Paula’s Comments (group member since Jun 18, 2025)

Paula’s comments from the Reading the Chunksters group.

Kaycie wrote: "Paula, I just read house of leaves and I definitely recommend it! I highly suggest going for the dark room, cuddled up under a blanket setting when you read it!

That being said, I'd still love to ..."

I read it the same way!! Anyway, you might be ok if we take the buddy read at an easy pace. I think you will find Fall of Giants to be a very easy read for you.

Darlene wrote: "Judging from the responses so far, Dr. Zhivago isn't yet high enough on the list to win. If it doesn't, would anyone like to buddy read this with me? My budget doesn't allow for many full priced bo..."

Hi Darlene! Are you in the U.S.? If so, have you checked the used book offerings through Amazon? I've purchased books, even hardbacks, for a penny plus $3.99 in shipping.

I had been dithering between Mason & Dixon and Infinite Jest and finally decided that, if one of them was in the top two or three, that's the one I would throw my vote to. It turned out to be IJ, a very difficult book, highly complex but, for me, one of the great books.

Anyway, I would love a buddy read for M&D or even House of Leaves, which is another very, very cool book. Or Dhalgren.

Is there a thread where we can mull over some choices?

Random question...has anyone read The Sot-Weed Factor

Zulfiya wrote: "I am already mulling over what themed read to have in future that would include these great books. :-)"

Oh yay - I hope you think of one!!!!!

Linda wrote: "I wanted to go back and check all the nominations so far, so in case this is of help to anyone else, here is the list of current nominations for easy reference. Hopefully I did not miss any.

[boo..."

I saw An American Tragedy on the list. I read it years and years ago, so it would be almost like a first read.

But then I thought, "well, the next topic is going to be a Great American Novel, so wouldn't that be a good time to read it". Hmmm, still trying to have my cake and eat it too.

Ha!

I remember it as being a very good read. Not a challenging read, but very good. (And another way for me to avoid Faulkner) :) :).

Still sad that House of Leaves and 2666 weren't eligible. But they will surely make it into future reads :).

I love good sci-fi too. :)

Agree about the nominations. I was tempted to nominate a book (I would have probably thrown in JR, The Recognitions or Gravity's Rainbow), but there were already so many good nominations, I didn't want to add another for fear of seeing a whole list of books with one vote each.

The poll isn't even up yet and I'm dithering already!

Zulfiya wrote: "You won't get off the hook so easily, Everyman.

We will be reading one of Great American Novels after this one. Faulkner would definitely be a contender together with Steinbeck and Herman Melvill..."

Yes, but so would Infinite Jest, Gravity's Rainbow, Mason & Dixon, Underworld, right?

I too, will do just about anything to avoid Faulkner. I've tried and tried. I haven't given up yet, but I'm close.

I see that you guys read Lonesome Dove back in 2012 - I would have loved to have been a member then. It's on my TBR pile.

I thought about nominating The Recognitions...I believe Gaddis had a significant influence on DeLillo, Pynchon and Wallace. I didn't throw it into the ring because the list was already quite lengthy. I actually haven't nominated a book :)

Sarah wrote: "I think I'm going to resort to Eeny Meeny Miny Moe.

If you look at the first review on Main and Dixon, she quotes the first sentence of the book. It's complex and elegant and beautiful. Bit I hav..."

It's Pynchon...getting lost in his sentences is a given :). I think I read somewhere that there is a mechanical duck in M&D...that is weirdly wonderful to think about.

I didn't think Atlas Shrugged or The Name of the Rose were challenging reads, but it's very subjective. Probably Rose is more complex. Atlas, I found more interesting when I was a lot younger, but her heavy handed philosophical preachings bordered on the pedantic. When i was younger, it was easier to ignore and just focus on the plot, but as i got older, that wasn't possible for me. And there is that section where for 50 pages or so, she summarizes her philosophies once again just in case you were too stupid to get what she was saying all along (Barbara Kingsolver does the same thing and it irritates the life out of me). It gets tedious. She doesn't have a subtle bone in her body in this novel, so of all the nominated books, I think this is the easiest read from the standpoint of being able to understand it. It's very straightforward because the last thing Rand wants to have happen is for you to miss her points :). But it is a worthwhile book to read - it was very much a product of its time. It had quite a following and still does today, although certainly less so.

I forgot about The Golden Compass being nominated. It's interesting that Lessing once said that the more interpretations a reader can give to a novel the better it is. I think that kind of crystallizes what this next read will bring us, that is, the opportunity to bring so many thoughts and interpretations to the book. This is such a cool group and the discussions will be fun!'

