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Mel Mudkiper posted:The Good Lieutenant Is this the sequel to The Good Soldier where he gets promoted? Realtalk: I'm reading Boy Snow Bird by Helen Oyeyemi right now but I am tempted to reread Infinite Jest again cause I was a baby when I read it the first time. Also I have Hypothermia by Alvaro Enrigue on the stack right now. Too many books! thehoodie fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Jun 3, 2016 |
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Jun 3, 2016 21:02
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I've heard from a good friend that Grief is the Thing with Feathers is fairly meh btw, so naturally it gets lauded by the broadsheet critics over here in the UK
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Jun 4, 2016 00:43
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I'm pretty sick of reading lavishly-praised books where nothing actually happens, like the Shipping News and Gilead, two books I recently read. I prefer books that are both beautifully written and have an engaging plot that raises lots of questions and makes a book hard to put down.
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Jun 4, 2016 01:09
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blue squares posted:I'm pretty sick of reading lavishly-praised books where nothing actually happens, like the Shipping News and Gilead, Hey Hey gently caress you buddy I had to read a 900 page ogre of a boring murder mystery with poo poo characters because of you and you getting all huffy about loving masterpieces because the incredible beauty of the human experience is not exciting enough for you.
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Jun 4, 2016 02:09
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After 27 years of the human experience I can decidedly say it is poo poo
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Jun 4, 2016 02:23
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I'm with Blue on this. Well, I can half-believe it is poo poo, but I still love reading about it. the_homemaster fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jun 4, 2016 |
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Jun 4, 2016 02:26
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Mel Mudkiper posted:I had to read a 900 page ogre of a boring murder mystery with poo poo characters because of you and you getting all huffy about loving masterpieces because the incredible beauty of the human experience is not exciting enough for you. which one?
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Jun 4, 2016 02:38
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i'm guessing city on fire
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Jun 4, 2016 02:38
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emdash posted:i'm guessing city on fire give the man a cigar
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Jun 4, 2016 02:45
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City on Fire was the poo poo
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Jun 4, 2016 03:08
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blue squares posted:City on Fire was kinda poo poo Agreed
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Jun 4, 2016 03:22
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A good story is a lot more important than a deep examination of what it means to be human
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Jun 4, 2016 03:30
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blue squares posted:A good story is a lot more important than a deep examination of what it means to be human oh dear me it seems you are in the wrong thread here you go http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3149277
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Jun 4, 2016 04:05
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A story that sucks me in with characters that are so good they make me forget they are fictional constructs, so that eventually I begin to feel what they feel----That is the transcendent, beautiful power of fiction. I don't want fiction that shows me universal truths about humanity. I want fiction that shows very singular truths about a single individual. The best way to do that is by taking characters and putting them into compelling situations (i.e. plot)
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Jun 4, 2016 05:06
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blue squares posted:A good story is a lot more important than a deep examination of what it means to be human Give me the latter over the former any day of the week. Why would I care about an individual? I'm an individual, and I'm boring as gently caress. I want to see how everything fits together (or doesn't as the case may be).
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Jun 4, 2016 05:17
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blue squares posted:A story that sucks me in with characters that are so good they make me forget they are fictional constructs, so that eventually I begin to feel what they feel----That is the transcendent, beautiful power of fiction. I don't want fiction that shows me universal truths about humanity. I want fiction that shows very singular truths about a single individual. The best way to do that is by taking characters and putting them into compelling situations (i.e. plot) An aging small town preacher confronting his mortality while wrestling with his own suspicion and jealousy towards a family friend shows no truths about a character ok sure nerdlinger.
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Jun 4, 2016 05:19
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Mel Mudkiper posted:An aging small town preacher confronting his mortality while wrestling with his own suspicion and jealousy towards a family friend shows no truths about a character ok sure nerdlinger. I only read 44 pages of Gilead before getting bored and wanting to piss you off by complaining about it. the_homemaster posted:Why would I care about an individual? I'm an individual, and I'm boring as gently caress. I want to see how everything fits together (or doesn't as the case may be). There's no such thing as a universal human standard, at least not in any meaningful sense. Sure, we all feel lovely and depressed and never satisfied, but there's little value to me in reading about how everyone experiences the same sorts of things. There is much more value in reading about experiences that I could never imagine but that many people really do live through
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Jun 4, 2016 05:22
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blue squares posted:I only read 44 pages of Gilead before getting bored and wanting to piss you off by complaining about it. Ill kill you!!!!!!!!
