I've forgotten to update this thing since January. You know, you get busy, you don't do the things you meant to do. At least, I have been reading a lot. Since my last post on here I have finished the following books (I'll keep it down on images, since it would make this post huge):
W.S. Merwin - The Lice
W.S. Merwin - Writings To An Unfinished Accompaniment
W.S. Merwin - The Moving Target
John Ashbery - Where Shall I Wander
Olive Skene Johnson - The Sexual Spectrum
Hakim Bey - Temporary Autonomous Zone
Hakim Bey - Immediatism
Kurt Vonnegut - Breakfast Of Champions
Kurt Vonnegut - God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
Kurt Vonnegut - Galapagos
Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
Neil Gaiman - Anansi Boys
Voltaire - Candide
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes From The Underground
Albert Camus - The Stranger
Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis
Brian Chippendale - Maggots
Jeff Smith - Bone (books 1-3)
Of these books, "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" was my absolute favorite, I think. Merwin's poetry is very dear to me, I've read "The Lice" several times now. Maggots by Chippendale has some of my favorite drawings ever put on paper as well, and is worth checking out if you can make it through the process of deciphering what's going on.
I suppose it's important to note that Candide, Notes From Underground, The Stranger, and The Metamorphosis were all for a terrible summer English course my school forced me to take. I had already read the latter two, but oh well. Maggots by Chippendale was also a re-read. Including 100 Years Of Solitude, World War Z, and The Plague, I suppose that brings my total up to 21 books. I am currently reading Capacity by Theo Ellsworth, and should have finished that and probably another book by the end of this week. I am going on a trip to Los Angeles tonight and bringing a few books along for the flight.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Books 12 - 17
I've been putting off writing in this for a LONG time because I did not feel like searching/upping the images for the books i've read. So I just won't do that at all! Maybe my next single book post, but here are a bunch I have just read:
Mother Night, Vonnegut
The Da Vinci Code, Brown
American Psycho, Ellis
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Márquez
Angels and Demons, Brown
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce
All right. Considering Mother Night is the favourite book of someone I go to school with, it was very unexciting and kind of strange, even for a Vonnegut novel. I actually cannot remember what happened in this book at all, but I am pretty sure it had to do with the military. Disappointing considering I expected it to be a second Cats Cradle. Oh well. After I read every book by Vonnegut I am gonna go back and read them again! Maybe I'll appreciate this one more the second time around.
I used to mock any/all books on the NY Times best-seller list because most of them were not books I would EVER want to read or have any interest in, they were just books that the general public is interested in. But this summer I said fuck it, doesn't matter if everything I read is "good literature" or not. So, I read both The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons and although they weren't the gr8est, they were both very entertaining enough and good, quick reads. However, the way in which the books are written made me feel as if many events were very predictable--sry cannot cite exact examples I just remember thinking this as I was reading it. One thing that kept the books interesting was the very short chapters and the constant switching of POVs in the book--always good vs evil though, for the most part. Alright, babbling now, next books.
Upon reading the first chapter of American Psycho, I felt really fucking stressed out. I have read both Less than Zero and The Rules of Attraction by Ellis, but since American Psycho seemed to be more well known, I had thought it would be better/not suck completely. Incorrect assumption on my part. Don't get me wrong, Ellis is a VERY GOOD writer. Excellent at what he does, which is describing the 1980's in exquisite and succinct detail. No single designer label or pop artist is spared, and by reading through half his catalog I've found he has a love for the Talking Heads and great, great disdain for ALL 80's hardcore. His books will probably become classics in another hundred years, so long as the love of the written word does not become obsolete. He's actually great, and if any of this appeals to you, I would go out and pick up one of the three aforementioned novels. I just CANNOT stand his writing, it is too stressful for me to read. I don't know if its too detailed, or I am turned off by the subject manner (cokeheads with a lot of money and no attachments seems to be big), but I am just not into it. I was so glad to be done with this book, I started and finished two other books before I made it to the last page. Good riddance.
I have been hearing great great things about One Hundred Years of Solitude for some time now. I can't say right now if I agree with such things. Márquez's prose is quite possibly the most beautiful that I have ever had the pleasure to read and I will certainly seek out other novels of his, and most definitely re-read this one in coming years. Until then I can't say what I want to about this book, it's great, you should read it--perhaps twice, three times even, but I don't think I understand it enough after one rather quick read.
