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House of Leaves Book Club (Feb 26-May 31) • Page 2

Discussion in 'Entertainment Forum' started by Joel, Feb 14, 2018.

  1. Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    Updated OP with the proposed schedule so far

    It seems...odd. The first week is just like the dedication and opening pages, not sure how much there could be in there to possibly discuss, but if anybody was worried about the pace of this you definitely don't need to be!
     
  2. marsupial jones

    make a bagel without the hole

    Oh I'm in for this. Haven't read it since 2012.
     
    Joel likes this.
  3. marsupial jones

    make a bagel without the hole

    Are we reading "sections" first - like all the sections by the characters or reading it in chronological page order? I've read it both ways but if I recall reading all of Truant's stuff first made the most sense.
     
  4. Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    There's an official book club happening on facebook run by MZD himself so I'm going to follow their reading sched which will be in chronological order. I personally like having JT passages to break up the Navy record, but I mean, everyone can read however they want. I'm just trying to throw this together, I don't really have a big plan in mind for how it should go down!
     
  5. matthaber

    beautiful and chequered, the end

    starts tomorrow!
     
  6. I’m surprised the first week of this doesn’t even go through the introduction, but there is some cool stuff already in the front matter.

    I think the cover, of the American edition at least, is really neat. The black on black labyrinth design is a great hint at what’s to come, and I specifically remember being really intrigued with the polaroids on the spine when I first saw it in a bookstore. What do people reading international editions think of the cover art on those?

    I tend to skip flap blurbs since most are like those movie trailers that show too much of the third act, but the first couple paragraphs of this one are really cool. It always made me wonder how much (if any) of the book was actually published online or passed around during the writing process. It’s also a neat way to start posing questions about how the evolution, interpretation, and presentation of text affects the text itself before the book proper even starts. I’m fascinated by this idea, and the list of editions on the copyright page (full color, 2-color, black and white, incomplete) and the Foreword from The Editors play into it even more.

    I’ve never really known what to make of the collage outside of recognizing some objects that will be significant later on and adding an image to the idea that the book was assembled from scraps of evidence. I’m definitely interested in what people pull from that.

    It’s awesome that a division of Random House published this so that “house” gets printed in blue all over the technical and legal stuff on the copyright page.

    The dedication is perfect.
     
    Joel likes this.
  7. Joel Feb 26, 2018
    (Last edited: Feb 26, 2018)
    Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    possible suggestion: maybe we combine the first two into one two-week period so people can go on and read the Johnny Truant introduction as well? feel like that would better whet people's appetite

    edit: updated the OP with the full suggested reading schedule!
     
    troyplaysbass likes this.


  8. This is so cool.
     
    awakeohsleeper and Joel like this.
  9. Joel Feb 26, 2018
    (Last edited: Feb 26, 2018)
    Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    Front matter and back cover. Dedication. Flap copy.

    I'm under the impression that the first couple paragraphs of the synopsis on the flap are likely fictional. This could just be a fun attempt at adding to the mystique of the book, but it could have some other implications. The Foreword also mentions the book being privately distributed, but missing an entire chapter and the appendices - how'd those get added and why? Was it a choice of the Editors? An afterthought of the author?

    I really like the collage, a lot of objects that pop up in the story but it seems pretty innocuous. However, I'd never noticed the note in there but it's pretty creepy, might come in handy later as it is apparently from Chapter XIII.

    On the copyright page, First Edition is both struck through and in a purple-ish color. It's interesting because in the "Note On This Edition" at the bottom of the same page, it shows where blue and red are used but only acknowledges purple in a mention to a line in Chapter XXI -curious to see what line it is when we get there and if there's any significance.

    Different fonts are used throughout the book and contribute to the overall narrative as we'll see shortly. Interesting font choice for the dedication.
     
    troyplaysbass likes this.
  10. personalmaps

    citrus & cinnamon Prestigious

    Probably in the minority here but I would absolutely LOVE a TV series version of this book. Even just the Navidson record. Wow. I hope Big Streaming Company reconsiders or that he's able to do it on his own.
     
  11. TJ Wells

    Trusted Prestigious

    Would anyone be interested in doing an Infinite Jest book club this summer? I'll finally be done with school and it's my white whale.
     
    Joel likes this.
  12. I would be super interested in this but I don’t know how much I’ll be able to follow along/contribute this summer.
     
  13. Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    I've also never read, would give it a shot once this wraps up - we can chat then!
     
  14. matthaber

    beautiful and chequered, the end

    realized i gave my copy of house of leaves to my mom for her to read, guess i have to go buy another copy after work!
     
  15. Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    reminder: if anybody else is still joining us, I've combined the first two readings into one two-week period so you can go ahead and read the Johnny Truant introduction and get a better feel for what the book is like/hopefully pique your interest!
     
    Joe4th likes this.
  16. coleslawed

    Eat Pizza

    in the comments on here is some be who wrote a full film treatment for the book that sounds swiped intriguing.
    the post itself is neat, too.
     
  17. nomemorial

    you're in a cult, call your dad

    I'm in for this. It'll be my third attempt, but I just signed on for the Malazan book club, too, so it'll be nice to have two things to go through. This has been sitting on my desk at work since I moved up here and I've finished the other books next to it, but have been daunted to pick it back up again. No better time than now, I suppose!
     
    troyplaysbass likes this.
  18. Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    Not sure if anybody is still here for this, but we are finally starting the book! Gonna read the introduction today and post some thoughts soon.
     
    Joe4th likes this.
  19. Definitely still here for it. I just got really busy this week and haven't read the introduction yet.
     
    Joe4th likes this.
  20. Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    Same. The decision to start the group with just the covers really killed momentum haha, hope people start showin' up now that we're getting into it.
     
    Joe4th likes this.
  21. nomemorial

    you're in a cult, call your dad

    Just finished chapter 3 - amazing how quickly the content of this book is coming back to me considering how long it's been since I tried to get through it. I'm a much more consistent (and speedy) reader now, so I'm excited to finally finish it.

    I did not, however, realize that up to page 40 was the assignment for next week...whoops, haha.
     
  22. I’m even more excited to dive back into this book again after reading the introduction today. The weirdness surrounding Zampano’s death and the tension building up to what Johnny found in Zampano’s apartment and the effect it has on him are built up so effectively.
     
  23. stayillogical

    Kayak, deed, rotator, noon, racecar, Woo Young-woo Prestigious

    I'll be catching up soon.
     
  24. Joel

    Trusted Prestigious

    ME TOO! life got crazy but I'm good now
     
  25. sawhney[rusted]2

    I'll write you into all of my songs Supporter

    Hi y’all started reading this many months ago and this got me back into it. I’m reading out of schedule, but won’t discuss plot points ahead of what is scheduled.

    So far this book is stylistically interesting and narratively enagaging, but some of the stylistic choices are more bewildering than chilling or nerving. I really like the differences in the characters voices, but can’t help it keeps feeling like it’s circling a bit.
     
    Joel likes this.