Chaos Reading discussion
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What are you reading right now?
Ruby wrote: "It's essentially 250 pages of the author's internal monologue - the author being a neurotic, self-indulgent twenty-something writer, taking a wide range of recreational drugs. At the same time, it's hard not to hear your own internal monologue synch up with his while you're reading. "I don't know: my internal monologue is 30 years out-of-synch.
Finished The Third Reich by Roberto Bolaño, typical Bolaño awesomeness, now moved on to Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges- read the first few pages and already know it's going to be great.Then I'll have finished all my books in Spanish and can send them to my Paraguayan grandmother-in-law who has tragically ran out of books to read :-)
Just finished Roadside Picnic myself. Very different. Nobody wants to imagine that aliens could stop by here for a picnic, and never even notice us, but as the book says - do we notice the ants at our picnics? Only if they start crawling all over the food.
Derek wrote: "Just finished Roadside Picnic myself. Very different. Nobody wants to imagine that aliens could stop by here for a picnic, and never even notice us, but as the book says - do we notice the ants at ..."I have that book on my shelf. Waiting to be read. Now I see it mentioned a few times. Its a sign. Do I want to read it on an airplane though...?
Jennifer wrote: "Do I want to read it on an airplane though...? "There's certainly nothing in it that would exacerbate a fear of flying. In fact, all the action takes place on the ground, in one small town.
About a quarter of the way through If This Is a Man / The Truce and just about to start A Complicated Kindness
Right now I'm reading The Hydrogen Sonata and The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm really liking THS, and TPoDG is growing on me as the plot finally develops.
Currently I'm reading a thriller called Panic by Jeff Abbott. So far it's been suspenseful with lots of action and intrigue. I've been enjoying it.
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Marc wrote: "Leo, I adore Ficciones! Of course, I read the English translation, but "The Circular Ruins" is one of my favorite short stories. Hope you enjoy it!"Marc it was great! New instant favourite :-) also never seen such unanimous love of a book on GoodReads haha!
Lesley wrote: "Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him 
"Stop trying to make me cry! :)
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I love that book. So much so that I bought a paperback copy last week, just because I was happy to see it in Townsville! I had already read the Kindle version, and the sequel. :)
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I'm halfway through Rampaging Fuckers of Everything on the Crazy Shitting Planet of the Vomit Atmosphere, which is...an experience.
Just finished A Complicated Kindness a funny and sad coming of age book narrated by Nomi whose family has been destroyed by religious fundamentalism -it's excellent.
Just started reading/watching Shakespeare's Sonnets -there's a great little app that allows you to read them while various famous (and not so famous) actors declaim them to you. It also has notes and a very funny commentary- hearty recommendations.
Just started reading/watching Shakespeare's Sonnets -there's a great little app that allows you to read them while various famous (and not so famous) actors declaim them to you. It also has notes and a very funny commentary- hearty recommendations.
Ruby wrote: "Laurel wrote: "I'm reading John Dies at the End at the moment, very strange and pretty funny so far!"I love that book. So much so that I bought a paperback copy last week, just because I was happ..."
Just finished John Dies... - loved it!! so funny - bring on the sequel!
Just finished the last book of Brandon Mull's trilogy "Beyonders". It had a perfect flow and I enjoyed the simplicity of a adventurous "Boy Fiction".Now I'm about to hop into the second book of the series called "Delirium". Hope it's good!
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The sequel (This Book Is Full of Spiders) is great, but nothing tops John Dies..
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Anyway, I've started on City of Saints and Madmen, which I am already deeply in love with. Vandermeer writes so beautifully, and clearly enjoys playing with language. The dark, tropical moodiness is just an added bonus.
Nearly finished the Sonnets (loving them but thank goodness for the commentary). 2/3 of the way through Richard II (Down with Henry Bolingbroke) and just beginning to decide what to read next. Oh and before those two I readRiver of Smoke an novel about the opium trade and the run up to the opium wars in China - really good - read like a thriller.
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I really enjoyed River of Smoke as well. Warning if you read the second book - be prepared for a serious information dump about China during the Opium war. The book is almost solid exposition.
The Shining - SK. This will be the first time I've read a book twice but it is my all-time favorite book. I've forgotten how well written it is. :-D
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I've got a documentary sitting on the drive about the making of this film. It looks fantastic - points out a lot of the little references you'd never pick up otherwise. Thanks for reminding me!
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Tracy, judging by your rating, looks like you enjoyed Lolita! Nabokov is kind of wonderful (and twisted).
Tracy wrote: "Finished Lolita, beginning The Idiot"Tracy, I know you're wavering but you can do this! Once Nastasya Filippovna turns up you'll be all 'Oh no you di-int you bitch!' there was no Maury Povich in 19th century Russia D:
PS. I'm not reading anything atm but I can't stop saying my Masters thesis is FINISHED 6 weeks in advance time which I'm now using to write a short story a day to self-publish a wee collection for funsies and I'm super ecstatic about all news that appears in this post!
kiss kiss
PPS "My thesis is finished" you are correct to assume means I'm a little bit drunk.
