# House of Leaves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641 "2002-04-20T05:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641/1 "2002-04-20T05:28:38Z")
At nearly ninety miles an hour, she zipped us up to that windy ridge known to some as Mullholland. It’s even better when you’re reading the book and listening to Haunted by Poe. God I love that book. Are there any HoL fans on the Dope? I am reading the epic tome for the second time. If there are any fans out there, here’s some trivia. What do the other pages mentioned on P. 514 have to do with Johnny’s narrative at that point? Found any other secrets? Share them! ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641/2 "2002-04-20T07:09:02Z")
Good book. It made my head meta-hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641/3 "2002-04-20T11:51:58Z")
I read it a few months ago and liked it a lot. I don’t have the book on me, so I don’t know which numbers you’re referring to. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641/4 "2002-04-20T21:34:15Z")
_sigh_ I’m still trying to find a cheap copy. I keep bidding on ebay and getting outbid…but ooone of these days, I’ll snipe someone and GET MY BOOK. [sub] **bodypoet** wanders off, grouching about the cost of feeding four kids these days…]/sub] ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641/5 "2002-04-20T21:51:46Z")
Oh crap. [bodypoet wanders off, grouching about how she never previews and really should know better] ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641/6 "2002-04-20T22:47:08Z")
The pages are decoded using the Palefina code, named after Johnny’s mom, who would write secret messages using the first letter of every word. On page 514, he finds a band that had read house of leaves. They were talking about Johnny, wondering if he ever found a woman who would love his ironies. He references “some amazing back-on-page-117 close-reading.” On page 117, if you look hard, you’ll find the sentence “A wild ode metioned at a New West Hotel over wine infusions, light, lit, lofted on very entertaining moods, yawning in return, open nights, inviting everyone’s song…” Which, when you take the first letter of every word, comes out to “a woman who will love my ironies.” Spooky! And at the top, he talks about “the encoded appearance of Thamyris on pg. 387”. On 387, if you find the sentence “the house answers many yearnings answered in sorrow”. If you use the first-letter code, you get “thamyris”, the Greek bard who challenged the muses, saying he could play better, and lost, being stricken blind. Like Zampano. Check out [www.houseofleaves.com](http://www.houseofleaves.com) for more of that kind of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Spiratu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Spiratu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiratu)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-leaves/104641/7 "2002-04-21T00:54:22Z")
My (university) freshman English professor actually had us read this book. It was great, but I’m with **Gadarene** on the way it makes my head feel 🙂