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Pynchon - V

I don't know if it's possible to care about everything that happens in a Pynchon novel, but this was as close as I've come to enjoying an entire book of his. The writing's extraordinary. I've never read anyone else who seems so capable of being able to write about literally anything and end up with something bordering on brilliance. I much preferred the parts of the book that dealt with Profane and the Crew; the V/Stencil half of the book was deep and thorough, but it was a lot to get through, which is probably a redundant thing to say when you're talking about Pynchon. 8/10

Philip Roth - Portnoy's Complaint

Really funny, somewhat enlightening ramble by a tortured 33-year old sex-mad New Jersey Jew. I love Roth -- he's probably my favorite author -- but I think he's better when he's laying waste to his characters' lives, not when he's making them jerk off using raw liver. 7.5

I gave up on V.
Just not in the mood I guess.

I can't find one thing on Audible that I want to read. I've been meaning to cancel my account for months.

neckbeard wrote:I gave up on V.
Just not in the mood I guess.

It's not too late.

Mrs. Dalloway - 10/10 - a quite emotionally charged little slice of life. Perfect. Virginia Woolf delivers the goods.

Coelacanth wrote:I started reading one of the John Steinbeck collections that I picked up from Library of America -The Grapes of Wrath & Other Writings 1936-1941. Just finished the first book in the collection "The Long Valley" which is a great collection of his short stories. I wasn't sure what to expect from his short stories because I've only read Of Mice and Men. Very depressing. I was floored by The Harness, The White Quail, The Vigilante, The Snake, The Red Pony and especially St. Katy the Virgin. Everyone should read St. Katy the Virgin. It's a religious satire piece that's brilliant, pretty much on the level of something Mark Twain would write. The Snake was great, for me it had this horror/sci-fi feel to it. My mind kept anticipating this lady morphing into some serpent creature and devouring this man alive. The Snake and Johnny Bear were the two really bizarre stories in the collection, which broke up the misery a bit. 8.5


I think I'm going to take a break and finish that Lovecraft collection I started a while back before I start on "The Grapes of Wrath".

Steinbeck is pretty consistently awesome. I particularly love 'East of Eden' and 'the Wayward Bus'. I never read his short stories, but I think I will now, thanks.

Binding the Strong Man
A Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus
Ched Myers
10

I'm so glad this exists.

I need to gather my thoughts...

Honky Kong 64 wrote:

neckbeard wrote:I gave up on V.
Just not in the mood I guess.

It's not too late.

I'm about 1/4 through with Gravity's Rainbow and I have no idea when I"m going to finish it.

There IS a good time to quit a book for sure. I can't find that lately. Page 2000ish of Proust now. The mechanics of memory and social interaction are interesting of course. How reality is formed is what's interesting still in the Search - I must admit the subject matter is a complete bore at this point. French high society being mocked is of little interest in and of itself.

Like Benjamin said - Proust might have the best pointing finger as his understanding of personal development is amazing - but he's not the clarivoyant that Walser was, not the social chess player that Bely was, not the cynic that Sologub was, the birthing of his prose is no more rich than Krasznahorkai (who will rise to ranks of the best writers ever over the next few decades at least) and despite some thing I'm possibly failing to see - no where near the comic genius that Rabelais or Cervantes were. he doesn't dream as well as Schulz either.

The Search is not the longest book - or the best book ever but it ranks along side Farrell's Studs Lonigain as one of the most arresting sets of character sketches I know. Proust's work is an exhaustive tour through his own education - complete with over 300 characters, at least 50 different painters, I think, discussed in details and I'm guessing 20 or so composers at least so far. It's an amazing diary - but the books I've loved most are so pleasurable to read. This is possible reflective of my desire to finish the book instead of pour over each word like with Cervantes or Rabelais. Until I finish the Search and possibly reread it - the single most distinguishing characteristic of the book is its length of sentences, and in total. That's a gross over simplification comming from a reader with a long attention span - but a certain love for the short stories of: Chekhov, Bulghakov, Walser, Schulz, Pope, Lardner, Salinger, Shalamov, Farrell, Ghelderode, Turgenev, Grin, Zoschenko, Olesha, Kharms, Jarry etc etc..

hooked on sonics wrote: Steinbeck is pretty consistently awesome. I particularly love 'East of Eden' and 'the Wayward Bus'. I never read his short stories, but I think I will now, thanks.

