Any fans of the man, the myth, the legend? His new novel Bleeding Edge is coming out Sept. 17th. Anyone care? Anyone excited? Thoughts?
The last I tried to read by him was Inherent Vice, and just never finished it. Vineland as well. I've read The Crying of Lot 49 and absolutely loved it though. I think he's a hit or miss kind of writer. Been meaning to pickup Gravity's Rainbow, but I know I'm gonna need a good month for that one, so it's on the back burner.
The new one sounds interesting though, so I may pick it up when it comes out.
Gravity's Rainbow is the best book I've ever read that I've never finished. I believe the new one is another example of his lighter fare, along the lines of Inherent Vice and Vineland.
I've read both of those, and of the two enjoyed Inherent Vice intensely more. It will be interesting to see what Paul Thomas Anderson does with the film version.
Very much looking forward to Bleeding Edge. You are not alone.
Okay, well that's cool. I still don't know if I'm looking forward to it because I've only ever finished Crying. Vineland was a drag, but I'll probably start over Inherent Vice with the new info you just gave about the movie. I do love me some PTA. Also, why didn't you finish Gravity's Rainbow if it was so awesome?
I don't know. I've actually saved the page number on my Goodreads profile, so that when I do return to it, I'll pick up right where I left off. The guy's a genius, no doubt about it, but he goes off on these tangents that I'm not always up for. It can be exhausting. A lot of people never finish it, at least not in one go.
OK, so who read Mason & Dixon?
Not me!
Jesus, I tried, I really did, but god...
I too have only read Crying and Vineland. We're all a bunch of dilletantes and lowly shebeeners.
I have yet to find a Pynchon uber-fan.
Never heard of this guy. What does he write?
I don't know. I've actually saved the page number on my Goodreads profile, so that when I do return to it, I'll pick up right where I left off.
That notion is kind of interesting because I'm the kind of reader who is always doing like six books at a time at a snail's pace, but always start a book over if I haven't touched it in like six months, I think is my limit.
I've read INHERENT VICE and CRYING and currently dabbing through GRAVITY like I would a book of poetry, a page or five at a time. I don't have the endurance for the good post-modern stuff so much anymore, even though that's really the genre I first really fell in love with save for commercial thrillers. I was late to the Pynchon gate though, but also I think he's the kind of writer that I would read anything they write when I could get around to them. Haruki Murakami is very similar in that respect as far as my personal taste; I'll like anything he does as long as I don't have a book I'm more interested in at hand.
To me, it's all in or nothing with Pynchon's books. I don't have the mental stamina most of the time to put in the work to remember everything I read after I've put the book down and came back to it, or reading multiple books at a time.
There is a book that I've been reading at a snail's pace called The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton, or full title: (The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically, Opened and Cut Up). I read this one almost every night about 2 or 3 pages at a time. He just packs so much in 1 page it's hard for me to retain it all when taken in big lumps. This isn't a novel though, and not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination. There are tons of sentences written in latin and there is no way I'm google translating all of it. It is a book you can open to any page and read some interesting things, though.
Renfield, I've read the first few hundred pages so many times, there's no need to start over. Usually I begin to Peter out a hundred pages or so after the toilet scene. I just want him to get on with it. And that's my problem. My failing. Pynchon is the last writer anyone should ever wish would stop dawdling. It's mostly about the journey, with him.
I'm reading Inherent Vice but it's kind of slow-going. I just want to see the movie, really.
SConley, I feel your pain. I've tried it twice and just failed miserably. I hate not finishing books. I will get back to it before I see the movie. The film looks promising, that's for sure.
I have a hard time keeping up with all of the characters and what Doc is investigating.
