Books: What are you reading tonight? - Page 198 - The Lounge Discussion and Review on Literature, Arts, Culture

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Page 198 of 779

First

98 148 178 188 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 208 218 248 298 398 698

Last

10-22-2010 , 02:19 AM

#4926

Dominic

Tripod

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 74,421

it's such a well-written book, too.

Quote

10-22-2010 , 10:17 AM

#4927

John Cole

Lounge Nighthawk

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 18,362

For tennis fans, David Foster Wallace, who was a pretty good amateur player, wrote a great essay about tennis in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, a book worth reading in its entirety.

Quote

10-22-2010 , 10:21 AM

#4928

John Cole

Lounge Nighthawk

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 18,362

I've been working my way through Finnegans Wake and finding that I'm not turning to the online guide often (just an occasional glance to see if I'm getting the gist of various sections) and enjoying it without knowing a great deal of what is going on.

I probably wouldn't recommend this method to others; however, it seems to work for me.

Quote

10-22-2010 , 01:07 PM

#4929

pryor15

filmie

Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,887

Right now I'm working my way through the following books:

The Satanic Verses
The Story of a Million Years (David Huddle)
Mexico City Noir (various)
Hardcore Hardboiled (various)

the last 2 are research for what might be my next feature

there was something else, but I can't remember where I put it, so that's probably not going to get finished

Quote

10-22-2010 , 01:10 PM

#4930

nyc999

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 18,666

Quote:

Originally Posted by pryor15

Right now I'm working my way through the following books:

The Satanic Verses
The Story of a Million Years (David Huddle)
Mexico City Noir (various)
Hardcore Hardboiled (various)

Do you easily read multiple books at once? I've never been able to focus on more than 1 at a time, aside from college (when forced to take on multiple books).

Quote

10-22-2010 , 01:13 PM

#4931

pryor15

filmie

Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,887

Quote:

Originally Posted by nyc999

Do you easily read multiple books at once? I've never been able to focus on more than 1 at a time, aside from college (when forced to take on multiple books).

sometimes?

The bottom 2 are collections of stories, which makes for easy enough stopping points.

I usually only read 1 book at a time, but if I focus I can read a book in a day or so.

Quote

10-22-2010 , 01:13 PM

#4932

SnotBoogy

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 7,694

i can read multiples if they are different enough

Quote

10-22-2010 , 01:22 PM

#4933

kattrades

adept

Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 922

Just finished reading "Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle" about three Americans held as hostages by FARC for over five years. Pretty interesting read, particularly when describing Ingrid Betancourt's behavior while in captivity. Gives great insight into how the FARC, Colombian and American militaries, and Colombian politicians behaved and operated during their captivity. Also, the book tells about the toll it took on the hostages families.

Quote

10-22-2010 , 01:23 PM

#4934

Dominic

Tripod

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 74,421

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Cole

so basically, you';re saying you're smarter than the rest of us.

Last edited by Dominic; 10-22-2010 at 01:23 PM. Reason: I love giving John Cole ****

Quote

10-22-2010 , 09:29 PM

#4935

Zeno

Le Misanthrope

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 22,438

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominic

so basically, you';re [sic] saying you're smarter than the rest of us.

John Cole is smarter than the rest of us. But I assure you, it is nothing to fret about. Just like having not read Finnegans Wake is nothing to fret about.

-Zeno

Quote

10-22-2010 , 11:50 PM

#4936

Blarg

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Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 53,529

Quote:

Originally Posted by nyc999

Do you easily read multiple books at once? I've never been able to focus on more than 1 at a time, aside from college (when forced to take on multiple books).

I sometimes find it easier to read multiple books at once, unless I get diverted from one of the books for long. For instance, I'll often read a short story to give me a break when a novel or nonfiction book becomes tedious. Then I come back with a better attitude that makes it possible to appreciate the longer work again, or at least not dislike it. Without the little break in mood, I might never have gotten through some challenges.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 11:01 AM

#4937

John Cole

Lounge Nighthawk

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 18,362

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominic

so basically, you';re saying you're smarter than the rest of us.

Dom,

I've been told I'm not smarter than anyone, and, for the most part, I agree.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 12:33 PM

#4938

SoloAJ

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 16,324

Finished Agassi's book. Enjoyed it, as noted. It was just a nice book all around.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 12:38 PM

#4939

Dominic

Tripod

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 74,421

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Cole

Dom,

I've been told I'm not smarter than anyone, and, for the most part, I agree.

lol...I'm just pulling your chain. I've tried to get through Finnegans Wake and it's perplexing to me.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 12:57 PM

#4940

Blarg

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 53,529

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoloAJ

Finished Agassi's book. Enjoyed it, as noted. It was just a nice book all around.

I wonder if he wrote it.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 01:02 PM

#4941

Dominic

Tripod

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 74,421

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blarg

I wonder if he wrote it.

As I mentioned in my review of the book, it was written with assistance by J. R. Moehringer, the noted journalist and author.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 01:33 PM

#4942

tmcdmck

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 6,497

isnt finnegans wake partly in latin and gaelic? i thought it was literally unintelligible in places without either some sort of guide or being as educated as joyce.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 01:52 PM

#4943

Blarg

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 53,529

Reading "When I Was a Slave," a collection of short slave interviews taken in the 30's narratives. Most of the interviewees are 90 and up. Really compelling. Perhaps most striking is all that is left unsaid.

It's a short book, and there are supposedly huge batches of these narratives. I could read this stuff for years on end.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 02:18 PM

#4944

zuk1

adept

Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 744

Porno by Irvine Welsh. It's a sequel to Trainspotting which is an excellent book, it's ok but not nearly as good as Trainspotting.

Quote

10-23-2010 , 06:55 PM

#4945

SoloAJ

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 16,324

I don't know what kind of education Agassi got post-school, but my guess is that a grade school education doesn't create the writing found in that book.

As Dom mentioned, I'm aware it was written with a lot of help. Just sayin.

Quote

10-24-2010 , 06:02 AM

#4946

Tash

adept

Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 819

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoloAJ

This happens so often we don't even notice it.

Quote

10-24-2010 , 07:14 AM

#4947

Landonfan

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 11,213

Finally finished Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Overall disappointing, but still mostly enjoyable. The WWII stuff was definitely my favorite part.

Also, does anyone else have trouble picturing how characters look? Like, my stock visualization for a male Asian is kyleb, and for a female Asian I just use whatever various amalgamation of hawt Asians I've seen that happens to pop into my head. If I try to get any more specific it makes my head hurt.

Quote

10-24-2010 , 07:40 AM

#4948

John Cole

Lounge Nighthawk

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 18,362

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blarg

Blarg,

Also see here for many more narratives, and here to listen to a few interviews with former slaves. These are only a couple gems available at the Library of Congress's American Memory project website.

Quote

10-24-2010 , 11:15 AM

#4949

Landonfan

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 11,213

The 20 pages I've read of Old Man's War are the 20 worst pages of anything I've read in recent memory. It's like a ****ing space sitcom. I'm not sure even the possibility of aliens could make continuing this book worth it. There would have to be a lot of aliens and they would need to be gangster as hell.