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anilEhilated posted:I liked Nazi Literature in the Americas a lot. It's basically short stories presented as entries in an encyclopedia, some funny, some chilling, some surreal. It's also his most accessible book but that probably shouldn't really be relevant to someone who managed to struggle through 2666. Nazi Literature in the Americas is good. I just read Distant Star, which is basically an expansion of one of the capsule biographies in NLitA. That's another reason why Bolaño is good, his work is really self-intertextual, when you read his books sometimes you have the feeling that you've read it before, but you're not sure where, so you get this strange déjà vu sense which adds to the mystery and uneasiness feeling you're getting when you think about all the scarey stuff that's happening in the book. It's a kool feeling, imo.
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Mar 7, 2016 13:48
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WAY TO GO WAMPA!! posted:What exactly makes a book pointless? Being written.
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Mar 7, 2016 13:58
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im reading Kavalier and Clay and it's quite fun but I'm not sure it's Serious Literature enough to have won a Pulitzer. thanks
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Mar 7, 2016 14:01
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The pulitzer is meant for serious literature?
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Mar 7, 2016 14:16
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WAY TO GO WAMPA!! posted:What exactly makes a book pointless? Whether or not I like it
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Mar 7, 2016 14:43
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WAY TO GO WAMPA!! posted:What exactly makes a book pointless? Having been written by a human being, a brief pulsation in the black hole of eternity.
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Mar 7, 2016 14:48
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Blue Squares you and me are tight but sorry bro 2666 is really good. Also sorry bro but City on Fire is pretty bad I have decided.
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Mar 7, 2016 14:51
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Blue Squares you and me are tight but sorry bro 2666 is really good. gently caress this thread forever
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Mar 7, 2016 14:53
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blue squares posted:gently caress this thread forever The plot was trite and the characters were flat. The style was still excellent though. It felt like a book that treated itself as a masterpiece without earning it.
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Mar 7, 2016 15:03
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Lunchmeat Larry posted:im reading Kavalier and Clay and it's quite fun but I'm not sure it's Serious Literature enough to have won a Pulitzer. thanks Kavalier and Clay was good but felt overplotted. A story of young Jewish kids confronting their insecurities through comics and becoming successful is interesting enough. It didn't need the whole weird Kavalier disappearing thing.
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Mar 7, 2016 15:09
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Best (post-)modern literature shouldn't be serious, just good. Dry highbrow lit is so 20th Century
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Mar 7, 2016 16:33
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Guess I'll give it a go then.
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Mar 7, 2016 16:43
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I thought Kavalier and Clay worked just fine - the overall theme being escape, it made sense for Joe to escape his sorrow, and his return allowed Sam to escape the life he was living that was a lie. Then again, I'm biased because that's one of my favorite books of all time. Just started A Little Life and it's really good so far. Also, 2666 is great and City on Fire is really rather good.
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Mar 7, 2016 16:53
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BTW just a reminder that Gilead is one of the best books ever
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Mar 7, 2016 17:20
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Mel Mudkiper posted:BTW just a reminder that Gilead is one of the best books ever What if I am turned off by fiction that is heavily steeped in religion?
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Mar 7, 2016 17:26
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blue squares posted:What if I am turned off by fiction that is heavily steeped in religion? Gilead is the best American novel of the 21st century read it
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Mar 7, 2016 17:30
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Gilead is the best American novel of the 21st century read it You have never read Gravity's Rainbow.
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Mar 7, 2016 17:31
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CestMoi posted:You have never read Gravity's Rainbow. Check your calendar bro
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Mar 7, 2016 17:32
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Alas, I've owned my self.
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Mar 7, 2016 17:33
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That was an unrelated statement of fact and I did not at all make a mistake.
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Mar 7, 2016 17:34
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Besides, everyone knows the best book of the 20th century is Infinite Jest followed shortly thereafter by Fight Club and A Game of Thrones.
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Mar 7, 2016 17:43
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Besides, everyone knows the best book of the 20th century is Infinite Jest followed shortly thereafter by Fight Club and A Game of Thrones.
