What Are You Reading

[Buick]

I’m on a Western kick at the moment. I read Lonesome Dove last year, after seeing it name-checked several times, and have just started Streets of Laredo. I found Lonesome Dove a little grating at the beginning for the slow pace of description and conversation - and ended up being genuinely surprised by how incisive and unblinking it was in exposing all manner of aspects of human thought and behaviour, strength and weakness. I can definitely imagine re reading it and relishing that slow burn. Too early to give any thoughts on the sequel.

 

[Tiki Tom]

I’m on a Western kick at the moment. I read Lonesome Dove last year,

I’m going through a “classics” phase right now. Part of that is reading reviews of the classics and lists of the classics to see what I should read next. I was surprised to see how often Lonesome Dove appears on these lists. It’s now on my list of books to keep an eye out for. (My shopping technique is hanging out at the local used bookstore. I don’t often order from Amazon.)

 

[Buick]

I’m going through a “classics” phase right now. Part of that is reading reviews of the classics and lists of the classics to see what I should read next. I was surprised to see how often Lonesome Dove appears on these lists. It’s now on my list of books to keep an eye out for. (My shopping technique is hanging out at the local used bookstore. I don’t often order from Amazon.)

Lonesome Dove came to my attention much the same way. I like your approach; I tried finding a copy at local bookstores (and did find a new paperback), but in the end bought second hand through eBay and got a nice hardback that I’ll want to keep.

 

[Harp]

I don't think it's really surprising at all, many philosophers were not particularly fond of the brand new religion they viewed as being based on superstition and blind faith rather than reason....

Marcus struck me as more dismissive than I thought justified, in similar vein with Spinoza; excommunicate Jewish secularist cynic that he was, and also uncharacteristically so. The later felt need to reiterate himself in this regard; leaving indelible impression of lingering doubt. Yet Marcus' take was more decidedly final verdict. What I like about him, but what can raise conjecture no end.

 

[Harp]

A periodic glance again with Simon Leys' The Hall of Uselessness, a work I regularly hand out to young men with insistence upon his acquaintance and life long friendship.
Recommended reading suggested here because Leys saw truth; whether inside Mao's China, Europe, or modern literature, with a scholarly eye and strong intuitive grasp.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Finished 25. chapter of "The Charterhouse of Parma". I will not spoiler, but now it's getting more interesting!

 

[DogFacePonySoldier]

Quarter way through The Fort Bragg Cartel, the gritty details reminds me of a modern Blood Meridian.

 

[Harp]

Quarter way through The Fort Bragg Cartel, the gritty details reminds me of a modern Blood Meridian.

Sounds as though this might involve Special Forces; which, I was once a member of during misspent irresponsible reckless youth. Absolutely nothing narcotics or nefarious however.

 

[Harp]

Finished 25. chapter of "The Charterhouse of Parma". I will not spoiler, but now it's getting more interesting!

I never finished his The Red and The Black, which, like Eliot's Daniel Deronda still nags at my conscience somewhat.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Sorry, I made a mistake. My old german edition of "The Charterhouse of Parma" got 596 pages for the novel itself, not 739. So I'm already near the end!

After the novel there comes bonus material:

1. Stendhal, Sketches for a new edition of "The Charterhouse of Parma"

2. Stendhal - Balzac, About the novel
-Balzac's letter to Stendhal from 20. March 1839
-Balzac's letter to Stendhal from 5. April 1839
-Balzac's study about Stendhal
-Stendhal's letter to Balzac from 30. October 1840

3. Appendix:
-The tragic in the life of Fabrizio
-chronology
-notes

 

[Trenchfriend]

Finished "The Charterhouse of Parma". What an end!

Now continuing Alberto Moravia - Un'Altra Vita (short stories, 1973).

 

[Tiki Tom]

Just finished Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (published in 1847. 507 pages.)
WHY would anyone want to read Jane Eyre?

For starters, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a very happy and uplifting ending. I did not expect that from a gothic romance. Happy endings are wonderful things in these current challenging times. (Small walk-back: to get to the happy ending, you first have to read the first 90 pages of Jane Eyre which are a nightmare about life in a Victorian boarding school for orphans. Pretty ghastly.)

