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Books... (Read 514580 times)

Johnny Brown

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#1325 Re: Books...
January 24, 2018, 11:52:37 am
I read it a few years back when it came back. I'm a bit conflicted over Macfarlane to be honest. On the one hand, he's writing about just the stuff I'm interested in, in a beautifully lyrical manner. On the other, each of his books are majorly frustrating in different ways. Mountains of the Mind obsessed over the romantic poets whilst ignoring everything since. The Wild Places had a series of  geological gaffes that made it very hard to trust him on anything else. In The Old Ways the literary content got too much for me. I'd like to read about a landscape directly without it only having value You get the impression the books are mainly conceived in a library - until at some point he realises he needs some actual experience and heads outdoors, not getting very far because he has to stop every ten yards to write up the last few steps. Plus there's the way he dominates the genre now, seemingly as gatekeeper, chipping a foreword into every reprint.

It's well worth reading the old UKC threads on Mountains of the Mind (which Rob chipped into, being before he quite so busy with the ubiquity). The Wild Places seemed a very strange choice to win the Boardman Tasker, it almost seemed like an apology for not giving him it for Mountains.

Falling Down

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#1326 Re: Books...
January 24, 2018, 02:18:31 pm
Thanks JB.  You made me chuckle.  I must admit I really like the literary stuff, it's pretty central to the theme of this book in particular, but, I do get where you're coming from.  I thought the sections on the sea roads and the western isles were completely magical.

I'll have a gander at the UKC threads - ta.

Johnny Brown

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#1327 Re: Books...
January 24, 2018, 03:01:00 pm
Agree when he's good, he's great. Loved the Western Isles bit too, did you catch the Caught by the River audio version of the Gannet story with Chris Watson's field recordings? https://soundcloud.com/caughtbytheriver/sets/robert-macfarlane-chris-watson

I'm sure this story has been retold many time in the Western Isles but RM did seem to have lifted it almost verbatim from Adam Nicolson's Sea Room - which I'd recommend unreservedly. I'm going to The Shiants next week.

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#1328 Re: Books...
January 24, 2018, 03:31:23 pm
Ah I hadn't seen or heard that - Ta.  I'll have a listen later and also check out the Adam Nicholson book.  Enjoy the Shiants... I hope it's calm for the crossing.

cofe

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#1329 Re: Books...
January 26, 2018, 11:06:38 am
I've struggled with RM's literary stuff, but bought The Lost Words for the kids (4 and 8) and they variously lost themselves in it, one way or another.

Johnny Brown

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#1330 Re: Books...
January 26, 2018, 11:08:11 am
Yeah, I got one for Jake this Christmas and he likes it. Some of the language annoys me, though the pictures make up for it!

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#1331 Re: Books...
January 30, 2018, 10:54:29 pm
Anyone managed to get through Gnomon?? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gnomon-Nick-Harkaway/dp/1785151274

Premise is interesting, initial set-up is good, characters are initially intriguing, but I found it dragged on and on so much, I couldn't make myself finish it and gave up at the 66.6% mark. I do think some of the more patient intellectuals could get on with it tho.

Instead I read Bird Box which was very easy reading but actually pretty gripping and creepy. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bird-Box-AA-VV/dp/0007529902/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517352852&sr=1-1&keywords=bird+box

remus

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#1332 Re: Books...
February 02, 2018, 05:16:34 pm
Also halfway through Barbarian Days by William Finnegan, an excellent autobiography of his surfing life, and really enjoying it. Recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in surfing, brilliantly written.

Excellent recommendation. It's not just a good surfing book, or even a good autobiography, it's just a straight up amazing read. I've only got the most passing interest in surfing but you can't help but get drawn in by his passion for it and how it's shaped his life.

andy popp

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#1333 Re: Books...
March 18, 2018, 05:04:56 pm
I've been neglecting this thread. I read so many good books but never kept a list and am now struggling to remember everything I read. I decided that this year I would a list immediately, something I've not before (for books, anyway). Here's this year's list so far:

1.   Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones
2.   Mary Beard, Women and Power
3.   Willa Cather, My Antonia
4.   Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
5.   Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke
6.   Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
7.   Harriette Arnow, The Dollmaker
8.   Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
9.   Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome

Rocksteady

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#1334 Re: Books...
March 19, 2018, 02:55:51 pm
Thanks for reinvigorating the thread Andy. I too have been neglectful of posting here of late, which is a shame as I find it sometimes helps me organise my thoughts on what I've read.

