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[Koroviev]

I personally liked

Spoiler

the prison camp and all the parts that took place in Mongolia but parts about Manchuria were rather dull and I really wanted to skip them.

It's really hard to pick your favorite Murakami, seems like what ever people read first from him became their favorite, for me it was Wind Up Bird. I'm currently re-reading Hard-Boiled Wonderland and it might actually become my favorite. Tho I really liked the setting of Wild Sheep Chase so I have to re-read that one too before I make my mind.

"The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" is probably my favorite. I don't think I can rank the others, so I'm just going to say that "Kafka on the Shore," "Norwegian Wood" and "Hard-Boiled Wonderland" are all tied for a very close second. Hard-Boiled Wonderland was my first Murakami novel. I haven't read any of his shorter novels yet. And 1Q84...where to begin. I think it was the Gary Stu (i.e.

Spoiler

Tengo

) that finally broke the deal for me. He's the very best at making food, math, writing, sports...wait, he needs a flaw! Um, um...he doesn't want to be in a serious relationship! That's it! Oh, and he's also kind of a creeper!

 

[demon]

I read Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. What book of his should I read next?

Are all of his books light reads like that?

I've only read Norwegian Wood and South of the Border, West of the Sun, which are from what I've heard two of his least surreal and fantastical books. I really enjoyed both of them, and if you liked NW you'll like SofBWofS. They have a similar feel and atmosphere to them.

 

[Emerson]

I'm thinking of snagging this on amazon, but there's what looks like an updated "illustrated" version that costs a little more. Any idea if that's worth getting?

No idea unfortunately.

 

[Mumei]

The Murakami Discussion:

I think Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World is a good choice. I really enjoyed the pacing of the switch back and forth between the Hardboiled Wonderland section and the End of the World section.

But if you're looking for something with a similar feel, South of the Border, West of the Sun is closest.

Yea, ive tried cosmicomics and invisible cities and i couldnt get in to either of them. Its been so long that I honesetly cant remember if I finished them or not. I do remember invisible cities, and that definitely was not my cup of tea. I might try cosmicomics again based on your recommendation and me totally not remembering anything about it

Cosmicomics is definitely bizarre; you (or maybe this is just me) never really feel like you have a firm grasp on it. But I did really enjoy quite a few of the stories.

Have you tried Baron In The Trees? I can't actually recommend it, since I haven't tried it myself, but it looks interesting.

 

[Keen]

Hey, maklershed! How was The stars my destination? Worth reading?

 

[CPCunha]

...son of one of my heroes, writing about ANOTHER one of my heroes...

...restoring my faith in humanity through science.

 

[Keen]

Tiger! Tiger!

Read it, live it, love it.

Thanks! Need to finish The Scar and Legacy of Kings and I'll start that next.

 

[charlemagne]

...son of one of my heroes, writing about ANOTHER one of my heroes...

...restoring my faith in humanity through science.

That is a nice looking book. How is it?

 

[Piecake]

Cosmicomics is definitely bizarre; you (or maybe this is just me) never really feel like you have a firm grasp on it. But I did really enjoy quite a few of the stories.

Have you tried Baron In The Trees? I can't actually recommend it, since I haven't tried it myself, but it looks interesting.

No, That book was definitely on my radar since it looks interesting, but I felt i got rather burned by invisible cities and cosmicomics (both those looked interesting too) that I decided to pass on it. I might give it a go if I can find it at the library

 

[VindictiveGnome]

Started reading a demo version of Wayne of Gotham: A Novel on the Kindle app. I like it quite a bit. So far so good.

 

[DesertEater]

Right now I'm reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky.
I'm 700 pages in the book and very surprised by how easy it reads. So far, all the main characters are very charming, especially Levin. I find his opinions, which are Tolstoy's opinions
I assume, quite interesting. In particular when it was about art.
The events are very entertaining and the plot is going in a direction I didn't expect.
Can't to see how it will end. Loving the book.

Has anyone read Nobokov's Lectures On Literature or Lectures On Russian Literature?
I'm very tempted to pick one of those.

 

[Dresden]

Finished Making Movies by Sidney Lumet, it was a nice fun read. He sure hates teamsters.

 

[nakedsushi]

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Wow, what a thrilling and chilling read! Definitely a page-turner. I do *not* recommend reading this if you recently got married because it'll definitely make you paranoid that your spouse is plotting to kill you.

 

[Piecake]

Has anyone read Nobokov's Lectures On Literature or Lectures On Russian Literature?
I'm very tempted to pick one of those.

