What Book Did You Read Last Night??? (10 Viewers)

[Denny Oubidoux]

Currently reading the complete works of Isaac Babel which will take me ages and I paid €60 for a book this morning because it's not available on inter-library loan and it's only volume 1 of 3, as if I'll ever even read it.

THE BURNED BRAMBLE​

by Manes Sperber RELEASE DATE: March 15, 1951

A hard-boned, sustained and tragic story of doomed men in Europe between wars, caught in the midst of consolidating dictatorships, struggling to perpetuate the ideals of the Communist party. Sperber's tremendous canvas and use of dialogue to restate themes is reminiscent of Koestler, although unlike Koestler, Sperber's characters in this novel are men without faces, or personalities, effective here, since the nucleus of Party leaders in Germany whose destinies shape the action are drained of self, shaped toward an ideal they cannot realize. During the years in which the action takes place (1932-37) the Party members -- Faber, consumed with a determination to make the dream come true; Goeben, apprentice trouble shooter; Vasso, professional revolutionary; and Soennecke, weathered by experience but expediently silent on deviations from the Party -- see the encroaching fascism of Germany, the failure of local organizing through indifference of the workers, the opposition of police and Church leaders who side with the Fascists to preserve their power, and the change in Moscow from progressive idealism to fascistic conservationism to which these men who have devoted themselves to an ideal are not necessary. Finally the men are scattered and Vasso and Soennecke are executed by the organization to which they had dedicated themselves. Only Faber's friend, Professor Stetten, is left intact, ethically speaking, although his belief that ""man is unique and his one life is unique"" falls on barren soil in a functional totalitarian world. An affecting achievement. Koestler market.

 

[snakybus]

the only one of those i've read is (surprise!) project hail mary. thought it was good. almost inevitably: Project Hail Mary (2026) | Sci-Fi

Yeah can't wait. But also, weirdly, can.

 

[snakybus]

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
Short stories. I gave it 4/5 on goodreads so I must have liked it but I don't really remember it now.

I really liked this so on that strength I'm gonna check out William Maxwell, whom I've never heard of. Thanks!

 

[the_jen]

the only one of those i've read is (surprise!) project hail mary. thought it was good. almost inevitably: Project Hail Mary (2026) | Sci-Fi

I've never listened to an audiobook but I thought Project Hail Mary would make a good one.

 

[pete]

Wool, the first book of the Silo trilogy. It's been adapted as seasons 1 & 2 of the TV show, which doesn't stray all that far from the original material - a death here, a gender swap there, one or two characters have a much more minor role in the book...and the whole forbidden ancient relics thing isn't a thing - but the book definitely gives a little bit more background information on the whole setup.

 

[pete]

Wool, the first book of the Silo trilogy. It's been adapted as seasons 1 & 2 of the TV show, which doesn't stray all that far from the original material - a death here, a gender swap there, one or two characters have a much more minor role in the book...and the whole forbidden ancient relics thing isn't a thing - but the book definitely gives a little bit more background information on the whole setup.

Finished the other two books, Shift and Dust. Pretty good!

 

[Cormcolash]

Did you get the Shift?

 

[chris d]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Surprisingly short.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Surprisingly short.

It’s good though!

 

[hugh]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Surprisingly short.

I'm trying to read this in Spanish atm with one of those editions that have the English on the opposite page. Hard work. I reckon the English is translated from a Spanish translation because some of the phrasing and choice of words is just bizarre. It's good though.

 

[chris d]

I'm trying to read this in Spanish atm with one of those editions that have the English on the opposite page. Hard work. I reckon the English is translated from a Spanish translation because some of the phrasing and choice of words is just bizarre. It's good though.

Fair play. The English was real old timey Victorian style writing. Wasn't particularly easy for my 2025 warped brain to fly through.

 

[snakybus]

First book post of 2025. Wham bam thank you Pete.

The Sea by John Banville
This was all right, although I had the notion that the main character was John Banville himself and he wasn’t a very likable character. And that makes me not really like John Banville. Like the character, who lacked emotional generosity, there also seems to be a lack of generosity in his writing, and I’m not sure exactly what it is, can’t put my finger on it. Because obviously it’s indebted to James Joyce, but I really like James Joyce so... Anyway, maybe I should read some more of his stuff before I judge. As for The Sea, it was a decent enough story, reasonably well told, but with a few too many big words. Grand, I’d say.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
I wasn’t expecting anything from this beyond what I already knew about it, but it really blew me away. Just astonishing. I’d say up there with Madame Bovary as a subversive, almost funny piece of grotesquerie. My top read of 2025 so far.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles This was shockingly poor drivel, which I abandoned after 50 pages or so. It was like it was written for kids or something.. Why it has gotten such accolades, I don’t know.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
By contrast this was fantastic. I really enjoyed it, as I expected since I’ve loved anything Steinbeck has written. Nothing more really to say about this because it’s such a famous book; I would place it about third in my list of favourite books by him, with Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath taking the top two positions.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey
This won the Booker prize, though even if it hadn’t it would have irritated the hell out of me. It’s a plotless meditation about the Earth as seen by a bunch of astronauts orbiting in a space station and that’s all!, which is nearly as boring as it sounds. It’s like an Enya song in its aimless drivelly droning. Except I think I’d prefer to listen to an Enya song. Blah.

