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Post by Sprague Dawley on Apr 26, 2022 7:09:43 GMT
currently on; Tolstoy "Resurrection". ploughing along, simple stuff but a bit of a chore at times Daftly, I am still slogging through this mother. Fuckhead internet has skullfucked my attention span to deth. Although, mentally, on a whim, I did pay $2 the other day for a hardback copy of a Stephen King novel "The Dark Half". From 1989, had never heard of it before but for $2 took a punt. Turns out it's based on his pseudonym "Richard Bachman" and his anonymity issues etc. I'm guessing liberal lashings of horror will be ladled out later. So easy to read. It just drags you in. The guy cops a lot of shit from lit snobs but he's a motherfucking master of storytelling. Unlike all the twitteratiii authors who just biff random words at a screen ..... but haven't got a one story in the bones. Why did they start writing a book if they haven't got a story to tell? "Oh, I took some drugs and wrote a novel on the weekend".Then they'll push and plug each other's books praising each other to the high heavens then come out with an "oh, by the way, I don't actually read other people's books' '.This just in; to amass a vocabulary befitting an author, you are going to have to do a metric FUCKTONNE of reading yourself. So sorry. You're 23 years old and you live on twitter. Self publishing and wee indie presses might be a boon but they also have something to answer for ffs |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Apr 28, 2022 11:58:53 GMT
wft is going on here  |
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beta
has "regional" accent
Neophyte
Posts: 1,018
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Post by beta on May 5, 2022 22:44:34 GMT
Bookkeeping for Dummies. It's pretty interesting. How to cheat the government when you are in one of these categories:
flunkies, who serve to make their superiors feel important, e.g., receptionists, administrative assistants, door attendants, makers of websites whose sites neglect ease of use and speed for looks;
goons, who act to harm or deceive others on behalf of their employer, e.g., lobbyists, corporate lawyers, telemarketers, public relations specialists, community managers;
duct tapers, who temporarily fix problems that could be fixed permanently, e.g., programmers repairing bloated code, airline desk staff who calm passengers whose bags do not arrive;
box tickers, who create the appearance that something useful is being done when it is not, e.g., survey administrators, in-house magazine journalists, corporate compliance officers, quality service managers;
taskmasters, who manage—or create extra work for—those who do not need it, e.g., middle management, leadership professionals.
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beta
has "regional" accent
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Posts: 1,018
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Post by beta on May 12, 2022 3:48:25 GMT
........Stephen King?..........Benny has read just about all of his books.......including the ones he wrote as Richard Bachman.........former school teacher turned writer.........some of his books even follow that story line......the first book Benny read was Salem's Lot.........couldn't put it down and ended up reading all night.........fortunately it was xmas vacation so no biggie........been hooked since........okay.......carry on. I have only read that one Bachman book made into a film. Fuck me fuck me fuck me. I can't remember the name, but the book was great. I read it in one afternoon on a day when it was too freaking hot to do much else other than hide in the basement. The Running Man. Yeah, that was the title. I have no idea whose book it was. Probably a brother of mine, but some acid head could have left it in the basement one night after a night of teenage life. Good book, though. Didn't think any other book by SK could top it. Of course, I am usually wrong about these things. |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on May 30, 2022 3:15:46 GMT
wft  |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Aug 18, 2022 2:00:38 GMT
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Sept 2, 2022 10:29:26 GMT
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Sept 2, 2022 23:57:46 GMT
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Sept 10, 2022 6:14:28 GMT
Although, mentally, on a whim, I did pay $2 the other day for a hardback copy of a Stephen King novel "The Dark Half". Getting towards the end here, trying to make it last. Reading his books you can just see how tantalising it must be to turn them all into movies. Just perfectly mapped out for it. Guessing the sparrows in this would be a CGI nightmare though I can already see Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Panghorn.  |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Oct 6, 2022 3:07:13 GMT
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Oct 17, 2022 2:57:40 GMT
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nikkeisindex
Email Address: pneumatic_arse-bludgeon@gunston.com
Posts: 409 
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Post by nikkeisindex on Oct 19, 2022 22:25:53 GMT
I don’t know how I missed the other good stuff in this thread.
I read way too much Bukowski. He has like… top of head 3 novels? 4 max? Couple books of short stories and then, would you believe, I starting reading something described as “poetry?”
I did! And even then when I was like okay, I kinda get the schtick, this book is pretty much going to be exactly like the last one…. well, he did some good stuff. There is something to be said for the idea that if you can’t say it in simple plain words, then what are you really doing.
Definitely led me to Celine, which is like… here’s a hipster analogy for you.
Screeching Weasel = Bukowski
Buzzcocks = Celine
Once you hit the mainline source, there’s really no need for the later pale imitation.
Then again, and Bukowski fully acknowledges this, Celine really drops off after the first 2 books, at least for me.
I read “Hunger,” didn’t quite scratch the same itch. Henry Miller, I’ve tried, you would think a book about jaded ex-pats would be right up my alley, Nietzsche…. I think I missed the time in my life when I could have read that.
