Pulsar wrote:

Fallible wrote:Have you read any Rushdie, by the way? It's like trying to eat 20 Jacobs cream crackers without a drink.

Yep. I'm trying to get through the Satanic Verses, and it's driving me up the wall. I can't stand that stream-of-consciousness style of writing. I don't know if I'm going to finish it.

In 1986 I got to just short of page 30 ...

Gonna reread Name of the Wind.. Bought it early on before the excitement started about it and then waited and waited for the continuation.

romansh wrote:

Pulsar wrote:

Fallible wrote:Have you read any Rushdie, by the way? It's like trying to eat 20 Jacobs cream crackers without a drink.

Yep. I'm trying to get through the Satanic Verses, and it's driving me up the wall. I can't stand that stream-of-consciousness style of writing. I don't know if I'm going to finish it.

In 1986 I got to just short of page 30 ...

Is it really that bad? It's in my stack of books waiting to be read and I've actually been looking forward to it. I don't mind stream of consciousness. I don't know what Jacobs cream crackers are, but I don't eat anything without a drink in hand so I'm starting to feel a little nervous about it.

yes it is - don't bother

NamelessFaceless wrote:

romansh wrote:

Pulsar wrote:

Fallible wrote:Have you read any Rushdie, by the way? It's like trying to eat 20 Jacobs cream crackers without a drink.

Yep. I'm trying to get through the Satanic Verses, and it's driving me up the wall. I can't stand that stream-of-consciousness style of writing. I don't know if I'm going to finish it.

In 1986 I got to just short of page 30 ...

Is it really that bad? It's in my stack of books waiting to be read and I've actually been looking forward to it. I don't mind stream of consciousness. I don't know what Jacobs cream crackers are, but I don't eat anything without a drink in hand so I'm starting to feel a little nervous about it.

I love Rushdie and have read all his novels; he always divides opinion, in my experience. Go for it!

NamelessFaceless wrote:

romansh wrote:

Pulsar wrote:

Fallible wrote:Have you read any Rushdie, by the way? It's like trying to eat 20 Jacobs cream crackers without a drink.

Yep. I'm trying to get through the Satanic Verses, and it's driving me up the wall. I can't stand that stream-of-consciousness style of writing. I don't know if I'm going to finish it.

In 1986 I got to just short of page 30 ...

Is it really that bad?

You will have to judge for yourself ... see if you can beat 30 pages.

Jacobs cream crackers ... if I remember correctly they are a vehicle for eating cheese?

Moby Dick. I know. I have read literally thousands of books, but for some reason this one never crossed my path. Typical of the period in which it was written the language is overly flowery and often less than clear. Still, an interesting study in obsession. About half way through.

RS

I have just bought Midnights Children and it will be my next book to read. Although I have zero love for Jacobs Cream Crackers I have no problem with streams of consciousness. Hopefully I shall not be disappointed. After that I will read
East West Street by Philippe Sands. The reviews for this have been amazing all the more so given that it is non fiction

theropod wrote:
Typical of the period in which it was written the language is overly flowery and often less than clear

Crime And Punishment and The Castle are also exactly the same

This book is blowing my mind!

That looks good tho pretty pricey.

I have it on audio book narrated by this chap below and it's wonderful.

http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narrat ... k-perkins/

It's about 4 quid in the local supermarket, I saw it last time in was there, and nearly bought it. Will have to pick it up when I go back.

Fallible was right. Reading Rushdie is like trying to eat twenty Jacobs Cream Crackers without a drink. I managed 111 pages
but could go no further. It is just one long uninterrupted stream of consciousness. And Midnights Children is supposed to be his best as well but on the basis of what I have read it did not deserve the Booker at all. I am now reading The Executioners
Song by Norman Mailer. A Pulitzer prize winning novel about the capital punishment of Gary Gilmore who chose to be put to death instead of serving a life sentence for a double murder. And even though it is 1056 pages I know I will finish it if it is as good as the other Pulitzer I have read : American Pastoral by Philip Roth. And Rushdie should read that if he has not already done so as it is what a great novel looks like. Unlike what he has written

Animavore wrote:This book is blowing my mind!

Yep, one of the best books I read last year.
I liked the author's explorations into the fabrications/delusions that we indulge in to make society work.
Money....yeah, as long as we all pretend that this piece of paper can be exchanged for that pint of beer, we'll be alright.
Even though we both know the piece of paper is in actual fact valueless. The whole system only works because people believe in it.

This is related to some of the stuff I research in language and pragmatics. In Conversation Analysis researchers use the term 'talk into being'. That is, through talk, people actually construct social reality in the here and now of the interaction.

Great book and I've heard good things about the follow up 'Homo Deus'. I'll get round it it at some point.

surreptitious57 wrote:Fallible was right. Reading Rushdie is like trying to eat twenty Jacobs Cream Crackers without a drink. I managed 111 pages
but could go no further. It is just one long uninterrupted stream of consciousness. And Midnights Children is supposed to be his best as well but on the basis of what I have read it did not deserve the Booker at all. I am now reading The Executioners
Song by Norman Mailer. A Pulitzer prize winning novel about the capital punishment of Gary Gilmore who chose to be put to death instead of serving a life sentence for a double murder. And even though it is 1056 pages I know I will finish it if it is as good as the other Pulitzer I have read : American Pastoral by Philip Roth. And Rushdie should read that if he has not already done so as it is what a great novel looks like. Unlike what he has written

*smug*

As it happens, I am reading American Pastoral right now. It's quite ponderous, but strangely absorbing. I find myself regarding it longingly as it resides on the coffee table while I'm doing something else.

A lofty tome made loftier by the fact I can't read more than three paragraphs without my thinky meat going off on tangents while it marinates in intellect juices.



Seriously. Such an engaging and accessible writer. Full of humorous anecdotes and pop culture references while explaining things such as human aggression and the amygdala. The breadth and scope expands the mind 'til it presses so hard against the inner wall of the skull, trepanning is needed to release the pressure.

Amazon Prime has really been stepping up their game with Prime Reading. Not only do they now allow you to borrow up to 10 books at a time, some of them come with free Audible which is pretty cool.

But they've also released a few "Prime Exclusive" audible books with some really impressive audible narrations. I found The Jungle narrated by Casey Affleck, which I've almost completed. Casey's squeaky voice is perfect for this book, too. They also have Tom Sawyer narrated by Nick Offerman. I can't even imagine a better-suited voice for that book. It will be like it's being read by Mark Twain himself. I can't wait to get started on that one.

The only problem is, I don't know how to find these "exclusives." I just happened to stumble across those two.

Enjoyed reading this pretty much in one go. This the audiobook cover,

Start it - sleep - finish the next morning. Very very engaging.

My mind is officially blown .....wow .....I literally had NO idea!!!!!.