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bobomac2 said:
My favorite law professor was the biggest Deadhead I know. He would frequently drop Dead lyrics into lectures, occasionally wear tie dye under his sport coats and even had a class where he played Cumberland Blues (he taught natural resources and mining law). Hands down one of coolest lawyers you’ll meet.
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Does not compute.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Same thoughts on Naked Lunch - one of the few books I didn't slog through because I wasn't enjoying it.

Gravity's Rainbow - yes, it's difficult. And I read it after The Crying of Lot 49, which was a very enjoyable read.

It also reminds me of Ulysses. Joyce's short stories are accessible and "easy" (I don't mean that as a pejorative, but relative). I was reading Ulysses while traveling abroad and I ran into a Dubliner (we weren't in Ireland). who asked me why I would read that book. It's been about 15 years since I read it and I can't recall much of the "plot". Yet, I can recall the major points of Hemingway, Tom Robbins, Vonnegut, etc. books that I read 20+ years ago in my teens - there's an economy to that writing.

Don't even get me started on David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest - intimidating and remarkable at the same time.

Murakami is interesting - I read Hard-Boiled Wonderland last year after not having read any Murakami in maybe 10 or so years. I actually picked up - and became familiar w/ him through - Kafka on the Shore because of a book review clipping my mother sent me. The review mentioned Prince and, of course, "Kafka" in the title hooked me. I've read that people have read that book dozens of times to unwrap everything. I like Murakami, but....ain't nobody got time for that.
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I very much enjoyed reading that post /\

I ball out rate both Robbins and Vonnegut. I'd say Vonnegut is the ideal author for anyone who wants something short, easy to digest on face value but with loads of depth if you want to dig deeper. Not to mention fully out and about in the asylum. A friend gifted me Gitterbug Perfume a number of years ago now and I think it may still be the best book gift I've ever received.

I think Murakami has become more digestable as he's aged. He's still on top form but it seems a different sort of top form. A bit of a Murakami-lite or Murakami by numbers sort of affair almost. Killing Comendatore is a lovely book but its seems lazy by his standards. Like he knocked it out in the hour between washing the dishes at his Jazz Club and popping out for a run. Still evokes the same 'wish I was in Japan' desire everytime I read him though even at this point.
 
ByersVinyl said:
I also think its a good idea to read the books you really want to read and start at the page turning end of the scale.
Leave the Don de lilos - Moby Dicks etc when your up to full speed. And even then.....
We were discussing Murakami (briefly in the book thread IQ84 - Huge recommendation for a book that whilst large will grab the attention.
But hell there are a Billion books to read - We cant read em all.
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See, I really struggled with 1Q84.. Murakami is great but I realised afterwards that it’s essentially 3 books in 1 and that he released them over an extended period of time. For anyone planning on reading it I would recommend taking a break at the end of each “book” in line with the timeframe that each book was published. There was a lot of repetition that you didn’t need in terms of reminding when you aim to just go cover to cover on the whole volume.
 
Completely agree on Vonnegut for accessible depth.. and he’s entertaining. Neil Gaiman doesn’t have the same deep moral themes but his writing is brilliant and he creates really engaging characters and worlds (with deep connections to real world mythology) and, for anyone who hasn’t read any of his work, I’d highly recommend Anansi Boys as one that hasn’t been converted to a TV show or movie.
 
bobomac2 said:
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I say it will love of course. One of my best friends of all time is a huge Deadhead....like HUGE. Like growing up if we were in his car that's all we listened to. He'd always be like "Oh, this is 10/9/74 [don't know if that's an actual Dead show]" and then proceed to tell me the highlights of it and where Jerry's guitar solos really tickled your balls. His dad's favorites were Van Morrision, Dylan, and the Dead.

He only listened to the Dead to a fault. If we talked about Hendrix, Zep, etc...he was totally lost. If it wasn't Dead, Jerry, or adjacent then he didn't care. Because of him I saw Phil Lesh and Friends, Ratdog, Dark Star Orchestra, etc. numerous times. It wasn't my thing but he's my boy.

Funny enough, he got into a period of playing the banjo (he got remarkably good, remarkably fast) and completely stopped listening to the Dead. I guess he's got a personality like that. He then became obsessed w/ bluegrass and banjo (but specifically J.D. Crowe).

