Read Hemingway's short stories too. A while ago I read a compliation of short stories (The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories) by him and some of them were really fantastic.
On the classics, The Old Man and the Sea is a must read.
Books The BOOK thread
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
On the classics, The Old Man and the Sea is a must read.
FAO Swedes and Norwegians, Finns, Danes etc…… I’ve been going through a bit of a Scandinavian crime genre phase recently, read everything by Mankell and Nesbo this past 5 or 6 months including Mankells non Wallander ones.
Do you feel they’ve represented the cultural dynamic well?
Any other good Scandinavian novelists I should look into of the same ilk?
BTW I’ve been surprised at the frequency of the recurring “immigration” theme through both authors
Do you feel they’ve represented the cultural dynamic well?
Any other good Scandinavian novelists I should look into of the same ilk?
BTW I’ve been surprised at the frequency of the recurring “immigration” theme through both authors
Just picked up a copy of Both Flesh and Not, the new collection of David Foster Wallace's essays. I've already read quite a few of the essays in there, but I've still been looking forward to this for quite a while now.
Incidentally, the new biography of Wallace by D. T. Max called Every Love Story is a Ghost Story is very good, and I highly recommend it to fans of Wallace.
Incidentally, the new biography of Wallace by D. T. Max called Every Love Story is a Ghost Story is very good, and I highly recommend it to fans of Wallace.
Washington's China by James Peck.
Anyone read Dark Matter by Michelle Paver? If so, what did you think of it?
"New Views of an Old World". A textbook like presentation of geo-morphology. As dry as that might sound, it was extremely well done. That paired with EC Pielou's "The Energy of Nature" would leave anyone with an excellent grounding in earth science.
Finished the second book of Thwan Trilogy. I really enjoyed it and these novels are best Star Wars novels I have ever read.
A biography of the philosopher Michel Foucault. Unfortunately, I'm too thick to work out whether he was a fraud or some kind of genius...
That guy doesn't know anything, in fact it's fair to say he know foucault.
I'm now going to parody some Foucault theorising, so people can get what I mean about his confusing - and highly boring - word games:
'The Self, reverberating around the walls of one's labyrinth, finally unmans the occult power of the Minotaur, leaving Ariadne in a big pile of knackered cotton. Thus, as Nietzche said, we are condemned to freedom'.
After finished Thrawn trilogy, I went into another Star Wars book 'Darth Plagueis' who was the fifth best highly rated fiction book of 2012 in Goodreads. It was a near perfect novel which give backgrounds to the events during the time before The Phantom Menace but also some hidden things that happened during it. And as it has been expected, it finally gives the relation between Anakin and The Force (or more exactly how Anakin was created in the first place). And of course, a good background on Palpatine and his Master.
I'm reading Vampire Academy ...not so bad for teen fiction
I don't think he was a fraud, I just think he wasn't able to express himself in a manner sufficient enough to clearly transpose what he understood to the page. I've heard it said that Foucault was a great reader, in fact, a great 19th Century reader but of the 20th century. Yet I've never really heard it said he's among the best writers, or even close.
You only have to look at his massively important work the History of Sexuality to realise that he was of considerable intellect but could only really relate it in an ironic fashion (which it's also worth mentioning queer theorists and other sexuality scholarly ilk loved in a sort of off-hand 'hey we're here, we're queer!' kind of way) his sort of humor and wit and only ever covered this underlying sense of sarcasm which for me seemed to pervade his work.
We get it Foucault - you're clever. We fecking get it.
I have to admit that, amongst other things, I'm cynical about some aspects of his life & philosophy, mate. For example: much of his protesting/demonstrating appears to be mere posturing, 'slumming it,' in & for effect; his knack of discovering that the 'most beautiful boys' happened to also be his most promising students...ahem; how often his philosophy ties-in with his own lifestyle & sexuality (although he really made no secret of this and, admittedly, this corresponds with his concept of a 'work') etc.
And then there's his hero-worship of dangerous men, murderers who sometimes happen to have "dazzling eyes"...yawn; not every transgressor is a rebel, and not every criminal is a would-be intellectual, no matter what Foucault claimed to believe - most are in fact pathetic (see Ian Brady). In short, I find his conclusions biased & skewed despite the occasionally poetic and attractive side of his writing.
And then there's his hero-worship of dangerous men, murderers who sometimes happen to have "dazzling eyes"...yawn; not every transgressor is a rebel, and not every criminal is a would-be intellectual, no matter what Foucault claimed to believe - most are in fact pathetic (see Ian Brady). In short, I find his conclusions biased & skewed despite the occasionally poetic and attractive side of his writing.
Haven't read a huge amount of Foucault's stuff, but Discipline & Punish is a fine book.
But anyway, currently reading Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory & Practice by Rudolf Rocker.
But anyway, currently reading Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory & Practice by Rudolf Rocker.
A tragic tale, illuminated by excellent writing.
I read this about two years ago. Fantastic book.
A tragic tale, illuminated by excellent writing.
If you get the chance, read Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada.
One of the greatest books I've ever read.
One of the greatest books I've ever read.
Cheers for the tip, Phil. 
Right, nerdos.... 5 books, recommend me 5. I've got The Great Gatsby, is it amazingly amazing?
Doctor Faustus, Adzzz?
Have you read Heart of Darkness?
I've got it, will read it in a couple of weeks. Have you read it? And read C&P, Nils.
I dont remember liking it that much.
What kind of recommendations are you looking for?
Some stuff I read this year and enjoyed:
Pynchon's V
Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49
Infinte Jest
I read it a long time ago and it is a good story but didn't stay with me like some do. Have a read of Life of Pi. I cant make my mind up about it but definitely worth a go.
Anything. Plech keeps on recommending Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon, I think.
Better be worth it, Stick.
... is quite brilliant. Most Conrad I've read (Secret Agent, Lord Jim, short stories) is great.
Yeah it's Pynchon but I'd recommend reading V first to get used to him. If you want Russian, read fathers and sons or master and the margarita
No ebook? Can't find it anywhere.
I got Robert Musil's 'The Man without Qualities' for Xmas last year. Resolved to read it this year.
Dunno. Never tried getting an ebook. Take a walk to the library
Nah, i'm loving my N7, it's possibly the greatest innovation, ever.
Which one were you looking for? V seems to be readily available. http://www.anyebooks.com/59/text/part1.html
Gulp........
Battery time is a bit poor on mine. I think I didnt charge it enough when I got it because I was too busy playing with the thing.
PM sent
Cheers, OneSAF, much appreciated. I'll get back to you afternoon, got a few things to do.