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I tried reading Infinite Jest way back when, and all the footnotes drove me crazy. (That was the one that had a bazillion footnotes, right?)

I've read one or two of his other books, with the essays, and they were just okay.

Has anyone read Don DeLillo's Underworld? That's a big, long one languishing on my shelf as well.
 
I tried reading Infinite Jest way back when, and all the footnotes drove me crazy. (That was the one that had a bazillion footnotes, right?)

I've read one or two of his other books, with the essays, and they were just okay.

Has anyone read Don DeLillo's Underworld? That's a big, long one languishing on my shelf as well.

I have.
 
Don Delillo's Underworld is one of my favorite books. I'm in awe of his style in that book. It took me a hell of a long time to read all of it (the professor whose class I bought it for only made us read parts), but it was totally worth it.

I have his latest, Falling Man, on my shelf but still haven't gotten around to reading it. That's one I'll get to this summer, I'm sure.
 
That's crazy talk. I appreciated your comments - it gives me another reason to keep it around on my shelves and get around to reading it someday! :wink:
 
Many times while reading Underworld I found myself wondering how it was possible that one person came up with and wrote the entire thing. It was overwhelming just to read. I couldn't imagine having to live with it for a few years and look at it every day.

I'm more hit or miss with a lot of Delillo's other books. I didn't care for The Body Artist (the novella he wrote immediately after Underworld), and I also didn't love Great Jones Street. I did like Cosmopolis, though, and I like his writing style enough that I do want to read at least a few more of his books, especially Endgame.
 
#38 Tweak by Nic Sheff

Earlier this year I read Nic's father's memoir, Beautiful Boy, about being the father of a meth addict. This is the meth addict's turn.

I found myself disgusted and horrified in the beginning where he just went on and on about the gory details of his life, but was very interested and moved by his experiences sober and with his sponsor/friend.

It's hard for me to comprehend what it must be like to not only be an addict, but to have a loved one who's an addict.

Overall, I think I preferred the father's book.
 
Underworld was good, but to me it wasn't anywhere near as good as Infinite Jest (yes, Cori, it's the one with the footnotes). As far as DeLillo is concerned I much preferred Mao II and The Names.
 
I picked up Obama's Audacity of Hope and Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle yesterday and started the Obama book. I'm only about 30 pages in, but so far I really like his writing style.
 
I thought about you today when I saw a shirt on Cafe Press that said, I like big books and I cannot lie... :lol:

No joke:

Earlier this evening I bought like 5 shirts from that site, and stumbled across that one and thought of that whole discussion. That's sort of odd.

Gots me some nice dorky shirts....
 
That's more than just sort of odd. That's downright weird.

I bought one that says, What happens in the library stays in the library.

It's funny, you know, because we're the LV Library District.
 
Ha ha haaa!

I suppose there are any number of double-entendres that could come out of a conversation about books and size. :wink:
 
That's more than just sort of odd. That's downright weird.

I bought one that says, What happens in the library stays in the library.

It's funny, you know, because we're the LV Library District.

I bought one that says "Galt/Taggart 2008", another one that says "Reardon Metal", one that says "Gobias industries" one that says "What Would Skeletor Do?"......oh, yeah, I do not think that I could possibly be a bigger dork, but, so be it. :)
 
I actually love long books. Assuming they're good, of course. I see no difference between reading three 333 page books or one 1,000 page book. :shrug:

I do too. When I'm wrapped up in a good story, I'm often sad to see it end, and wish it would go on longer.

#38 Tweak by Nic Sheff

You're on pace for well over 70, this year. :hyper:
 
On The Beach, by Nevil Shute

The cool cover sucked me in, and I wasn't disappointed - this was really good. The title was somehow familiar but it wasn't 'til after reading it that I discovered that a couple of film adaptations had been produced. It's a story following the lives of folks in Melbourne soon after a nuclear war, as they wait for the radioactivity to sweep into the southern hemisphere and wipe out the remainder of humanity. Charming, no? Actually it really is. The end seems inevitable but they do have some time to live a little before it arrives.. what do they get up to? What would you do? That's where the fun is. Okay well it's not all good times, but there are no mad dashes for fallout shelters (what are they?) or for clean air (ah, who needs it). I loved The Stand and the way that it showed civilisation crashing down to a close but this is completely different and in its own way just as interesting.

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy

Brilliant but very tragic and sad. Somehow I never got around to reading this before now, but I'm glad that I finally have. After taking in its almost relentlessly cynical observations of human nature though I think I'll need some time out with a few light happy stories or something. Even the happier/funnier moments were tinged with sadness, knowing the tragedies that were to follow. I guess that's no accident, with the way the story swings back & forth in time like a pendulum until it finishes with the central unforgivable act that marks the beginning of the end.. Well worth reading though. I loved catching the little back & forth references thrown in everywhere, and I especially loved Arundhati Roy's ability to channel the crazy little thought processes of children. She's well and truly in touch with her inner child, woe be to the little bugger that ever tries to put one over her. Can't wait 'til she releases the second book, be damned if I'll wait as long to get around to reading it.
 
#34 World War Z by Max Brooks

What if World War III wasn't a nuclear attack? Or even a biological attack? What if it was .... ZOMBIES????

The book is an oral history of the outbreak, the panic, the war, and the aftermath of the Zombie war.

I skimmed some of the bits where the characters were describing military technology and manuevers in great detail, but it was really, really cool and often quite creepy.

Freakin' awesome! I have to read this book.. and the Zombie Survival Guide, also by the same guy.
 
#39 My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler

This earns a big, fat "ehhhhhhhh" from me. I'd heard she was really funny, and was hoping for more than the two laugh-out-loud lines I got out of it. I'll be passing on her latest book; it's already off my "to read" list.
 
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