Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 65 posts ] 

Board index : Music Talk : Rock/Pop

Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
Author Message
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:16 pm 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 1:48 am
Posts: 7332
Location: Cloud 3.14159
Catch-22, Animal Farm, and 1984 should be on everyone's required reading list.

You can't be snarky without knowing what you're stealing from.

_________________
I remain,
:-Peter, aka :-Dusty :-(halk


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: how many of you have read these books?
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:42 pm 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 6:11 pm
Posts: 8881
Location: *3
Patrick Bateman Wrote:
so this is my list of books i have to read, whos read them and are there any clunkers i should avoid at all costs?

1984
Slaughterhouse-Five
Catch 22
The Grapes of Wrath
Fahrenheit 451
The Catcher in the Rye [started it mid-last year]
Stranger in a Strange Land
A Tale of Two Cities


grapes was a bit slow. i thoroughly-enjoyed all the rest.

_________________
@--


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:31 pm 
Offline
"Weddings, Parties, Anything…"
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 5:01 pm
Posts: 843
Location: Houston, TX
shmoo Wrote:
I counted 22 I've read on there. They're all worth it. My least favorite were probably Notes From The Underground and Slaughterhouse Five.


Blasphemer.


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:35 pm 
Offline
"Weddings, Parties, Anything…"
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 5:01 pm
Posts: 843
Location: Houston, TX
Aimarr Wrote:
and add brothers karamazov on there. best book ever. period.



Seconded. You should also read Crime and Punishment, which is probably the second best book ever.


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:56 pm 
Offline
Forever moderating your hearts
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:40 pm
Posts: 6906
Location: Auckland, NZ
fuse Wrote:
Good lord, read Cuckoo's Nest as soon as possible. Amazing book that has been overshadowed by a great movie and locked into Jack Nicholson's image. That book has it all...


would have been cool if they shot the movie from the chief's perspective like the book was written


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 7:11 pm 
Offline
Hipster Backlash
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:19 pm
Posts: 2993
Location: Nashville
Lunar Park - better than most BEE and the Tristram Shandy-esque framing is fun, but for the most part, it's the same characters (literally in parts! ) and I just feel like my time is better spent with less BEE in my life
The Informers - yes, but a while ago
On The Road - long while ago
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas - must read
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - ehh, skimmed through it
Naked Lunch - not my thing
1984 - loved it
Animal Farm - a bit obvious in parts, but still a must-read
Slaughterhouse-Five - a favorite
Catch 22 - thought it was simply much too long, but if you get wrapped up in the world he creates, you can't put it down
The Metamorphosis - delightful, which is an odd choice of words, but I think this is perhaps the most linear and emotionally expressive (and clear) Kafka
The Grapes of Wrath - was once a favorite...not so sure I'd like it as much right now
Brave New World - did a whole research paper on this
Fahrenheit 451 - same research paper
Notes from the Underground - never finished...mostly started it as a companion to Crime & Punishment, which is an all-time favorite
A Confederacy of Dunces - absolutely cannot stand this
Girlfriend in a Coma - I love Coupland, but let's face it...Gen X is really all ye need (plus his blog/diaries)
The Catcher in the Rye - sure
High Fidelity - oddly enough, never read this
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - the format tends to obscure the story a bit, but worth reading
Me Talk Pretty One Day - yeah...I mean, if you like Sedaris, this is the shit. I tend to tolerate him.
To Kill a Mockingbird - must read and of course, must see
The Stranger - must read
Mein Kampf - read excerpts for various classes...certainly helps to somewhat understand the "thinking" that went into Hitler's aims, but reading the whole thing?
A Million Little Pieces - ha, seriously?
Beyond Good and Evil - I'd say this is a must-read, but it's not, you know, light reading
Being and Nothingness - a few parts
Lolita - yeah...I was led to believe this was the greatest thing ever, but I dunno...
The Sun Also Rises - yes. Hell yes.
Less Than Zero - yes
The Rules of Attraction - yes
American Psycho - must read
Glamorama - first half is a trip and then woah, the dropoff
A Tale of Two Cities - must read


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject: Re: how many of you have read these books?
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:20 pm 
Offline
The Great American Songbook
User avatar

Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:45 pm
Posts: 4690
Location: Lost Angeles
Patrick Bateman Wrote:
so this is my list of books i have to read, whos read them and are there any clunkers i should avoid at all costs?


