Books The BOOK thread

R.Nilsson7 said:
I went to the library and got these books the other day

Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
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I hated this book. I couldn't get my head around it and the story itself to me was pants. I think it was about Colombia's history but it was just a bit off the wall for my tastes oh and everyone has the same bloody name :)
 
Marquez's novel always pops up on a lot of 'best ever' lists.

I could never understand the popularity of it to be honest.
 
I read this weekend:

Brave New World and I was extremely dissapointing with it. The idea of it was good but that's it. Good books not only make you read it but also make you live the story. And unfortunately Brave New World doesn't do that (at-least to me). All those comparisions with 1984, but 1984 in my opinion is many times better than it. So after I finished it, dissapointed I jumped into:

World War Z - a book recommended by Hectic. However my expectations about it were low, for feck sake it is a book with Zombie. But that opinion changed very early in the book. This is my first Zombie book I've read and it is with many short stories who make a larger picture. I head read about half of it until now, but if it continues like it, that book will become one of the best books I have ever read. Hopefully I'm going to finish it tonight or tomorrow but until now it was class.
 
brad-dyrak said:
Reading "The Black Jacobins" and am more than a little irritated. It's about the slave rebellion in Haiti, but for a non-fiction piece, the author doesn't hesitate to editorialize. Too many hyperboles as well. Just give me the facts please. Very annoying if I'm honest.
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Shame you're not enjoying it, C.L.R. James is one of the daddies of Caribbean History but I can see where you're coming from. For studying the period & when read alongside several other accounts, it's great, but without those other reference points I imagine it's a lot less worthwhile & can see how the exaggerated parts would be annoying. David Geggus and Carolyn E. Fick were the two historians I had to read most on that period, but they either tend to focus on secondary areas, or are quite difficult to get hold of (Geggus' chapter in Caribbean Slave Society and Economy: A Student Reader was the bible). If this hasn't killed your interest in the period, I'd really recommend Laurent Dubois' Avengers of the New World which is a more straight account of the period, even quite critical of Toussaint-Louverture in places.

A few links which might be of use: the Louverture project which has things like a translation of the Haitian Constitution of 1801 sent to Napoleon; and while it probably isn't a lot of use for this topic, The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record, is a fantastic database of images which includes a few imagined portraits of Toussaint-Louverture.

R.Nilsson7 said:
Great posts, LITA!
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Cheers amigo.

Could never get into magical realism - I like fantasy but not the style of the mix in the books I read & in its worst parts the genre just felt like a vehicle for bad political allegory (as if they weren't good enough to standalone). OHYoS was a bit of a slog but at least enjoyable in parts.
 
LoveInTheAsylum said:
Shame you're not enjoying it, C.L.R. James is one of the daddies of Caribbean History but I can see where you're coming from. For studying the period & when read alongside several other accounts, it's great, but without those other reference points I imagine it's a lot less worthwhile & can see how the exaggerated parts would be annoying. David Geggus and Carolyn E. Fick were the two historians I had to read most on that period, but they either tend to focus on secondary areas, or are quite difficult to get hold of (Geggus' chapter in Caribbean Slave Society and Economy: A Student Reader was the bible). If this hasn't killed your interest in the period, I'd really recommend Laurent Dubois' Avengers of the New World which is a more straight account of the period, even quite critical of Toussaint-Louverture in places.

A few links which might be of use: the Louverture project which has things like a translation of the Haitian Constitution of 1801 sent to Napoleon; and while it probably isn't a lot of use for this topic, The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record, is a fantastic database of images which includes a few imagined portraits of Toussaint-Louverture.
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Hey, thanks much LITA! I'm wrapping up "The Black Jacobins" now, and it's been a great read once I got used to tuning out his inner Trotsky. It's obvious that with the subject matter your man certainly knows his onions and it's not that I feel he's exaggerating really. It's just a bit jarring to be absorbing all that crucial history only to have him sliding in his revolutionary sound bytes which he states with such certainty. In his defense, back in the day, that was certainly still exciting talk and given the state of affairs at the time, very relevant. It's just that now, it sounds rather played out and forced, especially against the momentous backdrop of the slave rebellion which is what I came to read about.

