What are you reading?, at the moment Options

[Capt. Midnight]

the sad thing is that book has been stolen from me...twice.
"entropy" is the best one, i think.

I have Entropy in a giant literature collection and it's seriously one of the best things I've ever read.

[RickNuzzy]

i'm pretty sure Norton pushed it in their American Lit anthology i had to buy back in my collegiate days...a shame no professors ever forced it on us.
honestly my favorite part of Slow Learner is the introduction...it's pretty much the closest thing to an autobiographical essay Pynchon has ever even come close to writing.

[Capt. Midnight]

yep thats the one, the collection it's in and boy am I glad it's in there. Other than the crying of lot 49, entropy is the only other Pynchon I've read.

[Evan]

Big Star Wars nerd so I read the books. Haven't read for a good while so I'm starting to work through my backlog...on Darth Bane: Rule of Two at the moment.

[FiveintheGakht]

I was hard into the jedi apprentice books back in the day. So mad when they stopped putting them out.

Currently reading Batman: Cacophony by Kevin Smith.

[louis]

for a fucking dollar today..
og copies of:

war and peace
2001
the silmarillion
welcome to twin peaks
and mother fucking cloud of unknowing

antique malls rule so good

[Capt. Midnight]

got my brand new hardcover of Hunter S. Thompson's The Curse of Lono. Been reading it and a bio on him called Outlaw Journalist. Next on the list is Hell Angels. For sure on a HST kick. Steadman's illustrations are amazing to look at while reading a rarer novel.

[NewDirection]

just began "The Dark Tower" series by Stephen King, starting with "The Gunslinger." can't believe i haven't yet...this seems long overdue.

i am excited.

[Capt. Midnight]

speaking of stephen king, i need to finish Desperation

[Kenny]

I was hard into the jedi apprentice books back in the day. So mad when they stopped putting them out.

Currently reading Batman: Cacophony by Kevin Smith.

I highly suggest downloading the Hollywood Babble-on podcast called Comicon theater. Very funny.

As for what I'm reading, I just bought A Game of Thrones yesterday. I figured I love the show, so why not read the books. Although my vision of what I'm reading is already sullied by the show, hopefully I'll get to A Clash of Kings by the time the new season begins of the show, so I can read the book, then see the show.

[T Kirk]

(IMG:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/76/World_War_Z_book_cover.jpg/200px-World_War_Z_book_cover.jpg)

Just finished reading this. Dragged on forever at the end I thought, but I loved it.


(IMG:http://www.comicbookblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wd_compendium1.jpg)

Currently reading this. <3

This post has been edited by T Kirk: Mar 12 2012, 02:14 PM

[sinktheunderground]

I just started Hilarity Ensues by Tucker Max. It've read his other books before this and this one is just as good as the others.

[NewDirection]

tucker max must fucking love his life.

almost done stephen king's "the gunslinger." then on to "the drawing of the three"

[Kenny]

A Clash of Kings. After the first book I was skeptical that it would be as good, considering they killed off the guy who was practically the main character. I'm about a quarter through it. Arya Stark's story is pretty exciting, I almost consider her front and center. The rest is all suspense and tension, while her story is more adventure. Not that I don't like the tension, I just think the adventure is keeping me more interested at this point. I love the Character of Tyrion, though. I can't wait to see Dinklage handle this role again in the second season of the show. Only 6 days away.

[RickNuzzy]

(IMG:http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/deadeye_dick.large.jpg)
just finished.

i've read quite a few vonnegut books, but i'm sad to say this one left me feeling "empty." not in the sense of it lacking thematic weight, but actually depressing me quite a bit. so far the vonnegut books i've read, whether they be filled with needless suffering and destruction (slaughterhouse-five, cat's cradle) or all too self-aware of their misery (breakfast of champions), still left me feeling "up." no matter how dismal his characters or their circumstances, he still managed to provide a poignant and uplifting message in the subtext of the narrative. for lack of a better term; the humanist macabre.
Deadeye Dick is the first one in which i've walked away feeling only squalor and loneliness and pity. it may have the saddest final sentence of any novel written in the past 50 years.

next book on the list?
honestly i kind of want to redeem vonnegut for depressing me so much--plus his novels make for quick, engaging reads when it's this warm outside--so time to tackle this guy, i guess:
(IMG:http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyyb3sj9aE1qaouh8o1_400.jpg)

[hours awake]

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

Marcus was on a 4 man SEAL team in the Hindu Kush mountains. They were discovered and ambushed by 200 well trained fighters and killed upwards of 100 of them before succumbing to injuries and only Marcus was left. These guys are true iron men, one of the SEALs was shot 5 times, including twice in the neck, and another had the left side of his head shot away and still kept shooting until the end.

