GoVegan

I haven't read all of his books yet, as there are about 40 of them, but I have read most of his novels and a lot of short stories. I can't even say exactly why I'm drawn to his books. His style seems relatively simplistic, but is extremely engaging. Perhaps it's partially the fact that he lived a life very, very different from mine, but I've loved everything so far.

Any other thoughts?

monkeyboy

i started reading tales of ordinary madness a few months ago, but stopped about halfway through to start reading something else. i got a little tired of his style and read another book, wanting to go back afterwards to give it another shot, but i just never got around to it.

xmiyux

I actually really dig his poetry - plus he has the coolest titles for his books. I mean how can you beat "Play the piano drunk like a percussion instrument until the fingers begin to bleed a bit" and "What matters most is how you walk through the fire" and finally "Sometimes you get so alone it just makes sense."

Like you i'm not sure really why i like him so much --- i'm sXe and vegan and i really can't relate to his total lush lifestyle - but for some reason his poetry really strikes a chord with me sometime.

NORML54601

11 year bump!

A friend just recently turned me on to Bukowski's novels. I read Post Office, Factotum, and Ham on Rye each in a day and loved them. I grabbed a few of his poetry books from the library and am just starting to read those. I absolutely loved the novels, probably because he reminds me a lot of myself only I don't have his talent for writing. I also discovered that someone made a movie out of Factotum which I have on reserve at the library.

xmiyux

And, coincidentally... I still love his poetry!

Why So Blu?

Hell yeah. I actually had to stop reading Bukowski a few months back. I was developing a bit of a drinking problem. I'd literally have to get drunk to read his books. I started out with his novels, but haven't made it to the poetry yet. I even imported 'Barflay' on Blu-ray from Germany. Who knows if the U.S. will ever get a legit release.


EDIT - I love Bukowski btw, but like the tv show Mad Men; they're even better when drinking/drunk.

NORML54601

There are also some cool videos of him both waxing philisophical and reading his work on Youtube. I watched the Factotum DVD last night with the guy who turned me on to Bukowski. If you'd never read the book the movie would be boring but if you have it was fantastic.

The Bus

I read Ham on Rye recently and I think it will be interesting to read the Chinaski novels chronologically since they were not written in that order.