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Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus, which features a German composer selling his soul and discovering serialism (then-friend Schoenberg wasn't too flattered, as you'd imagine). Not bad, but turn back now if you're not in the mood for hundreds of pages of political, religious and musical arguments; it's about 250 pages in before he even sells his soul. Pacing issues abound, and I got a weird novel-by-committee feel at points (Adorno was a close advisor and there's a definite debt to Musil in structure and content). Still, if you're willing to plow through his overly-long childhood, it's worth a look. No serious challenge to Buddenbrooks, Magic Mountain or Joseph and His Brothers though. Also Joseph Roth's journalism in What I Saw: Reports from Berlin 1920-1933. Collects a bunch of feuilleton articles he wrote for (mostly) Berlin papers in the 20's, when he was more or less free to wander about the city, writing willy-nilly. The odd purple spot pops up here and there, and there's a horrifically smug quote in the introduction where he claims he's a poet, not a journalist, but for the most part he's on game. Humanising the city's poor seems to be a particular preoccupation with his journalism which is a little surprising since his novels tend to focus heavily on the upper classes (but mostly their failures, I guess). Not all gloom though, with some genuinely funny entries esp the article on bathhouses (more like gentlemen's clubs) and the transients and lost travellers that populated them in the middle of the night. Felt like a good time to do it, so also finished off Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities, or at least the part of it that he'd finalised (the rest consists of a pile of drafts, sketches and notes). Somebody complemented Stein's Making of Americans as the "great disaster of modernism" but this thing soaked up most of the last 15-20 years of Musil's life and reading it there's no way in hell that he was anywhere near finishing. I'd probably say you can safely stop at the end of the first volume without feeling too bad; there's a hell of a lot in the second, but there's something about the thought of someone who even authors like Mann and Broch were intimidated by being completely stymied and smothered by his own novel that colours the text. It's almost operatic in a way.
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May 7, 2009 08:38
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Felix_Cat posted:I thought Rama II was so bad that by the time I got near the end I had been completely stripped of all interest in the story or the characters. All I even recall was that it was an attempt to nuke it, which I thought was terrible because that's exactly what happened in the first book. Yeah, I hear ya. I was quite irked by the utter implausibility of it all, character-wise, and they were mostly such a bunch of self-centered jerks. The nice thing is, the characters who survive to the end are the likable ones. So did you keep going and move on to Garden of...? Really it's totally worth it. In fact, if one doesn't finish up the quadrilogy, then Rama II truly is a complete waste of time. On the other hand, come to think of it, if one was going to (re)read the whole thing, it's almost safe to completely skip II entirely, though it would leave one somewhat lost at the beginning of the next one.
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May 8, 2009 03:51
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Hipster_Doofus posted:Yeah, I hear ya. I was quite irked by the utter implausibility of it all, character-wise, and they were mostly such a bunch of self-centered jerks. The nice thing is, the characters who survive to the end are the likable ones. So did you keep going and move on to Garden of...? Really it's totally worth it. In fact, if one doesn't finish up the quadrilogy, then Rama II truly is a complete waste of time. On the other hand, come to think of it, if one was going to (re)read the whole thing, it's almost safe to completely skip II entirely, though it would leave one somewhat lost at the beginning of the next one. Before starting Rama II I'd read that it wasn't great but I thought what the heck the first was so good it's probably worth a shot. I didn't go any further than Rama II and am now pretty happy to pretend there are no sequels. The worst thing was that the first book was a great sci-fi story where the characters are pretty much just a vessel by which you explore the sci-fi elements. The second turns that on its head by focusing on the terrible characters. On an unrelated note, I'm about halfway through The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Definitely digging the descriptive writing. I've watched the movie ages ago, but might give it another watch once I'm done with the book.
