mads47 Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Since we all have strong opinions about the things we read, and many of us are currently in application limbo, I thought it would be a fun distraction to make a thread for book discussions and recommendations. So has anyone read anything good lately? Or have all-time favorites they would like to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakyFoucault Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) For shits, a month ago, I decided to finally read Tristram Shandy. It was, by far, the most bizarre book I've ever read -- almost John Ashbery bizarre. It was, dare I say, freaky... Since then, I've been trying to figure out why Lawrence Sterne thought postmodernism would be appropriate in the 18th century, but I've got nuthin'. But more recently, I re-read Madame Bovary, and am still marveling in the perfection. Other than that, I oddly haven't been reading a whole lot. I've been watching TV more. Don't tell adcomms Edited January 26, 2018 by FreakyFoucault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khigh Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Ya'll aren't my field, but I'm sure you all know my go-to book, Rebecca by Daphne du Marier. I have read it several times a year since I was 12 years old and it's almost like a comfort blanket. I have read it twice this application cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TralfamadoreTour Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 16 minutes ago, FreakyFoucault said: For shits, a month ago, I decided to finally read Tristram Shandy. It was, by far, the most bizarre book I've ever read -- almost John Ashbery bizarre. It was, dare I say, freaky... Since then, I've been trying to figure out why Lawrence Sterne thought postmodernism would be appropriate in the 18th century, but I've got nuthin'. But more recently, I re-read Madame Bovary, and am still marveling in the perfection. Other than that, I oddly haven't been reading a whole lot. I've been watching TV more. Don't tell adcomms Although I’ve never read it, the scholarship I’ve used for Ring Composition talks about it. Mary Douglas believes the structure is a true ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punctilious Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I'm not literature smart but my favorite book is Bulgakov's Master and Margarita. It's just so magical! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakyFoucault Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 3 minutes ago, TralfamadoreTour said: Mary Douglas believes the structure is a true ring. Anyone who finds a cogent structure in that beast is smarter than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la_mod Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 10 minutes ago, punctilious said: I'm not literature smart but my favorite book is Bulgakov's Master and Margarita. It's just so magical! I LOVE this book! I read it last year while dealing with a tough time and it was incredible. I’m obsessed. I want to reread. punctilious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la_mod Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 A recent fun read about Stanford Comp Lit: The Possessed, by Elif Batuman! It’s so funny and every time I read it I think about her feud with one of the profs there (though perhaps I’m reading into other things I’ve read online). I’m also super into her autobiographical novel, The Idiot. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention any Woolf on her birthday, so I’ll recommend Night and Day by her, for which I have a deep personal love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la_mod Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 15 minutes ago, punctilious said: I'm not literature smart but my favorite book is Bulgakov's Master and Margarita. It's just so magical! Also, have you read Lolly Willowes? It’s so witchy and splendid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_sort_of_fractious_angel Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 A couple months ago, I read William Deresiewicz's Excellent Sheep - quite the manifesto, lol. Also read a few stories out of Haruki Murakami's Men Without Women short story collection - lovely as always with him. Top 3 favorites of all time: Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being, Lore Segal's Her First American, and DFW's Infinite Jest (I'm really just in the novel for Kate so I definitely bypass some parts in favor of following her.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakyFoucault Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 4 minutes ago, a_sort_of_fractious_angel said: DFW's Infinite Jest AAAAGGGGHHHH! This is probably the most trite thing an English major can say in the 21st century, but that book changed my life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punctilious Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 3 minutes ago, la_mod said: Also, have you read Lolly Willowes? It’s so witchy and splendid. No, I haven't! The description says feminist, supernatural, and strange--I'M SOLD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punctilious Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 5 minutes ago, a_sort_of_fractious_angel said: DFW's Infinite Jest 3 minutes ago, FreakyFoucault said: AAAAGGGGHHHH! This is probably the most trite thing an English major can say in the 21st century, but that book changed my life! My husband thinks Infinite Jest is 'magnificent', despite the rap it seems to have. His favorites are, in chronological order, Joyce's Ulysses, Nabokov's Lolita OR Pale Fire (he's conflicted), Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow (shout out to Mason & Dixon), Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_sort_of_fractious_angel Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 3 minutes ago, FreakyFoucault said: AAAAGGGGHHHH! This is probably the most trite thing an English major can say in the 21st century, but that book changed my life! It's not trite! It's a great text! It also makes for a great conversation piece at bars/coffee shops AND doubles as a personal safety device since it is the approximate size and shape of a small log or brick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakyFoucault Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 26 minutes ago, punctilious said: His favorites are, in chronological order, Joyce's Ulysses, Nabokov's Lolita OR Pale Fire (he's conflicted), Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow (shout out to Mason & Dixon), Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad. That's a solid list. Mad props. And FWIW, Pale Fire is superior to Lolita. But only by a picofraggle. 