Lunar Park - trying to track this one down still
The Informers - my fave B.E. Ellis, probably - a series of short stories that alternately make/don't make much sense...
Private Parts - I remember thinking it was pretty good; Then again, I read it in high school, and have never been a HUGE HStern fan...
On The Road - Definite Qual
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas - Def. Qual
Naked Lunch - OK, if you're up for readin' it...
1984, Animal Farm - Someone didn't go to a public Jr. High School. I'd reccommend "Down and Out in Paris and London" instead...
Slaughterhouse-Five - Qual
A Clockwork Orange - took me a while to read - invents it's own language, but not as much as "Finnegan's Wake" does... could be worth a read

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Probably one of my favorite books ever...

Catch 22 - 's ok
The Metamorphosis - good to read (for writing's sake), bad to read (for reading's sake)
The Grapes of Wrath - It's alright - backto the public school question though...
Brave New World - Purty good
Fahrenheit 451 - Good stuff
Notes from the Underground - OK... just gave a copy of this away to a friend
Fight Club Veryvery good - however, if you've seen the movie or are expecting something like it, I'd def. go for another one of Palahniuk's books - prob. Survivor to start.
A Confederacy of Dunces - it's ok, but had to start/stop reading it 4 times before I made it through...
Jennifer Government - overrated
The Motorcycle Diaries - ditto
Requiem for a Dream - I'd go for "Waiting Room" or "last exit" by Selby instead...
The Catcher in the Rye - Good to buy - probably stands up to casual re-reads better than almost any other novel...
Perv: A Love Story - I'd go for perm. midnight first, or even "I, Fatty"
High Fidelity - Good book
Killing Yourself to Live - Highly overrated, and surprisingly boring. Go with "Sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs" instead
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Great start...
You Shall Know Our Velocity - Dissapointing follow-up...
Me Talk Pretty One Day - P'shaw...
To Kill a Mockingbird - classic novel, worth a plow-through
The Stranger - great
Mein Kampf - um, sure...
A Million Little Pieces - why not just go with "mein kampf"?
Running With Scissors - decent story, clunky writing - the Burroughs mark of genius...
Beyond Good and Evil - worth a plow
Lolita - see above (but not in that way, sicko)...
The Sun Also Rises - decent, though I prefer Papa's short stories by far...
Last Exit to Brooklyn - see "Requiem"

....and, I'm quitting looking at this list now. Do you really read that much that this is a functional list for you? Seriously...

My advice:
1) Pick one book by an author on here (Ellis, Selby, Palahniuk, Kesey, Eggers, Burroughs, Sedaris, et al) - if you're not sure which one to read, pick one at random or ask for advice on a particular author

2) Read that book

3) If you like it, read another one of the author's books. If not, set that author down and back away from their novels.

Laundry lists for books are like Netflix Quere's - You'll end up making a massive list of things, once you get so far into it, you have little intention of ever paying any attention to.


_________________
"the pictures of your kitty just made my heart burst into little rainbows of bubblegum and bunnies" - Katie, a princess

Image


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:52 pm 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 8:37 pm
Posts: 8889
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska USA
Decent to good books
On the Road
Fear&Loathing
Naked Lunch
Animal Farm
Catcher in the Rye
Fight Club

Good books, i.e. easy reads and/or worth the time
Slaughter House Five
A Clockwork Orange
Catch 22
Fahrenheit 451
To Kill a Mockingbird
Mein Kampf, although it is a shitty read and poorly written
The Stranger

Bad books or extremely overrated in my opinion
1984


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 11:40 pm 
Offline
Winona Ryder wears my t-shirt on TV
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:15 pm
Posts: 2545
Location: Slow Death, CA
I don't understand hate towards Notes from Underground. For example, look at the scene where he picks out a whore and says that "if she had smiled, I would have hated her". It's awesome.


Last edited by duckyboy on Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:37 am 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:03 pm
Posts: 6402
harry Wrote:
Several dissed Confederacy of Dunces (ayah? whose cool and removed perspective and critical engagement in this cyber fast food board I most admire).


well...if you're going to put it that way.
i tried reading it a few times in the mid-80's and just never got hooked.
i was reading a bit of the first chapter online and as soon as i finish the book i'm reading now (van gogh blah blah blah) i'll give it another whirl.
i'm also wondering if i'm confusing my dislike for this book with walker percy's the moviegoer for some bizarre reason.

i. am. so. overworked these days.
12.5 hours again today.
if i didn't have kids, i'd deal drugs.
i'd get more sleep.


