What are you currently reading?

[Artem]

Recently finished


Short tales of poverty and sex, rather explicit, in Cuba. Interesting read.


Two short novellas. One is about disturbing childhood emotions and another much stronger one about the WWII.


A very French novel about love, passion and crime. Patti Smith in a wonderfully written introduction tells of discovering this book for herself in her early 20s. I think I would have liked it more if I read it about 15-20 years ago too.

[SimonNZ]

I'd recommend the Duino Elegies as the best place to start with Rilke's poetry, though really its all of consistent quality.

started:



After having stumbled on this amazing review of the 50th anniversary in the Guardian:

Violent spring: The nature book that predicted the future
Robert Macfarlane remembers JA Baker's The Peregrine – a fierce, ecstatic, prophetic account of one man's obsession that has held readers in its talon-like grip for 50 years

That article mentions Werner Herzog's admiration of the book, and I found a few of his thoughts on it here:

Werner Herzog on 'The Peregrine'

[vers la flamme]

I'd recommend the Duino Elegies as the best place to start with Rilke's poetry, though really its all of consistent quality.

started:



After having stumbled on this amazing review of the 50th anniversary in the Guardian:

Violent spring: The nature book that predicted the future
Robert Macfarlane remembers JA Baker's The Peregrine – a fierce, ecstatic, prophetic account of one man's obsession that has held readers in its talon-like grip for 50 years

That article mentions Werner Herzog's admiration of the book, and I found a few of his thoughts on it here:

Werner Herzog on 'The Peregrine'

I've been meaning to read that book. Let us know what you think.

[SimonNZ]

I've been meaning to read that book. Let us know what you think.

Its immediately striking what a facility he has with poetical language - its a pity he never published as a poet.

[aligreto]

Orwell: Coming Up For Air





There are no spoilers in this description of the plot. The joy, detail and the interest is in Orwell's wonderful writing skill. George Bowling is middle aged and fat with false teeth and a red face [his words, not mine] and is dissatisfied and disillusioned with his lot in life, his marriage, his job and he also feels a dissipating anxiety over another potential World War [the book was written between 1938 and 1939]. One day, his pleasant childhood days were suddenly recalled to his memory. His memories are full of very pleasant reminiscences and it was always summer time. He has a sentimental attachment to that bygone world, not just for the sake of his childhood but for the age and values that it represented. So, just to get a break from the fatigue and disillusionment of the rat race and the constant fear of imminent war he decides to revisit the town in which he grew up. He is aghast at what he finds there now. Then an incident happens which is both ironic and symbolic and makes him decide to return home immediately. The joy of the read is in his telling of the story. It is a most enjoyable and engaging read.

[Florestan]

There are some good, if not significantly better, adventure novels I like.
They are One Thousand and One Nights,

Which is not an adventure novel by any stretch of imagination. 

Don Quixote

Much less suitable for kids, if at all, than Treasure Island. 

I'm in contrarian mood today, beware! 

[Jo498]

There are some good, if not significantly better, adventure novels I like.
They are One Thousand and One Nights, Huckleberry Finn, Three Musketeers, Don Quixote, and Casanova's My Life (memoirs.) I agree that Treasure Island is a wonderful novel though.

Of these only Huckleberry Finn and The Three Musketeers could be classified as adventure novels and I'd say that Huck Finn is more of a picaresque (like Quixote). The two others aren't even novels and while I probably read some children's version of a few Arabian Nights tales (like Sindbad's travels) around the same time in elementary school, the originals are usually too adult.

The good thing about Treasure Island is that it is not as historically loaded as Scott or Dumas (and not as long either...). I suspect that Stevenson got a bit more into that Scott Tradition with Kidnapped/Catriona (while keeping a teenager as main character) and I liked the first (although I read it much later as an adult) I don't think it is as good as Treasure Island.

BTW, for those who like the Arabian Nights, I highly recommend the "The Manuscript found in Saragossa" by Count Jan Potocki. The guy's life was stranger than many novels and that novel is a crazy wild ride (and the book had a strange fate as well).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Potocki

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Yes, you guys are right. The 1001 nights may not be an adventure novel because of the surreal nature of the story. Plus, the original text is for adult readers. Treasure Island is an excellent adventure novel for children.

[vers la flamme]

I'm constantly blown away by my un-well-read-ness (seriously, there must be an English word for this concept) while reading this thread, and constantly adding to my list of books to read. Many fascinating works named on the previous page. For example I have not read a single of the 1001 Nights. I'm always grateful for these frequent reminders of my own ignorance  0:)

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I'm in contrarian mood today, beware! 

