h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*The library possesses a fine reading room, in addition to Hypatia's formidable inquiries desk, the stacks behind the desk, and the fFordean rift which is located down a short roped-off aisle*

*As one can see from looking at the floor plan at http://www.asterlil.com/h2g2/aplanbig.htm , a small fireplace cheers up a room appointed with leather wing chairs, side tables and reading lamps. A large oriental rug dampens the ambient noise, and french windows look out over the terrace to the gardens and the forest beyond*

*Lil and dave are lounging in chairs near the fire, talking about Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, which dave has not yet finished*

(this thread is a development from F23373?thread=594378 )

Dave, I hope that you find this book as entertaining and exciting as did I. I have read it many times, and I never get tired of it.

One thing I found on a recent rehash of the book is that the various plot lines tend to jump around a lot in their own time line, though they seem to trend from the begining of that plot line to the end of that plot line. I guess I can't explain it well.

It's true, there are flashbacks within each thread of the overall weave, but for me that made the second read all the more rewarding.

We can't give away plot since dave is still reading, but I have to say that Shaftoe was my favorite character, not least because of the narrative skill Stephenson shows in telling his story. Like I said in the previous thread, ~we~ know about the prime number problem in the naming of the unit, but Shaftoe doesn't. And yet that doesn't stop him from coming up with a nice piece of lateral thinking. I guess what I'm saying is that Shaftoe's point of view is totally believable, however limited his intellectual achievements.

I guess that I just identify best with Randy Waterhouse, so I like his character better. Of the all of the Shaftoes, I like Bobby the most, followed by a close second in Amy.

I really need to figure out which of my boxes my Stephenson books are buired in and get the rest of of them out, so I have something good to read. As it stands, I have but three books unpacked

Yeah, I thought that was great too Lil. I hadn't thought about it, but that is an especially random act they have to pull.

I actually like how Stephenson just jumps from the middle of Shaftoe's experience to flashback to the lizard on Guadalcanal. Of course I loved the crap that Shaftoe gave Reagan.

Shafto always seemed pretty darn intelligent to me.

I think what I like about Cryptonomicon is the dipping between plot-lines, and that is why I got so badly stuck with Quicksilver.

I do remember re-reading Catch 22 and dipping into it, backwards and forwards, which hardly matters with that book, because it is so disjointed in the first place, but I lost the sense of how Heller wanted me to experience the disjointedness.

B

*DD uses the ladders to take down a dusty copy of 'Winning Electioneering'*

*he takes it to a desk in the corner next to the green spines of 'Hansard' and starts taking copious notes*

*wanders in and lovingly strokes the spines of all the lovely lovely books - ah, ecstasy! Library heaven*

*settles down with 'A Crash Course in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a large cup of spill proof coffee*

*Hides the corpse of an undergraduate who was making a nosie in the quite area of the library*

*sits, looking out the window, stunned by the news of Hunter S. Thompson's suicide*

*wanders in, looks at all the books, takes a big breath of the book smell, finds a nice chair and just relaxes*

When I think about it further, I can see traces of Hunter Thompson's influence on Neal Stephenson, especially in the early stuff like Snowcrash...

*wonders what Hypatia will have to say about the corpse under the chair*

One thing that I really liked about Snow Crash was the way that Stephenson approached drugs in the era of high technology. The idea of a raw bitmap shown to someone who has the ability to decode the bitmap as a drug is really cool.

*looks up briefly from his books surprised that Hunter S. Thompson could surprise anyone*

Hunter S. Thompson alas was demon-driven, and I was not at all surprised to hear of his sad end. Poor man. May he be at peace at last.

::settles in a comfy chair in a quiet corner near the window with a copy of The Holder of the World, by Bharati Mukherjee and a hot cup of chai::

Sorry to hear that Lil. I haven't seen Fear and Loathing or read anything, but it all sounds really good. In the CNN article, it said that Thompson ran for sheriff on a decriminalization platform once, and almost won. That would have been cool.

My favourite wuote from the film is "You can't stop here! This is Bat Country"

That quote is straight from the book. I actually prefer the book, with Steadman's illustrations (which were even better as originally printed full-page in Rolling Stone), which let my imagination run riot.

As for the shriff campaign in Aspen, I do believe there's a book or novella that Hunter wrote about that. And if you're looking to read Hunter, don't miss Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, which chronicles the '72 election.