The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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Ciano's Diary 1937-1938 by Gian Galeazzo Ciano

He was Mussolini's son-in-law & Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1936 through WW2

I've also got the 2nd part, the Ciano Diaries 1939 -1943

Mussolini had him executed in early 1944
 

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Funkyzeit mit Matt said:
Just finished The Sounds and the fury (masterpiece), nearly finished Beloved (overrated).
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I have it the other way around. Beloved is one of my very favourite books, whilst Sound and the Fury is tedious, albeit impressive technically.

Funkyzeit mit Matt said:
Anyone have opinions on post-modern literature (Pynchon?)
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I enjoy his stuff, but people seem to either love him or hate him. Vonnegut, of the American post-modernists, seems to have a far wider appeal. That might be a better place to start.
 
mdc said:
I have it the other way around. Beloved is one of my very favourite books, whilst Sound and the Fury is tedious, albeit impressive technically.
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It's very impressive technically. It places extraordinarily heavy demands on the reader, espeicially Benji's chapter. Re-reading it after I had read the entire book made it an enjoyable re-read.

I read a review who sees the book as entirely concerned with racial angst. That was utter tripe.

Why did you like Beloved? I found it borrowed from a few styles withuot doing any one of them that well



mdc said:
I enjoy his stuff, but people seem to either love him or hate him. Vonnegut, of the American post-modernists, seems to have a far wider appeal. That might be a better place to start.
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will do :thumbsu:
 
Kaiser Powser said:
I did enjoy it. It's hard to imagine living such a carefree lifestyle, particularly straight after WWII. Parents must have been turning in their graves to see conservative lifestyles being turned on their heads by this 'Beat' generation who were so apathatic and care free.
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Its one of my fav books. Just finished the Dharma Bums by Jack as well. If you like On The Road, chances are you will enjoy.

On the Road is being made into a movie as I type this believe.
 
Funkyzeit mit Matt said:
It's very impressive technically. It places extraordinarily heavy demands on the reader, espeicially Benji's chapter. Re-reading it after I had read the entire book made it an enjoyable re-read.
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Yep. I've read the Benji section 3 times, with roughly 2 years between each reading. Only after the 3rd reading did I actually find the interest to read the rest of the book.

The decision to begin with that section is what makes it unnecessarily tedious.

Funkyzeit mit Matt said:
Why did you like Beloved? I found it borrowed from a few styles withuot doing any one of them that well
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Which styles?

The thing I like most about that book is its authenticity and imagery.
 
mdc said:
Yep. I've read the Benji section 3 times, with roughly 2 years between each reading. Only after the 3rd reading did I actually find the interest to read the rest of the book.

The decision to begin with that section is what makes it unnecessarily tedious.
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I see your point. It certainly made me question whether i wanted to read on.

But re-reading it, and all the aspects it has, made me incredibly grateful I stuck it out.



mdc said:
Which styles?

The thing I like most about that book is its authenticity and imagery.
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A bit of modernism, lots of post-modernism, from poetic verse to some really gutteral language etc. I suppose it could there be called post-modernist, but I judt didnt like the mix. I felt it was more abstract without purpose than Faulkner's aswell. His stream of consciousness sections were a lot deeper than Morrison's.

And just thinking about it again, there were some powerful moments. There was a beautiful convo/monologue thing where sethe really opens up to Beloved than made me put it down a couple of times to just reflect
 
Just finished "Survivor" - had a few chuckles, but it was pretty boring to be honest.

Moving on to some non-fiction
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Great Tales from English History Vol. 1 by Richard Lacey
 
grimlock said:
Just finished "Survivor" - had a few chuckles, but it was pretty boring to be honest.

Moving on to some non-fiction
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Great Tales from English History Vol. 1 by Richard Lacey
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This is a decent read, I always enjoy this type of book (I'm a big Dawkins fan).

I'm re-reading Sperm Wars at the moment.

Palahnuik is pretty hit and miss, as much as I loved Fight Club and think he has an extremely creative (perverted?) mind, his writing style generally frustrates me and I find myself liking him less the more material of his I read.
 
Kaiser Powser said:
And all the banning of it did was make it become ridiculously popular once the ban was lifted. Ironic hah?

Let me know if you think it would be a classic in it's own right, or if it was driven to this status by the hype/populatity raised by the ban.
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OK, I'm not sure what to make of Lady Chatterley's Lover. It amazes me that this is what was considered controversial. To be honest, I felt a little underwhelmed by the contents of the book. There are a lot of great topics for discussion found throughout the book, but did I feel I learned anything or it changed me? Not really.

Just started, and about to finish, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.
 
The Great Shark Hunt: Gonzo Papers Volume I Strange tales from a strange time. Hunter S. Thompson
 

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BomberGal said:
OK, I'm not sure what to make of Lady Chatterley's Lover. It amazes me that this is what was considered controversial. To be honest, I felt a little underwhelmed by the contents of the book. There are a lot of great topics for discussion found throughout the book, but did I feel I learned anything or it changed me? Not really.

Just started, and about to finish, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.
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Yeah, the publisher has done an amazing job stretching that book to 200 pages; large font, 1.5 spacing and a blank page after every 2 page chapter. That's how you stretch a 70 page story to a 200 page novel.
 
Just finished "The Way of Shadows" by Brent Weeks, which was a very good read.

At some point today I'll pick up the other two books in the Night Angel trilogy.
 
Finished 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' yesterday. I'm still thinking about it.

Working on 'Fab Five' (about the Michigan basketball team in the early 90s) and the next installment of Flashman ('... and the Redskins.')
 
bradrowe#32 said:
Finished 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' yesterday. I'm still thinking about it.

Working on 'Fab Five' (about the Michigan basketball team in the early 90s) and the next installment of Flashman ('... and the Redskins.')
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Pretty wacky isn't it? I didn't fully register the concept of 'magical realism' until about 30 pages in when a scene was described, in full seriousness, where people 'passed by the window on magic carpets'. For some reason, events such as Colonel Aureliano Buendia throwing a spear through his opponents neck, and then talking with the ghost of the dead man afterwards - didn't quite flick the switch in my head lol.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it. There was something enthralling about the way the story was told... sort of energetic and informative.
 
Claude Balls said:
Pretty wacky isn't it? I didn't fully register the concept of 'magical realism' until about 30 pages in when a scene was described, in full seriousness, where people 'passed by the window on magic carpets'. For some reason, events such as Colonel Aureliano Buendia throwing a spear through his opponents neck, and then talking with the ghost of the dead man afterwards - didn't quite flick the switch in my head lol.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it. There was something enthralling about the way the story was told... sort of energetic and informative.
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I'm currently bidding on this on eBay. Sounds good :thumbsu:
 
9780143010043.jpg


Just finished reading this book for school. Superb:thumbsu: About footy and life in general eg chicks, parent pressure, mates, death, work experience etc. I saw it in the Library and picked it up and couldn't let go. It is a awesome book:thumbsu: If you can get your hands on a copy, it is an fantastic read:thumbsu:
 

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The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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