Yeah, The Maltese Falcon is the shiznit.
Finished The Interesting Narrative and moved on to Malcolm X Speaks.
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Just finished Burroughs' Tarzan books and also The Lost Continent. The latter is not at all what I expected, being a description of the voyages of a naval commander of the Pan-American Federation to the lost continents of Europe and Asia, cut off from communications for 200 years and greatly changed during that time.
I also found it interesting that, in a Tarzan book, Burroughs tosses in the triceratops and describes him as brightly colored. I had been under the impression that older conceptions of dinosaurs were all dull and uniform colored, bright colors being modern descriptions, but Burroughs didn't seem to think so.
Oh, I just started Ulysses by Joyce. Not sure how long I'll be able to hang with it.
I think of Ulysses as the ultimate "form over function" novel. Joyce was cramming a lot of literary stuff into that book (symbolism, allegory, stylistics), and if you are into the style it is written in (as literateurs and literature professors generally are), then you'll love it. If not, it will wear on you pretty quickly. The thing is, it's the professors and such who make the "great books" lists, and that's why Ulysses keeps topping these lists, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the fact that it isn't as accessible as it might be.
If you really want Joyce to throw you for a loop, try Finnegan's Wake sometime. Just don't expect to "get it"; I'm not sure anyone ever has.
You can download 'Ulysses' for free from Olympia Press' website, should you wish to. I read it when I was 17 and liked it at the time.
Presently making up for romantic disappointment with Guinness and 'Lean Times in Lankhmar'
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Haven't had time to read in the past few months. :(
Just finished Prudence by Gail Carriger last week.
Never thought I would like Steampunkish novels. Tried to read them before and could never got into them.Just started reading Boundery by Eric Flint and Ryk Spoor. First thirty pages have kept me interested. looking foward to the rest.
Have you read the [I]Soulless{/I] series by Gail Carriger?
It's hilarious! A comedy of manners.
The protagonist gets attacked by a vampire, and then scolds him for the impropriety of being with an unchaperoned young lady!!! She kind of deserved it, as she was in the middle of the unladylike activity of perusing a library, of all things!
Read them last year. Loved them.
Just finished The Mysteries of Grace by Charles De Lint. It was OK, but it kind of felt like he was talking down to the reader a lot.
About to start Gridlinked by Neal Asher.
It's certainly not accessible. You're not really supposed to read it, you're supposed to study it. That's not a bad thing, there's a lot of amazing stuff going on in both of those, but it takes a lot of work to access it.I think of Ulysses as the ultimate "form over function" novel. Joyce was cramming a lot of literary stuff into that book (symbolism, allegory, stylistics), and if you are into the style it is written in (as literateurs and literature professors generally are), then you'll love it. If not, it will wear on you pretty quickly. The thing is, it's the professors and such who make the "great books" lists, and that's why Ulysses keeps topping these lists, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the fact that it isn't as accessible as it might be.
If you really want Joyce to throw you for a loop, try Finnegan's Wake sometime. Just don't expect to "get it"; I'm not sure anyone ever has.
You're right, it's not a bad thing. There are times and works of literature where study rather than reading is enjoyable. I just wish that more people who serve as the gatekeepers to literature (teachers, professors, critics) would not insist that that this is the *only* way to interact with *any* literature (and that literature that doesn't *require* study is not worth interacting with).
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Just finished The Mysteries of Grace by Charles De Lint. It was OK, but it kind of felt like he was talking down to the reader a lot.
About to start Gridlinked by Neal Asher.
Mind if I shoot you a little Neal Asher question?
Essentially I heard of him when I noticed a really kickass scifi book cover and followed the link on Goodreads. I then hopped on to Amazon and used their sampling functionality to read the prolog of the first book in his long series.
It kinda turned me off, since I really didn't like the writing. The phrase "Dan Brown in space" kept creeping to my mind.
Does his style change, evolve or improve during later books? Because I really don't mind his genre (action-scifi, if I understand correctly) and word is he is one of the best in it.
Just finished The Mysteries of Grace by Charles De Lint. It was OK, but it kind of felt like he was talking down to the reader a lot.
About to start Gridlinked by Neal Asher.
Mind if I shoot you a little Neal Asher question?
Essentially I heard of him when I noticed a really kickass scifi book cover and followed the link on Goodreads. I then hopped on to Amazon and used their sampling functionality to read the prolog of the first book in his long series.
It kinda turned me off, since I really didn't like the writing. The phrase "Dan Brown in space" kept creeping to my mind.
Does his style change, evolve or improve during later books? Because I really don't mind his genre (action-scifi, if I understand correctly) and word is he is one of the best in it.
I'm only up to page 10.....
But so far, it's OK. Not the best ever, yet, but not the worst ever, yet. He does ' instead of ", so I'm having Interview with a Vampire flashbacks...
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I am now reading "Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature" by Erich Auerbach.
Since I got my job at the library, I've been borrowing a variety of books, and need to read through them all.
