OS Book Club Pt II

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  • DieHardYankee26
    BING BONG
    • Feb 2008
    • 10178

    #586
    Re: OS Book Club Pt II

    A question I've been asking myself with damn near every prominent author lol, it's tough to know. I was thinking about reading some of his work, I've never been into horror themed stuff (fiction at least, history is often times a horror story), I was gonna start with Agatha Christie And Then There Were None because that's the one I've been hearing about since like 3rd grade. I think I'll follow the adaptations for King. Read Carrie, watch the movie, The Shining, Cujo. I've never seen any of them. Just went to his Wikipedia and I didn't know he wrote the Green Mile. I think the one I want to read most is IT with the new movie coming out but it's so long. Looking at the list of novels he's written, I'm not sure there's a bad place to start.
    Originally posted by G Perico
    If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
    I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
    In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
    The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

    Comment

    • DieHardYankee26
      BING BONG
      • Feb 2008
      • 10178

      #587
      Re: OS Book Club Pt II

      Finished Things Fall Apart. By Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, it's the story of a Nigerian farmer and his life before and after colonization. I gotta say, I was really captured by it. Beautifully written, vivid imagery. It's split in 3 parts, the first before colonization, the second he leaves his village, and the third is his return after. Seeing the way the customs of the Nigerian people played into the hands of the colonizers was interesting. It's like first contact with aliens to a degree. Because it was done through missionaries instead of through force it's even more interesting. It's like the Civil War, the idea of sons leaving their fathers and brothers leaving brothers. There's probably a great Civil War novel out there that I would like too but that's beside the point. That's such an interesting time.

      Spoiler


      Onto old people and their feels in Our Souls at Night. After that, I'm not sure. It's not long so I'll probably read the whole thing tomorrow. I've got a few things that I planned to get through this month but I'm really getting an urge to read either Blood Meridian or Contact. I'll figure it out tomorrow, flip a coin or something.

      Rethinking it, both Contact and Blood Meridian will take me more than a day, so I'll take the weekend to figure out which I'm gonna read and start it on Monday. I think I'm gonna try to read The Great Gatsby on Friday. Read it a long time ago, should be interesting to see what I take from it now.
      Last edited by DieHardYankee26; 06-14-2017, 09:26 PM.
      Originally posted by G Perico
      If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
      I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
      In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
      The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

      Comment

      • DieHardYankee26
        BING BONG
        • Feb 2008
        • 10178

        #588
        Re: OS Book Club Pt II

        I finished Our Souls At Night by like 10 AM. Quickest I think I've ever sat down and read a book. The premise is an elderly widow goes up to a widower who she doesn't know that well but has been around for a long time and ask if he would be willing to sleep with her at night and talk. ****ing adorable, very sweet, kinda sad at times. Netflix is making a movie with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as the main characters, I'm gonna be all over it and ready to cry. Even happiness with old people has a kind of tragedy to it, they've been through so much. Crazy to imagine, drives home the point of making sure not to live with too many regrets. One weird thing was the dialogue isn't cordoned off with quotation marks, it was almost like reading a love story by Cormac McCarthy lol. Kent Haruf finished it right before he died apparently, and he was 71, which makes it even more sad to me. I'm gonna add Plainsong to my list.

        Spoiler


        I finished that so early I figured I should start something else but I didn't want to do Gatsby and ended up reading the first 7 (out of 11) books (chapters) of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I think I said this before, but just the idea that we basically can read a Roman Emperor's journal and the things he felt important to keep himself on the right path blows my mind. It's so cool, just a book of wisdom.

        Spoiler


        So yeah, ****ing dope. I saw another thread on reddit yesterday (I should stop going there) that was asking for everyone's Mount Rushmore of prose, I saw a lot of mentions of Nabokov, which reminded me of Lolita on your list, and also William Faulkner. I'm gonna add The Sound and the Fury to my list for Faulkner. I have no idea whatsoever what Lolita is about, but having read a part of the description on wiki, and having vague memories of a Long Island Lolita from I Love the 90's, I don't know what to make of it lol. Our media ruins everything. I'm sure it'll be good.
        Originally posted by G Perico
        If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
        I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
        In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
        The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

        Comment

        • Fresh Tendrils
          Strike Hard and Fade Away
          • Jul 2002
          • 36131

          #589
          Re: OS Book Club Pt II

          How are you able to read so much?



          Comment

          • DieHardYankee26
            BING BONG
            • Feb 2008
            • 10178

            #590
            Re: OS Book Club Pt II

            I do IT help desk work so for 8 and a half hours a day I sit at my computer, waiting for a phone call or a ticket to come in. There's two of us and hardly any tickets so I almost never have to do anything. I'm essentially getting paid at this point to read and teach myself programming before I gear up to go back to school in a couple years.
            Originally posted by G Perico
            If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
            I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
            In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
            The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

            Comment

            • Fresh Tendrils
              Strike Hard and Fade Away
              • Jul 2002
              • 36131

              #591
              Re: OS Book Club Pt II

              I'm somewhat jealous. I can barely find 2-3 hours where an opportunity could arise, but by the time it actually comes around I'm fighting to stay awake.



