The Book Discussion Thread

[dreamdead]

Read Anita Loos's novella Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a 1920s satirical account (and critique) of the American capitalistic machine seen through the eyes of a flapper who's always trying to get ahead. Loos imbues the narrator, Lorelei, with enough gumption, certainly, but she comes off as so calculated and willing to take advantage of men that she becomes little more than a cipher critiquing the economy of sex in that decade. It's all unfortunately slight and shrill since Lorelei's voice dominates.

Will be starting Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close next week, so hopefully that'll rebound things.

[Mara]

Read Anita Loos's novella Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a 1920s satirical account (and critique) of the American capitalistic machine seen through the eyes of a flapper who's always trying to get ahead. Loos imbues the narrator, Lorelei, with enough gumption, certainly, but she comes off as so calculated and willing to take advantage of men that she becomes little more than a cipher critiquing the economy of sex in that decade. It's all unfortunately slight and shrill since Lorelei's voice dominates.

...that does not sound anything like the musical version.

[dreamdead]

...that does not sound anything like the musical version.

Yeah, the musical really tempers Lorelei (Monroe's) narrative voice by placing the spectator with Dorothy rather than Lorelei, which prevents from the overuse of capitalist practices where Lorelei destroys everyone in her way in order to achieve her happiness. I don't actually like the film much either, as everything about it feels uber-artificial and overdone, but at least it's interesting in its gender dynamics, whereas Loos goes so far in her critique that the piece loses any of its vitality for me.

Finished up Chang-rae Lee's Native Speaker again for the Introduction to Fiction class I'm teaching, and it's still all kinds of wonderful--a breezy mix of spy novel conventions with an immigrant focus. Nice study of the Korean immigrant (and visibility of that immigrant) in politics. I would kill for the time to read his newest, The Surrendered.

[Mara]

Neil Gaiman... who is never wrong... has suggested making a new tradition of giving scary books (http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/10/modest-proposal-that-doesnt-actually.html) at Halloween, both to children and adults.

I think that's awesome.

[megladon8]

Neil Gaiman... who is never wrong... has suggested making a new tradition of giving scary books (http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/10/modest-proposal-that-doesnt-actually.html) at Halloween, both to children and adults.

I think that's awesome.


Yes, that's very cool.

I'd be down with that for sure.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Rate Bukowski and Burroughs please. I'm going to pick something up from the both of them later tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

[Duncan]

Naked Lunch - 8

That's all I got.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Ham on Rye - 10
Post Office - 9
Factotum - 8

Haven't read any Burroughs. I've also read two books of poetry by Bukowski, both of which were pretty great.

[Raiders]

Ham on Rye [8.5]

Yeah, I'm not much help.

[Derek]

Rate Bukowski and Burroughs please. I'm going to pick something up from the both of them later tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Ham on Rye - 8.0

Naked Lunch - 7.5 (but pretty tough to quantify the reading experience, it's fucked up)
Junky - 8.5
My Education - 5.5

[endingcredits]

Rate Bukowski and Burroughs please. I'm going to pick something up from the both of them later tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Bukoswki's style annoys me so I don't read his stuff. Burroughs, on the other hand,

Naked Lunch - 8
Junky - 6
Cities of the Red Night: A Novel - 9
The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead - 8
The Western Lands - 10
The Yage Letters - 6
The Place of Dead Roads: A Novel - 8
Painting and Guns -10

[Kurosawa Fan]

Decided to go with Ragtime by Doctorow next, per lovejuice's recommendation.

[D_Davis]

I went away for the weekend and left my PKD book at the office. I had to pick something up on the road to read. I decided to get something that I rarely turn to - non-fiction/true crime. I picked up The Devil in the White City, which tells the story of the first world's fair in Chicago while simultaneously chronicling the life of one of America's first serial killers. So far it is absolutely fascinating.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I went away for the weekend and left my PKD book at the office. I had to pick something up on the road to read. I decided to get something that I rarely turn to - non-fiction/true crime. I picked up The Devil in the White City, which tells the story of the first world's fair in Chicago while simultaneously chronicling the life of one of America's first serial killers. So far it is absolutely fascinating.

Benny and I are both big fans. He recommended it to me last year, I believe. Either that or two years ago. It's pretty great, that's for sure.

[D_Davis]

Benny and I are both big fans. He recommended it to me last year, I believe. Either that or two years ago. It's pretty great, that's for sure.

Yeah, I saw your Goodreads rating.

What was the name of that book you guys read about the Lincoln assassination?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Yeah, I saw your Goodreads rating.

What was the name of that book you guys read about the Lincoln assassination?

Manhunt. Also a fantastic book.

[Raiders]

Alright KF, just for you, I am now starting A Confederacy of Dunces.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Alright KF, just for you, I am now starting A Confederacy of Dunces.

Awesome. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did.

[ledfloyd]

Awesome. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did.
if he doesn't his opinion will be rendered worthless. :lol:

[Derek]

Alright KF, just for you, I am now starting A Confederacy of Dunces.

You're doing it for yourself, trust me. :)

[Russ]

Alright KF, just for you, I am now starting A Confederacy of Dunces.
Can I just throw in a "hell yea"?

And remember: it's not just a book you read. It's a book you savor.

[endingcredits]

Alright KF, just for you, I am now starting A Confederacy of Dunces.

Prepare for sudden outbursts of laughter.

[Duncan]

I wasn't that big a fan of A Confederacy of Dunces. Funny, yeah, and enormously sad after reading the introduction, but ultimately I don't think it worked that well as a narrative. Probably had one too many digressions (the old college prof, for example), lingered on scenes too long, and caricatured some of its characters out of my sympathy. Still good, but I don't really consider it the great novel a lot of people seem to.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Prepare for sudden outbursts of laughter.

I have yet to come across anything in a book as funny as his letter to the box company (I think it was a box company, anyway. It's been a few years since I read it).

[megladon8]

So very, very unfortunately, Jen and I are giving up on "Kraken" for now.

It is a wonderful book and we're both enjoying it a lot, but we got side-tracked with my traveling here to NYC, and we haven't really picked it up even once since I've been here.

So it's one we'll be re-reading and finishing sometime in the future.

[ledfloyd]

catch 22 is the only book i can think of that came close to making me laugh as much as a confederacy of dunces.

[kuehnepips]

Finished Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.

Same. Thanks for the rec.

*passes bottle to Duncan*

[lovejuice]

Catch 22 is a much funnier book, but Dunce feels much more substantial to me somehow.

[Dukefrukem]

I just got Gary Dell'Abate's book. Anyone else reading it?

[Irish]

http://imgur.com/OTviA.jpg

[Mara]

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It was pretty stupid.

And I'm proud to be here for your high-brow literary criticism.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It was pretty stupid.

And I'm proud to be here for your high-brow literary criticism.

Thank you. I've had two people recommend this to me, but every time I had the book in my hand and read the synopsis, I just couldn't imagine it being good.

[Mara]

Thank you. I've had two people recommend this to me, but every time I had the book in my hand and read the synopsis, I just couldn't imagine it being good.

There are certainly interesting elements. It's not worthless. But it's not deserving of the time you'd have to put into it.

[Mara]

My sister floated the idea of rereading Harry Potter in preparation for the seventh film, which would be the first time I've reread them as a whole, possibly ever.

I'm astonished by how emotional the first and second book got me-- mostly because of what I know what will happen in the later books, but still. I'm more emotionally invested than I would have expected.

[Benny Profane]

My mom has been nagging me to read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Anyone read it? I hope the book is better than the godawful title.

[Raiders]

I've read it. I don't see you liking Eggers. I enjoyed it, but it can be awfully annoying.

[ledfloyd]

i like it, but i don't recommend it to people because the middle section is awfully bloated and it's often as self indulgent as the title would suggest.

[Kurosawa Fan]

My mom has been nagging me to read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Anyone read it? I hope the book is better than the godawful title.

It's awful. REALLY awful. Although, I quit reading it after about 150 pages of awfulness. My comments are somewhere in this thread. It's one of my most hated books.

Benny, you need to read Ragtime. Immediately.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I can't take anymore of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Eggers writing feels like phony hipster posturing. I don't feel like he's getting anywhere with this so-called cathartic exercise. He seems content just skimming the surface of things in the name of style. It's not the least bit compelling. I'm moving on to something else.

Here ya go. This is what I had to say about it.

[lovejuice]

Benny, you need to read Ragtime. Immediately.
Hope that means you like it. ;)

[MacGuffin]

Here ya go. This is what I had to say about it.

I stopped reading it too. Soooo friggin' annoying.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Hope that means you like it. ;)

Immensely. I'm 100 pages through and get honestly upset when something interrupts my reading. It's rare that a book completely swallows me up like this. I mean, each book creates a world in which the reader can lose himself, but with this book, I lose track of time. I'm just gone.

[Benny Profane]

Never heard of it. Added to wish list.

[D_Davis]

My mom has been nagging me to read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Anyone read it? I hope the book is better than the godawful title.

It's OK. It has some really great and well-written passages, but over all the author is far too into himself. You might call it an exercise in mental masturbation.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Received a Kindle for my birthday from my wife and parents. I loaded it up with free classics this evening, and read "The Fall of the House of Usher" just to give it a spin. Liking it a lot thus far. Good times.

[Benny Profane]

It's OK. It has some really great and well-written passages, but over all the author is far too into himself. You might call it an exercise in mental masturbation.

I started reading it and almost chucked it in the trash after a page of the prologue/acknowledgements.

Then I figured I'll just start from chapter 1 cause I didn't have anything else to read and the first 90 pages are pretty good. We'll see.

[Mara]

Finished rereading HP 7 and for the first time, it's really bothering me that nobody finished school. Did everyone just... retake the entire year? Because Our Heroes didn't even get their N.E.W.T.s. And it didn't sound like anyone got much of an education, what with all the mystical warfare going on.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Started reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls for a political science class. I'm having a hard time accepting that this story is true. I mean, I don't want to live in some post-Frey world where I'm skeptical of all wild memoirs, but she writes with such confidence and clarity about things that happened when she was three and four years old. I know she had a brother and sister to rely on for the facts, but they were both extremely young as well. It's a bizarre story, that's for sure. Has anyone else read it?

[Mara]

Started reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls for a political science class. I'm having a hard time accepting that this story is true. I mean, I don't want to live in some post-Frey world where I'm skeptical of all wild memoirs, but she writes with such confidence and clarity about things that happened when she was three and four years old. I know she had a brother and sister to rely on for the facts, but they were both extremely young as well. It's a bizarre story, that's for sure. Has anyone else read it?

