Hey, Guise! It's May, and I'm Reading!
Even better than Trainspotting, I thought.
120 pages into it. You're right. Yet Marabou Stork Nightmares remains his best, in my opinion.
I have that queued in my wishlist. Probably will go on a Welsh binge in a few months.
Derek would be pissed if he were here.
I know, he always said he hated Welsh.
What what what!? There's a new one? I must have this.
It wasn't supposed to come out until next week, but apparently it came out last week. It's $15 on kindle.
"I'm glad I live in the GPS era. In a different century, I would've set off to visit the other side of the village and wandered off into the mountains and been eaten by a carnivorous plant. Or discovered the Americas."
-LaJessica
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - If you have a Kindle, it is a free download and so far I am really enjoying it. Not only is it interesting, it is surprisingly humorous.
I read that for American History last year. Enjoy it as much as I did.
What what what!? There's a new one? I must have this.
It wasn't supposed to come out until next week, but apparently it came out last week. It's $15 on kindle.
I don't have Kindle. But I've seen it's for sale here. I'm going to try and get a copy tody.
I'm still going with The Stand I'm enjoying it, but it's given me some bad dreams.
people talking about Irvine Welsh
Do you non-Brits find the amount of cultural reference that Irvine Welsh uses to be off putting?
I love the guy's writing, but have often thought that the number of times he talks about things such as the Prot-Cath divide in Scotland and Ireland could be quite a distraction to someone who doesn't see the news reports.
What about the way almost all of his characters like football? (or fitba as he would type, or soccer as I loathe to type) When Renton starts ranting in Trainspotting about Graeme Souness fucking up any club that he manages, did you even care what he was on about?
And I agree with Irina, Maribou Stork Nightmares is awesome, probably my favorite book by a UK author.
SOLARCIDE.COM My blog/writer's hideout. Stories and interviews by me and by special guests. Together we can kill the sun. Come lend a hand.
Latest update - What The Eyes Behold by Mike Frounfelter.
I don't recall minding it, but then again, I'm a pop culture junkie. I like reading it/writing it. The only time it started to get on my nerves was in Tell All when it was bold and blatant and sort of unnecessary.
How do non-Americans feel about the down-homey Southernism of Mark Twain?
This is why we can't have nice things.
Hmm, to be honest the only Twain I ever read was in school years ago. I was never that into it. Occasionally American authors will throw me off when they go too deep into your political history, and reading about baseball puts me to sleep.
The reason I asked that about Welsh by the way is because I feel he goes further than most writers would with these kinds of references. Take the stories out of their hometowns and I think they would fall apart a little.
And I am genuinely curious as to what kind of impression the rest of the world has of Scotland. In my experience it's an odd place.
SOLARCIDE.COM My blog/writer's hideout. Stories and interviews by me and by special guests. Together we can kill the sun. Come lend a hand.
Latest update - What The Eyes Behold by Mike Frounfelter.
And I am genuinely curious as to what kind of impression the rest of the world has of Scotland. In my experience it's an odd place.
That it's basically a toilet, based on what I've read. I doubt it's true. I hope it's not true.
And I am genuinely curious as to what kind of impression the rest of the world has of Scotland. In my experience it's an odd place.
That it's basically a toilet, based on what I've read. I doubt it's true. I hope it's not true.
Yeah, if you ever watch any English comedians, they make it sound like the abyss.
And I am genuinely curious as to what kind of impression the rest of the world has of Scotland. In my experience it's an odd place.
That it's basically a toilet, based on what I've read. I doubt it's true. I hope it's not true.
Yeah, if you ever watch any English comedians, they make it sound like the abyss.
I've only been once. Loved Edinburgh. I'd definitely go back again.
Also, Marabou Stork Nightmares is my least favorite of Irvine Welsh's books that I've read so far. I still enjoyed it but thought the likes of The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs and Crime were better.
maybe it'll pick up, but so far it isnt anymore special than any other book told with entirely telling detail, and wood dialogue.
I just finished American Pastoral today. Thought it was fairly good. How far into it are you?
i'll admit im not far into it, but i dont feel like the beginning of a book should be this arduous.
Did you carry on reading it? If so, did it get any better for you?
people talking about Irvine Welsh
Do you non-Brits find the amount of cultural reference that Irvine Welsh uses to be off putting?
