differance Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 (edited) I am currently reading Atticus Lish's "Preparation for the Next Life", about half-way finished, so take my words provisionally, but I am thoroughly enjoying the novel, both it's prose style and thematic development. The book has been described as the 21st century "anti-Manhattan" novel. I assume this is due to it's refusal to romanticize New York in the stereotypical ways - intelligentsia culture etc. PfNL is the story of a relationship that develops between an Iraqi war veteran suffering from PTSD and an undocumented Chinese immigrant, and their attempt to restructure their lives together. The counterbalance between their congruities as individuals in desperation to establish their lives as marginalized figures in contemporary America, and the disparities of their situation / histories is quite striking and remarkable. From the little I have read, there is an incredible drive to "make things work", to keep pushing on, "In theory, it might have been possible to figure out where he was from the map and how he could get back. Instead, he said to himself, No, let me go all the way to the end" (Lish; my italics). PfNL is in this way life affirming in it's unrelenting pursuit of possibility, but also underneath the text exists a doomed fatalism. The response to this underlying fatalism is not resignation, rather, let me go all the way to the end. interesting image/assessment of contemporary America Also, some interesting biographical info on Atticus Lish - he is the son of Gordon Lish, the legendary editor responsible for Raymond Carver's development as a writer. I learned today that he also was ex-military and worked as a translator of technical chinese texts, providing some context to the subject matter of thenovel. Edited May 28, 2017 by differance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 What Will Self's new book Phone looks like: Once you get into it, the style works surprisingly well (his two previous books were written in the same style, and I'm somewhat used to it, bizarre as it looks). Forgot it was out so soon. Looking forward to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hello spiral Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 (edited) ooh noice, I'm well up for that. Used to be a yuge Self fan but the last one of his I read was Liver so I have some catching up to do. Finished Mason & Dixon and intend to do a straight through reread of it sometime this year. Read it in a very stupid way of putting it down for a few months every 200 pages so, despite enjoying it a lot, it's a bit fragmented in my head. I got Ted Chiang's Story of Your Life and Others free with the DVD of Arrival. Read the whole thing during a 13hr shift at work. Really good, will look for more by him. The following day I decided to start Against the Day. 150 pages in and I LOVE it. To me this is his most GR book since GR I Already have a number of interesting tabs open Edited May 28, 2017 by hello spiral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Virtually all of his other stories are free to read online (his choice to do so apparently), so hunt around. Most are linked from his wikipedia page. Exhalation and The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate are particularly good. I have Great Apes by Self but read only 50 pages and probably won't finish. Not much a fan of satire. Which means I probably won't like most of his other work either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hello spiral Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 (edited) Try his short story collections and My Idea of Fun. How the Dead Live and Dorian are very good too. Edited May 28, 2017 by hello spiral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Dorian is q lush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
differance Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 rest in peace denis johnson https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/48124 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TubularCorporation Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) Going to start this tonight: Edited June 1, 2017 by RSP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankbooth Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Canceled cable (though keeping Netflix and amazon prime). Now much more time for reading. Kicked this week off with Jo Nesbo's The Bat. Halfway through and it's easy crime writing. If I like it by the end will continue with the Harry Hole series and any other Nesbo recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Reading 40 Stories by Donald Barthelme. Meh. Absolutely not my type of book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovalainenFanBoy Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Norm Macdonald's book is really funny... like actually laughing funny, which I hardly do with books. Guess it helps that im reading it while sleep deprived Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweepstakes Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 (edited) Life: A User's Manual by Perec. I heard about it from a recent David Nolen talk where he mentioned that Donald Knuth thought it was the greatest 20th century novel. I can already tell this book is way over my head like Pynchon with all the historical and mathematical references, but it's so weirdly interesting I'm just going to power through. Edited June 2, 2017 by sweepstakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
