Books The BOOK thread

[Jippy]

I've read four Krasnahorkai now, the two you mentioned and also War & War and Seiobo There Below and I'd say that Satantango might be my least favorite (though still a powerful novel). I can't really decide on a favorite now as each is very different but just drips with that Krasznahorkai flavor. Seiobo There Below might be the easiest to read in chunks as its essentially a collection of short stories that are united by its unique theme of embodying the Fibonacci sequence thematically from one story to the next: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21...War & War would be the easiest to power through start to finish as it's his shortest novel and probably the most linear narrative focusing mostly on just a single protagonist. I think Melancholy is still my favorite but that might be because it broke my Krasznahorkai virginity

If I was to suggest as reading order now, it would probably be
1. War
2. Melancholy
3. Seiobo
4. Satantango
5. Baron Wenkheim's Homecoming (which I just began but paused because I have so many books on my to-read list)

Did you ever check out the URL at the end of War and War btw?

https://warandwar.com

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Did you ever check out the URL at the end of War and War btw?

https://warandwar.com

Yes! That was awesome. I even shared it with others that hadn't read the book (most of them wouldn't have read anyway).

 

[Jippy]

Yes! That was awesome. I even shared it with others that hadn't read the book (most of them wouldn't have read anyway).

Yeah I was showing the missus. Made me weirdly happy that they'd actually bothered to do that!

 

[Igor Drefljak]

So today I completed the Harry Potter series.
It took me 5 months or so with some breaks in between.

My first books I've ever actually read outside school.
I feel I fit in perfectly well with this thread now.

Dune is next on my list

 

[celia]

So today I completed the Harry Potter series.
It took me 5 months or so with some breaks in between.

My first books I've ever actually read outside school.
I feel I fit in perfectly well with this thread now.

Dune is next on my list

You may also appreciate the Fantasy Thread.

-

I started Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and I dislike it. It seems more nonsense than anything and I am not a nonsense reader/watcher. A variation of strange rooms with statues. I am more tempted to quit but since it is a short book and there are dithyrambic reviews on Goodreads, I will try to read at least 3 parts.

 

[esmufc07]

So today I completed the Harry Potter series.
It took me 5 months or so with some breaks in between.

My first books I've ever actually read outside school.
I feel I fit in perfectly well with this thread now.

Dune is next on my list

I read them a couple of summers ago. The last book really pissed me off.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

I read them a couple of summers ago. The last book really pissed me off.

What pissed you off out of curiosity?

I think the most enjoyable for me was probably Azkaban.
Chamber of Secrets was a bit boring but I think it's cause the film itself wasn't as enjoyable as the rest.
Order of the Phoenix pissed me off because of the sheer size of it and they made the text smaller from that point onwards

 

[esmufc07]

What pissed you off out of curiosity?

I think the most enjoyable for me was probably Azkaban.
Chamber of Secrets was a bit boring but I think it's cause the film itself wasn't as enjoyable as the rest.
Order of the Phoenix pissed me off because of the sheer size of it and they made the text smaller from that point onwards

Spoiler

- The fact most of the book was all of them sat in a field
- The Battle of Hogwarts was shit and a few important characters just killed with no explanation
-The way Harry killed Voldemort by pretending to be dead
-The ending were they all met up again and lived happily ever after

It just wasn't a very enjoyable book I found. I liked Prisoner of Azkaban too, that was probably my favourite, though I did enjoy Goblet of Fire aswell.

 

[R.N7]

Read my first book in ages, Patrick Modiano's Missing Person. Really enjoyed it, a ghostly noir story. Gonna check out more of his work.

 

[esmufc07]

Picked up William Dalrymple's The Anarchy today, about the rise of the East India Company. One you may enjoy @2cents

 

[2cents]

Picked up William Dalrymple's The Anarchy today, about the rise of the East India Company. One you may enjoy @2cents

You should enjoy that one, he’s a great writer. I recommend all his earlier travel books, especially City of Djinns and From the Holy Mountain.

 

[esmufc07]

You should enjoy that one, he’s a great writer. I recommend all his earlier travel books, especially City of Djinns and From the Holy Mountain.

Will have a look, thanks!

 

[Loon]

Picked up William Dalrymple's The Anarchy today, about the rise of the East India Company. One you may enjoy @2cents

Thanks for this. I've just Amazon'd it.

 

[SirAF]

Listening to the audiobook of Konbini by Sayaka Murata - love it! Highly recommended for those with an interest in Japanese culture and society.

 

[2cents]

Currently struggling through Christopher Tyerman’s massive 950 page history of the Crusades, God’s War. Feck me I’ve never read such a detailed account of the Middle Ages, currently 300 pages in and the Second Crusade is about to kick off.

