Author Topic: books to read  (Read 431145 times)

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twinskates

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2580 on: November 19, 2016, 05:36:14 AM »
Finshed reading "Pic" from Jack Kerouac, really worth read it. Refreshing book
« Last Edit: November 19, 2016, 05:44:21 AM by twinskates »

7 year old

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2581 on: November 19, 2016, 07:41:24 AM »
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good is relative. i'm not trying to be a dick, but the truth is you don't know.
this is something that frustrates me because there are a bunch of authors i like that i feel i've never really read, because i can't read the language they wrote in. voices are incredibly specific.
[close]

It's a complicated question. I think you're right... to a point. If you read an author in translation, you're not only judging the author's writing, but also the translation. There's good translations and there's horrible translations and they can totally change your perception of a book. However, while the language of a book is totally affected by the quality of a translation, the plot and the characters aren't as much. And no matter how good or bad a translation is, it still went through enough editing to make sure it hits kinda close to home. It's not like you're reading a totally different book.

At the end of the day, I think it's really important to be aware of the fact that we're reading translations of Murakami's original writing. It's funny though: Murakami is way more popular outside of Japan than he is inside the country. This might also be due to his "Western" style, but it also means that the translations can't be all that bad, can they?

As for Murakami, even though he's considered a "magical realist", his magical realism is very different from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I would even say that he's more surrealist than they are "magical realist". Murakami creates dream-like worlds, in which the boundaries between reality, dreams and imagination aren't all that clear. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, on the other hand, writes modern fairytales where, for example, a baby with a tail is born like it's no big deal.
I definitely get what you and matta are saying, it is a nitpicky point I'm making and ultimately not all that helpful unless you plan on spending your life learning the native language of every author you come across that interests you. and I guess I should be honest and say that I was mainly thinking of poets when I wrote that.

Pic is rad twinskates, cool to see someone else on here read that. I have the double book that has Satori in Paris with Pic and I was worried because Satori in Paris was terrible. all I could hope reading Satori was that Pic wouldnt suck and was pleasantly surprised!

7 year old

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2582 on: November 19, 2016, 07:44:26 AM »
and since I'm supposed to be recommending books not dissecting them, Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet is a killer book in translation from french.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2583 on: November 19, 2016, 11:29:32 AM »
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good is relative. i'm not trying to be a dick, but the truth is you don't know.
this is something that frustrates me because there are a bunch of authors i like that i feel i've never really read, because i can't read the language they wrote in. voices are incredibly specific.
[close]

It's a complicated question. I think you're right... to a point. If you read an author in translation, you're not only judging the author's writing, but also the translation. There's good translations and there's horrible translations and they can totally change your perception of a book. However, while the language of a book is totally affected by the quality of a translation, the plot and the characters aren't as much. And no matter how good or bad a translation is, it still went through enough editing to make sure it hits kinda close to home. It's not like you're reading a totally different book.

At the end of the day, I think it's really important to be aware of the fact that we're reading translations of Murakami's original writing. It's funny though: Murakami is way more popular outside of Japan than he is inside the country. This might also be due to his "Western" style, but it also means that the translations can't be all that bad, can they?

As for Murakami, even though he's considered a "magical realist", his magical realism is very different from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I would even say that he's more surrealist than they are "magical realist". Murakami creates dream-like worlds, in which the boundaries between reality, dreams and imagination aren't all that clear. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, on the other hand, writes modern fairytales where, for example, a baby with a tail is born like it's no big deal.
[close]
I definitely get what you and matta are saying, it is a nitpicky point I'm making and ultimately not all that helpful unless you plan on spending your life learning the native language of every author you come across that interests you. and I guess I should be honest and say that I was mainly thinking of poets when I wrote that.

Pic is rad twinskates, cool to see someone else on here read that. I have the double book that has Satori in Paris with Pic and I was worried because Satori in Paris was terrible. all I could hope reading Satori was that Pic wouldnt suck and was pleasantly surprised!


No, I think you're definitely onto something. At a certain point, one's gotta be a little pragmatic though... As mentioned before, I think it's really important to be aware of the fact that some works are translations. It's interesting... I feel like in the States, readers are more conscious of that. That's why people sometimes say "I'm reading a translation of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" instead of just "I'm reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle." I feel like over here in Germany nobody gives a shit. It's common for people, even literary critics, to criticize authors for their language, even though they were reading a translation.

