What Do you Read

[ProjectX2]

The Scorching of the Shire was just tacked on.

Saruman not showing up in Return of the King is a con.

 

[Ultimate Houde]

It showed how much the Hobbits had grown.

 

[moonmaster]

I'm planning on reading a book a week this summer. My list includes a little Philip K. Dick, a little Kurt Vonnegut, and probably Chuck Pahluniak's new book. But I wanted to start off with someone who I've been interested in for a long while now: James Joyce. Specifically, Finnegan's Wake. Now, it sounds interesting, and my teacher actually recommended it for me, but the more excerpts I read, the more concerned I am that I'm going to read all 600 and something pages and have absolutely no idea what it was about.

Has anyone read Finnegan's Wake, and if so, do you think it's going to completely over my head?

 

[Joe Kalicki]

Has anyone read Finnegan's Wake, and if so, do you think it's going to completely over my head?

I've read the first couple chapters. It's incomprehensible. Anyone who says they like it is just trying to sound smart.

Read Portrait Of An Artist As A Young Man. Or Duliners. Or even Ulysses.

Wake was his last novel and has all the horrible, bad things about his previous novels combined into one unreadable mish-mash.

 

[Lynx]

I just started reading The Hunt for Red October and The Golden Compass (Or Northern Lights, if you prefer).

Both are excellent so far.

Oh, and about LotR, I completely agree with Baxter's sentiment. The Hobbit is easily one of my favorite books ever and I've read it multiple times. But, LotR I've never gotten through because I usually fall asleep reading it.

Conversely, I really enjoyed The Silmarillion. It took me about 5 years to come to a level where I thought I'd be able to fully digest it (I started it in soughmore year of high school, gave up and finished it last year). I have no idea why I enjoyed it as much as I did, or why I was able to finish it and not LotR. . .

 

[Friday]

I'm planning on reading a book a week this summer. My list includes a little Philip K. Dick, a little Kurt Vonnegut, and probably Chuck Pahluniak's new book. But I wanted to start off with someone who I've been interested in for a long while now: James Joyce. Specifically, Finnegan's Wake. Now, it sounds interesting, and my teacher actually recommended it for me, but the more excerpts I read, the more concerned I am that I'm going to read all 600 and something pages and have absolutely no idea what it was about.

Has anyone read Finnegan's Wake, and if so, do you think it's going to completely over my head?

He has a new book coming out? When?

 

[Ultimate Houde]

Has anyone read Finnegan's Wake, and if so, do you think it's going to completely over my head?

Eh, not a big fan of the book myself, but as long as you keep in mind that it begins and ends with the continuation of the same sentence, you should do fine.

 

[ProjectX2]

I finally finished American Gods the other night and once I finish reading Nightrise, I plan to finish reading The Dark Tower.

 

[moonmaster]

I've read the first couple chapters. It's incomprehensible. Anyone who says they like it is just trying to sound smart.

Read Portrait Of An Artist As A Young Man. Or Duliners. Or even Ulysses.

Wake was his last novel and has all the horrible, bad things about his previous novels combined into one unreadable mish-mash.

Eh, not a big fan of the book myself, but as long as you keep in mind that it begins and ends with the continuation of the same sentence, you should do fine.

Yeah, I've decided to forget about Finnegan's Wake for awhile, per my English teacher's suggestion. I'm reading Portrait of An Artist As A Young Man instead (My teacher let me have one of his copies ). I'll probably try Ulysses also.

He has a new book coming out? When?

Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey.

Official Site.
Wikipedia.

 

[Friday]

Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey.

Official Site.
Wikipedia.

Awesome. I love his books. I just wish one would have a satisfactory ending.

 

[ourchair]

I recently finished reading The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg, which is basically a history of taverns, pubs, coffeehouses and cafes and their sociological and political importance as 'third places' that nurture a healthy civic life and 'informal public life'. It's a really great read that also accounts for how modern urban planning is letting these establishments fall by the side.

My girlfriend recently brought me some books back from Singapore and Malaysia too. I got Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters & The Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones, which is basically the story of how immigrant Jews, gangsters and geeks helped shape the modern pop culture industry through their comic book creations. It sounds like another token 'importance of comic books' book but it reads more like an examination of immigrant identity in America, at least the first chapters I've read so far, focusing on Jack Liebowitz and Harry Donnenfeld.