I don't think so. I enjoy everything about his writing, from the language (which took me about 10 pages to get used to, when I first read Welsh in English), to these references and everything else. Isn't the point of literature teaching readers about other cultures etc? I sometimes look things up, if I have no idea what he's talking about, but I mostly just let it slide. Besides, I check BBC regularly so it's not at all "off putting".
maybe it'll pick up, but so far it isnt anymore special than any other book told with entirely telling detail, and wood dialogue.
I just finished American Pastoral today. Thought it was fairly good. How far into it are you?
i'll admit im not far into it, but i dont feel like the beginning of a book should be this arduous.
Did you carry on reading it? If so, did it get any better for you?
i did yeah, its for a class, so i have to. im at about the half way mark, and its no better, really. theres some more happening, but the writing and the pretentiousness doesnt show signs of improving.
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
Isn't the point of literature teaching readers about other cultures etc? I sometimes look things up, if I have no idea what he's talking about, but I mostly just let it slide. Besides, I check BBC regularly so it's not at all "off putting".
Good answer.
And of course you are correct. I do think a writer can run a risk of going too far though. Maybe I posed my original question poorly. Let me give you an example of what I mean so I don't come across as even more of a dick than I may have inadvertently done already.
The English author Will Self really goes to town on this kind of thing. His book How The Dead Live is about a woman in her sixties, in London, who dies of cancer only to find out that the afterlife is just as menial and tiresome as her life was.
Parts of the story are really good, but the book is supposed to be funny and this was spoiled by so much tedious reference to the history of the Jewish sub population in London over about 40 years. It detracted from the plot, became rather boring for me.
Another example is Hannibal by Thomas Harris. I don't generally enjoy crime drama, but actually managed to get into this series. The third book though, what was with the Italian culture tour part way through? It slowed the book down and sapped my enthusiasm. Yeah there was stuff to be learned there, but please not at the cost of the story, not in a serial killer tale.
I actually think Welsh does it very well. After all I am not Scottish either, but I did kind of figure that English folks interact a lot more with Scots than most other nationalities do. (For the record I hear Trainspotting was printed with a glossary outside of the UK, and I have seen somebody on this very forum criticise the Cockney dialect that Welsh used. Cockney! These things prompted my thinking somewhat)
And this is me officially shutting the fuck up about this. I am sorry for derailing the thread guys, it won't happen again. I will go sit in the corner.
It's May and I'm reading The White Dragon by Ann McCaffrey, number 3 in the Pern series.
SOLARCIDE.COM My blog/writer's hideout. Stories and interviews by me and by special guests. Together we can kill the sun. Come lend a hand.
Latest update - What The Eyes Behold by Mike Frounfelter.
usurper! usurper!
Finished Freedom today.
Goodreads review:
I don't think you can pick this one up lightly (no pun intended). "Freedom" sat on my shelf for at least four or five months. Not that I didn't want to read it after all the praise it's garnished, but with a book like this, I think you really have to be in the "mood" for an intense and especially lengthy family drama--and after reading this monster, three main things stick out in my mind.
1.) This book is truly character driven. Franzen does this exceptionally well. By the end of this thing, you feel like you know the Berglunds as intimately as your own family. The question (and this is the main question in a family-driven drama) is: is this a family you WANT to know? Yes and no, actually. As interesting as the Berglands are, I can say with no amount of uncertainty that I will never read this book again. That sort of leads into the second point.
2.) Franzen, despite his writing ability, is somewhat lacking in the plot department. For a near 600-page monster--not a lot really happens in the terms of plot. There are, of course, plenty of arcs in this novel, but they're so much flatter when I compare them to other books that clearly do more with less. Perhaps this is my own fault for having this book so built up in my mind, but the reveals and climaxes never hit as hard as one would expect from an author so celebrated.
3.) My harshest criticism is that Franzen is no word economist. This is actually the same problem I have with King. Too damn long-winded; numerous places in which the book just drags a$$; and large blocks of text in which nothing of seeming importance happens (mostly referring to in-depth long passages of political talk). This baby is not built for speed, and in fact, sometimes feels like the longest road trip of monotony you'll ever venture. It WILL test your patience as a reader.
Basically, "Freedom" is good. Not great. Just good. I was expecting a literary meal at The Bristol and got Outback Steakhouse instead. And this is probably my shortcoming as a reader having taken in the praise and publicity with a dumptruck of salt rather than a grain. "Freedom" is a fantastic example of how to do a family drama and do it well, but having said that, I'm afraid I'll be roasting marshmallows with the camp of people who have also called this one of the most overrated books to "grace" the shelves.