I've read it. It was okay.

Personally, I have very clear memories back until 3 or so, and fuzzy memories back to about ten months. (No joke. It's freakish.) So although I've heard the criticism that she must be embellishing, I don't think it's necessarily true. She might be filling in a few gaps, but the overall structure of the story seems pretty reliable.

As an insight into an unusual, barely-functional family, it's not too bad. I wouldn't consider it a must-read or anything.

[lovejuice]

Finished rereading HP 7 and for the first time, it's really bothering me that nobody finished school. Did everyone just... retake the entire year? Because Our Heroes didn't even get their N.E.W.T.s. And it didn't sound like anyone got much of an education, what with all the mystical warfare going on.
Before the book came out, I had had a wild speculation with my friends whether Rowling would continue with her half-adventure/half-high-school-life format. I was a bit disappointed she doesn't. Still it's one of my favorite books in the series, so I don't feel like complaining.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I've read it. It was okay.

Personally, I have very clear memories back until 3 or so, and fuzzy memories back to about ten months. (No joke. It's freakish.) So although I've heard the criticism that she must be embellishing, I don't think it's necessarily true. She might be filling in a few gaps, but the overall structure of the story seems pretty reliable.

As an insight into an unusual, barely-functional family, it's not too bad. I wouldn't consider it a must-read or anything.

Wow. That's impressive. I have a few clear memories dating back to three, but not nearly as many memories as she is able to recall. Well, I guess I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, had I had her upbringing, perhaps my memories would be much more vivid. My childhood was a traditional bore.

As for the content of the book, I think it has an interesting commentary on the role of a parent, and how best to develop the mind and attitude of a child, but it's such a fast read that I can already tell not much is going to stick with me. Heck, I'm having trouble recalling details I read last night.

[Mara]

Before the book came out, I had had a wild speculation with my friends whether Rowling would continue with her half-adventure/half-high-school-life format. I was a bit disappointed she doesn't. Still it's one of my favorite books in the series, so I don't feel like complaining.

It's very solid. There's a little too much wandering around the woods during the first half of the book, and I'm glad that the book did return to Hogwarts, because the full cycle does need to end there. But it's dramatically different than the other books-- nary a class is attended, nobody plays Quidditch, there's no talk about "points" and a house cup. The series grows up and all those things seem a little silly by the end.

[Mara]

Wow. That's impressive. I have a few clear memories dating back to three, but not nearly as many memories as she is able to recall. Well, I guess I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, had I had her upbringing, perhaps my memories would be much more vivid. My childhood was a traditional bore.

I play a game with my mom of real-or-not where I try to figure out if my fuzziest memories happened or if I dreamed or invented them. We got completely stuck on the last one (she doesn't remember it) but the time before that, I accurately described a day trip to the lake when I was 18 months old. I can describe things that were favorites-- dresses, meals, toys-- even further back than that.


As for the content of the book, I think it has an interesting commentary on the role of a parent, and how best to develop the mind and attitude of a child, but it's such a fast read that I can already tell not much is going to stick with me. Heck, I'm having trouble recalling details I read last night.

It's a little inconsequential. I remember bits and pieces, and I read it a couple of years ago. Some of the descriptions are quite vivid-- there's a sequence with the kids eating butter-- but a lot of it faded quickly.

[Mysterious Dude]

What does one do after wizard school, anyway? Do they go back to the world of muggles and get real jobs? They seem to have such contempt for muggles. But what is there in the wizard world beyond schooling?

[Mara]

What does one do after wizard school, anyway? Do they go back to the world of muggles and get real jobs? They seem to have such contempt for muggles. But what is there in the wizard world beyond schooling?

...no, they get jobs in the wizarding world. After Hogwarts, they get jobs that may or may not require additional schooling. (For instance, if they want to be a healer they go and work at St. Mungos with an apprenticeship of several years.) They can also work as shopkeepers at Diagon alley or Hogsmeade, teachers, in business, banking (Gringotts), in journalism (for The Prophet or The Quibbler), professional athletes, etc.

Both Harry and Ron want to be Aurors, which would mean working for the Ministry of Magic, which seems to employ a high number of wizards including Arthur and Percy Weasley. It's unclear if they ever get those jobs, though, since it's unclear if they ever graduated from Hogwarts.

[Mara]

There's a controversy over what to do with Squibs (non-magical children of magical parents.) Some stay in the wizarding world but end up with crappy jobs since they can't operate any magic technology (like Filch at Hogwarts) or else they send them to Muggle schools and try to integrate them into the Muggle community. Nice families have no problem with this, but the proud families that don't like Muggles see this as a major embarrassment.

[Hugh_Grant]

Just wondering about the rationale behind assigning The Glass Castle for a PoliSci class. Don't get me wrong--it's great to see other disciplines other than English assign books, but it would seem a better fit for Psych/Sociology, etc.

Useless trivia: I started out as a PoliSci major, but was bored to tears in my early courses, so I made the switch to foreign languages.

[Mara]

...naturally, the internet has a list of jobs (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Jobs_in_the_Wizarding_World) in the wizarding world directly mentioned in HP.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Just wondering about the rationale behind assigning The Glass Castle for a PoliSci class. Don't get me wrong--it's great to see other disciplines other than English assign books, but it would seem a better fit for Psych/Sociology, etc.

Useless trivia: I started out as a PoliSci major, but was bored to tears in my early courses, so I made the switch to foreign languages.

It's a solid question, and when I said it was assigned for PoliSci I almost added a parenthetical "Don't ask" but decided against it. It's the worst class I've ever had as far as taking anything away from the experience. The professor is so unorganized it's laughable, she rambles about nothing for entire class periods, we are three weeks behind schedule, she took three weeks to grade our first essay exam, our first in-class exam was more than two weeks ago and none of us know what we scored, she talks about her kids and dog every class period, it takes her at least ten to fifteen minutes to take attendance and get the class going, etc., etc., etc. It's a complete waste of my time, but it will be an easy A, so I shouldn't be complaining this much. None of us has any idea what The Glass Castle as to do with politics or liberalism (both classical and modern), which has been the bulk of the material we've gone over. The only connection I can make is that it ties in to the opening weeks of the class when we talked about Hobbes and Locke and the idea of a "state of nature" vs. buying into a social contract, but even that is a stretch. We were supposed to have read the first 80 pages by yesterday's class, and I did, only she never brought up the book at all during her lecture. Instead we watched a video on LBJ, two weeks after covering the founding fathers.

Sorry. I needed to vent a bit. Anyway, your guess is as good as mine as to why this book was assigned. But hey, what I really need out of a class right now is unnecessary reading assignments, because we all know there isn't enough going on in the final three weeks of classes.

[Mara]

That's awful. I hate classes like that. I go to classes to learn, not to get a passing grade.

[lovejuice]

It's very solid. There's a little too much wandering around the woods during the first half of the book...
I love that actually. The series have this strong snow motive that keeps showing up again and again. Both in the movies and the books.

[Hugh_Grant]

Sorry. I needed to vent a bit. Anyway, your guess is as good as mine as to why this book was assigned. But hey, what I really need out of a class right now is unnecessary reading assignments, because we all know there isn't enough going on in the final three weeks of classes.
So sorry. I haven't read the book, but I'm a little burnt out on that genre of memoir. One reason I liked David Carr's The Night of the Gun is that he recognizes the problem of remembering the details of his life.

[Duncan]

Took me forever to read Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March. I guess I liked it, but at the same time I never really wanted to pick it up. No through line. Just episode after unconnected episode. Not something I usually complain about, but, man, it just really got to me this time. I feel like you could have cut about half the text and lost very little in terms of character or themes. Augie pretty much does the same thing every time in his search for a worthy fate. I actually really like the themes it dealt with, found it intellectually satisfying, and feel like I should have enjoyed it more. But I didn't. Best part was training the eagle.

[Duncan]

Read almost all of Hamsun's Hunger in a single sitting. Liking it, obviously.

[Mysterious Dude]

When you're reading a book by an Irish author, is it wise to try to read it in an Irish accent, or will it just be distracting?

[Duncan]

Read almost all of Hamsun's Hunger in a single sitting. Liking it, obviously.

Finished this. Pretty great. Kept thinking all the references to horses and buggies were odd until I realized it was published in 1890. From its style, I would have guessed, say, mid 1920's. Very clearly ahead of its time. Anyway, it's about this writer who wanders Christiania, Norway, feverish and raving. He provokes people, lies to them, feels superior to them yet deeply ashamed, is vain, talented, is determined to live as he wants or starve to death. Very much a psychological novel, even some stream of consciousness. I've read he influenced Kafka, and that feels very true to me. Surprisingly funny at times, like when he offhandedly informs a stranger that his landlord used to be the prime minister of Persia.

[endingcredits]

Surprisingly funny at times, like when he offhandedly informs a stranger that his landlord used to be the prime minister of Persia.

Yeah, that was hilarious. I also loved the part when he tells that woman that she dropped her book in the street. I starting reading Pan right after I finished Hunger and had to hold off a day because I kept hearing the narrator from Hunger in my head. Weeks later, the narrator from Hunger still takes over everything inside my head.

[Benny Profane]

I wanted to read Hamsun because he's one of the few writers that Bukowski respected. There's definitely a similarity in style.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Ragtime. Easily one of my favorite books. Just fantastic from start to finish. Is any other Doctorow this well-written?

[kuehnepips]

Read almost all of Hamsun's Hunger in a single sitting.

So did I, some 30 years ago. Guess I'll do it again some day.

Read Inherent Vice. First Pynchon I didn't like. A disappointment.

Back to Neal Stephenson, this time Quicksilver. Love it.

[Mara]

Yet another Weird Book List. (http://www.abebooks.com/books/weird/index.shtml?cm_mmc=nl-_-nl-_-101124-h00-weirdbkrA-_-01cta)

Some excellent, both old and new.

I genuinely want "The Recently Deflowered Girl: The Right Thing to Say on Every Dubious Occasion."

[Duncan]

Read Hear Us O Lord from Heaven They Dwelling Place (or, Least Catchy Title Ever) by Malcolm Lowry. It's a collection of short stories and novellas, most about the sea or the time he spent squatting in North Vancouver. Some are surprisingly post-modern feeling, others are pretty straightforward. A few of the shorter stories, like the opener or this one about an elephant, probably aren't worth reading. Basically whenever he tries to impose a plot he self-implodes. He's much better at just wandering, pondering, observing, despairing, hoping, etc. That's why the last story, "The Forest Path to the Spring," is so perfect. It's somewhat like Walden, but a little less solitary and maybe a bit more romanticized. It's about living with his wife in a fisherman/squatter's community in British Columbia, and is one of those Eden encounters one stumbles upon in literature. His cabin has no running water, so he spends his hours walking to and from this spring a little inland, actually living out the fantasy he so painfully describes in Under the Volcano, which is without a doubt one of the most powerful books I've read. This works as a kind of alternate ending to that book. The promise fulfilled. A good life. Quiet elation. It's good stuff, definitely recommended in conjunction with Under the Volcano.