It really is a great collection. It probably deserved a higher rating, but "The Raid" and "Breakfast" weren't that good. They seemed like they were in there just to beef up the book a bit. Everything else was great. Everyone is trapped in these stories in some way, socially(usually the women), by a relationship/obligation, mental disorder(schizophrenia/schizophreniaesque disorder/episode) etc. They all seem to spiral down in some way. If you like Steinbeck already, you will not be disappointed.

hooked on sonics wrote:

Coelacanth wrote:I started reading one of the John Steinbeck collections that I picked up from Library of America -The Grapes of Wrath & Other Writings 1936-1941. Just finished the first book in the collection "The Long Valley" which is a great collection of his short stories. I wasn't sure what to expect from his short stories because I've only read Of Mice and Men. Very depressing. I was floored by The Harness, The White Quail, The Vigilante, The Snake, The Red Pony and especially St. Katy the Virgin. Everyone should read St. Katy the Virgin. It's a religious satire piece that's brilliant, pretty much on the level of something Mark Twain would write. The Snake was great, for me it had this horror/sci-fi feel to it. My mind kept anticipating this lady morphing into some serpent creature and devouring this man alive. The Snake and Johnny Bear were the two really bizarre stories in the collection, which broke up the misery a bit. 8.5


I think I'm going to take a break and finish that Lovecraft collection I started a while back before I start on "The Grapes of Wrath".

Steinbeck is pretty consistently awesome. I particularly love 'East of Eden' and 'the Wayward Bus'. I never read his short stories, but I think I will now, thanks.

I like Steinbeck a lot too. He has an awesome short story collection called "The Pastures of Heaven" that I like a lot. There's at least one very good horror story in it and the whole book is filled with a weird kind of desperation. I should read that again. Anyways, check it out if you're hungry from more Steinbeck.

I just started The Idiot by Dostoevsky. The Brothers K is one of my favorite books ever, if not my all-time favorite, so having the chance to get into more of Dostoevsky's work is exciting enough. I was just thrilled to be reading something less dry than Kempis. Yeesh.

My first girlfriend was from Salinas. She grew up hearing about nothing but Steinbeck, Steinbeck, blah blah. She hated him. I liked The Grapes of Wrath + East of Eden...I remember liking In Dubious Battle. The only thing interesting about him now, to me, is how relevant again his books might become. Also how difficult it would be for a writer doing this kind of stuff to be published today...people who like Steinbeck might move into more hardcore naturalism pretty easily...the better parts of Crane, Frank Norris, Dreiser, Zola's "Germinal", etc.

caldwell.the.great wrote: I just started The Idiot by Dostoevsky.

Ah, great...the women in that book, sheesh...

Make sure you read The Possessed too, if you get the chance.

Mr. Budd wrote:Proust's work is an exhaustive tour through his own education - complete with over 300 characters, at least 50 different painters, I think, discussed in details and I'm guessing 20 or so composers at least so far.

BTW, I saw in the bookstore the other day that ML has a newer edition of Flaubert's "Temptation of St. Anthony" out, with an introduction by Foucault, of all people. I didn't read it, but knowing him he probably analyzed it to death. That work was problematic for a number of French thinkers...I think Proust despised it. Ha! They were very different personalities, of course, and had totally different approaches to writing, but their lives were often quite similar. Both were virtual shut-ins...Flaubert's exoticism/orientation towards the East probably scared Proust to death...

Bored001 wrote:

Mr. Budd wrote:Proust's work is an exhaustive tour through his own education - complete with over 300 characters, at least 50 different painters, I think, discussed in details and I'm guessing 20 or so composers at least so far.

BTW, I saw in the bookstore the other day that ML has a newer edition of Flaubert's "Temptation of St. Anthony" out, with an introduction by Foucault, of all people. I didn't read it, but knowing him he probably analyzed it to death. That work was problematic for a number of French thinkers...I think Proust despised it. Ha! They were very different personalities, of course, and had totally different approaches to writing, but their lives were often quite similar. Both were virtual shut-ins...Flaubert's exoticism/orientation towards the East probably scared Proust to death...

Got it two days ago. No chance to read it yet - buried in books currently.

Mr. Budd wrote:

Bored001 wrote:

Mr. Budd wrote:Proust's work is an exhaustive tour through his own education - complete with over 300 characters, at least 50 different painters, I think, discussed in details and I'm guessing 20 or so composers at least so far.

BTW, I saw in the bookstore the other day that ML has a newer edition of Flaubert's "Temptation of St. Anthony" out, with an introduction by Foucault, of all people. I didn't read it, but knowing him he probably analyzed it to death. That work was problematic for a number of French thinkers...I think Proust despised it. Ha! They were very different personalities, of course, and had totally different approaches to writing, but their lives were often quite similar. Both were virtual shut-ins...Flaubert's exoticism/orientation towards the East probably scared Proust to death...