Point in case: I'm about to read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and it turns out the German translation is a translation from English; hence, the translation of a translation. I mean, how ignorant is that? I'm definitely gonna read the English translation now.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2584 on: November 19, 2016, 11:54:37 AM »
People were probably worried they'd be put on some watch list for being fluent in both German and Japanese.

twinskates

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2585 on: November 19, 2016, 05:17:52 PM »
Pic is rad twinskates, cool to see someone else on here read that. I have the double book that has Satori in Paris with Pic and I was worried because Satori in Paris was terrible. all I could hope reading Satori was that Pic wouldnt suck and was pleasantly surprised!

I'm a big fan of Kerouac, just started reading Big Sur right now.
It's also sick that I had some of the same feelings that had Pic from going to the city from the countryside. I'm from Sicily, an island located in the south of Italy, and about last year I made it to Philadelphia. Usa is a very different reality from Italy and I really enjoyed reading some of the same feelings that I had experienced there!
« Last Edit: November 19, 2016, 05:22:19 PM by twinskates »

7 year old

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2586 on: November 19, 2016, 07:35:48 PM »
Big Sur is a good one too, nice. Desolation Angels is my favorite of the ones ive read, you should check that one out at some point too.

(if you haven't already, that is)

twinskates

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2587 on: November 20, 2016, 05:59:47 AM »
Haven't read that one yet, do you have other books to advice me other than Kerouac's ones anyway?


7 year old

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2588 on: November 20, 2016, 06:37:00 AM »
there is a book called Ringolevio by Emmett Grogan which is amazing if you're interested in NYC in the 1940s - 50s or San Francisco in the 60s. a bunch of the same people from Kerouac's books turn up in it, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassidy, Gregory Corso etc.. if you like Kerouac you'd probably like it.

shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2589 on: November 20, 2016, 06:52:14 AM »
'you can't win' by jack black. he was a yegg which wwf doesn't let me play as a word but it meant safecracker back then. also, like a solid dude, not a snitch, willing to escape prison and so on. he did some hoboing, participated in some high crimes and misdemeanors before ulitmately trying to play it straight as a sort of secretary as i recall [haven't read it in close to a decade and i poured whiskey on the first 4 yrs of said decade].
scott bourne and william burroughs both recommended it to me and my roomies when i lived in sf.
jean genet's books were fun to read, theives journal is the only one i remember the name of. i found 'portrait of dorian grey' in a laramie dumpster, dug that one ok.
i hope i am not repeating posts i made 2 yrs ago, i've read a few books recently but i mostly look back on older books for recommendations.
are there any decent italian books we need to find translations of?

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2590 on: November 20, 2016, 11:13:26 AM »
wait, what? you met William Burroughs? how?

twinskates

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2591 on: November 20, 2016, 11:53:14 AM »
are there any decent italian books we need to find translations of?
I haven't read anything from an Italian autor yet. I'm into reading from just some months..
And I don't know why but they don't get me stoked that much ahah

shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2592 on: November 20, 2016, 02:04:23 PM »
wait, what? you met William Burroughs? how?
nah, i meant scott bourne to me through skateboard media and william burroughs, through whatever media to my hippie sorta roommates. we each had an interest in the book independently of each other and there was a bookstore on the richmond side of the sunset w/ a 'hobo' section. hope they're still in business next to all the pho shops.

7 year old

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2593 on: November 20, 2016, 06:48:43 PM »
hobo section sounds rad, more bookstores need to have that.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2594 on: November 21, 2016, 07:29:13 AM »
People were probably worried they'd be put on some watch list for being fluent in both German and Japanese.

"What did you say you'd been doing during the war again?"

Blue Fescue

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2595 on: November 21, 2016, 11:34:31 AM »
a great book about an extended road trip.  such a good writer.


Alan

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2596 on: November 22, 2016, 04:40:03 AM »
That looks interesting. I've been thinking about reading something in the vein of "Travels with Charley", and this looks like it might be it.
Hosin' out the cab of his pickup truck
He's got his 8-track playin' really fuckin' loud

Alan

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2597 on: November 22, 2016, 06:25:01 AM »
Sick, thanks!
Hosin' out the cab of his pickup truck
He's got his 8-track playin' really fuckin' loud

DavidxBowie

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2598 on: December 06, 2016, 09:23:00 PM »
Haven't been doing much reading outside of class recently. Has anyone here read Paul Beatty's The Sellout? Genius satire of race in contemporary America. Just getting into it.

SFblah

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2599 on: December 07, 2016, 02:18:27 AM »
Haven't been doing much reading outside of class recently. Has anyone here read Paul Beatty's The Sellout? Genius satire of race in contemporary America. Just getting into it.
Yes! Every sentence is geniously written.

botefdunn

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2600 on: December 07, 2016, 01:27:53 PM »
The adventures of a Montana boy left to wander and fend for himself at about 13, during the dirty 30's.