Marc wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Finished Lolita, beginning The Idiot"Tracy, judging by your rating, looks like you enjoyed Lolita! Nabokov is kind of wonderful (and twisted)."
No jive. I just read it way too fast the first two times to really get the full submersion in the deep end of the pool.
Leo X. wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Finished Lolita, beginning The Idiot"Tracy, I know you're wavering but you can do this! Once Nastasya Filippovna turns up you'll be all 'Oh no you di-int you bitch!' there was no Ma..."
Leo---I actually Am enjoying Idiot (Was it Dura or Duraka in the original Russian?), but I am sort of savoring it, because, actually, I like the title character already--funny how a blank slate can be so eccentric compared to people who play by the rules--
My real problem is I am getting distracted by ULYSSES for some asinine reason. I dug it out to look something up ,and ended up reading 48 pages--laughing at Buck Mulligan's songs about Jesus and etc....
Congrats on your Thesis! I remember the relief o' that..mine was 80 pages and at the time the longest thing I'd ever written.
I read something of yours on one of your links (meant to tell you--/blush/--damned good, wanna read more---forgot how to get to it. Should check your home page:)
Shouldn't that be Kiss, kiss, kiss..for Robert Smith??
One more---I have a friend who is Russian, Moscow-born, with a friend named Nastasya----he calls her Nasty for jollies...
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CONGRATULATIONS! I don't know how you did it on top of all those short story readings and writings, but well done!
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Well, that's not huge. Congratulations! You're probably lying in a Soho gutter by now...
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Lucky, lucky bastard. I'd be pretty grateful for a Soho gutter right now. Just tried my hand at socialising with the locals. Perhaps a tattoo show at the local bikie club headquarters wasn't my finest idea for meeting new people. I lasted about 4 minutes..
Tracy wrote: "I read something of yours on one of your links (meant to tell you--/blush/--damned good, wanna read more---forgot how to get to it. Should check your home page:)"Tracy that's awesome to hear! Your feedback is invaluable.Here's a link to all my writing that's on goodreads, hope you have time to check it out.
I'm trying to get the novels published through the traditional route, which is starting to get promising although it's naturally a lengthy process.
I have more short stories but I'm gonna save them for a self-published book (getting antsy about not having something I made in my hands)- some of them that are on GR will be in the collection if they fit with the rest :-)
Also very happy to hear you like Dura/Duraka wee Prince Lev is a charmer :D And maybe we could reread Ulysses together soon!
Ruby wrote: "CONGRATULATIONS! I don't know how you did it on top of all those short story readings and writings, but well done! "
Thanks Roobs! This group was hugely influential in keeping me sane this year :-)
Whitney wrote: "Well, that's not huge. Congratulations! You're probably lying in a Soho gutter by now..."
Haha! Thanks Whitney, I'm nowhere near as wild- or at least I might be, but most of my drinking takes place indoors.
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Well! That's the first time anything I've been involved in has been accused of inducing sanity. I'm not sure how I feel about that...
;)
Ruby wrote: "Well! That's the first time anything I've been involved in has been accused of inducing sanity. I'm not sure how I feel about that... ;) "
Sorry! You're absolutely right. I'd like to re-phrase: you helped me to maintain my own version of lucidity ;D
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I love Chris Ware, but have been hesitating on Building Stories. Do I need to clear significant table before starting? Is it a book one can experience if there are cats in the house?
Just about half way throug Michel Crichton's - State of Fear. It captured my eye when I was looking around my old loft and so far it's been draging me on day and night to finish the adventure. Any recomendations what to read next? :)
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Hahaha! I have the same questions.
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Hi Maria. I think your best bet is to have a trawl of the group bookshelves. Lots of good recommendations there.
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While it is in a number of different pieces, you can only read one at a time, so you can leave the rest in the handy-dandy box they come in. I took them all out and kind of put them on an end table and am randomly pulling one piece at a time to read. We have two cats that seem uninterested; however, I fully expect them to manage to vomit on at least one of the pieces before I'm through. It doesn't lend itself well to travel (the publication, not the cat vomit). So far, I love it, but Ware is kinda like my Justin Bieber.
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This could be interpreted in so many ways.....
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This could be interpreted in so many ways....."
I thought about adding a qualifier like: "... were I a teenage girl who covered my walls with posters of him", but it just came out so ridiculous, I decided not to edit...
Right now I'm reading Off the Grid by P.J. Tracy. It's a crime novel set in Minneapolis and so far I've been enjoying it.
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For the car I have The Return of the Native, read by Alan Rickman. Hardy's prose is achingly beautiful, and Rickman is a great reader. I'm reading this one as well as listening, as it's almost completely different experiences. Will take awhile, but not a problem - this is one of those books the term 'slow read' was invented for.
For a real life bookclub, I've been slogging through The Tiger's Wife.
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They have that now? Real life, I mean.
Chaos Reading
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There's an interview here, which gives a very clear picture of what to expect, if anyone's thinking about reading it at some point. It's an interview that could've been lifted straight from the novel! http://www.vice.com/read/tao-lin-talk...