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[quote name='ninja dog']Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Amazing book so far. His attention to the tiny, yet important, details that make up a situation is
borderline OCD, but is incredibly insightful at the same time. Beyond that, it's kind of hard to describe. It's about addiction and expectations in modern times? It's told in little vignettes that follow with different characters, but keeps coming back to one particular kid who's an eccentric genius tennis player. I'm only on page 40 (of 1000...)[/quote]

I just read that DFW committed suicide a little while back. It's too bad...Infinite Jest is incredible stuff.
 
[quote name='smiggity']Reading one of the Dexter novels by Jeff Lindsay. Not really enjoying it too much though.[/quote]

I was really disappointed by those books, as well. The show is definitely better, I think.
 
[quote name='bmachine']I was really disappointed by those books, as well. The show is definitely better, I think.[/quote]

Yeah, it works really well as a TV Show. The stream of consciousness' throughout the book make it hard to follow I think.

Throw me a suggestion bmachine on something to pick up.
 
[quote name='smiggity']Throw me a suggestion bmachine on something to pick up.[/quote]

Wow...where to begin? ;)

I haven't really been blown away by a serial killer novel since Caleb Carr's The Alienist and it's sequel, The Angel of Darkness. If you like historical fiction (with nail-biting tension, unforgettable characters, and VERY intricately plotted mysteries), I'd definitely suggest reading those first.

I've also been reading a lot of modern-noir lately: Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt Casefiles (Already Dead, No Dominion, Half the Blood of Brooklyn, Every Last Drop) are especially good, infusing the gumshoe genre with a hidden-vampire-society mythology. More great characters, snappy dialogue with lots of dark humor, and some horrific gore. They succeed at merging two literary cliches in a way that seems fresh and exciting. Good stuff.
 
Currently reading Linda Hogan's "Power" for Feminist Lit, and LeGuin's "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas" for Gothic Lit.

Save for reading "Persepolis", I really bloody hate feminist lit. It's nothing but "Oh woe is me, see me struggle to be someone just barely passable as human in a man's world... oh fuck it, I'm not playing by world rules anymore." And every book is like that. It comes across as women can't write anything else, and Gothic Lit is showing we can, we can make it fuckING AWESOME (I'm afraid to go near yellow wallpaper now, it's that damn good), a lot of internet webcomics and graphic novels are showing we can and make it awesome, but all we're focusing on is oppression, and dying, and navel gazing, and psuedo lesbian true love experience because men suck and we can save ourselves. It's like the extremist opposite of a cheap Harlequin novel.

Meanwhile Gothic Lit is damn awesome. Well, except for Turn of the Screw. That was more sick than deliciously creepy. The Lottery, Fight Club, Puddn'head Wilson (even though I dislike Mark Twain), The Yellow Wallpaper, The Veldt, The Enormous Radio, The Haunting of Hill House? Keepers in my permanent collection.
 
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[quote name='bmachine']Wow...where to begin? ;)

I haven't really been blown away by a serial killer novel since Caleb Carr's The Alienist and it's sequel, The Angel of Darkness. If you like historical fiction (with nail-biting tension, unforgettable characters, and VERY intricately plotted mysteries), I'd definitely suggest reading those first.

I've also been reading a lot of modern-noir lately: Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt Casefiles (Already Dead, No Dominion, Half the Blood of Brooklyn, Every Last Drop) are especially good, infusing the gumshoe genre with a hidden-vampire-society mythology. More great characters, snappy dialogue with lots of dark humor, and some horrific gore. They succeed at merging two literary cliches in a way that seems fresh and exciting. Good stuff.[/quote]

I think I will check out The Alienist. Might start with another one of Charlie Hustons' works (assuming there are some) before starting a series. I like to get an idea of the authors writing style first. Thanks man.
 
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon,
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris (bio about Teddy Roosevelt's presidency), and Quicksilver (again) by Neal Stephenson.
 
I finally finished A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers after originally starting it over a year ago but only picking it back up about halfway through a couple months ago. I loved it but I never really had a chance to read it except before I went to bed.

I'm thinking about checking out Cosmos by Carl Sagan or A Case for a Creator next.
 
[quote name='mrchainsaw']I finally finished A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers after originally starting it over a year ago but only picking it back up about halfway through a couple months ago. I loved it but I never really had a chance to read it except before I went to bed. [/quote]

I loves me some Dave Eggers.

My greatest fear in life (besides President McCain, of course) is that A Heartbreaking Work... will be turned into some shitty, bloated Hollywood movie. Really, it keeps me up nights.

