Das Book: the very new reading thread

[martin_van_buren]

That's a nifty bookshelf, Mister N. Makes me think mine could use a bit of shaping up..

[mountmccabe]

That plant looks like it's seen better days, though.  At some point deep in the past.

[mountmccabe]

Also I started Flying Leap by Judy Budnitz this week.  I really like her short stories.

[davy]

China Mieville is absolutely one of my favorite authors. While his Bas Lag books (Perdido, the Scar, Iron Council) are not technically a series, I think that they should definitely be read in the published order for maximum effect. You'll only truly get why Bellis is pining for home if you've already read Perdido, and a ton of the basic world building - which is Mieville's big thing - is taken for granted in that second and third book. Iron Council practically assumes full knowledge of the other two books and the creatures, technology, cosmology, etc. of the Bas Lag world.

The guy's amazing.

i am buying perdido st. station tomorrow. i am so on this.

i found the interview he did for believer online today, and it was a great read. it's here if you want to check it out. i love what he has to say about writers who write science fiction claiming that they don't write science fiction...and vice versa.

[davy]

I’m trying to say I’ve invented this world that I think is really cool and I have these really big stories to tell in it and one of the ways that I find to make that interesting is to think about it politically. If you want to do that too, that’s fantastic. But if not, isn’t this a cool monster?

[Almanzo]

i am buying perdido st. station tomorrow. i am so on this.
i found the interview he did for believer online today, and it was a great read. it's here if you want to check it out. i love what he has to say about writers who write science fiction claiming that they don't write science fiction...and vice versa.

Yeah, that's the best interview out there with him right now - just about every other line is basically a signature-worthy quote. I love that he's totally unabashed and unpretentious when it comes to his sources and inspirations - especially with more bookish and pretentious interviewers. I can't remember if it's that Believer interview, but I read one where the guy's going on and on about how China must be majorly influenced by Borges, and then when he finally gives China a chance to talk, he's like, "Actually, I'm just really into the AD&D Monster Manual."

In an age where I feel like more and more people that write (good) genre fiction are doing everything in their power to make sure they end up in the "Lit'rature" section of Borders, I love his unpretentiousness and embrace of genre.

[Greg Nog]

That plant looks like it's seen better days, though.

It's mainly there to keep my beat-up old Complete Shakespeare company.  They can reminisce about their respective youths, when they were beautiful and people loved them and they didn't look like they'd spent any time as a chew-toy for a cat.

[C of heartbreak]

A couple of you here may be interested to know I started Infinite Jest yesterday. I'd been lagging in my reading, so I thought what better way to get on track than 1000 pages of DFW?

[Greg Nog]

Sweet!  I know I've mentioned this before, but I was really surprised at both how well-written it was, and how accessible.  From hearing some people talk, I'd thought I might be in for either an Eggers-style clever-fest or a Joyce-style labyrinth.  But no, it was just long and fantastic, is all.

[nonotyet]

Eggers-style clever-fest

I fight you
it may just be because I am cranky and have been so for what feels like the past decade BUT NO HE IS MUCH MORE THAN CLEVER-FESTY ESPECIALLY NOW

[nonotyet]

(here is a picture of a stapler)

[jebreject]

So what I have as a result of all this is a full bookshelf of things that I would heartily recommend with my full backing.  If any of you ever come over and want to borrow a book, this bookshelf will not be steering you wrong.  In fact, a number of things on there were purchased as a result of LPTJ recommendations.

Where are the books about sex? You need books like Guide to Being the Best Fucker in the World and Eating Pussy All the Time so the ladies know yer SKILLZ

[Greg Nog]

What are you talking about dude, Blood Meridian's on the second shelf there.  Any woman comes over, she's presented with the opportunity to be all, "So... I hear you're into smashing baby skulls."  And I'll seductively raise one eyebrow and proffer her a champagne flute.

[Andrew_TSKS]

greg, i too had the same fears about, and the same pleasantly surprised reaction to, "infinite jest". excellent book. i should really read some more dfw sometime in the future. i kinda want a copy of "a supposedly fun thing..." but i'm scared to spend money right now, so that'll probably not happen for a while.

(here is a picture of a stapler)

ok, seriously, let's cut right through the crap here. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT? and by "that", i mean "the entirety of 'heartbreaking work of staggering genius'," which for the record i intermittently liked and at other points totally hated.

[C of heartbreak]

My fears were exactly as Nog described, so thanks for the reassurance. It is enjoyable so far.

[Greg Nog]

HE IS MUCH MORE THAN CLEVER-FESTY

I know, but the clever-fest is one of the few ways in which I actually think he's good as a writer.

[nonotyet]

Our difference in opinion may or may not be brought to you by the fact that I am a lady and you are a dude.

And to be fair I have a lower opinion of his post-200-pages-of-clever-not-counting-the-paperback-edition catalog/oeuvre/whatever, and upon a recent re-reading of Staggering Genius I didn't find it as life-altering as I did when I was like 23. HOWEVER: It was really hard to re-read, given what has happened in my life since the last time I read it. BUT: I still think that he has a lot of strengths, especially in the writing of short stories, and very much so with What Is The What. 

[hannah]

Our difference in opinion may or may not be brought to you by the fact that I am a lady and you are a dude.

no

[nonotyet]

As much as I love sweeping incorrect generalizations,

Our difference in opinion may or may not be brought to you by the fact that I am a sucker and you are a rational dude.

fixed.

[RoyBiggins]

Let me ask you folks a question.

I've started listening to audio books, 'cause these days I am short on reading time and long on car time.  I'm sort of opposed to audio books becuase I really love the medium of books.  I love words on a page.  I'm very connected to seeing the rhythm of stuff on the page, and I think there are things you can do in print you can't do in audio (I know, it works the other way, too, but still.)

So, I'm getting some audio books, and I wanted to know if you folks who have read Cloud Atlas think I'll miss anything by listening to it rather than reading it? 

And also, anybody ever listened to an audiobook that they thought was awesome?  I know some audiobooks go out of their way to give you nice production/soundtracks and stuff. 

[Almanzo]

I think that it's a tradeoff; you're going to miss out a little bit on that one story (the one that's all futuristic) because a lot of the "future words" are very visual, but you will TOTALLY WIN by listening to that other story (the post-future one) instead of reading it. Reading that one literally gave me a headache - it was like Their eyes were watching God if you Babelfish translated it into Japanese and then back into English. "Then Looshah sez why doant yoo lhook are yound hand sea if yoo kin faynd sumtheeng 2 eeat" for like 50 eye-stabbing pages.

[Greg Nog]

I got used to the voice in Sloosha's Crossing pretty quickly, but I think the same thing that I would hate about Cloud Atlas is the same thing that I guess would make it a good audiobook -- it's mostly first-person narratives with very distinct voices for each section.  I dunno, though, I generally hate audiobooks 'cause I like imagining the voices and they force a voice on me, so I'm not sure if I can really offer much in the way of helpful advice here.

[girl]

milly loves audiobooks. I'm sure he'll have some recommendations for you. I only have a few, chosen for voices that are well-suited for reading me to sleep.

[Antero]

I'm ideologically opposed to audiobooks as a fundamental violation of the medium of their creation.  That is to say, things were written to be read, atemporal artifacts in which rhythm and pacing are dictated by the interaction between the reader and the word, and audiobooks require a fundamentally different process of appreciation, a different mode of audience intent, and make false aesthetic demands on the original content.

Dork dork dork.

[andronicus]

I'll make you a deal we will enforce your edict and no one is allowed to read the Iliad or the Odyssey or any play ever again.