books to read

[oyolar]

Good to know Walker’s book is fine. I like him as a skater and a person but expected it to be horrible.

Listening to Lurking by Joanne McNeil which is really interesting so far. It’s a dive into the history / experience of using the internet but with a focus on the user versus the companies behind it. Which when you hear it is a no-brainer perspective but one that hasn’t been taken before. It feels very interesting and resonant because of this.

I also started the Kleeman I mentioned above today. Read the first 24 pages and had to stop myself or I was going to finish the whole thing. It’s just as good if not better than I remembered. The fun part of rereading books is hitting those lines or moments that resonate with you upon first read and immediately re-connecting with them. That happened a lot in this first chapter, which then resulted in a cascade of other memories of the book and I’m excited to keep reading!

[botefdunn]

Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.

Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.

[Lloyd Braun]

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Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.

[close]

Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.

Thanks. I’ll look into it

[AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice]

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Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.

[close]

Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.

I'm not sure what you mean with "the Chilean not the Mexican", but I second your suggestion! Bolano's one of my all-time favs. Los Detectives Salvajes is his best work in my opinion, but I recommend starting with something easier, like Estrella Distante or Nocturno de Chile.

Bolano was Chilean and later moved to Mexico. Many of his works were written against the background of the Pinochet regime in Chile, but Los Detectives Salvajes and 2666 (his most famous, yet not his best work) clearly focus more on Mexican society.

[behavioralguide]

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Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.

[close]

Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.

[close]

I'm not sure what you mean with "the Chilean not the Mexican", but I second your suggestion! Bolano's one of my all-time favs. Los Detectives Salvajes is his best work in my opinion, but I recommend starting with something easier, like Estrella Distante or Nocturno de Chile.

Bolano was Chilean and later moved to Mexico. Many of his works were written against the background of the Pinochet regime in Chile, but Los Detectives Salvajes and 2666 (his most famous, yet not his best work) clearly focus more on Mexican society.

curious as to why you'd think so

[AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice]

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Any Spanish speaking PALs with book recommendations I’d like to read a few more novels in Spanish.

[close]

Robero Bolano, the Chilean not the Mexican. Los Dectives Salvajes is his best know novel, Las Putas Assessinas is a good collection of short stories. If this interests you search this thread, his novels have been discussed at length I think.

[close]

I'm not sure what you mean with "the Chilean not the Mexican", but I second your suggestion! Bolano's one of my all-time favs. Los Detectives Salvajes is his best work in my opinion, but I recommend starting with something easier, like Estrella Distante or Nocturno de Chile.

Bolano was Chilean and later moved to Mexico. Many of his works were written against the background of the Pinochet regime in Chile, but Los Detectives Salvajes and 2666 (his most famous, yet not his best work) clearly focus more on Mexican society.

[close]

curious as to why you'd think so

Well, Bolano wrote 2666 on his deathbed and was (understandably) eager to make it a financial success in order to provide for his family after his death. He had already been a famous writer at this point and 2666 was supposed to be his magnum opus. 2666 consists of five parts, which are more or less loosely connected. Bolano wasn't even sure whether to publish these 5 stories as one work or as separate books.

Don't get me wrong here, 2666 was definitely one of the better books I've read and also worth the effort (~900 pages). But I also couldn't help but feel that, first and foremost, 2666 owes its fame to its marketing as Bolano's "big novel". I'm still not entirely sure how its 5 stories tie together exactly and whether this was done well. It also lacks the "heart" of Los Detectives Salvajes and feels much "colder" (which is also exactly what Bolano was going for), but that's just my personal taste.

In my opinion, The Savage Detectives is Bolano at his very best, followed by Distant Star and By Night in Chile.

Have you read 2666 or are you about to?

