January "2oo5" C.E. - ?What Are You Reading?

Ok, now that I'm halfway through [I]The Beach[/I] I like it more than I did when I was a quarter of the way through it, but I'm still not sure if I like it.

Anyone else read this and have this problem?

i finished Cruddy, now I'm reading the rest of 'Depraved Indifferance' by Gary Indiana. I only read at the gym so It'll be awhile.

500 pages into [I][color=blue]House[/color] of Leaves[/I]. One of my favorite books of all time now.

About 200 into [I]You Shall Know Our Velocity![/I]. It's okay.

Up next:
Poppy Z. Brite - [I]Exquisite Corpse[/I]

Whoa. That's a relief. Thought I was the only person on this entire website that outright does not like reading a Coupland novel.

Hey Nostradamous! was one of the worst reading experiences I've ever had.

[QUOTE=Riddlegimp]Have you read Girlfriend in a Coma?[/QUOTE]

I haven’t. But by all accounts that seems to be many people’s favourite.

I can’t say I really rank Coupland too, too high (i.e. ‘must devour all books and as soon as possible’). To me he’s more like ‘light reading’, which I try top space out. I tend to save these kind of things for when the weight of the world defies gravity and I can’t get my bearings. Or I just need a mental break (which I guess is the same thing).
It’s nice knowing I still have some of these kinds of titles to go to if need be (I’ve put off reading 2 of Ben Elton’s early books for the same reason).
I’ll get to it at some point.

Anyway, just finished Neil LaBute’s début collection of stories entitled _Seconds of Pleasure_ (2004).
I picked this up moreso out of curiosity. I’ve seen his first 2 films and liked and thought well of parts of them, but other bits blatantly reeked of misogyny.
Sadly, the same holds true for his stories.
Strong, well structured writing but holy hell this guy has some weird shit in his head about women.

Also he occasionally does a thing I can’t stand; one may call it Bret Easton Ellis’ing.
Essentially: name-branding.
Ok, fine. I can dig it; sometimes a Mont Blanc pen _needs_ to be a Mont Blanc pen. Fine; it tells us something about the character. But not much.
But really, what is the difference in, “he looked at his Rolex” or, “he looked at his watch”?
Did he buy the Rolex because to him this was, maybe at one time, the visual pinnacle of success?
Or did his grandfather, who acquired this lovely specimen hand-crafted by Hans Wilsdorf (the precursor/founder of “Rolex”), hand it down through the generations?

What *does* a Rolex say about someone these days (or any days, really)? [Rhetorical question, please]
Turn on your music video station, not only do you have people with less than 500-word vocabularies wearing them, but now they’re singing (loose usage of the verb at that) about them.

Why does someone have to “pass by on their Schwinn” instead of “pass by on their bike”?
This tells us nothing, except maybe adds confusion to someone that may not be familiar with that brand.
Schwinn makes low-line bikes and also top-line, so we’re really not given _any_ info that is needed here.

I could continue on the rant, but I’ll spare you the pollution.
So, for now, I’ll stop pounding the Dell, get up off my Levis, go downstairs and grab a Mövenpick [esspresso] and hope not to spill any on my Gap while music slams out of my Cambridge Soundworks…

j(ay)

[QUOTE=JustinHolt]Ok, now that I'm halfway through [I]The Beach[/I] I like it more than I did when I was a quarter of the way through it, but I'm still not sure if I like it.

Anyone else read this and have this problem?[/QUOTE]
I liked it straight away. Read it multiple times.

[QUOTE=JKabol]Whoa. That's a relief. Thought I was the only person on this entire website that outright does not like reading a Coupland novel.

Hey Nostradamous! was one of the worst reading experiences I've ever had.[/QUOTE]
I bought that one and returned it after about 50 pages.

But I like some of his other stuff quite a bit.

Not Girlfirend in a Coma though, that one seemed aimless to me and not in a refelctive way either.

Jay. Im sitting here, with my Memorex Wireless, typing, listening to my DSound Panasonic (SL-SX430) spinning a Brotha Lynch Hung compilation made on my Cool Colors Music 700 mb CD-R, literally laughing my ass off.
kabol

Chris. Havent brought myself around to reading any of his others. Did order a very inexpensive used copy of Families are Psychotic, which will remain in my storage unit until the day comes that I get around to it. In no hurry, though.

Read through Gibson's oeuvre first.

[QUOTE=Parkaboy]Read through Gibson's oeuvre first.[/QUOTE]I will. Directly after I burn through the rest of my Faulkner collection.

