The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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The Brothers Karamazov.

Just (finally) finished War and Peace so It'll be quite light reading by comparison.

Anyone else a fan of Russian Literature? I know it's snobby and all to name drop Tolstoy, Chekhov and friends, but I find it so engrossing. I just wish I spoke Russian to read it in original form.

Also, any decent authors to follow up after Dostoevsky? I am sure there are people here who can point me in the right direction.
 
Wish Wellingtons said:
The Brothers Karamazov.

Just (finally) finished War and Peace so It'll be quite light reading by comparison.

Anyone else a fan of Russian Literature? I know it's snobby and all to name drop Tolstoy, Chekhov and friends, but I find it so engrossing. I just wish I spoke Russian to read it in original form.

Also, any decent authors to follow up after Dostoevsky? I am sure there are people here who can point me in the right direction.
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If I named my five favourite books, three of them would be Russian authors!

I haven't read War and Peace, but I did read Anna Karenina, and it's probably the best thing I've ever read. God, that book was smart, and he can sure write.

I've also read The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, which was incredible.

And a few by Nabokov, including of course Lolita. Lolita though was written in English, which to me makes it even more wonderful, that he had such masterful control over a second language. Ahh, the poetry.

Read a little Chekhov but not enough to discuss it.

I haven't read any Dostoevsky yet, but it's on my very long list.

Is it really that snobby to name drop? These books are amazing, why should you feel you have to hide the fact you've read them? If other people are intimidated, so be it.
 
BomberGal said:
I've also read The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, which was incredible.
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Yeah, that would be one to recommend. I really struggled through it probably because I got a terrible translation. It's a very influential book and has a bit of a cult classic.

Wish Wellingtons, you should definitely check it out.
 
Wish Wellingtons said:
The Brothers Karamazov.

Just (finally) finished War and Peace so It'll be quite light reading by comparison.

Anyone else a fan of Russian Literature? I know it's snobby and all to name drop Tolstoy, Chekhov and friends, but I find it so engrossing. I just wish I spoke Russian to read it in original form.

Also, any decent authors to follow up after Dostoevsky? I am sure there are people here who can point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...

Gogol is excellent. Bulgakov's book that BG mentioned is a classic. Turgenev is another "giant" but I don't particularly like him. Then again, I'm not huge on Tolstoy either.

I personally count Dostoyevsky and Chekhov amongst my very favourite writers, but there is nothing else like either in the Russian canon.

Oh, and as for the language itself...you're not missing much.
 
mdc said:
Gogol is excellent. Bulgakov's book that BG mentioned is a classic. Turgenev is another "giant" but I don't particularly like him.
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Oh yeah. I read Fathers and Sons by Turgenev and really wasn't impressed at all. Felt it had so much more potential, but I was left feeling flat. The character development really just stalled.

After reading The Master and Margarita, I bought Dead Souls by Gogol. TM&M had such an influence on me, I thought about it for weeks. So much to gain from one book. I still think about it. I really wanted more, and read that Dead Souls was a good place to head next, but unfortunately, yes, it's just another book on that TBR pile...
 
Thanks guys, really refreshing to pose a question on an internet forum and receive a valuable response for once!

I am definitely looking into Turgenev and Bulbakov. As for the Russian language, I am informed that from a literary sense English is peerless. Though I just feel that some of the lingo and language that would have been used in the time, along with some obscure references that are made to russian culture, especially in Crime and Punishment (my all time favourite book) are sometimes lost from an outsiders point of view.

And, I will admit at taking some degree of snobby pleasure in name dropping Russian literature, but seriously, if you can get through War and Peace you deserve at least a few perks.;)
 
I found the ending of War and Peace to be a massive letdown. The wrong guy died and the wrong guy got the girl.

I don't really like much Russian literature, but Crime and Punishment is one of my favourite books.
 

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Have just started "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac.:thumbsu:

Anna Karenina (and War & Peace) have been collecting dust on my bookshelf for that long it's not funny. On the back of above reviews, I might have a crack at AK next.
 
OneEyedHawk said:
Have just started "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac.:thumbsu:
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Great book. There's something very special about Kerouac.

I'm reading "Love in the time of cholera." I've been reading "Les Miserables" for a while but it's hard going at the moment, around page 500 (out of 1232), so I have to read books in between.
 
Kaiser Powser said:
Read it.

Best series ever.
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Equus said:
I have to agree though, this series is a lot better compared to other Fantasy series I've read.
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Equus said:
Not reading but listening to "A Game of Thrones". I'm loving it!
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Read the book after these recomendations, and was pleasantly surprised.


Certainly draws you in.

Just started the follow up.


Also good to note, that HBO has piloted a high budget mini series on the first book, with a bloody good cast.


My recomendation for any Australian.


A Fortunate Life - A.B Facey


Brilliant.
 
Very funny diary about the ordeals of getting up a film...

9780732287368.jpg
 
Wish Wellingtons said:
The Brothers Karamazov.

Just (finally) finished War and Peace so It'll be quite light reading by comparison.

Anyone else a fan of Russian Literature? I know it's snobby and all to name drop Tolstoy, Chekhov and friends, but I find it so engrossing. I just wish I spoke Russian to read it in original form.

Also, any decent authors to follow up after Dostoevsky? I am sure there are people here who can point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...

I would follow the Brothers up with another Dostoevsky. He is an absolute gun. Try Crime and Punishment, great book. Both those books are better than War and Peace in my opinion.

I would also agree with the comments in that Turgenev is very highly rated, but I failed to really enjoy his writing.

Nabakov is awesome, but cannot be classified as Classical Russian.

I've heard good things about Boris Pasternak, but have not read any of his work.
 
I just finished reading Body Double by Tess Gerritsen, I thought it was pretty good, has anyone else read books by Tess Gerritsen??
 

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The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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