At the Mountains of Sadness

It is done. I gotta say, not only am I sad to be finished with that book, but I am also sad to realize that as good as I have been about reading, I still have TWO MORE BOOKS. SHIITES! Hence, I am officially at the mountains of sadness. For some reason I imagine them looking like Mount Rushmore except with all of the presidents being goth. Maybe Washington dyed his hair black and is wearing red contacts? Or maybe they're all just crying. I wanted to put that joke as a caption under a picture, but I couldn't find anything that would represent what I was looking for. Ah, the struggles of the First World.

Drawing of a Shoggoth - looks like a friendly guy

Anyway, now that we've gone into the struggles of the first world, let's get into the Lovecraftian struggles of the First world. That is, the world that came before our own. The world of... The Mountains of Madness!
So, where we left off, our characters had just seen their friends slaughtered and then were let into the ancient city. Wow, that seems like such a distant memory even though it only happened 100 pages ago. Once inside the city, they begin to learn about the history of the place. They learn that the Old Ones had inhabited this place after finding shrines to the Old God Nyarlathotep and Dagon. As their servants, the Old Ones had created Shoggoths, old spawns of the Gods that had eventually gone rogue and killed those who once lived here. Then, Dagon himself came down and covered the city in snow, leaving it behind forever. As they learn this, they go into a dark tunnel where there is another of the mysterious rocks from the beginning. They lean forward to touch it and it comes alive, revealing itself to be none other than a Shoggoth. The main character's companions are quickly killed, but he escapes back outside to try and find his helicopter. Once he finds it, he realizes that it is out of fuel and that he is out of food. Looking back at the abandoned city, he starts to slowly lose sanity as the book comes to a close.

Drawing of Nyarlathotep - looks like he's wearing a mickey mouse wizard  hat

GODDAM! WHAT AN AWESOME WAY TO END A BOOK TITLED "AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS!" I LOVE LOVECRAFT!
Okay, sorry, I am fangirling over Lovecraft now. But seriously, that book was awesome. 4.9/5 or 9.8/10 or whatever. Super high rating. What an awesome story.



Luv u Luvcrft! 3> <3 (Wait how do i make the heart?)

I'll be starting Stephen King's The Mist pretty soon!

See you soon!

At the Mountains of Rad-ness

That's right, the book is pretty Rad.

What a beautiful man he was

At the moment, I am about 100 pages into At the Mountains of Madness. I have to say, as strange as Lovecraft's writing style is, there is truly no author like him. Lovecraft has a way to make the reader feel as though they are looking out at a wasteland once inhabited by Elder Gods just by creating a mood. He is not really a talented writer of dialogue but he is an expert of themes and moods. He can make the reader feel scared and forlorn. He can make the reader feel as though they are in a world where danger is really all around us. This effect is totally unique to Lovecraft, as no other author actually was as crazy in real life and no other author has such an elongated mythos as Lovecraft.

What if the rock was... The Rock?

So far, the plot has been quite mysterious. A group of explorers are investigating a long lost mountain range far away from any society. They don't give huge details as to where this location is, but it is said to be in a snowy area. This leads me to thinking of some lost place in the Appalachian mountains. As soon as they park their helicopter, things begin to get strange. A couple of the explorers and scientists stay back to investigate a strange rock, while the main character and a couple others go to explore an old gate.
They are unable to open the gate at first, so they go back to their friends. When they return, the rock is gone and all of the men there are cut up in a gruesome fashion. Nightfall is coming so our protagonists go back toward the gate to try and make shelter. Strangely enough, the gate opens, giving way to an ancient city covered mostly by snow.

Honestly, I cannot wait to read more. I assume that the rock was not what it appeared to be and that the city will have something to do with the Old Gods, but I have no real predictions otherwise.

I look forward to reading and posting more!

At The Mountains of Being Mad

For the third time... we're back in action. Back to bloggin'. Back to swiggity swag.

If only the Gods were more like good ol' Morgan

For my third book, I have chosen "At The Mountains of Madness", by H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most creative and cryptic fantasy/horror writers of the 20th century. Lovecraft died in 1936 after producing a number of short stories and novels on the shorter side. Though he perhaps best known for the short story The Call of Cthulhu, "Madness" is one of his more popular novels that explored the macabre, dark, mythos that Lovecraft created in his stories.