[QUOTE=JKabol]literally laughing my ass off.[/QUOTE]

Well, with a good pair of [insert favourite name-brand of undies here] at least you shouldn’t lose it, shall it fully detach that is…

Saluting you and your buttocks with my bottle of Valser [swiss water],
j(ay)

[QUOTE=JKabol]Whoa. That's a relief. Thought I was the only person on this entire website that outright does not like reading a Coupland novel.

Hey Nostradamous! was one of the worst reading experiences I've ever had.[/QUOTE]
you've obv. not read through the moe.ron post "oeuvre", either.

[QUOTE=Ozymandias]Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis[/QUOTE]
I love the Narnia series. Anything by Lewis actually.

[I]The Beach[/I] by Alex Garland

I read As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, in the process of a volume of Tennessee Williams plays and one of Edith Wharton short stories. After that I'll be reading Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos. Is that his name? I don't know.

[QUOTE=Vendetta]...After that I'll be reading Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos. Is that his name? I don't know.[/QUOTE]
excellent. listen to some duke ellington while you're reading

I'm reading
[I]Poetry and Reform
Periodical Verse from the English Democratic Press 1792-1824[/I]

It is a newly aquired (this morning in the mail) gift from a fellow Cultie.

Thanks, e - J

[QUOTE=moe.ron]excellent. listen to some duke ellington while you're reading :)[/QUOTE]
Ahh! Nice. I'll probably end up listening to pretentious-university-bus-chat though, BAH!

as long as you've got jazz in your heart, 'detta

Hey, Cin, just got Kerouac's Dr Sax from that Cultist the other day. He is certainly good peoples

Jen, no, I hadnt, but I will certainly search out that post

Vennie, I think you are the one that originally got me to pick up my first Wharton book--Ethan Frome--during a trip to through a book store. I think. I was looking at the thin novel and remembering a post or something. Anyway. Random. But I believe true

kabol

Finished All The Beautiful Sinners last night. It was better than I thought it would be, but it's not the "typical" cult reading. His writing style is somewhat like Baer's though.

After that I flew through Reasons to Live because I couldn't put it down. That book I will be rereading soon. I have a feeling I will be reading it many times.

Now I am reading Exzuisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite. Not sure if I like it yet and I am 100 pages into it.

[QUOTE=PGoutis01]Now I am reading Exzuisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite. Not sure if I like it yet and I am 100 pages into it.[/QUOTE]

You'll either love it or hate it or not know what to do when you've finished it, do you put it on your shelf with great reverence and recommend it to all of your friends or set it on fire and forget all about it?

Do let us know.

Currently I'm reading 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' and it's boring me to hell. Yeah sure I'm only 4 chapters into it but things are going slow and his writing bores me, and I'm very impatient when things bore me. So, does this thing get better or can I expect it to continue being boring?

thanks.

[QUOTE=bboymute]Currently I'm reading 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' and it's boring me to hell. Yeah sure I'm only 4 chapters into it but things are going slow and his writing bores me, and I'm very impatient when things bore me. So, does this thing get better or can I expect it to continue being boring?[/QUOTE]

The themes and some of the scenes are great, but sadly this is Ed Abbey at his worst writing (and most popular book…go figure).
I _do_ think it’s an important book, so I’d say stick with it. But not if it’s really boring you.
I’d suggest checking out Abbey’s _Black Sun_ and _A Fool’s Progress_ (the later horribly edited, as the manuscript was almost halved and coherency wasn’t really considered important…I’m always hoping that one day a ‘authour’s cut’ edition will come out) and to not necessarily bother with _Hayduke Lives_, a ‘sequel’ to MWGang, which Ed wrote, unfortunately, when he knew he was dying, solely for the purpose that his wife and kids would have some money.

His essays (probably found in the “nature” section, which bothered the shit out of him, if found at all) and letters are, to me, great.

I’m not much for hero worship, but this is one of the few chaps I would have loved to gone camping or run some rapids with...and I missed meeting him shortly before he died because Boston, supposedly major American city, has some of the shittiest promotion around. He was doing a reading and I found out about it 2 days later.
He died 6 weeks (or so) after that.

j(ay)

I'd probably go on reading a bit more. His essays and letters sound mildly interesting, maybe I'll also check them out. Thanks for the input.

[I]The Coma[/I] by Alex Garland. Like [I]The Beach[/I] it's very easy to get and get in to with the chapters being less than four pages long. I just don't know if I'm taking anything really away from it as I didn't from [I]The Beach[/I]. We'll see though...

Started The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson last night.

[QUOTE=PGoutis01]Started The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson last night.[/QUOTE]

The Lottery. That story was messed up.

Finishing [I]Exquisite Corpse[/I] and[I]You Shall Know Our Velocity![/I].

Next up, Stephen Elliot's [i]Happy Baby[/i] and William S. Burroughs' [I]Junky[/I].

