What are you reading now?

[HiWire]

Zero History by William Gibson:

Edited November 6, 2012 by HiWire

[nikongod]

So I have started a personal quest to re-read or in many cases read for the first time a whole bunch of high school or other classic books.

Someone on a dating site asked me for a list of what I have read recently and the email kind of spiraled into a mini-book report of each... Probably TMI, so I'm going to cut that back for her, and share with yall. Feel free to tell me if I'm totally off base on any of these:

I am currently reading catch-22 which is AWESOME. I ran out of books during the power outage and this one came off the shelf. Power and internet are back on, and my copy is big and hardcover so I dont take it to the city (where I read on the subway) so I will probably be reading this for a while...

The Watchmen - Saw the movie version a long time ago, both are VERY VERY good. I had a hard time following the book in places - I probably missed a key detail somewhere, but still liked it a lot.

The Catcher in the Rye - Sucky waste of a week's free time. Maybe I just don't get it which makes me hate it even more. I am only happy to have done it so I don't have to do it again. Maybe its just hard to follow the writing style of the next two on the list with the overall style of this book which has no flow on top of a story I just don't care about. I can see this book being a great reason for high-school aged kids to hate reading. All by its self. I may read it again in case I missed something but I am afraid I will hate myself for it.

Lolita - Should I hold back and be tepid, or say how insanely awesome this book was? It was awesome! In many ways it was like Clockwork Orange - where there is always this overwhelming feeling of "wow this is disturbing, but I cant stop reading" Neither feeling went away while reading. I think that what was most interesting was how the descriptions of the guys feelings & love for Lolita were written well enough to almost make you forget what was going on, only to remind you a paragraph later that he is talking about a child.

The great Gatsby - AWESOME! Even before (I'm terrible with details) describes the lady in the first or second chapter (It was highlighted in the copy I borrowed) I was absolutely hooked. The highlighted paragraph may be the most amazing description of a beautiful woman EVER (in my limited experience). The story was a little predictable, but the pace & rhythm of the writing more than made up for it. I could not wait to read what I knew would happen just so I could read how it was written - Yea, that good.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Took a while to read through because I had to keep stopping myself from crying on the subway. Seriously. Despite having a slightly young style it was no where near as annoying as catcher in the rye. Weird, isn't it, this one is almost endearing (Dare I say genuine? Ooh yea, that is a big fuck you Holden!) in its style where that one is a dark smudge on literature.

V for Vendetta. I liked it - I saw the movie a long time ago. Like watchmen I had a hard time following in some places, but I may have skimmed over important details in otherwise borring passages... I read it because the girl who I missed the last NYC head-case meet to snuggle with was into comix. Not sad I read it at all. Still bummed I ditched you guys for he though.

Edited November 11, 2012 by nikongod

[shellylh]

Cool Ari! I started doing the same a little while back but didn't get very far. I should get back to it.

[grawk]

I haven't read it in 15 years, but I loved it when I read it.

[deepak]

I loved Catch 22 as well. I read that my intern year during on calls, made it even more interesting with the sleep deprivation.

[nikongod]

i love The Catcher In The Rye. i think it's both incredibly overrated and incredibly underrated.

I haven't read it in 15 years, but I loved it when I read it.

Thanks!

Can you tell me where you think its under-rated? I think a different perspective or a push in the right direction will help.

Edited November 11, 2012 by nikongod

[grawk]

I think it helps to read it from the perspective of an extreme outsider.

[Dusty Chalk]

Don't worry, Ari, I hated Catcher in the Rye, too. I just didn't "get" it. It's slice-of-life shit, the book equivalent of mumble-core.

And I think you should send all of that to her. If she asked about books, that means that's important to her. But leave something to talk about, so maybe not.

I really need to re-read Catch-22. I reference it so often, I think it's become a different thing, like "Peter's view of Catch-22", rather than the actual book.

[blessingx]

Catcher's often ignored first and last chapters give context, no (22's location also)? I may be bias as named our daughter after a character in a lesser known Salinger short. And well most of his stuff seems best at a certain age (though I do have a soft spot for the last ~75 pages of Franny & Zooey). I definitely need to reread Catch-22 again too.