You should read Eggers' What is the What, if you haven't already. Good stuff.
 
Just picked up Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman. I lvoe it so far, if you're into comics it's a must read.
 
[quote name='bmachine']I just read that DFW committed suicide a little while back. It's too bad...Infinite Jest is incredible stuff.[/quote]


Indeed he did about a month ago. and unfortunately, thats how I heard about him and this book.

This book is really something else. Sometimes the detail drives me nuts, other times I realize I'm completely focused and engaged for like 2 hours straight. There are some cryptic aspects of it that I'm about ready to google...namely the section names like "Year of the Trial Size Dove Bar" or "Year of the Adult Depends Diapers" etc. Also, the structure is really bizarre. Hal's life is the only recurring setting, so it drives me nuts when a part I'm really into ends, but only because the part was such an awesome read that I want to know about the characters. I suppose that isn't the point of the book though.

reminds me of reading the Illuminatus Trilogy, but Infinite Jest is actually comprehensible and I feel like I'll get a lot out of it by the time its done. Of course, I've only read 70 pages and I already feel like I got my money's worth. Kinda daunting that there are 930 more to go. :lol:
 
[quote name='bmachine']I loves me some Dave Eggers.

My greatest fear in life (besides President McCain, of course) is that A Heartbreaking Work... will be turned into some shitty, bloated Hollywood movie. Really, it keeps me up nights.

You should read Eggers' What is the What, if you haven't already. Good stuff.[/quote]
I started You Shall Know Our Velocity! a while ago but I got bored with it. I will definitely be reading more by him though because I love the guy and what he does (826 Valencia).

[quote name='ninja dog']Indeed he did about a month ago. and unfortunately, thats how I heard about him and this book.

This book is really something else. Sometimes the detail drives me nuts, other times I realize I'm completely focused and engaged for like 2 hours straight. There are some cryptic aspects of it that I'm about ready to google...namely the section names like "Year of the Trial Size Dove Bar" or "Year of the Adult Depends Diapers" etc. Also, the structure is really bizarre. Hal's life is the only recurring setting, so it drives me nuts when a part I'm really into ends, but only because the part was such an awesome read that I want to know about the characters. I suppose that isn't the point of the book though.

reminds me of reading the Illuminatus Trilogy, but Infinite Jest is actually comprehensible and I feel like I'll get a lot out of it by the time its done. Of course, I've only read 70 pages and I already feel like I got my money's worth. Kinda daunting that there are 930 more to go. :lol:[/quote]
True story, my step dad played tennis with David Foster Wallace when they were kids (high school I think). He was like a nationally ranked player too I believe.

It's pretty cool because I live in the same town he grew up in (well the Champaign part of Champaign-Urbana) and go to the same college Dave Eggers went to. I walk by the English Building every day and think "Dave Eggers used to walk here". :D
 
I've been reading "More Letters From a Nut" off and on while waiting for classes, (didn't go into it with high expectations since my girlfriend thought it was worth reading). There might be 3 or 4 decent letters in the entire book, but nothing is laugh out loud funny. The majority of it isn't inwardly funny either. Very comparable to that new show "Testees."
 
[quote name='mrchainsaw']I started You Shall Know Our Velocity! a while ago but I got bored with it. I will definitely be reading more by him though because I love the guy and what he does (826 Valencia).


True story, my step dad played tennis with David Foster Wallace when they were kids (high school I think). He was like a nationally ranked player too I believe.

It's pretty cool because I live in the same town he grew up in (well the Champaign part of Champaign-Urbana) and go to the same college Dave Eggers went to. I walk by the English Building every day and think "Dave Eggers used to walk here". :D[/QUOTE]


Pretty cool. I forgot dfw was a tennis player.

I also got a bit bored of You Shall Know Our Velocity and it has been one of my "stare at and vow to finish one day" books. It wasn't bad, but I started it after Heart Breaking Work, so I think I may have been a little burnt out on Eggers.

That was years ago...he has probably written several other books since then. I need to get back into these modern Western writers...I've been on a Haruki Murakami kick for like the past year or so. :lol:
 
Currently reading..."I picked up "The Gunslinger" by Stephen King the other day".....by some dude named Soujiro SATA....I think he's named after the Hard Drive technology.

Probably a millionaire with nothing better to do than write stuff.
 
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski and Why Business People Speak Like Idiots by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway and Jon Warshawsky.

