What are you reading?

[log^Anarchy]

I've been reading a lot Jack Kerouac lately. I first started reading On the Road like a month ago, but it's soooo good. I love that 'spontaneous prose' style.

I also liked And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks a lot, which was co-written by Kerouac and William Burroughs, so I picked up Queer by Burroughs but I'm not a huge fan of his character in this book, he kinda gets on my nerve. I should probably read Naked Lunch though because that's in the spontaneous prose style I believe and I think it talks more about his heroin addiction.

I also picked up Women by Charles Bukowski but I'm not a huge fan of that either. His writing style is nice but I find his character kind of misogynistic. At the very least, he definitely objectifies women.

[stewvee]

I've been reading a lot Jack Kerouac lately. I first started reading On the Road like a month ago, but it's soooo good. I love that 'spontaneous prose' style.

First Kerouac you've read? Check out Visions of Cody, Big Sur, and Tristessa for writing as buttpee.

[Diana]

this:

http://www.decibelmagazine.com/forum/de ... hips-beer/

they never disappoint, and i am grateful that teens/20-somethings think i am a 20-something who got into metal a few years ago. makes me look like much less of a loser.

Eesh. I'm gonna send you a resin dragon skull incense burner to cheer you up.

I also picked up Women by Charles Bukowski but I'm not a huge fan of that either. His writing style is nice but I find his character kind of misogynistic. At the very least, he definitely objectifies women.

Ha. "Kind of" misogynistic. Also "kind of" a drunk. I love Bukowski a whole lot. But I'm not big on Kerouac, so make of that what you will. I finally watched that "Bukowski: Born Into This" last year some time and I thought it was great. Anyway, there's my two cents. More Bukowski!

[log^Anarchy]

First Kerouac you've read? Check out Visions of Cody, Big Sur, and Tristessa for writing as buttpee.

Yeah. All right, tthanks, I'll check those out, though I'm not sure if your description of their writing style as "buttpee" is positive or negative...

[badcarburetor]

Ha. "Kind of" misogynistic. Also "kind of" a drunk. I love Bukowski a whole lot. But I'm not big on Kerouac, so make of that what you will. I finally watched that "Bukowski: Born Into This" last year some time and I thought it was great. Anyway, there's my two cents. More Bukowski!

Yeah, I'm seconding this evaluation.

Bukowski is fun if you like to look at how easy it is to turn your life into a perpetual downward spiral. That black abyss is always calling.

In high school I read all this stuff. It's been ages since I read anything particularly beat or gonzo, but here's a few to check out: Junky by Burroughs, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Kesey (I made a point of reading this only when I was fucked up back in 8th grade. Seemed a waste to do it any other way.) and any Hunter S. Thompson, but I strongly recommend starting with Hells Angels. The end is great!

[Strange]

I should probably read Naked Lunch though because that's in the spontaneous prose style I believe and I think it talks more about his heroin addiction.

It's not so much about his addiction as it is a result of it (imo).

Here is how I'd recommend reading this book:

Buy it. Sit it on your coffee tale. At some point, when the mood hits you, pick it up and open to any random page and begin reading. WHen you feel you've had all your mind can take, put it back down. Next time you're feelin' it, open to a different random page and begin reading...Repeat as necessary. Finish it. Don't finish it. Doesn't matter. It's going to make about as much sense this way as it would if you read it from cover to cover.

I'm about 80% done with 2001: A Space Odyssey. Very good read! It does a great job of fleshing out the film.

[SlashAndThrash]

G. Laurrie Hole's The Perks of Being a Wall-Fucker, eye opening

[Knucklehead]

I should probably read Naked Lunch though because that's in the spontaneous prose style I believe and I think it talks more about his heroin addiction.

It's not so much about his addiction as it is a result of it (imo).

It's been twenty years, but I'm pretty sure that Junky deals more with the addiction.

[log^Anarchy]

Yeah, I'm seconding this evaluation.

Bukowski is fun if you like to look at how easy it is to turn your life into a perpetual downward spiral. That black abyss is always calling.

In high school I read all this stuff. It's been ages since I read anything particularly beat or gonzo, but here's a few to check out: Junky by Burroughs, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Kesey (I made a point of reading this only when I was fucked up back in 8th grade. Seemed a waste to do it any other way.) and any Hunter S. Thompson, but I strongly recommend starting with Hells Angels. The end is great!

Yeah, Junky is definitely on my list. Electric Kool-Aid and Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing are also on my list. I love books about drugs

It's not so much about his addiction as it is a result of it (imo).

