The Idiot Board Readers Corner - General Discussion

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Thinking about giving Hunter S. Thompson a try.

What's his best book?

 

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Reading all of Chuck Klosterman's books right now, currently on IV. I think he's the smartest writer on pop culture / social commentary. If you know of someone who writes more interesting things about our society, I'd love to hear it.

The best parts of his books are not the interviews he does with musical artists, but it's what he gets them to admit; how they're unhappy, why they write about certain topics, how they think they are viewed by society, etc. And he does awesome analysis with random topics on how they relate to modern society, with Saved By The Bell, Val Kilmer, eating only chicken nuggets for a week straight, The Real World.

Eating the Dinosuar is his most recent book, I think. I was in a book store a few weeks ago and just sat and read the whole thing. I couldn't put it down.

 

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Chuck Klosterman is fantastic. If you like his writing, you should check out Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good For You. In it, Johnson argues that popular culture today is much more complex than it ever has been and is actually making us smarter. The book doesn't touch as broad a spectrum as Kosterman, but is a nice complement if you want an intelligent opinion and analysis about the ever increasing complexity of media.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Bad_Is_Good_for_You

If anybody else has other writers that are dissecting pop culture like they are, I'm interested as well.

 

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I'd start with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It's a good introduction to his style.

 

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Rum Diary is by FAR the better book. It's more coherent, but still out there.

 

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In popular culture I guess you could say Karouac is considered better, or at least more widely read. In any kind of literary setting though Burroughs is infinitely more respected. As he should be.

 

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Maybe I should give Chuck Klosterman another chance. I tried reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs at Barnes and Noble and after five pages I wanted to set the book on fire. I think I got to around page 15 before I quit. All I remember is him babbling about how he couldn't satisfy a woman and vice versa and it driving me insane. Maybe I'll give him another chance.

Anyway, a few books I've read lately.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I absolutely loved part 1, but after that it starts to drag a bit. The main problem was switching out Joe for Herbert, who just isn't that interesting. Still a good read, but I wanted to see more interaction between Pip and Estella. That is at least half of the story, but we see a lot more of reflection instead of dialogue between the two, which I just didn't care for. Still a pretty good book, just not quite as entertaining as I hoped.

Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I don't know if I'll go as far as Tucker and call it the best fiction ever written (to me it's Blood Meridian), but this was hilarious. All the characters are completely original and have their own little quirks that draw the reader in. I was laughing out loud by page 1 and it continued throughout the novel. Ignatius is the most ridiculous, long winded, strange character I've ever read in a book. I really, really wanted to see more of Lana's reaction after getting arrested. I was looking forward to it and it got cut short. No real complaints though. This is a good one to flip through at your local book store before buying. If you don't like the first few pages you'll hate to book. If you do like them, it'll be perfect for you.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hypnosis. Yeah, that's right, I went with the Idiot's Guide. If I could go back I would have chosen a more advanced text. If you have a basic understanding of psychology, know the major studies, and have taken a couple college level classes you can skip this. It was still a good read, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on there. After reading it I tried hypnotizing one of my friends (which the book doesn't recommend) and it seemed to go pretty well. He wasn't completely immersed, but he said the suggestions felt real, and afterwards he needed a two hour nap. It's a fun book and it convincingly displays how self hypnosis can be beneficial to your mental health. However, I'm not going to start using it to help me get through daily life, which a lot of patients seem to need for some reason.

Soul Traveler by Albert Taylor. Most people are going to think I'm weird for even picking up this book, but I'm into unusual perspectives on religion so I decided to check it out. The author was an aeronautical engineer at NASA who gave up his day job to spend more time promoting astral travel. Yes, that is what the book is about. He doesn't seem to be a con man and if he is, well he just got $5 out of me for a used copy. He definitely doesn't seem crazy either and to quit the job he did he'd have to be a believer. I'm not saying I buy into the book. Some of it is just too out there for me, but I do believe in higher levels of consciousness and that meditation can be a great way to handle stress and clear the mind. I don't expect to be floating around outside of my body any time soon though. However, it is interesting that out of body experiences have been reported across virtually every culture on the globe. The book is barely over 100 pages so if you're interested it's a very quick read.

