What Book Did You Read Last Night??? (6 Viewers)

34524016.jpg


Beautifully written short short stories about absolutely nothing.

c5319.jpg


Been reading this off and on for a while now, hope to finish it this weekend.
Recent article on him: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/sep/29/arthur-machen-tartarus-press
 
x4410.jpg


Just started this last night. I couldn't give a shite about boxing, but the first page of this just ripped my cerebral lining apart so I had to get into it. First paragraph is the one of the best openers I've ever read. Great read.

Anyone know what the rest of Mailer's stuff is like? I've never read any before.
 
Anyone know what the rest of Mailer's stuff is like? I've never read any before.


I read 'why are we in Vietnam'. I picked it because it looked reasonably short and I wanted something around that length as an introduction to his writing and his writing style. The story was good but his writing style (for that book) threw me off so many times that it put me off wanting to read anything else by him.

But then I've come around to thinking of late that longer books are better than shorter books in general, so I'm happy to revise that opinion.

In short, I read one other book and it wasn't great. But maybe I picked the wrong one.
 
I read the Naked and the Dead when I was about 16, I can't remember a word of it though. I think it was good
 
I'm reading Twenty Years After, the sequel to the Three Musketeers by Dumas (and prequel to the Man in the Iron Mask). Dumas is surely one of the great underrated writers; probably dismissed as a glorified children's writer because of the popular depictions of the Count of Monte Cristo, the Man in the Iron Mask and the three Musketeers, his books have relentless pace and compelling heroes. Probably one of my favourite writers.
 
Back to Salonica, City of Ghosts by Mark Mazower for me.
Still haven't really got stuck into it.

I was a bit bored by the Luke Haines memoir by the end, after the initial LOLs.
 
Not wanting anything particularly challenging I read "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" last week. It's an okay crime novel but it's quite a poor translation from the Swedish I think, many terms that I think would be second nature to Swedes were directly translated and there were a couple of times that I had to pause to figure out what was being referred to.
 
n126289.jpg


Jaysus :eek:

Depressing, disturbing and very uncomfortable reading from the master of
depressing, disturbing and very uncomfortable reading.

Not something I'd recommend but a very powerful read and I still say that nobody writes pent up anger like Hubert Selby Jr.
 
x4410.jpg


Just started this last night. I couldn't give a shite about boxing, but the first page of this just ripped my cerebral lining apart so I had to get into it. First paragraph is the one of the best openers I've ever read. Great read.

Anyone know what the rest of Mailer's stuff is like? I've never read any before.

I loved The Fight - and I have virtually no interest in boxing. It's a super read. I read a few of his other books a long time ago. Some of them are godawful. I think I enjoyed Naked And The Dead but can't be sure .... I think his early stuff was way better than later when he started writing ridiculously long ones about ancient Egyptians and so on.

I read someone the other day (I think it might have been Susan Sontag) being interviewed and talking about how some critic was completely useless because he/she actually thought Mailer was a good writer (as if this was the most absurd notion ever).
 
the-humbling.jpg


About to crack this bad boy open then probably cry myself to sleep. :)

I haven't picked this up yet but don't think I'll bother. I wish Roth would use his last years to write another Plot Against America or American Pastoral rather than endless variations on I'm-an-old-guy-and-my-dick-doesn't-work-so-well-anymore.

Having said that, let us know if it's any good ...
 
I thought last year's Indignation was amazing and there wasn't a whiff of old man mickey off it. I didn't read Exit Ghost as it was reviewed terribly. He does have a few terrible books but most of his are very readable. I think Deception was the worst one I've attempted to read.
 
I haven't picked this up yet but don't think I'll bother. I wish Roth would use his last years to write another Plot Against America or American Pastoral rather than endless variations on I'm-an-old-guy-and-my-dick-doesn't-work-so-well-anymore.

Having said that, let us know if it's any good ...

I also thought Indignation was excellent (hated Everyman). Ive just started American Pastoral as i was too tired for on A Philosophy of the Sublime and Beautiful by Edmund Burke which i had been intending to read next.

Last night i finished Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition: English Sea Rovers in the Seventeenth-Century Caribbean. Its a look at how there came to be shiploads of gay pirates in the 17th century Caribbean. Some of it was interesting a bit too much speculation.

Before that i read The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis which was very good.
 
I also thought Indignation was excellent (hated Everyman).

Yeah, I didn't like Everyman much either and thought Exit Ghost was rubbish. Maybe I'll give Indignation a go ...
 
American Pastoral, The Human Stain and, I Married A Communist are all amazing imho. I liked Everyman, though I doubt I'll read it ever again! I read The Humbling in about an hour, it's kinda crap. It's readable, like most of Roth's stuff, but it is the only book I've ever read where the Guardian's jokey synopsis was exactly the same as the actual book.
Any of ye feckers read Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín? Is it any use?
 
currently reading "indignation". i'm looking it so far. i wasn't too impressed with "everyman" . i thought "exit ghost" was very good as was "american pastoral", "plot against america" and the great american novel"

other books i'm reading
the third policeman - flann o'brien
the brief and wondrous life of oscar wao
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Activity
So far there's no one here

21 Day Calendar

Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Bloody Head, Hubert Selby Jr Infants, Creepy Future - Dublin
Anseo
18 Camden Street Lower, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland

Support thumped.com

Support thumped.com and upgrade your account

Upgrade your account now to disable all ads... If we had any... Which we don't right now.

Upgrade now

Latest threads

Latest Activity

Loading…
Back
Top