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what are you reading today?


almondcrush

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Between Parentheses has been a mixed bag so far. His style is fun enough that even the articles I have no point of reference for (Chilean authors beyond Borges) are enjoyable.

Picked up

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at the sacking of Borders. Getting close to having read everything Phillip Roth has done, can't believe Portnoy's Complaint wasn't higher on my list.

Is the Instructions any good? There's a copy that's been sitting on Borders shelves for a week now that's down to like 15 bucks, but I'm not quite sure what to think of a 1000 page maximalist novel about a kid in elementary school.

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when do you guys seriously find the time to read so much???

i am back at uni so i am back to reading academic essays/journals that interest me in my leisure time! the resources you have at your fingers tips as a student is pretty amazing, but i just find i just don't have the time to do full novels.

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His style is fun enough that even the articles I have no point of reference for (Chilean authors beyond Borges) are enjoyable.

I chuckled at this. I recently read The Last Interview, including all the marginalia, and this was exactly how I felt. Bolano has seemingly read everything ever written in Spanish, as well as virtually every other author in the world (in translation). The guy is incomparably well-read.

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Does anyone have recommended links for good book/lit sites? Places where one can find reviews, commentary, etc., about decent books/authors.

They're not all great but I usually go through Bookforum, bookslut, n+1, the millions, the Poetry Foundation, Bomb Magazine's blog, and the blogs of presses and reviews I like (Tarpaulin Sky, Ugly Duckling Presse, Boston Review)

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^Shit, more dystopian lit to add to my to-read list. I always think I've read "most" of the genre, but the wiki entry suggests otherwise.

have you read Mockingbird by Walter Tevis?

that's a good'un

i recommended that to my wife, a librarian, who would be particularly mortified at the state of the world described in that book

he wrote The Color of Money, strangely

recently saw that film and it was durned good

tom cruise playing cocky asshole (not a stretch?) and paul newman is cooler than shit (eskimaux)

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They're not all great but I usually go through Bookforum, bookslut, n+1, the millions, the Poetry Foundation, Bomb Magazine's blog, and the blogs of presses and reviews I like (Tarpaulin Sky, Ugly Duckling Presse, Boston Review)

Hello, my name is Gramps. When I'm not reading philisophical texts, daunting tomes (like Gravity's Rainbow and Ulysses), or non-fictions about obscure historical events or sociological concepts, I spend my time on forums and review sites, reading about what other people are reading about, and sometimes even posting about what people should read when they want to read people post about the things that people are reading. Some people ask me "How do you find the time to do all this reading?" But I have to ask them: "How don't you?" I love reading.

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It's great. It's expanded from the final chapter of Nazi Literature of the Americas, which is one of my dark horse favorites of Bolano's books. I didn't think I would interested in him as someone writing shorter books but in some ways because they don't have the blockbuster qualities of SD and 2666 I feel like they show his craft more. This, By Night in Chile, and especially Amulet are really good. To me, at least.

Edit: By "blockbuster qualities" I don't mean that they aren't as immediately fun reads, I just mean reviewers can't call them "labyrinthine" or whatever, they have a lot of restraint by comparison.

Edit 2: Clopek's razzing me on facebook.

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I have all of Bolano's books sitting on my shelf. Have only read 2666, Monsieur Pain, and Antwerp.

Antwerp is very experimental in style. A whole rush of images, halfway between a poem and a novella. Didn't enjoy it so much. But Monsieur Pain was very enjoyable, much tighter than some beast like 2666.

I was thinking about Amulet or Nazi Literature next. What is the deal with Nazi Literature? Are each of the authors meant to represent an actual American author?

Also:

Yesterday I came scarily close to having a social interaction so I started this:

I laughed.

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No, they're invented. Though, as always with Bolano, because he's so encyclopedic, and so into obscure lit you don't know where he's being allegorical. I think one chapter is about Miguel Serrano.

I begging you to read Savage Detectives next. I think it's his best. Also, like Nazi Lit engenders Distant Star, SD has a chapter that is essentially Amulet.

I know all of Bolano's work forms a constellation in how it references itself and some key uniting concerns, and I'm so sick of hearing people lean on that to explain his work that I try not to consider it too much, but Antwerp really only makes sense in reverse. Reading it after SD, 2666, Amulet, the Skating Rink, you can see him tracing obliquely the things he takes on later.

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at uni so i am back to reading academic essays/journals that interest me in my leisure time!

this...

I usually nerd out on journal articles but lately (and because of checking this thread) I have felt the need to start exploring more literature. In school I am always reading about war/killing/genocide etc. so it is nice to take the time to read something not as serious.

mind you I just finished American Psycho and will be starting The Road so I can't say I totally escape the themes I study in school.

re: American Psycho.

The book was 100% more intense than the movie. I think the scene towards the beginning with the bum/dog was the most gut wrenching. Christian Bale captured Bateman's character and I couldn't help but visualize him while reading. I am not sure what to make about the part towards the end where the prose switches to third person. Could this be another part of Bateman talking or is it the same Bateman just referring to himself in the third-person?

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