lets keep talking about books

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

I really liked it, and I think Ethan did too. It's definitely worth reading. I think my favourite part didn't really have anything to do with the whole "kid and tiger trapped on a boat" bit but more to do with the author's take on religion. The main character practices three major religions - Hinduism (which he was born into and raised as), Muslim and Christianity, both of which he kind of stumbled onto. I loved the explanations of what drew Pi to each religion, and how he reconciled their conflicting doctrines within himself and believed in all three totally. Also the bits about the zoo are really cool.

[Larry Flyntz]

I just started reading "Straight Man," by Richard Russo.  I've only read one chapter, but I really like his style.  I think I'm going to enjoy this book.

[Rhino......................]

I'm reading The Road by Carmac McCarthy, the guy who wrote No Country for Old Men. I don't think I've ever read anything this depressing.

[Larry Flyntz]

We tried to get Cormac McCarthy to speak at our commencement (his niece goes to Ursinus), but he doesn't do commencements, which is probably good.  I don't know if he could do the whole "uplifting/inspiring" shtick.

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

Haha yeah Flyntz that seems like it might have been most likely to horribly backfire idea ever. You'd most likely end up with a bunch of suicided college grads.

[Larry Flyntz]

This isn't what I picture when I think of Cormac McCarthy.

[CadmiumYellow]

well house of leaves is finished.

ONWARD !

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

it seems like we have pretty similiar tastes in literature, so what are some books you would recommend that you consider "must reads." I really need to start reading again, I feel like I'm losing brain cells by the day, and the trashy beach novels my mom gives me to read just aren't cutting it anymore. I need some REAL literature, something I can wrap my brain around. Any suggestions?

[CadmiumYellow]

carly i think you'd like

-the fountainhead, ayn rand
strong female character (even tho she's a little nuts)

-anna karenina, tolstoy
tragic, timeless, magnetic
see also notes from underground; the death of ivan ilyvich

-crime and punishment, dostoyevsky
whoa intense but he is my very favorite
see also the idiot; the brothers karamazov

-the red and the black, stendhal
passionate, kinda nuts, characters complex

-white noise, don delilo
readable postmodernity, darkly funny
see also bonfire of the vanities by tom wolfe, hooray for 80s lit

books about homeless people:
ironweed, cannery row

-east of eden, john steinbeck
sibling rivalry, references add depth and history, don't feel annoying or alienating

are you noticing that i tend to like books about crazy people
see also the bell jar; girl, interrupted

i liked great expectations, tale of 2 cities was hard but good

vonnegut i like: sirens of titan, slaughterhouse-5, breakfast of champions, bluebeard
jane austen: emma, sense and sensibility, northanger abbey

-brave new world, huxley
if you're into that end-of-the-world stuff

i'll keep thinking...

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

see also bonfire of the vanities by tom wolfe, hooray for 80s lit

I have a copy of The Electric Koolaid Acid Test laying around somewhere which I've been meaning to read pretty much the second I put One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest down. I'll check this one out, too.

-east of eden, john steinbeck
sibling rivalry, biblical references add depth and history, don't feel annoying or alienating

If this book feels anything at all like Of Mice and Men I'm sure I'll love it.

i liked great expectations, tale of 2 cities was hard but good

Never did Great Expectations but quite honestly I HATED Tale of Two Cities. I had to read it for a freshman honours lit class back in highschool and I couldn't read the damned thing. And its not like I'm an amateur reader, either, especially not back then. My biggest problem with Dickens is the fact that back in the day he was being payed per 100 words so he deliberately takes three times as long to explain something. It drove me CRAZY. I read just enough that I could pass all the tests and write believable essays, and I pretty much focused everything on the one female character (I forget her name) the wife of the tavern owner or whatever, the French revolutionary? She was cool, but besides her, the very first line and the very last line I found that book absolutely abysmal. But maybe I'm just a plebe after all. Hehe.

vonnegut i like: sirens of titan, slaughterhouse-5, breakfast of champions, bluebeard
jane austen: emma, sense and sensibility, northanger abbey

All of these are yes yes yes. I've read Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat's Cradle, both of which were fabulous in their own crazy rights. And Austen well...I've got a vag so pretty much obviously.

i'll keep thinking...

