What Books Are You Reading in 2019 ?-- Part 3

I'm reading Elif Batuman's The idiot and right now i start to understand why Less won the Pulitzer

R1 I loved that book, I couldn’t stop laughing

I'm slogging thru Overstory by Richard Powers and am only finishing it because I like the acquaintance that loaned it to me, Otherwise disjointed rubbish about tree-hugging activism.

^^^ excuse me "The Overstory"

R2: Maybe it's me that i don't connect with her sense of humour, but till now it's the dissapointing of the year for me.

It happens sometimes, i expected to like Dept of speculations and Outline way more than i did

I endee Brother recently, i liked it a lot (even if it's a sad novel), and like Everything i never told you it has it's own subtle gay revelation

Who’s the author of Brother? I’m reading The End of History by Francis Fukuyama and re-reading Goodbye Without Leaving by Laurie Colwin.

R7: David Chariandy, he is canadian (but his family came from a caribean country, i think Trinidad)

r5, is English your first language?

R9: No, not the first, not the second, and not the third, but given that i reading the translated version that should not be a problem

Well, i'm not loving The idiot now, but at least i'm not hating it as much as i did at first, maybe because i'm combining it with The Stand and there's nothing like apocalipse to cheer the spirit

R7 gave me a thrill to see Laurie Colwin’s name. Love her writing (and her damp gingerbread recipe).

Just finished Big Little Lies and I really liked it. Now I'm starting Out For Queer Blood about a gay man murdered in, I think, Louisiana.

Big little lies was a pleasant surprise

This new Mary Gaitskill “novella” (short story, more like) was interesting and thought-provoking. I’m strongly for #MeToo and it didn’t change my mind in that respect, but I really enjoyed it.

Getting ready to read the Stephen King one he co-wrote with his son Owen (Sleeping Beauties).

I'm reading The Witch-Elm. So far it's very slow going.

Can anyone recommend newish who dunnit's not written by Agatha Christie and similar staple authors?

R18 Tana French’s books.

R17 I thought that The Witch Elm was a slog, with loathsome characters and a plot that slowly drifted into ridiculousness.

R20 I haven’t read that one but her first four books about the Dublin police squad were great and fast-moving. I’d read them in order of publication date because some of the characters recur.

For Wolf Hall fans, Hillary Mantel's new book, THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT comes out March 2020.

A recommendation for [italic]The Magpie Murders[/italic] by Anthony Horowitz, R18. There is a gay character.

I was watching a video about the possible Booker nominees (i really loved Milkman which increase my interest in the award this year) and at one moment the guy talked about An honest man by Ben Fergusson. The plot is about a young (and not exactly a saint) guy in Berlin in the summer of 1989, and it has some spy plot and a (gay) love story.

It's not published in my country yet, so if someone read it please tell me about it

I’m finally reading In Cold Blood. It’s stunningly good.

Rereading THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE. So much fun. Has anyone seen the miniseries with DL faves Gillian Anderson and Keeley Hawes?

We read that one in high school, R25. (No Shakespeare though)

Finished "The Witch Elm"--it wasn't good. Unpleasant characters, and it took about a fifth of the book to explain the murder mystery (which was unnecessarily complicated). About to start "Capital" by John Lancaster.

"Normal People". Of course, the characters are far from it.

I generally have a few on the boil at the same time.

I'm re-reading Breakfast At Tiffany's.

& I just finished re-reading Tama Janowitz's autobiography Scream - which I've promoted on here before, because I love it so much.

& a couple of others that won't mean a thing to Americans.

R29: Is it any good? Conversations with friends is one of the most overrated debut novels in recent times. She is talented but the novel is far from great

I think Will Self was right when he said many novels that are considered serious literature today, like Sally Rooney's, would have been classified as "young adult" even just 10 years ago. I imagine he had Rooney and maybe others of her generation in mind when he said that.

R31 I would recommend it even though I could not relate to any of it at all.

I enjoyed both of Sally Rooney’s novels but I wouldn’t call them classics. They are well-written books, sure. They didn’t bend my mind the way a great books does.

Well I just read the book "Scoundrels" by Paul Caranci - he details the corruption in Rhode Island and honesty I told him the story about Governor Ed DiPrete sounds like a goombah land tale.

Right now I'm reading Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" and also reading John Gribbin's "Erwin Shrodinger and the Quantum Revolution".

Today at the library I picked up a copy of Sebald's "The Rings of Saturn" - 50/50 on whether I "get" it or it goes over my head. But, hey, you gotta try!

I second the recommendation of [italic]Magpie Murders[/italic].

R34: I think she has a clear talent to tell stories and i recognize that till half of Conversations with friends i was totally hooked, but then it became obvious that she was just telling you that a character or a conversation was funny or interesting instead of showing you that conversation funny and interesting.

Anyway, i'm going to read Normal people when it'll be published here. Maybe there's too much hype but i think she can be a very interesting writer in the future

Is anyone reading or interested in reading Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel, Fleischman Is In Trouble?

Just finished Galaxies and Oceans by N.R. Walker, loved it. Gay love story

Sounds like straight angst to me, R39.

Is the Crimson, Petal and White miniseries worth watching, or should I just read the book?

r42, I liked the book far more than I liked the miniseries.

Now trying [italic]Milkman[/italic] by Anna Burns, which won the Man Booker Prize last year. So far it seems a deserving win--it has elements of Joyce and Beckett in its style--but it's certainly not an easy read.

R42 The book was great if you like long, sprawling books you can dive into and lose yourself in. Great vacation read where you can sit around all day and not put the book down.

The Overstory is an incredible read. i recommended it to my local hot male librarian. he told me today how much he is enjoying it.

Gide's The Counterfeiters. I like it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who dislikes novels with many subplots and threads.

R44: Milkman is my favourite read of this year. It's not a summer read but the effort really pays the prize.

I always follow the Booker (and the NBA and the Pulitzer) and this is one of the times i really thankful for doing it, because Milkman was probably not on my reading list without the Booker (and i think noonne of her previous books was published here)

I enjoyed Milkman as well, although it was a difficult read. I intend to re-read soon. I also recommend The New Me by Halle Butler and Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dryer which is a hilarious style manual.

"Leading Men" by Christopher Castellani, a fictional account of Tennessee Williams and his lover, Frank Merlo.

Not loving it so far, but interesting enough to keep going.

On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vong, compelling immigrant story, theoretically fiction, but quite autobiographical

"The Season" (1969) William Goldman. Suggested by someone here - a thorough, hell, microscopic - examination of Broadway's 1968-69 season.

"The City State of Boston: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630-1865" Mark Peterson. How political economy shaped a place.

"Our Young Man" (2016) Edmund White. In parts hilarious and knowing except for a weak, contrived ending. But three points towards my Continuing Gay Education re-certification for reading same.

"Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh" (2015) Full-length bio by John Lahr. Covers William's life but focused on his plays as much or more than on him.

R51: I was very surprised that On earth we are briefly gorgeous is a bestseller. I only knew Vuong because he is a friend of Edouard Louis, and i knew he was an acclaimed poet but i didn't expect his novel will sell so well (and the reviews are very good too).

I'm curious if another gay poet (Saeed Jones) will be able to do the same when he publish his novel later this year (i think the novel mix narrative and poetry)

Finishing THE BUCCANEERS, thanks to a recommendation from the previous thread. Very enjoyable, but seems high-spirited in the way Wharton is usually not. Wonder how much of it is hers and how much is the writer who finished it for her. Looking forward to watching the mini-series.

For the poster who wanted a whodunnit, I'd also recommend Denise Mina, although she and French write police procedurals rather than the classic Christie/Sayers?Rendell books. Would also recommend Laura Lippmann's Baltimore books. Great detective.

A small "eek!" came out of my mouth when someone upthread said s/he was reading Laurie Colwin. I read her Happy All The Time every year. If I won the lottery I'd produce a movie of it. I probably read Goodbye Without Leaving and Family Happiness every other year. She is a delight -- perfect summer reading. (And her two cookbooks are equally delightful.)

I heard about a lot of people saying great things about Laurie Colwin books, but when i read the plots i only think of straight (nothing bad with that) romance (and i don't lilke that, nor straight neither gay, unless it's not the main part of the plot)

Just finished Defending Jacob in time for the series. Very suspenseful but the dialogue got a little hokey.

r57: When and where is the Defending Jacob series? I loved the book when it came out. Then Landay (?) never wrote another book 'cause I guess he didn't need the money anymore. Actually I listened to an audio version of it which was very good.

Just finished Goldman's Boys & Girls Together - 750 pages with no redeeming characters and a sad gay plot that leaves the poor fellow a sex slave. The period NYC stuff is cool, but way too long with not much to say. Much better was Hold Tight by Christopher Bram.

[quote] "Leading Men" by Christopher Castellani, a fictional account of Tennessee Williams and his lover, Frank Merlo.

It's so boring. I couldn't get past chapter 2.

I found a copy of The Well Of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall at my local book swap. It is about a girl called Stephen.

Slightly off topic: but is it any good though?

R61: I love The Well of Loneliness, as clunky as the writing may be. Stephen's girlhood was very relatable.

The booker longlist:

Margaret Atwood (Canada) – The Testaments (Vintage, Chatto & Windus)

Kevin Barry (Ireland) – Night Boat to Tangier (Canongate Books)

Oyinkan Braithwaite (UK/Nigeria) – My Sister, The Serial Killer (Atlantic Books)

Lucy Ellmann (USA/UK) – Ducks, Newburyport (Galley Beggar Press)

Bernardine Evaristo (UK) – Girl, Woman, Other (Hamish Hamilton)

John Lanchester (UK) – The Wall (Faber & Faber)

Deborah Levy (UK) – The Man Who Saw Everything (Hamish Hamilton)

Valeria Luiselli (Mexico/Italy) – Lost Children Archive (4th Estate)

Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria) – An Orchestra of Minorities (Little Brown)

Max Porter (UK) – Lanny (Faber & Faber)

Salman Rushdie (UK/India) – Quichotte (Jonathan Cape)

Elif Shafak (UK/Turkey) – 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Viking)

Jeanette Winterson (UK) – Frankissstein (Jonathan Cape)

I could not make through more than a couple of chapters of Normal People. She can't even write complete sentences. She comma splices like a Kellerman. And the two lead characters were a bore. One of those flaws I might have been able to put up with.

The Last Leonardo. The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting. Ben Lewis

The Snakes by Sadie Jones. Could have been fifty pages shorter, but a good, nasty summer read.

Another vote for The Overstory. But it's not for anyone looking for a "page turner."

Tommy Orange's There There is terrific too.

I was mixed about The Witch Elm. If it weren't for the additional twist near the end, I would have been more disappointed. Her last few books haven't been as strong.

I had mixed feelings about There there. Orange is a talented writer and i will read his next novel but in my opinion There there was far from being on the level of its hype.

Too many characters and some of them were very similar, and it all looked lilke had planned the ending from the beginning of the novel and made everything match no matter what.

Interesting debut but not a great novel in my opinion, anyway it's a million times better than The idiot, i still can not believe how that novel got that much attention

I have nothing to add, but just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying this thread.

[italic] BITTEN [/italic] The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons, by Kris Newby

I've been reading English history this summer. The Plantagenets, Tudors, Elizabeth I, the Norman Conquest. I began after reading Lady Collin Campbell's deliciously vicious book about The Queen Mother, also recommended on a Datalounge thread. I've enjoyed a summer of reading inspired by Datalounge. Cheers!

