Suggest a Book for the dissensus book club!

you

Well-known member
OK, suggest books you would like to read as a group and discuss on dissensus.

Not books you have read or are reading.... books you wish to read with other dissensians.

The best / most popular suggestions will go into a poll thread where the final book may be decided. I think this is the most fair way of doing things!

Story of the eye???? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_of_the_Eye
I know someones already read this though!

A Thomas Pynchon Book maybe???

The steppe by Chekov??

Bros Karamazov??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karamazov
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Nice one.
It was me who The Story of the Eye last week and I've read quite a few by Pynchon but I've never read any Dostoevsky and was planning to give him a go next so I would be up for anything by him including Brothers Karamasov.
A few things that I fancy and haven't read are: The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton, The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski, Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, Godlike by Richard Hell, Thief's Journal by Jean Genet....loads more but that's a few to get started.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
The Wikipedia synopsis of Story Of The Eye sounds like a version of the 'Aristocrats' joke.

Edit: as for serious suggestions, I haven't read any Pynchon but would be quite keen to, I've heard good things about him.
 
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you

Well-known member
Simone - "oh, eggselent!"

hehe - Ive never read any bataille, on reading the synopsis properly im not sure if this would be the best way to start??

Bros Karamazov and Pynchon are both big books, Karamazov is considered as maybe his best, ive read 3 of his before but none of his big books.

Pynchon would be good for a forum because there is an online Pynchonwiki that explains his endless references and jokes..

'Against the day' is his latest - wiki - http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

ALthough id love to read both, I think they are both big commitments when considering these are often thought of as "heavy reading"

wow - house of leaves looks good for vaguely similar reasons as pynchon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Leaves
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
ALthough id love to read both, I think they are both big commitments when considering these are often thought of as "heavy reading"
Dunno though, if we're going to do it we might as well do it properly I reckon with something that we can get our teeth in to. Up for Karamasov or maybe Gravity's Rainbow for those very reasons. There would definitely be something to discuss.
That is an "if" though, don't see much point if there are only going to be three of us so it depends if anyone else is going to get involved.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Tried Pynchon once and gave up, confused. Prefer my realism sans magic, i think.

If we're talking Russians, I've heard amazing things about Pale Fire by Nabokov. It's in the form of a poem with a running commentary from a professor who thinks it's all about him. It's "a satire on academic pretentiousness", apparently, which might spark a little something here at Dissensus ;)
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
Tried Pynchon once and gave up, confused. Prefer my realism sans magic, i think.

If we're talking Russians, I've heard amazing things about Pale Fire by Nabokov. It's in the form of a poem with a running commentary from a professor who thinks it's all about him. It's "a satire on academic pretentiousness", apparently, which might spark a little something here at Dissensus ;)

Yeah it's pretty clever, it's a 999 line poem and pages of footnotes. Not as wholeheartedly enjoyable as Lolita imo but still good. Takes unreliable narration to next levels!
 

jenks

thread death
That is an "if" though, don't see much point if there are only going to be three of us so it depends if anyone else is going to get involved.

I hope this gets off the ground - i'm all for it and would be willing to read whatever was suggested. I think Bros K by Dost would take a good couple of weeks but i do like the idea of reading something i know would get discussed.

I'd like to suggest somebody like Conrad - i've read Heart of Darkness, The Secret Agent and something else but have always failed with Nostromo and Lord Jim and i see penguin has just brought out new editions recently with decent font size and proper intros. I'd also be interested in Henry James' Golden Bowl.

On a more contemporary theme i'd like to read some decent modern Japanese fiction.

Finally, I'd like to discover some great contemporary poetry.

However, i think Idle's point above is salutary - how many people are actually going to bother - sorry to sound jaded but i have got kind of worn out with rallying readers round here!
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Well I'm definitely in as long as we've got, say, at least five who will do it.
Who else is in?

"I'd like to suggest somebody like Conrad - i've read Heart of Darkness, The Secret Agent and something else but have always failed with Nostromo and Lord Jim"
I've read all of them except Heart of Darkness so we're not a good fit. But I reckon we should decide we're definitely going to do it and who is in before we decide what to read. Otherwise we'll reject something because it's been read by someone who doesn't even intend to do it.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Well I'm definitely in as long as we've got, say, at least five who will do it.
Who else is in?


I've read all of them except Heart of Darkness so we're not a good fit. But I reckon we should decide we're definitely going to do it and who is in before we decide what to read. Otherwise we'll reject something because it's been read by someone who doesn't even intend to do it.


I'm game subject to certain uncontroversial stipulations: a month or 2's leeway to read it, not 1000 pages long, an 'acknowledged classic' (not to come over too reverent, but there's so many i haven't read (incl Conrad & the Russians) that it might be a good incentive to do so) and not James Joyce (sorry, but just can't bear the thought of it).
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
OK, that's four and presumably You as well so let's do it. I'm off now but will help figure out how to choose something tomorrow.
 

zhao

there are no accidents
someone told me david mitchell's cloud atlas is a good read... think i might pick it up soon unless, of course, dissenssians disaprove :eek:
 

Octopus?

Well-known member
I'm in as well! Don't have much time today to contribute to this discussion, but would love to be a part of it.
 
N

nomadologist

Guest
The Story of the Eye is a better place to start with Bataille than anywhere. The Accursed Share is also good if you like your economics as interpreted by a french literateur in the perv tradition of subversive proto-Queer theorists.
 

petergunn

plywood violin
I hope this gets off the ground - i'm all for it and would be willing to read whatever was suggested. I think Bros K by Dost would take a good couple of weeks but i do like the idea of reading something i know would get discussed.

I'd like to suggest somebody like Conrad - i've read Heart of Darkness, The Secret Agent and something else but have always failed with Nostromo and Lord Jim and i see penguin has just brought out new editions recently with decent font size and proper intros. I'd also be interested in Henry James' Golden Bowl.

i just wanted to put my two cents in that i second the idea of reading someone like Dostevsky, Conrad, Henry James, Gunter Grass... basically all people i have not read or read b/c i had to in school and don't have the willpower to bust thru the first 50 pages or whatever it takes to get hooked by myself...

i don't see the point of reading something like Bataille... again, i've read Story of the Eye, it's cute, but

a) i don't really have much to say about it
b) it can be read in an afternoon

i'd rather have like a support group in slogging thru some 400 page classic, but that's just me and my lazyness...
 
N

nomadologist

Guest
Henry James is a really good idea. The rest I have read like a million times. (I have read Golden Bowl but you can always read Henry James novels more than once. You sort of have to...)

I really wish there were some kind of group that would recommend something I haven't read that I will think of as "great" like Dosteovsky, Borges, etc.

Has everyone here read Heinrich Boell? I always loved Group Portrait with Lady
 
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