McBackup Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 (edited) Crime and Punishment. I'm trying to work my way through everything that's considered to be a "classic". So far I enjoy it, but it does suffer from the same sense of awkwardness every novel that has been translated from its original language. Edited January 8, 2016 by Bitter Melon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 6 hours ago, GLASSJAW said: i actually wasn't super big on Frankenstein OR Dracula as books (as movies or "ideas" i sure like them). just found them a bit too dry or something. i couldn't disassociate my preconceptions with what i was reading, maybe. but again, i really liked the idea of them. the setting and tone - so maybe i should check this out Think you'd probably like it. Depending on what you thought of the movie. I'm not the biggest Nolan fan but the movie succeeds mostly based on the quality of the story imo. I'm comparing it to Frankenstein mostly on the idea/myth behind it. I've never actually read Frankenstein proper, just a french translation of it in high school. But it has that same fusion of Victorian creepiness and weird science. Dracula I have read and the comparison is more in the story structure, since it's told largely through diary entries so it has the whole he said / he said unreliable narrator, Rashomon thing going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 The Red: First Light - Linda Nagata It's a sc-fi military novel. I'm not very far in it, but it's decent so far. The one thing I really don't like about it though, is that it doesn't have chapters...The book is split into three episodes, and that's it. I like reading a chapter or two a night before bed, so this kinda messes that up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 On 2015-12-28 at 8:51 PM, GLASSJAW said: i started reading Please Kill Me yesterday, the "oral history of punk" which is essentially just 400 pages of interviews and quotes about a lot of proto-punk musicians/cultural figures from the 60s and 70s. the book is alright, very gossip-y. very little substance to the thing. i'm already 180 pages in, and i've only been reading it for a day. i'm a very slow reader, so that should hint at the complexity and depth of the book. finished this after putting it down for almost 2 weeks. i take it back, it's a great read. some chapters will be more interesting than others for some people familiar with the era, but ultimately it's really fascinating. gonna try to get in a couple of more 'fun' reads before i get into my 'serious' stuff for the year. the only two things i really, really want to read are Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest, which have been on my list for as long as I can remember, but I just always avoid them. this will be the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLuciano Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Thomas Snowsuit by Robert Munsch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svengali Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 ^^ Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest ... "this will take all year". My most recent 'fun' one is Kitchen Confidential by creepy uncle Anthony Skeezbag Bourdain. It's pretty funny. Classic tales o' disgusting kitchen hellishness. (my copy is actually an "omnibus edition" of Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour, and since I seem to have a massive problem when it comes to making choices I now have a book with two goddamn bookmarks in it at the same time ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Possibly the most depressing read ever. Very good. 'I Aimed For The Public's Heart, And. . . Hit It In The Stomach' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svengali Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 The unabridged edition of The Count of Monte Cristo is my nemesis. The face that is on the spine of it is staring at me reproachfully from a table right now. It's 75,000 pages of tiny text, I eventually got to 250 pages then set it down to take a break from it. 2 years ago ... I take a swiffer duster thing to the top of it now and then and sometimes I'll move it to a different location, but I haven't been reading it. I'll finish one book then read a chapter or two from many others until one really grabs me. Meanwhile the Count stares and stares ... Wondering if I should watch the movie and see if it inspires me to pick it back up, or would that convince me that there is no need to read it? The ending is obvious but it would ruin the middle for me. I've never had a book sit around like this before. Certainly not for two years ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond NHL Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Cabin Fever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) 12 hours ago, Svengali said: The unabridged edition of The Count of Monte Cristo is my nemesis. The face that is on the spine of it is staring at me reproachfully from a table right now. It's 75,000 pages of tiny text, I eventually got to 250 pages then set it down to take a break from it. 2 years ago ... I take a swiffer duster thing to the top of it now and then and sometimes I'll move it to a different location, but I haven't been reading it. I'll finish one book then read a chapter or two from many others until one really grabs me. Meanwhile the Count stares and stares ... Wondering if I should watch the movie and see if it inspires