books you've read !
- Thread starter toniglandyl
- Start date
-
Two Factor Authentication is now available on BeyondUnreal Forums. To configure it, visit your Profile and look for the "Two Step Verification" option on the left side. We can send codes via email (may be slower) or you can set up any TOTP Authenticator app on your phone (Authy, Google Authenticator, etc) to deliver codes. It is highly recommended that you configure this to keep your account safe.
Ugh. I like this thread, but it feels like an obligation when it isn't dead. I read like 30 books in the last few months, but screw that, I'm just updating the last thing I read:
The View From the Seventh Layer by Kevin Brockmeir- A
While not every story in this collection has a gimmick (such as "The Human Souls as a Rube Goldberd Device: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story," which is what it says it is, "The Lady with the Pet Tribble," which is a Star Trek retelling of Chekov's "Lady with a Pet Dog" (or any infinite variations of that title in translation) where the protagonist is Captain Kirk, or the great many fables within), they are all strikingly unique. Brockmeir has a voice that is plain with hints of the lyrical which suits his stories about average people and extraordinary circumstances. The only weak points in this are the Star Trek story (which is a cute idea, but grows tiresome about halfway through--I mean, I've read the Chekov piece, so rereading almost the exact same thing with minor variations to account for names and world details doesn't do much for an entire 24 pages) and the Afghan girl story which reads as a mostly uninteresting first person account of a popular news story some years ago. Those weak points, however, are simply just decent stories, but that they feel so mundane and boring is a testament to the rest of the tales, which absolutely soar.
~Jason
The View From the Seventh Layer by Kevin Brockmeir- A
While not every story in this collection has a gimmick (such as "The Human Souls as a Rube Goldberd Device: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story," which is what it says it is, "The Lady with the Pet Tribble," which is a Star Trek retelling of Chekov's "Lady with a Pet Dog" (or any infinite variations of that title in translation) where the protagonist is Captain Kirk, or the great many fables within), they are all strikingly unique. Brockmeir has a voice that is plain with hints of the lyrical which suits his stories about average people and extraordinary circumstances. The only weak points in this are the Star Trek story (which is a cute idea, but grows tiresome about halfway through--I mean, I've read the Chekov piece, so rereading almost the exact same thing with minor variations to account for names and world details doesn't do much for an entire 24 pages) and the Afghan girl story which reads as a mostly uninteresting first person account of a popular news story some years ago. Those weak points, however, are simply just decent stories, but that they feel so mundane and boring is a testament to the rest of the tales, which absolutely soar.
~Jason
Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra - 8/10
This book took me three attempts—restarting each time—and about two years to complete. This is definitely not a book for everyone, as it's at least as heavy as the Bible. (Comparable to the New Testament in the quality of prose.) However, it is packed with ideas core to existentialism, which alone makes it an essential read for anyone studying philosophy, if only in passing. I felt it was rather weak in the middle parts, though. I would recommend reading the prologue, part one, part four, and then rereading the entirety, lest the heavy metaphors and parables weigh you down. After the slow and altogether less piercing middle, the conclusion was excellent; I would be tempted to recommend this portion alone if not for the necessity of ideas presented earlier in the text.
Some of the ideas are dated—I found the occasional sexism particularly abrasive—as can only be expected of a work from the 1880s, but I found the majority to be as applicable today as then. I've especially enjoyed relating Nietzsche's concepts to those of post-modern futurists (and to a lesser extent, Strauss's eponymous tone poem and Kubricks 2001). There is also a risk of translation injustice to Nietzsche, as his works were corrupted or butchered until the Walter Kaufman translation in 1954. Just be sure to check the translator and reviews before picking it up.
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis - 6/10
Aside from my rating (which most will probably consider, inaccurately, sub-average), I enjoyed reading The Metamorphosis. The characters were pleasantly absurd, which depending on your preference can be either desirable or not; the plot made the unusual mundane, or the mundane unusual if you prefer; and the prose was simple, fast, and refreshing. Where I hold criticism is in the ambiguous metaphorical tone. I believe Kafka was attempting to create social metaphors, but I don't know what those are. Nor do I believe any scholar has succeeded in uncovering Kafka's agenda (and I doubt there even is one) except, perhaps, by accident or luck. Mind, I don't demand all literature have hidden depth to puzzle through, or social metaphors and allusions throughout. Quite contrarily, I read my weight in pulp. But I approached it, as I believe most do, as a book frequently taught for its ideas and metaphors when there is too little evidence for a conclusion to be reached beyond a personal experience alongside the novel, as is true of much fiction.