The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy is my favorite author and again, I was dazzled by his lyrical prose. The Orchard Keeper was his first book, published in 1965, and seemed to be relatively plotless like some his other novels, working despite that fact. It tells the story of three characters: a young boy, a bootlegger, and an old man who lives in an stoic harmony with nature. I didn't find it a very difficult read and it seems more straight forward than some of his other work. It deals with a lot of the same themes/ideas found in his later books (the beauty of nature, the randomness of life, loyalty, independence at a young age, etc.) I've got three of his books left and plan to finish them over the next couple months while reading some other stuff I have on deck.

Next up: Starship Troopers, Salem's lot, Grapes of Wrath, Cities of the Plain, Outer Dark, Suttree.

 

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I was actually a little disappointed with Suttree. Not that it wasn't a good book, it's Cormac McCarthy after all, but I just felt like it lacked some of the bite of his other work. Then again, I read it on the heels of Blood Meridian, which I will say is an absolutely phenomenal book, one of my favorites.

It's weird because I've read a lot of reviews by people saying they thought Suttree was McCarthy's best, which I don't see as an even fathomable conclusion. Yes, the characters in it are hilarious and complex, and Suttree himself I loved. I don't know, it just seemed like I was just plodding through some parts.

Maybe I should read it again over spring break next week. Oh wait, I have to reread As I Lay Fucking Dying and Beloved for school. Nevermind....

 

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So... I'm actually reading The Wizard of Oz right now. And... I mean everybody knows the story, everyone has seen the movie, and everyone knows that it was intended to be a kids book.

But please please please, if you haven't read the book, read it. It's absolutely fantastically written. And even though you know the basic story, there are enough differences from the movie to keep you interested. I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying this read.

 

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I have finally found the time to read a little more for the first time in a few years. Since Christmas, I've managed to read (or re-read) the following books.

Fight Club Hands down, my favorite book. I read it at least twice a year. If you hate your job, you'll love this book.

Apathy and other Small Victories by Paul Neilan. This is hands-down the funniest book I have ever read. My wife kicked me out of bed while I was reading this book because I kept waking her up laughing. Another "if you hate your job" type books (hmm, I see a pattern forming). Written in the first person, it chronicles the trials of a smart but unmotivated narrator as he tries to endure the indignity of working in the corporate world.

Happy Hour is for Amateurs I don't think I need to summarize here, as its the reason I ended up on this forum.

War of the Rats by David L. Robbins. Details the exploits of the Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev during the battle of Stalingrad, focusing on the battle between himself and a German supersniper. Note: While intended to be historically accurate, aspects of this sniper battle and whether it even occurred are disputed.

Choke by Chuck P. Enjoyed it very much. If you like Fight Club, you'll like this one as well. Similar tone regarding materialism, crappy jobs, looking for meaning in life, etc.

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. Anybody who's seen the HBO mini-series knows the details of this book. Details the exploits of E-Company during WW2.

Company by Max Barry. Enjoyed it so much I plan to read Jennifer Government next. Don't want to give away too much of the plot, but essentially a book on office politics, corporate re-orgs, fear of layoffs, etc. If you enjoyed the movie "Office Space" you'll probably like the book.

Some books I'd recommend off the top of my head.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Post-apocalyptic story of a father and son trying to survive.

The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. A story of a simpleton who finds a new start in Newfoundland. The movie by the same name is also excellent and stays quite true to the book.

