GallonOMilk
Member
I just finished a several-month-long reading of the Complete Works of Charles Dickens. Reading through those books has made me a better, faster reader and a better writer. They truly are amazing works and all memorable stories in their own right. My favorites would have to be Nicholas Nickleby and Old Curiosity Shop.
I just recently started my fourth re-read of Gravity's Rainbow:
By far the best book I have ever read. There is just so much in this book. Hundreds of characters, some of which are introduced with 30 pages of fanfare and then forgotten about forever, while others are mentioned in passing and end up becoming the most important characters in the story. It jumps around everywhere and talks about so many different things, leaves you confused, lost, and almost always enjoying yourself. It's a book that you can read 20 times over and still not fully understand, yet you enjoy each new reading because you get something completely different out of it. A good part of this book was written while the author was under the influence of hallucinogenic substances, and that just makes it all the better. It contains everything - mystery, history, romance, perversion, insanity, conspiracy, engineering, math, and fantasy. You can analyze this book forever and find a different meaning in each passage, each time you look at it.
It's definitely a very polarizing book. People either think it's the best book of all time or hate it with a passion. I fall into the former camp and will keep rereading it every few months until I die.
If you do plan to pick it up, keep in mind that it's a book best read slowly, methodically, and persistently. If the first readthrough doesn't take you 3 months, then you probably did it wrong. It's best to read it while reading another book and only pick it up every other day or so. You'll get more out of it that way.
Edit: Oh, and if you aren't interested enough already, the overarching story is about a guy who lives in London during WWII and gets erections in various locations that are, in the next few hours, hit by a German V2 Rocket.
I just recently started my fourth re-read of Gravity's Rainbow:
By far the best book I have ever read. There is just so much in this book. Hundreds of characters, some of which are introduced with 30 pages of fanfare and then forgotten about forever, while others are mentioned in passing and end up becoming the most important characters in the story. It jumps around everywhere and talks about so many different things, leaves you confused, lost, and almost always enjoying yourself. It's a book that you can read 20 times over and still not fully understand, yet you enjoy each new reading because you get something completely different out of it. A good part of this book was written while the author was under the influence of hallucinogenic substances, and that just makes it all the better. It contains everything - mystery, history, romance, perversion, insanity, conspiracy, engineering, math, and fantasy. You can analyze this book forever and find a different meaning in each passage, each time you look at it.
It's definitely a very polarizing book. People either think it's the best book of all time or hate it with a passion. I fall into the former camp and will keep rereading it every few months until I die.
If you do plan to pick it up, keep in mind that it's a book best read slowly, methodically, and persistently. If the first readthrough doesn't take you 3 months, then you probably did it wrong. It's best to read it while reading another book and only pick it up every other day or so. You'll get more out of it that way.
Edit: Oh, and if you aren't interested enough already, the overarching story is about a guy who lives in London during WWII and gets erections in various locations that are, in the next few hours, hit by a German V2 Rocket.
I just finished Consider Phlebas last night, loved it, though I want to kill Aviger for messing up, twice! fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
