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MockingQuantum posted:I think I have a book in mind for most of the "continent" challenge, but I admit I have no idea what I should read from Oceania. Anybody have any off the cuff suggestions? The Plains, by Gerald Murnane.
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Mar 6, 2019 09:29
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apophenium posted:6. Blackwater, by Michael McDowell. This thing is something else. The scope of it is immense. The characters are all incredibly flawed. Taking place in a small Alabama town from 1919 to the early 70s, McDowell shows great craft in detailing the lives of a rich family. Spiced up by intriguing supernatural elements, Blackwater is a huge but great read. gently caress yeah! I read this when it was BOTM a while back and it was indeed great. Some of the most sympathetic characters were among the man-eating shape-shifting river monsters, I thought.
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Mar 6, 2019 11:02
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A human heart posted:The Plains, by Gerald Murnane. Guy A. Person posted:From Australia: Thanks for these! I'll check them out.
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Mar 6, 2019 19:54
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From Australia, I read A Loving and Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe in 2017 and enjoyed it. I just checked out The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton, which I think was a rec from someone in the lit thread (Mel?).
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Mar 7, 2019 17:19
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Uuuugh, with wedding and home stuff I am way the gently caress behind on my challenges. But I suppose I can still contribute slightly to the discussion.ENEMIES EVERYWHERE posted:I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett I still need to sit down and read both this one and The Shepherd's Crown - I was too bummed by Terry's passing to sit down and give either of them a go. quote:Jingo - Terry Pratchett (re-read) But, hey, Carrot's solution to the whole thing helps to set up Unseen Academicals later on. quote:The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett (re-read) I think that the Vimes Elbow (tm) being a match for the werewolves was meant to be a commentary on the crypto-fascists-in-fur feeling that they were so superior to humans only to have a furious alcoholic piledrive them in to a boiling hotspring. quote:Night Watch - Terry Pratchett (re-read) I think this one might have been written around the time where Terry's diagnosis happened? Which would explain why so much of it is a powerfully furious take on some of his favorite themes. It's easily one of my favorites of the entire serious. The Sophie's Choice that Vimes is forced to deal with is also really fitting for his development up to this point. quote:Thud! - Terry Pratchett THAT'S NOT MY COW! Also, if you thought that Vimes is OP in this one you'll really dislike both Snuff (which was cringeworthy as well but had some nice spots in it) and his appearance in Raising Steam. quote:Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett (re-read) Anything with Nanny and Granny in it is a great book. There's an animated movie you can find of this floating around that I'd highly recommend.
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Mar 7, 2019 17:40
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Katherine Mansfield was also from New Zealand. Anybody ever read anything by an author from one of the smaller nations in Oceania?
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Mar 8, 2019 04:21
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citybeatnik posted:I still need to sit down and read both this one and The Shepherd's Crown - I was too bummed by Terry's passing to sit down and give either of them a go. I totally feel that. It's a big part of why it's taken me so long to get to ISWM and Thud (and Unseen Academicals, Snuff, and Shepherd's Crown, none of which I've cracked open yet). I don't want to say goodbye, and I especially don't want to say it on a down note. FWIW, though, I Shall Wear Midnight felt to me like Pratchett's high-note farewell to Discworld. There are some technical problems, as mentioned, but the heart of the book is good and brave and wise and pure and it is right there on every page. quote:I think that the Vimes Elbow (tm) being a match for the werewolves was meant to be a commentary on the crypto-fascists-in-fur feeling that they were so superior to humans only to have a furious alcoholic piledrive them in to a boiling hotspring. Crypto-Fascists In Fur, title of my debut glam-punk album. I agree, but I also don't love it. I'm having a hard time articulating exactly why I'm unsatisfied by Vimes's character arc after Feet of Clay, but I think it's this: every book after that, he starts kicking more and more rear end, but learning less and less from it each time. Night Watch is kind of the pinnacle of this trend because 1. all the rear end-kicking literally takes place outside of history and none of it affects the present, and 2. Vimes really doesn't learn anything new at all -- he gets reminded of the importance of what he's already learned, over his years and years of experience, and then gets to teach it to his younger self. quote:Also, if you thought that Vimes is OP in this one you'll really dislike both Snuff (which was cringeworthy as well but had some nice spots in it) and his appearance in Raising Steam. I put down Raising Steam less than 20 pages in and didn't pick it back up again. It felt like a completely different animal from Pratchett's other works. A sad and limping animal  quote:Anything with Nanny and Granny in it is a great book. There's an animated movie you can find of this floating around that I'd highly recommend. Thank you for the rec! I will investigate.
