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Started Tell All the new Palahniuk book the other day. So far I'm really liking it. The gimmick for this book is that it has a TON of old movie/actor references and its written in almost screenplay format. Like there are a lot of camera movement descriptions and other various techniques.
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Sep 25, 2010 04:09
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Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book For All and None. Also rebought The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I gave the one I had to the used bookstore I work at (got it for free so it's not like I was out money by giving it away.) Already own the second book which I've stopped reading till I can lay hands on the third because I don't really want the ride to end.
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Sep 27, 2010 00:11
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The Scar, by China Meiville. Read Perdido Street Station and liked it, even though I thought the world building was better than the storytelling. The Scar seems like a better story so far. Even if the story sucks, the guy's imagination is so out of control and neat that I doubt I'd regret reading it.
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Sep 27, 2010 02:11
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The Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks. So far its really interesting and apparently I have been buying Orbits catalog without realizing it.
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Sep 27, 2010 02:33
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Just got Carlos Castaneda's The Art of Dreaming and plan to start it once I finish his Separate Reality.
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Sep 27, 2010 02:35
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Just bought The Elegance of the Hedgehog . I'm really looking forward to reading it. I'm glad new novels/books of this type get enough press in continental Europe to break through the Anglo-American barrier once in a while.
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Sep 27, 2010 17:59
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Just started reading Oryx and Crake a book by Margaret Atwood. I love dystopian novels.
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Sep 27, 2010 22:51
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Just started The Joy of Reading by Charles Van Doren (the guy that the movie Quiz Show is about; he's also a professor of literature or something) on my Kindle. It's a well-written, personal tour through Western literature. Contents list here. The first chapter made me go out and buy this at my uni's bookstore: 
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Sep 28, 2010 09:03
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I'm in a Reader's Advisory class this semester for my mls so I'm going to be buying/reading a lot of genre fiction. Started Dune (SF) but didn't have time to finish it. Moved on to Monkey: A Journey to the West (Inspirational) (Kherdian's version, which I didn't like as much as Waley's). And now I'm reading All the Pretty Horses (Western). I'll need to also find something from the following genres if anyone has any suggestions: Romance Non Fiction Graphic Novel GLBT Mystery or Thriller
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Sep 28, 2010 16:47
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Hedrigall posted:The first chapter made me go out and buy this at my uni's bookstore: Good for you. I was embarrassed that I'd never read the Iliad, so I finally sat down and churned it out last November. It was really enjoyable, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Really, there's a whole ton of good classical work out there that gets ignored. Blendy posted:Monkey: A Journey to the West (Inspirational) (Kherdian's version, which I didn't like as much as Waley's). I read the unabridged Journey to the West (W. J. F. Jenner) earlier this year and really liked it. Sun Wukong is maybe the greatest figure in Chinese literature, with the possible exception of Wang Xifeng from Dream of the Red Chamber. Foyes36 fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Sep 28, 2010 |
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Sep 28, 2010 17:17
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Sorry, ignore this. I posted in the wrong thread.
Archer666 fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Sep 28, 2010 |
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Sep 28, 2010 18:43
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I just bought Stephen Kings On Writing and Description and Setting. I've read some of the other books in that series and find it to be a competent beginners book. It doesn't have anything that you wouldn't immediately acknowledge as being somewhat obvious, but it helps me to have the various rules and suggestions spelled out in detail. I also purchased Roadside Picnic about 3 weeks ago, but I'm still waiting for it to arrive. Ebay shipping speeds are notoriously bad. It's like they wait until the last possible day to send it out. I am aware this book is available online, but I prefer the real thing. It definitely pisses me off that it hasn't been sent yet. That's it I'm writing a letter right now.
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Sep 28, 2010 19:50
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swebonny posted:Just started reading Oryx and Crake a book by Margaret Atwood. I love dystopian novels. I read this about six months ago, I'd be interested to hear what you think of it when you've finished it.
