I read a great book today.

Added Bonus: Hilary Knight illustrations.

currently reading Haruki murakami's 'The wind-up bird chronicle'. Abt a man (Mr wind up bird) who has some very strange things (to say the least) happening to him. I'm at the point where his wife leaves him after she has an affair with someone else. And he decides he is going to try and find her.

I finished "crash" by ballard a few weeks ago. It was a good read; a little repetetive, but that didn't bother me. The repetition seemed to add to the quasi-religious nature of those things that the characters were doing. Religious for them, I should say ;-)

I haven't been into a fast food place since I finished fast food nation. It has been almost two years now!

God damnit, every single book I've read from Millennium's "SF Masterworks" series has been fan-fucking-tastic. I should just go and order all 60 books. :)

I have been looking at that actually. how many have you read BTW? I've only read the PKD titles so far though I am going to start on Sam Delany's 'Nova' once i'm finished with the murakami. How abt James blish for instance or joe halderman's 'The forever war' (that was no1 wasn't it?).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/18181/ref%3Dbr%5Fbx%5F1%5F4/202-6919004-7952618

And can vouch for all of them as being fantastic. I've only bought about 6 or 7 of the actual "Masterworks" publishing runs, being (from memory):

A Scanner Darkly, PKD
Now Wait For Last Year, PKD
VALIS, PKD
Flowers For Algernon, Daniel Keyes
The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester (aka "Tiger! Tiger!")
Last And First Men, Olaf Stapeldon

and there was one more, I think, but I can't remember what it was.

Anyway, if I could afford it I'd get 'em all shipped over in a big crate. Alas, I cannot.

I'm still enjoying Colette's THE VAGABOND.

I'm currently reading My Name is Red by Omar Pahmuk (sp?), which is interesting. It's a philosophical mystery set in 16th century Turkey, has lots of meditations on the purpose of art, esp. in religion. Pretty interesting.

The last book I finished by Ada, or Ardor by Nabokov. The beginning was ok, the middle was good, the final third was tedious. I was glad to finish it and move on to something else.

Do you need your personal librarian on this, Julio (yes, of course I have it!)?

Don't expect Blish or Haldeman to be in the Dick/Delany/Bester class, by the way.

I have Kavalier And Clay on the shelf to be read soon. Currently just started my first Iain Sinclair.

Right now I'm finishing "Confederates in the Attic" by Tony Horwitz (who also wrote that book about being "Lost in Baghdad Without a Map," which is one of my favorite travelogues). Next on my list is "Handling Sin" by Michael Malone, "Middle Sex" by Jeffery Eugenides (?), and a bio of Frances Harding.

Have just started 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates.

I just want to note that Flowers for Algernon sent me bawling as a kid, even more so than Where the Red Fern Grows and Le Petit Prince -- not because it was necessarily better but because I get really really sad about people not being able to do things, especially write. When I was very young I remember getting sort of weepy in church because I realized my dad could not sing on-key and I felt really bad about this; with Algernon you have to sit there and watch his intellect visibly deteriorate and oh no! it aches! oh no!

Nabisco - it sounds like you were a much more empathetic cild than I was - I used to be horribly embarassed by my mother's laugh - it's loud and full and distinctive. I used to hate to have to go places with her because of it. And now? Well, once I realized that she is mortal and that one day her laugh will be silent, well, my attitude changed. And to additionally help matters, it turns out that I have her same laugh. Crap, now I really am weepy!

And on a different track - how do people feel about Dawn Powell's books? I just started reading her works and fell in love with use of language.

I was about to say, that's the song I was thinking of! Never heard of this book or author, though -- any good?

I have actually been to Tooting Broadway station.

I wanted to go to Tooting but Gareth wouldn't let me. I like to say 'Tooting' anyway.

(okay nabisco um - out of curiosity, do you think the divide between Mishima & the Western thinkers he drew heavily on is that great; or is it just defamiliarisation?)