[botefdunn]

just want to be absolutely clear, the reference to Bolano the Chilean not the Mexican is because there is another well-known author (in the spanish lit world) with the same name, only difference is an 񮍊
From what I've read the publishers wanted to capitalize on Bolano's hype and put out 2666 as one book against his explicit instructions (he was dead at that point but he'd been clear about this, it was supposed to be read as periodic installments). I think it's a great book but would have profited immensely from existing as separate, linked pieces.

As far as stand alone novels go The Third Reich is pretty strong as well.

[behavioralguide]

I hear you, and 2666 could've definitly benifitted from being finished, its just that the way you put it made it seem like you argued it was a 'lesser' Bolano novel.

I thought I read that the only reason Bolano wanted it to be released in separate parts was because he knew he was dying and that in that way it would secure a prolonged income, he figured 5 books would make more money than one.

I think The Savage Detectives and Third Reich are great, but very polished and ''commercial'', in my reading of Bolano I' got the feeling he'd think of those two as the lesser novels himself. To me his writing shines best in A Distant Star or Amulet, Antwerp or 2666.

But, Savage Detectives would probably be the best one to start with.

[AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice]

just want to be absolutely clear, the reference to Bolano the Chilean not the Mexican is because there is another well-known author (in the spanish lit world) with the same name, only difference is an 񮍊
From what I've read the publishers wanted to capitalize on Bolano's hype and put out 2666 as one book against his explicit instructions (he was dead at that point but he'd been clear about this, it was supposed to be read as periodic installments). I think it's a great book but would have profited immensely from existing as separate, linked pieces.

As far as stand alone novels go The Third Reich is pretty strong as well.

Oh wow. I never knew that there was another Roberto Bolano (despite the one-letter difference). I guess that makes sense now.

I likedThe Third Reich and its surreal eeriness, too. Well, as a matter of fact, I pretty much like everything I've read by Bolano so far. It's about time I pick up another of his books. I've never read Antwerp or Monsieur Pain for example.

I hear you, and 2666 could've definitly benifitted from being finished, its just that the way you put it made it seem like you argued it was a 'lesser' Bolano novel.

I thought I read that the only reason Bolano wanted it to be released in separate parts was because he knew he was dying and that in that way it would secure a prolonged income, he figured 5 books would make more money than one.

I think The Savage Detectives and Third Reich are great, but very polished and ''commercial'', in my reading of Bolano I' got the feeling he'd think of those two as the lesser novels himself. To me his writing shines best in A Distant Star or Amulet, Antwerp or 2666.

But, Savage Detectives would probably be the best one to start with.

Yeah, I get your point. The works you mentioned all strike me as a bit darker than The Savage Detectives (even though I've never readAntwerp). Why do you consider The Savage Detectives polished? I'm genuinely interested. Personally, I always thought of the Detectives as the peak of the "young" Bolano, as it mixes different genres and is a bit more poetic, playful and "bohemian" than, let's say, 2666, which strikes me as a more "mature" novel.

I'm not sure Bolano even has a lesser novel. Maybe Lumpen novelita, but that's merely based on other people's reviews. I think I read somewhere that Bolano considered himself a poet and only started writing prose in order to make a living. So maybe he considered all of his novels as lesser writing.

[Sluggloaph]

The reindeer people by piers vitebsky.
Pretty readable psuedo- ethnography type. They really into their dreams there and plenty of reindeer trivia.
For example, if a reindeer dies in the arctic, it's guts and shit don't freeze, they ferment because the fur/hide is so warm. The more you know.

[botefdunn]

I hear you, and 2666 could've definitly benifitted from being finished, its just that the way you put it made it seem like you argued it was a 'lesser' Bolano novel.

I think maybe you're confusing my post with another since I didn't mention 2666, but for the record I think it is by far the more ambitious work.

I thought I read that the only reason Bolano wanted it to be released in separate parts was because he knew he was dying and that in that way it would secure a prolonged income, he figured 5 books would make more money than one.

Yep, that's what I read too. But I think that the wait time between installments would have given readers more of a chance to think about each section, absorb it more and ultimately just built anticipation and a different kind of appreciation for the different parts of the work.

