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"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Rina - 2014-08-14
The Great Gatsby
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - kainzero - 2014-08-14
Finished up Fight Club. Palahniuk writes some really trippy stuff so I think I'm gonna stop there.
Moving on to "Use of Weapons" and "Dune" for my foray into Sci-Fi.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Tzadeck - 2014-08-14
kainzero Wrote:Finished up Fight Club. Palahniuk writes some really trippy stuff so I think I'm gonna stop there.I read his first five or so books in my high school days and Fight Club is kind of the anamoly to be honest, in that it's the most straightforward. All the other ones I read have a sort of frame the stories are told through--Survivor is the narrator telling his life story to the black box of a plane he intends to crash; Choke is playing with the idea of admitting one's sins to oneself during a 12-step program; Invisible Monsters mimicks the style of fasion magazines; and so on. (Lullaby is a coma diary or something? I forget)
And yeah, if you thought Fight Club was too trippy it might be best to stop there. Of his early period I remember Survivor was generally considred to be the best, and I'm partial to Choke too, but they're both a good deal trippier than Fight Club, haha.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - umetani666 - 2014-08-15
Tzadeck Wrote:(Lullaby is a coma diary or something? I forget)that's 'diary'. 'lullaby' has a framing device where majority of the story is told through flashback, i think.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - kainzero - 2014-08-15
What didn't help was that I have a tendency to read in bed and I would fall asleep reading Fight Club and the writing style/tone would invade my dreams in really terrible ways.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Tzadeck - 2014-08-16
umetani666 Wrote:Haha, yup. I don't remember those two so well because by that point I was getting pretty bored. All Palahniuk novels are ultimately the same, but they're pretty appealing to 15 year old boys at first.Tzadeck Wrote:(Lullaby is a coma diary or something? I forget)that's 'diary'. 'lullaby' has a framing device where majority of the story is told through flashback, i think.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Rina - 2014-08-31
I read a lot on behavioral Psychology, and this one feels so refreshing.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352153
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
http://www.amazon.com/Screenplay-Foundations-Screenwriting-Syd-Field/dp/0385339038
And still reading The Great Gatsby.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Linval - 2014-09-01
Rina Wrote:And still reading The Great Gatsby.Good luck with that.
The only book on psychology that I could stomach reading was something by Carl Jung, I'm not sure of the exact name, but I liked it - if only because Jung's theories are more philosophical than they are "medical".
I'm done with The Name Of The Wind. Great book. Warmly recommended.
I'm getting started on La Horde du Contrevent by French author Alain Damasio. It's amazing. One of the best, most imaginative fantasy / sci-fi story I've read in while. It takes place on a world that's constantly under a very strong wind ; civilization has adapted, and most human settlements and cities are located down wind - however, the goal of La Horde, a group of 23 people carefully selected and trained from birth, is to go against the wind to find its source. Really a stunning read.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Rina - 2014-09-01
Linval Wrote:Just finished it! I looked up for interpretations online, I really liked reading it, it's beautifully written, but I can't help but feel that I couldn't understand it fully (hence looking up online).Rina Wrote:And still reading The Great Gatsby.Good luck with that.
Linval Wrote:The only book on psychology that I could stomach reading was something by Carl Jung, I'm not sure of the exact name, but I liked it - if only because Jung's theories are more philosophical than they are "medical".Susan Cain (the author of "Quiet") makes many mentions to Jung.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Rina - 2014-09-07
星虫 by 岩本隆雄
Resident Evil Zero Hour by S.D. Perry
Awaken the Giant within by Anthony Robbins
Screenplay the foundations of writing by Syd Field
And still with "Quiet" by Susan Cain
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - sholum - 2014-09-08
I've only been reading continuations of series, recently.
The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks:
Just bought it the other day ($28, but this is a huge book!) and am intentionally keeping myself from reading much of it, lest I suddenly forget everything to do with classes, at the moment. It's exciting so far, but I've liked Weeks's books a lot, so it a lot of it is just preference. This is the final installment of the series (EDIT: It's not. I could've sworn it was, but then I happened to look at the page that said otherwise), so I won't spoil anything about it; instead, I'll just say "color magic", "loser protagonist with awesome powers" (seriously, if it weren't for the multiple points of view, and the overall quality of the story (in my opinion), I'd probably rage quit the first book), and "extreme mood swings in the writing" (the 'Night Angel' trilogy was like that this too).