[Sven]

I genuinely want "The Recently Deflowered Girl: The Right Thing to Say on Every Dubious Occasion."

My wife gave her recently-married sister that book as a wedding gift. LDS temple marriage, so you know it was timely.

[Mara]

My wife gave her recently-married sister that book as a wedding gift. LDS temple marriage, so you know it was timely.

Oh, that's it. Now I need to buy fifteen copies and use it as my go-to reception gift.

[dreamdead]

Starting John Dos Passos's 1919, the second of his U.S.A. trilogy after getting a bit ragged on Ives' All in the Timing, which is wonderful in small doses but I've only got the long one-act plays to read.

Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts is a dispiriting but good novella. I like his style, and definitely feel him to be this year's best discovery in literature.

[Winston*]

Saw a bearded man in a T-Shirt with an early cover of Lolita printed on it. I don't think that shirt is giving off the same impression that guys thinks it is.

[megladon8]

Have begun reading "When a Heart Turns Rock Solid" by Timothy Black.

It seems like it will be quite good. Very interesting already. Very "The Wire"-ish.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I can say this for Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle: it's quite a story. I can certainly see why it's so popular. It's easily digestible, very quick to read, and hard to put down. But in the end, what might be a cathartic experience writing it for Jeannette doesn't translate into much more than watching a bizarre soap opera for the reader. Fun while it lasts, but the impact is brief and forgettable. It's not all fluff, as it certainly brings up interesting issues of just how pivotal a role parents play in the outcome of their children, and whether, unless true physical or sexual abuse is taking place, it's really necessary for the government to step in and remove a child/children from the family. Despite what was most certainly a reckless and oftentimes neglectful upbringing, the Walls children all ended up as seemingly upstanding and successful adults, and their attachment to each other and to their parents is obvious. Breaking up a family like that, and inevitably separating the children, may have had catastrophic effects.

Anyway, the book is fast and always interesting, recommended to anyone looking for a quick diversion.

[D_Davis]

Well, I think I'm going to buy a Kindle. I've discovered that a lot of small press horror authors have gravitated to the device. For instance, Kaelen Patrick Burke's books that often sell for $50-100, because of their rarity, are on the Kindle for $2.99.

[Benny Profane]

I finished A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. KF did his best to prepare me for the worst but I actually liked most of it. Eggers is reminiscent of modern-day Hamsun-ian protagonist, with the way he articulates and rationalizes the fleeting ideas inside his head into real-life decisions, and does so in a desperate, comic fashion. He writes ecstatically and is often funny, though he definitely gets carried away with all the meta-commentary and sidebars. And then he is just awkward, but still engaging. Memoir/biography has proven over the years to be my least favorite genre in literature, and this doesn't do anything to change that, but it's one of the better ones I've read. Yet strangely, I have no interest in reading anything else by him. At all.



I'm about 250 pages into Under the Volcano and really liking it so far. Reminds me a lot of the two Graham Greene novels I've read; displaced characters at the outposts of human misery in the early 20th century. Lowry's prose can be stuffy and cluttered, and at-times overly descriptive, but it is mostly beautiful. And powerful. With such a looming, tangible aura of dread. And yet some light still seeps in through the cracks. I'm excited to finish it.

[D_Davis]

Stephen King's (well, Bachman's I guess), The Long Walk is so awesome. Just about finished with a re-read of this; the second in as many years. It's not horror, but it is horrific and terrifying. King knows (or, knew at one time - he's lost a bit of this particular skill these days) how to write dialog and actions for his young male characters. The boys on the Long Walk feel real; they act and talk like people I've known - some I've liked, others not. It takes a great deal of talent to make a story about a group of boys walking, and walking, and walking entertaining and gripping, and King completely pulls it off.

[Winston*]

That's the only Stephen King I've read. Liked it.

[Robby P]

Anyone else read Tree of Smoke? I, quite frankly, didn't get it.

[D_Davis]

That's the only Stephen King I've read. Liked it.


That's an interesting only-King-book-to-have-read. Usually when I run into people who have only read one King book, it's something like It, or The Stand, or The Shining, or Pet Cemetery, or 'Salem's Lot, or Misery, or some other more popular novel.

What drew you to The Long Walk?

[Winston*]

That's an interesting only-King-book-to-have-read. Usually when I run into people who have only read one King book, it's something like It, or The Stand, or The Shining, or Pet Cemetery, or 'Salem's Lot, or Misery, or some other more popular novel.

What drew you to The Long Walk?

I read the premise when Frank Darabont was going to direct the movie of it and found it compelling. Also it was short compared to most of King's popular stuff.

I own Salem's Lot but haven't read it yet.

[D_Davis]

I read the premise when Frank Darabont was going to direct the movie of it and found it compelling. Also it was short compared to most of King's popular stuff.

I own Salem's Lot but haven't read it yet.

Nice. I'd check out his other novella collections if I were you (if you even care to read more King) - Different Seasons and Hearts in Atlantis especially. While I like his big epic stuff, it's really here in the short form that he excels as an author.

[Benny Profane]

Finished Under the Volcano. Man that was bleak. I'm glad I read the afterword to get some perspective on Mexican politics at the time, not that it was completely necessary to appreciate the novel. One thing I truly dislike in literature is endless descriptions of nature, and this book had it in spades. The emotion of the Yvonne/Consul breakdown overwhelmingly made up for it, however. Powerful book. Very sad.

Now on to Venus Drive, stories by Sam Lipsyte. I read a short story by him the New Yorker and loved it. Also been reading a lot of good things about him. Getting a lot of positive pub.

[Hugh_Grant]

Now on to Venus Drive, stories by Sam Lipsyte. I read a short story by him the New Yorker and loved it. Also been reading a lot of good things about him. Getting a lot of positive pub.

A friend of mine loves Lipsyte. Laugh out loud funny, he says.

I'm finally getting around to reading Pat Barker's Regeneration after recently finishing Richard Russo's Empire Falls.

[Winston*]

Can anyone recommend any other history books written in narrative form like The Devil in the White City? This was an awesome book.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Can anyone recommend any other history books written in narrative form like The Devil in the White City? This was an awesome book.

Manhunt: The 12 Day Search for Lincoln's Killer. Equally awesome.

[Benny Profane]

We should do another book club. Where's lovejuice when you need him or her?

[Kurosawa Fan]

We should do another book club. Where's lovejuice when you need him or her?

Him. And after tonight (my last final for the semester) I'd have about three weeks to participate. So, go for it Benny. Get something assembled.

[Ezee E]

Yeah, both books are pretty great. Manhunt probably being the better of the two.

[Benny Profane]

Can anyone recommend any other history books written in narrative form like The Devil in the White City? This was an awesome book.


Ditto the rec for Manhunt, but if you want something a little (OK a lot) more weighty then you should definitely read The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Also Winston*, for a very quick read, Escape from the Deep by Kershaw is very good.

[Benny Profane]

Oh, thought of some great ones:


Into Thin Air - Krakauer (Mt. Everest expedition gone horribly wrong)
Endurance - Lansing (Shackleton's south pole expedition gone horribly wrong)
Into the Heart of the Sea - Philbrick (story that Moby Dick is based on)

[Winston*]

Cheers guys. My library doesn't have Manhunt but I think I'll buy it after Christmas. Those other ones look good too.

[Benny Profane]

Saw what you wrote before you edited it. Into Thin Air isn't anger inducing but it's an emotional kick in the nuts. It will have you in knots.

[Winston*]

I put a reserve on it from the library.

...

Just got asked this question by a man in his thirties: "Who's Charles Dickens?".

[Derek]

Just got asked this question by a man in his thirties: "Who's Charles Dickens?".

Ben Lyons is only 29, Winston*.

[D_Davis]

I put a reserve on it from the library.

...

Just got asked this question by a man in his thirties: "Who's Charles Dickens?".

Because of my band name, I get asked who Carl Sagan is/was a lot. It's really sad.

[Chac Mool]

Anyone read Bolano's "Nazi Literature in the Americas"? Thoughts?

[Hugh_Grant]

Read a fascinating biography, Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade. It's difficult to briefly encapsulate the entire book because Samuel Steward was a complex figure. The first two items in the subtitle represent two of Steward's identities; the last item is what brings all of his identities together. There's a ton of sexual detail in the book--Steward was meticulous in keeping records--every partner, every orgasm was logged in his "Stud File." But it's not an explicit account of promiscuity--Steward had a PhD in English Lit and taught at Loyola University and DePaul University, published a novel early in his academic career, and befriended Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. Eventually, he found the ivory tower world too stifling, so, re-inventing himself as Phil Sparrow, he embarked on a second career of a tattoo artist. Later in life, he wrote gay pulp fiction under the name Phil Andros. This is definitely not a book for the prudish--there are some detailed accounts of BDSM that would make a sailor blush. (Steward was a favorite subject of Alfred Kinsey for his obsessive record-keeping and his openness to discuss his homosexuality.) However, I found it very interesting.

[Mara]

The book my book group wanted to read for December wasn't at the library, but a friend told me I could download the audio book from iTunes.

I... have decided not to.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/maragirl/book.jpg

[Winston*]

Just read a few pages of that book (http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=stKMe6tlSqsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+true+saint+nicholas&source=bl&ots=UW712xLg1R&sig=m8pPkYfzPD1YEzlalvU-9vHwi3U&hl=en&ei=_VERTeCHA43yvwOXsfGUDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=15&ved=0CHEQ6AEwDg#v=onepage&q&f=false), Mara. I think you've made a wise decision.

[Mara]

I'm going to show up, pretend to have read the book, and see if anyone notices.

[lovejuice]

The Quiet American

I hesitated to pick this up since the 2002 movie is one of my favorite. It would be either the book were not equal or it made me appreciate the movie less. Turn out those are not the case. Both are good in their own ways.

The book is more political, and the movie more romantic. Greene's Fowler is younger and sharper than Caine's battered down interpretation. The analogy of the two men as the old and the new colonialism is more pronounced in the book.

