books to read

[Peter Zagreus]

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As for me, if I can muster up the fucking willpower to put down this phone, I need to finish ‘The Bookchin Reader’, snd start on Graeber and Wengrow’s “The Dawn of Everything”, which I’m looking forward to.

Despite being a fucking brick of a book.

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I feel as if I should read the Graeber (RIP) and Wengrow, but I watched a book talk about it on YouTube, and idk, maybe that's enough. I'd be curious to hear what you think about it.

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...then cranked out The Grapes of Wrath. It wasn’t East Of Eden, but it was still pretty damn good. I’m just a sucker for mid 1900s American Lit, I think. Anyone who’s read it, what’d you think of the ending? I’m sure it was symbolic, but damn if it wasn’t weird. Still would recommend any and all of Steinbeck.

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I forget my reading of Grapes, but just wanted to affirm your affirmation of Steinbeck. I'm working on a PhD in English, and I feel like Steinbeck doesn't get much play in the academy these days. I love his stuff, though - especially Tortilla Flats and Cannery Row.

I'm on fall break now, and this is the stuff I'm about to start reading:

This one's by a semi-independent scholar that I've been following for a while. It's a history of the idea of species extinction, which is a notion developed more recently than you might think.



I mostly study British and German stuff at school, so whenever I get a break I try to be a good American and catch up on yankee lit. Usually, this involves reading Emerson, who never gets old to me. This time around, I'm also planning to read Emerson's lil homie Hawthorne (I love a steezy Dover thrift edition, and cheap paperbacks in general).

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How far along your PhD track are you? Have you got a thesis idea pinned down yet? I’m applying to a couple English grad programs for next fall and thinking seriously about going the long haul for a possible phd, though right now I don’t know what in the hell angle I’d take for masters work.

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I'm 2.5 years in on a 6 year track, which means that I'm finishing up coursework next semester, and preparing for my field exams, which will take place a little less than a year from now. I'm not quite sure what I want to write my dissertation over just yet, but I'm building my exam reading lists around the English novel c. the 18th-19th centuries. My academic background is a bit scattered (did an MA in philosophy, mostly read German stuff, post-Kant), so I'm just trying to get a lot of the canonical English novels under my belt, so I can teach surveys on the history of the novel, etc.

Good on you for getting those applications out there. I hope you get in somewhere that works for you.
You'll have plenty of time to work our your ideas, especially if you're able to snag some funds. A good stipend makes all the difference!

Are you thinking you'd like to teach?

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Wow an MA in philosophy is way cool. I’ve thought a lot about going the philosophy route (metaphysics and mind, specifically), but not sure I’ve got the background for it. What did you study in your undergrad, if you don’t mind me asking?

But yeah, some sort of secondary or post-secondary position is where I’m hoping to land in the end. Ideally either creative writing or literature, but that’s still probably a decade away, so who knows?

I did a "literary studies" degree in undergrad, in a fairly interdisciplinary humanities program, and filled my elective requirements with a bunch of history and philosophy classes. I saved all my electives for the end, so by the time I graduated I was doing philosophy and history pretty much exclusively. I did my MA at the same institution, with mostly the same faculty, so the transition was natural for me. I should mention that I studied what's called "continental" philosophy, which is often more loosely organized than the "analytic" tradition, which holds sway in the Anglosphere, and is probably what you'd be getting into. I guess what I'm saying is that my study-path has been zig-zagging, and it's worked for me!

I've been teaching for a couple of years now, and the experience has certainly challenged me and pushed me to grow. I don't know that my passion for teaching matches my passion for research, but it's not the worst gig.

