I'm a big fan of the blog Outer Life, and I'm digging his past three posts on books he should have liked but didn't. I'm right there with him on Stranger in a Strange Land, and haven't yet dared to pick up Gravity's Rainbow for fear I won't have discriminating enough taste to like it.
The series of posts made me think of Godel Escher Bach, which is a book that almost every smart person I know has says they've read and liked, but that no smart person I know has actually finished. If you have read the thing cover to cover, I salute you. If you haven't read it at all, I heartily recommend the first third, which is as far as I ever got.
what makes it so hard to finish do you think?
Posted by: Shara | October 13, 2004 at 09:58 AM
Infinite Jest. Aaaaaaack.
Posted by: Dylan | October 13, 2004 at 10:46 AM
Pynchon is the ultimate literary scam. You know someone is a pretentious clown when you see him on the subway reading Pynchon. I did like Stranger in a Strange Land ... when I was a 15 year old pothead in the 1970s!!
Posted by: Rufus | October 13, 2004 at 09:49 PM
Just a quick note. I've really loved reading your blog over the last 7 months or so. I just started law school so I haven't read your posts in a few weeks, but coming back tonight has been like a breath of fresh air. After spending 6 days a week with "gunners", its great to reassure myself that lawyers can be mature, intelligent, well-rounded, funny, creative, and even fun to be around!
Thanks.
Posted by: AdamP | October 14, 2004 at 01:20 AM
I read it cover to cover, about 10 years ago. As I recall (with non-negligible probability that I'm recalling incorrectly), what made it difficult was it starts out with a Discover/Scientific American style, but becomes increasingly textbook like the further you get. So you pick it up thinking it'll be a fun read, and before long find yourself saying to yourself: "Remind me why am I'm reading this pseudo-textbook again?"
Now you've got me wanting to reread it...
Posted by: Jeff | October 14, 2004 at 07:52 AM
Yup, that's me. I think I got halfway. But come on, man, it's huge! And you'd think it'd be right up my alley... engineer/love to read/fat Russian literature doesn't scare me... but no. Eh, whatever. But, as you said, I _did_ enjoy the half that I read.
Posted by: anticontradiction | October 16, 2004 at 12:20 AM