Topic: What are you currently reading?

[MN Dave]

don't think any of those were ever translated into English but if you're curious you can check these:

http://www-en.sergiobonellieditore.it/personaggi/personaggi.html

Bonelli Editions page - Zagor, Mister No, Mark, Dylan Dog and Martyn Misterie were the most popular ones (Zagor the most)

and quite detailed wiki page on Alan Ford

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ford_(comics) 

Thanks for the links.

[toledobass]

We read that for our book club at work David. 

You have a book club at work?  What kinda job do you have?

Allan

[pjme]

Sharp, cruel, funny - sobering.

On amazon : Jane W.Reit : As always, Lessing's sharp eye for human foible imbues all her stories with uncompromising clarity. Highly recommended.

[Danny]

Looks interesting! Were those written before Siberia, or after? I'm rereading Notes from Underground, and am absorbing far more of it the second time around.

Pevear and Volokhonsky are easily the best translators of Russian classics that I've read.

Yes, all after Siberia.  Overall, an excellent collection of stories that I hadn't read (with the exception of "Dream of a Ridiculous Man").  Next up is "The Double" and "The Gambler", which should complete my reading of Fedya for now.  Maybe someday I'll read "Poor Folk", but I've heard too many bad things about it.

[MN Dave]

Part Faust, part Mephistopheles, Melmoth has made a satanic bargain for immortality. Now he wanders the earth, an outsider with an eerie, tortured existence, searching for someone who will take on his contract and release him to die a natural death.

With its erudition and wit, and its parody of arcane learned manuscripts, this Gothic masterpiece-first published in 1820-follows in the tradition of both the classics of its genre and the works of Cervantes, Swift, and Sterne. Some of its many admirers were Sir Walter Scott, Honoré de Balzac, Edgar Allan Poe, and Maturin's great nephew, Oscar Wilde. This edition includes a critical introduction, explanatory notes, and suggestions for further reading.

[Gurn Blanston]

"The Main Stream of Music and Other Essays" by Donald Francis Tovey. Tovey is, in my estimation, one of the top 2 or 3 all time writers on music. These essays were written from 1925 - '35, but are thoroughly modern in their perception. He cuts right through the bullshit and tells you the essence of the music. His life spanned an interesting time, for example, he knew Joachim very well, thus his essays on Brahms have an insight that no modern writer can match. This is a "must read" for anyone interested in music, and particularly in historical perspectives and perceptions.




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Listening to:
Skærved (Violin) / Shorr (Piano) - Beethoven - Bia 550 Op 96 Sonata #10 in G for Violin & Piano 2nd mvmt - Adagio espressivo

[MN Dave]

"The Main Stream of Music and Other Essays" by Donald Francis Tovey. Tovey is, in my estimation, one of the top 2 or 3 all time writers on music. These essays were written from 1925 - '35, but are thoroughly modern in their perception. He cuts right through the bullshit and tells you the essence of the music. His life spanned an interesting time, for example, he knew Joachim very well, thus his essays on Brahms have an insight that no modern writer can match. This is a "must read" for anyone interested in music, and particularly in historical perspectives and perceptions.

Is it technical music theory?

[Gurn Blanston]

Is it technical music theory?

Well, if it was, I sure wouldn't understand it!  Yes, there is some theory in it, but he does explain most of it (he was a professor at Oxford, so he knows how to explain), and he doesn't just throw it in for the hell of it, but to make a point. As I understand from the intro, he always gave his lectures (that's what many of these are) while sitting at the piano and he would make his point by playing a lick. So, you can't do that here, so he writes it out. Still, you can get the point, and it's worth the effort just to be able to enjoy the other 90% that isn't music theory.




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Listening to:
Skærved (Violin) / Shorr (Piano) - Beethoven - Bia 550 Op 96 Sonata #10 in G for Violin & Piano 4th mvmt - Poco allegretto

[MN Dave]

Well, if it was, I sure wouldn't understand it!  Yes, there is some theory in it, but he does explain most of it (he was a professor at Oxford, so he knows how to explain), and he doesn't just throw it in for the hell of it, but to make a point. As I understand from the intro, he always gave his lectures (that's what many of these are) while sitting at the piano and he would make his point by playing a lick. So, you can't do that here, so he writes it out. Still, you can get the point, and it's worth the effort just to be able to enjoy the other 90% that isn't music theory.

Thanks for the details, Gurn. It sounds good.

[Gurn Blanston]

Thanks for the details, Gurn. It sounds good.

Y'r welcome, Dave. It IS a good book to learn from. I wish I had more of his stuff, but most of it is bound up in some great huge volumes of analysis (his forte). These were the leftovers that never made it into the big books.



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Listening to:
Vieuxtemps VCs - Slovak RSO / Mogrelia   Misha Keylin - Vieuxtemps Concerto #6 in G for Violin Op 47 1st mvmt

[MN Dave]

Y'r welcome, Dave. It IS a good book to learn from. I wish I had more of his stuff, but most of it is bound up in some great huge volumes of analysis (his forte). These were the leftovers that never made it into the big books.

Sounds like it might be difficult to find a copy.

[Gurn Blanston]

Sounds like it might be difficult to find a copy.

Dunno, I've never looked for one. This copy is a very old paperback that was sent to me as a gift by a former poster here (bless her heart for it too!). It certainly should have been republished many times over since then though.



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Listening to:
Vieuxtemps VCs - Slovak RSO / Mogrelia   Misha Keylin - Vieuxtemps Concerto #6 in G for Violin Op 47 2nd mvmt

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I read Tovey a long time ago. He was one of the few critics to write very favourably about Havergal Brian early in his career. The men knew each other, and Tovey was a prodigious sight-reader and pianist. He could reproduce any complex, unknown orchestral score at the piano...

[MN Dave]

 



Punk. 

[Haffner]

Divine Mercy

[M forever]

Divine Mercy

Oh, come on, Haffner!

[Haffner]

Oh, come on, Haffner!

(laughing)

[Kullervo]

Faustina is a funny name for a saint... 

[Haffner]

Faustina is a funny name for a saint... 

It always makes me think of Goethe. Not exactly a "fundamentalist" type-o' guy, right?

[SonicMan46]

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (2008) by Mary Roach - looks like a FUN book!     Just read an excellent review in the NYC Book Review section the Sunday before last, put in an Amazon order, and arrived yesterday - just started my read last night - she is a funny writer who should make this topic quite entertaining - CLICK on the image for some top comments from the Amazonians, if interested; must explore some of her other books, like Stiff (about cadavers!) - 

 

Just finished Mary Roach's book Bonk.... - if you're interested in human sexuality (research, history, & personal interest), this book was an enjoyable & often funny read - just picked up her earlier book called Stiff (shown above; however, my paperback version has the feet looking more real - probably a color in-between would be the best choice for a cadaver) - will start soon - CLICK on the image to read comments on Amazon -