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Mar 7, 2016 17:45
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I tried to read Infinite Jest I really did
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Mar 7, 2016 17:49
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This dude in another thread got really mad at me when I said I didn't read any of the footnotes in Infinite Jest because I missed out on "world building" lol
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Mar 7, 2016 17:51
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Mel Mudkiper posted:This dude in another thread got really mad at me when I said I didn't read any of the footnotes in Infinite Jest because I missed out on "world building" lol That's a really stupid way to put it, but not reading the footnotes is like randomly skipping pages in a book for no reason
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Mar 7, 2016 17:53
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blue squares posted:That's a really stupid way to put it, but not reading the footnotes is like randomly skipping pages in a book for no reason The footnotes are all in the back of the book and I didn't feel like stopping every few sentences to go fishing for the right reference in the back. If he put them on the bottom of the page cool I can dig it but otherwise man gently caress that poo poo
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Mar 7, 2016 17:55
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Mel Mudkiper posted:The footnotes are all in the back of the book and I didn't feel like stopping every few sentences to go fishing for the right reference in the back. Mel Mudkiper, English major, has never heard of bookmarks
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Mar 7, 2016 17:57
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blue squares posted:Mel Mudkiper, English major, has never heard of bookmarks Bookmarks are for quitters and filthy casuals. Finish it in one sitting or not at all.
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Mar 7, 2016 17:58
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Burning Rain posted:The Third Reich was alright Italics exist for a reason
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Mar 7, 2016 17:59
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Infinite Jest is one of the books that should be read as ebook. It's "fitting" and the footnotes are much easier to read It's also prime example of a book where skipping or at least skimming is fine imo. Don't skip ALL notes though, that's just lazy
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Mar 7, 2016 18:11
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Literally the only remotely good part of Infinite Jest was one of the footnotes so just read that and you're golden.
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Mar 7, 2016 18:14
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I read it on ebook so it wasn't an ordeal. It was pretty good, except the part where David Foster Wallace can't get into the voice of any character who doesn't think and speak just like David Foster Wallace[1], which is a problem when one of the main characters doesn't, and so rarely speaks at all. At times there are footnotes[2] directly excusing the narrator's choice of words as not the sort of things those characters would say. [1] Except of course when there's an opportunity to use an ethnic slur or call something "faggy" which in the latter instance I'm pretty sure is just his thing, and even for 1996 strikes me as a dick move from ol' Dave, and is really not the characters' fault at all, to the extent anything is. [2] Footnotes in IJ falling into the rough categories of: Excusing DFW's voice problems, wildly inaccurate scientific information, world building that means nothing of importance, teasers trying to get you to jump ahead in the book, and legitimately important chapters contained in their entirety within footnotes for no particular reason.
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Mar 7, 2016 18:30
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Mel Mudkiper posted:This dude in another thread got really mad at me when I said I didn't read any of the footnotes in Infinite Jest because I missed out on "world building" lol I too will lol at this but at you for skipping the book for no good reason you loving mope.
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Mar 7, 2016 18:37
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actually there's a really good reason to skip the book, it's because the book is infinite jest
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Mar 7, 2016 18:42
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lotta folks mad that I read a tedious and bloated novel and didn't do it in the most tedious and bloated way
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Mar 7, 2016 18:58
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Is Infinite Jest anything like his short story about the baby getting a pot of boiling water dumped on it? I remember liking that when I read it. e: this one: http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a500/incarnations-burned-children-david-foster-wallace-0900/
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Mar 7, 2016 19:05
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WAY TO GO WAMPA!! posted:Is Infinite Jest anything like his short story about the baby getting a pot of boiling water dumped on it? I remember liking that when I read it. At times, yes
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Mar 7, 2016 19:07
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It's certainly not short, so it isn't like it in one respect.
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Mar 7, 2016 19:07
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Mel Mudkiper posted:lotta folks mad that I read a tedious and bloated novel and didn't do it in the most tedious and bloated way If you don't want to read it don't read it but it's weird to ignore 15% of the book and act like a hero about it
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Mar 7, 2016 19:15
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Guy A. Person posted:If you don't want to read it don't read it but it's weird to ignore 15% of the book and act like a hero about it I am not a hero, just a man who did the right thing when it mattered most. EDIT: If you want to read DFW at his best his non-fiction is where its at.
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Mar 7, 2016 19:19
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