Haha awesome! Thanks! I think you've supplied me with enough reading material to last me a good long while. I suppose I had better get myself to a used book store to try and pick some of this stuff up...

[CadmiumYellow]

i'll lend you some carly! no probs

i am done with this side of paradise

i wanna read:
journey to the end of the night, celine
the black sheep, balzac
mythologies, barthes

[Larry Flyntz]

journey to the end of the night, celine

I wanted to read this too, actually.

I tried reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, but I didn't find it to be much of a page-turner.  It's very long, and I started to lag at around page 200 or so.  I like Wolfe's style a lot, though.  I recommend Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers. 

I also found the same problem with On the Road.  Some people rave about it, but I thought it was bo-ring.

Also, thumbs way up for Vonnegut.  I always recommend Cat's Cradle to new readers.  I think it is much more readable than Slaughterhouse-Five.

I need to read more Hunter Thompson.  Any recommendations, anyone?

[Rhino......................]

I finished 2001 yesterday, and it got me jonesin' for more Sci-Fi. Everyone's been telling me that Ringworld is really good. I'm three pages into it, and I think I hate it already.

[Infinite Jerkgrinders]

If you're going to read sci fi, I'd suggest something other than Larry Niven, though i've heard a lot of good things about it.

I'd suggest:
The Dune Series, by Frank Herbert
The Ender Series, by Orson Scott Card
--- or if you don't want to go crazy and read through a whole series I'd suggest:
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Stranger in a Strange Land or Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep? by Phillip K Dick

 all incredible books, if you ask me.

[CadmiumYellow]

finished cousin bette, loved it

read the little prince and it was adorable, i wish i had first read it when i was like 10

right now i'm in the middle of the age of innocence by edith wharton. cousin bette was better because it was less sentimental but still it's pretty good. it talks about a really conservative new york of the past that is strange to hear about

i think next is a room with a view by e.m. forster

[TheOfficer]

I've been reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke on the recommendation that if I enjoyed Neil Gaiman and Harry Potter, that I would have a hard on for Susanna Clarke.

And I do. While I don't necessarily see the HP connection past both books involving Magic, it definitely has a child-like appeal that makes me feel very nice and happy reading it. I'm still not very far into the book, as I thought it was actually very difficult to get past the first 10 pages when I first started reading it, but then you sort of get used to Clarkes constant footnotes and it becomes pretty damn amazing how deeply she delved to write this book. I recommend it pretty hardcore to anyone who likes fantasy novels, and I know Ethan has also been recommending it to everything that breathes.
I've heard really good things about her more recent books also, so I'm pretty excited that I have a new author to follow. Especially since Pratchett was recently diagnosed with alzheimers.

I guess I should also say that anyone who has never read any of the discworld series should also get in on that. If you enjoy wit, sarcasm, and just damn enjoyable stories they're pretty great. Pratchett is intelligent and its a shame he is going to be taken by such a fucking horrible disease. They're also incredibly fast reads, and for a while I was doing about one a week on top of school work if anyones looking for something that really lets them take a break.

[oatmeal fetish....]

And I do. While I don't necessarily see the HP connection past both books

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has no connection to the Harry Potter series. None I say! 

[Infinite Jerkgrinders]

I liked the way magic is handled in JSMN a lot better than Harry Potter, much more mature and eloquent.

[CadmiumYellow]

johnathan strange was real good, towards the middle/end it gets really exciting

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

Ethan do you still have your copy of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell? If so give it to me. If not, whichever one of you jerks he lent it to give it back so he can give it to me (or just give it directly to me).