What Book Did You Read Last Night??? (3 Viewers)

[nooleen]

'we of the never never', a twee bowdlerization of australia's racist and bloody history, in which a plucky little woman and a bunch of bloody good blokes have a marvellous time on an outback station in the northern territory (references to slaughter of aboriginals neatly removed)

eeeh i've come over all polemical

 

[travispickle]

Recent reads -
Emma Cline - The Girls; a very enjoyable read
Han Kang - Human Acts; tough going in places but a worthwhile read. The Vegetarian is great as well.

 

[travispickle]

Grief is the thing with feathers - Max Porter. Not sure what i thought of this one, beautifully written and could probably do with a re-read.
Now onto Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin - first time reading him; i never quite got the furore around his band so, who knows, the book might send me back to the albums. Or maybe not.

 

[Jim Daniels]

The Vegetarian is great as well.

Just finished this last week. Wasn't sure at first - I thought the husband character was absurd. But the writing/ translation was great - particularly in the final section which was superb.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Grief is the thing with feathers - Max Porter. Not sure what i thought of this one, beautifully written and could probably do with a re-read.
Now onto Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin - first time reading him; i never quite got the furore around his band so, who knows, the book might send me back to the albums. Or maybe not.

Willy Vlautin is great - if a bit downbeat!

One of his books (Northline) came with an instrumental CD soundtrack - which was very nice.

 

[travispickle]

Just finished this last week. Wasn't sure at first - I thought the husband character was absurd. But the writing/ translation was great - particularly in the final section which was superb.

I know what you mean; it took a while for me to get my head around what was happening, but once I just went with it, I really enjoyed it. The writing was fantastic. The Gaurdian/Observer did a feature on translators a few weeks back, and Deborah Smith was interviewed. Translation seems to be very much an art in itself.
Kang's other novel Human Acts is heavy going; I didn't enjoy it as much.

 

[travispickle]

Willy Vlautin is great - if a bit downbeat!

One of his books (Northline) came with an instrumental CD soundtrack - which was very nice.

I don't mind downbeat. I'm enjoying the novel right enough; I'd be interested in reading more of his stuff.

 

[IFF]

I know what you mean; it took a while for me to get my head around what was happening, but once I just went with it, I really enjoyed it. The writing was fantastic. The Gaurdian/Observer did a feature on translators a few weeks back, and Deborah Smith was interviewed. Translation seems to be very much an art in itself.
Kang's other novel Human Acts is heavy going; I didn't enjoy it as much.

The vegetarian is next on my list of stuff to read

Currently reading "stoner" by John Williams"

I don't mind downbeat. I'm enjoying the novel right enough; I'd be interested in reading more of his stuff.

I do like vlautin's writing but "lean on Pete" is my favourite of his novels.

 

[rettucs]

Currently reading "stoner" by John Williams"

let us know what you think. I found it

Spoiler

a tough enough read

 

[travispickle]

The vegetarian is next on my list of stuff to read

Currently reading "stoner" by John Williams"


I do like vlautin's writing but "lean on Pete" is my favourite of his novels.

I thought Stoner was very good; a nice read

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Yeah, Stoner was alright, very overrated though.

 

[travispickle]

I've just started The Many by Wyl Menmuir -
a fantastic read. Brilliantly written; very sinister, tense and unsettling. Highly recommended.

 

[travispickle]

Can't wait for A Manual For Cleaning Women. I much prefer paperbacks, but have been told it wont be available in that format until late summer/ Autumn. Might have to break my own no-hardback rules this time.

That's out now in paperback; saw it today in Hodges Fidgets on me lunch break.

 

[Jim Daniels]

That's out now in paperback; saw it today in Hodges Fidgets on me lunch break.

Thanks - yeah I saw it, but decided to order the American edition instead. I just couldn't bring myself to buying the UK edition, with that cover. Got into trouble on Facebook for saying this! Rightly so, possibly.

Have read the first few stories - superb so far

UK edition


American edition

 

[rettucs]

holiday reading last week. Very pleasant little read

also reading

about 2/3s the way through. Its hilarious, boring, infuriating, and excellent, in equal measures.

