Now Reading

I'm getting back into Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series - I read Shadow of the Torturer a few months ago, took a break, and now I'm starting Claw of the Conciliator. I love these books. Really fantastic prose, and some great sci-fantasy concepts.

Just finished the J Dilla 'Donuts' 33 & a 1/3, it was alright.

That's a really special record and it's amazing how it sounds, standing the test of time.

I'll have to cop the reissue, maybe the 45 box set, because it comes with DOOM and Ghostface versions.

a good read though, really touched on the differences between Detroit and LA, very influential record.

Just to think the final edits were done from a hospital bed is shocking to think,

this being his last work, and I truly believe his best, what a curtain call.

Watt by Samuel Beckett. Not an easy read by any means, but Beckett has this ability to break down human experience to the most granular level. I feel like I have OCD.

re-reading various bits:

The Lyre of Orpheus by Christopher Partridge, superb research into the role music has within cultures, masses of random factoids, just the right mix of philosophy, religion & the strangeness of humans.

The Idea of Order/The Circular Archetype in Prehistoric Europe by Richard Bradley,,,,, no Rust Cohle quotes, just trippy places like the Stones of Stenness in Orkney given a full blooded theoretical interpretation. If you get a kick out of olde stuff and just how weird prehistoric Europe could be, check it out. Another delicately good mix of succinct writing, theory n case studies. Makes you wanna soak up Avebury slightly altered & thats good living

^ oooo I'm in for that second one

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante was excellent, will definitely be reading the rest. Believe the hype! That ending...

Now to read Do Not Harm by Henry Marsh, about brain surgery and the stories involved in such a high risk job. I expect lots of squirming on my own behalf.

loving this book so far (almost done with it). it's a pretty interesting exercise in excess and debauchery and takes place in a somewhat surreal world. would be curious if anyone else here has read it

i can hardly read that cover, it's such a friggin mess lol. Hogg by samuel delaney?

im rereading post office (bukowski) to give me a breather between other books. might read On The Road after since im the only person in the world yet to read it.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I want to like Gaiman but every book I've read by him has been a disappointment. His ideas are interesting; the problem is his prose. It's so dull. His main characters are usually shit too.

Gaiman is a tedious, tedious man. Are there talking cats in that one?

gaiman is wicked. real sucker for the sandman and alot of his comics.

american gods i thought was great. bit slow and boring to boot but really sinks into something pretty interesting with nice bit of meat to chew on and mull over. having said that, the writing is gaiman through and through ... so if you don't like gaiman, probably not gonna like american gods.

still on berserk.

this manga.

i know it's a japanese manga but holy shit. it is just .. soooo japanese.

i'll be reading it and at times have to stop and at how it's written. it makes me feel a little derpy trying to stay on its level.

having said that.. it's still totally addicting and i keep finishing a book and wanting to read more.

it's like eating m+m's for dinner. totally stupid and unsubstantial but i'm still enjoying it :^)

  On 3/30/2016 at 7:05 AM, bitroast said:

i know it's a japanese manga but holy shit. it is just .. soooo japanese.

i'll be reading it and at times have to stop and at how it's written. it makes me feel a little derpy trying to stay on its level.

what do you mean by this?

  On 3/29/2016 at 11:01 PM, QQQ said:

i can hardly read that cover, it's such a friggin mess lol. Hogg by samuel delaney?

haha! yes, the cover is a mess, but it kinda compliments the story. there were some more minimal covers but i know that one is the original one.

anyone read it?

  On 3/30/2016 at 7:05 AM, bitroast said:

 

 

still on berserk.

this manga.

i know it's a japanese manga but holy shit. it is just .. soooo japanese.

i'll be reading it and at times have to stop and at how it's written. it makes me feel a little derpy trying to stay on its level.

It is called Berserk...I mean, what kind of person names an infant Guts?

  On 3/30/2016 at 2:19 PM, ThatSpanishGuy said:

 

  On 3/30/2016 at 7:05 AM, bitroast said:

i know it's a japanese manga but holy shit. it is just .. soooo japanese.

i'll be reading it and at times have to stop and at how it's written. it makes me feel a little derpy trying to stay on its level.

