Finished Cryptonomicon and it did not disappoint. I like talking about books, but I hate talking about books because I know that I have no idea what the fuck I’m talking about sometimes 
. I loved all of the characters especially the two main families, Randy (and family) because he is (they are) such an awesome (group of) nerd(s) and the Shaftoes because I was raised in the midwest with an ‘Okay, let’s go do it’ attitude that that whole clan held in such high regard. Seriously loved the Shaftoes. The supporting class was great Enoch Root especially but Goto Dengo was awesome too. Even some of his chapters were some of the slowest in the book, that mining.
A friend was bugging me to read Pride and Prejudice and I finally agreed to start it. I knew it wasn’t just some romance novel that happened to be very famous but the amount of times it has made me laugh has surprised me.
I’m currently reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, for class.
Anyone read this shit? It’s just stupid ramblings that no really cares about. Goddamn we need to form our own opinions about life.
I’ve never been a fan of Transcendentalist writings.
Had to read excerpts of Self-Reliance once, and did not enjoy it one bit. It was just the same general idea being repeated over and over again: “Be individual! Be you!” and so on (Not that I disagree). Maybe the rest of it talked about something else; I don’t know and I don’t plan on finding out. Maybe it’s ideas were considered revolutionary or eye-opening way back then but to me it was just a repetition of an unsurprising idea.
A good read if you want an indirect historical back story involving some exploits of Ian Flemming is “Secret Agent 666” by Richard B. Spence. It is about about Author Aleister Crowley who in public life was a globe trotting Occultist, Mountain Climber, Explorer, who the whole while was working as an Agent for British Intellengence, at one point under Ian Flemming
when Flemming was a Naval Intelligence Officer
Any of you read The Goldfinch? I’m reading it now and I love what the author does with the characters’ personalities, but I hate how dense this book is. Its pacing is just so damn slow.
So a while back I saw a novel for sale by Neal Stephenson. I liked Snow Crash, so I thought I should pick up this other book of his.
I was expecting some kind of science fiction, what I got is “Quicksilver”, "the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinking and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of the Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight."
I didn’t even read the summary on the back, which that was quoted from.
Within the first 50 pages he’s used words I’ve only seen once in my life, partly because they’re out of date, and partly because twitter.
It’s the opposite of boring, for some reason, even though he’s only visiting Harvard. I mean it seems mundane, but it’s just so well written that the characters come alive, and they’re very interesting.
So I finished Gibson’s “Sprawl Trilogy”, which started at “Neuromancer”, then “Count Zero”, and ends with “Mona Lisa Overdrive”. Count Zero is awesome by itself and Mona Lisa Overdrive is great, but it feels like more of the same from the previous two books, so it took me a while to get through.
I ordered his second trilogy the “Bridge” trilogy. I like the setting since it takes place in SF; the Bridge refers to the bay bridge.
I’ve quickly gotten 2/3rds of the way through “Virtual Light” because it’s just so smooth and exhilarating. I don’t want to put it down. The world is fascinating and the stark divide between the haves and have nots in this book is really starting to become apparent in the SF Bay Area, these days.
The characters are awesome. It’s just like in Neuromancer or Count Zero, as I’m reading, I am thinking, “How do they all fit together?”
Also summarizing a conversation between a new cop and a guy holding some hostages, from chapter 2:
“What IS that thing on your lap?”
“A gun”
“Never seen a gun like that, what’s it shoot?”
“Grapefruit cans, fulla concrete. … Wanna see?”
When I read that chapter, I was laughing and thinking, what the fuck?!
The guy with the grapefruit gun had a freshly inked tattoo of the last supper on his chest. The Baptist’s sort of hysterical religious fervor never died down in this book’s alternate history to modern day America. Crazy people.
@MCP: Damn that’s nice; I’ve been meaning to complete that Sprawl series myself. I’m halfway to ‘Count Zero’ before I stopped.
Finished reading “Smartest 401(k) Book You’ll Ever Read: Maximize Your Retirement Savings…the Smart Way!” during mini-vacation in FL. The book could be summarize as follow: “Stay the hell away from mutual funds and invest in low-fee index funds instead”.
