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Been three months since I've read a book. Gettin' back on track!

 

Cool! Hope you like it. It's one of my faves, although Vonnegut didn't rate it too highly. The drawings are the icing on the cake.

I love his grim humour and the utter ridiculousness he finds in life.

If you're interested in reading more Vonnegut, I'd recommend Cat's Cradle, Galapagos, or Slaughterhouse 5.

His early sci-fi book Sirens of Titan is one of his darker works, but also quite enjoyable.

So far I do like it! I've read Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5 previously, and I highly enjoyed both of those as well. :) :cheers:

 

I might end up reading the majority of his works.

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Ok, so I haven't finished Absalom, Absalom because I am listening to it on Audible and am saving it for my drive home from Connecticut on Monday/Tuesday. In the interim on a whim I started reading Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis. I am not committed to it yet though. I will have to see if it gets as graphic as American Psycho. Sheesh, I felt like I needed a brain scrub after that one.
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Ok, so I haven't finished Absalom, Absalom because I am listening to it on Audible and am saving it for my drive home from Connecticut on Monday/Tuesday. In the interim on a whim I started reading Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis. I am not committed to it yet though. I will have to see if it gets as graphic as American Psycho. Sheesh, I felt like I needed a brain scrub after that one.

 

I could never get through American Psycho myself.

 

Absalom, Absalom is fantastic, but I agree that it does test the reader's fortitude (in a much different way from something like American Psycho, though, hahaha).

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Ok, so I haven't finished Absalom, Absalom because I am listening to it on Audible and am saving it for my drive home from Connecticut on Monday/Tuesday. In the interim on a whim I started reading Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis. I am not committed to it yet though. I will have to see if it gets as graphic as American Psycho. Sheesh, I felt like I needed a brain scrub after that one.

 

I could never get through American Psycho myself.

 

Absalom, Absalom is fantastic, but I agree that it does test the reader's fortitude (in a much different way from something like American Psycho, though, hahaha).

 

Ugh, I know right? After listening to American Psycho on a drive up to Minneapolis I was asking myself "what did I just listen to?" I have no idea why I kept listening. Morbid curiosity? Masochist madness? LOL! So far Lunar Park isn't graphic like that.

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- Rebecca Skloot

 

A really interesting book! An eye opener in a lot of ways. She was an African American woman who had a piece of her tissue cultured to grow more cells; this was at Johns Hopkins in the 1950's. She died from cancer shortly afterward. It kind of goes without saying that she was not treated racially the same (it was the 50's) but the real eye opener was how few rights any patients had back then and also how absolutely stone age microbiology was back then also.

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

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Had to give up on Paul Auster's "New York Trilogy". Liked the idea, but found it self-indulgent. Sorry Paul.

Now reading a mystery set in Cambodia ("Battambang" by Ron Poulton), and "Islam: a short history" by Karen Armstrong. I'm about 50 pages into both, and so far, so good.

 

Just got "The Last Works of Samuel Beckett" in graphic novel form. Every page is blank, grey, and mildly to very disturbing.

 

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

I should probably start with a disclaimer that I love the Beats and have a special fondness for Kerouac and Ginsberg. When Kerouac is ablaze, he positively astounds me. But I find the inner workings of his mind sufficiently engaging to take interest in the milder flames, embers, smoke, ashes...the entirety of the thing! Also, I really enjoyed Big Sur! So there you have it--I'm predisposed to enthusiasm for his work. :LOL: The original scroll of On the Road is actually how I first read it...talk about doing things backwards, but I found it to be highly engrossing. I suppose the rambling didn't strike me as long-winded because it captured an energy and pace that added authenticity to the experience for me.

 

Tristessa, while a gorgeous but brief burst of energy, wouldn't be among the handful of works I'd choose to showcase Kerouac at his best. Still there are achingly beautiful passages, and it resounds with sincerity. And coming in at just under 100 pages, he doesn't have much time to go meandering about, if that sort of thing isn't to your liking. If Big Sur is the "don't become an alcoholic" work, this is the "don't do junk" one.

 

Have you read Some of the Dharma? I get the sense from your posts that you might enjoy contemplating that one in bits and pieces, though of course it's not a novel.

