Currently reading

[Anonymous No.14672097]

What are you currently reading, how much of it have you read and how do you like it so far?

I'm currently reading 'The obscene bird of night' by José Donoso, just got finished with part 1 out of 3. Liking it so far, the prose is at times fantastic and the story has me gripped, especially now that the freak is born.

[Anonymous No.14672163]

Charlotte Brontë's juvenilia. It's pretty cool, obviously inspired by stories about colonial adventurers and pirates. Reminds me of authors like Robert E. Howard, transposing Walter Scott type romance into a fictional setting. Which is pretty crazy since it predates the pulp fantasy scene by nearly 100 years.

[Anonymous No.14672516]

>>14672163
That's cool, how would you compare it to Bronte's other works? The only Bronte work I've read so far is Jane Eyre.

[Anonymous No.14672554]

>>14672516
It's much less polished of course. There's an adventurous childhood charm to it that I really like. Reminds me a bit of the Hobbit.

[Anonymous No.14672563]

>>14672097
Almost finished American Psycho. I didn't anticipate how laugh out loud funny the book would be. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but the book makes me crack up.

[Anonymous No.14672573]

>>14672554
>adventurous childhood charm
Cheers buddy. That makes me think of 'Papillon' by Charriere. Going to give Bronte another chance later on this year, starting with Juvenilia.

[Anonymous No.14672942]

>>14672097
I'm reading Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I'm 100 pages in; roughly a third of the way through.
It's okay so far, but last night I started the third section while feeling pretty tired and I'm not sure if I missed something but it seems a character's name changed (from Tomas to Franz) or something? I'm honestly not sure if it's a different character entirely or just a first/last name that the writer switched to using. Going with it being a new character, the situations this person finds themselves in are exactly the same as the first character and he even has sexual relations with the same woman in the same manner (there are lots of repeating motifs throughout the writing which made it more confusing). I think I'm gonna start the section again, unless anyone who has read it already can just inform my restless brain.

[Anonymous No.14672952]

>>14672942
Nevermind. I just checked Wiki and it's a different character. How odd. I guess the reasons for the similarities in their relationship with Sabina will make themselves more clear as I read on. Time for bed I think.

[Anonymous No.14672977]

Written On The Body by Jeanette Winterson. I've enjoyed it and it makes lesbian love seem like the highest level of intimacy.

[Anonymous No.14673010]

Seven Years in Tibet, I'm about halfway done with it. I'm honestly just enchanted by pre revolution Tibet

[Anonymous No.14673160]

Death on The Instalment Plan (Mort a Credit), in English

550/590 pages read

Enjoying it, though not as much as Journey to the end of the night.. which was riotous and had better pacing/variety. This isn't pulling me along as much. Also noticing a lot of Americanisms in the translation (by the American Ralph Mannheim) which is kind of ruining the immersion.

Might pick up Guignol's band after - thoughts?

Next:
Sebald - Vertigo
Walser - Jakob Vun Gunten
MFK Fisher - The Art of Eating

[Anonymous No.14673177]

The Tin Drum by Günter Grass
almost 2/3rds of the way through. Some sections are absolutely sublime prose. I find myself highlighting a passage every 10 pages. But im struggling to understand what the author is trying to tell me, if anything. I have a feeling the book is going to reveal its purpose (apart from being beautiful) soon, near the end.

[Anonymous No.14673186]

Mason & Dixon, by Pynchon

[Anonymous No.14673192]

Dead souls by gogol. About 300 pages in. Pretty good but I prefer his short stories.

[Anonymous No.14673204]

Gonna start Brothers Karamazov once I get offline

[Anonymous No.14673211]

>>14672097
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, about 60% in

I'm enjoying it quite a lot, however I feel he fails to apply his same criteria to himself and his works
That being said, his concept is quite interesting and has me hooked and wishing to read more of these kinds of books where everything and nothing is open to analysis under the light of the same principle
Plus his writing is quite entertaining, his rage, contempt, praise and irony are quite palpable

[Anonymous No.14673213]

Dune
I just got to the 'Prophet' section, so about 400ish pages I think.
Yeah I like it.

[Anonymous No.14673236]

I'm in love with it. Should I read Omensetter's Luck after this? I'm very tempted to just keep reading Gass.

[Anonymous No.14673270]

>>14673160
>Might pick up Guignol's band after - thoughts?
I thought that one was rough. It has outrageous moments on par with Death and Journey, and the chaos of lower class London is pretty entertaining, but it's even more aimless than the previous two and things don't quite congeal until the sequel novel. I'd recommend his post-war trilogy if you want more Celine. Completely insane document of WWII Europe.

About halfway through this. I haven't read any other critical material on Mishima beyond his translator's biography from the '70s, but this has been insightful so far. It relies heavily on his vast assortment of essays that haven't yet been translated into English and so far has a lot of focus on the influence of Western decadent literature on his perceptions of art and authorship. Also a good tidbit that he was put off by Sartre's physical ugliness as much as by his ideas.

