Author Topic: Fave Books / Currently Reading  (Read 947655 times)

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1815 on: November 28, 2012, 06:07:11 PM »
I think maybe I need to read Crime and Punishment.

buffcoat

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1816 on: November 28, 2012, 09:40:14 PM »
I am very slowly reading Nabokov's complete short stories.  So far I'm in the '20s - they're good, but you can't tell yet that this guy is going to write Pale Fire.
I really don't appreciate your sarcastic, anti-comedy tone, Bro!

TheyGotEmma

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1817 on: November 28, 2012, 10:01:14 PM »
I remember my Russian lit professor assigned Pevear and Volokhonsky translations. Demons was  challenging-- after a certain point I had to give up on getting all the political discussions and just keep reading. It worked out overall.

I'm re-reading The Street of Crocodiles now. It's one of my favorite books ever. Highly recommended!

ndmvhc

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1818 on: November 28, 2012, 11:16:47 PM »
So after more research, this 1962 MacAndrew translation includes the originally censored "At Tikhon's (Stavrogin's Confession)" chapter in the correct place. I guess many editions do not include it at all. Interesting!

Steve of Bloomington

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1819 on: November 28, 2012, 11:23:15 PM »
I visited Powell's bookstore since I'm in Portland this week. Spent many hours there, didn't make it to the part across the street. Anyhow in addition to a book for my daughter I got an uncorrected galley of 'Kind One' by Laird Hunt ('not for sale. before quoting for review please consult the final edition or check with the publisher.'), Sleeper from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, and since there was a cheap used paperback of 'Hammer of the Gods', of course I had to get that too.

wood and iron

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1820 on: November 28, 2012, 11:27:48 PM »
I rather liked Sleeper. I wish Brubaker would work in more pulpy SF area and it suits Phillips' art very well.

cavorting with nudists

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1821 on: November 28, 2012, 11:33:42 PM »
ndmvhc: Well, the original Russian censors cut it. Garnett's translation from sometime in the 1910's included it as an appendix. Pretty much every translation since then has restored it to its place (and it is central, more or less the equivalent of "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor" in Karamazov.) I would tend to think any modern edition that made a big deal of including it is probably trying pretty hard to flag down some business. (That said, the MacAndrew translation might be utterly awesome, I wouldn't know.)

Hey Dave: IMO, yeah, If you're going to read only one of the Dostoevski Big Four, Crime and Punishment is the one. Fairly reasonable length. Relatively speaking, more or less a page turner.  Covers most of the big themes with a relative minimum of extraneous fustian. Get the Pevear/Volokhonsky and absorb it contemplatively over a samovar of tea and some big ass, skunky brown-and-black cigarettes.
"Another thing that interests me about The Eagles is that I hate them." -- Robert Christgau

not that clay

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1822 on: November 29, 2012, 12:01:15 AM »
Next up is Demons/The Possessed (whatever you want to call it) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

I loved Demons. I was surprised by how strange and foreign it was. Turns out Russia was really that weird.

ndmvhc

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1823 on: November 29, 2012, 12:49:37 AM »
ndmvhc: Well, the original Russian censors cut it. Garnett's translation from sometime in the 1910's included it as an appendix. Pretty much every translation since then has restored it to its place (and it is central, more or less the equivalent of "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor" in Karamazov.) I would tend to think any modern edition that made a big deal of including it is probably trying pretty hard to flag down some business. (That said, the MacAndrew translation might be utterly awesome, I wouldn't know.)

Gotcha. I'm going to stop worrying about it and just read it and enjoy it.

amiright??

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1824 on: November 29, 2012, 01:46:14 AM »
Hey Dave - did you ever finish Absurdistan?

dave from knoxville

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1825 on: November 29, 2012, 01:15:06 PM »
Hey Dave - did you ever finish Absurdistan?

It got put on hold for In Cold Blood, but will either be next, or after The Book of Dave. I think. I have read maybe 50 pages, just enough to get a feel for the main character.

amiright??

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1826 on: November 29, 2012, 03:13:37 PM »
Interested to hear what you think...

Topher

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1827 on: November 29, 2012, 07:47:29 PM »
Haven't got a chance to crack it open yet but i just got  The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake in the mail.
Good stuff. Sad stuff (both the stories in the book and his).

The books I've really liked that I read in the last 7-8 months:

Jernigan, David Gates
Tinkers, Paul Harding
Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel
Zazen, Vanessa Veselka
Open City, Teju Cole
The Troubles, JG Farrell (his trilogy on the end of the British Empire are some of my favorite novels)
Butcher's Crossing, John Williams


Yeah.  Why?

Drew D

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1828 on: November 30, 2012, 10:21:00 AM »
Jernigan, David Gates
Tinkers, Paul Harding

Two of my favorite books, need to re-read both soon....

not that clay

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Re: Fave Books / Currently Reading
« Reply #1829 on: December 01, 2012, 01:19:15 AM »
Amsterdam Stories by Nescio

It's pretty good!