Robo Reagan posted:

I'm surprised how quickly the book wraps up. The general spends all of like two pages to arrive at the graveyard and get to staking. He doesn't gently caress around.

Mercury Hat posted:

I'm about 2/3 of the way through and I'm loving this vampire con artist. "Oh please, my preternaturally beautiful daughter simply must stay with you while I attend a matter of the utmost secrecy and importance. No, don't ask anything about it. Yes, she must be allowed alone around your daughter. Farewell."

poisonpill posted:

For BotM, now that it's being remixed: do they have to be novels, or can we throw in suggestions for nonfiction, essays, plays?

Hieronymous Alloy posted:

It has to be a "book", that is, it has to be printable on pages between covers, and ideally it should be some combination of fun, interesting, and low-cost.

quote:

Snow Country (雪国, Yukiguni, IPA: [jɯkiꜜɡɯɲi]) is a novel by the Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata. The novel is considered a classic work of Japanese literature[1] and was among the three novels the Nobel Committee cited in 1968, when Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature

quote:

Autumn of the Black Snake tells how the early republic battled the coalition of Indians that came closer than any adversary, before or since, to halting the nation’s expansion. In evocative and absorbing prose, William Hogeland conjures up the woodland battles and the hardball politics that formed the Legion of the United States, the country’s first true standing army. His memorable portraits of soldiers and leaders on both sides—from the daring war chiefs Blue Jacket and Little Turtle to the doomed Richard Butler and a steely, even ruthless Washington—drive a tale of horrific violence, brilliant strategizing, stupendous blunders, and valorous deeds. This sweeping account, at once exciting and dark, builds to a crescendo as Washington and Alexander Hamilton, at enormous risk, outmaneuver Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other skeptics of standing armies—and Washington appoints General “Mad” Anthony Wayne to lead the Legion. Wayne marches into the forests of the Old Northwest, where the very Indians he is charged with defeating will bestow on him, with grudging admiration, a new name: Black Snake.

poisonpill posted:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Country

poisonpill posted:

quote:

The King Must Die is a 1958 bildungsroman and historical novel by Mary Renault that traces the early life and adventures of Theseus, a hero in Greek mythology. It is set in locations throughout Ancient Greece: Troizen, Corinth, Eleusis, Athens, Knossos in Crete, and Naxos. Renault wrote a sequel, The Bull from the Sea, in 1962.
. . .
The book was lauded by critics, with Renault's believable historical setting being particularly well-received.[1] Removing the fantastical elements of monsters and the appearances of gods, Renault constructed an archaeologically and anthropologically plausible story that might have developed into the myth. However, other critics have viewed Renault's depiction of ancient Crete as based on flawed theories and taking significant imaginative liberties.[2][3]

quote:

The Voyage of the Space Beagle (1950) is a science fiction novel by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt. An example of space opera subgenre, the novel is a "fix-up" compilation of four previously published stories:

. . .

A sentient panther-like species named Coeurl (or Zorl in French editions), with psi capabilities and tentacles coming out of its shoulders, was adapted as the character Mughi (or Mugi) in the anime Dirty Pair. It also appears in several versions of the Final Fantasy video games, and as the Displacer beast in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The Coeurl suck phosphorus ("id")[7] from their victims; the "salt vampire" in the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap" removes sodium.

. .. .
"The plot of these two portions of Space Beagle so closely matched the plot of Alien that van Vogt sued the production company for plagiarism. The suit was eventually settled out of court for $50,000.[2]".

quote:

Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs is a book written by Hunter S. Thompson, published in 1967 by Random House.[3] It was widely lauded for its up-close and uncompromising look at the Hells Angels motorcycle club, during a time when the gang was highly feared and accused of numerous criminal activities. The New York Times described Thompson's portrayal as "a world most of us would never dare encounter."[4][5]

It was Thompson's first published book and his first attempt at a nonfiction novel.

quote:

Snow Country (雪国, Yukiguni, IPA: [jɯkiꜜɡɯɲi]) is a novel by the Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata. The novel is considered a classic work of Japanese literature[1] and was among the three novels the Nobel Committee cited in 1968, when Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.[2]

poisonpill posted:

It’s really really obvious but a lot of le Fanu’s material is direct or indirect allusion to the absentee landlords of Ireland. It’s probably less interesting to modern audiences than the lesbian vampire reading, but there’s a lot in Carmilla about the English owners of the land sucking it dry and dead, and giving nothing back to the people (who are being literally fed on).

Anyway, good voting options.

McSpankWich posted:

I'm new to this SA book club so I don't know what you've done in the past, or what the goal is for the future, but are more classic novels like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Invisible Man (HG Wells), War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Red Badge of Courage, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1984, Gulliver's Travels what we aim for or just more modern good reads that people have enjoyed? Or does it not matter All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was good, do we do like cheesy adventure novels like Ted Bell or Clive Cussler? Michael Crichton has some good stuff that isn't Jurassic Park, etc

Hieronymous Alloy posted:

Looking over the list of prior suggested titles, my plan for next month's Book of the Month at this point is probably going to be The King Must Die by Mary Renault -- putting that out there early so people can reserve copies etc. or give me other suggestions if folks think that one's a bad pick.

We also need suggestions for December, I've run most of the solid Christmas-themed titles I'm aware of already.

edit: or maybe Voyage of the Space Beagle?