[Peter Zagreus]

at the small private university where i do the bulk of my teaching these days, i often teach sections of "World Masterpieces 2: Encountering Modernity." every academic year, we change up the last novel that we tussle with in the class, to try to keep it pretty contemporary, and they ask for instructors' input for choosing the novel. right now, we have a list of potential ideas to choose from, and over the holiday/break i am reading these two, to see if either will be something i'd like to suggest
i'm about half way through Tokyo Ueno Station, and i'm really enjoying it, but i'm not sure about trying to teach it...we'll see. it does really seem to speak to my own interests/work around "memory" and "history," and how the two can correspond, compete, and conflict...and how they do so in different landscapes, and in creating a "sense of place"...

Nice! I'm also at a small, private university, but in a pretty conservative English department with very little comparative action going on. I'd be curious to peep y'all's reading list when it's finalized!

*Edit: On a separate note, I'm trying to read a Neal Stephenson novel, and it's pretty good, but I don't know if I'll have what it takes to finish it.


As a budding historian of ideas, I've been wanting to look into his "Baroque Trilogy" for a while, but am settling for the relatively brief (1000 pages) Anathem. Any Stephenson heads in here? I feel like he writes on all the right themes, but I've always had a hard time getting into the groove with sci-fi and fantasy.

[chris.]

Way too much going on right now:






I was real hyped for The Veiled Throne but it's released slipped past me. I usually struggle to get back into the next installment in a series like this and this fucker is long. Love these books though. Also pulled "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Murakami off the shelf today.

[RoaryMcTwang]

Been reading Miguel de Unamuno’s Tragic Sense of Life, right after Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, which has been a fun philosophical left-right punch combo. Been getting back into philosophy after some years of reading it only for work/research. Good stuff.

Also been rereading some Kafka, can’t go wrong with that.

The bell hooks discussed above sounds intriguing

Good luck to @Peter Zagreus and @MichaelJacksonsGhost with your programs, it’s a long road but you’ll get to the finish line in the end

[Coldpizza]

i'm reading some new neil stephenson book (seveneves) and i kinda hate it. it ain't snowcrash. who's got some good hard sci fi to recommend to this nerd?

I’m on the last book in The Three Body Problem trilogy and I’ve really enjoyed them. I’m sure you’ve read Neuromancer. Vurt by Jeff Noon is a pretty wild cyberpunk ride. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons (although not sci fi, his book The Terror is great.)
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood is a good read. I’d argue Cats Cradle by Vonnegut could sit near this list…
Grid City Overload was engaging, it’s fairly contemporary and I can’t remember the authors name right now.
The Annihilation series by Jeff VanderMeer. The novel for Under the Skin…
Ministry for the Future was the most realistic sci fi I’ve ever read (also terrifying) Apologies for the rambling list, just trying to get it out.

[chris.]

Three Body Problem series is so, so good.I just found out recently there's a new book that takes place in the same universe, written by someone else with the support of Liu Cixin. Takes place after the trilogy, I'm really excited to read it.

[ungzilla]

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i'm reading some new neil stephenson book (seveneves) and i kinda hate it. it ain't snowcrash. who's got some good hard sci fi to recommend to this nerd?

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I’m on the last book in The Three Body Problem trilogy and I’ve really enjoyed them. I’m sure you’ve read Neuromancer. Vurt by Jeff Noon is a pretty wild cyberpunk ride. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons (although not sci fi, his book The Terror is great.)
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood is a good read. I’d argue Cats Cradle by Vonnegut could sit near this list…
Grid City Overload was engaging, it’s fairly contemporary and I can’t remember the authors name right now.
The Annihilation series by Jeff VanderMeer. The novel for Under the Skin…
Ministry for the Future was the most realistic sci fi I’ve ever read (also terrifying) Apologies for the rambling list, just trying to get it out.

hyperion trilogy is all time great
tried oryx and crake several times and couldn't get into it
annihilation series also great
three body problem, ministry for the future and grid city i have not heard of and look promising, gracias sir


just finished alastair reynold's latest revelation space universe book (inhibitor phase) and enjoyed very much

[TastyBurrito]

Currently reading, "The Bandini Quartet."  I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor.  Very good.

