Do you read?

[useless]

Recently I've read three books that are three of my favorite books that I've ever read, Manhattan Transfer, Petersburg and Villette, they all remind me of each other and all have a very similar feel to them, even Villette which despite being a Victorian novel reads much more modern than any other books I've read from that era (not that I've read much), I have actually seen it described as an early example of 'modernism', and I'd say that sounds about right. And now I've started reading The Sleepwalkers by Hermann Broch, and that one seems to be continuing inasimilarvein.

[El Zen]

On 29/08/2019 at 11:23, Rodders said:

I've picked up my first Hemingway fiction - For Whom The Bell Tolls and I've found the style pretty odd so far. I know he's all about efficiency of language, using the least amount necessary, but this one seems to read like it's a slightly off translation from another language. I was wondering if he was trying to convey the impression of this text being "orginally" written in spanish, hence the slightly weird expressions, or whether again, that was just the 30's / 40's for you. 

Wrong choice of first Hemingway novel. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, once I finally got around to reading it. I first discovered Hemingway at 20, and absolutely sprinted through A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea, moving on to FWTBT expecting to keep the same pace going. I too found the language odd at first, and very rough reading. Never finished it until last year, when I breezed through the whole thing in two days, being more prepared for the rather archaic tone. It’s a great book, but not where I’d start with Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms is more accessible, and his short story bibliography is just amazing. 

Edited September 12, 2019 by Michelsen

[El Zen]

Anyone ever read any Norwegian writers? For a long time I almost exclusively read foreign, mostly English language, writers, but I have recently learned to appreciate the literary heritage of my own native culture. 

[useless]

Only Norweigan author I've read is Knut Hamsun, 'Hunger' and 'Mysteries'. Liked them both, especially Mysteries.

Edit: Just seen the dishwasher thread...

Edited September 12, 2019 by useless

[theboyangel]

17 minutes ago, Michelsen said:

Anyone ever read any Norwegian writers? For a long time I almost exclusively read foreign, mostly English language, writers, but I have recently learned to appreciate the literary heritage of my own native culture. 

Mainly jo nesbo. Whilst I've really enjoyed the Harry Hole books, I think Nesbo's best book is the standalone Headhunters (which was made into a decent Norwegian movie too). 

[mjmooney]

39 minutes ago, Michelsen said:

Wrong choice of first Hemingway novel. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, once I finally got around to reading it. I first discovered Hemingway at 20, and absolutely sprinted through A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea, moving on to FWTBT expecting to keep the same pace going. I too found the language odd at first, and very rough reading. Never finished it until last year, when I breezed through the whole thing in two days, being more prepared for the rather archaic tone. It’s a great book, but not where I’d start with Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms is more accessible, and his short story bibliography is just amazing. 

Hemingway is a contender for my favourite writer of all time, the short stories especially. 

I abandoned (for now) my re-read through the Anthony Powell series (see upthread). Since then I've read two of Derek Robinson's WWI air war novels ('War Story' and 'Hornet's Sting'), and Bernard Malamud's baseball novel 'The Natural'. Currently halfway through Kate Atkin's first Jackson Brodie book 'Case Histories'. 

I won't bother listing the nonfiction right now. 

 

[A'Villan]

"There is no nobility in being superior to your fellow man, true nobility comes from being superior to your former self" - Ernest Hemingway

At least I hope that's his quote, it was my laptop background for a few years.

[useless]

I've never read a Stephen King book but he deserves some credit for his contribution towards entertainment. I recently watched Stand By Me and The Shining both based on his stories, and I thought they were both very good. Maybe I'll give one of his classics a try.

[theboyangel]

26 minutes ago, useless said:

I've never read a Stephen King book but he deserves some credit for his contribution towards entertainment. I recently watched Stand By Me and The Shining both based on his stories, and I thought they were both very good. Maybe I'll give one of his classics a try.

Trying watching the latest versions of It. Thought they were good adaptations of his books too (to be fair Carrie, whilst looking a little dated is a great film too)

however do not bother with The Dark Tower.

[mjmooney]

Now on this. So far, excellent. 

[hogso]

2 hours ago, theboyangel said:

 However do not bother with The Dark Tower.

The book series? 

Needless to say, it goes way way off the deep end - possibly more than any of his other work, which is saying a lot. 

It does contain his single greatest book I believe (Wizard and Glass), with the narrative flowing through II-III-IV also being some of his best work. It's truly captivating stuff, for a time. I'm glad I stuck with it through to the end, the above was more than enough to hook me no matter what...but damn. I wonder what it would have been like if he'd have written in when he was still using, and before his accident. Full on mad really bad person mode.

For what it's worth, I actually did like the actual finale, and parts of the final book - for example, Mordred is a great villain, the stuff with Patrick Danville (being a big fan of Insomnia helps) ties in nicely, and some of the Roland at the Tower stuff represents a nice resolution after all those books. 

