Books The BOOK thread

I've come to an appreciation of Shakespeare's genius indirectly, by reading commentary on his plays (or adapted versions) rather than the works themselves. For example, David Thomson's enigmatic Orson Welles biography (titled Rosebud) brilliantly discusses the director's films of Macbeth and Othello, showing how very modern & psychologically fascinating Shakespeare's plays seem when in the hands of an understanding interpreter.

BTW, I really recommend this highly interesting and controversial book (it's hated by many Welles admirers); in fact, I paid dubious homage to it in a very pretentious, admiring and, quite frankly, terrible way in my early years as a would-be writer. Cue the italics fest ~

http://www.kissthewitch.co.uk/seinundwerden/3_4/page14.html

PS The biography is only a penny, secondhand, on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosebud-Sto...e=UTF8&qid=1446642347&sr=1-4&keywords=rosebud
 
Pexbo said:
Anyone read the Girl in the Spider's Web yet?
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Yeah. It was ok, nothing more nothing less.

The guy who wrote it is a better writer than Larson - everything seems a bit tighter - but he doesn't quite nail the story.

If you are a fan of the characters though, it is worth reading.
 
No reviews (most likely not the first to mention those) but if you like "classics" who will force you to some contemplation I'll recommend Thoreaus "Walden", Austers "New York Triology" and Kafkas "The Trial".

Anyone with a recommendation of a must read "classic" in the same span as those listed above? I like em quite messy tbh.
 
Finished Fuzzy Nation by Scalzi. Really amusing lines, great book though at the same time the characters seem a bit caricatural or more exactly just living for their roles, not really alive.

Finished When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro. I didn't like it much because I found too weird that the narrator was a detective and that he believed some childish things... I was more beginning to think he was a bit insane.

Finished Still Alice by Lisa Genova. About a woman that has an early form Alzheimer. I feel like it was more informative than emotional.

I have started Dawn by Octavia E. Butler mostly because I have noticed Fuzzy Nation was only my tenth SF book of the year.
 
Pexbo said:
Anyone read the Girl in the Spider's Web yet?
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Decent, the author is the same guy did the I Am Zlatan book interestingly enough.

He really nailed the characters for me but the plot just felt a little half baked, gets going in the second half and there's clever use of Lisbeth's past (can't say much more without giving it away).

7/10
 
I've just finished Annihilation, the first of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy. Was creepy as all hell and I think brilliantly written. Reading it in the dark (on a Kindle) is recommended if you want to scare the sh*t out of yourself.

I've heard some people say it's like Lost in that provides lots of supernatural mysteries, but supposedly is resolved in a much better way.

Pretty short and could easily be read in a sitting. Would definitely recommend, and I'm looking forward to delving into the other two books which are a little longer.
 
Just finished Sleepwalkers by Chris Clark. One of the best books I've ever read. An enthralling read from the first page right to the last. The book is basically about how utterly stupid human beings are in so many ways. Clark eloquently explains how the powers to be unwittingly lead Europe in a nightmarish war nobody actually wanted, as well giving a great insight in how politics and diplomatic relations work.
 
Wythenshawe said:
No reviews (most likely not the first to mention those) but if you like "classics" who will force you to some contemplation I'll recommend Thoreaus "Walden", Austers "New York Triology" and Kafkas "The Trial".

Anyone with a recommendation of a must read "classic" in the same span as those listed above? I like em quite messy tbh.
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Emersons self reliance, whitmans leaves of grass, Hesses glass bead game, manns death in venice
 
Tristram Shandy. Read it and then burn it. Great and terrible at the same time.
 
Spent most of this month reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I was confused a lot of the time but it contained beautiful passages throughout.

Now reading Hiroshima by John Hersey. Pretty harrowing read...
 
So just finished War & Peace. Took me 4 months.

It is a marathon. And the last 30 pages or so were like running through treacle. Only without leaving you with the desire to lick yourself. (This is because the actual "story" part of the book finishes and then there is a last section where Tolstoy gets quite philosophical and rambles on about the nature of history and free will.)

