Anathem by Neal Stephenson

[monique1971]

Has anyone else read this? I finished it a couple of days ago and can't stop thinking about it.

 

[WeedSmoke420]

nope..

 

[pete]

hadn't heard of it, but the description looks interesting.
reminds me of umberto eco's work

i'll check it out, thanks

 

[Recidiva]

Just bought it on Audible. Like I need an excuse to get another book... I'll start listening!

 

[monique1971]

Just bought it on Audible. Like I need an excuse to get another book... I'll start listening!

You may not be able to stop listening! I stayed up until 3 am one night reading this book. I almost never do that anymore.

 

[Recidiva]

You may not be able to stop listening! I stayed up until 3 am one night reading this book. I almost never do that anymore.

Very cool! Thank you, I'm always happy for an opportunity for someone to be smart at me.

The last book that hit me that hard was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Then In The Woods by Tana French.

Audio helps me get them done much faster than when I'm sitting still, because I can do chores at the same time.

 

[Liar]

It's pretty good. Especally the meta story/world history.

 

[Sean]

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=805271&highlight=anathem

 

[KRCummings]

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=805271&highlight=anathem

I've never heard "rare as rocking horse shit" before.

 

[rosco rathbone]

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=805271&highlight=anathem

I'd rather just read the relevant nonfictional works than get my information filtered through his Pynchon/Gaddis/Vollmann trip. If he had an annotated bibilography of all his works, I'd definitely read that.

 

[Sean]

I'd rather just read the relevant nonfictional works than get my information filtered through his Pynchon/Gaddis/Vollmann trip. If he had an annotated bibilography of all his works, I'd definitely read that.

But along with the infodump stuff, he spins a cracking good yarn.

 

[rosco rathbone]

But along with the infodump stuff, he spins a cracking good yarn.

I tried to read some of his stuff and found his tone off putting and intrusive. Patrick Obrian is how to write a cracking yarn that's also a semester's worth of history.

 

[Recidiva]

I tried to read some of his stuff and found his tone off putting and intrusive. Patrick Obrian is how to write a cracking yarn that's also a semester's worth of history.

Partly why audio books work better for me. I have a higher tolerance for boredom that way.

There's no way I'd actually read a lot of the classics, but I slogged through a lot of them in audio. Moby Dick..."jesus this guy likes whales.." Anna Karenina. "Shut up. Stop whining and go join a band of pirates and have some damned fun. I'm depressed."

However, one thing defeats me at every attempt. Ulysses. I hate that book. I've tried reading it at least five different times and even when I bought the damned thing on audio I couldn't tolerate it for more than a few hours before I had to make it go away.

 

[Sean]

I tried to read some of his stuff and found his tone off putting and intrusive. Patrick Obrian is how to write a cracking yarn that's also a semester's worth of history.

Yeah, I like Paddy O'Brian too. Each to their own.

Partly why audio books work better for me. I have a higher tolerance for boredom that way.

There's no way I'd actually read a lot of the classics, but I slogged through a lot of them in audio. Moby Dick..."jesus this guy likes whales.." Anna Karenina. "Shut up. Stop whining and go join a band of pirates and have some damned fun. I'm depressed."

However, one thing defeats me at every attempt. Ulysses. I hate that book. I've tried reading it at least five different times and even when I bought the damned thing on audio I couldn't tolerate it for more than a few hours before I had to make it go away.

Don't get me started. I've maintained for a long time that Joyce was wearing an emperor suit.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Partly why audio books work better for me. I have a higher tolerance for boredom that way.

There's no way I'd actually read a lot of the classics, but I slogged through a lot of them in audio. Moby Dick..."jesus this guy likes whales.." Anna Karenina. "Shut up. Stop whining and go join a band of pirates and have some damned fun. I'm depressed."

However, one thing defeats me at every attempt. Ulysses. I hate that book. I've tried reading it at least five different times and even when I bought the damned thing on audio I couldn't tolerate it for more than a few hours before I had to make it go away.

For some reason I have a serious block against the disembodied human voice. I hate when talk radio, or NPR or anything with talking voices is on the background, because I can't focus on anything else, and you're forced to go at the pace of the speaker.

I got through Ulysses by main force, at the beach. I had seven days, I divided the book into seven equal sections, put a numbered index card in each one, went to the beach every day and lay there reading until I hit my mark. Did I "understand" or "enjoy" it: no. But my eyes touched every damn word.