25 minutes ago, a_sort_of_fractious_angel said: It's not trite! It's a great text! True! But every time I mention that in public, people roll their eyes and give me that "You probably haven't even read it, and if you have, you probably don't get it" look. They're probably right! Conradical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_sort_of_fractious_angel Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) 19 minutes ago, FreakyFoucault said: That's a solid list. Mad props. And FWIW, Pale Fire is superior to Lolita. But only by a picofraggle. True! But every time I mention that in public, people roll their eyes and give me that "You probably haven't even read it, and if you have, you probably don't get it" look. They're probably right! Regarding the "'if you have [read it], you probably don't get it' look. They're probably right!" THAT'S THE POINT! Who in their right mind is like, "Ah, yes, I have absorbed the entire text and now DFW speaks through me - by the way, I also don't understand why you sillies are struggling through Finnegan's Wake, it's just so oBVioUS." I motion to start our own DFW crew, where no one really knows what is going on but we're having a nice time. Edited January 26, 2018 by a_sort_of_fractious_angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakyFoucault Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) 23 minutes ago, a_sort_of_fractious_angel said: Regarding the "'if you have [read it], you probably don't get it' look. They're probably right!" THAT'S THE POINT! Who in their right mind is like, "Ah, yes, I have absorbed the entire text and now DFW speaks through me - by the way, I also don't understand why you sillies are struggling through Finnegan's Wake, it's just so oBVioUS." I motion to start our own DFW crew, where no one really knows what is going on but we're having a nice time. This is all completely true. Of course, the controlling advice on dealing with trolls is to not feed them. So when people go off at me for liking Hard Fiction, I just kinda shrug, admit that I'm a weirdo, and go my way. And yes, I nominate myself for treasurer of the DFW crew. I will handle our revenue from selling clean urine samples. Edited January 26, 2018 by FreakyFoucault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khigh Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 1 hour ago, punctilious said: My husband thinks Infinite Jest is 'magnificent', despite the rap it seems to have. His favorites are, in chronological order, Joyce's Ulysses, Nabokov's Lolita OR Pale Fire (he's conflicted), Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow (shout out to Mason & Dixon), Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad. Lolita is my third favorite book after Death in Venice and The Essential Works of Franz Kafka. Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, and Crime and Punishment are my guilty pleasure reads. I'm thinking I now need to read Infinite Jest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk-8 Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Oh man, I took a Russian history class my sophomore year (when I was still a history major), and we read Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog. So freaking weird and horrifying to me at the time.... and still pretty much so now. I loved M&M, too, though. A little different here, but Leslie Marmon Silko’s Storyteller is the reason I even became an English major. I took a class on Native American lit & fell in love. I had to read Claudia Rankine’s Citizen last semester and would recommend it to anyone. I sat down and read it in an afternoon when it was supposed to be split up into like, 3 separate class periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I'm 100% in love with Linda Hogan's work. By that I mean the poetry, the creative nonfiction, and the fiction. Solar Storms is an amazing novel. Power is also a great novel. I also liked People of the Whale. Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World is a beautiful text, especially if you're into environmental writing. And she's got some amazing poems about things like turtles. So moving. So wonderful. Just watch her reading her poetry and try not to love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahchristine Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 2 hours ago, a_sort_of_fractious_angel said: A couple months ago, I read William Deresiewicz's Excellent Sheep - quite the manifesto, lol. One of my literature professors had us read a few chapters from Excellent Sheep last semester! I wouldn't mind reading some more of it if I ever have time on my hands - some of the arguments were compelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanaka Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 2 hours ago, a_sort_of_fractious_angel said: It's not trite! It's a great text! It also makes for a great conversation piece at bars/coffee shops AND doubles as a personal safety device since it is the approximate size and shape of a small log or brick. The log/brick xD Hahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngim Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Anyone here into creative writing by any chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punctilious Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 53 minutes ago, mk-8 said: Oh man, I took a Russian history class my sophomore year (when I was still a history major), and we read Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog. So freaking weird and horrifying to me at the time.... and still pretty much so now. I loved M&M, too, though. I actually really loved Heart of a Dog! I may be forgetting the book (it's been some years), but I'm wondering why you ended up reading that in a history course? My other favorite Russian other is probably Gogol. His short stories are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punctilious Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 12 minutes ago, youngim said: Anyone here into creative writing by any chance? My husband is a creative writer (his work has been described by a professor as speculative realism)! He's currently working on a novel and recently had a short story accepted for publication in Quarterly West! What kind of creative writing do you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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