Incidentally, Jones was once a comic book writer himself, and wrote one of my favorite comics --- Prime, from Malibu's Ultraverse --- as well as books like Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Superheroes and Make-Believe Violence which defends the value of 'violent' pop culture.

I also received Richard Posner's The Little Book of Plagiarism and Osamu Tezuka's Buddha and Ode to Kirihito. Still also have to finish Henry Jenkins' Fans, Bloggers & Gamers: Exploring Participatory Fan Culture.

 

[Planet-man]

One of my friends really liked Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man, but nobody, not even my dad who loves Irish and Scottish literature, can make it through Ulysses.

 

[moonmaster]

One of my friends really liked Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man, but nobody, not even my dad who loves Irish and Scottish literature, can make it through Ulysses.

I think I'll be able to.

 

[xCURLYy]

My list includes a little Philip K. Dick, a little Kurt Vonnegut, and probably Chuck Pahluniak's new book.

A friend lent me Valis by Philip K. Dick, I'm mid philosophy degree and it still kinda split my head open. Awesomely awesome, but just kinda scary, also the book is like 300 pages and I don't think any plot starts til about 200 pages in. 'If I bring back the Ashtrays can I have my frontal lobe back?' and 'God doesn't exist, and anyway, he's stupid' being a couple of the highlights. He also bought my Man in a High Castle for Christmas, still ain't got round to reading it. The 'Poodle' scene in Choke by Chuck P had me in absolute stitches, looking forward to his new book.

Currently mid way through a Bill Hicks biography and 1984 so I can pretend to be intelligent and well read.

Anyone else kinda set on attempting to read 'The Book you MUST read before you die? I figure if enough people like 'em, they've got to be good. Doesn't mean I'll ever touch Da Vinci Code though...

 

[moonmaster]

A friend lent me Valis by Philip K. Dick, I'm mid philosophy degree and it still kinda split my head open. Awesomely awesome, but just kinda scary, also the book is like 300 pages and I don't think any plot starts til about 200 pages in. 'If I bring back the Ashtrays can I have my frontal lobe back?' and 'God doesn't exist, and anyway, he's stupid' being a couple of the highlights.

I did an 11-page paper on VALIS.

And I probably could have written a lot more.

Doesn't mean I'll ever touch Da Vinci Code though...

I've read the Da Vinci Code.

God, do I wish I had that time back.

 

[Planet-man]

The Da Vinci Code was a fun, exciting, interesting read.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is by far the best novel I've ever had to read for school, and would be in my Top-3 books ever.

 

[Joe Kalicki]

I read the first handful of chapters of The DaVinci Code. No thank you. I did kind of enjoy the movie though.

 

[ProjectX2]

The Da Vinci Code is pretty good, but I hate all the hype and the religious discussions about it. Who cares if it's about a story that Jesus had a child or whatever? I know I don't. It's just a good story.

I got The Shining out of the library today. I started it months ago but didn't get very far.

 

[moonmaster]

The Da Vinci Code is based on fairly interesting subject matter. Whether it's true or not, who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory? The problem is that Dan Brown can't write for ****.

The book consists of people getting into trouble, improbably getting out of trouble and then discovering some secret. Repeat 40 times in a row. And The Da Vinci Code has the most one-dimensional characters I've ever seen. Their entire existance seems to be to serve the plot. There was a moment when Langdon starts talking about his Mickey Mouse watch and I thought they'd actually give us some characterization that doesn't connect directly to the plot. Then he says "...And see, Walt Disney was a member of the Super-Secret Jesus Club...".

GURR.

Dan Brown should've just written a non-fiction book and been done with it.

But of course, a non-fiction book wouldn't have sold millions of copies. He had to write a ****ty novel.

Because people are ****ing stupid.

 

[Gideon Stargrave]

You know why the Da Vinci code was so popular? Reading it made people feel smart. Every teenage girl in America thought that they had figured out some super secret about Jesus that no one else in the world knew.

****ing idiots.