The Chuck Palahniuk Thread

[Patrick]

Chuck Palahniuk.

:cool:

Discuss.

[Matt]

I am 38 and still a chuck virgin. From what I have read out here and elsewhere, I need to get into it.

[ErinPatricia]

Go read Invisible Monsters Matty, or Haunted...hell you can borrow my copies if you want them :D

[Matt]

I would love that Erin, I have heard such amazing things about him. It makes me chomp at the bit to get one going.

As soon as Lisey's Story is over, I am trying one of those two suggestions next. :nana:

[Hannah]

And after you do one of those, try Choke. It's my personal Palahniuk favorite. I :wub: Victor Mancini.

[Erin]

Choke is my favorite as well. With Invisible Monsters running a close second.

[Patrick]

I've read LULLABY and SURVIVOR, as well as one of the stories in HAUNTED.

Sounds like I need to go find CHOKE and INVISIBLE MONSTERS, although someday I want to actually read FIGHT CLUB since the movie is so good.

[Hannah]

Sounds like me and Erin have the same taste in just about everything. Same taste in music, same taste in books... Invisible Monsters is my second fave Chuck book as well.

Patrick - Fight Club is certainly a good read, but if you've seen the movie a few times you're going to recognize a lot of the lines. They did a great job w/ the screenplay, almost all of the great lines from the book are in the movie. Read Choke first. It's a great book.

[Erin]

We do Hannah! :wub:

Guess what guys? I meet the man himself.....TONIGHT. :o

[Patrick]

We do Hannah! :wub:

Guess what guys? I meet the man himself.....TONIGHT. :o

:nana: Do tell (when you get back)!

[Erin]

I will! And photography is allowed, so there will be pictures too!

[ErinPatricia]

so. jealous.

[Hannah]

I will! And photography is allowed, so there will be pictures too!

Yes! I think I might be more excited than you are at this point. :lol:

[Erin]

I wish money and time were no object so you could have flown out and come with me!

I don't know anyone else around here who is a Palahniuk fan, so Darrin is coming with me and really could care less about it all. His presence is just so I can get 4 extra books signed. :lol:

[Hannah]

:lol: Well at least Darrin is going with you so you don't have to go alone. :)

[The_Nameless]

Sadly, I have only read two of his books. But I loved both of them immensely.

Said books were Fight Club (of course) and Choke.

I enjoy how he always finds a way to lace humor into the most disturbing of times.

[OchrisO]

I wish money and time were no object so you could have flown out and come with me!

I don't know anyone else around here who is a Palahniuk fan, so Darrin is coming with me and really could care less about it all. His presence is just so I can get 4 extra books signed. :lol:



Well, there's me, but I had to work, and am incredibly poor. :arg:

[Hannah]

I can't wait for Erin to tell us about the signing and stuff. pictures!

[Erin]

Well, last night I went to the Chuck Palahniuk book signing last night! I had a fantastic time! It was absolutely awesome. I'll detail everything down below. Some things were kinda crappy about it (no fault of Chuck's, just bad planning on the part of the book store that hosted it). But here we go:

We got there at around 6:45 and got seats fairly close to the front. Chuck was already up on stage signing books for the early arrivals. We took our seats and just watched him sign. He was laughing, shaking hands and having a good time. Whenever someone wanted a picture with him, he would put a big cheesy bride veil on their head and make them hold a bouqet (like the Party Crashers in Rant) and then pose with them. It was so funny, he did it to men and women.

After waiting about 30 minutes, Chuck left the stage to take a short break and then a woman came out and read his introduction. He walked on stage, carrying 3 huge boxes and with his helpers carrying about 5 more. He began his talk, which lasted almost 2 hours. It was fan-freaking-tastic.

He started his talk with trivia questions regarding his books and then just general answer questions. If someone answered a trivia question right, he had a whole box full of signed inflatable moose heads to throw at them, bounching through the crowd like a beach ball at a Jimmy Buffett concert. For the general questions, he gave anyone who asked a question two books by new, small press authors that he really enjoyed and a bouqet (I don't know if i'm spelling this word right, but I don't really feel like looking it up :lol:). He answered a whole wide range of questions, oftentimes mixing in unrelated personal stories into his tales. He told of how to pay for college, he and his friends would sneak ecstasy into Canada and sell it. When asked about other drug stories of his, he told us of how one time, at dinner, a friend gave him an envelope, told him to take it into the bathroom and enjoy. He walked into the bathroom and realized in the envelope was a big pile of cocaine. He'd never tried it before and had no idea what to do with it, so he just stuck his nose in and snorted. Later when he came out, his friend said "You pig! That was supposed to be enough for all of us!" :lol:

Another amazing story he told was something a friend told him one night when he was in college. They were sitting around talking about strange things that have happened to them, when his fried told him an odd tale. His friend said when he was 16, he was paid by some people to get some lace, balloons and decorations and to decorate the outside of a train car while it was stopped on the tracks, with people inside complaining about the delay. After he was done decorating, a man in a pale blue suit and a woman in a dress got married on top of the car, much to the dismay of the people inside the train. Chuck said that his friend, who he hadn't met till college and who had lived a thousand miles away from when they were in high school had just witnessed his father's marriage to his stepmother. :o He said that story is just one of those that is so strange, you can't make it up.

After several trivia and questions, he read a short story to us which has never been published. It was so funny. It tackles the issue of racism and is about a high school boy who is working part time to save up for a car. His part time job working as a telemarketer for a mop company. He has bad luck at the job and every person he calls thinks he is a foreigner and uses various racial slurs and insults to make fun of him. Finally fed up, one night when he calls a number in his area code, when the girl on the other end asks him if he is Indian, he just goes along with it. He tells her he rides to work everyday on an elephant named Sinbad and she in turn tells him she's really from Zimbabwe, but was adopted by her missionary parents. She tells him she has an ocelot for a pet and other things. At the end of the conversation she tells him to call her back the next day and gives him her name. The next day at his high school, he asks around to all the black girls in his school if there name is the name she gave. They all say no, until finally the last girl he asks says no, that's not my name, but it's her's...and points to a blonde, white-as-can be cheerleader. The boy doesn't say anything to the girl, but instead continues a really funny relationship with her, both in person and as the Indian guy on the phone. It was a great great story and i hope he publishes it one day.

Next, he read the short story Guts. I was keeping my fingers crossed he'd read this one out loud because I really wanted Darrin to hear it. I had told him earlier about how over a hundred people had either passed out or vomited upon live readings of this gross story. And guess what? While Chuck was reading, a guy near us got up out of his seat, starting to walk out and......HE PASSED OUT! Just hit the floor and was out for about 5 seconds. Chuck said "Do we have another casuality?" and asked him if he was OK, then he continued with the reading.

He also read excerpts from several letters he had gotten from fans. Finally, he told us about the status of the Choke movie (:o). Sam Rockwell is playing Victor Mancini (fantastic casting choice I thought) and right now it is between Annette Benning and Meryl Streep to play his mother. Early filming begins June 18th and he said he's going to be pretty involved in the project. Also, he told us about his new book which will come out next year. It is a short novel (about 150 pages) called Snuff. It's about a woman who decides that she wants to break the standing record of the most men a woman has had sex with at one time. Chuck explained that in the 70's I believe, a grad student of feminist studies named Mary Chong decided to film as a project, her having sex with as many men as she could. She was shooting for 260, but had to quit at 251. Since she made this video, many porn starts have broken the record, each trying to one up the last one. In Snuff, Chuck details the story of a woman who is not only planning on breaking the record, but she intends to die while attempting it so that in the future, to honor her, no one else will attempt the feat and her record will stand forever. The rest of the story details 3 men waiting in the green room for their turn with the woman. Throughout their conversations, you learn that one of the men is actually the adopted son of the porn star. She gave him up for adoption when she was 18 and since he came of age, he has been looking for her ever since. By participating in the film, he hopes to spend his time with her not only having sex (ick!) but telling him of his secret..that he is her son. :lol: Sounds like a typical Palahniuk. He also said it will be released around Mother's Day next year. Haha. After this, he then called his two helpers on stage and they threw all sorts of goodies into the crowd. Severed legs, plastic hamburgers, more mooseheads, all signed, were thrown around the audience. It was awesome and fun.