This book took me three attempts—restarting each time—and about two years to complete. This is definitely not a book for everyone, as it's at least as heavy as the Bible. (Comparable to the New Testament in the quality of prose.) However, it is packed with ideas core to existentialism, which alone makes it an essential read for anyone studying philosophy, if only in passing. I felt it was rather weak in the middle parts, though. I would recommend reading the prologue, part one, part four, and then rereading the entirety, lest the heavy metaphors and parables weigh you down. After the slow and altogether less piercing middle, the conclusion was excellent; I would be tempted to recommend this portion alone if not for the necessity of ideas presented earlier in the text.
Some of the ideas are dated—I found the occasional sexism particularly abrasive—as can only be expected of a work from the 1880s, but I found the majority to be as applicable today as then. I've especially enjoyed relating Nietzsche's concepts to those of post-modern futurists (and to a lesser extent, Strauss's eponymous tone poem and Kubricks 2001). There is also a risk of translation injustice to Nietzsche, as his works were corrupted or butchered until the Walter Kaufman translation in 1954. Just be sure to check the translator and reviews before picking it up.
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis - 6/10
Aside from my rating (which most will probably consider, inaccurately, sub-average), I enjoyed reading The Metamorphosis. The characters were pleasantly absurd, which depending on your preference can be either desirable or not; the plot made the unusual mundane, or the mundane unusual if you prefer; and the prose was simple, fast, and refreshing. Where I hold criticism is in the ambiguous metaphorical tone. I believe Kafka was attempting to create social metaphors, but I don't know what those are. Nor do I believe any scholar has succeeded in uncovering Kafka's agenda (and I doubt there even is one) except, perhaps, by accident or luck. Mind, I don't demand all literature have hidden depth to puzzle through, or social metaphors and allusions throughout. Quite contrarily, I read my weight in pulp. But I approached it, as I believe most do, as a book frequently taught for its ideas and metaphors when there is too little evidence for a conclusion to be reached beyond a personal experience alongside the novel, as is true of much fiction.
Snow White by Donald Barthelme- C
I wish I liked this more.
It is experimental in that it wants to challenge. It does this by "retelling" the story of Snow White, except it isn't retelling anything and any similarity to the original fable is largely coincidental (it isn't, but it may as well be) and the focus is on philosophical questions. It also does this by fragmenting the narrative (though it comes together in a still-experimental but far, far superior fashion in the end) and occasionally breaking down language.
The thing is, these experiments are more for the sake of why-not, and they feel grounded, most of the time, in nothing other than a desire to frustrate. This means that not only are conventions frustrated, but so is the reader. If you are the type of person who enjoys the meaning of no meaning, than by all means, read this; but if you are a reasonable person who enjoys reading a readily readable text, you will find that has been tossed out the door because it can.
Which is a shame, as there are some truly wonderful moments in here, but they are surrounded by too much and sophomoric playing with meanings and cutesy playing without meaning that ultimately drags it down.
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson- B-
This is the story of Cayce Pollard, a 'cool hunter' who is allergic to advertising and logos so much that all her clothes have had their logos removed, even grinding down the buttons on Levi 501s. Surprisingly, then, this is a fun book and it is extremely engaging and interesting and has that thriller chase instinct down pat as it pontificates on consumerism, the internet and advertising. Only the pontificating is far too self-righteous and the stakes are a little overexaggerated and far too much of the plot revolves around complete coincidence and chance. In fact, the entire final act depends on the main character accidentally meeting a spy. I have not even mentioned how little Gibson seems to understand rendering farms, which is surprising, given how smart he is. These quibbles, however are just quibbles in an otherwise fun and interesting book. The ending, however, is unforgivably pat and trite.
I like this book, I think it has a lot to commend it, but having had the luxury of not knowing this was a trilogy (that last of which just came out, which let me know it was a trilogy) and reading the infinitely superior Spook Country first, it is a little tough to recommend.
City of Glass, the graphic novel version, by Paul Auster (wrote novel), Paul Karasik (adapted it) and David Mazzucchelli (artist). A-
City of Glass is a tough novella to read, because it is about defying expectations and disrupting narrative and form. I loved it though, and so when I saw the graphic form drawn by David Mazzucchelli (whose recent book Asterios Polyp was fantastic) I was immediately intrigued.