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Mar 8, 2019 22:37
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ENEMIES EVERYWHERE posted:I put down Raising Steam less than 20 pages in and didn't pick it back up again. It felt like a completely different animal from Pratchett's other works. A sad and limping animal Raising Steam is the reason I haven't read The Shepherd's Crown. It was just such a complete nothing of a book. I'm pretty sure I've read I Shall Wear Midnight but I just read the plot summary on Wikipedia and I have absolutely no memory of it.
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Mar 8, 2019 23:48
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cryptoclastic posted:Katherine Mansfield was also from New Zealand. I've not really found that much of interest in pacific islands literature but Albert Wendt is alright.
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Mar 9, 2019 23:44
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Looking for a wildcard please.
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Mar 11, 2019 08:48
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Furious Lobster posted:Looking for a wildcard please. Lust by Elfriede Jelinek
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Mar 11, 2019 12:23
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Take the plunge! Okay! posted:Lust by Elfriede Jelinek Possible to get a wildcard that's slightly more popular in terms of library availability? I couldn't find it in the two library systems I use.
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Mar 11, 2019 17:37
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Sorry to hear that, it’s a good book. I don’t mind if someone else steps in with another wildcard.
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Mar 11, 2019 18:02
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Is it kosher to steal unused wildcards? Cause I would read that
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Mar 11, 2019 18:05
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Guy A. Person posted:Is it kosher to steal unused wildcards? Cause I would read that If you can get the book, I don't mind; would you assign me one in its place please?
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Mar 11, 2019 18:11
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Looking for any wildcard as well albeit that it would most likely be in a library?
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Mar 12, 2019 20:11
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crap sorry missed this yesterday: try "The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson
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Mar 12, 2019 20:29
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Guy A. Person posted:crap sorry missed this yesterday: Awesome, thank you! Got a copy with ease.
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Mar 12, 2019 20:39
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Furious Lobster posted:Possible to get a wildcard that's slightly more popular in terms of library availability? I couldn't find it in the two library systems I use. It's pretty cool that libraries in America don't stock the work of a novel prize laureate.
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Mar 13, 2019 09:05
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A human heart posted:It's pretty cool that libraries in America don't stock the work of a novel prize laureate. Mine only has him in Russian.
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Mar 13, 2019 14:59
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A human heart posted:It's pretty cool that libraries in America don't stock the work of a novel prize laureate. Oh they had other works -- Greed & La Pianista, just not the one proffered as wildcard.
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Mar 13, 2019 18:33
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Ben Nevis posted:Mine only has him in Russian. Who?
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Mar 14, 2019 00:31
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Furious Lobster posted:Oh they had other works -- Greed & La Pianista, just not the one proffered as wildcard. just go with one of those then! what the heck man
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Mar 14, 2019 00:31
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A human heart posted:just go with one of those then! what the heck man Thought it had to be the specific one  .
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Mar 14, 2019 01:17
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There's simply no excuse for not reading Elfriede Jelinek rambling like a deranged chain email about how patriarchal and stupid Austrian society is, in any form.
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Mar 14, 2019 04:29
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Furious Lobster posted:Thought it had to be the specific one Just do 2! I'll read Lust and you read one of the other ones and we'll compare notes Also I've always wanted wildcard from A human heart, give me something!
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Mar 14, 2019 04:44
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Guy A. Person posted:Just do 2! I'll read Lust and you read one of the other ones and we'll compare notes Done, I'll read The Piano Teacher then!
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Mar 14, 2019 04:53
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Guy A. Person posted:Just do 2! I'll read Lust and you read one of the other ones and we'll compare notes J.M.G. Le Clezio - The Giants
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Mar 14, 2019 05:08
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Rad, thanks!
