Now Reading

lol

if it doesn't incorporate actual meme images in its printed text, I'm not interested.

  On 2/22/2019 at 4:04 AM, usagi said:

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 3:44 AM, chenGOD said:

Usagi, you haven’t read any William Gibson? Neal Stephenson? Both contemporary writers that are pretty enjoyable. Maybe you meant just fiction, and not SF, and I misunderstood, in which case ignore me.

yes I have pretty much every Gibson book except for the last one, yes I've read Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon and am not inclined to read Anathem or anything later than that, and also yes that I generally meant non-SF (though SF is also welcome).

 

what I'm really looking for is contemporary writing that captures the "now", the zeitgeist, to use such a wanky word. I want to read stuff that, through the mirror of fiction, expounds on the world we're living in right now, especially people's inner lives and their thoughts and feelings. that's what I'm looking for, and I have no idea where to start. who out there is writing good stories about the present social, psychological, political and technological state of the world, in fiction? who are the new names who will be remembered the way, say, Fitzgerald was remembered for capturing his time?

 

I will read Pynchon/Gravity's Rainbow but that's from 1973 still.

Ah gotcha. Will say that both Gibson’s The Peripheral and Stephenson’s Seveneve and Reamde are all worth the time.

 

As for the type of stuff you’re looking for, try r/books

 

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 4:04 AM, usagi said:

what I'm really looking for is contemporary writing that captures the "now", the zeitgeist, to use such a wanky word. I want to read stuff that, through the mirror of fiction, expounds on the world we're living in right now, especially people's inner lives and their thoughts and feelings. that's what I'm looking for, and I have no idea where to start. who out there is writing good stories about the present social, psychological, political and technological state of the world, in fiction? who are the new names who will be remembered the way, say, Fitzgerald was remembered for capturing his time?

 

You could check out Book of Numbers by Joshua Cohen. It's a blisteringly modern book which pretty much has the "now" infused into every sentence. He has quite a similar style to DFW with that hyper-analytical detail and the ability to drop incredibly niche references to a massive variety of fields.

 

I should say though, I really hated it. I can't quite place what it was that turned me off so much, but by the end I just felt pissed off and relieved to be done. Still though, that could just be personal preference and it might fit your description pretty well.

  On 2/22/2019 at 6:12 AM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 4:04 AM, usagi said:

what I'm really looking for is contemporary writing that captures the "now", the zeitgeist, to use such a wanky word. I want to read stuff that, through the mirror of fiction, expounds on the world we're living in right now, especially people's inner lives and their thoughts and feelings. that's what I'm looking for, and I have no idea where to start. who out there is writing good stories about the present social, psychological, political and technological state of the world, in fiction?

Feeling this... minus the technological, though. I wouldn't mind something that kind of ignored cell phones, for example. I'm so tired of cell phones both in reality and in media. Maybe I do want to escape a bit, but in a way that makes me feel more compelled to live more meaningfully, instead of being the literary equivalent of Doritos.

Maybe this is bleedingly obvious, but ... Houellebecq?

 

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 12:21 PM, rhmilo said:

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 6:12 AM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 4:04 AM, usagi said:

what I'm really looking for is contemporary writing that captures the "now", the zeitgeist, to use such a wanky word. I want to read stuff that, through the mirror of fiction, expounds on the world we're living in right now, especially people's inner lives and their thoughts and feelings. that's what I'm looking for, and I have no idea where to start. who out there is writing good stories about the present social, psychological, political and technological state of the world, in fiction?

Feeling this... minus the technological, though. I wouldn't mind something that kind of ignored cell phones, for example. I'm so tired of cell phones both in reality and in media. Maybe I do want to escape a bit, but in a way that makes me feel more compelled to live more meaningfully, instead of being the literary equivalent of Doritos.

Maybe this is bleedingly obvious, but ... Houellebecq?

Not bleedingly obvious; you're overestimating how well-read I am ;) The Possibility of an Island looks really interesting, thanks!

He has a new one out, won't be out in English til September though.

  On 2/22/2019 at 3:16 PM, sweepstakes said:

 

Not bleedingly obvious; you're overestimating how well-read I am ;) The Possibility of an Island looks really interesting, thanks!

 

 

Ha ... in France Houellebecq is apparently the only author people read who don't read books. According to the literary establishment, which sort of looks down on him.

 

It's not that bad here in the Netherlands, but yes, Houellebecq is pretty much the only contemporary author I still bother with, so maybe there's some truth in that.

 

Anyway, enjoy the book. It's the least topical of his novels, I think, which might be good.

