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/lit/ - Literature

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1239794 No.1239794 [Reply] [Original]

>Last few books you read & tell me whether you liked them or not
AND
>Next book or few you're planning to read

Casual reader here, picked up some on the recommendation of /lit/ and friends. In the middle of Dune, it's not wowing me but I'm enjoying it. The rest haven't been read yet.

>> No.1239796

>casual reader
>has stephen king

we already know.

>> No.1239804

>>1239796
Might as well fess up before someone comes along and says how shitty the list is. Gotta start somewhere, I figure.

The Mask was horrible....it read like a terrible B movie, the characters were really stereotypical and the story wasn't very realistic ("Oh no! I hit a girl with my car! Hey she seems like a nice girl, Doctor, and her parents haven't come to pick her up, how about I just take her home and care for her?").

Roadwork was mostly boring to me, more of a psychological thing than anything. Fear was interesting, dreamy, even though I had guessed the big twist (damn you twenty first century B movies). Suffer The Children was a bit unrealistic too (dad beats daughter half to death and nobody seems to care) but awfully gruesome in some parts, which made up for it heh.

>> No.1239808

#fffff sesarch for my penis broobe borrbe follcok bord

Sorry, I see these threads and I just relax into dementia.

>> No.1239817

>Duma Key

Want it, don't have it.

I love pulpy airport novels for some reason.

>> No.1239835

>>1239794
>>1239796
>>1239804
>>1239808
>>1239817

No one cares about your tastes, buddies.

>> No.1239836

>>1239835
I care. Maybe we run in different literary circles, but you never know what might overlap.

>> No.1239868

>Last Few books read:
Actually reading Ulysses. I don't know if I like it or not but I think I'm a bit suicidal to have tried to read it in English when I'm not a native speaker.
Last book read: I think it's a Pratchett or the House of leaves.

>Planning to read:
Don't know yet, maybe the book my father gave me or one picked up on my wishlist on Amazon.

>> No.1239876

Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court: Loved it.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Somewhere between love and like

Current: The Stranger, not far enough in to judge.

Next: As I Lay Dying

>> No.1239897

>>1239836
I actually meant, no one cares about what you don't like. It's useless to say "I hate something" because people who like it don't want to hear you.

>> No.1239905

>>1239897

But people like you should see their women raped.

>> No.1239914

>>1239794
>Fear
>Dune
>Dan Simmons

OP is a pretty cool guy.

>> No.1239915

Well, I've been between books lately because everytime I start one, something comes up in my life and I don't have time and I lose interest. But now my life looks like I can fit reading back in, so I went to the bookstore today and got

>Plan to read
The Hobbit. I've been meaning to read it, and for obvious reasons. I got the one with the really nice cover art, I think its the 70th ann. one.

>> No.1239924

>>1239915
Ooh, I loved The Hobbit. Thumbs up.

>> No.1240038

Recent reads: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Amazingly Intelligent, a great read), A River Runs Through It (like a dumbed down version of Zen and the Art--not really a bad thing though...assigned reading, but definitely something I'd have outside of class).

Currently reading: Life, The Universe, and Everything. I'm a little more than halfway through it. I'm not enjoying it as much as the previous two of the series, but it's still a well above average book.

In que: Dune is the most likely, possibly the next book in the Hitchhiker's series.

>> No.1240046

oh fun lets see here

last few
h.g. wells - the time machine : was kinda meh was doing a thing where i was reading books based of movies I've seen, was still better than the movie
murakami - Norwegian wood : honestly this book made me want to die, but in a good way
The Tain : all purpose depression cure of cu chulainn going around being badass with army murdering murder

currently reading
hunter s. thompson - the rum diary : just started it no impression so far going to get back to that now

and for next well i have a pile i grab from and it's too long/embarrassing at points to go through and list

>> No.1240051

>>1240038
Is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance really good? A few phil majors told me never to read it, so I stayed away.

>> No.1240079

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - Too brief, but interesting. Several interesting observations and case studies.

John Dies at the End by David Wong - Surprisingly excellent. Very funny, yet at the same time perhaps the most legitimately scary work of horror I've read.

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt - Lots of solid rebuttals to common economic fallacies. Handy book to have on-hand.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson - Interesting, educational, humorous, enjoyable. A solid book no matter how you look at it.

>> No.1240093

Dune is my favorite book, OP. I hope you end up enjoying it.