I'm listening to Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household. It's narrated by the brilliant Michael Jayston. It's about an Englishman in Germany who has gone hunting and upon coming across the mountain home of a fascist leader decides on the spur of the moment to assassinate him. He then gets injured and has to return to England and hide out because he's WANTED. Very exciting and suspenseful.

r73: Sounds intriguing. Michael Jayston has a great voice.

It’s so good, r73. It also has music by Philip Glass.

"The Journalist of Castro Street" is a Randy Shilts bio. About halfway through, but it is an informative read so far. Love him or hate him, Shilts was definitely a bold journalist for his time.

just finished Mayor Pete's book. i believe that man is TOO SMART to be prez. but a damn fine man,

I have a book club with Peyton place next month. Nothing like a trashy summer read.

And i heard a lot of good things about Boy swallows universe. I think the only australian writer i read is Christos Tsiolkas so i will read this one this summer too.

But before that i will read The friend next week

I've been reading a whole series of Penguin mini-biographies (each around 100 pages) of the British kings and queens, beginning with Aethelstan and continuing all the way through Elizabeth II. They've been released in the US only in hardcover, but right now many of them are available in paperback in Europe--I bought about ten of them in the UK. They're mostly by famous UK biographers, and some of them are phenomenal: there's an absolutely first-rate one of Edward VII (Victoria's son) by Richard Davenport-Hines, and another very fine one of his grandson Edward VIII (the Duke of Windsor) by Piers Brendon. The one of Elizabeth II is by Douglas Hurd, a former foreign secretary under Margaret Thatcher, and it tells us almost nothing about her, especially after her coronation--it's written as if he expected to be awarded for meritorious service for revealing as little as possible about her and for defending her, and so he has a lot of vitriol to spill about people who criticized her during the week after Diana's death. But the others so far have all been terrific.

I recommend trying to get the hardcover ones from your local libraries.

Rereading Helter Skelter for the umpteenth time. 50th Anniversary!

I'm reading A Dream Life by Patrick J. Suraci. Its about soldiers who fall in love back in the 60s when being gay was a crime. So far they have been able to keep their relationship going without being found out. Apparently one of them ends up in Hollywood!

The Patchett THE DUTCH HOUSE is lovely and moving.

"Doctor Thorne" by Anthony Trollope

R82: I'm wating for the novel to be published here (it'll be in octuber). I really liked Commonwealth

R72 You may be interested in reading The Quest for Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy and edited by Hugo Vickers. The book consists of the notes that J. P-H. made in anticipation of writing his biography of the Queen who was the wife of King George V. I haven't read it but it attracted enthusiastic reviews and is very funny in parts.

R83 I've just started Dr. Thorne. I'm working my way through the Barchester Chronicles and have finished The Warden and Barchester Towers.

Sanctuary by Faulkner.

So nice to see people enjoying Trollope. I was very "advanced" and began reading him at twelve or thirteen, despite others' discouragement. Barchester Chronicles were great fun R85.

I found the new Denise Mina disappointing. It starts well, but....

R87

Barchester Chronicles refers to a conflated production of The Warden and Barchester Towers, with quite the cast! Geraldine McEwan as Mrs Proudie, Clive Swift as her p'whipped husband (before playing Richard on Keeping Up Appearances), Susan Hampshire (Fleur from Forsythe Saga) as Segnora Neroni, and Alan Rickman as (haf!) Slope.

I've watched the BBC version of Barchester Chronicles on YouTube and find it entertaining. It follows the book closely and is even faithful to much of the dialogue. Alan Rickman as Obadiah Slope is my favourite. I notice on IMDB that a production of Dr. Thorne exists as well, but it is more recent.

I have been told many times since the 90s to read Jean Genet, and I finally am, beginning with Our Lady of the Flowers, and it's fascinating, grotesque, enjoyable. I will read Thief's Journal next, I suppose.

I just read The friend by Sigrid Nunez and it's a great little book.

Someone knows why Muriel hates tennis so much, she puts all the tennis thread on paywall which is absurd

I'm about halfway through Sebald's [italic]The Rings of Saturn[/italic], which is working out great for me, although it's a stream-of-consciousness style at times might put off other folks. Not understanding why it's classified as fiction, since to me it's mostly history around a framework of travel narrative. Also having a hard time believing it's a translation; the narrative flows perfectly as though by a very good English-language writer.

Just learned that Irish patriot Roger Casement, executed by the Brits as a traitor, was gay.

Sebald was very good friends with the translator, Michael Hamburger (who is a character in the narrative), and helped him with the translation. Sebald spoke excellent English, but preferred to write in his native German.

The classification of the book is confusing--it's mostly non-fiction, but I think there are some fictional elements in it, IIRC. Sebald insisted that most of his books be classified as fiction, and his publishers obeyed his wishes. He did write a few books that he classified as non-fiction, though.

'There are other novels that are mostly non-fiction, like In Cold Blood (which has a lot of falsified events and even an important falsified character in it) and The Executioner's Song.

[quote]Someone knows why Muriel hates tennis so much, she puts all the tennis thread on paywall which is absurd

She does that now for all the obsessives' threads, where it's mostly just a few people talking back and forth at each other in thread after thread after thread. She figures those people are getting so much use out of Datalounge they should be required to pay, and she's right.

Sybille Bedford, her travel writing and now Jigsaw; amazing life, amazing writer.

R95: That was not the case of the tennis thread at all, and it wasn't the case of the Connor Jessup thread either. I think the beter thing is just looking for another site and stop complaining because it's useless.

I will read another Old man's war novel soon, it's just a summer tradition now for me

[quote] I think the beter thing is just looking for another site and stop complaining because it's useless.

Yes. Please.

I just started Dominic Smith's [italic]The Electric Hotel[/italic], suggested to me by a friend.

I’m reading Only Killers and Thieves, set in the Australian outback. Good read so far.

Chaos, Nickel Boys

Fleishman is in Trouble

I'm nearly finished with Norwegian writer Per Petterson's [italic]I Curse the River of Time[/italic]. Started it as one of my favorite narrators, Jefferson Mayes, reads the book. I believe the author meant the story to be taken seriously, but in some ways it's so over-the-top that I read it as a mild parody or satire. I have the (print) sequel from the library.

Whoever recommended Sybille Bedford, since she's so highly esteemed a writer, and I love good travel writing, I bought a copy of [italic]Pleasures and Landscapes[/italic], her European essays. My library has her book on Mexico, but they are repairing the carpeting on the non-fiction floor, so I doubt that one will be available soon.

i've read the entire series of Louise Penny's Gamache (14 books so far). loved them, but am completely in love with Jean-Guy. love, love, love this character.

Please read Sybelle Bedford’s novel, “A Legacy.” I promise it will be like nothing you’ve read before.

Are you there Margaret? It’s me, God,

Catching up with Molly Keane. GOOD BEHAVIOR is a gem.

started the T Jefferson Parker series with a post 9/11 theme. as usual, he is a very good story teller. 1st book is called The Room of White Fire. but no gay factor.

Well, I've begun [italic]Slaves of Solitude[/italic], where I find myself liking the protagonist, Miss Roach.

I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I've gained a fair amount of traction with [italic]Greek to Me[/italic] by Mary Norris, story of her love affair with Greek language and culture. Her honest approach towards dealing with her MTF brother might be appreciated here: she admits she cannot go so far as to consider (him) her "sister" and uses male pronouns to refer to that sibling for any events pre-transition, female for recent only.

Started "March Violets" on the recommendation of this thread.

On the recommendation of posters here, I have read the eleven Weimar detective books by Philip Kerr, tough I was not greatly impressed by the latest, published posthumously.

Per recommendation, I also read Vicki Baum’s Grand Hotel, which I enjoyed very much.

Lately, I’ve been more occupied with histories, mostly of the Byzantine Empire, including Graves’ Count Belisarius and Rosen’s Justinian’s Flea. The Graves was unexpectedly pedantic, but Justinian’s Flea has been a thoroughly enlightening read.

I too enjoyed Grand Hotel based on a DLer's recommendation. I was less happy with the acclaimed 1932 movie. Baron Geigern is much younger than the ballerina but in the movie Garbo is paired with John Barrymore who is old enough to be her father. I thought Wallace Beery and Joan Crawford were pretty good though.

If you're interested in the Weimar period you would likely enjoy Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin. It has recently been re-issued in a new translation by Michael Hofmann

Also, if you enjoy the Weimar era, Babylon Berlin (on Netflix) will likely be right up your strasse. There are two seasons (although Netflix has them as one) with a third coming.

On topic: Nearly finished with The Commodore, the 17th in Patrick O'Brian's 20-novel series about the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

I think I need to stop taking the advice of these threads. I'm not enjoying the Phillip Kerr novel; maybe I've read too much Chandler.

(And I'd rather step in front of a speeding train than attempt Wilkie Collins again.)

r107 I'm looking forward to reading [italic]Good Behaviour[/italic] starting tonight. I may alternate between that and E.F. Benson's [italic]Paying Guests[/italic].

r114: I had a friend who raved about Phillip Kerr. I started March Violets years ago and gave up after a chapter; just not my cup of tea, although I love some detective novelists (Michael Connelly, Jo Nesbo to name a couple).

I truly enjoy Phillip Kerr 's Bernie Gunther novels but we all have our individual tastes. I also recommend David Downing's Station novels. They're set in World War II Berlin as well. I enjoy the mix of of the history and detective fiction. Each to their own.

[quote] I enjoy the mix of of the history and detective fiction.

I would too, but I can't get past the style. Such a ham-fisted attempt to ape Raymond Chandler. Even if it had worked, it doesn't seem appropriate to the time and place -- what German would really act like that?

Vladimir Nabokov - Ada, or Ardor A Family Chronicle

R114: I have some trouble with a good bunch of supposed great noir writers, i hated Benjamin Black's Christine Falls (cliche after cliche after cliche), i didn't like Jo Nesbo's The bat (but his fans say that novel is very far from being his best), and i was negatively surprised by Fred Vargas' This night's foul work (which is totally unbelievable and not in a good way)

The Merchant Ivory thread has lead me to pick up Maurice by EM Forster. I am happily imagining James Wilby and Hugh Grant as their characters. Haven’t met Scudders yet.

Another fan of Ada here. I had read Lolita before that but Ada is what made me ardent for VN. I read pretty much all his work lafter that though a long time ago. The early ones translated by him and his son into English are much less literary (I think he wrote them to sell to the Russian ex-pat community because he needed money). King, Queen, Knave about a crazy chess player was very compelling and made into a movie I'm pretty sure, though I can't remember when; also I think it had a different title. Too lazy to look it up.

I'm reading Patrick McCabe's "Breakfast on Pluto," which has much more sex in it than the excellent movie version of it made by Stephen Rea. It's about an MTF (he refers to himself as "transvestite") in between Ireland and the UK in the early Seventies who keeps getting caught up in the IRA struggle.

I'm reading The Christmas Box.

My husband only lets me read books written from a conservative Christian point-of-view. I wanted to read 50 Shades of Grey. But he burned my copy when he found it. And threatened me with the belt if I brought another copy back into the house.

I stay strong until I put the children to bed, but then I go into the living room and sob every night while my husband is in the next room on the computer. I suspect he is watching internet porn. But if I confront him, the beatings will start again. So I bury myself in a book. Even if it is a boring one I've already read over twenty times.

oh r124 when or when will we hear about the murder you will commit, of your entire household? it cannot be far away now....

Boy swallows universe by Trent Dalton, very funny debut novel

Camus' "The Plague." Seems timely.

The Plague and The Stranger are both great novels.

