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Post by theshining on Feb 18, 2012 16:25:35 GMT -5
Currently reading Gun, With Occasional Music. Nothing particularly special but it's a decent PI novel. Kind of reminds me a bit of Fletch tone wise finding a good balance of private dick story with some comedy interspersed.
Started this from the library. About 40 pages in already, shaping up to be a quick read. I love campus novels.
I really liked this novel. I thought it was a solid follow up to Middlesex. A very different kind of novel, but that kept me from comparing them too much.
And for Gun with Occasional Music, it was a decent read. But I wouldnt go out of my way to recommend it to anyone.
I'd be interested in seeing some top 10 lists from the past 3-5 years for everyone. I'll give mine:
1) The Tin Drum - Gunter Grass - read this book while hiking the AT. German post WWII novel told through the eyes of a stunted growth, a child born with an adult's capacity for thought and perception, who 'decides' at the age of three to stop growing. Throughout the novel he gives commentary on German history and his thoughts on the world around him as he grows up as an adult but appears an infant throughout.
2) An Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears - read this one in my Enlightenment literature class and I f*cking loved it. Historical fiction at its best. A murder in 17th-century Oxford is related from the "Rashomon" style, contradictory points-of-view of four of the characters, two fictional characters, two real historical figures; all of them unreliable narrators. The setting of the novel is 1663, just after the restoration of the monarchy following the English Civil War, when the authority of King Charles II is not yet settled, and conspiracies abound.
3) Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges - my first Postmodern novel, if you can call it such. Really an anthology of short stories, but either way Borges is the man. To enter the worlds in Ficciones is to enter the mind of Jorge Luis Borges, wherein lies Heaven, Hell, and everything in between.
4) V. - Thomas Pynchon - discovered Pynchon through Inherent Vice after the Anderson-directing rumor. Wanted to check out his other works, sampled Gravity's Rainbow and decided to I wasn't ready so I started from the beginning. Pynchon's first novel and my favorite (that I've read so far... still haven't read Vineland, Mason & Dixon, or Against the Day). Like Gravity's Rainbow, it's hilarious, absurd, and disturbing, but has a much easier-to-follow narrative.
5) The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter - read this one in a postmodernism class. A collection of short-stories; postmodern, arguably feminist retellings of classic fairytales like Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots and others.
6) Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury - I love Bradbury. I discovered this one through a theatre class. The assignment was to read the book, and pick one of the stories to adapt, cast and direct to be presented with others' choices as a whole. One of the best science-fiction novels I've ever read.
7) The Black Prince - Iris Murdoch - Also read in my postmodernism class, the name of the novel alludes mainly to Hamlet. An aging writer is tormented by his friends and family as he tries to retire peacefully. It's remarkable for the structure of its narrative, consisting of a central story bookended by forewords and post-scripts by characters within it. I attempted to adapt this into a stage-piece as well, but was overwhelmed and gave up on it.
8) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - Jon Berendt - this one is very special to me because I was born in Savannah, and was dating a girl that went to SCAD when I was reading it. So I got to visit all of the places mentioned in the book, including the Mercer House. Yes, the movie sucks, but this is still a great book.
9) A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin - I have to include this on my list. just discovered this late last year from the HBO show Game of Thrones. Immediately began the series after finishing the show,and let me just say I haven't been this invested in a fictional book series since I discovered Harry Potter in 6th grade. Anyone will tell you while the prose is great, the battle scenes splendid, its the characters and mixed perspectives that make this series so riveting. I'm only about halfway into Book 3, but am reading at least 30-40 pages everyday and looking very much forward to Game of Thrones season 2 in April.
10) Awol on the Appalachian Trail - David 'AWOL' Miller - this book needed to be somewhere. Experience memoir of David Miller's 2003 thru-hike on the AT, the book is very well written for a non-writer. This more or less convinced me to thru-hike. I met Miller at trail-days festival and told him so myself. What I love about this book is that he takes you every step of the way, from Amicalola to Katahdin. He doesn't skip around and tell only the highlights like most other memoirs do. He gets everything, and is unashamed to admit some of his more trying times. Very personal and very inspiring, for anyone.
Post by nodepression on Feb 24, 2012 23:17:30 GMT -5
I'm going to have to give this some thought. Pale King would definitely be towards the top though.
Finished Universal Baseball, loved it. The way Henry's game develops and weaves throughout the narrative was a million times more interesting then I thought it would be. I can understand why it appeals to non/indifferent baseball as well. The ending was one of my favorites.
Post by klimfactor on Feb 25, 2012 12:10:31 GMT -5
I am reading Infinite Jest - and I think I will be reading it for months to come. It's somewhat challenging, with the different narrators, time frames and the seemingly-endless footnotes, which I've been reading as they come up in the text. Still, I'm loving the prose. Very well written.
Finished Universal Baseball, loved it. The way Henry's game develops and weaves throughout the narrative was a million times more interesting then I thought it would be. I can understand why it appeals to non/indifferent baseball as well. The ending was one of my favorites.
I loved the ending as well. The game takes upon a separate narrative of itself. We spent like an entire class session talking about that last chapter. We read so much metafiction in that class, but what was interesting was how instead of being a narrative within a narrative, it kind of took on its own life way after Henry and his sad little life ended.
well, it ended up filling up for the most part and i am very pleased i went. he was entertaining, did an audience experiment and a Q&A (i got to ask a question!
afterwards they had a little reception and he signed my books. pretty sweet.
Post by nodepression on Mar 1, 2012 12:53:39 GMT -5
Finished Listen To This by Alex Ross. I was interested in it because I know little to nothing on classical and I know he's a good writer, definitely a worthwhile read. He brings a very different perspective to pop music as well, including a really great take on later Dylan. The essays on Brahms, Bjork, and Radiohead were also favorites.
You guys have made me really want to jump on the Infinite Jest train. I promised myself I wouldn't buy another book til I finish some of the ones I have bought recently. I have a habit of buying, starting something else, and then never making my way back. At least 4 books in the last 2 weeks I haven't touched.
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