read any good books lately... |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
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this is what I'm reading now...
Essay collection by this post-modern novelist, where he goes through several classics of Western literature from the Odyssee up to the 20th century examining why they're relevant today: Not just through their influence on literary history and how they reflect the cultural social context of the time + place they were written in, but also how the insights found in the stories are relevant to human society today. As usual Calvino is a pleasure to read, kind of like his countryman Umberto Eco though his sense of humour is a degree sillier and less dry. Edited by Toaster Mantis - November 25 2015 at 13:11 |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer Joined: June 02 2005 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 10261 |
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Quite a disturbing but fascinating read. The story has many twists and turns, and the two main characters (two women) as well as their relationship are definitely unusual. I really loved it, but I can certainly understand why some people who read it hated it; it is definitely a weird story and not for the faint of heart. |
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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decided to get into a good fantasy series after all the crap going down everywhere....on the third book in the series......
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Toaster Mantis
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I need to get around to reading more Zelazny one of these days, though I don't read anywhere as much SF/F as I used to - being more into the crime/horror genres now. I mean, he's after Michael Moorcock probably the author who's inspired the most Hawkwind lyrics...
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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I'm a fan of his and have read most of his novels though I did this over 30 years ago so I thought I would reread the 9 Princes In Amber which is considered one of the all time great fantasy series. I did not know that Hawkwind used any Zelazny ideas. |
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
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Done with Calvino's Why Read the Classics: That book's biggest
asset to me has been discovering a lot of classic Italian literature
from the Middle Ages to now that isn't as well known in Northern Europe
as the "usual suspects" of Ariosto, Boccaccio, Dante etc.
Right now I'm reading: Very different from the popular image of the Frankenstein story - I think out of the film adaptations, it's only Kenneth Branagh's 1994 version which sticks that much to the novel and I can already tell even that one is way Hollywoodized. Like a lot of Victorian-era British literature, it's overflowing with philosophical considerations and bombastic prose constantly taking plot twists into completely different directions and "narrative within a narrative within a narrative" framing devices. Then consider how short the novel is, and reading it becomes quite the experience. I also noticed how Mary Shelley spends much more time on the moral and philosophical implications of what's going on than the actual details... how the monster is brought to life isn't spelled out in detail very much, but there is way more getting into both the heads of Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created in order to explain why they make the decisions they do than in any film adaptation. A biography of the band written by two roadies who were with Black Sabbath from back when they were still called Earth: There's not so much information about the recording processes of their classic records, but there's plenty of so-embarassing-they're-hilarious anecdotes from touring as well as plenty of revealing insight into the cultural landscape and internal divisions in the UK rock scene back in the 1970s. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Equality 7-2521
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 11 2005 Location: Philly Status: Offline Points: 15783 |
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Finished this guy last week. I thought it would just be a fun read where I could feel good about myself laughing at some post-modern pseudo-science nonsense. While I did get to do plenty of that, it's also a rather earnest plea from the two authors. Essential this is a book long elaboration of what Alan Sokal did with his hoax (if anyone even remembers that anymore).
Anyway it was very good and something that I think maybe Pat and Dean among a few others here would really enjoy. My favorite bit of nonsense included came from Alain Badiou. |
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"One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. "
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Atavachron
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Superb view of the slow but devious rise of spymaster and CIA Chief Allen Dulles alongside brother John Foster, Secretary of State, from the end of WWll and Dulles' backroom dealings with Nazi intelligence men to his careful manipulation of U.S. foreign policy through Eisenhower. Great reading from Dave Talbot. The utterly hair-raising White House tapes made by JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 during daily talks with his Chiefs of Staff is harrowing stuff. One of the most important records ever made of war ~ and world ~ history. Edited by Atavachron - January 04 2016 at 00:22 |
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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BaldJean
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"Damnation Alley" from "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" is based on the Zelazny novel of the same name. an excerpt from the lyrics: "I've got the serum and I'm going to take it all the way to Boston, oh I've got to get through. the going won't be easy but I'm going to make it, it's the only thing that I'm cut out to do. ... no more Arizona now, Phoenix is fried up, Oklahoma City what a pity it's gone, Louisiana delta where the Mississipp's dried up, no more Chattanooga, Cherokee, Lexington ... thank you Dr. Strangelove for going doolally, leaving me the heritage of Damnation Alley" Edited by BaldJean - February 20 2016 at 03:47 |
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A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
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Guy Guden
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Aldous Huxley, the biography by Nicholas Murray. A very interesting and intriguing book, recently completed.