 

[travispickle]

Thanks - yeah I saw it, but decided to order the American edition instead. I just couldn't bring myself to buying the UK edition, with that cover. Got into trouble on Facebook for saying this! Rightly so, possibly.

Have read the first few stories - superb so far

UK edition
View attachment 11455

American edition
View attachment 11456

I didn't think the cover was all that bad! But yes, great stories.

 

[Lili Marlene]

right! Started this last night, here we go

Finally finished this (the Luminaries) there the other day. It took me an age to get through the first 300 pages and then it fairly rocketed along and, in fairness, i'm fairly sure that was by design. There's lots of clever things going on in the organisation of the thing and kudos to her for that but overall it had the air of a well done exercise to it.

I wouldn't go as far as telling people its not worth reading but it's a big commitment for not a whole lot of payoff. Would be probably better off reading an actual 19th century novel.

However, I wonder if she was doing a Tokien thing and writing a novel in a genre for her country because she felt it was lacking. I can't think of any actual 19th century doorstops set in NZ.

 

[travispickle]

Started reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stroud. I really enjoyed My Name is Lucy Barton, so am looking forward to this one.
Also picked up James Salters' Collected Stories - He's new to me, but on reading about him, I think I will like his writing.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

Last couple of months:

The Moons at Your Door edited by David Tibet (of Current 93). Collection of short stories, religious texts, folk tales, etc. that have inspired Tibet over the years. Some classic tales by well-known authors along with some very obscure stuff. It's very good, especially if you're looking for a good introduction for old ghost stories and weird fiction. There's also a soundtrack album by Current 93 that's great if you're into creepy soundscape stuff.

The Grimoire by Montague Summers. Came with the deluxe edition of The Moons at Your Door. This wasn't as good as the other stories in the main collection but a nice addition to the hardback.

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. A real page-turner, especially if you're 1 and all you want to do is turn the pages.

The Saucer of Larks by Brian Friel. I picked this up for free when a hospice I was visiting was giving away a bunch of books. Frankly, I feel like I was overcharged. This is awful, "Sure, it isn't it simple country ways that are the best?", bottom of the barrel Irish literature. Every story felt like it should have come with a set of leaving cert English style comprehension questions at the end; 1) Why did he feel sad? 2) Why could he not share his feelings with his family? 3) If you could shoot one of these characters, which one would you pick?

The Audient Void by Various Authors. A horror journal that features a bunch of original writing by lots of unknown authors. I picked it up because a friend had a story in this issue. His one was great but the rest was pretty run of the mill stuff. Also, fantasy poetry doesn't need to happen.

This Is Supposed to Be a Record Label by Frans De Waard. Memoirs by Frans about his time working in Staalplaat, a hub for experimental music in Amsterdam since the 80s (though now it operates out of Berlin). Lots of funny stories about being a prick in a record shop, about running a small and unprofitable label and catty gossip about obscure avant garde musicians.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Amazingly, I have never read this. I burned through it (ho ho!) in a couple of days, splendid stuff. And like many great dystopian novels of the past, it describes the modern age perfectly. It's like young men of the 1950s-70s read these books as "How to" guides as opposed to warnings.

The Sick Bag Song by Nick Cave. Stream of consciousness/epic poem written over the course of his last major American tour. It's remarkably good. I loved And the Ass Saw the Angel but didn't really dig Bunny Monroe so I was surprised I loved this so much. I bought the audio version on vinyl a couple of weeks ago and had to get the book to go with it. Weirdly prescient in its many passages about young men falling and the fears of a middle aged man for his family given the death of his son soon after this was published.

Words Without Music: A Memoir by Philip Glass. I'm only about two chapters into this, so far Glass has been born and gone to school. Gripping stuff, I wonder if he'll become a composer?

Blood Meridian; or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy. My third time reading this. Unrelentingly bleak but possibly in my top five books ever. I'd love to see this turned into a HBO series but with zero compromise on the violence and the poetry, though I think it's unfilmable. At least the book is always there for me.

 

[Lili Marlene]

also reading

about 2/3s the way through. Its hilarious, boring, infuriating, and excellent, in equal measures.

Meant to say, one of the worst, most overwritten books I have EVER had to plod through. As pleased with itself as a Frank Zappa album.