Out from Boneville

sorry that we (I) got sidetracked in the wrong thread. but again, i recommend Ace Atkins. i probably shed as many tears in his stories as any chick lit. in other words, not TOO macho. lots of family ties and bro moments.

Finished GOOD BEHAVIOUR and loved it. Now I want to explore her earlier novels written under a pseudonym.

I'm reading The overstory.

And i loved Boy swallows universe by Trent Dalton, really funny and crazy read

Finishing Barbara Pym's "Crampton Hodnet," which, unlike most of her work, is laugh-out-loud funny and would make an excellent limited series for TV. (James Norton would be *perfect* for the curate Mr. Latimer, although I'm sure he's done with playing men of the cloth for now.) Next up, "A Gentleman in Moscow."

just finished Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir, the first three novels in Bernie Gunther series. great story telling and a really good history lesson. and strangely close to current US politics.

I’m reading Humboldt’s Gift by Saul Bellow. It’s quite good.

Can a 96-page book really be considered a "novel"? That's the term routinely applied to [italic]The Stepdaughter[/italic] by Caroline Blackwood, which I started this morning. The protagonist's husband has run off to Paris, leaving behind in their Manhattan apartment his obese teenage daughter (by the first of his three wives) - a situation that should strike terror in the hearts of all Dataloungers! Looking forward to trying Blackwood's (300 page) novel [italic]Corrigan[/italic] sometime.

Boy Swallows Universe. BEST BOOK I'VE READ THIS YEAR. (and i've read over 100)

R137: Boy swallows universe is amazing

R137, I couldn’t get into that one.

I just finished "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K Dick and my immediate thoughts are what the HELL was that? It's the first book of his that I've read and I'm not sure if this kind of writing is typical for him. The setup is so great, and it has its moments, but what a waste...

R133 Thanks for the recommendation. I really enjoyed Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym and anyone who is a Benson (Mapp and Lucia) fan will love it. It wasn't published during Pym's lifetime because she thought it out of date (written 1939 but unpublished) but it seems no more dated that novels written in the 1960s , 1970s etc.

[quote]I just finished "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K Dick and my immediate thoughts are what the HELL was that?

I couldn't take the Amazon Original Series either. I gave up after four episodes. I've lost my tolerance for stories about Nazis.

r136,. I have never read The Stepdaughter, but I've read two of Caroline Blackwood's other novels, and they can both be summarized this way: my mother did that to me, and that and that and that.

R142 I’ve not watched the series, but a quick scan of Wikipedia reveals that it has something very important- a plot. A plot that actually has some forward momentum and that brings in the theme early. As opposed to endless scenes of people philosophically ruminating and consulting the I Ching every three and a half minutes. Followed by more ruminating. The plot is all in the last third or so and the key breakthrough is literally on the last page and then it’s just LEFT THERE. Further rumination is left as an exercise for the reader.

I see on review websites that the I Ching was apparently used to write each development in the book (hurr durr, so meta). That’s a cool authorial exercise but not with this potential scenario. Not to mention l, the science is whack (they have interplanetary travel in less than 20 years after the war, but TV is a newfangled breakthrough) and stereotypes abound.

I repeat, a waste. IMO.

R143

I understand that a lot of her work has to do with memoir about her mother and maltreatment, but I'm trying to avoid those in favor of genuine fiction.

It amazes me when there's a famous, highly praised, award winning book like The Man in the High Castle, and a DLer reads it and cannot understand it. So, rather than admit he did not read it closely enough, or that he has not thought about it enough, or simply that he is just not intelligent enough to understand it, he instead decides the book must be stupid, and that it has somehow fooled all the critics and prize committees who have praised it.

I read Reservoir 13, and frankly, i don't know what to think

For mystery lovers, Conviction by Denise Mina. Terrific.

Now i'm trying the second book of the two friends saga by Elena Ferrante.

I found the first entertaining, but i was not going to read anymore but the first ended on a clifhanger so i have to read the second

I read the Ferrante books. I thought the first was the best with each subsequent volume less so. By the final volume I felt I was under some commitment to finish. I have them on my Kindle but quite likely I'll never re-read them.

I'm currently reading Daisy Jones and The Six which I am actively enjoying. Wasn't sure how this one would go since the last couple books I read were either dull or unfinishable, but this one moves at a very quick pace. Definitely brings up the 70's rock scene in a vivid way, with the Daisy Jones character as Stevie Nicks, Rondstadt and Joplin in one.

I absolutely LOATHED Bunny by Mona Awad. I got to page 50 and threw the book across the room. Where the Crawdads Sing was aight. Nicotine by Nell Zink was funny in spots but strange. Very reminiscent of Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, with its absurdist satirical style.

r146 nailed it. On another note: for those who have read and enjoy Jo Nesbo, where would you recommend starting with his novels? Thanks!

Just finished The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Grabbed me from the first sentence and held me to the last.

Next on the nightstand Strega Prize winner As G-d Commands by Niccolo Ammaniti.

R152 Start with Headhunters. Then The Bat. Unfortunately, the English translator of most of Nesbø's books was not the best. He finally got a much better English translator with Blood on Snow and The Thirst. Can't remember if they were the American or British editions.

Thanks, r154!

I gave up on the Elena Ferrante series on book #3. It was strange because I loved the first book, the second was very good but by the third, I couldn't stand the female narrator or her best frenemy. I'm usually bullish on finishing books where I have sunk in time, especially series but I just couldn't continue with book 3.

Actually, maybe I'm not so bullish--I gave up on Tolkien on the 3rd book too.

R152: Don't star with the first one, the bat is entertaining but a bad novel, i said it on a forum and even his fans recognized that novel is very far from his best work, in fact they say the first two are far from the best, from the third on things get better (but i don't know it first hand because i only read the first one)

R157 Don't start with the first one

I just finished "The Goldfinch" which was a good late summer read. A few sections were a slog, but huge chunks were hard to put down and it was perfect for long days at the beach. My favorite sections were mostly in the first half though, and Boris became very grating when he returned in the second half.

Now I'm reading "The Overstory" which so far is a great fall book - something engrossing for early nights in bed, where each chapter is distinct but the whole thing is starting to feel connected.

Mika Waltari’s The Egyptian introduced me to historical novels when I was 13. Though it has its potboiler moments, it remains one of few honest attempts to recreate life in ancient Egypt, especially during the reign of the heretic pharaoh, Akhnaton.

However, I have since learned that its English translation was edited by about a third from its original length in Finnish. Is anyone here aware of a more complete English translation? (I might even be able to handle one in French.)

Thanks in advance.

I enjoyed some, but not all, of The Goldfinch. Where are the editors who aren't afraid to actually *edit* authors, especially popular ones? The Goldfinch should have been at least a third shorter (see also: the last four Harry Potter books, heresy to many, I know).

R160: I read it a couple of summers ago. The spanish version is looong, 900 pages more or less.

I found the Norman Mailer's The executioner's tale was cut short in the spanish version (from a very prestige publisher). I think that could be almost impossible nowadays

I hated The Goldfinch after the first few chapters, never did finish it

I finished the Goldfinch but I think the whole Las Vegas section should have been left out, although it had some interesting descriptions of the neighborhood and the relationship between the boys. I also remember thinking the final section was pretty terrible, but it's been long enough that I don't remember why. It was compulsively readable but obviously not artful writing.

I read all of Donna Tartt's earlier novels, but I could not get through The Goldfinch. Her novels usually have extremely strong beginnings but then peter out considerably; I didn't feel that even the beginning of The Goldfinch was very well constructed, so I gave up after about a hundred pages since I knew it would eventually become even weaker (given her pattern--and my friends who even LIKED the beginning of The Goldfinch have told me the novel gets weaker as it goes). I am surprised it has been her most popular novel.

I quit in the middle of The goldfinch because i was tired of it. A month later i read the rest and i quite enjoyed. It's not a masterpiece but it's a good novel

I reread all four of John Updike's "Rabbit" novels: RABBIT, RUN, RABBIT REDUX, RABBIT IS RICH and RABBIT AT REST.

Jesus CHRIST, could that guy write. They are totally absorbing!

The Goldfinch, well, Donna Tartt, makes reading compelling. Having said that, when I finished The Secret History and TG, I was glad to have read them, but also was annoyed by some of the characters and dialogue.

I don't go to the movies very often but was considering TG this weekend. I see it's getting pretty bad reviews though so I'll wait for the freebie DVD from the library.

I've tried to read the Rabbit books, r167. Three times, over the years. But I can never get past the first 50 pages or so of the first volume. I think I tried one of the others back in the '70s, but ended up starting the first one again. I wish I could like them. I just don't.

R167: Yes, the guy could write with the exception of a decent review if the novel had something gay in it

R168: I wanted to murder Bunny for the second he appears

R171, exactly! I also made the mistake of listening to TSH and Tartt narrated it. That put me off of author-narrated books forever-at least for fiction. Her Bunny voice made me want to kill.

Almost everyone in Tartt's books talk like they're from the 1930's Classic Hollywood. I know she loves that era and yes, it's also part of the old money in New England/NY. Still, for me, it breaks that wall for me, like hey these are book characters, in particular, Donna Tartt book characters. People just don't talk like that.

really enjoying the Philip Kerr series with Gunther. reading 5th book now. great history background of Germany in the 30s (feels way too much like US in the 2020s) and now into the Argentine of the 50s. dry sense of humor through out.

I can't be the only person who didn't like the Bernie Gunther books, can I?

MAYBE?

r174: Couldn't get past first chapter of March Violets. So no, you're not the only one. Not sure how to explain what I didn't like except too glib or something. And I love complicated suspense novels--have read all of Le Carre. Also have read all of Michael Connelly, all of Lee Child (except one) to my surprise since I used to be a literary snob, and almost all of Jo Nesbo. Just don't like Kerr's writing. Maybe there's another of his books I'd like more. Any suggestions out there?

R176 Thanks. I love Raymond Chandler, and I felt that Kerr was trying too hard to be Chandler, with none of Chandler's wit, elegance, or keen observations of human nature.

The Bernie Gunther books I found okay. A little dull so not something I raced to read

The Only Plane In The Sky. New about 9/11

Now I'm reading "The Likeness," by Tana French. The only other book of hers I've read is "The Witch Elm," which I didn't like, but I'd heard the Dublin murder squad books were better. It still seems to be horribly over-written for what it is.

r120: I read the Witch Elm and was not impressed, not sure why she gets such glowing reviews. I read another of her books, so unmemorable that I forgot the title, and thought it was worse. She is overrated IMO.

Feel the same about Tana French. I read Into the Woods, which I recall, is her most well regarded book and it was just about average.

Love the Philip Kerr Bernie Gunther books. love the history, the cynicism and the character. I've been totally immersed in all these books. Others in the genre I've enjoyed are the series by David Downing and Rebecca Cantrell. Also I like a spy/detective mystery series set in Stalinist Russia I am not sure of the author but Sam Eastlake or Eastland comes to mind. But of all of them, I enjoy the Philip Kerr Gunther books.

Started listening to Jane Harris' [italic]The Observations[/italic] last night, hooked almost immediately. Bessie, the teen servant main character, is hilarious with her observations; moreover, Harris' narration is on-target (usually not so for authors reading their own work).

Really liked Harris' novel [italic]Gillespie and I[/italic] a couple of years ago as well.

About halfway through A Gentleman in Moscow. The author's filigreed style kinda bugs -- even though the Count is clearly heterosexual, the way he speaks and describes his life make him seem gay, or at least gay-adjacent, to 21st century eyes. Still, the story is interesting enough (just...) to keep reading.