Then, a couple years ago he kind of put down the banjo and now is back to listening to the Dead without reservation. He bought a bunch of taping equipment and follows around DSO taping their shows.

I'm more or less indifferent to the Dead. Nothing good or bad really to say. I enjoy some of it and will put on their stuff sometimes but wouldn't call myself a fan - maybe a hesitant appreciator.

But let's not fool ourselves....the Dead are decidedly uncool. And that's part of their charm. Because to their fans, they're the coolest thing on this hot planet.
 
mudketeer said:
See, I really struggled with 1Q84.. Murakami is great but I realised afterwards that it’s essentially 3 books in 1 and that he released them over an extended period of time. For anyone planning on reading it I would recommend taking a break at the end of each “book” in line with the timeframe that each book was published. There was a lot of repetition that you didn’t need in terms of reminding when you aim to just go cover to cover on the whole volume.
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I didn't feel that ( i dont recall anyhow) - my overriding memory is of loving it - i swallowed it, but i rarely repeat a book (always have 20 new ones on the list).
So I'd be disingenuous to say i will read it again and check back
 
mudketeer said:
Completely agree on Vonnegut for accessible depth.. and he’s entertaining. Neil Gaiman doesn’t have the same deep moral themes but his writing is brilliant and he creates really engaging characters and worlds (with deep connections to real world mythology) and, for anyone who hasn’t read any of his work, I’d highly recommend Anansi Boys as one that hasn’t been converted to a TV show or movie.
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Love Gaiman. Sandman is a great comic. And American Gods is a great read (shows good too). I love his depth of world mythologies. I have not read Anansi Boys but perhaps I'll scoop it up.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Love Gaiman. Sandman is a great comic. And American Gods is a great read (shows good too). I love his depth of world mythologies. I have not read Anansi Boys but perhaps I'll scoop it up.
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I'm trying to recall which of his novels I've read. Definitely the Ocean at the End of the Lane which I thought was absolutely great. And Good Omens which, to my families absolute horror, I wasn't as struck on
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
I say it will love of course. One of my best friends of all time is a huge Deadhead....like HUGE. Like growing up if we were in his car that's all we listened to. He'd always be like "Oh, this is 10/9/74 [don't know if that's an actual Dead show]" and then proceed to tell me the highlights of it and where Jerry's guitar solos really tickled your balls. His dad's favorites were Van Morrision, Dylan, and the Dead.

He only listened to the Dead to a fault. If we talked about Hendrix, Zep, etc...he was totally lost. If it wasn't Dead, Jerry, or adjacent then he didn't care. Because of him I saw Phil Lesh and Friends, Ratdog, Dark Star Orchestra, etc. numerous times. It wasn't my thing but he's my boy.

Funny enough, he got into a period of playing the banjo (he got remarkably good, remarkably fast) and completely stopped listening to the Dead. I guess he's got a personality like that. He then became obsessed w/ bluegrass and banjo (but specifically J.D. Crowe).

Then, a couple years ago he kind of put down the banjo and now is back to listening to the Dead without reservation. He bought a bunch of taping equipment and follows around DSO taping their shows.

I'm more or less indifferent to the Dead. Nothing good or bad really to say. I enjoy some of it and will put on their stuff sometimes but wouldn't call myself a fan - maybe a hesitant appreciator.

But let's not fool ourselves....the Dead are decidedly uncool. And that's part of their charm. Because to their fans, they're the coolest thing on this hot planet.
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Well that's one iteration of a Deadhead and I'll agree - they're the worst kind. Same with other groups that have massive followings. If you haven't noticed, I am a huge Phish fan, but respect that it's not everyone's thing and wouldn't force it on someone. That's sort of what got me into jambands beyond the Dead. I could only listen to so much of the same catalog before branching out into others like Phish, who incorporate so many more genres and influences into their catalog. The Dead has stayed pretty constant over the years, which isn't a bad thing because they're pioneers at what they do, but others have built and expanded on their legacy in much better ways.