I haven't quiteee finished Portrait yet, I will finish it within the next half hour or at least tonight though. I was assigned to read it senior year of high school in my UCONN English class (was actually a UCONN/AP class but we barely did any AP prep so that part was a giant joke) but I didn't quite read it then, I'm not sure why. I am loving it this time around, but back then I only read up until about page 40 or so, then abruptly stopped. I had to write a ten page paper on it, and I'm not even sure how I managed that either! Great book; third chapter of it is a bit off though as it is basically an entire sermon on heaven and hell and it is a snoozefest. Would have finished this book a lot faster if that chapter was a bit more interesting but ah well. The first two chapters of this are golden though, love it. It gradually becomes less stream of consciouness, I feel, or maybe that style just became normal for me. In this same copy, Dubliners is included, but I think I will take a break from Joyce yet.
Not sure what I'm going to read yet, toss up between A Confederacy of Dunces (Toole) and World War Z (Brooks). Probably not going to make 52 books this year, but I'm changing my goal to at least 26 and possibly 30.
Mother Night, Vonnegut
The Da Vinci Code, Brown
American Psycho, Ellis
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Márquez
Angels and Demons, Brown
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce
All right. Considering Mother Night is the favourite book of someone I go to school with, it was very unexciting and kind of strange, even for a Vonnegut novel. I actually cannot remember what happened in this book at all, but I am pretty sure it had to do with the military. Disappointing considering I expected it to be a second Cats Cradle. Oh well. After I read every book by Vonnegut I am gonna go back and read them again! Maybe I'll appreciate this one more the second time around.
I used to mock any/all books on the NY Times best-seller list because most of them were not books I would EVER want to read or have any interest in, they were just books that the general public is interested in. But this summer I said fuck it, doesn't matter if everything I read is "good literature" or not. So, I read both The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons and although they weren't the gr8est, they were both very entertaining enough and good, quick reads. However, the way in which the books are written made me feel as if many events were very predictable--sry cannot cite exact examples I just remember thinking this as I was reading it. One thing that kept the books interesting was the very short chapters and the constant switching of POVs in the book--always good vs evil though, for the most part. Alright, babbling now, next books.
Upon reading the first chapter of American Psycho, I felt really fucking stressed out. I have read both Less than Zero and The Rules of Attraction by Ellis, but since American Psycho seemed to be more well known, I had thought it would be better/not suck completely. Incorrect assumption on my part. Don't get me wrong, Ellis is a VERY GOOD writer. Excellent at what he does, which is describing the 1980's in exquisite and succinct detail. No single designer label or pop artist is spared, and by reading through half his catalog I've found he has a love for the Talking Heads and great, great disdain for ALL 80's hardcore. His books will probably become classics in another hundred years, so long as the love of the written word does not become obsolete. He's actually great, and if any of this appeals to you, I would go out and pick up one of the three aforementioned novels. I just CANNOT stand his writing, it is too stressful for me to read. I don't know if its too detailed, or I am turned off by the subject manner (cokeheads with a lot of money and no attachments seems to be big), but I am just not into it. I was so glad to be done with this book, I started and finished two other books before I made it to the last page. Good riddance.
I have been hearing great great things about One Hundred Years of Solitude for some time now. I can't say right now if I agree with such things. Márquez's prose is quite possibly the most beautiful that I have ever had the pleasure to read and I will certainly seek out other novels of his, and most definitely re-read this one in coming years. Until then I can't say what I want to about this book, it's great, you should read it--perhaps twice, three times even, but I don't think I understand it enough after one rather quick read.
I haven't quiteee finished Portrait yet, I will finish it within the next half hour or at least tonight though. I was assigned to read it senior year of high school in my UCONN English class (was actually a UCONN/AP class but we barely did any AP prep so that part was a giant joke) but I didn't quite read it then, I'm not sure why. I am loving it this time around, but back then I only read up until about page 40 or so, then abruptly stopped. I had to write a ten page paper on it, and I'm not even sure how I managed that either! Great book; third chapter of it is a bit off though as it is basically an entire sermon on heaven and hell and it is a snoozefest. Would have finished this book a lot faster if that chapter was a bit more interesting but ah well. The first two chapters of this are golden though, love it. It gradually becomes less stream of consciouness, I feel, or maybe that style just became normal for me. In this same copy, Dubliners is included, but I think I will take a break from Joyce yet.
Not sure what I'm going to read yet, toss up between A Confederacy of Dunces (Toole) and World War Z (Brooks). Probably not going to make 52 books this year, but I'm changing my goal to at least 26 and possibly 30.
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