Author Topic: books to read  (Read 431305 times)

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Jagr

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2880 on: May 10, 2018, 12:24:51 PM »
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Read my first McCarthy a few days back, Outer Dark. Great stuff, weird I never read him before. Went on to read the Border Trilogy and Suttree. Have liked everything so far.

Did someone on here mention In the Distance by Hernan Diaz? Or maybe I picked it up somewhere else. Unique take on the Western novel.
[close]

I mentioned In The Distance. So good. It just got nominated for a Pulitzer too.

Here’s the NY Times article on him this week.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/books/hernan-diaz-in-the-distance.html

Oh yeah, thanks for the tip! I keep a big list of books I want to read, so I'm never 100% sure where the recommendations came from.

I really liked In the Distance, but I felt like it kind of petered off at the end...like it sort of bugged me that the first 3/4 of the book are really detailed and the last 1/4 covers a decade or two or more. I would've liked it to either end around the bit in the Grand Canyon or been quite a bit longer.

Not sure if there's a poetry thread or not, but do any of you guys read any good poetry book or collections recently? I just finished My Vocabulary Did This to Me, a collection of Jack Spicer's poems. Looking for new poetry.

handsclapanin

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2881 on: June 11, 2018, 04:01:51 PM »
Just finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.
Normally, I would probably have passed this up. It's a newer book. I usually stick with the "classics". Or at least older books. Also, it's almost 800 pages. Another thing I usually shy away from.
But my wife recommended it, so I figured I'd give it a chance. She doesn't read all that much. But flew through this book in like 2 weeks. I'd wake up to pee at 3 in the morning and she would be up, still reading it. It took me closer to 2 months to finish. I'd recommend it. Maybe a little slow going. But once I got into it; it was hard to put down.
« Last Edit: June 11, 2018, 08:30:25 PM by handsclapanin »

RCB3

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2882 on: June 11, 2018, 06:10:31 PM »
I'm halfway through "Endurance" right now about an arctic expedition in the early 1900's and its wild stuff. Really interesting and insane what people can endure, no pun intended.

Also just finished "The Other Wes Moore" and I enjoyed it. It sort of ended abruptly, but lots of good stuff to think about.


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Peter Zagreus

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2883 on: June 12, 2018, 11:33:15 AM »


Just finished reading this one, and I really dug it. Peter Lamborn Wilson is an individualist anarchist writer, probably known best for TAZ: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism and his other political stuff from the 80s (mostly written under the pseudonym "Hakim Bey"), but he writes all kinds of weird and very thought-provoking stuff.

This book is his latest (2017). It's fiction--a book of "tales," which differ from short stories in that they are less character driven/psychological and more...imaginative? There's time travel and anarchist hillbilly enclaves and dystopian futures in which people are living on islands formed out of the plastic that floats in the ocean, and with no electricity. At certain points, it's obvious that the tales are serving as sort of display cases for Wilson's utopian ideals, but that didn't bother me so much, as the worlds he envisions are always epicurean (most of his narrators are gourmands or decadents of one sort or another) and primitively dignified/elegant.
I read this one after reading a lot of his more explicitly philosophical/political, "non-fictional" work, but I would recommend the former as a fun introduction to the latter.

Joust Ostrich

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2884 on: June 12, 2018, 05:16:48 PM »
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/chapters-one-and-two-the-business-secrets-of-drug-dealing

Serialized book, first two chapters are free.  Good so far.  Hesitant to pay for that subscription though.
I'm posting from my blackberry wtf?!?!?

behavioralguide

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2885 on: June 12, 2018, 06:20:34 PM »
biggie covered those anyways

Mark Renton

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2886 on: June 19, 2018, 05:25:44 AM »
Just finished The street kids by Pasolini. It was really interesting as it describes the lives of street kids in Rome after WWII.



I bought these two books as an attempt to vary a bit the topics of my readings

The big thirst by Fisherman, suggested by my former water resources management professor



Flow by Csikszentmihalyi, as a self help book for anxiety/depression

« Last Edit: June 19, 2018, 05:31:49 AM by Mark Renton »
video tape yourself saving monks. dont just do it. make sure its caught on film.