Today? You read Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity too much.
Have you heard about this book? Looks like a (very) good book and I am thinking about purchasing it.

https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Black-Sea-Mithridatic-World/dp/0190887842

[JBS]

Yes, you guys are right. The 1001 nights may not be an adventure novel because of the surreal nature of the story. Plus, the original text is for adult readers. Treasure Island is an excellent adventure novel for children.

I have the Burton translation, which is for extremely adult readers. But it's a book to dip and out of.

[vers la flamme]

Haruki Murakami's Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki & His Years of Pilgrimage



Really, really loving this book so far. Like so much of Haruki Murakami's work, music is the lifeblood of the work; the title of course comes from Liszt's famous Années de pélèrinage which plays an important role in the story. But more than that, a story is being told about the mysteries that are sometimes right at the core of our lives. I'm a sucker for this kind of story. For those who are allergic to this author's brand of "magic realism", this book is light on it, although there is still plenty of weird sex and other trademarks of his that are possibly in truth flaws.

[Artem]

I like Cesar Aira's books a lot. He's one of my favourite contemporary authors. His novels, at least those that have been translated into English language so far, are usually brief, 80-120 pages or so. Some of them are personal reflections, some of them are historic tales. This one is about a civil servant Varamo in Panama in the 1920s who gets his salary in counterfeit money, but ends up writing one of the greatest poems in Spanish language. Although he never wrote anything before.

[Florestan]

Have you heard about this book? Looks like a (very) good book and I am thinking about purchasing it.

https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Black-Sea-Mithridatic-World/dp/0190887842

Never heard about it but looks interesting indeed.

TD



No translation nedeed, I hope.

So far, so good. A totally different atmosphere than that of The Buddenbrooks and a complete contrast between the lax and frivolous mores of the French bourgeoisie and the austere and serious North German ones. One can see why a mutual distrust and animosity should have gradually developped between the two lifestyles.

[aligreto]

Somerset Maugham: Up at the Villa





Here is the tale of a young and very beautiful widow. She had married for love and her husband turned out to be a drunk and a gambler. She is living, on a short stay, in said villa just outside of Florence. In her social world there are two men encircling her; two very different characters. One is a high flying diplomat who has just been offered a very important job. He proposes marriage to her but she hesitates, promising to give her answer when he returns from a short trip. The other man is of her own age who has an undenied reputation as a philanderer and an unreliable and untrustworthy character. He has been trying to have an affair with her.
During these three fateful days another man, previously unknown to her, enters her life in a very innocuous way. This eventually leads to a situation where events very quickly spiral out of control. It is in the handling of, and the eventual resolution of the issue that tests the mettle and moral character of the other two men. This novella is an entertaining and engaging read.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Never heard about it but looks interesting indeed.

TD



No translation nedeed, I hope.

So far, so good. A totally different atmosphere than that of The Buddenbrooks and a complete contrast between the lax and frivolous mores of the French bourgeoisie and the austere and serious North German ones. One can see why a mutual distrust and animosity should have gradually developped between the two lifestyles.

I only have read Madam Bovary decades ago, and I thought it was fair/average. I will check out his other works.

Somerset Maugham: Up at the Villa





Here is the tale of a young and very beautiful widow. She had married for love and her husband turned out to be a drunk and a gambler. She is living, on a short stay, in said villa just outside of Florence. In her social world there are two men encircling her; two very different characters. One is a high flying diplomat who has just been offered a very important job. He proposes marriage to her but she hesitates, promising to give her answer when he returns from a short trip. The other man is of her own age who has an undenied reputation as a philanderer and an unreliable and untrustworthy character. He has been trying to have an affair with her.
During these three fateful days another man, previously unknown to her, enters her life in a very innocuous way. This eventually leads to a situation where events very quickly spiral out of control. It is in the handling of, and the eventual resolution of the issue that tests the mettle and moral character of the other two men. This novella is an entertaining and engaging read.

The work has been on my list. Hope I will get a copy next year!

[LKB]

Citizens of London by Lynne Olson.

A very detailed and impressive account of the beginnings of the American-British alliance. It's gone a long way in filling some of the gaps in my knowledge of WWII.

[vers la flamme]

George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London



I'm about a quarter of the way into the book. Wow, it's absolutely brilliant. Shocking portrayals of abject poverty, yet I keep finding myself laughing out loud at the sheer humanity of it all. I love Orwell's quintessentially English authorial voice here; he's very polite, even when describing situations of horror. An amazing read so far.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Plutarch, Moralia.

[aligreto]

George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London



I'm about a quarter of the way into the book. Wow, it's absolutely brilliant. Shocking portrayals of abject poverty, yet I keep finding myself laughing out loud at the sheer humanity of it all. I love Orwell's quintessentially English authorial voice here; he's very polite, even when describing situations of horror. An amazing read so far.

If you are liking that one I can readily recommend "Keep The Aspidistra Flying" if you have not already read it.