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May 8, 2009 12:15
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The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The world has been destroyed, and we join a father and son as they travel south along a road. They walk some more and they eat. Then they go hungry, and try to get out of the rain. They walk some more, and are starving, then they find some food. They walk some more, and see some bad people, but they hide. They walk some more, and repair the grocery cart they are pushing with them. They walk some more, and get hungry. They find some food. They go in a house, and then run away and hide. This is the entire book. Really well written, but McCarthy forgot to tell a loving story.
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May 9, 2009 01:25
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Just finished, Brave New World, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Huxley's portrayal of the future isn't so bound in his time in the sense that his ideas can be transplanted to our time, yet still carry weight. Where he alluded to eugenics, the modern reader sees genetics. Yet, his writing never specifies eugenics, so completion of the methods is left as an exercise to the imagination. Kinda neat. The only criticism would be how unbelievable John's character was written. His grasp of Shakespeare was completely without context, and, therefore, futile. Moreover, his chastity was irrational. The book could have, and should have, ended with Helmholtz, Bernard, and John being placed on the island after the final discussion with Mond. It would have been more than enough. Speaking of Mond: I thought the character was wonderfully written, so as to be ambivalent to the reader. Really, really cool.
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May 9, 2009 03:09
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Toupee posted:This is the entire book. Really well written, but McCarthy forgot to tell a loving story. It's an allegory for the relationship between McCarthy and his son; and basically between all caring fathers and their children. It expresses the (exaggerated) fears that fathers face while trying to pass on their own knowledge and experiences. Under and Alone the true story of Bill Queen, an ATF agent who penetrated the Mongol's Motorcycle Club over a 28 month period, even rising to become a club officer... even though they were extra suspicious of him and according to him, without committing any crimes. Interesting but lacking many details. Considering how many things Queen was not allowed to do (legally), it would have been very simple for the Mongols to vet him. I'm not sure whether to believe the Mongols are that careless, whether pieces to the story were left out or whether Queen was really that good. Would love to read a book from the Mongol point of view.
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May 9, 2009 08:53
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Ficciones by J.L. Borges. It took me three books to finally "get" Borges, it's like someone turned on the light in a formerly dark room and it's full of naked supermodels. Highly recommended, gonna reread his other books. The Stranger by Albert Camus. Quick read, man is apathetic about everything, murders guy. Is imprisoned, goes "welp". Better than The Plague, maybe the French->German translation was better than French->English. Wikipedia said it's about existentialism, personally thought it was allegory on Vichy France or Nazi Germany where people who don't care about anything and always go along with everything end up doing bad things while remaining pretty uninvolved throughout the process. My book reviews are getting better and better.
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May 9, 2009 20:40
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The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. This guy has a peculiar writing style that I can't quite put my finger on. Many times throughout the book I would have to stop and reread a section to grasp what was actually happening. Particularly when Severian and Agia crash their cart into a religious monument of some sort after racing another cart. Did I read that correctly? It sounded like Agia bet another cart that they could outrun them and they crashed into it randomly. The best way I can think of describing the book is "dense." I really feel like it would take a few reads to fully understand this book. I'm sure it'll also make a bit more sense after reading the rest of the story. Also, I could never completely picture what an avern looks like. At first I thought they were small, but then when he is using one in battle it sounds much larger, like a mace. Any ideas?
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May 9, 2009 21:10
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Jolo posted:The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. This guy has a peculiar writing style that I can't quite put my finger on. Many times throughout the book I would have to stop and reread a section to grasp what was actually happening. [/spoiler] I had that problem listening to the audiobook, I'm glad to see it wasn't just me/the format. I'm definitely interested in picking up the print books sometime in the future. From a few things I've read here/elsewhere about the series, Severian is an unreliable narrator and probably a 'Spergling.