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:53 am 
Offline
Acid Grandfather
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2005 6:03 pm
Posts: 4144
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
ayah Wrote:
harry Wrote:
Several dissed Confederacy of Dunces (ayah? whose cool and removed perspective and critical engagement in this cyber fast food board I most admire).


well...if you're going to put it that way.
i tried reading it a few times in the mid-80's and just never got hooked.
i was reading a bit of the first chapter online and as soon as i finish the book i'm reading now (van gogh blah blah blah) i'll give it another whirl.
i'm also wondering if i'm confusing my dislike for this book with walker percy's the moviegoer for some bizarre reason.

i. am. so. overworked these days.
12.5 hours again today.
if i didn't have kids, i'd deal drugs.
i'd get more sleep.


I hated The Moviegoer too

There is clearly something poisonous happening in american culture... this inherent drive to produce more...some creepy moral reward for working long hours... I work over 60 hours a week and I keep track.. with a slight dash of self pity and a bathetic cry for help

And don't start me on american workforce productivity rates, and the huge and widening gap between the top quintile and the bottom... overworking should at least allow the ill-gotten gains be kept by the over-worker

Over-workers of the world unite....

_________________
Let's take a trip down Whittier Blvd.


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject: Re: how many of you have read these books?
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:26 pm 
Offline
Garage Band
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 2:17 am
Posts: 589
Private Parts
(stern i presume, read only if you like him, its extremely self indulgent)

On The Road
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
Naked Lunch
(you should add Burroughs' Junkie to this list, it's much more honest and painful)


1984
Animal Farm
(i don't care much for his simplistic writing style but his images of society are noteworthy)

Slaughterhouse-Five
(this is where i would start, along with Breakfast of Champions, Vonegurt is to writing what Bill Hicks is to comedy)

A Clockwork Orange
(more fun than the movie but the "hip" Russian dialogue can get annoying)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
(somehow less fun than the movie but I like it cause it's Kesey)

Kesey's Jail Journal
(fun)

Catch 22
(I like Gravity's Rainbow more, but Catch 22 is somehow more cohessive)


The Grapes of Wrath
(is this the one about the retard or is this about the faimily during the depression, doesnt' matter, both are good and telling of a societal issue that hasn't gone away... it just changed colors)

Brave New World
(i enjoyed the pompous writing style more than the actual statements, was written before he found acid I think, makes you wonder)


Exquisite Corpse
(don't know how this snuck in, it's fun and her overall most outrageous and solid work but not very good considering what else you have to read)


Fahrenheit 451
(extremely simplistic style and i'm not a fan of his work, doesn't really flesh out the images as much as you wish it would)

Fight Club
(fun, there are better)

The Acid House
Trainspotting
(simplistic style and lack of talent don't mix well, the statements are lame and are poorly referenced)

Requiem for a Dream
(the movie is much more surreal and harrowing)

The Catcher in the Rye
(powerful)

To Kill a Mockingbird
(powerful)

The Stranger
(simplistic writing style and the theme is overdone, unsympethetic if you like it like that, his Plague is much better)

Mein Kampf
(a good angry book, shows how powerful the yearning for change can be)



Being and Nothingness
(bloated and purposely convuluted, it's not fiction but more fictitious, you'd have a better chance understanding Einstein, Newton and Freud)

Lolita
(I absolutely love this book, Pale Fire is better, but Lolita speaks more to the ills of society than it does the art of literature)

Deliverance
(the movie has more impact)

Steal This Book
(terrosim as a tool)

Less Than Zero
The Rules of Attraction
American Psycho
(American Psycho is his masterpeice, i like the way he speaks to the reader)

A Tale of Two Cities
(Dickens? really? good luck, I like the non fufilment of Great Expectations more)


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:49 pm 
Offline
The Great American Songbook

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:24 pm
Posts: 4584
Location: dystopia parkway
Dr. Nguyen Van Falk Wrote:
Bad books or extremely overrated in my opinion
1984


I just don't understand this at all. Winston's paranoia until he actually meets Julia? The descriptions of the linguistics of Newspeak? The absolutely crushing ending? This book is not overrated.

_________________
Once she loved a boy. But he did not love her.
His name was Jun. Disillusioned she tried to forget.
She left everything and traveled to the other world.
But life was like a dream.
A series of meaningless movement.


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:22 pm 
Offline
Forever moderating your hearts
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:40 pm
Posts: 6906
Location: Auckland, NZ
coma Wrote:
The Stranger
(simplistic writing style and the theme is overdone, unsympethetic if you like it like that, his Plague is much better)


Simplicity is precisely why The Stranger is better than The Plague


Last edited by splates on Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Back to top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 65 posts ] 

Board index : Music Talk : Rock/Pop

Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 36 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Style by Midnight Phoenix & N.Design Studio
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.