  On 2/22/2019 at 9:23 AM, chenGOD said:

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 4:04 AM, usagi said:

 

  On 2/22/2019 at 3:44 AM, chenGOD said:

Usagi, you haven’t read any William Gibson? Neal Stephenson? Both contemporary writers that are pretty enjoyable. Maybe you meant just fiction, and not SF, and I misunderstood, in which case ignore me.

yes I have pretty much every Gibson book except for the last one, yes I've read Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon and am not inclined to read Anathem or anything later than that, and also yes that I generally meant non-SF (though SF is also welcome).

 

what I'm really looking for is contemporary writing that captures the "now", the zeitgeist, to use such a wanky word. I want to read stuff that, through the mirror of fiction, expounds on the world we're living in right now, especially people's inner lives and their thoughts and feelings. that's what I'm looking for, and I have no idea where to start. who out there is writing good stories about the present social, psychological, political and technological state of the world, in fiction? who are the new names who will be remembered the way, say, Fitzgerald was remembered for capturing his time?

 

I will read Pynchon/Gravity's Rainbow but that's from 1973 still.

Ah gotcha. Will say that both Gibson’s The Peripheral and Stephenson’s Seveneve and Reamde are all worth the time.

 

As for the type of stuff you’re looking for, try r/books

Would second The Peripheral. Gibson in much better (perhaps top) form after several books that put me to-zzzz

 

(Though believe there was a nice Chris Cunningham reference in Pattern Recognition)

  On 2/23/2019 at 3:44 AM, T3551ER said:

(Though believe there was a nice Chris Cunningham reference in Pattern Recognition)

Haha yes. When I was reading it, FFF always reminded me of WATMM.

I didn’t mind that trilogy (Pattern Recognition, Spook County, and Zero History) but that’s cause I’m a sucker for Gibson. Also I thought it was a really interesting look at the modern world with just slight technology differences and how big power can move society.

Apparently his new book is a prequel/sequel to The Peripheral where hilllary won the 2016 election. Looking forward to it.

 

Usagi, you might give “The Shape of Water” a try. It’s by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus.

  On 2/23/2019 at 8:41 PM, chenGOD said:

I didn’t mind that trilogy (Pattern Recognition, Spook County, and Zero History) but that’s cause I’m a sucker for Gibson. Also I thought it was a really interesting look at the modern world with just slight technology differences and how big power can move society.

Apparently his new book is a prequel/sequel to The Peripheral where hilllary won the 2016 election. Looking forward to it.

 

Usagi, you might give “The Shape of Water” a try. It’s by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus.

 

Hey wait ... there's a sequel to Pattern Recognition?

 

Never really got into Gibson, but Pattern Recognition I could get into, probably because it wasn't so sci-fi-ish.

 

Might check that out, thanks.

The Táin

  On 1/12/2019 at 7:32 PM, cwmbrancity said:

 

and

 

Irish Gothic Fairy Stories from the 32 Counties of Ireland

 

 

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/irish-gothic-fairy-stories-from-ireland-s-32-counties-1.3799341

 

Got these today:)

 

My Friend chose Irish Gothic to read first

 

I'm starting The Táin

Any of you Pynchon nuts listened to the podcast Death is Just Around the Corner? Just discovered it and listened to the first episode (episode 67). It begins with a proper deep dive on Inherent Vice bringing Hardcore History levels of context to where Pynchon was coming from with the main themes of the novel. Really really brilliant stuff. Looks like he's done a pretty hefty series on Gravity's Rainbow as well.

I did briefly listen to a podcast that was a group of pynchon nuts working their way through GR and discussing each section at length. I'll try to find out what that one was.

That sounds good I'll check it out.

  On 3/2/2019 at 10:24 AM, hello spiral said:

I did briefly listen to a podcast that was a group of pynchon nuts working their way through GR and discussing each section at length. I'll try to find out what that one was.

That sounds good I'll check it out.

Ah you talking about Pynchon in Public by any chance? I've listened to that one a few times, and it is pretty good, but far more of a bookclub style. This one's just one guy and so far has focused more on the historical and political placing of the novel, rather than working through it chapter by chapter. Guy has really got that Pynchon sense of humour down as well.

recently read all of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. 

a nice distraction. 

  On 3/2/2019 at 10:37 AM, misc said:

 

  On 3/2/2019 at 10:24 AM, hello spiral said:

I did briefly listen to a podcast that was a group of pynchon nuts working their way through GR and discussing each section at length. I'll try to find out what that one was.

That sounds good I'll check it out.

Ah you talking about Pynchon in Public by any chance? I've listened to that one a few times, and it is pretty good, but far more of a bookclub style. This one's just one guy and so far has focused more on the historical and political placing of the novel, rather than working through it chapter by chapter. Guy has really got that Pynchon sense of humour down as well.

 

 

If it's the one that starts with the recreation of one of the pynchon drinking songs then that's it yah.

Yeah one of the big differences I'd say between reading him back in the 70s and 80s and readin it today is you can google/wiki every obscure historical reference you don't get. It's much more illuminating that way.

