Do you read?

[Ginko]

31 minutes ago, leemond2008 said:

Its just his writing style I just can't get on with it, I haven't struggled with a book this much for years, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it if it wasn't for the fact that a mate lent it me and everyone classes it so highly.

Exactly this. I've only read The Road but it was an absolute chore to get through, and not because it was so dark and bleak. I love dark and bleak.

It's like he intentionally does the opposite of what constitutes good grammar and writing just for the sake of it. If there was a passage which would have read better in a single sentence, he'd split it into about four of them. If there was a part that would read well broken into multiple sentences, he'd write it in one ridiculously long sentence, and without commas.

I don't know if a comma murdered his family as a child, but his reluctance to use them and other forms of punctuation is either ridiculous at best or intensely pretentious at worst. I suspect the latter. His writing just screams 'I'm a hipster and I go against all convention, even to the detriment of my craft,' to me. 

I'm not much of a fan, if you hadn't guessed.

[leemond2008]

19 minutes ago, maqroll said:

Ok, no more fooling around, I'm going to make a to read list, and read one book a month.

Get yourself on Goodreads.com, its brilliant.

I set myself a challenge of 30 books for the year, I'm currently on 23 and I'm 4 books ahead of schedule, last year I set the challenge of 25 books and I hit 35

The books I've read so far this year

J.Sheridan Le Fanu - Uncle Silas - 1864
Charles Portis - True Grit - 1968
Albert Camus - The Plague - 1947
John Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men - 1937
Truman Capote - In Cold Blood - 1965
Ian Rankin - Knots & Crosses - 1987
Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived in the Castle - 1962
Oakley Hall - Warlock - 1958
Ian Rankin - Hide and Seek - 1991
Shirley Jackson - The Birds Nest - 1954
Ray Celestin - The Axemans Jazz - 2014
Zecharia Sitchin - The Lost Book of Enki - 2001
James Herbert - The Rats - 1974
S. Elliot Brandis - Young Slasher
Ian Rankin - Tooth and Nail - 1992
James Hogg - The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner - 1824
Margaret Atwood - Oryx & Crake - 2003
Charles Bukowski - Post Office - 1971
Jim Al-Khalili - Aliens: Science asks: Is there anyone out there?
Lauren Beukes - Broken Monsters - 2014
Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project - 2014
Stephen King - It - 1986
Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian - 1985

[mjmooney]

2 hours ago, leemond2008 said:

Get yourself on Goodreads.com, its brilliant.

I set myself a challenge of 30 books for the year, I'm currently on 23 and I'm 4 books ahead of schedule, last year I set the challenge of 25 books and I hit 35

The books I've read so far this year

J.Sheridan Le Fanu - Uncle Silas - 1864
Charles Portis - True Grit - 1968
Albert Camus - The Plague - 1947
John Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men - 1937
Truman Capote - In Cold Blood - 1965
Ian Rankin - Knots & Crosses - 1987
Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived in the Castle - 1962
Oakley Hall - Warlock - 1958
Ian Rankin - Hide and Seek - 1991
Shirley Jackson - The Birds Nest - 1954
Ray Celestin - The Axemans Jazz - 2014
Zecharia Sitchin - The Lost Book of Enki - 2001
James Herbert - The Rats - 1974
S. Elliot Brandis - Young Slasher
Ian Rankin - Tooth and Nail - 1992
James Hogg - The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner - 1824
Margaret Atwood - Oryx & Crake - 2003
Charles Bukowski - Post Office - 1971
Jim Al-Khalili - Aliens: Science asks: Is there anyone out there?
Lauren Beukes - Broken Monsters - 2014
Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project - 2014
Stephen King - It - 1986
Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian - 1985

That's a pretty damn good list.  

[leemond2008]

16 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

That's a pretty damn good list.  

Cheers Moon man.

I have tried to throw in a few easy reads (mainly Ian Rankin) to save myself from burning out, even though my favourite era of books is the late 1800's it looks like (this year at least) I'm leaning towards stuff from the mid 1900's, it's not a choice I've consciously made.

Having said that my next two books are both real oldies.

So far the two stand out reads (not including the stuff I have re-read) are Warlock and confessions of a justified sinner.

Edited August 31, 2017 by leemond2008

[mjmooney]

If I had to pick a favourite period for literature it would be 1900-1950 (broadly, 'modernism'). But I do read plenty outside that era, too. 