Shadows by E. C. Blake:
Wanted more written depictions of gore and horrifying hallucinations? Here you go. Also, the main character's reverse harem will seem to get bigger; let's be thankful it didn't, 'cause it always annoys me that having a female main character instantly requires you to have some kind of love polygon. And finally, let the shipping commence! (page 287 line 32 - page 288 line 2; if you want to know what kind of ship they are asking for. I can't say directly, 'cause spoilers; it's at the end of the book.)
Looking forward to the conclusion next year.
Stormlord Rising by Glenda Larke:
Ryka has the same affliction as Daphne from 'Scooby-Doo'. Lots and lots of religious imagery in a book full of atheist characters; even stranger is that many of the pious aren't exactly good. Obligatory gay man; at least, I don't see much happening with that character, so... obligation? It's not that I have a problem with the character, it just seemed that far too much emphasis was put on the fact that he's gay, but since it doesn't seem that it'll go anywhere, it comes across as forced (is it that hard to just have a gay character without making a figurative big red sign that says "Here's the gay character!"); maybe the final book will change that...
Going to start the final book before too long, hopefully it doesn't fall apart.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Linval - 2014-09-10
Linval Wrote:I'm getting started on La Horde du Contrevent by French author Alain Damasio. It's amazing. One of the best, most imaginative fantasy / sci-fi story I've read in while. It takes place on a world that's constantly under a very strong wind ; civilization has adapted, and most human settlements and cities are located down wind - however, the goal of La Horde, a group of 23 people carefully selected and trained from birth, is to go against the wind to find its source. Really a stunning read.So I'm done with La Horde du Contrevent, and I can safely say that I haven't been this blown away (pun intended) by a book in a very long time. In fact, I've started re-reading it right away. It's THAT good. Fantasy fiction at its very, very best. Unfortunately, I don't think the book has been translated into English yet - though an (english speaking) movie adaptation is apparently planned for 2015. But if you happen to read French (at a good, near-fluent level, the writing is beautiful and extremely vibrant, but also very complex), then you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. Absolutely brilliant.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - timaki - 2014-09-14
A few years ago, I did a project where I read fifty classic books in one year. It was about two or three hours of reading per day. Here is a link to the books: http://wellreadman.com/corebooks/
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - NickT - 2014-09-14
timaki Wrote:A few years ago, I did a project where I read fifty classic books in one year. It was about two or three hours of reading per day. Here is a link to the books: http://wellreadman.com/corebooks/Good job. I'm curious, did it have any profound and lasting effect on you?
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Zgarbas - 2014-09-14
timaki Wrote:A few years ago, I did a project where I read fifty classic books in one year. It was about two or three hours of reading per day. Here is a link to the books: http://wellreadman.com/corebooks/Aren't most of those required reading in school =/?
My life has been a reading frenzy lately. Books that left a mark on me recently were
Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer - I was expecting to laugh throughout most of the book after having seen the movie, and it's good that I saw the movie and pictured the entire book with Eugene Hutz as the main character because it made it much more bearable. Some books are just so inherently sad it hurts me to read them somehow. The odd humour, the language and the tone are amazing <3. This book will probably haunt me for a while.
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman I picked this up since when you have 30 books to read this month you'll get easily distracted. I love Gaiman's mythos. It was incredibly fun to read.
Beloved - Toni Morrison let's flashback a bit to last year, the first time when I read a Toni Morrison novel. It was Song of Solomon, and I was reading it in public. I ended up marathoning it, and got so immersed that after it ended I was completely confused. I wandered the streets for hours and when my cousin ran into me I just looked at him blankly and said something along the lines of "Oh my god, Negroes that can fly".
Not having learned my lesson I started reading Beloved on a train, and then was utterly confused and ended up getting lost in the train station for like an hour. For a few days I was completely out of it. This book is just so violent and strong and sublime that it got me from the first few pages, but I had to take breaks because it was painful to read at times, but even when I wasn't reading I was still in awe of the story. Toni Morrison is simply that amazing.
@Rina: Poor Gatsby is so over-interpreted and closely read; just trust yourself a bit more. That being said, I much prefer Fitzgerald's short stories to Gatsby. Flappers&Philosophers has some real gems.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - tashippy - 2014-09-15
The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace. It's long, and unfinished b/c he died, but I like his writing style, as exhaustive as it is. It's at times really meta, and I recommend trying a non-fiction essay by him to see if you like all the details he gets into.
I also read a Tale for the Time Being a while back. It's a cool, easy read about a mysterious girl from Japan whose diary is found by a Japanese-American woman (similar to the author) who lives on an island west of Seattle. I bought it at the airport on the way to MX.
