Books

[Eoin McLove]

I read Metamorphosis by Kafka. Meh.

[Caomhaoin]

Any of ye history nerds on here have any gems ye've been getting into that hit the shpot? I read a couple of Antony Beevors over the last year, Jenkins Churchill biography and Buchan on 'The Montrose' (a story even more captivating and astonishing than William Wallace). Max Hastings first book on the lad is almost impossible to get a hold of, which is amazing considering every other one of his books is everywhere.

Anyone into Cold War era or espionage stuff, I'd highly recommend 'Stalin's Englishman', about Guy Burgess of Cambridge Five fame. If nothing else, the depictions of his quite astounding boozing (which was constant and spectacular) is eye widening considering what the dirty bastard managed to pull off

[open face surgery]

I bought The Essential Kafka last year at some point. Havent opened it yet.

That's the one I picked up, £2.50 on Amazon, be rude not to.

I think it was the same in Eason's here. Got that and a book of Yeats poetry for under a fiver anyway.

[Pedrito]

I read Metamorphosis by Kafka. Meh.

Same on both counts

[ochoill]

Started Blood Meridian again yesterday. 10th time is the charm.

I bought The Essential Kafka last year at some point. Havent opened it yet.

As long as it has The Trial you're good to go.  Metamorphosis is good and all but The Trial is excellent.  An exercise in anxiety.

[Thorn]

Currently hacking my way through 'Nostromo' again  . There's a good story in there somewhere,  suffocating under all that superfluous waffle and prose.
Can't think of a more awkward book on my shelves to be honest .
Must be the thrill at finding those little moments of  clarity that keep me coming back.
Or maybe I LIKE the misery.

[astfgyl]

Started Blood Meridian again yesterday. 10th time is the charm.

I bought The Essential Kafka last year at some point. Havent opened it yet.

As long as it has The Trial you're good to go.  Metamorphosis is good and all but The Trial is excellent.  An exercise in anxiety.

The Trial is where it's at. I had to read it a few times though.  The ending is spectacular, given what has come before.

[leatherface]

[quote author=Scáthach link=topic=23

Also reading through issues 1 - 4 of Hellebore magazine, that arrived about a week ago. It's really good. The main focus is folk horror, in local history and art and literature. It takes in archaeology, history, occultism, myth and place too. Also has interviews with Professor Ronald Hutton and Alan Moore. Artwork and layout are excellent too.
[/quote]

Really good shout out here, got issue 2, now waiting for issue 1 to arrive. Love the layout and writing.

[Eoin McLove]

That sounds interesting. I had a look at their website and the mags look great as well. I might have to make a purchase.

I'm really struggling with Jerusalem. I think I've said it before (maybe more than once) but it needs an editor. There's so much repetition of pointless ideas and it's gruelling having to wade through practically every step each character takes. It's as if Moore was afraid the reader wouldn't be able to fill in the blanks if left to their own devices and it ends up making the otherwise decent mental imagery utterly tedious and banal. I'm nearly finished book 2, which has been a truly cuntish reading experience,  and I'm hoping and praying that book 3 will make up for it somehow... I feel mentally scarred but I'm in much too deep to give up now 

[Caomhaoin]

After a slog like Jerusalem, you need a bit of Irvine Welsh or what I'm reading now, 'Mr Nice', that Howard Marks autobiography to cleanse the pallet. Gloriously unpretentious and easy to read.

[Eoin McLove]

In work I'm reading The Chrysalids which is much more like it. I might take a sabbatical from Jerusalem for a bit...

[open face surgery]

After a slog like Jerusalem, you need a bit of Irvine Welsh or what I'm reading now, 'Mr Nice', that Howard Marks autobiography to cleanse the pallet. Gloriously unpretentious and easy to read.

Read that when I was in school and loved it.

[O Drighes]

Reading Dostoevsky's short novel THE ETERNAL HUSBAND this weekend. The man was just second to none when it comes to developing troubled characters. Reading it in Portuguese though, Russian and French translations don't work well for me in English as they dismiss a lot of the diminutives.

Also, fuck knows how long had it been since I picked up a book in my native language.

Interested in picking up John Gray's "BLACK MASS" and "7 TYPES OF ATHEISM." Is anyone familiar with those?

[Pedrito]

Reading Dostoevsky's short novel THE ETERNAL HUSBAND this weekend. The man was just second to none when it comes to developing troubled characters. Reading it in Portuguese though, Russian and French translations don't work well for me in English as they dismiss a lot of the diminutives.

Also, fuck knows how long had it been since I picked up a book in my native language.

Interested in picking up John Gray's "BLACK MASS" and "7 TYPES OF ATHEISM." Is anyone familiar with those?

I've been reading a lot in Portuguese recently too. A beautiful language. I must give the book a spin. Out of interest, how do you know Portuguese?

The first book I read in Portuguese was the Alchemist, because it was 'easy' and it was a far more rewarding experience than the English version. Chalk and cheese, it's a whole different way of looking at the world that is very difficult to transfer over. Coelho is actually quite the interesting character behind all the Oprah style hype.  Currently reading his book on the Camino de Santiago aswell as another by MMA fighter Lyoto Machida's book 'O Código do Dragão', which is a great read also.

[Caomhaoin]

Is reading in Portuguese easy if one knows Spanish? I've been studying French for several years almost daily and anything even remotely challenging is a serious pain the balls to get through. Newspaper and that's about it.