differance Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Life: A User's Manual by Perec. I heard about it from a recent David Nolen talk where he mentioned that Donald Knuth thought it was the greatest 20th century novel. I can already tell this book is way over my head like Pynchon with all the historical and mathematical references, but it's so weirdly interesting I'm just going to power through. I read about that on dennis cooper's blog, a week or two ago, sounded v interesting. I ended up putting it in my amazon cart, but did get the feeling it was gonna be one of those books that i would have to "work" on. I'd like to hear your thoughts when you finish tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweepstakes Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Life: A User's Manual by Perec. I heard about it from a recent David Nolen talk where he mentioned that Donald Knuth thought it was the greatest 20th century novel. I can already tell this book is way over my head like Pynchon with all the historical and mathematical references, but it's so weirdly interesting I'm just going to power through. I read about that on dennis cooper's blog, a week or two ago, sounded v interesting. I ended up putting it in my amazon cart, but did get the feeling it was gonna be one of those books that i would have to "work" on. I'd like to hear your thoughts when you finish tho.It is broken up into very short chapters which makes it feel less intimidating. There is a lot of detail though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebraska Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 (edited) everyday, i gotta read this shit Edited June 3, 2017 by Nebraska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TubularCorporation Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 I've only had time to get a few chapters in to The Box Man but so far it's devastatingly good. Best fiction I've read in years, new or old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Kobo Abe is that dude for real Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Home book: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Good so far, writing of a very high quality. Going to enjoy the next 500+ pages. Work book: Even the Dogs by Jon Mcgregor is quite grim but also very good. I noticed with irony that I am using a £60 off wine voucher as a bookmark in a book where the main character dies of alcoholism (not a spoiler, you find this out immediately). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerwolf Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Finished Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It took a few chapters for me to click into gear with the style of writing but once I settled into the groove, this proved a stellar read. A 9/10 book imo (thanks to cwmbrancity!) Just starting Clive Barkers The Great and Secret Show and as usual with Barker, right from the first few pages we are straight out of the blocks and up and running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hello spiral Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Great and Secret Show<3 Be warned, it's part of a trilogy that he's still promising to write the third part for. When it comes to unfulfilled series, Barker could give GRRM a run for his money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tec Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Finished The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth, takes 20 pages or so to get to grips with the language then you're off. Fantastic protagonist that really takes you there, maybe the best I've read this year. Up next, I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misc Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 ooh noice, I'm well up for that. Used to be a yuge Self fan but the last one of his I read was Liver so I have some catching up to do. Finished Mason & Dixon and intend to do a straight through reread of it sometime this year. Read it in a very stupid way of putting it down for a few months every 200 pages so, despite enjoying it a lot, it's a bit fragmented in my head. I got Ted Chiang's Story of Your Life and Others free with the DVD of Arrival. Read the whole thing during a 13hr shift at work. Really good, will look for more by him. The following day I decided to start Against the Day. 150 pages in and I LOVE it. To me this is his most GR book since GR I Already have a number of interesting tabs open Just started Against the Day as well. It's completely brilliant so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caze Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I want to read the novels of Steve Bruce (former Manchester United defender and current football manager), they look really really really really terrible (in a good way). http://shocko.info/words/2015/7/16/striker-by-steve-bruce-the-full-review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Sumbitches Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Finished The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth, takes 20 pages or so to get to grips with the language then you're off. Fantastic protagonist that really takes you there, maybe the best I've read this year. Fuccan brilliant buc, that I want to read the novels of Steve Bruce (former Manchester United defender and current football manager), they look really really really really terrible (in a good way). http://shocko.info/words/2015/7/16/striker-by-steve-bruce-the-full-review Oh man, these look incredible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignatius Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Finished Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It took a few chapters for me to click into gear with the style of writing but once I settled into the groove, this proved a stellar read. A 9/10 book imo (thanks to cwmbrancity!) Just starting Clive Barkers The Great and Secret Show and as usual with Barker, right from the first few pages we are straight out of the blocks and up and running. blood meridian is fucking brutal. the person here who described as "The Road" w/o all the feelings" was right on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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