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Dr McNinja is literature
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Oct 8, 2016 17:08
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Dr McNinja is literature You're correct, I am literature.
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Oct 8, 2016 17:22
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Just started reading At Swim-Two-Birds. This poo poo is hilarious and I have no idea what is happening.
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Oct 8, 2016 21:47
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thehoodie posted:Just started reading At Swim-Two-Birds. This poo poo is hilarious and I have no idea what is happening. You have no idea what you're in for. Flann O'Brien is the greatest writer in the English language and also the funniest.
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Oct 8, 2016 22:35
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Read through my copy of Aquarium in two reading sessions. Really great book, one of the best of the year. Still love my hardcover copy: great paper and ink quality, great illustrations. Vann clan, yadda yadda...
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Oct 10, 2016 04:43
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I don't know if I want to read After the Quake or Against the Day next. People seem to like Against the Day, but I've never heard people talk much about After the Quake on TBB.
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Oct 10, 2016 10:38
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Solitair posted:I don't know if I want to read After the Quake or Against the Day next. People seem to like Against the Day, but I've never heard people talk much about After the Quake on TBB. I tend to like Murakami's short stories better than his long form stuff, because you can get to the quirky magic realist core idea and then the story is over before it gets stale or he talks about cooking pasta while listening to the Beatles or some weird ear fetish. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo is a really good story in that collection. Pynchon is without a doubt the better writer though. Those are two pretty drastically different books tho, it depends what you in the mood for: a super-dense 1000 page novel or a few light short stories. I think I would personally do Quake first just because it is a small short story collection you can read in a few days before launching into Day.
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Oct 10, 2016 15:56
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We are finally gonna find Nobel winner on Thursday 
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Oct 10, 2016 19:52
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Maybe this year those Swedish nerds will see the light and give it to my favourite author
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Oct 10, 2016 21:34
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supposedly the bookie odds have dropped drastically on Ngugi and DeLillo, which in previous years at this stage usually indicated a leak. there might've been a draw between them in the previous voting round or something, which is why they postponed the announcement, who knows. i just hope it's not delillo, tbh. i thought white noise boring, the kind of thing that would disappear without a trace in the us had it been translated from german or w/e
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Oct 10, 2016 21:42
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What's a good copy of Dr.Faustus to pick up? Looking for plenty of context and annotation. I know next to nothing about old English or the era.
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Oct 11, 2016 02:54
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Xeom posted:What's a good copy of Dr.Faustus to pick up? Looking for plenty of context and annotation. I know next to nothing about old English or the era. fautus is in modern, albeit elizabethan, english. the Signet edition is good and cheap. norton critical edition is better but will have too much critical information if you're coming at this for non-academic purposes. chernobyl kinsman fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Oct 11, 2016 |
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Oct 11, 2016 04:38
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So I've been reading books with the theme (personal selection wise) of writings that have had an actual notable impact on the world but I'm running low on the list I made up for myself and am wondering if anyone here can offer up some suggestions. I do mean actually made a notable impact, as a singular work, not just added to a cultural lexicon or inspired future writings (for example, Shakespeare's works,1984 or Moby Dick). Also not including works which were critical to our understanding of history and shaped future works, but themselves didn't really offer much beyond a philosophical view (such as the Iliad and Odyssey). Also excluding the major religious texts (Bible, Qu'ran, Bhagavad Gita, etc...). What I've read or still have yet to read so far: The Prince Wealth of Nations On War Communist Manifesto The Rights of Man Republic Origin of Species I probably also need to add The Meaning of Relativity, Elements, Principia Mathematica, and the Canon of Medicine to that list but I will probably not even attempt those.
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Oct 11, 2016 05:39
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nessin posted:I do mean actually made a notable impact, as a singular work, not just added to a cultural lexicon or inspired future writings (for example, Shakespeare's works,1984 or Moby Dick). Also not including works which were critical to our understanding of history and shaped future works, but themselves didn't really offer much beyond a philosophical view (such as the Iliad and Odyssey). Also excluding the major religious texts (Bible, Qu'ran, Bhagavad Gita, etc...). lol
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Oct 11, 2016 05:48
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So you're just going to read monumental philosophic treatises and scientific papers? Have a wild fuckin time bud. Everything you excluded would tell far more about humans and how we've evolved over literally reading the origin of species and it would be way, way more enjoyable.
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Oct 11, 2016 05:52
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This seems more your speed, nessin
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Oct 11, 2016 05:55
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Like some sort of reverse Harold Bloom...
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Oct 11, 2016 06:00
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Actually, I've changed my mind. I think his list is great. I would only change one thing: he should read Republic first so Socrates can be first in a 2400-year-long line to mock him for his moronic ideas about the value of fiction.
