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St. Francis
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
548 Posts |
 Posted - 12/10/2002 : 16:33:29
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Anyone read still? Have been commuting on Public Transport and flying through books.
So Far I have been into Milan Kundera's books...anyone interested in beginning a book list?
-Essentials:
Fear and Loathing in L.V.- Hunter S. Thompson
Breakfast of Champions- Vonogut [sic]
The unbearable lightness of being- Milan Kundera
Catch 22- Joseph Heller
High Fiedelity- Forget the Author
Advocate these books all are pretty good... I'm sure many of you have read some or most of them. Are there any books which struck you and you would recommend?
Out on the Eisenhower, well, I lost my speed just a little bit south of a town called weed... |
Edited by - St. Francis on 12/10/2002 16:35:24 |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2002 : 17:01:48
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| I love HIGH FIDELITY as well. Also love COWBOYS ARE MY WEAKNESS (short stories) by Pam Houston, and anything by Dorothy Parker. That is all I can think of now but I will be back with more I'm sure. |
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mereubu
= FB QuizMistress =
USA
2677 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2002 : 17:19:43
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I haven't read a novel in freaking forever--just plays & theatre history. And parenting stuff. I'm sure you guys are just dying to read "Mothering Your Nursing Toddler" by Norma Jane Bumgarner.
No, seriously, if I could read a novel, I would re-read A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole) for the umpteenth time. I love it that much. I like Kundera too, but if you read too much of it at once it will depress the shit out of you. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is always good too. |
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Chris Knight
= Cult of Ray =
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2002 : 20:27:28
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| I haven't read very many novels, but Dostoevski's The Brothers Karamazov and Henry Miller's Nexus are current favorites of mine. |
Edited by - Chris Knight on 12/10/2002 20:28:12 |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2002 : 21:57:39
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i haven't read much lately either, but i read a lot in college, when i was a Lit major. go figure. that was before i was a film major.
a recent fave: Brett Easton Ellis' GLAMOURAMA.. it's very surreal (but in a very subtle way), disturbing and funny.
if you like Don Delillo (WHITE NOISE) you might like it.
palabra a tu madre. |
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mdisanto
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1140 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2002 : 03:26:36
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i just read slaughterhouse 5, that was cool.
-miked |
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ObfuscateByWill
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1887 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2002 : 04:41:43
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- The Great American Novel - William Carlos Willaims
- Evasion - Anonymous
- Note from the Gallows - Julius Fuchik
I, um, don't really read all that much. 
*Take a bite of the chocolate coffin. |
Edited by - ObfuscateByWill on 12/11/2002 04:48:23 |
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St. Francis
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
548 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2002 : 17:24:35
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I've read some Miller (mentioned previously and I can't be assed to quote) and his style is pretty crazy...like his use of words and the fact his stories are a neverending ramble into so situation which will produce more rambles...not sure if I have just described the novel but I like the way he goes about it.
Have yet to read Slaughter House Five but I hear it is good...I have read a lot of Vonnigut but for some reason I never pick that up at the used book store.
Dostoyeski is wicked and definately one of the greatest novelists ever but he was just too boring for me: "Fador those are good words and similies but, could you have described her jacket in less than 6 pages?".
Peace
Out on the Eisenhower, well, I lost my speed just a little bit south of a town called weed... |
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theonecontender
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
565 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2002 : 00:31:33
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Fyodor's 'the idiot' is the shit. I highly recommend a book I heard about from Cobain - 'Perfume: the story of a murderer'.
But to do this site justice, I have to mention Ray Bradbury. My favorite is probably 'the illustrated man'.. It is such thought provoking stuff - makes it difficult to put down. I also like the whole short story scifi style which keeps us children of the modern age interested.
1c on the cult of...
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2002 : 02:28:23
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i read PERFUME (pre-Cobain) and agree. it's a great read. kind of reminded me of the Hertzog film KASPUR HAUSER..
Henry Miller was one of my first favorite authors.. when i was really starting to get into reading. That guy is the shit.
that would be cool to turn in a college essay about Dostoyevski titled "Fydor Dostoyevski's 'The Idiot' is the shit".
palabra a tu madre. |
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Leah
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
314 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2002 : 07:43:32
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I'm very fortunate - I live with a guy who's a librairian - he brings me great books but it takes him weeks to decide which ones!...
But seriously my two all-time faves are Fear & loathing and Breakfast at Tiffany's (who you calling schitzoid?!)
Other faves this year are:
Post office - Charles Bukowski
Star's Tennis Balls - Stephen Fry
White Jazz - James Ellory
Prayer Cushions of the flesh - Robert Irwin
Far Side Gallery II - Gary Larson
Snow Crash - Neil Stephenson
Twelve - Nick McCormack
American Scream - Cynthia True (life of Bill Hicks - sensational!)
Cats Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut.
The new Terry Pratchett which I've forgotten the name of, coz I is dumb!
