December 2009 Reads

[Renasko]

Finished Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. The motivation was Bakker’s The Judging Eye, which models parts of its cast on the characters of McCarthy. I did not know of this book before, and am happy to have read it; the literary and thematic ambition, and the prose, are off-the-scale good. However, it’s annoyingly ambiguous and cryptic, which I find unnecessary, conceited, and a even bit craven. A shame, really.

Spot on. I felt it was a very conceited piece of work, and it stopped me from becoming involved with the story in any significant way.

As for me, not much better. I finished the Assassin King by Elizabeth Haydon yesterday, which was disappointing. I actually liked her other books, too.

Should finish off 'the Inferior' by O Guillin and 'the Ten Thousand' by Kearney, soon. I would not recommend either, from what I've read of them.

[Stego]

I felt it was a very conceited piece of work, and it stopped me from becoming involved with the story in any significant way.

This never, ever turns off the critics, but I completely understand what you mean. I feel as if The Road is McCarthy at the top of his powers.

[kcf]

I finished up Finch by Jeff VanderMeer - I really enjoyed it. It's noir set in Ambergris and awesome (full review).

For a change of pace, next up is Unseen Academicals by Sir Terry Pratchett.

[Ealdorman Halasahr]

Ealdorman, like Isis, I had no problem with the poses and just saw it as another layer of communication. I always imagined the poses as something like the subconscious hand gestures people often make in conversation, just done deliberately. Granted, the poses are a bit more complicated than that, but I never needed to try and imagine exactly what they were supposed to be. Not sure if that helps or not.

-----------------------------------------------

Thanks!

I know what I should do. I ought to give it a fair(er) chance. That is, I should not read a page or to every now and again, which I've done so far. Instead, like any other book, it has to be given a decent amount of hours at the same time. I should be lying down reading it chapter by chapter, and really get into the book.

Therefore, I've decided to give it another chance (but after I've finished a few other books that also requires my fair share of attention).

Perhaps I'll get over the posing then. I'd like to think I know at least something about non-verbal communication, since I was born almost completely deaf, and all (I can hear all right now, though).

[Happy Ent]

This never, ever turns off the critics, but I completely understand what you mean.

Ah, it doesn’t exactly turn me off either — parts of me feel quite flattered, because I “get it,” and I assume few other readers do. It makes me feel smart, which is good entertainment. When I was younger this was very important to me. Then I started an academic career in the hard sciences, and nothing literature can offer is even close to that level of inaccessibility. So I really don’t need to read to flatter my ego anymore, which makes that particular aspect of capital-L literature unnecessary for me.

(But I appreciate that inaccessibility remains a valid quality of literature.)

[RaceBannon42]

I think feeling Smart is a big reason for Dan Brown's success. His protagonists are these brilliant scientists and scholars , but they are unable to figure out the key plot element that I the reader figured out chapters ago!

[lessthanluke]

Reading through Dreamsongs. Probably read A Game of Thrones when I finish.

[Stego]

I think feeling Smart is a big reason for Dan Brown's success. His protagonists are these brilliant scientists and scholars , but they are unable to figure out the key plot element that I the reader figured out chapters ago!

Reading fantasy makes you smart. *firm nod*

[Isis]

Don't get me wrong. I do like the idea of it in Mr. Abraham's world, and yes, you're so right about communication - it does include so many nuances and layers: words, emphasis, tone of one's voice, pauses (they are really important, don't you think?), and ... poses.

But I just keep trying to imagine exactly how one pose differs from another, and to be honest, I guess I'm lacking the imagination to see them. Of course, if one is actually living in such a society, and therefore is used to the concept of posing, she or he would be able to tell one subtle pose from another.

Did you have any problem at all imagining the posing, or did you just accept it for with was - a language of its own?

I guess if I can get over my own barrier regarding the posing I will love the world and the characters, don't you think?

/No harm intended.

When I read fiction I'm quite happy to let things wash over me to a certain extent without having to explicitly grasp every single thing that is going on. So, no, I didn't worry about being able to visualise every pose. It was sufficient for me to know that it was taking place without being concerned about how it looked.