[leemond2008]

On 8/21/2017 at 18:55, leemond2008 said:

 

Quote

'Dedalus have unearthed a series of aptly decadent titles where elements erotic and grotesque combine. The Dark Domain is a collection of psycho-fantasies, doom-saturated tales of lonely men lost in hostile terrain, but the East European melancholy lifts to provide wonderful odd scenes, like the watchmaker whose death stops all the town clocks and the phantom train that always turns up unannounced, surprising the station staff.' Chris Fowler in Time Out Something fresh and original in fantastic fiction.

What a cracking selection of short stories that was, normally short stories don't interest me whatsoever and I really struggle with them but these were brilliant.

I would highly recommend them

[leemond2008]

I'm currently reading Lolita, I'm only about 80 pages or so into it

Its one of those books that I should have read years ago but I have never got around to it, its brilliant so far, its the contrast between light and dark that I like.

old Humbert Humbert is an almost likable fella, he knows that he is a wrongun and whilst he knows that what he is doing is wrong he almost embraces it, the way he describes his 'Lolita' comes across as almost innocent in a mildly dirty way, its only when you take a step back and think '**** me she's only 12 you absolute freak what are you doing' but he knows it and he thrives on it.

I'm enjoying it so far anyways, only problem is that I'm not going to get much of a chance to read over the next few days so I can see me not getting to finish the book until mid next week probabl

[mjmooney]

3 hours ago, leemond2008 said:

I'm currently reading Lolita, I'm only about 80 pages or so into it

Its one of those books that I should have read years ago but I have never got around to it, its brilliant so far, its the contrast between light and dark that I like.

old Humbert Humbert is an almost likable fella, he knows that he is a wrongun and whilst he knows that what he is doing is wrong he almost embraces it, the way he describes his 'Lolita' comes across as almost innocent in a mildly dirty way, its only when you take a step back and think '**** me she's only 12 you absolute freak what are you doing' but he knows it and he thrives on it.

I'm enjoying it so far anyways, only problem is that I'm not going to get much of a chance to read over the next few days so I can see me not getting to finish the book until mid next week probabl

This is another book that fits my odd pattern of reading everything by a particular author except 'The Big One'. I've read virtually everything by John Steinbeck, for example, but not 'The Grapes of Wrath'. And I'm a huge Nabokov fan - I've consumed almost all his books. But Lolita? Nope. I don't know why I do this. 

Oddly enough, my wife and daughters (whom I would expect to be repulsed by it) have all read it, and all think it's brilliant. 

[MrDuck]

4 hours ago, mjmooney said:

I've read virtually everything by John Steinbeck, for example, but not 'The Grapes of Wrath'.

It's the only one of Steinbeck's that I've read - probably the most depressing book I've ever got through. Wrist-slittingly bleak!

[leemond2008]

Ha grapes of wrath was going to be my next read, it's been sitting in my bookcase for about 6 months now

[mjmooney]

East od Eden is Steinbeck's masterpiece. Cannery Row is pretty good. But for something different try his (nonfiction) "The Log of the Sea of Cortez" - basically an account of a boat trip with his marine biologist mate, which was as much a lads' pissup as a scientific expedition. 

[leemond2008]

6 hours ago, mjmooney said:

East od Eden is Steinbeck's masterpiece. Cannery Row is pretty good. But for something different try his (nonfiction) "The Log of the Sea of Cortez" - basically an account of a boat trip with his marine biologist mate, which was as much a lads' pissup as a scientific expedition. 

I may take a look but I don't really read much non fiction, you'd say it is worth a read though?

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, leemond2008 said:

I may take a look but I don't really read much non fiction, you'd say it is worth a read though?

I wouldn't jump it over your shortlist if it's not your sort of thing, but I quite enjoyed it. 

[Stevo985]

Another bit of praise for Blood Meridian. Amazing book.

 

I've read quite a bit of Cormac McCarthy now. Added "The Road" to the list this year, loved it.

So I've done the Border Trilogy, NCFOM, The Road and Blood Meridian and loved them all.

 

 

In other news, I'm finally getting stuck into A Song of Ice and Fire now. About a third of the way through "A Game of Thrones".
it's really rather good. 

 

I also started The Gunslinger from The Dark Tower recently. I'm a King fan, but this didn't really grab me. I'll go back to it when I'm done with ASOIAF

Edited September 12, 2017 by Stevo985

[leemond2008]

25 minutes ago, Frobisher said:

That'll be roughly a year then! The latter books in ASOIAF become pretty dense.

Get through The Gunslinger and the Dark Tower picks up massively. The 3 books following The Gunslinger were some of the most compelling reads I've experienced. But maybe that's because I read them when I was 19...

I read the first 5 of the dark tower series and have been meaning to re-read them but it's a pretty big commitment and I don't know how long it will take for me to get round to it.