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Jun 4, 2016 05:23
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mudkip is my favourite pokemon
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Jun 4, 2016 07:40
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corn in the fridge posted:mudkip is my favourite pokemon Dark secret: I've never played Pokémon
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Jun 4, 2016 07:43
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Both plot and humanity are important for stories, don't pretend that prioritising one over the other is consigning yourself to lesser art Though I have to say if you gloss over plot then your stories won't have that much to say about 'the human condition' and you may as well be reading essays, which are fine but different And stories themselves are integral to human experience anyway so
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Jun 4, 2016 12:12
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White men are the future
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Jun 4, 2016 12:26
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blue squares posted:I only read 44 pages of Gilead before getting bored and wanting to piss you off by complaining about it. I feel good and happy and frequently satisfied.
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Jun 4, 2016 13:15
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Is there a "best" edition of Invisible Cities? Ideally there'd be one with Italian and English on opposite pages.
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Jun 4, 2016 19:00
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CestMoi posted:What's the good Chinese poetry I'm also willing to accept prose suggestions even tho it's objectively inferior as an art form thank you My classmate wrote her bachelor in chinese on this guy, Xu Lizhi, who worked in a factory in Shenzhen making iphones and killed himself by jumping from the roof. He published his poetry on his blog, and it was "discovered" after his death. http://time.com/chinapoet/ http://newbooksnetwork.com/rountable-on-the-poetry-of-xu-lizhi/ https://www.vice.com/read/death-poems-are-a-thing-in-china-right-now https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/12/the-haunting-poetry-of-a-chinese-factory-worker-who-committed-suicide/ I swallowed a moon made of iron They refer to it as a nail I swallowed this industrial sewage, these unemployment documents Youth stooped at machines die before their time I swallowed the hustle and the destitution Swallowed pedestrian bridges, life covered in rust I can't swallow any more All that I've swallowed is now gushing out of my throat Unfurling on the land of my ancestors Into a disgraceful poem. *** A screw fell to the ground In this dark night of overtime Plunging vertically, lightly clinking It won't attract anyone's attention Just like last time On a night like this When someone plunged to the ground.
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Jun 4, 2016 20:29
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But the best Chinese poet is Tao Yuanming (365-427) https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T%27ao_Ch%27ien White hair covers my temples, I am wrinkled and gnarled beyond repair, And though I have got five sons, They all hate paper and brush. A-shu is eighteen: For laziness there is none like him. A-hsuan does his best, But really loathes the Fine Arts. Yung and Tuan are thirteen, But do not know "six" from "seven." T'ung-tzu in his ninth year Is only concerned with things to eat. If Heaven treats me like this, What can I do but fill my cup? "Blaming Sons" (An apology for his own drunkenness, A.D. 406) Shu-hsiang Lü, Yuanchong Xu, Gems of classical Chinese poetry in various English translations (1988), p. 100 Heaven and Earth exist for ever: Mountains and rivers never change. But herbs and trees in perpetual rotation Are renovated and withered by the dews and frosts: And Man the wise, Man the divine— Shall he alone escape this law? Fortuitously appearing for a moment in the World He suddenly departs, never to return. How can he know that the friends he has left Are missing him and thinking of him? Only the things that he used remain; They look upon them and their tears flow. Me no magical arts can save, Though you may hope for a wizard's aid. I beg you listen to this advice— When you can get wine, be sure to drink it. Substance, Shadow, and Spirit, "Substance speaks to Shadow" (translated by A. Waley) Quoted in One hundred & seventy Chinese poems (1945), 'Poems By Tao Ch'ien', p. 74
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Jun 4, 2016 20:37
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I remember reading Mao's poetry and being impressed, but it's a long time ago. He was probably good though. Only a poet could contain such an ego No people have ever held poets in higher esteem than the chinese imo
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Jun 4, 2016 20:40
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started the year of the death of ricardo reis and loving it so far. I'm also glad I waited until after I went to lisbon before reading it. though it's a pretty trivial thing really, I feel like having an actual mental image of all the places that he describes in town kind of adds to the enjoyment
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Jun 4, 2016 21:43
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Here is a live performance of what goes through Tao Yuanming's non-physicalist mind as every year lesser poets are celebrated as the best poet ever, adapted for modern sensibilities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShXKblxYCVYulvir posted:started the year of the death of ricardo reis and loving it so far. I'm also glad I waited until after I went to lisbon before reading it. though it's a pretty trivial thing really, I feel like having an actual mental image of all the places that he describes in town kind of adds to the enjoyment Have you read Pessoa? That also adds to the enjoyment. There was a Norwegian translation of the poems by the pastoral poet Pessoa invented, don't remember his name. Have you read that?
