Books (and hopefully some discussion)
It looks like we have all the bases covered here (movies, music, and games) except for books, so I suppose it's about time that at least one thread is made devoted to it.
Three questions: (1) What was the last book you finished? (2) What are you reading now? (3) What's the next book you plan to read?
1. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's a book about a butler named Stevens and the life that spreads ahead and behind him. A very dry and austere book that has two main themes: The matter of servitude and the dangers of living in the past. Throughout the entire book, Stevens recollects moments and stories of his life that were key to his future actions, even as new events are constantly unfolding. His inability to deal with the present and to live only by hindsight has virtually ruined him as a human being ("The Remains of your Pitiful and Pathetic Existence" would be too obvious of a book title). I'm not sure if I like the book considering how Stevens painfully overanalyzes everything and how all Americans are portrayed as obnoxious yahoos (this was written by a British author). This is the first book I've read by Ishiguro so I can't judge too much I guess.
2. Pylon by William Faulkner. I'm only about 40 pages into it but it seems like an analysis of the Lost Generation, slightly similar to Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, though this one deals with the lower middle-class rather than the upper-crust. Better written than Great Gatsby too, of course.
3. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. I checked this out from the library a few months ago but the stream of consciousness and constantly shifting narrative threw me off. This time around, I bought a new edition with critical text so maybe that can give me some insight into the novel.
Note: In not responding to this thread, you'll be blacklisted as an illiterate fool!
Re: Books (and hopefully some discussion)
Quote:
(1) What was the last book you finished?
"Boogie up the river": I am a big fan of travel writing and this is some funny stuff from the late eighties about a man and his dog rowing up the river Thames to the source.
Quote:
(2) What are you reading now?
"Glamorama": Bret Easten Ellis' latest. I am only about 10 pages in (started it last night), but I really like his work. A lot.
Quote:
(3) What's the next book you plan to read?
Hmm, I have a whole stack of books waiting to be read. I guess "The Weekenders" or "Continental Drifter", two more travel books, although published a bit more recently this time.
Re: Books (and hopefully some discussion)
Quote:
(1) What was the last book you finished?
Choke by Chuck Palhunuik.
Quote:
(2) What are you reading now?
Choke by Chuck Palhunuik.
Quote:
(3) What's the next book you plan to read?
Not sure. I should get around to reading Catch-22, but I've heard great things about Survivor, too.
Re: Books (and hopefully some discussion)
Quote:
Originally posted by Sqoon
Three questions: (1) What was the last book you finished? (2) What are you reading now? (3) What's the next book you plan to read?
1) Spirit by Graham Masterton. This guy is one of the best horror writers I've ever read. He's got a fantastic way with words, and a totally !@$!&@$*%-ed up imagination.
2) The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of by Thomas Disch. It's a study of how science fiction has influenced reality - VERY interesting and insightful, plus it's highly readable.
3) Next? Damn, I've got such a stack of stuff. Maybe Neil Gaiman's new book, Coraline. It's his answer to Clive Barker's The Thief of Always - sort of a short novel written for kids, drawings by his old collaborator Dave McKean. I was very disappointed with American Gods, but this looks like Neil's back on track.
I also have Matheson's Hell House, a history of Fuzzy Logic, a history of fear, and Jeff Rovin's Fatalis (among others...I'll never catch up...but that's a good thing).