 

ASOIAF are well worth reading but they are not as perfect as some would have you believe, the second and fourth books are real low points.

I'm still persevering with Lolita at the moment I'm really enjoying it but I've had a lot on lately so it's took me over a week to get half way through it, I'm hoping to have it finished over the next 2 or 3 days though.

[AVFC_Hitz]

Finally got hold of Blitzed. A great read about how Nazi Germany was smacked out of its tits on cocaine, heroin and morphine.

[Stevo985]

11 hours ago, Frobisher said:

That'll be roughly a year then! The latter books in ASOIAF become pretty dense.

Get through The Gunslinger and the Dark Tower picks up massively. The 3 books following The Gunslinger were some of the most compelling reads I've experienced. But maybe that's because I read them when I was 19...

Well, a confession. I'm actually listening to ASOIAF. I've got the audiobooks. So it won't take me as long as if I was reading them.

 

yes I'll definitely go back to the Dark Tower. Like I said I'm a King fan so it's sure to entertain me if it's as good as people say.  Just put it aside for now.

[hogso]

I will attempt to restrain myself from going Full Constant Reader here, but with regards to The Dark Tower;

The first book is pretty weak, even if you are reading the revised version, which brings in added continuity. King wrote it with the barest of ideas when he was very young, and the basic idea that is presented in The Gunslinger doesn't really represent what the series becomes at all. In hindsight though, if you go on to enjoy the series, you'll come to view that first book as a damn good introduction. Roland changes as his Ka'tet comes together, the Roland in book 1 is a different character, in some ways.

As mentioned above, the series really picks up from there, Drawing of the Three, Wastelands and Wizard and Glass in particular are really outstanding - I think there is a good case for Wizard and Glass being the best of King's entire oeuvre, it's certainly the one I'd call my favourite with most confidence. Unfortunately after that the series takes a number of...unexpected turns, shall we say. I don't think the term 'jumping the shark' quite does it justice. It really is utterly bonkers, even more so when you consider King was sober by then, which practically gave him carte blanche to write what the **** ever in the past, even if he won't admit that's the case (see that bit in It for a great example).

I mean, Wolves of the Calla has some nice moments, but once you know what the Wolves are you can't ever read that book the same way again. Song of Susannah is where the it really goes off the deep end in regards to the mythos so I don't have too much love for that one either...but I must admit I liked the finale. It simply worked for me.

[veloman]

Just finishing, " The Odd Man Out" by Graham Denton, the story of Ron Saunders. Reminds me of my 'youth(ish) and very nostalgic. Anyone else read this and what did you think ?

[leemond2008]

I finished this last night

Quote

This is the final judgement of Satan on Victoria di Loredani, the heroine of Zofloya, or The Moor(1806), a tale of lust, betrayal, and multiple murder set in Venice in the last days of the fifteenth century. The novel follows Victoria's progress from spoilt daughter of indulgent aristocrats, through a period of abuse and captivity, to a career of deepening criminality conducted under Satan's watchful eye. Charlotte Dacre's narrative deftly displays her heroine's movement from the vitalized position of Ann Radcliffe's heroines to a fully conscious commitment to vice that goes beyond that of `Monk' Lewis's deluded Ambrosio. The novel's most daring aspect is its anatomy of Victoria's intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya that transgresses taboos both of class and race. 

A minor scandal on its first publication, and a significant influence on Byron and Shelley, Zofloya has been unduly neglected. Contradicting idealized stereotypes of women's writing, the novel's portrait of indulged desire, gratuitous cruelty, and monumental self-absorption retains considerable power to disturb. 
 

My god that was hard going

basically The Monk with a female lead character, it was alright but nothing special, I've read better things from this era and the similarities to The Monk really grated on me (she was obviously a fan because she even wrote under the pseudonym of Rosa Matilda)

Typical paint by numbers 19th century gothic novel

3 stories interwoven which all come together at the end along with a telegraphed appearance from Satan himself (the ending which was completely lifted from The Monk)

Yeah just go an by The Monk instead of this

 

going to be starting this next

Quote

The state has been recently taken over and is being run by the tyrannical and philistine 'Average Man' party. Under the slogans of equality and happiness for all, it has done away with individualism and freedom of thought. Only John Krug, a brilliant philosopher, stands up to the regime. His antagonist, the leader of the new party, is his old school enemy, Paduk - known as the 'Toad'. Grieving over his wife's recent death, Krug is at first dismissive of Paduk's activities and sees no threat in them. But the sinister machine which Paduk has set in motion may prove stronger than the individual, stronger even than the grotesque 'Toad' himself.