The Book Thread.

naps wrote:

muaddib wrote:I noticed that, that most of the books you listed are music and artist biographies.

I read a lot of novels, too. Mostly crap.

Actually, I think that's perfectly ok. I think it's only when you don't realize it's crap that it becomes a problem. I remember a friend of mine telling me about how David Foster Wallace would deal with burnout by binge-watching really mindless TV shows for days at a time.

naps wrote:I am reasonably well versed in Poe, or was...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPHauoHNuQk (probably NSFW)

That's pretty cool though; I'm not a huge Poe fan, but I've read a good number of his stories. I think "The Devil in the Belfry" is my favorite because it's still surreal and dark but also funny.

Have you ever read any Herman Melville? His short stories are actually really good and wide-ranging; you might like them. Check out "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "The Bell-Tower." Moby Dick was actually amazing too. I think I've mentioned before that it was not at all what I was expecting. It was way funnier, more action-packed, and experimental than I thought it would be. Plus I just happened to check out a copy with really cool line-illustrations scattered throughout:
https://book-graphics.blogspot.com/2013 ... ed-by.html

naps wrote:I used to be a better reader before the internet.

I think we're all guilty of that (skipping to the end of articles, things like that). To be fair though, the main thing I wind up doing on the internet is reading and writing. So in the end, I think the internet has actually freed me from TV and video games more than reading.

naps wrote:

muaddib wrote:I have some thoughts about Hitchens, but I'm obviously biased as a theist and I haven't read any of his books. So I probably wouldn't be giving him a fair shake.

I'm sure they're fair. He even raises my eyebrows sometimes. But it's hard to keep your wits about you when writing on such a subject. For either side.

That's the funny thing; I don't think it's anything to do with him being outspoken. If anything, his personal style and the way he presented himself is maybe the main thing I admire about him. He even dressed and smoked like Albert Camus... plus the fight he picked with the Lebanese skinheads showed he wasn't afraid to get into a good scrap:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/ ... rut-attack

I think a lot of it just had to do with how he wound up becoming an apologist for the GWB administration though. I mean, if you base your entire life around preaching Enlightenment values and individual reason as the highest good, what does it say about your faith in reason when you turn out to be spectacularly wrong when it counts? In a way, it's almost like Hitchens accidentally helped kill the faith in human reason and liberal values he believed in.

The more I think about it though, I'm pretty sure it's really nothing to do with his atheism because I realized that you could say almost all the same things about Andrew Sullivan (who's a Christian)... although I don't think he would have the guts to pick a fight in Beirut like Hitchens.

muaddib wrote:I remember a friend of mine telling me about how David Foster Wallace would deal with burnout by binge-watching really mindless TV shows for days at a time.

I do that. It clears your head. I'll sometimes watch until I can't stand it anymore, which makes it easier to deal with difficult material I've put off delving into because I don't want to think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPHauoHNuQk

I've seen that one. The goth kids rule! I love the kid whose ringtone is "Death and despair!"

I'm not a huge Poe fan, but I've read a good number of his stories. I think "The Devil in the Belfry" is my favorite because it's still surreal and dark but also funny.

I love that one! I find all of his stuff surreal on varying levels.

Have you ever read any Herman Melville? His short stories are actually really good and wide-ranging; you might like them. Check out "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "The Bell-Tower."

I might try them. I have to start somewhere...

To be fair though, the main thing I wind up doing on the internet is reading and writing.

I feel most comfortable when I sit at the computer without opening a single browser. I used to turn off my modem to deter me from going anywhere online since it takes like 48 hours to connect after you switch it on, but after a while it stopped working and I'd have to re-boot it or whatever by disconnecting it and plugging it directly into the wall. Not worth it. Now I just yank out my ethernet cable. More and more, the internet is becoming a microcosm for the real world. Sometimes just being online makes me feel like I'm at some nightmarish party where everyone thinks they're the smartest person in the room. I know there's more worthwhile content out there, but sometimes trying to find it feels like some game where reality TV stars keep coming at you.

