Man, one of my favorite parts of Crooked Little Vein is when McGill talks to Falconer. Falconer had these little short stories in Warren Ellis' Livejournal, and they were all horrible.
Oh, good, it looks like this thread survived the culling of the megathreads. I'm not sure if that was intentional, but I should hope it was. I think there's a place for a thread like this. Individual books don't have giant bursts in popularity like movies do, so making a thread for each book you're reading wouldn't work too well.
Anyway, I'm currently reading The Cider House Rules by John Irving. It's the first Irving I've read, though I own a short story collection edited by him. I really like this book so far. Irving peppers the story with lots of little coincidences that help shape his characters, and it really seems to fit the style and setting (isolated, small-town orphanage--at least so far) of the book. It's an enjoyable read, not taxing without seeming like fluff, and a good bit lighter than Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, sections of which I'm reading along with Hamlet.
Bloom seems to actually worship Shakespeare--I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that. His argument is that Shakespeare created us, modern humans, through the "largeness" of his characters (to Bloom, this means Hamlet and Falstaff especially), and that Shakespeare is likely the greatest literary mind we'll ever see. It's an extreme position to take, and I haven't read nearly enough of Bloom's book to judge it for myself, but I guess that if there's any author for whom that argument could successfully be made, that author is Shakespeare.
Bloom's book is massive, and I almost certainly won't read all of it (I haven't even read most of the plays he discusses), but I'm enjoying reading his section on Hamlet as I read the play for the first time. His comments are a lot more insightful than what I get out of my high school English class.
i fucking hate henry james
reading his work is like trying to swim through a pool full of bricks
Kusuguttai on
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Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
edited February 2008
'Bogey will probably be happy about this.
Caine Black Knife finally has a release date on the 14th of October, from the authors blog it is sounding really, really good.
"So, essentially, I was (and still am) trying to figure out a way to write an entire novel without any Boring Crap -- you know, the linking narration and scene transitions, the background info-dumps, that kind of shit. Now I know some of you actually like the info-dump kind of stuff (I'm looking at you, Ilya!), but personally I can't stand it . . . and it's my story, after all. If I did it right, all pertinent questions will be answered, at least tangentially. I'm just trying to distill the story . . . if Heroes Die was a sixpack of strong beer, and Blade of Tyshalle was a magnum of amarone, then Caine Black Knife will be a gallon of barrel-proof bourbon.
I'm going to put Night Watch on hold when I go to the library after school today.
I keep meaning to, but I never feel like setting up a new PIN now that they switched systems.
I was also thinking about making a fake thread about Dance of Dragons coming out but I didn't feel like being a dick.
Guys, I know it is a hated topic but I want to read it anyway, except when I went to the bookstore they didn't have it and their internet search just kept coming up with some play.
I'm guessing I remembered the title wrong.
It was like, "House of Blue Leaves" or something and it was a horror novel.
Also I have been reading a lot of westerns lately for a script I'm writing and I stumbled across this excellent series. It's not really a western per se, more of a frontier story but goddamn, there are tons and tons of great characters and they all die in horrbile, tragic and hilarious ways, sometimes all three at once. Like someone will meet their end and it makes you feel sick but at the same time it's funny and at the same time it makes you want to cry.
Excellent dialogue as well, it's basically about a rich family (The Berrybenders) that decide to go no a massive hunting/painting/exploring trip in the New World on this giant mansion of a river boat. They have cooks, painters, Indian Chiefs, hunters, servants and a stable and damn near everything on this boat. Anyway the wild frontier absolutely has its way with them and I highly recommend it.
Also I looked up House of Blue Leaves to see what that was.
The House of Blue Leaves is a play by John Guare.
Set in Sunnyside, Queens in 1965, on the day Pope Paul VI visited New York City, the black comedy features nuns, a political bombing, a GI headed for Vietnam, a zookeeper who dreams of making it big in Hollywood as a songwriter, and his wife Bananas, a schizophrenic destined for the institution that provides the play's title.
pretty much the books i have read lately are as follows
harry potter series (shut up i like it)
Sherlock holmes series (the collection, sadly only 1st and 2nd)
kill your idols: tom waits (best short book i have ever read)
snow crash (almost done with it)
if you guys haven't read any of these i would suggest most of them
Don't know if she's been mentioned yet, but Robin Hobb is an amazing fantasist. One of the best working today.
I'm certain George R.R. Martin has been mentioned, because this is a books thread on a geeky forum, so let me just say this: As good as he is, Hobb is better.
Start with the Liveship Traders trilogy, ignoring the halfway-silly covers.
OremLK on
My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
edited February 2008
The Aquasilva trilogy by Anselm Audley is probably the best piece of modern fantasy I've ever read, outside of Neil Gaiman.