The biggest difference, however, is the ending. Greene seems to pardon Fowler's big decision, while Noyce condemn. I slightly prefer the more tragic ending of the movie.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Finished Under the Volcano. Man that was bleak. I'm glad I read the afterword to get some perspective on Mexican politics at the time, not that it was completely necessary to appreciate the novel. One thing I truly dislike in literature is endless descriptions of nature, and this book had it in spades. The emotion of the Yvonne/Consul breakdown overwhelmingly made up for it, however. Powerful book. Very sad.


Love your quick assessment of this. Couldn't agree more. Some of the descriptions of nature were fantastic, and helped to intensify the bleakness and the mortality of the novel, such as Geoffrey's observation of the Farolito, existing at the edge of a great ravine.

"And the crag was still there too- just as in Shelley or Calderon or both- the crag that couldn't make up its mind to crumble absolutely, it clung so, cleft, to life. The sheer height was terrifying, he thought, leaning outwards, looking sideways at the split rock and attempting to recall the passage in The Cenci that described the huge stack clinging to the mass of earth, as if resting on life, not afraid to fall, but darkening, just the same, where it would go if it went. It was a tremendous, an awful way down to the bottom. But it struck him he was not afraid to fall either."

Passages like that made me fall in love with the book a hundred times over, but there were nearly as many passages that read like tedious detailing just for the sake of details, and while I'm sure they also served their purpose to the story, it was too much at times. Still, the power of Lowry's novel is undeniable, and I highlighted a good twenty passages while reading, because the prose was just stunning. I can see my esteem for this one growing as I forget the moments of tedium and look back on the moments of beauty, an odd thing to say for a book so relentlessly tragic.

[Chac Mool]

Anyone read Bolano's "Nazi Literature in the Americas"? Thoughts?

If anyone cares: this is a great little book, a series of 20 or so bio- and bibliographical vignettes of fictional Nazi authors from the American continent. Bolano doesn't really judge his characters' political or personal choices. Rather, in a dry but subtly engaged tone, he describes their various political and personal contexts and illustrates the salient moments of their lives, literary or otherwise. Some vignettes are short (1-2 pages), some longer (20+); some give keen insights into fascist minds, others barely qualify as descriptive; sometimes the fictional writers intersect with real people (Allen Ginsberg, Adolf Hitler), sometimes their lives are hermetic; some stories are forgettable while some, like the final one, are genuinely haunting. Throughout them all, Bolano's genius for evocative details and his characteristic writing style (a mix of slang, journalistic brevity and evocative passages) are front and center.

Those who enjoyed his other works will definitely find something to like here.

[ledfloyd]

reread pale fire this month and am in the midst of a reread of ada. remembering why nabokov is my favorite author.

[dreamdead]

The Writing on the Wall, by Lynne Sharon Schwartz, a 2005 9/11 novel has more direct engagement with media and political memorializing, paying due attention to the role that personal relationships affect the national devastation wrought by the WTC attacks. At its strongest, the novel documents how vengeful America was, and how quickly and carelessly we were shepherded into war. However, it packs about two traumatic events too many for its protagonist Renata, which leaves Schwartz struggling to secure the sense of realism that the text desperately needs.

Interesting to read it alongside Falling Man and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, certainly.

[D_Davis]

Die in a fire.

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/


What is a word worth? According to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books’ upcoming edition of Mark Twain’s seminal novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will remove all instances of the “n” word—I’ll give you a hint, it’s not nonesuch—present in the text and replace it with slave. The new book will also remove usage of the word Injun. The effort is spearheaded by Twain expert Alan Gribben, who says his PC-ified version is not an attempt to neuter the classic but rather to update it. “Race matters in these books,” Gribben told PW. “It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century.”

[Benny Profane]

What a crock. Way to completely ignore the importance of context.

[Derek]

But "slave" is still too negative. I motion for "person of a different, yet in no way inferior, color" or perhaps "volunteer field and crops expert". House slaves could be "food and housework connoisseurs"?

[transmogrifier]

My mom has been nagging me to read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Anyone read it? I hope the book is better than the godawful title.

It is extremely boring after a while, as it retreads the same ground over and over again. He tries to deflate the inherent self-indulgence at the start with wise-assery, but it only holds it out for so long.

I read it all the way through a few years back, but I tried to re-read it recently and got about halfway before giving up. His story is just not really interesting enough, and his writing not flavourful enough to justify its length.

[transmogrifier]

Benny, you need to read Ragtime. Immediately.

One of my favourite books.

[Spun Lepton]

Die in a fire.

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/

:frustrated:

[transmogrifier]

Die in a fire.

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/

In an age where we can clone animals and send things in to outer space, why are people still so goddamn stupid?

[Lucky]

In an age where we can clone animals and send things in to outer space, why are people still so goddamn stupid?

I want to see your Top 5 Best Woody Allen movies now.

[endingcredits]

In an age where we can clone animals and send things in to outer space, why are people still so goddamn stupid?

Censorship isn't necessarily an instrument of stupid minds.

[Duncan]

Read Love and Summer by William Trevor. It was alright. Stranger comes to small Irish town, married country girl falls in love with him, stuff--very muted, lightly grief-laden stuff--happens. Can't say I was really taken by the prose or the story or the ideas. It was a Christmas present from a family friend, and I knew from the beginning it wasn't my sort of thing. Apparently this Trevor guy is insanely well respected, though. Very similar in style to Alice Munro.

[Duncan]

Just submitted my manuscript to Thomas Pynchon's agent. She will accept me as a client, and then I will become rich and famous. Yep. Any day now.

[D_Davis]

Just submitted my manuscript to Thomas Pynchon's agent. She will accept me as a client, and then I will become rich and famous. Yep. Any day now.

Nice.

[transmogrifier]

Censorship isn't necessarily an instrument of stupid minds.

In this case, I believe it is.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I read The Metamorphosis in one sitting last night. Not that that's much of an accomplishment considering it's only 80 pages or so, but it does speak to the quality of the story that I didn't want to put it down. I think I'll let it digest a bit before I say much more. It wasn't what I was expecting. Not sure what I was expecting, but the one thing that surprised me was how emotionally affecting it was.

I still haven't received The Lost City of Z, so I'll probably try to find something else that's quick to fit in before it arrives.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Finished A Study in Scarlet. The first part of the book is charming, but fairly standard stuff. It was fun, but didn't really grab me in any significant way. The second part, when the perspective shifts from Watson's journal to the Mormons, took the book to a much higher level. That's one pretty unsparing criticism of Brigham Young and early Mormons, though from what I've read about them, it's definitely appropriate. With that back-story, and Doyle's deft handling of the characters as well as the emotional center of the novel, it ends up being quite a memorable experience. Very glad I read it.

Since The Lost City of Z still hasn't arrived, I'm going to read Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe next. It's short enough that I should have it done in a day or two.

[D_Davis]

Got some new books:

http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed05fc288330148c75e7f5a 970c-320wi

The Narrator, by Michael Cisco

and two books of non-fiction...

http://www.pkdickbooks.com/CoversNew/aboutPKD/I_think_I_Am_PKD_hc_2010.jpg

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:EPQm4GLzS6weSM:ht tp://www.horror-mall.com/images/P/cons_lg.jpg&t=1

[megladon8]

Wow, that's creepy-weird.

The first and third books there, D, are currently in my cart right now.

[D_Davis]

Wow, that's creepy-weird.

The first and third books there, D, are currently in my cart right now.

Nice! The Cisco and the Ligotti, right?

From what I've read, the book on Dick is a bunch of overly academic BS. So we'll see if I can stomach it. I read the first chapter and I had no idea what the hell the author was saying. :D

[megladon8]

Nice! The Cisco and the Ligotti, right?

From what I've read, the book on Dick is a bunch of overly academic BS. So we'll see if I can stomach it. I read the first chapter and I had no idea what the hell the author was saying. :D


Yes, Cisco on Amazon, and Ligotti on eBay.

Why are Ligotti's books in and out of print so fast? That book seems to have just been published in April of 2010, and it's already out of print and near impossible to find.

[Milky Joe]

From what I've read, the book on Dick is a bunch of overly academic BS. So we'll see if I can stomach it. I read the first chapter and I had no idea what the hell the author was saying. :D

Yeah, it was crap. Plus it's not even about what it claims to be about on the back of it (at least from what I could tell). One reviewer put it well by saying that the author is "talking to himself."

[D_Davis]

Yeah, it was crap. Plus it's not even about what it claims to be about on the back of it (at least from what I could tell). One reviewer put it well by saying that the author is "talking to himself."

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I still have the receipt, so I might take it back. I was hoping for something as awesome as The Divine Invasion of Philip K. Dick, or I am Alive, and You Are Dead, but it sounds like complete drivel.

Although there has to be something of use in it, right? At least one solid chapter? I still have the collection of essays on Dick from the Science Fiction Journal to read, and The Black Haired Girl, so I'm not hurting for Dick non-fiction at the moment.

[megladon8]

D_Davis: He's not hurting for Dick at the moment.

[D_Davis]

Yes, Cisco on Amazon, and Ligotti on eBay.

Why are Ligotti's books in and out of print so fast? That book seems to have just been published in April of 2010, and it's already out of print and near impossible to find.

Just because he tends to only work with small publishers. Yes, it sucks. I'm super lucky that I found this at a book store here last week. In not buying books last year, I thought for sure it'd be long gone.

Scooped up the Cisco quickly as well for the same reasons.

Although I see Cisco become more well known in the future. I've read more than a few reviews in which people call him the American Kafka, and I bet he reaches a level of praise in literary circles in the next ten years or so. His books are so rich with language, I can't imagine his style not being studied more.

[D_Davis]

D_Davis: He's not hurting for Dick at the moment.

I'm up to my neck in Dick.

[megladon8]

Sometimes you're a real Dick-head.,

[D_Davis]

One thing about Ligotti's books - the first editions are always an investment. You will be able to sell them for more than you paid for in a year.

[megladon8]

Ligotti seems to be quite well known among literary circles, though.

It strikes me as odd that, even though he is working with small publishers, his books do not remain in print. There's definitely a niche audience for them - moreso than a lot of authors who are widely published.

I'd love to see Ligotti's fiction get the kind of coverage and wide-publication of an author like Bentley Little who (in my opinion) has work of a quality that doesn't warrant how readily available it is.

[D_Davis]

I sometimes think we're lucky that Ligotti has his stuff published at all.

[megladon8]

I sometimes think we're lucky that Ligotti has his stuff published at all.


Yeah but really, don't you wish his books were the type where you could just stroll to Borders and have no doubts about them having his books in stock?

[D_Davis]

Yeah but really, don't you wish his books were the type where you could just stroll to Borders and have no doubts about them having his books in stock?

