Comments on: Throwing in the Towel

By: DJ Cayenne

DJ Cayenne — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:01:49 +0000

Yikes. Thanks for the imagery. I ordered old school from Amazon today. At under $2 used it would be difficult to go wrong. It seems like its right up my alley.

By: Len

Len — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:01:32 +0000

Frankly, the thought of Alan Greenspan making time with anyone is a pretty grisly thought. The question is, was he capable of raising her interest rates?

By: DJ Cayenne

DJ Cayenne — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:01:15 +0000

Shaft, if you follow what I’m saying, if you put the book on the shelf just to impress your friends, I am going to come over and call you an asshole.

Len, thanks for the Wolff recommendation. It looks like an interesting read.

Speaking of Ayn, Alan Greenspan is rumored to have made the time with Ms. Rand. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.

By: Shaft

Shaft — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:00:58 +0000

I think that seals the deal. First of all, you know I have no problem mouthing off without all the facts. Secondly, you just told me in about fifty words that Ayn Rand blows — I don’t need to garner further support for that by spending the time to have her prove it in another ten billion words. I think I’ll buy the Cliff Notes so that I can have a more informed opinion. As for the actual book, though, I think I’ll just place it right back on the bookshelf to impress visitors.

By: Len

Len — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:00:07 +0000

You can also read “Old School” by Tobias Wolff. Ayn Rand appears as a minor character, and he gives the reader a good idea of Ayn whole gestalt.

By: DJ Cayenne

DJ Cayenne — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 01:58:14 +0000

Shaft, this will hurt to hear, but you must finish “Atlas Shrugged”. Here’s why: when you hear someone say that they love Ayn Rand you will have an informed and text-based reason to tell them, politely yet firmly, that they are an asshole. Otherwise you’re just mouthing off without all the facts.

By: Shaft

Shaft — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 01:57:57 +0000

On the topic of throwing in the towel, I need some advice. My mother-in-law got me “Atlas Shrugged” for my birthday last spring, and I started it a week or so ago. It’s a pretty daunting book, and I’m nervous because I generally read for no more than fifteen or twenty minutes a day (which means I won’t be posting again until 2011). My question to you guys is whether this book will be that fulfilling if I read it at this pace. I’m not even a hundred pages into it and I’ve already forgotten some of the stuff that’s happened. Can I make it another 1000+ pages?

By: DJ Cayenne

DJ Cayenne — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 01:57:41 +0000

Sally – I’m sorry to hear that this one hasn’t worked out for you. It’s interesting, I’ve heard several people lately comment that it took them years to put away a book that they didn’t like and move on to something else. It’s incredibly hard to do (I can’t do it yet). So hat’s off for getting out early.

In another post I mentioned that I was a Murakami fan after reading only one of his books – “Kafka on the Shore”. That book did not have a happy “western ending” – so I wouldn’t be optomistic about this one. What I’ve read about Murakami that I found interesting is that he is apparently heavily critized by the Japanese literary community for making his books too western and turning his back on the Japanese tradition. What I liked about “Kafka” is how foreign its imagery and style were while being relatable to a western reader. It was also incredibly bizarre, but not as bizarre as, say, Pynchon.

It wasn’t a totally wasted read though. You’ve helped me narrow down my next Murakami book (Wind-Up vs. Norwegian Wood) – Norwegian Wood it is.

[also — I am out of town keeping up with things on my sister-in-law’s laptop. My graphic resources are limited - I’ll finish formating your post when I get back to civilization]