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What do you read on the toilet


hogmaw

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I just finished Catch-22 again. Took about 6 months elapsed time.

 

 

-Ian

 

I think I can remember the first line in that, at least roughly. Is it something like:

 

"The first time Yossarian saw the Chaplain, he fell madly in love with him." ?

 

Then mentions a little nest of pimples on his cheek?

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I think I can remember the first line in that, at least roughly. Is it something like:

 

"The first time Yossarian saw the Chaplain, he fell madly in love with him." ?

 

Then mentions a little nest of pimples on his cheek?

 

I don't recall, I last read the start of it six months ago :D But thats the kind of thing Yo-yo says. Actually I found the book to be very hard going, the bloke loves his descriptive word chains. I think it's a bit anachronistic now, like the old scifi stuff I read, but the overarching concept of crazy red tape is still relevant.

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I don't recall, I last read the start of it six months ago :D But thats the kind of thing Yo-yo says. Actually I found the book to be very hard going, the bloke loves his descriptive word chains. I think it's a bit anachronistic now, like the old scifi stuff I read, but the overarching concept of crazy red tape is still relevant.

 

There's a sort of sequel to Catch 22, Closing Time, which is surreal and somewhat depressing.

 

Heller's Something Happened is one of the most difficult and yet brilliant books I've ever read. It's relentlessly bleak, repetitive and even boring, but that's all necessary to evoke the desolate inner landscape of the principal character. I think it's a work of genius, though most everyone else seems to hate it.

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There's a sort of sequel to Catch 22, Closing Time, which is surreal and somewhat depressing.

 

Heller's Something Happened is one of the most difficult and yet brilliant books I've ever read. It's relentlessly bleak, repetitive and even boring, but that's all necessary to evoke the desolate inner landscape of the principal character. I think it's a work of genius, though most everyone else seems to hate it.

 

I mostly read for entertainment and a sort of 'downtime' so that sort of book doesn't really appeal to me - I'm just not highbrow enough :)

 

Currently grinding through the latest Iain M Banks, 'Matter'. For some reason it's not engaging me, but that might be because I'm having a book reading hiatus in general anyway.

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I know what you mean, and I certainly couldn't read stuff like that all the time. But I sometimes think that the very best in literature comes about when the author arrogantly shows an almost complete disregard for the reader's, expectations.

 

Another example would be Moby Dick. Dramatically, it makes no sense whatsoever. And there are endless digressions into everything that you never wanted to know about whales. But none of that matters, because it's like Hamlet at sea. Some of Ahab's speeches give me goosebumps.

 

I quite like Iain Banks: I read The Wasp Factory years ago, and Complicity and the Crow Road a couple of years back. But I've never read him as his Iain M Banks alter-ego. I think I've got Consider Phlebas somewhere in the house, I should have a go at that.

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I quite like Iain Banks: I read The Wasp Factory years ago, and Complicity and the Crow Road a couple of years back. But I've never read him as his Iain M Banks alter-ego. I think I've got Consider Phlebas somewhere in the house, I should have a go at that.

 

I think that's considered one of his best, but I can't remember much about it. I'd recommend Excession as an intro to his scifi side and Use Of Weapons for one of the best endgame twists I've ever read.

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