me to pick it back up, or would that convince me that there is no need to read it? The ending is obvious but it would ruin the middle for me. I've never had a book sit around like this before. Certainly not for two years ... very few people take me up on this suggestion, but i will always extend it if you are struggling through a book but you want to keep reading it or whatever, i suggest reading it ALONG WITH an audiobook. the two major pros for this, imo, are one: some of the readings are amazing and great experiences in their own right. jeremy irons reading Lolita is wonderful. the dude who reads a version of Ulysses i heard long ago would change his voice a bit between proper bits of dialgoue and the conscious/inner workings, so the book was way easier to follow. if the reader sucks, then there's no point in listening tho and two: you will lose focus way less (my attn span sucks, so this is important for me) the third semi-pro, semi-con, is that the pace will be a bit slower, since some audiobooks are kinda theatrical. but at the same time, i think this gives you more time to think about what you're reading. but since it's already taken you 15 swiffer pads to get 250 pages in, i guess time is a luxury you have Edited February 8, 2016 by GLASSJAW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwags Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones. Haven't seen the TV series, so I wanted to start on the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svengali Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 12 hours ago, GLASSJAW said: very few people take me up on this suggestion, but i will always extend it if you are struggling through a book but you want to keep reading it or whatever, i suggest reading it ALONG WITH an audiobook. the two major pros for this, imo, are one: some of the readings are amazing and great experiences in their own right. jeremy irons reading Lolita is wonderful. the dude who reads a version of Ulysses i heard long ago would change his voice a bit between proper bits of dialgoue and the conscious/inner workings, so the book was way easier to follow. if the reader sucks, then there's no point in listening tho and two: you will lose focus way less (my attn span sucks, so this is important for me) the third semi-pro, semi-con, is that the pace will be a bit slower, since some audiobooks are kinda theatrical. but at the same time, i think this gives you more time to think about what you're reading. but since it's already taken you 15 swiffer pads to get 250 pages in, i guess time is a luxury you have Fantastico. Did not consider audiobook versions until you just yelled the words "along with" at me. It would definitely reignite my interest in the book. Also for Ulysses like you said, good lord ... And there are others, like Naked Lunch that I'm afraid to even start because that asshole typewriter in the movie version scarred me for life. Maybe some creep reading it out loud to me would be hilarious. For two and three: have no problem with attention span and I read slowly anyway. And yeah, time is a luxury I have thanks to insomnia. It's books, movies, music, workouts, chopping up bodies, all through the night. I spend hours and hours in used bookstores which never have audiobooks so it didn't cross my mind; thanks for that, especially the "along with". I've typed this last part because you've already forgotten the two paragraphs above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 the ALONG WITH part is essential because i am not gonna condone listening to an audiobook INSTEAD OF reading, because the experience is way diff and not as substantial. reading along with it is like a double whammy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svengali Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Currently reading The Long War, book 2 of 5 in The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. Set in the near future, it's the story of mankind's discovery of alternate earths and how to travel between them. Some of you might recognize the late, great Pratchett from his many Discworld novels. Edited February 9, 2016 by RUPERTKBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) The new issue of Playboy that's full of exciting articles. You know, the articles, which are the reason men "read" the magazine in the first place... Edited February 10, 2016 by Grapefruits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1970 and beyond Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 The girl in the box series by Robert J. Crane. I think it is a 7 book series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Pete Townshend's Who I Am, would recommend it to anyone interested in music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Barzal Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 East of Eden... I'm in love with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 if anyone is interested in reading Infinite Jest, there's a summer reading club being hosted on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/infinitesummer it includes discussion, weekly reading goals, etc. I think it's about 75 pages a week. First week starts today. I'm still not entirely sure if I'll join because I'm in the middle of another book I don't want to put down and it requires far too much effort (Ulysses). But I sorta wanna do this too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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