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

I should probably start with a disclaimer that I love the Beats and have a special fondness for Kerouac and Ginsberg. When Kerouac is ablaze, he positively astounds me. But I find the inner workings of his mind sufficiently engaging to take interest in the milder flames, embers, smoke, ashes...the entirety of the thing! Also, I really enjoyed Big Sur! So there you have it--I'm predisposed to enthusiasm for his work. :LOL: The original scroll of On the Road is actually how I first read it...talk about doing things backwards, but I found it to be highly engrossing. I suppose the rambling didn't strike me as long-winded because it captured an energy and pace that added authenticity to the experience for me.

 

Tristessa, while a gorgeous but brief burst of energy, wouldn't be among the handful of works I'd choose to showcase Kerouac at his best. Still there are achingly beautiful passages, and it resounds with sincerity. And coming in at just under 100 pages, he doesn't have much time to go meandering about, if that sort of thing isn't to your liking. If Big Sur is the "don't become an alcoholic" work, this is the "don't do junk" one.

 

Have you read Some of the Dharma? I get the sense from your posts that you might enjoy contemplating that one in bits and pieces, though of course it's not a novel.

 

This is very enlightening Bean ( and VT )

 

I just looked up Tristessa ... actually, I just ordered it :LOL:

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

I should probably start with a disclaimer that I love the Beats and have a special fondness for Kerouac and Ginsberg. When Kerouac is ablaze, he positively astounds me. But I find the inner workings of his mind sufficiently engaging to take interest in the milder flames, embers, smoke, ashes...the entirety of the thing! Also, I really enjoyed Big Sur! So there you have it--I'm predisposed to enthusiasm for his work. :LOL: The original scroll of On the Road is actually how I first read it...talk about doing things backwards, but I found it to be highly engrossing. I suppose the rambling didn't strike me as long-winded because it captured an energy and pace that added authenticity to the experience for me.

 

Tristessa, while a gorgeous but brief burst of energy, wouldn't be among the handful of works I'd choose to showcase Kerouac at his best. Still there are achingly beautiful passages, and it resounds with sincerity. And coming in at just under 100 pages, he doesn't have much time to go meandering about, if that sort of thing isn't to your liking. If Big Sur is the "don't become an alcoholic" work, this is the "don't do junk" one.

 

Have you read Some of the Dharma? I get the sense from your posts that you might enjoy contemplating that one in bits and pieces, though of course it's not a novel.

 

This is very enlightening Bean ( and VT )

 

I just looked up Tristessa ... actually, I just ordered it :LOL:

 

Cheers Lucas! Please let us know what you think when you've read it :)

 

Have you read any other Kerouac?

 

 

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

I should probably start with a disclaimer that I love the Beats and have a special fondness for Kerouac and Ginsberg. When Kerouac is ablaze, he positively astounds me. But I find the inner workings of his mind sufficiently engaging to take interest in the milder flames, embers, smoke, ashes...the entirety of the thing! Also, I really enjoyed Big Sur! So there you have it--I'm predisposed to enthusiasm for his work. :LOL: The original scroll of On the Road is actually how I first read it...talk about doing things backwards, but I found it to be highly engrossing. I suppose the rambling didn't strike me as long-winded because it captured an energy and pace that added authenticity to the experience for me.

 

Tristessa, while a gorgeous but brief burst of energy, wouldn't be among the handful of works I'd choose to showcase Kerouac at his best. Still there are achingly beautiful passages, and it resounds with sincerity. And coming in at just under 100 pages, he doesn't have much time to go meandering about, if that sort of thing isn't to your liking. If Big Sur is the "don't become an alcoholic" work, this is the "don't do junk" one.

 

Have you read Some of the Dharma? I get the sense from your posts that you might enjoy contemplating that one in bits and pieces, though of course it's not a novel.

 

This is very enlightening Bean ( and VT )

 

I just looked up Tristessa ... actually, I just ordered it :LOL:

 

Cheers Lucas! Please let us know what you think when you've read it :)

 

Have you read any other Kerouac?

