Reading the Chunksters discussion
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I'm ordering a couple of his. The writing is to beautiful to pass up.
Cleo wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Can anyone who has read The Name of the Rose tell me how difficult it is? …"I'd like to know too. I tried reading it about four years ago and got so irritated with Eco's characteri..."
I found it not difficult but confusing if you tried to understand all the intricacies, which I gave up on fairly early and just enjoyed the story.
Thanks Everyman! I just ordered it, so that's good to know. I can't wait to see what gets voted in :)When does the poll go up? Does anyone know?
I will be posting the poll on Wednesday, so people have two or three more days to nominate other books if they want. I am surprised that no one mentioned Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon or JR or The Recognitions by William Gaddis.
Underworld by Don DeLillo and Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar could also be very good contenders.
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen is also intriguing. Faulkner has been ignored so far, and many, many others ... oh, well.
Maybe someone will nominate them or something else that has not been mentioned even as a potential nomination.
I actually wanted to do The Sound and the Fury but it was too short. I had a lot of trouble with the 500 page minimum. I must have looked at at least 10 books before settling on Doctor Zhivago.
I was actually going to nominate Gravitys Rainbow, but the description said it was a WWII novel, so I went for Mason & Dixon since we were already reading Fall of Giants.
I've been hoping Underworld would be nominated! I haven't done so myself just because I was MIA for many months after moving and starting a new job. For now I figure it's best to defer to the selections of the more-active members. ;)
Well, I'm glad you went for Mason & Dixon, Kaycie. I had never heard of it and now I'm dying to read it.
Zulfiya wrote: "Faulkner has been ignored so far,..."For which I am truly thankful. [g]
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 Melville :-)
Zulfiya wrote: "You won't get off the hook so easily, Everyman."Lol, you sound like a supervillain addressing a superhero.
Gravity's Rainbow was nominated for the Pulitzer, but was "outvoted" in favor of another famous book (name escapes me at the moment) because it was "too difficult".
I thought about nominating Underworld, but I'm going to be job searching soon, so I'm not sure that I can commit to a challenging chunkster :-(I'm in the same boat as several of you......I didn't really like Jane Eyre. Wuthering Heights was just OK --- I think I gave it some points because of the Laurence Olivier movie. I had made last year "my year of Austen"..... I used to love Pride and Prejudice, but this read through, I didn't care for it as much.
Luffy wrote: "Lol, you sound like a supervillain addressing a superhero."Everyman is a powerhouse, and you can not just be a simple super-villian with him because then I will lose as all super-villains lose to super-heroes.
Double, mischievous VBG :-)
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 :)
I wanted to nominate Underworld because I own it and heard some great things. However I also own Infinite Jest andAtlas Shrugged. I also have all the nominations on my to be read list. It is really going to be hard to make a decision. I was really excited when 2666 was nominated. Hopefully will be able to nominate that book later.
Zulfiya wrote: "Everyman is a powerhouse, and you can not just be a simple super-villian with him because then I will lose as all super-villains lose to super-heroes. "Back at'cha in spades. In fact, this group is filled with powerhouses.
But you still might not get me to read Faulkner!
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.
The poll isn't even up yet and I'm dithering already!
Nope, the poll will be up later tonight. As I said in my original message, the nomination will run for ten days, so just a little bit of patience. As for Dhalgren,it is one of those recently re-discovered books for its complexity, surreal imaginative worlds, and linguistic codes.
I am sure when it was written, it was quite 'trippy', but the reality of today is so bizarre, that we might enjoy the projections on modern world and current changes if the book is selected.
Besides, I love sci-fi (and I am not talking about cheesy, rotten-tomatoes-attaching-Earth novel), but sci-fi novels where authors use future as the setting for their philosophical musings on humanity, life, science, and technology.
Personally, the nominations are excellent, and if I had any right to add, I would possibly add a couple, but the more books we would have in the poll, the harder it would be to get a clear winner to encourage the group members to read a certain book more or less unanimously.
Paula wrote: "The poll isn't even up yet and I'm dithering already!"I know what I'm voting for, but I am pretty excited to see what the ultimate outcome will be!
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.
Still sad that House of Leaves and 2666 weren't eligible. But they will surely make it into future reads :).
Paula wrote: "Still sad that House of Leaves and 2666 weren't eligible. But they will surely make it into future reads :)."I agree, Paula. I am highly interested in both of those books.
I am already mulling over what themed read to have in future that would include these great books. :-)
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) :) :).
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!!!!!
Paula wrote: "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."The Great American Novel theme will be great. We'll have to remember An American Tragedy for that.
I think we all want to have our cake and eat it too. At least that's how I get sucked into reading almost more books than I can handle at once. :)
I definitely want too read House of Leaves.
I can't decide what to vote for. I think I'm going to surprise myself when I hit the button. :)
Zulfiya wrote: "I am already mulling over what themed read to have in future that would include these great books. :-)"I would love to see a Latin American themed read!
2666 could go in there, along with The War of the End of the World, The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll, Hopscotch, Terra Nostra...it's too bad 100 Years of Solitude is not long enough :/
John wrote: "Zulfiya wrote: "I am already mulling over what themed read to have in future that would include these great books. :-)"I would love to see a Latin American themed read!
2666 could go in there, a..."
That's a great idea!
I haven't, Paula. It looks pretty funny.
The count-down begins! Vote for the book you want to read that will count as your personal achievement!
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 book purchases and I do like to own them. I'm reading from my own library so have many wonderful selections which fit this criteria.
Darlene, I would love to. I've decided not to do Infinite Jest, so it leaves some room for me.
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?
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.
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 read M&D. I might be over extending myself with that and fall of Giants and IJ, which I also want to read, but I'd be interested in figuring out a buddy read for that, too.
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.
I am not at home today, but when I am back, I will open a thread where you can talk about a buddy read.
Paula, I agree that Fall of Giants is very easy. I ask just trying to take it at the group pace so I don't forget everything when people discuss...meaning it's going to be an ongoing read for me for awhile. Then I am also on vacation for 2 weeks in October where I will be reading, but not commenting. Otherwise, with an easy pace, I'm sure I can manage! I have never read Pynchon and really want to give him a try, so a buddy read is just what I need!
Kaycie wrote: "Paula, I agree that Fall of Giants is very easy. I ask just trying to take it at the group pace so I don't forget everything when people discuss...meaning it's going to be an ongoing read for me fo..."I've overextended myself too, so an easy pace works for me, whatever we decide to read :).
Zulfiya wrote: "I am not at home today, but when I am back, I will open a thread where you can talk about a buddy read."You are awesome, as usual.
Ami and I have been discussing a buddy read for M&D, but we were going to wait until after the current ones are done. I'm committed to Fall of Giants, and I want to do Dhalgren and Doctor Zhivago, so I couldn't do M&D right now, although I would love to. House of Leaves is one I'm interested in as well.
Although, if people do all of these, I will probably idiotically try to do every single one.
Sarah wrote: "Although, if people do all of these, I will probably idiotically try to do every single one."Yeah, me too. I feel it happening...
Reading the Chunksters
Books mentioned in this topic
The Magus (other topics)The Savage Detectives (other topics)
Europe Central (other topics)
Underworld (other topics)
The Idiot (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Julio Cortázar (other topics)Thomas Pynchon (other topics)
William Gaddis (other topics)
Don DeLillo (other topics)
Jonathan Franzen (other topics)
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.