Author Topic: books to read  (Read 431207 times)

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botefdunn

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2250 on: April 01, 2015, 12:16:39 PM »


Awesome! I haven't read Third Reich yet. What makes it your favorite? I'm genuinely interested.


In some ways it's a lot more even than his other books, set in a specific place, with a single narrator, and even a set literary device to carry the story (it is presented in the form of journal entries). The intangible, poetic and disturbing qualities are still all there, as well as the esoteric and exhaustive lists, they just seem more smoothly incorporated somehow. I feel like with this book, maybe Bolano had a clearer idea of the overall shape and details before he started it, and probably banged it out over a shorter period. Third Reich is not his most unique work (it reminds me a bit of Camus or Paul Bowles), but it's really tight. Even just the subtlety of the narrator's German-ness is a treat.

abudabi

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2251 on: April 01, 2015, 12:48:20 PM »
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i ended up reading 2 other books and had to restart it, but Cannery Row by John Steinbeck was one of the best books ive read.
what's the next Steinbeck book i should read? is there anything similar to Cannery Row?
[close]

I recommend Tortilla Flats. It has that humourous, humane treatment of homebums that makes Cannery Row, but with a more sustained storyline. Both are set in Monterey, same feeling.
Tortilla Flats was written 10 years before Cannery Row, and in some ways I feel like the later book is kind of a postcard written on the occasion of a return visit.

Apparently there's another book set on Cannery Row called "Sweet Thursday", which I have not read: anybody read it, I'd be interested to hear about it...
cool, i appreciate the info.
never heard of that Sweet Thursday book, i would be really interested in reading that too.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2252 on: April 02, 2015, 01:44:54 PM »
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Awesome! I haven't read Third Reich yet. What makes it your favorite? I'm genuinely interested.

[close]

In some ways it's a lot more even than his other books, set in a specific place, with a single narrator, and even a set literary device to carry the story (it is presented in the form of journal entries). The intangible, poetic and disturbing qualities are still all there, as well as the esoteric and exhaustive lists, they just seem more smoothly incorporated somehow. I feel like with this book, maybe Bolano had a clearer idea of the overall shape and details before he started it, and probably banged it out over a shorter period. Third Reich is not his most unique work (it reminds me a bit of Camus or Paul Bowles), but it's really tight. Even just the subtlety of the narrator's German-ness is a treat.

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I'm currently finishing Amulet and got a similar feel, although dream and reality are sometimes blurred. That being said, jumping back and forth between different narrative perspectives and blurring dream and reality is one of the characteristics I love about Bolano's fiction. To be clear, a lot of writers have similar approaches, but he really perfected these techniques in my eyes. The Savage Detectives is the perfect example for that I think. Still, it's nice to read a more straightforward piece of Bolano that still incorporates a lot of his themes.

The Third Reich sounds really interesting! This will probably the book I'll pick up after Nazi Literature in the Americas. To be honest, so far I was sticking more to writings that were set mostly in Latin America, as I'm somehow going through a "Hispanic period," but, especially being German myself, your account of The Third Reich sounds really interesting.

One thing that struck me though... where do you see esotericism in Bolano? I'm not disagreeing with you here; I just find this notion interesting, because this escaped my attention so far.

botefdunn

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2253 on: April 02, 2015, 05:42:48 PM »
I don't mean Aleister Crowley type Esotericism, however that might be defined, I was referring more to the esoteric research/knowledge aspect of Bolano's books that often manifests itself in lists.
In 2666 you have these detailed police records, in Savage detectives and many other books he refers to minor characters in various literary scenes,  in Third Reich it's war games strategy.
It's the type of information that will be known to almost no one, sort of like he was describing Simon Evans contribution to skateboarding.