I think The Savage Detectives and Third Reich are great, but very polished and ''commercial'', in my reading of Bolano I' got the feeling he'd think of those two as the lesser novels himself. To me his writing shines best in A Distant Star or Amulet, Antwerp or 2666.

yep.

But, Savage Detectives would probably be the best one to start with.

yep. also maybe the Skating Rink as ashorter novel.

[ChronicBluntSlider]

I’ve gotten into reading social psychology the past few years. I think largely due to the Trump phenomenon and seeing some people behave in ways and justify things I never thought I would. Anyways, this guy Roy Baumeister’s name pops up over and over again in the stuff I’ve read, particularly pertaining to the individual, and I finally picked up one of his books, Willpower. There’s a lot of stuff you already know intuitively that it just sort of confirms and backs with research and brings it to the front of your mind. He talks about how willpower is finite, and a person can only exercise it for a certain amount of time before it needs to be replenished with food or sleep. But that if it is exercised consistently it could be strengthened and the more you make good habits part of your routine the less willpower you have to expend on them because the actions become automatic.
What I thought was most interesting it talks about how for most of the history of psychology the brain was treated as this isolated organism, and just recently researchers have studied how it is effected by being interconnected with the larger biological organism of the human body. And he claims that blood glucose levels have an extremely strong correlation with personal willpower. Eating sugar gives you a short term spike in energy and therefore willpower, but then you crash and essentially have a willpower hangover. And alcohol and drugs other than pot (his exception) fuck you up because they throw your personal monitoring system into disarray. The key to maintaining consistently healthy glucose levels and therefore consistently strong willpower is to eat a healthy, low glycemic, diet. I started eating a much healthier diet a few years ago and it sort of coincided with improving my habits in general and felt his theory made a lot of sense to my own experience. Of course there is the catch 22 that it requires a strong willpower to eat a healthy diet, which is necessary to maintain strong willpower...

[DaleSr]

I've been working my way slowly through Alexander Cockburn's Corruptions of Empire which is mostly a collection of magazine stories, personal vignettes and diary entries starting in the 1950s when Alex was in private school in Ireland through to the Reagan years ending in 1987 when the book was published. Alex was a socialist and a journalist with a very British sensibility. I would compare him to Hunter S Thompson, very biting in his take on American politics and politicians, but a lot less unhinged and drug addled. Topics range from discussions of the virtues of French cooking vs English cooking, the preservation of Miami's Art Deco district, the CIA's funding of death squads in El Salvador, PG Wodehouse's time in America when he wrote most of his famous books, to the concept of political punditry. It's all very informative, but it never feels like a slog as Cockburn peppers everything with his distinct British humor.

Here's a little excerpt from his section on the plight of Palestinians in 1980

Here is a practical proposal to you. Discuss the basic facts of the oppression of the Palestinians by Israel as much as you can and going right down to the basics of the racism of everyday. Point out the obvious contradiction between what the majority of American Jews demand for themselves in the USA, and what they defend in Israel. Do not be intimidated in the struggle against racism and for human dignity, equality and freedom, by any demagoguery about peace and democracy, if they are used in the cause of discrimination, and perhaps the words of the prophet (Amos 5:15) will come true : 'Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgement in the gate, it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.'

And another excerpt on how his father (himself a famous communist writer in the early 20th century) would deal with debt collectors.

Early in life in Ireland i learned to appreciate the color of the envelopes containing the day's mail. White envelopes were good. Brown ones weren't and my father would leave them up on the mantelpiece unopened. Over the months they would gradually get demoted from this high station to his study and then to the bottom drawer of a desk in his study. We would all laugh heartily over the form letter to creditors my father threatened to send: 'Dear Sir, I am in receipt of your fourth communication regarding my outstanding account. Let me explain how I pay my bills. I throw them all into a large basket. Each year I stir the basket with a stick, take out four bills and pay them. One more letter from you and you're out of the game.'