Its a rewarding enough book but I couldnt ever recommend it to anyone, its just too long and the payoff isnt sufficient, IMO, to justify the investment needed. Your point @Mciahel Goodman about the Russian names was spot on as well. I felt it picked up around half way through - that is to say, around page 700, and that was also when I felt I had a full handle on who everyone was and their relationships with each other (it really doesnt help, either, that it tended to refer to people by their surnames in a military context, but by a first name in a civilian context.

Itll be a while before I feel brave enough to pick up another long book I think.
 
Adebesi said:
So just finished War & Peace. Took me 4 months.

It is a marathon. And the last 30 pages or so were like running through treacle. Only without leaving you with the desire to lick yourself. (This is because the actual "story" part of the book finishes and then there is a last section where Tolstoy gets quite philosophical and rambles on about the nature of history and free will.)

Its a rewarding enough book but I couldnt ever recommend it to anyone, its just too long and the payoff isnt sufficient, IMO, to justify the investment needed. Your point @Mciahel Goodman about the Russian names was spot on as well. I felt it picked up around half way through - that is to say, around page 700, and that was also when I felt I had a full handle on who everyone was and their relationships with each other (it really doesnt help, either, that it tended to refer to people by their surnames in a military context, but by a first name in a civilian context.

Itll be a while before I feel brave enough to pick up another long book I think.
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What translation did you read?
 
Adebesi said:
So just finished War & Peace. Took me 4 months.

It is a marathon. And the last 30 pages or so were like running through treacle. Only without leaving you with the desire to lick yourself. (This is because the actual "story" part of the book finishes and then there is a last section where Tolstoy gets quite philosophical and rambles on about the nature of history and free will.)

Its a rewarding enough book but I couldnt ever recommend it to anyone, its just too long and the payoff isnt sufficient, IMO, to justify the investment needed. Your point @Mciahel Goodman about the Russian names was spot on as well. I felt it picked up around half way through - that is to say, around page 700, and that was also when I felt I had a full handle on who everyone was and their relationships with each other (it really doesnt help, either, that it tended to refer to people by their surnames in a military context, but by a first name in a civilian context.

Itll be a while before I feel brave enough to pick up another long book I think.
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Half considering reading it again. The names are just terrible though, same with Anna Karenina, or anything by Dostoevsky (though I found his books easier to read). With European novelists, it's fairly simple, but does get a bit tough with the Russians. Also, the name days, and there seemed to be hundreds of them, confused the feck out of me. Long time since I've read it.

Best part of the novel, imo, is the bit towards the end -- last 50 odd pages or so are a sort of allegory for human existence.

*My copy is a Wordsworth edition btw, not too certain on the differences.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Half considering reading it again. The names are just terrible though, same with Anna Karenina, or anything by Dostoevsky (though I found his books easier to read). With European novelists, it's fairly simple, but does get a bit tough with the Russians. Also, the name days, and there seemed to be hundreds of them, confused the feck out of me. Long time since I've read it.

Best part of the novel, imo, is the bit towards the end -- last 50 odd pages or so are a sort of allegory for human existence.

*My copy is a Wordsworth edition btw, not too certain on the differences.
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When you say the bit towards the end do you mean the bit after the story itself ends when its talking about the nature of free will and how historians overestimate the importance of leaders like Napoleon?

There was a fair bit of that sprinkled in throughout the book which I thought was good, but at the end it went on a bit about it a bit too long and was quite repetitive I thought.

I cant really say which was my favourite bit. I thought the second half was better than the first but that might have been I was following it better. The big battle outside Moscow, the taking of Moscow by the French and then the retreat, that was all really good.

I heard bad things about the Wordworth edition but I dont know how seriously to take that. I heard the translation wasnt as good and it was riddled with typos. I actually have a Wordsworth edition of Crime and Punishment and am wondering whether to read that or get another copy of it. But i have time to mull that over cause Im not going near another Russian book for a while yet.
 