I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?

[SneakySecrets]

Anyone got some good recommends for books on medieval history? 

[brycickle]

Anyone got some good recommends for books on medieval history?

I haven't read any yet, but I plan on diving into some Dan Jones after this coming semester.

[Peter Zagreus]

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Currently reading, "The Bandini Quartet."  I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor.  Very good.

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I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?

Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.

Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.

[brycickle]

Yeah there is that book about Bourdain and another one that I’m thinking about getting since I read all of the stuff he put out. I hope these are similarly interesting. Let us know what you think!

Made it through all three. I read the Vonnegut one first. Super interesting. I wasn't expecting it to essentially be a dive into PTSD and how writing Slaughterhouse Five was maybe Vonnegut's way of coping with his, even though he denied having it.

As expected I cried at both the beginning and end of the Bourdain book. Definitely interesting to hear directly from the people who cared about him, what he meant to them. I didn't realize how socially awkward he was off screen.

The Lafayette book was good too. Really in depth. It says a lot that Duncan moved his entire family to Paris just to research it, and it shows.

[Coastal Fever]

Just finished Brave New World for the first time.  Really impressive that he could write that in the early 1930’s, and how accurately his predictions seems to be unfolding.. but god damn things didn’t really pick up much until the end did they?

I just picked up reading again after deleting all my social media.  Maybe BNW wasn’t the best choice to start with.  I also read Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media by Jaron Lanier.  Definitely an eye opener about how profoundly it’s fucking up society, but lacked the positivity I was hoping for in regards to the benefits of quitting.  The author’s a Silicon Valley guy/writer, but captivating prose isn’t his strong suit, was a bit of a struggle to get through.

[tuesday]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaron_Lanier

[SneakySecrets]

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Anyone got some good recommends for books on medieval history?

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I haven't read any yet, but I plan on diving into some Dan Jones after this coming semester.

I’ll look into it, thanks homie.

[MichaelJacksonsGhost]

Just finished Brave New World for the first time.  Really impressive that he could write that in the early 1930’s, and how accurately his predictions seems to be unfolding.. but god damn things didn’t really pick up much until the end did they?

I just picked up reading again after deleting all my social media.  Maybe BNW wasn’t the best choice to start with.  I also read Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media by Jaron Lanier.  Definitely an eye opener about how profoundly it’s fucking up society, but lacked the positivity I was hoping for in regards to the benefits of quitting.  The author’s a Silicon Valley guy/writer, but captivating prose isn’t his strong suit, was a bit of a struggle to get through.

Brave New World Revisited might be worth checking out. Huxley wrote it maybe 20 years after brave new world—it’s essentially 100 pages of him saying, “look how right I was.” It’s been a while since I read it, but I remember it being at least a little interesting.

A buddy recently gave me a copy of Roland Barthes empire of signs. I was a little wary to get into it, having only dabbled in Derrida and Foucault, other post-structuralists, both of whom I found pretty damn hard to crack open. But this Barthes book was fun. He touches on a lot of ideas about language and meaning (or the absence of meaning), but ties them into pretty interesting observations about Japan, their food, entertainment etc. in a way that ensures the philosophy is never too daunting. it reads mostly like a heady travelogue, with a handful of seriously poetic lines.

[MichaelJacksonsGhost]

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Currently reading, "The Bandini Quartet."  I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor.  Very good.

[close]

I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?

[close]

Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.

Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.

Not necessarily related to the depression, but Raymond Carver’s stories have a similar style to bukowski and Fante. I’d also seriously recommend Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Really just an astounding cast of characters. Bukowski talks about her a lot, too. He’s got a poem about her alcoholism, IIRC.

Also, Iron Weed by William Kennedy for a straightforward depiction of a bum wino at the turn of the 19th century.

I’ll add Denis Johnson, Flannery O’Connor, and Murakami to the list of Fante/Bukowski like writers. Murakami might seem strange, but every one of his books I’ve read I’ve thought to myself, this is like a Japanese bukowski.