Overly researched books are a pet-peeve of mine, there's something unpleasant about thinking of the author as an interloper, sucking the juice out of something to make art with it, but not actually being dedicated to the discipline they write about. Bolano doesn't comes across as an interloper though, it never seems like he's trying to convince you of anything, just relating experiences and information that means something to him.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2254 on: April 02, 2015, 06:31:10 PM »
I don't mean Aleister Crowley type Esotericism, however that might be defined, I was referring more to the esoteric research/knowledge aspect of Bolano's books that often manifests itself in lists.
In 2666 you have these detailed police records, in Savage detectives and many other books he refers to minor characters in various literary scenes,  in Third Reich it's war games strategy.
It's the type of information that will be known to almost no one, sort of like he was describing Simon Evans contribution to skateboarding.
Overly researched books are a pet-peeve of mine, there's something unpleasant about thinking of the author as an interloper, sucking the juice out of something to make art with it, but not actually being dedicated to the discipline they write about. Bolano doesn't comes across as an interloper though, it never seems like he's trying to convince you of anything, just relating experiences and information that means something to him.

Yeah, my bad. I didn't even know about that meaning of 'esoteric.' I thought it was restricted to the Aleister Crowe type of esotericism... You're perfectly right about that though. I guess the difference is that, at least as far as The Savage Detectives is concerned, Bolano was actually a part of all that. To me it always seemed like he's giving credit to "forgotten" poets and people rather than exploiting them for art's sake. Kind of like an Epicly Later'd episode that focuses on overlooked parts of skateboarding history if that makes sense.

I guess after Amulet I'm gonna give Bolano a little break though and read something else. I'm probably gonna start Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth next.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2255 on: April 08, 2015, 10:13:32 AM »
Finally finished Inner Experience by Bataille.  It was not an easy read by any means so I'm taking a break and finishing



After that, I'll probably start My Struggle: Book 2 by Knausgaard.

Nosferatu

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2256 on: April 08, 2015, 07:52:15 PM »
^I'm trying to finish Confederacy of Dunces before my trip to New Orleans in a week and then I'll probably start My Struggle Pt 2 as well. Gonna see Knausgaard get interviewed at the beginning of May.
I thought it wasnt just him solo, shouldve stuck with my og thought.
R.I.P Rusty. One of us.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2257 on: April 08, 2015, 08:27:36 PM »
Nice.  Where is he getting interviewed?  I've watched a few interviews with him online.  He has a very calming voice.

sametelt

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2258 on: April 09, 2015, 01:36:10 AM »
What did you guys make of the New York Times Magazine travel feature he did? The toilet clogging scene had me in tears.

botefdunn

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2259 on: April 09, 2015, 12:50:39 PM »
knausgaard is new to me, haven't read him, but read a good Guardian article on him a couple weeks ago

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/26/dancing-in-the-dark-fourth-volume-my-struggle-karl-ove-knausgaard

not sure it would be my cup of tea, thinking maybe this guy is rather self-absorbed? like I said, I speak whereof I know not...


different tack, Terry Pratchett just died, I liked him. Reading the one he coauthored with Neil Gaiman right now, it's quick and good.


Useless Wooden Bench

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2260 on: April 09, 2015, 01:23:01 PM »
Reading a confederacy of dunces right now too. Hilarious from page 1.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2261 on: April 09, 2015, 05:37:44 PM »
knausgaard is new to me, haven't read him, but read a good Guardian article on him a couple weeks ago

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/26/dancing-in-the-dark-fourth-volume-my-struggle-karl-ove-knausgaard

not sure it would be my cup of tea, thinking maybe this guy is rather self-absorbed? like I said, I speak whereof I know not...


He's surprisingly not self-absorbed.  Not anymore than anyone else who writes an autobiography or memoir is anyways.  He's pretty open about his self-doubt and personal shortcomings in My Struggle.


What did you guys make of the New York Times Magazine travel feature he did? The toilet clogging scene had me in tears.

I haven't read it yet.  I have it up on my phone to read though.  I see it's called "My Saga: Part 1."  I assume that was the editor's title.  I hope he doesn't get stuck with variations on that title for the rest of his career now.

brycickle

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2262 on: April 11, 2015, 03:34:06 PM »
Reading a confederacy of dunces right now too. Hilarious from page 1.
I've tried reading that book 3 times now, and for whatever reason I can never finish it. No fault of the author's. I should try again, because I never hear anything but good reviews about it.

 You and the D00D have turned this thread into a horrible head-on-collision between a short bus full of regular kids and a van full of paraplegics.



Gnatpant

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2263 on: April 17, 2015, 07:34:41 PM »
Just read american psycho and damn if its not 50000000 times better than the movie. I really like the good earth and women by bukowski.