 

This will be my first from Kerouac

 

.. and I am just reading about him - now I'm really looking forward to Tristessa !!

 

.

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

I should probably start with a disclaimer that I love the Beats and have a special fondness for Kerouac and Ginsberg. When Kerouac is ablaze, he positively astounds me. But I find the inner workings of his mind sufficiently engaging to take interest in the milder flames, embers, smoke, ashes...the entirety of the thing! Also, I really enjoyed Big Sur! So there you have it--I'm predisposed to enthusiasm for his work. :LOL: The original scroll of On the Road is actually how I first read it...talk about doing things backwards, but I found it to be highly engrossing. I suppose the rambling didn't strike me as long-winded because it captured an energy and pace that added authenticity to the experience for me.

 

Tristessa, while a gorgeous but brief burst of energy, wouldn't be among the handful of works I'd choose to showcase Kerouac at his best. Still there are achingly beautiful passages, and it resounds with sincerity. And coming in at just under 100 pages, he doesn't have much time to go meandering about, if that sort of thing isn't to your liking. If Big Sur is the "don't become an alcoholic" work, this is the "don't do junk" one.

 

Have you read Some of the Dharma? I get the sense from your posts that you might enjoy contemplating that one in bits and pieces, though of course it's not a novel.

 

This is very enlightening Bean ( and VT )

 

I just looked up Tristessa ... actually, I just ordered it :LOL:

 

Cheers Lucas! Please let us know what you think when you've read it :)

 

Have you read any other Kerouac?

 

This will be my first from Kerouac

 

.. and I am just reading about him - now I'm really looking forward to Tristessa !!

 

.

 

Ooh! I hope that you'll enjoy it enough to want to further explore his work! :) :cheers:

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

I should probably start with a disclaimer that I love the Beats and have a special fondness for Kerouac and Ginsberg. When Kerouac is ablaze, he positively astounds me. But I find the inner workings of his mind sufficiently engaging to take interest in the milder flames, embers, smoke, ashes...the entirety of the thing! Also, I really enjoyed Big Sur! So there you have it--I'm predisposed to enthusiasm for his work. :LOL: The original scroll of On the Road is actually how I first read it...talk about doing things backwards, but I found it to be highly engrossing. I suppose the rambling didn't strike me as long-winded because it captured an energy and pace that added authenticity to the experience for me.

 

Tristessa, while a gorgeous but brief burst of energy, wouldn't be among the handful of works I'd choose to showcase Kerouac at his best. Still there are achingly beautiful passages, and it resounds with sincerity. And coming in at just under 100 pages, he doesn't have much time to go meandering about, if that sort of thing isn't to your liking. If Big Sur is the "don't become an alcoholic" work, this is the "don't do junk" one.

 

Have you read Some of the Dharma? I get the sense from your posts that you might enjoy contemplating that one in bits and pieces, though of course it's not a novel.

 

Cool! Thanks for the response!

I too am a fan of the beats, although Burroughs is the one that's grabbed me the most, and that's more about his technique and ideas rather than the rather opaque prose of his work in the 60s and 70s. "Junky" is excellent, as is "Western Lands".

I've read a handful of Kerouac, including Dharma Bums, but not Some of the Dharma. Dr. Sax is supposed to be good as well.

I will check out Tristessa on your recommendation, thanks!

The things I found most depressing about Big Sur: the cycle of dissatisfaction and drinking that he was caught up in as he wrestled with celebrity and meeting the expectations of other people; and seeing how the writer and his writing were suffering because of this. The sea poem was the atrocious icing on an already droopy and depressed cake.

That being said, it was still better than "Clockwork Angels". :LOL:

 

"Clockwork Angels" by Jack Kerouac. Now with more red wine, reefer, and bebop!

'You gotta dig it man, that pop and fizzle of restless prose...I'm sure mother disapproves, as does God. Better get drunk.' - JK

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Kerouac essentials, according to Blue J:

 

On the Road

Big Sur

Maggie Cassidy

The Subterraneans

 

 

I've 'liked' all this talk about Tristessa, but I have never read that one, honestly. Maybe Lucas and I should read it simultaneously. :D

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Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

 

How was this? I think it's one of his early works, although I could be mistaken.