1. Shogun - James Clavell. This was a re-read. I love this book, incredible insight into early 17th century Japan and based on the real experiences of a stranded English sailor. You can read a factual account in 'Samurai William'.
2. The Mabinogion - been dipping in and out of this collection of ancient Welsh literature, at times fascinating, at times hard going
3. Selections from the works of John Ruskin - actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought based on the Arts & Crafts movement that his thinking inspired, he is a luminous writer and I like his thoughts on individuality in architecture even if I disagree with his argument that the end result of the Gothic is more beautiful than the Classical.
4. Son of the Night - Mark Alder. Second in a historical fantasy series set in the Middle Ages and based on the premise that the angels and devils of Middle Ages theology are real. The first book Son of the Morning I enjoyed. This one I felt more muddled and didn't have a strong narrative drive. I somewhat lost interest but will read the next in the series.
5. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I read this years ago and fancied re-reading as I remembered it being amazing. It was less good than I remembered. Very melodramatic, gothic tale set in mid-twentieth century Barcelona. A page turner but inconsistent tone of voice and ultimately a very odd story.
6. Penguin History of Modern China, 1850-Present - Jonathan Fenby. I'm very interested in the subject matter of this but in all honesty I found this a bit of a turgid read. Just didn't draw together the narrative themes for me very successfully.
7. The Silk Roads, A New History of the World - Peter Frankopan. In contrast I very much enjoyed this book (recommended on this thread I think). It was a pacey and convincing account of how through most of history, Asia has been the driver of change and the centre of events. The West has only been significant on a global scale since the discovery of the New World and then mainly due to asset stripping its discoveries. A great book to annoyingly quote to your wife I found.
8. Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy. Probably the standout book I've read this year (again I think recommended on this thread). Incredibly powerful, not enjoyable. I've read No Country for Old Men and The Road which I thought were OK (latter better than the former, though I felt the reverse true of the films). But Blood Meridian was something else. It's like one long nightmare, the writing is like fire or electricity. Wild, wonderful natural landscapes depicted almost as regions of hell, with denizens to match. Terrifying that it's roughly based on history. Probably the most violent book I've ever read. The ending stayed in my mind like true horror always does. I sort of wish I hadn't read it.
9.   The Secret Life of Trees - Colin Tudge. A pleasant amble through the foliage. Would be better with accompanying photos. Again lots of interesting facts to quote annoyingly to your wife.
10. Am currently reading Barbarian Days by William Finnegan based on the recommendations in this thread. Absolutely cracking read so far, very well written.

andy popp

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#1335 Re: Books...
March 19, 2018, 03:15:39 pm
Thanks Rocksteady. Its great that some of your recent choices have come as recommendations on this thread; shows why its why its worth keeping going.

What Ruskin are you reading - sound like its probably "The Nature of Gothic"? I've read that, though not the whole of  The Stones of Venice. I would also recommend Unto this Last, which best presents his ideas on the economy. Incidentally, I probably agree with him on the Gothic.

I didn't comment on any of my recent choices. They've all been good but Ethan Frome is probably the stand out.

SA Chris

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#1336 Re: Books...
March 19, 2018, 03:38:08 pm
5. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I read this years ago and fancied re-reading as I remembered it being amazing. It was less good than I remembered. Very melodramatic, gothic tale set in mid-twentieth century Barcelona. A page turner but inconsistent tone of voice and ultimately a very odd story.

I quite liked the oddness of it. might be worth reading the other 2 parts of the trilogy; Angels game and Prisoner of Heaven (apparently there is no particular order to them!) to fill out parts of the story?

Glad you are enjoying Barbarian Days, an amazing book, which i loved.

Rocksteady

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#1337 Re: Books...
March 23, 2018, 01:09:00 pm
Thanks Rocksteady. Its great that some of your recent choices have come as recommendations on this thread; shows why its why its worth keeping going.

What Ruskin are you reading - sound like its probably "The Nature of Gothic"? I've read that, though not the whole of  The Stones of Venice. I would also recommend Unto this Last, which best presents his ideas on the economy. Incidentally, I probably agree with him on the Gothic.