More telling of the Great Depression than of hobo culture, its appeal is probably mostly for the more avid train nerd, but I am that and enjoyed it a lot.
Short chapters make for good bedtime reading, out loud or otherwise eg. "Chapter 13: A night in Havre jail" (not a real chapter, but basically they're all little snippets like this).

« Last Edit: January 03, 2017, 12:13:35 PM by botefdunn »

shitsandwich

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2601 on: December 15, 2016, 08:04:21 PM »
What's your guys' take on audiobooks? I've heard some people consider it cheating

I'm currently listening to 1Q84 on youtube right now and i think its great. I'm knocking out so many pages while doing the dishes or other chores. I do plan on buying it after I've completed it though.

shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2602 on: December 15, 2016, 08:27:10 PM »
What's your guys' take on audiobooks? I've heard some people consider it cheating

I'm currently listening to 1Q84 on youtube right now and i think its great. I'm knocking out so many pages while doing the dishes or other chores. I do plan on buying it after I've completed it though.
it's definitely not reading but i've spent hours on youtube listening to prodigy [of mobb deep] read his book to me. some kind soul has edited out the boring parts and uploaded all the gunplay, fights at the tunnel and beef w/ nore and disses from nas.
a friend sent me mushrooms and 'the teachings of don juan' by carlos castaneda and i ate the mushrooms but having a hard time getting into said book. decades ago my roommates had that book on tape and some goony timothy leary book 'you can be anything.... this time around'.
if you get the story through movie, book or radio it's better than missing it entirely.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2603 on: December 15, 2016, 10:35:55 PM »
I've found I can only do non-fiction books via audiobooks.  No real desire to do fiction on them.  i think it's because I feel that fiction puts more emphasis on wording, phrasing, and individual sentences whereas the primary focus of non-fiction is getting a message/idea across with less of an emphasis on construction.  With that in mind, I'm on my fourth audiobook for this year right now and it's going alright.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2604 on: December 16, 2016, 06:22:42 AM »
What's your guys' take on audiobooks? I've heard some people consider it cheating

I'm currently listening to 1Q84 on youtube right now and i think its great. I'm knocking out so many pages while doing the dishes or other chores. I do plan on buying it after I've completed it though.

Can't do it. It's not that I consider it "cheating" (what a strange point), but I'm a visual learner and I can't listen to longer speeches on audio only.

20matar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2605 on: December 16, 2016, 10:04:32 AM »
It's been ages since I finished a book. Changing jobs does that to me. The last book I've read was The Magic of Tidying Up, by a "tidying-up guru" named Marie Kondo. She mostly teaches you how to identify useless stuff, and how to get rid of it. A less-is-more kind of thinking. As much as I try not to hoard things, there's a lot I took from the author.

handsclapanin

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2606 on: December 16, 2016, 12:47:56 PM »
I've been meaning to get some more audiobooks on cd from the library. I'm stuck in rush hour traffic every day. It usually takes about a hour to get home (13 miles). So they are perfect for that. Been a few years since I got one. The 3 I've done most recently were Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway; The Gambler, Dostoyevsky; and Wind up Bird Chronicles, Murakami. I feel you miss out on something. But like Sniffer said, it's better than missing out on the whole thing.

Currently reading this book Lies my Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. Off the Dill rec list. It's alright. A few interesting tidbits here and there.

shitsandwich

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2607 on: December 18, 2016, 11:57:35 PM »
I listened to tina fey's book and it was really entertaining to hear it in her voice so I'm probably going to check out other autobiographies. I also started reading trainspotting and its super cool so far. A bit different than the movie but hard to follow the Scottish accents at times.

lampshade

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2608 on: December 19, 2016, 03:59:50 AM »
a great book about an extended road trip.  such a good writer.



I tried to grab that from the library yesterday, but it was checked out.  I got another one of his books, "Here, There, and Elsewhere."  It's a collection of short stories.  I'm only about 50 pages in.  It's Ok so far.  The stories are only about 10 pages longs, so if one is boring, you can just skip it. 

Just re read Dharma Bums for like the tenth time.  Such a good, fast read.

Alexactly

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2609 on: December 20, 2016, 03:13:08 PM »
Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue. Easily my favorite book released of 2016. Highly recommended for fans of Borges, Pynchon, Calvino, and Bolano. Good review by Alberto Manguel here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/30/sudden-death-by-alvaro-enrigue-review

It's coming out in paperback in February, keep your eyes peeled.