Books - What are you reading?

brillant book.

just bought

[/B] Lovely green eyes by [B] Arnošt Lustig

and

[/B] Notes of an exhibition by [B] Patrick Gale

coffee and a good read is brillant hahaha

Reading Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut right now and liking it a lot.

Who wants to recommend 3 - 4 other Vonnegut novels to include in my next amazon order?

Not sure if anyone else got there first but Breakfast of Champions, Timequake and Galapagos are fine fine works. I've never read a bad Vonnegut.

Yes yes yes - it is brilliant. TTP is all I've read, though. What else would you recommend?

*At Swim-Two-Birds *is good, if a bit relentless. How are you on Gaelic myth? The rest of his novels are gently disapointing - flashes of greatness, but not sustained I fear. *The Dalkey Archive *is tragic, a re-writing of TTP (which was originally rejected, and wasn't publsihed in his lifetime) he did late in life and it is poor. The Poor Mouth, originally in Gaelic, is probably amazing in that language, and is still fun in English (there's a fine trans. by Patrick Power). Having said that everything he wrote is very very good, and even bad Flann is better than much.

But for perfect bedtime dipping into you can't beat extracts from 'Cruiskeen Lawn', the daily column he wrote for the Irish Times for thirty years or so as 'Myles na gCopaleen'. Get *The Best of Myles, *or Further Cuttings From Cruiskeen Lawn, edited by his brother. They're bibliographically shonky, but the easiest way to get hold of this stuff.

I'm currently reading Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck (only read East of Eden by him before and I was almost afraid to read another just in case it wasn't as good). Awesome so far.

Also reading Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Murukami, who I've never liked before, but I think this was due to the overly simplistic translations I was reading. This is great.

*At Swim-Two-Birds *is good, if a bit relentless. How are you on Gaelic myth? The rest of his novels are gently disapointing - flashes of greatness, but not sustained I fear. *The Dalkey Archive *is tragic, a re-writing of TTP (which was originally rejected, and wasn't publsihed in his lifetime) he did late in life and it is poor. The Poor Mouth, originally in Gaelic, is probably amazing in that language, and is still fun in English (there's a fine trans. by Patrick Power). Having said that everything he wrote is very very good, and even bad Flann is better than much.

But for perfect bedtime dipping into you can't beat extracts from 'Cruiskeen Lawn', the daily column he wrote for the Irish Times for thirty years or so as 'Myles na gCopaleen'. Get *The Best of Myles, *or Further Cuttings From Cruiskeen Lawn, edited by his brother. They're bibliographically shonky, but the easiest way to get hold of this stuff.

That's wonderful, thanks so much. I have actually read bits of ASTB - completely went out of my head. But I need to re-read it properly. And no, my Gaelic's not so hot, as it goes - myth or language :-)

Lost and found in Russia - Susan Richards
Sourcery - Tezza***
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists** - Robert Tressell*..... signed by Simon Pegg lol

*The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - Robert Tressell*..... signed by Simon Pegg lol

I heard he was an avid stamp collector, glad to get this finally confirmed.

That's wonderful, thanks so much. I have actually read bits of ASTB - completely went out of my head. But I need to re-read it properly. And no, my Gaelic's not so hot, as it goes - myth or language :-)

Pleasure, anything to encourage FlannO'ers. Yeah the language thing is tricky (something he goes on about in the column, to great comic effect), and At Swim is so structured around legends of old sweeney and the pookha and stuff that it can be a bit hard to penetrate. Still, worth pursuing.

http://librivox.org/

Brilliant place for downloading free audio books to listen on iPod! Whenever I cycle on motorways it drowns the sound of passing trucks ;-))

Oooh just found this thread.. been thinking about what to read next.

I've just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and would definitely recommend it.

Above writer seems to have his niche area down.

Been reading a lot of Sci-fi lately. A Deepness In The Sky by Vernor Vinge and The Mote in Gods Eye by Larry Niven were both great.

Anyone got any good SF tips?

Don't tend to read books much except when on holiday...following books are on stand by for Xmas break

American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell
Far North by Marcel Theroux
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Let me know if any of these are on to avoid list

Don't know about the book but Far North was a GREAT movie. Shouldn't disappoint.

Just finished reading The Trial by Kafka, it's a short book but I've been reading it on and off for nearly two years now. It resembles too closely what makes me dislike my job more as the years go by and that has made it one of those books that is just difficult to pick up at times. That said, it is an excellent read.

Over Christmas I think I'll be tackling the other two books that have been on and off for at least two years. The first is a collection of writings by Kevin Lynch, I love his approach even if I don't entirely agree with his conclusions. The second is Homers Odyssey, I have found it difficult to read so far but I will persevere.

Which translation of the Homer are you reading, S? Makes a big difference with ease of reading.

Good question, will get back to you on that.

Agreed. Sometimes they can be too easy though. I read a translation of the Odyssey in which all the language had been translated to this academics idea of what working class language was. Back in the 1930s. Utterly horrible. You've not lived until you've read Ulysses saying the word 'lumme!'.

Agreed. Sometimes they can be too easy though. I read a translation of the Odyssey in which all the language had been translated to this academics idea of what working class language was. Back in the 1930s. Utterly horrible. You've not lived until you've read Ulysses saying the word 'lumme!'.

That sounds amazing. As an ex-classicist (ex-classicenger, in the forum argot?) I need to know which one this is.

I've found that books I read suddenly get adapted to film after I read them.

I read mysterious case of benj button and revolutionary road last year which were both adapted almost immediately, and I finished disgrace by Coetzee this summer, which has just been released as a film with john malkovic.

In an effort to exploit this power I'm currently reading Abi Titmuss' autobiography

I've found that books I read suddenly get adapted to film after I read them.

I read mysterious case of benj button and revolutionary road last year which were both adapted almost immediately, and I finished disgrace by Coetzee this summer, which has just been released as a film with john malkovic.

In an effort to exploit this power I'm currently reading Abi Titmuss' autobiography

Interested to know what you thought of Disgrace. I couldn't really see why it was being held in such high regard.

Last weekend I finished reading Cuba: A New History, excellent read. Written by Richard Gott who identified the body of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara for the CIA.

Which translation of the Homer are you reading, S? Makes a big difference with ease of reading.

I'm reading a translation by William Cowper. I have been enjoying it, but I need to take time reading it.

I'm reading a translation by William Cowper. I have been enjoying it, but I need to take time reading it.

Bloody hell! That will be 1780s or something, he's pre-Wordsworthian! Is it blank verse?!

Serious props for that, man. How did you come across it? Must be out of print, no?

STE5 moves in mysterious ways