Luffy wrote: "In the face of so many fearless readers undaunted by the task - which is in fact their pastime - of reading one hell of a difficult book, I feel humble. I have never undertook the challenge of read..."

I love cozy mysteries! :) and there are so many mystery authors I adore. I love JD Robb, Louise Penny, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout and lots of others. I read them over and over. Although I know people who go from one difficult book to the next and to the next, I can't do it. I find that tiring. I dont know how they have the desire, much less the energy. There are many reasons I read. To be challenged is certainly one of them but reading for sheer escapism is just as important to me.

I know what you mean about giving low ratings to books everyone else seems to love. At first, I used to feel that it meant there was something wrong with my abilities as a reader, but I've gotten past that. Not everyone likes or values the same thing. Sometimes it is just not the right time to read a particular book, which is ok because there are so many books to turn to. I became a member of this group over the summer and this is the first time I think we will have a book that I want to do a group read. I don't worry anymore that I disliked Outlander, Fall of Giants, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre when I am obviously in the minority. Not everyone likes the same thing and that's ok.

You may very well come away from this read disliking the book that was chosen. So may I and so may a lot of other members, but hey, it's all good because there will be other books flowing through this group that hit your sweet spot, and mine :). Or, we may find that it isn't a book we enjoyed, but that we can admire very much. Anna Karenina falls into that category for me. Don Quixote is another. I deeply admire that book, but I can't honestly say I enjoyed reading it and I won't try it again.

There are a couple of books that have been nominated that I won't read again because I wasn't crazy about them the first time. If one of them is selected, I will wish everyone happy reading and sit this selection out.

The great thing about this group is the variety of books that are chosen and the wonderful moderators we have. It's a great group with awesome members!!

You guys have fun!!

Kaycie wrote: "Ya, Paula, I completely agree with you, and that's definitely the type of book I plan on voting for. That's what I'm hoping to get out of most of the book discussions on this group!"

It's an exciting lineup!

John wrote: "Great points, Paula!"

Thanks John!

Linda wrote: "Great points, Paula! I am also hoping for the same type of book."

Thanks Linda! Just so everyone knows, I started and stopped reading IJ 4 times before I finally got over that initial hump - and it's all because I joined a group that was discussing it and that gave me the encouragement to keep going. The group petered out, we all got tangled and confused in the threads because all of the reading schedule threads were loaded at the same time. And then I just couldn't stop reading (ahead). I stayed up nights because I couldn't put that thing down. But again, I think I started and stopped it over a 6-year period. It wasn't an easy book by any means. But I'm SO glad I finally gave it one more try because, seriously, it is one of the best books I have ever read.

Which again, is totally subjective.

I haven't made a final decision on how I'm going to vote, but (as the topic implies)I'm hoping for a book that is truly challenging to read (I understand the word is subjective). Something that someone might very well give up on without a good moderator (which we are lucky enough to have) and a structured, participative group. Except for Mason and Dixon, I've read all of them and, while some of them I found hugely enjoyable and engrossing, they don't require as much effort and sheer perseverance as some of the others.

Pynchon, Joyce, DFW, Delany - that's really hard stuff. There are tons of layers and sheer "stuff" going on underneath the surface (linguistically, symbolically, thematically, structurally, or all of the above)as well as intricate plots and characters. And just by talking about plot and characters, those things are going to pop up because of the genius of the authors. All that stuff is like little video game "Easter Eggs" sprinkled throughout and they will surface as soon as you touch on them just a tiny bit. It can be hard and sometimes maddening, but so cool!

It's kind of like the difference between walking 10 miles on a flat surface as opposed to 10 miles uphill. It's a long way (10 miles is a chunkster of a walk and something to be respected), but one is easier than the other. Ten miles uphill might require someone to pull you, sweating and screaming, along and encourage you to stick with it. Whereas, 10 miles on a flat surface might only require a good walking stick, some firm resolve or, if you are social, a buddy or two to chat with.

I think this is what made it difficult to discuss Outlander. Now, I didn't care for that book, but even if I did, I don't know what we would have talked about week after week. If you loved it, it was because it was fun and entertaining. Very escapist. A great beach read. But when all is said and done, other than everyone recapping the plot, what is left to talk about? And I think, even for people who loved it, no one could think of anything to say that wasn't just a synopsis of those X number of chapters. I think that's really why the conversation kind of petered out.

Please, this is all just my opinion. Just me lobbying :).

I'm not (yet) lobbying for a particular book - more for a particular "kind" of book. But if we're going to read something called one of the most challenging books of the 20th Century, I hope it is a book that fits the title.

I'm going to go run for cover now :).