It turns out to be a perfect adaptation. Which is to say that it feels free to change, quite liberally, what was on the page, so as to better preserve the idea. And that same disruption of storytelling is still in this book, transmogrified into the art. What Mazzucchelli has done is create a series of Escher-like zooms that call for the impossible interrelation of everything that still manages to leave threads feeling empty and alone, which mirrors perfectly what the novel does. It speaks volumes.
The ending here, unfortunately, feels even more rushed and confusing than Auster's, needing perhaps a half dozen or so more pages to fully explore the final fate of Quinn, maybe needing more. I don't know. It feels a little rushed (and it is an already rushed and strange feeling ending in the book) and needed some space to let things sink.
City of Glass is a marvelous book worth reading in both forms.
~Jason
I wish I liked this more.
It is experimental in that it wants to challenge. It does this by "retelling" the story of Snow White, except it isn't retelling anything and any similarity to the original fable is largely coincidental (it isn't, but it may as well be) and the focus is on philosophical questions. It also does this by fragmenting the narrative (though it comes together in a still-experimental but far, far superior fashion in the end) and occasionally breaking down language.
The thing is, these experiments are more for the sake of why-not, and they feel grounded, most of the time, in nothing other than a desire to frustrate. This means that not only are conventions frustrated, but so is the reader. If you are the type of person who enjoys the meaning of no meaning, than by all means, read this; but if you are a reasonable person who enjoys reading a readily readable text, you will find that has been tossed out the door because it can.
Which is a shame, as there are some truly wonderful moments in here, but they are surrounded by too much and sophomoric playing with meanings and cutesy playing without meaning that ultimately drags it down.
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson- B-
This is the story of Cayce Pollard, a 'cool hunter' who is allergic to advertising and logos so much that all her clothes have had their logos removed, even grinding down the buttons on Levi 501s. Surprisingly, then, this is a fun book and it is extremely engaging and interesting and has that thriller chase instinct down pat as it pontificates on consumerism, the internet and advertising. Only the pontificating is far too self-righteous and the stakes are a little overexaggerated and far too much of the plot revolves around complete coincidence and chance. In fact, the entire final act depends on the main character accidentally meeting a spy. I have not even mentioned how little Gibson seems to understand rendering farms, which is surprising, given how smart he is. These quibbles, however are just quibbles in an otherwise fun and interesting book. The ending, however, is unforgivably pat and trite.
I like this book, I think it has a lot to commend it, but having had the luxury of not knowing this was a trilogy (that last of which just came out, which let me know it was a trilogy) and reading the infinitely superior Spook Country first, it is a little tough to recommend.
City of Glass, the graphic novel version, by Paul Auster (wrote novel), Paul Karasik (adapted it) and David Mazzucchelli (artist). A-
City of Glass is a tough novella to read, because it is about defying expectations and disrupting narrative and form. I loved it though, and so when I saw the graphic form drawn by David Mazzucchelli (whose recent book Asterios Polyp was fantastic) I was immediately intrigued.
It turns out to be a perfect adaptation. Which is to say that it feels free to change, quite liberally, what was on the page, so as to better preserve the idea. And that same disruption of storytelling is still in this book, transmogrified into the art. What Mazzucchelli has done is create a series of Escher-like zooms that call for the impossible interrelation of everything that still manages to leave threads feeling empty and alone, which mirrors perfectly what the novel does. It speaks volumes.
The ending here, unfortunately, feels even more rushed and confusing than Auster's, needing perhaps a half dozen or so more pages to fully explore the final fate of Quinn, maybe needing more. I don't know. It feels a little rushed (and it is an already rushed and strange feeling ending in the book) and needed some space to let things sink.
City of Glass is a marvelous book worth reading in both forms.
~Jason
The God Delusion
Richard Dawkins
Perhaps Dawkin's crowning achievement, this book deserves a second reading. The arguments are sometimes as comically and suspiciously heavy-handed as killing mosquitoes with machine guns, but this can be taken in good fun. For excitedly non-believing chatterboxes it's an understanding friend, for deliberately unreasoning believers it is a work of the devil himself, and for those who are curious about the universe it's an amusing and thought-provoking read. (4 out of 5 stars.)
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
Authors are encouraged to write what they know, and Card knows pain. He understands abuse. He knows what it feels like to wish for peace and be met with war. He knows the agony of being pushed to injure another person in self-defense. He knows the mind of real, personal, hand-to-hand survival. He's been there and felt it, and the book drips with his regret.
