Rolling "Books Recently Read" Thread

[28if]

Mother Night - A+ - Probably my favourite Vonnegut.

Confederacy of Dunces - A- - Really, really good. Very memorable characters, I really enjoyed this book.

I'm halfway through The Town and The City by Kerouac now. It's really good so far.

[neopryn]

Originally Posted by Eulogy

i read (and wrote a paper about) Notes From Underground 5 years ago.

I'm pretty sure I was too young. I should definitely re-read it. I remember being at least intrigued though. that should count for something.

it's pretty great, although the first part can get you down a little. "white nights" is my favorite of his novellas/"short" stories.

[mercurial]

one hundred years of solitude is amazing btw. in the running for my top five, and i'm not even halfway through

[D.]

Finished the books I listed and Stephen Crane's Maggie, which is just a novella.

Next up is another Steve Crane novella, George's Mother, then Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.

[Luke de Spa]

you're such a ponce david

read something with explosions in it for once

[D.]

Originally Posted by Luke De Spa

you're such a ponce david

read something with explosions in it for once

Originally Posted by D.

oh, and before the hemingway, i slipped in this one:



which was one of the funniest books I've ever read.

[Mablak]

Originally Posted by redbreegull

Didn't a Netphorian once say his high school yearbook quote was, "No one has ever reread Pride and Prejudice because you can only kill yourself once" ?

Ah dude it was me! It was "You can't read pride and prejudice twice because you can't kill yourself twice."

[RopeyLopey]

Originally Posted by neopryn

i've been reading the brothers karamazov for 1.5 months and i'm only halfway through. it's good tho.

few weeks ago I was on a subway and I saw a Chinese guy reading it. He looked so happy I was actually wondering if he is not just using the book cover to mask some shit. It took about 20 minutes before he got off. By that time his facial expression - it looked like as if he were going through some horrid physical pain - but he kept on reading. A brave soul.

Reading Dostoevsky's books made me feel sick, too - but at the same time you can't drop it.


Paris in the XX. century - Jules Verne - book is not the best, but it is really amazing how many things he got spot on - computers, cars, elevators, fax/copy machines, subways and lightrail transit system,...


Currently: Justine - Lawrence Durrell - it is time to conquer Alexandria Quartet.

[Nothing/everything]

Albert Camus - The Fall

Epic. But not as good as The Stranger.

[D.]

Originally Posted by Nothing/everything

Albert Camus - The Fall

Epic. But not as good as The Stranger.

this is in my stack to read next. i loved thestranger and i need to get the plague.

(i didn't know that cure song was influenced by the stranger until i read it and i was all "that sounds familiar!" )

[RopeyLopey]

Adrian Gilbert and Maurice Cotterell - The Mayan Prophecies : Unlocking the Secrets of a Lost Civilization - F - lunatics. Good for laughs.
Michael D. Coe - The Maya - B - concise, somewhat boring overview.
Richardson Gill - The Great Maya Droughts: Water, Life, and Death - B+ - great chapters on various climate effects on civilizations, not just the Maya. Archaeologists tend to omit these factors as they are usually not that familiar with the geology, climatology and such. However, he goes too far trying to explain everything just by weather.
David Webster - Fall of the ancient Maya - A - level-headed, plausible explanations. A real pleasure to read, but maybe too dry for people not used to the scientific style of writing. He is doing his best, but he is no novel writer.

Lawrence Durrell - Justine - excellent, stimulating. Decided to read the whole Alexandria Quartet

[D.]

I got to like, page 400 of For Who the Bell Tolls and I just gave up. First time I've done that, but Hemingway has a way of making me lose a little bit of love for reading. It shouldn't be a chore to read and sometimes he just is. Funny thing is, I still didn't dislike it as much as Tale of Two Cities or Moby Dick, but at least I finished those.
Like, A Farewell to Arms was excellent, but the other two I've read {Old Man and the Sea and For Whom} are just not very good.

So, I am now starting on Manifesto by Anonymous (Manifesto : The Anonymous Novel : FREEDOM : Politics & Anti-Politics @ R6XX.com) ... there's no cover art and I actually heard about it through my brother, who happened to spot a tattered copy on the ground where he was working.

I'm excited to read it!

[RopeyLopey]

Lawrence Durrell - Alexandria Quartet - A - fascinating, especially the first two books, how the same events can look totally different by changing perspectives. The last book (Clea) was a bit dragging here and there, but still it added to the whole story.

Currently: Lawrence Durrell - Sicilian Carousel - I read this already once. I enjoy his travelogues the most.

[28if]

Dawg For Whom The Bell Tolls is one of my favorite books. I love Hemingway. Is it your first by him? Try A Farewell to Arms! I bet you'll like it.

The Town and the City, Kerouac - First thing I've read by Kerouac. It got a little... kitchy at times, but on the whole I really liked it. Once I found out it was semi-autobiographical I started getting into it more.

Winter's Tales, Isak Dineson - Short stories by her. They were all really good.