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Sep 28, 2010 20:30
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Blendy posted:I'm in a Reader's Advisory class this semester for my mls so I'm going to be buying/reading a lot of genre fiction. If you wanted to stand out from all the other people on your course who will have read Watchmen, you could try Kurt Busiek's take on Conan (Volume 1 is a better start than his origin story in volume 0), as you can link that directly to the original stuff by Robert E. Howard, or you could be really brave and try reading volume 1 of Punisher MAX (it's a publishing label not a nineties-as-gently caress title) for it's gleeful deconstruction of the cult of the Anti-Hero (way before Dexter got there) that's so prevalent in comics. Supreme Power would also be another excellent read as it's basically what would happen if Superman existed irl and oh god this isn't bss someone stop me Mystery or Thriller you could blow through a shitload of Sherlock Holmes or (because loads of other people will have) you got have a chew through Kate Atkinson's Case Histories, as that's had a lot of praise for being a mystery with well-drawn characters. Personally it bored me, but I'm obviously in the minority there.
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Sep 28, 2010 23:31
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Blendy posted:I'm in a Reader's Advisory class this semester for my mls so I'm going to be buying/reading a lot of genre fiction. For GLBT check out the gay lit thread.
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Sep 29, 2010 00:51
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Blendy posted:I'm in a Reader's Advisory class this semester for my mls so I'm going to be buying/reading a lot of genre fiction. Echoing Watchmen for the graphic novel, it's fantastic. As for Romance, eh, not sure. How broad are you parameters for that genre? You might consider a novella by Tolstoy, Family Happiness. It's a beautiful little story about the marriage of a young girl and an older man, their courtship, and the girls eventual changing notion of marriage.
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Sep 29, 2010 03:01
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I'm going to dissent and recommend either We3 or From Hell for your graphic novel, Blendy. Don't get me wrong, Watchmen is magnificent, but it's too obvious a choice (though maybe that's the point of the class? I dunno).
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Sep 29, 2010 04:17
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Monday I got Flowers for Algernon and Filth from work. Never read or saw Trainspotting so I don't know how it compares but Filth isn't that bad once you start to figure out what words mean. Kinda want to get Porno now if I ever find a copy.
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Sep 29, 2010 20:56
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I'm about halfway through Voltaire's Candide and I'm not sure what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't that it would be funny as hell.
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Sep 29, 2010 21:05
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muscles like this? posted:I'm about halfway through Voltaire's Candide and I'm not sure what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't that it would be funny as hell. I had zero idea what to expect either, just that it was suggested to me and it was 100s of years old. I laughed out loud several times, it's really really funny. I just bought a fuckload of books (15+) from Goodwill yesterday so I won't list them all, but I found an old (mid-late 80s) copy of Fleming's The Man With the Golden Gun with an introduction by Anthony Burgess. <3 I've only read the first two Bond books, Casion Royale and Live and Let Die, so I've got quite a few more to read before I get to TMWTGG, but I'm super excited about it.
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Sep 29, 2010 21:35
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I bought The Second Plane: September 11 - Terror and Boredom and The Pregnant Widow both by Martin Amis on Sunday. The Second Plane was fascinating and I tore through it in a couple of days, now I'm starting The Pregnant Widow. Martin Amis is quickly becoming a favorite of mine and I can't wait to read more.
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Sep 30, 2010 00:48
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Reading those books close together is fun because Martin Amis often reuses his own lines if he really likes them. This happens a bunch of times in The Second Plane and The Pregnant Widow. I think people dismiss the handling of gender issues in The Pregnant Widow in a pretty unfair way. I've read a bunch of reviews that are basically saying "Martin Amis think that progress for women is just becoming more like a man" and that's really not what the novel is saying at all. I'll say no more, though, to avoid spoilers.
