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[miles]

and that book Bob Dylan wrote.
Also, today was my first day back at school, and I've got two literature courses... one French hermeneutics course, and one on Tolstoy and Dostoeyevsky.

I also got the Dylan book.  I really like it so far.  I'm still working on the first volume of the autobiography by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  I didn't do much reading during the holiday break, and school just started up again yesterday, so I fear it may be a while before I finish it, even though it's not long at all.

I registered to take a class on 19th century Russian Lit and I was really excited because apparently the professor is quite the Dostoevksy scholar, and I have recently really been into him, but it didn't work with my schedule.  So this semester I'll be reading a ton of stuff about the Philosophy of Ecology.  My other classes appear to be light on reading (which tends to be the case with most of my Philosophy classes).

[miles]

and Neverwhere (there's no good way to end a story like that).

Thanks to y'all I read American Gods and enjoyed it quite a bit.  So I picked up Neverwhere.  It's good, but I still haven't finished it (I have a horrible habit of starting and not finishing books for a few months--I often have to start over).  I don't like it, so far anyway, as much as American Gods however.

[CortJstr]

and Neverwhere (there's no good way to end a story like that).

Thanks to y'all I read American Gods and enjoyed it quite a bit.  So I picked up Neverwhere.  It's good, but I still haven't finished it (I have a horrible habit of starting and not finishing books for a few months--I often have to start over).  I don't like it, so far anyway, as much as American Gods however.

I haven't read American Gods yet. I read Neverwhere and Snow Crash because they were lent to me. I found Neverwhere harder to get into but was glad I read it once.

[miles]

Man, on the subject of Blood Meridian -- I recently read BR Myers's A Reader's Manifesto, a manifesto (dull surprise!) about the many flaws of modern "literary" prose -- more specifically, its surface-level over-ornamentation and obfuscation that often covers up a dreadful lack of any kind of meaningful, challenging content. Myers discussed Cormac McCarthy at great length, to my satisfaction, because I have always found McCarthy's prose ugly and nearly unreadable. FIGURE OUT WHEN TO END A SENTENCE, DUDE. IT IS NOT HARD.

(Apologies to McCarthy fans, but jesus. I will, however, freely confess that some of this bitterness may be because my hateful tenth-grade English teacher loved McCarthy above virtually all else, so... yeah, festering hatred.)

I dropped English as a major in part to avoid ever having to read McCarthy beyond the bits I had already read (not really, I dropped it for various reasons).  Did you read the extended essay in book form?  I read the essay that was in the Atlantic Monthly a couple of years ago.  I bought that issue because of the Mark Twain story included, and found the essay to be a good read.  Fitting that it was in the same issue as the Twain story because he is one of the great English prose writers, one who understands when to end a sentence, and how to write something, well, interesting.  My favorite part of the essay was this (paraphrased):

Oprah tells Toni Morrison that she has a tough time reading some of her sentences, often having to stop midway and start over again.  Morrison responds by saying, "that, my dear, is called reading."  Myer writes, "No, Toni that, my dear, is called bad writing."

Or something like that.

[Nabubrush]

Wow, all of a sudden this got crazy. You know, everybody got something they love, and isn't it beautiful.


I will point out here that for me, as an English major and someone who has spent some time looking at how English ought to be put together, McCarthy just punched me right in the head, saying this is how it is to be done. But, you will probably have results that vary. Also, I am reading "The Life of Pi" which is beautiful.

But for me, McCarthy puts every word right where it is supposed to be. That was always my main impression of his work. He chose each word carefully, and put it where it was supposed to be. I'm intrigued that the two of us should have such differing opinions of his work.

Also, I am listening to "Boogie Wonderland" right now. Much love to each and every one of you.

I may not be entirely sober.

[miles]

Speaking for myself, I don't hate McCarthy, I just didn't want to have to study him, and it seemed like a lot of the post-modern classes covered him.  Maybe V has stronger opinions on him.