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Oct 11, 2016 06:04
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Zesty Mordant posted:So you're just going to read monumental philosophic treatises and scientific papers? Have a wild fuckin time bud. Everything you excluded would tell far more about humans and how we've evolved over literally reading the origin of species and it would be way, way more enjoyable. I've read a lot of those, including every book (except Shakespeare, I've only read a couple of his plays) I mentioned in the parans of my original post. I've explicitly avoided, in the past, most of the books I listed for just the reason you identified which is the whole point of why I'm reading them now. nessin fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Oct 11, 2016 |
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Oct 11, 2016 06:06
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it's cool you're taking this up dude, but maybe the lit thread was not the best place to ask about it, ya know
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Oct 11, 2016 06:15
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nessin posted:So I've been reading books with the theme (personal selection wise) of writings that have had an actual notable impact on the world but I'm running low on the list I made up for myself and am wondering if anyone here can offer up some suggestions. I do mean actually made a notable impact, as a singular work, not just added to a cultural lexicon or inspired future writings (for example, Shakespeare's works,1984 or Moby Dick). Also not including works which were critical to our understanding of history and shaped future works, but themselves didn't really offer much beyond a philosophical view (such as the Iliad and Odyssey). Also excluding the major religious texts (Bible, Qu'ran, Bhagavad Gita, etc...). What I've read or still have yet to read so far: Why would you consider Principia Mathematica and not On Formally Undecidable Propositions? Also the line you're drawing is arbitrary and stupid, as are you.
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Oct 11, 2016 06:58
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nessin posted:So I've been reading books with the theme (personal selection wise) of writings that have had an actual notable impact on the world but I'm running low on the list I made up for myself and am wondering if anyone here can offer up some suggestions. I do mean actually made a notable impact, as a singular work, not just added to a cultural lexicon or inspired future writings (for example, Shakespeare's works,1984 or Moby Dick). Also not including works which were critical to our understanding of history and shaped future works, but themselves didn't really offer much beyond a philosophical view (such as the Iliad and Odyssey). Also excluding the major religious texts (Bible, Qu'ran, Bhagavad Gita, etc...). What I've read or still have yet to read so far: Atlas Shrugged.
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Oct 11, 2016 09:03
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Read Erasmus' facing-page translation of the New Testament, a textbook on structural mechanics from 1900, The Oxford English Dictionary, Schoenberg's Fundamentals of Musical Composition and transcripts of the Putney debates. The only reason I can think of for embarking on such a quest is some kind of strong anxiety that you're not reading stuff that's useful enough? The problem is you can be infinitely broad in your reading, but that's so much less useful for the world around you than reading deeply in one place.
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Oct 11, 2016 12:55
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nessin posted:I've read a lot of those, including every book (except Shakespeare, I've only read a couple of his plays) I mentioned in the parans of my original post. I've explicitly avoided, in the past, most of the books I listed for just the reason you identified which is the whole point of why I'm reading them now. read the following: -The Art of Living -Meditations -some poo poo about Buddhism -Ethics -something explicit about determinism (Schopenhauer?) -Self-Reliance -Walden -Sermon on the Mount then when you tire of this preposterous undertaking, at least you'll have some fun ideas to mull over as well as context for good books hog fat fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Oct 11, 2016 |
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Oct 11, 2016 13:16
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After a few days of reflection, Aquarium has been one of the best books of the year for me. I've already loaned my copy out. My biggest issue is I can't really find a good follow-up to it now. I'm starting Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and will start Capote's In Cold Blood, but nothing's really motivating me after Vann, but I don't want to rush into another one of his books.
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Oct 11, 2016 14:19
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nessin posted:So I've been reading books with the theme (personal selection wise) of writings that have had an actual notable impact on the world but I'm running low on the list I made up for myself and am wondering if anyone here can offer up some suggestions. I do mean actually made a notable impact, as a singular work, not just added to a cultural lexicon or inspired future writings (for example, Shakespeare's works,1984 or Moby Dick). Also not including works which were critical to our understanding of history and shaped future works, but themselves didn't really offer much beyond a philosophical view (such as the Iliad and Odyssey). Also excluding the major religious texts (Bible, Qu'ran, Bhagavad Gita, etc...). What I've read or still have yet to read so far: I mean, if you're doing something like this, why not pick an absurd but finite goal, like all of the Harvard Classics or some poo poo?
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Oct 11, 2016 14:20
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Franchescanado posted:After a few days of reflection, Aquarium has been one of the best books of the year for me. I've already loaned my copy out. Try The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks. Its the only book that competes with Aquarium for me and deals with a similar theme of people dealing with exceptional tragedy.
