Okay, so we’re now going to move ahead with this book thingie. If you are interested in participating, and have a book you’d like to read together as a group, post it here, preferably with some sort of link (amazon or whatever). Like which ever one’s you find interesting. After maybe a week, we can see which books have the most likes, and set up another thread where we can make a final discussion from that list.
Does that make sense (or am I over thinking again!?!)?
This one may have been lit-critted to death though, so feel free to ignore if it has. Throwing it out there anyway.
The Third Policeman - Flann O’Brien.
My choices are even more common/known.
Here’s something I’ve been meaning to get around to -
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel - 2009 Booker prize winner, first in a series about the life of Thomas Cromwell
For a heart-stopping half-second, I thought you were suggesting The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice, which is easily the shittiest werewolf story I’ve ever actually bothered to finish reading. Holy Christ, is it a warm, steaming turd.
Having checked your link, however, I think you have a solid suggestion there. Sounds good to me!
I’ve read both 1984 and Charles Dexter Ward, and though I wouldn’t mind re-reading and possibly discussing the latter (though it’s a bit short to offer too much discussion, I fear), I don’t feel the need to re-read or discuss 1984 ever again. Can’t imagine what we could get out of it now that we didn’t already when we were in school.
I have no idea what to suggest. Is it best to suggest something that I’ve read and already know to find out what all y’all think of it? Or to suggest an unknown quantity so we can all find out together what its virtues are?
Heh, I’m not surprised at that reaction. I would probably have the same to Animal Farm for similar reasons. I managed to get through school without any discussion of 1984 whatsoever, so it still retains some interest.
Lucky guy! I happened to run into it in 8th grade English (which happened to be in the year 1984, so we really couldn’t avoid it), again in 11th grade English, and once in my first semester of college, which was the straw that broke this camel’s back. FWIW, I expect the discussion hereabouts would far outstrip the previous ones I had to sit through. 
I got through without doing a single book report. Wasn’t part of the curriculum and even if it was there’s a solid chance I wouldn’t have been at school that day. 
Actually, short might not be a bad idea. (At least for the initial foray.)
That’s true enough.
Next up on my kindle: Post-Human series by David Simpson, Fluency by Jennifer Foehner Wells, how dogs love us by Gregory Burns.
Summa Technologiae by Lem has been starting at me from the bedside table too…
I ended up with a decent sum in Amazon giftcertificatery (BezosBuxx!) for Xmas, so last night I started filling up the ol’ Kindle. Trouble is, waaay too many of my Amazon recommendations are either Terry Pratchett or Joe R. Lansdale. Love both of those guys, but I’ve kinda read everything by them both that I wanna read by now. So I ordered a couple new Lansdales, an Alien book (Sea of Sorrows, FWIW), a collection of Lovecraft pastiches, and pre-ordered the third Magic 2.0 book from Scott Meyer. And then I picked up Jurassic Dead from Rick Chesler and David Sakmyster. Holy shit is the writing terrible in this one, but it’s about zombie dinosaurs, so how boring could it be?
Obviously, I dearly love my genre stuff, but I’m looking forward to reading something genuinely good one of these days. Can’t wait to see what you guys recommend.
Find one of those ‘100 books everyone should read’ lists, and work your way through 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/4248401/100-novels-everyone-should-read.html
What’s wrong with genre novels, though?
Nothing, as far as that goes. I love 'em beyond sense. But after a while, I feel like I’ve eaten too many rich meals at Fuddruckers and every now and then I feel like I ought to read a good helping of intellectual spinach. Though you can see how well that attitude toward literature has served me.
Mere moments ago, I happened upon an article at io9 that intrigued me. I figure everyone here (everyone who’s anyone, at any rate) has probably read their Tolkien, so there isn’t much point in us all digging into that stuff again. But having read this article right here:
…I’m intrigued. I have read some of Moorcock’s short fiction over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever read any of his novels. If we were to read Elric of Melniboné, for example, I think I’d be totally into it.
Then again, I’m not finding a Kindle edition or anything like a cheap paperback on Amazon this evening. Plenty of other Moorcock and Elric stuff, just not that first one.
Anyway, just an idea.
Genre or even pulp would be really interesting to do. Even something throwaway like something from “The Destroyer” series could be a lot of fun.
I might draw the line at Barbara Cartland though. Or at least, I’d need to work up to it.
well, I mentioned a few authors in the other thread, but I’ll go ahead and use my post in this thread for the big one, Infinite Jest. the reputation is daunting, I’d prefer to have folks to mull it over with. I can’t even tell if I’m going to like it, but I want to at least see what other people like about it, why the reputation.
it’s a fairly popular novel, though–have most of you read it already?
I read it last year. Most of last year!
(I jest, but not infinitely)
It is good. But very long, very hard work (although definitely easier than Pynchon). We could try some Wallace short stories. Equally hard work, but shorter! (And some people think he was better suited to short stories)
I guess I didn’t think of the length, although if we’re doing the readings on a quarterly basis, then I think it’s OK. I don’t mind the “hard work” aspect as long as it is rewarding, which many seem to think it is.
One way or another, I’ll read that one with you. Been meaning to for ages, entirely due to its reputation among our generation. And maybe because it seems I still dress and wear my hair like DFW.