Yes, and no. The lit-champion in me wants Ligotti to be super popular because his work deserves to be read; he is genuinely one of the most unique American authors I've ever read. However, the lit-snob in me loves that so very few people will ever have the experience of reading a new Ligotti story. There are very few things that compare to reading a great Ligotti story for the first time, and in some weird way these experiences are made even more special knowing that I am one of a small group of people having them.

What's most important is what he wants. Apparently, he is quite happy with his status as an underground author. He doesn't want mass market paper backs or the fame.

Cisco, on the other hand, wants to be more widely known and read. He expressed to me more than a few times that he is bummed out that he is so niche. He has at least three more novels finished that he simply cannot find a publisher for; novels that he things are among his best work. That an author as incredibly talented as Cisco is having trouble getting published is a sign of troubled times.

[D_Davis]

I want my friends and people I talk to online to read authors like Ligotti, so that we can talk about him and share in the amazing literary experiences. However, I guess I don't really care of Joe Blow Soccer Mom is able to buy his books at Albertsons.

[megladon8]

Eh...I really don't give two shits who does or doesn't read the books I like, nor do I care what they think.

I just wish Ligotti (among others) was more easily accessible.

[D_Davis]

In similar news, it appears that the Hap and Leonard books have all been re-published in nice looking trade versions. I went to the book store the other night, and they had a full shelf of Lansdale! It was crazy. Now all he needs is for people to stumble upon them.

[Milky Joe]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I still have the receipt, so I might take it back. I was hoping for something as awesome as The Divine Invasion of Philip K. Dick, or I am Alive, and You Are Dead, but it sounds like complete drivel.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure it is. Sadly. There is precious little truly good writing on the guy. I also didn't much care for what I read of I am Alive, and You Are Dead. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to write the book I actually want to read.

[D_Davis]

I also didn't much care for what I read of I am Alive, and You Are Dead.

Seriously? I found it absolutely brilliant. Read the whole thing in a single sitting (and multiple times since). You should see my copy of it now. Has about 100 post-it notes stuck to various pages. I found it as engaging as one of Dick's best novels, and it's really informative.

The Dark Haired Girl looks pretty good from what I've read, and The Man in the High Castle is an interesting look at his early life. The essays I've read from the Journal of Science Fiction are also really good.

I'm sure you've read Stanislaw Lem's article?

[Milky Joe]

Well, maybe I should give it another chance.

It seems a lot of the best stuff focuses on his earlier years. I'm still waiting for that definitive book on his 2-3-74 experience, one that treats him as the modern day gnostic/mystic that he was and not just dismissing him as a schizoid. Based on the description, I thought that I Think I Am would be that book, but it's resolutely not. Lawrence Sutin's books are probably the best for that. Jonathan Lethem's apparently editing two volumes of the Exegesis stuff, so that'll be cool. Ultimately there's no substitute for reading the man himself. The stuff in the Selected Essays book I've read and re-read countless times.

I'm pretty sure I read the Lem article, though I don't remember much about it.

[Benny Profane]

The Grinding of Lot 49? (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/01/when-coffee-meets-pynchon.html)

Trystero coffee now available.

[megladon8]

Have begun reading "The Sun Also Rises" by Hemingway.

It's very good.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Well, no one can tell me where the hell my book went. UPS, USPS, the website... no one has a clue, which is fun. Doesn't matter now anyway, because with the semester in full swing, I'm too swamped to read it anyway. Right now I'm reading Frankenstein for a history course.

[Mara]

Right now I'm reading Frankenstein for a history course.

I'm the person who doesn't like this book. I mean, I really disliked it.

Also, what? What is with your classes assigning unrelated novels?

[Kurosawa Fan]

We're studying the Victorian age, and he assigned Frankenstein as an example of romanticism from that time period.

[megladon8]

Well, no one can tell me where the hell my book went. UPS, USPS, the website... no one has a clue, which is fun. Doesn't matter now anyway, because with the semester in full swing, I'm too swamped to read it anyway. Right now I'm reading Frankenstein for a history course.


I'm in the same boat with the same book.

Was supposedly sent to me nearly three weeks ago, from just one state away.

This is the second time in a month that a package for me has gone missing.

[megladon8]

Already finished book 1 of "The Sun Also Rises".

I think this may end up being a favorite of 20th century American literature, alongside books like "The Great Gatsby", "'Salem's Lot" and "A Confederacy of Dunces".

[lovejuice]

Already finished book 1 of "The Sun Also Rises".

I think this may end up being a favorite of 20th century American literature, alongside books like "The Great Gatsby", "'Salem's Lot" and "A Confederacy of Dunces".
Glad you like it. I love the book. Can't remember the name, but the female character reminds me so much of my ex.

[Chac Mool]

My last two reads both had to do with Asian cultures:

"The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" by David Mitchell is another superlative entry from one of my favorite contemporary authors. It's a very dense, exhaustively detailed historical novel with elements of mystery and adventure -- the focus and setting is Dejima, the island port-slash-prison that was the only trading post between shogunal Japan and the western world during the late 1700s and early 1800s. As with all Mitchell novels, there is polyphony and ventriloquism -- the novels follows multiple characters -- but this time, the focus is mostly on Jacob de Zoet, a young Dutch clerk. And while the story may feel a meandering at times (about haflway through the book, I had no idea where it was going), it is consistently captivating, and the final, beautifully understated 40 pages, crystallize the themes flawlessly. Highly recommended.

"Under Heaven" by Guy Gavriel Kay continues the author's trademark of using an ever-so-slighly-magical fictional world to analyze historical periods. This time, the source inspiration is Tang-dynasty China, transformed into a new but recognizable fantasy setting. As with most Kay books, the appeal comes from the beautifully drawn characters, the clear, graceful writing and the writer's preference of subtle, layered interactions between characters as opposed to scene after scene of action. Again, highly recommended.

[D_Davis]

Picked these up today. Can't believe Blatty had two new books I hadn't even heard of:

http://www.solocine.it/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Dimiter_Blatty_Friedkin_Poster _Locandina.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JvpwUz1nl4A/TSPpexvaVCI/AAAAAAAADqM/e4BRj_QTwxM/s1600/crazyblattyb.jpg

[dreamdead]

Halfway through Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, his spiritual decendant to The Great Gatsby, with post-9/11 paranoia, cricket, and immigration all center-stage. There are two or three ruminations that are just breathtaking, and the prose is always good. I wonder, though, if the wife's fears about Bush and the invasion of Iraq are meant to be read as so shrill--they feel that way to me, rather than reasoned while passionate...

[Duncan]

Anyone read much Llosa? Recs?

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm the person who doesn't like this book. I mean, I really disliked it.


Well, so far, for the most part, I'm with you. Such wasted potential. Why is the story so bogged down in pointless details? This is certain to be a rare case of the film improving vastly on the book.

[megladon8]

Nearly finished "The Sun Also Rises".

Wonderful stuff. Hemingway has to be one of my favorite "forward thinkers" in terms of prose style in English literature. The idea that beauty and profound ideas can be communicated without rambling, flowery language is something I can greatly appreciate.

Not that I don't love my fair share of the more wordy classic literature, but the sparser language of Hemingway and subsequent writers is more in tune with what I would consider "my style".

[Duncan]

Decided to explore some Latin American lit. Started with The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes. Takes as its premise the disappearance of American writer/journalist Ambrose Bierce in the Mexican Revolution and weaves a speculative narrative around his death. It was pretty great. Quite short, sometimes written with eloquent complexity, other times written in the direct, repetitive language of myth. A kind of moving, bitter dream about a country's bloody path into modernity, and about its relationship with its neighbour to the north. And about death. Very much about death.

[Duncan]

Also picked up The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa, and Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar. Only about 30 pages into the latter, but so far it's shaping up to be an all time favourite. Really loving it. The opening paragraph:

"Yes, but who will cure us of the dull fire, the colourless fire that at nightfall runs along the Rue de la Huchette, emerging from the crumbling doorways, from the little entranceways, of the imageless fire that licks the stones and lies in wait in doorways, how shall we cleanse ourselves of the sweet burning that comes after, that nests in us forever allied with time and memory, with sticky things that hold us here on this side, and will burn sweetly in us until we have been left in ashes. How much better, then, to make a pact with cats and mosses, strike up friendship right away with hoarse-voiced concierges, with the pale and suffering creatures who wait in windows and toy with a dry branch. To burn like this without surcease, to bear the inner burning coming on like fruit's quick ripening, to be the pulse of a bonfire in this thicket of endless stone, walking through the nights of our life, obedient as our blood in its blind circuit."

[Benny Profane]

Anyone read much Llosa? Recs?

I read Death in the Andes in college, so, about 15 years ago. Don't remember much about it but I liked it.

[D_Davis]

I love Hemingway's style, but hate his stories. A perfect marriage of the two - brevity and story - is Dashiell Hammett.

[megladon8]

I love Hemingway's style, but hate his stories. A perfect marriage of the two - brevity and story - is Dashiell Hammett.


What do you hate about his stories, D?

And what are some recommendations for Hammett?

[D_Davis]

His stories just don't interest me, and I found the characters in The Sun... to be totally insufferable. I really, really hated that book something fierce. I just wanted to throttle the characters, sitting around being smug, complaining...just couldn't sympathize with any of them, nor did I have any empathy for them. I've tried to finish it twice in my lifetime, and I just can't get through it. However, I respect his style a lot.

I do like The Old Man and the Sea, and some of the short stories I've read. I need to read more of his short stories before I really pass judgment, though.

As far as Hammett goes, I'd definitely check out Red Harvest, The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man.

[D_Davis]

As far as classic American lit goes I prefer Steinbeck and Saroyan, especially Saroyan.

[Benny Profane]

Hemingway was American but his stories very rarely take place in America.

I thought the bullfighting metaphor for relationships in The Sun Also Rises was beautiful. I dont remember a whole lot else (midday drinking, lots of sitting around) but I did love it.

[D_Davis]

Hemingway was American but his stories very rarely take place in America.


OK.

He's still considered an American author, and his work is largely considered American literature.

[megladon8]

I thought the smug self-importance and unlikability (is that a word?) of the characters in "The Sun Also Rises" was very intentional.

While the book is about the "Lost Generation" of post-WWI, it's not exactly sympathetic to them.

Robert Cohn and Mike in particular are real jerks.

[D_Davis]

It probably was intentional. I just don't care to spend time reading about those kind of people. I don't find them interesting, or insightful in any way, and thus I'd rather spend my time reading other things.

