Books: What are you reading tonight?

[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.

[jfk]

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Been trying to get into DK Goodwin's Lincoln book, but it's tedious and very, very long.

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In my experience, yours is a typical reaction to Goodwin's work.

[Jeff W]

I'm halfway through Gulliver's Travels (Part III). Part III is not as interesting as I-II. The irony in part III borders on heavy-handed and the Laputans, etc don't capture my imagination the way Lilliput(especially) and Brobdingnag did.

[cambraceres]

I'm currently reading "Justine" by Marquis de Sade, and am also lightly perusing a collection of prose from Robert Lowell. I just finished a short collection of Kafka and "Notes from the Underground" by Dostoevsky.

I didn't realize how much Sade influenced the latter two until looking.

Cam

[Tigermoth]

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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.

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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.

[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!

[CaptVimes]

Just finished "Cat Among the Pigeons" by Agatha Christie

Currently reading "Moving Pictures" by Terry Pratchett (of course!)

[Blarg]

Why of course?

[CaptVimes]

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Why of course?

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Captain Sam Vimes is a character in other Terry Pratchett books. Pratchett, for those who have never heard of him, is a lot like Douglas Adams. Very good at word play and satire and dry Brit Humor.