I read Big Sur last year and was disappointed, although a good cautionary tale for anyone considering giving in to alcoholism.

The original On the Road Scroll (published by Penguin) is worth a look, although a little long winded. I keep hoping for more out of Kerouac, I guess.

I should probably start with a disclaimer that I love the Beats and have a special fondness for Kerouac and Ginsberg. When Kerouac is ablaze, he positively astounds me. But I find the inner workings of his mind sufficiently engaging to take interest in the milder flames, embers, smoke, ashes...the entirety of the thing! Also, I really enjoyed Big Sur! So there you have it--I'm predisposed to enthusiasm for his work. :LOL: The original scroll of On the Road is actually how I first read it...talk about doing things backwards, but I found it to be highly engrossing. I suppose the rambling didn't strike me as long-winded because it captured an energy and pace that added authenticity to the experience for me.

 

Tristessa, while a gorgeous but brief burst of energy, wouldn't be among the handful of works I'd choose to showcase Kerouac at his best. Still there are achingly beautiful passages, and it resounds with sincerity. And coming in at just under 100 pages, he doesn't have much time to go meandering about, if that sort of thing isn't to your liking. If Big Sur is the "don't become an alcoholic" work, this is the "don't do junk" one.

 

Have you read Some of the Dharma? I get the sense from your posts that you might enjoy contemplating that one in bits and pieces, though of course it's not a novel.

 

Cool! Thanks for the response!

I too am a fan of the beats, although Burroughs is the one that's grabbed me the most, and that's more about his technique and ideas rather than the rather opaque prose of his work in the 60s and 70s. "Junky" is excellent, as is "Western Lands".

I've read a handful of Kerouac, including Dharma Bums, but not Some of the Dharma. Dr. Sax is supposed to be good as well.

I will check out Tristessa on your recommendation, thanks!

The things I found most depressing about Big Sur: the cycle of dissatisfaction and drinking that he was caught up in as he wrestled with celebrity and meeting the expectations of other people; and seeing how the writer and his writing were suffering because of this. The sea poem was the atrocious icing on an already droopy and depressed cake.

That being said, it was still better than "Clockwork Angels". :LOL:

 

"Clockwork Angels" by Jack Kerouac. Now with more red wine, reefer, and bebop!

'You gotta dig it man, that pop and fizzle of restless prose...I'm sure mother disapproves, as does God. Better get drunk.' - JK

 

My pleasure! I'm always happy to discuss these fellows and their work!

 

I've read the vast majority of Kerouac's work in one language or another, but little by Burroughs in comparison. Junky is phenomenal, and now I'll add Western Lands to my to-read list--cheers!

 

As for Clockwork Angels, well I haven't read that novel as it sounds rather disastrous. :blush: Kerouac wrote one called Desolation Angels, though! It's part of the Duluoz Legend and is quite the compelling beauty as far as I'm concerned.

 

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Kerouac essentials, according to Blue J:

 

On the Road

Big Sur

Maggie Cassidy

The Subterraneans

 

 

I've 'liked' all this talk about Tristessa, but I have never read that one, honestly. Maybe Lucas and I should read it simultaneously. :D

 

All fine choices! If you read Tristessa, please let us know what you think of it, too!

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Kerouac essentials, according to Blue J:

 

On the Road

Big Our

Maggie Cassidy

The Subterraneans

 

 

I've 'liked' all this talk about Tristessa, but I have never read that one, honestly. Maybe Lucas and I should read it simultaneously. :D

 

All fine choices! If you read Tristessa, please let us know what you think of it, too!

 

I will!

 

I forgot to put Dharma Bums on my list, there. Can't leave that one out.

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I finished Absalom, Absalom and am sticking with my initial feeling that The Sound and the Fury was more accessible. The language in Absalom, Absalom is much more baroque than TSatF which can be good in many cases, but it does prove challenging in this book. I would rate A,A 3/5 and TSatF 4/5 (just on a personal impression level).

 

Today I started Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I am 35% in to it. Very interesting read so far!

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