>> No.1240099

Colin Wilson, 'The Philosopher's Stone':
Fun, but the ending seemed rushed. Like he hit 250 pages and finished it in an hour.

Anthony Swofford, 'Jarhead':
Well written, but if you've seen the film there's not a lot left to discover in it.

C. S. Lewis, 'The Screwtape Letters':
A lot of wise observation about human delusion. I sometimes felt 'demonic' concept was an unnecessary distraction.

Stacey O'Brien, 'Wesley: The Story of a Remarkable Owl':
Somebody gave me this as a gift. I thought it was going to be a mawkish Marley & Me rip-off about a woman raising an owl, but because the author was a biologist there's actually a lot of interesting stuff in there. I enjoyed it.

Richard Brautigan, 'In Watermelon Sugar':
He sure likes watermelon sugar.

>> No.1240105
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1240105

>>1239794

>> No.1240115
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1240115

>>1239817

This is coming from a person that has read and loves 'The Stand' and 'IT'... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT BOTHER WITH DUMA KEY!!! IT IS THE BIGGEST PILE OF STEAMING SHITE I HAVE EVER READ!!!! LONG WINDED, BORING AS ALL FUCK AND THE END WILL MAKE YOU RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE

I MAD!

>> No.1240126

I read it without many preconceived ideas of what it was or was intended to be (just the information included with the book). I really liked Pirsig's ability to show his unnaturally high IQ without relying on overly complex sentences/diction. I guess it was just refreshing to read something intelligent without imagining the author jerking off to his own intelligence.

>> No.1240135

>>1240126
in response to
>>1240051

>> No.1240840

>>1240079
>John Dies at the End
Second person I've come across that's given that high ratings. I've got it in my wishlist, maybe I'll bump that up to shopping cart soon...

>>1240093
I think I'm getting into it a lot more :)

>>1240115
Ah, uh oh..well it can't be any worse than Roadwork. But I guess I'll save Duma Key for a boring day :/

>> No.1240851

>>1240115
I liked it. Was written well enough to give you the full experience of what it's like to lose your dominant arm.

>> No.1240864
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1240864

FUCK YES I REALLY ENJOYED THIS MOTHERFUCKER RIGHT HERE. READ THE ENTIRE BOOK IN 3 DAYS NIGGA (1200+ PAGES) IT REMINDED ME A LOT OF "CIEN AÑOS DE SOLEDAD" BUT MORE DEPRESSING

I AM CURRENTLY READING "THE REPUBLIC". SO FAR I LIKE IT.

>> No.1240867

Last book I read was The Beach by Alex Garland. Pretty engaging read, fucking eons better then the film.

VALIS and The Divine Invasion by Phillip K dick are moderate headfucks if you are inclined to that sort of thing.

>> No.1240871

>>1240051

Not samefag, but I really enjoyed that book. If you are interested in "not too heavy" philosophy you should read it.

>> No.1240875

>>1240867
>The Divine Invasion
>$11 for a paperback
>Must be super long
>Nope, not even 250 pages
>Yeah I don't thin-
>Read description
What if God were alive and in exile on a distant planet? And what if He wanted to come back?
>Add to wishlist

I'll just get it used or something. My interest has been piqued, heh

>> No.1240877

>>1240864

>THE ENTIRE BOOK IN 3 DAYS NIGGA (1200+ PAGES)
>1200+ PAGES
>The Tin Drum

the fuck

>> No.1240887

>>1240877

OH SHIT THAT WAS A MISTAKE, IT WAS AROUND 600 PAGES NIGGA, I DON'T HAVE IT WITH ME SO I AM NO ENTIRELY SURE, BUT STILL, IT WAS A READING MARATHON

PS: I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE 1200 CAME FROM.

>> No.1241001

tick tock ticki ticki ticki tock

>> No.1241020

>Last read
1. A Collection of Essays by George Orwell-Loved most of them; two or three of them were rather dull.

2. Hegel(by Raymond Plant)-An easily accessible introduction to Hegel's philosophy. I throughly enjoyed it.

>Currently reading
1. The Fairytales of Hans Christian Anderson-Meh. The Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm were much better.

2. Purity of the Heart is to Will One Thing-ABSO-FUCKING-LUTLY AMAZING. I'M ONLY TWO CHAPTERS IN AND ALREADY I'M IN LOVE WITH KIERKEGAARD.

3. House of the Dead(Dostoevsky)-It's decent, but I'm a bit disappointed so far; I was expecting a 19th century "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch", and instead I'm getting: "Poles and vodka. Poles and vodka everywhere".