Ender is a young kid placed in a military program designed to battle-harden children. The 'games' they play are reasonably safe, but the halls of the school are not. We're offered a glimpse into the strategies of the administrators as they seek to break him down and build him back up with a fighter's mind and spirit. A must-read. (5 out of 5 stars.)
Richard Dawkins
Perhaps Dawkin's crowning achievement, this book deserves a second reading. The arguments are sometimes as comically and suspiciously heavy-handed as killing mosquitoes with machine guns, but this can be taken in good fun. For excitedly non-believing chatterboxes it's an understanding friend, for deliberately unreasoning believers it is a work of the devil himself, and for those who are curious about the universe it's an amusing and thought-provoking read. (4 out of 5 stars.)
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
Authors are encouraged to write what they know, and Card knows pain. He understands abuse. He knows what it feels like to wish for peace and be met with war. He knows the agony of being pushed to injure another person in self-defense. He knows the mind of real, personal, hand-to-hand survival. He's been there and felt it, and the book drips with his regret.
Ender is a young kid placed in a military program designed to battle-harden children. The 'games' they play are reasonably safe, but the halls of the school are not. We're offered a glimpse into the strategies of the administrators as they seek to break him down and build him back up with a fighter's mind and spirit. A must-read. (5 out of 5 stars.)
Seriously? I find Kafka is one of the easier writers to decipher, especially considering he frequently returns to the same themes in all of his works. Knowing a little about his life helps though. There also is much scholarly work about him and his writing. In "Metamorphosis" the most obvious themes are the strained father-son relationship and the feeling of helplessness.
I was thinking he was trying to say something about the working class life being comparable to the life of an insect, but I see as little support (or equal support) for many other interpretations. There is definitely alienation and tension within the family in the narrative, but what that means outside of possibly a reflection of his own family life, I'm not sure either. My point was that I don't think his purposes can be definitely decided, but on a personal level there's still something to gain, as is true of most enjoyable reads. And I certainly enjoyed the read, and I plan to read more of his work; this was only a first foray. Perhaps my judgment does injustice to the narrative's complexity. All the same, my conclusion remains unchanged.
Alrighty, since the last time I've posted in this thread, I have read....
Dragonlance : The Meeting Sextet - The Companions
Dragonlance : The Meeting Sextet - Darkheart
The Soulforge (Dragonlance: The Raistlin Chronicles, Book 1)
Dragons of a Fallen Sun (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Volume I)
The Magic of Krynn (DragonLance Tales, Book 1) (Most of them. It's a book of short stories)
Stormblade (Dragonlance: Heroes)
I have just started reading
Dragons of a Lost Star (The War of Souls, Volume II)
And my Wife bought me
Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance: War of Souls, Book 3)
for Christmas.
Yeah, I haven't been able to kick Dragonlance out of my life yet. I just enjoy the books so much, and the world/timeline is amazing compared to anything I've ever read. The Original Authors really did a great job creating a world and a timeline for plenty of other authors to pick up the series and make their own rendition.
Dragonlance : The Meeting Sextet - The Companions
Dragonlance : The Meeting Sextet - Darkheart
The Soulforge (Dragonlance: The Raistlin Chronicles, Book 1)
Dragons of a Fallen Sun (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Volume I)
The Magic of Krynn (DragonLance Tales, Book 1) (Most of them. It's a book of short stories)
Stormblade (Dragonlance: Heroes)
I have just started reading
Dragons of a Lost Star (The War of Souls, Volume II)
And my Wife bought me
Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance: War of Souls, Book 3)
for Christmas.
Yeah, I haven't been able to kick Dragonlance out of my life yet. I just enjoy the books so much, and the world/timeline is amazing compared to anything I've ever read. The Original Authors really did a great job creating a world and a timeline for plenty of other authors to pick up the series and make their own rendition.
One of the reasons I love Kafka is that his writings are fairly easy to decipher but still incredibly powerful.
@McLogenlog
If you're gonna read more Kafka I strongly recommend you start with either the trial or the hunger artist.
The Prophet-Gibran Khalil Gibran
An enjoyable read. The poetry isn't really stunning, the philosophy of the book is kind of simplistic but uplifting. The best aspect of this book is Gibran's matured positivity, which seemed original at least to me. Also his rhymes and the rythm of his poetry reminded of Jahiliyyah poets.
ATM I'm reading Jaymes Joyce's a portrait of the artist as a young man, and depending on how that goes I'll read Ulysses. Also I'm looking for some great american writers anyone have any suggestions?