R171: Agreed!

I’m starting the copy of The Alienist I purchased in 2007.

Furious Hours by Casey Cep.

just got Nickolas Butler's new book... Little Faith. loved his first 3 books. cannot wait to get into this one.

About 1/4 Kate Atkinson's Transcription--reviews have been right, not as good as her previous 2 WWII era books. Maybe it will improve...

Roughly halfway through [italic]The Observations[/italic] by Jane Harris. Set in 1860s Scotland, it's the story of an Irish teenage maid, and her English employer. Bessie has a wicked sense of humor that has me laughing quite a lot (she'd love Datalounge). Listening to the audio read expertly by the author.

R189: Shotgun love songs is one of my three books i hate most people love

What did you hate about it, r192. I just looked it up and thought I might give it a go.

First, the narrator is boring as hell, i understand he was the one who made the group compact but he was simply not interesting.

the group is very homogeneous. Yes, he is talking about male friendship, but it's really needed the the characters all look the same. In fact only dissident who doesn't seem to enjoy the life in that snowy crap hole barely get some pages.

That's one of those novels were a gay character or a non white character will be very wellcome. In fact the parts i liked most are the ones where the focus is on the main character's wife.

It's not a bad novel, don't get me wrong, but let me totally unsatisfied

Thanks, r194. I was wondering whether the split focus on five characters would prove them to be indistinguishable from each other. I like that technique, but I can get lost if it's stretched to cover more than three characters (the dimensions of a good triangle). I also speedread for the word "gay" in the description on Amazon and, as you note, did not find it.

I think I'll skip it.

do not r196 it is a great read. loved it. that's why i read the rest of his works

What i liked about Shotgun love songs is that for a novel that is absolutely non controversial it generates a lot of division, some people love it, some people hate it, which always give good debate on forums.

I'm reading Lincoln in the bardo right now, strange but interesting

about 1/3 into Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn. wow! a wild & crazy ride!

The Guardian book reviewers are typically rather middle brow and fond chasers of trends. Very NW3.

I'm surprised Marlon James' A Brief History of Seven Killings, A Man Booker winner, was not included.

I'm thinking of starting Proust's In Search of Lost Time.

I'm loving Lincoln in the bardo

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Just finished 'Longleg' by Australian author Glenda Adams.

A stretched out coming of age story about a young Aussie boy, post WW2, with strange parents, finding his way in life.

A strange read, starts off slow, but has interesting interweaving themes.

R199: Isn't Sally Rooney a bit overhyped? well not a bit, like over the top overhyped.

I know Normal people has fans (the reaction on twitter when it was not shortlisted to the Booker was pretty clear) and i don't want to judge the quality of the book (because i can't read it till next month), but Conversations with friends was extremely overhyped too, and even i think she is a talented narrator, that novel has tons of flaws (and i think i'm the one who liked it most from the people who read it on my book forum). To put that book ahead of White teeth or The line of beauty is a bit too much

'Mad Pilgrimage Of The Flesh' - John Lahr's fine biography of Tennessee Williams.

Compelling, impressive, full of shrewd insights. TW's work rate was formidable, and he certainly gave his best to his talent, maybe genius. His existential angst can though be dismaying to read about. Happiness is seldom evident.

Lahr's historical contextualisations and theatrical expertise give the book plenty of layers. He's in able charge of the mass of material, and the book isn't a heavy read. Many riveting stories about the tensions around those great plays and films. Small wonder TW needed his drink and pills! Recommended.

I was at the San Francisco Public Library Book Sale last week, and I always find it interesting to see which books people have cleared from their shelves and donated the most to the sale. Saw lots of John Irving, Jonathan Franzen, Charles Frazier on the fiction tables; many of copies of David McCullough's biography of John Adams on the US history table. Over in the DVDs, there were plenty of the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice and only a couple of the Colin Firth version.

Support your public library nonetheless!

The actress Celia Imrie is one of my favourites so I am reading her novel Sail Away about a death on a cruise ship investigated by an out of work actress.

Listening to the audio of the new biography of Pence: [italic]Piety & Power[/italic]. Get the feeling the author won't go near the gay rumors, but we'll see.

Reading book five of the Red Rising Series. This one is called, "Dark Age."

My favorite Sci Fi series.

About to start reading Thomas Ligotti's Teatro Grottesco.

First time reading Thomas Ligotti.

I read a dreadful chick-lit cozy (if B.C. Dreyer or Ethan Mordden reads this thread, either avoid Margaret Dumas's [italic]Murder at the Palace[/italic] or use it as an appetite suppressant) for which I had higher hopes.

Surfing a popular book listing/discussion website, I found a series of Oscar Wilde murder mysteries (Reading Gaol, Vampire, Vatican, etc.) from Gyles Brandreth. Some titles of that series are available through my library system so I'll try some soon.

really enjoying the new Nesbo called Knife. really well done. and sad.

I'm reading crazy, rich asians. Not really my thing but i understand why it became a hit

R212 Speaking of murder mysteries featuring real people, Samuel Steward wrote two featuring Gertrude Stein, Alice Toklas, and his own alter ego.

The Iranian Plot by J McClintock

The Flight Portfolio.

I'm going to read Hannah Kent's Burial rites

R218 Stay clear! It's not very well written. Amateurish (even though it was written as part of a PhD). Juvenile turns of phrases ('she turned on her heel' or 'she bit her lip'). The dialogue is wooden and or anachronistic. It is repetitive and lots of purple prose (words 'slither' under a door) and forced symbolism (stones and ravens). The worst is when she uses 'yolk' instead of 'yoke'.

R219: It seems you didn't like it at all.

Part of the language issues won't be a problem because i'm going to read a translated version

The Last by Hannah Jameson. Patrons and employees of a hotel in Switzerland who survive a nuclear attack on Washington, DC and several other cities. How a disparate group of people adapt and survive when there's no electricity, mobile phones or internet. I was desperate for reading material, didn't think I'd make it past Page 10. Surprisingly compelling, well written (despite the now ubiquitous publishing typos). I finished it in two evenings.

^^^ And speaking of typos, it's Hanna, no 'h'.^^^

I'm reading Murakami's works. I had only read his short book "Birthday girl" earlier. I restarted with it then read "Norwegian Wood". I am now on "Kafka on the shore". I am kind of in love😍😌

Any fans of Stephen King here? What are your favourite stories by him?

I started a thread a couple months ago when I was going through my Stephen King phase but there were only a few replies.

r224 "The Jaunt" and "Quitters, Inc." are the most memorable, I read them decades ago. I picked up [italic]The Bazaar of Bad Dreams[/italic] yesterday and "Batman and Robin Have an Altercation" became an instant fave.

R219: There's a thing that i don't like at all (she is far from being the only offender about that) it's the use of icelandic sentences. It's ridiculous because it's supposed that the characters are speaking icelandic anyway

R223

I tried [italic]Kafka on the Shore[/italic], but couldn't get into it. Loved [italic]The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle[/italic] as a stand-alone. He has a four-book Rat series: [italic]Pinball[/italic], [italic]Hear the Wind Sing[/italic], [italic]A Wild Sheep Chase[/italic], and [italic]Dance, Dance, Dance[/italic]. I listened to the last two a while ago, which were great. Since then, Murakami has authorized the first two into English, so have just put a reserve on the combined CD's covering both stories - thanks for the prompt!

I read Tokio Blues i thought it was ok (i don't really liked the style) but i loved After dark

A Wild Sheep Chase was his first book in English translation. After that one, he had a different translator. Norwegian Wood is the only one that is a conventional, more or less realistic nove. I stopped reading him sometime after Kafka on the Shore because I got tired of the monotony of his themes and style. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is usually considered his best and I loved it. Kafka was almost a duplicate stylistically and thematically of Wind-Up but less interesting. For diehard Murakami fans: are any of the later fiction books worth reading?

I recall having liked [italic]After Dark[/italic] also. However, I can see where his stories might be thought of as same basic idea with a different set of characters.

R226 I think the author thinks she is being 'intellectual' by using icelandic words, but not actually saying what they are. There is no substance to the book - it's propped up by the true-story component, the historical documents used at the beginning (not written by the author of course), an author's note as if it's a scholarly high-literature type book (rather then letting the book speak for itself, the author explains why she took the approach she did) - and even though there is the true life story as the basis, it is pretty much plot-less, and changes tone and narrative awkwardly.

It's junior frau level trying to be grown up and 'deep'. Epic fail.

Just finished Jo Nesbo's latest Harry Hole thriller (pronounced Hoola in Norwegian so it's not funny as it is in English)--The Knife. One of his better books. They're compulsively readable and much more exciting than the average Scandinavian noir. He has a new English (as in non-American) translator who seems better than the former one. Not the book to start with--probably the Redbreast is the first good one. This one is for people who already know the characters from the previous books.

second the Nesbo read. and for sure he plans more to come with these characters. the "father/son" relationship makes me feel so much for the characters.

R232: I only read the first one (and i didn't like it) and most fans tell me that the good ones start with the third

At Danceteria by Philip Dean Walker

Finished Per Petterson's [italic]In the Wake[/italic], which could stand alone, but would recommend reading its "prequel" [italic]I Curse the River of Time[/italic] first. Interesting how Norwegians consider Danes as "foreigners", almost as much as though they were Korean or Egyptian.

Decided to try re-reading some Barbara Pym, starting with [Italic]Crampton Hodnet[/italic]. The old lady presented as quite the judgmental dragon, with her younger companion I can root for to get laid by the end of the story.

I'm going to start Sally Rooney's Normal People

R237, it’s terrific.

r231 I cringed at every mention of the smell of grease in the house, of the candles. You could turn it into a drinking game.

The ending where the women in the house admit what a bad bitch she was and acknowledge her superior feminine wiles was cribbed straight from Anna Karenina. I am glad the purported film with Jennifer Lawrence was never made.

R238: I hope so, i found Conversations with friends terribly overrated

R238: I didn't find Burial rites that terrible, but the number of ravens is a bit too much to handle. It's The good people any better?

I could not get past the second chapter of Sally Rooney's current novel. So highly touted. Couldn't see why. Glad I took it out of the library.

Currently enjoying the murderlicious Before She Knew Him, by Peter Swanson.

I'm still slogging through Wolf Hall. It's just one courtier after another making one snide and arch comment after another. I can hardly wait for the stupid divorce from Catherine of Aragon to finally happen.

OH Wolf Hall, it's been waiting for me on the shelves for years

I was going to read the last Goncourt, but i couldn't find it year.

I plan to read A thousand accress, i watched the film centuries ago but i can't remember a thing.

And probably Ross Raisin A natural, by the end of the month. I like the idea of the pressures of professional sports, fear of faliure, wathing your career to derail, and adding being gay to the equation. But i don't like soccer at all, and it's pretty clear the Raisin knows soccer pretty well and it's an important part of the plot

i couldn't find it yet (not year)

R244: I enjoyed A Natural because the author clearly knows his way around the lower ends of professional soccer (this is decidedly NOT the Premier League). There's little emphasis on actual games, just the grimy, shabby setting. The self-loathing felt pretty authentic, too.

Rip it Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds, non-fiction about the Post-Punk years of 1978-1984. Even if you don't know the bands, he gives you a good description that you get a good understanding (but it's great that we have YouTube to check it all out).

I suppose we'll get tons of list given that we are ending a decade. I found this top 10 best debut novels of the decade and frankly, i don't agree at all.

Sally Rooney must be the most overrated young writer in recent years, i don't even hate Conversations with friends (and i'm kind of liking Normal people) but her debut novel is pretentious but not ambitious, not in estructure neither in the use of language.