Here is how I'd recommend reading this book:

Buy it. Sit it on your coffee tale. At some point, when the mood hits you, pick it up and open to any random page and begin reading. WHen you feel you've had all your mind can take, put it back down. Next time you're feelin' it, open to a different random page and begin reading...Repeat as necessary. Finish it. Don't finish it. Doesn't matter. It's going to make about as much sense this way as it would if you read it from cover to cover.

Haha yeah I heard Naked Lunch was written in an almost completely non-linear fashion. I don't know if that will make it difficult to follow, perhaps if I treat it is as a collection of slightly connected short stories it would make more sense.

It's been twenty years, but I'm pretty sure that Junky deals more with the addiction.

No I think you're right. From what I've heard, most of Burroughs' books (the early ones, at least) deal with his addiction.

[Diana]

Bukowski is fun if you like to look at how easy it is to turn your life into a perpetual downward spiral. That black abyss is always calling.

I think this is a big attraction for me. I feel like my brothers and I are always about three life choices away from becoming Bukowski, and that by reading and rereading his words I can somehow stave it off. As we get older I think we're pulling further away from the cliff, and from the circumstances that put us so close to the edge of it. But at least if it does happen, I have plenty of guidebooks. Thanks, Hank!

[from_beyond]

Phillip k. Dick

[badcarburetor]

Buy it. Sit it on your coffee tale. At some point, when the mood hits you, pick it up and open to any random page and begin reading. WHen you feel you've had all your mind can take, put it back down. Next time you're feelin' it, open to a different random page and begin reading...Repeat as necessary. Finish it. Don't finish it. Doesn't matter. It's going to make about as much sense this way as it would if you read it from cover to cover.

This is 100% accurate.

Related, in my opinion it's often more interesting to read about what was going on with Burrough, Corso, Gysin, et all...while they were making cut-ups than the actual resulting works.

[ben]

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Kesey

I finally checked this out, after reading The Bonfire of the Vanities (GREAT novel). It was pretty good, though I kinda got bored in the middle of it and started reading Journey to the End of Night (amazing), and then it was overdue so I never finished it.

also, I just finished American Psycho today...jeez. Great writing, fascinating story, but I almost threw up during some of those scenes. Is the film any good? It's not on netflix so I guess I'll have to torrent it...

next up is either The Dead Zone by stephen king or A Clockwork Orange.

[badcarburetor]

I have a long obsession with Bret Easton Ellis.

The film is very different from the book. The film has a kind of ironic layer around it that protects the viewer from the harsh "realities" of the book, if that makes any sense. Basically, it's a "fun" movie. I like it and watch it every few years. I hated it when I saw it in the theater because I felt that it was almost a parody, but I've grown comfortable with that over the years. It's on cable/satellite all the time. American Psycho 2 was on NF last I knew, but that's a whole 'nother story right there...

Here's an article I read a month or so back. It's about whether or not the violence in American Psycho benefits the book and that it's possible to read the book and entirely skip the violent chapters without missing any plot. It's also interesting that BEE didn't write any of the violent chapters until he had completed the rest of the novel.
http://www.believermag.com/issues/20130 ... view_ellis


You might enjoy this, Patrick Bateman's New York: http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=4259

[ben]

I have a long obsession with Bret Easton Ellis.

The film is very different from the book. The film has a kind of ironic layer around it that protects the viewer from the harsh "realities" of the book, if that makes any sense. Basically, it's a "fun" movie. I like it and watch it every few years. I hated it when I saw it in the theater because I felt that it was almost a parody, but I've grown comfortable with that over the years. It's on cable/satellite all the time. American Psycho 2 was on NF last I knew, but that's a whole 'nother story right there...

Here's an article I read a month or so back. It's about whether or not the violence in American Psycho benefits the book and that it's possible to read the book and entirely skip the violent chapters without missing any plot. It's also interesting that BEE didn't write any of the violent chapters until he had completed the rest of the novel.
http://www.believermag.com/issues/20130 ... view_ellis


You might enjoy this, Patrick Bateman's New York: http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=4259

I wasn't able to find it on TV But from the trailer, I agree; it seems kind of light-hearted, to be honest. I know the novel's a satire but it's also incredibly dark, and I think it's pretty difficult for filmmakers to get a dark tone, especially when it's a novel adaptation.

That article was cool, thanks! I'd have to re-read the book without those chapters to see for myself how different it is that way, but my gut tells me that, as horrifying as those violent chapters were, the novel just wouldn't be the same; Bateman wouldn't be the same. It is interesting that Ellis wrote those chapters after he wrote the novel, so an argument could be made that the chapters aren't necessary because they weren't even in the original manuscript, but if Ellis found it so important to add those chapters, knowing how much controversy they'd stir, how many readers they'd cause to vomit (me included, almost), then I'd argue they were necessary.