Not really an avid reader here. The only book that i read because i really wanted to was The Silmarillion, part of the Tolkiens epic universe. It was a great reading, even because it's completely what i like the most: epic histories. I myself have been writing some stuff on my own, creating my own histories and that book is truly a weapon for inspiration.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is a sure bet ("The Great Gatsby" an excellent beginning, but "Tender Is The Night" his masterpiece). I found that for getting to know a range of great American authors from the last ninety years, simply checking out the Pulitzer prize winners is a convenient way to start. You can go from there.
or the times 100 list:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1951793,00.html
That isn't American authors (though they make up a great bit of the list).
Here is my mildly random list of ten fantastic American novels:
The Spider's House by Paul Bowles
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick
V. by Thomas Pynchon
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Writers I absolutely love that I didn't mention here: Lee K. Abbot, Paul Auster, John Barth, TC Boyle, Michael Chabon, Dan Chaon, Edwidge Danticat, William Gibson, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lorrie Moore, Antonya Nelson, Flannery O'Conner, Tom Perrotta, John Updike, David Foster Wallace.
~Jason
Perhaps these are the cliche American writers to recommend, but I don't think modern American literature can be fully understood without a little Steinbeck and Hemingway.
The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
The Pearl by Steinbeck read alongside The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway read alongside Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo.
The last one, I think is the most important of that group. Altogether this list should give a good appreciation of post WWI, pre WWII American literature, and its history.
The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
The Pearl by Steinbeck read alongside The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway read alongside Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo.
The last one, I think is the most important of that group. Altogether this list should give a good appreciation of post WWI, pre WWII American literature, and its history.
Kyllian
if (Driver == Bot.Pawn); bGTFO=True;
Dresden series by Jim Butcher(US author) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files
Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night, Small Favor, Turn Coat and Changes
Simon R. Green(Brit author) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_R._Green
- NightSide series
Something from the Nightside
Agents of Light and Darkness
Nightingale's Lament
Hex and the City
Paths not Taken
Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth
Hell to Pay
- Secrect History series
The Man with the Golden Torc
Daemons are Forever
The Spy who Haunted Me
The Halo novels(better than the game if you ask me)
A handful of DiscWorld books by Terry Pratchett(one of my GFs fav authors, but he's been succumbing to Alzheimer's)
I believe I've read Night Watch, Thief of Time and Fifth Elephant. Been a while since I read them so I've lost track.
They turned Hogfather into a TV special which was pretty good
Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night, Small Favor, Turn Coat and Changes
Simon R. Green(Brit author) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_R._Green
- NightSide series
Something from the Nightside
Agents of Light and Darkness
Nightingale's Lament
Hex and the City
Paths not Taken
Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth
Hell to Pay
- Secrect History series
The Man with the Golden Torc
Daemons are Forever
The Spy who Haunted Me
The Halo novels(better than the game if you ask me)
A handful of DiscWorld books by Terry Pratchett(one of my GFs fav authors, but he's been succumbing to Alzheimer's)
I believe I've read Night Watch, Thief of Time and Fifth Elephant. Been a while since I read them so I've lost track.
They turned Hogfather into a TV special which was pretty good
Blargh. So boring. Those are fine, I suppose, if one WANTS "a good appreciation of post WWI, pre WWII American literature, and its history," but if you just want good American novels, only A Farewell to Arms is even worth your time (tGoW is fine for a high-school book).
~Jason
I guess it depends. The Grapes of Wrath was the best pleasure read of the books I listed, though I enjoyed all for their literature content, especially Johnny Got His Gun for the beautiful dream and stream of consciousness qualities. Though they may be highschooly, for me at least they were the books that should have been assigned reading but for some reason weren't. If they weren't assigned, they still deserve to be read (if only once). Beyond the reason of historical appreciation I don't see why you would want to seek specifically American literature (thus my suggestions being what they are). However, there is also a decent amount of American literature that borders pulp (or pulp at the time of publication) available too, if that's what you're after. H.P. Lovecraft comes to mind, as does Mark Twain, though Twain has significant historical relevance. It all depends on what you're after.
Holy poop that's a lot of recommendations, I'll try to check out the most I can. I have Vonnegutt, and Toni Morrison on my list. I've read The Road by McCarthy a year back and I loved it so I'll give Blood Meridian a shot. I'll get around to it after I've had my fill of absurdist plays.