What are you reading?

demagogue on 12/6/2010 at 15:30

A friend of mine's uncle or somebody wrote a book where the thesis was that the Odyssey, or anyway it's original oral folk-tale form, was actually a constellation-chart for sailors. Something like each monster for each island being the star or constellation they'd follow to go in that general direction (from Athens or wherever), and the narrative was just part mnemonic and part entertainment. Then Homer came along centuries later and embellished it as a proper epic poem narrative.

Edit: I like to scope Amazon for $1 or less books. I just ordered *New Art City*, which I'd seen at a museum bookstore for $40 but on Amazon for $1. It's a history of the New York art scene from 1938-1970. My last art book was the history of the Paris scene from 1912-1939 when they all left for New York, so it felt right to continue the story from there. (One big thing I miss from NYC is the art, but at least DC has two nice modern art museums.)

Sulphur on 12/6/2010 at 20:07

Fascinating! So The Odyssey had a pretty organic genesis, refined and refined through the centuries. Of course Greek mythology being so convoluted and dense and rife with incident, it'd be hard to see these stories as sprung forth from Homer's head fully formed. I'm sure setting everything out in dactylic hexameter and orating the entire length of each poem must have been quite the job, though.

@Aja: Someday, I'll read Ulysses. I'd be more motivated if, instead of the promise of pages of much perplexity (and possible debate about Irish politics!), there were more raunchy exchanges in the story like Joyce's infamous love letters. But that's probably just me.

Tonamel on 13/6/2010 at 03:54

The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Well, technically.

I have it checked out from the library, anyway.

Angel Dust on 15/6/2010 at 07:47

Quote Posted by Aja

Ulysses is actually really good, during the parts where I kinda sorta understand what's happening. And the parts where I don't, well, I just think of those parts as poetry.

That pretty much mirrors my experience with the last book I finished, Gravity's Rainbow, except replace 'poetry' with 'a mad blend of high art and dick jokes'. Overall I'm not entirely sure on where I stand on it. I enjoyed a great deal of it (pie fight at 10,000 feet ftw) and I was certainly never bored but the particularly fragmented closing section (The Counterforce) pretty much obliterated my rather tenuous grasp on precisely just what the fuck was going on. Perhaps a re-reading in a couple of years time might makes things clearer.

I'm currently about halfway through A Confederacy Of Dunces which I'd never heard of before (although I see that Stitch mentioned it earlier in this thread) but me Mum thought I might like it.

And she's right: it's bloody fantastic. Ignatius J. Reilly might just be one of the greatest character's ever written.

june gloom on 9/7/2010 at 07:20

Been working my way through the Neuromancer trilogy (again.) Every time I read this trilogy my favourite book changes. First it was Neuromancer, then it was Coutn Zero, but this time around I'm finding myself really drawn into Mona Lisa Overdrive's windswept, cold badlands of Dog Solitude.

snowcap21 on 9/7/2010 at 08:20

Quote Posted by Aja

Ulysses is actually really good, during the parts where I kinda sorta understand what's happening. And the parts where I don't, well, I just think of those parts as poetry.

So, have you reached the stream of consciousness part at the end yet? That's quite a long part of poetry. Or at least it was for me. I remember reading it ages ago on a beach, it was some sort of trance lying in the heat and reading for hours without understanding anything. And I only read a translation (but a good one). I always wanted to reread it, to see if I understand now a bit more. One of those projects. Finnegans Wake is also still waiting somewhere here. rrrrriverrun

A bit more mundane: I'm currently reading book 12 of the Wheel of Time, never thought I'd make it that far after the first books, but somehow I got hooked. And it's not as bad as I feared after reading Elantris by Sanderson.

And still reading Infinite Jest. Maybe I should get the German translation...

T-Smith on 11/7/2010 at 19:36

Just finished reading up Metro 2033 actually. The game didn't do the book justice in the slightest.

the_grip on 12/7/2010 at 16:12

I'm going on a short trip soon and am looking for a decent book, fiction or non-fiction. If going with fiction, I'd prefer sci-fi or thriller.

Either way, something light, quick, and enjoyable. Any recommendations?

Sulphur on 12/7/2010 at 16:30

Ender's Game. It's not light, exactly, but if it's your first time it's a page turner.

Alternatively, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demolished_Man) The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester, besides being a (slightly dated) seminal, high-concept proto-cyberpunk novel, is a well-written romp of a book with detective story overtones.

the_grip on 12/7/2010 at 16:49

Quote Posted by Sulphur

Great choice with Ender's Game. I have read that a while back, but it was a great book.

I have not read The Demolished Man. Looks interesting... will look into it. Any other recs are appreciated (doesn't have to necessarily be sci-fi... I do have The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but have not made it around to reading it - thus any kind of thriller, etc., is also welcome).