books bought today

[elpollodiablo]

It's people like you make me regret all those years I spent drinking and having sex.

[MurkPlectrum]

I've read Portrait more than any other novel. Like, seven times. It's a completely perfect novel. (I've only read Ulysses once.)

Today: Charles Taylor, Hegel. Jon T. Coleman, Vicious: Wolves & Men in America.

[andronicus]

I, on the other hand, am perhaps the world's foremost expert on Irish nationalism.  Yet I was unable to get any more joy from that book than I would from masturbating while de-scaling a fish.

[MurkPlectrum]

I, on the other hand, am perhaps the world's foremost expert on Irish nationalism.  Yet I was unable to get any more joy from that book than I would from masturbating while de-scaling a fish.

--He was like you, I fancy, said Stephen, an emotional man.

[Jack Chimney]

I loved Portrait without any specific knowledge of Irish nationalism.

Me too!

[martin_van_buren]

The only specific info on Irish nationalism that I think you really need to know can be taken care of well enough by skimming the wikipedia entry on Charles Parnell. Other than that its basically enough to know that England ruled the Irish and the Irish were none too happy about it. And there was a potato famine at some point. At least as deeply as I read thats all I needed to know.

[elpollodiablo]

I was sort of making reference to the suggestion someone here gave me that I shouldn't gloss over the Irish history stuff but should do some prep reading first.

[martin_van_buren]

Ah, point taken. I tend to gloss over most everything.

[elpollodiablo]

From the library today:

Lolita
White Noise
Conred, The Secret Agent
Selby, Song of the Silent Snow

[Wally]

Selby, Song of the Silent Snow

So damn good, it's just so damn good. Selby rights short stories like a Derby Dales shepard fucks his sheep. With a loving tender grind.

[elpollodiablo]

Have you read any of his novels, Dom?

[Wally]

Have you read any of his novels, Dom?

Yeah, the only one I've not got round to is the last one Waiting Period. I'm a lover of all things Selby, except the film they made of Requiem for a dream.

[dieblucasdie]

I loved Portrait without any specific knowledge of Irish nationalism.

It's not as essential to Portrait as to Ulysses, it just helps with whole dinner table discussion early in the novel.  And the "uncreated consciousness" thing at the end.

But yeah, you don't need to know a lot.  Just the Parnell stuff, really.

[jebreject]

???

[Greg Nog]

For what its worth, I thought Portrait was boring too and still had a good time with Ulysses. Its just 3.8 billion times longer, which is the trade-off.

This is also my take.  Joyce is better at entertaining linguistic sleights-of-hand than he is at telling a solid narrative.

[elpollodiablo]

[Andrew_TSKS]

it's interesting to see how divided people on here are about "portrait". i'll let you guys know what i think of it whenever i get around to reading it.

which could be years from now, so no one hold their breath.

[dieblucasdie]

For what its worth, I thought Portrait was boring too and still had a good time with Ulysses. Its just 3.8 billion times longer, which is the trade-off.

This is also my take.  Joyce is better at entertaining linguistic sleights-of-hand than he is at telling a solid narrative.

Except that "Dubliners" destroys this theory.  "The Dead" is maybe the greatest short story ever written.

[Greg Nog]

blucas is correct in the case of The Dead, and I will gladly rub him down in contrition.  However, that's the only exception I can think of; the rest of Dubliners (with maybe -- maybe! -- a slight exception for "Araby") left me cold.

[nonotyet]

blucas is correct in the case of The Dead, and I will gladly rub him down in contrition.

WALLY TO THREAD


(that picture came up under a google search for smiles, so I'm a run with it)

[Wally]

blucas is correct in the case of The Dead, and I will gladly rub him down in contrition.

WALLY TO THREAD

*cough cough* hmmm, yes I seem to have cum in my hair.

God damn you Greg Nog! You and your majestical image forming.

[Wally]

I'm a big fan of Hunsen and Johnson, and have decieded to give the O'Connor ago because of BriBri's recomendation, but I don't know anything about the Thom Jones, he was mentioned to me today in the same breath as Carver and Johnson so I had to give him a shot. He lives in Portland and wrote this ollection of short stories is the end of my knowledge. Has anyone else heard owt about him.

[DCDave]

I got Heat, the book about Mario Batali, in the mail today - I like it.

[Ah_Pook]

ive been tearing through all kinds of random old sci fi books, picked up on the very cheap from this used book store around here

latest batch

snow crash - neal stephenson
a canticle for liebowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr.
ilium - dan simmons (hardcover, even)
the integral trees - larry niven

[milly balgeary]

ive been tearing through all kinds of random old sci fi books, picked up on the very cheap from this used book store around here

latest batch

snow crash - neal stephenson
a canticle for liebowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr.
ilium - dan simmons (hardcover, even)
the integral trees - larry niven

I love all those books nigga, cept Niven. I never got Niven. Something bout him. But Canticle left me feeling Bad for months. Shit, I never got over it.

I have a recommendation. Ever read Catspaw? When I was a kid I was godzooks about this book. There's two books but mostly they are put together. EDIT there is a library edition with both book packed in it. - By Joan D Vinge. I'm going to read it again, probably. It's ahead of its time.