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May 9, 2009 23:29
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Do Androids Dreams of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It was the first book I've read from this author and I found it a little confusing but I enjoyed it whatsoever, I like how Philip played with the confusion, making you doubt about what could be real and what could be not; It was like trippin' balls on steroids
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May 10, 2009 00:42
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Jolo posted:The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. This guy has a peculiar writing style that I can't quite put my finger on. Many times throughout the book I would have to stop and reread a section to grasp what was actually happening. Particularly when Severian and Agia crash their cart into a religious monument of some sort after racing another cart. Did I read that correctly? It sounded like Agia bet another cart that they could outrun them and they crashed into it randomly. Once you read further into the story, you'll find it may not have been an accident.  You'll definitely get more out of the story if you re-read it. I own the books and have read them many times, but I still get something new out of it every time. One of my favorite reads of all time. Wolfe uses unreliable narrators a lot in his stuff and Severian is no different in that regard. As far as the avern goes, I always imagined Severian cut his avern at the base of the stem so he had a huge stem with the avern blossom at the top, and the stem covered in those sharp leaves, so it resembled a club with spikes all along the length of it. Something like a branch cut from a rosebush, perhaps.
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May 10, 2009 05:31
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Been working my way through the Malazan series that has the giant thread. The sections with the marines are fun, and there are captivating parts, but every time I glance at this thread I imagine all the other books I could be reading. I hear the next book (book 8 I believe) is even more meandering then the previous novels so we'll see how it goes. Pale Fire is burning a hole in my desk (haw haw)
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May 11, 2009 08:40
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Just finished Concrete Island by J. G. Ballard. Great for a quick read. Very interesting it was written in the 70's. Pretty visionary.
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May 11, 2009 10:33
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Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. I've been reading Chabon in the sequence his books were published, and so far he's been merely promising. I guess the third one---his Pulitzer winner---will be the promise fulfilled. We shall see.
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May 11, 2009 12:38
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Wrojin posted:Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. I've been reading Chabon in the sequence his books were published, and so far he's been merely promising. I guess the third one---his Pulitzer winner---will be the promise fulfilled. We shall see. I've never read any of his books but I heard good things, then I found a few of his books in the bargain section at my work, so now I've got new Hardcovers of Yiddish Policeman's Union, Gentlemen of the Road and Maps & Legends that were' all $2-10 each. I'm gonna read them once I'm done with The Gone Away World and Pygmy.
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May 11, 2009 17:31
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Wrojin posted:Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. I've been reading Chabon in the sequence his books were published, and so far he's been merely promising. I guess the third one---his Pulitzer winner---will be the promise fulfilled. We shall see. Sorry for derailing this into a Chabon discussion, but I really think his first two novels are his best, particularly Wonder Boys which is one of my very favorite books. Everything after that is a lot of fun, very entertaining, but the first two are just plain good goddamned writing. Finished Simmons' Summer of Night this weekend. Holy poo poo I loved this book. I liked The Terror and Hyperion a whole hell of a lot, but this one blows them away imo. I think I shouted at the book a couple times. VVVV That's all true about the movie, but it's still totally worth watching for RDJ's performance alone, not to mention Rip Torn and Frances MacDormand. Ballsworthy fucked around with this message at 18:42 on May 11, 2009 |
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May 11, 2009 18:20
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Wrojin posted:Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. I've been reading Chabon in the sequence his books were published, and so far he's been merely promising. I guess the third one---his Pulitzer winner---will be the promise fulfilled. We shall see. I just finished this a few days ago myself, and loved it. I'd still say Kavalier&Clay is my favorite of his, but WB was charming and smooth as hell. (If you haven't seen it yet, don't bother with the movie. The cast is good, but as it moves along, they cut more and more out of the plot, and the ending is just unsatisfying as hell compared to the book.)
