What are you currently reading?

[Florestan]

Currenly up to the 1830s, being a time period I dont know much about, a few takeaways

- Romania had slavery, primarily of gypsies, until the mid part of the 19th century

Until 1866 there was no Romania.

- the internal political dynamics of the major european powers - attempted coups by mid level officers, multi-year swings in tide between liberalism and autocracy look alot like recent experience in the developing world

The major European powers in the timeframe 1815-1830 were France, England, Russia, The Austrian Empire, and Prussia. I am not aware of a single instance of attempted coups by mid level officers in any of these countries. If he means Spain, it had ceased to be a major European power ever since the War of Spanish Succession, 1700-1714. If he means the Decembrist Revolt in Russia, then it was not a coup.

[bwv 1080]

Until 1866 there was no Romania.

Used the term as it is more recognizable than Moldavia and Wallachia, which were the actual political entities.  Used the same way historians use the word 'Germany' to collectively describe the various German states prior to unification

The major European powers in the timeframe 1815-1830 were France, England, Russia, The Austrian Empire, and Prussia. I am not aware of a single instance of attempted coups by mid level officers in any of these countries. If he means Spain, it had ceased to be a major European power ever since the War of Spanish Succession, 1700-1714. If he means the Decembrist Revolt in Russia, then it was not a coup.

True about the coups, my term and badly used.  The author's point was that mid-level army officers were a significant pro-liberal political force in most European countries at that time.  There was significant opposition to the Bourbon restoration within the French military and the Decembrist Revolt fits this.

[Ken B]

Until 1866 there was no Romania.

So you're saying you were slavers from the get-go?

[Florestan]

Used the term as it is more recognizable than Moldavia and Wallachia, which were the actual political entities.  Used the same way historians use the word 'Germany' to collectively describe the various German states prior to unification

They use it wrongly. There were huge social, cultural, economic, religious and political differences between those states; lumping them together under the "Germany" umbrella makes no sense.

The author's point was that mid-level army officers were a significant pro-liberal political force in most European countries at that time. 

That is true.

[Hollywood]

I'm currently reading this book:

[Parsifal]

I'm currently reading this book:

"Man out of time." That means he was nuts before it became fashionable?

[kishnevi]

That looks like a Dalek on the cover. Perhaps they want to suggest he was a Time Lord?

[Ken B]

Time to grab out Dantes Divine Comedy again 

I thought I was the only one weird enough to reread that.  but can you reread Paradise Lost? I loved PL, an astonishing thing. One of the highlights of decades of reading. But I doubt I'll ever read it a second time.

[kishnevi]

Found a copy of Dante in the library 

Which translation? There seems to have been a few new ones in the last few years.  The one I have is a prose translation.

[Ken B]

"midway upon the course of this our life, I found myself within a gloom dark wood"?

Sounds very 19th century.

Ciardi is good.

[Ken B]

I chose a flashy looking translation of the inferno segment with old English and Hieronymus Bosch art on the cover 

About to meet a girl in ten minutes so I issued it out and ran 

Feeling like ingesting a bit of Dante into my system today/this week

Here's to the second circle!

(Or maybe the 7th ...)

[Parsifal]

Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch' entrate.

[Crudblud]

James Joyce - Ulysses

640 pages of sheer tedium dressed up in myriad literary styles, linguistic and structural games, references to literature, history, myth, and whatever else. Very clever but impossibly boring.

[bwv 1080]

James Joyce - Ulysses

640 pages of sheer tedium dressed up in myriad literary styles, linguistic and structural games, references to literature, history, myth, and whatever else. Very clever but impossibly boring.

Its a great book, worthy of its reputation.  I dont find it boring at all, one of the few things I go back and re-read from time to time

[Crudblud]

Its a great book, worthy of its reputation.  I dont find it boring at all, one of the few things I go back and re-read from time to time

I think most readers are in agreement with you.

[Ken B]

I think most readers are in agreement with you.

Selection bias.

Its ... worthy of its reputation

I agree, but I suspect I am referring to a different reputation than you are. 

[Crudblud]

Selection bias.

Right, very few people who dislike it would actually bother to say so, either for fear of being considered stupid or contrarian. I also dare say there are quite a few people who would happily proclaim it to be the best novel of the 20th century but have never actually read it. I actually quite enjoy Dubliners and Finnegans Wake (a very fun book to dip into, not so much to read from start to finish), but both the Portrait and Ulysses leave me cold.

[bwv 1080]

Funny, I like Portrait and find Finnegans Wake incomprehensible

[North Star]

I can't imagine anyone not finding Finnegans Wake incomprehensible - not that that should stop everyone from enjoying it, of course.

[Crudblud]

I think the fact that it has taken Joyce scholars decades to decipher any sort of plot from the text is testament enough to its incomprehensibility. I think it's preferable not to approach it as a novel at all, what meaning or characters or stories may or may not be in there doesn't really matter to me, I just like to open it up to a random page and enjoy the style for a little bit before putting it back away.