There, there came into the "big theme" novel, probably the most overhyped and overrated novel from last year.

And i never was a fan of The tiger's wife, but at least it's ambitious, of course City on fire or The Nix are even more ambitious and better executed and they don't make that list.

From the six debut novels on that list that i read, i only really liked three (and i have some reservations about two), We the animals have an amazing prose, but the fragmentary way of telling the story makes the end very abrupt, the change from kid to teenager is not smooth and looks forced. The first part of what belongs to you is totally cold to me, it's difficult to feel the desire and the degradation of the main character when you don't know a thing about him. The second part is on the other hand very good, and makes way easier to empathize with the narrator in the third part.

And Lincoln in the bardo is amazing, of course even if it is a first novel, Saunders is hardly a debutant, he is renowned short stories writer, but that doesn't change the fact the novel is great, and he makes look easier what it's not, making an experimental novel that is perfectly readable.

Of course this kind of list is always about the best... written in english.

My favourite debut novel of the decade is Anthony Marra's A constelation of vial phenomena

I am reading The Silence Of The Girls by Pat Barker - can any DLers with knowledge of the Classics recommend good translations into English of The Iliad and The Odyssey?

Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy is always on my List of Books I Want to Reread.

I just finished Stephen King's Doctor Sleep (the sequel to The Shining) and Mrs. Astor Regrets, a non-fiction look at Brooke Astor and her fraught relationship with her only son, Anthony Marshall, who was convicted after Brooke died of swindling her out of some $60 million.

I've just started Agatha Christie's first Poirot novel, The Affair at Styles. It's remarkable how much like the later Poirots it is.

I also loved the Regeneration Trilogy. Pat Barker is a terrific writer.

How was Doctor Sleep, R251?

It was good, R253. A bit overlong at 600+ pages and I got bogged down a bit in the middle, but for me, the emotional payoff at the end was worth it. It's not a sequel to the film of The Shining, which deviated substantially from the book, so anyone expecting that would be disappointed.

Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth was really good. Thanks for The Buccaneers and Crampton Hodnet recommendations! I loved them both, particularly Buccaneers.

You guys should all read Richard Yates - circa 1950-60’s, post war American life - sort of MadMen, John Cheever, upper middle class ennui, He’s fantastic.

Yates wrote "Revolutionary Road," right? Loved the novel and the movie.

Just finished "The Warlow Experiment" by Alix Nathan.

I read Cheever last year and i didn't connect with the writing or the story at all, i expected to like it way more than i finally did.

Dissapearing earth made the shortlist of the National Book Award

Reading Atwood's The Testaments...it is damn good!

Lars Kepler (actually a Swedish husband/wife writing team), The Fire Witness. Finnish transplant Detective Inspector Joona Linna solves crime while navigating Swedish idiosyncracies. I enjoyed The Sandman, so grabbed this one.

Next on the nightstand: Heading west over the Swedish border to Jo Nesbø's The Redbreast.

Reading Crampton Hodnet now. I keep picturing Marjorie from the Britcom "To the Manor Born" as the old dragon's companion.

I think i will read Stephen Markley's Ohio next week.

This one i will try One thousand accress (i think it's my third Pulitzer of the year)

I read Carmpton Hodnet a few weeks ago. I chuckled over the observation that the curate's congregation consisted widows, spinsters and one brain-damaged young man.

Atwood's writing style and dialogue always sounded wooden and not very polished.

I think she is more of an 'ideas' novelist then a proficient technical writer.

I'm reading A Feast Unknown by Philip Jose Farmer. The main characters are Lord Grandrith (think Tarzan) and Doc Caliban (think Doc Savage) both highly sexualized versions of their familiar personae. A typical line: "Let him who would envision the soul of this ancient continent eat lion sperm." Great fun. If only Ron Ely might be persuaded to do the audiobook since he's portrayed both Tarzan and Doc Savage.

r264, I used to jerk off to that book every night when I was a teenager.

A Feast Unknown would make a great graphic novel.

I ended Normal people and i really don't understand the hype of this woman. The writing is nothing special and the characters are inconsistent (specially Marianne). And Rooney is a cheater, for the second time in a row her characters clearly suffer a trauma and that's her excuse to explain their behaviour, but she never goes to the cause of the trauma, which frankly is a cheap trick.

Now i'm reading Jane Smiley which till now (i'm in the middle of the novel) is a way better novel

Which Jane Smiley book r267?

Decided to tackle a title from my TBR pile: [italic]Care of Wooden Floors[/italic] by Will Wiles, which I'd added after liking his [italic]The Way Inn[/italic]. Not sure this book is for everyone, especially as the main character is a bit of a pompous jerk. But, the author is doing well with the story as satire. The red wine stain he tried removing the next day didn't [italic]quite[/italic] come out of his friend's beautiful expensive floor, reminding him of The Telltale Heart as he tries to ignore it.

Hollywood's Eve about Hollywood's Eve Babitz.

Now I'll have to read Eve's Hollywood.

Crampton Hodnot was so entertaining. Thanks for the heads up

R268: A thousand acres

really enjoying this series....

I am reading Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant from 1885. It’s a charming period piece about a handsome young man looking to rise socially in Paris.

That seems to be a popular theme of 19th century French novels. I'm thinking of Eugene de Rastignac in Pere Goriot and Lucien de Rubompre in Lost Illusions.

The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

I hated The Book of Ruth, but better luck to you!

i'm still friends with Jane Hamilton (I've know her since middle school, and The book of Ruth is my favorite, followed closely her novel about a gay teen, The Short History of a Prince. she' a wonderful person and has a great sense of humor, despite how dark some of her books are.

Girl, woman, other by Bernardine Evaristo and The testaments by Margaret Atwood won the Booker prize

I'm going to read Med Wolitzer's The female persuassion. I'm doubtful because i loved The interestings but my reaction to The wife was far from being that positive

Meg Wolitzer not Med

I just read Agatha Christie's "And then there were none" - fun read. I have heard there is a BBC adaptation - Is it any good? Apparently Charles Dance is in it as Wargrave.

I couldn't finish The Interestings. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that...interesting.

I'm currently slogging through Kate Atkinson's Transcription.

Maybe I'm just not good with fiction this year. I can't recall a book that really grabbed me this past year.

I'm starting Girl Meets Boy, but I'm not sure if I'll regret it. There are so many ways to butcher the Iphis myth, and in any case, I tend to read older and more literary work.

This year's been the best for me when it comes to finding and reading fiction I like. I attribute my success to spending too many hours on Goodreads and Worldcat, and in the midst of moving from one country to another amassed four library cards. I can now again use my alumni library card for borrowing titles by authors listed in this multi-topic: William Trevor, Molly Keane.

Now that my books are out of storage, I expect another year of pleasant and satisfying reading. Obligatory Barbara Pym mention: I took [italic]Civil to Strangers[/italic] from a Little Free Library thinking I'd have time to read it and 10 other books in two months. I don't know how other people manage 50+ books a year other than long work commutes by train and bus.

R285, I managed a book a week even when I was both working and attending university because I read very fast and don’t watch much TV.

Where should I start with Faulkner - day two novels and some short story recommendations? I’m not American and never studied him at school.

r287 "A Rose For Emily" is how I started with Faulkner, in school. Additional short story suggestions are "Barn Burning," "Red Leaves" and "Two Soldiers."

[italic]As I Lay Dying[/italic] was the first Faulkner novel I read (for school). Others suggest [italic]Light in August[/italic] (I have not read this).

r286 My time needs monitoring then. I watch maybe two hours a week of television programming online, but waste much more time online in unproductive reading and engagement

R283: Obviously i don't agree, i loved that novel from the beginning to the end

[quote]I couldn't finish The Interestings. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that...interesting.

I quite liked The Interestings, but I really have no desire to read anything else by Wolitzer.

R255 Richard Yates was underrated, glad to see his name mentioned here.I especially loved The Easter Parade and am thinking of giving it a re-read.

Just finished Kevin Wilsons Nothing to See Here. Absolute absurdist humor, if you like that sort of thing. He also wrote The Family Fang.

I read very little contemporary fiction. In going over my books read list, I'll toss out [Italic]The Parrots[/Italic] by Filippo Bologna (translated from Italian) as one I'm confident in recommending for folks here looking for a suggestion, a satire on literary awards.

R291, Easter Parade by Richard Yates is very good (and some events in the book are rather disturbing). I should re-read it too.

His collected short stories are also fantastic.

Philip Glass’s memoir, ‘Words without Music’.

Just started Patrick O'Brian's The Yellow Admiral, the 18th in his Aubrey-Maturin series of 20 novels. This is my second time through the series (called "the Aubreyad" by some), and it is just as delightful as the first time. I wish I could get others to read it, but I suppose all the arcane sailing terms put some people off (you get used to them and either look up their definitions or just guess at the meaning by the context; there is a separate book-length glossary).

Glad to see Barbara Pym's Crampton Hodnet getting some love here. I'm surprised someone hasn't filmed it; it's a treat and possibly the funniest of her books.

R282, the BBC version is mediocre, especially compared with the 1945 rendering.

I wish someone would do a film of Pym's A Glass of Blessings.

I read Lost City of the Monkey God by Preston. Preston himself is annoying but the story is fascinating.

Like a Love Story - Abdi Nazemian. YA coming out story. Two high school boys, Art and Reza, meet in NYC in 1989, their story unfolding at the height of the AIDS era. Cardinal O'Connor and Keith Haring have cameo appearances.

South African writer Deon Meyer's Fever (Koors). Post-apocalyptic saga, this time viral rather than nuclear, the Fever of the title. Which has wiped out much of humanity in South Africa (the animals were unscathed). The story is told from the point of view of 13 year old Nico. How survivors come together, pool their resources and somehow carry on in an environment they no longer recognize or understand. The translation is attractive, the story thought-provoking, though I'm sure I'm missing nuances that would be perfectly understandable to someone knowledgeable about both South Africa and Afrikaans. It's still a pretty decent read.

Partway through Somerset Maugham's [italic]Cakes and Ale[/italic], but not really engaged. Either it's very dated, or I'm just not grasping the point?

I read Cakes and Ale this summer and really liked it.

Probably my next read will be Waiting for mr Bojangles by Olivier Bourdeaut. I want to have a french november, The children who came after them by Nicolas Mathieu and The winter of our discontent by Thomas B Reverdy (winner and finalist of Goncourt 2018) will be the next on the list

R302, I enjoyed Waiting for Bojangles. Have you read Lie With Me?

R303: Yes, i read it a couple of months ago and i really like it.

I have some envy of the french, they have a literary phenomenon every 3 months, and at least a good literary controversy every season. And of course in Spain we don't have any award like the Goncourt that is able to make a star of someone who was almost unknown before the award

In an effort to tackle my Audible backlog, I'm partway through [italic]The Lighthouse[/italic] by Alison Moore. Man Booker shortlisted, which I can see as the writing is good, but the plot/material itself ... not so much. It's short and the audio narration is excellent, so will finish it.

I am reading a gay erotica novel called "Hot Valley" by James Lear. It is set during the American Civil War and all the main characters are gay men and almost everyone they meet on their travels wants to fuck and suck, even the married straight men. The two main characters, one is white and the other black and they got separated shortly after meeting and they are traveling and fucking their way around America. Every man they come across wants to have sex with them, it is hilarious. The author enjoys describing the sex very graphically.