[Anonymous No.14673273]

Excuse me- could I move ove- oh *fart in her face*

[Anonymous No.14673304]

White Noise
Almost half way in and really enjoying it so far. pretty funny

[Anonymous No.14673351]

80 pages in to The House of God by Samuel Shem. I like it. It's decently funny, but also gives me a boner.

[Anonymous No.14673380]

>>14673177
Cool, have that on my list of books to read this year. Here's hoping it'll be good.

[Anonymous No.14673410]

The Savage Detectives. I read part one a couple years ago and got almost immediately bored with part two. Started it again from the beginning. Good drama but it hasn't really moved me.

[Anonymous No.14673457]

>>14673236
which ones have you read? the tunnel is my next read after this, alright place to start out?
>>14673380
the narrator (MC) is very eccentric. I really like his voice. hes funny in an autistic way, always on about his drum.

[Anonymous No.14673537]

>>14673457
The Tunnel was actually my first attempt at reading Gass and I couldn't finish it. Starting with In the Heart of the Heart of the Country has been a much better introduction, for me anyways.

[Anonymous No.14673555]

>>14673537
alright thanks ill do that

[Anonymous No.14673728]

>>14672097
I've long wanted to read that based on the title alone. In Spanish as well as English.

[Anonymous No.14673737]

>>14673160
Walser, because it's short, then Vertigo. Somewhat similar in tone. Never heard of that third one.

[Anonymous No.14673748]

>>14672097
>How to read a book- Adler, van Doren
>Symposium-Plato
>Antinatalismus- Guenther R. Eberhard

[Anonymous No.14673755]

just started reading Notes from underground. heavy reading ngl

[Anonymous No.14673772]

Samuel Beckett - Molloy

It's amazing. I think it's on the level of Ulysses in terms of quality.

[Anonymous No.14673842]

>>14673160
We have similar tastes. Just finished Von Gunten and have Rings of Saturn up next after I finish Doctor Faustus by Mann and Letters To A Young Poet by Rilke. Haven't read any Sebald yet, would this be a good entry point? Currently on page 397 of Doctor Faustus and it's honesty been quite a slog thus far. Really dense descriptive writing of what seems like meaningless and easily overlooked details but it's finally picking up and everything is coming together beautifully.

[Anonymous No.14673854]

Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy - John le Carre
I don't like it quite as much as I thought I would yet, but it might be due to just finishing A Perfect Spy by the same author which is absolutely amazing

[Anonymous No.14673878]

>>14672097
I'm reading pic related. Kindle tells me I'm about 15% of the way through. It's pretty good but I definitely feel the sequel-ness it has after reading My War Gone By; it feels a bit tacked on, but I'm sure Loyd knew this as he goes into more detail into his obsession with violent conflict. I'm eager to get to the point where he stops talking about the Balkans and goes into his time in West Africa and Afghanistan.

[Anonymous No.14673892]

>>14672097
Libra, almost done.
It's great. Gonna read more DeLillo.

[Anonymous No.14674024]

>>14672097
>The metaphysics of aristotle
about 25 pages in. It's hard so I only go through 2 to 5 pages a day. It's good though.
>World war Z
42 pages in. A lot better then expected. The way the narrative is set up it's a bunch of interviews with people after the zombie war. each interview is about 2 to 5 pages long and all the interviewees are interesting. communists, zionists and so much more.

[Anonymous No.14674054]

>Imajica - Clive Barker

I am really enjoying it, even though not much has actually happened yet. Gentle just got raped by a big black man, but he looked like a cute white girl so it's okay.
I wish character would have 1 name, and stick to it though. All these fuckers have 20 different names and they change their mind all the time.

[Anonymous No.14674072]

>>14672097
>ywn be her

[Anonymous No.14674078]

>>14673010
>pre revolution Tibet
what is it like in brief

[Anonymous No.14674097]

C&P, first time reading it. Its really good, just started part III. Do/did russians try and kill themselves that often? Also Raz seems like a bro

[Anonymous No.14674305]

>>14673728
It's a weird book but so far I'm enjoying it. Very bizarre characters!

[Anonymous No.14674333]

>>14673842
I started on Rings too (have since read Emigrants and Austerlitz also).

Rings has been my favourite to date, and is seems to be regarded as his strongest work... so far i'd say its as good a place as any to see if you like his style and go from there. Though you might be hesitant to start with the 'best of any author'....

[Anonymous No.14675651]

Slow as fuck at work, got these to pass the time but dont know which one I should start with desu...

[Anonymous No.14675730]

1/10 through Sexus. I enjoy it but as soon as Silence by Shuzaku comes in the mail I wanna jump on that.

[Anonymous No.14675736]

>>14672097
Essays of E.B. White.

I like his humor, he definitely has a great sense of humor.

[Anonymous No.14675744]

currently reading plato's phaedo, having just finished the previous three works in "the last days of socrates". finding it a bit hard to want to go on, since it's so dense, but it is very engaging for a philosophical-type text and this is my first foray into that field so i'm enjoying myself and learning quite a bit.

[Anonymous No.14675746]

>>14675651
Warden - Trollope

six chapters. very comfy. A welcomed break from all the essays/non-fiction I've been reading lately.