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Sep 30, 2010 13:51
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Decided to get myself back into reading, i used to read a hell of a lot when i was younger and eventually just fell out of it, not entirely sure why. It's been frustrating as i don't read anywhere near as fast as i used to, but i'll make it there in the end, slow reading or not! A friend of mine was moving house and was clearing out, so i picked up a few random books for free that seemed like they would interest me. American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis, Making History by Stephen Fry, The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien, and Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven. Should keep me busy for a while. Yes it probably is a horrendous crime that i haven't read some of these before, but hey, i'm lazy. And the other day i finally got my copy of Mogworld by Yahtzee delivered, i've read a lot of Pratchett, so it seemed like it would be something i would enjoy, and a few chapters into it and it doesn't disappoint. e: Oh, and Rally Cry by William R Forstchen, the cover looked terrible and it's somewhere between sci-fi and civil war. I don't know what the gently caress. e2: And The Trials of Lenny Bruce by Ronald KL Collins and David M Skover. Holy gently caress i've bought/scavenged a lot of books this week and i really am really slow at reading. Piss Witch fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Sep 30, 2010 |
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Sep 30, 2010 16:04
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Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I suppose I should have mentioned that I worked at a comic shop for over two years so I'm familiar with the 'genre.' However, I really appreciate the suggestions as they gave me ideas on what might work well for a booktalk and annotation. This has been very helpful. Evfedu Thank you for the suggestion of Kurt Busiek's Conan. I read some of his Superman work, and I enjoy his writing. And as you said it would be a nice link to the original Robert E. Howard Conan material. I never got much into Punisher MAX. Of the MAX imprint I much prefer Criminal. But your suggestion did remind me that Criminal would make for a great booktalk. Also I am sure someone else will be talking Watchman. Thanks also for the mystery suggestions. Hedrigall Thanks for the link! Skellen We can go very broad throughout the scope of the genre. I'll look at Family Happiness and see if it fits enough. Ornamented Death Those are both great books. Thanks for the suggestions!
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Sep 30, 2010 16:07
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I'm ~70 pages into John Banville's The Untouchable. I enjoy Banville; his books are quick reads with nice language, but sometimes the "literary language" clunks badly. "Proustianly" is the worst adverb, and a gay guy describing the sky as "glans-brown" is the kind of thing that's like, oh, a clever pun because glans = acorn in Latin, so maybe it's not just dirty and awkward, but really, that's reaching and it is just dirty and awkward. Also, Spain smells like "semen and mildew." So, I admire Banville's gung-ho approach to adopting um, "the gay mindset," but I don't think writing the gay lead as perceiving everything like a genitals-seeking bloodhound is the best course.
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Sep 30, 2010 17:05
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Blendy posted:Skellen Great! If you do pick up or borrow a book with it, make sure it includes The Death of Ivan Ilyich as well. I don't know what that would fit into in your list, but it's another novella of Tolstoy's and is fantastic. It's about a young man reflecting on his life and taking stock, as it were. I don't know really how to describe it. Profoundly moving though.
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Oct 1, 2010 06:05
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Currently reading: Ulysses by James Joyce The Aeneid by Virgil The Knights of Olmedo by Lope de Vega To-read: V. by Thomas Pynchon The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges Herzog by Saul Bellow The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
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Oct 1, 2010 06:18
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Currently reading: Too many to count; I've REALLY got to start whittling this number down. Just bought: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. I like it! Just read the first chapter over lunch, very good start.
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Oct 1, 2010 06:32
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Skellen posted:Great! If you do pick up or borrow a book with it, make sure it includes The Death of Ivan Ilyich as well. I don't know what that would fit into in your list, but it's another novella of Tolstoy's and is fantastic. It's about a young man reflecting on his life and taking stock, as it were. I don't know really how to describe it. Profoundly moving though. Heck even if doesn't fit it never hurts to read more fiction!
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Oct 1, 2010 17:40
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I just started Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs. I've been reading this series since approximately 2002, and have enjoyed every book in it. I would love to be a forensic anthropologist (though I never will), and I love how Reichs mixes scientific fact with an interesting plot line. There isn't a book that goes by without Tempe getting into some form of trouble -- usually the type that could kill her, so that part isn't very realistic. This book is no exception, though I'm about 80 pages from the end, and the "accident" that has happened so far wasn't that bad. Hey, it could have been horrible, but from previous books, this is nothing in comparison. And I like the two cases, but what I like the best is the presence of Katy, Ryan and Lily. I think my only complaint is that the book is pretty short -- just over 300 pages, whereas most books in this genre are usually 350-500. I'm also reading The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore, which is a mixture of Southern Gothic meets YA with some ballet thrown in, so I'm happy. That book is like 550 pages, and I've been reading a couple of chapters at a time...still have about 200 pages left. For some reason, while it's a good story, I was having a hard time getting into it. At the point I'm in, we're just now starting to get into the plot, which I think is what irked me. Though the Southern history lessons that I'm sort of getting have been cool. The third book (and last book) that I'm reading at the moment is the I,Q series by Roland Smith... think an American version of Alex Rider...except not as advanced. These kids are quite new to the spy gig, and they're still in training, if you could call it that. I'm not obsessed with the series, but I do like it. I'm currently reading the second, and it's sort of slow going. Not plot-wise, because it picks up directly from the first book. But the kids are still learning, the main character is completely new to the world of espionage, and when compared to the Gallagher Girls or Alex Rider or CHERUB, it's just...slower. Not in a bad way, but I'm waiting for all these high-tech gadgets and stunts, and there's hardly any of that so far. Though Q is a magician, which is cool. I have a feeling that will be very helpful down the line as a spy.