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May 11, 2009 18:38
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I suppose that I'm not being charitable to Chabon, but I didn't say that I've stopped reading him. Perhaps I'm finicky because I've been reading so much lately and am feeling jaded. There's a lot I could say, but I'll just mention that in Wonder Boys I would hit a patch of prose that made me sit back and wonder how many times he rewrote it to get every ounce of cleverness out of it. That's not good. That's why I called him "promising"---it takes talent to do what he does, but it takes more of something to do it seamlessly, to bring it all together so you don't see the machinery behind the curtain. I felt that he was trying too hard and not at the top of his game, that he's a good writer who has yet to do his best work. But, yeah, this is a derail. And yeah, I saw the movie first and tried not to think about it while I read the book, because I didn't like the movie at all. Anyway, like I said, we'll see what I think after I read the next book.
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May 11, 2009 23:33
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I finished reading English Philosophy since 1900 by G. J. Warnock over the weekend, and today I finished reading Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis.
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May 12, 2009 02:34
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City of Thieves by David Benioff Awesome book. Very difficult to put down, and I rarely read books. I'm glad I managed to work up the will to start the first page.
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May 12, 2009 06:11
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Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower. I honestly didn't think they were as bad as a lot of reviews made them out to be, but I wasn't blown away either. I think that was maybe due to lowering my expectations over the years...the first 3 books of the series had the promise of a masterwork, but around the time of Wizard and Glass it dawned on me that I wasn't going to discover any great metaphysical truths in the later books. Also, just wrapping up Historias del Kronen to brush up on my Spanish for a trip to Spain later this summer. It's about the day-to-day of a group of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll obsessed 20-somethings in Madrid in the early-mid 90s. There's a tangible sense of boredom and malaise of the main characters that is frequently punctuated with intense, strange, or hosed up encounters. I have about 30 pages left and so far a good read. krooj posted:Just finished, Brave New World, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Huxley's portrayal of the future isn't so bound in his time in the sense that his ideas can be transplanted to our time, yet still carry weight. Where he alluded to eugenics, the modern reader sees genetics. Yet, his writing never specifies eugenics, so completion of the methods is left as an exercise to the imagination. Kinda neat. I'm about to start this next and am looking forward to it, since it is one of those books you often hear recommended as a must-read.
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May 12, 2009 14:40
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I just finished The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh today. It's a great play; disturbing as all hell, though. I had a ball reading it.
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May 13, 2009 22:33
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Antrax, the second book of the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks. This Trilogy is turning into my favorite out of the one's I've read by him so far. Magic, lasers, flying ships oh my!
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May 13, 2009 22:48
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Ancient Iraq, by Georges Roux, covers Mesopotamia from beginning to the Sassanians or so. If you like history and have a bit of a gap in the Near East area, it's a good bet.
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May 14, 2009 00:19
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Recently finish Dr. Bloodmoney - Or How We Got Along After the Bomb by Philip K. Dick. The lovely title was made by the editor/publisher, with original plans by Dick to call it "A Terran Odyssey". Familiar plot devices and other things mentioned and discussed in the story include mutation from radiation and thalidimide, phocomelus, colonization of mars, survival after a post radiological apocalypse, psychosis, psychiatry and psychology, psychic powers, and life in the San Francisco Bay area.
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May 14, 2009 02:03
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Sunset and Sawdust, by Joe R. Lansdale--Joe R. has always been my favorite Big drat Texas Writer, and this book did not change my mind at all. I loved it. I'm not sure that I've ever read a book that started with a bigger goddamned bang than this one, either.
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May 14, 2009 06:01
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I just finished A Game of Thrones, which didn't take me nearly as long as I thought. I'm avoiding the thread of course, but I can't get over how ruthless Martin is to characters I like. 
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May 14, 2009 06:32
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Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus. And now I can't figure out if Antigone and Polynices are incestuous lovers or not.
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May 14, 2009 13:55
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Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut. The synopsis of the work is very misleading, it's pure metafiction that fluctuates between Kurt Vonnegut's real life and an the unfinished Timequake 1 with Kilgore Trout. It's the last work of fiction that he wrote, and it's obvious that he is tying up that part of his career. I've read almost everything else by Vonnegut, so this actually gave me some sense of closure.
