Gosh, I'm somewhat low brow, the aforementioned illiterate Neanderthal, as I'm currently reading Stephen Kings Doctor Sleep, have read a few Vince Flynns, the latest Lee Child Reacher book, went back to a few old Sue Townsend comedy novels, self published my first script (The Rage), started my first novel and watched a lot of tv in the evenings, some research, others just for simplistic pleasure or escapism.
Originally posted by Great King RatI'm a massive fan of Lord King, to me the best writer of my generation - though I'm sure many would disagree. Quite early on in Doctor Sleep but shaping up to be King's normal good vs. evil, it carries on (loosely) from The Shining with the boy from that book (and film) now an adult - I don't want to say too much - but I'm enjoying it so far.
What do you think of Doctor Sleep, Paul? I have it on my to-read list.
Am currently reading King's Desperation. And will read Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore after that. That sounded like an interesting story.
I am the embodiment of low brow.
I was watching the TV adaptation of 'Under The Dome' but it has gone so far from the original text as to be unrecognisable and is far the worse for it - now some sort of Twilight style conversion..... poor, also terrible continuity.
Being a fan of Bram Stokers 'Dracula' - keeping it loosely to the book theme of the thread, I enjoyed the first episode of the new version with Jonathan Rhys Meyers - still in the time-frame of the original, with most the main protagonists but in a new way - the green statements in it also gel well with me.
Originally posted by rwingettIt's one of those melancholy twists of fate that the most successful fiction published by the brilliant Thomas Disch was The Brave Little Toaster, a children's book dashed off as a joke but crowned with the ultimate accolade: adaptation as an animated film, with sequel.
I know I used to have a copy. I don't seem to be able to find it anymore. Perhaps it is orbiting Mars with a tea kettle or two.
Originally posted by Paul A RobertsYes, love King as well.
I'm a massive fan of Lord King, to me the best writer of my generation - though I'm sure many would disagree. Quite early on in Doctor Sleep but shaping up to be King's normal good vs. evil, it carries on (loosely) from The Shining with the boy from that book (and film) now an adult - I don't want to say too much - but I'm enjoying it so far.
I wa ...[text shortened]... most the main protagonists but in a new way - the green statements in it also gel well with me.
Re-read It some time ago (special edition from cemeterydance.com) and it was awesome. Read it for the first time 20 years ago and was thrilled to revisit all those familiar characters and places.
Having said that; Under the dome I thought was awful. He should have done that story in 200 pages or less, yet he drags it on for more than a 1000 pages. Pretty much as many as It, but after reading It I felt as though I had visited another Universe whereas reading UtD felt like I had barely left my home.
I am enjoying Desperation very much though and before that I read The wind through the keyhole, which was also very enjoyable.
Kind of like a short revisit to the Dark Tower universe.
Les Chants de Maldoror is a book for a lifetime. Alexis Lykiard's translation published by Exact Change is the English version of choice.
Another one I keep going back to is Pascal's Pensées.
The advantage of an aphoristic style: each passage has a fractal quality; no need to reread from end to end to end.
I just finished Lord Jim by Conrad. Absolutely brilliant, but it took me a long time. I'm trying to get my "currently reading" list down from 23 to 5-6 or so, so really musn't start any new books. I did start Rachel Newcomb's The Gift last night but abandoned it after about 10 pages as something I probably wouldn't enjoy or be able to relate to.
John Williams - Stoner
Philippe Claudel - Het verhaal Brodeck
Tommy Wieringa - Dit zijn de namen
Simon Dunstan/Gerrard Williams - Adolf Hitler: The Escape to Argentina
Valeri Panjoesjkin/Michael Zygar - Gazprom
Robert Friedman - De Russische Maffia
Ian Kershaw - Tot de laatste man, Duitsland 1944-1945
Originally posted by rwingettI finished up 2013 with the following:
Alright, it's time for another thread on books. Yes, books. Let's take a look at what people have been reading this year and see what interesting titles they've selected. Thanks to goodreads.com I have a nice list of books I've read this year. And here they are:
1. The Elite Consensus: When Corporations Wield The Constitution
-George Draffan
2. Hutter ...[text shortened]... omics for a Renewed Commonwealth
-Wendell Berry
So what sort of stuff have you read?
20. The Wisdom of Crowds
-James Surowiecki
21.The Meowmorphosis
-Coleridge Cook
22. Independent People
-Halldór Laxness
23. King Strang
-Robert P. Weeks
24. Rebels Against The Future: The Luddites And Their War On The Industrial Revolution: Lessons For The Computer Age
-Kirkpatrick Sale
25. Johnny Got His Gun
-Dalton Trumbo
26. The Mayor of Casterbridge
-Thomas Hardy
27. The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly
-Sun-mi Hwang
28. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
-Jared Diamond
29. Lost in the Funhouse
-John Barth
30. Chuck Close: Life and Works 1988-1985
-John Guare
31. Chuck Close
-Lisa Lyons
It was a productive year.