Finally the talk was over and Chuck set up out in the lobby for the rest of the signing while Fight Club was started on the movie screen (the signing was held in a really cool old-timey movie theatre downtown). Here is where things got crappy. While the movie played, a man with a flashlight was taking rows one at a time to the signing. Well, we were in about row 12 or so. We watched the movie, waiting and waiting, but by the end of the film, only 4 rows had been taken back to get signed! That left a ton of people. By now it's nearly midnight and the whole thing started at 7:30. I was getting really worried they would call the whole thing off and I wouldn't get to meet him.

Finally a woman from the bookstore came out and said she would still take us by rows, so my friends and I remained seated. However, a bunch of other people got up and stood in a big line by the door. Again the woman came out and said, well OK, this line will be the line to the signing. So guess what. That left us at the very very end of the line. Things were going so slowly that finally the woman came out again and said that he would only be signing 2 books for each person, instead of the 4 he was doing. Boo! But I felt bad because I bet he was tired by that point.

Finally the line gets to us and I walk up to him. I was wondering if he was going to recognize me based on the fact that he made me a really special necklace years ago. I stand in front of him and he looks up and just stares at my neck. Then he smiles real big and says "That's a really nice necklace you've got there" and I say "It is! You made it for me" and he remembered! He said "Hmm, I sent you an animal too? What animal did I send?" and I told him he sent me a stuffed duck. He laughed and then signed my copy of Rant and Choke. I took a picture with him and everything was awesome. Then Darrin had him sign Hannah's book and my copy of Haunted. (he was only personalizing Rant, the others, he just signed his name). He made a little joke when Darrin handed him the book and he asked what name to personalize it to. He laughed and said "Hannah huh? I wouldn't have guessed" when Darrin said it..:lol: Then we were shooed out of the theatre really quickly by the book store people. Overall, I think they did a really poor job planning. It was very unfair how they had people line up for the signing and I think it could have been far more professional. I don't understand why there wern't numbered tickets, for example. But oh well, I had a fantastic time and it was worth all the time I spent there.

Overall, Chuck was super nice, friendly and just as funny and dark as you'd imagine him to be. He cracked a ton of jokes, like for example, when he tossed out his first Moose head for a correct trivia question, he said to the person, "Now you can tell people Chuck Palahniuk gave me head". :lol: I had a blast and I hope all the rest of you Chucky P fans can make it to a tour date of his sometime.

On a side note, another aggravation was my camera. I have a very nice fairly new camera, but for some reason, last night it wasn't acting correctly. Of all the nights I needed it to behave, the flash wasn't working right. So all my pictures turned out way to dark. I've done my best lightening them, but they arn't good quality. I checked the webpage of the bookstore that hosted the event and they have a section where they post pictures of signing events. They haven't gottent the Chuck pictures up yet, but as soon as they do, I'll post those so we can have some more clear ones in here. On a side note, as soon as I took my camera out this morning, it spontaneously started working <_<. Stupid camera. Look for pictures in the next post!

[Erin]

Here are my pictures:

First, here is Chuck putting the veil on a fan before he takes a picture with them, the dumb lady got in the way right at the last second. Gr.:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck1.jpg

Here are some pictures from during his talk:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck2.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck3.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck4.jpg

Here is Chuck asking a trivia question, holding the moosehead:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck5.jpg

And here he is throwing the moosehead.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck6.jpg

[Erin]

And some more:

Here are my books he signed:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck7.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck9.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck10.jpg

and finally, Chuck and I:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/MeandChuck.jpg

***Hannah, I didn't post your book picture yet because I wasn't sure if you wanted to be suprised or not. I'm about to go ship it now. But if you want to see it ahead of time, I have a picture and don't mind posting it! Just let me know!***

[Hannah]

:rock:

I'm so jealous of you. That sounds like a total blast. Sam Rockwell as Victor Mancini ... I can see it.

And yes, please post the picture of the book, I'm dying to see it. I have absolutely no patience whatsoever. :lol:

Thank you so much Erin! :couple: I owe you big time.

[Erin]

I don't have any patience either!

Here you go...It's similar to mine, but I like what he wrote in yours:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/MidWorldGirl/Chuck8.jpg

[Hannah]

:wub: Thanks Erin!

Was everyone positive for rabies, or just the people he picked out?

[ErinPatricia]

even. more . jealous. now.

seriously Erin, thats awesome and Im glad you had such a good time. I love his stuff, im currently re-reading Haunted

[OchrisO]

Here is a free online version of Guts for those who have never read it/any of his work.

http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html

[Patrick]

Erin, what a great time! Glad you had so much fun and got to meet him person.

Now I'm really bummed I wasn't able to go see him in Berkeley.

[Erin]

Hannah - He seemed to pick and choose. The guy behind me got "negative" and he wrote "Watch out for us rabid ones".

Thanks everyone, it was so much fun!

[AJ]

i loves me some chucky P. i'm re-reading choke now due to the announcement on the cult. i just finished Rant a few days (a week or so?) ago and i must say after reading haunted and being slightly disappointed, this was like starting back with chuck. Rant just kinda made me fall back in love with him.

i'm still sticking with Invisible Monsters as my personal favourite... with Survivor and Choke tied at a close second.

[Jimmy]

Erin you lucky, lucky ducky. I missed his signing at my local store.

[Cutter]

I guess I'll show my signed Fight Club, it's the only Chuck Palahniuk book I own. I need to try some of his others...

http://www.gusfromcbus.com/authorpages/otherauthors/chuckpalahniuk/images/fightclub_sig.gif

[Patrick]

Very nice, Geoff!
_______

I'm copying a post from the Currently Reading thread because the comment applies here as well:


I finished CHOKE by Chuck Palahniuk. I liked it but I liked SURVIVOR better - until I read the "story behind the story" at the end of CHOKE, that was really touching.
...

[Erin]

Awesome Geoff! Did you meet Chuck when he signed the book?

[Cutter]

Awesome Geoff! Did you meet Chuck when he signed the book?

No, I wish Erin. I bought it from a bookseller.

Sadly, in Ohio, we get hardly any authors of significance to do signings or readings. :(

[sarah]

alright, i borrowed Choke from the library and I think I'm ready to start venturing out post harry potter. I just finished another reread last night and I think I'm ready for leave it behind for a week or so. :ninja:

so I'm finally off to discover a new author....

[Erin]

Good Luck Sarah! Choke is a fantastic book and Chuck Palahniuk is an amazing author.

Keep us up to date on what you think!

[Arthur Heath]

I just finished Survivor. Although it is fairly off beat if you will nothing compares to Guts or Lullaby. Chuck lives in the same area I do, Portland OR, and is frequently doing local readings and signings. One of the coolest aspects of his readings, when he was taking question he would give the audience member who asked the question a 4' long plastic flower. A gift. He also did a signing afterwards and did not leave until everyone who had wanted a signature was satisfied. If anyone lives in this part of the world (Portland OR area) or you just want some insight on his upbringing go get the book
Portland - In and Around. Its chalked full of unorthodox events to do with insight on his becoming a writer in this area.