The fact that the poses exist (where they are mentioned in a scene) lets you know there are (at least) two levels of communication going on in a given scene. And the writing sometimes describes how someone performs the pose - you know, formally, or not-quite-seriously or sarcastically or whatever which is sort of the equivalent of tone of voice in terms of oral communication, i.e. it provides more clues as to the character's mood or personality.

I especially like it when the spoken words of a character contradict the action of their poses. This demonstrates the conflict in life, for example between how a person must act according to their status/official role and how they actually feel. There's an example when Otah performs some pose whilst lying on his back which suggests something that totally contradicts his supine position. Without 'seeing' the pose, you still know that what he's doing is funny. It works for me anyhow.

I think that if it is distracting for you maybe you could try ignoring all references to the poses, i.e. just read the words and don't think about their meaning (like a footnote or something)

[fitheach]

I'm reading 'The Game" by A.S. Byatt (who also wrote Posession the novel that became Posession the film with Jennifer Ehle). Excellent novel, honestly smart and makes me feel not so much :-), and a great great story. I think it may be her first novel since it's original publication was 1968.

Also rereading a novel called 'A Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin. Great read if anyone's interested, I think its a series. :P

[TheHalfman]

Finishing up Martin, Abraham, and Gardners' Hunter's Run, and then I'll start Shadow Magic by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett.

[williamjm]

When I heard about Borders my first thought was, 'Yes! Closing down sale!' Must get my arse down there before everything decent goes.

I went to Borders at lunchtime today, there were still quite a few books although a few empty shelves as well. It wasn't a huge discount (20%) so I just bought some books I'd likely have bought at some point soon anyway - the omnibus of the first two Daniel Abrahams books, Ian McDonald's Cyderabad Days, Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon and Brandon Sanderson's Elantris (after enjoying The Gathering Storm more than recent Wheel of Time books I'm curious to see how Sanderson's own work compares).

[Renasko]

This never, ever turns off the critics, but I completely understand what you mean. I feel as if The Road is McCarthy at the top of his powers.

I've heard this and hope it proves to be true. McCarthy seems like an author I'd really like to like, if you get what I mean, but at the moment I'm a little split decision-wise. Perhaps I need to read him on a more quiet day, so I can give him my full time and patience, and I am not as quick to be irked. :lol:

Finishing up Martin, Abraham, and Gardners' Hunter's Run

I've made some tentative progress with this novel, myself. What did you think of it?

[siemprepe]

I'm actually busy with a couple of books. I started the PON series but for some reason I can't read it in one go. I have moments where I am totally into it and others where I'm a bit disgusted by it. So I am busy in warrior prophet.

Also, I am busy in drood by Dan Simmons and on the side I am reading redemption song (biography about Joe Strummer).

[pika]

The books etc branch of borders started its "sale" in september. First only non-book related items were on sale, by october it was 20%. In Novemver they were at 30%. Last week it was 40% off followed by 50% at the weekend. I started buying at 40% as it's possible to get 30% online.

My local wimbledon branch still had some decent books this time last week (even stranger they seem to be getting new stock eg the Logen cover of "blade itself")and the one in victoria station mall still has a decent selection (the other victoria shop has been stripped bare) for anyone around london. As for Borders main stores, I'll be holding out with the expectation of a similar timeframe to that of books etc.

We should let each other know when we see decent sales turn up!

As an aside, I can't help but feel guilty at the checkout as the person serving me is likely to be unemployed by xmas and I'm benefitting from it.

I dunno what I'd do if Borders closed here.. we only have two options to buy books from an actual store.. Borders and Barnes&Nobel..

But yeah going out of business sales are always like that.. my local comic book store is closing, and over the time hes been open I've not been the greatest of customers.. not spent a whole lot of money with him.. Not out of choice, just out of priorities.. after not having been for several months I did visit and found out he was closing.. I never know what to say to the owners or workers of stores that are going out.. having worked in one that did close, I found far too many people simply don't have any empathy for the employees at all " Well if you had worked harder you wouldn't be closing " or " If you had sold your products cheaper (and ergo paid your employees less) you wouldn't be closing " etc.. on the other hand, if you say " I shop here all the time I'm sorry your closing/losing your job " it can come across as patronizing..