[QUOTE=walkingcontradiction]Fucking Romeo and Juliet.... such bullshit. fuck. Why?[/quote]

Shhhhhhh. Take it slow, T.
There’s some amazing poetry in there. Granted it _is_ meant to be heard and seen.
Try reading it out loud and/or finding a recording of it.

As for me, I started and finished off Elmore Leonard’s _Mr. Paradise_ (2004) this weekend.
As always, fun reading and smooth, smooth writing.
The guy just has a sharp knack for dialogue.

“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs…a madness most discreet.”
–a certain mister Romeo, act I, scene I

j(ay)

I finished Stranger Than Fiction and The Rules of Attraction this weekend. I also bought The Informers. Now I'm debating about whether I want to start reading Wonder Boys, Fear and Loathing, a collection of Phillip K. Dick stories, Contortionist's Handbook, Lullaby, etc.

I will probably start in with two of these to take place of the two I finished.

I started reading The Contortionist's Handbook last night, just getting into a chapter or two. I'm intrigued so far. Clevenger seems to do his research on drugs and hospitals, so far at least. I think I'll enjoy it. I'll probably finish it this month, I bet.

please read wonder boys next...just for a change of pace, ya know?

[QUOTE=moe.ron]please read wonder boys next...just for a change of pace, ya know?[/QUOTE]

I want to, and think I will! Funny you mention that! I'm glad my lit fit is back in gear, but I'm going to be bummed if it dies out on me almost completely like it did three or four years ago.

[QUOTE=Undertow]I want to, and think I will! Funny you mention that! I'm glad my lit fit is back in gear, but I'm going to be bummed if it dies out on me almost completely like it did three or four years ago.[/QUOTE]
that's nobody's fault but your own, though. oprah said, when she was dissolving her "book club," that there wasn't any fiction being published worth reading, but then she made her big come back with east of eden. so, while i don't agree with such an uneducated statement, i do appreciate the method, i.e., when you can't find anything good to read, pick up something old. if you find yourself in a slump again, let me know, so i can kick you

[QUOTE=moe.ron]that's nobody's fault but your own, though. oprah said, when she was dissolving her "book club," that there wasn't any fiction being published worth reading, but then she made her big come back with east of eden. so, while i don't agree with such an uneducated statement, i do appreciate the method, i.e., when you can't find anything good to read, pick up something old. if you find yourself in a slump again, let me know, so i can kick you ;)[/QUOTE]

Heheh. I didn't drop it because there wasn't anything to read, my interests just shifted back to music. Right now, it's barely about music and a lot about books or film. I've been like this since the summer, and probably why I joined this thing. But yes, it's my fault entirely, if you want to call it a fault.

[QUOTE=moe.ron]that's nobody's fault but your own, though.[…]if you find yourself in a slump again, let me know, so i can kick you ;)[/QUOTE]

Yeah, a few of us’ll get in there and give you a shod foot (or two, or three…)

I’m dismayed to see that you (undertow) weren’t really inspired to read much lately. To me, that’s kind of the purpose of this kind of thread. It’s not a ‘look at me and how many books I can read’; it’s recommendation (of sorts) if not just a blatant name-dropping.
While a great deal of what is cited monthly is repetitive, some of worth checking out and some of the not-so-often mention books are interesting too.

Sometimes,
j(ay)

[QUOTE=jay]Yeah, a few of us’ll get in there and give you a shod foot (or two, or three…)

I’m dismayed to see that you (undertow) weren’t really inspired to read much lately. To me, that’s kind of the purpose of this kind of thread. It’s not a ‘look at me and how many books I can read’; it’s recommendation (of sorts) if not just a blatant name-dropping.
While a great deal of what is cited monthly is repetitive, some of worth checking out and some of the not-so-often mention books are interesting too.

Sometimes,
j(ay)[/QUOTE]

Whoa, hold on there! Maybe I didn't make myself clear last time. I didn't say I haven't been inspired to read much lately. Read my last couple posts on this thread and you'll see I am reading multiple books at the moment, with several to choose from whenever one gets finished at any given time.

What I was referring to with not reading happened about 3-4 years ago. I got into a lit fit during my freshman year of college, usually reading about 2-3 books at a time. This kept up until my junior year of college, I believe, where my interests shifted back to music (listening and reading about it and wanting to learn how to record). I kept reading, but not at the insane level I did at first. Now, since the summer, it's back, and with a vengeance. Here's what I'm either actively reading or have started but will get back to when another book gets finished:

- Contortionist's Handbook
- A Friend of the Earth
- Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
- American Psycho

As I also just posted, I finished Stranger Than Fiction and The Rules of Attraction this past weekend. So don't worry, I'm into reading. I was just noting that I seem to be back into a similar habit from several years ago, which I hope doesn't end. Pardon the confusion.

