What are you reading?

[Anton]

Started reading "Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas Hofstadter.

[DudleyGray]

Just finished Jesus' Son, so brilliant. I feel like I belong in the Beverly Home.

Started reading "Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas Hofstadter.

I used to love philosophy of mind, but it gave me vertigo whenever I read anything on it. I don't know if I would enjoy that feeling anymore, sort of like getting older and no longer wanting to subject oneself to Internet shock videos.

Coincidental to a tangent, I've just picked up Snow Crash, it's pretty hilarious so far. Apparently, Richard Rorty didn't like it, maybe I'll see what he's on about if I make it through, but I think you'd have to be pretty stuffy to take this book so seriously. Tying back to philosophy of mind, I'd always wanted to read Mirror of Nature but never quite felt that I had the prerequisites to understanding it.

[Anton]

@DudleyGray I can see what you're saying, it's a very demanding subject. Right now I'm reading this book almost as an introduction to the next book I'm gonna read "Artificial Intelligence - A Modern Approach".

[Law]

Just bought Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Going to tackle that over the next month, it's not exactly an easy read, the 1st 8 pages at least! Still have Jonathan Franzen Purity which I picked up in NY when it was released. Never got around to reading it. That will probably be next...

[DudleyGray]

Coincidental to a tangent, I've just picked up Snow Crash, it's pretty hilarious so far.

It's becoming painfully apparent that what I was laughing at wasn't intended to be funny, even though this book is presented as satire. The writing is unrefined in a bad NYT bestseller soon-to-be-a-movie kind of way, too much explaining, too try hard, too many junky similes, and it's just so American sci-fi hacker dork. The intended audience would wear Acronym. I'm still going to finish it for posterity's sake, as it's still kind of fun in a cheap way, and maybe it will get better. For the amount of acclaim this book has received, I had just expected more.

[Faust]

It's becoming painfully apparent that what I was laughing at wasn't intended to be funny, even though this book is presented as satire. The writing is unrefined in a bad NYT bestseller soon-to-be-a-movie kind of way, too much explaining, too try hard, too many junky similes, and it's just so American sci-fi hacker dork. The intended audience would wear Acronym. I'm still going to finish it for posterity's sake, as it's still kind of fun in a cheap way, and maybe it will get better. For the amount of acclaim this book has received, I had just expected more.

I LOVE THIS! We should definitely do this more often. What would so and so audience wear? Could be a fun game.

[DudleyGray]

^The Devil Wears Prada, the reader wears Zara.

Continuing on with Snow Crash as a casual read but starting to poke around with other books in search of something that really sticks, including Paul Guyer's take on Kant and also Pattern Recognition. I like Gibson's writing a lot better than Stephenson, but that might just be due to the content; maybe his more sci-fi stuff would change my opinion. A lot of people seem to romanticize the Cayce Pollard character as the anti-fashion anti-hero, but despite that Gibson is clearly aware and knowledgeable on fashion/clothing, I get the sense that Cayce is written by someone who understands the value of fashion, or Fashion, mostly from a bourgeoisie status signifier perspective. Her character seems like a fiction, not because of her unrealistic abilities or that she doesn't exist, but a naive fiction that betrays a limited worldview. I'm not very far into it though, my initial impression might be off, but the guy wears Acronym so...

Otherwise, my friend lent me The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, because I'd expressed interest in theory. Holy shit, it's a tome. Not sure where to even start with this one but I guess we'll see. If anyone has had a background in the stuff and can make any recommendations with what's in here, I'm all ears.

[stagename]

On a tattoo binge for a project, any recos is appreciated, so far covered/covering: bodies of inscription, customizing the body, body modification, and modern primitive.

My fun book at the moment is talk of love by Swidler.

Just bought Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Going to tackle that over the next month, it's not exactly an easy read, the 1st 8 pages at least! Still have Jonathan Franzen Purity which I picked up in NY when it was released. Never got around to reading it. That will probably be next...

I read the first half of this book so many times I lost count. Can't seem to finish it.

[DNHT]

On a tattoo binge for a project, any recos is appreciated, so far covered/covering: bodies of inscription, customizing the body, body modification, and modern primitive.

You might also want to look at Bodies of Subversion by Margot Mifflin, which is a classic text on tattoos and the female body, and Wrapping in Images by Alfred Gell, which is an anthropological text that's primarily about Polynesian tattooing, but is also a brilliant look at the social, symbolic, and ritual roles of tattooing. If you want a more visual read, Forever: the New Tattoo is a very good survey of some of the most influential artists of recent years (e.g. Alex Binnie, Thomas Hooper, and so on).

[Traffic Warden]

I couldn't stand Snow Crash, or any other Stephenson I've tried reading.

Law - Keep with IJ. I would highly recommend Oblivion after, if you're interested in more DFW.

I've been reading a lot of poetry, most recently collections by Dean Young and Alamo Theory by Josh Bell. Highly recommend both if you're into that kind of thing.

[DudleyGray]

I couldn't stand Snow Crash

Final assessment, the best parts of it read like bad DeLillo.

Read a sample of Plath's The Bell Jar, I think I could really like this so that's next.

[vah]

Most recently finished James Salter's A Sport and a Pastime. Not sure what to make of it in general - enjoyable read but nothing spectacular. Also first of Salter's works I've read.

Currently splitting my reading between JK Huysmans The Damned, Hans Ulrich Obrist's Ways of Curating, and the occasional poem from Ocean Vuong's Night sky with exit wounds.
So far really enjoying Obrist's writing - the tone and voice feels very approachable (for lack of a better word), and provides an interesting insight into both his own work, the ideas behind it and the history of curating as a practice.

[Faust]

Most recently finished James Salter's A Sport and a Pastime. Not sure what to make of it in general - enjoyable read but nothing spectacular. Also first of Salter's works I've read.

Currently splitting my reading between JK Huysmans The Damned, Hans Ulrich Obrist's Ways of Curating, and the occasional poem from Ocean Vuong's Night sky with exit wounds.
So far really enjoying Obrist's writing - the tone and voice feels very approachable (for lack of a better word), and provides an interesting insight into both his own work, the ideas behind it and the history of curating as a practice.

Apparently the guy sleeps 3-4 hours a day. Can't wait for him to be institutionalized.

[Sufi]

Recently read Antwerp by Roberto Bolano. A linguistically beautiful piece of writing by Bolano.

[DudleyGray]

The Bell Jar might have been my favorite ever, hit me right in the gut. Now reading Murakami's 1Q84, it's entertaining enough so far.