*What book are you reading ?

[maya]

I'm struggling manfully through Paul Hegarty's "Noise/Music: A History". It's a good book that could have been great (IMHO) if the author had resisted the urge to cite quite so often.

Yeah, I struggled through my copy last week... Incredibly dry and academic style of writing... Fell asleep at least twice (not sure whether bedtime reading is such a good idea, lol)

It seems to me most of the material in the book have been used before, I'm not sure whether he's contributed much of his own or if it's mostly quotes and re-cycling of other people's writing... Hmmm.

 

[chymaera]

The Ascent Of Man, Jacob Bronowski

 

[maya]

Time-Life were rubbish... In a historical 'fact' book I've got they present lots of Biblical legends as "facts", alongside the historical material... For instance a historical timeline plate included lots of unverified myths and characters from the Bible, along with highly dubious maps of "ancient Palestine in the time of Jesus", and so on...

Re: Search

They've changed name to V/Search now for some reason, IIRC?

 

[chooch]

Time-Life were rubbish

Yes. A unique and fantastically stilted prose style though, which screams to be read in a Leslie Neilsen type voice.

 

[maya]

Yes. A unique and fantastically stilted prose style though, which screams to be read in a Leslie Neilsen type voice.

... or Charlton Heston, presumably?

 

[ViolentPanda]

Yeah, I struggled through my copy last week... Incredibly dry and academic style of writing...

Uh-huh. The guy has a real hard-on for Georges Bataille too, doesn't he?

Fell asleep at least twice (not sure whether bedtime reading is such a good idea, lol)

I wondered why I've been sleeping without valium for the last couple of nights!

It seems to me most of the material in the book have been used before, I'm not sure whether he's contributed much of his own or if it's mostly quotes and re-cycling of other people's writing... Hmmm.

It is a bit of a "meta-review", isn't it?
I suspect he's allowed some of his own insight through, but it's buried under such a heavy morass of citation, seemingly unnecessary references to vaguely-connected philosophical ideas and contradictory sentences that it's difficult to "see the wood for the trees".

 

[chooch]

... or Charlton Heston, presumably?

Perfect.
I do love that stuff. The cheeky inanimate possessive (Earth's Fragile Sphere), the use of 'our nation', 'our planet', 'our cities' (Religion in Our Nation), the pompous opening sentence based on shaky evidence, ('Mankind had barely begun to till the Earth before he built his first cities')...

 

[El Jefe]

They've changed name to V/Search now for some reason, IIRC?

There was a split of some kind between Vicki Vale (presumably the 'V' in V Search) and her publishing partner. Not sure it was that friendly either.

 

[sojourner]

Was in HMV ordering sommat to spend my xmas vouchers on, and had £6 to use up, so bought the Johnny Cash autobiog, and Touching from a Distance - Deborah Curtis. Will start the JC one tonight

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

They've changed name to V/Search now for some reason, IIRC?

Doesn't look like it from the website

 

[kyser_soze]

The Naked God - makes a hell of a lot more sense now I'ver read the 2 prequels to it...

 

[chooch]

Harry Crews- The Gospel Singer

demented preachers, swamps, hillbillies, a freakshow, sexual guilt, a lynching and a storm and a dwarf with a massive foot. What more could you possible want?

Very little. I've done two-thirds of it in one sitting, and it's great

 

[crustychick]

I'm reading All tomorrow's Parties by william gibson. just started. looking forward to it

 

[kyser_soze]

Nice - good end to a more complex trilogy than the Cyberspace sequence IMV.

 

[D'wards]

Just started Banco by Henri "Papillon" Chierre - if its as good as the first i'm in for a treat

 

[Dirty Martini]

It's a corker, but I fear you wouldn't like it.

How so?

I'm enjoying this one, kind of. Little man with weird job as vehicle for wry satirical look at communist Czechoslovakia. Maybe that's what you mean

 

[chooch]

How so?

I served... is a fairly straight narrative, more lyrical, and much more emotionally manipulative. I suspect you might toss it away for not being Zeno's Conscience.

I'm enjoying this one, kind of. Little man with weird job as vehicle for wry satirical look at communist Czechoslovakia.

I reckon it's more than that, though don't want to say why and what until you've finished it

 

[Dirty Martini]

I served... is a fairly straight narrative, more lyrical, and much more emotionally manipulative. I suspect you might toss it away for not being Zeno's Conscience.

Heh, OK

Tbf, I'm only 20 pages into Too Loud, I'm jumping the gun a bit.

 

[colbhoy]

I'm about half-way through Clemente - The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss. A biography of Puerto Rican baseball legend Roberto Clemente who died whilst flying to Nicaragua to help after a devasting earthquake.

 

[Firky]

Woken Furies by Richard Morgan, finding it far more difficult to get into than the brilliant Altered Carbon which I feel is one of the best cyber punk dystopian sci-fis ever written.

See how it goes!

 

[Blagsta]

Abel Paz - Durutti in the Spanish Revolution

 

[Dillinger4]

Abel Paz - Durutti in the Spanish Revolution

That sounds good. I like Buenoventura Durruti.

*adds to list*

 

[chooch]

Harry Crews- The Gospel Singer

Liked that, though thought it tailed off a little when he couldn't quite decide what to do with all those wonderful characters. It was out the traps fast, a lap or two full tilt and then the hare got caught.

Now starting Adam Phillips- Promises Promises, and finishing up a couple of others.

 

[kyser_soze]

Woken Furies by Richard Morgan, finding it far more difficult to get into than the brilliant Altered Carbon which I feel is one of the best cyber punk dystopian sci-fis ever written.

See how it goes!

So you rate Morgan do ya?

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Woken Furies by Richard Morgan, finding it far more difficult to get into than the brilliant Altered Carbon which I feel is one of the best cyber punk dystopian sci-fis ever written.

See how it goes!

Altered Carbon is, I think, the best of the three Takeshi Kovacs novels. Broken Angels - the second in the series - is easier to get into that Woken Furies but I don't think the story arc is as good.

 

[ringo]

Slowly Down The Ganges - Eric Newby

Don't know why, but I always thought Newby would be rubbish and wouldn't represent my idea of travelling or travel writing in the slightest. Turned out I was full of it; this is enthralling, entertaining and insightful. I'll ignore him no more.

 

[Blagsta]

That sounds good. I like Buenoventura Durruti.

*adds to list*

It's interesting so far, although occasionally a little odd gramatically due to the translation. Lots of photos. Durutti was hardcore, doing bank raids to fund buying arms for anarchist groups!

 

[Radhika]

Ken Follett

Have read ' World without End' by this most prolific author. Brilliant desciptions of life in england during the 'Black Death'

 

[trashpony]

Just read Black Swan Green by David Mitchell and it was really really good

I've just finished it and it's one of the best books I've read in a long time IMO. Have you read any of his other novels?

 

[Lea]

I've just finished it and it's one of the best books I've read in a long time IMO. Have you read any of his other novels?

Read his first book Ghostwritten which was excellent. Tried to read Cloud Atlas but couldnt get into it. Havent read Black Swan Green yet.