Totally sends you down a rabbithole though.

I remember one thing I looked up in Vineland that was a cut of steak the Japanese named after a famous opera singer, and it was just a throwaway line with some characters ordering food while in Japan.

I had the opportunity to visit the Sonoran desert last week, stopped at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. Noticed a piano in one of his rooms and asked the tour guide about it (she was excellent). He played piano and insisted that all of his students learn music when studying architecture to learn about rhythm, tension, release, etc. - said in his autobiography that architecture was 'music frozen in space' - definitely reminded me of Autechre. Looking forward to checking out that autobiography, was curious if anyone read it or any other good books on architecture. I never really considered it as an art form at length, looks like it has a lot of potential for study and reflection. 

Edited March 2, 2019 by Guest

  On 3/2/2019 at 12:39 PM, hello spiral said:

 

  On 3/2/2019 at 10:37 AM, misc said:

 

  On 3/2/2019 at 10:24 AM, hello spiral said:

I did briefly listen to a podcast that was a group of pynchon nuts working their way through GR and discussing each section at length. I'll try to find out what that one was.

That sounds good I'll check it out.

Ah you talking about Pynchon in Public by any chance? I've listened to that one a few times, and it is pretty good, but far more of a bookclub style. This one's just one guy and so far has focused more on the historical and political placing of the novel, rather than working through it chapter by chapter. Guy has really got that Pynchon sense of humour down as well.

If it's the one that starts with the recreation of one of the pynchon drinking songs then that's it yah.

Yeah one of the big differences I'd say between reading him back in the 70s and 80s and readin it today is you can google/wiki every obscure historical reference you don't get. It's much more illuminating that way.

Totally sends you down a rabbithole though.

I remember one thing I looked up in Vineland that was a cut of steak the Japanese named after a famous opera singer, and it was just a throwaway line with some characters ordering food while in Japan.

Hmm maybe not then, I don't remember that at all. If you remember the name of that one lemme know, I wanna do a GR reread at some point soon.

Finally started Ghosts Of My Life the other day. So far he really nailed it.

  On 2/16/2019 at 8:30 AM, usagi said:

I need more recommendations for good contemporary fiction pls.

Philip Roth is great, especially Sabbath's Theater. One of the funniest and most moving novels I've read. American Pastoral is very good as well. 

 

Also, in reading that Pynchon posts that came afterward, I saw no love for Mason & Dixon. That's my fav by him, great book! 1997, though, so I guess not that contemporary. His most recent book, Bleeding Edge, has some of his loveliest prose. One character also suggests that Mossad was involved in 9/11 lol. Another character says he likes the Nas song "The World is Yours.' Glad to see Pynchon nod to quality Hip Hop.

 

Re contemporary stuff, I had one friend swear by Denis Johnson's Jesus Son. Never read it myself, hope to soon, but it sounds good. Still slightly dated at 1992.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Guest

phillip roth was hit and miss for me.  obviously 'Portnoy's Complaint' is one of the best all out hilarious rants in literature and a forever classic. highly recommend that one. 'Zuckerman Unbound' i a good one too.  there's a few other that were pretty good.

  On 2/19/2019 at 2:40 AM, Roo said:

I adore Vineland as well (despite how unwieldy it feels at points, and seeming protagonist Zoyd disappearing for such a vast chunk). Mason & Dixon is the only one I prefer. Bleeding Edge was also treated rather unfairly on release I felt, I expect that to grow in esteem as well, very much of the Vineland/Inherent Vice mold in that it doesn't scream masterwork but is still better than most everything else getting published.

 

That moment in Pynchon's Vineland where Zoyd Wheeler is bleakly night driving and singing mournfully along to Take It To the Limit always gets me. Some of Pynchon's musical references you never forget, and that song changed for me forever after Vineland.

 

As mentioned, I still haven't touched the initial phase stuff like Gravity's Rainbow, V and Lot49.

I mentioned Mason & Dixon as my most preferred on 19 Feb, and my enthusiasm for Bleeding Edge in this same paragraph.

  On 3/4/2019 at 10:05 PM, Roo said:

 

I mentioned Mason & Dixon as my most preferred on 19 Feb, and my enthusiasm for Bleeding Edge in this same paragraph.

 

apologies, Roo. Didn't see that. If you make the decision to read GR, I highly recommend this as a companion: http://www.ugapress.org/index.php/books/gravitys_rainbow_domination_and_freedom

 

I am not a huge fan of academic lit crit, but this book was really good and essential to my understanding of Gravity's Rainbow, which, after two reads, is still very limited. When you consider whether or not to devote the time needed to read it, I also recommend checking out the 'Byron the Lightbulb' chapter first to see if it is up your alley. Great chapter!