              Comment

              • DieHardYankee26
                BING BONG
                • Feb 2008
                • 10178

                #592
                Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                Somewhat being the operative word lol. The kinda ironic thing for me is what started as a way to fill time I was bored in has almost become the reason I want to save myself from boredom. My free time activity is the thing that inspires me to want to put in the work so that in the future I'll have no free time. Go figure.

                Finished Meditations. I really loved it. It's now my most quoted book, I ended up taking 72 quotes from it, and it's only 96 pages according to Kindle. Random backstory, Aurelius was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and his death apparently coincided with the end of Pax Romana, so I take it he was a great leader. Clearly, from the writings, a wise one. I'm just curious as always about the historical context it was written in. He died like 2 centuries before Constantine took over and orthodoxy emerged, but he did mention "the Christians" somewhat disparagingly, at least in terms of as he said their "obstinance" in regard to salvation, which I thought was interesting. I eventually will look into a book that explains to me the origin and spread of Christianity. It's hard to get a picture of the world without it for me. Either way, Aurelius's death also brought on the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, or started the events that precipitated it, so that's fun. I'll just say, it was refreshing to read the thoughts of a world leader so selfless and worried about the greater good in these times lol. Other thing is he kept talking about Socrates, who I have a very superficial knowledge of so I may have to travel down that rabbit hole eventually. I found out my public library somehow rents out Kindle ebooks so I figure I'll try to opt for that and then spend my money on hardcover copies that I want to keep or the Kindle books that aren't there. First thing I checked was Sound and The Fury, and it's already checked out. As soon as that comes free, I'm in there.

                Spoiler


                Like I said, awesome. On to the American classic which I will definitely not finish today, The Great Gatsby.
                Originally posted by G Perico
                If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
                I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
                In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
                The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

                Comment

                • Fresh Tendrils
                  Strike Hard and Fade Away
                  • Jul 2002
                  • 36131

                  #593
                  Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                  Its been awhile since I read The Great Gatsby. As a teenage boy I really disliked Daisy, but still enjoyed the literary analysis work and discussions for class. Lit. analysis is one of the few subjects I truly miss from school.

                  Man, downtime at work is one of the weirdest things to me. Having none of my normal tools to combat boredom with was an exercise in trying not to break through my skull.

                  I'm very routine based so typically when I get off work I go home and run through the same routine 4/5 days. Trying to balance multiple hobbies (and even more during the summer) in the evenings is rough. I get home, tend to the yard/garden in some way, unwind with the guitar for an hour or so, exercise, eat dinner, do whatever chores in the house need to be done, and then is when I usually set time for reading.

                  I guess its a priority thing more than a time thing (though sleep comes earlier than its scheduled to). I WANT to read for hours on end, but prying the guitar from my fingers or keeping myself from exercising is tough.

                  This is why I haven't turned on a game system in 3 months.



                  Comment

                  • DieHardYankee26
                    BING BONG
                    • Feb 2008
                    • 10178

                    #594
                    Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                    I've always been one for routine but I think the shock of transitioning from school to work killed it for me. I can't tell up from down sometimes, I'm still waiting for my 3 month vacation lol. My normal distraction would be my phone or iPod, and I've got both so I just throw on a podcast and start reading.

                    I feel you on the gaming, it used to be my go to hobby at home but I haven't been too into it lately aside from The Show. I always played games for the story, they don't generally have good story, now I've got a much easier way to find good stories... So it'll be interesting to see how this plays out for me long term. I was telling a friend the other day in an alternate universe I'd be blowing up the Switch thread, I could play all day at my desk with no issues if I chose to. I guess this is that growing up thing I've been waiting for. Leaves a lot of time to think and plan, that's for sure.

                    I also just feel compelled. If Frederick Douglass could sneak off the plantation and find somebody to teach him the alphabet, I HAVE TO take some time out to read. If FDR says education is the safeguard for democracy, I HAVE TO learn something. I feel like I'm seeing the results of people not listening to them and I don't want to end up like those people lol.
                    Originally posted by G Perico
                    If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
                    I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
                    In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
                    The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

                    Comment

                    • Fresh Tendrils
                      Strike Hard and Fade Away
                      • Jul 2002
                      • 36131

                      #595
                      Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                      That's the thing that's bothering me, too. Maybe its me maturing and reaching that big 3-0 milestone, but feeling compelled, like you said, is that thing that just keeps eating at me when I'm not able to read.

                      The rise of Netflix and binge watching has really turned me off (no pun intended) from watching TV in general. I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and watched a TV show that wasn't Friends or Golden Girls as I'm falling asleep on the couch waiting for Ashleigh to get home from work at midnight.