Got it two days ago. No chance to read it yet - buried in books currently.

Yeah.

It's worth it if you go full Huysmans with it and sleep in a tent in your backyard while you read it, maybe go without sleep, howl at the moon...

Bored001 wrote:

Mr. Budd wrote:

Bored001 wrote:

Mr. Budd wrote:Proust's work is an exhaustive tour through his own education - complete with over 300 characters, at least 50 different painters, I think, discussed in details and I'm guessing 20 or so composers at least so far.

BTW, I saw in the bookstore the other day that ML has a newer edition of Flaubert's "Temptation of St. Anthony" out, with an introduction by Foucault, of all people. I didn't read it, but knowing him he probably analyzed it to death. That work was problematic for a number of French thinkers...I think Proust despised it. Ha! They were very different personalities, of course, and had totally different approaches to writing, but their lives were often quite similar. Both were virtual shut-ins...Flaubert's exoticism/orientation towards the East probably scared Proust to death...

Got it two days ago. No chance to read it yet - buried in books currently.

Yeah.

It's worth it if you go full Huysmans with it and sleep in a tent in your backyard while you read it, maybe go without sleep, howl at the moon...

Good suggestion, ‘Longtemps, je me suis couché de bonne heure.’ Along side a volume of Ensor prints - I'm delighted.

I have a massive load (of reading) ahead of me. And...AND next year - Satantango comes out in English - and EVERYTHING stops then.

Melancholy of Resistance - read it.

Burroughs - Queer - 9

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0975290622/ctoc

Sinister Forces - The Nine: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft

The roots of coincidence and conspiracy in American politics, crime, and culture are examined in this book, exposing new connections between religion, political conspiracy, and occultism. Readers are taken from ancient American civilization and the mysterious mound builder culture to the Salem witch trials, the birth of Mormonism during a ritual of ceremonial magic by Joseph Smith, Jr., and Operations Paperclip and Bluebird. Not a work of speculative history, this exposé is founded on primary source material and historical documents. Fascinating details are revealed, including the bizarre world of "wandering bishops" who appear throughout the Kennedy assassinations; a CIA mind control program run amok in the United States and Canada; a famous American spiritual leader who had ties to Lee Harvey Oswald in the weeks and months leading up to the assassination of President Kennedy; and the "Manson secret."

reading The Idiot. Moving slowly. Enjoying it very much. I like Dostoevsky's psychological depictions; the way Natasya Filipovna is portrayed is absolutely brutal. All youthful force and stormy egotism. Awesome.

also reading The Rest is Noise. Alex Ross makes the topic as compulsively page-turning as a mystery novel... or a Lovecraft piece. His early references to Thomas Mann are endearing me to the guy. Anybody read him? Hate him? Love him?

read death in venice by Mann and thoroughly enjoyed it
i guess the magic mountain and buddenbrooks are supposed to be some of the best books ever but they're, you know, really long

first love last rites - ian mcewan - 6/10
2 of the stories were really good, 2 sucked, the rest were okay
having a 10-year-old girl getting raped by her brother and getting bored by it was a nice touch but that story was one of the shitty ones

Volume Two of Proust complete. At about 2300 pages now. I still do not give a patootie about French bumfuckery.

He's best when he writes like Nerval but like someone said on a cover of a volume of Schulz - Schulz reached greater depths. This is very true. What would you give to have a few more Buddy Holly records? What would it be worth to discover lost Schulz. If only he was as prolific or resiliant as Proust.

I am ammasing a great reading list for my post-Proust efforts. Each one is a reaction to my time spent with Proust and as such, this elevates Proust to higher levels than just academic heavy lifting. Each word of Proust makes me love my lprevious literary heroes much more, supplanting none of them. (Cervantes, Krasznahorkai, Rabelais, Schulz, Walser, Jarry)

unpleasant profession of jonathan hoag - 6
fun story dumb ending

caldwell.the.great wrote:reading The Idiot. Moving slowly. Enjoying it very much. I like Dostoevsky's psychological depictions; the way Natasya Filipovna is portrayed is absolutely brutal. All youthful force and stormy egotism. Awesome.

I read an awesome essay on dosteovsky by David Foster Wallace. It's in one of his collections. He explains how much writing has evolved and how nobody could possibly do what dosteovsky does because melodrama was once acceptable and now is not after the self consciousness of postmodernism.