Designer1 Posted April 26, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted April 26, 2021 On 19/01/2021 at 22:22, sidcow said: I'm currently reading The Institute by Stephen King. It's a page turner alright. Finished this yesterday. Thought it was excellent and the best thing he's written for a while. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted April 26, 2021 Share Posted April 26, 2021 3 hours ago, Designer1 said: Finished this yesterday. Thought it was excellent and the best thing he's written for a while. Usual SK style horror? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted April 26, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted April 26, 2021 1 hour ago, ender4 said: Usual SK style horror? Is there such a thing as USUAL Stephen King horror? I see him more as a psychological thriller type of writer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 26, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted April 26, 2021 1 hour ago, ender4 said: Usual SK style horror? There's elements of a few of his works in this one. The biggest thing for me was he kept the story reasonably tight and straightforward yet utterly compelling and entertaining. Not gonna lie, it 'got me in the feels' on more than one occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 I read Death in Venice by Thomas Mann. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted May 9, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted May 9, 2021 Been meaning to read this for years, finally got around to it. It's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 Also read Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, quite liked it, but think I'd probably have to read it again to appreciate it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 (edited) After 6 or 7 weeks, finally got through Ulysses. if it hadn't have been been for the Pandemic I'd have binned it 3 chapters in. Needed an online guide to survive all the way until the end. Large parts of it were such a joyless slog through impenetrable showings off and references that passed me by, yet by the end I still feel glad to have got through it. Will need to re-read at some point when I don't need to pause every 30 blinking seconds to look something up, but I need to actually enjoy reading intelligible books for a while before I throw myself back down that hellscape of a novel. In it's defence it prompted me to read Shakespeare. Something I've obviously never done since school, so voluntarily reading Hamlet - ( and A Comedy of Errors so far ) has been satisfying. I didn't realise quite how many of the quotes come from Hamlet alone Edited May 19, 2021 by Rodders 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Ulysses is one of those books that I own a copy of, but will probably never read. I bought it about 15 years ago and never even started it. The more I read about it, the less I want to read it. Please, someone convince me otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 33 minutes ago, El Zen said: Ulysses is one of those books that I own a copy of, but will probably never read. I bought it about 15 years ago and never even started it. The more I read about it, the less I want to read it. Please, someone convince me otherwise. Dunno if I can, given my experience, but I suspect it rewards you if you're prepared to put loads of work in. I really enjoyed The Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man so I was pre-disposed to wanting to enjoy it. And even then it tested me quite severely as I noted above, but I am not a big 'eng-lit' analysis fan, I like my books generally fairly straightforward, ( I don't mean just generictrash, there are plenty of intelligent works that are happily conventional in style ) so this was outside my comfort zone. There is plenty of formal experimentation that did my head in, but if that's your bag you might get more out of that element of the novel. My most positive impression is that it is impressive how full a picture of Dublin the place it gives you and the absolute warts and all characterisation of Bloom, very much someone you come to know foibles and quirks and all possibly even more than you know yourself. He is an odd fish, mind. The capacity to be both intimate and grand in scale is very impressive. There are turns of phrase and words that do capture the spirit of little moments quite cleverly. But it is taxing on the patience. I think wanting to read it is crucial if you're to get through it though, if you feel a general sense of 'needing to' then don't bother. One of the most popular reviews on goodreads is simply 'Life is too short to read Ulysses'. Which is probably true A bit like learning an instrument if you don't enjoy the practice it's just not going to get you anywhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 I have started reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville, which I like a lot so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 28, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 28, 2021 14 minutes ago, useless said: I have started reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville, which I like a lot so far. Fantastic book. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenjiOgiwara Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Opinions on capital by thomas piketty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Also read a short play, No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, I don't really know anything about Sartre or his philosophies, I but enjoyed it, it's about three people who go to hell expecting torture decives, hellfire and that kind of stuff but slowly realize that 'hell is other people', reminded me of 'The Good Place' which I'm guessing it must have been an influence on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 My fvourite authors are Stephen Leather and Antony Beevor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 first time I've binned a book off in a few years: David Mitchell's A Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'. Really disappointed with it. I've liked Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas by the same author, but this one was SO dull and unengaging, after 200 pages I was still not even halfway and time is too precious to waste forcing myself to get through that. It's been a fallow year book wise, read plenty of solid 'good' books this year, but nothing yet that has captivated me for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted July 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2021 On 30/06/2021 at 14:43, PussEKatt said: My fvourite authors are Stephen Leather and Antony Beevor. I find Beevor's a bit lightweight if I'm honest. He's fine for an overview. Even more appropriate considering the following post is about (a different) David Mitchell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Rodders said: first time I've binned a book off in a few years: David Mitchell's A Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'. Really disappointed with it. I've liked Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas by the same author, but this one was SO dull and unengaging, after 200 pages I was still not even halfway and time is too precious to waste forcing myself to get through that. Not read that one, but see my review of 'Utopia Avenue' earlier in this thread. Terrible book, by a once brilliant author. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 23 hours ago, mjmooney said: Not read that one, but see my review of 'Utopia Avenue' earlier in this thread. Terrible book, by a once brilliant author. Hmm, I'll be staying clear of that one then. Still, I've not read his first couple of books so will happily try those at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 13, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted July 13, 2021 40 minutes ago, Rodders said: Hmm, I'll be staying clear of that one then. Still, I've not read his first couple of books so will happily try those at some point. Dunno, you might enjoy UA, it got pretty good reviews. It's just that I'm a 60s music geek, and the countless* errors and anachronisms pissed me off. * I say 'countless'. Actually 48. I counted them. Told you I was a geek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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