I am not a Pynchon-hugger! I'm not sure I even like Pynchon, though I've not really bothered to decide for sure. The only thing of his I've bothered to get through is Vineland, in that "pick a short one and see" kind of way.

I think I might do Pelevin next, though.

As for Mishima, I loathe pretty much everything he stands for ideologically, and made clear that I didn't propose him as representing Japan in any all-round way. I think he writes gloriously, and as an old-fashioned ultra-patriot I think his work does reveal quite a lot about a certain view of Japan, one of the more unfamiliar sets of attitudes to a Western audience. I guess I chose him because his ideas and assumptions start to spread open some large and interesting territories of cultural differences.

the transparency of my attempts to keep Martin & nabisco talking etc etc sigh

I'm reading Nights of Ice by Spike Walker and Personal History by Katherine Graham right now. I just got home a little while ago from sitting in one of the comfy armchairs by the windows of my favorite coffee shop, watching the rain outside, and reading the Walker book. Made me glad to be in a cozy armchair & not stuck in a winter storm in Alaska. ;-)

What else? Another book which touches on the search for an authentic American culture, All That Is Native and Fine by David Whisnant.

"Flowers for Algernon" definitely made me cry in grammar school, almost as much as Bridge to Terabithia. My favorite books from my youth (and possibly still my favorites) are A High Wind in Jamaica and The Wind in the Willows, both poignant but neither are really tearjerkers.

The way it moves tropes so easily between characters of totally different types and between epic, tragedy, farce, the voice of lovers, the voice of killers, the voice of hollywood execs.

I don't know anyone but Mailer who's managed such dramatic shifts over the course of a novel, evolving its subject matter entirely.

So I've been sick lately, which means I've experienced plenty of time to read. So here's the list of what was good:

Ravens in Winter - can't recall the author, sorry. Anyway, it's about a wildlife social biologist (I can't recall his exact title) and his work to understand the behaviors in raven society, consentraing strongly on feeding habits. It's delightful, funny, and quite gross in parts (talking about gathering dead animals for feeding areas and such).

The Devil in the White City - Eric Larsen, I think. Actually a rather interesting read, but I didn't care for the parallel story lines of the building of the World's Fair and one of America's first serial killers - either story would have been fascinating on its own, but I don't think that they worked well together, but for some tenuous connections. All of that said, though, I did enjoy the book and came away with a greater appreciation of engineering challenges (and a horrible mental image of a scene of murder, too).

Confessions of a Yakuza - sorry, can't recall this author, either. Anyway, it's an interesting look at a time in Japan that has been heavily romanticized - this bio/memoir shows the more gritty side of the workd of the Yakuza. A long narrative of recollections, it can be a bit off-putting until you move into the flow, but after that it's quite good.

Right now I'm working on John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead. I think it's quite brilliant and enjoyable and offbeat enough to keep my wandering attention.

Oh, and don't bother with The Company of Strangers, by Robert Wilson. I really enjoyed his A Small Death in Lisbon but this one is a disappointment - poor plot line(s), characters not staying in character, unbelievable events and coincidences. But I've heard that his latest is comparable to "Death" so I shall give him another try.
And I also read David Lodge's "Academia" trilogy - Changing Places, Small World, and Nice Work - all are light and entertaining and quite a good spoof of the humanities (and especially English departments). Some of the stuff is dated, but not unbearably so, and they're decent escapism.

Also read during this period: Jernigan by David Gates (not great, not horrible - seems to be a less-polished version of Richard Russo); The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living by Martin Clark, I think (probably a lot wittier than I interpreted it to be - reading with a fever can color one's opinion - it's from the Vintage Contemporary series, which is a good sign); and Influenza 1918 and I cannot recall the author, but the foreward was by David McCullough (quite interesting and fact-laden without being dificult to read - but I felt like I was reading someone's outline/overview of a topic rather than an in-depth study of what occurred - it's hard to explain, but basically every chapter felt as though it was an introduction to something that never arrived).