Skate_lurker_Rob

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2887 on: June 19, 2018, 09:17:10 AM »
Isaac Asimov Foundation Trilogy
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offkilter

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2888 on: June 19, 2018, 09:34:22 AM »
If you're into music, the Miles Davis autobiography is a great read. He uses the word "motherfucker" over 10,000 times in the first chapter.

shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2889 on: July 12, 2018, 03:30:12 PM »
my buddy loaned me 'skateboarding, space and the city' and so far it's pretty awful. maybe i'm being harsh but it's not informative [to someone immersed in the language of skate] and it is pretty dry text. but im agnostic.
he loaned me another called 'death of nature' that's prolly better but of course i started the skating one first.

Alan

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2890 on: July 12, 2018, 05:27:46 PM »
Borden's book is an academic monograph, it wasn't aimed at the general public. It draws heavily on Lefebvre, so chances are if you're not familiar with (Marxist) spatial sociology you're shit out of luck.
« Last Edit: July 12, 2018, 07:15:14 PM by Alan »
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Skate_lurker_Rob

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2891 on: July 12, 2018, 05:48:50 PM »
my buddy loaned me 'skateboarding, space and the city' and so far it's pretty awful. maybe i'm being harsh but it's not informative [to someone immersed in the language of skate] and it is pretty dry text. but im agnostic.
he loaned me another called 'death of nature' that's prolly better but of course i started the skating one first.
So I was in 5th grade around the time I picked up this gem of a book, Skateboard Tough. Although cringe worthy now this was my favorite book when I was a kid. Use to cut up CCS catalogs and carve Popsicle sticks to fit the boards I cut out.   Here's the pdf if interested http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/userfiles/896/file/Skateboard%20Tough.pdf
« Last Edit: July 12, 2018, 05:53:08 PM by Skate_lurker_Rob »
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Art_Vanderlay

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2892 on: July 12, 2018, 07:47:10 PM »
If you're interested in art, queer culture, the AIDS epidemic or New York In the 70's and 80's you should check out the biography Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz. It's a really inspiring read about an underrated and under appreciated artist who died of AIDS in the 90s.

sexualhelon

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2893 on: July 12, 2018, 08:27:28 PM »
I've got a few:

- Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?

- The Ascent of Money

- Guns, Germs, and Steel

- Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World

I feel like I've recommended these books to quite a few people lately. I'm vegan and I recommended them mostly to other vegans. My argument is always that if you're going to tell people to not eat chicken - or to eat chicken - then you should be able to discuss the history of the Chicken with me.

active_shooter

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2894 on: July 24, 2018, 05:09:20 AM »
David Foster Wallace- Infinite Jest. Started this a while back and recently picked it back up. DFW is like literary weighted push ups/pull ups. It's a challenge, so say the very least.
David Eggars- You Shall Know Our Velocity! This was pretty interesting.
Seneca- something about letters to his nephew. This was loaned to me by a co-worker from a Situationist reading list.. Really good stuff.
James Loewen- Lies My Teacher Told Me
I can't recall the author, but "The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Prison." I have a couple versions of this, I believe it gets updated every so often, or when a new scandal comes out.

SFblah

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2895 on: July 25, 2018, 04:24:07 AM »
For the past two weeks I’ve been reading The Complete Stories of Clarice Lispector. It’s 600+ pages of all her short stories. I’ve only read Hour of the Star before this but I’m really enjoying this more.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2896 on: July 25, 2018, 05:02:02 PM »
I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.

SFblah

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2897 on: July 26, 2018, 10:20:59 AM »
I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.

I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.

There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.

RIDEFLANNELV2

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2898 on: July 26, 2018, 11:02:53 AM »
Just finished up:

Norwegian Wood - Murakami
North - Scott Jurek
The End of the World Running Club -  Adrian J. Walker
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

Reading:

Eiger Dreams - Jon Krakauer

Next up:

Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball - Murakami
Into thin air - Jon Krakauer
The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Here Come The Lame Jets

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2899 on: July 26, 2018, 02:26:52 PM »
Expand Quote
I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.
[close]

I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.