                      Even games. Like you said the compelling parts of TV shows and most games is the story and characters. For some reason they just aren't resonating with me like they once did. Gaming is supposed to be advancing, but outside of the scope of production I don't see much progress in narrative and character building outside of a handful of games.

                      As limitless as the internet is supposed to be it just doesn't feel like it offers a wide breadth of information anymore as everything is funneled into the same sites.

                      For me reading has morphed from a somewhat entertaining chore as a kid to something that is not only entertaining, but engaging and enlightening when a lot of other things aren't anymore.



                      Comment

                      • DieHardYankee26
                        BING BONG
                        • Feb 2008
                        • 10178

                        #596
                        Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                        Finished Gatsby, unsurprisingly I appreciate it a lot more than I did freshman year of high school. Daisy is fairly unlikable based on her actions but I guess it speaks to the quality of the book that I wonder the events that led her to be the way she was like she's a real person. Up until the accident I sympathized with her being the character that everything was happening to and that she was forced to react. As soon as it's her turn to make a move, she does something awful and the consequences are obviously what they are. Gatsby, my guy, put through some ****. It's easy to feel for him despite the impossibility of achieving the dream of recreating a moment in time. I see why they called it the Great American Novel, a country so shrouded in fantasy can only be represented by a book where the tragedy is belief in false dreams.

                        Spoiler


                        One thing that occurred to me while reading this is that Don Draper is Jay Gatsby, illusory life and all, and now I want to go watch Mad Men again. Amazing book, more great prose. Next my boy Sagan and Contact.
                        Originally posted by G Perico
                        If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
                        I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
                        In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
                        The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

                        Comment

                        • Fresh Tendrils
                          Strike Hard and Fade Away
                          • Jul 2002
                          • 36131

                          #597
                          Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                          Looking back I think its a missed opportunity of discussion for The Great Gatsby is how a teenage boys interprets Daisy's and Jay's interactions (not necessarily with each other) versus teenage girls. As a boy in high-school Daisy came off as phony and a tease, but looking back I'm wondering if that was really case. Was Jay Gatsby, in fact, an actual obsessive, creeping, dork? I'm sure the answer is more likely to be in the middle, but as a teenage boy I related to Gatsby's unrelenting "love" for Daisy.

                          It makes sense that high-school kids read this, but the discussions miss opportunities. Plus, I know we glossed over a lot of the class and society themes.



                          Comment

                          • DieHardYankee26
                            BING BONG
                            • Feb 2008
                            • 10178

                            #598
                            Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                            Yeah it definitely has a "boy trapped in time" feel to it but I imagine that's relatable for any age. Daisy is hard to hate for the same reason I find most people hard to hate: she's just doing her thing like the rest of us. It's unfortunate for Gatsby that she couldn't be what he wanted her to be, but that's not her fault or problem. I think my reaction to her softened reading the "I want my daughter to be a pretty little fool" line. Brings me back to Frederick Douglass and learning being a gift and a curse. It's like in her time the only quality that would benefit her is to be gorgeous and subservient, so that's what she did. Even knowing that there was more out there, she made herself fit into the picture that everyone had already placed her in, even if it was going to hurt her. She's like a child who never had to grow up. His feeling toward her though is very relatable like you said. Even back to Our Souls at Night and "Im not in love with her as much as the idea of her." It's hard to know whether what you see is what is there or what you want to be there, even harder when you're not even asking the question as much as declaring the answer, like Gatsby did basically canonizing her. We've all got a little Gatsby in us, I guess we just hope we aren't blinded so as to end up in the same fate as him.

                            Agreed on high school kids. Gatsby is like Tony Soprano, so much more interesting than a description would lead you to believe. I've already got a few of the other "Great American Novels" according to Wikipedia on my list so I can't wait to get to some of the ones I've never read.
                            Originally posted by G Perico
                            If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
                            I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
                            In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
                            The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

                            Comment

                            • Fresh Tendrils
                              Strike Hard and Fade Away
                              • Jul 2002
                              • 36131

                              #599
                              Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                              Have you read any Steinbeck? Grapes of Wrath is one of my favorite "required readings" from high-school. There's just so much discussion and analysis to be made from that book.

                              Are you on Goodreads.com? I just made an account last week. I'm not sure how useful it will be, but I had time to kill. https://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?f...g1MjE5MjE6NDIy



                              Comment

                              • DieHardYankee26
                                BING BONG
                                • Feb 2008
                                • 10178

                                #600
                                Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                                I have not but will add Grapes to my list. The books I remember reading in school were Fahrenheit 451, Gatsby, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Anthem, Do Androids Dream, All Quiet on the Western Front, Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Having read Gatsby again, I now want to reread all of them to see the different takeaways, minus Anthem. I hated it then and I probably hate it even more now. The only thing good that book led to was 2112 by Rush.
                                Originally posted by G Perico
                                If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
                                I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
                                In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
                                The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

                                Comment

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