What are you reading?

[Happy End]

I just finished Junky by Burroughs. It felt a little inconsequential to be honest, I thought it was candidly written but for me, it never really culminated into anything other than the sum of its parts.

[Johngd]

Its about time to start this one

[Faust]

/\ fuck yeah. so much better than the stranger.

[Johngd]

Actually this is my first read of Camus. So you dont recommend reading The Stranger after this one?

[michael_kard]

The Stranger is Camus best known book and rightfully so in my opinion. Both The Fall and The Plague are also excellent books, but the Stranger has a much more universal reach.

I recommend reading his word chronologically, starting with A Happy Death.

[Johngd]

Well I have already started this one. But if I like it I will definitely read some more of him. Just curious, why do you recommend reading his books chronologically?

[Faust]

I think the Stranger is overrated, and the Fall is his real masterpiece. You should read The Plague as well. And the essays.

[michael_kard]

Well I have already started this one. But if I like it I will definitely read some more of him. Just curious, why do you recommend reading his books chronologically?

Because I feel there is some sort of progression in his thinking, which manifests itself and evolves throughout his work. That's definitely apparent between A Happy Death and The Stranger.

I tried to read The Myth of Sisyphus when I was 14, I couldn't understand anything. Maybe it's time to try again.

[Fade to Black]

I just finished Junky by Burroughs. It felt a little inconsequential to be honest, I thought it was candidly written but for me, it never really culminated into anything other than the sum of its parts.

I think that may very well be the point of it...after all his life as a junkie did not end there, why give any illusion of closure or resolution, or even satisfactory and progressive transitional coherence among its inner parts for that matter. My favorite Burroughs probably; never done any hard drugs but between Keith Richards' Life and reading this in one sitting I think I have a fair enough idea.

[Acéphale]

█ Juan Goytisolo, Juan The Landless

«

to the ceiba, to the ceiba! : it’s midnight, the witching hour and the slaves scurry stealthily out of their barrack-huts and cross the sleeping compound, egged on by the delirious chaotic geometry of the stars : the dogs lie poisoned by the water trough and the night watchmen snore in their sentry-boxes, deep slumbers brought on by powder the witch-doctors furtively dissolved in their daily ration of rum : a hot sensual tropical night out of an Elvira Rios song, a night swooning on the sand, no, on the paths and shortcuts that, past the trays of bagasse, lead to the hills and mountains where the runaways are holed up : guiding them through a baroque profusion of lianas and ferns thanks to an esoteric alphabet, a secret unspoken code : rustling wind, buzzing insects and raucous birds weave a subtle web of complicity while the sugarocrat family trust credulously in their Guardian Angels talismanic protection : no, that can’t be right, the slaves must have knocked them out as well by cleverly spoiling their Brillat-Savarinesque gourmet platters : a plump chubby-cheeked angel, stuffed with heavenly creams and Capucin Gourmand delicatessen, apparently immersed in the speleological depths of the deepest of siestas : clearly not noticing the shadows slipping stealthily between the sheltering crests of the trees and the snaking curling foliage : to the clearing carved out by machetes and axes around the proud solitary ceiba tree : invoking the occult powers of the pot, already fed by four small piles of earth, hens’ feet, beef, the master’s own cigar butts : the witch-doctor recites his spells and litanies and, suddenly, the devil consents and Great-grandfather is caught : the small dishes contain hairs from the brushes and combs used by Great-grandmother and the girls and a toenail that belonged to young Master Jorge : one after another, all the members of the family meet the same fate : the drums beat in a frenzy and, summoned by powerful spells, they re-emerge, symbolically, on the podium in all their perfection and
sovereign whiteness :

»

[gavagai]

Concur - I'm a big fan of THE PLAGUE.

Just finished chapter one of PLATFORM. Intrigued...

[several_girls]

[CDG Diffusion Line]

my favorite books are closed ones

good one bro!!!!!!!

[sam_tem]

this should be interesting, David Mamet's new book written for Fox News:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-28/the-secret-knowledge-by-david-mamet-playwrights-dismal-right-turn/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsR1

[Faust]

Max Weber - The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.