Jane Eyre is gorgeously written. After reading a chapter of JE, I would find myself trying to form my spoken sentences to be more beautiful and more carefully put together. I’d also try to elevate my choice of vocabulary words. Jane Eyre succeeded in temporarily re-wiring my brain in a good way (although I was, no doubt, a pompous bore at cocktail parties. ). The language of Jane Eyre is just beautiful, in a “you can’t get that anywhere else” kind of way.

Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester are well rounded, likeable, believable characters. She is pig-headed about sticking to her principles. You will come to love Jane and want to protect her like a little sister.

From the beginning, Mr Rochester is a bit of a rogue and a bad boy. He is the origInal Byronic hero; brooding and hiding a dark secret. But he is not wicked or evil, as some reviewers like to claim. And he can be quite funny at times. It goes without saying that he is filthy rich. Of course he is! Some of the best moments in the book come in the form of verbal fencing between Jane and Rochester. I laughed aloud at least once. Really, I liked these characters.

Regarding the plot, what can I say? It is CRAZY. The past is another country, and those Victorians were nuts in some ways. The highly choreographed dance between men and women was especially strange. That having been said, the book is nonetheless packed with gems of wisdom about human nature that are still relevant today. But the plot is a crazy one and it is loaded with unexpected twists and turns. It is fun, even if you have to suspend disbelief once or twice.

Jane Eyre is certainly one of the early versions of the “beauty and the beast” archetype. Mr Rochester certainly gets civilized and humbled in the chapters immediately before the happy ending. Jane Eyre was also the first novel to tell a story from the perspective of what’s going on inside a woman’s head. Although that perspective is commonplace today, in 1847 it raised eyebrows. While reading this book, I have come across many modern women who still say this is one of their favorite books.

I really enjoyed it. It’s a nice blend of romance, wisdom, mystery, spookiness, and compassion for the human predicament. All in a pleasing package of art and erudition. There is a reason Jane Eyre is on almost every list of the great English classics.

 

[Harp]

^ ''The heart has hidden treasures; in secret kept, in silence sealed.''--- Charlotte Bronte

 

[Fading Fast]

Just finished Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (published in 1847. 507 pages.)
WHY would anyone want to read Jane Eyre?

For starters, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a very happy and uplifting ending. I did not expect that from a gothic romance. Happy endings are wonderful things in these current challenging times. (Small walk-back: to get to the happy ending, you first have to read the first 90 pages of Jane Eyre which are a nightmare about life in a Victorian boarding school for orphans. Pretty ghastly.)

Jane Eyre is gorgeously written. After reading a chapter of JE, I would find myself trying to form my spoken sentences to be more beautiful and more carefully put together. I’d also try to elevate my choice of vocabulary words. Jane Eyre succeeded in temporarily re-wiring my brain in a good way (although I was, no doubt, a pompous bore at cocktail parties. ). The language of Jane Eyre is just beautiful, in a “you can’t get that anywhere else” kind of way.

Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester are well rounded, likeable, believable characters. She is pig-headed about sticking to her principles. You will come to love Jane and want to protect her like a little sister.

From the beginning, Mr Rochester is a bit of a rogue and a bad boy. He is the origInal Byronic hero; brooding and hiding a dark secret. But he is not wicked or evil, as some reviewers like to claim. And he can be quite funny at times. It goes without saying that he is filthy rich. Of course he is! Some of the best moments in the book come in the form of verbal fencing between Jane and Rochester. I laughed aloud at least once. Really, I liked these characters.

Regarding the plot, what can I say? It is CRAZY. The past is another country, and those Victorians were nuts in some ways. The highly choreographed dance between men and women was especially strange. That having been said, the book is nonetheless packed with gems of wisdom about human nature that are still relevant today. But the plot is a crazy one and it is loaded with unexpected twists and turns. It is fun, even if you have to suspend disbelief once or twice.

Jane Eyre is certainly one of the early versions of the “beauty and the beast” archetype. Mr Rochester certainly gets civilized and humbled in the chapters immediately before the happy ending. Jane Eyre was also the first novel to tell a story from the perspective of what’s going on inside a woman’s head. Although that perspective is commonplace today, in 1847 it raised eyebrows. While reading this book, I have come across many modern women who still say this is one of their favorite books.

