Metal Reviews

Just finished The Great Gatsby, now reading 1812 by Adam Zamoyski.

Thoughts? I had a conversation about it yesterday. I didn't love it when I read it in high school, but reading it in the context of a lit theory course later on made it interesting at best. I feel like Nick is a hard character to relate to and Gatsby's romantic strand is too out there for me to get behind, preventing me from loving it.

One of my best friends is a really flamboyant, outgoing type of person, who often insists on dragging me along to parties I would never visit by myself, and yet he's a romantic who's always into a certain girl he doesn't have a chance with. So I think that personally I could relate very well with the characters in the book. It's only two hundred pages so you ought to give it another shot some day.

I'm sure I will, but I had probably read it three or four times over the course of studying. It's cool, but not for me. I have other Fitzgerald in my boxes, which I might try prior if I ever do, but I think I'm more partial to Hemingway from that time and scene. Was comparing Anthony Bourdain to a modern Hemingway last night. I stand by that.

It's not my kind of time period but I found it an enjoyable read in between all the military history I trawl through. And there's that film coming out soon with what's-his-name that my missus wants to go see with me, so there was a sort of principle involved ;)

Journal article after journal article after journal article.
#killmeplease

I'd really like to get into more reading that isn't academic crap.... ah well, soon enough.

What kind of academic crap?

Finished The Odyssey and now onto Samuel Beckett's Watt.

Characters just keep dying. Who's going to be left for the next one?

I've heard readers of the whole series tend to divide the first 3 books from everything after it for that reason, Wally.

Psychology - writing a thesis atm. Don't get me wrong, I love psych, theory and application is interesting but the actual journal articles are drier than a nun's proverbial.

I find the formatting of social science journal articles really saps the life out of anything that the project might offer. The lit review as a section wholly unto itself crushes my soul. I instantly toss articles aside when their in-text citations reference multiple sources without a direct quote. I'm thinking about things I've written this semester and I do the same thing, but not in such a forced way.

Yep. But hey, they have to justify using qualitative methods, correlations and ultimately esoteric/abstract findings somehow right? I'm doing my lit review atm and it's absolute hell on earth. And if you toss out texts without direct quotes, you really wouldn't enjoy psych articles

And another one falls. Pretty brutal how they clawed at their throat gasping for air. Fuck, this is a good book. Too bad I'm taking my sweet ass time reading it.

You shouldn't have to justify qualitative methods. Plain and simple. Yeah, if you're going to cite something without referring to an idea, you are only name dropping which is a horrible practice.

I finished Samuel Beckett's Watt this morning. It was deeply satisfying, beautiful, and unique and I am in love. New favourite author! Starting The Illiad (readin with a friend) and JR next.

finished Animal Farm yesterday, liked it, but sort of expected to.

bought Through the Looking Glass yesterday, do i need to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to enjoy it, or only to pick up on the finer points? can i start now or should i do the other one first?

I read them both one after the other but I don't remember any especially important overlaps.

Nah, no overlaps. They can be read separately in any order. I never liked them quite as much as Sylvie and Bruno, if you haven't read that one I'd give it a try for sure. Although it's damn near impossible to read without a guide of some sort.

Finished The Magician's Nephew. It was nice but not amazing. Will move on to Lion, Witch, & Wardrobe soonish. Now starting Asimov's The Gods Themselves.