read any good books lately... |
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SaltyJon
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I don't really know what people consider him, but so far I'm considering Broom of the System a really funny book...my favorite character so far is a cockatiel, though... |
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Toaster Mantis
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Looks like that's the number one stereotype about DFW's readers today. Just like how it's a common belief that Bret Easton Ellis' fanbase consists almost entirely of the exact same subculture his books make fun of. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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SaltyJon
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Oh well, let people think what they will and stereotype everyone away, I'm going to keep reading what books I find enjoyable regardless of who they're by or what people think of the author's readers.
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Toaster Mantis
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Other authors who appear to fallen into that category right now include Roberto Bolano, Jonathan Franzen, Ernest Hemingway, Haruki Murakami, Joyce Carol Oates, Flannery O'Connor, Chuck Palahniuk and Kurt Vonnegut. Maybe also Thomas Pynchon now that the film version of Inherent Vice came out.
I'm rather fascinated with the process how the "high culture/low culture" hierarchy is constructed, and how the borderlines seem to shift throughout, hence why I pay so much attention to something like this. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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dr wu23
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Hmm...that seems like a snobbish remark itself to me.....but maybe I'm misreading you. Who do you consider 'low-status' people and how does that apply to people simply wanting to read good novels..? Are you implying that only 'high-status' people should read the so-called high brow authors...??? |
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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SaltyJon
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Yeah, I'm just interested in one thing when it comes to books: do I like the book? If the answer is yes, good. If the answer is no, oh well. |
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Toaster Mantis
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That's not my opinion on DFW, but how I most often hear other people talk about him.
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Toaster Mantis
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Then again, I guess I'm not one to talk since this is what I started reading this weekend:
British spy novel from the mid-1960s that's apparently based on several conspiracy theories that were very popular at the time? Its concept revolves around a bunch of expert scientist and engineers involved with a mysterious Australian corporation disappearing without a trace, which sounds like it could have been an influence on the Alternative 3 hoax that would pop up a decade later. The plot follows the MI6 agent tasked with finding out what happened to them. I'm not very far in, but the overall tone and feel is very similar to the earliest James Bond movies with Sean Connery in them if not quite as campy. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Dean
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THE THRILLING ADVENTURES OF LOVELACE AND BABBAGEThe (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer Padua imagines a world where Charles Babbage completes his difference engine and Ada Lovelace writes the programs that make it work. Together they use it to have thrilling adventures and fight crime. Yup. it's a graphic novel, rendered in print from Padua's 2D Goggles webcomic, but it carries over the extensive and heavily researched footnotes and endnotes from the website that ties the imagined Victorian steam-punk world into the real world of Queen Victoria, The Iron Duke and host of other notable figures from that era¹ that make it a fascinating historical read for those who like a little wordy-depth to their comics (hence why I post this here and not in the comic recommendation thread... it's a comic with more words to read than pictures to gorp at). I make no bones that I like Syndey Padua's style, I love her drawings and love her research notes equally as much, and I love the reason she gives for those copious notes, as she says in the preface: 'I started doodling ideas at odd hours and found that drawing a webcomic was an excellent way to avoid working on other seemingly more serious things. Better still, I discovered that research was an excellent way to put-off working on the comic that I was drawing in order to procrastinate' ¹...and it has an Isambard Kingdom Brunel that owes a lot to Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Wolverine to boot: |
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What?
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Philip
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The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (in Portuguese).
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Barbu
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Tougher than most guys. |
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JJLehto
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I read "Purity" by Jonathan Franzen.
The last book I managed to actually finish was his "Freedom" which was upper echelon for me, though sadly Purity was a bit of a let down. I've let it digest enough to say that I don't say that just in comparison, it wasn't a strong book is all. |
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t d wombat
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Mentioned China Mieville a couple of pages back and since than have
read his "The City & The City". Weird, but good weird. Have his
"Embassytown" in the waiting to be read pile.
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Andrew B
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
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t d wombat
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btw ... has anyone read this or any of his work ?
Edited by t d wombat - October 11 2015 at 19:55 |
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Andrew B
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
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dr wu23
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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t d wombat
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I havn't read any of Pohl but I went looking for one of the Heechee books and somehow or other ended up with a Poul Anderson thing called Refugee. Man, banality does not do it justice. I really hate not finishing a book, even one I am not enjoying but man I am so tempted with this one. Getting hold of FP's Heechee stuff is not easy. Kobo certainly has very little and none of that is the Heechee series. (Just found a mob called Baen Books. They have pretty much all of FP available in EPub format.) Edited by t d wombat - October 13 2015 at 19:48 |
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Andrew B
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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Windhawk wrote:
Any thoughts on Piers Anthony's classic Bio of a Space Tyrant series, Farmer's Riverworld saga or Pohl's fabulous Hechee books?------------------------------ I've read some Anthony I enjoyed but never read the Space Tyrant series . Riverworld was a fun read and they have made at least 2 tv adaptations for the sci-fi channel that were fairly good. I read 2 of the 'Hechee' books a long time ago ...recall them being ok but don't recall any other details...Pohl books are generally pretty good thoug i don't read much hard core sci-fi anymore.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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I read the Scar a few years ago....been meaning to read another one of his novels.....City sounds like a good weird one and I also hear Iron Council is good. PS: For those interested in well written sci-fi I highly recommend the Culture series by Ian Banks....very well written in depth 'space opera' about a very advanced humanoid galactic civilization encompassing politics, social aspects, science, etc. .......one of my all time favorite series.
Edited by dr wu23 - October 14 2015 at 12:29 |
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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t d wombat
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If you havn't read Perdido St station then that is the place to start. An absolute rip snorter of a book. ... is all I can say about Banks. I cannot think of another writer of general fiction whose work I have enjoyed more and his SciFi Culture books are damn near as good. (For anyone looking his general fiction is written under Iain Banks and SciFi under Iain M Banks.) Damn ... my pile of to read is getting larger by the day. Edited by t d wombat - October 14 2015 at 20:27 |
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Andrew B
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
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Toaster Mantis
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Second the recommendation of Iain M. Banks, I think The Player of Games is my favourite novel of his. I've been seeing some of Mieville's novels when I go to the nearest public library, and they look interesting from the descriptions on the cover.
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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