Fante — hell yeah. I did a big round of re-reading most of his stuff recently and similar to Bukowski. I like Bukowski still, but the stuff he was influenced by is even better, no surprise I guess.
I didn’t read, really, for so long. I mean I read a ton when I was young. This probably dropped off when I was in Japan and you can’t just get English books at the library. But that’s not even a good excuse, I just felt I ran out of stuff to read — which is of course ridiculous.
Then I just started going for it again. Did a whole comedy routine, Belushi, Farley, the Richard Pryor autobiography — fuckin a, talk about “dark” (no pun intended, go ahead, cancel me).
Just take the journey. I read a couple of Louis Theroux books, one of them he interviews Ike Turner so I was like okay, I’ll check that out — ended up reading Tina Turner’s autobiography as well as Ike’s and have Miles Davis cued up.
Now I like reading again.
Who knew.
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beta
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Post by beta on Oct 29, 2022 8:44:21 GMT
I don’t know how I missed the other good stuff in this thread. I read way too much Bukowski. He has like… top of head 3 novels? 4 max? Couple books of short stories and then, would you believe, I starting reading something described as “poetry?” I did! And even then when I was like okay, I kinda get the schtick, this book is pretty much going to be exactly like the last one…. well, he did some good stuff. There is something to be said for the idea that if you can’t say it in simple plain words, then what are you really doing. Definitely led me to Celine, which is like… here’s a hipster analogy for you. Screeching Weasel = Bukowski Buzzcocks = Celine Once you hit the mainline source, there’s really no need for the later pale imitation. Then again, and Bukowski fully acknowledges this, Celine really drops off after the first 2 books, at least for me. I read “Hunger,” didn’t quite scratch the same itch. Henry Miller, I’ve tried, you would think a book about jaded ex-pats would be right up my alley, Nietzsche…. I think I missed the time in my life when I could have read that. Fante — hell yeah. I did a big round of re-reading most of his stuff recently and similar to Bukowski. I like Bukowski still, but the stuff he was influenced by is even better, no surprise I guess. I didn’t read, really, for so long. I mean I read a ton when I was young. This probably dropped off when I was in Japan and you can’t just get English books at the library. But that’s not even a good excuse, I just felt I ran out of stuff to read — which is of course ridiculous. Then I just started going for it again. Did a whole comedy routine, Belushi, Farley, the Richard Pryor autobiography — fuckin a, talk about “dark” (no pun intended, go ahead, cancel me). Just take the journey. I read a couple of Louis Theroux books, one of them he interviews Ike Turner so I was like okay, I’ll check that out — ended up reading Tina Turner’s autobiography as well as Ike’s and have Miles Davis cued up. Now I like reading again. Who knew. I have read a lot of these same books, including Tina Turner's autobiography oddly enough. Not a fan of Miles because he wanted to be famous so badly but now that you mention it I will read his autobiography. He made a lot of music that people, even the fellow idiots in my family, seem to love. I would like to know a lot more about that guy. I like Coltrane, who just seemed to be interested in more spiritual matters, which I am as well, but Miles Davis was important to people in my family. Changed their listening lives. Celine, yeah, tough to find out he was an anti-semite. I didn't know anything about him when I read his first two books. |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Oct 31, 2022 0:13:09 GMT
Made a start on Jane Austen's "Persuasion". Takes a while to get used to the 1800's cadence of interminably long sentences, comma'd up all over the shop. All these legendary authors seemed to have such short and shit lives. Jane Austen, dead at 42 ffs. - Wrote first version of Sensibility at the age of 20 ffs
- Wrote first version of Pride and Prejudice aged 22 omFG
- Finally got the things published aged around 39
- Dead at 42.
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Oct 31, 2022 6:33:02 GMT
Just got a free copy of Stephen King's "Hearts of Atlantis". Any good? Bit skeptical on anything after 1990 by him. Looks to be 5 short stories. No doubt a page turner so poor old Jane and her impenetrably long sentences can shove off for a bit
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beta
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Neophyte
Posts: 1,018
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Post by beta on Nov 4, 2022 8:30:40 GMT
Made a start on Jane Austen's "Persuasion". Takes a while to get used to the 1800's cadence of interminably long sentences, comma'd up all over the shop. All these legendary authors seemed to have such short and shit lives. Jane Austen, dead at 42 ffs. - Wrote first version of Sensibility at the age of 20 ffs
- Wrote first version of Pride and Prejudice aged 22 omFG
- Finally got the things published aged around 39
- Dead at 42.
