - the man on the high castle
u.eco - foucault's pendulum
r.bradburry - fahreneit 451
g.orwell - 1984
presented in mind control\where available
www.munchienandalusia.too.it
I am in emphatic agreement with this list! Can't speak to t.robbins - all, but I've heard nothing but good things about his stuff. Umberto Eco - "Foucault's Pendulum"? One of the best books I've ever read. It will freak you OUT. I was going to recommend Catch-22 as well - that'll remind you of Pixies and Frank Black....Obviously, the Ray Bradbury will take you there too. ;)
John Bigboote! Look! They have Sweet n Low! |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 18:52:32
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If you haven't seen the movie rendition of "Breakfast of Champions", run, RUN to your best video store and get it fast- you'll bust a gut! Mother Night is a good movie as well. I still like Vonnegut in his books best, though. Read just about all his stuff - does anyone know if he will ever do a touring lecture again? I saw a Humanist convention on CSPAN one day a few years back and he was a guest speaker, what a moving, funny guy - sometimes he seems like Mark Twain reincarnate. Also, they made a movie out of "Slaughterhouse 5" - also very very good.
John Bigboote! Look! They have Sweet n Low! |
Edited by - apl4eris on 10/15/2003 18:53:22 |
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therewererumours
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1240 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 20:27:41
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quote:
Originally posted by apl4eris
Also, they made a movie out of "Slaughterhouse 5" - also very very good.
John Bigboote! Look! They have Sweet n Low!
Wow! Do you mean a TV movie or a proper one, cause I have'nt heard about that. That would rank among all the Dune minie series which I've missed out on, and which I'd would love to see.(loser)
"Lets have a game of Go Johny, go, go, go , go. Everyboby knows, Go!, Johny, go, go, go, go" |
Edited by - therewererumours on 10/15/2003 20:29:15 |
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GHutt
- FB Fan -
105 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 20:34:05
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That's cool that someone made a topic about this. Vonnegut is by far my favorite author. I think I've read pretty much everything he's written. I bought a bunch of his books last night at this used book store for $10, I was pretty pumped. I started reading his stuff about a year ago, when I should have been studying, and he inspired me to change majors from History to English. Now, I have no idea what I'm gonna do with an English degree, but I'll have Vonnegut to thank for it.
In a lot of ways, Kurt Vonnegut has been to literature what Kurt Cobain was to music, in that he turned me onto a bunch of other writers who I otherwise might never have heard of. I'm almost done reading Something Happened by Joseph Heller right now, which is pretty awesome, I think whoever wrote the screenplay for American Beauty must have drawn heavily from it. Like in Catch-22, he likes to make points through repetition. Any fans of Heller should read "A Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man" which was written right before he died, and is pretty cool.
Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk is the best book I've read in a long time. People should definately check that one out. |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 20:36:52
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Yup - it was an honest to goodness real movie - not the Lifetime Originals kind...;) Here ya go!:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0069280/
Dune rocks. heheh. ugh, the puns must stop. No but seriously, I love the movie, and the books. Going back over them now, they seem rather prophetic to current events, or is it just me?
John Bigboote! Look! They have Sweet n Low! |
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therewererumours
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1240 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 21:06:46
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Thank you apl4eris, have to check that out. I'm a Dune loser, as I got into the whole Dune thing from the Lynch film. But I read alot of them afterwards, and now it's such along time ago I'm going to start anew, and read them all again since I never actually read Dune. And yes they are prophetic, soon we're going to have our own Duncan Idaho clone!
"like diamond back terrapin" |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 21:55:11
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It's Fahrenheit 451, not to be picky and it is indeed great too.