It's a joy to read and because the book is mostly a collection of little stories and excerpts you can read a little bit a day.

[Sluggloaph]

A hero of our time, mikhail lermontov. Jawns like 200 ish years old an it's fuckin on point. It's real short an maybe a lil cheesy but it's pretty sick, there's duels in it, innit.

[Grind King Rims]

I've been working my way slowly through Alexander Cockburn's Corruptions of Empire which is mostly a collection of magazine stories, personal vignettes and diary entries starting in the 1950s when Alex was in private school in Ireland through to the Reagan years ending in 1987 when the book was published. Alex was a socialist and a journalist with a very British sensibility. I would compare him to Hunter S Thompson, very biting in his take on American politics and politicians, but a lot less unhinged and drug addled. Topics range from discussions of the virtues of French cooking vs English cooking, the preservation of Miami's Art Deco district, the CIA's funding of death squads in El Salvador, PG Wodehouse's time in America when he wrote most of his famous books, to the concept of political punditry. It's all very informative, but it never feels like a slog as Cockburn peppers everything with his distinct British humor.

Here's a little excerpt from his section on the plight of Palestinians in 1980

Here is a practical proposal to you. Discuss the basic facts of the oppression of the Palestinians by Israel as much as you can and going right down to the basics of the racism of everyday. Point out the obvious contradiction between what the majority of American Jews demand for themselves in the USA, and what they defend in Israel. Do not be intimidated in the struggle against racism and for human dignity, equality and freedom, by any demagoguery about peace and democracy, if they are used in the cause of discrimination, and perhaps the words of the prophet (Amos 5:15) will come true : 'Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgement in the gate, it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.'

And another excerpt on how his father (himself a famous communist writer in the early 20th century) would deal with debt collectors.

Early in life in Ireland i learned to appreciate the color of the envelopes containing the day's mail. White envelopes were good. Brown ones weren't and my father would leave them up on the mantelpiece unopened. Over the months they would gradually get demoted from this high station to his study and then to the bottom drawer of a desk in his study. We would all laugh heartily over the form letter to creditors my father threatened to send: 'Dear Sir, I am in receipt of your fourth communication regarding my outstanding account. Let me explain how I pay my bills. I throw them all into a large basket. Each year I stir the basket with a stick, take out four bills and pay them. One more letter from you and you're out of the game.'

It's a joy to read and because the book is mostly a collection of little stories and excerpts you can read a little bit a day.

This sounds great.

[Rohn_mob_joore]

Reading The Gulag Archipelago, written by a prisoner in the Soviet Union. Hard to read but really good. It’s the book that flipped a lot of Soviet sympathetic thinkers against the Soviet Union.

[DaleSr]

Expand Quote

I've been working my way slowly through Alexander Cockburn's Corruptions of Empire which is mostly a collection of magazine stories, personal vignettes and diary entries starting in the 1950s when Alex was in private school in Ireland through to the Reagan years ending in 1987 when the book was published. Alex was a socialist and a journalist with a very British sensibility. I would compare him to Hunter S Thompson, very biting in his take on American politics and politicians, but a lot less unhinged and drug addled. Topics range from discussions of the virtues of French cooking vs English cooking, the preservation of Miami's Art Deco district, the CIA's funding of death squads in El Salvador, PG Wodehouse's time in America when he wrote most of his famous books, to the concept of political punditry. It's all very informative, but it never feels like a slog as Cockburn peppers everything with his distinct British humor.

Here's a little excerpt from his section on the plight of Palestinians in 1980

Here is a practical proposal to you. Discuss the basic facts of the oppression of the Palestinians by Israel as much as you can and going right down to the basics of the racism of everyday. Point out the obvious contradiction between what the majority of American Jews demand for themselves in the USA, and what they defend in Israel. Do not be intimidated in the struggle against racism and for human dignity, equality and freedom, by any demagoguery about peace and democracy, if they are used in the cause of discrimination, and perhaps the words of the prophet (Amos 5:15) will come true : 'Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgement in the gate, it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.'