Thanks for the links and recommendations. I've got a shelf of slavery related literature, and I actually bought "The Black Jacobins" from a mention in one of my John Brown books. Up next... "Slavery: A World History" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0306805367/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
 
SteveJ said:
The author Colin Wilson considers We to be better than any other 'Utopian' fiction. Wilson's book The Strength to Dream: Literature and the Imagination is especially good on Russian writers & their works.
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yeah, I should try "We" again really. For a short book it seemed to make me work pretty hard, though I still found it very interesting. It read a lot like a clunky translation of a book written by a mathematician, about an ill described and abstract world, which it pretty much is.
 
2Bullish said:
Superb book. I would highly recommend it. Obviously not to the two Ihni binni dimi diniwiny anitaime above. Also read Love in the time of cholera. Same author.
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Acceptance of an opinion flail.......
 
I just read the Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson and really enjoyed it. Great short read for a plane journey and very interesting.

I'm currently rereading The Van by Roddy Doyle and it's hilarious. Thought I would give it a go to get into the right frame of mind for the Euros.
 
I finally started "A song of ice and fire" franchise. "A game of thrones" looks fantastic, and IMO better than the TV show. Still I am in it's very beginning but I am pretty sure that I am going to enjoy those thousands of page reading.
 
Nearly finished reading Les Mis just over a month after starting it. Surprised at how quickly I've flown through a lot of it but it really is a brilliant book.
 
"A game of thrones" has ended. "A clash of kings" is going to start tomorrow.

Definitely one of the best books I have ever read.
 
I'm trying to remember the name of an author. His first (? maybe) book was about an author going back to his home town a decade (ish) after leaving. He isn't liked at home because his book was a thinly disguised satire of his home town with the real people easily identified. He may have been going home because his parents died (or I may be imagining this). Not very much to go on I know but I really enjoyed it and I want to try some more of his books.

Any ideas caftards?
 
peterstorey said:
I always find them insubstantial fluff with nothing to them.
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De Selby said:
Marquez's novel always pops up on a lot of 'best ever' lists.

I could never understand the popularity of it to be honest.
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Stick said:
I hated this book. I couldn't get my head around it and the story itself to me was pants. I think it was about Colombia's history but it was just a bit off the wall for my tastes oh and everyone has the same bloody name :)
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I agree. Pretentious arty guff. Complete and utter bollocks dressed up as literature.
 
Wibble said:
I agree. Pretentious arty guff. Complete and utter bollocks dressed up as literature.
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Yeah, magical realism just ain't the real (or magical) mcCoy; it's a literary cheat equivalent to a blackjack dealer nominating wild cards post facto.

Wibble said:
I'm trying to remember the name of an author. His first (? maybe) book was about an author going back to his home town a decade (ish) after leaving. He isn't liked at home because his book was a thinly disguised satire of his home town with the real people easily identified. He may have been going home because his parents died (or I may be imagining this). Not very much to go on I know but I really enjoyed it and I want to try some more of his books.
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....reads like a review I once read on Amazon of Jonathan Tropper's The Book Of Joe. I ceased and desisted at the Nick Horny comparison.
 
Finished China Mieville's - The City and the City. Fortunately, I have read some of his previous work and went into it with an inkling of what to expect. This is fantastic world building and without spoiling too much - there are two neighboring rival cities divided by language, culture, ethnicity and weirdly enough by the strangest border in fiction protected by a mysterious organization. I'm not going to give more to avoid spoiling it, but at the heart of the story is a murder investigation that leads the investigator and the protagonist to uncover larger mysteries and conspiracies between the 2 cities. An existentialist masterpiece !
 
