New now reading

in reality, all of this has been a total load of old bollocks
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copehead
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Re: New now reading

Postby copehead » 06 Feb 2018, 22:44

K wrote:
Copehead wrote:
Harvey K-Tel wrote:Image

This is really fantastic. A collection of aphorisms that honestly reads like a whole bunch of really well-written tweets. Highly recommended.

Some excerpts:

“The trouble with setting goals is that you’re constantly working toward what you used to want.”

“Biographies should also contain the events that failed to foreshadow.”

“The trouble with letting people see you at your worst isn't that they'll remember; it's that you'll remember.”


Beer isn't distilled at all, stupid analogy, fancy putting that on the front of the book

The quote doesn't suggest beer is distilled. It suggests whisky is distilled.


Whisky isn't twice distilled either, it is generally continuously distilled until as much of the ethanol as possible is taken out of the distilling liquid. I was at Laphroig a year ago and saw the process. Some Whiskey is double or triple distilled but it doesn't make it better so I don't understand that at all. It smacks of trying to be over clever but not understanding your subject, something I know a lot about.

Face it, it is a crap analogy. Whisky not beer I get but why bring distillation into it and confuse matters?

Puts me off reading the book, if it is a book of aphorisms and the one of the front is stupid, even if the writer didn't write it, it suggests what's inside isn't worth your time.

I'll stick with Nietzsche or Camus.
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Re: New now reading

Postby harvey k-tel » 07 Feb 2018, 01:56

You need to loosen up, man.

For one thing, that quote on the cover is a blurb, not an aphorism, and for another, if you can't understand the idea of the distillation of prose then I don't think it's worth discussing modern literature with you.

Sail on.
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Re: New now reading

Postby BARON CORNY DOG » 07 Feb 2018, 02:46

I don't know what the last thing I reported was. I got hung up/stuck on Waverley and finally polished it off over the holidays. It was interesting, and I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't my bag. Probably don't need any more Scott in my life.

Then I read Shelley's Frankenstein, which I had never read before and really enjoyable. It actually took me by surprise, I don't know what I expected.

Yesterday I finished Austen's Emma. It was my least favorite of those I read, but probably the best one to re-read.

Onward to Persuasion . . .
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Re: New now reading

Postby Snarfyguy » 07 Feb 2018, 03:19

Very Stable Baron wrote:Yesterday I finished Austen's Emma. It was my least favorite of those I read, but probably the best one to re-read.

Onward to Persuasion . . .

Haven't read her in decades, but I recall deciding the ones with one-word titles were awful and the rest were good. Best of luck!
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Re: New now reading

Postby copehead » 07 Feb 2018, 09:45

Harvey K-Tel wrote:You need to loosen up, man.

For one thing, that quote on the cover is a blurb, not an aphorism, and for another, if you can't understand the idea of the distillation of prose then I don't think it's worth discussing modern literature with you.

Sail on.


It wasn't a problem of comprehension of what was written it was thinking that it was bloody awfully written and not a good way to sell your book.

And I am glad you thought its pretensions to aphorism failed too.
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Re: New now reading

Postby mission » 07 Feb 2018, 12:25

Read again what Harvey wrote. You aren't getting it quite right. Well, at all right, actually.

I know it's not in the Copehead playbook, but occasionally it pays to admit you may have come into error and then gracefully move on.
Goodness gracious me.

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Re: New now reading

Postby KeithPratt » 07 Feb 2018, 12:42

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Curious debut novel weaving about an 80 year old female protagonist reflecting on growing up during WW2. A bit of a page-turner.

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Re: New now reading

Postby copehead » 07 Feb 2018, 13:15

mission wrote:Read again what Harvey wrote. You aren't getting it quite right. Well, at all right, actually.

I know it's not in the Copehead playbook, but occasionally it pays to admit you may have come into error and then gracefully move on.