Molte

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2264 on: April 18, 2015, 02:18:01 PM »
The Little Prince
Christ airs, airwalks and darkslides

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2265 on: April 18, 2015, 05:08:41 PM »
The Little Prince

This book is so good.

Jares

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2266 on: April 19, 2015, 02:50:48 PM »
Just started this...


N.L.

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2267 on: April 20, 2015, 04:46:46 PM »
Been forcing myself to read beyond my usual areas of interest. Kids books, romantic novels, you name it. Currently reading 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan. Christ Almighty the first sex passage was incredibly moving. I nearly shed a tear. I'll need some Cormac McCarthy or Bukowski after this though...

Nosferatu

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2268 on: April 20, 2015, 07:53:09 PM »
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knausgaard is new to me, haven't read him, but read a good Guardian article on him a couple weeks ago

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/26/dancing-in-the-dark-fourth-volume-my-struggle-karl-ove-knausgaard

not sure it would be my cup of tea, thinking maybe this guy is rather self-absorbed? like I said, I speak whereof I know not...

[close]

He's surprisingly not self-absorbed.  Not anymore than anyone else who writes an autobiography or memoir is anyways.  He's pretty open about his self-doubt and personal shortcomings in My Struggle.


Expand Quote
What did you guys make of the New York Times Magazine travel feature he did? The toilet clogging scene had me in tears.
[close]

I haven't read it yet.  I have it up on my phone to read though.  I see it's called "My Saga: Part 1."  I assume that was the editor's title.  I hope he doesn't get stuck with variations on that title for the rest of his career now.

I'm seeing him in San Francisco at the Norse Theater. I think the toilet clogging scene was the best part of the travel article. I did enjoy it altogether though, even while I was telling myself it was stupid at times while reading it. He really has that "je ne sais quoi" thing down.


I don't blame you for putting down confederacy 3 times bryce. I think it's overhyped, although I kind of love it too. Ignatius is really tiring but also so lovable.
I thought it wasnt just him solo, shouldve stuck with my og thought.
R.I.P Rusty. One of us.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2269 on: April 29, 2015, 09:00:32 PM »
Bringing this thread back from the dead... Currently reading Sebald's The Emigrants. It's a good read and you gotta appreciate the excellent craftmanship. All 4 stories that the book is made up of are really dense and include detailed descriptions and a lot of motifs.

I'll probably pick up Knausgard very soon. He just sounds too interesting.

Blue Fescue

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2270 on: April 30, 2015, 09:50:37 AM »
What did you guys make of the New York Times Magazine travel feature he did? The toilet clogging scene had me in tears.

I really liked it.  I haven't read My Struggle but will now.  I liked the awkward scene of him drinking in the hotel room with the photographer.

shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2271 on: April 30, 2015, 11:47:10 AM »
just read 'the friends of eddie coyle' cause raylan givens recommended it on the last episode of justified. it's a neat period piece about tough guys in 60s massachusetts. if you're into those crime sorta novels, i don't know if it's the best one but it is the one that changed elmore leonard's life and got him to stop writing westerns.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2272 on: April 30, 2015, 03:05:31 PM »
After having finished The Emigrants last night, I started reading this book:



Rankine's book is prose poetry on racist micro-aggressions in particular and racism and life as a black person in America in general. It's shocking and provocative and just super interesting in general. Really important book, especially these days!

ChronicBluntSlider

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2273 on: April 30, 2015, 09:12:41 PM »


I read Virgin Suicides years ago and really enjoyed it but this just seems on a whole other level. It reminds me of Tin Drum as far as the narrator, the bizarre plot (for those who don't know Middlesex is about a hermaphrodite), and kind of tracing back the family history. Only a little over half way through it but it's great.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2015, 09:15:43 PM by ChronicBluntSlider »

Thrillho

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2274 on: May 19, 2015, 05:00:47 AM »

Dances in and out of poetry and thermodynamics while delving into heavy Kant, Nietzsche, and Hegel.  Even if you don't/can't agree with the point, the presentation alone is worth it.  Never have I read something so intelligently perverse.  Give it a look if you are into any of those things and have a month or more to burn.  Or tomorrow we come back and we cut off your chonson.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2275 on: May 19, 2015, 06:44:04 AM »
How is his discussion of Bataille's work specifically?  I've probably mentioned his name too much in this thread, but I'm always interested to see analysis of his work since he's not the easiest to understand if you're reading him alone and not having a lot of in-depth discussion on him or reading criticism on him.

