What are you currently reading?

[Drasko]

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Richard Wagner: the lighter side by Terry Quinn. Interesting book although I'm a bit distracted by constant errors ranging from wrong dates to names, characters etc.

Curiously, the part I most enjoyed about this book wasn't about Wagner himself at all but about composer Max Reger. The book had a quote from his mocking letter to a critic that had written an unfavorable review about his composition. I bursted in tremendous laughter in subway and everyone stared at me.

[Karl Henning]

Richard Wagner: the lighter side by Terry Quinn. Interesting book although I'm a bit distracted by constant errors ranging from wrong dates to names, characters etc.

Curiously, the part I most enjoyed about this book wasn't about Wagner himself at all but about composer Max Reger. The book had a quote from his mocking letter to a critic that had written an unfavorable review about his composition. I bursted in tremendous laughter in subway and everyone stared at me.

If that is the letter cited by Nicolas Slonimsky in his Lexicon of Musical Invective, your burst of amusement is entirely understandable 

[Jaakko Keskinen]

If that is the letter cited by Nicolas Slonimsky in his Lexicon of Musical Invective, your burst of amusement is entirely understandable 

Not sure if that's the one but considering it is probably the most well-known quote from him, it probably is.

[Artem]

Two books that I finished recently:




Sciascia is highly recommended.

[Bogey]

Considering this for a read aloud to my kids next year, so thought I would take it in now.

[kishnevi]

Wendy Doniger.  The Hindus:  An Alternative History
From the Amazon page

Note that Doniger is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of Religions at the University of Chicago and the author of many books. Note that alternative neatly defines her. Learned, fluent, and entertaining in spite of the complexity of this ambitious undertaking, Doniger is also controversial, a role she embraces, confident that fresh viewpoints are essential to understanding the worlds that shaped the Hindu tradition, and the ways Hindus shaped society. While Doniger delves deeply into the Vedas and the "two great poems," Ramayana and Mahabharata, she searches other spheres for clues to the lives of women and the lower castes. She also analyzes depictions of animals, which are central to Hindu tales and the "cultural ideal" of nonviolence. As she energetically parses the relationships between gods and humans, karma and renunciation, asceticism and sensuality, priests and kings, men and women, she is also seeking glimpses into everyday Hindu life during each of India's empires. Lavishly detailed, dynamic, and encompassing, Doniger's multidimensional history celebrates Hindu wisdom, diversity, and pluralism with knowledge, insight, and passion. --Donna Seaman

Also chatty and snarky.  After listing competing scholarly theories about one artifact from the prehistoric Indus Valley Civilization, she wonders what the various scholars were smoking.
Nor is she afraid to point out that the Sanskrit word for fortunate also means has a good vagina.

[Wakefield]

Two books that I finished recently:

Wow! Silvina is a rarity even for readers in Spanish. I haven't read any of her books translated into English, but I guess it's quite difficult to reflect certain poetic quality of her prose.

Nice cover. 

[Artem]

I can't remember now how I discovered her only that it was late last year, but it wasn't from the Borges / Bioy Casares connection. Maybe she was mentioned in Roberto Bolano's interview that I read. I found her stories, especially the early ones, very enjoyable.

[stingo]

I've read a few books since I last posted here, but thought I'd share the fact I'd started on the 5th Discworld book - Sourcery. I had already begun reading the Discworld series, but Terry Pratchett's passing made the idea a lot more compelling.

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[kitsune]

Wendy Doniger.  The Hindus:  An Alternative History
From the Amazon pageAlso chatty and snarky.  After listing competing scholarly theories about one artifact from the prehistoric Indus Valley Civilization, she wonders what the various scholars were smoking.
Nor is she afraid to point out that the Sanskrit word for fortunate also means has a good vagina.

I foolishly did not go to a talk she was giving at my University a few months back; seems like a very interesting individual.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Read Raven and the Gold-bug from Poe. I liked both but gold-bug immensely more. It is a very clever short story. I heard Stevenson was inspired by Gold-bug when he wrote Treasure island, particularly the way skeleton/s "guard" the treasure.

[Artem]

Beautiful little book by an author who was unknown to me previously. I bought it on a whip and wasn't a bit disappointed. Will look for other Johnson's work.

[Henk]

Really digging these books. Excellent works!

[Ken B]

Really digging these books. Excellent works!

I recommend The Roman Builders by Rabun Taylor. It is filled with academic crap and jargon but also with fascinating details of the how and why of ancient Roman buildings. A lot. Not for those with only a casual interest, but you clearly have more than that.

[Moonfish]

Just started on this Mahler biography and it is quite interesting...

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[Ken B]

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[Mookalafalas]

Some light biography.

[Henk]

I recommend The Roman Builders by Rabun Taylor. It is filled with academic crap and jargon but also with fascinating details of the how and why of ancient Roman buildings. A lot. Not for those with only a casual interest, but you clearly have more than that.

Thanks, Ken! I'm gonna stick to Clarke first though.

[Beaumarchais]

Because of the computer I've gone from being a regular reader to an infrequent one but I'm currently re reading a book that I published some years ago and have not read for some time. I have written a couple of others, one of which I had published recently, and the third is waiting for revision (which is soul-destroying) but will probably be completed some time this year.
However, here's my magnum opus and, for anyone who might be interested, it can be Googled for a synopsis.