 

[KRCummings]

Yeah, I like Paddy O'Brian too. Each to their own.


Don't get me started. I've maintained for a long time that Joyce was wearing an emperor suit.

I've never read O'Brian although I've been told countless times that I need to.
All the people who hold up Ulysses as one of the all time great novels are liars. Every single one of them. They're just like us and have never read it. Nobody has ever read it. Joyce probably couldn't even finish it. It was required in a class in college and I'd bet a million dollars not one single person in that class read it including the prof.
Fuck him.

 

[Recidiva]

Don't get me started. I've maintained for a long time that Joyce was wearing an emperor suit.

I'm already there. I read article after article...the book was chosen as the book of the millennium, and I really don't think the shredded pages are worthy to serve as kitty litter.

But...I'm not shocked when I don't agree with the consensus any more. I will take repeated stabs at getting it sometimes, like in this case, but ultimately...I think it's pretentious crap.

 

[Recidiva]

For some reason I have a serious block against the disembodied human voice. I hate when talk radio, or NPR or anything with talking voices is on the background, because I can't focus on anything else, and you're forced to go at the pace of the speaker.

I got through Ulysses by main force, at the beach. I had seven days, I divided the book into seven equal sections, put a numbered index card in each one, went to the beach every day and lay there reading until I hit my mark. Did I "understand" or "enjoy" it: no. But my eyes touched every damn word.

I can't stand the radio. I can't listen to it without starting to talk back at it. I do better with podcasts, but so much radio is just pure spin (yes, even NPR) and I get distracted and irritable and start arguing with the disembodied voices.

You are a more determined scholar than I. My condolences. I do recognize a poetic fluidity to it, as I do with Moby Dick. But...so what? There's lots of poetically fluid stuff that isn't intensely boring and/or offensive.

 

[Recidiva]

Oh! Sean! It just occurred to me.

I did go through the whole Name of the Wind series in audio. I really liked it. The author reminded me a bit of Piers Anthony. Problem oriented and solution oriented. A little repetitive sometimes, there was a point where I didn't really want to hear one more word about his money troubles...but a really good series overall.

 

[gravyrug]

I read Anathem a few years ago, and loved it. I've liked all of Stephenson's stuff, although the Baroque Cycle was one I could take or leave. My favorite's still Diamond Age, though.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Oh, yes, I love Stephenson. Have you read his latest, Reamde? Not exactly SF, but typically cerebral and typically action-packed.

 

[Recidiva]

I love the word "mystagogue." I thought he'd made it up, but it's a real word.

 

[Fata Morgana]

Very cool! Thank you, I'm always happy for an opportunity for someone to be smart at me.

The last book that hit me that hard was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Then In The Woods by Tana French.

Audio helps me get them done much faster than when I'm sitting still, because I can do chores at the same time.

I read the Tana French one a few months back. Liked it a lot.

 

[Laurel]

I'd rather just read the relevant nonfictional works than get my information filtered through his Pynchon/Gaddis/Vollmann trip. If he had an annotated bibilography of all his works, I'd definitely read that.

I love Vollmann's** fictional stuff as well as his nonfiction. Just finished Poor People last week.

For some reason I have a serious block against the disembodied human voice. I hate when talk radio, or NPR or anything with talking voices is on the background, because I can't focus on anything else, and you're forced to go at the pace of the speaker.

I don't like audiobooks because words hit my brain differently when my read them versus when I hear them. I read a book of short stories recently where I was halfway through the first one before I realized I'd heard the whole compilation on an audiobook during a road trip with relatives years ago. The words read so differently than they were heard by me that it wasn't until the plot more fully formed that I realized I knew it.


**[size=-2]bragging bit: I met him btw. Several times. Had lunch and stuff. But I don't love him because I met him - I met him because I love his writing.[/size]

_

 

[Recidiva]

I read the Tana French one a few months back. Liked it a lot.

I love her. The first two, In the Woods an The Likeness were the best. The last two Faithful Place and Broken Harbor are still worth reading but aren't as good in my opinion. But I've run through the whole series four times in the past six months sooo...clearly I dig the chick.

Gotta love that woman's banter.

The audio versions are really good because I get to hear the Irish pronunciation. I'd never heard Slainte said out loud.

Slan-chah? Really? Coool.

Plus, hard pear cider is yummy.