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Since Thermodynamics keeps popping up, I'll shill for a good, concise, cheap, and conversational introduction to Thermo for anyone interested in pursuing it:

Understanding Thermodynamics - Van Ness

> I think the lesbian relationship in V is described as being borne from narcissism

Oh boy. Lets just say that there was a trend back in the day to link narcissm and lesbianism which Pynchon was referencing. Here is a few things that I would find through ye olde google:

From <em>Feminist Theory and The Boy: A reader</em>:

> In a chapter entitled, 'The Lesbian Glass', Dijkstra (1986) discusses the popular belief, championed by Havelock Ellis, that women are vain narcissists capable of completely losing themselves in self-admiration. Turn-of-the-century medical writers pointed to the supposed connection between masturbation in women, narcissism and lesbianism. Masturbation increased the size of the clitoris; the woman with a large clitoris was likely to become a lesbian and to engage in those 'excess' called 'lesbian love' (Gilman 1985:89). According to Dijkstra, women were painted kissing themselves in mirrors -- vain, self-absorbed, completely uninterested in men: 'Woman's desire to embrace her own reflection, her "kiss in the glass", became the turn of the centuries emblem of her enmity towards man' (ibid.:150). ... > Like masturbation, lesbianism was seen as inextricably linked to self-absorption and narcissism.

So yeah.

One of the more interesting books I read last year was Righteous Dopefiend. It follows some San Francisco junkies around for awhile and details their various comings and goings.

There's this lazy junkie named Hogan in the book. At one point he's talking about his childhood and how he wishes he had a bike and something he says is this pure unintentional comedy that really made me laugh, I re-read the section every few months, I don't know why it's so funny. Hogan.

Well, if you don't have any qualms about buying from Amazon, they have George Guidall's audiobook on Audible. It looks like they have used hardcopy versions, too.

On Abe Books, F or F+ actually means that it's in almost new condition but that there's some minimal wear/aging, possibly from sitting on a shelf for eighteen years or being opened once or twice.. Here's a guide to their book condition ratings: http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/guide-book-conditions.shtml

I've read a couple biographies of him years ago, but the titles escape me. This one looks pretty promising maybe: Maybe?

As for books by Crowley himself, they are sometimes almost incomprehensible meanderings, but the Book of Law is his "channeled" book that gave birth to his philosophy of "Do As Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law" (and subsequently his own religion, Thelema), the Book of Thoth is about tarot, the Book of Lies is about general esoteric stuff and secret society practices.

There’s a few readers’ guides to choose from, see here :

https://www.amazon.com/Readers-Guide-Gravitys-Rainbow/dp/0882334050

There’s also this webpage, which I have found helpful :

https://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/links/culture/rainbow.bell.html

One of the things I absolutely HATE about Against the Day is that there's no UK Kindle version. There's an US version, of course, but it seems that UK Amazon think this is Against the Day. Shame it isn't; that's a very good price.

The book itself is excellent, though. Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

>Infinitely various are the means by which we become acquainted with these general movements and tendencies: now as a simple repulsion and attraction, now as an upsparkling and vanishing light, as undulation in the air, as commotion in matter, as oxydation and de-oxydation; but always, uniting or separating, the great purpose is found to be to excite and promote existence in some form or other.
>
>The observers of nature finding, however, that this poise and counterpoise are respectively unequal in effect, have endeavoured to represent such a relation in terms. They have everywhere remarked and spoken of a greater and lesser principle, an action and resistance, a doing and suffering, an advancing and retiring, a violent and moderating power; and thus a symbolical language has arisen, which, from its close analogy, may be employed as equivalent to a direct and appropriate terminology.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50572/50572-h/50572-h.htm

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This might be of some interest to you, as I believe Gothe's vague tao te ching like opacity on the subject of colour reflects Pynchons attitude as well as provides some background to Germany during the enlightenment.

> Related Articles: "Incoherent Overwritten Literary Trainwreck," a novel by Thomas Pynchon.