[sarah]

Portland, OR is my favorite city of all time. We used to live in Vancouver, wa and we'd head to Portland all the time NE 23rd baby! :lol:

[Patrick]

Cool, thanks for the info, Todd.


I love Portland, Oregon too. It's the only place my wife and I ever discuss if we talk about moving out of Northern California.

[Jimmy]

Choke : The Movie seems to be shaping up rather well. Angelica Huston and Sam Rockwell heading up the cast.

[Erin]

I can't wait! I really like Sam Rockwell and think he will play a great Victor Mancini. :rock:

[Heather19]

Should be interesting. I've been waiting for them to turn another one of his stories into a movie for awhile now, although it's one of the ones I haven't read yet, so I'll have to pick it up soon.
Have they already filmed it yet? I was looking on IMDB and it said it's now in post-production, but I'm not sure how accurate that is.

[Grillslinger]

I am reading Inisible Mosters right now. So far, I love it.

I think they've announced a movie for that one as well, but I may be mistaken.

[Heather19]

I did hear something about that too, but I'm not sure how close it actually is to being done.

[Ikilledthecrimsonking]

fight club was fucking amazing

[Patrick]

fight club was fucking amazing

I still need to read FIGHT CLUB. :ninja:

[Erin]

Have you seen the movie Patrick? It's pretty much exactly the same.

[Patrick]

Have you seen the movie Patrick? It's pretty much exactly the same.
Yes, I love the movie! I still want to read the book though. :)

[Erin]

I saw the movie before I read the book and there was no way I could see anyone in my head as Tyler Durden except Brad Pitt. :D Thank gosh he owned the role!

[Jean]

finished Survivor, now reading Haunted, and doing it slowwwwwwwwwly... I want it to last for ever!

[Arthur Heath]

You don't know Chuck until you've read his short story GUTS (http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html)

WARNING!

You may think you know how over the top Palahniuk can get. This is a whole new level.

[Jean]

yes. It's the first story in Haunted. I loved every word.

[Patrick]

I've only read one story in HAUNTED - the one about the CPR dolls. Pretty twisted.

[gunslinger19]

I was curious about Chuck for a while because Fight Club is one of my favorite movies and a couple of years ago I finally picked up one of his books, Lullaby. I read nearly a third of the book before I even got home that day. After that I had to finish everything in his library, at the time anyway I still haven't read Guts yet. My favorite is a three way time between Lullaby, Survivor, and Fight Club.

[Patrick]

LULLABY was my first Palahniuk read as well. :)

[Hannah]

Lullaby was a good read. I'm excited for Choke to be released. I'll be there to see it opening day. That's my favorite Palahniuk book.

Did anyone else write Chuck a letter last October? I got my response around a month later, along with a box of goodies. I guess he's not doing it again this year, but will open up for fan letters again soon enough. I'm waiting!

[Erin]

I missed it last October Hannah. I check back from time to time on his site to see if he's opened it up again. Let me know if you see something before I do. :D

[Hannah]

I will. I'm looking forward to writing him another letter. :D

[Heather19]

Apparently Choke is premiering at Sundance. If anyone here gets the chance to go, let us know how it is.

[ATG]

I've never heard of this man.

[jayson]

I loved Survivor and Choke. Looking fwd to seeing Choke on the screen. Is somebody making Survivor as well?

[Heather19]

I do remember reading something somewhere that someone was looking into making it in the near future. I'll see if I can find where I saw it.

[Arthur Heath]

I've never heard of this man.

Your missing out...one of the most eclectic writers to grace the industry.
His stuff is out there. Completely out there.
He'll make you feel dirty, and you'll love it.
I would start with Lullaby...

[Patrick]

I started with LULLABY. :)

[jayson]

what do you guys think of Diary? It was an interesting premise, but I never really got into it like I did the others of Chuck's works.

[Heather19]

R of G, if you go to chuckpalahniuk.net and scroll down just a bit you'll see some info about a Survivor movie.
Diary was the second book I picked up and I thoroughly enjoyed it. That's the one that really got me into his stuff. I had read Haunted first, and while I thought the premise was interesting, I just couldn't get into it that much. Some of the stories I liked, and some I didn't. So I decided to pick up another book by him to give him a second chance, and I've been reading his stuff ever since. I'd say Fight Club and Lullaby are my favorites. I'm currently reading Survivor which is also very good.

[jayson]

thanks for the info Heather!

[Erin]

I can't remember where I read this and if it was true or not, but I remember back after September 11 occurred, reading an article that mentioned production on a Survivor movie had been postponed due to the sensitivity regarding the plane hijacking in the book, even though it was a completely different situation.

[Patrick]

what do you guys think of Diary? It was an interesting premise, but I never really got into it like I did the others of Chuck's works.

I kind of had the same reaction. It took me a bit to start actually getting into it, but then I liked it just fine.

I had already read LULLABY, SURVIVOR, CHOKE, and INVISIBLE MONSTERS. Only I.M. took me longer to get into than DIARY.

[jayson]

I had read Choke and Survivor previous to starting Diary and it was just such a different read. I finsished it, but it took me a lot longer than the other two which were very quick reads because I got caught up in them so quickly. Still have to read I.M.

[AIMB]

You don't know Chuck until you've read his short story GUTS (http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html)

WARNING!

You may think you know how over the top Palahniuk can get. This is a whole new level.

thanks a lot i thought i had succesfully surpressed that from my concious memory.:cry:

[AIMB]

oh and ill read any chuck p. book i can get but i am i the only person who thinks his books are a little redundant/pretintious in the way they are written?
like i cant read two of his books in a row.
maybe its the add haha

[mr.nineteen]

I've read Fight Club, Survivor, Lullaby, Rant and Choke. And some short stories, like Guts. I liked Fight Club so much I even wrote an 4000 words essay on it for an assignment.

[Patrick]

oh and ill read any chuck p. book i can get but i am i the only person who thinks his books are a little redundant/pretintious in the way they are written?
like i cant read two of his books in a row.
maybe its the add haha

Given his distinctive style, I agree that, for me, it would be a bit much to read two in a row. I prefer to put other authors into the mix between his books. But then again, I do that with most authors (King and Gaiman being the only-sometimes exceptions).

[Hannah]

oh and ill read any chuck p. book i can get but i am i the only person who thinks his books are a little redundant/pretintious in the way they are written?
like i cant read two of his books in a row.
maybe its the add haha

I think part of the reason why his books seem so redundant is his writing style. The narrator always seems the same. They have the same tone, the same attitude almost. He doesn't seem to give much of an individual tone to each character.

I still love me some Chuck though.

[Jean]

You don't know Chuck until you've read his short story GUTS (http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html)

WARNING!

You may think you know how over the top Palahniuk can get. This is a whole new level.
I loved Guts a lot, it was perfect; but as far as his getting over the top, he surely didn't go as far as some Russian writers he is very similar to and, I would say, he inherits from (I have no doubt that he did read them, and in Russian).

[mr.nineteen]

Reading two Chuck books in a row is overwhelming, I also like to switch authors while reading. Although I remember reading all seven Narnia books in a week without ever stopping and got never tired of C.S. Lewis' style. Depends really, some authors can really be heavy in their narration.

And Jean, what Russian authors are those? I'd like to read them sometime.

[Jean]

I am not sure they were ever translated into English. It's Alexander Bushkov, Dmitry Bykov, Victor Pelevin, Ludmila Ulizkaya, Tatiana Tolstaya, Michail Veller (even his style is very much like Palahniuk's), and Lubov Petrushevskaya.