Jonathan Safran Foer's latest book, a rumination about knowing what we need to do to respond to the climate crisis—essentially, drastically reduce consumption of animal food products—and our corresponding inability to reduce said consumption. Essential reading, IMO.

I would so love to consume his undoubtedly delectable kosher cock, but I doubt he has a homosexual bone (or boner) in his body.

R261: Good choice. Ohio is an excellent read.

Just finished the new Stephen King novel "The Institute". It was midling SK - and all I could think of was Stranger Things. You could practically use the cast from that show to film it.

"Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland"

Absolutely riveting. I've always had a vague interest in "The Troubles," and this book was a masterclass, but told a thoroughly engrossing, poignantly-written story along the way.

I finished The Testaments last night. It was fine, but it didn’t deserve the Booker.

Sounds inte resting, r310

Just into Alan Hollinghurst's 'The Sparsholt Affair.' Lovely sharp observations about the complexities and disaffections of English life, related with typical droll assurance.

Alertness to place and architecture are as evocative as ever. The human interactions are written from AH's deep homo-erotic sensibility, which for me is uncannily sympathetic.

It's good to feel the pull of a book I know I'll stay with and savour.

I’ve read every Alan Hollinghurst. I’d rank Sparsholt second after The Line of Beauty which is one of my favorite novels of the last 20 years.

The Spell is the weakest in my humble opinion.

R314: I didn't read the Sparsholt affair yet, but in my opinion The line of beauty is his best novel and i agree that The spell is his worst too, by far.

I never understood why Updike was so stupid when he made the review of the book when he could be very harsh simply because the material was not good

I enjoyed Sparsholt a great deal, but agree that Line of Beauty may well be Hollinghurst's opus.

Not quite finished with Crampton Hodnet, but wanted mention that I was momentarily thrown when one the characters lamented she no longer had the funds to shop at Marshall's. As a modern American reader I had to remind myself she didn't mean the discount clothing chain.

Finished Alison Moore's Booker-nominated [italic]The Lighthouse[/Italic] yesterday - what a mess! Chapters alternated between pov of a depressing "sad sack" main character, and a manipulative b itch secondary one. Perils-of-Pauline cliffhanger "ending" didn't help.

On to [italic]The World of Yesterday[/italic] by Stefan Zweig, covering his privileged Jewish youth in Imperial Vienna through World War II (he commited suicide in 1942). Excellent audio narration.

[quote][italic]The World of Yesterday[/italic] by Stefan Zweig, covering his privileged Jewish youth in Imperial Vienna through World War II ([bold]he committed suicide in 1942[/bold]).

Then he didn't make it [italic]through[/italic] World War II. Sounds like interesting reading, though. Thanks.

Semantics I suppose: one end Vienna, other end WW II had begun. A friend who liked it overall was disappointed it was less about his family and personal life, far more a historical perspective, which is more my thing.

R82 - I just started "The Dutch House: A Novel" by Ann Patchett. I like it so far.

I forget to mention that I only bought"The Dutch House" novel because of the front cover of the black haired girl (I guess it's suppose to be Maeve). This intense girl was staring at me from the bookshelf, just daring me to buy her. LOL.

The Dutch house will be released here in two weeks.

I think Commonwealth was her most successful novel here in Spain.

While I enjoyed Hollinghurst's Sparsholt Affair I also found it slightly frustrating in that, to me, the most interesting character -- Johnny's father, David, the lever of the plot -- was largely kept off stage after the introductory chapters. I wanted to know more about HIM. Still, I suppose characters like him have been written about often enough.

I really liked Commonwealth and really did not like Bel Canto.

I’m reading Edith Wharton’s The Old Maid (one of her 4 old New York novellas) and will probably read The Plot Against America next. For some reason I keep putting that one off.

Gerard Murnane's "A Lifetime on Clouds".

An Australian-Catholic version of Portnoy's Complaint set in 1950s Melbourne.

How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones.

[QUOTE] will probably read The Plot Against America next. For some reason I keep putting that one off.

Good timing. There is an HBO miniseries adaptation of Roth’s novel produced by David Simon (The Wire, The Deuce) coming out soon.

Just started "On Earth We are Briefly Gorgeous" for my book group.

Love Ann Patchett and looking forward to "The Dutch House". "Commonwealth" was great. She's at her best when she writes about what she knows. "Bel Canto" was outside her range of experience.

I’m re-reading Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1900). I love the plot and Carrie’s machinations but the language is quite inelegant. The characters are kind of just pawns on a chessboard so I get why it doesn’t matter as much.

I loved Sister Carrie. I recommend it all the time.

just started Farmer's "A Feast Unknown" WOW is this a strange book. cock measuring contests, semen, eating flesh. eating semen. and that's just the first few chapters.

Just finished THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Colson Whitehead. Excellent. Need a break before tackling THE NICKEL BOYS.

Also read POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt. A slog at times but I was truly impressed that she created all the writings of the two fictional Victorian authors. Come to think of it I was more impressed by the novel vs. enjoyed it.

R333: I remember when i read The underground railroad, i was eager to declare it overrated, the typical book which receives all attention because the big theme, but then i read a couple of sentences and i knew i was going to love it. I hope they publish the Nickel books soon here.

I'm reading Circe right now

Not reading any books right now, but I'm getting Ronan Farrow's book this weekend.

Th1rt3en, book #4 in Steve Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn series. A decent enough murder mystery, but someone should have paid for a copy editor. Steve is no "Oh, dear!" (No gay element in this book; I'm up to 30%.)

Which was the Ann Patchett with lost tribes on the Amazon? That was preposterous but very entertaining.

R332 I've just finished reading A Feast Unknown. Now I'm reading Cousin Bette by Balzac about life in Paris during the reign of the Citizen King - Louis Philippe. I have an eclectic taste in fiction.

I finally made it through Amor Towles A Gentleman in Moscow, after giving it away twice. Definitely a read you have to be in the mood for.

Rules of Civility was better.

After I saw Red Sparrow, the Russian spy thing with Jennifer Lawrence playing a Russian ballerina (I know) and the glorious, sexy Matthias Schoenaert I discovered it was based on a trilogy of spy novels so it's on my list.

Triggered by Donald J. Trump. I'm also getting 20 copies I can send to his political rivals.

^ DJT Jr.

Really enjoying Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory. Already picturing the film version in my head.

R338 - You're in for a wild ride with cray-cray Bette! I believe the 1971 video may still be available featuring a young Helen Mirren as Valerie; Margaret Tyzack's portrayal of Bette was amazing! Since this is a gay website, I'll go ahead and describe the ending as "delicious".

[QUOTE] Rules of Civility was better.

R339, have you read Eve in Hollywood by Towles? It follows Eve’s (from Rules of Civility) exploits in Hollywood.

Thanks R344. I notice that Cousin Bette is on Youtube so I'm looking forward to watching it once I've finished the book. I've been on a Balzac kick this year : Pere Goriot, Eugenie Grandet, Lost Illusions, The Girl with the Golden Eyes, Sarrasine, The Wild Asses Skin (Peau de Chagrin) and now Cousin Bette.

It's interesting that so many entertaining classic novels should have reprehensible females at the heart of the narrative: Undine Sprague in The Custom of the Country, Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair and Lisbeth Fischer in Cousin Bette.

R347, don’t forget that little cunt Dorothy.

I saw Cousin Bette with Jessica Lange and she was deliciously evil.

I think women feature so much in 19th century literature because women were the primary readers of novels but don't chastise me and shun me if I'm wrong.

R345 Thanx for the heads up. It's on my list.

Samantha Power’s Then education of an idealist’ and Simon Jenkins book ‘ England’s thousand best churches’

For Olive Kitteridge fans, I’ve just started the new sequel, Olive, Again, and it has all the charms of the original.

Working on Howard Jacobson's [italic]Live a Little[/italic]. Alternating plot lines, where I find one hilarious - real DL fodder - and the other kind of "meh" unfortunately.

I just finished "The Good Earth" by Pearl Buck. Fascinating historical fiction.

NOW, I am REALLY going to do it! I started Anna Karenina , SO far so good.

House of Trump, House of Putin. By Craig Unger. Excellent , ought to be required reading for all Americans.

I just finished Jami Attenberg's "All This Could Be Yours." The novel takes place during the course of a day in which a dying man is honestly remembered--often in unfavorable ways--by his wife and children. I enjoyed it.

I loved Circe (i liked it way more than The song of Achilles).

And i'm going to start Waiting for Mr Bojangles

A hundred pages into All The Light We Cannot See (it was a gift). I don't haaaate it, but this won the Pulitzer?

A People's History of the United States. I already hate white people.

R359: I loved it while i was reading but it's a book that i totally forgot after finishing.

It was supposed to be made a film adaptation, the novel was huge back in the day and it was written to be filmed

I am reading an edition of short stories by DH Lawrence. If you have never read his work, I urge you to start here. It’s even better than I hoped.

I forgot it too!! This happens a lot with a lot of popular fiction I've read.

I just finished OLIVE, AGAIN, and while it was lovely, I couldn't remember much about the original novel which I read back in 2012, so I had to put it on request at my library.

Don't bother with Ronan Farrow's CATCH AND KILL - it was BORING!!

OMG, THE NICKEL BOYS made my blood run cold. Horrifying.

The Nickel Boys excerpt in The New Yorker a few months back was horrifying and gruesome. I don't think I could read the whole book.

The Nickel Boys is terrific. Colson Whitehead is able to write about atrocities in such a matter of fact, yet compelling tone.

R366: There are scenes on The underground railroad that are terrifying. Thinking on North Carollina still gives me chills.

I'm really eager for the Nickel boys being published here.

By the way he was mentioned a lot on twitter yesterday because the paris match decided to give Richard Ford an award and people remind the incident when Richard Ford spat on Colson who made a bad review of one of his short story collections

My husband is quoted in the new book about David Rosenhan) ("On Being Sane in Insane Places), The Great Pretender.

So there.

R359 R361, that book was pressed upon me by a friend who loves very overwrought, basic storytelling that is completely devoid of nuance. That said, I did read it and finish it but I could not see all the fuss and acclaim. It does see like a page-to-screen book and if done right, will attract an audience.

R369 I thought it read like a miscategorized YA novel.

Posts about All the light we cannot see captured my feelings after reading it--meh, can't believe it won the Pulitzer, read like it was written for a great big Hollywood movie, etc.

I liked “All the light...”. Not because the plot was particularly great but it was visually evocative and memorable for me. Circe, likewise, although I didn’t really like her as a character.

Currently reading Oliver Bullough’s “Moneyland”, which is one of those books where you want to stop frequently just to process the degree of fuckery. The topic (how the rich hide their money via tax shelters and how they came into being) is not brand new information but the way he writes is very engaging and I find myself alternating between “tell me more” and “where are the pitchforks”.

This post is for folks who listen to audiobooks, if those are not for you, feel free to move on, sorry ...

There's a series of lectures available through a production company called Great Courses, mostly though not entirely focused on historical themes/periods. Obviously, some are better than others, so one can't judge the whole catalogue by one or two offerings. Anyway ...

I'm about 2/3 of the way through [italic]Food: A Cultural Culinary History[/italic] by Ken Albala. Starts with pre-history, I'm up to early colonial North America at present. While he's American with a largely American audience, he goes to great lengths to discuss global issues, such as traditional African and Australian societies. I'm posting this as it's one that vast in scope (20 hours), but I'm finding consistently engaging.

Back to regular programming ...

Now i'm on my french phase, i read Waiting for Bojangles which is short and funny and incredibly sad, and now i'm reading The children who came after them which won last year's Goncourt and i'm liking it a lot.