Most recently, Slavery in the Late Roman World, AD 275-425.Further readings along this line: Slavery in Early Christianity. I haven't yet gotten past the introduction. It's a bit less recent than the other one, but still new enough that it postdates the materials I read in college on this subject.
I swear I posted about further further readings I've done since then along this line. I remember composing such a post. But I can't find it. ??? Was it all a strange dream brought on by too many late nights buried in scholarly works?
Anyway.
The Freedman in the Roman World is the star of the show among what I've read since the last post on classical slavery. Really outstanding new (2011) resource on the topic.
I hesitate to go head over heels, so I'll stop at "outstanding."
I've also reacquired access to JSTOR (So happy!) and have been on a reading binge for several months, so there's a lot of other stuff.
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Black History and the Class Struggle No. 4: Black Soldiers in the Jim Crow Military
Oh, there you go bringing class into it again.
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I've been reading middle grade fiction for work lately (I currently work in library youth services, but I usually read nonfiction until my current project came up). Here's a brief list:
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
-- Pre-Civil War African-Canadian boy deal with slavery in the U.S. Good, serious subject matter (slavery) but the protagonist's voice can be a bit grating since Curtis wrote him in a semi-dialect style.
Savvy by Ingrid Law
-- Preteen girl develops supernatural powers; I wanted to like it more than I did. The plot takes its time getting where it's going (but certainly not as much as Don Quixote did!)
Echo: a novel by Pam Munoz Ryan
-- Kids find a magical harmonica that unites them across time and space. The plot twists were obvious but might not be to the age range the book is aimed at. The magical-realism elements were very well integrated.
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I've been reading middle grade fiction for work lately (I currently work in library youth services, but I usually read nonfiction until my current project came up). Here's a brief list:
** spoiler omitted **
Friend, that you think this is a length that requires a spoiler to hide shows that you have been mercifully exempt from some wonderful rants in these forums :)
Doing one of those reading-three-books at the same time thingies again.
Daily reading schedule:
a) One speech by Malcolm X
b) A couple of Whitman poems
c) One story from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
d) Commie propaganda
Lots of primary source stuff, which continues to cut into my ability to read conventional histories since it occupies so much of the same mind space.
But also The Midnight Isles because I'm thinking about giving Wrath of the Righteous another try.
Finished Their Eyes Were Watching God
Like everyone, I'm guessing, who ever took an Afro-American Literature course, I ended up reading a lot of Zora Neale Hurston. Even wrote a paper on her literary tiff with Richard Wright in his communist phase. Sided with her, surprise, surprise.
Presently making up for romantic disappointment with Guinness and 'Lean Times in Lankhmar'
I missed this before, Comrade, and I'm sorry.
I think I broke up with La Principessa today. Not to fear, though, we break up a lot.
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Finished Their Eyes Were Watching GodLike everyone, I'm guessing, who ever took an Afro-American Literature course, I ended up reading a lot of Zora Neale Hurston. Even wrote a paper on her literary tiff with Richard Wright in his communist phase. Sided with her, surprise, surprise.
She seems like an interesting figure, although this is the first book if hers I've read.
I swear I posted about further further readings I've done since then along this line. I remember composing such a post. But I can't find it. ??? Was it all a strange dream
Happens to me, too.
She seems like an interesting figure, although this is the first book if hers I've read.Finished Their Eyes Were Watching GodLike everyone, I'm guessing, who ever took an Afro-American Literature course, I ended up reading a lot of Zora Neale Hurston. Even wrote a paper on her literary tiff with Richard Wright in his communist phase. Sided with her, surprise, surprise.
Yeah, she was apparently quite the bon vivant, studying with Franz Boas, writing and fighting with Langston Hughes, loving and leaving young black studs all over the place, etc., etc.
Presently making up for romantic disappointment with Guinness and 'Lean Times in Lankhmar'I missed this before, Comrade, and I'm sorry.
I think I broke up with La Principessa today. Not to fear, though, we break up a lot.
Ekh, thanks for the kind words - I've recovered, though. Other lines of enquiry have opened, shall we say...
'Before They Are Hanged' by Joe Abercrombie. And am halfway through 'The Power of the Serpent' by Peter Valentine Timlett, where an alliance of Druids and ancient Egyptians square off against the evil incestuous men of Wessex and their over-sexed sorceress sister, with a lot of b+$*%&&s interesting info about ley lines and sacred geometry given along the way
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Presently making up for romantic disappointment with Guinness and 'Lean Times in Lankhmar'I missed this before, Comrade, and I'm sorry.
I think I broke up with La Principessa today. Not to fear, though, we break up a lot.
Ekh, thanks for the kind words - I've recovered, though. Other lines of enquiry have opened, shall we say...
I'm glad to hear it. Me and La Principessa are back together again, too.
Welp, Red Seas Under Red Skies and The Republic of Thieves came off the waiting list at the library and are now enthroned in my Adobe Digital Editions reader. Wish I'd noticed sooner because I only have 8 days to read both.
