Goals for Rest of 2012

[MJ]

I want to complete:
All Dickens's novels (or fiction)
Nicholson Baker's novels
Joyce's novels
Flann O'Brien's miscellany
David Foster Wallace's novels/essays

[Geoff]

Queneau's novels. Nabokov's fiction and his Onegin. Flann O'Brien's novels. But then I went and joined the Women & Men group and now I don't know what I'll have time to read.

[Lobstergirl]

To get through this unread stack of New Yorkers. For books, I have no goals.

[Jessica]

More of Jeannette Winterson's work (have read her new memoir), more Daphne Du Maurier, more Javier Marias...

[Aloha]

Dhalgren
Gravity's Rainbow
Fahrenheit 451
Skippy Dies
Women and Men
Infinite Jest
Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace
The Quincunx
Potboiler (I promised Jenny a review. Me bad)
Le Ton Beau De Marot: In Praise Of The Music Of Language
Making a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time

Hopefully, start nibbling on anything on Proust in December to prepare for 2013 of Proust, maybe starting with Marcel Proust: A Life. The hardback is sitting on my shelf waiting for me. Maybe I can hit my head with it and the content will fall in.

[Nate D]

I'm not generally in any hurry, but I suppose I'll to polish off all the remaining Zamyatin-in-translation, since that'll only be a novella and the essays now. Read more Kavan, Konwicki, and Robbe-Grillet though probably not yet to completion, for savoring.

And then continue reaching in all directions otherwise, as usual.

[Eric]

Finish the Iliad, give Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence a go, then Woolf 's The Waves in a Goodreads group, and The Castle on my own. Then maybe some Gombrowicz, the Diary or Ferdydurke. Matthiessen's In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, for work.

[MJ]

Aloha's list wins since it is clearly the most ridiculous and unachievable, like all good goals should be. Ali: impressive list, but women have also written books. Some of them are even quite good, bless the darlings. (Edit: he added them!)

[Lobstergirl]

This is definitely a man-tilted group, so far.

[Dan's]

Hhm well I can^t help but agree with Lobster Girl


Still I would like to "wrap up" in this month if possible..
-A. Davidson's "the gargoyle"

while snooping around:
- Romanesque ( Architecture, paintings, Sculpture) by Koneman Editions
+ a few othe photo-albums on Medieval ages..

Later on I plan to finish my last book from Baudilard's -America and move on to Hitchens possibly or Foucalt's -Serveiller et punit. Nuisance de la prison-

- M. Eliade -the Sacred & profane So many books so litt' time..

[Aloha]

I will achieve this! Just wait and see.....Hmpffff...

MJ wrote: "Aloha's list wins since it is clearly the most ridiculous and unachievable, like all good goals should be. Ali: impressive list, but women have also written books. Some of them are even quite good,..."

[Nate D]

Lobstergirl wrote: "This is definitely a man-tilted group, so far."

I just added Anna Kavan! ...but still, true.

[Stephen M]

I'm going for:

The Blind Assassin
Women and Men
Gravity's Rainbow
Seven Types of Ambiguity
London Fields
Moby-Dick
The Brothers Karamazov
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
A Clockwork Orange
Love in the Time of Cholera

Ah, yikes Atwood is the lone doulbe-X chromosome of the massive bunch. Maybe I'll finish off my collected of Sylvia Plath for good measure. Maybe the new Zadie Smith too.

[Sketchbook]

I resist anything that smacks of "classroomy" do this, do that -- or else. I resist the tyrannical "Do." I resist, "I should/I will." In sum, I do as I want, when I feel like it - damn ev'one and ev'thing else.

[Aloha]

So are we. We like to self-flagellate. Cranial BDSM hurts so gooooood....Thpfffffff.....

Sketchbook wrote: "I resist anything that smacks of "classroomy" do this, do that -- or else. I resist the tyrannical "Do." I resist, "I should/I will." In sum, I do as I want, when I feel like it - damn ev'one and e..."

[Jessica]

Nate D wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "This is definitely a man-tilted group, so far."

I just added Anna Kavan! ...but still, true."

I love Anna Kavan. I've a beautiful essay a friend wrote about her some years ago I could post. When I dig it up. Worth rereading.

[Sketchbook]

PCs should take a rest. Until mid20thC women had little opportunity to (dare) write, unless v wealthy. But Lobstergirl, have you tried the Willa Cather canon ? She's the GREAT American writer of 20th.

It seems that "Academia" plays large role in what writers are in favor. I piss on Academia fr a great height, to para Celine. Then we have cockeyed-dumb "Official Lists" of what 100 books to read. I piss on them who folo same. Too many GRs do, cos peops are reading same (mid-cult) books. Most GRs havent the curiosity or intensity to find NU authors, of any period, on their own. They need a Literary Chef to advise. Never mind the chef works at a coffee shop.

[MJ]

Sketchbook wrote: "Most GRs havent the curiosity or intensity to find NU authors, of any period, on their own."

Except us. We put the hope back in hopeless.

[Sketchbook]

With this optimism, I can now go to sleep !

[MJ]

Stephen M wrote: "London Fields"

Mr. M, might I recommend The Information as being the more delectable literary confection for your refined palate?

[MJ]

Sketchbook wrote: "With this optimism, I can now go to sleep !"

Go put the sleep back in sleepless.

[Sketchbook]

First, a Bloody Mary. [Tomat jus, vod, lemon, horse radish..] Hm. Tastes good. Maybe I'll watch the sun kum up.

