what are you reading right now?

Let's talk Aguachile Alley

Postby Dead_Wizard » Wed Jul 12, 2017 6:47 pm

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anyone into this dude? really enjoying it.

Look at this book description of his:
Amsterdam cops Henk Grijpstra and Rinus de Gier have both left the force, Grijpstra to become a private eye, de Gier to lord it in splendid isolation over a rented island off the coast of Maine. But their retirement is ended by a late-night phone call from de Gier, who's afraid he's killed his girlfriend Lorraine by kicking her down a cliff while he was too drunk and stoned to pay closer attention to what he was doing.
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Postby abs » Wed Jul 12, 2017 7:21 pm

bazooka wrote:
j-ol wrote:now, to prioritize... Jamaica Kincaid sounds like something I'd get into, and I'm definitely open to non-fiction recs as well.

I'm in the middle of joan didion's blue nights rn... I hate to admit this, since it's supposed to be a tribute to her daughter/grief experience and whatnot, but I've been sincerely put off by all the mentions of designer clothing, rich-ass houses/trips, affiliations with movie directors/actors etc. that are interlaced with the memories she's recounting. it doesn't help that she looks like a bit of a snoot in the jacket photo. maybe I'm off base but it's interfering with my ability to generate empathy for what I'm taking in.


you might enjoy this article. been awhile since i read it but the end re blue nights is pretty blistering. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/the-autumn-of-joan-didion/308851/


wow, thanks for this. I have always had a love/hate relationship with Didion. Somewhat conflicted feelings. Like Knausgaard! I still read 'em both, tho. Maybe end up liking KOK more, though.
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Postby mickdagger » Wed Jul 12, 2017 8:05 pm

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So, so great. Everything I wanted out of Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance but didn't get.
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Postby trigross » Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:49 pm

Dead_Wizard wrote:anyone into this dude? really enjoying it.
[/quote]

only read some of his stuff about buddhism, but these books sound pretty sick
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Postby Kenny » Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:17 am

Finished The Magus

It was a real page turner even though it was 500 pages. I'm not sure I'd say I loved it, I thought there would be a more mystical end or a more big grand reveal of What Was Actually Going On and the occult stuff sort of turns out to just be dressing on the cake. It's more a psychological thriller than a modernist or metafictional book (or at least I think so).

Also I find it hard to swallow that he just sort of accepts what happened to him, I think you'd have to either have PTSD for the rest of your life or want to do a murder.Toggle Spoiler

Still, some of the imagery will definitely stay with me and I actually really loved the ending pages.
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Postby Eyeball Kid » Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:21 am

I finished it recently, too, and I'll cop to feeling fatigued by the seemingly endless number of false endings, but I loved the last 30 or so pages.
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Postby Kenny » Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:23 am

Eyeball Kid wrote:I finished it recently, too, and I'll cop to feeling fatigued by the seemingly endless number of false endings, but I loved the last 30 or so pages.


Yeah, that's me too, by the fourth or so time one of the girls turned out to be faking it and was like "No but trust me THIS time" and then Urfe did

And then the last 30 pages are great, yeah.
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Postby Eyeball Kid » Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:35 am

I'm curious to see the film version from 1968, which has a reputation for being terrible. Per Wikipedia:

The story climaxes with a "trial" directed by Conchis with Nicholas (and many others) participating.Toggle Spoiler


I'm not surprised they went with that, given that you can't cram 600+ pages of book into two hours of movie. And I knew while reading it Michael Caine played Urfe in the film, then-contemporay Caine isn't at all who I pictured in my mind. Tom Courtenay, maybe:

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Postby dmitry » Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:31 am

finally reading Angela nagle's alt right book and though I already said this elsewhere this is easily the worst nonfiction I've read in a long time. shallow analysis, mind boggling conclusions, littered with bombs like suggesting you can only have PTSD if you've been to war. Allow me to save you the trouble of disappointing yourself if you anticipated this like I did: her ultimate conclusion is that Tumblr is to blame for white identity amongst the alt right.

also started reading yu hua's cries in the drizzle. it's alright but I don't know if it offers anything beyond chronicles of a blood merchant and to live. I think he might end up being the first author whose bibliography I exhaust

oh also I've been reading people's history of the US. this was not a good time to do it, there's plenty of reasons to hate America already

by the way for you nerds out there there's actually a thick anthology of 2600 which is really fun if you have nostalgia for hacker culture before the entrepneurs took over or went to read about how GSM works or how to hop around arpanet.
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Postby mudd » Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:46 am

i watched the film version of the magus fairly recently. it didn't really capture the paranoid vibes of the early part of the novel, but i think it was well done.