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Mar 14, 2019 05:11
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I finished three books in March. The best was We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson. I'd read the short story "The Lottery" in high school, and picked Castle off the library shelf due to the intriguing cover. It was the best book I've read in quite some time - the narrator was strange and fascinating and disturbing. This one is going to stick with me. Highly recommended. Challenge: awesome cover. Yes Please, by Amy Poehler: I picked this up for airport reading, and as expected, it was a quick and entertaining read. There was enough content to possibly count this as fulfilling the Booklord challenge about feminism. Building success in comedy sounds like an absolute nightmare. I picked Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running off the library shelf because I recognized the name and had never read anything by him. This is a memoir of his experiences in long-distance running, and it did not make me want to run for distance. He has an interesting voice, and I found reading this calming. It was not a page-turner or anything, but something I felt compelled to keep coming back to. Looking over the challenge list, I just realized that this counts as a book about sports! Books read: 6/30 (I'm upping my goal from 25 to 30, as that is seeming more doable now that I'm back in the swing of reading) Books by women: 3/6 Books by nonwhite authors: 1/6 (this challenge is definitely exposing that I need to branch out!)
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Apr 1, 2019 01:17
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So the question is whether the book has to be feminist (espousing feminist ideals and principles), or specifically topically about feminism and discussing feminist issues. If it's the first, Poehler probably counts; if it's the second, Yes Please likely doesn't count. Books like that are good feminist reading, but they're not about feminism, if that makes sense. Compare to memoirs like say Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist that specifically address feminist issues as their core, using memoir as the genre to do so. On a related note, cryptoclastic, does the challenge to read books by non-white authors specifically mean non-white, or did you mean racialized authors? I read a Holocaust survivor's memoir this month (Max Eisen's By Chance Alone, skip it, it's trash), and it's obviously very much about race and racial experience, but he is a white-passing Jew.
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Apr 1, 2019 01:34
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Books by women: 6/24 Non-fiction: 1/12 Full reviews on Goodreads. I'm not keen on Miss Marple. I liked the TV version of her (played by Geraldine McEwan, not Julia McKenzie) but in the books she's just a bit too smug. Poirot obviously thinks he's the best and smartest person who ever lived, but everyone else thinks he's a bit of a pompous narcissist so it's funny. Marple seems to have the same high regard for herself except every other character also agrees that she's the cleverest person around. Anyway, Murder at the Vicarage was a pretty good mystery but I want more Poiroit and there is no more Poirot because I've read them all. Edge City was really good though. Made me want to drink and smoke and steal things.
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Apr 1, 2019 03:31
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Man, you guys are making me make some decisions! First off, piejinks, I changed your number in the tracking post. Now, in regards to a work about feminism, I'm going to start with what Arivia said. Arivia posted:So the question is whether the book has to be feminist (espousing feminist ideals and principles), or specifically topically about feminism and discussing feminist issues. If it's the first, Poehler probably counts; if it's the second, Yes Please likely doesn't count. Books like that are good feminist reading, but they're not about feminism, if that makes sense. Compare to memoirs like say Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist that specifically address feminist issues as their core, using memoir as the genre to do so. I think what I was hoping for was somewhere in the middle for our start as to what defines a feminist work. Not necessarily feminist essays, but something written with feminism and feminist themes in mind. I am not really well-versed in feminist literature or writing, so that's the reason for the category. I wanted to read something feminist, so you guys will too! Ultimately it is up to you to determine if you've checked off that box. Arivia posted:On a related note, cryptoclastic, does the challenge to read books by non-white authors specifically mean non-white, or did you mean racialized authors? I read a Holocaust survivor's memoir this month (Max Eisen's By Chance Alone, skip it, it's trash), and it's obviously very much about race and racial experience, but he is a white-passing Jew. This is another one of those up to you situations, but I would probably count him. Ideally everyone is taking the challenge to heart and reading as much variety as they can, so one author won't make the difference in hitting your goals. When in doubt, just read something else to get what you need!
