I am so happy that I have thus far been successful in eschewing news item comment sections. I forget they even exist. I don't understand why they're still around, in all honesty. Who seriously thinks they're a good idea?Quoting Milky Joe (view post)
i will definitely be reading that. i've been waiting for it for years. i'm just disappointed it's unfinished.
Why?
I could never be that calm and tolerant with idiots. The moment someone objected to a piece on literature being taught on moral or religious grounds, I'd probably just buy a Vatican flag and a rosary and set them on fire in front of the whole class.
Because David Sedaris sucks balls!
Err...
The severed arm perfectly acquitted itself, because of the simplicity of its wishes and its total lack of doubt.
Finished Fathers and Sons. I ended up quite liking it. The plot is kind of meandering--two young friends go here, then they go here, then they go here or back there or wherever--but there are some touching moments in the meantime. That nihilism was I guess something of a novelty around this time really dates the book. Some of the discussions feel like 11th grade English class. But in the end, this Bazarov character (dedicated to science, anti-Romantic, denier of the more redeeming emotions) came across to me as a bit tragic, and I have to admit I was moved. Silly epilogue, though.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
Oh, okay.
picked up franzen's freedom today. there was a sticker on the cover saying it's in oprah's book club. i laughed. guy can't win.
i broke my 'don't buy anymore physical media' pledge. but if it's as good as the corrections and as good as the hype has led me to believe i won't regret it.
Are you joking? He can't possibly win any more than that. That's the ultimate win. The critics have already read your work and praised it, and so lit buffs are already interested. Then you add Oprah's stamp of approval, which makes millions of housewives around the country buy your novel and you get rich as shit?
Yeah, poor Franzen. :lol:
Plus people get to write even more articles about how the last time she did that he dissed her.
Plus there was all that Obama buzz when he got a free copy.
Plus his face was on the cover of Time with the caption Great American Novelist.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
well, i was referring to how he complained when she selected the corrections. it's just funny to me that she would select his next book.
Ah, my apologies. I wasn't aware that he complained the last time she selected him. I thought you were saying that landing on Oprah's list was embarrassing. My fault.
Oprah has pretty good taste in books. Credit where it's due.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
"The Secret" disagrees with you.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
David Carr's Night of the Gun is a "reformed addict" narrative, and books in this non-fiction subgenre are a dime a dozen, as the author admits several times therein. But the spectre of James Frey looms over this work. After misremembering the titular incident involving a firearm, Carr wonders how any of these ex-junkie-turned-authors could so vividly recall pivotal moments in their lives when he was too drunk/high/stoned to do so himself. The resulting book is part autobiography/part biography, as Carr takes an additional role of reporter, interviewing key players in his past, so they can fill in those gaps and make the story of his life as truthful as possible.
Have begun reading China Miéville's "Kraken" and it is delightfully weird so far.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Same here. "Unfolds" is a scary word meanwhile (page 103) ...
Halfway through John Dos Passos's The 42nd Parallel, the first in his USA trilogy. So far it's nicely moved beyond the socialist proletarian revolution that the first 100 pages argues toward, and actually seems to suggest that women desire something more than early 20th century materialism, which was his earlier book Manhattan Transfer's biggest failure. With Newsreel and Camera Eye sections splitting up the narrative it's formally ambitious, so hopefully it'll end strong.
The Boat People - 9
The Power of the Dog - 7.5
The King of Pigs - 7
During my vacation, spare time + availability of the books conspired to get me to read The Hunger Games trilogy. It was neither as good as I had heard, nor as bad as I had feared. They are certainly very readable and overall pretty fun, although the second one was the weakest, narratively.
Collins has some definite strengths. She writes action scenes brilliantly, and that's not easy. Some of the sequences had me breathless. She also has a knack for characterization. The heroine was surprisingly complex and engaging for a YA book (which often have wish-fulfillment lead females.) The two main guys were boring, but under them were a parade of interesting and likeable minor characters.
The main problems with the books were in the pacing. Sometimes fifty pages would go by with almost nothing happening, and then when action did occur, it didn't really fit in with the flow of the book. She has trouble building and sustaining suspense, and every single one of the trilogy has a false ending, with a new and ill-thought-out subplot introduced in the last twenty pages. Who does that? Seriously?
I was also annoyed by the romantic aspects of the book. Collins understands action, violence, peril, and gore. When she tries to be romantic, though, the writing feels forced and awkward. There is zero chemistry between the heroine and the two men vying for her. The book completely grinds to a halt when exploring romance, with all other action ceasing and people talking and thinking about their feelings for pages and pages and PAGES. It is unspeakably dull.
On the bright side, the third book moves away from the romantic subplots and is whizz-bang fun.
Overall, probably worth a look. I finished each book in under four hours, so there's minimal commitment. The social commentary and politics are a little facile, but come on, it's a young adult novel. At least it tries.
...and the milk's in me.
"Kraken" continues to be a very addictive read. Miéville's prose are unlike anything I've ever read before.
It's becoming a tad convoluted, but I have a feeling he's going to tie everything together quite nicely.
This one is taking me a little longer to get through because last week and this week are insane at work. Last week I clocked 35 hours in just the first 3 1/2 days.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
I wish I had more time to read The Corrections because every time I pick it up I don't want to put it down. Will definitely be reading Freedom soon.
Some contemporary authors besides Franzen I've been reading good things about:
Jonathan Lethem
Gary Shtynegart
Sam Lipsyte
Comments welcome if you've read anything by them.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
I've only read a couple of Lethem books, and both were, admittedly, pretty good Philip K. Dick pastiches; he's a big Dick fan. I haven't read any of his more mainstream fiction, like Motherless Brooklyn. I want to read more, and I have a few more of his books on my shelf. I've heard great things, but I've yet to experience the greatness. Gun With Occasional Music was good, but I couldn't help shake the feeling that it was just a pastiche of other new wave SF. I get the sense that he's a SF author that mainstream fiction readers feel safe with, in that he won't blow their lit-cred or something. He's a good writer, though; better than Dick in terms of prose, but from what I've read he lacks in novel ideas.
Cool, thanks. I am late to the party as usual, I didn't realize he'd written so many already. Thought he was a relative newcomer.
Heard great things about Chronic City, that was the main reason I listed him. Didn't even realize he was considered sci-fi. I have no such thing as "lit-cred".
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
I cam late to the party, too. Just read him this year, although a few of his books have been on my shelf for some time.
I think he dabbles in SF (more speculative fiction, than sci-fi). He's probably an author who'd embrace the term "spec-fi." From what I've read, he reminds me of Dick and Ballard, but he's a better prose writer than Dick, and not as cold, experimental and clinical as Ballard. I, too, have heard great things about Chronic City. I want to read that and Motherless Brooklyn sometime soon.
i'm really fond of fortress of solitude. it's one of my favorite books of the last decade. motherless brooklyn and chronic city are also very good. you don't love me yet not so much.
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