I'm starting Cloudsliptter now, the new one about John Brown, and it looks promising. Also I bought The Metamorphasis today becuase it was three dollars at Borders. So I have that to look forward to too!

[ATS]

right now im halfway through in part 2 of proust's novel. ive committed to reading the whole thing

Originally Posted by Nothing/everything

Albert Camus - The Fall

whats this like? i read the wikipedia on camus or something and it indicated that the stranger is the only book he ever wrote before reversing that worldview so ive been hesitant to pick up anything else because i agreed with it so much

[Deadeyes]

So I've almost read Solaris in 2 days. Been a while since I got into a book so heavily. Lems imagination and attention to detail shadows much Sci-fi I have read without becoming too hardcore or lost in itself. The contrast of human relations, though inhuman, balances the story into more than just a sci-fi intrigue into the perplexing nature of aliens (which is so refreshing after the endless monotonous humanising of aliens). It's got psychological depth, and it is quite unnerving in an alien analysis of our selves.

I think there is a wit at the heart that speaks of man not knowing himself well enough let alone an alien being as complex as Solaris's ocean. I agree, and this book is a fascinating feat of wonder in and out of the human condition.

Highly recommended

[D.]

So, i finished that Anonymous Manifesto book and it was OK; not really what I was expecting. It was like Holden Caulfield but 10x more obnoxious.

BUT, I read this in like, 2 days and I thought it was amazing and ranks as my fave Orwell book:



I didn't want it to end, actually. I would reccomend everyone read this -- it's quick and everything about it is awesome. I don't want to be a cliche' contrarian, but it's much better - albeit much different - than 1984 and Animal Farm.

[spring]

Malcom Gladwell - Outliers - interesting, but still not as good as The Tipping Point
Mordecai Richler - Barney's Version - hilarious, so well written, I would recommend this to anyone. I don't know if you have to be Canadian to get some of the jokes, but I've read a whole bunch of his books and I always enjoyed them immensely.
Chuck Klosterman - Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs - better than Klosterman IV, where he had absolutely no desire to edit himself, but still kinda boring. I would like to read Downtown Owl at some point. There was an excerpt at the end of one of his books and it looked a lot more interesting than most of his articles. Okay, I'll admit it, the article with the G'N'R impersonators was awesome.

now reading: Sylvie Germain - Éclats de sel

[cork_soaker]

Originally Posted by 28if

Dawg For Whom The Bell Tolls is one of my favorite books. I love Hemingway.

.

[pale blue eyes]

I just picked up The Lobotomist and would post the author but it's too far away right now. I'm more than halfway through it. More than a few parts have made me but it's nice that they tell a bit about the guy's past so he just doesn't seem like a guy who wanted to bore holes in people's frontal lobes for shits and giggles. To him, it made more sense than it seems like it does. Not a fun read but pretty interesting if you are into that sort of thing.

[cardiac]

Just started Neil Strauss' Emergency. So far so good.

[D.]

Originally Posted by 28if

Dawg For Whom The Bell Tolls is one of my favorite books. I love Hemingway. Is it your first by him? Try A Farewell to Arms! I bet you'll like it.

absolutely loved A Farewell. One of my favorite books. I just really wasn't feeling Bell Tolls.

[better than new]

I'm just starting The Sound and The Fury... I've heard good things.

[D.]

So, I breezed through I Love You, Beth Cooper and it read like a typical high-school teen comedy movie. Of course, it was written by someone who wrote for The Simpsons t.v. show, so it's not that much of a stretch. Also, apparently it is going to be made into movie - I imagine it will star Nick Cera and have plenty of dick and fart jokes.

See, I just couldn't get behind the plot of "nerd with a crush on popular girl, misreads signals", etc. I just couldn't help but think, that if I wanted to read about teenage lust and misplaced love, I'd just read Youth In Revolt for the 10th time. At least then I'd be inspired to write my own book - every time that happens, I never get past page two.

The characters in Beth Cooper were just so flat and boring, especially since the book read just like a movie script. No depth, but what else could I expect? Maybe I'm just passed the age where I can relate to it? The main character was so awkward that it was painful. I know some people find that charming, but I found it annoying.

[D.]

To get back on track, I am now reading This Side of Paradise by none other than F. Scott Fitzgerald.

[silent1]

i hope they serve beer in hell - tucker max

sorry i'm not as smart as you guys.

[D.]

Originally Posted by silent1

i hope they serve beer in hell - tucker max

sorry i'm not as smart as you guys.

actually, that's on my list to read after This Side of Paradise. It looks funny; it seems like the type of book like Average American Male, only more beer.

if you like Hope They Serve Beer, try Average American Male. I read it in like a day.

[silent1]

yeah it's hilarious. i read it in 2 days. couldn't put it down. but yeah, i'll check it out.

[D.]

This Side of Paradise was good; not as good as The Great Gatsby, but definitely good. Fitz is my hero. The end of the book kind of seemed to trail off and get a little jumbled and lackluster, but still a strong read.

I began reading this tonight:


Should be done with it by the end of the weekend and I'll start on:

[redbull]

kafka - the judgement and other short stories - B