No, and i never will. Apparently he hates Dostoevksy, which automatically makes Nabokov suck. (loved Lolita and An Invitation to a Beheading)

 

[Koroviev]

No, and i never will. Apparently he hates Dostoevksy, which automatically makes Nabokov suck. (loved Lolita and An Invitation to a Beheading)

I love Lolita. Tried to read Speak, Memory and didn't make it very far. Way, way too self-indulgent :\

 

[Plasticine]

Like the rest of Skipp and Spector's stuff, I read it years ago. I loved it then and, so far, I'm happy to say that hasn't changed. Hopefully the rest of their work holds up just as well.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Almost done with this, reminds me a lot of early G.R.R.M. short stories. It really has a sense of dread and a suffocating atmosphere.

Spoiler

He's also not afraid to kill off characters and have bad things happen to them.

Thanks for the recommend gaf, never would have discovered it otherwise.

 

[Attackthebase]

My Kindle is currently with my mother, so I had to stop reading Fountainhead atm. So, I decided it was time to continue with this sucker:

I discovered where I stopped reading, and now I am making some solid progress in this novel. Maybe it's because my expectations is lowered, but I am enjoying this novel a lot.

 

[Nappuccino]

Trying to get myself back into reading for fun after 4 years of reading being my major and a chore of sorts.

Currently reading Cats Cradle by Vonnegut and Count Zero by Gibson.

It is bad that I am only 30 pages into Count Zero and sort of lost as to what is going on? I'm not sure if my skimming is super rusty or if I'm just not supposed to have a good grasp towards the different character's motivations yet (this is mostly in relation to Turner, the main character)

 

[British Monsoon]

About half way through The Long Earth;

Thoroughly enjoying it so far, even if it is starting to meander somewhat in the middle, the concept behind the novel and the quality of the prose are making it difficult to put down.

 

[bunnsize]

...son of one of my heroes, writing about ANOTHER one of my heroes...

...restoring my faith in humanity through science.

Would love to hear more about this. Would you care to share your thoughts so far?

 

[fuzzyset]

Almost finished with Notes from Underground. It's the first piece of 'literature ' I've read in a long time so it's taking me some time. Very good though.

 

[Jintor]

I really liked Pride and Prejudice so I thought this would be a good pickup but it's so... mundane, even by the standards of Austen, that I'm having difficulty continuing. I don't really mind the writing as such and the wit is quite cutting but it's hard to shake the feeling that nothing much is really happening.

Also the main character is a total overpriviledged moron but that's kind of the point, I gather.

 

[bunnsize]

Trying to get myself back into reading for fun after 4 years of reading being my major and a chore of sorts.

Currently reading Cats Cradle by Vonnegut and Count Zero by Gibson.

It is bad that I am only 30 pages into Count Zero and sort of lost as to what is going on? I'm not sure if my skimming is super rusty or if I'm just not supposed to have a good grasp towards the different character's motivations yet (this is mostly in relation to Turner, the main character)

Feeling the same way. I read the Hunger Games trilogy for fun while traveling, the first fiction I've picked up in a while because of all the graduate readings that take priority. I hate that I can't get into it anymore!

Currently reading City of Bits by William Mitchell. A bit dated, but an interesting break down of how the internet has changed urban and social development from the point of view of those who didn't grow up with it as my generation did. Like a deeper Internet for Dummies.

 

[Mumei]

i luv yu 2 muemay

<3

It's been years since I read it, but I recall it being pretty good stuff. Charming, bittersweet. Give it a try.

Sounds good. It has been on my list (along with a couple others) for awhile. I found one of his collections of stories (Marcovaldo) to be rather boring, though. I still gave it 3/5 because I liked some stuff, but I think maybe I should have given it a 2/5 since overall it just wasn't for me.

Today I went to the library and I finished reading Jules Vernes' Journey to the Center of the Earth. I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected. There science side of the science fiction had suffered more than, I don't know, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea did - or at least it seems that way to me. It also took far too long to get going, and there was a bit too much "A Wizard Did It!"-esque handwaving ("By certain movements" or "By certain gestures" or "By certain signs") that seems to happen a lot in novels from this era, and it was particularly gratuitous in this.

I still liked it. I don't know that I would ever reread it or particularly recommend it to anyone, though.

I also started reading Jeff Vandermeer's City Of Saints and Madmen on EndcatOmega's (I think I'm just going to keep calling you seph, in the future) recommendation. I am only about 30 pages in, however, so I don't really know what to make of it beyond, "I think I like it."

And I picked up two books while I was at the library: The Annotated Emerson (new, just out from Harvard Belknap Press; I don't suppose there's a better introduction for me) and a book with facsimile copies the plates from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience that includes annotations.

 

[Koroviev]

Trying to get myself back into reading for fun after 4 years of reading being my major and a chore of sorts.

Currently reading Cats Cradle by Vonnegut and Count Zero by Gibson.

It is bad that I am only 30 pages into Count Zero and sort of lost as to what is going on? I'm not sure if my skimming is super rusty or if I'm just not supposed to have a good grasp towards the different character's motivations yet (this is mostly in relation to Turner, the main character)

I recall having a difficult time following Gibson's Neuromancer when I read it a few years back.