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
This was nominated for the Booker but I thought it was an awful lot better than Orbital. Aside from some flaws in the character building and an insipid ending , it was pretty good overall. Enough humour and intrigue to carry you along.

Pure Gold by John Patrick McHugh
I suppose this fella is competing with Colin Barrett and a few other culchies for swooping literary stories about wild men of Mayo doing wild shit. Again, I’m blown away by how many quality Mayo writers there are. They must have shag all to do down there besides scratch their holes and scribble. So, being from Mayo, of course this was great. Apparently he has a novel coming soon; we wait with bated breath…

Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings by Peter Pettinger
Biography of Bill Evans. A bit encyclopaedic but worth a read nonetheless.

1984 by George Orwell
I read this first nearly 40 (!!!) years ago and I wanted to see if my impression of it had changed at all. Happy to report that it was just as awesome as I remembered and technology moving on has not dated it really. And of course Big Brother is the Divil. He keeps popping up in the best stories - Blood Meridian, Lord of the Flies, Lord of the Rings, Heart of Darkness… No Country for Old Men... So, not just the best tunes. Fuck you An Diabhal!

 

[Anthony]

Third rock bio in a row now. Though slim pickings in our local book shop.
Miki from Lush's book. Liked it.
The Live's of Brian - Brian Johnson. Enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Ends just as he joins AC/DC.
Rembering - Sinead O'Connor. All over the place, decent.

 

[shidheat]

i started reading again recently

dracula - brahm stoker

started out great. as it went along, it sort of turned into an episode of scooby doo. ending was really disappointing. definitely had its moments. great to have read the source, given the amount of movies made about it. ironically funny period cultural norms

dubliners - james joyce

tried to read this years ago but got distracted. not this time. absolutely loved it. bite sized insights into the lives of dubliners pre-1916. great to be able to visualise the locations. so well written - such great turn of phrase. a certain amount of darkness to it overall which i liked.

the satsuma complex - bob mortimer

straight forward enough, but very well executed and pretty water tight, plot-wise. funny. loved it overall. i don't know if it's semi-autobiographical or what but i pictured bob mortimer all the way through as the main character

district and circle - seamus heaney

nice collection of poetry. slowly working through this one. i love his poetry

roadmarks - roger zelazny

science fiction concept about a highway where different exits bring you to different times. this was labelled "sf masterworks". complete drivel imo

the man in the high castle - phillip k dick

i'm about half way through this one now. loving it so far. a novel set in a world where the axis won ww2. uneasy and full of tension. can't predict what's going to happen and the writing is great

 

[magicbastarder]

rereading 'dune' for the first time in over 20 years. i'd forgotten how much mystical stuff there was in it.

 

[pete]

the man in the high castle - phillip k dick

i'm about half way through this one now. loving it so far. a novel set in a world where the axis won ww2. uneasy and full of tension. can't predict what's going to happen and the writing is great

I really liked this. The tv show is decent too.

 

[chris d]

I love East of Eden. For such a 'big' book in a cultural sense it's a surprisingly easy read.

Just finished The Plague by Albert Camus.

Random library pick up from the classics section that didn't look too long. Really good. Surprisingly spot on for our reaction/path with Covid 19. I suppose we've all been through it before. Allegories to facisim evident for sure. Got a bit bummed out by the end because I'm still sick of Covid. And fascists I suppose.

Before that I got Fight Club out, mostly to see if I could get a book out while I had something overdue (not me really but the woife onybcats) and I could.

I enjoyed it. Really seemed beat for beat the same as the film, dialogue included, up until the final third. Maybe I don't remember the film that well. Maybe I enjoyed it because it reminded me of being young and going to the cinema? Not sure if the themes of masculinity are a problem or not.

This version ended with a chapter of the author talking about how class he was for writing the book. Which was annoying.

Have been reading the game of thrones books at bedtime. Shame about the noncery.

 

[UnicronUnicron is verified member.]

I love East of Eden. For such a 'big' book in a cultural sense it's a surprisingly easy read.

Just finished The Plague by Albert Camus.

Random library pick up from the classics section that didn't look too long. Really good. Surprisingly spot on for our reaction/path with Covid 19. I suppose we've all been through it before. Allegories to facisim evident for sure. Got a bit bummed out by the end because I'm still sick of Covid. And fascists I suppose.

Before that I got Fight Club out, mostly to see if I could get a book out while I had something overdue (not me really but the woife onybcats) and I could.

I enjoyed it. Really seemed beat for beat the same as the film, dialogue included, up until the final third. Maybe I don't remember the film that well. Maybe I enjoyed it because it reminded me of being young and going to the cinema? Not sure if the themes of masculinity are a problem or not.

This version ended with a chapter of the author talking about how class he was for writing the book. Which was annoying.

Have been reading the game of thrones books at bedtime. Shame about the noncery.

The plague is good

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

Have been reading the game of thrones books at bedtime. Shame about the noncery.

In the books or has GRRM had allegations against him?

 

[chris d]

In the books or has GRRM had allegations against him?

Just in the books.

For now...