tec Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 How to Build a Universe by some bloke - I really want to get into space and astronomy but I'm a fucking idiot, if anyone has suggestions I am all ears. I've also watched Cosmos and read the Bill Bryson one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logakght Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) Carlos Fuente's La región más transparente A novel about Mexico City (one of my favorite cities) Edited February 1, 2016 by logakght Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarlybog Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Just finished The City & The City by China Mieville. Strongly recommend. It's a police procedural set in two european cities that exist on the same physical plain. Kind of Kafka-esque. Moby Dick is even better when you imagine the main character, Ishamel, as Zach Galifianakis. The first 20 pages are him refusing to share a bed with another man. Later, they wake up spooning. There are also amazing lines like this, "But even so, amid the tornadoed Atlantic of my being, do I myself still for ever centrally disport in mute calm" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tec Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Just finished The City & The City by China Mieville. Strongly recommend. It's a police procedural set in two european cities that exist on the same physical plain. Kind of Kafka-esque. Great book, there's a BBC book club podcast where he is interviewed and he seems safe as fuck, worth a listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Sumbitches Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Just finished The City & The City by China Mieville. Strongly recommend. It's a police procedural set in two european cities that exist on the same physical plain. Kind of Kafka-esque. Great book, there's a BBC book club podcast where he is interviewed and he seems safe as fuck, worth a listen. It's also worth reading interviews with him if you're looking for a generally interesting read and a gateway into weird and esoteric fiction, children's fiction, surrealist art and other cool stuff; he always mentions loads of off-the-wall shit. Definitely a cool guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Now I'm dual wielding The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea and The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cryptowen Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 currently reading jane eyre, have moby dick in the queue (woop woop gnarlybog), few other things in french & english waiting to start...have simulacra & simulation on my computer which i pick at from time to time, along with various pdfs scattered on my computer that all fall somewhere on a spectrum of "academically accepted science//philosophy" to "total moonman shit" Q: if a person were to read one major work of english literature from each decade, would they be able to gradually transition into middle & olde english? Does the language make huge jumps at any point? Or maybe it's just that if you go far enough back it starts getting hard to find something for every decade... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Reading my way through Vonnegut's Letters and feeling a mixture of relief and depression that my personal writing hero, who I felt came closest to hitting the nail on the head about living (in my meagre opinion), himself considered everything he did trash, as unimportant art, as I consider everything else I do too. Not to mention that for so much of his early writing life he seemed to only have one friend. Who he then fell out with, and barely spoke to afterwards. He made more afterwards, but not many. And yet, he stays so polite, so friendly and warm to people, even new correspondents, despite his wife cheating on him and the shit in his life. What a guy. The current feeling I have is: so this feeling doesn't change, even when I get to my 70's? Oh man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redruth Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Moby Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) My next book Green Roomers will be coming out on the 8th of March after many months of self-loathing and revision*. Pre-order here for a measly buck / quid / hundred yen**! >> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BKX5AXM << UK www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BKX5AXM << US If you see a typo in the synopsis, feel free to tell me: I spot a new one every day and wish I was dead every time. *still one last round of revision and self-loathing before I am completely finished with the book **I will sporadically put the book up for free fairly soon after release so you can wait if you don't want to buy. You make very little anyway... Edited February 10, 2016 by Bechuga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tec Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 My next book Green Roomers will be coming out on the 8th of March after many months of self-loathing and revision*. Pre-order here for a measly buck / quid / hundred yen**! >> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BKX5AXM << UK www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BKX5AXM << US If you see a typo in the synopsis, feel free to tell me: I spot a new one every day and wish I was dead every time. *still one last round of revision and self-loathing before I am completely finished with the book **I will sporadically put the book up for free fairly soon after release so you can wait if you don't want to buy. You make very little anyway... This is awesome, nice one. I don't wish for this to sound rude; I work in a bookshop, and if anyone came in and asked for a book by your author name anger-steam would make my brain explode. You got a deece name brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milwaukeeeee Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I started the reading of "In the Dark Places of Wisdom" by Peter Kingsley about a couple of days ago. I'm enjoying the read, nice rythm and nice amounts of wisdom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hello spiral Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 My next book Green Roomers will be coming out on the 8th of March after many months of self-loathing and revision*. Pre-order here for a measly buck / quid / hundred yen**! >> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BKX5AXM << UK www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BKX5AXM << US If you see a typo in the synopsis, feel free to tell me: I spot a new one every day and wish I was dead every time. *still one last round of revision and self-loathing before I am completely finished with the book **I will sporadically put the book up for free fairly soon after release so you can wait if you don't want to buy. You make very little anyway... This is awesome, nice one. I don't wish for this to sound rude; I work in a bookshop, and if anyone came in and asked for a book by your author name anger-steam would make my brain explode. You got a deece name brother. There are already forty authors with my name and I couldn't be bothered to think up a plausible other name so I've stuck with initials. Honestly, if I went with my real name you'd have far worse headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Mostly finished with The Hummingbird's Daughter, but I've kind of fallen of The Savage Detectives. I generally am fond of Bolaño, but I don't think I'm in the mood at the moment. Probably move on to The Sound of Things Falling and A Perfect Spy next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cryptowen Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 10 pages into moby dick & there's a guy explaining why trying to sell preserved human heads to people on the street on the lord's day might not be well received noice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baph Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Bechuga, have you ever read The End of Mr. Y? I thought that you might like it (maybe?), having read your first novel (which I liked btw!). Not that they're particularly similar; just caught a vibe reading Mr. Y recently. Reading KSR's 2312 now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovalainenFanBoy Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 time to fail miserably at trying to read Infinite Jest. Here I goooooooooo.... (travels through warp hole) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) ^ The "urban" dialogue in that book is ridic. Either painfully tone deaf or painfully unfunny. Edited February 18, 2016 by doublename Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Bechuga, have you ever read The End of Mr. Y? I thought that you might like it (maybe?), having read your first novel (which I liked btw!). Not that they're particularly similar; just caught a vibe reading Mr. Y recently. Reading KSR's 2312 now. Have not read it but the name sounds familiar, will keep an eye out for it. And thanks, glad you enjoyed it! About to release my second, doing one last revision before the Amazon deadline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caze Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 RIP Umberto Eco Anyone read his latest one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bechuga Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Guardian article about Infinite Jest and the fact that is it now 20 years old >> http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/feb/15/infinite-jest-at-20-still-a-challenge-still-brilliant-emma-lee-moss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spratters Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Franz Kafka - The Trial Only just getting into it but enjoying it so far. Didn't realise you could ever be under arrest but go about your daily business at the same time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovalainenFanBoy Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Franz Kafka - The Trial Only just getting into it but enjoying it so far. Didn't realise you could ever be under arrest but go about your daily business at the same time? I started reading it but gave up on it after (spoiler) I don't remember well but I think the main character had a weird convo with a woman at some point and gave her a kiss or something? I don't know, but the point is, up until that point the novel had been about a normal, regular relatable guy in a crazy situation. But at the point where he also started acting completely ilogically I was like "so that's what it's gonna be huh" and immediately stopped, I had a really strong reaction against that. Will pick it up again soon though A hundred or so pages into Infinite Jest and I must say it may be hard to follow, but not hard to read. It seems like disconnected vignettes so far but they all make sense within the universe and the vignettes themselves are fairly straightforward so far. It's not like Gravity's Rainbow which reads like a dream fever and makes no fuckin sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublename Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) After taking a break from it, I'm like a third of the way through The Savage Detectives. I'm really at a loss trying figure why this was so praised. It doesn't even compare particularly well to the other Bolaño I've read. Edited February 26, 2016 by doublename Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now