Semper ubi sub ubi. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 22:07:52
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i've been wanting to read some Chuck Palahniuk. and not because of FIGHT CLUB per se. enough people have recommended him to me.
speaking of movies of these books, has anyone seen Truffaut's version of FAHRENHEIT 451? it's not bad. supposedly Frank Darabont is going to be making one soon..
lately i've been reading a lot of Literature about the roman empire..
like this:
http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/wa2000/RR3146.JPG
mijn vriendin kan geen orgasme krijgen
[EDIT by Dave Noisy - Took down the image so this topic would remain readable..sorry.] |
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mun chien andalusia
= Quote Accumulator =
Italy
2139 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2003 : 22:42:24
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quote:
Originally posted by floop
i've been wanting to read some Chuck Palahniuk. and not because of FIGHT CLUB per se. enough people have recommended him to me.
speaking of movies of these books, has anyone seen Truffaut's version of FAHRENHEIT 451? it's not bad. supposedly Frank Darabont is going to be making one soon..
lately i've been reading a lot of Literature about the roman empire..
like this:
mijn vriendin kan geen orgasme krijgen
you gotta take some lessons of italian...troia in italian means both troy and slut.where can i buy this version of the iliad?
i don't like much truffaut's fahreneit 451 .i even read somewhere that truffaut himself was dissapointed with his film.another not so great movie is g.orwell's 1984 which although remains faithfull to the novel remains pretty boring.much better terry gilliams'brazil.
presented in mind control\where available
www.munchienandalusia.too.it |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 07:57:21
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that's part of the brilliance of the book. the title itself is a double entendre.
mijn vriendin kan geen orgasme krijgen |
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blackpurse
= Cult of Ray =
USA
299 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 15:46:45
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At the risk of being a name dropper, I had the extreme pleaseure of meeting Kurt Vonnegut back in '90. I was friends with the student chief of the speaker's bureau at Marquette University, and his car was busted -- and he had to go to the airport to pick up Vonnegut for a lecture that evening. So my friend called me, and we went to the airport to pick up Kurt Vonnegut in my '77 Dodge Dart. That's right. One of the world's eminent authors and speakers rode to MArquette University in my beat up '77 Dodge Dart. He didn't blink an eye as I had to start the car with a screwdriver to jump the starter cellenoid (bedause it was two paychecks away from being able to afford to get it fixed) and was wonderful and gracious. After his wonderful lecture ("I thank you for your sweetly faked attention") I was invited for coffee afterwards and let me tell you, moments of greatness. You weren't having coffee with some tortured stuck up writer, you wree having coffee with a wonderful, warm, incredible human being.
Cat's Cradle is my favotire.
On another note, any discussion of Vonnegut, Robbins, Heller, et al wouldn't be complete without mentioning Pynchon. Gravity's Rainbow takes forever, but frankly, My favotire is Vineland. Maybe because Vineland is more my generation about it.
"Sacred cows make the best burgers!" |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 16:02:51
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| I couldn't understand "Gravity's Rainbow" at all, I wish I could, but I still enjoy it. Maybe I'll try it again some day. "The Crying of Lot 49" and "V" (especially "V") are really good though. |
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GHutt
- FB Fan -
105 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 17:37:22
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| Oh man blackpurse, that sounds like the ultimate. I think he's probably at the top of the list as far as people I'd like to meet (especially after meeting Mr. Thompson at a show in the spring). Congratulations - you've earned my envy. |
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Dave Noisy
Minister of Chaos
Canada
4496 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 18:28:12
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I just got Quicksilver from Neal Stephenson from the library. I *loved* Snowcrash..amazing book. His others are good too, but SC was something else.
Gotta get me more Kurt tho.. |
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Arm Arm Arm
* Dog in the Sand *
1036 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 23:20:12
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I think Slaughterhouse 5, Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions are great. Slapstick was terrible, couldn't finish Houcus Popcus and din't really care for the Sirens of Titan. I forget the exact title but something, foma and granfalloons has some interesting parts but I disagree with his take on the Steppenwolf. Mother Night was good but very depressing.
Timequake was okay and the book he wrote with someone else about a camera on the afterworld was good. Sometimes I get tired of his style.
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