There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.

Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.

Peter Zagreus

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2900 on: July 27, 2018, 11:55:01 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.
[close]

I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.

There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.
[close]

Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.

Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.

SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.

botefdunn

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2901 on: July 27, 2018, 12:22:27 PM »

Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.

SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.

It occurred to me at some point that this is probably how non-skaters feel listening to me talk about jerry fischer vs. Matt reason vs. Fred gall as their trick selection, hair, and halfcabs relate to mid 90s philly skating, or something along those lines.

I just read "woes of the secret policeman" bolanos posthumously published novel, it's enjoyable, reads like notes for "2666"

On the topic of short story vs novel, its interesting that he considered himself foremost a poet. Good writer all around.

NeppuNeppu

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2902 on: July 27, 2018, 04:34:11 PM »
Stuff I recently finished:

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol - I thought it was boring and repetitious for the most part. Near the end of the first part the plot really starts to pick up and you can see the consequences from the previous chapters begin to form, but then it just stops. The second part doesn't really do anything different.

Babyfucker by Urs Allemann - Surprisingly good despite very obviously being extremely edgy. It's a short, enjoyable read. Also features the wonderful sentence "I fuck babies therefore I am."

The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector - Really great novella. Other posters have already given praise to her and I think I initially picked it up due to this thread.

All the King's Horses by Michele Bernstein - Bernstein has explicitly stated this book is a joke and others claim it was a method to gain funds so the SI could publish their journal. It's a pretty goofy novel about an poly-amorous couple and definitely appeals to some kind of young, wild, and free idea. On its own the book kind of sucks, but in context of knowing who Bernstein is and her contributions to the SI it turns out rad.

The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord - Despite referencing "the spectacle" for years within Internationale Situationniste, Debord finally put out a book definitively stating what the spectacle is, how it functions, and all that stuff. There's also critiques of Marx and Bakunin, communism and anarchy. It's good. You could probably get a strong sense of everything in the book from a lot of other SI texts, but this is probably the most clear and definitive work on the spectacle.

Sixty Stories and Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme - Thanks to the slap pal who recommended him to me. There are some incredible short stories in these collections. Easily one of the best authors I've read.

Masks by Fumiko Enchi - A fun novel about two dudes trying to hook up with a widowed woman despite her (ex)mother-in-law's influence. The ending is a bit soft, but it was an enjoyable read.

AM/PM by Amelia Gray - A bunch of paragraph length vignettes. I liked them.

Not Bored! Anthology by Bill Brown AKA Bill Not Bored AKA Little Billy Not DeBored - A collection of writings and detourned images from a situationist inspired zine. It isn't good. It's pretty much 700 pages of a guy acting like he truly understands situationist texts and corrects everyone who makes a simple misquote or simplifies the SI in any manner and acts as if that is a "scandal" or reification or whatever. He's like a Debord historian if anything. At one point he wrote an "Intro to the SI" for MRR and pointlessly ridiculed The Feederz and for whatever reason published their response within the anthology and I think it captures what he says about so many others throughout the book - "You proved you knew all the catchwords but understand SHIT."

I also just started The Revolution of Everyday Life by Raoul Vaneigem. So far it's like an expanded version of his Basic Banalities from Internationale Situationniste which I really liked.

SFblah

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2903 on: July 27, 2018, 04:43:27 PM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.
[close]

I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.

There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.
[close]

Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.
[close]

Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.

SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.

Yea, Wild Detectives here in Oak Cliff. You live here or been there?

SFblah

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2904 on: July 27, 2018, 04:48:23 PM »

Sixty Stories and Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme - Thanks to the slap pal who recommended him to me. There are some incredible short stories in these collections. Easily one of the best authors I've read.



