*~Can't Stop Reading~* discussion

Has anyone else started reading this for their July read? I'm about a quarter of the way through, but I'm interested in how other folks are responding to the story.

'Cause, I'm confused. The POV keeps changing (I think) and the timeline is skewed (I think) and sometimes I'm abused with belly laughs but sometimes I'm completely bored. And then Chief White Halfoat has to move and I'm laughing again.

I'm having a hard time getting into this one. It seems like the author is jumping all over the place. He'll start telling a story about a character then go into way too much detail about some minor part to his story, then go off on a tangent and never return to the original story. I'm trying to follow and am not able appreciate the humor (if I've even come across any yet). I will keep trying though.

Hi I havent started this one yet. I am told it is a hard book to get into.

If you like very dark humour, it is really worth persevering.

Elise wrote: "If you like very dark humour, it is really worth persevering."

ok will give it a go

Not directly about this, as a book, but is everyone else's front page still showing the group reads from June? Catch 22 has disappeared altogether for me and we are all still reading The Picture of Dorian Gray it seems.

Yes same here no July books as yet.

Just got this from the library and so far I am mixed. I know it will be a hard book to get into but I am working on finishing it no matter how I feel about it. The style so far is more my style compared to Dorian Gray (have yet to finish that to be honest) but the concepts are all over the place as members said before. I am hoping to get into the main character's head more as I read on.

I've abandoned this book at Chapter 8. I just couldn't get into it at all! The storyline is all over the place, i don't find the characters at all engaging or interesting (just confusing), and not in the least bit funny. I double checked I'd actually downloaded the right book when I saw all the glowing reviews!

Just not one for me I think and it will get moved to my 'Can't Finish' shelf. The only one on there!

I was pretty confused in the beginning, but after reading a few reviews, I've continued to press on. The story is not being told from start to finish. It's bouncing back and forth between the present and the past; the only way to really tell where in the storyline you're at is by determining the number of missions they have to fly.

By the end of the book, it's supposed to all make sense, and it's apparently that's part of what makes it so brilliant.

Personally, I'm still finding SOME hilarious parts - I mean, positively hysterical - but a lot of it is still sort of dull for me...

I'm sorry but this book I cannot enjoy. I know I have a hard time enjoying classics (getting through Dorian Gray was hard, but I have yet to finish and I still enjoyed parts) this one though- no matter what I try I cannot enjoy. Too much explanation, too much flip flop between characters. I now know why many who read this in school deemed it difficult to get through. 1 star all the way (my first ever 1 star rating) I am going to finish because i cannot leave a book not completed but I am dreadfully not enjoying this read.

I am going to try and start this one today :)

I don't understand the revulsion displayed toward this masterpiece. I read it twenty years ago in high school and it, along with Johnny Got His Gun, and everything by Vonnegut, helped shape my world view. I'm 50 pages in this time around, and I'm laughing with each turn of the page. The movie didn't do justice to it. Not like Altman did with his interpretation of MASH.

I am about 100 pages in, I am liking it a little bit better than before but I am still having a hard time following the characters. It just seems it over details some parts but completely skips over others that I wish would go into detail. I really like the character of Major Major so far.

I just got Catch-22 out of the library and I'm excited to start reading it! It took a while and a little help from the librarian but I eventually found the book! :)

Helen, I am just about halfway through it after a few weeks now. It is a slow read at first and still not one I am going to suggest to readers anytime soon but it does get better through the middle of the story. Still- not an "enjoying" read- too much detail and too much flip flop of storyline in my opinion.

Dani wrote: "Helen, I am just about halfway through it after a few weeks now. It is a slow read at first and still not one I am going to suggest to readers anytime soon but it does get better through the middle..."

Oh right, I see what you mean. It does seem kinda 'heavy' for me, but I'm going to read it because it's totally 'out of my comfort zone'. I normally read fantasy or children's, but I'm trying to explore new genres. Since it's this month's read, I thought it would be a good opportunity to do so! Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it. I won't be expecting it to be easy to get into then so! :)

I first read Catch 22 "back in the day"(circa 1960)and am reading it now because Kirkus Reviews compared my Indie novel, The Duke Don't Dance, to it as a compliment. Frankly, I don't get the comparison, other than the fact that both are multi-character novels with irreverent humor. Catch 22 was a send-up of military regulations and the absurdities of war (mine not so). Catch 22 was justifiably a smash back in the 50s and 60s because its absurdist humor was so fresh -- and it was virtually required reading on college campuses for that reason. I think it is an example of a novel that is somewhat diminished because its specific style has been copied so much. Many (including my reviewer, I hope) remember the irreverent tone of the novel but lay aside its limited depth in character development and plot. The context of the novel as an antidote to excessive reverence to all World War II participants is somewhat lost on post-boomer generations. I still like the novel and appreciated the complimentary comparison, but do think it now reads as somewhat dated.

To Richard (mess 18)
I like your analysis of Catch 22. I know that no book is for everyone but I find it hard to understand the difficulty people have with this masterpiece(at least one for it's day.) Have the times changed so much that today's readers don't appreciate the brilliant subtle satire of post WWII America this book embodied? I will have to reread it myself and then apologize if I agree that it's become antiquated. Or if I have.

Richard wrote: "To Richard (mess 18)
I like your analysis of Catch 22. I know that no book is for everyone but I find it hard to understand the difficulty people have with this masterpiece(at least one for it's d..."

Perhaps people need more context for reading a book like this? I tried it once before and was lost so I quite before I began but I do intend to try it properly in the foreseeable future.

Well I can see why some people love this book and some hate it and I am afraid I am in the latter camp. It is witty and clever but for me it ends there. Sorry but not for me.

I loved Catch 22. I laughed all the way through it. I love the way Heller revealed the absurdity of war but didn't descend totally into cold cynicism and still kept a hold on humanity through Yossarian.

The movie was awful! And I love Alan Arkin.

It's what I call a marmite book - love it or hate it. I didn't like it at all. It, to me anyway wasn't even funny. I was very disapointed with it.