Books: What are you reading tonight?

[Tigermoth]

I also tend to read a lot of books at the same time. Lately, though, I can't seem to finish any of them.

Reading:
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
No Limit Hold 'Em by Sklansky and Miller
PADI Divemaster Manual
My Silent War by Kim Philby

Tonight, I'll be reading Enriched Air Diving: PADI Specialty Series


I've just ordered a heap of books from England (they don't sell good books where I live), so my list will change considerably in the next couple of weeks.

To the guy reading Cryptonomicon: it's fantastic. May seem a bit slow at first, but keep going. It's well worth it.

[Blarg]

Crime and Punishment is one that's going to be hard to finish if you don't just submerge yourself in it and read it through as quick as you can. I loved the book, but the business with all the names and the different nicknames different people call the same guy is very cumbersome and can be discouraging. Plus it's just a deep book, not the type to hop in and out of.

[Tigermoth]

[ QUOTE ]
Crime and Punishment is one that's going to be hard to finish if you don't just submerge yourself in it and read it through as quick as you can. I loved the book, but the business with all the names and the different nicknames different people call the same guy is very cumbersome and can be discouraging. Plus it's just a deep book, not the type to hop in and out of.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. I think I'm going to end up putting it aside until I finish a couple other things, then start from the beginning again. I was enjoying it very much when I started, so I won't be giving up on it.

I really like Bulgakov. This is my third or fourth reading of <u>The Master and Margarita</u>. I'm also a fan of his <u>Heart of a Dog</u>, which is excellent, if not as well known.

[nick604]

[ QUOTE ]
I also tend to read a lot of books at the same time. Lately, though, I can't seem to finish any of them.

Reading:
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
No Limit Hold 'Em by Sklansky and Miller
PADI Divemaster Manual
My Silent War by Kim Philby

Tonight, I'll be reading Enriched Air Diving: PADI Specialty Series


I've just ordered a heap of books from England (they don't sell good books where I live), so my list will change considerably in the next couple of weeks.

To the guy reading Cryptonomicon: it's fantastic. May seem a bit slow at first, but keep going. It's well worth it.

[/ QUOTE ]

How are you finding Master and Margarita? I think that's probably my favourite book ever.

[Wynton]

I'm reading "A Death in Belmont," by Sebastian Junger, the guy who wrote "The Perfect Storm." It's a pretty good true crime story, revolving around the Boston Strangler.

[John Cole]

I loved it, but I also like postmodern lit. The novel is patterned after the form of Wittgenstein's Tractatus--although the paragraphs aren't numbered. It's also a surprisingly affective novel about the narrator's mental deterioration as she gets lost in language and a number a "facts" that keep popping into her head.

Be on your toes reading it: the narrator will mention one thing, which may reoccur a hundred pages later in an expanded or altered form.

If you like it, I'd suggest Steelwork by Gilbert Sorrentino as a complement.

[smurfitup]

yeah, i'm really into postmodern lit as well. the description of the book on wikipedia says the style is reminiscent of beckett, which means it'll probably be really interesting/infuriating. i remember you mentioned you're an english professor. what other philosophical novels could you recommend?

also, this is way off topic, how do you define post-modern lit? for example, my favorite contemporary writer is j.m. coetzee and although many of his peers could be described as post-modernists, i don't find much in his writing style that would distinguish him from, say, Camus. Thanks!

[John Cole]

This is one of the resources I often turn to for looking at some of the basic assumptions of postmodern lit:

John Lye's Explanation



Foremost, I think, is the notion that postmodern lit is self-relexive, that is, lit. that's aware of itself as a construct, a work of fiction rather than as a mirror of reality or an imitation of reality. A good example of this in short form is John Barth's story "Lost in the Funhouse" from his collection by the same name. And, believe it or not, its fun to read.

Here's a link to the story. The first two paragraphs will give you the general idea.

Lost
If you get through part of the story, you will also notice the references to Joyce's Ulysses along with Barth's parody of Joyce's style, another feature of postmodern texts.

[odellthurman]

I just finished reading Glamorama and Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis. I thought both books were OK, but I didn't enjoy either nearly as much as American Psycho.

I also just finished The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. It was a very enjoyable book, although again, not as good as her first book, The Secret History, which is fantastic.

Right now, I am reading Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer. It is a non-fiction look at the Mormon Church, focusing on fundamentalist Mormons. I'm about halfway through, and it is very interesting.

After I finish the Krakauer book, I am going to read Phillip Roth's trilogy - American Pastoral, I Married a Communist, and The Human Stain.

[Enrique]

I just started reading Cryptonomicon today. I got it for Xmas a couple of years ago and didn't start it until today. Someone mentioned it on the "Favorite Book" thread and there was also a thread about loving Neal Stephenson a year ago, so I gave the book ago.

Talking about recent books I just finished reading:
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson last week and I loved it. It was very funny and I enjoyed the tales of the Appalachian Trail. I am doing a road trip from SouthWest Texas to New Hampshire starting three weeks from now, and I think I will include a couple of hikes from the AT on my roadtrip, in particular the Delaware Water Gap and Greylock.

I also just finished Cloud Nine by Luanne Rice recently (after Walk in the Woods). I enjoyed the book a lot. I bought it because it was $0.25 at the local library, and then ended up enjoying the book a lot. About hope and love.

The other book I have read in August was A Tragic Legacy by Glenn Greenwald. I read his blog on Salon.com every morning and I read his previous book How Would a Patriot Act? so I knew I would find the book very good. I think his way of writing following facts is really good. I thought the book was excellent.