Thrillho

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2276 on: May 19, 2015, 03:15:46 PM »
I'll give you the back cover blurb, which sums it up pretty well.

Quote
When I say it isn't "about" Bataille, I don't mean that literally, for it says more about him in a good sense than anything else I've read on the subject.  It's just that it's not merely analyzing or criticizing Bataille, but engaging with him, and to a stunning effect ... I think this is a remarkable and powerful book - a work of literature - a rare thing indeed.

Sadie Plant, Birmingham University

Sadie Plant is the co-founder of her and Land's Cybernetic Culture Research Unit.
(this painfully 90's style rip off of the 2600 website)
https://web.archive.org/web/20030606042959/http://ccru.net/index.htm

Thirst' was printed in 1992, and recently Land started the "Dark Enlightenment" movement.  Dude's really into technology, as are most nihilists.

http://www.vocativ.com/culture/uncategorized/dark-enlightenment-creepy-internet-movement-youd-better-take-seriously/?

The book is just as much of a beating as you might expect (to the reader, not Bataille), intellectually and psychologically.  Land is very intelligent, but borders on anti-humanist a lot of the time.
From the preface:

Quote
My abnormal devotion to Bataille stems from the fact that nobody has done more than he to obstruct the passage of violent blanks into a pacified oblivion, and thus to awaken the monster in the basement of reason.

He isn't criticizing Bataille in any real way, just examining.

I honestly didn't understand a great deal of the book.  I'm not a buff, so if you want an in depth discussion on its topics... sorry.  Feel free to check it out though.

http://cnqzu.com/library/Philosophy/neoreaction/Nick%20Land/The%20Thirst%20for%20Annihilation.pdf

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2277 on: May 19, 2015, 04:04:30 PM »
Thank for the blurb man.  That definitely helps and piqued my interest.  I had a feeling it was more analytical/examination versus criticizing, which is what I meant when I said "criticism."  But a lot of people like to harp on Bataille's flaws as an academic (of which there are plenty!) in favor of ignoring tacklign his real work so good to know Land doesn't fall into that trap.

I did some googling on Land after seeing your post and it seems interesting and like something I'd be into, but the little I looked into Dark Enlightenment is somewhat off-putting.  I'll have to do more, but it looks like it can veer easily into fascism, which is a threat for nihilist and anti-humanist thought.  You can be anti-democracy without being fascist.  That said, I am hoping to be wrong about that aspect of Dark Enlightenment, definitely am not saying Land is a fascist, and even if he is, can still be worthwhile to read him.

Dengles

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2278 on: May 19, 2015, 06:35:24 PM »


It's an excellent book.  I was supposed to read it in high school but I hated my teacher so I didn't read it to spite him.  Just picked it up five years later and it did not disappoint. 

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2279 on: May 26, 2015, 09:50:20 AM »
Just finished Kanusgaard's book 2.  I had a decent gap between books 1 and 2, but this one felt a little more tedious than I remember book 1 being.  I think part of it is that you can only read so much about how happy and in love he is (even though those sections are still very downplayed and don't really make up too much of the book) or him wrestle with the pressure he feels to be masculine while being a stay-at-home dad.  It was really interesting to see the genesis of My Struggle come up at the end of the work especially as this volume was thematically about his love for and relationship with his second wife.  I feel like it says some interesting things about how intertwined his work (he also describes writing his second novel for a lot of the book as well) and the issues he tackles in his writing intertwine with his family and emotional worlds.  I'm definitely in for the long haul and plan on reading the rest of the work and already have copies of books 3 and 4 on my shelf.  After I finished last night, I found myself almost reflexively picking the book up and expecting to just continue on with a short segment about him being sick.  Like, it didn't register that I had finished the book.

Currently reading the new book by Mark Z. Danielewski (the House of Leaves author): The Familiar Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May.  I'm only a little in it yet and he wastes no time screwing with you.  It's supposed to total 27 volumes over 13.5 years so it will be crazy to see how it adapts and evolves.