Books The BOOK thread
- Thread starter Livvie
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The God of Small Things. Well worth a read.
I hate abandoning books half way through, very rarely do it, and will generally soldier through a book to the end even if I am not enjoying it much. But I abandoned that book, absolutely hated it. My wife has it as one of her all time favourites.
Yeah I gave it up after a few pages. Found it unreadable. Only done that a couple of times.
Yeah, I can completely understand that. Took me aaaages to get through the first chapter, but after I braved the initial struggles, it was rather rewarding. Nonetheless I think it's worth a read, but yes, the writing style is not for everyone.
So who has read any Houellebecq? Thoughts? Tempted to read Submission.
I read and hated Atomised. I dislike books about stunted, miserable middle-aged men.
Just finished 1984, before I had only read Brave New World.
The most interesting thing in comparison of the two books, imo, is the depiction of sexuality - complete suppression on the one hand, enforced ubiquity on the other.
I'm guessing Orwell and Huxley had quite different sex lives.
Thought about going into Fahrenheit 451 next, but instead got The Martian.
The most interesting thing in comparison of the two books, imo, is the depiction of sexuality - complete suppression on the one hand, enforced ubiquity on the other.
I'm guessing Orwell and Huxley had quite different sex lives.
Thought about going into Fahrenheit 451 next, but instead got The Martian.
Having only read Brave New World recently, I was surprised at how...decent their lives seemed. I mean, obviously there are a lot of problems regarding their lifestyle and the way art has died out etc doesn't seem particularly desirable, but there's an interesting debate to be had as to whether their overall world is desirable or not, whereas 1984 is very much portrayed as a complete dystopian nightmare.
I must read Brave New World again.
I think I've read it three times, but there's always room for one more time. Another one I simply have to reread from time to time is Catch-22.
I don't often reread books. Which is strange because films and TV shows I watch multiple times regularly. And often enjoy more the second time. But I have a few old books I want to read again, and BNW is definitely one of them.
I've just started True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, after feeling guilty about the lack of Australian authors I've read. I'm 120 pages in and it's truly excellent - a jocular, Australian Blood Meridian.
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I fecking love Peter Carey. 'Theft' is probably my favourite book of his. Hilarious from start to finish. Might give this a try.
Yeah I have a collection of his short stories too. Might grab Theft and Ilywhacker when I'm done.
My current bedtime reading is The People v OJ Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin.
It's a compelling read, and probably the most accurate and comprehensive read about that case.
It's a compelling read, and probably the most accurate and comprehensive read about that case.
Is The invisibles by Grant Morrison any good ? I've never being into comic books/novels but sounds sort of interesting.
Who is John Gault. Christ that book was 4 weeks I'm never getting back.From that list, the description of Rand is great...
I read Smile by Roddy Doyle and was unimpressed. The twist at the end was absolutely muck for me and I really disliked every character.
Why would you subject yourself to 4 weeks of a book you didn't like? :/
It always makes me a bit melancholy when people post reviews of absolutely terrible books or movies which they rate at 3/10 or less. Midway through you must have realized it wasn't going to pick up, so why continue the torture?
I used to persevere with books I wasn't enjoying but realised there's too many damn books out there to waste that sort of time.
Yeah, if you haven't got something well written or interesting to read, most likely you haven't searched hard enough. Life is far too short to spend free time consuming crap.
Finished 2666. Mammoth of a book.
Is it any good?
It's...long, and sprawling. I thought it was fantastic in a sort of epic dreamlike kind of way. The writing isn't hard to follow per se, because Bolano's style while often relying on long sentences and paragraphs, also does have a certain simplicity to it at the same time.
But it's not for everyone. The multiple storylines do weave together and kind of all interconnect by the end, but not quite in the way you'd maybe expect. I'd describe it as essentially being five interconnected novels rolled into one, and one section in particular can be quite frustrating even though it's incredibly unique and inventive in its own way.
Have you read anything else by Bolano? Was my first venture into him, but I've read some Marquez in the past who I'd say he has some similarities to.
No, I haven't. It seems the book was published posthumously. I'm avoiding violence, rape etc in books for sometime after going through a phase of crime mysteries and unfortunately this one will have to wait. But sounds interesting, I will give this a go sooner than later.
Yeah...there's pretty much a whole section dedicated to all of that specifically, so might be best to stay away from this for now.
Yeah...there's pretty much a whole section dedicated to all of that specifically, so might be best to stay away from this for now.
That’s the part that made me take a pause. Just seemed like an endless sequence of crime reports.
A very odd book
It's got some interesting character parts too, but yeah, its scope at that point is as wide as anything you're likely to read and just gets wider and wider as the section goes on. Part 5 (last part) is outstanding though.
I knocked off The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. The former was a tightly constructed and topical dystopian novel, and made me really appreciate how the tv show captured the vibe, the latter is a sad and precise, misanthropic novella. From which a good but not particularly faithful film was made.
Would you say a little more about A Single Man? I enjoyed the movie. As far as misanthropy goes, I only remember some from the main character. And what do you mean by precise?
There is a lot of bitterness is the novella’s first person narration. I haven’t seen the movie but I get the impression it goes for a more melancholic tone.
Yep melancholic tone sounds about right for most of the movie.
Just realised that I’m misremembering and it isn’t written in the first person at all, but the resentment is there all the same.
The character in the book is quite a bit more acerbic and lacks Colin Firths natural warmth. His thoughts on the contemporary America are condescending and cynical. The book is precise in its language and structure, not word is wasted. I liked it and the adaptation which I think made some necessary alterations for the different medium.
Odd indeed, do you all understand the first part of the book and what is the key storyline ?
I dont like to leave something halfway through. Like to make a decision on something when I have the full picture. It would do my head in to leave a book halfway through and not know how it finished. Oh and I'm a liverpool fan. I live in perpetual hope that things will improve no matter how badly they start
I haven't finished it, I expect to understand it when I have.
Absolute Monarchs by John Julius Norwich. A good popular history of the papacy. He's selective in the Popes he writes about and I'm pretty sure he misplaces a building at one point. And one paragraph about the nineteenth century is oddly written so that it makes it seem as if Austria were the dominant European power (rather than German power) before its defeat by Prussia.
But mostly recommended, though not highly as some of his books.
But mostly recommended, though not highly as some of his books.
The Hogfather by Terry Prachett.
I've never been dead keen on Discworld books, but with the silly season approaching, I thought I would give it a go.
If that fails then I'll move on to Cancer Ward or something.
I've never been dead keen on Discworld books, but with the silly season approaching, I thought I would give it a go.
If that fails then I'll move on to Cancer Ward or something.