I want real bangers for the next few months to get us re-launched solidly

xcheopis posted:

I've previously suggested Max Beerbohm's A Christmas Garland but never heard back.

AngusPodgorny posted:

I started reading Voyage of the Space Beagle even though it had no chance of winning because I was in the mood to read something light. So far it's been space horror from the perspective of the alien, and by some strange serendipity it lines up with my current non-fiction book - An Immense World by Ed Yong, where I'm reading about the sensory systems of animals like electric eels.

poisonpill posted:

It’s really really obvious but a lot of le Fanu’s material is direct or indirect allusion to the absentee landlords of Ireland. It’s probably less interesting to modern audiences than the lesbian vampire reading, but there’s a lot in Carmilla about the English owners of the land sucking it dry and dead, and giving nothing back to the people (who are being literally fed on).

Anyway, good voting options.

Hieronymous Alloy posted:

Snow Country won the poll, so that will be what we roll over to in November. Once I have a few more December ideas I'll get that poll up also.

Keetron posted:

Odd, I thought it was going to be "The King Must Die" but I am cool with Snow Country. .

quote:

Snow Country won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, a year which serves as a convenient temporal marker for the changing perception of Japan in the collective consciousness of the Western world. The postwar American occupation of Japan had ended fifteen years prior, and many of the American G.I. officers returned home from the country with the knowledge and motivation to create Japanese Studies departments in American universities like Columbia and Harvard. With their classes and translations came a new respect for the Japan of the twentieth century among academic circles. Meanwhile, Japan itself had risen from the ashes of wartime devastation and had begun to enter an era of double-digit GNP growth. The city of Tokyo had hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964; and, with the ultra-modern Tokyo Dome stadium and high speed bullet train between Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan was able to prove itself the technological and economic equal of any country in the world. The Nobel Committee thus awarded its literary prize to Kawabata for reasons that were partially political, as they would to many candidates over the following four decades. As with these other laureates, however, Kawabata did not win the world’s foremost award for literary distinction for political reasons alone.
....
Kawabata turns his keen gaze on a small mountain village in the “snow country” of Niigata prefecture, a region on the west side of the Japan Alps that is referred to as such due to its heavy winter precipitation. Along with luxuriant snowfall, the words “snow country” conjure up images of ski vacations, deliciously warm hot springs, high-quality saké brewed with snowmelt runoff waters, and small, traditional inns catering to all of the fall and winter tourists. To men of a certain generation, the snow country is also associated with the geisha who service these tourists. Unlike the artistically skilled geisha of urban areas such as Kyoto, these “hot springs geisha” are known for using their minimal training in music and dance as a cover for more intimate performances.

quote:

"Do you not, my esteemed master, find this a rather impenetrable passage?" Mr. Seidensticker recalled asking [Kawabata], ever so gently, during the translation of Snow Country.

"He would dutifully scrutinize the passage, and answer: 'Yes,'" Mr. Seidensticker wrote. "Nothing more."

quote:

Snow Country is a stark tale of a love affair between a Tokyo dilettante and a provincial geisha that takes place in the remote hot spring (onsen) town of Yuzawa.[1] (Kawabata did not mention the name of the town in his novel.)

quote:

Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature on 16 October 1968, the first Japanese person to receive such a distinction.[10] In awarding the prize "for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind", the Nobel Committee cited three of his novels, Snow Country, Thousand Cranes, and The Old Capital.[11]

Kawabata's Nobel Lecture was titled "Japan, The Beautiful and Myself" (美しい日本の私―その序説). Zen Buddhism was a key focal point of the speech; much was devoted to practitioners and the general practices of Zen Buddhism and how it differed from other types of Buddhism. He presented a severe picture of Zen Buddhism, where disciples can enter salvation only through their efforts, where they are isolated for several hours at a time, and how from this isolation there can come beauty. He noted that Zen practices focus on simplicity and it is this simplicity that proves to be the beauty. "The heart of the ink painting is in space, abbreviation, what is left undrawn." From painting he moved on to talk about ikebana and bonsai as art forms that emphasize the elegance and beauty that arises from the simplicity. "The Japanese garden, too, of course symbolizes the vastness of nature."[12]

In addition to the numerous mentions of Zen and nature, one topic that was briefly mentioned in Kawabata's lecture was that of suicide. Kawabata reminisced of other famous Japanese authors who committed suicide, in particular Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. He contradicted the custom of suicide as being a form of enlightenment, mentioning the priest Ikkyū, who also thought of suicide twice. He quoted Ikkyū, "Among those who give thoughts to things, is there one who does not think of suicide?"[13] There was much speculation about this quote being a clue to Kawabata's suicide in 1972, a year and a half after Mishima had committed suicide.[citation needed]

Hieronymous Alloy posted:

Ok! We are officially in Snow Country!

(this post will be updated as I have time)

AngusPodgorny posted:

Luckily I finished The Passenger just in time to move onto something a little lighter like Snow Country.

I've only started, but it seems very Russian to me, which might just be because I haven't read any other Japanese books to compare to. Everything is cold and covered in snow, and everyone seems disconnected and doomed.

AngusPodgorny posted:

I've only started, but it seems very Russian to me, which might just be because I haven't read any other Japanese books to compare to. Everything is cold and covered in snow, and everyone seems disconnected and doomed.