I didn't comment on any of my recent choices. They've all been good but Ethan Frome is probably the stand out.

Yes I love this thread for book recommendations. Makes me try things I otherwise doubt I'd have discovered. Case in point Barbarian Days which is excellent.

Re: Ruskin I just downloaded a freebie on Kindle. It's a selection from the early C20th edited by a redoubtable character who goes by the name of Chauncey Brewster Tinker (this should be a route name!) Contains parts from Modern Painters, The Stones of Venice, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, Lectures on Art. Sort of a primer to help me decide if I wanted to read more.

TobyD

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#1338 Re: Books...
March 31, 2018, 07:26:16 am
Finished The Old Ways by Robert McFarlane last night.  I absolutely loved it.  Very beautiful and moving.  Anyone else read it?
It's on my shelf. Probably read it next.


Just finished , the sheltering sky by Paul Bowles. A really interesting novel, introduction bills it as American travel horror. That covers it well. In places alternately philosophical, beautiful, and very dark.

Now reading the four dimensional nightmare by JG Ballard. Standard Ballardian distopic future; apocalypse, malevolent technological domination, environmental catastrophe... Just like the news at ten these days.

moose

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#1339 Re: Books...
March 31, 2018, 09:28:08 am
Just finished , the sheltering sky by Paul Bowles. A really interesting novel, introduction bills it as American travel horror. That covers it well. In places alternately philosophical, beautiful, and very dark.

There's a "Top Ten Books Based in Tangier" on the Guardian site - books both written by Paul Bowles and translated by him are cited.  Lots of recommendations of his novels in the below-the-line comments too, especially Let it Come Down.  With your review as well, I might have to add a few of his books to my ever expanding wishlist.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/mar/28/top-10-books-based-in-tangier

Only truly good book I have read for ages is Stasiland, but that is old news.  It makes an interesting companion piece to Nothing To Envy - old East Germany versus modern North Korea. 

Currently working my way through Mick Herron's Slow Horses series; very entertaining, quality "easy reads".  Described as a more ribald, modern Le Carre but I would say the lighter Graham Green works are a better comparison.  None of the sombre, elegiac tone of Le Carre  but they are livelier and the plots seem to progress in a more even manner (I do like Le Carre but his novels often seem to be 90% dour scene setting with everything suddenly explained and resolved in the last chapter - no actual event / developments beforehand).

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#1340 Re: Books...
May 12, 2018, 11:21:53 am
I've been buried deep in psychology/psychotherapy/philosophy reading for my training and needed a bit of light relief so tore through Don Winslow's The Force this week.   A brilliant, chunky, thrilling NPYD novel in a similar vein to his Cartel series. 

JB, I ordered the Sea Room and realised Adam Nicolson wrote 'Why Homer Matters' which I loved..


andy popp

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#1341 Re: Books...
May 12, 2018, 05:34:08 pm
I just finished Henry James' NYC set "Washington Square" sat on a bus inching through Manhattan. A strange and, at the end, deeply unsettling tale.

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#1342 Re: Books...
May 12, 2018, 09:17:18 pm
On the way to Lyngen we had a couple of hours in Oslo airport and I had forgotten my book. I normally hate buying books at the airport as I struggle to choose a good one. This time, however, I saw a big display of Karl Ove Knausgaard and thought it would be apt to read his first of the series while in Norway. Can't really add any more than what you lot all said, but thanks for the recommendation - a fabulous book!  I take the following books are as good?

andy popp

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#1343 Re: Books...
May 13, 2018, 06:05:11 am
Now posting from Schipol. Yes, absolutely as good, in my opinion. I cannot wait for the last book to come out in English. It seems to have been very delayed for some reason. I'm glad you enjoyed the first.

Rocksteady

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#1344 Re: Books...
June 25, 2018, 12:03:47 pm
Been a while since last post, have read a few very good books recently.

Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally. Obviously I've seen the film. The book painted a bit of a different picture of the man and had a slightly different context/style as a whole. It's a sort of novelistic take on a biography, pervaded by a sort of dry humour in the face of the utmost horror. Well worth a read.