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Oct 11, 2016 15:22
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nessin posted:So I've been reading books with the theme (personal selection wise) of writings that have had an actual notable impact on the world but I'm running low on the list I made up for myself and am wondering if anyone here can offer up some suggestions. I do mean actually made a notable impact, as a singular work, not just added to a cultural lexicon or inspired future writings (for example, Shakespeare's works,1984 or Moby Dick). Also not including works which were critical to our understanding of history and shaped future works, but themselves didn't really offer much beyond a philosophical view (such as the Iliad and Odyssey). Also excluding the major religious texts (Bible, Qu'ran, Bhagavad Gita, etc...). What I've read or still have yet to read so far: This is a cool idea - it's nice to go back and read some of the original works and try to puzzle through why they changed the world like they did. Although I love literature sometimes it is nice to read something else. It seems that you have basically boxed yourself into scientific or proto-scientific readings. Unfortunately, what quickly happens is that you end up reading a lot of early papers or treatises that are difficult to read not because of the underlying concepts but because a lot of the notation and understanding has advanced since that time that puzzling through things is not as rewarding as you might think. For instance, reading Leibnitz might give you insight into Calculus but you'd be reading translated German with non-standard formulations. Some things that might fall into your category are general history of science topics - you can even do something like a Great Course to get an overview and then pick out things you like hearing about from there. Aristotle - if you want to know what people believed until the scientific age Galen's work - set medicine back centuries Ptolemy - Almagest, etc. was the standard astronomical trestise for centuries Early work by Harvey, etc. de mortu Cordis showing the first break with Galen Galileo - On Motion, etc.- break with Ptolemy on physics You can generally just read the scientific papers for anything you want from the second half of the 19th century or so and see ultraviolet catastrophe, the photoelectric effect, etc. usher in Einstein, etc. At some point you will outstrip your knowledge/understanding of a scientific topic and it will be much more high yield to learn the concepts elsewhere before returning to the original text. I find it fascinating to go back through early New England Journal of Medicine editions and find the first papers on subjects such as catheterization, AIDS, etc.
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Oct 11, 2016 17:34
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J_RBG posted:The only reason I can think of for embarking on such a quest is some kind of strong anxiety that you're not reading stuff that's useful enough? The problem is you can be infinitely broad in your reading, but that's so much less useful for the world around you than reading deeply in one place. I decided to do something similar when I was 19. It was dumb then, too. e: galen sucks chernobyl kinsman fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Oct 11, 2016 |
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Oct 11, 2016 20:11
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There's a book called How To Read A Book and it contains the full list of Books You Should Read
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Oct 11, 2016 20:15
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the_homemaster posted:There's a book called How To Read A Book and it contains the full list of Books You Should Read who let you back in here
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Oct 11, 2016 20:15
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If you want to do something probably quite dumb assuming you're not a serious scholar and is probably doable and actually entertaining then just read all of Harold Bloom's 'Western Canon' http://www.openculture.com/2014/01/harold-bloom-creates-a-massive-list-of-works-in-the-western-canon.html Read all that, and congratulations you're now very learned.
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Oct 12, 2016 00:06
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Invicta{HOG}, M.D. posted:This is a cool idea
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Oct 12, 2016 01:05
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You guys convinced me to get Aquarium
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Oct 12, 2016 01:45
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Twerkteam Pizza posted:You guys convinced me to get Aquarium I did no such thing
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Oct 12, 2016 01:48
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Twerkteam Pizza posted:You guys convinced me to get Aquarium you're going to be sad for a minimum of 48 hours
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Oct 12, 2016 02:09
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chernobyl kinsman posted:you're going to be sad for a minimum of 48 hours I'm excited
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Oct 12, 2016 02:40
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Rush Limbo posted:If you want to do something probably quite dumb assuming you're not a serious scholar and is probably doable and actually entertaining then just read all of Harold Bloom's 'Western Canon' The linked list misspells "Flann O'Brien" and recommends The Dalkey Archive over At-Swim-Two-Birds. TRASH! FILTH! OBSCENITY! e: and no Boethius! Harold Bloom's existence is an offense to taste and decency! Eugene V. Dubstep fucked around with this message at 03:10 on Oct 12, 2016 |
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Oct 12, 2016 03:07
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That's not the full list. I'm almost certain the full one has At Swim-Two-Birds on it. I was going to read it from the start until I inevitably got bored as a joke for the Reading Challenge thread and I read the Iliad and Odyssey and then stopped. The bit of the book that isn't a big stupid list is really good, and people should read it.
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Oct 12, 2016 04:11
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Guy A. Person posted:I tend to like Murakami's short stories better than his long form stuff, because you can get to the quirky magic realist core idea and then the story is over before it gets stale or he talks about cooking pasta while listening to the Beatles or some weird ear fetish. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo is a really good story in that collection. Against the Day it is. I'm going with the writer I know, plus I already have a serviceable book of short stories I want to get through (The Girl with the Flammable Skirt). I'll let you know how the Pynchon one was when I'm done with it (a month if I'm lucky).
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Oct 12, 2016 06:05
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