Dylan wrote:By the way, has anyone ever heard of Thomas Bernhard? Any opinions?
FUCKING AWESOME
is my opinion
read anything/everything by him
it's outrageously deranging
and so extremely funny
Book Talk
122I'm reading "Look Homeward, Angel" by Thomas Wolfe.
For the past few months I've been reading novels by American writers who currently (and probably forever) reside at the absolute bottom of the coolness barrel, to the point where pretty much no high school or college even assigns them any more. Dos Passos, Sinclair Lewis, Dreiser (I'm not making that mistake again)...
Anyway, "Look Homeward" is awesome. Some of the prose smells like old flower water, but the guy poured his soul into this shit. Reading this earnest, mostly truly poetic kind of Modernism in the '04 helps me feel sane.
For the past few months I've been reading novels by American writers who currently (and probably forever) reside at the absolute bottom of the coolness barrel, to the point where pretty much no high school or college even assigns them any more. Dos Passos, Sinclair Lewis, Dreiser (I'm not making that mistake again)...
Anyway, "Look Homeward" is awesome. Some of the prose smells like old flower water, but the guy poured his soul into this shit. Reading this earnest, mostly truly poetic kind of Modernism in the '04 helps me feel sane.
Book Talk
123"Look Homeward, Angel" by Thomas Wolfe.
i keep forgetting to look through his books while i'm at work (Borders.) i had to read My Losing Season by Pat Conroy for a southern lit class a year ago and i was very surprised i liked it. he has the flowery prose you mentioned and he absolutely loves Thomas Wolfe, to the point that he mentions him a couple of times in the book. all in all i was surprised that the guy who wrote prince of tides could write about a basketball season at the citadel and make it interesting.
in unrelated, i just finished Confederacy of Dunces. it is very well done and funnier than most books that still have plot and character. i just reread Rum Diary, which i think is the only book Hunter Thompson has written that is believeable and easy to read.
and, i'm reading Kill Your Idols right now, the collection of rock crit essays tearing into classic rock and pop albums. the chapter on zeppelin IV is hilarious.
Book Talk
124Recent reads (using the 4 star system):
_Cat and Mouse_ by Gunter Grass. The third time I've read it. Excellent. And funny. I think about this book all of the time. 4 stars.
_Billiards At Half Past Nine_ by Heinrich Boll. Read it over too long a period of time causing me to lose my bearings on at least a couple of occasions. Lots of vague/shrouded religious ("Lambs" and "Buffalo Sacrament") and political (Nazi?) refences and whatnot that I never quite ferreted out. Probably due to my own lack of historical knowledge. Definitely quite good though. Will read again at some point and at a faster pace. 3.25 stars.
_Ball Four_ by Jim Bouton. Why didn't I read this years ago? Very enjoyable. A must read for any avid baseball fan. 3.75 stars.
_Fear Strikes Out_ by Jimmy Piersall. An unbelievably naïve and completely free of sarcasm account of his mid-season mental breakdown. A little too "white bread" at times but still a worthy read for the avid baseball fan. 3 stars.
_Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy_ by Jane Leavy. Another worthwhile read for the avid baseball fan. I came away liking Koufax very much. However, the author felt the need to stick herself in the text far too much. Hey lady, no one gives a shit about you. Keep yourself out of it. I will definitely seek out the Koufax autobiography in the future. 2.5 stars.
_Guston in Time: Remembering Philip Guston_ by Ross Feld. Mr. Guston is easily one of my all-time favorite painters. His late period stuff especially. I've read a number of books about him previously. _Night Studio_ by his daughter Musa Mayer being the best/most telling. This one was okay and contained a fair amount of excerpts from his longtime written correspondence with Mr. Feld. I'm always impressed by how much Guston was consumed with painting. He lived and breathed it. I wonder if there is anyone around today with the same passion for painting? With the same passion for anything? Anyhow, another case of the author injecting himself into the text a bit too much. 2.5 stars.
_Jasper Johns: Priviledged Information_ by Jill Johnston. I'm not a huge Johns fan. His very early work I like quite a bit, but everything since hits me as the work of a hack. It says nothing to me. Anyhow I don’t know too much about Johns, the man, so I figured I'd give this a read. Well, I could only make it about 4 pages, my hatred for Jill Johnson growing with each word. Apparently, when learning that she wanted to write this book, Johns would have nothing to do with her. 4 pages and I can see why. Jill, how can one be both so crazy and so uninteresting? And the picture of yourself that lives on the jacket - not a good idea. Fuck you. 0 stars.
Just started reading _A Soldier's Legacy_ by Heinrich Boll. So far so very good…
_Cat and Mouse_ by Gunter Grass. The third time I've read it. Excellent. And funny. I think about this book all of the time. 4 stars.
_Billiards At Half Past Nine_ by Heinrich Boll. Read it over too long a period of time causing me to lose my bearings on at least a couple of occasions. Lots of vague/shrouded religious ("Lambs" and "Buffalo Sacrament") and political (Nazi?) refences and whatnot that I never quite ferreted out. Probably due to my own lack of historical knowledge. Definitely quite good though. Will read again at some point and at a faster pace. 3.25 stars.
_Ball Four_ by Jim Bouton. Why didn't I read this years ago? Very enjoyable. A must read for any avid baseball fan. 3.75 stars.
_Fear Strikes Out_ by Jimmy Piersall. An unbelievably naïve and completely free of sarcasm account of his mid-season mental breakdown. A little too "white bread" at times but still a worthy read for the avid baseball fan. 3 stars.
_Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy_ by Jane Leavy. Another worthwhile read for the avid baseball fan. I came away liking Koufax very much. However, the author felt the need to stick herself in the text far too much. Hey lady, no one gives a shit about you. Keep yourself out of it. I will definitely seek out the Koufax autobiography in the future. 2.5 stars.
