Amph What book are you reading right now?

Story and it's Writer, What If? (which I actually like), and Norton's Introduction to Literature. I may have to bust out Bruce Lee's The Tao of Gung Fu just to clear my head.

 

Man screw "insect," it's Ungeziefer, people get in massive arguments about how to translate it. Corngold's more ambiguous "vermin" is where it's at. Yes I'm incredibly biased owing to the compelling arguments presented in the introduction to his version, what of it?

 

If there's one story I hope I do not have to reread in my courses, it's Metamorphosis (Ducks behind giant can of Raid.) Gregor checks in, but he won't check out.

 

Well, I read all of the short fiction he published during his life last year and really didn't take to any of it very well. I haven't read The Trial. I would recommend In the Penal Colony (I think that's the most common translation of the title) which is a bit shorter than The Metamorphosis, but is longer than his typical short fiction and has a real nasty feel to it. The Hunger Artist is the best of his short stories; I'd definitely recommend that one, but the other three it typically comes packaged with are not particularly good. Like I say, I haven't read The Trial and I want to, but I have the feeling that I may walk away from Kafka with the popular opinion proved true: The Metamorphosis may actually be his best work. Nothing else of his I've read has come close at all.

I almost mentioned the controversy over the various translations of that word. The quote I pulled is right out of Pasley's translation, which was the one I was reading. don't recall the one I read in college, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't "insect" in that one. Insect isn't my preferred word either. "Vermin" is probably the most ambiguously accurate, but I think "cockroach" kind of carries all the right connotations for a modern audience. It's supposed to be a word that comes with some revulsion built into it and I think most people hate cockroaches; I know I do. Beetle doesn't really do it for me. But I get that Kafka, though he does give some anatomical details in the story, was really just going for, basically, something like "repulsive thing."

 

i really wanna read The Castle (which i believe is a full length novel). ive heard really good things about it

 

The Castle is a novel but it's not complete. Only the Trial is. Both have a lot of the same themes and ideas though and the Castle had the potential to be the better novel, in my opinion. Definitely worth reading even though it's incomplete.

 

Star Wars Rebels Servants of the Empire 2: Rebel in the Ranks by Jason Fry

 

Finished Xenocide and the second part of the story Children of the Mind. The series has been interesting but I'm also glad to be done with it because it was pretty depressing at times.

I feel the need for a easy fun read so I'm now reading the TFA novel.

 

*nods* It is. It's slow going too in one or two books.

TFA would definitely have fewer politics and mental gymnastics!

 

Pick Up On Noon Street by Raymond Chandler.

It's extra fun because it's a 1950 edition I'm reading. Old books smell awesome.

 

Started Early, Took My Dog (2010) – Kate Atkinson

In what is so far the final book in Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie series, Atkinson wraps up a brilliant quartet of literary thrillers that succeed on multiple levels. This one is no exception. Atkinson creates great characters, like ex-cop Tracy Waterhouse, now a troubled mall cop who finds herself in the middle of a decades old mystery because of a single impulsive decision. And then there’s Tilly Squires, an aged actress struggling with dementia and the demands of a recurring role on a cheesy TV mystery show. And then there’s Jackson’s new dog; Lord, what fun he is. I really devoured this book; I think it’s the most propulsive in terms of plot and the way it leaps between the present day and 1975 is compelling and gripping. Even in the flashbacks, Atkinson keeps the tension up. This book is just as thematically composed as Atkinson’s previous novels, but there’s something a bit different with this. Many of Atkinson’s previous books (all of her previous Brodie novels, Human Croquet & even, in an odd way, Emotionally Weird) have been about violence against women. This book is about cruelty and violence toward children. And dogs. One might say it’s really about violence against the truly helpless and the closest to innocence and the dangers, rewards, successes & failures of parenthood. For all that thematic resonance and deep, evocative character work, the book also succeeds as a great mystery thriller with plenty of plot twists I didn’t see coming. I don’t know if Atkinson intends to resurrect Brodie for more novels somewhere down the line. I kind of doubt it. She released the four books of this quartet at two year intervals and with no other novels in between. Since this one, it’s been six years and she’s published two novels unrelated to Brodie, so I figure she’s done with the character and I’m okay with that. Will I read another Brodie novel if she publishes one? Trick question: I’ll read ANYTHING Atkinson publishes. But I’m happy with the ending here and viewing these four novels as a single unit, a lengthy, four-part novel is satisfying. I mean, we come to it again. It’s an Atkinson novel; it will be a masterpiece. 4 stars.

tl;dr – Jackson Brodie series ends with a gripping thriller that spans decades and features beautiful, evocative character work and serious themes; another Atkinson triumph. 4 stars.

