Read Some Real Literature: Anyway hail satantango

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Read Some Real Literature: Anyway hail satantango

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fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

blue squares posted:

Watching you guys make fun of fantasy is like listening to the band kids make fun of the anime club

Must have been harsh times for you

# ¿ Jul 9, 2016 16:27

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 20:40

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

i was a band kid

# ¿ Jul 9, 2016 17:06

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Heath posted:

The one fantasy author I really enjoy is Steven Brust, who uses a lot of the fantasy tropes (like "calling a rabbit a smreep" or whatever, which he is super super guilty of.) He has an elaborate "magic system," but he uses it in service of the narrative in a way that I think most fantasy authors wish they could. In his world there are two(ish) schools of magic, sorcery and witchcraft. Sorcery is available to everyone who lives in this particular region and powers everything from day to day things like lighting and personal security to lobbing fireballs at some rear end in a top hat that is attacking you. Witchcraft is generally seen as vulgar, time intensive and is associated specifically with a reviled group of people, so in the scope of the story it has personal identity associations for the main character as well as being an excuse to counterbalance the practical sorcery with the mystical witchery, since there are some things sorcery can't do or that witchcraft is better suited for. It works pretty well in that context, in my opinion, and I generally hate fantasy novels. He works what basically amounts to a video game class system into his world in a way that feels natural. It helps too that Brust is good at writing dialog and giving his main character an entertaining inner monologue.

This post in no way constitutes a recommendation that anyone read a fantasy novel. Consult your doctor prior to use.

jesus christ smh

# ¿ Jul 9, 2016 22:32

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I read Aquarium. It was cute. That middle bit was difficult to read tho.

# ¿ Jul 17, 2016 06:56

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

my favourite anime is bobs burgers

# ¿ Jul 20, 2016 18:09

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I think gg&s invites a lot of criticism on itself for being overly simplistic and perhaps making a few too many assumptions however Ian Morris wrote a book called Why the West Rules for Now largely about the same topic and is much more academically grounded and a lot of his findings are congruent with diamonds arguments so whatev

In other news I just finished A Grain of Wheat which was cool and good imo

# ¿ Jul 25, 2016 07:03

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Ive just started a Neil gaiman book :ohdear:

# ¿ Jul 25, 2016 14:31

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

blue squares posted:

pls Mr. Squishy I have no real friends

I'll be your friend

# ¿ Jul 25, 2016 19:26

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I should probably read more hemmingway

# ¿ Jul 27, 2016 12:34

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I never read the same author back to back i get tired really easily of the same style and voice and never really give the second book a chance. I burned out on hemmingway hard that way and why I haven't read anything of his in like 10 years 😪

# ¿ Jul 27, 2016 20:10

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

This Neil gaiman book is not very good

# ¿ Jul 29, 2016 08:20

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Are you often in a bad moon? 🌚

# ¿ Jul 29, 2016 17:44

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

finished American Gods and thank god, I'll not be reading any more of gaiman

# ¿ Jul 31, 2016 07:17

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Foul Fowl posted:

the only thing interesting about it was how clearly gaiman was writing out comic book scenes in prose.

Yeah this is exactly what I felt execpt for the finding it interesting part

# ¿ Jul 31, 2016 13:41

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Bandiet posted:

Why are we talking about Neil Gaiman in the lit thread anyway, a man who exclusively writes Fantasy?

Because I was recommended him earnestly by someone I trust and now i am hurt and betrayed and needed somewhere to bitch

# ¿ Aug 1, 2016 12:43

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I enjoyed Wolf in White Van for the most part but there was something missing for me but idk what it was exactly

# ¿ Aug 1, 2016 13:43

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Mel Mudkiper I have a question pertaining to Aquarium and am curious for your opinion (or anyone's for that matter)

I question the reliability of the narrator. Do you believe this is intentional?

# ¿ Aug 2, 2016 10:55

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Mel Mudkiper posted:

Eh I see no reason to be suspicious of her accuracy. The events she describes are extreme, but that is kind of the point.

I agree for the most part, but still find it strange to frame the narration as such when it doesn't seem to add anything to the story when taken at face value. Equally extraordinary are the actions of the main character in the face of the extreme events as described, surely beyond the capabilities of most 12 year olds to act with such singular determination that perhaps things have been embellished somewhat. I dont think it adds much to think of the narration as unreliable but still it was something I found slightly distracting and had stuck in my mind since reading it

# ¿ Aug 2, 2016 13:44

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Beyond sane knolls posted:

While reading, did you question the mother's narrative of her own childhood?

Yeah, of course

# ¿ Aug 3, 2016 08:29

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

At Swim-Two-Birds is probably the maddest thing I've read in a long time

# ¿ Aug 5, 2016 07:41

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

CestMoi posted:

Pls post in this thread when you read the last page about how it's the best last page in the history of literature tia

Easily my best book of the year so far

# ¿ Aug 5, 2016 13:51

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

blue squares posted:

the year 1939?