[Jagr]

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Currently reading, "The Bandini Quartet."  I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor.  Very good.

[close]

I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?

[close]

Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.

Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.

[close]

Not necessarily related to the depression, but Raymond Carver’s stories have a similar style to bukowski and Fante. I’d also seriously recommend Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Really just an astounding cast of characters. Bukowski talks about her a lot, too. He’s got a poem about her alcoholism, IIRC.

Also, Iron Weed by William Kennedy for a straightforward depiction of a bum wino at the turn of the 19th century.

I’ll add Denis Johnson, Flannery O’Connor, and Murakami to the list of Fante/Bukowski like writers. Murakami might seem strange, but every one of his books I’ve read I’ve thought to myself, this is like a Japanese bukowski.

Carson McCullers is one of my favorite writers. And I agree The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a wonderful book. Seemed like an amazing woman as well.

[Clone1984]

Brave New World was awesome.

I just read Slaughterhouse-Five for the first time in english class. I'd recommend it to anyone especially if they are in some sort of recovery. Though it has its tedium I really in the end am grateful to have read it.

[RoaryMcTwang]

People talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers

[Frank Sobotka]

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Currently reading, "The Bandini Quartet."  I'ts Fante's four Bandini books put in to one 700 page monstor.  Very good.

[close]

I'm going through the Quartet as well (individually). Mostly because of Bukowski always quoting him as the author that inspired him. I do enjoy these post-depression American era books. Does anyone have any other authors of a similar nature?

[close]

Different in tone than Fante, but I'd recommend Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust, both of which are set in LA around the depression era. Really, really good.

Also, Steinbeck, of course (who I mentioned above). I'm a low-key evangelist for Cannery Row, which is "set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people" (Wiki). It's a charming, sad, and beautiful book.

Currently reading The Grapes of Wrath, not very far into it but I can already tell it's going to be emotive (I get attached to characters in a book far more than films & TV).

I do want to get around to Cannery Row, though. I've got a couple of other novels in my to-read pile for now, mind (Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandell, and Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead).

[Peter Zagreus]

People talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers

I went through a big Bukowski phase in my early 20s (which is probably pretty typical), and based on that distant memory I'd say that Post Office or Ham on Rye would be the best ones to start with. Maybe Women if you're feeling saucy.

*Edit: the aforementioned are novels; if you want to read his poetry, you might as well start anywhere, imo.

** Edit 2: I got an anthology with a bunch of Borges essays, and they are too good. Borges was a treasure.

[Coastal Fever]

Currently reading The Grapes of Wrath, not very far into it but I can already tell it's going to be emotive (I get attached to characters in a book far more than films & TV).

Probably the best, most emotionally gripping book I’ve read.  The Winter Of Our Discontent was also great, and I just bought a copy of In Dubious Battle which I look forward to starting.  I’ve seen people say that East Of Eden is even better than Grapes Of Wrath so I need to track that one down as well.

Grabbed a copy of Jack London’s Call of The Wild + White Fang, and just finished Call Of The Wild in a couple days, it was only 80 pages though.  I’m just hooked on dusty old hardcovers for some reason.

[RoaryMcTwang]

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People talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers

[close]

I went through a big Bukowski phase in my early 20s (which is probably pretty typical), and based on that distant memory I'd say that Post Office or Ham on Rye would be the best ones to start with. Maybe Women if you're feeling saucy.

*Edit: the aforementioned are novels; if you want to read his poetry, you might as well start anywhere, imo.

** Edit 2: I got an anthology with a bunch of Borges essays, and they are too good. Borges was a treasure.

Thanks! I think Bukowski is one of these authors who is absolutely massive in the US but hasn't really got much credit abroad (or maybe I've just had a rather sheltered childhood/youth). I've had a big Henry Miller  phase a few years back  (they seem to be vaguely similar in terms of notoriety?), but Bukowksi has sort of passed me by til now. Will look at these two novels first, I generally prefer prose to poetry.

