What are you currently reading?

[Mandryka]

Many years ago, I started reading Ezra Pound's The Cantos, and was initially bowled over by the richness of the imagery and the poetic language .....but, several pages in, I found myself at a loss, as the poetry became increasingly obscure, to the point of unintelligibility.

This summer in Foyles in London I bought Carroll F Terrell's mammoth (816 pages!) A Companion to The Cantos of Ezra Pound, and hopefully it'll help me settle this old score  :



The edition of The Cantos I have is that of Faber & Faber printed in 1986, which I understand is "ultra-complete". Surprisingly, I cannot find a picture of it online (it's in the traditional Faber & Faber livery, in light grey).

I have the book and have used it, I think it's pretty essential if you want to make sense of the cantos - which is a big project - you'll find yourself getting involved in all sorts of byways of American and Italian history.

(Do you have Hugh Kenner's book The Pound Era?) 

[Mandryka]

[Florestan]

I read this very recently and liked it very much.

[SonicMan46]

I was on the US side and I did not go on a boat. I am not too comfortable on the water, particularly in a turbulent situation like that.
However, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Hi Fergus - our last out of the USA trip was to Ontario, Canada in July 2017 (stayed at Lake Simcoe, then Toronto w/ an all day trip to Niagara Falls, out third visit there) - I write travelogues on the iPad Forums - link to our falls day-trip HERE, if interested (post #20 or look at the entire trip, plenty of great pics; I'm "Giradman" there).

Below are just 5 pics from my travelogue - the top 2 from the web; we took the helicopter rider (our 3rd tour copter, others Grand Canyon & Juneau Glacier - but this was in a new quiet copter that did not require ear muffs); last 3 our mine w/ two from our Hornblower boat ride (which leaves from the Canadian side; Maid of the Mist from the American side).  Boats were packed that day - not dangerous and fairly smooth sailing.  Dave (click on images to enlarge).

 

 

[ritter]

I have the book and have used it, I think it's pretty essential if you want to make sense of the cantos - which is a big project - you'll find yourself getting involved in all sorts of byways of American and Italian history.

(Do you have Hugh Kenner's book The Pound Era?)

Thanks for the comment, Mandryka. No, I don't know Kenner's book. Noted!

[Mandryka]

I read this very recently and liked it very much.

In French the tone of voice is extraordinary - ton mat. No judgement, no irony, he's like: this is how it is. Quite a far cry from Mme Bovary. I've just finished Part 1.

[aligreto]

Hi Fergus - our last out of the USA trip was to Ontario, Canada in July 2017 (stayed at Lake Simcoe, then Toronto w/ an all day trip to Niagara Falls, out third visit there) - I write travelogues on the iPad Forums - link to our falls day-trip HERE, if interested (post #20 or look at the entire trip, plenty of great pics; I'm "Giradman" there).

Below are just 5 pics from my travelogue - the top 2 from the web; we took the helicopter rider (our 3rd tour copter, others Grand Canyon & Juneau Glacier - but this was in a new quiet copter that did not require ear muffs); last 3 our mine w/ two from our Hornblower boat ride (which leaves from the Canadian side; Maid of the Mist from the American side).  Boats were packed that day - not dangerous and fairly smooth sailing.  Dave (click on images to enlarge).

 

 

Thank you for your great photos Dave. They capture the atmosphere well. Brought back memories of the place 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Guy de Maupassant. Short Stories.

[aligreto]

Guy de Maupassant. Short Stories.

I have always liked the short stories of Maupassant.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I have always liked the short stories of Maupassant.

Yes they are colorful and dark!

[aligreto]

Balzac: The Country Doctor



That image could be anything but I wanted to show the appealing binding.


This book is delivered in two sections. The first section is a treatise by the Country Doctor on the creation, maintenance and development of both a society and an economy. The second section is an autobiography by the Country Doctor and it explains how and why he came upon his formula for a better life. Added to this there is, in musical terms, a very fine coda to round things off with a sting in the tail.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Daughters of the Vicar, by D. H. Lawrence

[Spotted Horses]

Finished Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach.



A novel centering on Annie Kerrigan and her father Eddie. Eddie was a former vaudeville performer who became a stock broker during the roaring 20's, who was left as a low-paid bag man for a local mobster. He switches loyalty to a mob-connect night club owner and has to disappear to escape a mob hit. After her father's disappearance Annie goes to work in the Brooklyn Navy yard, where she becomes involved with he night club owner, who she had met years before when accompanying her father to a meeting with him.

An interesting and engaging book, although the plot points sometimes don't seem to make sense.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Casanova's Women, Judith Summers.

[vandermolen]

I have always liked the short stories of Maupassant.

+1

[SimonNZ]

Along with everything else on the go finished this in two sittings:



that subtitle: "The Cold War and the Mysterious Death of Dag Hammarskjöld"

Which intersects with many subjects I find fascinating Hammarskjöld himself, the murder of Patrice Lumumba, decolonizing in Africa, the "heroic" era of the UN, cold war paranoia and the d"domino theory" etc. The second half of the book goes chronologically through all the theories about the plane crash, their strengths and weaknesses, where they contradict and the current state of disclosed files.

Also started this which has been on the to read pile for far too long:

[Artem]

Blecher's book was a difficult read. Quite experimental, existential tale. I'm rarely in the mood for that type of text. Diop's book was not a favourite either. All my attempts reading Booker International Prize winners of past few years have been a big disappointment.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Bertrand Russell: Autobiography.

[Artem]

That must be a fascinating read.

[Florestan]

That must be a fascinating read.

In my late teens I found the part about masturbation particularly fascinating... Made me proud of myself --- I mean, if Sir B. R. himself practised it then it must have been a badge of honor! Then I discovered the joys of having intercourse with flesh-and-blood women and consequently Sir B. R. receded, never to recover his formerly exalted position again. To this day, I'd rather have porn than philosophy...