General Reading / Book Thread for 2019

A third of the way into Station Eleven which I bought about 4 years ago and for some reason am only just starting. Like it a lot so far and it was easy to get into from the off which is exactly what I needed.

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Recently finished rereading At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O’Neil for the third time and still absolutely love it. It’s always a bit of a challenge to get into the language and the style but after a little while I’m fully swept up in the narrative and the big political questions about class and nationalism that it asks.

Onto Andrew O’Hagan’s The Secret Life and just finished the first story about Julian Assange which is absolutely mad.

Middlesex is an absolutely brilliant book. Gripping from start to finish.

I’m re-reading Nightmare Movies which is a Kim Newman potted history of the horror film since the 60’s.

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The TV bought me this by Sophie Lewis

She’s speaking at the ICA tomorrow if anyone is a about and interested. This interview touches on some of her ideas

https://www.thenation.com/article/want-to-dismantle-capitalism-abolish-the-family/

Is At Swim, Two Boys different from At Swim, Two Birds?

I’ve read the latter but am now questioning everything.

I’ve not read At Swim, Two Birds but the title is a pun on it apparently.

It’s a monster of a book set in South Dublin in the years leading up to the Easter Rising following two working class boys as their friendship grows and they fall in love. It looks at the different points of view on how and why to achieve Irish independence asking questions about freedom and individual liberty through class, language and love. He writes in a wonderfully evocative way and you get completely drawn into the story and it makes me cry every time.

One of my favourites of all time which I’d definitely recommend and particularly so if you’re interested in Irish literature and the events of 1916.

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Reading Dracula atm, surprised at how great it’s been. Van Heilsing is a great character :grinning:

Considering going back to Stephen King after a 4 year break. I read the dark tower and the Stand back to back. Those endings realllllly weren’t on

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Read The Weight of Things by Marianne Fritz and the Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek.

Both somewhat uncomfortable. The Weight of Things was finished in a days commute and really liked it. The Piano Teacher is just really heavy, had seen the Haneke film beforehand. Currently reading Lust by Jelinek now which is even more uncomfortable, just nasty sexual violence thus far really. Actually bought a couple more by her but think I may need to hold off for a bit after this.

This is still my no 1 book recommendation, I give, after reading it about 4 years ago. I loved it so much. Glad you’re enjoying :blush:

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I think I was slightly disappointed by The Weight of Things, but can’t really remember why. Probably just not quite what I expected (a bad reason). Edit: but I am excited that someone else has read it, which is why I commented!

Dracula’s genuinely one of my favorite classic novels, plus I quite like the fact that if I remember correctly it’s mainly based on fictional correspondence which almost seems like a literary version of found footage.

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Oof only about 50 pages into ‘the shining’ and it is relentlessly bleak isn’t it, just really tragic and sad from the get go :slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face:

Just picked this up cause it was £1.89 on kindle :+1:

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Had to stop reading Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses after about 100 pages as it’s just not very good/bloody hard to read. Other than Midnight’s Children, which I believe is one the greatest novels of the late 20th century, admittedly I’m not a huge fan of his work as I find his form of magical realism very dense and convoluted at times, which consequently I find hard to enjoy. He’s no Gabriel Garcia Marquez, that’s for sure. Thought provoking though. Wasn’t aware of the theological argument of the Satanic Verses in Islam, and on that level I appreciate it but it’s simply not very good. Famous for its infamy, me thinks.

As an aside, I wonder how many of the Muslims who shat the bed at the time of its publication actually read it…

Strangely enough I read the Satanic Verses but didn’t finish reading Midnights Children (which probably had more to do with the fact that I borrowed it from a library and it’s incredibly long) quite enjoyed it in parts, particularly the story of Chamcha and Farishta although agree with it being someone inconsistent.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation is beautiful, mates. Anyone else read it? Over halfway through, it’s a bit like a particularly melancholy Blue Jam monologue - there’s bitter humour, which manages to be silly without compromising the brutal sadness of it all.

Might have to read some more Moshfegh novels (And reread the short stories). I’m fast becoming a fan

https://twitter.com/HarperCollinsUK/status/1131215664725803009

No but I want to now I’ve looked it up.

Thing is, I have a massive backlog of things to read so I shouldn’t be buying more.

I’m reading Arundhati Roy’s Ministry of Utmost Happiness atm and I’m struggling tbh. I’ve done about 200 pages and still feel like it’s yet to get going. Anyone else read it and want to encourage me to keep going?

Just started The Book of Hidden Things, quite enjoying it though I’ve read a lot of reviews about the ending being bad/nonsense, and I’m struggling to distinguish between some of the quite sexist narration (some is obviously from the protagonists POV but Idk, some feels like it’s direct from the author)

Yep this is completely heartbreaking