Now reading...

[jazzbo]

I always thought Ditko's best was in those late fifties Charlton SF comics. His superhero stuff was okay, but I'll take the Charltons! Um...except Dr. Strange of course. And maybe the Question. And Spiderman wasn't bad. Uh...

He was great in those Timely/Marvel monster and mystery books. Amazing drawing!

[BillF]

Just finished J G Ballard's last novel, Kingdom Come. Now starting The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers.

Edited June 18, 2009 by BillF

[sal]

"Mother Night" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

[BruceH]

"Jazz masters of New Orleans" by Martin Williams

That's a good one. At least, I remember liking it; I read it a long time ago.

[Jazzmoose]

"Mother Night" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Personally, I think that's his most underrated book. The idea of a sympathetic Nazi character (yeah, I know it's more complicated than that) still boggles my mind.

[sal]

"Mother Night" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Personally, I think that's his most underrated book. The idea of a sympathetic Nazi character (yeah, I know it's more complicated than that) still boggles my mind.

That's good to hear. I'm enjoying it so far. I read another one recently that also seems to be underrated, "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater"

[BruceH]

"Mother Night" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Personally, I think that's his most underrated book. The idea of a sympathetic Nazi character (yeah, I know it's more complicated than that) still boggles my mind.

Well, he's only pretending to be a Nazi...

[Jazzmoose]

"Mother Night" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Personally, I think that's his most underrated book. The idea of a sympathetic Nazi character (yeah, I know it's more complicated than that) still boggles my mind.

Well, he's only pretending to be a Nazi...

Yeah, but the whole point of the book (at least as I read it) is that what you pretend to be is often more important than what you are.

[Matthew]

Finished the last of Thomas Merton's Journals. Have very mixed emotions about Merton's life after reading all seven volumes, they do not paint Merton is the best of lights, and in fact, showed Merton's failure as a religious. It is very obvious by the journals that Merton was a conflicted person; striving to find God, live as a hermit, but his emotional make-up did not allow him to do that. One of the tragedies of the whole thing is Merton's inability to pull his life together, in fact, in volume five you witness his disintegration over his falling in love with a student nurse -- he was in very bad shape during that time. By the time he gets to his trip to the Far East, even he knows that his time is up at the monastery in Kentucky, and he will wind up somewhere else. Even so, he dies on that trip, and the casket is flown to his monastery, where he is buried. A very difficult life to understand, where he kept on proclaiming how he wanted to be left alone, and yet, he was unable to accomplish what he wanted his life to be. Truthfully, his last couple of years were a mess. Closed the last journal with a tremendous sense of sadness...

[Royal Oak]

Finished "Heart Of Darkness" this evening. Still don't see what the fuss is about, but it's another one ticked off the "books you have to read before you die" list.

Next on my list is Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". Should be more like it.

[Jazzmoose]

Next on my list is Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". Should be more like it.

No struggle there; it's definitely worth the time!

[paul secor]

Shelby Foote: Stars in Their Courses - The Gettysburg Campaign

[BruceH]

"Mother Night" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Personally, I think that's his most underrated book. The idea of a sympathetic Nazi character (yeah, I know it's more complicated than that) still boggles my mind.

Well, he's only pretending to be a Nazi...

Yeah, but the whole point of the book (at least as I read it) is that what you pretend to be is often more important than what you are.

Oh yes indeed. I can still remember that even though the last time I read it was in 9th grade.

[Matthew]

For some reason, I've have this desire to read a lot of Faulkner, so I'm starting with The Sound and the Fury. The April Seventh, 1928 chapter is amazing.

[Shawn]

The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath - H.P. Lovecraft

[Jazzmoose]

For some reason, I've have this desire to read a lot of Faulkner, so I'm starting with The Sound and the Fury. The April Seventh, 1928 chapter is amazing.

Oh, yeah! That chapter is what yanked SF out of my hands and told me that these here 'classics' thingies might be worth checking out.

Edited June 22, 2009 by Jazzmoose

[Royal Oak]

Just finished Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest".

Now about to start Kerouac's "On The Road"

[jlhoots]

Antonya Nelson: Some Fun

[BruceH]

Just finished Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest".

Now about to start Kerouac's "On The Road"

Remember...On the Road is about being...on the road.

[Chuck Nessa]

Now about to start Kerouac's "On The Road"

It's been 47 years since I read it. The book is sitting on the shelf but I'm not sure I want to go there again.

[BruceH]

For some reason, I've have this desire to read a lot of Faulkner, so I'm starting with The Sound and the Fury. The April Seventh, 1928 chapter is amazing.

Oh, yeah! That chapter is what yanked SF out of my hands and told me that these here 'classics' thingies might be worth checking out.

Wow! You can remember the specific thing that did it for you.

I can't remember, but in my case I don't think it was one thing but just sort an increasing tendency toward so-called "mainstream" fiction in 11th and 12th grade. Whereas, if you had tried to get me to go that way in 9th grade I'd have probably replied, "What do I need the mainstream for? I've got Ursula K. LeGuin!"

[jazzbo]

I reread "On the Road" in the "scroll version" last year, which was significantly improved over the edited, released version.

Just started Roger Zelazney's "Guns of Avalon." (Not the first time I've read it!)

[Jazzmoose]

For some reason, I've have this desire to read a lot of Faulkner, so I'm starting with The Sound and the Fury. The April Seventh, 1928 chapter is amazing.

Oh, yeah! That chapter is what yanked SF out of my hands and told me that these here 'classics' thingies might be worth checking out.

Wow! You can remember the specific thing that did it for you.

I can't remember, but in my case I don't think it was one thing but just sort an increasing tendency toward so-called "mainstream" fiction in 11th and 12th grade. Whereas, if you had tried to get me to go that way in 9th grade I'd have probably replied, "What do I need the mainstream for? I've got Ursula K. LeGuin!"

I had a very selective (lack-of-) thought process with mainstream fiction. For example, I think I had Yeates' The Second Coming practically memorized in the tenth grade, but it never occurred to me that I might find other poetry interesting. Even discovering Camus in the eleventh grade didn't help. Heck, it was kind of like Aldiss anyway...

I'm embarrassed to say that my conversion didn't occur until much later, around age 25 or 26, and is very scattered!

[Jazzmoose]

Just started Roger Zelazney's "Guns of Avalon." (Not the first time I've read it!)

I reread Jack of Shadows a couple of months ago just to see how it was, and was thinking about going through the Amber books again, but I don't know if I'm up to it. How's it holding up?

[jazzbo]

Well, at a used book store I found all ten Amber books in paperback for a total of ten dollars. I don't have high expectations of them, I just wanted to have some books I could read and slip in my back pocket as I go around places and these fill the bill. (I read a long string of books that seemed to weigh a few pounds!)

They're fun. They hold up okay if you don't think through too hard. I'm not enjoying them like I did when I was reading them upon first publication, but I'm definitely not that guy any longer.