Books

[KILL TULLY]

Finally started reading that Conan the Barbarian collection by Robert E. Howard.

HOLY. LIVING. FUCK.

That dude was an amazing writer. I was hoping for fun, much like, you know, everything else Conan.

I didn't expect something so lyrical and poetic. Completely beautiful, didn't see that coming at all.

I should be reading that instead of eating my way through post-rehearsal insomnia.

Nigga, what'd you expect? The last sentence of the opening quote to Chapter 1 of 'The Phoenix On the Sword' is pretty much what I base my life on, lulz (amongst many other things).

"Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."



Also this rules: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard#The_Lovecraft_Circle

 

[Krilons Resa]

 

[NAD]

I really need to read more Vonnegut. And he's one author I can probably find around here.

I <3 Vonnegut so very, very much.

Nigga, what'd you expect? The last sentence of the opening quote to Chapter 1 of 'The Phoenix On the Sword' is pretty much what I base my life on, lulz (amongst many other things).

"Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."



Also this rules: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard#The_Lovecraft_Circle

Seriously, I had no idea.

I mean I've been a massive Lovecraft fan for years, and I re-read his stuff all the time. But he sounds like a man of his age, to me it's obviously early-20th century American writing. Nothing wrong with that at all of course, but it's definitely there. And since I knew that Lovecraft and Howard were friends I just assumed it would be similar "of that time" style or whatever. But no, oh no no no. His writing is just so timeless. Positively floored. Also his take on so called civilized society fucking cracks me up, I love it.

to that.

 

[KILL TULLY]

I <3 Vonnegut so very, very much. Seriously, I had no idea.

I mean I've been a massive Lovecraft fan for years, and I re-read his stuff all the time. But he sounds like a man of his age, to me it's obviously early-20th century American writing. Nothing wrong with that at all of course, but it's definitely there. And since I knew that Lovecraft and Howard were friends I just assumed it would be similar "of that time" style or whatever. But no, oh no no no. His writing is just so timeless. Positively floored. Also his take on so called civilized society fucking cracks me up, I love it.

to that.

Hell yes too all that. I love Lovecraft's writing style as well as Howard's.

I'm sure you've heard this one of course, but maybe some others on here haven't:

“Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.”
&#8213; Robert E. Howard

 

[Dick Sirloin]

So I see Stephen King is still milking the Dark Tower series. His new one is, I think, some kind of prequel or something. Anyway, seeing it in the bookstore reminded me that I never got around to reading Book 7 (The Dark Tower), and I needed some stupid beach reading, so I picked it up. Actually pretty okay. King has no literary value whatsoever, but he can get you turning them goddamn pages.

 

[dorian gray]

I too bought that whilst at the beach. I enjoyed it.

 

[Krilons Resa]

lol @ beach in Tennessee

 

[dorian gray]

?

 

[Krilons Resa]

youre not even on the ocean

 

[dorian gray]

I said "bought"...as in when I was there. I posted on here during my vacation. Surely you remember Lurch making fun of me.

 

[Krilons Resa]

I vaguely remember you talking about it beforehand.

 

[dorian gray]

you better remember it

 

[NAD]

I'm sure you've heard this one of course, but maybe some others on here haven't:

“Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.”
&#8213; Robert E. Howard

haha, that's awesome. I told a bit of this tale in some other thread, but recently at work we had a dude that everybody absolutely LOATHED. I understand personality conflicts, but when 9 different dudes want to kill 1 particular person, there's definitely something wrong there. Anyhow, on top of many theories, several of which are still being worked out even 6 weeks after we canned his sorry ass (read: mutual parting), I think the least-BS dude at the shop put it best to me one day at lunch:

"I'm sure you learned this growing up as well as I did: there are certain things you don't say, and certain ways that you don't act. Because you learned at an early age that if you do, you're gonna get hit. That dude? Never once has he been punched in the face."

And then we talked about the general pussification of modern man, as well as how amazing the falafel we were consuming was.

 

[Dick Sirloin]

You can definitely tell the people who have been in a fight vs the ones who haven't

 

[Dick Sirloin]

The Dark Tower is pretty dadgum good. I've re-realized what makes King so popular.

1) He knows how to keep the pages turning.
2) He has a fantastic (read: WEIRD) imagination.
3) He has a colloquial/personable demeanor. If you read his books, you feel like you know HIM (all Dark Tower metafiction aside). He's like the dude telling you these stories at a bar, and you'd be glad to know him IRL.

Then again, his characters are fairly one-dimensional at times. It's all GOOD GUYS vs. BAD GUYS. He has little insight into the often-contradictory things that make real people tick. His figurative language is pedestrian. His pacing can be, at times, godawful--like he just wrote as much as he could, edited once, and sent the shit off.

I've always said that if King had written 20 books instead of 60--and REALLY focused on the good ones--he would have been a much better writer.

Still, there's a huge nostalgia factor for me, and his work is not even close to the trash 90% of popular novelists regularly produce. THEREFORE I'm not ashamed to read him, though I'm still very much a literary snob. Sometimes things can just be fun and entertaining and that's okay.

Though I still sorta wish he hadn't written himself into the story.

 

[dorian gray]

The only thing about King I don't like is that his style changed after he stopped gettign wasted. I still enjoy his work but Hearts in Atlantis doesn't compare to say, IT.
Its all good though. I'm not a literary snob.

 

[Dick Sirloin]

The only thing about King I don't like is that his style changed after he stopped gettign wasted.

This is pretty much true of all such artists.

 

[dorian gray]

Getting off drugs is lame

 

[lurch70]

random lurch story ...

when I worked the Four Seasons Hotel in NYC for almost a year ... King was our guest quite a few times. he used to hang out in an armchair in the lobby with a big newspaper, reading and occasionally peeking out from behind it.
yeah just how you imagine it ...
never bothered the man as we were not allowed to.

 

[Dick Sirloin]

Come to think of it, I don't think he's written a book about a Frankensteinian bellhop.... You shoulda stepped up.