[mr.nineteen]

Oh thanks, I sure hope to find some translations of at least some of them, I can understand Spanish, English and some French, but not a thing of Russian.

[Heather19]

Just saw on Chuck's website, that Choke got picked up at sundance and they already set a release date of August 1, 2008. So we won't have to wait too long.

[Ka-mai]

Palahniuk drives me crazy because he thrives on the gross-out. I think it's pretty juvenile. I loved Fight Club though (but because of the reason stated here, I liked the movie better. [I know that's literary blasphemy, sue me.]). Also, he creates these situations that are just too surreal, I can't take him seriously most of the time. I tried reading Haunted and after the second chapter I was rolling my eyes and wondering how he got published in the first place.

[Jean]

but there are some very good short stories in Haunted? If taken separatelym, I mean. I agree that a novel it is rather weak; the same with the only other by him I've read, Survivor: all separate parts are ok, some very sharp, some really brilliant, but they somehow don't add up to a convincing whole.

[Heather19]

Try Lullaby. That's one of my favorites by him.

[jayson]

i really enjoyed survivor. i can see where it might have some coherence issues, but overall i thought it held together alright.

[blackrose22]

When I saw the name Chuck Palahniuk I wondered who??? Sorry but had never heard of him and no I haven't seen the film Fight Club either. After reading all the replies to this thread (especially Erin's) I can't wait to get some of his books to read. Going to see if the local video store has Fight Club to get a taste of what the books are like.

[Erin]

Yay! Hopefully you will really like it blackrose22!

[blackrose22]

Heading into town shortly to see what I can my hands on.

[blackrose22]

Couldn't believe my luck in the local branch of Easons as the only had one copy of Fight Club in stock so naturally I bought it:rock: . Then went to ExtraVison and they had Fight Club on dvd for just 7.99 euros so got it as well:P . Once I finsih the last two books in the Dune series I going to read Fight Club and then watch the film after. Can't wait.

[Erin]

Awesome deals! And it's good that you are planning on reading the book first...I saw the movie before reading the book and I had the image of Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden burned in my head. I like visualizing the characters myself before a movie trys to tell me who to see.

Anyhoo, you're in for a treat, I can't wait to hear what you thought of them. :rock:

[blackrose22]

Awesome deals! And it's good that you are planning on reading the book first...I saw the movie before reading the book and I had the image of Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden burned in my head. I like visualizing the characters myself before a movie trys to tell me who to see.

Anyhoo, you're in for a treat, I can't wait to hear what you thought of them. :rock:
No worries on that score Erin as soon as I read Fight Club and watch the DVD I'll give you a full report on what I thought of them. It's going to a week or so till I get around to reading the book as I just started Heretics of Dune and want to read Chapter House Dune afterwards as these books have so much detail in them you can't rush them. Really looking forward to Fight Club.

[blackrose22]

Finally finished Chapter House so going to start Fight Club tomorrow evening. Can't wait to see is as good as people say.

[blackrose22]

Just finished Fight Club yesterday and loved it. I found his writing style a bit strange at first but once I got use to it I found the book a great and quick read. Funny and surreal at times and a fast momentum to the storyline. Love his characterisation and quirkiness of the people in the book. Watched the film last night and loved it as well. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were brilliant and I couldn't get over how good Meatloaf was in it. Also loved Helena Bonham Carter she looked so much like how I had visualised Marla. There was a few changes to the film from the book but I thought this help the flow of the story in the film. Can't wait to read more of Chucks books.

[Erin]

Yay! :rock:

So glad you liked it! Chuck Palahniuk's just great.

[Vasagi]

I was looking for a new author to check out, and was in the mood for something "out there", so I picked up a copy of Rant at the library the other day. Yeah ... it was pretty out there ;)

The writing style turned me off a bit - I'm not too keen on the whole "oral biography" thing, where you're essentially reading a bunch of quotes from different people. It wasn't that bad, considering I've read a couple of other things recently written the same way ... it's just not my favorite style of writing.

It was also strange that a few fundamental things of the setting of the book weren't really explained until I was beyond half-way through it. Once I got to the point where the main character moved on from home, and things start getting explained, I couldn't put it down. The way things got tied together, inconsistencies were explained, and new questions raised the further I got just keept sucking me in deeper and deeper.

My reaction to the book kind of went from ... WTF?!? to 'Oh ... that explains a lot' ... to Dayum ... to WTF?!?

So yeah ... I was looking for a mindbender, and I found one. Any suggestions for a 2nd book to read from Palahniuk?

[jayson]

I was looking for a new author to check out, and was in the mood for something "out there", so I picked up a copy of Rant at the library the other day. Yeah ... it was pretty out there ;)

The writing style turned me off a bit - I'm not too keen on the whole "oral biography" thing, where you're essentially reading a bunch of quotes from different people. It wasn't that bad, considering I've read a couple of other things recently written the same way ... it's just not my favorite style of writing.

It was also strange that a few fundamental things of the setting of the book weren't really explained until I was beyond half-way through it. Once I got to the point where the main character moved on from home, and things start getting explained, I couldn't put it down. The way things got tied together, inconsistencies were explained, and new questions raised the further I got just keept sucking me in deeper and deeper.

My reaction to the book kind of went from ... WTF?!? to 'Oh ... that explains a lot' ... to Dayum ... to WTF?!?

So yeah ... I was looking for a mindbender, and I found one. Any suggestions for a 2nd book to read from Palahniuk?

i particularly liked Choke and Survivor, not so much Diary. Reading Invisible Monsters now, which I am enjoying a lot.

[Erin]

BJ!! Nice to see you! :D

Anyways, I'm so glad you found Rant so intriguing. Seriously, I have never been left with more of a WHAT THE F???? HOLY COW!!!! feeling before upon finishing a book. I absolutely loved it. I feel it is the type of book though i will need to re-read a few times before I fully understand everything that went on in it.

R_of_G made good suggestions. I think you'd really like Choke...the main character is a sex addict. :P :lol:

[Heather19]

I'll have to give Rant a second try. I ended up putting it down and never finishing it. I'd recommend Lullaby and Fight Club. Those are my two favorites by him. Haven't read Choke though, but will have to soon before the movie comes out.

[Erin]

The first half of Rant is nothing like the second half. Really, it becomes a completely different story. It's shocking.

[Heather19]

Nice, I'm definately curious about it now. I'll give it another shot.

[Unfound One]

Ah! I read Fight Club over my winter break this year and LOVED it.
The book was a lot better than the movie, fo sho.
But when isn't that the case?
I still enjoy the movie though because I adore Edward Norton :wub:

[obscurejude]

Ah! I read Fight Club over my winter break this year and LOVED it.
The book was a lot better than the movie, fo sho.
But when isn't that the case?
I still enjoy the movie though because I adore Edward Norton :wub:

Unfound, I loved the book too, but I have to politely disagree. This is one case where the movie is even better (partly because the dialogue is almost verbatim from the book). I don't know, The cast is just fucking perfect. It was so well done...from cinematography to music to...whatever. I also liked the ending a lot better in the movie. The closing scene, with the buildings crashing down as the pixies start playing in the background... Better than the insane asylum, in my opinion.

[Unfound One]

You know what Jude? You may very well be correct.

I haven't seen the movie since I read the book, maybe watching it again will change my mind...
I should do that.

[Vasagi]

BJ!! Nice to see you! :D

Anyways, I'm so glad you found Rant so intriguing. Seriously, I have never been left with more of a WHAT THE F???? HOLY COW!!!! feeling before upon finishing a book. I absolutely loved it. I feel it is the type of book though i will need to re-read a few times before I fully understand everything that went on in it.

