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Fat Dad

Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
Jul 23, 2014 - 11:45am PT
I carried around a copy of the Magic Mountain for so long in the back of my car (intending to read it on road trips), that when I turned 35 (sadly, a number of years back), I put reading it on my list of things to do before I died, mostly because I lugged it around for so long. Still haven't gotten around to it.

Mann is awesome, and has other much more approachable stuff like Death in Venice, Tonio Kroger and The Buddenbrooks, which is an incredibly mature novel given that he wrote it at age 24.

I think the one book that jumps out at me as disappointing is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Maybe because I had heard so much about it, but I found it really underwhelming. I think it's gotten more traction from it's clever sounding title than the book itself.
Dolomite

climber
Anchorage
Jul 23, 2014 - 01:12pm PT
I have to admit that I like most of the books the rest of you hate. I finally read The Magic Mountain a couple years ago and am lukewarm, but glad I read it. Two books I loathe that tons of people like are Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children and Steinbeck's East of Eden. Awful.

I have yet to make it through either Gravity's Rainbow or Infinite Jest, but intend to do so, some day.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Jul 23, 2014 - 10:43pm PT
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115460/infinite-jest-ulysses-karamazov-and-other-books-you-didnt-finish

I read all of Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke.

I wept, Jesus wept, too, I think.

Thanks for letting me forget it till now. Amen.
coolrockclimberguy69

climber
Jul 23, 2014 - 11:37pm PT
Any guidebook by Cam Burns.

#shittybeta
Fletcher

Gym climber
A very quiet place
Jul 24, 2014 - 01:13pm PT
Funny, one person's fancy is another's poison. To add to the spectrum, I recall really appreciating Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Read it the summer after my freshman year in college while working as a security guard nights. Don't recall much about it specifically, though, other than it was a dad/son story which would resonate with me.

I loved the Dune books. Read them all (but not those Herbert's son wrote). They are what they are. Kind of like you are not expecting Shakespeare when you see a Michael Bay film (not that Dune is like a Michael Bay film). But don't get me started on the Dune film. Still makes me queasy to this day. Though it's probably campy now. Especially knowing how funny Kyle McLaughlin is (see Portlandia).

Eric
Gregory Crouch

Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
Jul 24, 2014 - 01:38pm PT
As for The Bible, I'll limit my yawn to The New Testament... I've always much preferred The Old.

Gravity's Rainbow crushed me. As did Atlas Shrugged. Couldn't finish either one. Although Gravity's Rainbow is a hell of a route name, courtesy of John Bragg, if I remember my Gunks history correctly.

I'd be willing to bet he finished it.
Roots

Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
Jul 24, 2014 - 01:54pm PT
Dr F 's guide book socal bouldering guide!

I'll call BS on that...

Probably Freedom of the Hills. -But hard to say as I am torn.
Daphne

Trad climber
Northern California
Jul 24, 2014 - 02:19pm PT
I cannot bring myself to pick Shantaram back up.
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