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May 14, 2009 14:53
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OpRodSpring posted:And now I can't figure out if Antigone and Polynices are incestuous lovers or not. When referring to the Greeks - especially the Oedipus cycle - the answer to that question is always yes.
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May 15, 2009 04:23
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I tell you what I just finished: Spring Semester, fools! Now I can start my summer reading list! There's Vonnegut's Armageddon in Retrospect, a couple of awesome Carl Sagan works, perhaps a second romp through the Illuminatus! trilogy (and maybe see if Wilson's Quantum Psychology is half as entertaining as it sounds). And I'll probably hunt down Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, because summer isn't summer without a visit from Hunter.
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May 15, 2009 04:41
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Call of the Wild by Jack London. I feel like I'm in Eng 101 saying this, but I couldn't help but notice that Jack London really likes Darwin and Nietzsche. The blurb about the author makes me believe that a biography about him might be even more interesting than his books.
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May 15, 2009 18:51
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Just finished Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson. The next book in the series isnt out until later this year and Im bored already...
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May 15, 2009 19:34
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Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko. I actually enjoyed the movie more than the book.
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May 15, 2009 22:05
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colonelsandy posted:Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko. I actually enjoyed the movie more than the book. Daywatch is a lot better as a book. The translation seems a lot stronger and everything flows better. The third and fourth books are excellent also.
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May 15, 2009 22:52
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calandryll posted:Daywatch is a lot better as a book. The translation seems a lot stronger and everything flows better. The third and fourth books are excellent also. Cool I will check those out then. I didn't hate Nightwatch, I think if I had read the book before watching the film then I probably would have enjoyed it more, I felt the same way about Let the Right One In as well.
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May 15, 2009 23:50
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colonelsandy posted:Cool I will check those out then. I didn't hate Nightwatch, I think if I had read the book before watching the film then I probably would have enjoyed it more, I felt the same way about Let the Right One In as well. What I found difficult was the translation seemed stilted and just overall strange. The later books have a better flow to them.
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May 16, 2009 04:21
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Just finished Frank Herbert's Dune. Can't say enough good things about this one. I found myself getting into it very quickly and loved every bit of it. Not sure if this is the proper place to ask this, but are the other books in the series any good? I thought I've heard from various sources that the rest of the books are kinda lovely, but if they're even half as decent as Dune I'll probably check them out.
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May 17, 2009 07:49
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Plague by Graham Masteron. Haven't read an unapologetically pulpy book in ages and wow, this one has everything. Nonstop action, stereotypical characters, author with limited vocabulary, straight sex, gay sex, rape, blackmail, sex blackmail, bad dialogue, racism, you name it. At one point the evil Republicans blame all black people for causing the plague, white vigilantes proceed to hunt down afro-americans but the author doesn't fail to note that "some types of crime went down since black people stayed off the streets". Very predictable story but the last part of the book is actually very surprising. Probably gonna pick up more from the author when I don't want to think while reading. To cancel it out, I finally finished The Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. I had to put it down for a few weeks because it was too depressing and hit too close to home, but that's kind of the point it seems. If you haven't read it yet you probably should, it's one of the books that might alter the way you look at life. Definitely made me start to rethink some of the aspects of my own life.
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May 17, 2009 09:52
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The last book I finished was Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'. I'm not going to lie - it certainly wasn't as good as everyone had talked it up to be. I found the writing style to be over simplistic and far too basic. I'm open to interpretation and leaving a lot of things up to the readers imagination, but I just found this to be... boring. On top of that, a couple points in the book were very poorly structured when it came to dialogue. I had to go back and read one or two parts several times before it became (mostly) apparent as to whom it was speaking. The premise is great and although it's of a slow pace - it kept me reading. It's just a shame that I didn't come to enjoy the writing style as much as others do. I'm looking forward to the movie as I think the book reads better as a script than a novel in itself. 
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May 17, 2009 15:00
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