We’re in a Tho-mas Pyn-chon nah-vul So all the crih-tics haf-ta grah-vul At—the author’s feet! So c’mon—and find the beat! And sing along!

(Being children, they are somewhat off-key, but no one seems to mind. They continue:)

Although our sing-ing has-no rea-son If we stopped-it be-high trea-son ‘Cause it’s—a Pynchon book! So c’mon—and take a look! And read alo—

who ever wrote the entry for

https://en.uncyclopedia.co/wiki/UnBooks:%22Incoherent_Overwritten_Literary_Trainwreck%22_by_Thomas_Pynchon

is a fukkin genius. rilly rilly funny. that piano part....holy moses! and what i think was a reference to "axolotl"? just wow

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also fun fact: Piano is a very peculiar word in Italian because it has several meanings, all deducted by context: It means: Softly\Slowly\Quietly\Soft\Slow\Quiet (Adv\Adj.) as in your case: "Ci siamo conosciuti piano piano".

Inherent Vice, read by the late Ron Mclarty (R.I.P.) is a G-E-M-!

• He's really into it
• Gives character to all of the characters
• Great tunes! He sings Pynchon's songs!
• His "dope-talk" and stoneresque rambling (Denis and Doc for example) is wonderful. You just feel like he just gets it. Like he has been part of the world and understands what the text is about.

I would say that the audiobook just sounds cool. I think it's one of the best audiobooks that I've listened. Maybe it's a testament to McLarty or Pynchon, or both, but it's like the greatest combination of two amazing things. I've listened to it at least four or five times, and every time is so enjoyable. I cannot recommend it enough.

There's a sample on the amazon link, check it out and see what you like. See how he reads the line

>Back when they were together she could go weeks without anything more complicated than a pout. Now she was laying some heavy combination of face ingredients on Doc that he couldn’t read at all

Hear how he stresses the pout and continues then to the next line. I think McLarty is really giving his all in giving us this relaxed presentation of Pynchon's work. It is a work of art in reading Pynchon.

You sure your GR is trade? It looks like mass market.

The Vintage edition is a little smaller than Penguin Against the Day. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0099512335/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_fabc_1SYS7PD0P7CSM1FAE3BX It's 150 pages longer.

I'm posting this twice, as it could be of interest in both threads:

Since Thermodynamics keeps popping up, I'll shill for a good, concise, cheap, and conversational introduction to Thermo for anyone interested in pursuing it:

Understanding Thermodynamics - Van Ness

So is any edition with the Burgess cover a corrected version?

The copy I found on Amazon has this for the publisher information: "Vintage/Ebury (a Division of Random; New Ed edition (February 1, 1995)"

I’ve been into reading kids books for my daughter. Ya know, “Who’s Knees Are These”, “Who’s Toes Are Those”, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”. There’s one called “Apple” that I highly recommend because of the colors, artistry of cut paper, simple story, and environmental educational aspect.

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Nikki-McClure/dp/1419736310/ref=nodl_

Be Here Now I think I have a first edition print of that. The price is listed as $3.33. Very cool book 👍

My last book was this https://www.amazon.com/8-Bit-Apocalypse-Untold-Missile-Command/dp/1468316443

and I’m going to buy this one in the next few weeks

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Nice-Autobiography-Howard-Marks/dp/1786890038

Amazon Spain has some (Crying of Lot 49 here): https://www.amazon.es/subasta-del-lote-49/dp/8490662134/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&amp;qid=1594307137&amp;refinements=p_27%3AThomas+Pynchon&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-3

Against the Day (dang that's pricey, isn't it?)

"Harper Perennial Modern Classics", 2005. Looks like it's this: https://www.amazon.com/V-Perennial-Classics-Thomas-Pynchon/dp/0060930217/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=thomas+pynchon+v&amp;qid=1568943223&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-1

Kabbalah is basically Jewish mysticism, there's all sorts of source books and modern writings on it. I can recommend The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford: Dilettante's Guide to What You Do and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist.

A Companion to The Crying of Lot 49 is helpful if you want to examine the book more closely.