[Anonymous No.14676006]

i’m rereading infinite jest because the last time i did i was still in high school. it’s been extremely comfy to read early in the morning. i’m catching so much more than i did the first time. also i’m realising how bad a reader i was in high school; there are entire chapters i don’t even remember. seems like i was only interested in the ETA chapters back then.
im also reading of mice and men for the first time. somehow i didn’t read that one in high school.
additionally i just started turn of the screw this morning and i forgot how much i love henry james’ prose. it’s fucking amazing. i’ll probably read portrait of a lady later this year now.

[Anonymous No.14676768]

>>14672097

new grub street

[Anonymous No.14676788]

look at that dumb whore. how much does she actually read, probably not a lot i bet. probably took this dumb photo and then got railed

[Anonymous No.14676796]

Portnoy's Complaint. Pure coomercore, I identify with the protagonist moreso than in any other book I've ever read

[Anonymous No.14676822]

>>14674078

Charmingly superstitious and archaic, basically a theocratic feudal state run by monks.

[Anonymous No.14676871]

>>14676006
often overlooked and completely magnificent is The Lesson of the Master, if you want another short James novel to pencil in.

[Anonymous No.14676881]

>>14673748
the Adler book is really useful, good choice

[Anonymous No.14676884]

>>14673755
and so very excellent. the second half is more traditionally narrative and very powerful so keep going, but do i love the effect of the whole.

[Anonymous No.14676891]

>>14676796
extremely funny.

[Anonymous No.14676922]

Halfway through Astrophel and Stella, wanted to read it in one sitting but got busy.
My god does he love that stella

>>14676796
I might be wrong, but Portnoy's Complaint seems really different from everything else Roth ever wrote, I've never read anything of his aside from it though.

[Anonymous No.14677164]

>>14676884
yeah will do. i really liked Crime and punishment. especially part when he killed old woman his emotions felt so alive.

[Anonymous No.14677172]

>>14672097
What's with all these girls I see posted here today, 'reading' in all the most uncomfortable and inconvenient places

[Anonymous No.14677178]

Battle Royale.

It is very good. Touches on politics a bit, but really fulfills on the premise of kids having to fight to the death. Most of the kids read as very believable and honestly good and thrown into a bad situation. I expected shitty edginess that the Japanese are prone too. It's a very meloncholy read at parts. The serial killer and hero characters also work to keep the plot moving, so all in all very much enjoying the read before I watch the movie again.

[Anonymous No.14677184]

>>14677172
just whoreposting

[Anonymous No.14677210]

>>14677184
well, is coffee good for you?

[Anonymous No.14677241]

Stoner, 20 pages in. Just wondering when it starts picking up.

[Anonymous No.14677264]

>>14677210
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml

[Anonymous No.14677268]

>>14672097
I haven't read a book since middle school

[Anonymous No.14677940]

Reading Edmund Husserl's Paris Lectures.
Im half way through the introductory section. Im quite enjoying it. I studied mostly continental philosophy in my undergrad. Now Im studying an all analytic degree. So this is something of a breath of fresh air.

[Anonymous No.14677948]

>>14673457
I read The Tunnel as my first work from Gass, it is a fine place to start imo. The first 80 pages are full of false starts and typography though, it's kinda meant to be incomprehensible to the first time reader, but once you go through that it's smoother sailing.

[Anonymous No.14677950]

Gilgamesh. Just finished 1001 Nights. Before that was an intro to the Koran, and before that the Gita.

Have enjoyed all of them a lot (although the Koran intro dragged a bit).

Highlights have included Arjuna's vision of Krishna's ultimate form in the Gita and The Hermit story from 1001 Nights.

[Anonymous No.14677962]

>>14672097
>Tomb for 500.000 Soldiers by Guyotat.
Only on the second chant, but it is really good so far. Scratches the itch I was left with after reading Maldoror.

[Anonymous No.14678330]

Thus spoke zarathustra
On vacation and instead of having fun I contemplate the blindness of zara

[Anonymous No.14678464]

Stoner, I started it yesterday and will finish today. I'm getting back into reading and really enjoying it. I read it yesterday in my college library during a rainstorm which was perfect. It doesn't seem like it should be as interesting as it is, but I'm weirdly invested.

[Anonymous No.14678699]

>>14677241
>>14678464
Same, just about to finish it.
It doesn’t really “pick up,” but soon it will just hit you out of nowhere. You might reach a point where something happens that really affects you, and you’ll realize how invested in his life you’ve become. At least that’s what happened with me

[Anonymous No.14678737]

Lolita, reading it for the first time and about 80% of the way through. It's absolutely enchanting, I fucking adore Nabokov's prose.

[Anonymous No.14678813]

I am currently reading Pnin. I am 90% through and have liked it so far. Didn't expect it to be about the hollow cost.

[Anonymous No.14678848]

>>14678699
Just finished, that was fantastic.
>>14678737
I read Lolita for the first time this year and thought the same. I am studying entomology and caught some of his references to it, which was fun. His English proficiency is impressive for an ESL.