Also I looked up House of Blue Leaves to see what that was.
The House of Blue Leaves is a play by John Guare.
Set in Sunnyside, Queens in 1965, on the day Pope Paul VI visited New York City, the black comedy features nuns, a political bombing, a GI headed for Vietnam, a zookeeper who dreams of making it big in Hollywood as a songwriter, and his wife Bananas, a schizophrenic destined for the institution that provides the play's title.
Isn't the House of Blue Leaves also that restaurant in Kill Bill?
Posts
It's pretty good so far.
"I heard there was a day when Firemen put out fires."
I'm only about 100 pages in, but I've enjoyed it so far. It's not too math heavy but still seems to cover a wide breadth of topics.
I suppose I should man up and read The Codebreakers by David Kahn some day, but I'm afraid my brain may melt.
I have to read that damn book.
Anyway, I'm currently reading The Cider House Rules by John Irving. It's the first Irving I've read, though I own a short story collection edited by him. I really like this book so far. Irving peppers the story with lots of little coincidences that help shape his characters, and it really seems to fit the style and setting (isolated, small-town orphanage--at least so far) of the book. It's an enjoyable read, not taxing without seeming like fluff, and a good bit lighter than Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, sections of which I'm reading along with Hamlet.
Bloom seems to actually worship Shakespeare--I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that. His argument is that Shakespeare created us, modern humans, through the "largeness" of his characters (to Bloom, this means Hamlet and Falstaff especially), and that Shakespeare is likely the greatest literary mind we'll ever see. It's an extreme position to take, and I haven't read nearly enough of Bloom's book to judge it for myself, but I guess that if there's any author for whom that argument could successfully be made, that author is Shakespeare.
Bloom's book is massive, and I almost certainly won't read all of it (I haven't even read most of the plays he discusses), but I'm enjoying reading his section on Hamlet as I read the play for the first time. His comments are a lot more insightful than what I get out of my high school English class.
I'm currently reading Stalingrad. It's very good.
reading his work is like trying to swim through a pool full of bricks
Caine Black Knife finally has a release date on the 14th of October, from the authors blog it is sounding really, really good.
"So, essentially, I was (and still am) trying to figure out a way to write an entire novel without any Boring Crap -- you know, the linking narration and scene transitions, the background info-dumps, that kind of shit. Now I know some of you actually like the info-dump kind of stuff (I'm looking at you, Ilya!), but personally I can't stand it . . . and it's my story, after all. If I did it right, all pertinent questions will be answered, at least tangentially. I'm just trying to distill the story . . . if Heroes Die was a sixpack of strong beer, and Blade of Tyshalle was a magnum of amarone, then Caine Black Knife will be a gallon of barrel-proof bourbon.
harlan ellison
who the fuck doesn't want to party with señor clemens
I'm sure you're high on meth
getting killed with a cinderblock is somewhat better than doing meth
=/
Crime and Punishment is a fucking classic and I won't hear a bad word about it.
I keep meaning to, but I never feel like setting up a new PIN now that they switched systems.
I was also thinking about making a fake thread about Dance of Dragons coming out but I didn't feel like being a dick.
i'd stab you for that
That was rad. People shat.
I'm guessing I remembered the title wrong.
It was like, "House of Blue Leaves" or something and it was a horror novel.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Also I have been reading a lot of westerns lately for a script I'm writing and I stumbled across this excellent series. It's not really a western per se, more of a frontier story but goddamn, there are tons and tons of great characters and they all die in horrbile, tragic and hilarious ways, sometimes all three at once. Like someone will meet their end and it makes you feel sick but at the same time it's funny and at the same time it makes you want to cry.
Excellent dialogue as well, it's basically about a rich family (The Berrybenders) that decide to go no a massive hunting/painting/exploring trip in the New World on this giant mansion of a river boat. They have cooks, painters, Indian Chiefs, hunters, servants and a stable and damn near everything on this boat. Anyway the wild frontier absolutely has its way with them and I highly recommend it.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
ah that's it
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Also I looked up House of Blue Leaves to see what that was.
Steam
harry potter series (shut up i like it)
Sherlock holmes series (the collection, sadly only 1st and 2nd)
kill your idols: tom waits (best short book i have ever read)
snow crash (almost done with it)
if you guys haven't read any of these i would suggest most of them
That was my impression.
It's not?
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
I dunno, i've never read it.
Steam
Russian literature is...thick.
I'm certain George R.R. Martin has been mentioned, because this is a books thread on a geeky forum, so let me just say this: As good as he is, Hobb is better.
Start with the Liveship Traders trilogy, ignoring the halfway-silly covers.
Isn't the House of Blue Leaves also that restaurant in Kill Bill?