I guess the Christian God is old too... "W-When's bingo?"

I have been a fan of Lovecraft's work for a long time, but never got around to reading this particular work of his. What I love about Lovecraft (sounds like the name of a romantic comedy I know) is the creepy feeling and connection that all of his short stories and novels create. All of them revolve around things called "old gods", ancient beings that lived millions of years before us, who wish to come back out of the darkness to take over the world once again. Most notably of these are Cthulhu, whom the entire mythos is named after, Nyarlathotep, a common old god featured in multiple stories, and Randolph Carter, a popular protagonist for Lovecraft to use.
After reading a little bit about the plot, it seems that this particular story will deal with a new set of characters but probably touch on at least one or more of the "Old gods".

This next book is rather short, so I will be able to finish it rather quickly and get on to my last book or two. Hopefully the mid-post should come out tomorrow!

See ya soon!

Born Finishing Born Standing Up

It's done.
Mr. Martin, good job, you've written a pretty decent book. Overall, I must say, as a person who mostly reads fiction, I really did enjoy this nonfiction book.

The book is a lot like Juicy fruit - Happy one moment and sad the next.

Overall, what really stood out as interesting was the fact that Martin delved into how comedy is a craft and an art form. He discussed how different audiences could react to different jokes and how different lights could effect each audience. He continues to say how depending on the audience, the location, the area that the comedy club was in, and other factors made the jokes he told different. Martin had a variation on his jokes for literally every variation of audience.

But, more than the actual information, I loved Martin's writing style. He was able to mix comedy and seriousness all at the same time (just like this blog!). One could laugh, learn, and feel for Martin all in the same page. Wow, I feel like I'm advertising a new documentary on the Civil Rights Movement.

TV ≥ My Grades

So, with Born Standing Up now standing behind me, I will continue on to bigger and more plot driven things. Bigger meaning smaller in this situation. Seriously, I am so goddamn behind on this project, I have to read three more books and post on here nine more times in roughly a week. I'm not used to this kind of work! I'm only used to this kind of procrastination!

Though I would really have liked to read A Clockwork Orange, it is around five hundred pages, and with another fifty or so pages of AP Euro to read, that's just not happening (Also, come on, I have to catch up on Walking Dead, Archer, Legit, and others). So next up is a haunting classic by Mr. Howard Phillip Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness. Being that I'm already around fifty pages in, a post should be coming up soon enough.

Read future posts to see the darkness that Lovecraft creates have comedic light shined upon it!

The Borne Standing Up Ultimatum

Damn you Europe! Preventing me from reading!

Remember when I said that posts should be coming a lot more rapidly because I'm behind? Yeah... about that... AP Euro happened... and continues to happen...
I officially have one week and four days to read... three more books?
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU... School appropriate!

So this will probably be the first of two posts today since I finished Born Standing Up. This post will cover up to about page 120, and the one later today will cover up until the end. Basically, we are now into Steve Martin's successful streak. The middle of the book was mostly discussing his movie career intertwined with his comedy career and how one effected the other. What's interesting is how he felt a loyalty to being a comedian, even though he was obviously getting paid MUCH more as a movie and television actor. His rise to fame was interesting as well. Starting out as a nobody in Los Angeles and eventually working his way through the ranks of comedy shaped him as a comedian, and let him make himself unique.

Hey, get outta here Seinfeld! It's Martin's area right now!

So far, I would definitely recommend this book. The reminiscing about childhood is interesting, and told in a rather comedic manner (Tis quite droll), making it very entertaining to read. Otherwise, the actual talk about the craft of comedy is even more interesting, as it delves into what makes a good audience and a good joke. Also, if anyone is a fan of Steve Martin, then this book is probably for you.

Alrighty then, post #2 done. 10 more days and I have to read three more books. Wish me luck!

Until next time!

Born Sitting Down to read "Born Standing Up"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're back!

Steve Martin, in his natural get-up

I have officially started the second book, Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin. So far, though not quite as entertaining as Confederacy, the book is very good. Essentially, Born Standing Up is half autobiography and half theorizing about comedy. Both are quite interesting in my opinion. Being a fan of Steve Martin, I am interested in both his life and his analysis of comedy!