I read what he wrote, I disagree. It is confused, confusing and has put me off a book I probably wouldn't touch with a bargepole anyway, because it obviously thinks it is cleverer than it actually is if they think that that is a good blurb.

Whisky rather than beer is pretty mundane or even downright hackneyed, it clunks badly enough, to then shove in something about double distilling, even as a metaphor for aphorism writing, just adds further clunking, why double distilling instead of distilling?

The whole thinks clunks like an old car, I hate it and telling me I have misunderstood something that is that banal and easy to understand shows that you do not understand what I am saying; so I will waste no more time with people who think that that crap is good writing, you obviously neither know anything about good, pithy writing and that book is probably about your level. Good day.
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Re: New now reading

Postby mission » 07 Feb 2018, 13:41

I didn't say it was good writing. In fact, I rather agree with you that it is poor writing.

I just said you should reread what Harvey wrote. He said the blurb was just blurb and had no pretensions toward the aphoristic.

You leapt, as is your way, to a conclusion about what Harvey was saying that was (a) incorrect and (b) actually designed to further your own specious, ill-advised and cranky arguments (again, as is your wont).

You did it again when you dismissed what I had to say. You imagined I was commenting on the literary quality of some shitty bumf and then used the fruit of your imagination against me.

There was nothing technically wrong with the blurb's alcoholic metaphor. It is a small piece of promotional writing, not a sample of or indication of the contents of the book itself.

You are more than welcome to literally judge a book by its cover, but don't imagine you can bluster over your mistakes with tales of your trip to a distillery (just the sort of appeal to authority or pretence at expertise dickrashes like you so love) when everyone who has paid attention realises you just fucked up a bit.

Over nothing of any importance.

Sail, as the man said, on.
Goodness gracious me.

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Re: New now reading

Postby harvey k-tel » 07 Feb 2018, 14:41

Remind me to not post pictures of book covers with editorially questionable blurbs on them.

For fuck's sake.
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Re: New now reading

Postby Snarfyguy » 07 Feb 2018, 15:20

The Modernist wrote:
The Modernist wrote:Image

Quite enjoying this. At times it gets a bit swamped in detail, but he certainly knows his stuff. Maybe lacking a bit in the kind of insights a Reynolds or Savage would've bought to the table, but overall very good so far.


I've finished this now. If ever a book needed a good editor it was this; it was unclear to me what some of the chapters were even meant to be about. It needed a far firmer sense of purpose and clarity.

That's not very "psychedelic" of you. :x

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Re: New now reading

Postby Jimbo » 08 Feb 2018, 04:25

Image

Cowboy adventure as I like it with grit, guts and gore.
Question authority.

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Re: New now reading

Postby toomanyhatz » 08 Feb 2018, 05:21

Finally getting to this one, which pillowz recommended at least 5 years ago now:

Image

Undecided on the whole, but interesting story, certainly. His writing style can be a bit jumpy - varies between over and under-description - but there may be emotional reasons for that which are not yet evident. I'm curious to see where it goes, and I am hooked in.
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Re: New now reading

Postby Darkness_Fish » 08 Feb 2018, 17:40

toomanyhatz wrote:Finally getting to this one, which pillowz recommended at least 5 years ago now:

Image

Undecided on the whole, but interesting story, certainly. His writing style can be a bit jumpy - varies between over and under-description - but there may be emotional reasons for that which are not yet evident. I'm curious to see where it goes, and I am hooked in.

I loved that book, I think it's probably Auster's best, though 4 3 2 1 was pretty magnificent. His writing on the subject of the fictional silent films is absolutely stunning. I do seem to have a thing for this kind of subject though, early 20th century entertainment such as music hall, silent cinema, etc, it seems to fascinate me in fiction. It's a bit odd, because I'm not particularly interested in the actuality of these things.
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Re: New now reading

Postby Darkness_Fish » 08 Feb 2018, 17:40

Not started yet, but it's next up:

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Re: New now reading

Postby toomanyhatz » 08 Feb 2018, 18:17

Darkness_Fish wrote:
toomanyhatz wrote:Image


His writing on the subject of the fictional silent films is absolutely stunning. I do seem to have a thing for this kind of subject though, early 20th century entertainment such as music hall, silent cinema, etc, it seems to fascinate me in fiction. It's a bit odd, because I'm not particularly interested in the actuality of these things.