Every choice human being strives instinctively for a citadel and a secrecy where he is saved from the crowd -
Nietzsche |
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bazza
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1439 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2002 : 08:15:16
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dorian gray by oscar wilde is a great read - but up there certainly are nick hornby's high fidelity and fever pitch. the guy is fantastic.
high fidelity the film was good - but the book just whups its ass.
when you've got nothing
you've got nothing to lose.
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2002 : 13:45:01
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| Others; LOVELY BONES (despite the hype, was v.good) and also LOOK AT ME by Jennifer Egan. Two recent things I read... |
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St. Francis
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
548 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2002 : 16:05:51
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quote:
Originally posted by bazza
dorian gray by oscar wilde is a great read - but up there certainly are nick hornby's high fidelity and fever pitch. the guy is fantastic.
high fidelity the film was good - but the book just whups its ass.
Agreed about H.F. the book being better than the movie although I think the directors and actors did it justice being a hollywood endevour and all. Actually was living in London when I read the book and it took place around the corner from me in Crouch End (lived at Turnpike Lane at the time) and it was crazy...same buses I took each day and the Queens head which was my local...definitely a case of art repeating reality to say the least...
Out on the Eisenhower, well, I lost my speed just a little bit south of a town called weed... |
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Broken Face
-= Forum Pistolero =-
USA
5155 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2002 : 22:50:06
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dave eggers is great - read both "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius" and "you shall know our velocity"
nick hornby is also great - high fidelity, about a boy and fever pitch are all great
i'd also suggest roddy doyle's barrytown trilogy - good stuff
-Brian
RAWK! |
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bazza
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1439 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2002 : 09:30:34
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agreed fella. roddy doyle does indeed kick ass. the snapper is a great read.
when you've got nothing
you've got nothing to lose.
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Jettison
- FB Fan -
USA
228 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2002 : 12:27:56
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| Try anything by Tom Robbins. |
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mereubu
= FB QuizMistress =
USA
2677 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2002 : 13:43:22
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| Ooh, yeah. Especially Even Cowgirls Get the Blues or Still Life With Woodpecker. |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2002 : 13:52:16
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| Did anyone read White Oleander? The movie was stinky but I read the book twice. |
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Atheist4Catholics
= Cult of Ray =
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2002 : 15:02:37
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Ever since I had to give up coffee (bad stomach) my ADD has been rampant and I can't read anything. I'm going to try Dexedrine for it. Has anyone tried that? As it is now, I can't stay focused for more than a paragraph.
www.mp3.com/clootie |
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St. Francis
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
548 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2002 : 19:25:08
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Dude if you want to focus on reading you can't just give up the coffee but the spliffs as well found that always helped me last longer than a paragraph.
Actually a big fan of Doyle as well. The Barrytown trilogy was good and the woman who walked into doors was a knoble and valid attempt at writing more seriously. Also liked a Star called Henry for it's frank critique of some motives behind revolution and it was pretty funny as well.
Just finished an essay by Jean Baudrillard called the Spirit of Terrorism which was amazing...grabbed it at lunch at a used book store and is brilliant...anyone who knows his work will be impressed.
Out on the Eisenhower, well, I lost my speed just a little bit south of a town called weed... |
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johndietzel
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
464 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2002 : 00:57:05
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So, are all of these books considered "challenging" and "thought provoking"? I have read a few of what has been mentioned--at least some works of authors cited. I read my fair share, but I prefer non-fiction and I guess stuff that by now is public domain. I mean, there's so much to read from hundreds of years ago and onward, I don't think I'll ever get to "contemporary" fiction. But a good book for me is one that I enjoy reading, and not one that seems like a goal or something to try and complete.
Like I started reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and I just got bored out of my asshole. I thought I should try to finish because I'm supposed to want to or whatever.
Do you guys hate me because of this? I mean, am I the only one who has to be reading and enjoying the text almost perpetually, or I will discard the book? And I guess a story that relies on the reader "hanging on" for the ending simply to resolve the plot, sucks hard poo, in my opinion. I'm not saying it is a great example but I recently read "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" quite expectantly, and thought "what a sloppy, contrived piece of hyped dookie." And I enjoy Poe usually.
So maybe this post should've just said "What do you guys think makes a good book?"
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"Liam Neeson backwards is broken English empty post office box." |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2002 : 17:37:08
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i don't think there's anything wrong with knowing what you like. if you get half way through a book and hate it, why waste your time? but you should at least give it a chance to the half-way mark i think.
i couldn't get into 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE, and i tried.. another one of those books that everyone says you "have to" read. a
as a matter of fact, i've hated pretty much everything i've read of Garcia-Marquez..
fuck that guy.
so yeah, i agree.. it's lame to feel like you should enjoy something because it's considered fine art or whatever..
what makes a good book? i really do think it is, quite simply, did you ENJOY reading it? from start to finish.
i wouldn't consider JURASSIC PARK in the lexicon of important literature, but i enjoyed reading it when i happened to have a copy of it on a long train ride..
palabra a tu madre. |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2002 : 18:42:21
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Here are some of mine right now:
Anything by Hermann Hesse including Steppenwolf & Demian
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger
- just read and re-read Frankenstein and The Great Gatsby. Those are a couple of great classics. I have Dorian Gray, Cat's Cradle, and Catch 22 right here on my desk but I've yet to read them. I agree about the giving up on a book idea: I forced myself through Left Behind and my eyes bled. I decided from that point on that if something were clearly hideous I was gonna put it down. There are so many great books out there that I'll never get the chance to read so I'm sure as hell not going to waste my time on shit like the Left Behind series.