Genius writer. I re-read her books all the time. I can see her complete works on the bookshelf telling me to stop farting around on the computer. |
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Post by pussycat on Feb 14, 2023 21:29:01 GMT
I’ve been curious lately to re-read some haruki murukami. I read one a long time ago and don’t remember much except really liking the dream-like style of da prose and atmosphere of the thing. I’m not really sure which book it was, but maybe i wasn’t ready for it then. Recently i’ve seen little snippets here and there of his writing and i find myself really feeling his vibe. Wondering what may be a good one to re-start with. Since this post i checked out hardboiled wonderland, and it was quite a slog, and difficult to get through. I think what happened was I really liked the style of the writing but the story itself bored me to tears. Currently reading: my year of rest and relaxation by ottessa moshfegh, about a woman who takes a bunch of pills to try and spend an entire year sleeping in turn-of-the-millenium nyc. Also reding the doors of perception for the first time, which really makes me want to try mescaline. |
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nikkeisindex
Email Address: pneumatic_arse-bludgeon@gunston.com
Posts: 409
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Post by nikkeisindex on Feb 16, 2023 16:43:22 GMT
Celine, yeah, tough to find out he was an anti-semite. I didn't know anything about him when I read his first two books. That's why I started reading him! j/k. I think he's the equivalent of Skrewdriver there. I don't think he was at the time of his early work and certainly there is nothing in that them struck me as touching on the topic at all, so I feel clear to read and enjoy. |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Feb 24, 2023 22:21:29 GMT
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Post by sukebegg on Feb 28, 2023 9:29:42 GMT
Celine, yeah, tough to find out he was an anti-semite. I didn't know anything about him when I read his first two books. That's why I started reading him! j/k. I think he's the equivalent of Skrewdriver there. I don't think he was at the time of his early work and certainly there is nothing in that them struck me as touching on the topic at all, so I feel clear to read and enjoy. I finally read Nietzsche after college as it was never assigned in any class. I had a terribly boring Philosophy of Religion for undergrad general ed requirements and it put me off both for quite a while. Rollins heavily nodded to Nietzsche and I really ate up his early books until I started checking out the authors he was (over-) influenced by. My general image of Nietzsche until reading him was a crazy anti-semite who was responsible for Hitler and the Nazis and went crazy. Well, no...actually...Aphorisms rule, philosophy can be fun and empowering, and religion isn't spirituality and who cares if God can create a rock so heavy, even He (sic) cannot lift it (my memory of that Philo of Relig. course). I need to read this next. By a long-term Osaka expat (SoCal) who mostly makes a lot of music... www.amazon.com/Terminalian-Drift-Jerry-Gordon/dp/1913743403Here's his bandcamp page moontriangle.bandcamp.com/music |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Feb 28, 2023 9:48:01 GMT
Nietshcze is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy hipper then Stephen King.
No one ever yelled out "is that like, Stephen King?" to David Yow.
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Post by pussycat on Mar 1, 2023 22:34:30 GMT
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Mar 24, 2023 12:14:29 GMT
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Apr 4, 2023 22:48:16 GMT
FILTH.  |
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nikkeisindex
Email Address: pneumatic_arse-bludgeon@gunston.com
Posts: 409
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Post by nikkeisindex on Apr 4, 2023 23:40:49 GMT
I've taken a brief crack at Tolstoy but never seriously.
The rock bios are back baby.
Alice Bag
SST Story
god i'm even reading Nothin But A Good Time about... you know... that era
Got the Jah Wobble book
what else was good... viv albertine
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Apr 5, 2023 0:03:22 GMT
This would be wild. Unless it was written by the arsehole Greg Ginn who stiffed everyone. Even up to a few short years ago you could get TOP SHIT wholesale deals direct from them. I did a big order and hoovered up Black Flag LP's and 7"s, fIREHOSE lp's etc. Cheap as chips. Then suddenly the prices went absolutely fucking greedhog insaaaaane. |
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Apr 12, 2023 10:09:18 GMT
Tolstoy - Resurrection.
Finally, limped into the end with this. The class war fuck-the-rich stuff was great. The finely, finely parsed insights into the human condition marvellous.... but the actual meat and bones plottery structure was a total afterthought. The book ｍeandered about and limped across the finishing line with less wuthering heights romantic inferno than stodgy manifesto and ragdicks at no-mast.
6/10
ps was skulking about the dolly bird college library and went down 3 wee rabbit hole floors to what looked like the archives and found.... the English books section. HUGE. Every Updike. Every Vidal. Vonnegut. Roth. The whole fucking lot. Look like they've been sitting here for decades, probably never checked out of the library by the dolly birds who are too busy on youtube looking at nail art or K-Pop or whatever stupid shiny magpie bullshit has caught their eye that particular day. Huge collections of Mark Twain etc ffs some of these books look 80 years old. In pristine condition, maybe never even been opened let alone read. How did they get here? Who paid for this shit?
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nikkeisindex
Email Address: pneumatic_arse-bludgeon@gunston.com
Posts: 409
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Post by nikkeisindex on Apr 12, 2023 23:21:36 GMT
Funny.
I remember biking over to check out the "English" section of my local library. Not like I had high expectations but why not. Was like... I dunno seemed like 20 random books. Then I started ordering whatever to my parents house from amazon, pick up on trip home, bring back.
Left all that crap there when I moved home too. I really only miss the Mr. Show - What Happened book. Probably just the odd size made me be like fuck, I can't deal with this.
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Post by Sprague Dawley on Apr 18, 2023 9:05:44 GMT
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nikkeisindex
Email Address: pneumatic_arse-bludgeon@gunston.com
Posts: 409
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Post by nikkeisindex on Apr 21, 2023 17:38:34 GMT
Or a punk record.
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