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BaldJean
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not quite lately, but a book that I absolutely recommend is "Retour à Salem" by Hèlène Grimaud. unfortunately the book has not been translated into English yet; I read it in the German translation where it has the silly title "Das Lied der Natur" ("The song of Nature"). this book was absolutely fascinating; it is partly fictional and partly autobiographical. the fascinating thing is that it is extremely hard if not impossible to tell where the line runs between the two.
the book tells the tale of how while staying at Hamburg for a concert she gave there she found an old antique shop in which she bought two things: a mirror that allegedly belonged to Lewis Carroll and a manuscript written by some Karl Würth, a nom de plum that was used by the German composer Johannes Brahms. since her German is not good enough to fully understand it she sends the text to a German friend for translation. the book's chapters alternate between her search for more information about the manuscript (which turns out to be a fantastic tale about a travel in a forest on the island Rügen) and the manuscript itself, the translations of which arrive in parts. pictures of the German artist Max Klinger which are described in detail (and actually really exist) play an important role too. the book is an outcry against the ecological destruction of our planet, but woven into a fantastic (both meanings of fantastic) novel. if you are able to read French or German, get it; if not hope for an English translation. one of the best books I ever read; absolutely fascinating Edited by BaldJean - February 21 2016 at 05:56 |
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A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
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Prog Snob
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I just finished Atlas Shrugged, but now moved away from fiction and reading a book for computer certification.
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Guy Guden
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Just a number of minutes after posting my note above, regarding the Aldous Huxley biography, I found out about the passing of Umberto Eco. One of my favourite authors, his THE PRAGUE CEMETERY lays on my stack of books to read, number 6 descending. Although mainly known for THE NAME OF THE ROSE, I have always been fond of FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM and THE ISLAND OF THE DAY BEFORE. His serious studies are worth taking note of as well. Like many of the works of music we discuss here, these books have a sound and quality of their own.
Edited by Guy Guden - February 23 2016 at 20:42 |
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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I recall seeing a film by the same name.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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I also enjoyed Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum......started Prague Cemetery a while back and couldn't get into it at the time.....I'll try it again one day.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Guy Guden
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 07 2014 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 2519 |
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^ ^ ^
You are a good man, Doctor Wu.
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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Well..thank you.....I really enjoy dense well written novels that involve metaphysics, esoteric, and or occult topics. Both of those Eco novels did that for me ; I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind when I started Prague Cemetery. If you know of any novels that have that dense air of mystery like those Eco novels please let me know. I also like a well written sci-fi novel or even fantasy if it's well done. I recently read The Magicians by Grossman and liked it...they are doing a sci-fi tv series of it right now.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Logan
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Ialso liked Foucault's Pendulum a lot. A novel I enjoyed that you might like, if you havent read it already, is The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte. I actually saw a movie based on it called The 9th Gate before reading it.
Description from amazon:
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
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I'll definitely look for that novel.....I liked the film with Depp......good occult drama. That's the kind of thing I enjoy. Thoughtful drama with some metaphysical enigma or mystery going on as the central theme. One of my favorite short novels about a paranormal mystery is The Investigation by Stanislaw Lem. |
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Guy Guden
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 07 2014 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 2519 |
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^ ^ ^
Well called, Logan. I was going to immediately suggest the works of Arturo Perez-Reverte, the Spanish answer to Umberto Eco. Club Dumas is actually two stories combined, and Polanski abandoned the idea of a missing chapter of Dumas and concentrated on the collector of Demonic Literature; played in the film by Frank Langella. Perez-Reverte is less satiric than Eco, but a lover of the arcane and antique, nonetheless. His book The Flanders Panel has also been filmed in an almost little known production. Also in this vein can be added Turkey's Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize winning author who also likes a mystery shrouded in arcana. Although one can't classify his work as sci-fi, I recommend his work My Name Is Red, or earlier works for something mystical and a cut above. In classic sci-fi, say late '40s and primo '50s, many gems abound amongst the pulp deluge. I'm fond of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, John Wyndham's The Chrysalids ( know in the U.S. as Re-birth ) and A. E. Van Vogt's Slan. And I've been in an Aldous Huxley and George Orwell mood of late that won't abate. There's a wealth of material out there. I just wish I was 30 years younger to spend the time searching and enjoying. Dr. Wu and Logan, my best to you.
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