What are you currently reading?

[Karl Henning]

Another hot MS.

[kitsune]

For some reason I chose to read Sentimental Education some years ago over Bovary, but the former is lovely for sure.

[Mookalafalas]

I'm reading Shantaram, by David Gregory Roberts.   It's a hell of a book.  I've been working on it for a couple of years, which is really strange for me. I tend to finish books quickly.  The problem for me is that it is half memoir and half novel, and the mix throws me off in some ways. Instead of losing myself in it, I am always picking it apart and questioning the author's decisions.  That's too bad. It deserves more unconditional appreciation.
  I tried to put up an image, but they are either too big or are something other than simple images. 

[Ken B]

This week I am working on these:

The Touchstone of Life, Loewenstein. Information processing in cells.
French verbs Past Tenses, Heminway. Drills mostly.
Bayes' Rule, J V Stone. Yes the title has a possessive error. Stats.
Live By Night, Dennis Lehane. Crime novel set in the 20s and 30s.
The Sense of Style, Steven Pinker.
The French Correction, susskind. Superb little grammar book.

I usually have several on the go at once.

[Linus]

The Monk by Matthew Lewis



Has anyone stumbled upon this?

It's from 1796 and seems an example of the pulp fiction of the time. Think Jane Austen + The Name of the Rose + a soap opera of your choice.

It's pretty fun to know that high-quality trash was written even in those days.

[kishnevi]

The Monk by Matthew Lewis



Has anyone stumbled upon this?

It's from 1796 and seems an example of the pulp fiction of the time. Think Jane Austen + The Name of the Rose + a soap opera of your choice.

It's pretty fun to know that high-quality trash was written even in those days.

I tried to read it once. But failed.
Much better is Mrs. Radcliffe. The Mysteries of Udolpho starts slow and sentimental, but kicks into high gear. And once it does that, it is unstoppable. Her other great book is The Italian, which I prefer, since it skips the sentimentality and gets to work right away.

[Linus]

I tried to read it once. But failed.
Much better is Mrs. Radcliffe. The Mysteries of Udolpho starts slow and sentimental, but kicks into high gear. And once it does that, it is unstoppable. Her other great book is The Italian, which I prefer, since it skips the sentimentality and gets to work right away.

Much obliged for the recommendations.

[Ken B]

The Monk by Matthew Lewis



Has anyone stumbled upon this?

It's from 1796 and seems an example of the pulp fiction of the time. Think Jane Austen + The Name of the Rose + a soap opera of your choice.

It's pretty fun to know that high-quality trash was written even in those days.

I have not read The Italian, but I also gave up on The Monk but liked Udolpho.

[milk]

[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.

[asin]0062225723[/asin]

[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.