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Oct 7, 2010 06:20
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I just started The Iliad. I was at a used bookstore and found a copy of EV Rieu's translation for a couple of bucks, so I figured why not - it's something I've meant to read for a while. It's good, although since I'm reading a prose translation, I'm sure I'm missing out on something. I also picked up Robert Graves' I, Claudius while I was there too.
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Oct 7, 2010 19:38
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Just picked up Watt by Samuel Beckett and Selected Poems by Ezra Pound. Two good ones, I think.
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Oct 7, 2010 19:53
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I decided to expand my medieval literary experience by picking up Le Morte D'Arthur. I'm only a few chapters in and so far it's interesting enough but the prose style seems like it's going to be a handful. I don't know if I can get much out of the book aesthetically but I'm sure there are other ways to approach it.
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Oct 7, 2010 23:08
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Just started House of Leaves today. Picked it up at the library on recommendation from a friend. So far it's reading more like a research text than I'd like, but I'm only a couple chapters in, so I guess I'm still in that part of the book.
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Oct 8, 2010 01:16
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^^ A book club I'm in read that book this summer, but since I forgot/couldn't get a copy in time, I sat it out. It's still on my reading list. I've heard a lot of conflicting opinions about it, so I would like to read it eventually. Several people described it as terribly creepy, but I don't remember anyone comparing it to a reference book. What gives you the impression? Uh, right now I'm reading Never Mind the Goldbergs by Matthue Roth. So far, pretty good. A random pick off the library shelf.
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Oct 8, 2010 04:40
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Allia posted:^^ A book club I'm in read that book this summer, but since I forgot/couldn't get a copy in time, I sat it out. It's still on my reading list. I've heard a lot of conflicting opinions about it, so I would like to read it eventually. Several people described it as terribly creepy, but I don't remember anyone comparing it to a reference book. What gives you the impression? The way it starts out is very dry, aside from the footnotes. The first fifty pages or so are pretty slow.
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Oct 8, 2010 05:22
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Got an advance copy of "Hull Zero Three" by Greg Bear from the library break room. I'm 35 pages in and it's weird. This is the first space sci fi I've read in over a year (since I read "Old Man's War"), and in years and years before that. Thus far: Guy is awakened, completely dazed and with only a tenuous idea of who he is, on a colonization ship about to land, then all of a sudden he wakes up again with even less idea what is going on, on the same ship, and has to start dodging monsters while starving and freezing.
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Oct 8, 2010 06:25
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Currently reading "Elfstones of Shannara", and recently started "A Game of Thrones" recommended to me by a friend.
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Oct 8, 2010 17:15
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For some reason my new thing is buying Picador editions of Bret Easton Ellis books. I got Rules of Attraction a couple of weeks and just got American Psycho. I also ordered Glamorama. I already have all these in my libary from years ago, but I am loving the covers of the Picador editions. I am also rereading these as I get them. Already finished Rules of Attraction and now blazing through (for the 4th or 5th time) American Psycho. Galmorama is the only BEE book I haven't read. Just never got around to it, but I will read it next. I never realized that some of the characters from his other books show up in it.
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Oct 9, 2010 01:43
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WalaWala posted:...and recently started "A Game of Thrones" recommended to me by a friend. Oh you poor bastard. I think your friend might secretly hate you.
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Oct 9, 2010 08:38
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