That's the funny thing; I don't think it's anything to do with him being outspoken. If anything, his personal style and the way he presented himself is maybe the main thing I admire about him. He even dressed and smoked like Albert Camus... plus the fight he picked with the Lebanese skinheads showed he wasn't afraid to get into a good scrap:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/ ... rut-attack

That was a really stupid thing to do. I'm actually surprised he stooped that low. (Said the guy who subverts subway ads with a sharpie.)

I think a lot of it just had to do with how he wound up becoming an apologist for the GWB administration though. I mean, if you base your entire life around preaching Enlightenment values and individual reason as the highest good, what does it say about your faith in reason when you turn out to be spectacularly wrong when it counts? In a way, it's almost like Hitchens accidentally helped kill the faith in human reason and liberal values he believed in.

The more I think about it though, I'm pretty sure it's really nothing to do with his atheism because I realized that you could say almost all the same things about Andrew Sullivan (who's a Christian)... although I don't think he would have the guts to pick a fight in Beirut like Hitchens.

All I'll say right now is that ol' Christopher now knows for sure what none of us here do.

naps wrote:

muaddib wrote:Check out "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "The Bell-Tower."

I might try them. I have to start somewhere...

Well, if you're not in a reading mood, someone actually made a film adaptation of "Bartleby the Scrivener" (I haven't seen it myself though):
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230025/

And it stars the always unpredictable Crispin Glover!

naps wrote:

muaddib wrote:He even dressed and smoked like Albert Camus... plus the fight he picked with the Lebanese skinheads showed he wasn't afraid to get into a good scrap:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/ ... rut-attack

That was a really stupid thing to do. I'm actually surprised he stooped that low. (Said the guy who subverts subway ads with a sharpie.)

Yeah, it definitely qualifies as reckless at least, but I sort of get it. I can imagine his inner dialogue being a little like, "Hitchens no phony! When Hitchens say he like to fight Nazis, Hitchens fight Nazis. Hitchens smash!"

naps wrote:All I'll say right now is that ol' Christopher now knows for sure what none of us here do.

True, and honestly, I get the feeling that if he did turn out to be wrong, he's the kind of guy God would write a waiver for.

muaddib wrote:Well, if you're not in a reading mood, someone actually made a film adaptation of "Bartleby the Scrivener" (I haven't seen it myself though):
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230025/

And it stars the always unpredictable Crispin Glover!

Crispin Glover is my hero!

I will have to check that out.

muaddib wrote:

naps wrote:All I'll say right now is that ol' Christopher now knows for sure what none of us here do.

True, and honestly, I get the feeling that if he did turn out to be wrong, he's the kind of guy God would write a waiver for.

...probably, provided that the "correct answer" doesn't turn out to be Allah.

naps wrote:

muaddib wrote:

naps wrote:All I'll say right now is that ol' Christopher now knows for sure what none of us here do.

True, and honestly, I get the feeling that if he did turn out to be wrong, he's the kind of guy God would write a waiver for.

...probably, provided that the "correct answer" doesn't turn out to be Allah.

Yeah, that would be awkward, though you never know. It could be a "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven" scenario... or as the Simpsons put it...

^ For just about everything that's happened in the past century there is a Simpsons clip to put it into proper perspective.

I just finished Wise Blood. It was rather apropos, after all.

Just read Vonnegut's short "Who Am I This Time?". I think it's definitely about SPD... What do you think?

N1ghty wrote:Just read Vonnegut's short "Who Am I This Time?". I think it's definitely about SPD... What do you think?

I've read several other things by Vonnegut, but none of his short stories except for "Harrison Bergeron." My favorite is definitely Cat's Cradle, but I also really liked Player Piano. Especially with the way so many people idealize "tech" and "education" nowadays, I think Player Piano should be required reading in English class.