Adebesi said:
When you say the bit towards the end do you mean the bit after the story itself ends when its talking about the nature of free will and how historians overestimate the importance of leaders like Napoleon?
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Exactly. Can't remember how long it goes on for, but it just struck me at the time, and has stayed with me. One of the best bits of writing I've ever read. Agency versus structure sort of stuff.

Adebesi said:
I heard bad things about the Wordworth edition but I dont know how seriously to take that. I heard the translation wasnt as good and it was riddled with typos. I actually have a Wordsworth edition of Crime and Punishment and am wondering whether to read that or get another copy of it. But i have time to mull that over cause Im not going near another Russian book for a while yet.
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I guess it's a lottery. I had the same problem when looking for a decent copy of In Search of Lost Time. No one seems to agree on the best translation, nearly 100 years after its publication.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Exactly. Can't remember how long it goes on for, but it just struck me at the time, and has stayed with me. One of the best bits of writing I've ever read. Agency versus structure sort of stuff.
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That's really interesting. Just cause I found that bit really hard to read and had to force myself to actually finish it. Horses for courses I guess.
 
Adebesi said:
That's really interesting. Just cause I found that bit really hard to read and had to force myself to actually finish it. Horses for courses I guess.
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Because it comes at the end of about 1000+ pages I found it tough going as well. But was definitely the bit that resonated most with me -- that part and the sequence of the land reforms (can't remember the characters' names, but it's practically autobiographical as Tolstoy implemented similar schemes to liberate serfs).
 
1000+ pages doesnt do it justice. Its just shy of 1450 pages. Or the Penguin edition is. At 1000 pages I still had the length of an average book left to read.

But yes I can see your point. In a few years time when Ive forgotten all about the specifics of who was engaged to who or who did what in which battle, I will probably remember his scathing views about the value of historians. Not least because I studied history myself. Id be interested to hear what he thought about modern day historical analysis. After all, he was talking about "traditional" versus "modern" historical interpretations (traditional meaning everything happens because god makes it so, modern meaning everything happens because charismatic leaders make it so), but his modern was more than 150 years ago, we've seen many trends come and go since then.

Anyway, Im glad I read it. Fair play to you if you read it again, I cant see myself ever doing that.

Started The Great Gatsby last night. A mere pamphlet, it should only take a few hours to read.
 
Just finished Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy and it was brilliant. The language and dialogue is arcane but there is a kind of black poetry to it. The story feels like it's just drifting for a long time and there's a senseless to it which, ultimately, forms part of the point of the book.

The last 50 pages were brilliant and The Judge is one of the most memorable characters I think I've ever come across. Not an easy read but hugely rewarding and will stay with you for a long time afterwards.
 
Eckers99 said:
Just finished Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy and it was brilliant. The language and dialogue is arcane but there is a kind of black poetry to it. The story feels like it's just drifting for a long time and there's a senseless to it which, ultimately, forms part of the point of the book.

The last 50 pages were brilliant and The Judge is one of the most memorable characters I think I've ever come across. Not an easy read but hugely rewarding and will stay with you for a long time afterwards.
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Such a powerful book.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Half considering reading it again. The names are just terrible though, same with Anna Karenina, or anything by Dostoevsky (though I found his books easier to read). With European novelists, it's fairly simple, but does get a bit tough with the Russians. Also, the name days, and there seemed to be hundreds of them, confused the feck out of me. Long time since I've read it.

Best part of the novel, imo, is the bit towards the end -- last 50 odd pages or so are a sort of allegory for human existence.

*My copy is a Wordsworth edition btw, not too certain on the differences.
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Wordsworth is awful.
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Finished Dawn by Octavia E. Butler (Interesting reading though it didn't move me that much), Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow (the only parts I like were about the Haunted Mansion since I like this attraction), Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (ok reading), Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor (their style doesn't translate well in the longer form, or at least it didn't work for me, I only liked the radio extracts and knowing more about the characters or places I remembered), The Native Star by M K Hobson (steampunk and western, genres I usually disliked, so I am surprised I liked it, fun book).

