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Roybot posted:It is. I highly recommend Appel's annotated version of the book if you didn't get much out of it - there are a lot of allusions and hidden stuff in Lolita that can be difficult to pick out if you don't have someone guiding you. Like most of Nabokov's other books, the surface narrative is just a mask for deeper ideas, and Lolita is so densely packed with stuff it's hard to fully appreciate how great it is if read casually (much more so than anything else he wrote). Thanks for recommending this. I am definitely going to have to get it. I am obviously an ignorant plebe. I enjoyed the hell out of the book, but am sure I missed all of the references. I also don't know French, so..
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Mar 12, 2009 19:54
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Mixing with your Mind https://www.mixingwithyourmind.com
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Mar 14, 2009 13:35
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I picked up 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill while Barnes & Noble was having one of those buy 2 get the 3rd free sales. It's an anthology of short stories, some horror and some not. Overall the stories were good enough to hold my attention although some of them kind of fell flat. I liked his style of writing enough to pick up his first book, Heart Shaped Box but I haven't read it yet.
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Mar 14, 2009 20:26
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I just finished Team Of Rivals. This took me months to get through. Maybe I'm just not good at historical books (this is my first one I've read outside of text books), but it took me a good while to go through. It certainly wasn't bad, but there was no drive to get through it. Definitively the slowest I've ever read a book. Going to read something shorter next, The Illustrated Man so I can enjoy something again, instead of choring through a read.
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Mar 14, 2009 22:03
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IUG posted:Going to read something shorter next, The Illustrated Man so I can enjoy something again, instead of choring through a read. my teacher read us the illustrated man (assuming it's the one by ray bradbury) in third grade. It was always this sort of vague memory I had of weird stories that set my internal standard for how a science fiction story should be. I couldn't remember what the hell the book was called and just thought it was a random short story collection she had. When I found it later i was thrilled. I love those stories. 
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Mar 15, 2009 00:47
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Cartesian Cogito posted:Just finished reading an excellent book called The Seduction of Culture in German History by Wolf Lepenies. Basically argued that traditionally, with the possible exception of Goethe, German cultural figures have argued for the substitution of the dirty dealings of politics for the supposedly pure realm of aesthetics and 'kultur'. No sort of democratic mythos ever appeared since culture was above that, indeed political power may destroy the purity of culture (he quotes a piece of Nietzsche, writing after the Prussian victory against France, where victory may be the worst thing possible for culture in Germany, while France would become a cultural powerhouse. Ever the ironist, for Germany to be rejuvenated, Nietzsche was suggesting it needed to be defeated). The role of the State in all this was simply to promote culture, although secondarily. This tradition meant some intellectuals could hide in Nazi Germany and not protest at all (since the cultural man must look inward), and called it internal exile. This, even though they never resisted, was considered dissent for them. I can only assume that this is more than just a tangential interest. Are you doing "German studies" or something? In any case, if you've read Mann, do you know Doktor Faustus? It's something I have yet to get (hopefully I will read it directly in German) and I may use it for my thesis (advert!!: I'm looking for help for my thesis in my thread). My last read: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: This was a joke from my dad, who recently went to the States (his original homeland) for work. I'm sure he hated it all but he managed to find the time during all his wallowing to send me this book. It literally does explain philosophy (i.e. the main philosophical principles of yester- and -to-year) in a pretty ironic and usually hilarious way. One great thing was that most of the jokes were unknown to me. Also, contemplating the photos of the two authors on the back just made me laugh even more, since they look like the perfect pair of dry philosophy lecturers... with a dry, sarcastic smirk each.
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Mar 15, 2009 06:26
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I recently finished Last Watch by Sergey Lukyanenko, possibly the final book in the Others series, those being Night Watch, Day Watch, and Twilight Watch. Out of the four probably my favorite. I hope he writes more in the world because I really enjoy the setting. Though like any other Russian author each character has 20 names, which can make it difficult to determine who they are talking about at the time. Next up is The Time Traveler's Wife. I've heard mixed reviews about it. I also picked up Only Revolutions in hardback for 6 bucks, which is a steal.