Also read the first three volumes of Scott Pilgrim and the six most recent issues of USM.
Now starting Dead Babies by Martin Amis, an X-Mas gift from the Melody.
A tie between:
The Youth In Revolt Series (CD Payne)
Kiss me, Judas - Will C Baer
I am Legend
You look like the type of guy / gal, who would like:
KMJ, always. I'm such a Baer fanboy.
I just read a short story by William Gibson called "New Rose Hotel". Y'all should read it, too. It was pretty fucking badass. It's from his collection Burning Chrome.
I was talking with one of my Write Club mates, Boden, who's a big fan of Future-Noir, Sci-fi-Noir, Cyberpunk, or whatever else one calls it. I told him how I'd been meaning to read something within the genre for a while, but not knowing much about it and not being very well-read in Sci-fi I had no idea where to start. Neuromancer was probably going to be my starting point. He decided to write me this massive email full of recommendations and why he likes them etc. It was one of the best emails I've received in ages.
So now I've got a stack of Cyberpunk to buy. And I'm super-excited because that short story, "New Rose Hotel", was incredible. Loving Gibson's style.
What what what!? There's a new one? I must have this.
It wasn't supposed to come out until next week, but apparently it came out last week. It's $15 on kindle.
I don't have Kindle. But I've seen it's for sale here. I'm going to try and get a copy tody.
I'm still going with The Stand I'm enjoying it, but it's given me some bad dreams.
Got it! I think I'll get onto reading Dead Awakening tomorrow.
I just read a short story by William Gibson called "New Rose Hotel". Y'all should read it, too. It was pretty fucking badass. It's from his collection Burning Chrome.
I was talking with one of my Write Club mates, Boden, who's a big fan of Future-Noir, Sci-fi-Noir, Cyberpunk, or whatever else one calls it. I told him how I'd been meaning to read something within the genre for a while, but not knowing much about it and not being very well-read in Sci-fi I had no idea where to start. Neuromancer was probably going to be my starting point. He decided to write me this massive email full of recommendations and why he likes them etc. It was one of the best emails I've received in ages.
So now I've got a stack of Cyberpunk to buy. And I'm super-excited because that short story, "New Rose Hotel", was incredible. Loving Gibson's style.
Vurt is cyberpunk.
"I'm glad I live in the GPS era. In a different century, I would've set off to visit the other side of the village and wandered off into the mountains and been eaten by a carnivorous plant. Or discovered the Americas."
-LaJessica
So good. That makes me even more keen to read it now. And, what a cool genre name, right?
Pete was supposed to have read it by now, but he still hasn't. If you start one I sent you and he finally reads Vurt, that will make three of you reading books that were gifts from me!
"I'm glad I live in the GPS era. In a different century, I would've set off to visit the other side of the village and wandered off into the mountains and been eaten by a carnivorous plant. Or discovered the Americas."
-LaJessica
Thanks for the Freedom review, Brandon. I was thinking about reading that next, but like you, it's been sitting on my shelf since it was released and I really don't know if I'm in the right frame of mind to commit to reading a book like that right now.
Read Vurt a few weeks ago after seeing it mentioned here several times. Quite an original story and quickpaced, right up there with Neuromancer and Snow Crash. Definintely recommend it too anyone interested in cyberpunk.
I'll add another thumbs up for Vurt.
Read it a few months back after reading of it here. Very impressive, got me hooked on Jeff Noon a wee bit. Falling out of Cars is very good too.
SOLARCIDE.COM My blog/writer's hideout. Stories and interviews by me and by special guests. Together we can kill the sun. Come lend a hand.
Latest update - What The Eyes Behold by Mike Frounfelter.
Rereading Flannery O'Conner's 'The Complete Stories'. I've been rereading a lot of stuff including 'The Gargoyle' by Andrew Davidson and 'Dry' by Augusten Burroughs.
Next up is a reread of 'Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life' By Winifred Gallagher
I'm waiting on my copies of "Damascus' by Joshua Mohr, and 'The Girl with the Brown Fur' by Stacy Levine.
Glad you're back, Mirka 
Hiya Kit! Thanks.
Not sure if you're a fan, (yet!), but Stephen Graham Jones has a review of 'Freedom' on this site if you want to check it out. http://chuckpalahniuk.net/reviews/freedom
Wanted to second that thanks for the review -I was actually waiting for that but wasn't expecting it so soon -you finished or read Fast, eh?