But in the context of lawyers and professors, where majority of them are stuck in their own heads over the Statute of Frauds, Rule Against Perpetuities and other pointless black letter law, it was pretty great to meet one that was just a down-to-earth, fun guy. That's all. I've met plenty of shitty Deadheads, and I've met a ton of awesome Deadheads. This one happens to be a badass mining lawyer who takes cases on for no profit. Pigeonholing a whole group based on one person isn't necessarily a good idea.

Also super interesting bit about the banjo; the Dead started out as a bluegrass band, Jerry an exceptional banjo player before even learning how to play guitar. A lot of people think that's why his playing style was so unique. Would think that learning the banjo would be influenced by the Dead, not away from them lol
 
So turns out this local guy I know that's been in the audio/video industry for more than 25 years just started his own company earlier this year. I stumbled upon his business page on Facebook and Instagram last night and now we're talking business. 😀
 
Rowan said:
I also think that age and level of impressionability has something to play in it too. In my teens I loved Kerouac. Just hoovered up everything he put out gleefully. A few year back I picked up The Dhama Bums and it just infuriated me. I just remember thinking 'what is this shit!'. Maybe the idea of reading mass sections of beat is something more suited to a younger mind. Plus the Characters. I remember thinking that Dean Moriarty was a legend when I was younger but as I've aged I've come to see him as less an anti-hero/ anti establishment figurehead and more as a feckless, irresponsible wanker. And I've read the Electric Cool Aid Acid Test and Neal Cassady comes across as a stand up guy... not the total prick that Kerouac portrays him as.

Same with Naked Lunch. I love Junkie but years after first reading... and loving it... I found Naked Lunch to be borderline unreadable garbage when I last picked it up. Honestly, had I not been so aware of the stigma attached to book burners I'd have set fire to the fucker. People say Ulysses is hard going. I'd rather read Joyce while he just makes up language as he goes along than read Naked Lunch again.... although it does feature the best name for a dildo that was later used as a band name ever so there's that I suppose
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Funny, I love beat but also found Naked Lunch difficult and have never fully been into Kerouac novels. I enjoyed Dharma Bums but also read that character as a bit of a jerk while reading it, so I guess I was sort of in between your two readings.

Kesey is my favorite beat novelist. Love Cuckoo but Sometimes a Great Notion is a masterpiece and maybe my favorite book.
 
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bobomac2 said:
Well that's one iteration of a Deadhead and I'll agree - they're the worst kind. Same with other groups that have massive followings. If you haven't noticed, I am a huge Phish fan, but respect that it's not everyone's thing and wouldn't force it on someone. That's sort of what got me into jambands beyond the Dead. I could only listen to so much of the same catalog before branching out into others like Phish, who incorporate so many more genres and influences into their catalog. The Dead has stayed pretty constant over the years, which isn't a bad thing because they're pioneers at what they do, but others have built and expanded on their legacy in much better ways.

But in the context of lawyers and professors, where majority of them are stuck in their own heads over the Statute of Frauds, Rule Against Perpetuities and other pointless black letter law, it was pretty great to meet one that was just a down-to-earth, fun guy. That's all. I've met plenty of shitty Deadheads, and I've met a ton of awesome Deadheads. This one happens to be a badass mining lawyer who takes cases on for no profit. Pigeonholing a whole group based on one person isn't necessarily a good idea.

Also super interesting bit about the banjo; the Dead started out as a bluegrass band, Jerry an exceptional banjo player before even learning how to play guitar. A lot of people think that's why his playing style was so unique. Would think that learning the banjo would be influenced by the Dead, not away from them lol
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I hope I didn't paint my friend as the worst kind of anything. He is fanatical and we rib him for it but he's steady that way. I'm sure his interest w/ the banjo (he prior played guitar) did, in fact, begin with Jerry; however, he goes balls deep in things and he probably didn't consider Jerry an accomplished enough banjo player. I don't mean that as a knock - it's simply a fact. Jerry was certainly competent but he's not holding a candle to the most elite banjo players for technique and I think that's probably what my buddy was looking for.

I've never been huge into jam music but because most of my friends in HS were, I ended up going to a lot of the jam band fests and seeing Phish, moe., Widespread Panic, etc. many, many times. I enjoyed the live shows - good party. Not so much studio albums - although I can still fuck w/ a little Particle and moe.'s Wormwood.