Probably next will be My sister, the serial killer, and i have the feeling that it could go either way, or loving it or totally hating it

The Iranian Plot - light reading about a gay FBI agent and his politician fiancé who move to Washington and confront a dirty bomb plot.

who's the author ^.? nothing come up when i google that title (as a novel)

There must be J McClintock (it's the one i found on google)

I finally started Ottessa Mossfegh's (is she half black and half Persian?) [italic]My Year of Rest and Relaxation[/italic]. The satire, and audio narration, are great, but I'm wondering if it'd be more satisfying for the unlikeable characters to die in the same grease fire or separate ones?

R378: Otessa has a thing for unlikeable characters, the main character in Eileen was very slappable

I’m reading the one about the Crawdads, finally!

On the advice on another DL thread, currently reading the journals of Kenneth Rose but am distinctly underwhelmed.

Joel Stein'[s new one. "in defense of elitism why i'm better than you and you are better than someone who didn't buy this book" depressingly funny. but also very sad state of this country.

I'm finishing Catch & Kill and then I will move on to I Hear You Paint Houses which is the book that Robert De Niro's new movie, The Irishman is based on about the murder of Jimmy Hoffa.

just started 3 book series by Malcolm Mackay. "The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter" --very Glasgow crime boys. Mackay is the king of short sentences. any over 5 words in length requires several comma. but a quick, interesting read.

I'm now trying to start Gide's La Symphonie pastorale, seeing that it should be a short read anyway.

I ended My sister the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite and i have mixed feelings, i found it funny most of the time but there's a feeling that something is missed.

And of course it's one of those books that it would be impossible to publish if you change the gender of the characters

Just finished Nicholas Searle's The Good Liar. Bit of a slog, but the writing compelled me to keep at it, knew what was coming long before I got there. I doubt I'll watch the film, but the casting of McKellen as Roy was absolutely perfect.

[italic]Between the Stops[/italic], memoir by Sandi Toksvig, whom I'd not heard of before dropping an Audible credit on the book. She's very funny, narrates her own material well, no impression at all of reading published text.

On a related note, I bought an Alan Partridge audiobook assuming he was a real person!

Just finished Trust Exercise by Susan Choi. It was perfectly fine, but I can't believe there weren't better choices for the National Book Award.

R389, I finished it last night and really disliked it. It felt like a pointless intellectual exercise.

I’m reading THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY for the first time. I knew it was gay but hadn’t realized it was SO gay.

there several books with Ripley. i enjoyed them all. ^

R390 I thought the first part was okay, but nothing all that special (nothing that many of us haven't experienced in one way or another).. I thought the second part had its moments, especially in focusing on a character not intrinsically interesting or charismatic. By the third part (the coda), I found it a bit exhausting and was ready for it yo be over--which is saying something for a novel that clocks in at only about 260 pages. I liked it more than "My Education." I picked up "A Person of Interest" used, so may give it a try.

I've never liked Susan Choi's work, and gave up after "My Education."

Picked up Trollope's [italic]Christmas Stories[/italic], as "Christmas at Thompson Hall" was recommended in a discussion group dedicated to offbeat and historical yet overlooked holiday reads, many of them by lesbian and gay writers (David Sedaris, Edward Gorey, Truman Capote...)

I'm reading A gentleman in Moscow right now and i'm very surprised that this novel was such huge bestseller

^^^^ Agree, R396. It's obvious his agent and publisher got him to dust some old notes off and come up with that. Rules of Civility was so much better.

Hope this is the first in a series: [italic]A Shadow On the Lens[/italic] by Sam Hurcom - suspenseful, almost Gothic, mystery set in 1904 Wales. Last night's reading had him trapped in a small (makeshift) "crypt" with a badly decomposed body, and various unpleasant varmints, for company along with hearing voices.

A Gentleman in Moscow was one of those books I only finished because I kept thinking it would get better. Alas, it did not. (See also: All The Light We Cannot See.)

To be honest, it's not that i am not liking it, it's that it's difficult to understand that a big novel without any plot became such a huge hit. And yes, i really liked the rules of civility, and if my memory doesn't fail it was not remotely as successful.

All the light we cannot see is a totally different case, in fact the problem with all it's award success is the fact that the novel reminds too much of a typical bestseller (way better written)

A Gentleman in Moscow was one of my favorite novels of the last few years.

[quote] Hope this is the first in a series: A Shadow On the Lens by Sam Hurcom - suspenseful, almost Gothic, mystery set in 1904 Wales. Last night's reading had him trapped in a small (makeshift) "crypt" with a badly decomposed body, and various unpleasant varmints, for company along with hearing voices.

"almost" Gothic?

That's about as Gothic as it gets.

Adore CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, but loathed the sequel, FIND ME. It is so lazy and manipulative that it detracts from my admiration for the first book.

I suppose you have a point, R402. One morning he complains about the noise from the other guests to the manager of his inn, receiving a reply that he's the only guest registered. Still, not as cheesy as it sounds.

I'm reading McCullers' Reflections in a Golden Eye (I've read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Member of the Wedding, and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe)--so far, it's a hoot--barely disguised homo desire, a Filipino servant who is a flaming queen, and a woman who cuts her nipples off--and that's just the first two chapters,

I'm currently reading "The Mathematical Theory of Communication" by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. Of all the scientist at Bell Labs Shannon was the most interesting one. I'm pretty well versed in Bell System history as I've read tons about it. And this book goes into detail on Shannon's Information Theory. I know I know I'm such a geek.

I loved Rules of Civility.

I'm going to read The housekeeper and the professor by Yoko Ogawa. To be honest my knowledge of japanese fiction is reduced to Haruki Murakami

American Psycho: Book 2

Who wrote that?

It's a nice book. R408. Literary fiction rather than Murakami's surreal fantasy stuff.

Agree, R411. It was nice taking a little literary trip to Japan.

For a full-blown Japanese novel, I can enthusiastically recommend Junichiro Tanizaki's [italic]The Makioka Sisters[/italic]. Set just as WW II is about to get underway, the last gasp of traditional Japanese culture losing out to modernity (westernization).

See the movie afterwards, not before. Ombra Mai Fu used as the opening theme makes me think of the film whenever I hear it.

Just got the Rudolph Nureyev biography from Amazon.Will begin reading it this week.

Reading NOTHING TO SEE HERE. So far so good.

Distant Cousins

No, Daddy, Don't

Has anyone here read the second volume of Kenneth Rose's diaries? I'm curious what his overall take on Princess Diana was, but not curious enough to slog through another volume .

Coven Therapy

Started [italic]Cleopatra's Wedding Present: Travels through Syria[/italic], a real hoot! Robert Tewdwr Moss was not only gay, but murdered in London just after completing the manuscript (story has red flags of Rough Trade Gone Wrong). Reads a lot like something by Greene or Waugh at their farcical finest. He was there in the 90s when Syria was a reasonably functioning nation.

"The dish in question turned out to be a large plate heaped with the carcasses of sparrows."

"At breakfast the next morning there was a selection of faded old European ladies in the dining room, looking like characters from a Barbara Pym novel."

[quote]"At breakfast the next morning there was a selection of faded old European ladies in the dining room, looking like characters from a Barbara Pym novel."

r420 if this quote doesn't indicate that book is a future DL Book Club Selection, I don't what does

Right now I'm reading Tiny Penis Shoplifter.

Just finished the latest Le Carre', who has always been a big favorite of mine--I think I've read all his books. This one, "Agent Running in the Field" is quite the page turner and with his unique and subtly delicious (to me) prose style and intricate plot, part of which you guess but not at all the ending. It's shortish--can be read in a day or two. If you're a fan, highly recommended!

Highly NOT recommended--"Blue Moon," Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher. Reads like it was written by a Lee Child program. Every 5 pages nameless and faceless Ukrainian and Albanian gang members are slaughtered in a nameless and characterless middle American small city. I became quite addicted to Child--you can't put down his books. But I think he should retire now. He's turned into a machine and Reacher no longer has any character.

Recommended for fans of Michael Connelly (but start with his early ones if you haven't read any of his books before)--the latest called "Night Fire"--chapters divided between Bosch and the new (third in series) female detective, Renee Ballard. This is a good one. I like the Ballard character, although her sleeping in a tent on Venice Beach at night is fairly implausible. Harry Bosch is recovering from knee replacement during the book, so she does the chases. But it's definitely up to Connelly's usual standard.

Did Egalander's posting on Sybille Bedford's novel "A Legacy" accidentally disappear? It is an excellent novel recommended by a long deceased professor that took me nearly forty years to get into (as they say) but worth it. I wish more American friends had read it.

R420 I read Cleopatra's Wedding Present many years ago. You're right. It's well worth reading.

Abraham Lincoln: Fuck Lord of the Moon

Finished Transcription, which improved markedly in the final 1/3. I wasn't a fan for most of it but the payoff was worth it. Relieved as I have loved all the Kate Atkinson's books I've read. Looking forward to the new Jackson Brody installment.

Listening to The Underground Railroad. The descriptions of slave punishment and torture are hard to digest.

R427: I still have chills every time i think on the North Carolina chapter

I’m reading Sister Carrie now based on recommendations above. I really love a story about a 19th or turn of the century femme fatale.

recently discovered Jonathan Lethem. great story teller. reading "Guns with occasional Music" now. noir detective story set in a future, dystopian Cali, with science fantasy mixed ijn. am so enjoying this.

Finally getting around to City of Thieves by David Benioff. Enjoying it a lot. Was it ever a film?

James Wood's 'The Fun Stuff.' Excellent insightful essays (many from The New Yorker) on the literary landscape: the great and the good, past and present.

He's stern, appreciative, and stimulating. All you want from a good critic. Recommended.

I loved Lethem's [italic]Motherless Brooklyn[/italic]!

Working on Tony Horwitz' final travel narrative [italic]Spying on the South[/italic], re-tracing Frederick Law Olmstead's journey of the 1850s.

[quote] Finally getting around to City of Thieves by David Benioff. Enjoying it a lot. Was it ever a film?

It's not been yet, though I imagine it will be, if he and Weiss stop fucking their own careers.

I was disappointed with it. it was exciting, but it had too much straight man bullshit in it about being brave enough and straining to please your father. It seemed very juvenile--which is fair, since he wrote it when he was quite young. But the world is filled with straight men who want to whine about their fathers and grandfathers never loved them enough.

[quote] Has anyone here read the second volume of Kenneth Rose's diaries? I'm curious what his overall take on Princess Diana was, but not curious enough to slog through another volume .

I did, actually. Rose HATES Diana as soon as the marriage goes bad--thinks she was a neurotic desperate for attention. He also hates Charles (whom he sees as a selfish whiner), and in one memorable passage he is even nasty about nine-year-old Prince William, whom he doesn't even seem to know (he says he heard William is spoiled and desperate for attention because of the way his parents use him in their war with one another).

Rose really became sour as he aged. His biggest pet peeves involve the mourning for Diana, not just when she died but for years afterwards--he's horrified Kensington Gardens might be turned into some sort of memorial for her when there's a lot of talk about it, and he quotes princess Margaret when she bitches about it too. He seems to think the park is for his pleasure and for the royals' alone, and he dislikes other people coming into it. He seems to forget what the point of having a royal family is.

The second volume has better gossip because of the sourness (and its closeness to the present time), but although I would have liked to have had dinner with the author of the first volume (who was conservative, but generous about other people), by the second he's too much of a prissy snob to be very likeable.