 

[LProtag]

I've taken such a big break from intensive reading and I don't know why.

I feel like a failure of an English major and a future English teacher that there's so many books out there that I haven't read yet, haha. I think I'm going to tackle a Hemingway novel next, as I've read essentially all of his short stories, but only The Sun Also Rises out of his novels. Though... I haven't read a single book by the Russians. And I've only read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man because I've been too afraid of Finnegans Wake and Ulysses.


It's harder to pick what to read than to actually read it.

 

[Mumei]

I've taken such a big break from intensive reading and I don't know why.

I feel like a failure of an English major and a future English teacher that there's so many books out there that I haven't read yet, haha. I think I'm going to tackle a Hemingway novel next, as I've read essentially all of his short stories, but only The Sun Also Rises out of his novels. Though... I haven't read a single book by the Russians. And I've only read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man because I've been too afraid of Finnegans Wake and Ulysses.

It's harder to pick what to read than to actually read it.

Indeed!

I went through a period of time where I just wasn't reading real books much. I would see books, I would even buy books... but then I would get home and put it on my shelf and then it would just stare at me tauntingly. For years. I still have like 50 - 60 unread books despite all the reading I've done recently, though many of those came from picking over Borders' corpse last year. It was the combination of rereading A Song of Ice and Fire in anticipation of the fifth book coming out and rereading The Count of Monte Cristo for a GAF topic that put me in the habit again and got me to really started trying to do it consistently.

And as for the Russians: Read them! I mean granted I'm hardly one to talk given that I'm only familiar with Nabokov and Dostoevsky, but nonetheless I cannot recommend them enough.

 

[lunch]

Needed something long for a plane trip, so I'll be starting this. I'm going in with incredibly low expectations; I just need it to be decently entertaining.

 

[eattomorro]

Needed something long for a plane trip, so I'll be starting this. I'm going in with incredibly low expectations; I just need it to be decently entertaining.

TBH, I enjoyed the book more than the movie.

 

[eattomorro]

 

[Matrix]

Just bought it on the Kindle.

 

[Koroviev]

Needed something long for a plane trip, so I'll be starting this. I'm going in with incredibly low expectations; I just need it to be decently entertaining.

It's not bad. The writing is serviceable. My only problem was that I had a hard time keeping track of names.

 

[Koroviev]

I've taken such a big break from intensive reading and I don't know why.

I feel like a failure of an English major and a future English teacher that there's so many books out there that I haven't read yet, haha. I think I'm going to tackle a Hemingway novel next, as I've read essentially all of his short stories, but only The Sun Also Rises out of his novels. Though... I haven't read a single book by the Russians. And I've only read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man because I've been too afraid of Finnegans Wake and Ulysses.


It's harder to pick what to read than to actually read it.

You're going to read Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, a Soviet satire starring Satan, Pontius Pilate, Jesus of Nazareth and, of course, the Master, among others. That is your mandate.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

Re-read 2001 after watching some Kubrick documentaries, then decided to pick this up.

I like it more than Childhood's End, but less than 2001. It quite obviously inspired the Citadel seen in Mass Effect.

 

[LadyRiven]

I read Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. What book of his should I read next?

Are all of his books light reads like that?

Nice! I love Murakami. Sputnik Sweetheart was the first book I read by him, followed by Norwegian Wood. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and IQ84 are pretty long reads (IQ84 being 3 books compiled into 1). I haven't read all of his novels, but my favorite is "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World".

 

[Koroviev]

Re-read 2001 after watching some Kubrick documentaries, then decided to pick this up.

I like it more than Childhood's End, but less than 2001. It quite obviously inspired the Citadel seen in Mass Effect.

I agree. Love Arthur C. Clarke.

 

[watershed]

I'm reading "Another Country" by James Baldwin right now.

 

[DieUnbekannte]

It's not bad. The writing is serviceable. My only probably was that I had a hard time keeping track of names.

happend to me too. It's a little bit difficult to remember all the japanese names. But I really liked the book.

 

[Koroviev]

happend to me too. It's a little bit difficult to remember all the japanese names. But I really liked the book.

Yeah. And *problem, lol.

 

[CiSTM]

Needed something long for a plane trip, so I'll be starting this. I'm going in with incredibly low expectations; I just need it to be decently entertaining.

I found the english translation to be somewhat awful but I still liked the book, movie is better tho. Kinji can do no wrong

 

[elkayes]

Gripping read, started it one afternoon and finished it the next day. The methaphors are pretty clear and easy to understand, but don´t loose their punch for it. Especially liked the part of them

Spoiler

back on earth after their first deployment and the way they react to their "standing order" after reenlistment

.

Now reading:

300+ pages in. This book lives for the amazing characters Steinbeck creates. I like his way of telling the extensive backstory of every character before he lets them bump into each other. Just can´t figure out how this should work as a movie.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Finished up Wool, moving on to the prequel while it's still fresh.