And another excerpt on how his father (himself a famous communist writer in the early 20th century) would deal with debt collectors.

Early in life in Ireland i learned to appreciate the color of the envelopes containing the day's mail. White envelopes were good. Brown ones weren't and my father would leave them up on the mantelpiece unopened. Over the months they would gradually get demoted from this high station to his study and then to the bottom drawer of a desk in his study. We would all laugh heartily over the form letter to creditors my father threatened to send: 'Dear Sir, I am in receipt of your fourth communication regarding my outstanding account. Let me explain how I pay my bills. I throw them all into a large basket. Each year I stir the basket with a stick, take out four bills and pay them. One more letter from you and you're out of the game.'

It's a joy to read and because the book is mostly a collection of little stories and excerpts you can read a little bit a day.

[close]

This sounds great.

It is, i now own all three of his major works, the aforementioned Corruptions of Empire, the Golden Age is Within Us and A Colossal Wreck, which is his final book written up until his untimely death from cancer in 2014

[Peter Zagreus]

On a pulpy, LA, novels-from-1939 kick this week:





Don't have these editions, of course. Both titles are great. I especially recommend the West, though. Really remarkable.

[Alan]

Chandler is probably in my top 5. Wish he'd written more novels and stories.

[matty_c]

W Somerset Maugham "Of Human Bondage" has been a long read. It's not that the novel is particularly difficult to understand, but rather the depth of thought and its effect on interpersonal relationships experienced by each character, particularly Philip, is expansive and despite the book having been written in 1915, relatable. Not so much the background or tangible experience, but the growth of person and again, thought, presented through Philip is in some ways reminiscent of my own and that of others I've known in seeking a path in their early 20s. Granted, I didn't have a trust fund, but I owned a car and do remember well traveling around with a camera and skateboard, experiencing women and art, heroes quickly crushed. I've got about 1/3 left to read and hope to be done soon. No spoilers please

That dude’s my favourite writer. His short stories are fucking mint. If I was an art wanker I’d say something about his shit being almost brechtian

Pretty cool dude was the highest paid author in the world like proper famous and on the sly putting from the rough the whole time
He didn’t give a fuck, sickest cunt

[Peter Zagreus]

Also, recently discovered early sci-fi guy Olaf Stapledon. I had a whole post written out about the following books, but my internet blinked out when I tried to post. Maybe just marvel at these retro covers and look him up if you're interested.

[Sluggloaph]

On a pulpy, LA, novels-from-1939 kick this week:





Don't have these editions, of course. Both titles are great. I especially recommend the West, though. Really remarkable.

Read day of the locust in school, sick. Is that the one with the graphic cock fight scene? Also the dudes homer simpson right?

[Peter Zagreus]

Yes to both! The cockfight scene really is remarkable, as hard to read as it is. West must have sat (stood?) in on a couple of real cockfights for research purposes.

[Deputy Wendell]

i'm working on the schedule for the literature class ("Encountering Modernity") that i'm fortunate enough to be teaching this semester. in addition to Shelley's Frankenstein, Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, and Hamid's Exit West the department makes us teach out of volume 2 of the Norton Anthology of World Literature.

i'm definitely assigning James Baldwin's essay "Notes of a Native Son," and so while looking for some kind of brief clip on Youtube on Richard Wright's Native Son to provide some background/context--since Baldwin's essay (and the book of essays it comes from) is essentially a response to Wright's novel and the character Bigger Thomas--i came across this trailer for a film i did not even know existed:



Ashton Sanders is truly outstanding in Moonlight and this looks incredible...and i'm just curious for anyone who has seen it and is familiar with the novel, if you have any thoughts on specific scenes that are doing interesting things with Wright's original character of Bigger Thomas?