[Nabubrush]

Wow, am I just the creepy guy? Because he was assigned in classes, but I actually enjoyed reading him.

[V-Adore]

I'm really sorry, but every sentence of McCarthy I've ever read -- the several quoted passages in Manifesto and those brought up in English class -- just... don't work for me. They sound like someone who is desperately throwing words at the page in the hope that some of them will stick. I realize that this opinion can get me lynched in some crowds, but hey.

In conclusion, Nabu, I have no idea whether or not you are the creepy guy.

And yes, I read the book form of the essay.

[starlight]

I've been reading the same book for two months now... "Collected Fictions" - Borges.  it is basically a compilation of all his works put together and it is more huge than I imagined.

I've read longer books, but the fact that each story has such impact no matter how short it is, causes me to have to pay close attention which, if read at night before bed = falling asleep a few pages into it.  plus, the names of most the characters are long.

I have now put my new goal at reaching pg300 by the end of the week.  I am on pg274.  I'd like to read other books soon (I'm a bit OCD about not reading other books at the same time unless it's manga or magazines which aren't real books).

[Nabubrush]

Yeah, I guess I am the creepy guy. I'd go and pick out some sentences of C-Mac's . . . maybe later. I don't want to get in some kind of weird literature fight.

I'm finishing "Life of Pi" right now, by Yann Martel. It's a Man Booker prize-winner. It's quite good. This poor kid is stuck on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.

[Bozack]

I, ummm....I've been reading and rereading a bunch of my old comics, my graphic novels and a few Will Eisner and Scott McCloud books, given that I'm "hopefully" going to start serious woodshedding on my comic script any day now.

Yeah, my comic script. BRING IT.

Also, I finished "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell." It was good, engaging, informative...it wasn't "If on a Winters Night a Traveler...", but it was really enjoyable, and, as a first novel, quite amazing.

[CortJstr]

I, ummm....I've been reading and rereading a bunch of my old comics, my graphic novels and a few Will Eisner and Scott McCloud books, given that I'm "hopefully" going to start serious woodshedding on my comic script any day now.

Yeah, my comic script. BRING IT.

Also, I finished "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell." It was good, engaging, informative...it wasn't "If on a Winters Night a Traveler...", but it was really enjoyable, and, as a first novel, quite amazing.

After catching the end of X-Men 2 the other day I'm filled with the desire to pull out the old Dark Phoenix Saga TPB.

[Skillator]

I was beginning to feel that I didn't have a place in this conversation, not having an english major or anything like that. I'm just a humble commercial writer. But then I saw "Life of Pi" mentioned. Goddamn I loved that one. I've passed it on to everyone I know. Every last person loving it.
I just whipped through "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" It's written from the perspective of an autistic child and it's just awesome. He gets it amazingly.
I read "the book of Five Rings" right after that. It's about tactics, it's supposed to apply to every day life. I guess I have to read it again to get that out of it, but it's pretty cool. I'll be better at heroclix because of it. It makes you want to be a samurai.
Now I'm in a bit of a pause, without a novel. I've decided to hit the TPB's as well. Some Avengers and really old Spider-man. I'll probably read the Watchmen again and get depressed again.

[slink]

I started reading Fray the other day. Comic book that Joss Whedon did a while back. It's really good. I've been getting the Astonishing X-Men run that he's doing at the moment, which has been damned good so far.
That and the followups in the Arabesks from Jon Courtenay Grimwood which are brilliant. A cyberpunk Alexandria with a guy who has an Arctic fox in his head as his guide.

Then I have to read The Scar, the second China Mieville novel, so I can read his new one which people are getting even more excited about.

[wombat]

I'm finishing "Life of Pi" right now, by Yann Martel. It's a Man Booker prize-winner. It's quite good. This poor kid is stuck on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.

When you finish, could you post again and tell me what you thought of how it ended?  I had a big argument with a friend about this and am interested in a second opinion, although I suppose since it was so successful I guess it's obvious that most people thought it was great.