What are you reading

[gp]

I did buy a copy of Hopeful Monsters from a used bookstore when I was
stuck in Cambridge for five hours waiting for my bicycle to be fixed.
Has anyone read this?  Even though I had all that time I only got 41
pages in...  and I've got to say I'm not entirely inclined to keep
going other than the encouragement from those blurbs on the back
cover.  It's... ok.  But so far it's been sort of overly cheesy.

On another note, so far, Europe Central is making me re-think my
critiques of Vollmann's fiction.  Around 100 pages in, but then again,
at that point into The Royal Family I might have said the same thing,
so we'll see.  I notice a good deal of mention to V-rockets and
rockets in general so far though.  Regardless - primarily original,
though influences noticed (now - here's a question - can a work be
truly original if its influences are worn nearly on its sleeve?  I
didn't notice it with GR, or Ulysses, or The Recognitions, but though
I consider myself a well-read person perhaps it's just because I
haven't read whatever influenced those authors).  In any case, this
book so far seems to be justification for Vollmann's reputation though
it does get old having the author butt his head in in what seems to be
a manner that does not much other than show /just how smart/ the
author is.  Especially - especially - when the author butts his head
in in the first person, and there's a character in the book who speaks
in the first person.  I can distinguish between the two but it seems
not entirely the best way to go about things.  I am, however, a
skeptical bastard.

While I was moving in a few weeks ago I met some kid who waltzed up
holding a copy of Dhalgren... poked through the first pages of the
book and I know I'm going to want to give it a serious go in the next
year or so.  The Gibson intro was great - I've always been a Gibson
fan but I don't think, before reading that intro, that I realized he
was a bit of a revolutionary-minded person.  I would kind of love to
see Gibson try his hand at some mammoth non-sci-fi-specific novel but
that's just selfishness.

Also, I picked up Guignol's Band by Celine after re-reading Journey to
the End of the Night (come on, try to tell me Heller didn't read that
shit)...  But!  I have got!  To say!...  That the!  Opening!  Sort
of... Turns!  Me off!... But I'll probably keep going anywyas.  The
"..." doesn't bug me at all, in fact I like it and definitely see what
he was going for.  But!  The!  Exclamations!  Kind of!  Screw me up!
In my reading!

I suppose that's my own fault.

On 10/4/06, snappydresser <snappydresser at rogers.com> wrote:
> Mason & Dixon, in preparation.
>
> The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (just bought it tonight).
>
> The Yankee and Cowbow War, by Carl Oglesby (in preparation for an upcoming
> interview with the author).
>
> Cheers!
> YOPJ
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ya Sam" <takoitov at hotmail.com>
> To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 3:34 PM
> Subject: What are you reading
>
>
> > to while away the time before November 21?
> >
> > Me: Lawrence Norfolk, Lempriere's Dictionary
> >
> > Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
> >
> > Gustave Flaubert, Bouvard et Pecuchet
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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>