Yes, I'm familiar w/ the Dead's beginnings and heard his banjo playing many times (w/ Grisham mostly). Indeed, if you look at the complexity and precision-timing necessary for the banjo (at least bluegrass banjo), it would make for an interesting cross-over guitar technique. For example, I read once that Mark Knopfler based part of his fingerstyle on the banjo roll (I'm not enough of a fan of his to know if he ever played the actual instrument), but he plays w/ remarkable precision. In fact, I learned the basic techniques of the banjo roll after reading that and it is awesome on the guitar!
 
Rowan said:
I very much enjoyed reading that post /\

I ball out rate both Robbins and Vonnegut. I'd say Vonnegut is the ideal author for anyone who wants something short, easy to digest on face value but with loads of depth if you want to dig deeper. Not to mention fully out and about in the asylum. A friend gifted me Gitterbug Perfume a number of years ago now and I think it may still be the best book gift I've ever received.

I think Murakami has become more digestable as he's aged. He's still on top form but it seems a different sort of top form. A bit of a Murakami-lite or Murakami by numbers sort of affair almost. Killing Comendatore is a lovely book but its seems lazy by his standards. Like he knocked it out in the hour between washing the dishes at his Jazz Club and popping out for a run. Still evokes the same 'wish I was in Japan' desire everytime I read him though even at this point.
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I absolutely loved Jitterbug Perfume as well, but haven't made it though any other Robbins books. Any recommendations on where to go from there?

Vonnegut may be my favorite author at least in terms of how many books of his I adore. So consistently incredible.

Never picked up a Murakami but I need to.
 
dhodo said:
I absolutely loved Jitterbug Perfume as well, but haven't made it though any other Robbins books. Any recommendations on where to go from there?

Vonnegut may be my favorite author at least in terms of how many books of his I adore. So consistently incredible.

Never picked up a Murakami but I need to.
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I know you didn't ask me....

Skinny Legs and All, Another Roadside Attraction, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues...all fantastic; choose any

Then Still Life WIth Woodpecker

Save Half Asleep With Frog Pajamas for clean-up if you still want more

Never read his last two
 
dhodo said:
I absolutely loved Jitterbug Perfume as well, but haven't made it though any other Robbins books. Any recommendations on where to go from there?

Vonnegut may be my favorite author at least in terms of how many books of his I adore. So consistently incredible.

Never picked up a Murakami but I need to.
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I think @Lord Diaper Baby has it pretty well covered but either Skinny Legs, Cowgirls or Still Life with Woodpecker would be my starting point. Probably Still Life first but you're pretty golden with any of those.

Most people start Murakami with either Norwegian Wood or Wind Up Bird Chronicle. My personal favourites are Wild Sheep Chase and Sputnik Sweetheart though.
 
Rowan said:
I think @Lord Diaper Baby has it pretty well covered but either Skinny Legs, Cowgirls or Still Life with Woodpecker would be my starting point. Probably Still Life first but you're pretty golden with any of those.

Most people start Murakami with either Norwegian Wood or Wind Up Bird Chronicle. My personal favourites are Wild Sheep Chase and Sputnik Sweetheart though.
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Still Life is prob a better book to justify to a newer reader than Another Roadside, if I were to revise my list; but I'm biased as Another Roadside was the first Robbins book I read.

Kafka was the first Murakami book I read and piqued my interest enough to read WInd-up Bird (fantastic book). Then I've only read Hard-Boiled, which isn't as great as those other two.
 
Selaws said:
The only Kerouac I have read is On The Road, which was enjoyable but not one I will read again for a while.

Funnily enough, I found the same when reading Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. I might be in the minority here but I vastly prefer The Rum Diary (it's one I read once a year). It was written during the infancy years of Hunter S. Thompson's career and his writing really developed on from it, but I find it to be an incredible read and one which has more interest that the later stuff.
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Kerouac’s Desolation Angels is a wonderful read also. I love Thompson, though like most I prefer the frenetic energy of Fear & Loathing to Rum Diaries but I enjoy everything I have read of his; Hell’s Angels and Fear & Loathing: On The Campaign Trail ‘72 are fun reads as well.
 
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