Finished The Blind Assassin. Interesting book; fun book structure. Well written.
Nothing to say; just didn't like this thread falling off the main Messageboards page.
I'm rereading David Gemmell's The Drenai Saga books. This time in chronological order based on the Drenail timeline and when the characters lived. I'm currently on "The Legend of Deathwalker".
Waylander (1986)
Waylander 2: In the Realm of the Wolf (1992)
Waylander 3: Hero in the Shadows (2000)
The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend (1993)
The Legend of Deathwalker (1996)
White Wolf (2003)
Legend (1984)
King Beyond the Gate (1985)
Quest for Lost Heroes (1990)
Winter Warriors (1997)
The Swords of Night and Day (2004)
Waylander the Assassin and Druss the Axeman are two of my all-time favorite fictional characters.
The Adventures of Langdon St. Ives by James Blaylock.
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Finished Red Seas Under Red Skies. Amazing. It's the first book/movie that has made me cry in years.
I'm just finishing off a Star Trek novel. It's just about time for my annual reread of Watership Down. It's my favorite book and I revisit it every year. After that I think I'm going to dive into the Dragon Age novels.
Finished Red Seas Under Red Skies. Amazing. It's the first book/movie that has made me cry in years.
And it's gonna get ...more complicated.
Sunny bank holiday weekend meant I sat out in the garden and read:
'The Jewels of Aptor' by Samuel R. Delaney, which I liked
'Kyrik: Warlock Warrior' by Gardner F. Fox. Very, very cheesy.
'Raven 1: Swordmistress of Chaos' by Richard Kirk. Ditto; would also be given a good run for its money in a hairy palm-off by:
'Conan The Magnificent' by Robert Jordan, or 'Pink Bums Over Zamora', as it is also known. 'Wheel of Time' was pretty restrained, so not sure why Bob decided to throw off the shackles here.
Finished Red Seas Under Red Skies. Amazing. It's the first book/movie that has made me cry in years.And it's gonna get ...more complicated.
No no no no no.
(on p 102/571 of The Republic of Thieves)
On the plus side, you didn't have to wait six years for it.
Patience, Patience.
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I finished reading Devil in a Blue Dress, an Easy Rawlins Mystery, by Walter Mosley. I liked its fast pace, and I really appreciated the "down these mean streets" themes that are lamp-shaded by Rawlins' pal by Mouse, but some of the supporting characters were pretty cliché, and despite her speeches I felt like the femme fatale was an underdeveloped character.
I might try another Rawlins mystery to see if Mosley changes it up and reminds me less of "Chinatown." I liked his Socrates Fortlow books, but those weren't the same genre.
I very much liked The Jewels of Aptor and Devil in a Blue Dress. That is all.
Finished The Republic of Thieves. I did make the sewing connection before the big reveal, but the story didn't go in the anticipated direction (always nice). Now I need to see if Lynch has more books out. Great stuff!
I also read If I Stay this morning while up with a sick doggie. I only wanted to read it because Chloe Moritz's mom is a friend of a friend so I try to keep up with her work. I didn't see the movie but hope it's better than the book, which was very short and rather simplistic, even for YA. To be honest, YA books sometimes tackle really tough issues and do it very well. This was not one of those times. Pretty dull.
Not sure what to read next. My library's lending ebook section is rather limited.
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Finished "Boundry" by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor.
The book started with a dinosaur dig in the American Midwest and ended with an archiological dig on Mars.
Fun Read, although a few too many accidents happened to the protagonists.
After the first two, I predicted the third and fourth.
Starting "Grand Central Arena" by Ryk E. Spoor.
Finished Malcolm, still working on Sherlock and Walt. Also finished
Black History and the Class Struggle No. 5: Finish the Civil War!
Finished The Republic of Thieves. I did make the sewing connection before the big reveal, but the story didn't go in the anticipated direction (always nice). Now I need to see if Lynch has more books out. Great stuff!
The next Gentleman Bastard book should be out late this year. He has a free but unfinished serial on his website, though.
Also a short story in the George RR Martin, Gardner Dozois anthology Rogues.
I've also read 'Vathek' by William Beckford, which was pretty ace.
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Finished Malcolm, still working on Sherlock and Walt. Also finished
Black History and the Class Struggle No. 5: Finish the Civil War!
I clicked the link (which, more often than not, I really shouldn't). I noticed the sidebar table of contents lists: "Cop Terror Stalks Black America." Dated 1988. Boy, the times they are a changin'!
In Book news: I reread Jeff Smith's Bone: Out from Boneville, the first book in the series, for work! It wasn't quite how I remembered it from the '90s, but that's as it should be.
Because I just blitzed through Gentlemen Bastards books 2 and 3, I decided to roll back and reread #1, The Lies of Locke Lamora with the wisdom of hindsight. Besides, I'm horribly busy so the reread doesn't tempt me away from my project.