The film version is pretty poor though. Hopefully the new adaptation is better. I'd love them to follow the story as per the Marvel comic adaptation, rather than the books. It flows perfectly. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

3 hours ago, useless said:

I've never read a Stephen King book but he deserves some credit for his contribution towards entertainment. I recently watched Stand By Me and The Shining both based on his stories, and I thought they were both very good. Maybe I'll give one of his classics a try.

What have you been doing all your life?!

[sharkyvilla]

11/22/63 is my favourite Stephen King book of the ones I've read, it gives an interesting twist to the Kennedy assassination. I read It and it was just too long and bonkers imo.

[Rodders]

On 12/09/2019 at 21:43, Michelsen said:

Wrong choice of first Hemingway novel. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, once I finally got around to reading it. I first discovered Hemingway at 20, and absolutely sprinted through A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea, moving on to FWTBT expecting to keep the same pace going. I too found the language odd at first, and very rough reading. Never finished it until last year, when I breezed through the whole thing in two days, being more prepared for the rather archaic tone. It’s a great book, but not where I’d start with Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms is more accessible, and his short story bibliography is just amazing. 

Fortunately, I persevered - after an enforced break. By the end I was utterly captivated and found it really impressive. Still found it weird reading "obscenity in thy milk" etc, obscenity this etc. I wish he could have done an uncensored version, it just seems so bizarre, but I really enjoyed it - definitely will be looking forward to reading more. 

Will have many of those descriptions firmly in my mind when I carry on reading the Beevor non fiction book of the war. 

[useless]

According to a Sky Arts survey these are the top twenty books that people lie about having read...

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Path
Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari
The Tipping Point - Malcom Gladwell
Ulysses - James Joyce
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Odyssey - Homer
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Pride and Predjudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Bible

Not sure why people would want to lie about which books they've read... But of those I've 'read' 1984, Crime and Punishment, Lolita, Ulysses, and The Bell Jar.

Edited October 7, 2019 by useless

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, useless said:

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand - HELL, NO
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Path - NO
Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari - NO
The Tipping Point - Malcom Gladwell - NO
Ulysses - James Joyce - YES
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - YES
The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway - YES
The Odyssey - Homer - YES
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky - NO
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking - NO
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain - YES
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson - YES
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - YES
Moby Dick - Herman Melville - YES
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - NO
Pride and Predjudice - Jane Austen - NO
1984 - George Orwell - YES 
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare - YES 
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - NO
The Bible - NO

 

[Rodders]

only read a few but meant to read more. I got halfway through Crime and Punishment many years ago and then lost the book  and momentum. I have a new copy and also an unread copy of Ulysses for some point in the future. There's an irritation with the idea of must-reads that I know I fall prey to myself but also acknowledge is ridiculous.

I am currently finding when I am browsing books I keep browsing the older books, the le carre's i've yet to read etc and ignored the new releases. The talk about the film adaptation has reminded me I'd like to read The Goldfinch but I haven't the faintest idea who good contemporary authors are these days. 

Yesterday I just picked up The Man In The High Castle. Never read Philip Dick before, but the whim seemed to take my fancy this time. 

Also have Adam Kay's "This Is Going to Hurt" his diaries about life as a junior doctor as the easy read to flick through option and it is both hilarious and enraging at the same time. 

[saturdaygig]

13 minutes ago, Rodders said:

Yesterday I just picked up The Man In The High Castle. Never read Philip Dick before, but the whim seemed to take my fancy this time.

I think he has real value, for a writer branded as sci-fi. Also wrote the book that Blade Runner was (very loosely) based on. I liked High Castle, and you'll soon know if it's for you if you read a chapter or two. It's not even that long if I remember correctly, although my copy is mysteriously missing from the shelf.

[sharkyvilla]

I finished Robert Harris's latest novel today.  I've always been a fan of his books albeit the last few have been hit or miss, but this one about a fifth of the way through I though wow, I wasnt expecting that.  But then the end felt a bit flat considering the plot twist early on.  I guess it goes against the grain to have the twist that early on, they normally save it for the climax at the end.

[saturdaygig]

8 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said:

I finished Robert Harris's latest novel today.  I've always been a fan of his books albeit the last few have been hit or miss, but this one about a fifth of the way through I though wow, I wasnt expecting that.  But then the end felt a bit flat considering the plot twist early on.  I guess it goes against the grain to have the twist that early on, they normally save it for the climax at the end.

Everything he does is entirely deliberate. He works the whole plot out on cue cards on his snooker table, before he writes a word. If the twist is in the middle, it's because that's where he put it. Nick Hornby's brother in law, did you know?

And I just noticed who your avatar is.