The Book Thread Book • Page 31

I just finished A Clockwork Orange and thought it was great. I haven't seen the film and honestly didn't really know much about it going in, so I was expecting a lot of shocking things (which of course there was) but didn't necessarily expect the thoughtfulness.

I hear there's a couple of different endings out there there (US/UK) and the UK which I read has a more optimistic end. Is there anyone who knows about both that can explain how different they are?

 

so far that's the only Hemingway I've actually enjoyed. Hated The Sun Also Rises, and couldn't get through The old Man and The Sea, though I've been meaning to re-try that one.
I definitely viewed Moveable a feast as being more about the people arose jd Hemingway than as about Hemingway himself, and really enjoyed that aspect.

 

damn....I love The Sun Also Rises. my favorite of his

 

I absolutely loved The Sun Also Rises (finished it in almost one sitting over the course of a few hours one night) and For Whom the Bell Tolls. I also enjoyed his Complete Short Stories collection. Hated The Old Man and the Sea, tolerated A Farewell to Arms and disliked A Moveable Feast.

I rarely reread books but as much as I loved Tolls and Rises, I will never go back to reread them for fear of hating them on the next go round haha. A Moveable Feast was the last Hemingway book I had any interest in reading and I'm glad it and he are done and out of the way. Maybe I just read him too much over the last three years, but I could not fathom tolerating another page of super basic prose of him rambling about what he ate and drank at some fucking pub ever again.

 

The original US print omitted the 21st chapter, so the book ends on the insinuation that Alex is released and returns to his old ways. Kind of gives a more sinister tone to the entire story. The movie also ends there because that's the version of the book that was adapted. IIRC, the 21st chapter has since been re-added to US publications.

Definitely one of my favorite books. That last chapter is so impactful that I can't imagine reading it for the first time without it, haha.

 

That makes sense, thanks for the info. Definitely think the final chapter gives the story a better sense of closure.

 

I should give Sun another go. I read it as an assignment in high school, while I read and enjoyed Feast after college. They seem to have pretty similar settings and stories, so maybe I'll like it better when I'm not reading it because I have to.

 

@Vivatoto did you like Disappearance at Devil's Rock? Just bought it and I think my s/o may have lost my copy of Head Full of Ghosts before I had the chance to start it so I've no idea what to expect

 

Yes, I loved it even more than Head Full of Ghosts. It has the same sort of horror but not full on horror vibe of HFOG. It's a tug at your heartstrings sort of story, maybe compare it to Joyland. I believe I gave it 5/5 on goodreads

 

I started The Sun Also Rises yesterday. About halfway through and I'm definitely enjoying it. A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea are both among my all-time favorites so I'm not too surprised. I also finished A Drink Before the War yesterday and am excited to read more Lehane.

 

How did A Drink Before the War end up for you?

 

First world problems: only read 3 books in July and I feel terrible about it.

 

I enjoyed it a great deal. I've never really read much from the crime genre but this one sucked me in. Got really attached to Kenzie and Gennaro as well.

 

Me too, plus a graphic novel.

I definitely don't feel terrible about it though. 3 books a month is good for me.

 

This! And it has one my favorite endings of all time. I still think about it from time to time.

 

This is good to hear. I've read 6 of his books now and they have all been great. This is a series I would like to dive in to soon, once I get a little further in the Dark Tower series.

 

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill is on sale (kindle version) at Amazon for 1.99

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NF6Z2K/?tag=absolutepunk-20

 

Took a break from reading Stephen King books and just finished Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters. Started out pretty slow, but ended up being very entertaining. I would recommend giving it a read.

 

Just finished The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker.

If you're into thrillers, murder mysteries, and serial killers I'd definitely recommend it.

 

Insomnia

This was real good. Decided to read this before re-reading volumes 6 & 7 of The Dark Tower and now #7 makes a lot more sense since I didn't know where the fuck Ralph came from or why he was there so, so much. A lot of ideas and a lot of things going on here and a lot of intriguing themes.

1Q84

Well, this sucked. This was 1,157 goddamn pages of almost complete junk. A lot of ideas, but none are fully fleshed out (not that Murakami does this in general) and a story that goes nowhere and is shockingly uninteresting. Doesn't help that this is Murakami's longest book bY FAR. His longest before this was 600 pages. This fucker is twice that length. And was grueling to get through. Took months. Liked if not loved everything else by Murakami, but this was nonsense.

 

Author Removed From New York Times Bestseller List Fires Back at Critics
Some extreme book drama going on right now

 

I finally read 1984 and loved it. The people who decided what books I read in high school fucked up.

 

Haha. I don't think I read this until after high school either.

 

I've talked to so many people that read it from my highschool, I guess I just had a lame teacher. In all fairness, I'm not sure it would have meant anything to me at the time. I like to think it would have gotten me thinking.

 

I read it in high school. But I was homeschooled and got to choose haha