His writing is so good that I don't quite buy the narrator's suggestion that he had never been interested in the subject before, but I also suspect that he might be a somewhat unreliable narrator. And, I'm assuming, part of "illusion" of the title is how and where he finds himself in whatever he's working on, in ways that aren't necessarily obvious to him, let alone the reader. It's just a little jarring at first to see him claim he knows very little about something and then write about it brilliantly.
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Re: New now reading

Postby copehead » 09 Feb 2018, 00:34

mission wrote:I didn't say it was good writing. In fact, I rather agree with you that it is poor writing.

I just said you should reread what Harvey wrote. He said the blurb was just blurb and had no pretensions toward the aphoristic.

You leapt, as is your way, to a conclusion about what Harvey was saying that was (a) incorrect and (b) actually designed to further your own specious, ill-advised and cranky arguments (again, as is your wont).

You did it again when you dismissed what I had to say. You imagined I was commenting on the literary quality of some shitty bumf and then used the fruit of your imagination against me.

There was nothing technically wrong with the blurb's alcoholic metaphor. It is a small piece of promotional writing, not a sample of or indication of the contents of the book itself.

You are more than welcome to literally judge a book by its cover, but don't imagine you can bluster over your mistakes with tales of your trip to a distillery (just the sort of appeal to authority or pretence at expertise dickrashes like you so love) when everyone who has paid attention realises you just fucked up a bit.

Over nothing of any importance.

Sail, as the man said, on.


I haven't really got a major issue with what Harvey said, I just disagree with him on it.

And I disagree with you as well; the alcohol metaphor is both hackneyed and confused and putting it on the front of a book of supposedly well turned aphorisms is therefore rather ill advised.

I don't think I actually made any mistakes, I had a subjective opinion about a poorly turned phrase.

I know you would dearly love me to fuck up but you are a colonial and I am a native speaker who got an A in O level English so it is unlikely to happen and even less likely that you would spot it if it did.

Keep hoping.
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Re: New now reading

Postby copehead » 09 Feb 2018, 00:35

Harvey K-Tel wrote:Remind me to not post pictures of book covers with editorially questionable blurbs on them.

For fuck's sake.


Will do.

Reading it just made me ridiculously agitated for some reason :(
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Re: New now reading

Postby copehead » 09 Feb 2018, 00:43

K wrote:
Harvey K-Tel wrote:Remind me to not post pictures of book covers with editorially questionable blurbs on them.

For fuck's sake.

Quite funny to watch Copehead dance his dance, though:

"It says beer is distilled!"

"No, it says whiskey is distilled."

"Yes, I know, it's just a dreadful aphorism."

"It's not one of the aphorisms, it's just blurb."

"Yes, I know, it's bad writing!!"


Christ you can't read either.

Why are their so many people who can't follow a simple argument on a thread about the appreciation of literature?

You obviously have the comprehension skills of child if you think that is what I meant.

And for your information Beer is distilled, it is how you make Whisky.

It is like living amongst morons sometimes.

It is just a rather confused metaphor because I imagine they realised just a simple whisky/beer analogy would be hackneyed so they tried to gussy it up and just made you think "what the fuck are they doing that for?".

It was just poor writing, but I am not surprised that you didn't think so.
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Re: New now reading

Postby Snarfyguy » 09 Feb 2018, 01:01

Copehead wrote:And for your information Beer is distilled, it is how you make Whisky.

Are you drunk? :)

Anyway, let's move on. Anybody read any good books lately?
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