what are you reading now?
Jesse D Serrins
Well-known member
Fairly new translation of Don Quixote (by Edith Grossman). I have nothing to compare it to, but it seems great and also seems to have gotten a fair bit of praise. I'm at this point where a side story is read aloud by the priest: it's about a newly married man who asks his best friend to try to woo his wife to reveal whether she is truly virtuous and faithful- excellent on a number of levels, I think.
hinterland
New member
China Mieville - The Scar. Good but not as enthralling as his other stuff
listening to Philip Roth - The Plot Against America in the car which is surprisingly pleasurable
just finished another James Lee Burke. I had tired a little of the Robicheaux character - endlessly self-analytical and depressive 12-stepper, but 'Crusader's Cross' is superb - great on The South, New Orleans, Race and nostalgia and very exciting.
listening to Philip Roth - The Plot Against America in the car which is surprisingly pleasurable
just finished another James Lee Burke. I had tired a little of the Robicheaux character - endlessly self-analytical and depressive 12-stepper, but 'Crusader's Cross' is superb - great on The South, New Orleans, Race and nostalgia and very exciting.
Canada J Soup
Monkey Man
I'm in the middle of a re-reading phase at the moment. Currently on the go are two old favorites Boy Wonder (an occasionally twisted and always very funny book by James Robert Baker) and Among The Thugs (former Granta editor Bill Buford's account of hanging out with football casuals in the early 80's) as well as A Confederacy of Dunces (a book that I didn't feel I had given a proper chance to the last time around and that I'm enjoying much more now).
I really want to read that Mao book that the Guardian has been going on about for the last month or so after having read a novel called Waiting (by Chinese born writer Ha Jin, who spent a number of years in the Red Guard before emigrating to the US). The narrative in Waiting was kind of light, but the backdrop of three decades of life in Communist China was fascinating (which I guess was the whole point of the book...the personal / mundane contrasted with historically important stuff) and left me wanting to know more.
I really want to read that Mao book that the Guardian has been going on about for the last month or so after having read a novel called Waiting (by Chinese born writer Ha Jin, who spent a number of years in the Red Guard before emigrating to the US). The narrative in Waiting was kind of light, but the backdrop of three decades of life in Communist China was fascinating (which I guess was the whole point of the book...the personal / mundane contrasted with historically important stuff) and left me wanting to know more.
jenks
thread death
just finished john berger's here is where we meet - a marvellous book much in the same vein as sebald - a mixture of fiction/ art history/ poetry and politics that is quite beautiful an dought to be on the booker list.
writing at once simple and precise yet utterly perfect - contender for book of the year and makes a chnge from all these books about(influenced by) henry james. e.g line of beauty, author author and the master.
the guy is about eighty and just weighs his words like they are jewels. i press it upon you in the hope someone will listen!
writing at once simple and precise yet utterly perfect - contender for book of the year and makes a chnge from all these books about(influenced by) henry james. e.g line of beauty, author author and the master.
the guy is about eighty and just weighs his words like they are jewels. i press it upon you in the hope someone will listen!
jenks said:
yes yes yes.
you've read this...?
http://www.dissensus.com/showthread.php?t=1299&highlight=john+berger
(funnily enough tho, recently read 'a painter of our time' (v early novel- hungarian artist, 1956, seaside towns etc ) and found it pompous and stalinist, but otherwise big up)(
I've just started reading Q by "Luther Blisset" and it's pretty action packed so far. Cool.
I'm also re-reading "Barry Lyndon" by Thackeray on the train (I don't think I really got it the 1st time) which is shocking and funny by turns, as are most of his books.
I finished reading the 2nd Robert E Howard Conan stories collection from the Fantasy Masterworks reprint series which was most entertaing (yeah I have heaps of "heavy" uni reading too) despite some of the dubious imagery etc. OK I admit it: I love the dubious imagery etc
The R. E. Howard biographical info is also interesting.
Before that I re-read the Runestaff series by Michael Moorcock which wasn't as good as I remembered it, but fun nonetheless.
I'm also re-reading "Barry Lyndon" by Thackeray on the train (I don't think I really got it the 1st time) which is shocking and funny by turns, as are most of his books.
I finished reading the 2nd Robert E Howard Conan stories collection from the Fantasy Masterworks reprint series which was most entertaing (yeah I have heaps of "heavy" uni reading too) despite some of the dubious imagery etc. OK I admit it: I love the dubious imagery etc
The R. E. Howard biographical info is also interesting.Before that I re-read the Runestaff series by Michael Moorcock which wasn't as good as I remembered it, but fun nonetheless.
I'm reading Something Happened by Joseph Heller at the moment..It's not as entertaining as Catch 22, but some very funny moments and a good read although a little heavy going at times..
Prior to that I read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides which was excellent..also been reading some Philip K Dick..
Prior to that I read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides which was excellent..also been reading some Philip K Dick..
Currently on the go:
"Commodify Your Dissent: Salvos from The Baffler" by Frank & Weiland (eds).
"Straw Dogs" by John Gray
"Keep the Aspidistra Flying" by George Orwell.
I've been "reading" Pynchon's "V" for a long time now.. came to natural break halfway through and havn't looked at it for months...
"Commodify Your Dissent: Salvos from The Baffler" by Frank & Weiland (eds).
"Straw Dogs" by John Gray
"Keep the Aspidistra Flying" by George Orwell.
I've been "reading" Pynchon's "V" for a long time now.. came to natural break halfway through and havn't looked at it for months...
kennel_district
Active member
spackb0y said:
is keep the aspidistra flying good? I don't think I've read it - was just re-reading 'coming up for air'. wonderful.
don_quixote
Trent End
kennel_district said:
i read the complete novels this summer and would say that coming up for air and keep the aspidistra flying are the two novels which are closest to each other - i prefer coming up for air though. i just love the way he brings the period to life without losing interest.
i got down and out in paris and london earlier this week, but havent had a chance to get into it yet, and ive been reading cant stop wont stop by jeff chang