I didn’t know you can write 2 pages and call it a chapter but whatever, book was helpful.
Quoted for truth:
“Invest in low-fee index funds instead”
Investment 101 right there.
I saw an article a while back, you make the most money by investing in the low-fee index funds. All the evidence points to, on average, you make more money investing based on what has the lowest fees. The higher the fees, the less money you make.
I’m 100 or so pages into Neuromancer for class and its been pretty enjoyable so far, will post more thoughts when I’m done
halfway through the goldfinch and its sorta boring. im invested so will probably finish. hopefully it gets better.
Norwegian Wood was great. I’m speaking as someone new to Murakami, so I haven’t read his more “Murakami-esque” works yet.
In the meantime, I’m starting Lolita. This is a book I’ve wanted to read for a while, so I’m glad to be finally starting it.
Hopefully it picks you up and takes you for a ride.
I read large chunks of Gibson at a time, if I can, because it’s just so good that I don’t want to stop.
In Gibson’s Virtual Light I am reading just now, they mention Cronenberg’s film Videodrome. I almost spit out my tea from holding in a laugh/shock.
You know how Requiem for a Dream is a fucked up film you probably only want to watch once?
Well Videodrome is exactly the same way.
Reading Perfume for my ‘Masterpieces in German Literature’ class and I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I’m enjoying it. Its about a child that grows up with a hypersensitive sense of smell and psychopathy who becomes one of 18th century Paris’ best perfumers and serial killer. I’m only 1/3-1/2 my way into it but the manner that the author describes these scents and the dissection process of perfume is mind blowing. Never have I thought I would be entranced by a guy talking about perfume but goddamn it I am lol.
Spring break was really nice in terms of reading last week. Finished a couple of novels and snuck in a few short stories.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Philosophical novel about an Indian man looking to find his Self. Short, gave it to my mom to read she finished it 2 days, but thought provoking. I like the story behind the novel as well. Hesse had one hell of a life and Siddhartha contains evidence of the author’s mindset I think. Plus Eastern philosophy is really entertaining for me.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick. Blade Runner. Don’t really know what to say about it. It was pretty good.
Lamb, Christopher Moore. I really like Christopher Moore, second funniest author I’ve read. Lamb is the gospel according to Biff, Christ’s childhood friend. It comically fills in the blanks that the four gospels leave out. Lots of good stuff in here. Big section on Zen Buddhism, which was good. I think Fool is Moore’s best book but I really liked this one too.
Last Question, Issac Asimov. Definitely worth the short amount of time it takes to read. Free online.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Edwin Abbott. Good even though I thought the first section’s tempo sucked. Good message but I really kind of hated the first section. I think I understand the need for it, the second half wouldn’t have had the same impact that it does if Flatland wasn’t as fleshed out as it was, but it was a struggle to read. Worth it for the pay off.
You did not read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Two pages is a damn lengthy chapter . Not really… but there are a handful of half page chapters in the series.
Starting Slaughterhouse Five tonight or in a couple of minutes whenever I decide to get off the internet.
This thread is back! I’ll list what I’ve read since the last post and what I’m reading now
-The Goldfinch
-Tenth of December
-The Lost Weekend
-The Winter of Our Discontent
-1Q84 (currently reading)
There are probably more, but I can’t remember which I’ve finished since. I’ll probably edit this post and add some insights later.
I’ve been on a non fiction kick. Recently read a biography on Gram Parsons, and a collection of articles from Anthony Bourdain. Also juggling Tis by Frank McCourt and a Gene Clark biography
Going to try and give Catch-22 a fair shake, I couldn’t finish it when I was younger but now that I read it again, this book is gold.
That’s one of the funniest books ever written.
Catch-22 is my most favorite novel. (Though Lolita is catching up to it.) It’s a shame that Heller didn’t seem to have written anything else worth reading. (Disclaimer: Not that I haven’t even bothered trying to read his other stuff, this is just from what I’ve heard.)