The Books/Reading Thread

[Srontgorrth]

I'll probably make Less than Zero my next read, though its most likely going to take awhile. Did you read The Rules of Attraction?

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I read Less Than Zero for high school actually. That shit was nuts. Interesting lives some people lead.

 

[DarkBliss]

Tried reading Catcher in the Rye again, translated to Russian.
It's such a difficult book. I don't really get Salinger's style.
The way he describes everything from the viewpoint of the protagonist makes it hard to understand. It's like the book has no plot. It's just too disjointed, and hmm, almost psychotic.
Judging from what I read about the author, I'm not so surprised. He lived many years in isolation, practiced buddhism and was a very strange guy in general.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I pretty much hate that book.

 

[hexwind]

Edward Gibbon - The history of rise and fall of the Roman empire

 

[Einherjar86]

Catcher in the Rye has become some kind of quintessential young adult angst-ridden read. I'm not sure why. Personally, I think Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is a better look at impending insanity and grappling with social contraints.

 

[Zephyrus]

Edward Gibbon - The history of rise and fall of the Roman empire

"The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosophers as equally false; and by the magistrate as equally useful."

 

[Caecius]

I'm looking for some stuff to read over summer break. I need some recs, please and thank you. What are some essentials?

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Vampire chronicles

 

[damnromulans]

I'm looking for some stuff to read over summer break. I need some recs, please and thank you. What are some essentials?

Jerzy Kosinski - "The Painted Bird." I dare you not to cry in the section about the old faithful workhorse.

 

[demon_dopesmoker]

I like Catcher in the Rye, even though most people hate it. if you don't connect with the main character at all then you won't like it. but understanding Holden's way of thinking and sympahising with the way he feels is what made it good for me. just reading his general thoughts/observations - which are amusing and so true, and the casual, apathetic yet slightly angry style of writing appealed to me.

 

[optionthree]

I'm looking for some stuff to read over summer break. I need some recs, please and thank you. What are some essentials?

Asimov - Foundation

 

[hexwind]

"The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosophers as equally false; and by the magistrate as equally useful."

You read the book or you just know the quote?

 

[Addo_Of_Nex]

I've seen a variation of the quote attributed to Seneca the Younger before, but that was just on the internet somewhere.

 

[unknown]

I'll probably make Less than Zero my next read, though its most likely going to take awhile. Did you read The Rules of Attraction?

I started to but didn't put a good dent in it enough to say really

 

[Einherjar86]

What's the consensus here on Infinite Jest? I have a book of Wallace's essays (Concerning the Lobster), but I've heard good things about his novel. Just wondering if anyone here has read it.

 

[Einherjar86]

Finished Miéville's Perdido Street Station and found it to be not only one of the most entertaining books I've ever read, but also intellectually stimulating and artistically challenging. It dealt with issues ranging from politics and class distinction to AI, dreams, and drugs. To explain this book in a brief caption would be nigh impossible, since attempting to do so would likely rob the book of its beauty and complete depth. Suffice it to say that it deals with change and difference, between places and peoples, and transition/metamorphosis; the idea of becoming and being, and what defines entities. Lots of great stuff.

I've started Brian Ruckley's Winterbirth, the first book in his Godless World Trilogy, since I'm a pretty big high fantasy fan and haven't read anything truly engaging since R. Scott Bakker's The Judging Eye.

I also bought the following two collections, and I'm planning on reading at least one story out of these every week:

 

[unknown]

nice. I'm currently 200 pages into this:

and am enjoying it immensely. Simon Logan is one of my favorite authors. Imagine if Neal Stephenson was a hardcore Industrial DIY Punk fan whose stories were covered in filth and grime and had the unpleasant visceral quality of Irvine Welsh novels always set in a postapocalyptic wasteland...then you get close to describing Simon Logan

 

[optionthree]

Everyone and their dog seems to love this book, so I picked it up. About halfway through, some of it's pretty obvious but still interesting thus far.

 

[Einherjar86]

nice. I'm currently 200 pages into this:

and am enjoying it immensely. Simon Logan is one of my favorite authors. Imagine if Neal Stephenson was a hardcore Industrial DIY Punk fan whose stories were covered in filth and grime and had the unpleasant visceral quality of Irvine Welsh novels always set in a postapocalyptic wasteland...then you get close to describing Simon Logan

Sweet! This book sounds awesome.