[NewDirection]

funny nuzzy, i haven't read a single K.V. book but i'm in the middle of reading his "man without a country" book which is essentially just a book of his own rambling opinions, perspectives, etc. it's neat though, insightful, and sometimes hilarious. it came out in 2005. i've always heard good things about his books so maybe i should get into it.

fun fact: he has a birthday the day after mine. yayyy scorpio

[RickNuzzy]

He has a fairly large catalogue, but i would argue his best novel (at least that i've read to date) is Cat's Cradle. if nothing else it's a perfect introduction to his humor and narrative style. it seems like most readers get introduced to Slaughterhouse-Five first, and while both books are way too good to argue one's merits over the other, i just personally find Cat's Cradle to be a better starting point with regards to his novels.

[Capt. Midnight]

i disagree completely. i found cats cradle bland and not funny at all. if you really want to read vonnegut at his most humorous, check out Breakfast of Champions. It is, one of the best jump-off points. Cats Cradle is a slow read. Kind of uneventful, it's least favorite of his works. Also, Welcome to the Monkeyhouse is super good. It's a great mix of all sorts of stuff.

This post has been edited by Capt. Midnight: Apr 17 2012, 12:16 PM

[cKyIsYourFuture]

(IMG:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417qC-G64DL._SS500_.jpg)

(IMG:http://mysite.verizon.net/tedgoertzel/the_singularity_is_near.jpg)

Both are awesome so far.

This post has been edited by cKyIsYourFuture: Apr 26 2012, 05:16 PM

[nickbosy]

Almost none of Vonnegut is slow to read, it just depends on what kind of writing style you prefer--it doesn't really change much novel to novel, his sentences are still relatively short, humorous, and concise--it just depends on the type of narrative you prefer reading. My advice for any KV newcomer is just to read up and whatever story sounds most interesting to you as far as a premise for one of his novels, and go from there--you shouldn't have a problem finishing any of his novels quickly, and his writing style is nothing to plod through or be intimidated by. Some people just find the premise of Cat's Cradle boring, or some just don't understand it, or find it frankly, stupid--I think it's great. But Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle, and SF5 are all good to decent starting points, I happen to agree with the Breakfast of Champions suggestion though, for newcomers.

[Kenny]

A Storm of Swords. So far it could be the best book in the Ice and Fire series. All sorts of crazy shit going down. I'm 2/3 through it, and major game changers are going down in practically every chapter. Season 3 of the show should be fucking sweet.

[Mia]

American Psycho. The movie is one of my favorites so I decided to read the book despite the warnings I got. My god, it's so friggin' graphic that I actually had to put it down a few times because it was making me nauseous. Besides that, it's awesome.

[darkenergy66]

I just finished the Hunger Games trilogy. I just read the first one because I wanted to read it before I saw the movie, but it turned out to be surprisingly good.

[RickNuzzy]

American Psycho. The movie is one of my favorites so I decided to read the book despite the warnings I got. My god, it's so friggin' graphic that I actually had to put it down a few times because it was making me nauseous. Besides that, it's awesome.

Possible spoiler alerts ahead, but I actually just finished it myself about a week ago, as I've never gotten around to reading any of Ellis' works until now. Enjoyed it immensely.

I agree that it makes the film look like a walk through Disneyland in its most graphic moments, but I couldn't help but laugh most of the way through. As dark as the novel can get, I also found it to be ten times funnier than the film where it mattered, and in my eyes it was a genuine attempt at contemptuous comedy. Ellis wanted us to laugh at how goddamn silly the interactions of socio-economic circles are--to see how fruitless the endeavors of the era were--and the only way to pull that off was to take it to absolute extremes. The entire concept of a Wall Street VP who is a delusional psychopath constantly revealing his monstrous crimes to friends and significant others is hilarious to me. Anyone who didn't find the scene where someone confuses "murders and executions" with "mergers and acquisitions" has no sense of humor.

The films ambiguity about Bateman's actual activities is pretty restricted compared to the novel's...the shock factor alone wasn't enough for me. Simply giving us the "FEED ME A STRAY CAT" ATM message and some sketches discovered by his secretary didn't do it for me the way the actual visualization of being stalked by a park bench and watching Patty Winters interview an anthropomorphic Cheerio would.
It is an extremely DARK humor, but I think it is what made the novel. The amount of focus on the ultraviolence in the novel (and the film for that matter) from most reviewers seems to me like missing the point entirely.
Neither the film nor the novel is intended as some grand indictment of yuppie culture and upper-class materialism.
They're just super-funny reminders of the delusional recompense of doing things that genuinely make you unhappy as a person.

I will give the film a shitload of credit for one scene, though; when Bateman goes on his (supposed) rampage and then has a confession schpeel on his lawyer's answering machine. The novel wraps this whole scene up a wee bit too abruptly for me, while the film really savors Bateman's dementia.
I guess I'm a pretty sick guy.