What Are You Reading?

I didn't get more than 30 pages into his Cock & Bull before I threw in the towel.  Didn't click for me at all.

I'm becoming obsessed with Walters Moers's Zamonien series

Man, you had me at "Orca", but you really had me at "bang his sister".

Amazonia: Landscape & Species Evolution

It is, ironically enough, rather dry.

It didn't seem shallow to me as much as disjointed and only tangentially about Lucretius; there seemed to be as much, if not more, about medieval book culture which, though interesting, wasn't exactly what I'd signed up for (Tom Holland pulled that shit, too, in In the Shadow of the Sword). Lucretius himself started out as a bit of a drag but just got weirder and weirder to read as he went on, which was a pleasant surprise. Someone ought to write a straight-up biography of Poggio Braciolini; he pops up in so many modern chronicles of the period, rather like the silver mines of Potosi in early modern global histories (and still keeping my eyes peeled for a Potosi book).

Making good progress on my 200 for '14. Ulysses down, just started Shelby Foote's The Civil War (already got his cards on the table, which didn't surprise me) and it looks like the library has all of Proust, which'll probably come in the next month or two. Almost done with Ayelet Waldman's Red Hook Road, a good, old-fashioned family tragedy novel set in coastal Maine--the thing screams "Great American Novel" as if it were being roasted over coals, but still pretty good for all that. Ordered Vandermeer's City of Saints and Madmen from the bookstore and am thinking now about picking up Bleeding Edge next week if I feel up to it. Either that or Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni, which I already have.

Dr. Dastardly I can't remember, is it your first Pynchon?
I wouldn't say I hated it, but I was rather disappointed, I thought the heart wasn't in it, which is quite weird as it's almost his novel that feels the most personal, with caring characters and proper feelings and stuff.

If that makes you feel any better, they're the two I cared the least for so far (although I'm probably due for a re-read of Lot 49).

I've otherwise been reading a bit since my last post.

I finished my re-read of Stendhal's La Chartreuse de Parme, which I very much liked, it's all very charming and fun, it's all about love, love, love, and how it affects everything, in particular here politics. I quite liked that the nominally main character is pretty much useless and keeps advancing the plot in spite of himself. I also thought Stendhal did a good job of presenting the various characters' point of view with interior monologues.

Went on with Eric Chevillard Du Hérisson (Of The Hedgehog), his books tend to be riffing on a theme, here, a writer about to write his autobiography finds a hedgehog on his desk, and a lot of funny and very well-written nonsense follows. The most accurate description I could possibly make is to compare them to one of the joke threads in the AVC comments where everyone piles up with variations on a silly concept. He's always huge fun, and this was no exception.

Gombrowicz's Cosmos was a bit of a headscratcher, but it's probably meant to be, it reads like some sort of detective story where the "detectives" don't realise they're not actually looking for anything and are just making a mystery up as they go along based on close to nothing, it's pretty good fun, with plenty of silly situations and dialogues. Maybe not the best place to start with him, but definitely worth reading (the only other one I've read is Ferdydurke which is relatively more accessible).

Esterhazy's Helping Verbs of the Heart was written just after his mother died and reads as a shrine to her, albeit a rather twisted one, it felt a little like a rehearsal for his Harmonia Caelestis with facts being mixed with fiction, the latter often being quotes and re-appropriations of other books. It in the end manages to be moving without being saccharine, it's not as playful as some of his other stuff, but is still interested in providing something that is interesting to read out of more than curiosity and respect.

Raphael Confiant's Le Gouverneur des Dés, he's a creole writer from Martinique, the language and vocabulary is fairly exotic and helps a lot in creating the atmosphere. This one follows Rosalien, a major (some sort of village chief, but more crook than mayor) in the 50's as he realises that his time, and more generally this time is coming to an end. I really loved that one and should really read more by him. There's apparently only one of his that's been translated in English, it's probably worth a look. Otherwise you should only attempt if you are really fluent in French as the language is far from being proper French.

Just started Broch's The Sleepwalkers which should keep me busy for a while (I'll probably take breaks between the various parts though), I also bought a few books during a recent stay in Paris (the Eurostar trips explaining the rather long post), including, after more than a few people here saying it was one of their favourite Dumas's Le Comte de Monté-Christo and after a discussion with Douay-Rheims-Challoner a few days (or is it weeks already?) ago, my first Mishima, After the Banquet; so those should follow relatively soon.

ETA after just seeing Tenth of December won some prize, gave George Saunders a try with In Persuasion Nation, just read the first two stories so far and will continue, but right now, I am really not convinced.

Aw, man, and Frankenstein is one of my very favorite books ever. I do see your point - both Victor and the monster do a lot of whining - but I thought there was an awful lot going on in that little book.

I still haven't read Walden. I realize I ought to, but...what, it's just about some young punk living in the woods? That sounds boring. Did you know Thoreau accidentally burned down like half those woods? And that he used to go home to his mother's for dinner?

I just finished reading Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. It was a great read, though not quite in my top echelon of Kay's books. I'd rank it fourth behind Lions of Al-Rassan, Sarantine Mosaic, and Last Light of the Sun.

Finished "Detroit: An American Autopsy" and I can say it's the most depressing book I've read in a while. It does a good job of depicting how screwed up Detroit is while humanizing the city and the problems. I recommend it.

I'm now reading "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion. It's about a socially awkward geneticist who decides it's time to marry a woman and devises a questionnaire called "The Wife Project" to help he find a wife.

I should point out that The Fionavar Tapestry is much different than the rest of his work (except for Ysabel which is a sort of sequel to Fionavar though a still very different style). Everything else is a historical fiction set in a slightly different universe, and while there is some magic and other fantastical elements, it is very subtle and does not usually play a large role. 

For example, The Lions of Al-Rassan is based around the wars between the Christians and Muslims set in Espana, which is basically Moorish Spain, and The Sarantine Mosaic is set in Sarantium which is basically the Byzantine Empire.

I should also note that Fionavar and Ysabel are far and away my least favourite works by Kay, and I was barely able to finish Fionavar (I think I took like a two year break between each book). If you want something that is still fantastical, Tigana is a good bet, as it has some historical Italian elements, but is basically about a war between two powerful sorcerors.

Finished reading Donna Tartt's The Little Friend a couple days ago.  Great book!  There are some outstanding passages, and it's a really strong portrait of life in the 1980ish U.S. South.  I was basically sold on this book from the time I finished the introduction.  Would recommend to just about anyone, really. 

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. About 100 pages in to this, and it's a great read so far: tight and propulsive prose, and fascinating 'characters'. Katrina has just started to hit, so things are about to get hairy.

I also have American Gods on my shelf. What's the view on it in these parts? Fantasy in any of its permutations isn't really my thing (can't get going with the Game of Thrones books, for instance, and can only just about tolerate the TV series), but I'm willing to give it a go.

Chabon's Telegraph Avenue. Most people would call it lesser, and I wouldn't argue that from him, but it's much less literary compared to his other stuff, and that's always good in my mind. I'm very much tired of the overly literary and self-important direction a great deal of American novels have headed in.