I wasn't going to do this, but "throu" pushed me over the edge. I didn't even touch on the grammar, either.

 

Has anyone read Koontz' new book, 77 Shadow Street? The advertisements have me intrigued, but the reviews on Amazon are kind of mixed.

 

Your bad grammar (and jadedmutt's irritated dissection of it) aside, I'll admit that I did not enjoy The Dark Tower much either. Granted, it's been ages since I read it, but I remember really, really struggling to keep going. And this from a huge fan of King's older stuff like The Stand, Pet Semetary, It and of course may favorite, The Shining.

You'll hear loads of people here at DLP tell you how great this book and many others are, and while many of them may be sincere, I guarantee that more than a few folks will tell you how much they enjoyed a book or how clever they realized the author was being, etc. etc., because let's face it, most of us here are avid readers, and don't want to be seen as not understanding the nuances of a difficult book or grasping the subtleties in it, yada yada.

For example: I hated Moby Dick, and it's one of those classics that we're all supposed to love, changed out lives, what have you. I love the ideas presented in old Dickens books but for fuck's sake, could he have whittled that shit down just a little? Cut out some of the never-ending descriptions, maybe? Christ.

Odd, then, that I really liked Jane Eyre, despite the contrived plot and plot twists. I loved Othello and Macbeth, but King Lear can eat a dick. Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde was more disappointing than I can articulate, and Heart of Darkness was a fucking chore.

On the other hand, I absolutely loved Gravity's Rainbow, but I'll be the first to admit I didn't understand half what I was reading as I read it, and only the reading guide allowed me to get through it with my sanity. Seriously, there's a reading guide. How fucked up is a book when it needs a guide just to fathom what the fuck the author is saying?

So there. I didn't finish The Dark Tower series either, and I'm not ashamed to say it bored me.

 

I completely agree. Everyone raves about Stephen King but the two books of his that I've read, The Gunslinger and The Shining, haven't interested me at all. I think it might be because my expectations had been raised so high by all the good reviews that it was always going to be a disappointment.

 

I'm a big Stephen King fan, but he's one of the most uneven writers ever. Not surprising, considering how prolific he is, but when he's good, he's very, very good, but when he's bad, he's shit.

I read The Dark Tower and also found it very meh-worthy. I have heard from many fans that it's one of those series that starts out kind of mediocre and then gets much better as it goes along, so sooner or later I'll give it another try, but I have yet to move on to the second book.

Moby Dick doesn't really seem to be beloved so much as admired.

But don't diss Dickens, man. I will cut you.

(Okay, seriously, Bleak House almost killed me too.)

 

Out of most of Dickens' work I'd have to say that A Christmas Carol is probably my favourite. Maybe it was just because of the shorter format. I've always felt that Dickens was an able writer who was just bound by the word count he need to reach for the periodical he was writing for.

Anywho, I was wondering if anyone here has read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski? I've heard that it's a bit of a trip and somewhat convoluted, nonsensical and horribly post-modern. Still from what little I've gleaned from reviews it seems to be at least somewhat interesting narratively.

As for recs I'd definitely throw up White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Absolutely incredible book. Starts off with an English gentleman trying to gas himself to death in his car on New Years before being told to move by a butcher because he's blocking the loading bay. The book follows multiple characters that are all connected by Archie's friendship with a guy he met in the war. It's one of those books that pays dividends when you try to analyze it in detail.

 

It is all of that. I liked it a lot, but it's a trip and definitely not an easy read. My review is here.

 

I felt pretty much the same way, I gave up on the first one only part way through. I've never really done that before but I just couldn't find myself liking the book very much. It surprised me as I'd heard such good things about the series. Maybe it just wasn't for me, but I didn't find it engaging in any way, and I think hollow describes it pretty well for me too. I was pretty disappointed.

 

I thought House of Leaves was a pretty fun book, and it re-instilled my fear of the dark. But that said, if you have to describe the book to anyone, prepare to be labeled by that person as a pretentious douche lord.

 

Nice review Inverarity, actually makes me want to read the book more just to see some of what you're talking about there.

Speaking of things that go bump in the night (and fear of the dark), do you guys have any particularly shining (badum pshh) examples of horror? I've tried picking up Stephen King but he didn't quite tickle my fancy.

@The Berkeley Hunt: I'm pretty sure that applies to describing pretty much ANY post-modern artform haha.

 

And there he goes.

 

My current favorite author is probably David Mitchell. All of his books are fantastic. Everyone knows or has heard of Cloud Atlas, but his other novels, while not as hyped by critics, are great reads. I especially liked his latest novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. And now that I had to withdraw from this semester in college, I'm definitely going to give his earlier works a reread (Ghostwritten, Number9Dream).

Highly recommend him.

 

I really liked The Thousand Autumns too, and Cloud Atlas is sitting in my TBR pile. (I figure I will read it before I see the upcoming movie.)

 

Oh man you are going to love Cloud Atlas. I put off reading it for a long time and I couldn't believe what I was missing. I'm not going to say very much about it because it's best that you go into it without any preconceived notions; but I will say that all the awards and hype it gets are more than deserved.

I can't wait for the movie. Seeing that opening night.

 

Has anyone read A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken? I'm leery as to whether or not I should read it.

 

http://www.scottlynch.us/

Placeholder image on the website of the author of The Lies of Locke Lamora. Seems that there may still be hope for the next book relatively soon.

 

The word seems to be a tentative Autumn 2012 release. At this point in time, I figure we will either get the book by the end of the year, or Lynch's depression problems kill him. Woo.

 

I want to give him my money! Why does he insist on being depressed? :\

 

The Game World Trilogy.

Has any one read The Game World Trilogy, this book is pretty awesome... i don't know where the guy came up with the idea of this story but its like really mind boggling. basically in this book the hero is the bad guy and the bad guy is the good guy. lol.
haven't seen one like this before... its a bit mix up of LOtR and HP if you will but its not exactly the same concept.
this is one book you shouldn't miss.

 

I stumbled on the Iron Druid series, by Kevin Hearne. Its a mash up of American Gods and Dresden Files, basically. Nothing groundbreaking, a little too dependent on genre, and a little loose in plot. Still, a 2100 year old Druid punching out gods is a great way to burn a few hours.