 

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I just re-read one of my favorite books, White Jazz by James Ellroy. Someone mentioned Ellroy's Underworld USA trilogy, which is also good. This is from his LA Quartet (which also included LA Confidential), and is probably the best of those. His style of the course of the books became more minimalistic and clipped, leaving out details in exchange for more novel, leaving out sentences for more quasi-poetry. It's certainly the densest book you'll read, as far as being extremely violent, graphic, tense, and beautiful.
Set in the late 1950s, the book centers around a cop who also works as a hitman, slumlord, and mercenary. He exists at the intersection of mobsters, police-sanctioned drug dealers, the LAPD, jazz musicians, prostitutes, and their ilk. The FBI is preparing to launch an investigation into the widespread corruption in the LAPD, and the protagonist becomes a pawn in more games than one. And there are about six plot threads happening throughout the whole thing.

Anyway, really good, highly recommended.

 

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In the middle of a few things right now

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - A coworker of mine got me the omnibus dealie that has all the novels plus one short story. She got it for me a few years ago, but I only finally started moving through it last year. Currently on So Long and Thanks for all the Fish and enjoying it immensely.

Welcome to the Monkey House Been a big Vonnegut fan for years and finally started this one despite, again, having been given it as a gift years ago. Cause I'm such a good friends, you see.

I also picked up a big book of poetry and prose by John Donne. I had never really gotten into poetry much but having found out that both the "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Death Be Not Proud" lines were originally from Donne it piqued my curiousity enough to try his out for a start. I've been thinking about moving on to either Tennyson or Byron once I finish Donne's work. An accountant that reads (and I daresay enjoys) poetry.........crazy world.

 

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What is the What- Dave Eggers
The story of Valentino Achak Deng.
"As a boy, Deng is separated from his family during the Second Sudanese Civil War when the Arab militia, referred to as murahaleen (which is Arabic for traveller), wipes out his Dinka village, Marial Bai. He flees on foot with a group of other young boys, (the "Lost Boys"), encountering great danger and terrible hardship along the way to a refugee camp in Ethiopia"

I absolutely loved this book which isn't surprising as Dave Eggers is one of my favourite authors.

 

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DO NOT start with Fear & Loathing. While it's easily his most popular, it seems most people who highly recommend it have either not read the rest of his books, or have read a little bit of his journalism and completely missed the point.

If you want to get into HST, read a biography on him first, then get "The Great Shark Hunt" and read his very first gonzo piece, "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved." Without some goddamn context surrounding F&L, there's no point in reading it, unless you're simply looking for a weird story about drugs. HST's writing, however, is more than just that.

Rum Diary is his attempt at a novel, and was actually pretty damn good. As someone who has a degree in journalism (and is basically pissing it away by going to grad school instead), I absolutely loved it.

 

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I almost gave up after the first 30 pages, but my Dad kept encouraging me to push on. I have to say, it was worth it. The first few alone won't give you enough of an impression.

 

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In reply to the above mentioned HST book, here's the link for the Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved. As a Louisville resident and a frequent Derby goer he hit the nail on the head.

<a class="postlink" href="http://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdf</a>

 

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What I've read in the last couple months:

Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis.
One of my friends who's going to start working in I-Banking in the summer recommended this to me. Even though I know next to nothing about financial markets, it was a great book. Very entertaining. I especially liked reading about Lewis's own personal story, although reading about the company history of Saloman Brothers -- as well as the financial landscape in the 80's -- was interesting too.

Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venekatesh
You might know this story from Freakonomics -- Sudhir's research is the basis for the chapter on the economics of crack-cocaine dealing. Basically, this U of Chicago sociology grad student researches this project-based crack cocaine gang called "The Black Kings" for the better part of a couple years. Unbelievable how intricately tied gangs are to their respective project buildings -- from everything to protection, to food, to programs for kids, prostitution, hustling, etc. Absolutely fascinating book.

Working by Studs Terkel
My "taking a shit book." Brief 2-6 page interviews with people working different jobs -- the book's like 600 pages so it's pretty much every job under the sun. Pretty cool, and I would've liked it a lot more had I not read "Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs" -- which Donika recommended on the old board, and is now one of my favorite books -- first. My main problem with Working was that it was from the '70s so it was harder to relate to. Gig is from '99, so it's much more updated, and I found that the editing was stronger -- many of the stories flow much more coherently. Both books would work great as graduation presents.