 

[Loon]

Just bought Oliver Stone's autobiography. Should be mad fun.

 

[Jippy]

Oof, just finished The Waves by Virginia Woolf.

Woolf said it had 'a rhythm, not a plot' and I found it heavy going tbh. Shame cos I liked Mrs Dalloway and I've got Orlando still to read on the shelf.

 

[R.N7]

Was searching through the thread for recs and...

You have no literary sensibility whatsoever and are politically an idiot.

I think Murakami is really shit. Literature for wannabe cool cnuts who don't really read books

It's shit like Murakami - you're better off having a quiet wank.

Read Heart of Darkness - its nearly better than proper sex.

Conrad was a Pole. Marquez is another useless cnut with his bollocky unmagical realism.

You'd get more philosophical insight from the average mechanic than that humourless prick.

I'd say the book's pretty shit and the film's more or less unwatchable.

Catcher is shite warmed up, not a perceptive bone in the turd.

I miss pete...would have liked to have gotten his take on Modiano.

 

[2cents]

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

In honor of the Nobel Prize being awarded this week, I read Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and loved it. Really amazing writer and amazing work.

 

[Nickosaur]

In honor of the Nobel Prize being awarded this week, I read Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and loved it. Really amazing writer and amazing work.

This is on my list too. I read Flights earlier on in the year and really enjoyed it.

I just finished Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor and it was absolutely, relentlessly brutal. But an excellent book. Now reading The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo K. Takes a bit of time to adjust to his style but enjoying it so far.

 

[Jippy]

This is on my list too. I read Flights earlier on in the year and really enjoyed it.

I just finished Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor and it was absolutely, relentlessly brutal. But an excellent book. Now reading The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo K. Takes a bit of time to adjust to his style but enjoying it so far.

The Guardian review mentions paragraphs up to 64 pages long- is it Laszlo K-esque?
Just finishing The Handmaid's Tale. Lots of nice short, clipped sentences!

 

[K Stand Knut]

The Guardian review mentions paragraphs up to 64 pages long- is it Laszlo K-esque?
Just finishing The Handmaid's Tale. Lots of nice short, clipped sentences!

I am halfway through Handmaid’s Tale and think it is terrible.

Admittedly I only read it because I was out if books but my missus raved about.

 

[Jippy]

I am halfway through Handmaid’s Tale and think it is terrible.

Admittedly I only read it because I was out if books but my missus raved about.

Really? I got the sequel yesterday cos I've found it really compelling. From the whole idea, to the way she builds up the world they're in is done excellently.
The most jarring thing for me has been the fact this is all supposed to have taken place in just three years.

 

[K Stand Knut]

Really? I got the sequel yesterday cos I've found it really compelling. From the whole idea, to the way she builds up the world they're in is done excellently.
The most jarring thing for me has been the fact this is all supposed to have taken place in just three years.

i’m not surprised by your response.

I don’t think I’m really reading it and just not getting in to it

 

[Nickosaur]

The Guardian review mentions paragraphs up to 64 pages long- is it Laszlo K-esque?
Just finishing The Handmaid's Tale. Lots of nice short, clipped sentences!

Yeah in a sense, but I find the sentence structure is a little easier to follow than Laszlo K. It's closer to Roberto Bolano's prose I'd say.

 

[Jippy]

Yeah in a sense, but I find the sentence structure is a little easier to follow than Laszlo K. It's closer to Roberto Bolano's prose I'd say.

I'll check him out, cheers. Sounds an interesting character.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

I'll check him out, cheers. Sounds an interesting character.

2666 is amazing. One of my all-time favorite novels.

On a side note, and yes I'm biased, but I just can't get into a poet winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. I know some people love poetry but I just can't get into it at all.

 

[Jippy]

2666 is amazing. One of my all-time favorite novels.

On a side note, and yes I'm biased, but I just can't get into a poet winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. I know some people love poetry but I just can't get into it at all.

2066 is huge, even longer than Brothers Karamazov and Bleak House which await me on my shelf. Puts me off slightly.

Have you read anything by Suyaka Murata? The interview with her in the Guardian yesterday makes me want to try one out.
Agree on poetry. I had an ex who loved it and it's something I'll never get.

 

[Nickosaur]

2066 is huge, even longer than Brothers Karamazov and Bleak House which await me on my shelf. Puts me off slightly.

Have you read anything by Suraka Murata? The interview with her in the Guardian yesterday makes me want to try one out.
Agree on poetry. I had an ex who loved it and it's something I'll never get.