[Sluggloaph]

Yes to both! The cockfight scene really is remarkable, as hard to read as it is. West must have sat (stood?) in on a couple of real cockfights for research purposes.

Yea thats a definite. Research or mayb he was low key a fan. Either case classic "pulpy l.a.novel" for sure.

[The real veganshawn]

Currently reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

[botefdunn]

Reading The Gulag Archipelago, written by a prisoner in the Soviet Union. Hard to read but really good. It’s the book that flipped a lot of Soviet sympathetic thinkers against the Soviet Union.

Gulag Archipelago is a great book. Solzhenytsin (the author) was indeed a prisoner, but he was also a nobel prize-winning author later in life. Only pointing this out because if you like Gulag you should definitely check out some of his other stuff. "The First Circle" and "Cancer Ward" are both excellent, dark subject matter but written about with a sharp, dry sort of humour.

[Sluggloaph]

^reading, almost finished, house of the dead. Russian prison stories are fucking brutal!

[brycickle]

i'm working on the schedule for the literature class ("Encountering Modernity") that i'm fortunate enough to be teaching this semester. in addition to Shelley's Frankenstein, Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, and Hamid's Exit West the department makes us teach out of volume 2 of the Norton Anthology of World Literature.

i'm definitely assigning James Baldwin's essay "Notes of a Native Son," and so while looking for some kind of brief clip on Youtube on Richard Wright's Native Son to provide some background/context--since Baldwin's essay (and the book of essays it comes from) is essentially a response to Wright's novel and the character Bigger Thomas--i came across this trailer for a film i did not even know existed:



Ashton Sanders is truly outstanding in Moonlight and this looks incredible...and i'm just curious for anyone who has seen it and is familiar with the novel, if you have any thoughts on specific scenes that are doing interesting things with Wright's original character of Bigger Thomas?

It's been a very long time since I read "Native Son", so it's hard for me to comment faithfully on similarities or deviations from the text that occur in the movie. I do know that when I watched this, the general plot made me feel like I was revisiting the book, if that makes sense. So I guess I would say that it is probably relatively faithful to the source material, just in a modern setting. Which, race and class relations in modern day Chicago probably haven't really changed that much since the time that Wright wrote the book. Anyway, I loved the book when I read it 20 years ago, and the movie was good too.

[Deputy Wendell]

Expand Quote

i'm working on the schedule for the literature class ("Encountering Modernity") that i'm fortunate enough to be teaching this semester. in addition to Shelley's Frankenstein, Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, and Hamid's Exit West the department makes us teach out of volume 2 of the Norton Anthology of World Literature.

i'm definitely assigning James Baldwin's essay "Notes of a Native Son," and so while looking for some kind of brief clip on Youtube on Richard Wright's Native Son to provide some background/context--since Baldwin's essay (and the book of essays it comes from) is essentially a response to Wright's novel and the character Bigger Thomas--i came across this trailer for a film i did not even know existed:



Ashton Sanders is truly outstanding in Moonlight and this looks incredible...and i'm just curious for anyone who has seen it and is familiar with the novel, if you have any thoughts on specific scenes that are doing interesting things with Wright's original character of Bigger Thomas?

[close]

It's been a very long time since I read "Native Son", so it's hard for me to comment faithfully on similarities or deviations from the text that occur in the movie. I do know that when I watched this, the general plot made me feel like I was revisiting the book, if that makes sense. So I guess I would say that it is probably relatively faithful to the source material, just in a modern setting. Which, race and class relations in modern day Chicago probably haven't really changed that much since the time that Wright wrote the book. Anyway, I loved the book when I read it 20 years ago, and the movie was good too.

i'm much obliged for your thoughts brycickle--i'm looking forward to seeing it whether it plays a part in my class or not...we'll be reading and discussing Baldwin (and perhaps Wright) in the section of the course dealing with "Urban Realism," so it may be interesting to think about then and now in a city like Chicago...cheers.