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Jun 4, 2016 22:44
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This thread is hilarious and I love it. Also, what would you all say is the most noteworthy literature published from 2012 to now, and why? Do your best to sell me on these newfangled smartybooks.
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Jun 4, 2016 22:47
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Saerdna posted:Have you read Pessoa? That also adds to the enjoyment. There was a Norwegian translation of the poems by the pastoral poet Pessoa invented, don't remember his name. Have you read that? Yeah I've read book of disquiet and collected poems of alberto caeiro, the latter in Norwegian, maybe that was the one? obviously that adds to it as well due to the intertextuality
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Jun 4, 2016 23:18
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Solitair posted:This thread is hilarious and I love it. All the Light We Cannot See
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Jun 5, 2016 00:03
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All the Light We Cannot See was a really riveting book and I'm glad I read it. But I think it will be quickly forgotten. After all, it's yet another novel about World War Two in Europe. It doesn't bring much of anything new to the table.
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Jun 5, 2016 00:07
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against the country
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Jun 5, 2016 00:15
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ulvir posted:Yeah I've read book of disquiet and collected poems of alberto caeiro, the latter in Norwegian, maybe that was the one? obviously that adds to it as well due to the intertextuality I was going to read the caeiro poems at the time but forgot all about it. Are they similar to O. H. Hauge?
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Jun 5, 2016 00:44
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Solitair posted:This thread is hilarious and I love it. Now this dude is a cool loving dude. Best friends av, love of modern lit. Welcome to thread. Ok, best books of the last four years. Aquarium by David Vann - Yes, I will never shut up about this book. I have convinced like four or five people to read this book so far ITT and everyone has liked it. Its an absolute masterpiece and if you pick one book make it this book. The "what it was like" scene is the single most haunting experience I have ever had as a reader. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - a severely underrated Magical Realism novel. Probably the best American magical realism of the decade. Carry the One by Carol Anshaw - Next to Aquarium, my favorite book of the decade. It deals with what I always think is the greatest challenge of literature, to explore the human reaction to impossible tragedy. Every character is exceptionally crafted, and the depictions of the costs of addiction are particularly potent. The Round House by Louise Erdrich - As close to a perfectly crafted novel as you can get. Both the best suspense novel and best coming of age novel I have ever read. The ending is magnificent. A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash - A really, really strong blend of rural crime suspense and literature. Unapologetically dark and unflinching. Tenth of December by George Saunders - Incredible collection of short fiction. The term "inventive" is tossed around too casually for any book that does anything not about a sad white english major in New York. This collection is truly inventive. Exceptionally crisp and interesting stories. Mel Mudkiper fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Jun 5, 2016 |
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Jun 5, 2016 01:02
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Carry the One by Carol Anshaw - Next to Aquarium, my favorite book of the decade. It deals with what I always think is the greatest challenge of literature, to explore the human reaction to impossible tragedy. Every character is exceptionally crafted, and the depictions of the costs of addiction are particularly potent. I've actually already read Carry the One before. I used to work as a library janitor, and I took home a copy that was marked to be thrown away. What I love most about it is that the characters don't dwell on the accident for the entire duration of the book. They usually try to get on with their own lives and the memory only occasionally resurfaces. They'll never get rid of it, but it doesn't completely define them. I just got samples of all the others, and when I'm not backed up with other business I'll check them out.
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Jun 5, 2016 03:05
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I've had Snow Child and Round House on my Kindle for ages, so good to know they're good reads. I'd add A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James and Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson to the list. One's about the assassination attempt on Bob Marley and the other is about a social worker who comes across a militant survivalist in the 80s. Both excellent.
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Jun 5, 2016 05:49
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You should listen to the audiobook of Seven Killings rather than read it
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Jun 5, 2016 05:56
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Chamberk posted:I've had Snow Child and Round House on my Kindle for ages, so good to know they're good reads. I just finished Snow Child it was good. I cried at the part when Faina said she hoped she could be the mother Mabel was to her although I usually don't get emotional at books probably the last time was when I almost threw up during Gravity's Rainbow (my GR homies know the section). blue squares posted:You should listen to the audiobook of Seven Killings rather than read it I read Seven Killings but I want to do this I heard it's a good audio book
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Jun 5, 2016 06:39
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