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Mar 15, 2009 06:44
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Three Centuries of Harvard by Samuel Eliot Morison. I'm not a Harvard alum or anything, but I've long had an interest in the evolution of higher education in the US and the world. This was a well-written history of perhaps the most famous college in America, though it's a little dated (published in 1936). It doesn't talk about any of the secret trials that drummed out homosexuals from the school or the blatant antisemitism in admissions (and is very flippant towards even the possibility of admitting women), but it nevertheless provides a good overall history of the school. I guess it's a product of its time. It's also apparently available in its entirety for free on Google Books, but I prefer owning hard copies of everything I read. Next up is The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Foyes36 fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Mar 15, 2009 |
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Mar 15, 2009 21:05
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Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Holy hell, what a book. I completely understand why some people do not like it, but I am in love with his style of writing. This is one of the few books that have caused me to have a visceral reaction to the violence depicted within. The whole thing reads like a nightmare meditation on human violence and the attitudes of people towards violence and war. Do note, if the travelogue portions of LoTR left you cold, don't even try reading this. 80% of the novel is descriptions of the landscape the characters are traveling through. Next up V. by Pynchon.
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Mar 16, 2009 20:20
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Oldstench posted:Next up V. by Pynchon. Ha, I read V. earlier this year with my book club. It's a pretty interesting novel; have you ever read Pynchon before?
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Mar 16, 2009 22:58
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I just finished Good Omens and there was a bunch of British stuff I almost didn't get, but I loved it anyway. I had actually tried reading this over a decade ago and hated it. I don't know what my problem was back then as a teenager. I just hope this doesn't mean I would have been a Twilighter had I been a teen at this sad time in popular literature. Anyway, I've read Pratchett before, and while his work is clever and funny, it's just way too silly for me to read more of it. As for Gaiman, he's terrible at endings, but I really do love his take on dark fantasy and the deep lore embedded in his work. These two together have written something that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was just humorous enough to keep me smiling and caring about the characters and Gaiman's dark, wondrous, disgusting bits were interesting too. Good Omens is exactly the sort of thing I like, just a little funny, but with a deeper side to it as well. I wish there was more stuff like this. As per goon recommendation, I've picked up some Douglas Adams. I almost made it through Hitchiker's Guide, but I'm hoping the Dirk Gently series keeps my attention longer. Things have been lovely lately and I'm not in the mood for anything that isn't funny.
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Mar 17, 2009 05:20
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Pfirti86 posted:Ha, I read V. earlier this year with my book club. It's a pretty interesting novel; have you ever read Pynchon before? Yeah. I read The Crying of Lot 49 um...two or so books ago. It was interesting. You can tell that Robert Anton Wilson read him a lot. I am still not sure if I actually like his books, but I can't put it down once I start, even if I am not sure exactly what the point of what I'm reading is. I figured I'd read his first two novels before attempting to tackle Gravity's Rainbow, although I hear that Mason & Dixon is better. Any thoughts?
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Mar 17, 2009 14:58
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Oldstench posted:Yeah. I read The Crying of Lot 49 um...two or so books ago. It was interesting. You can tell that Robert Anton Wilson read him a lot. I am still not sure if I actually like his books, but I can't put it down once I start, even if I am not sure exactly what the point of what I'm reading is. I've only ever read V.; it's good you've read Pynchon before though as I'm assuming his style stays roughly the same. (Sort of fake spoiler alert ahead just to be careful) => Try to get through at least the first 100 pages before deciding whether or not you want to put it down; the story DOES pick up pretty good after that. One of these days I'm going to tackle Gravity's Rainbow. Just finished reading The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Seriously, what the gently caress was that all about? I'm guessing Master Miles dies at the end, but I'm so goddamn confused by the whole narrative. I mean, I get the basic story and all and I guess it's sort of spooky if you just read it as a straight up ghost tale, but I really dug how ambiguous everything seemed. If anyone else has read this novella and has any thoughts on it I'd be interested to know. I'm not sure what's next now. I just picked up The Autobiography of Malcolm X, so maybe I'll give that a whirl.
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Mar 18, 2009 05:53
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"Against a dark background" Iain M Banks - Had to get it from England since its out of print in the US.
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Mar 19, 2009 15:01
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Oldstench posted:I figured I'd read his first two novels before attempting to tackle Gravity's Rainbow, although I hear that Mason & Dixon is better. Any thoughts? In particular, don't put off something you feel is a "significant read," because you'll most likely build it up inappropriately and cultivate disappointment. ETA: Oh yes, just finished Banks's The Crow Road---not a bad read, but the protagonist was a wanker who I wanted to address with a crowbar to the head, and I can't say the book engaged me all that much. Recently read The Road, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, and Dance, Dance, Dance were all much better. Wrojin fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Mar 19, 2009 |
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Mar 19, 2009 22:42
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Heart of Darkness, for English class. And now I have to connect it to the movie Chinatown. Awesome book, cool movie, bewildering assignment.