 

what do you mean by this?

 

hmm. ok. apologies for being vague and probably being offensive with the vague " it's very japanese " description.

but holy shit, the story and writing gets so rape-y. and the overall story is just largely a dumb fun story about a big strong hero with a big sword killing bad guys. so when you have this dumb fun story + a whole lot of thrown in rape undertones/rape plotpoints... it just feels kind of dumb and derpy. it makes me feel like a dumb teenager in high school reading this.

to go into more detail ...

  On 3/30/2016 at 2:47 AM, doublename said:

Gaiman is a tedious, tedious man. Are there talking cats in that one?

AG has a talking raven though! Fantasy!!

^What's keeping you into the series? Something that extreme (read the spoiler) would turn me off anything.

its cheaper for me to buy these books online than via comic store, so i already have the next one in mail. ((again, facepalm @ me))

i dunno, i kind of feel like i may have reached my end point though with berserk. i was giving it the benefit of the doubt for a bit but i dont think its much my jam.

Yeah when I read Goodkind in my early teens I did the same, because at that stage I thought it was representative of adult fantasy. There's a disgusting amount of rape in those books.

  On 3/31/2016 at 4:48 AM, bitroast said:

 

  On 3/30/2016 at 2:19 PM, ThatSpanishGuy said:

 

  On 3/30/2016 at 7:05 AM, bitroast said:

i know it's a japanese manga but holy shit. it is just .. soooo japanese.

i'll be reading it and at times have to stop and at how it's written. it makes me feel a little derpy trying to stay on its level.

 

what do you mean by this?

 

 

hmm. ok. apologies for being vague and probably being offensive with the vague " it's very japanese " description.

 

I now realize my reply seems pretty defensive, but it's not like that at all... I have my own gripes about japanese writing and was just wondering if they are the same as yours thats all. What I thought you meant by that was the unsufferable amount of hand holding and Christopher Nolan-ish out-loud repetition of plot keypoints by characters, at least in the few manga I've read. "Do you mean the situation just got more dangerous because of this thing that just happened??" "Yes Kikomoricho-san what happened in the previous page is of utmost importance" jesus christ I get it

but I see you meant it in a very different way

all good bruu.

having said all that ... the main reason i started reading and enjoying berserk in the first place was the art, and the artwork is consistently 'god damnit yes!! look at that' level goodness. so i'm not all hating it. i'm just having.. issues !!! with it. is all. not one to recommend to my socially aware fwends :^)

just ordered, very excited, looks like a comprehensive insiders guide to the english industrial underground,

Coil, Current 93, NWW, T.G./Psychic TV, and the like.

I've read other things about industrial culture, this guy David Keenen is from The Wire Magazine,

always on point.

^ nice, might pick that one up

Not heard of Hogg but I rate Delany a lot after reading The Star Pit. Real mind=blown story. I also have Dhlagren by him which is meant to be the sci-fi Ulysses but I've not read it yet.

Still reading Shardik atm. It's good but for some reason it's taking me ages to get through. Odd mix of mysticism and fantasy world politics which remind me Song of Ice & Fire a bit.

Also, despite my gigantic To Read pile lining the stairway of my flat, I made some new purchases on payday: Cathedral by Raymond Carver, An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks and Pynchon's V.

  On 4/2/2016 at 10:13 AM, hello spiral said:

Also, despite my gigantic To Read pile lining the stairway of my flat, I made some new purchases on payday

spiral knows how to roll 8^)

Finished both Brief History of Seven Killings and Do Not Harm in the last two days. Brilliant reads! One dedicated to murders, the other one to keeping people alive. A nice contrast.

Next up: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt on my kindle and The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton in hardcover. Should be fun!

Also, in a week or so I will be waiting around in my empty flat for delivery people / electric people to turn up. I will take the time stuck waiting to begin on Against the Day by Pynchon. Wish me luck.