Found Cloud Atlas on the sidewalk recently, anyone read that? I am not sure yet if I will get into it bc of the weird writing style.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - buonaparte - 2014-09-15
Rina Wrote:I finished reading Orwell's "1984" this morning (awesome).Snowden in action?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
For anyone intereseted in listening as well:
1984 (text + audio)
http://esl-bits.net/ESL.English.Learning.Audiobooks/1984/preview.html
Animal Farm (text + audio)
http://esl-bits.net/ESL.English.Learning.Audiobooks/Animal.Farm/preview.html
And here's one of my all time favourites:
Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea (text + audio)
http://esl-bits.net/ESL.English.Learning.Audiobooks/The_Old_Man_And_The_Sea/preview.html
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - gaiaslastlaugh - 2014-09-15
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent. Okrent, a linguist, uses her humorous writing style to illuminate the hiustory of conlangs. She talks to a man who speaks Esperanto as his first language, attends a Klingon language convention, and explains how the creator of the visual language BlissSymbols alienated some of his most ardent supporters. It's ultimately a bit of a sad read. The arrogance of many conlang inventors is staggering, especially given that their pet projects were in no way unique.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen. While architect Daniel Burnham was creating a "White City" to attract people to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, serial killer H.H. Holmes was using the event to lure young women to their doom. Good popular history.
Rina, I want to read Quiet - that's been on my list for ages.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - umetani666 - 2014-09-15
tashippy Wrote:Found Cloud Atlas on the sidewalk recently, anyone read that? I am not sure yet if I will get into it bc of the weird writing style.haven't read that one, but 'ghostwritten' and 'number9dream'(set in japan) were very good. he reminds me of murakami for some reason.
the eyes of the cat(jodorowsky/moebius) - a short comic book about a boy in high castle, his eagle and a cat lost amidst the ruins of a futuristic city. story is very simple and straightforward(and really creepy), but it's the amazing one-panel illustrations that are the real highlight here. this is mostly an exercise in visual storytelling and for what it is, it's pretty much flawless.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - buonaparte - 2014-09-16
I mostly re-re-re-re-read old stuff:
Should you happen to know Russian:
Антон Павлович Чехов
Палата No 6
http://az.lib.ru/c/chehow_a_p/text_0080.shtml#10
His name is Spanish, but he was born in the USSR:
Рубен Давид Гонсалес Гальего. Белым по черному
(but skip Вступление Сергея Юрьенена)
http://www.lib.ru/PROZA/GALEGO/black.txt
Rutracker has audio recordings.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - timaki - 2014-09-16
NickT Wrote:I expected that it would, but when I went to document my experience, I was surprised at how little impact they did have. There are a few reasons for this: (1) I read them too fast, even with the notes I was taking, and didn't have a chance to savor them adequately; (2) I only read them once, and great books have this strange habit of progressively revealing themselves through successive readings; and (3) I'm too old, and perhaps too set in my ways to have major changes happen to me.timaki Wrote:A few years ago, I did a project where I read fifty classic books in one year. It was about two or three hours of reading per day. Here is a link to the books: http://wellreadman.com/corebooks/Good job. I'm curious, did it have any profound and lasting effect on you?
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the books or get something out of them. Cry, the Beloved Country was great, and I'm still surprised that it didn't have the transformative impact on South Africa that Uncle Tom's Cabin had on America. I was very impressed at the rigor of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy, and baffled by the rambling of the Communist Manifesto. Overall, my experience was mixed, surprisingly.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Linval - 2014-09-16
That's a pretty impressive list - how did you manage NOT to get completely burnt-out ? Many of these books are extremely deep and dense, it's a lot to digest in only a year.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - umetani666 - 2014-09-16
communist manifesto has one of the best opening sentences in all literature. was there ever a more vivid and apocalyptic image than this - 'A Spectre Is Haunting Europe'.
first sentence of '100 years of solitude' is close too - 'Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice'.
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - Linval - 2014-09-16
1984's It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. would be a serious contender.
I like Neuromancer's The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel a lot too...
"What are you reading?" and non-japanese book recommendations - buonaparte - 2014-09-16
I like simple books.
My favourite openings, I recite them every morning. Of course, no need to mention the authors:
В день тридцатилетия личной жизни Вощеву дали расчет с небольшого механического завода, где он добывал средства для своего существования.
And
八月のある日、男が一人、行方不明になった。