The Book Discussion Thread

[Boner M]

Can anyone recommend some Kobo Abe, outside of the novels that inspired the three Teshigahara films in that recent Criterion box?

[Ezee E]

Seattle Library book sale today!

An entire military hanger filled with $1 books.

This is going to be awesome.

What did you end up with?

[D_Davis]

What did you end up with?

Check the purchased thread....

[Mara]

Just finished Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and I'm quite disappointed. A murder mystery revolving around a 1931 circus train-- what could go wrong? The entire thing felt flat and forced, with emotions stated ("I love her") but never felt. I'm actually amazed that a female writer created such boring female characters, too. The ending was implausible and I'm not entirely sure why I spent the afternoon getting to it.

Also, it was written in the present tense, which I found annoying.

[D_Davis]

Also, it was written in the present tense, which I found annoying.

I like present tense when it is done right. It conveys a sense of immediacy.

The novel I'm working on now is in present tense - I like writing in the tense as well.

[Mara]

I like present tense when it is done right. It conveys a sense of immediacy.

I should have specified: in this particular instance, I found it annoying. I've seen it used quite effectively.

[Melville]

You ever finish Narcissus and Goldmund?

Yeah. Although it centered on themes that are very important to me, I thought its exploration of those themes was blunt to the point of being pedantic. The whole thing seemed too straightforward in its style, with the prose bluntly stating themes and characters' thoughts rather than conveying them in more interesting ways. While that straightforwardness could be made to work if it was reduced to the extreme simplicity (in the "direct or guileless" sense of the word) of a folk tale or if it dealt in more detail with its philosophical issues, but it seemed kind of stranded in between. I also just can't get behind its notions of femininity/motherhood/Life.

I really wanted to like it, and its basic concept had a lot of potential, but it just didn't work for me.

[Benny Profane]

Staying on my historical nonfiction kick I started Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen last night. I can tell this will be another electrifying read.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Finished my Manhunt and moved on to The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. It's a fun read thus far.

[lovejuice]

Finished my Manhunt and moved on to The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. It's a fun read thus far.

oh, i want to know how to feel about TBOE. I over have this fondness for Fforde.

[Qrazy]

Someday I'll write a book entirely in the second person... no one steal this idea from me.

[D_Davis]

Someday I'll write a book entirely in the second person... no one steal this idea from me.

I recently read a book by Norman Partridge written in second person, present tense if I remember correctly. It was awesome.


I started The Creation by E. O. Wilson today on the way home from work. Good stuff.

[Qrazy]

I recently read a book by Norman Partridge written in second person, present tense if I remember correctly. It was awesome.

Mother fucker stole my idea.

[D_Davis]

Mother fucker stole my idea.

Dark Harvest

I don't think the entire thing is in 2nd person - not like a choose your own adventure or something - but enough is to say it is. He addresses the reader, and plays upon our common knowledge of horror conventions, and he often tells us what we are seeing as if he is directing a camera. It contains some of the coolest transitions I've ever read in a book, very cinematic, unique, and artfully done.


Isn't Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler in 2nd person?

[ledfloyd]

Isn't Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler in 2nd person?

Every other chapter is. Used to great effect.

I've never read a book written entirely in 2nd person that I liked. Tom Robbin's Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas uses it but I found it annoying and pointless.

[D_Davis]

Every other chapter is. Used to great effect.

I've never read a book written entirely in 2nd person that I liked. Tom Robbin's Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas uses it but I found it annoying and pointless.

Cool.

It's probably best use as a literary device for effect.

[Duncan]

Yeah. Although it centered on themes that are very important to me, I thought its exploration of those themes was blunt to the point of being pedantic. The whole thing seemed too straightforward in its style, with the prose bluntly stating themes and characters' thoughts rather than conveying them in more interesting ways. While that straightforwardness could be made to work if it was reduced to the extreme simplicity (in the "direct or guileless" sense of the word) of a folk tale or if it dealt in more detail with its philosophical issues, but it seemed kind of stranded in between.

To be honest, I felt this way a little too. Especially near the beginning. I came around by the end though. I think his prose in general is rather guileless, except perhaps towards the end of Steppenwolf. I find his lack of irony and honesty quite effective. Narcissus seems much closer to me than Goldmund, so I was taken aback by the ending. Like I had been left behind without realizing it. Where you found bluntness I found an almost elemental power that moved me more than I care to remember.

I also just can't get behind its notions of femininity/motherhood/Life.

His Jungian influence is the only thing I don't wholly appreciate in his writings.

Anyway, sorry it didn't really work for you. I still recommend reading some more of his books. He was awarded the Nobel Prize mostly for The Glass Bead Game, which is my favorite novel on the right day.

[lovejuice]

He was awarded the Nobel Prize mostly for The Glass Bead Game, which is my favorite novel on the right day.

i'm always perplexed by this. many people claim such and such writer win a nobel prize for such and such book. can a writer be awarded the prize for a single piece of work?

and i really like N&G, but it was way too long ago for me to contribute any thing of significance.

I find his lack of irony and honesty quite effective.

indeed. when people gain certain level of intellect, they adopt an irony of some form. it's quite uncommon for a wise writer to be irony-free like HH.

[Duncan]

i'm always perplexed by this. many people claim such and such writer win a nobel prize for such and such book. can a writer be awarded the prize for a single piece of work?

I don't think so. I said "mostly" for that book though. Then again, a physicist can get the Nobel prize for one paper.

[D_Davis]

The Creation is really good.

It is reminding me of the parts I've read of David Suzuki's The Sacred Balance.

Given Wilson's pedigree, I'm sure Suzuki has been greatly influenced.

I believe in the sacred connection of spirituality and nature, and I have often wondered why there aren't more religious folks fighting for the environment. After all, if this is a god's creation, shouldn't the god's followers, more than anything, want to protect it as its stewards?

Unfortunately, especially in modern western religions, it seems as though religious people have taken a blank-check approach to God's creation - it's ours, it was made for us, we'll do what we damn well please with it.

Screw off!

I look outside of my window (living in Seattle is pretty damn beautiful) and I see the creation all around me, and it fills me awe and humbleness. I need to do more to protect it.

[lovejuice]

Then again, a physicist can get the Nobel prize for one paper.

yep. but, i think, it is the literature prize as lifetime achievement award that throws people off. you can't guess how many people i encounter have this misconception; camus got it from the plague, grass got it from the tin drum, naipaul got it from half a life, and so on. until i start to feel like perhaps it's me that is mistaken.

[Melville]

i'm always perplexed by this. many people claim such and such writer win a nobel prize for such and such book. can a writer be awarded the prize for a single piece of work?

The prize is awarded for a body of work, but the Academy frequently cites an individual work. The reasoning behind each prize in literature is at the bottom of the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature

[lovejuice]

The prize is awarded for a body of work, but the Academy frequently cites an individual work. The reasoning behind each prize in literature is at the bottom of the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature

mann was awarded "principally for his great novel, buddenbrooks"? quite unflattering considered it's his first book. but i agree that it's very good.

[Melville]

mann was awarded "principally for his great novel, buddenbrooks"? quite unflattering considered it's his first book. but i agree that it's very good.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never read anything by Mann.

[Mysterious Dude]

I just discovered that Cormac McCarthy stole his "the gettin' place" joke (No Country for Old Men) from William Faulkner (The Sound and the Fury).

My mind = blown.