[Mala]

Sketchbook wrote: "PCs should take a rest. Until mid20thC women had little opportunity to (dare) write, unless v wealthy. But Lobstergirl, have you tried the Willa Cather canon ? She's the GREAT American writer of 2..."

Wow! You sure are a spirited one!

[MJ]

Mala wrote: "Wow! You sure are a spirited one! "

His punctuation is sloppy but his message (or alcoholism) rings loud and clear.

[Aloha]

OTOH, it's a feat to be able to write in a way that connects with most people, regardless of education and background. I never knock popular authors such as Stephen King. Then again, academia hates Stephen King. Ack! Everyone always has to whine about something.

Sketchbook wrote: "It seems that "Academia" plays large role in what writers are in favor. I piss on Academia fr a great height, to para Celine. Then we have cockeyed-dumb "Official Lists" of what 100 books to read. I piss on them who folo same. Too many GRs do, cos peops are reading same (mid-cult) books. Most GRs havent the curiosity or intensity to find NU authors, of any period, on their own. They need a Literary Chef to advise. Never mind the chef works at a coffee shop. "

[Mala]

I was referring to his comment no 18 as well! Sketchbook sure speaks his mind & i admire this quality in people. As for punctuation... i know we can all count on our MJ Sir for corrections haha!
We can safely rule out alcoholism cause the fellow is only drinking Bloody Mary!

[MJ]

Aloha wrote: "Everyone always has to whine about something."

Like putting the quoted portion at the bottom of the comment box. God that makes me whine.

[Aloha]

I always like to be on top. That is what anarchy and free-thinking is all about. I would type sideways if GR lets me. I can type upside down ˙ǝןıɥʍ ɐ ɹoɟ sıɥʇ op ןן,ı ʞuıɥʇ ı ˙uʍop ǝpısdn ǝdʎʇ uɐɔ ı ʇnq

MJ wrote: "Aloha wrote: "Everyone always has to whine about something."

Like putting the quoted portion at the bottom of the comment box. God that makes me whine."

[Mala]

Aloha wrote: "I always like to be on top. That is what anarchy and free-thinking is all about. I would type sideways if GR lets me. I can type upside down ˙ǝןıɥʍ ɐ ɹoɟ sıɥʇ op ןן,ı ʞuıɥʇ ı ˙uʍop ǝpısdn ǝdʎʇ..."

Aloha,MJ handles po-mo lit like kids handle their nursery rhymes,so your syntax jugglery isn't going to ruffle him!
But you get full marks for anarchy & free-thinking!

[Aloha]

Oh, yeah? Well...I'll...I'll take all the po-mo lit, cut them up and reglue them into a super po-mo lit, then mail it to him to analyze. It'd be a 3,000 pages po-mo po-fem tome, Infinite Women Jest Men.

Mala wrote: "Aloha,MJ handles po-mo lit like kids handle their nursery rhymes,so your syntax jugglery isn't going to ruffle him!
But you get full marks for anarchy & free-thinking!"

[Nate D]

Sketchbook wrote: "Most GRs havent the curiosity or intensity to find NU authors, of any period, on their own."

How exactly do you recommend unearthing "new" authors, then? I lately tend to skim along a certain region of fairly unread surrealist and related writing, but even then, I'm relying on certain presses (Atlas, Daedalus) or curators (a few specific GR-ers, writersnoonereads) for guidence. Do you dig around library vaults for books that haven't been checked out since the mid-1880s? Grab leaflets from unpublished new writers on the street? Or what? I'm not being sarcastic, both of those methods completely appeal to me, they're just hard to apply effectively.

[Aloha]

When I looked for The Lost Ones from my local library, it hasn't been checked out in 4 years. Ditto for the Mishimas, and they had an almost complete collection of his work.

Nate D wrote: "Do you dig around library vaults for books that haven't been checked out since the mid-1880s? "

[Stephen M]

MJ wrote: "Stephen M wrote: "London Fields"

Mr. M, might I recommend The Information as being the more delectable literary confection for your refined palate?"

Thanks for the recc MJ. London Fields is my make it or break it for Amis after the gimmick-fest of Time's Arrow.

[Aloha]

Holy Sh*t. I forgot Skippy Dies that I'm reading with a group in October. I'm supposed to be making garlic ice cream, too. I better add that to my list up there.

[David]

Aloha wrote: "When I looked for The Lost Ones from my local library, it hasn't been checked out in 4 years. Ditto for the Mishimas, and they had an almost complete collection of his work.

Nate D wrote: "Do you..."

Poor old Mishima! But as long as his books are being ignored because everyone's working out, he probably won't mind.

[Aloha]

David, better if everyone's storming political offices and commit suppuku.

[Lobstergirl]

Sketchbook wrote: "But Lobstergirl, have you tried the Willa Cather canon ? She's the GREAT American writer of 2..."

Oh yes. I love Cather. I've read three of hers so far. How weird that we don't have a Cather thread yet.

[Jessica]

Maybe you should start one?

[MJ]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Oh yes. I love Cather. I've read three of hers so far. How weird that we don't have a Cather thread yet."

Longest. Delay. Between. Reply. Ever.

[Lobstergirl]

Jessica wrote: "Maybe you should start one?"

Yeah, I don't have the time right now but if no one does after a few weeks, I probably will.

[Lobstergirl]

MJ wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "Oh yes. I love Cather. I've read three of hers so far. How weird that we don't have a Cather thread yet."

Longest. Delay. Between. Reply. Ever."

Across all of Goodreads?

[mark]

in the entire history of the world.

[Lobstergirl]

Oh, pshaw.