I couldn't agree more, like page 333 or so would be a great break-point 'cos if you're not buying in by then just give up.
It does have an underwhelming beginning, and then you get 2 diff awesome plot lines/sets of characters and it really gets moving. Some of the set pieces in the middle/end are as great as anything that's been written since Lolita imho.

Also, like Lolita, parts of the beginning makes wayyyy more sense once you've read the whole work. Bouncing back and forth through time in your intro/chapters allows you to do things like that with your characters and plots. You should probably skim the very very beginning again once you finish the novel and things will [further] click into place.

Also guys like Millhauser do that with some of their best works.

Foundation is wildly overrated.

Dante Club was fine, his other work defines 'meh.'

Just started reading the Fountainhead for the first time. Bought it about a year ago when I started reading more and put it on my shelf to get to someday. Now I am 40 pages in and loving it. Can't put it down

reading marching powder for the second time. still can't get enough of it.

Put it down. Burn it.

I went to a reading he gave in Toronto in the mid-80s. I hadn't heard of him but a poet friend of mine was very excited that he was in town.

Afterwards I bought his book. (I can't recall if I got it signed; I'll have to dig it out and see.) But I confess that I only read a few of the poems at the time and I never got back to him ...

He supposedly writes in a very accessible and metaphorical way. Given that I'm Swedish, I'll probably read some.

Finally got round to Freedom. 150 pages in and enjoying it, thgouh not as much as I remember enjoying teh Corrections.

Also 130 pages into Caro's "The Power Broker". Genius. I think Caro may be the greatest biograppher of all time.

The power broker took me months to read, but it was worth it. Outstanding book, I now see Moses's influence everywhere.

Been debating Caro's Multi- volume LBJ biography, that's supposed to be good too.

Also, as far as stories go, I strongly recommend Jhumpa Lahiri's collections. As an added bonus, her prose style is flawless: vivid and evocative yet completely unpretentious.

On a related note, some critics chide her for writing mostly about privileged, hyper-educated Bengali immigrants. That seems like a strange thing to criticize.

I know it has been mentioned many times in this thread, but I just finished Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Third book of his I've read, and it is by far the funnest. I was also a little blown away when I realized that he wrote this in 1992.

The Broker by John Grisham... Just started this not sure to keep going or not, anyone read this?

Again much thanks for recommending this. The article is fantastic. Whenever I put it down, I couldn't wait to pick it back up. Highly recommended if you're interested in publishing, The Art of Fielding, or the subject of literature in general. I don't know anything else about The Art of Fielding but will now check it out just to see what all the hubbub was about.

just finished "a dance with dragons", the 5th book in the game of thrones series. really love this series and all 5 books were great. can anyone recommend anything similar? thanks

You can't find anything in the 68 pages of book discussion ITT?

ha, yea i looked over the last few pages and asked a few friends for any recommendations. might try the king killer chronicles or wheel of time series. also, have you or anyone read the dunk and egg stories by martin? and are they near as good as the game of thrones books?

I've read the last Dunk and Egg story (I read the adaptations to graphic novels of the first two) and I enjoyed it a lot. It is very different than A Song of Ice and Fire, as the stories focus on just Dunk and Egg, but they are good stories and give you a bit more perspective for Song of Ice and Fire.

You can't go wrong with The Kingkiller Chronicles. Do it! Just read them. You won't regret it. Except for the fact that the final book of the trilogy isn't out yet.

I've only read the thrid one, but it really is superb.

just finished day of the locust, loved it (yeah i know it took me forever)

starting

scar tissue (kiedis autobiography) and glamorama

Point Omega by DeLillo, 117 pages, greatest thing I've read.

"They had to think in words. This was their problem." (page 10)

Could this be your problem too, bookworms of 2+2?

Both of these are excellent.

I would say go with Kingkiller first. Wheel of Time is a huge undertaking from scratch. But if you are in the mood for epic fantasy, Wheel of Time is great. I love it. My favourite series ever.

Also, any of Brandon Sanderson's works are great. Way of Kings, superb. Mistborn trilogy, amazing.

It's a shame it went completely off the rails around book 6 and never recovered. Such a horrid downswing that got worse and worse and worse.

Is there a book around 6 that you can stop and have a semi complete story?

I'm guessing you haven't read the last few.

Sanderson really did revive it, imo. It's just getting from 6 to 12 that would be tough. Even though I enjoy it, I never recommend it.

Edit: Infinite Jest is getting better.