Start off with the Savage Detectives. A chunky book but not as huge as 2666. Or some of Bolano's short story collections - Last Evenings on Earth is brilliant.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

2066 is huge, even longer than Brothers Karamazov and Bleak House which await me on my shelf. Puts me off slightly.

Have you read anything by Suyaka Murata? The interview with her in the Guardian yesterday makes me want to try one out.
Agree on poetry. I had an ex who loved it and it's something I'll never get.

If it makes it easier, 2666 is divided into 5 parts with different protagonists and while the entire novel is united as a novel, you could absolutely read the 5 sections in pieces and mix in other books in between. After one of the parts, you definitely might want to do that. The first part is easier to get into. The 5th part is simply amazing, some of the best writing I've read. One of the middle parts is difficult however.

I haven't read Murata but I just Goolged her and now you have me thinking of trying her this week. I'm about to finish a book today and I was deciding which direction to go and your recommendation has me intrigued.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Start off with the Savage Detectives. A chunky book but not as huge as 2666. Or some of Bolano's short story collections - Last Evenings on Earth is brilliant.

While it's shorter, I actually found Savage Detectives harder to get into and its still 600 pages!

 

[Jippy]

If it makes it easier, 2666 is divided into 5 parts with different protagonists and while the entire novel is united as a novel, you could absolutely read the 5 sections in pieces and mix in other books in between. After one of the parts, you definitely might want to do that. The first part is easier to get into. The 5th part is simply amazing, some of the best writing I've read. One of the middle parts is difficult however.

I haven't read Murata but I just Goolged her and now you have me thinking of trying her this week. I'm about to finish a book today and I was deciding which direction to go and your recommendation has me intrigued.

Actually that does sound less daunting if the books are quite distinct and I can mix in the odd other book to break it up. I have a mental block about opportunity cost if I read a super-long book, ie I could have read two or three others in the meantime.

Give us a review if you do go for the Murata.

@Nickosaur will have a look at Last Evenings on Earth, thanks.

 

[Vidyoyo]

Bolano has a ton of short novels, like 100-200 words, you could try first. I'd recommend Amulet myself (150p).

Personally I started with 2666 and it's exceptional but I wouldn't dive into it first unless you're really motivated.

Loved the part with all the dead hookers though. It's a really sweet and uplifting 300 pages.

Also, if you've seen Sicario then you might be interested to know both it and 2666 are set in Ciudad Juarez.

 

[Shane88]

Trying to get back into reading. Any recommendations for sci-fi books?

 

[Invictus]

Trying to get back into reading. Any recommendations for sci-fi books?

Maybe give this a go if you don't mind a slightly heavier emphasis on the sci part...

Wee bit dated by now and doesn't offer much in the way of plot development or characterization, but still a remarkable compendium of exploratory short stories!

 

[celia]

Trying to get back into reading. Any recommendations for sci-fi books?

Relatively recent ones? Older ones?

I like the Interdependency series by John Scalzi, it is a fun space-opera. I actually prefer his Lock In series that is a kind of investigation in a not that far away Earth when a group of people was affected by an illness. Unlocked the novella that happened before the first novel can be read free on the Tor website. Unlocked gives a deeper understanding of the background but you can still skip it since it is mostly a kind of documentary. I like it but I don't mind sometimes reading long newspaper articles.

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells is a recent funny series of novellas (the 5th one is a novel) centered on a droid.

 

[Shane88]

Recent, I suppose.

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

 

[Suv666]

Currently struggling through Christopher Tyerman’s massive 950 page history of the Crusades, God’s War. Feck me I’ve never read such a detailed account of the Middle Ages, currently 300 pages in and the Second Crusade is about to kick off.

Crusades is a part of history I'd like to know more about. Cant seem to find any decent books on it, was about to order the one by Karen Armstrong but the reviews on Goodreads seems to suggest its a mediocre read. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[2cents]

Crusades is a part of history I'd like to know more about. Cant seem to find any decent books on it, was about to order the one by Karen Armstrong but the reviews on Goodreads seems to suggest its a mediocre read. Do you have any suggestions?

I’m actually really enjoying this Christopher Tyerman book right now, but obviously 950 pages is a big commitment.

I’d look for titles by Jonathan Riley-Smith and Jonathan Phillips, they are the two Crusades historians I’m most familiar with, and they’ve published a lot. I read A Concise History of the Crusades by Thomas Madden ages ago, but it was quite shallow.

There’s also famous book called The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf, but I’m not sure how reliable it is (Maalouf is not a historian).

The absolute classic work on the Crusades is the three-volume edition by Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades. This work has probably been the most influential in shaping how the Crusades are popularly viewed today, but it’s quite dated now and most Crusades historians have moved passed it.

I’d agree Armstrong is best avoided.