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Currently reading; What's tickling your pickled?
Topic Started: May 31 2007, 03:41 PM (5,906 Views)
Mutant Couch
Man-Bat Groupie
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Our Gods Wear Spandex, I've just picked it up, really. I had to give up on my last book, because it became too absurd. I was able to accept the time-traveling, self-healing, giants, and even the demon part, but then it attempted to pass off Tony Blair and Tony Snow as the tops when it comes to intellectuals. Anyway, the cover of my current book is just great, the book itself will probably be less than mediocre.

Posted Image
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March Haire
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Jamie Lee Curtis
Right Now:

The Epic of Gilgamesh (for some class on the classical world)
Best American Unrequired Reading 2008
Father and Son by Larry Brown
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
To Have and Have Not - Ernest Hemmingway
Sin City Vol. 1: The Hard Goodbye - Frank Miller

Most Recently Finished:
The Collector - John Fowles
V for Vendetta - Moore, Gibbons
Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk
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Lance
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Next time you get bored of your lives, gimme a call and I'll come round and KILL YOU.
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What did you think of Sisyphus, Jess?
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Cowards
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BOW BEFORE HIM
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"Is Marijuana the Right Medicine for You? : A Factual Guide to the Medical Uses of Marijuana"

A fascinating, joyous celebration of all the good shit that has come out of that terrible little plant. "smoke Jay Mohr" they say, "it'll cure your cancer". BELIEVE.
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Mutant Couch
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OfLegend
Jan 16 2009, 12:40 PM
What did you think of Sisyphus, Jess?
I never would have sought it out on my own. I was determined on reading The Stranger and was informed to go with that first. Although, I do believe it's an excellent suggestion that one accompanies the other, the opposite order would have been preferable to me. I would have preferred getting my own take on Meursault first. Really, I'm just annoyed, because I couldn't decide if I would have looked at him differently or not, I somewhat doubt it.


On to the topic at hand, I found it fascinating. I liked the example with Don Juan, especially. It's funny just how often people find it necessary to apply a purpose or a meaning to someone else's actions beyond the obvious. Of course, it is easier to apply something to someone's actions to make out to be noble in a way that's acceptable or just understandable to one's self. Rather than accept that the person can find their own meaning or form of happiness in just the act. It's deplorable to think we should open our minds outside of our own comfort zone. Then again I find little wrong with hedonism to begin with. While, I can't say I agree completely with Camus, much of it I did. I would love to see or hear a believer's opinion on it.

It's funny while I was able to understand it (shocking, I know) and even agree. My initial reaction that Sisyphus was indeed happy was disagreement. It was squelched easily enough on reflection, but I still found it amusing. I realize that my reluctance to agree was that his choice was made for him, but of course, so is ours there's not cure or way around death. We're just given a broader option of what to occupy ourselves in rather than just a boulder. However, eventually Sisyphus will know of little else and cease to think of his previous life. There really was no reason for Sisyphus to be unhappy after acceptance.

I really should have waited until I was actually awake to respond. I'm sure my opinion won't change much with sleep. Besides, I can count on you to call me on anything too ignorant or muddled. I'm assuming you've read it?

It did also enlighten me on just how ill-read I am. On that topic, I still haven't made the plunge yet, as I've been entertaining myself with those trashy historical romance novels. They're absurdly funny, well, the descriptions for male genitalia in them are. Anyway, is there any reason not to read Kafka's The Castle before The Trial. I'm making assumptions again on your part but really anyone's opinion on the matter is equally welcome.
Edited by Mutant Couch, Jan 18 2009, 09:14 AM.
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Lance
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Next time you get bored of your lives, gimme a call and I'll come round and KILL YOU.
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Yes, I've read it. I agree that if you see Meursault as a personification of the ideas in Sisyphus it helps understand both (The Stranger, whilst it has become an undergraduate cliche to some extent, is probably the superior work now I think of it, but one couldn't exist without the other to enhance it; so as much as you wanted to come up with your own impression of Meursault, I wouldn't worry too much about the order you eventually read them in). Obviously, for example, small exercises of freedom, whilst not freeing him from the eventuality of his demise, lessen the tragedy (that he's not condemned to death for the murder but for the crime of being himself) somewhat. Meursault's condition is intended as an analogy for human life anyway so there's a lot to be said if "My Way" comes into your head on the final page! Whether or not this is hedonism is up for debate, but the debate really becomes a semantic issue of degrees. The real question I think The Stranger raises is where an exceptional act becomes a, if you like, hedonistic one, and to what extent the latter is perceived as damaging to the society. Sisyphus is in some ways either an apology for or a foundation for a glorification of these acts.

