George Salis’ BIGGEST Books Read!

[@Etherchannel]

It's sad to me that a lot of those self-contained stories within Women and Men will go unread by most people due to the novel's intimidation/length.

[@battybibliophile-Clare]

I have read Infinite Jest and Ulyssses. I think at 78, i should get on and reread it again. It's a book you can go on rereading for life, it's such a treasury of allusion and fun. I again have noted down the others. Im having great difficulty finding a copy of Alexander Thereau book in the UK that i can afford, but will go on looking, or maybe a reprint will be issued.

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

Thanks for your comment! Yes, Infinite Jest and Ulysses are two books I'm looking forward to revisiting. They are, in a sense, eternal. Best of luck finding a copy of the Cat. I doubt a reprint will happen anytime soon if ever.

[@battybibliophile-Clare]

@georgesalisbookhauls thanks for the reply, Infinite Jest ISA wonderful read, but with Ulysses, I get obsessed. I was surprised at Frank Delaney's work being known in the US, he was a well known voice on the BBC radio, in fact the book was based on a series of broadcasts.

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

@@battybibliophile-Clare I enjoyed listening to Frank Delaney's podcast about Ulysses. Alas, I never did finish it, the podcast that is.

[@TyroneSlothropEatsBananas]

I haven't watched your video yet but will probably edit my comment when I'm finished, but wanted to say I picked up Women and Men from the library a couple days ago and am about 300 pages into it. Surprisingly enjoying it. I had to drop out of my macroeconomics class so when I got to the chapter with the graphs I started laughing because half of what was said actually made sense to me, and I regretted dropping that class haha. But I also see you have Infinite Jest in your hands. I've read that novel 3 or 4 times now and love it so much. It's so close to my heart, near and dear to me.

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

Delighted to hear you're enjoying Women and Men. There's certainly nothing quite like that novel. It's a landmark and monolith. And hell yes regarding Infinite Jest! I recently acquired a special copy but haven't had the chance to share it yet. Stay tuned. : )

[@TyroneSlothropEatsBananas]

@@georgesalisbookhauls Lyle is the dude who licks the sweat. Interesting dude.

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

@@TyroneSlothropEatsBananas Thanks! And yes, very interesting to say the least lol.

[@TyroneSlothropEatsBananas]

I finished Women and Men about an hour or 2 ago. Still processing it. I feel like it has become a friend of mine. I obsessively read 5-7 hours each day with no breaks between days. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and have some secondary sources coming in from interlibrary loan on McElroy. I also read your interview with McElroy and your review, which was excellently written. 6.5-7 out of 10 in my opinion. But man, do I have a headache, because I read over 200 pages today and am exhausted.

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

Tha'ts quite the comittment. Congrats on tackling such a behemoth of a book! And thanks for checking out my Joe content. Hopefully next year I can finish my essay about visiting him.

[@TyroneSlothropEatsBananas]

@@georgesalisbookhauls I look forward to it!

[@meyersmegafictionalmusings7692]

Hey George! Love this video. Have you read Jerusalem? Against the Day? What were your big book plans for 2023?!

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

Hey, brother! Thanks for your comment. I made a big-books-I'm-most-looking-forward-to video but accidentally deleted it. There was some glitch where I had a video that said failed to upload and when I deleted it, it took the actual video down. Maybe I'll make another of the same later on but both those books you mentioned were in it and there's a good chance I'd get to them in 2023! Others include Witz by Cohen and Devil to Pay in the Backlands by Rosa. What are you most looking forward to?

[@melocomanTV]

I liked your interview with mcelroy. Just got the new printing of women and men. What public library did you steal your copy from?

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

Glad you enjoyed my exchange with Joe. Happy to hear you obtained a copy of the new printing. Didn't steal the first edition of course. Got it from Half Price books years ago. Also have a copy of the signed two-volume blue edition.