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Apr 1, 2019 06:32
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March! 28. Final Girls, Riley Sager - A surprisingly good thriller/mystery. I went in expecting something mediocre and was pleasantly surprised. 29. Lethal White, Robert Galbraith 2 - This was a mammoth of a book but ultimately I really enjoyed it. I think it's taken a bit, but Rowling is kind of settling in well in this series. Each book feels like an improvement on the last in various little ways. 30. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley 2,13 - I read this the first time in college, and really loved it at the time. This time around, it had much less of an impact on me, though I couldn't say why. Ultimately still a great book. 31. Whose Body? Dorothy Sayers 2 - I was pretty underwhelmed by this book, though the consensus seems to be that it's not really the best place to start with Sayers. This felt like a very half-baked novel in so many ways. 32. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie 2,13 - I love this book, even with all of its genre silliness and a somewhat tough-to-swallow twist. I read it for the first time when I was 10 or 11 (featuring a pretty offensive, but somehow not the most offensive, title) and have read it twice since then, and I love it every time. 33. Geek Love, Katherine Dunn 2 - This was a huge surprise. Incredibly weird, often somewhat nauseating, but also extremely heartfelt and touching in ways I wouldn't have predicted. I'm surprised I don't see it talked about more. It shows up on a lot of "best horror novel" lists but calling it horror is really a disservice. 34. Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon 12 - I went into this one expecting a bit of a gimmick mystery, and was surprised to get an overall well-written novel. I really enjoyed this book. 35. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin 2 - I love Le Guin. This was an excellent read, though I wish I'd found the book when I was 13. I think it would have had a big impact on me. Bonus points: you can find an audiobook version of this that's read by Harlan Ellison, and it's fantastic. 36. Strong Poison, Dorothy Sayers 2 - This was a much better introduction to Sayers, I wish I'd started here. Unfortunately I'd just been reading an article about a particular subject matter that made the solution to the mystery kind of obvious, but that's not the book's fault. I enjoyed this, though honestly I find Wimsey kind of tiresome and I'm not sure these books will ever top my list of favorite mysteries. 37. Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier 2 - What a fantastic, tense novel. I loved this. I think I had the "twist" spoiled for me at some point, as I realized what was going on fairly early in the book, but it didn't matter because it's so well written that it doesn't lean on the twist like a lot of more traditional mysteries. Also the mystery is revealed much earlier in the book than I expected, which was really intriguing. 38. Prince of Thorns, Mark Lawrence - This started out as a fairly standard grimdark fantasy novel, but it went enough interesting places that it managed to win me over. About a third of the way in, I thought I'd lose interest and chuck it, but I'm glad I stuck with it, and I'll probably read at least the rest of the trilogy. There are enough interesting characters and setting details that I'm kind of hooked. The main character is pretty unlikable (and written comically way too young for some of the poo poo he does) for a good chunk of the book though. 39. Magpie Murders, Anthony Horowitz - I loved this. It plays with mystery tropes, and makes it amply obvious that's what it's doing, but it's executed so well. Highly recommended if you're a big Agatha Christie fan. 40. Eric, Terry Pratchett - I have maintained a pretty ambivalent view towards Discworld books as a whole so far, and this one kind of perfectly encapsulates my feelings on the series in its own little microcosm-- There was just enough that I really enjoy to keep me reading it, but there was also a good amount that didn't quite land for me. I think part of the problem is I came to the books later in life than most people, I think, and I'm American so some of the British cultural references either sneak under the radar or just don't have the impact that they would have otherwise. I think this is another series that if I'd read them in my teens, I would have absolutely loved the books. quote:gonna stop listing the books I've already read cuz the list is getting long. MockingQuantum fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Apr 1, 2019 |
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Apr 1, 2019 17:10
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I thought I'd read more this month, but I guess it's just 6. Not bad, I'm staying ahead of pace, and it was a good set of books. Pretty good mix too, with some horror, some fantasy, and MBI longlisted short stories. A lot of books this month that were very strong. And I crossed off 2 more continents! A good month, I'd say. 15. Revolution Sunday by Wendy Guerra - This is about an author who is successful internationally, but her work is banned in her native Cuba. Being Cuban is central to who she is and she doesn't want to abandon it like her friends who have emigrated, but she's not appreciated or even wanted by Cuba. Incidentally, I understand Ms. Guerra's book is not available in her native Cuba. 16. The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead - A noirish mystery centered on competing factions in a big city's elevator inspection department. It builds a compelling, gritty world focused onto this seemingly narrow field. This was really good. The stand out of the month. 