Ruby ’s Comments (group member since May 09, 2012)

Ruby ’s comments from the Chaos Reading group.

It's every GR member's ultimate fantasy isn't it?

That was the sound of every member of GoodReads simultaneously orgasming.

Game of Thrones Library Scene

Motion carried, baby! That thing is glorious!

I GOT YOUR WEIRD RIGHT HERE: 100 MUST-READ STRANGE AND UNUSUAL NOVELS

http://bookriot.com/2016/04/11/i-got-...

I'm glad this group has done at least one of these as a group read :)

I'm currently reading One Rainy Day in May. I'm really enjoying it (which is not easy coming off the back of White Noise). I'm wondering if he really will write it in 28 parts though. Particularly since Part 1 is over 900 pages. Still - it's a very quick 900 pages.

Marc wrote: "Good Omens--that's the one people keep recommending--thanks for the reminder, Whitney! I'll probably give Sandman a go sometime this year.

On the flip side, I think I want to like him because he s..."

I understand the Neil Gaiman ambivalence. I started with American Gods and loved it. I promptly sought out everything else he has written, but none really did it for me in the same way. He does tend to write like Pratchett, and it all just comes across as a bit.... precious, in my view.

Derek wrote: "So, my only new 5-star read was Three Parts Dead. I know you've all read that by now, but for the one person who didn't: do!..."

I think I'm that one person who didn't!

Whitney wrote: "The trailer for the movie. I love that they went with the 70's aesthetic. Plus, Tom Hiddleston.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i60Lj..."

That looks amazing! I love the aesthetic. It matches quite well with the images I have in my mind from the book. It does seem pretty faithful, doesn't it?

Marc wrote: "While searching online to see if there really was an "official" Most Photographed Barn I came across this little interpretation:
http://www.shmoop.com/white-noise/the......"

That's a great summary. I love the idea that you could set up these signs saying "Most Photographed Whatever", and it becomes exactly that. The way the signs shape our perception of reality is a fascinating thing to think about. It actually reminded me a little of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, when The Midget puts up signs in a store saying, "Spitting is strictly prohibited, signed The Mgt". It probably never occurred to anyone to spit in the store before, but this "official" sign makes people feel like that's a real possibility!

Some things you MAKE time to post...

Charity shop builds fort out of unwanted 'Fifty Shades of Grey' books
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/a...

Jennifer wrote: "Well....it is just obvious. Right. It is all right there in front of us. So obvious we don't even see it. :)."

Some of the theories that Murray articulates seem FAR from obvious to me!

Why were you afraid of Murray being alone with the children? That didn't even register with me.

Marc wrote: "The discussion between Jack and Heinrich about whether it's really raining or not touches on the limits of our senses and ..."

I'm so glad you raised that conversation about rain. I just started reading One Rainy Day in May, and there is a young character, Xanther, who cannot still her mind from constantly asking questions (like many people I know who are very intelligent yet very socially awkward - often either on the autism spectrum, or dealing with some other form of "disorder"). The book begins with her sitting silently in the car while her mind screams question after question at her - how many rain drops are there? Well what IS a drop of rain then? Is it possible it's all water with drops of air in it..? etc etc. She works herself up past the point of teeth grinding and cuticle picking, to hyperventilating and sometimes to the point of epileptic seizure.

While she is similar to Heinrich in that she considers these questions, she suffers from the lack of any solid answers to ground her. Heinrich on the other hand seems to quite happily accept that some questions only raise more questions, and is quite content to cede to nihilism.

Sorry my comments are a bit scattered here, as I've only just had the chance to jump in on the discussion, and I want to talk about all of it at once - now! now! now!

What a great thread! A lot of the topics of in my notes have already come up here, so I won't raise them again, other than to say that I found the concept of "family" in this book to be fascinating - both the melange of "blended families", the idea of the family as propagating misinformation (I loved their conversations based on half-assed facts and trivia) and Jack's idea of the family as being central to wellbeing.

I empathised the most with Heinrich. You really can't blame him for being the person most likely to end up in a bell tower with an automatic weapon.

My favourite line? "We're a silver, gleaming death machine!" (This would make a fabulous band name).

Two questions though:
1) Why does Winnie always run away?
2) The repeated words, "It's obvious" (particularly from Murray, but others use it too). What's that all about?

Marc wrote: "Another passage that hit me was the nuns and their ridiculing of Jack for really thinking they believe in angels and miracles and such:
"The others who spend their lives believing that we still bel..."

That passage really hit me too. Particularly when I came across "The Darwin Ghost Nun". Living in the tropics in the middle of a heatwave, I rarely see people covering up their bodies to a great extent, but I passed a nun in a shopping centre (again, very appropriately) wearing an entirely white get up, robes complete with full wimple. Her hair was white, her skin was white, her eyes very pale blue - she seemed so out of context! I got to wondering why the outfit was so important to her, and if she did it for herself or for the comfort she believed she could give to others.

Tracy wrote: "Melissa wrote: "In reference to the relationship between Jack and Babette, I have to say that my heart totally broke for her when Jack would say things like "This is not the point of Babette."

Re..."

I really liked those "This is the point of Babette" lines. It shows just how self-absorbed Gladney really is. Babette exists for her benefits to him personally. I must say, I've met many men like that! ;)

Quentin wrote: "Black Star, White Noise.

I'm still only on page 165. I've read some of the comments here, but am being a bit careful, as I want to avoid spoilers, so please forgive me if someone has already menti..."

Yay! You found the Blackstar reference I was talking about :)

Jennifer wrote: "As I was reading this, I kept finding direct correlation with what I was reading and my life, past and present. The irony. The prophecy. At one point I came home from the grocery store. Proud of my purchases, I had '"saved" some money, purchased the brightly packaged Private Selection Generics. I came home and read the chapter about Jack and Babette driving home, the station wagon packed with their spoils.... .."

I had the very same experience. It got to the point where I could hear Delillo narrating my daily adventures through the local shopping mall. The book made me hyperaware of all the little modern day ironies which surround us.

I had one moment, too, where a comedian was on tv joking about how the end of the world was nigh due to environmental collapse, and nobody was paying attention - at which point he threw to a commercial break, and I changed the channel. I felt like a scene in the book.

Jennifer wrote: "Well....I am not sure about the whole post modern thing. Actually, I could care less as to how books are labeled...so I tend to not pay any attention.

We do have a current airborne toxic event ha..."

That must make for some interesting reading, then! I've done most of my reading so far (as I'm not quite finished) in the middle of a shopping mall. This too feels right somehow!

As for the Hitler thing, did anyone see this week's episode of Shameless? Chucky gets suspended for writing an essay at school on "what makes Hitler such a great American". :)

While I'm not quite ready to answer the questions yet, I would also like to point out that there's (what I consider to be) a Blackstar reference in it. Did anyone else spot it?

Marc wrote: "Currently enmeshed in White Noise (for our upcoming group discussion), Loquela (impressive so far), and One Rainy Day in May "

Wow. Loquela looks incredible! I love that the synopsis begins with, "Starts to fuck with your head from the first word.."

CD wrote: "I miss all the promotional matchbook covers. I have a huge collection going back to my youth. The matches were discarded, obviously, or I..."

My parents had an oversize coloured glass goblet with hundreds of them in. I used to pinch them as a sneaky teenager. Can't believe they got thrown away!