What are you reading?

leadmyskeptic

leadmyskeptic

Pro Adventurer
"Oryx and Crake" (for a Lit class--apparently, this novel has been quite popular, but I hadn't heard about it at all until I was assigned it. Loving it)

"The Virgin Suicides" (multiple re-read, for me this is one of those 'pantheon novels' where time to time I wanna slip back into that world again and there's only one way to do it)

"Touching From a Distance", which is a biography of Ian Curtis and Joy Division co-written by Ian's wife, Deborah. Because of its journalisty/non-fiction/music story nature, I find I can read chunks of it alongside the others.
 
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Deleted member 546

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^ If you've not read it, Heavier Than Heaven (about Kurt Cobain) is good for similar reasons.
 
fancy

fancy

pants
AKA
Fancy
Currently reading...
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I’m in love with the way the English translation is written so far and the characters all feel very much alive. I wish I could appreciate this work as it was originally written (in Finnish).
 
leadmyskeptic

leadmyskeptic

Pro Adventurer
Fancy - Translation of novels, whether old, new, or anywhere in-between, is a crazy thing. There's been examples where the translation was considered heroic in its carrying over of hard to convert ideas/phrases, times where the translation actually ends up preferred, amounting to something more like a re-write of material that was originally very dry, and then of course many examples of botch jobs. I get your frustration at not being able to experience the work as 'originally' intended, though. If at all possible, I'd try to find out who was responsible for the translation, and look into what kind of rep they have (assuming he/she has one).

Addy - Yes, I've also read "Heavier Than Heaven"! Didn't really think about it beforehand, somehow, but they're both similar in that they are accounts of these brilliant but doomed artists, and from the moment you start the first page, you know the clock is ticking. The main issue I have with it is that Charles Cross rarely talks about the music or the artistry, giving more of a clinical, almost forensic-style narrative, and sometimes he'll put in his own opinion as 'canon' even when there's countless interpretations to the contrary. BUT, his book is more comprehensive and far-reaching than any other available, so if you want the full scope of the story, he's your only option. Because I'm a huge Nirvana nerd, I'm intending to read a little more personal/art-inspired account by Everett True, who was the English music journalist who pushed Kurt onstage in the wheelchair for Reading 1992.
 
D

Deleted member 546

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I'll bear your reads in mind for when I come up for air. :monster: One of my former work mates was a music die-hard so I've got a few more books along those lines to check out eventually.

So I finished Tipping the Velvet and I don't understand the acclaim TBH. The protagonist is a selfish bag up until the end but apparently there's a redemption that's gradual but poorly executed. I mean it's well-written in that she's a very unlikeable character but the fisting scene seemed a bit tacked on for shock value and her eventual choice of relationship doesn't sit with her values throughout the story, I just feel like the defining chapters for that were edited out. 4/10, I've read much better.
Also nitpicking here but the author kept using 'er' on the end of words instead of 'more -----' and it annoyed the fuck out of me. Cleverer is an example, I can't think of any specifics from the book off-hand.

Anyway, now I'm going to finish A Street Cat Named Bob before I start Fried Green Tomatoes because the boy and I are reading The Hobbit together and I can see some fucking weird dreams coming if I don't go more linear in my reading. :monster:
 
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Deleted member 546

Guest
Still haven't finished Bob, read Fried Green Tomatoes instead and it's an absolute joy of a book to read, I loved it. :monster:

Must buy the new Witcher book this week. :awesome:
 
Russell

Russell

.. ? ..
AKA
King of the Potato People
^ Season of Storms

Season of Storms (Polish original title: Sezon burz) is the sixth novel and eighth overall book in the Witcher series written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, first published in Poland in 2013. It is not a sequel to the original Witcher Saga, but rather is set between the short stories in the first book in the series, The Last Wish.
Click to expand...

Pre-ordered it off Amazon for same day delivery & the bugger is out of stock.
I had to get the hardback instead, the bastards. :rage:
 
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Deleted member 546

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I loved the saga but I loved even more how offbeat The Last Wish was so I've been looking forward to this for the past year.
 
Russell

Russell

.. ? ..
AKA
King of the Potato People
Yeah I prefered the collection of short stories in the Last Wish and Sword of Destiny to the Saga. (The story with 'Little Eye' was my favourite.)
 
Cthulhu

Cthulhu

Administrator
AKA
Yop
I like how The Last Wish and the little subplots in the one I'm reading now all seem to come back in one form or another (like, similar atmosphere, similar "a random adventure" feel) in the Witcher 3 game, :monster:
 
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Deleted member 546

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@ Russell: Little Eye broke my heart. One of those moments where Dandelion isn't a complete dick.
 
CrashOuch

CrashOuch

she/her
AKA
Sara
I AM READING THE MOST BEST BOOK! My sister got it me for my birthday and it's called A City Dreaming by Daniel Polansky and IT IS EXACTLY WHAT I LIKE.

I'll explain what it's about when I know ahaha.
 
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Deleted member 546

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I've started A Season of Storms already. So far, so good. The translations are great, couple of editing hiccups but I guess that's understandable, the other books all had a few here and there. Already up to his white-haired arse in intrigue and plots aplenty. :monster:
 
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Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb. I last read this when I was like 12, it's like putting on a warm coat.

Even still had some shocks, as I had completely forgotten about Rurisk
 
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Deleted member 546

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Finally finished Season of Storms. Glorious, but now I have the post-finish comedown of no more Witcher. :(
 
Keveh Kins

Keveh Kins

Pun Enthusiast
Finishes Mr. Mercedes, thoroughly enjoyed it. Characters are a bit clichéd, but they're very likable and that outshines the trope-ishness. Hodges in my head looked like a heavier version of the dad from Frasier

On to The Lady of the Lake naow
 
C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
Finished it. Good if painful read. It seems like a very honest book to me, no sugarcoating, no sensationalising. That could be just good writing, but it feels like truth.

Edit: Also I think Netflix Daredevil plagiarised it.
 
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