The Books/Reading Thread

[CAIRATH]

My girlfriend got me Jay's Journal of Anomalies by Ricky Jay for Christmas, which is a really fun read. I love Ricky Jay, he has such a great presence and an interesting writing style as well. The book also has a ton of neat photos and illustrations.

Here's some fun videos for those unfamiliar with him:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UI_vaCADD4c&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c2v5E6vlY3w&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QnD8arc9B0k&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3AN6kgm0cHw&feature=related

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

You didn't seem like you were having problems picking up girls in the confessional thread... 300$ seemed like a good way to seduce a girl for you.

Jesus, you guys are such childish fucking assholes. I shamelessly confessed that weeks ago, & it was never meant to get everyone's panties in a bunch like it did... If I read Lord of the Rings would I be more metal? How about Harry Potter?

 

[The Ozzman]

You can't expect to post something like that on the webz and NOT get shit for it

 

[S<issors]

Hey, can anyone recommend me some fun light reading that doesn't suck? I haven't browsed sci-fi/fantasy or horror for a long time, so I'm sort of at a loss. I picked up the first of those Prince of Nothing books on a random rec, gonna see if I like it as soon as I finish As I Lay Dying and Suttree, but more suggestions are welcome.

Basically I'm looking for some light, well written genre fiction (Dan Simmons and George R.R. Martin are good examples) to entertain me and cleanse my palette between all the "literary" reading.

 

[The Ozzman]

Chuck Palahniuk - Choke

 

[cookiecutter]

Anything by Michael Crichton (sp?)

 

[unknown]

Chuck Palahniuk - Choke

or Survivor

 

[The Ozzman]

I still need to get that, but I'm in the middle of re-reading Choke and finishing slowly getting through Nietzsche, so it'll be a while.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

I'm reading The Game by Neil Strauss.

 

[Ben_t]

You can't expect to post something like that on the webz and NOT get shit for it

Especially while reading a book about picking up girls...I had to say something.

 

[S<issors]

I've already read all of palahaniuk and crichton's stuff : (

 

[The Ozzman]

I'm reading The Game by Neil Strauss.

Srsly?

 

[Hatebreeder]

I just got an enormous haul of Barnes & Noble classics, mostly consisting of mythology.

Virgil - the Aeneid
Homer - the Odyssey
Ovid - the Metamorphoses
Mesopotamian myths - Oxford edition
Aristotle - Poetics and Rhetoric
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Bram Stoker - Dracula

 

[Hatebreeder]

Also, I just finished Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone, which was a surprisingly entrancing experience. Anybody else read this?

Also in the process of tackling John Milton's Paradise Lost, whose vast poetic flow inspired me to start writing my own epic (which only consists of 26 lines at the moment).

By the way, what's the general opinion of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray? I'm looking forward to reading it.

 

[Zephyrus]

I just got an enormous haul of Barnes & Noble classics, mostly consisting of mythology.

Virgil - the Aeneid
Homer - the Odyssey
Ovid - the Metamorphoses
Mesopotamian myths - Oxford edition
Aristotle - Poetics and Rhetoric

The Aeneid is the greatest book ever written.

If you like that one and Paradise Lost, you must read The Divine Comedy of Dante if you haven't already.

 

[skeptik]

Currently reading (for school):

Shakespeare - Measure For Measure
Peter Kivy (my professor) - Philosophies Of Art
Arthur C. Danto - The Transfiguration Of The Commonplace

Plus some books about Hellenic history and religion in America.

 

[Einherjar86]

Also, I just finished Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone, which was a surprisingly entrancing experience. Anybody else read this?

Also in the process of tackling John Milton's Paradise Lost, whose vast poetic flow inspired me to start writing my own epic (which only consists of 26 lines at the moment).

By the way, what's the general opinion of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray? I'm looking forward to reading it.

Elric is a good fantasy read, but it's nothing compared to George R.R. Martin. Still, the writing was decent and the idea of the anti-hero is the primary theme of the book, which I think is cool.

Paradise Lost is incredible; and if you like Milton's epic, try the writings of William Blake. He wrote a great deal about Milton and has a lot to say about Paradise Lost in his works (especially The Marriage of Heaven and Hell).

And anything by Oscar Wilde is pretty enjoyable. He's a hilariously witty and clever writer, and you can usually pick up on most of his humor.

Also, as to your previous post, The Aeneid is (in my opinion) the best epic of ancient times. It's so friggin' sweet. If you're into epics like The Aeneid and Paradise Lost, definitely read Dante's Divine Comedy if you haven't already.

I'm currently reading Jordan's Wheel of Time series (I know he's dead) for fun, but I'm going to have to set it aside to begin Zhukov's Memoirs for my Russian History class. And as soon as Martin's Dance With Dragons comes out, that will be my top priority.

 

[The Ozzman]

right now I'm reading:

Choke - Chuck Palahniuk
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Choosing Death: The Improbably History of DM and Grindcore

 

[unknown]

By the way, what's the general opinion of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray? I'm looking forward to reading it.

it's a pretty easy and enjoyable read

 

[Hatebreeder]

I have read the Divine Comedy, it was the first foray I ever made into classic epics. The formula got rather stale by Paradiso, though, and I really wasn't interested in reading about something boring like heaven. Inferno and Purgatorio were quite compelling, though.