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Mar 20, 2009 00:21
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Just finished: Dresden Files: Storm Front Dresden Files: Fool Moon North Dallas Forty Day Watch I've had about enough wizard/vampire/detective stories to last me awhile. North Dallas Forty was a nice break.
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Mar 20, 2009 08:56
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The Red Box by Rex Stout. Another Nero Wolfe book, this time set in the world of high fashion (as it stood in the late '30s, anyway). When a model is poisoned, Wolfe has to be pestered into taking the case, but when a second victim dies in his office right in front of him, he takes it a bit more personally. Nice witty whodunnit, more along the lines of what I was led to expect from this series. I got this one off of the pulp fiction shelf at one of the local used book shops, and it had a predictably lurid 50s-era cover which might vaguely have something to do with the actual story...if you squint a little. 
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Mar 20, 2009 15:18
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Well I just scored $165 worth of Borders and Amazon gift cards for my birthday. Hot drat, I'm going to go hog wild.
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Mar 20, 2009 16:23
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When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson. It’s her third novel to feature Jackson Brodie and I couldn’t recommend a book more enthusiastically. They just keep getting better. Brodie is middle aged, ex-army, ex-cop, ultimately ex-private detective and usually finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the surface, the novels are detective fiction/murder mysteries but Atkinson creates something so much deeper, broader and more enthralling than even the best genera potboilers. One of the many amazing things about these books is how, even though you could reasonably refer to them as "Jackson Brodie novels", they seem to be as much about the characters he interacts with as they are about him. This book, for example, carries on a thread involving characters from the first novel (Case Histories). I was struck by the fact that, in a quiet way, they could almost be seen as a vehicle for the unfolding history of this one fast decaying family. And don’t even get me started on how cool Reggie is. My wife read part of the first chapter and found it depressing. When I told her what happens at the end of the chapter, she flat out refused to believe the book could be as good as I say. I’ll admit it’s difficult to explain how a book that starts outwith the murder of (almost) an entire family can be so brilliant but it just is. Insanely lyrical prose, gripping characters, fast paced and interesting plots, and very satisfying endings. Atkinson does everything right. I can’t wait to read more of her stuff and I hope like hell there’ll be a fourth Brodie novel.
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Mar 20, 2009 19:02
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The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll. It seems like the guy plots his books on acid, but underneath all the weird poo poo is an indisputable humanity. I can't dislike a book that makes me feel so much compassion and camaraderie for the poor slob protagonist as he gets blindsided by one stupid thing after another while getting his rear end reamed on a cosmic level. Interesting book overall---a bit glib and WTF here and there---but as I said, something shines through.
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Mar 20, 2009 21:31
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A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge. I was thinking about getting rid of it after reading A Fire Upon the Deep and not being really impressed, but decided to give it a chance since there's only the two books in the series and people seem to like them. Most of my issues with the first one still stand; in almost 800 pages there is never one time where I admired a clever turn of phrase, artfully constructed metaphor, etc. There aren't many parts I can point to as straight-up bad writing, but his prose is really unimaginative and bland; you might as well be reading Tom Clancy. He employs multiple viewpoints throughout the book, which is an effective thriller trope that keeps you turning the pages, but there's definitely some fat that should have been trimmed. Many of the plot twists weren't very surprising, you can tell from the moment he introduces Qiwi and Nau as a couple, she's going to be the one who kills him. Vinge utilizes a lot of high technology as central plot devices, which honestly came off more like deus-ex-machinas on top of deus-ex-machinas than good science fiction. It's possible to tell a good "soft sci-fi" story that focuses on plot and characters rather than technology (Iain M Banks does it well), but I think this one misses the mark. Vinge has a few interesting Big Ideas and it wasn't a terrible book, but the execution is bland and flabby and I don't think he's worthy of all the high praise he seems to garner. Despite not really holding either book in especially high opinion, I'll admit that it does fit in really well as a prequel to Fire, although they should be read in publication rather than chronological order. Just picked up The Sovereign Individual after leaving it on my nightstand for a few months and currently trying to slog through the rest of that.
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Mar 20, 2009 21:59
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I just finished Escape by Carolyn Jessop. She tells her story of being raised in the FLDS polygamist Colorado City, her married to a man 30+ years her senior, and her escape. Really heartbreaking book. Next, it's either going to be The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair, or Dance of the Dissident Daughter, all by Sue Monk Kidd. After I finish those library books, I've got a paperback of Stranger in a Strange Land I need to read.
