Now Reading

Actually, re: Truant, it probably helps to read the appendices when referenced in the main text so as not to hate him up until the very end.

  On 6/29/2011 at 12:58 AM, Philip Glass said:

continue reading man, you will understand

No, I think he already understands pretty well. House of Leaves is one of the most overrated books of our generation.

  On 6/28/2011 at 10:37 PM, KY said:

  On 6/28/2011 at 2:42 PM, Iain C said:

I think everyone should return to Vonnegut at least once a year. It's good for the soul.

Ha, fair enough, that was a pretty dumb way of expressing myself. I find a great deal of consolation in Vonnegut's novels, though. He reminds me that you can be a cynic and still keep your humanity. He's such an incredibly moral writer, and after a few hours stuck in Slaughterhouse Five I feel stronger and reinvigorated.

  On 6/29/2011 at 10:20 AM, Iain C said:

  On 6/29/2011 at 12:58 AM, Philip Glass said:

continue reading man, you will understand

 

No, I think he already understands pretty well. House of Leaves is one of the most overrated books of our generation.

Johnny is just an unreliable narrator. Reading all the appendices that he references (Whalestoe Letters) is essential.

But to be fair, the Navidson report is really the main thing.

Reppin some Beckett appreesh up in this

I rebought The Third Policeman (my old english teacher borrowed my copy and forgot to return it) and I also picked up a copy of For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway.

  On 6/29/2011 at 10:39 PM, Capsaicin said:

I rebought The Third Policeman (my old english teacher borrowed my copy and forgot to return it) and I also picked up a copy of For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway.

Great novels.

  On 6/29/2011 at 10:23 AM, Iain C said:

  On 6/28/2011 at 10:37 PM, KY said:

  On 6/28/2011 at 2:42 PM, Iain C said:

I think everyone should return to Vonnegut at least once a year. It's good for the soul.

 

Ha, fair enough, that was a pretty dumb way of expressing myself.

psh just a joke, and it's good advice—breakfast of champions has always been one of my favorites.

and regarding house of leaves, i feel like the ergodic literature style in this book comes off as a bit gimmicky at times. i don't think i've read too far through the book to hate truant yet, he's just pretty overindulgent.

as we're discussing Vonnegut I'll mention that I'm currently reading Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds (Charles Mackay) which I discovered through Slaughterhouse V

Discussing Vonnegut, I bought Bluebeard off Amazon the other day.

  On 7/2/2011 at 4:21 AM, doorjamb said:

as we're discussing Vonnegut I'll mention that I'm currently reading Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds (Charles Mackay) which I discovered through Slaughterhouse V

Yeah, I've actually got a copy of that on my desk at work that I flick through in idle moments.

Michael lewis - the big short ... worth a read cause it's quick and reveals the dirty.

that just reminded me that i have a paperback copy of this book somewhere:

lol pretty rad.

I like Vonnegut's "Armageddon in Retrospect"

currently reading this:

  On 7/5/2011 at 3:40 PM, Dan C said:

About time. This novel knocks House of Leaves into a cocked hat.

The Aesthetics of Disappearance - Paul Virilio

really good.

It's really good, ended it last week. Can't beat Infinity Jest, but that's natural. It was a really sad read, because I knew this was the finality of his oeuvre. There will never be anything else after that, what a life wasted...

Darren Shan's The City Trilogy - He usually writes children's horror which i actually enjoy but this series is quite different.

&

Neil Ansell - Deep Country: Five Years in the Welsh Hills

The Parallax View by Slavoj Zizek for a summer book club.

  On 7/9/2011 at 4:56 AM, Yegg said:

The Parallax View by Slavoj Zizek for a summer book club.

hell yeah!

So far it's wonderfully exotic... an astonishing intellectual journey.