I really enjoyed it. It’s a nice blend of romance, wisdom, mystery, spookiness, and compassion for the human predicament. All in a pleasing package of art and erudition. There is a reason Jane Eyre is on almost every list of the great English classics.

Outstanding review – I loved reading it.

And this,

After reading a chapter of JE, I would find myself trying to form my spoken sentences to be more beautiful and more carefully put together. I’d also try to elevate my choice of vocabulary words. Jane Eyre succeeded in temporarily re-wiring my brain in a good way (although I was, no doubt, a pompous bore at cocktail parties. ).

cracked me up.

I don't think I'll read it again as there are just so many things to read and re-read, but I'll admit, you got me thinking about it.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Right now started Arnaldur Indridason - "The Dark Hideaway", Iceland Crime Novel (2022).

 

[ChiTownScion]

An Honest Writer: The Life and Times of James T. Farrell. Robert K. Landers, (2004).

I first read Farrell's Studs Lonegan trilogy during that summer between high school and college. Through the undergrad years I tackled the Danny O'Neal pentalogy and his short stories. It was a perfect backdrop to my own Chicago Irish Catholic upbringing, although the elders of my family generally bought into the propaganda of Farrell being anti- Catholic. (He really was not: he simply reflected the world he grew up in.)

Later on a number of Catholic universities recognized his talents in literature: some even championed the notion that the Studs Lonegan books constituted the Great American Novel. Not sure about that, but no one can ever accuse him of sugar coating the assimilation process of the urban Irish Americans. Studs himself was based upon a real person that Farrell knew in his youth: William "Studs" Cunningham.

Interestingly, while he was an unapologetic Trotskyite in his youth he became somewhat of a reactionary in middle age. Lander presents an interesting biography of the man.

 

[Edward]

I've recently taken a detour into collected reprints of some of the comic book stuff I read back in the eighties (Strontium Dog and Rogue Trooper from the 2000AD stable), and my next book really needs to be (for work purposes) an in-depth study on the Depp v Heard libel trial. But what I really want to get back to is PN Elrod's Vampire Casefiles series, a beautifully written series of noir novellas set in Chicago in and around the power vacuum left after Capone's imprisonment. The writing style is pure Chandler, with the twist that the lead character is a journalist who is murdered and then, for plot reasons, comes back as a vampire. Teaming up with an Englishman who runs a private detective agency, their first case together is solving the lead's murder. It's great fun, and it would make an outstanding basis for a streaming show. As would Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series, to which I am also due a return.

 

[Harp]

An Honest Writer: The Life and Times of James T. Farrell. Robert K. Landers, (2004).

I first read Farrell's Studs Lonegan trilogy during that summer between high school and college. Through the undergrad years I tackled the Danny O'Neal pentalogy and his short stories. It was a perfect backdrop to my own Chicago Irish Catholic upbringing, although the elders of my family generally bought into the propaganda of Farrell being anti- Catholic. (He really was not: he simply reflected the world he grew up in.)

Later on a number of Catholic universities recognized his talents in literature: some even championed the notion that the Studs Lonegan books constituted the Great American Novel. Not sure about that, but no one can ever accuse him of sugar coating the assimilation process of the urban Irish Americans. Studs himself was based upon a real person that Farrell knew in his youth: William "Studs" Cunningham.

Interestingly, while he was an unapologetic Trotskyite in his youth he became somewhat of a reactionary in middle age. Lander presents an interesting biography of the man.

Haven't seen Farrell since undergrad days. Studs reminded me of myself to some extent, very slight as he seemed a none too bright bigoted mick, while I was a mick who took on all comers; especially pretty Jewish colleens who dated Catholic Irish guys like me. Mine hormones were ecumenical and Latinas and Jewish girls were low to top branch campus tree hung forbidden fruit.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Arnaldur Indridason - "The Dark Hideaway", Iceland Crime Novel (2022) is a very simple written crime novel. And very short chapters.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I think, I will abandon it. Anyways, I got it from my grocery store's swap meet and I can bring it back any time.

The story switches between past and present without any markings. And it's boring written.
Also, it's officially recommended to not read it without having read the first four books of the "Detective Konrad - series".