R_of_G made good suggestions. I think you'd really like Choke...the main character is a sex addict. :P :lol:

What? You trying to say something?

All I've gotta say about that is that it's a good thing the symptoms of sex addiction withdrawal aren't deadly. If sex were melange, I'd have been toast long ago :P

Anyhow ... thanks for the good suggestions all. I'll have to see what's available at the library.

[Patrick]

I finally read FIGHT CLUB. Excellent book, as good or better than I expected (I had high expectations to begin with). I haven't seen the movie in years which helped make the book seem fresh. :thumbsup:

[obscurejude]

Watch the movie Patrick. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised about how well David Fincher adapted it. The newer version also has a commentary with Chuck P, who was also very impressed. He actually enjoyed the ending as well.

[Heather19]

I had seen the movie long before I read the book, but once I finished reading the story I had to go back and watch the movie, and I was surprised by how good of an adaptation it was. I loved how they used alot of the dialog straight from the story. And both Edward and Brad gave great performances. I'll have to grab that version with the commentary by Chuck. I'd love to listen to that.

[Patrick]

Thanks, Jude and Heather. I do plan to rent the movie again, probably next week. I'd love to hear Chuck's commentary. :dance:

[educatedlady]

I recently read Diary and I really liked it...it was unusual but I liked it. For Christmas I was given Invisible Monsters but I haven't had time to read it. Anyone read it? Thoughts?

[Erin]

Invisible Monsters is awesome! I really loved it. It's about a famous model who is horribly disfigured in an accident and how she changes her life. The story jumps back and forth in time throughout the whole book (Palahniuk says he wrote the story that way because he wanted it to be jumbled and confusing, like a fashion magazine).

Oh, and I read somewhere once that it was meant to be Palahniuk's first novel, but publisher after publisher rejected it, saying it was "too disturbing", so Fight Club was published first.

[Patrick]

Believe everything Erin tells you about Palahniuk. She is Jack's expert knowledge.

[Erin]

:lol:

:blush:

[jayson]

I recently read Diary and I really liked it...it was unusual but I liked it. For Christmas I was given Invisible Monsters but I haven't had time to read it. Anyone read it? Thoughts?

i'm reading it now, well not right now, but it is my current fiction read and i am enjoying it a lot. truth be told, i hated diary, but love other Chuck P. Invisbile Monsters is a little more what I am looking for in a Chuck book.

[obscurejude]

I bought Diary when I was having trouble eating due to lack of money. I was very disappointed. I almost bought Invisible Monsters instead...mayhap I should have.

[jemaher]

Loved the movie Fight club... anyone read the book and watched the movie care to venture an opinion on which is better... i.e. should i ready the book now that i have seen the movie?

[obscurejude]

Loved the movie Fight club... anyone read the book and watched the movie care to venture an opinion on which is better... i.e. should i ready the book now that i have seen the movie?

Read the posts above.

[Erin]

I was quite disappointed with Diary when I first read it. However, I've read it twice since then and like it a lot more. It's one of those books that grew on me.

[obscurejude]

Thanks Erin, I might give it another shot at some point. Too much on the plate right now.

[Grillslinger]

SMOLEY HOKES!!! I just finished Rant and I think it's an amazing book. It may even be...gulp...my favorite.

[Erin]

My thoughts exactly! :nana:

[Patrick]

Hmmm... Maybe I'll have to read RANT sooner rather than later...

[Arthur Heath]

Anyone read any of his Non Fiction stuff? He wrote a great little book on my home town Portland OR about eclectic things to do around the city. He lists every thing from gay male bathe houses (it is Portland) to beautiful hidden hikes. Between the events he shares insight in growing up and living in Portland, where he is also from and currently resides.
Also his Stranger Than Fiction is a non fiction book that talks about anything between wild sex festivals/concerts in Montana to cauliflower ear that wrestlers get from germs on the mat.
His live readings are outrageous also. For such an eccentric writer he's very reserved at them. And he stays until everyone who wants an autograph gets them, no matter how late.
Chuck rules!

[special k]

Im currently in the middle of lullaby though Im not feeling it as much as i was with survivor and choke.

[Heather19]

Got home today, and what was waiting for me in the mail, but my new copy of Snuff signed by Chuck :excited:

I was really hoping to catch him on tour this year, as I missed the last one, but sadly he's coming nowhere nearby.
It's my first signed copy of a book by any author so I'm excited!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii117/heather10119/Misc/DSC01475.jpg

[LadyHitchhiker]

I nearly died looking how the body parts made the letters on his new book and the inside decoration. We were laughing so hard when we were putting it away at the bookstore today.

[Erin]

HEATHER! That rocks! How cool!

I had no idea Snuff had come out already. I'm slacking on my Palahniuk! :panic:

[Patrick]

I didn't realize it was out already either. Congrats, Heather!

[Arthur Heath]

Got home today, and what was waiting for me in the mail, but my new copy of Snuff signed by Chuck :excited:

I was really hoping to catch him on tour this year, as I missed the last one, but sadly he's coming nowhere nearby.
It's my first signed copy of a book by any author so I'm excited!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii117/heather10119/Misc/DSC01475.jpg

Hmmm, I was going to post how excited I was to find hardcover copy of Haunted for 10 bucks at a bookshop in the airport. Then I read this...
How did you manage the autograph?

[Heather19]

I just ordered it thru St. Helen's. It's a little bookstore where he goes all the time to sign books. I was really hoping to go see him on tour this year, since I missed out on last years, and got disappointed when I found out he wasn't coming anywhere near me, so I figured I'd just go ahead and order one.

Erin, are you going to catch him again this year as well?

[Erin]

I just checked his tour dates and the closest he is to me is Atlanta. My dad lives there, so if it was on any other day, i'd totally drive the 5 hours for it. But sadly i'll be out of town that day. :cry: So sadly, no Chucky P for me this year.

[Heather19]

Sorry Erin, that's too bad.

[Brownmouse]

Ok, I lost a post:panic: - so I hope it doesn't reappear somewhere. I'm new here, forgive me.

I LOVE Chuck!! I started with his short story"Guts" and yeah, yeah, it's gross but man, what a mind that guy has!! He is a complete new genre unto himself!

Have any of you found that when you recommended one of his books and they read it they sometimes get mad at you. I've had that happen a couple of times (Haunted- my sister was like"I could NOT get past Major Gut-Free-")...(that's his name right, right?) I mean, come on,-- do you think he is too weird to recommend to anyone and everyone? Should I pick and choose. I never thought of myself as a weird person :innocent: - --well , except for keeping the remains of road kill under my bed :evil: (everyone has to have a habit right?) ;) kidding, really, I'm kidding. :unsure:

Anyway, I love his books (not as much as King) and have read most of them, all I think but "Lullaby" because I am afraid I'll read the words that are supposed to be a spell or something and well,-- OK, I am a little weird.-- But -it freaks me out, so I won't read them. I don't think I read Rant, either. I'll have to get that!!

Loved Choke, Haunted and Diary-I really like that one, I noticed some didn't.
Oh, Invisible Monsters was great, too! His nonfiction, Stranger Than Fiction is a bit well, strange, I think I'd rather read weird stuff that is made up than weird stuff that's not made up. :scared:

Oh, sorry if I posted something already posted, I tried to read all the posts on this thread but I am on limited computer time as my husband is giving me dirty looks as he cleans around me. hee hee .