I shall read it tomorrow and report back.

The "Burke" series by Andrew Vachss - violent and graphic and gritty and disturbing (about child-abuse and a hero who's on the wrong side of the law) - fast reads and actually, surprisingly, good. Not necessarily enjoyable, though - due to subject matter.

"Tipping the Velvet" - Sarah Waters - quite enjoyable reading - not brilliant, but for "lesbian fiction" I thought it was quite well done.

"The Eyre Affair" - Jaspar Fforde - Brilliant and funny and very readable - I really like this series - though I have to admit that some of the literary allusions go right over my head.

"The Valley of the Assassins" - Freya Stark - dated and shows the "colonial" viewpoint, but a really interesting look at the culture of Yemen at the beginning of the 20th century.

"Honeymoon in Purdah" - ? - A modern-day trip through Iran, by a Canadian woman and her husband - interesting look at the culture "behind" the veils.

Oh - there's lots more, but I can't reach my list from here, so that is it for now.

Ta :)

I can't decide how I feel about the Burke character - a part of me cheers him on, as he fights for the innocents, and another part o me recoils from the violence and anger - he's not particularly appealing and yet his humanness is endearing. I do, over all, not care much for the women that he gets involved with - they strike me as being too, well, idealized (if that can be said about prostitutes and strippers and such - such as the prostitute with a heart of gold and so forth). I can't see why his character is attracted to most of them - and why it is that he lies back and allows them to do the seducing all of the time.

On the other hand, I do like the character of Michelle and am very pleased to be reading about a TS who is sympathetic and wise and attractive and witty and very functional - and that she is so accepted by a group of what I would have stereotyped as being macho/prejudiced/ignorant males. Three cheers for Vachss on this, though I am slightly dismayed that she's a sex worker - maybe unavoidable in order for her to be plausible in this setting.

Anyway - what is this "Batman" work that you mention?

And yeah: what you guys said about Vachss. Just as an aside, it was the Burke books that goaded me to track down those Judy Henske albums (which are just fantastic)

Also finished Youth, J.M Coetzee. Fantastic. Horrifying, crushing picture of depression, weakness and failure. Not recommended if you're feeling sorry for yourself.

Really? I was dreadfully depressed at the ending..

oh yes, the ending was very depressing. i meant the actual moment-of-realisation, the Terrible Event, was a bit more mundane and less of an Awful Gothic Horror than i was expecting/hoping for. i blame the front cover - it was so delicious and enticing, i thought very bad things must be contained within.

Here's an odd question for the list: Does anyone recall (or has ever heard of, for that matter) a book about a giraffe that was taken on tour through Napoleonic France? A title or author would be much appreciated, as I am drawing a complete blank on either of those rather essential bits of information.

Katsuhiro Otomo - Akira

I'd be very interested in hearing the "Farewell Aldebaran" CD - next time we're on AIM I'll pass along my address (my email isn't working today *grumble* *grumble*).

And back to books - I just started A Child's Book of True Crime by Chloe Hooper - extrememly well-written and engrossing, though I've a sneaky feeling that it's going to get graphically bloody. Still good, though.

"Snakes and Earrings" by Hitomi Kanehara.

today i started middlesex by jeffrey eugenides (of virgin suicides fame). i haven't gotten too far, but my roommate informs me it is quite good.

http://www.taschen.com/media/images/original/ms_sixties_design.jpghttp://www.taschen.com/media/images/original/va_scandinavian_design.jpg

"Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami

Stunning. It was actually as good as everyone said. I can't remember the last time that happened.

I had forgotten how good he was, how drenched with vitriol yet full of pathos (is that the right Greek?).

I stopped reading Self for a while, because he started to seem formulaic for a while. Either he's recaptured his stride or I've been away from him long enough that his schtick seems fresh again.

just finished this, absolutely loved it

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