[Papirolle]

I'm in the middle of a Bret Easton Ellis marathon. Why aren't we discussing him more on this board? He is pretty damn good and deserves more attention here.

I recently bought Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction and Lunar Park, none of which I had read before.

I liked Less Than Zero, but I don't really understand what the big deal was. Why was this book so hyped during the 80's? A fast read, since all the chapters are basically the same. I couldn't care less about any of the characters, but that was the whole point I guess.

The Rules of Attraction was much more to my tastes. The characters are tragic in a fun way, as opposed to tragic in a sad way (like they are in Less Than Zero). Very fun and fast read, much better than the failed film, which didn't make much sense at all unless you've read the book.

Since I had already read American Psycho and Glamorama many years ago I skipped them and read his latest book Lunar Park (published in 2005).

Now this book is a serious mind-fuck on the same scale as Glamorama.

It starts out as a autobiography where Bret Easton Ellis tells us about his youth, writing his first three novels, becoming ridiculously famous and how he handled that by taking insane amounts of drugs. Bret Easton Ellis (the character) is worse than any of the characters he has written about in his earlier books and somewhere during the first chapter you realize that this isn't a biography at all, it is a caricature of the public's view of Ellis.

The first chapter is absolutely hilarious and works as a prologue, the real story starts in the second chapter. The rest of the book is part horror story, part Ellis dealing with his troubled relationship with his deceased father and part paranoia about the horrible things that media is reporting about. It soon enters surreal territory and the last chapter is the most beautiful thing Ellis has ever written.

If I learned anything from this it is that you must pay attention while reading his books. His prose is deceptively simple and easy to read. Glamorama and Lunar Park in particular are not at all what they first seem. It's all in the details and not trusting the narrator.

Now I liked Lunar Park so much that I decided to re-read American Psycho and Glamorama.

Next on my to-read list is probably One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (since Dylanfanatic praises it so much) or Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe.

[Isis]

I liked Less Than Zero, but I don't really understand what the big deal was. Why was this book so hyped during the 80's? A fast read, since all the chapters are basically the same. I couldn't care less about any of the characters, but that was the whole point I guess.

Less Than Zero was very much a book of its time. If you weren't around in that time I guess it won't resonate that much with you. Have you seen the film? I think that does an equally good job of representing the time it was made in.

Like you, I thought Lunar Park was superb. I haven't read The Rules of Attraction and Glamorama yet but I'm looking forward to it. In fact, I'm saving them up for when I've finished studying and I can really wallow in some quality reading time.

[Papirolle]

Isis, Glamorama is very good, but it's one of those books where you feel the need to re-read it immediately after finishing it.

[AprilFool]

Just found some reissues of Joe R. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard series. I have heard alot of good things about Lansdale so I picked up a few of the books. Really liked Mucho Mojo and Two-Bear Mambo. I am going to go back to see if I can get some more of the series. Average mysteries with some ineresting characters and some really great atmosphere. Just about to start Sunset and Sawdust, which is not in the series. I am also going to search out some of Lansdales short fiction/horror.

[saint777]

Just found some reissues of Joe R. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard series. I have heard alot of good things about Lansdale so I picked up a few of the books. Really liked Mucho Mojo and Two-Bear Mambo. I am going to go back to see if I can get some more of the series. Average mysteries with some ineresting characters and some really great atmosphere. Just about to start Sunset and Sawdust, which is not in the series. I am also going to search out some of Lansdales short fiction/horror.

I would recommend High Cotton for a good collection of Lansdale's horror stories.

I haven't been reading much lately so I still haven't finished either Dust of Dreams or The Judging Eye. I can definitely finish those this month and I should get Crack'd Pot Trail(the fourth Korbal Broach & Bauchelain novella) in the mail this month.