House of Leaves question

I've read both, IJ just 2 years ago and HOL waaayyy back.

I'm not sure what hype beast convinced me to read IJ but after spending a month of my life WAITING to find out how/why the tennis kid found himself in such a state at the beginning of the book (and you know how THAT turned out - "butt of the IJ," brilliant!) I SWORE OFF 1K page books forever!! (But have recently read Jonathan Strange and was pleasantly entertained so have now renounced that vow.) (And now that I know what to expect in IJ I almost want to read it again. smh)

HOL, as I recall, was a page-turner, it creeped me out and entertained me, and I didn't at all feel like Danielewski owed me a $20 and a few weeks of my life. But, I hadn't been sucked in by any hype, just by the recommendation of a friend who knew I was a tweaker (and a Cloudmaker! Well-put mckennadj!) and would dig it. Hmmm... I may have to read it again, but - eeek! - it spooked me!

I think the writing is so much better in IJ, but the ride is so much more fun in HOL.

Tl;dr: if a friend who knows your tastes recommends a book - HOL or other - take that counsel over any of the over-zealous recommendations of converts, publishers and marketers.

This book was a bunch of rot. I too, anxiously awaited getting my copy after hearing how great it was. Why? The way it was put together was supposed to be "new and different" instead it was just hype. I ended up skipping over parts to see if it would get better - it didn't.Don't bother with it.

Is it worth reading? In a word NO!

You mentioned in a comment that you're interested in HoL because it's "revolutionary horror." It is, but keep in mind that it's not horror in the same way most of Stephen King's or Clive Barker's books are horror. But even if you're looking for something in that vein, I would still recommend HoL. No, it's not for everyone, but its readers seem to fall into two camps: those that thought it was overrated or just 'meh' and those that absolutely LOOOOOOVe it zomygodwhyaren'tyouREADINGITRIGHTNOW!!!11!!1!

I hope you fall into camp #2 (which is where I reside, by the way). It's a singular joy when you are profoundly affected by a great book. HoL may not do it for you, but if it does, well, isn't that what reading's all about?

Yes utterly. But clearly not everyone's cup of tea...

Definitely one of my (top) favorite books ever ... Would never say anything bad about it ... But let's face it, it's apparent you don't actually want to read this ... So don't :)

I read House of Leaves twice--the last time recently, and to see if I had missed something. I liked its uniqueness. I was at first afraid to read it cos I'm not a horror fan, but this was a really creepy story on a more philosophical level than most. It takes a while to read it, but it's not as long as it looks--some parts are sorta tedious, though. I noticed I read one section of 200 pages in like an hour and a half, and i'm not that fast a reader. The end is like that too.

I am 300 pages into Infinite Jest, and find it much more difficult to sustain interest --each page is like a solid block of letters! Give me some swirls, some one word pages! Plus you can't skip the footnotes, really. But, it is brilliant. I'm not sure if HOL is brilliant, but it does jerk your chain more.

I must say, I am in the same boat. I went to my local book store and carried it around with me, not sure if I should spend the $21 on it or not. I have a morbid fascination with it due to the reviews I have read. I am not much for horror, but I gobbled up Steven King's Christine. My friend called it "The most terrifying book he has ever read." Im teetering on the edge of reading it, and saying no. But that is the thing... the book is sticking with me... in the back recesses of my mind...

I enjoyed House of Leaves a lot, but I like unreliable narrators and puzzles. I like that House of Leaves actually plays with the physical format of a novel and even includes things that you need to decode to get the full experience.

House of Leaves is more than just a book. You will get out of it what you put in. If you don't spend the time to check for Morse code or decode letters in the appendix then you don't get the full experience. You have to approach it like you picked up the book and are trying to unravel the mysteries of Navidson, Zampano and Johnny. You need to treat it like an alternate reality game. I know this all sounds rather pretentious, but it's true.

You may want to start with something like The Red Tree instead as it is much shorter and doesn't have any of the formatting shenanigans of House of Leaves. It's also a horror novel with an unreliable narrator and is about a book. It's really good way to find out if you are going to like the kinds of things you will find in HoL, but without all of the footnotes, unconventional layouts and other shenanigans. If you end up like The Red Tree then definitely come back to HoL.

This is an ink blot of a book. I think what you have to bring to it determines what you'll take away from it.

One of the most frustrating, engrossing things I've ever read... And I've never had caviar. If that tells you anything.

I am the same Scassonio. The more hype a book gets the more disappointed I will be. It has happened with many. I think we have to wait at least twenty or so years before a book can be applauded so much. And the hype that goes into many books nowadays is really just marketing and promotion.

I remember reading it and being completely sucked into the creeping horror of it. That slow Lovecraftian grandness.

Aaaand then it just petered out. It was interesting. But ultimately not worth the effort.

I thought it was possibly the best (or one of the best) books I've ever read. Be careful thoug, it's a book about a book about a film about a family. That being said ... it get a little confusing. You'll have to hunt down where what text leads where, you'll have to flip pages to find foot notes, and you will have to re-read sentences and pages. If you're patient (and you like books that definitely are not traditional) then you'll love it.

I have to say that I went for it after reading good reviews and recommendations. After finishing it, I decided that I only really liked The Navidson Record part of the book. If you can get your hands on purely that extract, you will love it. Everything else didn't really seem to go with the story and it was just distracting me.

I don't think this book is for you, based on this post. It's a great book, though.

Funny, I read IJ and the next book I picked up was HOL. I liked IJ better but love them both. Now, if IJ isn't your thing them maybe pass on HOL. It is a novel turned upside down, literally sometimes. It is even more jumbled than IJ. But if you dig in I think you may like it. And IJ, too. Pynchon-Crying Lot or Delillo-Libra might be similar but less weird.

Infinite Jest and House of Leaves belong on the same shelf: Inconceivably over-hyped.

It's a novel, alright. A novelty concept that banks on the nontraditional presentation of combining forms of writing into a narrative. But you find that after delving into the house, all you hear are the echoes of empty, boring rooms. The plot is fairly weak and the characters unmemorable. The devices by which the story is told are the only elements that seem to impress anyone who enjoyed it.