I used to be really into Camus but not really any more, so apologies if I don't seem very original or insightful. As for Kafka, well yes, I don't think Kafka himself would have imposed such restrictions on you. If you want a feeling of the writer's chronology then read The Trial first but it's not, I think, really necessary as long as you read both. I doubt you need any endorsement from me but I was a Kafka fanatic about two years ago, making a point of going on a pilgrimage to his birthplace when the rest of my friends just wanted to get drunk on cheap Bohemian lager.
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BoPearson
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RIP LeRoi Moore.
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I hart the Stranger.

Anyways, I'm reading a Paul Simon song book right now.
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stevenUK1
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Currently reading - Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia by Peter Mass, picked it up for 74p so not going to complain about that.

The book is about Sammy Gravano who grew up in American and joined one of the biggest crime familys in America at the time the Gambino crime family. The book so far has spoke about his childhood growing up and how he got to know a few people in the Mafia world. So far I have got to where he is a high ranked person within the family, not the underboss where he will end up but getting that way and I know the book slowly goes in to how he goes and helps the FBI as he testified against his boss. Well written book by Mass and full of good details about how you become a "Made" man within a family and good details on killings and a lot of background storys within the family.

If you like reading close to true storys, anything about the mafia etc then this should be looked in to.
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BoPearson
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RIP LeRoi Moore.
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Gunna pick up Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail tomorrow.
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Adzer
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I reading possibly the most boring book in history
"Developing IP Multicast Networks, Volume I"

All for my CCIE training, fallen asleep reading this several times already.
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Lance
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Next time you get bored of your lives, gimme a call and I'll come round and KILL YOU.
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Re-reading Ulysses, The Waste Land and To The Lighthouse for university. Also Crying of Lot 49 obviously, and I've just bought The Lime Twig by John Hawkes. Also occasionally revisiting Lacan's Ecrits and some essays I have on Hegel's Phemenology of Mind.
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March Haire
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Jamie Lee Curtis
Dune.

Rarely does science fiction come more dry than the first 150 pages of this book.
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DarthHomer
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Fuckin' WWE...
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To see what all the fuss is about, Twilight.

Oh my fucking god. This book makes me want to rip my eyes out. It's stupid. It's incredibly stupid.
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Crimson
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The Best
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War of the Worlds by HG Wells

Holy fuck this shit is awesome. He describes it so well, you don't even have to TRY to imagine the chaos, the burning buildings, the charred corpses of thousands of bodies, the dried up lakes, the blazed trees, just utter ruin.

Martians don't fuck around.
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Deleted User
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Slash's Autobiography.

Got it for Christmas and about halfway through. Interesting read.
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Mutant Couch
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Anansi Boys
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March Haire
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Jamie Lee Curtis
The Favorite Game by Leonard Cohen
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White_Roach
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Upper Midcarder
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Just finished World War Z by Max Brooks. The ending is somewhat abrupt and I wish it had gone more into detail, but the other 95% was pretty freakin awesome. Now I'm about to start Gunslinger.
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March Haire
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Jamie Lee Curtis
Ian McEwan's Saturdays.

I can't tell if I want to fling the fucking thing across the room or press on.
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Lance
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Next time you get bored of your lives, gimme a call and I'll come round and KILL YOU.
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Since it's McEwan, who is a massive twat, either would be morally justified.
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