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Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 10:56 pm
by tragabigzanda
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 10:59 pm
by epilogue
tragabigzanda wrote:durdencommatyler wrote:I've long struggled with the appeal of Lethem. And I hate that. I really want to get his stuff.
Don't bother, he's a fucking hack.
No lie: I'm glad to hear you say that. I've really wondered what's wrong with me for a long time. People fucking LOVE him and I just don't get it.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:01 pm
by tragabigzanda
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:04 pm
by lennytheweedwhacker
durdencommatyler wrote:lennytheweedwhacker wrote:durdencommatyler wrote:I've long struggled with the appeal of Lethem. And I hate that. I really want to get his stuff.
i've only read a gambler's anatomy, which was decent
i almost grabbed the dewitt one bune posted, but decided to go another route for now
Let me know how this one grabs you. Maybe I'll give it a shot if you can give it a glowing recommendation.
i think reid loves it
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:04 pm
by epilogue
tragabigzanda wrote:durdencommatyler wrote:tragabigzanda wrote:durdencommatyler wrote:I've long struggled with the appeal of Lethem. And I hate that. I really want to get his stuff.
Don't bother, he's a fucking hack.
No lie: I'm glad to hear you say that. I've really wondered what's wrong with me for a long time. People fucking LOVE him and I just don't get it.
Wait sorry I thought we were talking about Franzen. Lethem's not much better, but I wouldn't call him a hack; just sort of boring.
I've never read any Franzen.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:04 pm
by lennytheweedwhacker
i really enjoyed the corrections, and thought freedom was decent
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:05 pm
by epilogue
lennytheweedwhacker wrote:i really enjoyed the corrections, and thought freedom was decent
I own Freedom. But I haven't read it yet. I was thinking about doing that one after I'm done with the one I'm reading now.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:07 pm
by lennytheweedwhacker
durdencommatyler wrote:lennytheweedwhacker wrote:i really enjoyed the corrections, and thought freedom was decent
I own Freedom. But I haven't read it yet. I was thinking about doing that one after I'm done with the one I'm reading now.
let me know what u think
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:33 pm
by tragabigzanda
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:49 pm
by lennytheweedwhacker
tragabigzanda wrote:lennytheweedwhacker wrote:durdencommatyler wrote:lennytheweedwhacker wrote:i really enjoyed the corrections, and thought freedom was decent
I own Freedom. But I haven't read it yet. I was thinking about doing that one after I'm done with the one I'm reading now.
let me know what u think
Freedom is quite possibly the worst book I've ever read cover to cover.
you're the worst book i've read front to back
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:51 pm
by Simple Torture
Freedom is extremely problematic. Franzen is extremely problematic. I still think his books are worth reading.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:54 pm
by tragabigzanda
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 12:01 am
by lennytheweedwhacker
to the first point, i don't have a problem with works of art in which all or most of the characters are despicable/hard to root for...in this case i do agree the characters could be more compelling, but it wasn't enough to take me out of the book
to the second point, yeah he could have gone with a better premise but it was really just there to move the characters forward (or more backward)
to the third point, the way those were written were heavily influenced by the erotic tales of verb_to_trust
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 2:22 pm
by washing machine
lennytheweedwhacker wrote:
That .jpg is like a washing machine beacon.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 3:17 pm
by bune
It's a much better cover than these:
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 4:29 pm
by washing machine
Both of those covers feel closer to the vibe of the novel to me. I read from the second one you posted.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 4:55 pm
by tragabigzanda
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 5:12 pm
by washing machine
Exactly.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 5:15 pm
by bune
I need to get my thoughts in order before I post because what I meant was that the first cover made it look like Ready Player One but the blurb I read on Goodreads made it sounds like a coming-of-age novel with some weird gamey back story. And yet I said the first cover was 'better'. Ugh.
Re: What are you currently reading?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 5:18 pm
by washing machine
durdencommatyler wrote:I've long struggled with the appeal of Lethem. And I hate that. I really want to get his stuff.
Which books have you picked up so far? Motherless Brooklyn and Gun, with Occasional Music are both pretty quick reads and seem up your alley.
Anything beyond that can sometimes get crushed under its own weight, but I still like the things he writes about. His essay on The Searchers is pretty relatable to anyone who has ever tried multiple times to understand or "like" something on a deep intellectual level in the pop culture world. I'd recommend that one too.