[megladon8]

It probably was intentional. I just don't care to spend time reading about those kind of people. I don't find them interesting, or insightful in any way, and thus I'd rather spend my time reading other things.


Fair enough.

I can totally see, for you, how Hemingway's style alone could be greatly appreciated even though the stories themselves don't appeal.

His succinct prose still communicate passion and beauty, and ooze style. He can say more in a 200 page book than many other authors can say in 600 pages.

Which is very much in tune with what you seem to look for and love in fiction - you cherish the pursuit of brevity without sacrificing the art.

I'd say I'm very much on the same page, particularly in my own writing.

[D_Davis]

Like I've said before: had Heminway written speculative fiction, he'd probably be my favorite author.

[Benny Profane]

OK.

He's still considered an American author, and his work is largely considered American literature.

Oh, I agree. I wasn't trying to be contrarian though I can see how it might look that way. Just pointing out that most (all?) of his famous works do not take place in America.

[D_Davis]

Oh, I agree. I wasn't trying to be contrarian though I can see how it might look that way. Just pointing out that most (all?) of his famous works do not take place in America.

True.

[D_Davis]

Hells yeah:

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/lansdale31_b.jpg

That cover is bad ass.

[lovejuice]

His succinct prose still communicate passion and beauty, and ooze style. He can say more in a 200 page book than many other authors can say in 600 pages.
I agree and disagree with you. Like Davis said, brevity is not something he aims for. To me, the crux of his novel is always very small; there is not much he wants to say, and he chooses to say it in the wordiest way.

Yet, I agree that how he says it contributes to the thing he wants to say. Kinda like human's existent itself. Life is the most beautiful, but you're still able to reduce the whole thing to its very brief essence.

[D_Davis]

Going to start Dimiter, William Peter Blatty's latest religious thriller, tonight. In reading some reviews of it, I came across an interesting consensus: Blatty's greatest strengths - his earnestness and sincerity - are also his most easily mockable traits. As an admirer of sincerity and earnestness, this is probably why I have gravitated so strongly to his work - his writing strikes a particular chord with me. I also admire greatly his personal religious quest.

[Mara]

Although apparently it's well known, I've never heard of Jerome Bixby's story It's a Good Life.

And now I'm going to have nightmares.

You can read it here (http://nickelkid.net/docs/greats/its_a_good_life.html).

[Mara]

Although apparently it's well known, I've never heard of Jerome Bixby's story It's a Good Life.

And now I'm going to have nightmares.

You can read it here (http://nickelkid.net/docs/greats/its_a_good_life.html).

NIGHTMARES. ALL FREAKING NIGHT.

[Benny Profane]

Duncan- let's talk about Tinkers. What do you make of the clock metaphor?

For a book so short (yet so lovely) I thought these clock interruptions damaged the flow of the story of Howard and George. Howard being the far more interesting story of the two.

Maybe if I understood how it tied into the framing story my opinion would change.

[dreamdead]

Given the appreciation that I've had toward Atonement, I decided to finally start a second McEwan, by reading Saturday. Lovely prose and characterization, as always.

[Benny Profane]

Fucking page break. Duncan see bottom of last page.

Dreamdead - let me know what you think. I've had it on my shelf for awhile but heard it's pretty disappointing. On Chesil Beach is great, fyi.

[Duncan]

Duncan- let's talk about Tinkers. What do you make of the clock metaphor?

For a book so short (yet so lovely) I thought these clock interruptions damaged the flow of the story of Howard and George. Howard being the far more interesting story of the two.

Maybe if I understood how it tied into the framing story my opinion would change.

I actually saw him give a reading here in Vancouver and he spoke pretty extensively about the clock metaphor. According to him, the whole book is supposed to be built like a clock in exploded view, so we can see all the individual parts moving independently; or the narrative is at least supposed to feel like an inevitable countdown to both their deaths. Hence the lines like, "Such and such many hours before his death, George started to..." George's work as a clockmaker is supposed to be like an unconscious effort to give order to the universe, and a kind of comfort meant to assuage the pain of knowing that we can't. More specifically, clocks are something mechanical that, with enough care and effort, he can repair, but his relationship with his father is beyond such repair, and this irreparable, ineffable loss is something that he carries with him and struggles with his whole life.

edit: but when he said it, I feel like it was a lot more complicated and eloquent and moving.

I also got to meet him afterwards. Seemed like an incredibly nice guy.

[Benny Profane]

More specifically, clocks are something mechanical that, with enough care and effort, he can repair, but his relationship with his father is beyond such repair, and this irreparable, ineffable loss is something that he carries with him and struggles with his whole life.




I got the sense that he carried it with him but not that he was emotionally devastated about it. I don't think George's character was developed enough for me to feel that impact. But I didn't get much inward or outward emotion from any of the characters, just this dream-like, restrained sense of longing for something beyond the hand (of the clock! No.) they were dealt. I thought the metaphor could have been worked in better than abrupt placement of excerpts from that old book. Perhaps with more scenes in George's basement with his grandchildren as he's fixing them.

I think the sequence with Howard and the guy who lived alone in the woods and claimed to know Hawthorne was my favorite.

[Duncan]

I got the sense that he carried it with him but not that he was emotionally devastated about it. I don't think George's character was developed enough for me to feel that impact. But I didn't get much inward or outward emotion from any of the characters, just this dream-like, restrained sense of longing for something beyond the hand (of the clock! No.) they were dealt. I thought the metaphor could have been worked in better than abrupt placement of excerpts from that old book. Perhaps with more scenes in George's basement with his grandchildren as he's fixing them.

I think the sequence with Howard and the guy who lived alone in the woods and claimed to know Hawthorne was my favorite.

Agree with the bold. They're kind of ethereal people with very little psychology to them. But the writing itself, I thought, was very evocative. I actually forget how the clock stuff is worked in, but I do remember the images of clocks, like a surreal passage about this tree-clock with golden leaves and stuff. I also loved that sequence with the hermit. That and some of the real abstract reveries were probably my favourite parts.

[Lucky]

Fucking page break. Duncan see bottom of last page.

Dreamdead - let me know what you think. I've had it on my shelf for awhile but heard it's pretty disappointing. On Chesil Beach is great, fyi.

Saturday is more memorable than On Chesil Beach, for what it's worth. Both were very good, however. The climax of Saturday blew me away, but McEwan takes his time getting there. On Chesil Beach's climax (no pun intended) left me a bit cold, but I was completely absorbed in the journey there. Atonement is his finest, most complete work from start to finish. One of my favorite novels.

[Duncan]

I thought Saturday was terribly boring, lacked the teeth for a truly gripping climax, and had an utterly contrived catharsis that lavished pity on a whole group of people who, I would think, might be vaguely insulted by the patronizing tone of the thing. It's politics are already dated, but were never very complex or interesting to begin with. It's also very much a writer's book, in that he obviously did a ton of research on neurosurgery, but instead of it coming off organically, it comes off as a guy who really has no experience in the field and is out of his depth. Bad book.

[Lucky]

Meh, that's not what I took away from the book. The politics in the backdrop, outdated they may be, are the soft-focus behind the display of man's feeling of helplessness. It's been awhile since I read it, but I think it makes a better study of man's place in the modern world than a political statement.

[Duncan]

Meh, that's not what I took away from the book. The politics in the backdrop, outdated they may be, are the soft-focus behind the display of man's feeling of helplessness. It's been awhile since I read it, but I think it makes a better study of man's place in the modern world than a political statement.
I wasn't saying that the politics are central to the book. I'm just saying that it's politics are dated and lack complexity.

No doubt the Dr. fellow is the book's core. But he's a dull character. So he sits down when he pees. Great. Let's spend 20 pages on a goddamn squash match. The only genuinely moving passage I can remember is when he's watching his son play music.

[Lucky]

Never Let Me Go, best novel of the decade? Hardly, Time Magazine. It's tediously paced with little reward and its interesting premise is watered down to focus on a doomed love-triangle. Ishiguro dealt with similar themes of memory and devotion more aptly with The Remains of the Day. Think I'll skip the movie, too.

[Kurosawa Fan]

They really picked that snooze-fest as novel of the decade? What a terrible choice.

[Lucky]

That's what the cover of the novel quotes, I haven't actually seen a list from Time.

EDIT: A quick Google search yielded this list.


Books
Never Let Me Go (2005), by Kazuo Ishiguro
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2004), by Susanna Clarke
The Corrections (2001), by Jonathan Franzen
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), by Junot Diaz
The Known World (2003), by Edward P. Jones
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), by J.K. Rowling
Atonement (2002), by Ian McEwan
Lush Life (2008), by Richard Price
Then We Came to the End (2007), by Joshua Ferris
American Gods (2001), by Neil Gaiman

[Mara]

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2004), by Susanna Clarke


I adore this book, and I can never manage to get anyone to read it on my recommendation, because it's a measly ten thousand pages long.

I finally read it aloud to my mother when we were commuting together. It took a few months, but was totally worth it.

[lovejuice]

Never Let Me Go (2005), by Kazuo Ishiguro
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2004), by Susanna Clarke
The Corrections (2001), by Jonathan Franzen
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), by Junot Diaz
The Known World (2003), by Edward P. Jones
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), by J.K. Rowling
Atonement (2002), by Ian McEwan
Lush Life (2008), by Richard Price
Then We Came to the End (2007), by Joshua Ferris
American Gods (2001), by Neil Gaiman
These are terrible choices, I'll say.

[Kurosawa Fan]

The Corrections, Atonement, and Then We Came to the End are worthy choices. Never Let Me Go, Harry Potter, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao... not so much. Haven't read Lush Life, but I've heard great things, and I liked the other Richard Price I read.

[Benny Profane]

Started reading Cloud Atlas. Like it a lot so far (just finished first section).

[D_Davis]

Picked up a couple of books last night:

http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c1/c7257.jpg

Never even knew Spark wrote ghost stories. This will surely be amazing. Can't wait to read some more stuff by her. I recently re-read The Driver's Seat, and it only further solidified my opinion that it's one of the best pieces of American literature I've ever read. It blows my mind how few people I know of have ever read her.

And I got an old collection of short stories from John Shirley:

http://cb.pbsstatic.com/xl/53/1553/9780932511553.jpg

[dreamdead]

I thought Saturday was terribly boring, lacked the teeth for a truly gripping climax, and had an utterly contrived catharsis that lavished pity on a whole group of people who, I would think, might be vaguely insulted by the patronizing tone of the thing. It's politics are already dated, but were never very complex or interesting to begin with. It's also very much a writer's book, in that he obviously did a ton of research on neurosurgery, but instead of it coming off organically, it comes off as a guy who really has no experience in the field and is out of his depth. Bad book.