More Book Reviews!

 

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

It has been several years since I have read Chandler. I almost forgot how fun and easy he is to read. I burned through this mystery in days.


One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

This short novel describes the harsh conditions in a Russian prison camp. I highly recommend reading it.


Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost

A scandalous couple cons their way across two continents.


Voss by Patrick White

A German explorer leads an expedition to map the continent of Australia. I think this is the first book I have read by an Australian author.


Hard Times By Charles Dickens

I'm listening to the audio book I checked out from the local library.

 

I agree. The first two entries in the Discworld series are the weakest. Please continue. There are some real gems later in the series. Pratchett is one of the most entertaining, funny authors I have ever read.

This series is great for that purpose. I read through the entire series in between other books. They are great escapes

This book has been intimidating me from my to read shelf for a long time. When you finish, post how you liked it and, if you have read any other Pynchon, how it compares to his other novels.

Pevear & Volokhonsky have been my favorite Russian translators. I didn't read their version of War And Peace but I imagine it must be great. Les Misérables is such a great story, you will barely notice the epic length.

It's been a few years since I read it but if I recall correctly, The Trial was incomplete at the time of Kafka's death, too. It has a concluding chapter that was his plan for the end of the story but it is far from a finished, polished novel.

 

Star Wars Rebels Servants of the Empire 3: Imperial Justice by Jason Fry

 

Marvel's Star Wars #18

 

My impression of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is that it is way overwritten. Or just written in a boring way? There are interesting little bits and the entire story of Bazaar of the Bizarre is good. But overall it just didn't punch. I thought this would hit like Robert Howard Conan stories. Nope.

Taking a fantasy break with Mark Greaney's 5th book in a series, Back Blast.

 

Skyborn by David Dalglish. Science fantasy story about a world of islands floating in the sky and soldiers called Seraphim who strap on high-tech wings to do battle. I liked the concepts a lot, and the writing was pretty good. Aerial combat was vivid. Interesting plot with several intriguing mysteries, most of which are unsolved in this volume. The sequel is scheduled to come out in November and I preordered it from Amazon.

 

Rereading Snow Crash. I'd almost forgotten how amazingly good this novel is.

 

I actually got bored with this though I did finish it. It is gold in places. Not sure if I'll read the sequel.

This always makes top ten lists for me. The talks with the librarian A.I. are my favorite bits.

 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Michael Reaves & Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff

 

The Nature of Happiness by Desmond Morris.

And no, it's not a how-to-be-happy self help type book. It's a look at what drivers humans as a species towards different kinds of happiness, from a more evolutionary perspective.
Different aspects or modes of happiness are defined in the book, and generally they all have deep roots in our smart-ape history. The writing is quite clever: simple yet not superficial. Only about half way so far, but I'd recommend it.

 

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Bernard Bailyn's 1960s reassessment of Revolutionary ideology, based largely on extensive study of the period's pamphlet literature, was considered revolutionary (HAH HAH) at the time and won the Pulitzer. It's likely only for those with an interest in political theory . . . but everyone needs an interest in political theory. It's well-written and easy to read, though it starts slow, and Bailyn does a good job of illuminating what the Revolutionary generation thought and why. He traces the origin of their ideas, the paradigm in which they were thinking, back through the English Civil War, and he explains how their ideas quickly matured in the ferment of the political crises beginning with the Stamp Act. It's persuasively argued and very informative in helping understand the Founders' frame of mind, the questions they felt they were grappling with and the ways they looked at those questions, and fitting them into a historical context. Highly recommended.

 

The Bounty Hunter Wars I: Mandalorian Armor

 

Finished the TFA novel. I was expecting more extra scenes but I still enjoyed it.
Now reading The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.

 

Well there's probably only one victory tune for finishing War & Peace, so:


I wish I had a better or more original take than "Yes, this is correctly described as one of the greatest books ever written," but I don't. I'm glad I finally read it, I was consistently enraptured.

I also managed to knock out Notes from Underground (Also the P&V), since it's pretty short, and having never read any Dostoevsky before I must admit I'm rather smitten with the roughshod, feverish, adverb-laden writing style that it had on display, with its rough fevers and adverbs and repetitions and roughness; rough. But seriously it was pretty great. And feverish, perhaps a bit rough.

Based on exactly one chapter of The Ten-Cent Plague I find David Hajdu's style agreeable, and I'm here for the information; I'll probably stick with it.