Yeah I don't think I will be reading Freedom. Length and subject matter are fine, but there are so many other books going on that seem way more interesting.
Visit me at Solarcide—A Writer’s Hideout: http://solarcide.com/fiction/nathan-pettigrew/
Glad to see Mirka back posting!
I need to get Gibson's Burning Chrome collection, I think. Read a couple more stories from the collection and they were just great. My buddy advised to read some other stuff before Neuromancer, despite it being one of the most well-known and loved books in the genre. I guess he just thinks there's better stuff out there. Even by Gibson.
I'm giving away 20 Kindle editions of Michael Sonbert's We Are Oblivion, which is next month's book club pick, so if you have a Kindle and want the book, email me at mr [dot] doc [dot] odonnell [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll gift one to you!
Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson. Love the narrator's voice and the vintage rural dialogue. Of course I'm having trouble not picturing Casey Affleck from The Killer Inside Me film, so similar are the protags.
I absolutely loved Pop. 1280. Man, that was some good noir. Chilling. He was a creepy motherfucking protagonist. I need to read some more Jim Thompson. Like, very soon.
I'd definitely recommend Neuromancer. Vurt was my favorite book in high school for a while. I never really thought of it as cyberpunk. Snowcrash is great too. And Rudy Rucker's Software, which is part of a four book series. And Slaughtermatic.
I'm sorry!
Honestly - it's next in line. I have to read this book I'm reading right now. Then I will get to it.
We Are Oblivion.
I haven't read anything quite like this in a long time. It's brutal, ugly, punchy.
I'll probably finish it tomorrow.
We got some writers all up in the joint.
This is why we can't have nice things.
I'm reading Absurdistan and it's cracking me up.
Robert McKee's Story and all that extra stuff in the title...
Excellent book! I think every writer should own a copy of that.
QFT.
However Story did make me rather miserable seeing all the cracks in my screenplay.
I'm sorry!
Honestly - it's next in line. I have to read this book I'm reading right now. Then I will get to it.
You keep saying that!
I'm really just glad to see Vurt getting some love around here. But I hate to say I wasn't really a fan of Neuromancer.
"I'm glad I live in the GPS era. In a different century, I would've set off to visit the other side of the village and wandered off into the mountains and been eaten by a carnivorous plant. Or discovered the Americas."
-LaJessica
I bought it ages ago. Like, a year and a half or something. But I accidentally bought the CD/audiobook edition, and I have never listened to it. I still want to read it.
I'm gonna read something on my Kindle (Yayyyy!). Maybe the new Pulp Press release, Jailbait Justice. I'm absolutely loving this press. I want to write a filthy pulp novella so I can send it to them.
We Are Oblivion, going by quickly and while it is extremely weird (in a great way) I love it. Firing over some questions to Mr Sonbert soon and would recommend everyone pics it up while they can.
You look like the type of guy / gal, who would like:
I haven't read anything quite like this in a long time. It's brutal, ugly, punchy.
I'll probably finish it tomorrow.
We got some writers all up in the joint.
Yeah, it's a pretty quick read. I flew through it in one sitting. Read it twice now and will probably one more time before I lead the book club discussion.
So you're digging it, Tuff? It's definitely brutal and ugly and punchy. Quick and dirty. Filthy. Unforgiving. Uncompromising.
The end, the reveal, the ah-ha moment, is a bit of a trip out.
I didn't think it was as good as his first book, The Never Enders, but, still, pretty damn badass.
Sonbert is the only author to make me physically cringe, and he does it twice in this book; it's that scene with the broom and there's another I can't even mention. I'll save it for the discussion next month.
Sonbert is the only author to make me physically cringe, and he does it twice in this book; it's that scene with the broom and there's another I can't even mention. I'll save it for the discussion next month.
Yeah, both of you save up those discussion points and questions for next month. I want this discussion to be a good lengthy one. Plenty to talk about with this book.
Anyone else that hasn't got WAO yet and has a Kindle should know that I still have a couple of copies out of the 20 that I'm giving away. Just PM if you're interested and I'll sort it for you.
Even better than Trainspotting, I thought.
120 pages into it. You're right. Yet Marabou Stork Nightmares remains his best, in my opinion.
I have that queued in my wishlist. Probably will go on a Welsh binge in a few months.
Derek would be pissed if he were here.