Preacher: Vol 2 I don't have anything to say about this book other than this: does someone in LA have the rest of this series? I can't afford buying each individual volume, but the series is so awesome that I need to keep reading it. PM me if you're willing to let me borrow it -- I can lend you a few books in exchange.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The second book I've read by Krakauer (the first was Into the Wild). HOOOOO-OLY SHIT. If you don't know, it's about the 1996 Everest disaster in which 13 people died on the mountain. The last time I had such an intense reaction to a book was when I read "Night" by Elie Wiesel in 8th grade. Absolutely unbelievable book -- could not put it down.

Also, gotta pimp Happy Hour is for Amateurs. I've lent it out to about 4 people and everyone has loved it. You need to pick this up.

 

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This trilogy is brilliant. I'm a huge fan of fiction that explores psychology - the how and why people do things - and Bakker does an amazing job of exploring this, and building a protagonist around this ability.

If you enjoyed this, I'd highly recommend the "Gap" series by Donaldson. Science fiction, as opposed to "fantasy' (I add quotes because this is a broad categorization) but a great series.

On a completely different note, I read "Confederacy" and thought it was no where near as good as advertised. Different tastes, i guess.

 

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Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. It was a relatively short, easy read. On the whole I thought it was decent, but not anything close to what it was hyped up to be. For starters, there really isn't much of a story there. It mostly appeared to be a vehicle for Heinlein to spout his political ideas. While much of it was interesting, I kind of wanted to see more action and get a better grasp on what was happening in the war. Also, the character development was virtually non-existent. There's really only one character, the protagonist Johnny, that we even have a chance to know. Still, even he seemed relatively shallow, he mostly just explains what's going on and lays out the philosophy. Don't get me wrong, I still liked the book, but the story should come first, political theories should be second. Oh, and I know the movie was nothing like the book and hopelessly retarded, but I still enjoyed it. Marines fighting giant insects is awesome.

Writing Horror by the Horror Writer's Association. Meh, this was ok. It's basically a collection of short articles written by horror writers. Some it was very insightful and helpful, but a lot was just rubbish. One woman wrote about developing characters first and then letting them make choices instead of forcing them into a plot, and that was great and definitely something to consider. However, another guy just ranted about how hates all new writers and where the horror field is going. I wanted to choke him, he was so fucking annoying. The story in the afterward was downright awful and I have no idea how anyone could enjoy it. Overall, I'd say there's better resources for learning how to write. Just go to Stephen King's book on writing, it's way better. Speaking of him...

Salem's Lot by Stephen King. Although this was over 600 pages I managed to finish it in two days. King is one of my favorite authors and really the only uber famous author I'm a big fan of. The best thing about this book is how well you get inside the characters' heads. Definitely a hard one to put down. I have to say though that as much as I love King he writes some of the worst endings. I forgive it since the rest of his books are generally awesome, but it does leave me a tad bitter. The climax/ending in this novel suffers from the same problem, but if you can let it go then this is a good page turner. However, I would more highly recommend The Shining, It, Different Seasons, Needful Things, or The Stand. The rest of his stuff is pretty good too.

Currently reading Grapes of Wrath. I'm only 70 pages in and it's taking me awhile because I've been busy lately. I'll have to get back to it this next weekend. So far it's decent, but the plot hasn't really taken off yet.

And chalk me up for another person who loved Happy Hour is for Amateurs. It might actually be my favorite non-fiction book. Philalawyer is a pretty damn good writer and I hope he continues. It's very easily to visualize everything in the stories, very easy to relate to (especially considering the people on this board), and overall just a really entertaining, compelling read. Pretty damn hilarious in certain parts too. And I didn't know this was possible, but after reading that book I hate lawyers even more.

 

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There's a great deal of political ideas in all of Heinlein's books, and probably most science fiction of that period, too. If you want a work of his that is more action oriented, check out "The Puppet Masters" or "Glory Road".