Books You Couldn't Get Through

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Small Strange Bird: Sep 22, 2006; Merci, chaton!

syphon^2 posted:

It's been mentioned before, but Catch 22 is the bane of my existence. A friend loaned it to me, claiming she couldn't stop laughing and enjoyed it immensely.

Don't get me wrong, I get the humor, I just don't find it funny. His title/name is Major Major Major Major? I rolled my eyes so hard I got a headache.

Humour's a subjective thing, of course, but the joke isn't that he's called Major Major Major Major, which in terms of comedy is on a par with the Epic Movie guys calling their Johnny Depp knockoff character Captain Jack Swallows. The joke is that his entire life has been ruined because his father was the kind of person who, had he been born in a different generation, would have willingly gone to see Epic Movie and laughed his rear end off at "Captain Jack Swallows".

# ¿ May 18, 2008 21:41

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:50

Small Strange Bird: Sep 22, 2006; Merci, chaton!

Just Peachy posted:

The first time I tried to read Neuromancer, I got seriously bored within about 30 pages. Recently I tried again, started to get interested, read on, realised it was going a bit nuts and I didn't really get it, but forced myself to finish it just to see how the hell it ended. I wish I hadn't bothered now.

I just started re-reading Neuromancer for the first time in years, partly because of this thread and partly because of the one over in Cinema Discusso.

I'd never realised it before, but Case is actually kind of a prick. It's probably because when I first read it back in the Eighties I was younger than Case and thought he was incredibly cool, whereas now he comes across as the kind of cocky, arrogant, selfish twentysomething jerk who deserves to be punched repeatedly in the face.

So maybe Hayden Christiansen is perfect casting.

# ¿ May 22, 2008 15:55

Small Strange Bird: Sep 22, 2006; Merci, chaton!

leefy greans posted:

Is that about the point when he decides to write absolutely everything he can think of about whaling? Because, yeah, that's when I started skimming myself...

Unfortunately, I had to read the whole book because it was part of my American Literature course.

Whale foreskins. :argh:

# ¿ Jun 9, 2008 16:41

Small Strange Bird: Sep 22, 2006; Merci, chaton!

Biff Rockgroin posted:

Also, I wouldn't say he name drops, the dude is literally just everywhere and knows everyone.

Martin Amis appeared in Private Eye's Pseud's Corner this week for an anecdote where he and Hitchens went to see a movie somewhere in New York, and Amis got increasingly pissed off that nobody recognised Hitchens, the philistines!

# ¿ May 12, 2011 11:45

Small Strange Bird: Sep 22, 2006; Merci, chaton!

outlier posted:

From memory, that one is fairly punchy and action-packed.

That just gave me the mental image of Michael Bay's A Tale Of Two Cities. "It was the best of times." [Shia LaBoeuf speeds through LA in a convertible while getting a blowjob from a supermodel] "It was the worst of times." [New York explodes]

# ¿ Mar 14, 2012 14:27

Small Strange Bird: Sep 22, 2006; Merci, chaton!

The film seemed to take the attitude of "Well, everyone already knows the punchlines, so we can cut the jokes short." Which took the mad, convoluted Adams-logic out of them and reduced them to sitcom gags.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2012 13:41

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:50

Small Strange Bird: Sep 22, 2006; Merci, chaton!

Stuporstar posted:

I'd also recommend The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, because he tackles similar themes, updated to 1980s New York, and adds racism into the mix. I read it in college. Sherman McCoy is not what I'd call a sympathetic protagonist, but man it was satisfying watching that rich rear end in a top hat's bubble of self-entitlement collapse around him.

And then watch the movie for a classic example of Hollywood utterly missing the point. (Then read The Devil's Candy to see exactly how they missed the point. "None of the characters in this book are likeable! Who's the audience supposed to root for? Let's make Sherman McCoy basically a good guy who lost his way. And the sleazy and venal English journalist, he needs to be American and ultimately sympathetic when he realises that he's ruined Sherman's life to get a story. Maybe they could even team up to clear Sherman's name!" :ughh:

# ¿ Mar 22, 2012 11:22

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