What are you reading right now?

Paedantic Basterd · 07-17-2013, 10:48 AM

I've pushed through another 50 pages, and now that the plot isn't jumping to and fro in time, it's become easier to get interested in it, but I'm a very visual reader and I can't help but feel like this style strips my own reading experience.

LoathsomePete · 07-17-2013, 11:03 AM

Cormac McCarthy isn't for everyone. It took me 8 tries to finish Blood Meridian and that's a relatively short book.

~~Sansa Stark~~ · 07-17-2013, 11:07 AM

Cormac McCarthy really bored the **** out of me, everyone told me to read the Road because I love dystopian but it just bored the **** out of me. This person recommended it on the basis that Brave New World is in my top five but goddamn that was nothing close to Huxley's beautiful writing.

Irvine Welsh does the same thing with his writing though, plus the phonetic Scottish dialect and weird slang makes it even more confusing, not to mention holy **** the rhyming slang thing? Like what

LoathsomePete · 07-17-2013, 11:23 AM

I think in some of the American paperback copies of Trainspotting there's a translation guide, which I really could have used when I read it because I had some funny notions about what "ken" meant.

Speaking of Irvine Welsh, I just can't finish Filth and I really can't read books about misanthropic protagonists with absolutely no redeeming qualities. There was a time during my adolescence when I mistook misanthropy for maturity, but as I've gotten older I've come to realize that levity is also an emotion so I think I'm going to end this on-off thing I've had with him for the better half of the last decade. Trainspotting and The Acid House will always hold a special place in my heart, but our dalliance had to end sooner or later.

~~Sansa Stark~~ · 07-17-2013, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

I think in some of the American paperback copies of Trainspotting there's a translation guide, which I really could have used when I read it because I had some funny notions about what "ken" meant.

Speaking of Irvine Welsh, I just can't finish Filth and I really can't read books about misanthropic protagonists with absolutely no redeeming qualities. There was a time during my adolescence when I mistook misanthropy for maturity, but as I've gotten older I've come to realize that levity is also an emotion so I think I'm going to end this on-off thing I've had with him for the better half of the last decade. Trainspotting and The Acid House will always hold a special place in my heart, but our dalliance had to end sooner or later.

They do but I couldn't be bothered with them for the most part, so I just learned the slang

Have you read Skagboys at all? That's the prequel to Trainspotting, I liked it. Or Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs is good too. I'm curious to see the Filth movie though and see how much they actually leave in the movie.

LoathsomePete · 07-17-2013, 11:49 AM

I remember picking up Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs in hardback when it came out in '06 and I struggled to get through it as well. I enjoyed the whole weirdness with Kibby getting fucked over by Skinner, but Skinner just seems to be an amalgamation of other characters from Welsh's previous works, like how Bruce is basically Sick Boy and Begbie combined.

As for Skagboys, I picked up an epub copy shortly after it was released and read about 100 pages before starting something else (I think it was A Game of Thrones) and I've been meaning to go back, but after this go at reading Filth I'm not sure if I really care anymore. Irvine Welsh's writing style reflects an old part of my life that's just not me anymore and that I'm even a little embarrassed by.

Right now the only book of his that has me interested is Crime.

~~Sansa Stark~~ · 07-27-2013, 12:30 PM

JK Rowling under a pen name, but I'm enjoying it so far. Much better than the Casual Vacancy.

CoolBec · 07-27-2013, 03:17 PM

Rereading "Little Birds" by Anais Nin. Definitely more appealing to a feminine point of view. Highly recommended!

Next on my reading list is Super Freakonomics. Based on the fact that the first book (Freakonomics) was a pretty interesting read.

Paedantic Basterd · 07-27-2013, 09:45 PM

My laptop is being repaired, and thus I am reading EVERYTHING EVER WRITTEN.

Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses: Once I settled into the manner in which he tells a story, I did enjoy this. I wish I paid more attention to my mother's horses though, because the jargon, among other things, can make passages hard to follow if you don't watch a lot of Westerns or ride ponies. 3.5/5.

John Green - An Abundance of Katherines: Kinda cute, kinda funny story about teenagers and their relationships. 3/5.

Neil Gaiman - The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A book full of charm and magic and wonder which can be read and enjoyed by both children and adults without either party feeling alienated. Well done. 4/5.

Katie Williams - Absent: Highschool thriller about ghosts and stuff. Fluffy but entertaining. 3/5.

Milan Kundera - Identity: My least favourite Kundera so far. Very quick read that teeters on devastation, but cops out at the last minute and contains very little philosophy for Kundera's work. 3/5.

Bret Easton Ellis - Imperial Bedrooms: A page-turner, neo-noir thing, but his run-on sentences drive me mad and I still don't know what the **** that part about laxative-fist-****ing was about. Hard to get attached to any of these characters, but it was a sequel and the first book wasn't available to me, so I didn't read it, which can probably explain my reaction. 3/5.

Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go: Amazing read, absolutely loved it. Combines a lot of the qualities I love in my favourites; bittersweet emotion, dystopian nightmares, hopelessness and intrigue. Huzzah! 5/5

~~Sansa Stark~~ · 07-27-2013, 09:46 PM

edit: nevermind you know

I have Less Than Zero, I'll add it to the pile of **** I'm sending you!

07-17-2013, 11:03 AM	#4752 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	Cormac McCarthy isn't for everyone. It took me 8 tries to finish Blood Meridian and that's a relatively short book. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

07-17-2013, 11:23 AM	#4754 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I think in some of the American paperback copies of Trainspotting there's a translation guide, which I really could have used when I read it because I had some funny notions about what "ken" meant. Speaking of Irvine Welsh, I just can't finish Filth and I really can't read books about misanthropic protagonists with absolutely no redeeming qualities. There was a time during my adolescence when I mistook misanthropy for maturity, but as I've gotten older I've come to realize that levity is also an emotion so I think I'm going to end this on-off thing I've had with him for the better half of the last decade. Trainspotting and The Acid House will always hold a special place in my heart, but our dalliance had to end sooner or later. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

07-17-2013, 11:49 AM	#4756 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I remember picking up Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs in hardback when it came out in '06 and I struggled to get through it as well. I enjoyed the whole weirdness with Kibby getting fucked over by Skinner, but Skinner just seems to be an amalgamation of other characters from Welsh's previous works, like how Bruce is basically Sick Boy and Begbie combined. As for Skagboys, I picked up an epub copy shortly after it was released and read about 100 pages before starting something else (I think it was A Game of Thrones) and I've been meaning to go back, but after this go at reading Filth I'm not sure if I really care anymore. Irvine Welsh's writing style reflects an old part of my life that's just not me anymore and that I'm even a little embarrassed by. Right now the only book of his that has me interested is Crime. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

07-27-2013, 03:17 PM	#4758 (permalink)
CoolBec Psycho Hosebeast Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Southeast U.S. Posts: 122	Rereading "Little Birds" by Anais Nin. Definitely more appealing to a feminine point of view. Highly recommended! Next on my reading list is Super Freakonomics. Based on the fact that the first book (Freakonomics) was a pretty interesting read. Last edited by CoolBec; 07-27-2013 at 03:28 PM.

07-17-2013, 10:48 AM	#4751 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	I've pushed through another 50 pages, and now that the plot isn't jumping to and fro in time, it's become easier to get interested in it, but I'm a very visual reader and I can't help but feel like this style strips my own reading experience.

07-17-2013, 11:07 AM	#4753 (permalink)
~~Sansa Stark~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Eyrie, Vale of Arryn, Westeros Posts: 3,234	Cormac McCarthy really bored the ** out of me, everyone told me to read the Road because I love dystopian but it just bored the out of me. This person recommended it on the basis that Brave New World is in my top five but goddamn that was nothing close to Huxley's beautiful writing. Irvine Welsh does the same thing with his writing though, plus the phonetic Scottish dialect and weird slang makes it even more confusing, not to mention holy ** the rhyming slang thing? Like what

07-27-2013, 12:30 PM	#4757 (permalink)
~~Sansa Stark~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Eyrie, Vale of Arryn, Westeros Posts: 3,234	JK Rowling under a pen name, but I'm enjoying it so far. Much better than the Casual Vacancy.

07-27-2013, 09:45 PM	#4759 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	My laptop is being repaired, and thus I am reading EVERYTHING EVER WRITTEN. Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses: Once I settled into the manner in which he tells a story, I did enjoy this. I wish I paid more attention to my mother's horses though, because the jargon, among other things, can make passages hard to follow if you don't watch a lot of Westerns or ride ponies. 3.5/5. John Green - An Abundance of Katherines: Kinda cute, kinda funny story about teenagers and their relationships. 3/5. Neil Gaiman - The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A book full of charm and magic and wonder which can be read and enjoyed by both children and adults without either party feeling alienated. Well done. 4/5. Katie Williams - Absent: Highschool thriller about ghosts and stuff. Fluffy but entertaining. 3/5. Milan Kundera - Identity: My least favourite Kundera so far. Very quick read that teeters on devastation, but cops out at the last minute and contains very little philosophy for Kundera's work. 3/5. Bret Easton Ellis - Imperial Bedrooms: A page-turner, neo-noir thing, but his run-on sentences drive me mad and I still don't know what the ** that part about laxative-fist-**ing was about. Hard to get attached to any of these characters, but it was a sequel and the first book wasn't available to me, so I didn't read it, which can probably explain my reaction. 3/5. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go: Amazing read, absolutely loved it. Combines a lot of the qualities I love in my favourites; bittersweet emotion, dystopian nightmares, hopelessness and intrigue. Huzzah! 5/5

07-27-2013, 09:46 PM	#4760 (permalink)
~~Sansa Stark~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Eyrie, Vale of Arryn, Westeros Posts: 3,234	edit: nevermind you know I have Less Than Zero, I'll add it to the pile of **** I'm sending you!