[MichaelJacksonsGhost]

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People talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers

[close]

I went through a big Bukowski phase in my early 20s (which is probably pretty typical), and based on that distant memory I'd say that Post Office or Ham on Rye would be the best ones to start with. Maybe Women if you're feeling saucy.

*Edit: the aforementioned are novels; if you want to read his poetry, you might as well start anywhere, imo.

** Edit 2: I got an anthology with a bunch of Borges essays, and they are too good. Borges was a treasure.

[close]

Thanks! I think Bukowski is one of these authors who is absolutely massive in the US but hasn't really got much credit abroad (or maybe I've just had a rather sheltered childhood/youth). I've had a big Henry Miller  phase a few years back  (they seem to be vaguely similar in terms of notoriety?), but Bukowksi has sort of passed me by til now. Will look at these two novels first, I generally prefer prose to poetry.

I’d recommend Factotum, too. I thought that was the best of his novels. Also the short story collection Hot Water Music is worth checking out. I feel like Bukowski works well in the shorter form.

[Peter Zagreus]

Of course, @RoaryMcTwang! I hope you enjoy his work. Bukowski, like Miller, is frank and explicit re: sexuality, but his prose is much simpler, like Hemingway (whom he often cites an as influence).

@MichaelJacksonsGhost makes a great point, too. I totally forgot about Bukowski's short stories, but I think I'd have to agree he's better, or at least more interesting in that format. Most of his novels are loosely autobiographical, and that could get a bit tiring if you don't happen to identify/sympathize with the adventures/exploits of "Henry Chinaski." In the short stories, he's forced to invent characters and put them in intriguing scenarios (this is basically what all short stories do, I guess), and that takes the work into unique territory, if I remember correctly.

[newguy]

"Manufacturing Consent" and "Capitalist Realism" are both good. "What is to be done" and  "Mutual Aid" will blow your hair back, hard to beleive these two books were written in the late 19th, early 20th century.

[SneakySecrets]

"Manufacturing Consent”

Sounds like my honeymoon!

[svenfuck cowboy]

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People talk about Bukowski nonstop here so now I’m curious. What would be a good place to start with him? Cheers

[close]

I went through a big Bukowski phase in my early 20s (which is probably pretty typical), and based on that distant memory I'd say that Post Office or Ham on Rye would be the best ones to start with. Maybe Women if you're feeling saucy.

*Edit: the aforementioned are novels; if you want to read his poetry, you might as well start anywhere, imo.

** Edit 2: I got an anthology with a bunch of Borges essays, and they are too good. Borges was a treasure.

[close]

Thanks! I think Bukowski is one of these authors who is absolutely massive in the US but hasn't really got much credit abroad (or maybe I've just had a rather sheltered childhood/youth). I've had a big Henry Miller  phase a few years back  (they seem to be vaguely similar in terms of notoriety?), but Bukowksi has sort of passed me by til now. Will look at these two novels first, I generally prefer prose to poetry.

i rly like a lot of bukowski but also really hate some of his stuff. 'woman' is a shitfest but also highlights a lot of the issues with him as a person. he hates everything (especially women) just as much as he hates himself.

personally im a much bigger fan of his poetry but to each their own. not an author you necessarily want to respect, but appreciate from a literary perspective. very raw.

i vouch for 'play the piano drunk like a percussion instrument until your fingers bleed a little bit' if you're down w poetry, some of my favourite poetry of all time in that book

[realbasedgod112]

Then We Came To The End, by Joshua Ferris.
First picked it up because I was bored as shit in hospital, and it was one of the only books there that seemed to pull me in. I would describe it as about bleak and vapid office life.
Having never had an office job myself I can't speak for the accuracy or relatability of it, but it was entertaining for me at least.