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Mar 21, 2009 10:15
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I just finished In The Skin Of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje. My first experience with the author. He has a very sensual style of description and a blunt rhythm that makes degrading, back breaking labour seem beautiful. The post-modern narrative style of the book reminds me of a mellow Vonnegut or a Sri Lankan Leonard Cohen. I've added his earlier work Coming Through The Slaughter to my summer reading list. It's supposed to be a lot more "out there."
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Mar 21, 2009 22:21
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Pegnose Pete posted:I've added his earlier work Coming Through The Slaughter to my summer reading list. It's supposed to be a lot more "out there."
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Mar 21, 2009 23:48
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Pegnose Pete posted:I just finished In The Skin Of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje. My first experience with the author. He has a very sensual style of description and a blunt rhythm that makes degrading, back breaking labour seem beautiful. The post-modern narrative style of the book reminds me of a mellow Vonnegut or a Sri Lankan Leonard Cohen. If you like his sort of fragmented narrative and evocative descriptions, my favorite of his is Anil's Ghost. Some people love it, some people don't, fyi.
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Mar 22, 2009 22:53
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I just finished Neuromancer by William Gibson. Very cool book, but I find it more interesting how it spawned the whole "cyberpunk" genre. (Given, I don't know what other awesome books fall into this category, but that's for later investigation.) Hopefully next up for me will be the Night Watch series.
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Mar 23, 2009 01:37
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Finished up Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, it's about Behavioral Economics, which combines psychology with economics/decision-making and challenges the view that we are all perfectly rational economic agents that know what we want and how much we value things. It was a very interesting (and pretty easy) read with a lot of experiments and examples that show how prone we are to our own emotions and marketing tricks when making decisions. I also just finished The Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs, about the author's experience reading the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica over the course of about a year. It's organized in chapters A-Z, with the author sharing interesting facts while also describing what is going on in his life while he's reading it. It's surprisingly entertaining, you learn a lot of random trivia and the way he combines it with his personal life and his own observations flows very well. It's laugh-out-loud funny at some points, too.
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Mar 23, 2009 02:08
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Deltron 3030 posted:I also just finished The Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs, about the author's experience reading the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica over the course of about a year. It's organized in chapters A-Z, with the author sharing interesting facts while also describing what is going on in his life while he's reading it. It's surprisingly entertaining, you learn a lot of random trivia and the way he combines it with his personal life and his own observations flows very well. It's laugh-out-loud funny at some points, too. I read this earlier in the year and found it to be pretty entertaining. A good quick read with a good amount of interesting facts. As an SA poster, I especially enjoyed his interactions with the MENSA people. I was happy he and his wife were finally able to get pregnant too.
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Mar 23, 2009 02:13
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Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons - An omnibus edition of the two Hyperion books. It's been probably 10 years since I read them last. A lot of great stuff here (the stories that make up the bulk of the first book, for instance), but the over-arching storyline seems to lack cohesion. Not to mention, the rather pointless insertion of John Keats. The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie - I read the first book last year and thought it was pretty good, so I got a hold of the 2nd and 3rd books recently and read the whole trilogy in one go. I have to admit, it deserves most of the praise it gets. Abercrombie does a pretty fair job of avoiding the usual cliched fantasy bullshit (especially with the ending) and the major characters are all well fleshed-out and interesting, especially Inquisitor Glokta. Watchman by Ian Rankin - A spy novel set in 80s London that follows an MI6 agent who becomes tangled in a conspiracy. Some good parts here and there but the plot seems really jumbled and didn't make much sense. I have heard good things about Rankin's Inspector Rebus books though, so I'll check those out and give him a pass for this one. Cypress Grove by James Sallis - A former cop and ex-con living in backwoods Tennessee is recruited by the local sheriff to help investigate a murder. I really liked how Sallis wove back and forth between the protagonist's past and the present-day action, though the flashbacks ultimately are more interesting than the murder investigation. It's certainly well-written - the murder investigation plot seemed a bit lacking, though. Motherless Brooklyn - A homage to detective fiction, with an interesting twist reminiscent of Memento. The narrator (investigating the murder of his boss, a small-time Brooklyn crook) suffers from Tourette's Syndrome. The plot is serviceable, but it's Lethem's explorations of the possibilities afforded by Lionel's condition that really makes the book engaging. Unusual, but it works surprisingly well. Wrojin posted:The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll. It seems like the guy plots his books on acid, but underneath all the weird poo poo is an indisputable humanity. I can't dislike a book that makes me feel so much compassion and camaraderie for the poor slob protagonist as he gets blindsided by one stupid thing after another while getting his rear end reamed on a cosmic level. Interesting book overall---a bit glib and WTF here and there---but as I said, something shines through. I've read a number of his books (been meaning to read more) and I agree. I really enjoy his insightfulness and humor.