[Erin]

:lol:

Hi Brownmouse. I've found the same thing about people geting mad about me recommending a Chuck book. I never know if a person is going to absolutely love him or think he's disgusting. :orely:

[Patrick]

Hello Brownmouse!

I'm careful who I recommend Palahniuk to. He's not for everyone.

[Heather19]

I've tried to recommend his books to people before, but still haven't gotten anyone to give him a shot.

[Arthur Heath]

I cant keep track of all the Chuck books I loaned out...I just gave up and bought new ones.

[Tiffany]

My husband is a huge fan and has 'em all so I'll have to grab one and give 'er a go.

I have read Haunted. I haven't eaten calamari since. Seriously.

[Arthur Heath]

Dont tell me that, I was going to read Haunted on my flight tomorrow and I love calamari!

[Tiffany]

Dont tell me that, I was going to read Haunted on my flight tomorrow and I love calamari!

I used to, as well. :( It was Guts that did it. A friend of mine was able to read it and still eat calamari so it might not be so bad for you. Maybe you like it more than I did.

Me? I just can't do it. :cry:

[Arthur Heath]

Ah, Guts is in Haunted eh? I didnt know that. Well I'm safe than as I've read Guts while eating calamari!

[Tiffany]

Hats off to you, my friend. Those rubbery rounds just make it too easy for my imagination.

[Ves'Ka Gan]

I've read them all but Snuff--I hadn't realized it had come out either. I got so used to knowing these kinds of things working at a book store, that I forget I have to pay attention now!

Invisible Monsters was my favorite, Choke a close second, he never ceases to find new ways to make my skin crawl. I think my favorite description of his though, is when he describes the main guy in Choke having sex with the other sex addict in the bathroom & he says she had great abs from coughing so much due to smoker's hack. Seriously, how does he come up with this stuff?!

I'm very careful about reccomending him, too...I bought 3 of his books at once and had them read in a matter of days. I think the only one I didn't immeadiately devour was Haunted, and on second take I really enjoyed it. The only issue was, it sat on the shelf for so long between other books, that I never noticed the cover. It was one hell of a moment when I woke up in the middle of the night to a glowing ghoul face in bed next to me!!! (If it had been prior to my divorce...well, anyway....)

[mae]

I wonder if Invisible Monsters will ever be reissued in hardcover...

[Tiffany]

Started reading Invisible Monsters last night. I didn't get all that far (it was late and I fell asleep) but I look forward to reading more.

[Arthur Heath]

It was one hell of a moment when I woke up in the middle of the night to a glowing ghoul face in bed next to me!!!

That cover glows it the dark? Too bad I threw it away.
No one ever writes about his non fiction books. Anyone read 'em?

[Heather19]

It was one hell of a moment when I woke up in the middle of the night to a glowing ghoul face in bed next to me!!!

That cover glows it the dark? Too bad I threw it away.
No one ever writes about his non fiction books. Anyone read 'em?

I've really been wanting to pick them up, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Which one would you recommend?

Also I just started Snuff. Haven't gotten too far into yet though.

[Roland number 19]

Plahniuk is God, handsdown. I cannot wait for the Choke movie to come out, and I will be getting SNuff otmorrow once I get my paycheck. :]

[Arthur Heath]

Any get through Snuff yet?

[Heather19]

I started it and got a couple of chapters in, but haven't picked it up since. I've been in a reading slump lately. Hopefully it'll pass soon.

[Daghain]

I just started Haunted and I think I am already hooked. Guts is disgusting, but funny as hell. In a gross way. You know what I mean.

I have a sick mind like that. :lol:

[theyspunaweb]

yes! I read Haunted, and it was pretty awesome. When I'm done with the Tower series, I plan on reading a bunch more by him.

[LemurJones]

The only thing of his that I've read is Guts, which I think was kind of stupid on several levels. Everybody told me that I would be all "aahh" but really I was just like "Oh, come on."

[Arthur Heath]

yes! I read Haunted, and it was pretty awesome. When I'm done with the Tower series, I plan on reading a bunch more by him.

I would recommend Lullaby. Its quick to read and great. :thumbsup:

[Matticus-Finch]

Lullaby was awesome.

I also really enjoyed Invisible Monsters. He's a great author.

[Daghain]

I'm really liking Haunted. Totally weird.

[Matticus-Finch]

I'll have to check that one out! I've been meaning to get to it but somehow I always overlook it.

[Jean]

saw Lullabye in a bookstore yesterday (there are three bookstores I know of in the center which cell books in English), but it was about $ 20, thus completely out of the question

gr gr gr

[alinda]

*I'd give you $40.00 if you get the book you want! I miss you dearest , are you back home then?

[Jean]

I'm back my love! don't worry about books, I have a trunkful thanks to you and t/song!

[Heather19]

I'm really liking Haunted. Totally weird.

Enjoy, that was my first Chuck P. book.
Not my favorite, but there were some good stories in there. And it did get me to check out some more of his stuff.

[Jean]

I especially liked Guts, Exodus and Ritual; also all four Ms. Clark's storied (Post-Production, The Nightmare Box, Poster Child, and Cassandra). If I had to name one it would be Exodus.

[Daghain]

I've just finished the Matchmaker's story, but the one by the Earl of Slander is my favorite, so far.

I likes me a good schadenfreude reference. :lol:

[mae]

Chuck is one of the few authors I collect. His books are awesome (too bad there's still no hardcover Invisible Monsters, but at least I have that one inscribed by him to me).

[JRSly]

I came in to see if there might be some Chuck Palahniuk talk...and wouldn't you know it, there's a huge thread about him. :)

Big fan of his, I first read "Fight Club" years ago, since I loved the movie, and I really dug Chuck's writing style. Then I picked up "Survivor", I thought it was very good. I'm hoping someday that it might make it's way back into the Hollywood movie-making machine. "Survivor" really hooked me, that's when I knew I was gonna pick up Chuck's books without reading too many reviews, I knew he was just a safe bet for my taste.

And of course, I just say that and...then I picked up "Invisible Monsters" and still haven't got around to reading it. And somehow Chuck managed to stay off of my reading queue for a couple years("The Dark Tower" certainly helped keep him away for a few months). But earlier this summer I got an itch to read more and read "Choke", "Rant", and "Diary".

"Choke" was great. An excellent way to get back into his books. There were the familiar Palahniuk-isms and the sorta standard story with the twists and developments. Looking forward to the movie quite a bit.

"Rant"...wow..."Rant" was completely amazing. Blew me away. Such an incredibly interesting and expertly woven idea. I was a slave to it from the very beginning, I devoured it so quickly...I had to know what a 'party crasher' was, I had to know what made Rant so special, all these little teases and mysteries..I just had to know the answer to everything! I'm terribly excited to see the other 'Rant books' coming out in the next few years.

Oh, and a note for those who've read the book, I listened to the audiobook version and I'd highly recommend it for a re-read(or a first read). Obviously, it makes a lot of sense with the oral biography aspect...it's very entertaining to have it presented in the intended conceptual way.

"Diary" was good...but I agree with a lot of others' sentiments when they say they weren't blown away by it, or it didn't grab them the way his other books do. It had the familiar quirks and the unexplained weirdness that compels you to read more so it can be explained weirdness...but overall it just wasn't as interesting weirdness and quirks, for me. I loved the ending, I love the way Chuck can deliver a story that sorta transcends just being a story on paper, he can take the concept of a novel and make it more than just words in between covers. But the ending didn't seem to need the whole book to really make it work, so it ends up feeling like a lesser work. And I really think my biggest problem with it was reading it immediately after "Rant", I was setting myself up to be letdown.

