Book thread

[thrill]

A couple of grown ass nerds sum up the feelings of fans of George RR Martin.


http://youtu.be/j7lp3RhzfgI

[heyzeus]

This...this, I freaking loved. The matter-of-fact, tongue-in-cheek treatment of technophobia, disease/mental illness, academia, suburbia, middle-class families, et al, had me hooked from start to finish. I almost always had a wry smile on my face, and DeLillo's prose is fantastic. I already ordered Underworld (which arrived today, for that matter),

You may have already found out the awful truth, but Underworld is every bit as awful as White Noise is fantastic. As an added bonus, it's 1000 pages long.

If you have the patience and inclination to take on magnum opuses (opi?) of staggering genius that create dystopic future dreamworlds full of crazy people, please proceed directly to Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. In fact, please mail me your copy of Underworld now so that I know you're not wasting your time, and go straight to Infinite Jest.

[The Third Man]

B-but...I thought Underworld was excellent. Though if I had to choose, I'd pick White Noise.

And Infinite Jest is very, very high on my list. I might read it next, after Mason & Dixon. (Which I picked up immediately after finishing Vineland and Against the Day. WHOO PYNCHON.) I've been reading DFW's two essay collections and freaking adore them, not to mention his "This is Water" commencement speech which I've now read at least five times.

[The Third Man]

Besides Underworld only took me four days so it's not like I lost that much time.

[heyzeus]

Besides Underworld only took me four days so it's not like I lost that much time.

You're a fast reader, kudos to you. Infinite Jest will take a little while but is supremely rewarding. His nonfiction essays are mostly treasures, too - as you already know. I'm reading his final and unfinished novel, The Pale King, now. It's heartbreaking that this is it.

[The Third Man]

I know how that feels, I only have two more Pynchons after M&D and that's just sad to think about. Though at least there's the possibility of another novel or two on the horizon, depending on what he's got gestating. Maybe even a final opus.

I'm not that fast, generally, I just have lots and lots of down time. I've slowed down pretty heavily lately, hope this doesn't precede another fall off the wagon.

Re: DFW, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard reading as I did with "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." And I adore his distaste for irony, his sense of self-doubt, his complete lack of pretension. There've been at least three or four occasions when I stopped after reading something of his and said "This dude just described me (or, at least, who I want to be) to a T."

[heyzeus]

I know how that feels, I only have two more Pynchons after M&D and that's just sad to think about. Though at least there's the possibility of another novel or two on the horizon, depending on what he's got gestating. Maybe even a final opus.

I'm not that fast, generally, I just have lots and lots of down time. I've slowed down pretty heavily lately, hope this doesn't precede another fall off the wagon.

Re: DFW, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard reading as I did with "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." And I adore his distaste for irony, his sense of self-doubt, his complete lack of pretension. There've been at least three or four occasions when I stopped after reading something of his and said "This dude just described me (or, at least, who I want to be) to a T."

Ticket to the Fair is in the same vein - DFW was one brilliant guy, and perhaps in large part because of that, could never feel comfortable in our society. Sometimes, the reader gets to be in on the joke, and empathize with him. But on the whole, he worked on a different level than the rest of us, and I suspect it cost him.

btw, Consider the Lobster is the greatest practical joke ever pulled by a writer on his editors.

[The Third Man]

Your link confuses me.

His comments about the mind being "a great slave but a terrible master" in his commencement speech sent me down a road that ended with me spending about 4 hours reading about determinism the other night. Whoo.

[heyzeus]

Your link confuses me.

His comments about the mind being "a great slave but a terrible master" in his commencement speech sent me down a road that ended with me spending about 4 hours reading about determinism the other night. Whoo.

oops, fixed the link. How on earth were you confused by that magnificent cat sweater?

[thrill]

Your link confuses me.

His comments about the mind being "a great slave but a terrible master" in his commencement speech sent me down a road that ended with me spending about 4 hours reading about determinism the other night. Whoo.

oops, fixed the link.

Still bad. lol.