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Edited by - realmeanmotorscutor on 12/15/2002 18:43:11 |
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johndietzel
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
464 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2002 : 20:45:32
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I really liked Frankenstein. Especially to compare it to all the films. I swear the truest to the text was a Hammer Films one from mid-sities I think. Most/all the others have really changed the disposition/character of the Monster, or added some "Bride of Frankenstein" epilogue.
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"Liam Neeson backwards is broken English empty post office box." |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2002 : 22:11:31
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FRANKENSTEIN is great. Mary Shelley was a pretty interesting girlie when it comes down to it. she wrote that when she was only 19.. and she was never really a writer. she had no aspirations to write anyway. she was just chillin out on vacation with Percy Shelley and Lord Byron (taking drugs) when they decided to have a ghost story competition. and that was her story.
but you probably knew that..
on an unrelated Frankenstein note.. when i was a younger lad i managed to change my drivers liscense so that my middle name was "Frankenstein". (my middle name is actually Frank [proudly])..
i couldn't believe it actually worked. but later it got me into a little bit of trouble with the DMV because i essentially had two identities in their system..
anyway, this anecdote is turning out to be highly uninteresting so i'll stop now..
great read though.. old Frankie..
palabra a tu madre. |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2002 : 23:31:16
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| hahaha, that's great. I'm gonna have to renew my license soo so maybe I'll try to get a cool middle name. I wonder if that would cause a legal problem one day. |
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Chris Knight
= Cult of Ray =
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2002 : 23:52:36
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| Franny and Zooey is a really good book, probably even better than Catcher In The Rye (the phrase "eastern philosophy chair in hell" will stick with me forever). Though I actually enjoy reading slightly challenging stuff, I've ditched two D.H. Lawrence novels at or near the halfway mark. Silly to say, I still think the guy's a quality writer. |
Edited by - Chris Knight on 12/16/2002 00:26:03 |
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johndietzel
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
464 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2002 : 02:34:57
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"You wanna know who the goddamn fat lady is? It's Christ, Himself, buddy." I like quotes out of context that sound cool, like the above one (although I suppose you could put two-and-two together and get its gist).
I don't love "F&Z" but it's cool, especially after reading "A Perfect Day For Bananfish" and learning that there's much much more to know of the Glass family. I really didn't like Raise High the Roofbeams . . . My favorite of Jerome David Salinger's stories (I have only read a few) is "Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes." But he's funny in "Shoeless Joe." Hha Hha Hho Hho.
Floop you ahhhh too funny. In college for about 18 months I decided to go by Raul in most of my classes. I just thought the name was cool. My professors would call my name or talk to me for the first time and I'd say, "Yep, that's me, but I prefer Raul." Damn, I think I have gone by every name by my own.
Hey Chris Knight: Please forgive me if I am the 180th guy to ask you, but you don't happen to be Peter Brady, do you?
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"Liam Neeson backwards is broken English empty post office box." |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2002 : 09:52:55
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I think Franny and Zooey is Salingers absolute best work. If you want to know more about the glass family read "Seymour: An Introduction" It is far better than Raise High.
So does anyone else here share my burning hatred for Left Behind?
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mdisanto
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1140 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2002 : 13:28:57
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yeah i had to read frankenstein for english this year and i was pleasantly surprised. heart of darkness was interesting too but probably not worth reading if you didnt see the movie (apocolypse now)
-miked |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2002 : 19:49:58
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| Whoa whoa whoa!!! Heart of Darkness is brilliant! There is so much to examine in that story that I can't even think where to begin. Apocolypse Now is an absolute piece of shit except for some scenes at the very end. I will say though that it was due to a very brilliant teacher of mine that I have such great appreciation for Conrad's story. Do you really like the film? |
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johndietzel
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
464 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2002 : 20:11:02
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Brilliant: the new white noise.
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"Liam Neeson backwards is broken English empty post office box." |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2002 : 22:26:05
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| Jimminy, was I just slighted? |
Edited by - realmeanmotorscutor on 12/16/2002 22:26:43 |
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fallus
- FB Fan -
Belgium
94 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2002 : 01:45:15
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IMHO, Terry Pratchett is to books what Frank Black is to music (original, fresh, "quirky", stylish, humorous, ...). Discworld series are a must-read.
This is not a signature. |
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7443 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2002 : 02:35:25
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Jorge Luis Borges is God. Period.
Denis |
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