Haven't read "Snuff" yet, thinking about picking up my old copy of "Invisible Monsters" next and give it a look. Then I'll have to work in "Lullabye" somewhere.

Oh, and I totally know what people are talking about when they mention his occasionally redundant style, and it does bug me a bit. Stephen King has quirks too that always pop up and bug me. :) But all of Chuck's narrators seem to be depressed, sedated, victims of society who read the same websites full of useless trivia.

[Heather19]

Definately check out Lullaby, it's great!

[bluelph24]

gonna be a lil bit off topic for a sec

how do you pronounce this guy's name?


ps-i've read fight club and wanna read more, just have too much on my plate right now. that is all

[Daghain]

Pa-la-nik, I think.

[NeedfulKings]

Okay....I have not read a single book (have seen Fight Club), but I just found out the Chuck's pretty much a "local author" here. He lives about 3 hours north of me.

I plan to buy, read, and start collecting his stuff. After what I've seen here in this thread, it's a MUST!

I'll let you know what and when I read from him. :)

[mae]

Pa-la-nik, I think.

POH-lah-nik

That's according to the man himself.

[Daghain]

I stand corrected. Thanks! :)

[Oy of Mid-World]

This probably didn't bother anyone else,but being an engineer it bothered me :p
At the beginning of Survivor he writes 'This he calls the terminal phase, where you're going thirty two feet per second straight at the ground. This he calls the terminal velocity, the speed where objects of equal mass all travel at the same speed.'
He obviously had to do some research to get 32 feet per second, which would be earth's acceleration due to gravity if it was 32 feet per second per second(32 ft/s^2), so he should have gotten it right if he looked that up, realizing that it was acceleration and not velocity. And he made up his own definition of terminal velocity, which is like some fucked up version of the definition of gravity, when it's really the speed where the force of gravity is equal to the drag on the object, thus terminal velocity, when the object terminates accelerating and stays at that speed.
It just pisses me off that it's clear that he did some research but still got it totally wrong:pullhair:


On a lighter note just read Rant and liked it a lot better than survivor:p

[Jean]

This probably didn't bother anyone else,but being an engineer it bothered me :p
it didn't bother me then, because I don't know anything about such things, but it does now. I mean, when a precise technical detail is added, it is supposed to lend some plausibility, not the other way, so if the author doesn't know shit of what he writes about (and of course he is not supposed to know everything), one would think he should have an expert check it.

[Hannah]

I finished Rant a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it. It was hard for me to get into at first, but after the first few chapters I was completely hooked. I loved the plotline, the little secrets and twist and turns in the story. The characters were typical of Chuck, but again he's such a creative writer that as long as his plots remain good, his substandard characters won't bother me as much.

On a side note: has anyone seen the trailer for Choke? I was a little disappointed by it. Does anyone know when it comes out?

[BedOfRoses]

I just read Fight Club and loved it. I am planning to read many others--Lullaby was recommended to me so I am going to look for that one. We own Stuff so that is a possible "next read." :)

[Heather19]

On a side note: has anyone seen the trailer for Choke? I was a little disappointed by it. Does anyone know when it comes out?

I think it came out this past friday.

[NeedfulKings]

I just read Fight Club and loved it. I am planning to read many others--Lullaby was recommended to me so I am going to look for that one. We own Stuff so that is a possible "next read." :)

I'm reading Fight Club now!!! :nana:

[Daghain]

I'm totally taking a Palahniuk book on the plane to Vegas. :lol:

[Heather19]

That was my plan with Choke. It was going to be my plane book however I keep getting so caught up in it, I'm just about done. Only about 50 more pages to go, and I'm leaving first thing tomorrow, so at this point I figure I should just finish it up before I leave.

[Seymour_Glass]

I just got Choke from the library.
Last night I wrote a report on Fight Club for my English class.
My friend Brandon (in the same class) did a report on Survivor.

[flaggwalkstheline]

Palahniuk Rules! I like lullabye and haunted and choke n diary and rant and everything by him
has has the best anecdotes ever written (besides vonnegut and sai kings wisdom)
like this nugget from lullabye "all the laugh-tracks on tv were recorded in the 1950s, these days most of the people you hear laughing are dead."

[Daghain]

I love Chuck's twisted sense of humor. I just finished Fight Club a while back and it was AWESOME.

[mae]

A new Chuck Palahniuk book is scheduled for release on May 5, 2009 (http://chuckpalahniuk.net/news/pre-order-chuck-palahniuks-next-book-pygmy):


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41w5KNtGdML.jpg

[Daghain]

That looks like it's going to be a good one!

[Hannah]

I think I already asked this, but I'll ask again: Has anyone seen Choke?

[Daghain]

I haven't even read the book yet. :panic:

[Heather19]

I think I already asked this, but I'll ask again: Has anyone seen Choke?

No I haven't. I really wanted to see it while it was out, but I never got a chance to. I'm curious how it was, I haven't really heard much talk about it.

[Hannah]

I heard it was awful. I also read on Chuck's site that its opening weekend was dismal. It only opened in like 400+ theaters. When I was going to see it there was only one theater within an hour radius from me even showing it with only one showtime: 10:15 pm. Not worth it.

Guess I'll have to wait for the DVD ...

[Heather19]

Well that's disappointing. Fight Club was excellent so I had high hopes for this one. Hopefully it'll make it to dvd soon so I can check it out.

[NeedfulKings]

I just started reading Choke and am enjoying it so far! Chuck has a "unique" style of writing. :P

[flaggwalkstheline]

im about to read snuff, i have it on hold at the library but couldnt get it today since they were closed for verterans day

[Daghain]

I'm thinking of reading Choke as soon as I finish Firestarter.

[mae]

Official description of Chucks upcoming novel Pygmy:


"Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival midwestern American airport greater _____ area. Flight _____. Date _____. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Operation Havoc."

Thus speaks Pygmy, one of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state sent to the United States, disguised as exchange students, to live with typical American families and blend in, all the while planning an unspecified act of massive terrorism. Palahniuk depicts Midwestern life through the eyes of this thoroughly indoctrinated little killer, who hates us with a passion, in this cunning double-edged satire of an American xenophobia that might, in fact, be completely justified. For Pygmy and his fellow operatives are cooking up something big, something truly awful, that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to their knees.

It's a comedy.

[Daghain]

I'm looking forward to that one. :)

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Choke and loving it so far.

[Arthur Heath]

I'm looking forward to that one. :)

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Choke and loving it so far.

Choke is one of Chucks more tame books. Until the last 5 pages.

Whoa...

*gags*

[Daghain]

Oh, I love the gross out, and Chuck seems to be pretty good at it. I'm looking forward to that. :lol:

[jayson]

...cunning double-edged satire of an American xenophobia

Sold. I'd give it a try anyway, but that description made it that much more intriguing. Thanks Pablo! :)

[flaggwalkstheline]

haunted is simultaneosly one of the funniest and scariest books ever written

[Daghain]

:thumbsup:

Agreed.

[Heather19]

Thanks for the heads up Pablo. I can't wait for it to come out now, sounds really interesting.

[Seymour_Glass]

I just finished Survivor. It was amazing.

I'm gonna start Lullaby next.

[Arthur Heath]

Lullaby was my first (and favorite) Chuck book. I have yet to find a (Chuck) book that I like as much and I have ready plenty.

[Seymour_Glass]

What others have you read?

[Arthur Heath]

Fiction:
* Fight Club
* Survivor
* Invisible Monsters
* Choke
* Lullaby
* Diary
* Haunted
Non Fiction:
* Stranger Than Fiction
* Portland, In and Around (He's from my hometown, Portland)
Short Stories:
Guts (http://www.noops.org/guts.html)
*WARNING* If you are familiar with Chuck, proceed to Guts. If not, be prepared.

