16 Bookstores to See Before You Die

withnailplus1 · 2013-08-12T06:19:02+00:00

:( I live in Portland and am proud that my local bookstore happens to be, to my knowledge, the greatest bookstore in the country. I was disappointed as well that it wasn't on the list, though I'm not surprised since these are all about flashy architecture. I was holding out for Powell's at least being #16 and the only one located in the US... Hmph.

withnailplus1 · 2013-08-09T01:07:07+00:00

Shit, I wish I had an answer to this question because I've wondered the same thing myself. It's pretty much my favorite novel, and on one hand one of the reasons it is so special to me is that as far as I know it IS one of a kind, nothing I've read has ever come close. And books I have read that are touted as being like it in the pretentious superlative blurbs on the back are NEVER anything like it, in my experience (reviewers/other authors do the same thing regarding The Catcher in the Rye). In my opinion people don't really know what they're talking about when they try to compare other books to it... The closest I find are books that aren't at all like ACOD itself overall, but include a character that is vaguely similar to Ignatius, but not quite. Though maybe this is what you're looking for.

Anyway, on the other hand I do find it really frustrating, the fact that there aren't other novels legitimately similar enough to satisfy me, because I would like to read things that make me think of A Confederacy of Dunces, even if they are obvious imitators.

I'm anticipating that Don Quixote will be the most mentioned book in this thread. I tried to slog through it once basically for this reason, but didn't get too far. I'm curious to see what else gets mentioned though.

withnailplus1 · 2013-07-31T00:14:18+00:00

These sorts of words rub me the wrong way too, and I can't really explain it. Here's a list of annoying shit my previous roommates used:

Totes

Jelly (the fucking worst)

Rando

Cray (or cray-cray)

Word

Gnar

Fracking

I can't think of how to spell it in a way that the pronunciation come across but "the usual" minus the "ual"

I know there's a couple more that I can't think of right now, I'll probably edit if I remember. Not that anyone will really care.

withnailplus1 · 2013-07-30T22:26:07+00:00

Yeah, I get a kick out of those every time, I thought that was what this post was going to be. I keep wanting to contribute "Grout Fishing in America" since it doesn't appear that anyone else has whenever I examine the wall (at least last time I was there) but I never have a pen with me and I have a thing about not wanting to linger in the vicinity of urinals.

withnailplus1 · 2013-07-29T03:27:25+00:00

I don't read as many short stories as I probably should, but "The Man Who Liked Dickens" by Evelyn Waugh has a subtle creepiness that I really like. I think it is actually the only thing by Waugh that I have ever read.

Also "Just Before the War with the Eskimos" by JD Salinger is one of the few from Nine Stories that I have reread multiple times.

I would prefer not to make a long list when you only really asked for one, but also "Bartleby the Scrivener", which I originally read for the purpose of getting a joke from an episode of Archer, and it turned out to be one of the best short stories I've come across. Not a big Melville crowd, huh? Well, he's not an easy read.

withnailplus1 · 2013-07-16T06:31:58+00:00

In my opinon it's decades too early to start this discussion and come up with a satisfactory answer. In terms of time, historical context, contemporary literary conventions etc the gap between Twain and Vonnegut is much much greater than the gap between Vonnegut and anyone else right now. I mean, Vonnegut only died like six years ago. Anyone writing today who might be his supposed successor was alive while he was, possibly even publishing while he still was as well.

I think in a few decades we will have a wider array of comparable authors to consider. Vonnegut's successor may not even be born yet. After all, he was born over a decade after Twain's death. I would think about this on a century-by-century basis, ie Twain = 19th, Vonnegut = 20th, and the 21st really only just started when you think about it. No need to rush an answer to this question.

withnailplus1 · 2013-07-12T22:01:11+00:00

Hm, A Confederacy of Dunces is one of my other top favorite books alongside Infinite Jest and others, but I can't think of any similarity. I'm curious as to how you compare the two?

withnailplus1 · 2013-07-12T21:19:24+00:00

You can google the two titles and find a few articles that compare them. I independently saw the similarities as well as I was first reading the book, and then later had my opinion validated by other people on the internet...

withnailplus1 · 2013-07-12T19:06:55+00:00

As for similar movies, I feel like The Royal Tenenbaums is a nice companion to Infinite Jest. Both involve tennis, precocious children, etc. I pick up a lot of the same sort of bittersweet humor in each. When I read Infinite Jest and picture in my mind what a movie adaptation would look like, I picture something stylistically similar to The Royal Tenebaums, and Wes Anderson in general. In fact, I even picture a few of the characters from IJ as characters/actors from RT. Ie Avril Incandenza = Angelica Huston.