I've been reading a book called Dianetics, and it's really helping me learn a lot about myself. Some really nice people on the street gave it to me. They also invited me to a book club meeting or something. They are going to share more materials with me, but this time, I think I might have to pay for them. It seems worth it though.

Thanks, R435. As much as I'd enjoy reading the point of view of someone who hated Saint Di, I think I'll pass. I felt that Rose was already becoming rather punchable toward the end of the first volume and I couldn't bear it if he gets worse. (That analysis of William sounds dead-on, though.)

If you liked TRANSCRIPTION, try CODE NAME VERITY. It’s YA but twisty and a little twisted, with crypto-lesbo vibes.

I re-read Sister Carrie recently (probably the first time since college over twenty years ago) and I had forgotten how devastating the portrayal of George Hurstwood is in the novel. He’s a much more compelling character than Carrie and I think some of the strongest sections in the book are from his perspective.

Also, the repetition of the image of the rocking chair throughout the book is surprisingly effective.

I just finished reading Cousin Bette by Balzac. Bette is one of the great female monsters of fiction. I highly recommend the 1971 BBC tv series which is currently available as 15 minutes segments on Youtube. It stars a very young Helen Mirren as the scheming courtesan Valerie Marneffe and Margaret Tyzack in a brilliant performance as the implacable Lisbeth Fischer (Bette).

"Second Sleep" by Robert Harris. It's mind-blowing.

Has anyone read any Max Apple?

[quote]Bette is one of the great female monsters of fiction.

She exemplifies the true spirit of Datalounge! The ending defines "twisted"!!!

Tyzack deserved every award one could think of for that performance.

"A Gentleman in Moscow was one of those books I only finished because I kept thinking it would get better. Alas, it did not."

I found it difficult to care a fig about any of the characters, so it was slow going getting through the book. The Count's disposition hardly ever changed, which made for a distinct lack of drama, and there wasn't much of anything at stake until he last few chapters. I will say that the ending is nice, but the book is at least twice as long as it needed to me. There's enough material there for a novella at best.

And yes, RULES OF CIVILITY is much better.

i really enjoyed "Moscow" and was blah toward "Rules". different strokes, huh?

Flowers in the Attic.

R446, I loved the sequel, Petals on the Wind.

r441 I love Robert Harris! I read The Ghost on a dark and stormy night alone and was terrified, assuming the CIA was after me.

Not a book I'm reading, but some sad news from the LGBTQ publishing world. Bill Cohen, publisher of Harrington Park Press, died December 2 in NYC. He was a true pioneer in providing opportunities for scholarship and professional writing on LGBTQ issues, first founding Haworth Press when he was 26 and then Harrington Park Press, which is now distributed by Columbia University Press. He was a generous and supportive man and he opened up doors for LGBTQ work when more mainstream scholarly and trade houses were not yet ready to jump on the bandwagon. I remember how important a book like "Queer Crips" was for me when I was first exploring the intersections of those identities. I never met him in person, but had the privilege of writing for him in the last few years, and found him warm and sympathetic . I hope Harrington Park Press continues. It is a loss to many and he deserves all the accolades he no doubt received at his memorial service, which was today in the Village. A quiet, stedfast pioneer.

R439 Have you seen William Wyler's film of the novel, titled "Carrie" (not to be confused with Sissy Spacek's very different Carrie, but the "Sister" dropped probably so people wouldn't think it was about a nun). It features a Laurence Olivier heartbreakingly brilliant as Hurstwood (and without any of his always fascinating, but sometimes artificial "tricks") and a Jennifer Jones perfectly cast as Carrie (her sometimes vacuous quality worked for the character who, as you say, may be the catalyst for the action, but is far less tragic than Hurstwood). Eddie Albert works quite well as Charlie Drouet and Miriam Hopkins is nicely restrained for once as Julie Hurstwood. The black and white cinematography captures the period quality of the story well, and the film successfully captures the essence of the novel without some of the excessive prose for which Dreiser was notorious (I've never made it all the way through "An American Tragedy"--LITFS--life is too fucking short, as an ex- of mine used to say). I do think the novel makes a good argument for the concept that someone can be a great writer and a fairly bad stylist--it was generally true of O'Neill, with some astonishing exceptions.

Agree with everything you say, r450. SISTER CARRIE is a fine novel, made a great movie, too. As for AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, I'll be happy with PLACE IN THE SUN.

I just started Irene by Pierre Lemaitre.

The crime is particularly bloody but it's well written and fast paced

just started my 13th Bernie Guunther book, really enjoy him and his cynicism . and so relevant to modern American politics.

Just started 99 GLIMPSES OF PRINCESS MARGARET which a friend recommended. She comes off as very tiresome so far, but the gossipy tone is fun.

It's a sort of weaning tactic now that I finished the latest season of THE CROWN.

I’m about 3/4 of the way through THE NIX by Nathan Hill. It’s taken me awhile to get into because of all the diverging narratives and POVs and the timeline but things are coalescing in a very interesting way at the moment (Faye is current in college in Chicago) and I’m excited to finish it tonight.

R455: I loved that novel

Just finishing Annie Proulx's The Shipping News.

Whilst an enjoyable read, page by page, sentence by sentence, there doesn't seem to be an overall plot, rather episodic that seems to be going nowhere. Nothing really happens.

But still enjoyable.

Reading Ron Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton." Good lord, AH was a LOT. (So is the book -- Washington is president and Hamilton is treasury secretary and I'm not even halfway through. Sex scandal to come!)

Started my final 2019 read: [italic]Five Seasons[/italic] by Israeli writer A. B. Yehoshua (translated from Hebrew). Story opens with the death of the main character's wife, who had been lingering with a terminal illness for quite a while. So far, I can say that I look forward to returning to the book each time.

It seems Sebastian Barry got fond of gay literature after writing Days without end, one of his novel recomendations of this year was the debut of polish writer (i think he writes in english) Tomasz Jedrowski Swimming in the dark (and to be honest that novel sound really great, i hope it'll be published in my country)

I'm reading The Dutch house. I was going to read Annie Ernaux's The years but i was not in the right mood for that book.

My last two reads where Irene by Pierre Lemaitre which has a brutal ending (i will read the following books on summer, i always like some noir for the summer, and maybe his Goncourt novel too) and Temporada de avispas (wasp's season) from Elisa Ferrer, which was an interesting debut (maybe she get her novel translated because she studied in Iowa and it received and award here).

I loved John Boyne’s Ladder to the Sky. Highly recommended.

Educated by Tara Westover is also a great read.

The Nix reminded me of Purity. I loved both of them. One more novel of that quality and I think Jonathan Franzen could win the Nobel Prize. I think he’s the US’ best contemporary writer.

I think Franzen is a far distance from winning a Nobel--and there are plenty of other English-language writers ahead of him. Atwood (though Munro is pretty recent) and, since they just gave it to a US writer (Dylan), they are not likely to give it to someone as comparatively young as Franzen.

My problem with [italic]Educated[/italic] was the required suspension of disbelief for events to have happened pretty much exactly as she says they did.

I’m enjoying The Dutch House so far. The character of Andrea is a DataLounger.

R464: Jonathan Franzen is way younger than the usual Nobel contenders.

And frankly some of the Nobel winners are very dubious in terms of quality. I read one of Patrick Modiano's first novels and all i have to say is that i hope he improved a lot with time because it was terribly bad

Franzen is 60 and younger than most but not all recent Nobel winners. Toni Morrison was 62 but had just written the greatest American novel of many years when she won.

Most winners seem to be in their 70’s.

I can’t think of a writer whose last 3 novels were anywhere close to The Corrections, Freedom and Purity. My bet is that Franzen’s next novel will tackle the environment or climate change in some way (he’s obsessed with declining bird populations). He’s able to capture the mood of the country in a way no other writer does, at least in my opinion.

If it weren’t Franzen, I’d give the next American Nobel to John Irving. His strongest novels are well behind him but I’m a huge fan of his - particularly Owen Meany.

One other (white man) who could potentially win is Ian McEwan.

McEwan had the problem that they awarded Ishiguro in recent years. I know that for many people Ishuguro was not the strongest of his generation, but his win put McEwan, Barnes, Amis and all that group in serious difficulties to win the Nobel (just Munro winning made way more difficult for Atwood)

Never really thought of McEwan, Barnes or Amis as Nobel likelihoods. If Roth and Updike weren't honoured, those Brits surely aren't candidates.

Recently saw a comment by Edmund White that Alan Hollinghurst was the best novelist in England, and he should win the Nobel. Very nice idea, but perhaps a stretch.

I’d like for Cormac McCarthy to win the Nobel.

Agree that Franzen is a very long shot, but McCarthy a real possibility. I also think Edna O'Brien has a real chance—when was the last Irish winner? (Too bad William Trevor died before he could win.) I'd love for Hollinghurst to be honored, but that too I think is a pipe dream. Time for another gay laureate though—was Patrick White the only one?

I know he’s not especially prolific, but I wish that Andrew Holleran would win. He is one of the greatest writers I have ever encountered.

Hollinhurst is really good and winning the Booker made him mainstream something that never happened with Edmund White.

Of course being popular generally goes against the writer to win. In my opinion the Nobel is extremely overrated, there are way more great writers that never won than great writers than won, and there are a lot of winners that are totally forgotten (even some relatively recent ones)

R472 As for gay nobel laureates I can think of three names among those still of high repute in 2019 : Selma Lagerlof -1909 (quite likely) , Thomas Mann -1929 and Andre Gide -1947. Many of the winners are so obscure now that it's anyone's guess as to their sexual orientation.

The only John Irving book I've ever read is one his fans generally dislike: [italic]A Son of the Circus[/italic], which does have some gay content (as I recall).

Most of Irving’s novels have some kind of gay, bi, or trans content. Even if it’s just a supporting character.

A shout out for Selma Lagerlof 's delightful book for young readers : The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson.

I’m the Franzen fan and curious to hear perspectives on other living authors who produced 3 books of the quality of The Corrections, Freedom and Purity.

I’m not saying the don’t exist but I can’t think of any.

2020 thread

R479. Some names that spring to mind are Richard Price, Barbara Kingsolver, Jane Hamilton, Brad Watson, Cormac McCarthy, Colson Whitehead, Edwige Danticat, just for starters.

Length (Franzen) and scope do not necessarily equate with quality.

Nick Earl's 'Zig Zag Street' - post-love life in Brisbane, in the 90s.

There is some sort of Franzen fan queen all over this thread.

I can see John Le Carre getting a Nobel. If Bob Dylan can . . .

A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré

[quote]I can see John Le Carre getting a Nobel.

Evidently JLC has told his publisher he doesn't want to be considered for any literary prizes. Similarly he has no public honours. A very interesting position for one of the most significant of modern authors. Which only adds to the fascination of the man who is David Cornwell.

Does one have to be nominated for the Nobel in Literature? I seem to remember that Doris Lessing seemed pretty peeved when she won hers.

Just finished THE NICKEL BOYS by Colson Whitehead. A tough, engrossing - with an amazing third part - and worth every minute of your time.

"A tough, engrossing read..."

Butterfingers.

r487: Bob Dylan didn't even acknowledge his Nobel win for several weeks in 2016 and then it was about 6 months or more before he even picked it up and then maybe even later before he gave his (required) acceptance speech. So no, nobody is nominated in advance for any kind of Nobel AFAIK.

Not true about the Peace Prize. You can absolutely be nominated. Remember that Donald Trump pressured someone (a Japanese politician?) to put his name up for the award. And I know that Jose Andres was nominated last year.

I think Le Carre is something of a gasbag.

Right, and no gasbag has ever won awards.