Also finished Below Stairs by Margaret Powell (quite dry book, maybe not helped because the author resented this work), Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler (also interesting even if I don't get how the MC felt he had to do something for a side), Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (hated it, but not from the start, the MC was so selfish and I don't know if the MC is stupid or the world building doesn't make sense. ).

Next month, I should remove some long books from my TBR.
 
Just finished Franzen's Purity. I enjoyed the read but it suffers from Franzen's usual flaws; too often clumsy sentences and overwritten parts ruin the flow, and he's too keen to explain his own jokes and ironies.

Still, I like Franzen's books and it's an entertaining take on whistleblowers, and his portrayal of relationships has always been fantastic for me.

Also, he's got shit taste in music; Train's "Soul Sister" to sign off a serious, near 600 page, "literary" novel :lol:??

EDIT: Now starting Houellebecq's Soumission. Wanted to start it ages ago but couldn't find the French version anywhere in Manchester.
 
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Adebesi said:
So just finished War & Peace. Took me 4 months.

It is a marathon. And the last 30 pages or so were like running through treacle. Only without leaving you with the desire to lick yourself. (This is because the actual "story" part of the book finishes and then there is a last section where Tolstoy gets quite philosophical and rambles on about the nature of history and free will.)

Its a rewarding enough book but I couldnt ever recommend it to anyone, its just too long and the payoff isnt sufficient, IMO, to justify the investment needed. Your point @Mciahel Goodman about the Russian names was spot on as well. I felt it picked up around half way through - that is to say, around page 700, and that was also when I felt I had a full handle on who everyone was and their relationships with each other (it really doesnt help, either, that it tended to refer to people by their surnames in a military context, but by a first name in a civilian context.

Itll be a while before I feel brave enough to pick up another long book I think.
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I was around 12 when I read this. Remember loving it back then and still have it at the top/near it of best books I've read, despite that I remember feck all from it now.
 
Silva said:
Ya'll are brave, anything over 500 pages is too intimidating for me.
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May I recommend 'The Wheel of Time' to you, then?

Btw, bar Asimov's book, don't remember many books I've read recently that were under 500 pages.
 
Wifey looking to get me a book for Christmas, any suggestions on something relatively mindless but entertaining that you can dip in and out of? Probably a thriller or something like that.

Studied English in college so have done the whole classics thing and realistically with a 6 month old baby my opportunities to get lost in a book for hours are rather limited. Preferably something written this year and in the best sellers chart as our local book store isn't exactly brim-full of choice.
 
When I was younger I loved longer books. Think I read The Stand when I was about 14.

I think the 200-300 page mark is probably the ideal length now. I don't like to be stuck on one book for too long.
 
Unlikely lad said:
Just finished Franzen's Purity. I enjoyed the read but it suffers from Franzen's usual flaws; too often clumsy sentences and overwritten parts ruin the flow, and he's too keen to explain his own jokes and ironies.

Still, I like Franzen's books and it's an entertaining take on whistleblowers, and his portrayal of relationships has always been fantastic for me.

Also, he's got shit taste in music; Train's "Soul Sister" to sign off a serious, near 600 page, "literary" novel :lol:??

EDIT: Now starting Houellebecq's Soumission. Wanted to start it ages ago but couldn't find the French version anywhere in Manchester.
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Franzen is perplexing. Don't think he'll write anything like, say, American Pastoral though. BTW this is an actual Franzen sentence: 'She slept like a haiku' :rolleyes:
 
Everest Red said:
Franzen is perplexing. Don't think he'll write anything like, say, American Pastoral though. BTW this is an actual Franzen sentence: 'She slept like a haiku' :rolleyes:
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:lol:

That's from The Corrections right? I remember really loving that book when I was 18, felt like a nail on the head of the modern Mid-west American family. feck knows why I thought I knew what modern Mid-west families were like :lol:
 
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