I agree that the climax fails, quite badly, but I actually found the first half quite gripping, even the squash match (after Netherland and O'Neill's cricket descriptions, maybe I'm more tolerant of sports passages even when I don't understand the game). That said, I feel the politics here offer something very of-the-moment, which I'm thankful of. I fear that you dismiss the book when it acts as testimony of that transitional moment, when a populace was ready to be swayed to either side of the war on Iraq debate, if only solid evidence could be granted. I like it for that engagement, as it's one of the few books to take this perspective (DeLillo and O'Neill, for example, don't, and so I feel that McEwan tackles a new angle here).

Most of the Baxter business, however, fails to amount to anything. A great opening with Perowne gazing out into the night, but as the plane fades from the narrative, so too does McEwan's ability to make anything of the characters.

Still kinda want to read Amsterdam at some point. One positive and one middling book means I want that to be the decider.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Man. Frankenstein is an absolute CHORE.

[Mara]

Man. Frankenstein is an absolute CHORE.

There are people who adore it and get really hurt when I express feelings like this. But I agree completely.

[D_Davis]

Man. Frankenstein is an absolute CHORE.

Yeah. I can think of about a thousand better examples of the genre. Don't get this one's "classic" status beyond it simply being old. It's past time to retire some of these old standby's, and pick some newer books for required reading.

[Mara]

You know what book is even worse, although in a similar way? Tarzan of the Apes. At least it's not considered a classic, but I can't figure out how that silly, silly book ever grabbed the public attention and led to so many adaptations.

I will admit that Frankenstein is a pretty impressive achievement for an 18-year-old. But, still, classic? I just don't see it.

[Mara]

According to author Rudyard Kipling (who himself wrote stories of a feral child, The Jungle Book's Mogli), Burroughs wrote Tarzan of the Apes just so that he could "find out how bad a book he could write and get away with it."

Ah ha ha ha.

[Duncan]

I agree that the climax fails, quite badly, but I actually found the first half quite gripping, even the squash match (after Netherland and O'Neill's cricket descriptions, maybe I'm more tolerant of sports passages even when I don't understand the game). That said, I feel the politics here offer something very of-the-moment, which I'm thankful of. I fear that you dismiss the book when it acts as testimony of that transitional moment, when a populace was ready to be swayed to either side of the war on Iraq debate, if only solid evidence could be granted. I like it for that engagement, as it's one of the few books to take this perspective (DeLillo and O'Neill, for example, don't, and so I feel that McEwan tackles a new angle here).

Most of the Baxter business, however, fails to amount to anything. A great opening with Perowne gazing out into the night, but as the plane fades from the narrative, so too does McEwan's ability to make anything of the characters.

Still kinda want to read Amsterdam at some point. One positive and one middling book means I want that to be the decider.
I think the of-the-moment nature of its politics are exactly what I disliked. I felt like characters were spouting op-eds from a few years ago at me. The daughter, especially. And I was left wondering what the point was while I was reading it. Because I was there. I read those op-eds. I'm not learning anything, and I'm not feeling anything because the storytelling is contrived. It's strongest quality is probably how these larger events filter down into our everyday lives. There are moments, like the opening, that you read and think, yes, I know that feeling.

But again, to me, the politics are just one problem among many.

[kuehnepips]

I adore this book, and I can never manage to get anyone to read it on my recommendation, because it's a measly ten thousand pages long.



:pritch:

I love Stange&Norrell too. Skitch has my copy since 2009, I don't know if he's ever read it ...

[Grouchy]

Man. Frankenstein is an absolute CHORE.
What? It's a great book. You guys are crazy.

[dreamdead]

Hey KF, what classes are you taking this semester? I ask because the Kafka and Conrad feel like a short story survey, whereas the other two seem like a Victorian British lit survey... in brief, what's the reading lists for you this semester?

In this third teaching of the "Experience of fiction" class, I'm using Cather's A Lost Lady, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Ibuse's Black Rain, DeLillo's Mao II, Schwartz's The Writing on the Wall, Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Krauss's The History of Love, and Thompson's Blankets. The Krauss and Ibuse will be new reads for me...

[Milky Joe]

The History of Love is really wonderful. A good choice given the theme of the class.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Hey KF, what classes are you taking this semester? I ask because the Kafka and Conrad feel like a short story survey, whereas the other two seem like a Victorian British lit survey... in brief, what's the reading lists for you this semester?

The Kafka was on my own before the semester began. I'm taking an English 313 course studying British and American literature from 1865 to present day. We read the Conrad and Shaw (as well as a bunch of poetry and essays from various authors), and just started James' The Portrait of a Lady. Other notable works we're reading are Light in August, Huck Finn, A Room of One's Own, The Waste Land, and The Crucible. I'm also taking 301 at the same time, in which we're reading Olyphant's The Library Window, Conrad's The Secret Agent, various Sherlock Holmes stories, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

On top of that, I have a history course in which we're reading Frankenstein (finished by this Thursday) and All Quiet on the Western Front.

[D_Davis]

All Quiet on the Western Front.

No that's a good book.

[Milky Joe]

No that's a good book.

Yes, yes it is.

[D_Davis]

Yes, yes it is.

D'oh.

Should be Now that's a good book.

:D

[Benny Profane]

The first Luisa Rey mystery in Cloud Atlas....holy tits.

[ledfloyd]

The first Luisa Rey mystery in Cloud Atlas....holy tits.
yesss. this seems to be a divisive chapter but i love it.

[Benny Profane]

yesss. this seems to be a divisive chapter but i love it.

I would like to hear the case for the other side of the divide.

[Chac Mool]

I would like to hear the case for the other side of the divide.

Me too.

My favorite chapters are in the second half -- and of those, my favorites are about Frobischer and Sonmi-451 -- but really, the whole thing is wonderful.

[Mara]

I'm slipping over here to post my thoughts on "The Library Window," since I don't want to derail the top ten thread.

Overall, a very interesting piece. I'm frustrated with the ending... from the "wave" until the conclusion, because it felt a little bit like it fell apart. I would respect a non-conclusion, but instead I felt like we were given a half-conclusion, which is annoying.

What the story did very well was the mounting obsession and monomania and paranoia. That was great-- and reminded me strongly of one of my favorite short stories from that period, "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In fact, there are strong similaries-- they both deal with Victorian women becoming obsessed after staring at a stationary object for too long. But while "The Yellow Wallpaper" really dove into issues of feminism and mental illness, I wasn't sure where "The Library Window" really wanted to go.

Still, very interesting.

[dreamdead]

The Kafka was on my own before the semester began. I'm taking an English 313 course studying British and American literature from 1865 to present day. We read the Conrad and Shaw (as well as a bunch of poetry and essays from various authors), and just started James' The Portrait of a Lady. Other notable works we're reading are Light in August, Huck Finn, A Room of One's Own, The Waste Land, and The Crucible.


Weird that a survey course claiming to go from 1865-present would not go beyond the mid-1950s. Frustrating to people like me who wholly believe in teaching truly contemporary literature, and like to regularly have 1-2 books from the 90s and 00s assigned. I've always been told that Light in August is Faulkner's best, so I hope you enjoy it. I really don't see you and James jiving well together, though.

140 pages into 1919, Dos Passos's second part of his U.S.A. trilogy. I like the liminal exploration of gender here, as we're moving away from the rigid hatred of women as property that was prevalent in The 42nd Parallel, and gay and lesbian desire is slowly being introduced as alternative pathways of gender. Very appreciable, as I have a soft spot for this kind of proletarian fiction.

Teaching Gatsby right now is simultaneously rewarding and frustrating--I fear that I could have used a far more atypical and unassigned book to explain and analyze the era (Dos Passos, West), but I feel happy that the students are seeing new ideas in a book that they've typically only read one way. I'm happy to move onto Ibuse's Black Rain next week, though, as that promises to be new terrain for both myself and the students.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm slipping over here to post my thoughts on "The Library Window," since I don't want to derail the top ten thread.

Overall, a very interesting piece. I'm frustrated with the ending... from the "wave" until the conclusion, because it felt a little bit like it fell apart. I would respect a non-conclusion, but instead I felt like we were given a half-conclusion, which is annoying.

What the story did very well was the mounting obsession and monomania and paranoia. That was great-- and reminded me strongly of one of my favorite short stories from that period, "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In fact, there are strong similaries-- they both deal with Victorian women becoming obsessed after staring at a stationary object for too long. But while "The Yellow Wallpaper" really dove into issues of feminism and mental illness, I wasn't sure where "The Library Window" really wanted to go.

Still, very interesting.

Mara, I'll respond to this tomorrow night when I have a bit more time. I'm glad you enjoyed it, at least.


Weird that a survey course claiming to go from 1865-present would not go beyond the mid-1950s. Frustrating to people like me who wholly believe in teaching truly contemporary literature, and like to regularly have 1-2 books from the 90s and 00s assigned. I've always been told that Light in August is Faulkner's best, so I hope you enjoy it. I really don't see you and James jiving well together, though.


Yeah, I was hoping for the same, though the last time that happened, The Kite Runner was one of those contemporary novels, and it ranks among the worst I've ever read. Still, I was hoping for at least one selection from the past 20 years.

As for James, I'm really enjoying him thus far, about 144 pages through. His has great attention to detail, at times near to a fault, but the way he stretches out a metaphor is fascinating, and at times it's pretty mesmerizing.


EDIT: Oh, and I finished Frankenstein. What a frustrating novel. Filled with interesting allegories, but hampered by incredibly poor writing. I'll expound on that when I have more time tomorrow night as well.

[Hugh_Grant]

Weird that a survey course claiming to go from 1865-present would not go beyond the mid-1950s. Frustrating to people like me who wholly believe in teaching truly contemporary literature, and like to regularly have 1-2 books from the 90s and 00s assigned.

Same here.

Speaking of frustrating, I haven't been able to read that much lately, aside from what my job requires me to read, like piles of student papers. I've been having some issues with vertigo. Bah. I did manage to get through The Lost City of Z, but mostly via audio book.

[Benny Profane]

Link to very rare Cormac McCarthy short story within. Wow, is all I can say.

http://biblioklept.org/2011/02/02/wake-for-susan-cormac-mccarthy/#more-7814

[dreamdead]

Finished out Dos Passos's 1919, which ends with an appropriately bitter condemnation of the political uses of the Unknown Soldier from WW1. This text, after the earlier The 42nd Parallel in the USA trilogy, resonated stronger in my mind, as it more directly deals with counterarguments to the war and the way that profiteering and political lies ended up being how the lower class viewed the war. It will be some time before I finish out the trilogy, but I'm still finding the journey worthwhile--just need to get back to academic reading for my schoolwork.