Also, let me add your Quixote thread is starting to inspire me to finally buy it and read it.

[QUOTE=Undertow]Whoa, hold on there! Maybe I didn't make myself clear last time.[/quote]

Sorry about that…I had my post already written in Word and then sent it, and then saw your additional post. Sorry for the redundancy.
Does this mean we lose all hope of kicking you a bit in the future?? (wink wink)

[QUOTE=Undertow]Also, let me add your Quixote thread is starting to inspire me to finally buy it and read it.[/QUOTE]

Go for it. You wont be let down. The Burton Raffel translation (for those that can’t read Spanish) is excellent. I haven’t yet flipped though the edition released last year (I’m blanking on the name but I think s/he is Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s usual translator), but it has an intro but good ol’ Harold Bloom, so that’s a good sign (unless he was just after the money…)

j(ay)

[QUOTE=jay]Sorry about that…I had my post already written in Word and then sent it, and then saw your additional post. Sorry for the redundancy.
Does this mean we lose all hope of kicking you a bit in the future?? (wink wink)[/QUOTE]

All good, amigo. I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. That could be a bad pun but I didn't intend it that way. Oh well. As for kicking me a bit in the future, eh, we'll see. If I slip I may ask for a boot kiss on the cheek, just not THAT cheek. Even then I might give Moe the first kick, too.

[QUOTE]Go for it. You wont be let down. The Burton Raffel translation (for those that can’t read Spanish) is excellent. I haven’t yet flipped though the edition released last year (I’m blanking on the name but I think s/he is Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s usual translator), but it has an intro but good ol’ Harold Bloom, so that’s a good sign (unless he was just after the money…)

j(ay)[/QUOTE]

Ok, I'm glad you bring this up because now I'm curious about if there are major differences in the translations that could either change how the story is read or interpreted. I'd hope not, but I wouldn't put it past anybody.

Tumble Home by Amy Hempel

[QUOTE=jay]Go for it. You wont be let down. The Burton Raffel translation (for those that can’t read Spanish) is excellent.[/QUOTE]This is very good news. Spent most of last year tempted by this purchase, hesitating for the length and the translation. Now I am not concerned at all. Guaranteed that I will be reading this book in the Oh-Five. Donky Hody, baby
kabol

[QUOTE=Balthazar]Tumble Home by Amy Hempel[/QUOTE]

How is it? I checked it out from the library a month or two ago but never got around to reading it. Reasons To Live is good, what I read of it before returning it.

Our Man In Havana - Graham Greene
Mythology - Edith Hamilton

[keeping with the actual month that we’re in]
Last night I finished up Joe Queenan’s _Queenan Country_ (2004). This is his ‘an American in Great Britain’ type thing (get it Queen-an[d] Country?].
Generally I’m not much for “travel” books, and I think Bill Bryson is possible the unfunniest “funny” person on the planet…but this book got a few good laughs out of me (and I’ve quoted it twice in other posts this past week).

Those that likes movies, and pretty much hate movie stars, may wish to check out Joe’s books in that realm, _If You’re Talking To Me, Your Career Must Be In Trouble_ and _Confessions of a Cineplex Heckler_.

Have you always wondered why no professional interviewer/reviewer actually questions why a Keanu Reeves exists? Queenan’s your guy.
Good stuff…
j(ay)

[QUOTE=DrFunk97]
Mythology - Edith Hamilton[/QUOTE]

I had to read that for a class but I really liked it. It's on e of the books I didn't sell back.

[QUOTE=Mellon Collie]
x [i]The Ciderhouse Rules[/i] by John Irving[/QUOTE]
I read that one. I am now planning on (and dreading) seeing the movie because I"m just not up for that kind of movie right now. The book was pretty good.

[I]Kiss me Judas [/I] - Baer

It was my secret santa gift from Christmas, thanks rkdaley. I'm finally getting around to reading it. it's not bad, but it [I]is [/I] a bit far fetched. I mean..... falling in love with the chick who stole your kidney? We'll see.

I think it's a love it or hate it kind of book. I hated it, but then again, I have an extremely refined taste.

Reading "House of Leaves" now.. started yesterday night (yeah, night, great time to start reading this book, especially when you're the only one at home).. oh, I am just loving this book, the writing is amazing and i just don't want to put it down... not finding it too scary, yet, at least.. made me look in my peripherials a few times, haha... though last night I did have a dream about being in the house, the hallway stretching.. rooms changing size.. oh, good stuff.. If anyone's wondering where I am over the next couple days, I'm in the house