Edited November 11, 2012 by blessingx

[Torpedo]

it's underrated because so many people think it's overrated that they don't really look at it closely. it helps to have been a certain kind of teenager, at one point in life. i got it, the first time i read it, and i now appreciate the way i got it, as an adult.

This. I had a similar experience with Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse.

[Contrastique]

Not a book but a manual on collodion photography this time:

I've been working with collodion photography for a couple of years (photography on glass plates dating from 1851) now but it's always interesting learning more as there's so much more to it. This guy and his wife are insanely knowledgeable and their stuff is fantastic to read.

I'm also reading "Point counter Point" by Aldous Huxley but that's currently on hold.

[blessingx]

Just a few more minor thoughts on Catcher...

Although HC's 'fight against the world' likely reads best at a certain point in the readers life, the book still can work later when said reader is likely more critical of HC's POV, no? I'm not sure we're to read his telling of his recent past from a mental hospital bed as entirely pro-HC. Then again.

And even if we are, look where Salinger heads next - Franny & Zooey. If Catcher is read as the big bad world teardown (or connected personal break up), F&Z is the resulting personal build up (and a much better book - or two connected shorts). Probably the reason Catcher is found in so many murders pockets and F&Z is not. Course by F&Z we're introduced to the Glass family and the world gets a whole lot more complex (and Salinger begins his slide to checking out, drinking urine and watching non-stop Andy Griffith Shows).

Also, as Jacob hinted at above, how you approach Catcher fresh when it's become so culturally saturated? Everyone's already seen HC's POV repeatedly if they've several dozen movies, hundreds of pop songs (even genres?), who knows how many novels/shorts, etc. Does it read like it should be banned now? Did its success make it irrelevant?

fuck, i knew that name was familiar.

Unfortunately, someone else fucking liked the name too.

The real deal.

Edited November 11, 2012 by blessingx

[MexicanDragon]

This made me think of a Kindle/Audible deal going on a month or two ago, and I went to look to see if it was still around. I came across this:

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=2245146011

Free Classics and pre-1923 OOP books.

For now, I just found 10, instead of the 27 that were there, but here you can do free kindle + free audible versions, with "Whispersync for Voice", which will save your place between the audiobook and the text. It's kinda neat.

http://www.amazon.com/mn/search/?_encoding=UTF8&%2F%3Ftag=ranme-20&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&qid=1346994417&rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A!2334093011%2Cn%3A!2334124011%2Cn%3A5744819011%2Cn%3A5744839011&tag=audiob00-20

**BRENT**

[acidbasement]

I'm really enjoying this right now.

[aardvark baguette]

God's Debris - Scott Adams

[blessingx]

Anyone read Sex Motorcycle?

http://m.gawker.com/5962793/sex-motorcycle-by-horny-man-travis-is-this-years-perfect-stocking-stuffer

Edited November 23, 2012 by blessingx

[Dusty Chalk]

"I'm in love fuck buddies with my car motorcycle"

Maybe someone should do '39, and have the offspring accidentally have sex with the ancestors...inbreeding and hilarity ensue.

[T-Bird]

I am reading The Hobbit for the first time.

I have tried reading Catch 22 a few times and Catcher in the Rye once or twice. I need to read those along with The Gunslinger.

[MoonShine]

Nested "mythpunk" stories that get better as you go.

[nikongod]

I finished Catch-22 sunday night.

Wow, it was amazing. The whole premise of the book was cool, and the conflicting arguments were amazing if somewhat scary at times. I was particularly scared by the interrogation scenes. The whole thing seems very morally wrong, and yet doesnt seem too far from the realm of possibility.

Edited November 27, 2012 by nikongod

[greyexpectations]

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (first-class historical novel, Tudor period), Mortality by Christopher Hitchens (essays written during his struggle with cancer), and How Music Works by David Byrne (which probably needs no explanation *here*).

[blessingx]

[aardvark baguette]

Flatland - Edwin Abbott

[cutestory]

Wow, an amusing infographic with someone I graduated from college with on it.

Now I feel both old and like an underachiever. Thanks, goodreads infographic.

[blessingx]

You went to college with Marcel Proust?