As such, starting Ibuse's Black Rain next. I'm hoping the hype proves deserving.

[dreamdead]

Picked up Chandler's The Big Sleep on a whim and blazed through it. Not the deepest read or anything of '30s culture, but beneath the sexism and homophobia (do these qualities ease off throughout the Marlowe series?), there is a pretty solid and sustained interrogation of politics and wealth as weapons that mask the rich's true debauchery. Four or five moments where the prose was just perfect.

[lovejuice]

Picked up Chandler's The Big Sleep on a whim and blazed through it. Not the deepest read or anything of '30s culture, but beneath the sexism and homophobia (do these qualities ease off throughout the Marlowe series?), there is a pretty solid and sustained interrogation of politics and wealth as weapons that mask the rich's true debauchery. Four or five moments where the prose was just perfect.

I am not a big fan of that book. Reading it right after The Maltese Falcon, I think it's almost profane to mention Hammett and Chandler in the same sentence.

[ledfloyd]

I am not a big fan of that book. Reading it right after The Maltese Falcon, I think it's almost profane to mention Hammett and Chandler in the same sentence.
it is, chandler is much better.

[Duncan]

Some stuff I've read recently:

Hopscotch, by Julio Cortazar. One of the saddest, most beautiful books I've ever read. A book of wandering, and longing, and loss. Short chapters that can be read in any order you want, though it comes prefaced with instructions, should you choose to follow along. I did, and found the structure more than satisfying. Thoughts, images, whatever. He does more in two pages than most authors do in their lifetimes. Fans of Bolano might enjoy it. I was thinking 2666 had to be influenced by this book, and then a mention of the painter Arcimboldi basically confirmed it for me. Anyway, if you're up for a plotless, fairly long, hyper-text novel, then you should definitely check this out.

Stories, by Anton Chekhov. It was OK. A lot of them feature cartoonishly innocent protagonists besieged by a cartoonishly indifferent or outright evil antagonist/society/existence. Stories like "Vanka" are outright awful, I thought. Horribly maudlin and manipulative. Others, like "The Boys," are excellent.

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Being unable to get more than a few pages into this book, and faced once more with an hour long commute, I decided to kill two birds with one stone by listening to this in my car. It gave me road rage. It was mostly vapid, gossipy, annoying, etc. Darcy is alright. Elizabeth is, as he says, tolerable. And basically everyone around them is insufferable.

[Duncan]

Also about halfway through Llosa's The War of the End of the World. Liking it. Took me a while to get into it, but I'm coming around, and it's gaining that kind of momentum associated with myth.

[Duncan]

Just to pimp Hopscotch a little more...

"People who do not read Cortazar are doomed. Not to read him is a serious invisible disease." - Pablo Neruda

"The most powerful encyclopedia of emotions and visions to emerge from the postwar generation of international writers." - New Republic

"The most magnificent novel I have ever read, and one to which I return again and again." - C.D.B. Bryan, New York Times Book Review (I mean, the guy has three initials before his last name. You've got to trust him.)

http://quarterlyconversation.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/hopscotch-by-julio-cortazar.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Hopscotch-Pantheon-Modern-Writers-Cortazar/dp/0394752848

[Derek]

C.D.B. Bryan, New York Times Book Review (I mean, the guy has three initials before his last name. You've got to trust him.)

I'd say that name is pretentious if not for the fear of baby doll the semiotician reminding me that those initials merely signify existing names which he was given at his birth and therefore can in no way be pretentious.

And yeah, book purchased.

[Mara]

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Being unable to get more than a few pages into this book, and faced once more with an hour long commute, I decided to kill two birds with one stone by listening to this in my car. It gave me road rage. It was mostly vapid, gossipy, annoying, etc. Darcy is alright. Elizabeth is, as he says, tolerable. And basically everyone around them is insufferable.

The recent critical backlash against Austen makes me sad. But if it's not your thing, it's not your thing. Personally, I've always been drawn to comedies of manners, and I find Austen's to be some of the funniest.

[Duncan]

I'd say that name is pretentious if not for the fear of baby doll the semiotician reminding me that those initials merely signify existing names which he was given at his birth and therefore can in no way be pretentious.

And yeah, book purchased.

Cool. He also wrote the short stories that Blow-Up and Week End are adapted from, just to give you an idea of what he's about. But I'd say that Hopscotch is much, well, sweeter, I guess, than either of those two films. There's sentiment and hope along with the uncertainty and chaos.

[Duncan]

The recent critical backlash against Austen makes me sad. But if it's not your thing, it's not your thing. Personally, I've always been drawn to comedies of manners, and I find Austen's to be some of the funniest.
Yeah, I just don't think I'm the audience for her work. Every time the mother or Mr. Collins spoke, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I gather I was supposed to be laughing.

[Mara]

Yeah, I just don't think I'm the audience for her work. Every time the mother or Mr. Collins spoke, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I gather I was supposed to be laughing.

:lol:

Yeah. Once my sisters and I were on a road trip and my middle sister was reading aloud the scene where Elizabeth refuses to marry Mr. Collins, and we had to pull over because we were laughing so hard. Humor is just subjective.

Do you like Oscar Wilde? I think he's the absolute best at comedy of manners (his plays, of course, not short stories or his book.)

[Duncan]

:lol:

Yeah. Once my sisters and I were on a road trip and my middle sister was reading aloud the scene where Elizabeth refuses to marry Mr. Collins, and we had to pull over because we were laughing so hard. Humor is just subjective.

Do you like Oscar Wilde? I think he's the absolute best at comedy of manners (his plays, of course, not short stories or his book.)

It's been forever since I read or saw The Importance of Being Ernest (early high school?), but I remember liking it. Certainly I laughed, anyway. Unfamiliar with his other plays. Read The Picture of Dorian Gray, and actually quite liked that one, but obviously it's not in the comedy of manners vein.

[Grouchy]

Duncan, I could never read all of Hopscotch (feels very weird to say that instead of Rayuela) but I plan to eventually. What you shouldn't miss are the short stories by Cortázar. He was a master of the medium and he could inject more hidden meaning into the structure of the tale than any other writer I can think of right now.

[Benny Profane]

Finished Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. He's a hell of a writer. Takes on a multitude of voices and masters them more convincingly than most authors can master just one. I must say I liked the first half a lot better than the second half. In the beginning, you're discovering these new voices and being led into these new worlds, new plots, new character motivations, but in the latter half, a lot of it degrades into, like, really basic thriller mechanics. Both speculative pieces (these reminded me of all Foundation's worst tendencies, but written way better), the Luisa Rey part, and even Cavendish's section, to a certain degree, became extended chase sequences complete with action movie cliches. I was really disappointed. I mean, sentence to sentence, the writing's never less than stellar, but ultimately it felt repetitive and landed in fairly standard ruminations about the nature of man, etc. But then it ends off with Frobisher and Ewing, and those were definitely my favourite parts. Both seemed like the most fully realized characters, and both deal with suicide, depression, isolation, loneliness, creation--in short, things Mitchell is probably a lot more familiar with, personally, than, say, gunfights or vast corporate conspiracies or all-out war.




Mitchell has a gift, there's no disputing it. I had no idea where the book was headed until the chapters started repeating themselves after the apex of the narrative, when mankind had nearly annihilated itself. The links between some of the chapters were stronger than the others, but that's hardly the point of the story. I get what you're saying about cliches, but they were gracefully executed cliches, and by that point I was so engrossed it didn't really bother me. I do think, however, that the climaxes of each chapter had to have a thrilling, life-or-death tension to them, as it tied into the theme of the kill-or-be-killed, rapacious hunger that drives the human race to progress, and ultimately extinction. I didn't care much for the Cavendish story, and the Sonmi was a tad boring, but all the other parts were incredibly fluid. They felt personal while fitting into something unfathomably large. So many voices, I'm inclined to read another work of Mitchell's, to see which is closest to his own. This one reminded me a lot of Barth's The Sot-weed Factor, which is more a single period piece, but one where the author assumes a few identities, all of which he writes very well.

[D_Davis]

Finished Blatty's Dimiter this morning. I feel as though I did the book a massive disservice by taking so long to read through it. It is definitely the kind of book that should read in as few, long sittings as possible. It is a very strange book; Blatty revisits territory he covered in The Ninth Configuration and Legion, but I don't think he does so as successfully here. It's well written, and contains some beautiful moments, but it's just not as memorable as those previously-mentioned novels.

[ledfloyd]

i've yet to finish a book this year. :/

[dreamdead]

Saw this question in a book and thought I'd be interested in the responses here...

What living authors do you drop everything to read when they publish a new book?

My short list is Don DeLillo and Tim O'Brien.

[Benny Profane]

Saw this question in a book and thought I'd be interested in the responses here...

What living authors do you drop everything to read when they publish a new book?

My short list is Don DeLillo and Tim O'Brien.

Pynchon
Krakauer

And Michael Lewis, for his articles.

Franzen and Sam Lipsyte have a good chance of making this list soon.

[Kurosawa Fan]

School is definitely screwing up the ability to "drop everything," but I normally would for David Sedaris, Erik Larson, and Cormac McCarthy. Probably still will for Jess Walter as well, even though Poets was a tad disappointing.

EDIT: Speaking of, Erik Larson has a new book being released May 10th.

http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/87270000/87276981.JPG

[D_Davis]

What living authors do you drop everything to read when they publish a new book?


William Peter Blatty
Michael Cisco
Thomas Ligotti
JM McDermott
Joe R. Lansdale

[Mara]

School is definitely screwing up the ability to "drop everything," but I normally would for David Sedaris

I have "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" sitting in my purse, three feet from my tootsies, right now. And I still haven't had a chance to start it yet.

:sad:

[Mara]

And I don't drop everything, but I always read any new book by Margaret Atwood.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I have "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" sitting in my purse, three feet from my tootsies, right now. And I still haven't had a chance to start it yet.

:sad:

I actually ordered it today (but only to get free shipping from Barnes & Noble, or so I told my wife), but I probably won't get to read it until late May or June. So I'll be able to sympathize very soon.

[Benny Profane]

McCarthy's a great call. Larson, too.

[D_Davis]

I was just talking to JM McDermott the other day about how lucky we are to be living while Cisco and Ligotti and writing. Having two living authors of this caliber is really something special, and rare. It'd be like living while Lovecraft and Poe were writing, if they were contemporaries.

[Winston*]

I have read 5 books cover to cover this year. 40% of those have been written by The RZA.