17. The Elementals by Michael McDowell - After the death of the family's matriarch, they retire with their friends to two old Victorian beach houses. But that third, abandoned beach house sure is creepy, isn't it? A gothic horror, though in a bit of a twist it's set on a hot, sunny Alabama beach. This was well put together and adequately spooky. I enjoyed it. 18. The Shepherds Hut by Tim Winton - Jaxie's a bit of a delinquent. Skipping school, beating kids up, and as you might expect has a troubled homelife. When he comes home to find his abusive father dead, he's convinced that it'll be pinned on him and he flees into the wilds of western Australia. He meets up with a loquacious Irish priest hiding in the wilderness, and a rather unlikely friendship is formed. This was a good read, and Australian AF. Lots of slang and whatnot, and then suddenly you'll have some stunning prose break through. Would recommend. 19. The Bird King by G Willow Wilson - Set at the finale of the Reconquista, Fatima is a concubine of the Sultan. As accords are reached forcing the Moors to abandon Granada, Fatima learns that her friend Hassan is to be handed over to the Inquisition. They manage to escape, but with the Inquisition hot on their heels, Fatima and Hassan decide to try and journey to meet the Bird King. Wilson here has a bit of a spin on the Conference of the Birds. It's often a tense book with chases and whatnot, but the focus is so often on the relationship of Fatima and Hassan and their strong platonic bond. Wilson definitely includes some ties through to modern day, often in comedic asides. I really liked this, and while it was different from Alif the Unseen, it didn't disappoint. I'm hoping to see more novels from Wilson in the future. 20. Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin - This one was longlisted for the Man Booker International, and it was the first one available at the library, so here we are. This is a collection of short stories, and mostly they delve into the dark and visceral. At times, they bring to mind Ogawa or Machado. Not all of them, but a lot focus on family. Husbands and wives, children and parents, and the fraught nature of those relationships often has nightmarish results. As the cover points out, the tendency throughout is for everyday things to be seen through a weird dreamy lense. Maybe the sort of reflection one has in the middle of a sleepless night. There are about 20 stories in this 200ish page book, so they're mostly quick, with a central idea or observation and a brief exploration. This was a good book, and I'd recommend it. Ben Nevis posted:1. Ice by Anna Kavan
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Apr 1, 2019 20:46
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Arivia posted:So the question is whether the book has to be feminist (espousing feminist ideals and principles), or specifically topically about feminism and discussing feminist issues. If it's the first, Poehler probably counts; if it's the second, Yes Please likely doesn't count. Books like that are good feminist reading, but they're not about feminism, if that makes sense. Compare to memoirs like say Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist that specifically address feminist issues as their core, using memoir as the genre to do so. Hmm, I'm tempted to not count Yes Please, mainly because I haven't read a book about feminism since university. Why not this year? Did you read all of the 2019 Canada Reads contenders? I'll have to check out Chariandy's Brother, but will skip By Chance Alone.
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Apr 2, 2019 00:54
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MockingQuantum posted:
I love Christie and have never found another author to scratch that same itch. I've added Horowitz to my "to read" list. Thank you! There was a fantastic miniseries of And Then There Were None that was made by the BBC a few years ago. I normally don't care for these things at all, but this was an exception.
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Apr 2, 2019 01:04
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cryptoclastic posted:I think what I was hoping for was somewhere in the middle for our start as to what defines a feminist work. Not necessarily feminist essays, but something written with feminism and feminist themes in mind. I am not really well-versed in feminist literature or writing, so that's the reason for the category. I wanted to read something feminist, so you guys will too! Ultimately it is up to you to determine if you've checked off that box. Just read belle hooks
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Apr 2, 2019 01:35
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piejinks posted:I love Christie and have never found another author to scratch that same itch. I've added Horowitz to my "to read" list. Thank you! I will give a caveat: Magpie Murders is both a very heartfelt love letter to Christie, as well as a bit of a deconstruction of her style. So I'd still say it's a great option for people who love Christie, but it's not necessarily a good recommendation if you're looking for a Christie-like, if that makes sense? I'm probably overthinking it, I loved the book, hands down.
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Apr 2, 2019 03:11
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piejinks posted:Hmm, I'm tempted to not count Yes Please, mainly because I haven't read a book about feminism since university. Why not this year? I did. Brother and Suzanne were the best. Homes is good, but it has a very live or die descriptive style comparing the Syrian civil war to CounterStrike. The Woo-Woo is interesting, but very very black, with exceedingly raw humour. It was depressing to read. By Chance Alone made me want to read more about the Holocaust but not from that book. It was like a 4th grader wrote about their time spent in a concentration camp on summer vacation. It should not have won.
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Apr 2, 2019 03:28
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