If you're playing The Witcher, then I'd recommend reading The Last Wish too. I'm not sure if it's because of the translation, but the book translates into a video game beautifully.
 
Just finished I am Legend on audible. The book had a much more interesting outcome, I’m really surprised the movie deviated so far from it.

Also finished The Trillion Dollar Meltdown on audible. It gave a great perspective on how we arrived at our current financial situation.

Now listening to Confessions of an Economic Hitman. I expected an interesting story of the author’s personal life and its overall impact on globalization which would subtly lead the reader to the author’s conclusions. Unfortunately the author is exceedingly vague on his specific role, using just generalizations of his work intermixed with random meetings, and referencing many other published works. He spends too much time reiterating his personal world view, repeating the same points over and over. I don’t think the story he tells warrants these conclusions, it feels like there is a huge chunk of his personal story missing.

Now reading Atlas Shrugged.
 
John Milton: Paradise Lost
Mary Oliver: Dream Work
Chrisopher Rice: The Snow Garden
Phillip Pullman: His Dark Materials
 
Flatland...that's a good one. I've read that a few times.

I'm reading a bunch of Christopher Moore novels....they're light comedic supernatural fantasy with a bit of romance to them. On the last chapter of Practical Demonkeeping.
The ones I've read so far are based on the same world, so characters appear and are referenced in multiple books, though it's not a "series" in that you really need to read them in order.
 
Just finished "Samedi The Deafness" by Jesse Ball (i really enjoyed it)

currently reading "The Fountain" by Darren Aronofsky (graphic novel)
 
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Mistborn was excellent, and this one is too. :)

The final book in the trilogy, Hero of Ages just came out, so I gotta finish this book up!
 
[quote name='dtcarson']I'm reading a bunch of Christopher Moore novels....they're light comedic supernatural fantasy with a bit of romance to them. On the last chapter of Practical Demonkeeping.
[/quote]

Christopher Moore is a funny, funny man. Lamb and Bloodsucking Fiends are my faves.
 
[quote name='ninja dog']Indeed he did about a month ago. and unfortunately, thats how I heard about him and this book.

This book is really something else. Sometimes the detail drives me nuts, other times I realize I'm completely focused and engaged for like 2 hours straight. There are some cryptic aspects of it that I'm about ready to google...namely the section names like "Year of the Trial Size Dove Bar" or "Year of the Adult Depends Diapers" etc. Also, the structure is really bizarre. Hal's life is the only recurring setting, so it drives me nuts when a part I'm really into ends, but only because the part was such an awesome read that I want to know about the characters. I suppose that isn't the point of the book though.

reminds me of reading the Illuminatus Trilogy, but Infinite Jest is actually comprehensible and I feel like I'll get a lot out of it by the time its done. Of course, I've only read 70 pages and I already feel like I got my money's worth. Kinda daunting that there are 930 more to go. :lol:[/quote]

Just got the new Rolling Stone in the mail (with Barack Obama on the cover) and there's a very cool article on "the last days of David Foster Wallace".

You should check it out.
 
Im reading the entire death/return of superman epic..... and indeed it is epic.....but also long and drawn out..... alot of extra crap in there I dont need.....
 
Just finished Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis Taylor. It was a great book with some laugh out loud funny moments and is one of the first science fictions books i've read in a where actual science played a strong role.
 
[quote name='Maklershed']Doctor Faustus is post 666? Coincidence?[/quote]


The end is near. :shock:

Today, I bought China Mieville's Perdido Street Station. I really look forward to reading it.



"Yes, but what is Perdido Street Station about? To oversimplify: the eccentric scientist Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin is hired to restore the power of flight to a cruelly de-winged birdman."

[Amazon]

If I dig the voice and style, I'll pick up Mieville's Iron Council. :bouncy:
 
[quote name='Short Round']I finally hopped on the World War Z bandwagon. It was entertaining, but it definitely does not deserve the universal CAG circle-jerk that this thread portrays.[/QUOTE]

Just started reading this today. Hopefully I disagree with you.
 
[quote name='Maklershed']Don't worry, you'll disagree. World War Z is awesome. If you like the zombie genre in the slightest bit, you'll love it.[/quote]


Oh shit, I didn't know that this book even existed! I read The Zombie Survival Guide many years ago and thought it was entertaining, so I'm definitely going to have to pick up World War Z soon!
 
[quote name='Maklershed']Don't worry, you'll disagree. World War Z is awesome. If you like the zombie genre in the slightest bit, you'll love it.[/quote]


I absolutely concur. I found it a very enjoyable read.
 
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