I think that was me so glad you liked it. His style was weird to get used to the first time I read him.

oyolar

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2905 on: July 27, 2018, 08:39:30 PM »
As I have mentioned before, I'm a huge Nabokov fan and will die on the hill of him being probably the greatest author in the English language (maybe after Joyce), so after reading this article, I picked up Adrienne Celt's Invitation to a Bonfire and have enjoyed it so far.  I haven't gotten too far into it but that's because I've been busy at work and not felt like reading, not at all an indictment of her writing so if anyone is somewhat interested in Nabokov, it might be worth picking up.

https://electricliterature.com/vladimir-nabokov-taught-me-how-to-be-a-feminist-229f3dbade6f


I've also been really trying to read more POC/non-European or North American/male authors lately and am so glad I've made that choice.  It's how I picked up Lispector and Bolano and has led to a lot of female written audiobooks as well as people like Alexandra Kleeman (who I cannot recommend enough to anyone and everyone - I love her writing so much), Yelena Moskovich, Paul Beatty.  Anyone else been trying to expand their oeuvre?

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2906 on: July 28, 2018, 10:54:13 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.
[close]

I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.

There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.
[close]

Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.
[close]

Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.

SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.
[close]

Yea, Wild Detectives here in Oak Cliff. You live here or been there?

He chose Die Verwandlung, not Der Prozess, Bartleby, not Moby Dick, he chose Un coeur simple and not Bouvard et Pecuchet and he chose A Christmas Carol, not A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Club. A sad paradox, Amalfitano thought. Even the educated apothecary[BOOKSTORE OWNERS] do not brave the immense, imperfect ,impetious works that struggle their way into the unknown. They choose the perfect exercises of the great masters.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2018, 11:16:34 AM by behavioralguide »

shark tits

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2907 on: July 28, 2018, 11:13:17 AM »
As I have mentioned before, I'm a huge Nabokov fan and will die on the hill of him being probably the greatest author in the English language (maybe after Joyce), so after reading this article, I picked up Adrienne Celt's Invitation to a Bonfire and have enjoyed it so far.  I haven't gotten too far into it but that's because I've been busy at work and not felt like reading, not at all an indictment of her writing so if anyone is somewhat interested in Nabokov, it might be worth picking up.

https://electricliterature.com/vladimir-nabokov-taught-me-how-to-be-a-feminist-229f3dbade6f


I've also been really trying to read more POC/non-European or North American/male authors lately and am so glad I've made that choice.  It's how I picked up Lispector and Bolano and has led to a lot of female written audiobooks as well as people like Alexandra Kleeman (who I cannot recommend enough to anyone and everyone - I love her writing so much), Yelena Moskovich, Paul Beatty.  Anyone else been trying to expand their oeuvre?
doesn't that word usually refer to your own artwork not art you consume? like if louie barletta took up poetry or mega ramp, that would be expanding his ouevre, not if he listened to rap.
i've always read books by black guys, woman, the occasional asian [amy tan] or native indian [sherman alexie].
black authors?
manchild in the promised land
monster kody
'push' [precious]
soul on ice [about raping white women as an act of revolution/black power]
forget tthe name of it but i read a real good book about george jackson and the soledad brothers
americanuh [someone on here recommended it, about nigerian expats, dece]
jay-z's book decoded [kinda whatever]
city kid by nelson george
for women, amy hempel does dece short stories, caroline knapp [RIP] usedta write for the boston phoenix, i've read a few of her books behind that. SE Hinton changed my teen yrs.
for asian dudes, there's a book called 'the sailor who lost faith in the sea' [i think?] by a japanese dude who killed himself after publishing a trio of books and a failed coup.
sadam hussein's biography [dude got shot in a failed coup and swam across the tigris injured before his successful coup]
book about cuban revolution [castro and che failed their first time, regrouped in mexico, sailed back all janky style w/ like 90 dudes but they picked up more revolutionaries along the way. book inspired me to get in shape like taxi driver.
that's of the top of my head, who just reads white guys? that's just silly.
[honorable mention] simone de beavoir. i always wished i had a gf who would write about our adventures from her perspective. sartre was a lucky prick [or he made his own luck he'd tell you]
« Last Edit: July 28, 2018, 11:33:58 AM by I sniff my own butthole all the time »

Peter Zagreus

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2908 on: July 28, 2018, 12:49:47 PM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.
[close]

I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.

There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.
[close]

Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.
[close]

Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.

SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.
[close]

Yea, Wild Detectives here in Oak Cliff. You live here or been there?
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He chose Die Verwandlung, not Der Prozess, Bartleby, not Moby Dick, he chose Un coeur simple and not Bouvard et Pecuchet and he chose A Christmas Carol, not A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Club. A sad paradox, Amalfitano thought. Even the educated apothecary[BOOKSTORE OWNERS] do not brave the immense, imperfect ,impetious works that struggle their way into the unknown. They choose the perfect exercises of the great masters.

Lol. Well done, bg.

SFblah - I live in East Dallas and have been to WD a bunch of times, though not lately (broke). They are probably the most tasteful curators of fiction in the area. I work at Half Price Books, which probably explains both my lack of money and whatever shopping habits I have. We get a nice discount and first dibs on all the various material that comes in.

I've been living/skating in Dallas and posting on Slap for something like a decade. We're bound to know a lot of the same people.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice

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Re: books to read
« Reply #2909 on: July 29, 2018, 02:50:47 PM »
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I cannot agree more.  She's a WAY better short story writer than novelist and I'm usually much more of a novel person.  Her novels just collapse under their own weight in my opinion.
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I agree on that and I’ve seen others feel that way about her novels too.

There is a local bookstore/bar owned by two Spanish guys and when I was buying a Bolano book they told me he also is a much better short story writer.
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Oh damn - that's saying a lot because I loved The Savage Detectives but disliked Antwerp. Granted, I know Antwerp wasn't short stories but little vignettes loosely tied together, but I'd think it would be similar.
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Savage Detectives was inspired at times, but also sort of a drag at others, IMO. As a North Americano, I feel like Bolano's "literary" details are beyond my grasp. I read Distant Star, and that was pretty good, though short as far as novels go. Maybe it's working in the liminal novella space.

SFblah: Does that Spanish-guy-owned bookstore/bar happen to be named after Bolano's book? Sounds familiar.
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Yea, Wild Detectives here in Oak Cliff. You live here or been there?
[close]

He chose Die Verwandlung, not Der Prozess, Bartleby, not Moby Dick, he chose Un coeur simple and not Bouvard et Pecuchet and he chose A Christmas Carol, not A Tale of Two Cities or The Pickwick Club. A sad paradox, Amalfitano thought. Even the educated apothecary[BOOKSTORE OWNERS] do not brave the immense, imperfect ,impetious works that struggle their way into the unknown. They choose the perfect exercises of the great masters.

Well played, sir, well played!

I find the storeowners' assessment of Bolano interesting. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Personally, The Savage Detectives is my favourite, but that has more to do with the atmosphere, themes, and characters than it has with... let's say... plot density. I agree that parts of it were a drag. His novellas and short stories, especially By Night in Chile and Distant Star, are beautifully crafted. I also recall a short story written from the perspective of a mouse and another one that plays with a short story by Borges on Argentinian gauchos. 2666 on the other hand, is one for the fans.

Speaking of Bolano, I just started a new translation that just appeared (posthumously of course) in German. An English translation called The Spirit of Science Fiction will be published soon as well. It reminds me a lot of The Savage Detectives, but 70 pages in I'm not yet sure where it's going. Two friends move to Mexico City, one only stays inside and appears to write letters to Science Fiction authors, whereas the other gets invested in the DF literary scene. Similar to The Savage Detectives, the book has multiple time frames and perspectives that somehow seem to be connected one way or another.

I haven't been reading much lately. I just finished a critical biography of the prophet Muhamad by an Egyptian atheist (and son of an Imam), but other than that, I can't remember the last time I finished a book. It's not a lack of time - quite the opposite, school's finally out for summer! - but I feel more like watching TV shows, going out, visiting friends, and skating than reading books. These periods come and go though.

Does anyone know what the deal is with Book Six of Knausgaard's My Struggle? I decided to read the whole series in English rather than German, but the English translation seems to take forever (the German translation was published last year). I've always read the American version by Farrar, Straus & Giroux rather than the British Versions (with their stupid titles) and I want to keep doing that. Any news by American readers on when Book Six hits US stores?