>Plan to read
1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
2. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph

>> No.1241044

LAST READS
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: awesome as fuck
Hyperion: awesome as fuck
Fall of Hyperion: awesome as fuck

READING
Cryptonomicon: awesome as fuck

TO READ
The Terror by Dan Simmons, maybe: I haven't really decided yet.

>> No.1241053

>Read
The Story of the Eye - Georges Bataille
8/10. That dude had some interesting shit going on in his brain.

The Castle - Franz Kafka
9/10. Better than The Trial, not as good as his short stories.

Drawn and Quartered - Emil Cioran
9/10. Interesting commentary on history.

>Reading
The Decline of the West - Oswald Spengler
Very good so far. Historical commentary is easier to read when it's written by a good prose stylist.

>To Read
Hunger - Knut Hamsun
Journey to the End of the Night - Celine
Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis

>> No.1241096

> Franny & Zooey by JD Salinger
To finish off my Salinger. I liked it, Zooey more than Franny, and both more than Seymour: An Introduction. I mean, we're not dealing with Catcher here, but it was pretty good. Dragged on for a bit though..

> Candide by Voltaire
I stayed up until 4 AM one night finishing this-- granted, I started at 2-- it was so good. I really did like it. Voltaire's English is also far more in touch than you'd think.

> Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Reading now, maybe my favorite novel. I read more than 100 pages today, it's just so, so good. Everything is just so hilarious and has purpose, too.

Next: Gatsby or This Side of Paradise or Fahrenheit 451

>> No.1241099

>>1241096

>Voltaire's English
>Voltaire
>English

I don't know how to break this to you....

>> No.1241105

Last Read

Furies of Calderon
Academ's Fury
Cursor's Fury
Captain's Fury

Next reads

Princep's Fury
First Lord's Fury
Zombies (A collection of zombie stories by John Skipp I found for $5 at a borders)

>> No.1241106

>Last read:
Cat's Cradle. I liked it, but I like everything I've read by him so far.

>Currently reading:
Nausea.

>Plan to read:
The Myth of Sisyphus. Unless I get something else.

>> No.1241108

>>1241099
You can't translate style out of French, see Alexandre Dumas

>> No.1241117
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1241117

>Last book I read.
Infinite Jest. Finally finished it after a few (grueling (but very enjoyable)) months. I honestly wish that it were 500 pages longer, or that there were a 1500 page sequel.

>Reading next.
American Psycho, because after reading Infinite Jest, well, I'm really looking to ease into a book that doesn't use big words, and so far the biggest words are 'Armani' and 'Toshiba.'

>> No.1241170

>Last few books you read
Kafka - Collected Stories. This was an absolute joy to read. I love Kafka's novels but this is really what he was best at.

The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox.
This was okay. The first 100 pages are great and I read them in one sitting. The same is true for the last 50 or so pages. The rest of the book (500 or so pages) is hard to care about. The twist is predictable. This could have been a great book if it had been structured differently.

Light Boxes by Shane Jones - A lot of you will hate this book. The author is a poet, and it's pretty obvious when you read it. Some of it is a little too cutesy and sentimental, but it doesn't really ruin the story. It's a short read - maybe 90 minutes or so. If you can get it for a good price you should give it a chance.

>Next book or few you're planning to read

I want to check out Thomas Pynchon, but I'm not sure where to start.

>> No.1241194

Recently read

>Birthday Letters
Whoa. I cried pretty hard. Everything was mesmerizing. It was like looking directly into someone's brain as they relieved their happiest and most horrible memories.

>Cannery Row
Awesome. Steinbeck is my favorite writer and always manages to surprise me.

Anna Karenina
>Holy shit. Took me a while but it was engaging and awesome. Depressing, though.

Next

>Unbearable Lightness of Being

>Madame Bovary

>> No.1241283

>>1240887
WELL, THE USE OF 'NIGGA' SHOULD'VE RUNG A BELL THAT THAT'S NOT ME

LAST FIVE:
THE KREUTZER SONATA
THOUSAND CRANES
THE BLACK MONK
THE WOMAN IN THE DUNES
THE LADY WITH THE DOG

CURRENTLY READING:
STORM OF STEEL (NOT THE FANTASY ONE)

NEXT FIVE:
LUCKY JIM
ONE THERE WAS A WAR
IVAN THE FOOL
THE DEAD
SEVEN WHO WERE HANGED