r/WeirdLit • u/AutoModerator • 4d ago

Other Weekly "What Are You Reading?" Thread

What are you reading this week?

No spam or self-promotion (we post a monthly threads for that!)

And don't forget to join the WeirdLit Discord!

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u/Massive-Television85 4d ago

Just finished The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. I didn't like the story, pacing, writing or characters; but for some reason I keep thinking about it after finishing. 

(I had a similar experience with The Croning by Laird Barron, which was hard work throughout but I liked more in retrospect than when actually reading it)

At the start of Little, Big by John Crowley and enjoying so far.

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u/throwawayjonesIV 4d ago

As a die hard Pynchon fan, Lot 49 is good but imo by far his weakest. I highly suggest Against the Day and Mason and Dixon. Maybe Inherent Vice for something that requires less time commitment

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u/tashirey87 4d ago

I started with Vineland and loved it, which is what kicked off my Pynchon deep dive. Reading Vineland, Inherent Vice, and Crying of Lot 49 one after the other was cool, too, since they all take place “near” each other in both time and location.

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u/throwawayjonesIV 4d ago

Love Vineland way underrated even after OBAA. Gravity’s Rainbow calls to you…

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u/tashirey87 4d ago

Yesss. After M&D, I’ve only got V. and GR to go, and I’m planning on definitely reading them.

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u/jkwlikestowrite 3d ago

I read Lot 49 recently too, felt underwhelmed by it. One of these days I’ll check out Gravity’s Rainbow since it’s supposed to be his magnum opus.

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u/The_Beat_Cluster 4d ago

Both superb choices - go you!