Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 945981 times)

bonnaventure

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #720 on: June 18, 2009, 01:50:25 PM »
I am bobbing back and forth between "The Artificial Man" by L.P. Davies and "Understanding Media" by Marshall MCluhan

Both pretty good reads so far, The Artificial Man was a impulse buy because it was cheap, a first print and the cover is amazing.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/l-p-davies/artificial-man.htm

Scot

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #721 on: June 18, 2009, 09:57:35 PM »
nabokov, "bend sinister." amazing, his ability to refigure sensation. with one exception ("invitation to a beheading"), i have been nothing less than dazzled by every word writ by the guy. one of - if not THE - best?

Pastor Josh

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #722 on: June 19, 2009, 10:01:49 AM »
nabokov, "bend sinister." amazing, his ability to refigure sensation. with one exception ("invitation to a beheading"), i have been nothing less than dazzled by every word writ by the guy. one of - if not THE - best?

Agreed Pale Fire might be the single greatest work of literature in English.
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crumbum

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #723 on: June 19, 2009, 02:33:09 PM »
nabokov, "bend sinister." amazing, his ability to refigure sensation. with one exception ("invitation to a beheading"), i have been nothing less than dazzled by every word writ by the guy. one of - if not THE - best?

Agreed Pale Fire might be the single greatest work of literature in English.

Thirded. I've read Pale Fire, Lolita, Pnin, Despair and Speak, Memory, and all are among my favorite books.

Scot

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #724 on: June 19, 2009, 03:00:50 PM »
nabokov, "bend sinister." amazing, his ability to refigure sensation. with one exception ("invitation to a beheading"), i have been nothing less than dazzled by every word writ by the guy. one of - if not THE - best?

Agreed Pale Fire might be the single greatest work of literature in English.

Thirded. I've read Pale Fire, Lolita, Pnin, Despair and Speak, Memory, and all are among my favorite books.

i'm about halfway through all of it. i've been reading his novels in the order they were published. it's interesting to watch the same images/fixations pop up again and again; the puzzles get more fun with each new book. people who write VN off as a manipulative grump unburdened by human emotions (i've heard this complaint, or ones like it, several times) must not be reading the same books as me.

crumbum

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #725 on: June 19, 2009, 03:16:18 PM »
nabokov, "bend sinister." amazing, his ability to refigure sensation. with one exception ("invitation to a beheading"), i have been nothing less than dazzled by every word writ by the guy. one of - if not THE - best?

Agreed Pale Fire might be the single greatest work of literature in English.

Thirded. I've read Pale Fire, Lolita, Pnin, Despair and Speak, Memory, and all are among my favorite books.

i'm about halfway through all of it. i've been reading his novels in the order they were published. it's interesting to watch the same images/fixations pop up again and again; the puzzles get more fun with each new book. people who write VN off as a manipulative grump unburdened by human emotions (i've heard this complaint, or ones like it, several times) must not be reading the same books as me.

Yeah -- that complaint doesn't fly with me either. In particular, Pnin seems to me an incredibly engaging and sympathetic character study.

Pastor Josh

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #726 on: June 19, 2009, 05:20:51 PM »
The Annotated Lolita is amazing.  The games that man played with language and meaning are astounding.  I certainly needed a guide to find them, let alone understand them.
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yesno

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #727 on: June 19, 2009, 05:57:21 PM »
The Annotated Lolita is amazing.  The games that man played with language and meaning are astounding.  I certainly needed a guide to find them, let alone understand them.

cough

Pastor Josh

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #728 on: June 20, 2009, 09:39:18 AM »
If I had a hat, I would doff it to you.  If I had six hats, I would doff them all to you.   If I had fifteen hats, then I would have a lot of hats.
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nec13

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #729 on: July 01, 2009, 10:26:15 PM »
I'm currently into the third chapter of "Nixonland" by Rick Perlstein. It's a good read, thus far. It also confirms what I had long suspected about Richard Nixon, he was a brilliant, but paranoid creep.
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wood and iron

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #730 on: July 01, 2009, 10:30:44 PM »
Just finished up Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Uniform Union. His ability to blend genre and literature so effortlessly never fails to impress me. I loved the little glimpses into the alternate history of the book, too (for example, the main character's favorite movie is Orson Welles's version of Heart of Darkness). I will say that it kind of stalled out right before the big reveal of the mystery that started the book but it coasted into a satisfying ending.

*Fixed that for myself.

Pastor Josh

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #731 on: July 02, 2009, 12:41:46 AM »
Just finished up Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Uniform. His ability to blend genre and literature so effortlessly never fails to impress me. I loved the little glimpses into the alternate history of the book, too (for example, the main character's favorite movie is Orson Welles's version of Heart of Darkness). I will say that it kind of stalled out right before the big reveal of the mystery that started the book but it coasted into a satisfying ending.

Chabon is anohter favorite.  I was first introduced to his work though the film adaptation of Wonder Boys  I'm amazed at how confident he is in releasing lesser works after Kavalier and Klay.  Everything since has been good, but not as good.  Lots of writers get so hung up on topping their masterpiece tht they never manage to publish anything.  Gentlemen of the ROad is pretty good, too.  They way this medieval questing tale becomes a theological treatise is fascinating.
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Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #732 on: July 02, 2009, 12:44:50 AM »
Speaking of alternate-universe Jews, I polished off Philip Roth's The Plot Against America in two days.  What an awesome read.  Now I am on to Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which is OK but not great. 
Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.

fonpr

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #733 on: July 02, 2009, 09:48:23 AM »
Speaking of alternate-universe Jews, I polished off Philip Roth's The Plot Against America in two days.  What an awesome read.  Now I am on to Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which is OK but not great. 


I thought of Perkins' book when I read this article.



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dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #734 on: July 02, 2009, 10:31:54 AM »
I am reading Sherlock Holmes for the first time, which is a trip. Next up is David Dark's The Sacredness of Questioning Everything. I love the premise, but I hope the writing style is less clumsy than the title.