The Demon-haunted World by Carl Sagan. I feel like all kids/teenagers should read this book or a book like this. It basically teaches critical thinking and the scientific method and shows various real world examples of how to apply this to eg. religion, alien encounters etc.

1. Dancer's Lament, 2. Deadhouse Landing and 3. Assail by Ian Cameron Esselmont. Very much worth a read if you like the Malazan series of epic fantasy. Otherwise wouldn't bother - not where I'd start with these authors.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. I thought this was spectacularly good. Luminous writing and a wonderful insight into the mind of the author's character. I had previously discounted James Joyce having failed to get on with Ulysses but am inspired to try again.

U.S.A. Trilogy by John dos Passos. An incredible book, a standout for me in recent years. A vast epic insight into the battle for America's soul in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century up to the years following WW1. A good antidote to Ayn Rand. Unbridled capitalism vs socialism, told from a myriad of different character perspectives, with interpolated Camera Eye sections of stream of consciousness writing showing the development of the writer's own perspective, Newsreel sections of disjointed headlines, and really interesting biographical excerpts of key figures in the shaping of American culture, especially working culture. Very literary, 1000+ pages to sink your teeth into. At times I found it hard going but it was immensely rewarding. Highly recommended for anyone interested in American literature and culture.

andy popp

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#1345 Re: Books...
June 25, 2018, 12:50:32 pm
Thanks Rocksteady, great post!

U.S.A. Trilogy by John dos Passos. An incredible book, a standout for me in recent years. A vast epic insight into the battle for America's soul in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century up to the years following WW1. A good antidote to Ayn Rand. Unbridled capitalism vs socialism, told from a myriad of different character perspectives, with interpolated Camera Eye sections of stream of consciousness writing showing the development of the writer's own perspective, Newsreel sections of disjointed headlines, and really interesting biographical excerpts of key figures in the shaping of American culture, especially working culture. Very literary, 1000+ pages to sink your teeth into. At times I found it hard going but it was immensely rewarding. Highly recommended for anyone interested in American literature and culture.

Thanks especially for this. I read Manhattan Transfer last year and thought it was brilliant. I'll have to get round to the trilogy too now.

Standouts of my recent reads include Baracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" and Their Eyes Were Watching God, both by Zora Neale Hurston, a prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Baracoon is especially remarkable. In the late 20s Hurston conducted a series of oral history interviews with a very aged man who had been brought to America on perhaps the last ever slave ship to reach the country (in, if I remember correctly, 1858, long after the slave trade had been banned. The voyage to Africa to bring back a human cargo had been run as a bet). The book moves through his memories of growing up in Africa (he was captured at age 19), his capture, voyage, subsequent life as a slave and then freeman. The sense to which he never lost a feeling of having been ripped from all he knew is remarkable and heartbreaking. Completed in 1931 the book was never published until this year as Hurston's decision to render the interviews in dialect was seen as a mistake, especially among prominent African-American intellectuals, such as W.E.B. Du Bois. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

spidermonkey09

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#1346 Re: Books...
June 25, 2018, 01:00:59 pm

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. I thought this was spectacularly good. Luminous writing and a wonderful insight into the mind of the author's character. I had previously discounted James Joyce having failed to get on with Ulysses but am inspired to try again.


Dubliners is good if you liked Portrait.

andy popp

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#1347 Re: Books...
December 27, 2018, 04:22:38 pm
For the first time in my life I kept a list of books read this year. The total (non work related) is 40 - slightly disappointing - with a 21/19 male/female gender ratio. The (probable) top ten in no particular order are:

Amitava Kumar, Immigrant, Montana
Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke
Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Naguib Mahfouz, Adrift on the Nile
James Baldwin, Another Country
Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (though Barracoon is also a very strong contender)
Fran Ross, Oreo
Edith Walker, Ethan Frome
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 04:27:44 pm by andy popp »

Will Hunt

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#1348 Re: Books...
December 27, 2018, 05:13:17 pm
Is Gilead a sequel by another author to The Handmaid's Tale?

andy popp

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#1349 Re: Books...
December 27, 2018, 05:16:19 pm
Is Gilead a sequel by another author to The Handmaid's Tale?

No. Gilead is the name of three people and two places in the Bible - both Robinson and Atwood must have picked it because of its Biblical connotations (the Robinson is a profoundly Christian novel).

 

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