_Guston in Time: Remembering Philip Guston_ by Ross Feld. Mr. Guston is easily one of my all-time favorite painters. His late period stuff especially. I've read a number of books about him previously. _Night Studio_ by his daughter Musa Mayer being the best/most telling. This one was okay and contained a fair amount of excerpts from his longtime written correspondence with Mr. Feld. I'm always impressed by how much Guston was consumed with painting. He lived and breathed it. I wonder if there is anyone around today with the same passion for painting? With the same passion for anything? Anyhow, another case of the author injecting himself into the text a bit too much. 2.5 stars.
_Jasper Johns: Priviledged Information_ by Jill Johnston. I'm not a huge Johns fan. His very early work I like quite a bit, but everything since hits me as the work of a hack. It says nothing to me. Anyhow I don’t know too much about Johns, the man, so I figured I'd give this a read. Well, I could only make it about 4 pages, my hatred for Jill Johnson growing with each word. Apparently, when learning that she wanted to write this book, Johns would have nothing to do with her. 4 pages and I can see why. Jill, how can one be both so crazy and so uninteresting? And the picture of yourself that lives on the jacket - not a good idea. Fuck you. 0 stars.
Just started reading _A Soldier's Legacy_ by Heinrich Boll. So far so very good…
Last edited by stackmatic_Archive on Mon Aug 16, 2004 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Book Talk
125All right, a literary name-dropping session. My turn.
I love Vonnegut, and always have since reading Breakfast of Champions as a kid and bursting out in laughter as his childish illustrations of cows and assholes. Cat's Cradle is a definitely worthy of an annual read.
Someone mentioned Steinbeck's Cannery Row, which is fantastic. A similar title by him that is even better, in my opinion, is Tortilla Flat.
I'm still slogging my way through David Foster Wallace's tome Infinite Jest, and it is blowing my mind while being consistently hilarious.
J.D. Salinger's short stories are quite good.
Someone also mentioned Douglas Adams. Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a riot, as is its predecessor The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And when you're done with both of those, you'll have to read So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, which isn't quite as brilliant but won't let you down. Restaurant... is my personal favorite.
Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye is probably more densely littered with the word 'cunt' than any other piece of writing in the history of literature. Rousing.
I can legitimately say I read the whole of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy (as well as the Hobbit) at least twice before I even heard they were making a movie. You might risk looking like a dork if you're seen in public with them, but they're excellent myths.
Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent was a pain in my ass in college, but I revisited it and realized its value.
And the most bowl-looseningly funny cartoon account of cultural history ever written: Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe
a dopo,
gio
I love Vonnegut, and always have since reading Breakfast of Champions as a kid and bursting out in laughter as his childish illustrations of cows and assholes. Cat's Cradle is a definitely worthy of an annual read.
Someone mentioned Steinbeck's Cannery Row, which is fantastic. A similar title by him that is even better, in my opinion, is Tortilla Flat.
I'm still slogging my way through David Foster Wallace's tome Infinite Jest, and it is blowing my mind while being consistently hilarious.
J.D. Salinger's short stories are quite good.
Someone also mentioned Douglas Adams. Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a riot, as is its predecessor The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And when you're done with both of those, you'll have to read So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, which isn't quite as brilliant but won't let you down. Restaurant... is my personal favorite.
Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye is probably more densely littered with the word 'cunt' than any other piece of writing in the history of literature. Rousing.
I can legitimately say I read the whole of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy (as well as the Hobbit) at least twice before I even heard they were making a movie. You might risk looking like a dork if you're seen in public with them, but they're excellent myths.
Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent was a pain in my ass in college, but I revisited it and realized its value.
And the most bowl-looseningly funny cartoon account of cultural history ever written: Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe
a dopo,
gio
Book Talk
126gio wrote:Someone also mentioned Douglas Adams. Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a riot, as is its predecessor The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And when you're done with both of those, you'll have to read So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, which isn't quite as brilliant but won't let you down. Restaurant... is my personal favorite.
Don't forget Life, the Universe and Everything. That's my favorite out of the four.
yeah!
Faiz
Book Talk
128stackmatic wrote:_Guston in Time: Remembering Philip Guston_ by Ross Feld. Mr. Guston is easily one of my all-time favorite painters.
Me, too! I will look for one or both of these books!
stackmatic wrote:_Fear Strikes Out_ by Jimmy Piersall. An unbelievably naïve and completely free of sarcasm account of his mid-season mental breakdown. A little too "white bread" at times but still a worthy read for the avid baseball fan. 3 stars.
I've been trying to find this used for about 2 years now, and no one seems to be selling it back.
Book Talk
129kerble wrote:gio wrote:Someone also mentioned Douglas Adams. Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a riot, as is its predecessor The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And when you're done with both of those, you'll have to read So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, which isn't quite as brilliant but won't let you down. Restaurant... is my personal favorite.
Don't forget Life, the Universe and Everything. That's my favorite out of the four.
yeah!
Faiz
And "Mostly Harmless" which goes into great detail on the importance of sandwich making when introduced to a primative society.
Also! The Dirk Gently books (DG's Holistic Detective Agency & The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul) are fantastic.
As is the Salmon of Doubt.
Book Talk
130Dylan wrote:stackmatic wrote:Guston
Me, too! I will look for one or both of these books!
Both are worth reading but I would give _Night Studio_ the nod.
Dylan wrote:stackmatic wrote:_Fear Strikes Out_ by Jimmy Piersall.
I've been trying to find this used for about 2 years now, and no one seems to be selling it back.
I have a "pulp" paperback copy from the 50's. I found it at this weird little book store in my neighborhood.
I'd imagine any decent metropolitan library should have a copy. Same for _Night Studio_.