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Mar 23, 2009 05:43
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I had always dismissed Faulkner as an obscurantist hack since my first exposure to him was trudging through Sanctuary (which he said he wrote because he needed the money) and complaining endlessly, but recently I just finished Absalom! Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury and good god drat was I ever wrong. Hell of a writer that Billy Faulkner.
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Mar 23, 2009 10:25
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Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke's not really my thing, but I can see how lots of people could like it, especially in its time. He doesn't seem to do any passionate writing except during the "science is cool!" parts. After I finished it, I read like half of The Demolished Man By Alfred Bester in one sitting. Published in the same year but it's totally oranges to Clarke's apples. I thought it was new wave scifi until I looked up the publishing date.
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Mar 23, 2009 17:46
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urbancontra posted:After I finished it, I read like half of The Demolished Man By Alfred Bester in one sitting. Published in the same year but it's totally oranges to Clarke's apples. I thought it was new wave scifi until I looked up the publishing date. I can wholeheartedly recommend anything by Alfred Bester. He has a pretty solid collection of short stories and novels, most of which I read when I was younger. The Light Fantastic is a pretty good compilation. Hell is Forever and They Don't Make Life Like They Used To are two of his shorts that I really liked that I'm pretty sure are in that volume. I've always wondered why he isn't better known.
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Mar 23, 2009 20:27
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The Stars My Destination was pretty excellent as well. I think I'll re-read it!
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Mar 23, 2009 21:21
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just finished with James Owens's Here, There be Dragons. I had a pretty good time with it and ended up burning through the second half or so of the book in a just a couple of sittings. There looks to be 3 more books after it in the series- I don't know how excited I am to get drawn into all that, but I imagine at some point I will be very happy to pick up more of Owens's work.
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Mar 24, 2009 05:08
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QuentinCompson posted:Just finished Voice of the Fire. Found it difficult to read, but rewarding ultimately, though perhaps not worth the struggle. At times it felt like I'd understand Hob's Hog (the first chapter) better if I had no vocabulary or was autistic. I seem to remember that Moore has said in interviews that he wrote the first chapter with the aim of "keeping the scum out" (or words to that effect) Shameless fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Mar 24, 2009 |
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Mar 24, 2009 16:00
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Possessed, which is one of Witold Gombrowicz's earliest novels. Relatively unusual for him in that there's quite a lot going on with the plot, which in this case mostly consists of wallowing in gothic lit touchstones. Haunted castle, tragic hero, several characters descending (almost racing) into madness, secret pasts all feature, as well as an icon of unspeakable horror (in this case, in true Gombrowicz style, a lightly fluttering hand-towel). The strain of absurdity in there undermines the melancholy and suffering of the characters, which, combined with the exaggeratedly antiquated setting, ends up bringing him surprisingly close to Gogol:quote:Was he mad? Yet he was behaving quite normally, ordering a steak in a quiet, shy voice. He appeared ill at ease and immeassurably sad. Tears came to Maya's eyes, and she started up, wanting to go to him, but Hincz firmly restrained her. inktvis fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Mar 25, 2009 |
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Mar 25, 2009 08:52
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I just finished A Canticle for Leibowitz and Alas, Babylon. I read them both back to back and it was a really interesting experience. I've been on a bit of a post-apocalyptic kick (also playing Fallout 3 and watching Battlestar Galactica on DVD). On their own I absolutely loved both books and they will both go on my eventual reread list. Together, it's an interesting experience because while they are looking at a similar situation, the different perspectives are fascinating. I've decided to go for broke it just read the rest of the real popular cold war era post-apocalyptic books. I've started Earth Abides now and will pick up On the Beach next
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Mar 25, 2009 21:58
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Fool Christopher Moore It was not bad compared to his other stuff, I really enjoyed Lamb and A Dirty Job basically all his stuff. This one was a slightly more annoying read as he wrote everything in ye ole speak. Which was his aim, but just not used to it.
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Mar 26, 2009 04:50
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The Foundation Pit by Andrei Platonov. That book made me want to lie down and die. But what the Hell was up with the blacksmith bear? Russians are loving nuts.
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Mar 26, 2009 07:57
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