It was a good year

# ¿ Aug 5, 2016 14:01

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

aquarium is rly good im trying to get the gf to read it

# ¿ Aug 6, 2016 19:25

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Pale fire is pretty fwiggen wacky

# ¿ Aug 9, 2016 09:32

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I didn't particularly like On the Road. I felt perhaps it's poignancy has faded with age and doesn't survive well purely on literary merit but what do I know

# ¿ Aug 11, 2016 12:57

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I thoroughly enjoyed the Brothers K although I can't really tell you why. When it ended I felt like it was just getting started

# ¿ Aug 15, 2016 17:56

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Just started Mason & Dixon and gently caress me it's a bit dense. Im having fun reading Dixon's dialogue in his geordie accent though 😯

# ¿ Aug 19, 2016 10:21

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Invicta{HOG}, M.D. posted:

That and V are the only ones I have left from Pynchon. I was planning on reading it last because I have heard good things about it and want to savor what may be the last new material by him I will read.

This is my first foray into the wonderful world of Pynchon 😌

# ¿ Aug 19, 2016 18:47

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Mason & Dixon is cool although not much happens. The language is excellent and its pretty funny too. Im about 25% through it atm

# ¿ Aug 26, 2016 18:08

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Mel Mudkiper posted:

uh... who are you talking to?

wrong account blue squares

# ¿ Aug 31, 2016 07:00

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Schmischmenjamin posted:

might as well have skipped the quote and addressed this toward all participants in this thread

im very sufferable thank you very much

# ¿ Aug 31, 2016 22:26

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Wtf is the canon

# ¿ Sep 6, 2016 23:08

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Im still reading Mason & Dixon and still nothing has happened

# ¿ Sep 12, 2016 10:30

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I think i want to read infinite jest even less now

Hell that not reading article was spot on!!

# ¿ Sep 22, 2016 08:19

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Abalieno posted:

I've read about 100 pages of The Recognitions before shelving it. It's good and with a nice sense of humor, but a bit dull. I'll return to it at some point.

IJ is built as a multitude of small stories that manage to find some unifying vision. It's something exclusive of DFW, and you could take the book and deconstruct it in many smaller, autonomous chunks. But it's only when they are unified that they build something else entirely that is far more than the just sum of the parts. And that's exactly what failed with The Pale King: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/much-little-history-david-foster-wallaces-pale-king/#!

I also absolutely love The Broom of the System, even if it's not big, and I consider some of the best Wallace the first 100 pages of his book on the mathematical infinite. I absolutely worship Wallace in all forms, short and long. My favorite writer by far, and that was before Infinite jest was even published.

Should I really say again that I don't like length for length sake? There's something that is exclusive of big books that I enjoy, it's not something you find in EVERY big book. I've listed big books that legitimately caught my attention: Infinite Jest, The Dying Grass, Bottom's Dream, Parallel Stores, The Man Without Qualities, The Tunnel, 2666, 1Q84, or Neal Stephenson stuff. But that's pretty much it (outside of genre fiction). I certainly don't have in my reading queue Clarissa or Vanity Fair or A Little Life. There is something that links those book that isn't "length", all those big books I've listed are widely considered masterpieces, because the publishing industry and the market itself encourage shorter, accessible stuff, and that means that when a big book comes out chances are it deserved being the exception. You don't get a 1000 pages book published unless you convince someone it's really, really good. Nor a writer writes 500k words without truly committing himself as a form of earnest passion. That dedication has my sincere respect, and it earns my attention. Effort doesn't equal quality, but it certainly improves the chance of it. You need an unnatural drive in order to achieve certain things, and when I pick up a book, knowing there are millions of other books out there, I crave for exceptionality, for something not common. When I buy (and eventually read) a book I can afford looking not just at narrow but deep, or wide but shallow. I can have wide AND deep. Because in the history of literature there are such things. There are complete madmen as Arno Schmidt or David Foster Wallace who threw their lives at literature, and they deserve to be read because they happen very rarely, and going forward there are going to be less and less of them.

I did buy this, though.

I still haven't read it, but it's another big, playful book I eventually expect to enjoy.

Your posts, like the books you read, could probably be a lot shorter without suffering content

# ¿ Sep 22, 2016 11:56

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I finally finished Mason & Dixon

# ¿ Oct 1, 2016 14:26

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

I read Aquarium and agree that it is a very good book. Im trying to get my gf to read it but I'm afraid it might break her 😌

# ¿ Oct 13, 2016 08:32

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Good on ya Bobby D

# ¿ Oct 13, 2016 12:05

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Im glad bob Dylan won the Nobel prize and im even gladder they'res ppl mad about it

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 08:45

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 20:40

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

Is cormac mccarthy even Nobel worthy? I've read the road and it was a bit meh

# ¿ Oct 17, 2016 14:08

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Read Some Real Literature: Anyway hail satantango

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