So basically, the start of the book details Martin's rise through the ranks of comedy, starting out in a terrible comedy club in LA and working his way through the ranks to become a bigger and better comedian. At the same time, he talks about his childhood, and what made him want to go into comedy. What's interesting about Martin is that everything that happened to him as a child effected him as a comedian in his adult life.

What's good about this book so far, is that it is all of 200 pages, so I should be finished relatively soon. Being a nonfiction book, there is not quite as much to joke about in the plot as there was for Confederacy, so the posts for this one may be a little more dull... NOT!

RULES OF THE 50's

There is so much to make fun of in nonfiction. For instance, since Martin grew up in the 50's everything is totally 50's. I feel like all of the childhood settings are just less dysfunctional Catcher in the Rye scenes. For instance, when Martin is working as a magician as a kid, he is sad because the girl he had asked the to "Spring Social" said no. Calling something a "Spring Social" is just forever outdated and hilarious (forever meaning in my incredibly long 15 year lifespan).


Anyway, as I read more, you'll get to hear even more about Steve Martin! Excited yet? You should be.

Confederacy of Finishing Confederacy Of Dunces

It's done everybody!

I've finally finished Confederacy of Dunces. This book was really good, but jesus christ, that took me waaaaay longer than it should have. I still have to read four more books in like... two weeks. Shiite. Shitaki Mushrooms. Shitzu. Because of this, expect the next couple of posts to come out a little more rapidly than previous ones.

How I feel about how much there still is to read...

So, the saga of Ignacius has finally come to a conclusion that actually was a shock. For most of the book Ignacius had been going more and more off of the beaten trail, going his own strange way in life. Toward the end of the book, his mother is remarrying, and wants to kick out her son to a mental hospital. Ignacius of course, is very disappointing in this and decides he must get away. How does he solve this? He gets depressed and goes to his room to pleasure himself for days on end. What a smart guy! What a good strategy! But, actually, Ignacius had another plan after this endless teenage-boy fest. In the end, his friend Myrna, who has been writing him letters frequently pulls up to his home and Ignacius climbs into her car and tells her to go. Right when Ignacius was finally going to end up in the Nut House, he ends up in a house with a Nut. Where does he go from here? The world shall never know. Ignacius's journey came to shockingly happy end. For a book that followed a depressed man for so long, having it end in a relatively happy way, with Ignacius avoiding the nut house was nice. It was nice to see Ignacius, in all his grossness, finally be happy.

Confederacy and True Blood actually have a lot in common!

So, the real question is, should others read this? How good is the book? The answer to both of these questions is yes. Even though asking "How good is the book" and answering "yes" is very grammatically incorrect, saying the answer to both of these is yes, sounds very good. So yes. Yes, you should read this book. And Yes, this book is quite good.

The only reason I would not read this book is if you are easily offended. The story involves A LOT of rather inappropriate scenes and dialogue. There's A LOT of sexual scenes (though they're pretty revolting).

Anyway, next up is Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin. Though at first I was planning to read Gilbert Gottfried's Rubber Balls and Liquor for a nonfiction, it's too long. I have a lot to read and very little time.

Confederacy of Running out of Jokes to Make out of the word "Confederacy"

Except they actually were a Confederacy of Dunces...

From the title, you can tell that this joke is getting stale. Well, good news. After this one, you'll only have to suffer through one more post. At this point, I'm a little more than halfway done with this book, and the conclusion is that... It's pretty good. Though this next section of the book has had a little less bestiality, the pretentiousness level (of Ignacius) and the hilarity level (of the book) remains the same. So, without any more time-wasting, let's talk about this confederacy of ridiculousness.

Where we last picked up, Ignacius was depressed because he lived with his mother, was aroused by his dog, and couldn't get a job. Wow has that not changed. Ignacius finally got around to applying for a job and of course, was rejected.
This of course, did not deter him from finally getting to why the book is called "Confederacy Of Dunces". It is because he considers everyone else a Dunce and considers the very Earth a

Living with your mom is cool again!

Confederacy of Dunces. Wow Ignacius, way to be a dick. Seriously, you are fat, live with your mother, get aroused by dogs, and can't get a job and call us Dunces? How the hell are you still a lovable protagonist?
That's the real question here. Ignacius has very few redeeming qualities yet we still root for him! Is it out of pity? Is it out of respect and fear (It isn't)? Lawd only knows.

