experimental

New favorite book dedication just dropped

RaeLovesToRead I should have listened 😅😅 2w

currentlyreadinginCO Oh no 😂😂 @RaeLovesToRead ... I am book clubbing this with my girlfriends, we will see how this goes ... 2w

RaeLovesToRead I bet half of you will LOVE it, and half of you will HATE it! 🙃😁 2w

70 likes1 stack add3 comments

DoonTheGoon

House of Leaves | Mark Z Danielewski

pick

I loved it? I hated it? I didn't actually read it all? I read every word? It's actually two books in one? I'm not sure if I understand this book at all?

... I'm still mulling this one over.

AmyG Hahahaha. Exactly! 3w

22 likes1 comment

Eyelit

House of Leaves | Mark Z Danielewski

Ok, so I‘m finding a lot of this book to be meandering and pretentious AF (and I‘m somewhat feeling like that‘s a little bit of the point, but idk tbh)… but little nuggets like this keep me reading. I feel this description is so very apt.
It could also be that it‘s late and I‘m looking for any kind of resonance in a book that frustrates me. 😂

RaeLovesToRead This book was not a pleasant reading experience 2mo

44 likes1 comment

Eyelit

House of Leaves | Mark Z Danielewski

“Whether the Vienna Boys Choir or monks chanting away on some chart climbing CD, the hallowed always seems to abide in the province of the hollow.”

This took me back - anyone else remember how in the mid 90s the Benedictine Monks had a massive selling album? Wild times 😄

This book seems kind of tedious so far imho and I‘m not sure if I should tough it out or not. If you‘ve read it - is it worth it?

dabbe I love them and still listen to them! 🎶 2mo

40 likes1 comment

TieDyeDude

House of Leaves | Mark Z Danielewski

#wondrouswednesday @eggs

1. I enjoy a good sci-fi story, so near/far future?

2. Started The Snow Child, but first completed read was Victor LaValle's Destroyer comic

3. Most pages: The Stand. Close second (and took the longest): House of Leaves

Play @WildAlaskaBibliophile

SamAnne @TieDyeDude do you recommend House of Leaves? I‘ve circled around it but haven‘t taken the plunge. 3mo

TieDyeDude @samanne I recommend it, if for nothing other than the experience and the “badge of honor“ for finishing. I can't say I followed the full story, because of the multiple storylines, the formatting, and the time it took to complete, but the main plot points are defined enough that it is easy to pick back up after extended time away and follow through the end. It is a unique experience and certainly worth tackling, IMO. (edited) 3mo

Eggs Thanks for playing and sharing! 3mo

30 likes3 comments

AmyJoReads

Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves | Mark Z. Danielewski

so-so

While this book was one of the most interesting reading experiences I've ever had, it sure was tedious! There were parts that I absolutely raced through, and others that were such a slog.
Overall, I was left a bit disappointed by the overall story. I put in all that work to reference the ~500 footnotes, 2 appendices and a handful of exhibits only to feel like I was left hanging at the end.

Beatlefan129 I felt the same way—like, that was it?! 3mo

5 likes1 comment

IndoorDame

Aug 9--Fog | Kathryn Scanlan

#FogCover #NewYearNewBook @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks From my TBR. I‘m fascinated with this project. The author found an old 1 line a day diary, became consumed with carrying it around and re-reading it, and eventually cut it up and rearranged the lines to make this short, poetic novel of reflections on life.

tpixie Very interesting! 4mo

rockpools It sounds fascinating! I was reading about a similar book just last week:

Alphabetical Diaries

4mo

IndoorDame @rockpools very cool! 4mo

Eggs I love this!! 4mo

44 likes1 stack add4 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves | Mark Z. Danielewski

pick

I fear an inability to summarize what it's about or how I feel about it is not an original conundrum for readers of this book. Is it perfect? No. The gimmick of formatting goes a bit too far, the break off of text gets a little too convenient in places. Is it haunted house/descent into madness horror mashed with critical reflection mixed book-in-book, mashed with experimentation in form akin to an art piece mashed with domestic drama? Partially.

Robotswithpersonality Zampano's parts intrigued me more than Truant's, but they begin to blur... did the book, did the story of the house summon madness and disintegration, or do their histories suggest they were already on the path to lives crumbling around them? Did they manifest the story themselves? 4mo

Robotswithpersonality Each recounts a story that includes horror and heartache and mystery and obsession with no guarantee of how much told is real. Enough interesting avenues of thought are opened for discussion, enough mind expanding questions get asked, that I don't mind that we don't have all the answers. 4mo

Robotswithpersonality I think I was supposed to care more about Karen and Navy's relationship, I can only say it does what it needs to for the plot.

Side note: If you're having a hard time getting though Johnny's attempts to indiscriminately fuck his way through to some sort of personal epiphany, I can only say that such activity lessens as the narrative goes on, and his familial history suggests a half-decent reason for the author to 'keep going there.' 4mo

Robotswithpersonality Regarding Appendix II: E, the Institute etc letters, specifically p. 620-623:, decoding the letter of a woman who's been institutionalized just to have it be descriptions of a particularly horrific subject matter: one of the worst reading experiences ever. Do not recommend.

⚠️SA, animal cruelty and death,child abuse, addiction 4mo

9 likes4 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves | Mark Z. Danielewski