My new book The Portrait of Alatiel Salazar is published this Sunday, June 17th. To celebrate the release, Immortal Ink Publishing is giving away 50 free ebooks to those who download within 24 hours of publication - here's the process, for interested Caf members:

* Email me via sjensen65ATgmail.com.
* I pass-on your email to the publisher.
* The company then mails you with an Amazon 'Gift' code, allowing you to download the ebook (for Kindle or the equivalent Kindle app Amazon provides) completely free of charge.


The+Portrait+of+Alatiel+Salazar+2.png


Premise: When Gabriel Holland’s beloved Helena vanishes from his life, he journeys to the home of disgraced artist Cristian Salazar, the man he holds responsible for her disappearance and the death of several friends. Once in the town of Carliton, Gabriel finds only malice and mystery in the tales told by the few brave enough to speak ill of Salazar and the sinister Cousin Beatriz. And within shadows, in the guise of night, walks Alatiel, the creature Helena has become…
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More details can be found at my website.


Thanks to Geebs for permission to post this. :)
 
Congrats, Steve.

Hope it sells a bucket load.

Edit: are you allowed to stick your post in the mains? More people will see it.
 
Hello, mate, and thanks very much for your kind words. :)

Ps I wouldn't post in the Mains without permission, as I was fortunate enough to get Geebs' ok just to post on this board.

BTW It's not really necessary for Caf members to email me; a simple PM will do fine. :)
 
SteveJ said:
My new book The Portrait of Alatiel Salazar is published this Sunday, June 17th. To celebrate the release, Immortal Ink Publishing is giving away 50 free ebooks to those who download within 24 hours of publication - here's the process, for interested Caf members:

* Email me via sjensen65ATgmail.com or PM me here.
* I pass-on your email to the publisher.
* The company then mails you with an Amazon 'Gift' code, allowing you to download the ebook (for Kindle or the equivalent Kindle app Amazon provides) completely free of charge.


The+Portrait+of+Alatiel+Salazar+2.png


Premise: 'When Gabriel Holland’s beloved Helena vanishes from his life, he journeys to the home of disgraced artist Cristian Salazar, the man he holds responsible for her disappearance and the death of several friends. Once in the town of Carliton, Gabriel finds only malice and mystery in the tales told by the few brave enough to speak ill of Salazar and the sinister Cousin Beatriz. And within shadows, in the guise of night, walks Alatiel, the creature Helena has become…'


More details can be found at my website:
http://stevenkatriel.wordpress.com/


Thanks to Geebs for permission to post this.
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Bump. :)
 
Congratulations on it being published (I realise that's like patting you on head & sycophantically congratulating you on being you, but it's a cool thing). Best of luck with it.
 
The_Red_Hope said:
Finished China Mieville's - The City and the City. Fortunately, I have read some of his previous work and went into it with an inkling of what to expect. This is fantastic world building and without spoiling too much - there are two neighboring rival cities divided by language, culture, ethnicity and weirdly enough by the strangest border in fiction protected by a mysterious organization. I'm not going to give more to avoid spoiling it, but at the heart of the story is a murder investigation that leads the investigator and the protagonist to uncover larger mysteries and conspiracies between the 2 cities. An existentialist masterpiece !
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Excellent novel. Have you read Perdido Street Station, The Scar and/or The Iron Council?

I have his new one, Railsea, sitting beside me waiting to be read. I've heard good things about it.
 
De Selby said:
Excellent novel. Have you read Perdido Street Station, The Scar and/or The Iron Council?

I have his new one, Railsea, sitting beside me waiting to be read. I've heard good things about it.
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I've only read Perdido Street Station before this. I enjoyed it for the most part but was let down with the conclusion. He really is excellent at world-building but his characters need a bit more fleshing out.
 
I just read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I got a loan of it for a long train journey and it was really good. Kind of reminded me of The Others.
 
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