[Seymour_Glass]

Oh my god, Guts! How many people fainted when he read that?

[Rjeso]

I recently finished Survivor, which was my first Chucky P. book.

I liked it. :D

[Daghain]

I must be insane, because Guts barely grossed me out at all. I think the buildup, hearing about all the people who fainted during readings of it, made it anti-climactic when I did actually read it. Yeah, it's gross, but not faintworthy, IMHO. I will say I don't reach Chuck while eating, though. :lol:

[Seymour_Glass]

I recently finished Survivor, which was my first Chucky P. book.

I liked it. :D

I just finished Survivor, too. But...
Do you think he parachuted out of the plane before impact?

[jayson]

I just finished Survivor, too. But...
Do you think he parachuted out of the plane before impact?

I know I thought the answer was yes when I first read it. Can't quite remember the full details of the scene though.

[Jean]

I can't remember the ending of any Palahniuk book I read, which is suspicious, because usually I remember any text very well, and endings seem rather important part. I have some vague idea how Lullaby ended, but absolutely none of the outcome of either Fight Club or Survivor (or Haunted, if taken as a whole and not as assorted stories).

[flaggwalkstheline]

No I'm pretty sure he didnt have a parachute so he died

oh and guts is the first story in haunted, horrifyingly great but the story exodus was crazier

[Seymour_Glass]

I'm almost finished with Lullaby. Wow. It's different than any of his other books I've read (Choke, FC, Survivor), but not in a way that any could consider bad.

[Arthur Heath]

Lullaby is pretty far out there. Wait until the end, its insanely out there, astronomically. I loved it.
If you want to read a book that has a Palahniuk feel to it by comic guru Warren Ellis, get his novel (its small and a quick read) Crooked Little Vein. Great stuff.

[Depren]

So after my friend let me borrow Choke over the summer, I finally got around to reading it. It only took three days to finish, and now i'm trying to decide on next book of his to read...

[Arthur Heath]

Lullaby is great. Just browse the previous posts and you will see all sorts of suggestions. There all great.

[Seymour_Glass]

Lullaby is pretty far out there. Wait until the end, its insanely out there, astronomically. I loved it.
If you want to read a book that has a Palahniuk feel to it by comic guru Warren Ellis, get his novel (its small and a quick read) Crooked Little Vein. Great stuff.

Warren Ellis wrote a novel? :mindbogglingawesomeness:

[Seymour_Glass]

I've started reading Rant. It's really weird and really good. Maybe my favorite of his so far. I

[flaggwalkstheline]

I liked rant right up until the ending
snuff was also, well, up 2 snuff lol

[Heather19]

I really need to go back and finish reading Rant.
Also just got Invisible Monsters, so hopefully I'll be able to get to that in the near future.

[jayson]

My wife had the same problem finishing Invisible Monsters that I did. One of us will have to finish it at some point, but neither could on the first go round.

[Seymour_Glass]

I just finished Rant. It's my favorite of his so far.

[The Cosmic Geek]

I read him a lot when he first came out. Loved Fight Club, what an excellent first book to write! I also read Survivor, which I really liked as well, Monster and Choke. Still need to go back and read his other stuff.

[Heather19]

I read him a lot when he first came out. Loved Fight Club, what an excellent first book to write! I also read Survivor, which I really liked as well, Monster and Choke. Still need to go back and read his other stuff.

You should really check out Lullaby if you haven't read that one yet.

[The Cosmic Geek]

Which one was Lullaby? I can't remember if I knew of that one or not.

[Heather19]

That's the one about the "culling song". A reporter realizes that parents have been accidentally killing their kids by reading them this poem. He then sets off on a road trip to find all copies.

[The Cosmic Geek]

HMMM, I don't think I heard of that one. Interesting story idea, I'll have to look into that one, thanks, Heather.

Have you read Sandman yet?

[Heather19]

Definitely check it out then. If you enjoyed the other ones, I think you'll easily enjoy Lullaby. I'd probably rank it as my favorite Palahniuk book.

I'm only about 30 pages in to The Sandman so far.

[The Cosmic Geek]

Favorite one? OK, I will definitely check it out if you like it so much, thanks for the recommendation.

What are your thoughts on Sandman so far or is it too early to tell?

[Heather19]

So far so good, but not too much has happened yet. I'll let you know when I finish it.

[The Cosmic Geek]

Cool.

I'd also recommend checking out Scary Godmother by Jill Thompson. It has a nice Nightmare Before Christmas vibe to it while being its own thing. It originally started out as children books for Halloween, and then became a comic. Nice spidery lines in the comic, black and white book, and the children books are water colors. Really great stuff.

[Daghain]

I think I have all Chuck's books in my "to read" pile, but now I think Lullaby just shot right up the list. :thumbsup:

[Heather19]

:couple: Enjoy Daggers!

[Daghain]

Thanks! Of course, I'm only about 120 pages into my Four Past Midnight reread, so it will be awhile. :lol:

[Patrick]

In case anyone hadn't heard, Chuck has a new book coming out in a few months. It's titled PYGMY (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385526342/officchuckpalaha/) and will be released May 5, 2009.

Product Description

The Manchurian Candidate meets South Park—Chuck Palahniuk’s finest novel since the generation-defining Fight Club.


“Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival Midwestern American airport greater _____ area. Flight _____. Date _____. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Operation Havoc.”

Thus speaks Pygmy, one of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state sent to the United States, disguised as exchange students, to live with typical American families and blend in, all the while planning an unspecified act of massive terrorism. Palahniuk depicts Midwestern life through the eyes of this thoroughly indoctrinated little killer, who hates us with a passion, in this cunning double-edged satire of an American xenophobia that might, in fact, be completely justified. For Pygmy and his fellow operatives are cooking up something big, something truly awful, that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to their knees.

It’s a comedy. And a romance.

[Seymour_Glass]

I can't wait for Pygmy.

[Daghain]

I'll have to wait for the paperback - I started buying his books in paperback and I'm a freak about having my set "match". :lol:

That, and I have about 30 books on my shelf right now to read, many of them Chuck's. :D

[Patrick]

Get with it, Daghain!

[Daghain]

:p

[Hannah]

He needs to write slower! :panic:

I still haven't read Snuff.

[Daghain]

:lol:

[EdwardDean1999]

I've only read "Diary" and "Survivor". For a laugh if you haven't read his short story "Guts" go here: http://www.noops.org/guts.html

Like a lot of Chuck, not for the faint of heart. I apologize if it's already been posted, I did not read every page of this thread prior to posting.

[Daghain]

Haunted is really quite good, and Guts is the first story in there.

[EdwardDean1999]

Maybe I'll read it next then.

[Heather19]

Choke is finally out on dvd. Hopefully I'll be able to watch it sometime soon now.

[EdwardDean1999]

Pygmy sounds interesting.

[Daghain]

Ooh, Choke is out! I totally need to rent that!

[jayson]

Cool. I forgot about that movie. Netflix here I come.

[flaggwalkstheline]

Ooh, Choke is out! I totally need to rent that!

Its out?! thanku for mentioning it, I was wondering when it would come out on dvd!

[Daghain]

Choke is now #1 on my Netflix queue. :D

[Heather19]

Me too. I just returned a couple of movies the other day, so I should hopefully be getting it for the weekend.

[Daghain]

Mine should be here TODAY. :panic:

[Heather19]

:( Looks like I didn't send my last few movies back in time, and now there's a very long wait.