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Postby Kenny » Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:48 am

It's kind of weird how they build up how mysterious Conchis is and you are wondering what the deal is with Conchis and then hejust sort of disappears from the book with no denouementToggle Spoiler
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Postby bongo » Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:51 am

pottman are you gonna read buddenbrooks
yeaaaaaaaaaaaa american nostalgia love it suburban living civilized families this could be my life
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Postby Eyeball Kid » Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:53 am

reddit.com wrote:It's kind of weird how they build up how mysterious Conchis is and you are wondering what the deal is with Conchis and then hejust sort of disappears from the book with no denouementToggle Spoiler

That adds to his mystique, I think. The way he floats in and out of people's lives; the disguises he wears, both literally and figuratively. No one in the novel can get a firm grip on his character, so why should the reader?Toggle Spoiler
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Postby Kenny » Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:54 am

bingo wrote:pottman are you gonna read buddenbrooks


I already have, I think it's probably better than The Magic Mountain, though TMM hit me in a more direct way. The story of the family in Buddenbrooks is really good and tragic in the best German style

Eyeball Kid wrote:
reddit.com wrote:It's kind of weird how they build up how mysterious Conchis is and you are wondering what the deal is with Conchis and then hejust sort of disappears from the book with no denouementToggle Spoiler

That adds to his mystique, I think. The way he floats in and out of people's lives; the disguises he wears, both literally and figuratively. No one in the novel can get a firm grip on his character, so why should the reader?Toggle Spoiler


That's an interesting point actually! I like it
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Postby tonybricker » Fri Jul 14, 2017 3:49 am

J-ol

Add Lydia Davis to your list! Varieties of Disturbance is my favorite
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Postby Kenny » Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:14 am

Now reading Island of Second Sight, though I think I maybe want a lighter read so we'll see if I don't give up for a scifi book

Edit: wow that prologue is already really good
Last edited by Kenny on Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby shred igniter » Fri Jul 14, 2017 6:32 am

been workin on "speedboat" by renata adler and i feel like it's rearranging the way my brain processes language, weird and excellent book
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Postby Kenny » Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:52 am

reddit.com wrote:Now reading Island of Second Sight, though I think I maybe want a lighter read so we'll see if I don't give up for a scifi book

Edit: wow that prologue is already really good


Wow this book is already really good
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Postby bongo » Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:53 am

oh yeah im glad youre reading it its a lot of fun
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Postby nakedlunch » Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:57 am

I've been reading this for a very long time now Image and I'm finally almost done


thought i'd let you all know
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Postby ahungbunny » Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:57 am

for those of you who enjoyed the magus and are thinking of moving onto a different fowles i want to give you an important tip: don't read a maggot

seriously
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Postby Kenny » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:02 am

I think if I read another Fowles book it's going to be The French Lieutenant's Woman, but I'm not going to rush.

How is that Reconstruction book book nakedlunch?

I realized after reading the intro to Island of Second Sight that I haven't read Tin Drum yet either (Mentioned as "the only other" notable German book from the 50s)
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Postby bongo » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:10 am

finished ancient history: a paraphase. this along with a smugglers bible would prob be my recommendations for entry points into mcelroy's body of work. its wonderful. does a lot of really interesting stuff with like, geometric mapping and learned/biological patterns (and the way they stack up to things and beings in the world). but its also funny as hell and quite touching and., for the circuitous and elusive nature of the prose, very readable and fun.

figured id move on to the only mcelroy i havent read as i go through mievilles october

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Postby bongo » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:10 am

supposedly a new (third) edition of women and men is coming out on dzanc this fall. cant wait to reread. also hope his nonfiction book about water sees the light of day soon
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Postby Eyeball Kid » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:13 am

About to start

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Living - Henry Green
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Postby Kenny » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:15 am

I've read Party Going by Henry Green and enjoyed it a lot
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Postby nakedlunch » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:20 am

reddit.com wrote:How is that Reconstruction book book nakedlunch?


It's really good and thorough. It's the only book on Reconstruction I've read but the consensus seems to be that it's one of the best if not the definitive book on the subject. It's difficult to overstate how much the country changed during this period and how important it is to understand the years that followed it up to where we are right now.
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Postby Eyeball Kid » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:23 am

reddit.com wrote:I've read Party Going by Henry Green and enjoyed it a lot

Haven't gotten to that one yet, but I really liked Loving and Back, the former especially.
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Postby Gooey Bechamel » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:28 am

Recently Finished:
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American War - Omar El Akkad

This was okay. I found myself wishing it focused more on the framing story and aftermath of the Second Civil War than Sarat's life.

Halfway through:
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Seiobo There Below - László Krasznahorkai

I like this a lot, but it's hard for me to read at nighttime so it's slow-going.

Started last night:
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Imaginary Cities - Darran Anderson

I think I will like this one.
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Postby nakedlunch » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:35 am

Guy Incognito wrote:Everyone should read Foner's Reconstruction!!!

Lunch check out Race and Reunion by David Blight next


thanks, I'll def add it to my list. I already told myself I'm going to read chris hayesey-boy's Colony in a Nation next but I'll def check that one out after
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