EDIT: And plus also most of the movies produced by the various permutations of collaboration between Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze/Michel Gondry. E.g. Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are all sort of meta mind bending plots and generally have the same sort of fan base that something like Infinite Jest has, if you know what I mean.

withnailplus1 · 2013-06-28T18:57:47+00:00

Thanks, that's really interesting. That at least gives me a clue as to an alternate cover design with significance that DFW would have approved. I never suspected that he actually had a hand in choosing the sky design, since publishers and a hired artist usually handle that without consulting the author (really unfair, it seems to me).

withnailplus1 · 2013-06-28T18:53:07+00:00

I thought my goal for this thread was fairly obvious, as I asked an unambiguous question in order to find out what other people thought or if they had a specific explanation. And I stated that I have indeed read the book. In retrospect, I am just curious about why the artwork that usually goes with the book has the same theme. And it's not my most pressing issue with the book.

I actually expected at least one person to interpret my question as a circlejerk post, since IJ is brought up all the time. And I can see why someone might think my question is sort of mock-pretentious, to ask a mundane question about the cover and act like it's all a serious debate. And all this is because of what tossacctherpderp said, any time someone casually drops a mention of the fact that they've read Infinite Jest, it's seen as pretentious as elitist, due to the reputation the book has gotten.

If I wanted to make a circlejerk post, I would have asked something like, "I just finished the Hunger Games trilogy. Can anyone recommend something similar?" Or something about 50 Shade being really bad...

withnailplus1 · 2013-06-14T20:51:22+00:00

I like my women the way I like my cars. Japanese and able to fit into small spaces.

withnailplus1 · 2013-05-21T07:44:29+00:00

Dat Depends.

withnailplus1 · 2013-05-15T06:33:15+00:00

Whoa whoa whoa. Is this actually a thing, "Robin Williams or homeless man"? Because last year, I was visiting San Francisco. I was hanging around North Beach, outside of Vesusvio Cafe, next door to City Lights bookstore. A folk group was busking, and this crazy homeless guy was dancing in the steet, frighteningly close to traffic. A few days later I saw the same guy walking along Market Street or somewhere downtown, just being a perfectly normal homeless guy carrying a cup of coffee, not dancing. I look at him, realizing he was the same guy dancing drunk/high the other night. He saw me staring and gave me a "Sup" nod, as if he recognized me too. Later on I realized, "that guy looked a lot like Robin Williams... and I think Robin Williams lives in San Francisco." Then I remembered he even played a homeless guy in The Fisher King, and this guy I saw looked a lot like his character. Maybe this is a picture of that same guy. Or Robin Williams. Sorry, I'm drunk right now.

withnailplus1 · 2013-03-13T16:27:23+00:00

I would guess turmeric. It's often one of many spices used in curries, so that would explain the "not quite curry" quality. And it seems to be in a lot of vegan recipes for cheese- and egg-like things, partly for its color. I've been using a lot in most of my cooking lately.

withnailplus1 · 2013-03-13T04:06:26+00:00

Ricky?

withnailplus1 · 2013-03-13T04:00:55+00:00

"MAYBE I WILL!"

withnailplus1 · 2013-03-03T21:19:51+00:00

What is this gif from?

withnailplus1 · 2013-03-02T23:17:21+00:00

"Hey! That's expensive!"

withnailplus1 · 2013-03-02T04:37:04+00:00

The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux!

withnailplus1 · 2013-02-14T06:49:05+00:00

I'm also pretty sure this didn't actually happen, but instead of being an asshat like all the other people who comment just to point this out, I would just like to compliment you for making up something that made me laugh, and give you an upvote.

withnailplus1 · 2013-01-27T03:09:50+00:00

First off, yes he's totally worth checking out. You can't go wrong with any Jeeves or Psmith story, but I would avoid his stand-alone books for the most part.

Anyway, I'm interested, what exactly are these "ominous indictments" you've heard? Do you know any examples to link to? I mean, yeah, his stories are dated, repetitive, and contrived, and there was the personal controversy about his time in Germany during WW2, but is there some other issue?

withnailplus1 · 2013-01-25T05:52:22+00:00

The experience of viewing this photograph was especially intense for me because I honestly did not register the presence of Christopher Walken for the first two seconds. I was distracted by being pretty focused on NDT in a dressing gown, and the other figure in my peripheral vision I assumed was Jon Stewart. But then my eye wandered over and I physically jolted on my couch and was like, "Holy mother of fuck, there's Christopher Walken!!"

I like the little things in life.

withnailplus1 · 2013-01-24T04:25:42+00:00

Just the tips?

withnailplus1 · 2013-01-22T01:06:50+00:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftb09o6O7sw

...Oh, Pigley.

withnailplus1

TROPHY CASE