[@mudgetheexpendable]

You already Goodreads-added ISLANDIA by Austin Tappan Wright in 2018, so maybe push it a little higher up your decision tree...? My very first over-1,000-page read fifty years ago, the start of my personal quest to find worlds I could escape to for more than an afternoon. Shortly after that came the Seidensticker translation of THE TALE OF GENJI. There are so many things to love about being in those worlds! WOMEN & MEN serves that for you, it seems, as does IJ, so we're acquainted with the embarrassing pleasure of the roman-fleuve. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that shares his ink-drenched pages with me shall be my brother....

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

I completely forgot about Islandia. It says I added it in 2018 so it's been a while. I'll see if I can track down a copy sooner rather than later. Tale of Genji is also on the radar. Thanks so much for the recs. And yes, indeed, we happy few who rise to the challenge of these types of novels. Always more where that came from. Sometime this month I'll post a video about some of my most anticipated big books. Cheers, brother!

[@myfrienderic6758]

Gravity's Rainbow, boo.

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

Indeed! I've been orbiting the three big Pynchon books for years. I've read almost everything else aside from GR, Against the Day, and Mason & Dixon. Really need to start slaying those Goliaths.

[@fabianschar77]

just re-read IJ. the cover off the top of my head is based on inter alia the wallpaper in I think the headmasters house offices of the mother and CT. also, the blue carpet in james incandenza's parents house with the flashback where his father falls into the dust under the mattress trying to fix the squeaky bed. i think the best written scenes are the attempted overdose of joelle van dyne and the ending with gately and his poor friend watching the tv in the reflection of their urine next to the mountain of drugs. curious what your favourites are. with respect to the pale king, read chapter 22 if you have the time. it's standalone. I'd love for you to read Joseph Conrad. as im sure you're aware, rushdie was a big fan. some moments in lord jim and the narcissus books which hit those stratospheric heights we both know as readers. his authorial voice has a waxing mysterious lyrical quality which to my mind strongly influenced delillo:) (you've also got to read henderson the rain king and LIBRA)

[@georgesalisbookhauls]

Thanks for your in-depth comment, my friend. Out of all the books, IJ is one I'm very much excited to re-read. I love the insurance claim scene with the guy's cartoon accident, the videophone scene, the dog kidnapper (as much as it hurt my heart to read about dogs getting hurt), the bed-moving one you mention is great. That's the thing about IJ, there are so many wonderful scenes, so it's hard to pick only a few. But yeah, I forgot about the wallpaper. Wonder why DFW still hated it despite that connection. Speaking of IJ, a friend of mine claims that it's a rip-off of McElroy's Lookout Cartridge, which I still need to read. Of course, books are made of books are made of books, so I'd say rip-off might be going too far, but one idea I had was to read LC and IJ back to back and maybe write an essay that compares and contrast them. Would be quite the project. When I met Joe in NY, we briefly talked about Joseph Conrad and we both agreed The Secret Sharer is better than Heart of Darkness, at least according to our particular tastes, but I still need to read the ones you mentioned. I've read a couple Bellow books but not Rain King. I got rid of an ex-lib paperback once because I was forced to cut down on books for a move, but I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled for another copy. I love The Pale King as well. I'm planning on making a neat video comparing it a bit with something else, but I won't say just yet. It'll be a surprise. Anyway, thanks again for your comment and the recs. Very much appreciated! : )

[@fabianschar77]

@@georgesalisbookhauls yeah, the killing cats thing is crazy good. randy lenz buying the greater strength bags and watching the abstract surreal shapes the cats take as they slowly suffocate, combination of that and how it progresses to setting them on fire and slitting dogs throats, so imaginative from wallace. quite a few mental images from the pale king but fogle walking through the snow to his accounting job interview thing and he sees the shape of the tower's shadows like a bar graph, just ties in perfectly with the theme as well. with respect to bellow, yeah, such a hilarious book and just gets better and better as it goes along and more nuts, the lion stuff i'll never forget. so much more imagination that his other works i agree with respect to the secret sharer. i love him and the guy standing next to each other in the cabin whispering in to each other's ears. such a thick atmosphere. heart of darkness for me is actually one of his weaker works, it's just iconic. the political novels and lord jim are all better. v interesting to hear mcelroy's thoughts!