books books books

[thebosma]

More like "Shrug".

But really it feels more like I'm reading "wacky decisions people make" instead of anything interesting on game theory. I was actually pretty excited to read this one. Thaler just won the Nobel prize for his work in behavioral economics but it is not gripping me yet.

[Tweet]

My friend went to the Parquet Courts show last week and ended up giving me the copy of the Empty Bottle book he got there since I'd enjoy it more. He's right, I'm super excited to flip through it. So that was pretty neat. Anybody here picked it up?

Also I'm reading James Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room" that I picked up on a whim a month ago. Only through the first part but it's sucked me in so far

[zircona1]

I'm currently reading John Darnielle's Universal Harvester. Halfway through and it's not as good as Wolf in White Van.

[irvred]

That's what I've heard. Still been meaning to read it though. My book consumption has stalled because I've been stuck on Gravity's Rainbow for like two months and am too stubborn to take a break.

[Tweet]

Nov 20, 2017 11:18:38 GMT -6 zircona1 said:

I'm currently reading John Darnielle's Universal Harvester. Halfway through and it's not as good as Wolf in White Van.

Need to get this one picked up sometime too

[Deleted]

i have a copy if you'd like to borrow it.

[Tweet]

I probably will soon-ish, thanks! Gotta get through Baldwin and the Disaster Artist, which I've never read but obviously need to before the film comes out

[dij22]

Nov 20, 2017 11:07:34 GMT -6 Tweet said:

Also I'm reading James Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room" that I picked up on a whim a month ago. Only through the first part but it's sucked me in so far

Might be a top-5 novel for me.


You will go home and then you will find that home is not home anymore. Then you will really be in trouble. As long as you stay here, you can always think: "One day I will go home".

[sthubbins]

I started reading "Levels of the Game" by John McPhee yesterday. It's very short

[jazzpolice]

Finished this yesterday, it's excellent.

Just ordered Call Me By Your Name. Hope to finish it before I see the film.

[Tweet]

Finally (finally!) finished Meet Me in the Bathroom which I started just after Christmas. What a good book, and I learned a lot about a lot of that scene and pretty much all the bands that I listen and still listen to. Highly recommended for all y'all

[facts]

It's a great read. I found the linkage of The National and Vampire Weekend to be pretty tenuous but hey I get that they have books to sell.

[Tweet]

Yeah there were a couple parts that were a bit draggy but for being 600 pages I found it to be an engaging read all the way. I understand that DRA is mad about it but whatever, it's a history

[facts]

I feel like DRA and James Murphy come across 100% on brand throughout in the book. And not in a flattering way.

[Tweet]

Yeah but you kind of get the feeling that at least it's all authentic. Like the Murphy-Goldsworthy beef basically makes everyone look silly, though I'll concede I've never broken up a partnership like that before. And DRA is, well, DRA.

The one thing that kind of annoyed me was that everyone seemed to be repeating the echo that "The Strokes never got as big as they should've been". Which may be true, but, I guarantee that if The Strokes announced a show anywhere in the world tomorrow it would sell out in less than 2 minutes. And not because the scalpers and bots got all the tickets either.

[facts]

I think the sentiment there is that history probably vastly underrates the influence that the Strokes had on music and culture. Like you can't even make a binary comparison of the popularity between the Strokes and KOL because the latter is so derivative of the former.

Important note - my phone originally autocorrected KOL to LOL

[irvred]

I've been meaning to read that but for real they argue The Strokes need MORE success??

I keep forgetting we have this thread. I've been reading Pynchon to the point where I think I'm a less-tolerable and all-around worse person for it. Finished Gravity's Rainbow at the start of the year and then plowed through The Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice. Now I'm 150 pages into V and it may be my least favorite so far.

[andrewvb]

i was surprised they didnt delve into more of the brooklyn scene

[Deleted]

Mar 7, 2018 17:54:41 GMT -6 irvred said:

I've been meaning to read that but for real they argue The Strokes need MORE success??

I keep forgetting we have this thread. I've been reading Pynchon to the point where I think I'm a less-tolerable and all-around worse person for it. Finished Gravity's Rainbow at the start of the year and then plowed through The Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice. Now I'm 150 pages into V and it may be my least favorite so far.

hell yeah

[zircona1]

Mar 7, 2018 17:01:54 GMT -6 Tweet said:

Finally (finally!) finished Meet Me in the Bathroom which I started just after Christmas. What a good book, and I learned a lot about a lot of that scene and pretty much all the bands that I listen and still listen to. Highly recommended for all y'all

Oh hey I'm currently reading that. It's good so far, I agree that James Murphy comes off as kind of a dick. 

[facts]

I feel like the Brooklyn scene was covered pretty respectfully in a proper context. You can tell the author had to balance giving the publishers what they thought would sell and being able to tie the narrative threads altogether in a consistent manner.

[Tweet]

Mar 7, 2018 18:25:37 GMT -6 facts said:

I feel like the Brooklyn scene was covered pretty respectfully in a proper context. You can tell the author had to balance giving the publishers what they thought would sell and being able to tie the narrative threads altogether in a consistent manner.

SPOILER: Click to show

The last chapter where everyone kind of shits on what Brooklyn has become now is hilarious

[alady]

Hot take: the Strokes suck

In a Patti Smith rut, recently finished M Train and just started Devotion

[Tweet]

[alady]

I mean are they arguing that the Strokes are somehow not terribly derivative and unoriginal themselves?

[thebosma]

More like The Sucks am I right

[thebosma]

Also I’ve been reading an assload of articles about healthcare incentives. I’m ready to be done in school and reading for pleasure. I have like 10 books on my shelf ready to read

[andrewvb]

Mar 7, 2018 19:23:15 GMT -6 alady said:

I mean are they arguing that the Strokes are somehow not terribly derivative and unoriginal themselves?

it was more that the strokes were kind of a shot in the arm of a dead nyc rock scene, and then a bunch of other bands started doing the same thing because of the strokes. it's more regional, not that the strokes invented that kind of music but they revitalized it, made it fit their strengths, and made it popular again in their lower manhattan scene.

[Tweet]

Mar 7, 2018 19:23:15 GMT -6 alady said:

I mean are they arguing that the Strokes are somehow not terribly derivative and unoriginal themselves?

No they're saying that they're the first (but not necessarily the biggest or even the best) band to come out of NYC out of the 9/11 era boom, which was the first new "scene" that gained any traction since Ramones-era and, along with the success of other bands of the era (Interpol, YYYs, and kinda-sorta TV on the Radio along with the DFA house, led to A. the explosion of Brooklyn bands at the tail end of the decade (Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, MGMT, etc.) and B. The New York-ificiation of the world and subsequently making it a global cultural hub that other cities began picking up on

They also had a bar run out of a dude's basement called Motherfucker which was cool

Edit: get the fuck outta here avb

[goodson]

is this it is like the greatest album