Overall, the way that this book has been going, I most definitely recommend it. The writing is long but enjoyable and the characters are exceptionally well-drawn.The only real problem I have is the lack of plot structure, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Though the book does not really travel anywhere, it maintains its point, which is to be funny and to study Ignacius.

With only about 100 more pages to go, I'm looking forward to starting another book.

Until next time!

A Confederacy of Being Behind

It's always a sad feeling when you feel like you're right where you should be on a reading project and then check other people's and realize that you're sadly behind. That's me right now! So far, I'm about halfway into Confederacy... which I thought was great... until I read other people's blogs.

Anyway, for the duration of this project, I'll be reading three other people's blogs and commenting on them. Please note however, that these people are MUCH better students than me and will probably turn you off to my blog if you read theirs.

Then again, they're not blogging about bestiality and Paul Giamatti.

So, without further adieu,

http://iwilsonreading.blogspot.com/ - This is Isaac's blog. Though he loves to ramble, it is quite enjoyable rambling. Also, he's got good taste in books.

http://read-all-about-lt.weebly.com/ - This is Jenna's blog. Confusing as her format may be (it still looks A LOT better than Blogger... No offense Google), her writing is really entertaining and is updated quite frequently (remember when I said they're all better students than me?).

http://notbooksblog.blogspot.com/ - This is John's blog. I know, I know, his title is so deceiving... it wouldn't seem like he would blog about books... EXCEPT FOR THAT IT'S NOT. John, I love ya buddy, but seriously, your blog would be more Not-Books-Ish if you called it books.blogspot.com. That being said, his blog is really fun to read.

Anyway, enjoy these blogs!

Confederacy of Pretentious Bestiality Lovers?... Probably!

So far, I'm about one hundred and fifty pages into this book, I gotta say, it's pretty amusing.

For some reason I imagine Ignatius as Paul Giamatti

Essentially, the plot follows Ignatius Reilly, a pretentious eccentric man who seems to hate everything new and only like old scriptures and books. Particularly, he enjoys Boethius, an old philosopher. Ignatius is a very large man in his thirties who lives with his mother and scours around looking for a job. Though originally, this plot sounds rather depressing and terrible, it is actually very funny and enjoyable.
Ignatius thinks that he is better than everyone, giving him a superiority complex even though he is in his thirties and lives with his mother. That's probably what makes him such an entertaining character though. It doesn't stop there though. Ignacius's weirdness continues as you get deeper into the book though. Later on, we find out that... he find dogs arousing. That's right, Ignatius likes to lie on his bed and imagine his childhood dog.

And I... will always love yooooouuuuu

Although this could just be a sign of depression, I like to think that Ignacius will eventually end the book in a relationship with a dog. That would really make the book innovative.
In seriousness though, the strangeness of Ignacius's character is what makes him compelling. We still haven't found out the source of his hate for modern society or his weird dog fetish. It's things like these that keep us reading.

Aside from the book, so far, this assignment is great. I enjoy reading for pleasure and then getting credit for it. I also enjoy blogging... and then getting credit for it. Keep assignments like this one comin'! 

Keep checking back for more updates on... reading (I know it's sooooo interesting)!

48 Weeks Later

Wow, It's been a long time.

Last year, all of you followed me through recording a three song album for a school project. This year, I'll be reading five books and reviewing them as I go along.
Just like last time, most of this blog will consist of rambling on and on about various difficulties and successes I run into while reading. Though that may not sound particularly appealing, I'll do my best to make it relatively amusing for what the subject matter is. 

At the moment, my reading lineup is:

A Confederacy for Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (JFT... So close to being a presidential name)

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess (Unfortunately, the novel has no Stanley Kubrick)

The Mist - Stephen King (A precursor to AMC's The Walking Dead)

Undecided - Undecided (There is no real joke to make about being undecided)

Undecided, Vol II - Undecided (Drawing a blank on jokes, Vol II)


Will I complete all of these books? Will this blog be even remotely interesting or funny? Will none of that matter because Russia starts World War Three?  Keep checking back to find out!