what are you reading today?

[jayrock]

I'm about half-way through "Walden", but I want to pick up Kerouac's "On The Road" sometime soon...

Walden is a tough read. The journalistic entries such as numbers and budgets are somewhat boring, but the philosophical undertones in some of the sections are absolutely brilliant. I'm a big fan, so far.

[RobbertJan]

you'll finish on the road in no time, so you can take a break from walden and go back to it after!

[tweeds]

I really think "notes" is a bad place to start with Dostoevsky, its like starting with Myth of Sisyphus for camus. For a great read that really get you 'into' him maybe try one of his shorter books like the double or the gambler, really good stuff.

Mein Kampf banned? I find that very very scary, Bradburian..... ironically freedom has been eroded by ourselves since 9/11, unfortunately its given our leaders so much more leverage to control info and be much more nanny state/ totalitarian. Sorry, this is too political..

well i started out diving straight into crime and punishment, which was quite a trip and then some. i really like his style of writing though, to me it's got the authentic haziness of reality.

haha it's cool, it's singapore...that's all i'll say on the subject

[aziz]

Finishing up The Count of Monte Christo..

[whizkit]

i would pick mein kampf up to read if it wasn't banned here.

tweeds - where did you hear that it's banned in Singapore? I can find it in my school library.

[tweeds]

evidently i haven't looked hard enough then

damn, got outed

so maybe i will go back to the bookstore and look

[viv1984viv]

Crime and punishment? Really? Wow, I havent read his later stuff, none of his big books just Notes, Gambler and The Double... next on my list is either Crime and Punishment or Bros K.

In a totally none political comment on Mein Kampf , its supposed to be an absolute slog, not a page turner but more of a self indulgent meandering rant. Its quite long too. I think its one of those books that people have dipped into but never actually read cover to cover..... like the bible! Just joking, heh!

[RobbertJan]

^i started with crime&punishment as well, i think it's not a bad place to start with dostoyevsky because is has all the elements that make him such a brilliant writer. i read notes after that and i think i understood notes better because i'd already read c&p.i have the double at home, haven't gotten started with it yet though. the road is great btw!! i love the way he describes the apocalyptic world although it's a bit more positive about humanity then his other novels, because the focus lies with the good man and boy.

[FUCK]

started this today. First 40 pages and it's already as ridiculous as i had expected. Does an excellent job of portraying disfunctional familes/people in a very unique way. the multi narraration and back notes will be a bitch but overall its already got me hooked.

which translation of c&p is everyone reading? I'd strongly recommend the Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky translations, makesa world of difference in some parts.

[tweeds]

thankfully the copy of notes from underground i borrowed from the library comes with the double in the same book. scoooore!

[francojean23]

hopefully finishing up Guns Germs and Steel this week...

[viv1984viv]

Yup "FUCK" thats a great point, the Peavar and Volokhonsky translations are widely, and rightly, considered the best.

The Road is the only McCarthy book ive read but i really want to read some more, maybe start his Border Trilogy sometime.... the imagery is fantastic, prose is amazingly good, and gripping. I think reading The Road is the sole reason I bought a julius long coat, I thought it might look good on a cold beach...

[dctim211]

taking a year off from school so i've had a lot of time to read some books i've been putting off.... just recently finished i am charlotte simmons (tom wolfe) and liar's poker (michael lewis). i'm well into bonfire of the vanities (also by wolfe) and have the informers (bret easton ellis) waiting for me when i'm done.

[dctim211]

i just started the electric kool-aid acid trip by tom wolfe yesterday, it's pretty interesting so far.

...lol, also known as the electric kool-aid acid test.

[Darkeside]

quiet weekend away - got through;

Neverwhere bu Neil Gaiman and

The Man in The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Just started Day of The Jackal because it was lying around.

[jeepster]

quiet weekend away - got through;

Neverwhere bu Neil Gaiman and

The Man in The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Just started Day of The Jackal because it was lying around.

ever read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick?

bladerunner is based off it, great piece of writing.

[Darkeside]

yeah, that was the first of his books i read - made me unsure whether i liked blade runner as much as a result.

will be purchasing more by bother authors shortly.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

funny i just got DO ANDROIDS DREAM... from the library today. that and MURAKAMI's sputnik....

[Fookums]

The Road is the only McCarthy book ive read but i really want to read some more, maybe start his Border Trilogy sometime.... the imagery is fantastic, prose is amazingly good, and gripping. I think reading The Road is the sole reason I bought a julius long coat, I thought it might look good on a cold beach...

The Road was damn good. I heard his others aren't as well written though.

Right now, I'm getting through:

Catch-22

The Fall

The Joke

One Hundred Years of Solitude.

[viv1984viv]

Ive read all those except "the joke" and catch22 left the biggest impression on me, really shows the whole FUBAR , bureaucratic nonsensory of the situation.

I cant believe I havent read any Dick yet.

Oh and I wasnt just swearing in my last post, if you look one page back you will see the user "FUCK" post a message....

[C0C0]

ulysess

the qu'ran

the brief wondrous life of oscar wao

[allez]

i just started reading the joke, :* )

[redheadmafia]

hopefully finishing up Guns Germs and Steel this week...

Good book. I received a signed copy of "Collapse" for Xmas, which I'm almost finished with... finally. It's good, maybe better than GG&S.

[pantheist]

a long way down.

[red]

crying of lot 49 by pynchon

hocus pocus by vonnegut

any suggestions for books as absurdly humorous as catch-22. and please no vonnegut reccomendations.

[francojean23]

starting The World is Flat today...pros and cons of globalization...

[brightbill]

Galápagos by Vonnegut...

Then onto some distance running stuff in a day or two's time, Pre and The Perfect Mile came in the mail from Half.com a few days ago.

[JayIvory]

^^ are they any good?

I'm reading Breakfast for Champions right now.. I'm lookin for other books to read from Kurt Vonnegut. I've read a man without a country and slaughterhouse five.. Anyone read any other goodies from him?

[tweeds]

done with notes from underground yesterday

heading on to the double which is already somewhat a more inviting read!

but notes left an impression on me especially with the frenzy of speech at the end...dostoyevsky really has an impeccable sense of rhythm in his writing. how much of it is the work of the translator, though?

[viv1984viv]

I know that P&V really try to keep the rhythm the same, because there are umpteen different ways to translate a sentence but according to one of their introduction essays they really opt for the way that maintains Dostoevskys rhythm and flow, much more than others they say...

The flow in the double is really good, the lead character kinda gets frustrated and stressed sometimes, and the narration says something like.... actually, nah, I dont want to spoil it, I was going to quote directly, but I guess you'll know when you read it. I really cant say to much about this book without wrecking it for you!

Ive started reading a Ryu Murakami book, seems good so far.