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Himself

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Explorer (4/14)

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  1. Continued to read Catch-22 and I'm loving it. Start Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse. Very interesting so far.
  2. I am loving Catch-22 so far. I have broken into laughter a few times in the first 60 odd pages. Why was no one telling me to read it?
  3. Some of you may be excited to see my updated "currently reading" section. @Poppyshake They are still worth a read, and are very short.
  4. Got caught up with school so haven't had much time to review, but I have still been reading as an escape... Was away for a week in the Hague for a MUN conference, didn't take laptop. Read a lot there. I swear, I will get to Catch-22 eventually!
  5. Sat down a finished up a few books I'd been working on recently (Death of Ivan Ilyich, Portnoy's Complaint, and King Lear). Will get some reviews up soon. Started Contact, by Carl Sagan. I also took to making my priority list for my coming reads, in no particular order: Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess Catch-22, Joseph Heller Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner Notes from Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro Zeitoun, Dave Eggers The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon Hopefully I'll be able to work through these pretty quickly. So much great stuff to read, can't wait to dig in. Any recommendations on where to go first would are very welcome.
  6. Continuing to make my way through Portnoy's Complaint. I am really, really enjoying it.
  7. On recommendation of my Dad I began Portnoy's Complaint. I will probably read Catch-22 third of those three. I am definitely looking forward to it now.
  8. Began Portnoy's Complaint. I think I am going to enjoy this.
  9. Hmmm. I don't know what to read next! Top of my list are: Portnoy's Complaint, Philip Roth; Prelude to Foundation, Isaac Asimov; and Catch-22, Joseph Heller. Any preferences?
  10. Point Omega, by Don Delillo Synopsis: In the middle of a desert ‘somewhere south of nowhere’, to a forlorn house made of metal and clapboard, a secret war adviser has gone in search of space and time. Richard Elster, seventy-three, was a scholar – an outsider – when he was called to a meeting with government war planners. For two years he tried to make intellectual sense of the troop deployments, counterinsurgency, orders for rendition. He was to map the reality these men were trying to create. At the end of his service, Elster retreats to the desert, where he is joined by a young filmmaker intent on documenting his experience. Jim Finley wants to make a one-take film, Elster its single character – ‘Just a man against a wall.’ The two men sit on the deck, drinking and talking. Finley makes the case for his film. Weeks go by. And then Elster’s daughter Jessie visits – an ‘otherworldly’ woman from New York – who dramatically alters the dynamic of the story. When a devastating event follows, all the men’s talk, the accumulated meaning of conversation and isolation, is thrown into question. What is left is loss, fierce and incomprehensible. Review: Another first experience with an author. Based on this book alone I like Delillo's style. The conversations between Elster and Finley are exceptionally crafted. Elster's probing thoughts on war and life are, at the very least, interest, and, at their best, mind boggling. Delillo manages to expertly twist seemingly banal situations into insights into the feelings and thoughts of his characters, and, by extension, forces the reader to ponder those same issues. This quotation from near the beginning of the book is highly applicable: "The less there was to see, the harder he looked, the more he saw." 4/5
  11. I have not watched it yet, but my friend says that there are a couple major plot differences. I know it starred Stephen Mangan, and he's great. I have it recorded, hopefully I will be able to get to it this weekend.
  12. If you are going to read classics I would not go with one of those. Time Machine is still worth a read, though, and it is very short. My favourite author from the late 19th century and turn of the century period is Joseph Conrad. Give him a try. Will do. I think I am going to read a classic or two next, but I will prioritise him on my sci-fi list. Thanks, you too!
  13. No, it is a Mid 19th century western. Most of the novel is spent following a group of "scalphunters".
  14. Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy This is the first Cormac McCarthy book I have read. I found his style a little difficult at first, but eventually I got the hang of it and began to really enjoy read it. Much of the action - and the book is almost entirely action - is extremely concisely written and I often found myself having to read entire passages more than once to really get what was happening. I also had to reread many and much of the soliloquys of the character judge. This book is violent. Easily the most violent book I have read. Fortunately McCarthy does a truly excellent job with the - many - violent scenes, so there is no feeling of gimmick. It is comparable to a Peckinpah film, in terms of shear gore. I want to go back and read this again at some point. 4/5
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