What Books Are You Reading?

Ok, I’m going to pick up this Infinite Jest thingy.

How about his other books?

His short stories are … similar. Honestly I think it makes sense now as I’ve been reading up on nihilism and other philosophies, Camus, et al. DFW should have hung around a while longer. He’d have lurved Trump.

I have these and have read some of each, but not all. He’s kinda of dense, but as I say, I think I may have found a key.

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Red China Blues & The follow up Beijing Confidential by Jan Wong. Both very good reads.

Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now is a 1996 book by Chinese-Canadian journalist Jan Wong. Wong describes how the youthful passion for left-wing and socialist politics drew her to participate in the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Beijing Confidential: Jan Wong has returned to Beijing. Her quest: to find someone she encountered briefly in 1973, and whose life she was certain she had ruined forever.In the early 70s, Jan Wong travelled from Canada to become one of only two Westerners permitted to study at Beijing University.

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does she describe the cultural revolution? her experiences, and what she saw?

In Red China Blues, she narrates her story as one of only two foreign students admitted to Beijing University during the Cultural Revolution. She talks about her journey of going from a staunch Communist Mao supporter to being disillusioned with Chinese Communism after experiencing the harsh realities that life under Mao brings. She tells of how she met her husband who was the only American draft dodger to seek asylum in China during that time as well as how she then became a foreign correspondent covering Tiananmen square.

Beijing Confidential is the continuation of that story, but focuses on her trying to reconcile her guilt over her time as a Maoist. She tries to track down a student that she turned in to the Red Guard for asking her for help in getting to America. It’s a very well written and a very interesting first person account of that time period.

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Wow, thanks.

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“the name of a movie so entertaining that anyone who watches it loses all desire to do anything but watch it”, and everyone wants it, including governments and companies and people

The Wiki book description page is an interesting read in itself.

I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately maybe this will cure my habit.

Seems Infinite Jest is a long read.

A funny help.

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A book with instructions…how novel.

I tried Infinite Jest in Uni and made it about a quarter of the way through. I’d love to give it another go. All of DFW’s short stories I’ve read though have been incredible. I just started Mein Kampf (the Knausgaard one not the Hitler one lol). It’s very hypnotic. Also reading a lot of Ancient Greek and Early Modern philosophy for two different courses.

House of Leaves

this is my favorite novel of all time though. I’ve read it three times, and I’m not even a big reader.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Body-Bill-Bryson-audiobook/dp/B07RB2C1LV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FGASRD80UY34&dchild=1&keywords=bill+bryson&qid=1614608261&s=books&sprefix=bill+%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C506&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Around-World-80-Trains-Adventure/dp/B088TWMN3G/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=around+the+world+in+80+trains&qid=1614608458&s=audible&sr=1-1

You’ve intrigued me. Just ordered it. Thanks.

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I have, haven’t started.

The Bryson?

Yea yea.

It’s worth reading.