Sumer Is Icumen In 2015, What Are You Reading Now?

Ursula K Le Guin: The Wind's Twelve Quarters -- early story collection. not everything in here is doing it for me, but the ones that do are amazing (esp. the one about Winter, later setting of Left Hand of Darkness)

Started The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, put it down 60 pages in - didn't get appeal of superhero don juan main character, not sure what parts of the plot are not terribly cliche, prose seemed p old school too, didn't enjoy random poetry references (actually I rarely enjoy main characters who think about literature all the time, it gets a bit meta icky for me - like, it's not very believable that all these main characters care so much for lit, writer is just projecting stuff)

Now reading The edge of Europe by Pentti Saarikoski which is a g r e a t read so far, strong poetic energy, lots of non sequituring stream of consciousness thoughts from cats to Stalin, I dunno what to say, unlike most stuff I've ever come across - reading a Danish translation

xxxpost

I forgot about Cookie Mueller, her autobiographical pieces in the East Village Eye and elsewhere were heartfelt and often hilarious. I just finished Brad Gooch's memoir of the period, Smash Cut: A Memoir of Howard & Art & the 70s and the 80s. Reading his account of the tragic, tortuous and all too typical decline and death due to AIDS of his partner Howard Brookner was so vivid and moving I'm at a rare loss for words.

It's been a while,mbut i remember keith haring's autobiography being good in that vein. Never liked his art at all, but he lived in an interesting time and place and mileu

"All I've read of Jane Gardam has been great--haven't read anything she's done for years, though"

i naturally thought of you as the person here who had probably read her stuff. maybe the recent u.s. press will get some sort of stateside reissue series going.

(and her publisher is little, brown in the u.k. so it wouldn't be hard for them to reprint stuff for the u.s.)

enjoying calvin trillin 'travels w/ alice' rn, its v charming

I forgot about Cookie Mueller, her autobiographical pieces in the East Village Eye and elsewhere were heartfelt and often hilarious. I just finished Brad Gooch's memoir of the period, Smash Cut: A Memoir of Howard & Art & the 70s and the 80s. Reading his account of the tragic, tortuous and all too typical decline and death due to AIDS of his partner Howard Brookner was so vivid and moving I'm at a rare loss for words.
― got the club going UP on a tuesday (m coleman), Wednesday, September 2, 2015 5:44 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'll look at Gooch's memoir sometime, m coleman: I like his piece in Up is Up, "TV," and I remember his O'Hara biography as being solid, but I don't think I've read anything by him that sounds as intense as that.

Got three xpost Gardams from the library shop: Old Filth, The People On Privilege Hill, and The Queen of The Tambourine---read any of those, James M? They're trade PBs, from Europa Editions, Ferrante's US publisher. Gave Old Filth to my aunt, haven't heard back about it. Haven't read any yet myself.

I haven't read those, though everyone who has seems to think the Old Filth books are the culmination of her career, for what it's worth. All the ones I've read are tatty old second-hand Abacus paperbacks from the 1980s I got when I worked next door to a used bookshop.

i got purity today and started reading that too

my condolences

orson-welles-clap.gif

By chance I just happened to read Wolf in White Van close on the heels of Steppenwolf. Open for suggestions on how to continue this accidental series of transcendental lupine outcast literature.

wolf hall, i suppose

I believe you have sworn off that one Damon Knight protégé so...

I believe you have sworn off that one Damon Knight protégé so...

Well the title is the most dispensable part of the connection. I suppose one shouldn't try to force these things, anyway.

Speculative searches lead towards Musil, maybe it's time.

Naomi Wolf's "Vagina" also suggested.

Werewolf Problem in Central Russia by v. Pelevin

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4177pt2OTEL._SX339_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

I am reading Jessica Mitford's memoir, Hons and Rebels. It promises to be quite strange and enthralling.

wolf solent for the win!

Wolf In White Van is astonishing.

Using that particular word in partial tribute to ancient, dust-dust-of-far-suns pulp fuel for the narrator, the author, and this reader.

Only one "dust" intended, though.

Wolf of Wall Street is my bus book at the moment. Pretty trashy.

Wolf solent takes the prize! Hadn't heard of it, have not investigated too closely.

after ShariVari mentioned Agata Pyzik's Poor But Sexy I read it and recommend it also; Eastern European politics, communism, gender, film, post-punk; I learned a ton and want to go deeper.

Wolf solent takes the prize! Hadn't heard of it, have not investigated too closely.

Surely you will only get full closure when I've read and reported back. Will try not to keep you all on tenterhooks too long.

Sadly I've given up. Couldn't get behind the odd combination of florid mysticism and the everyday tales of cheerful child-abusing townfolk. Found Wolf an absurd man-child, oblivious to the feelings of others, besotted with a girl half his age before even exchanging a single word with her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKuJDc-Wmrk

otm

Ian McEwan, SWEET TOOTH (2012)

sadly his weakest book since amsterdam

i'm back to the sci-fi.

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/11987039_10154213186167137_3409655425967590269_n.jpg?oh=2acaf9bbe0c86e84f082f556341f809a&oe=56788AA1

I finished the Jessica Mitford memoir. It was, as I expected, quite amazing. Her authorial voice has an understated, but wicked, humor and she uses just enough exaggeration to heighten the amusement, but the details of her life were extraordinary without any exaggeration necessary. I would definitely recommend it.

Now I've started into Gore Vidal's Creation, which is different kettle of fish entirely.

between library books so dippin back into Narayan's Malgudi Days

I've only read a couple budrys shorts - how is that, scott?

the cover is quite beautiful, whatever the contents are like

i've only read his short stories as well. this is pretty funny so far. in this book, Pluto is for losers.

i don't think i've ever read any jessica mitford. i know i've never read an american way of death. i would definitely like to read the memoir though. i'm definitely a nancy fan. loved pursuit of love/love in a cold climate so much. in my american way.

The Memoir, american way of death and her essay collection 'Poison Penmanship' are all well worth reading: the memoir's probably the best, as her family and life were so interesting and odd as aimless says

Balzac - The Wild Ass' Skin
Margaret Leech - In the Days of McKinley
Sarah Vowell - Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

little did ms. leech know her book would be rechristened in the days of denali

not sure if SWEET TOOTH is good but it is incredibly readable!

I think it is actually quite interesting and unusual in being such a meta-commentary on the author's own early work. And (less unusual) in inhabiting a genre, with advice from Le Carré. Whatever else about IM, he can produce a page-turner.

quiet at work this week so got through 3 books

Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper I enjoyed a lot and the elements that I didn't really 'get'(etta's journey) were compensated for by the quality of the writing.

Alice and the Fly by James Rice which was p bleak tbh.

Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun which has a terrific premise (the world succumbs to insomnia and almost everyone can't sleep which leads to madness, hallucinations etc the few who can still sleep must be careful because if caught napping they are subject to attack from the sleepless) The first half is excellently realised but it trails off badly imo.

Anybody read MacDonald Harris? First part seems garrulous, but crtl + F name of Borges or title Herma and gets more interesting, I think
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/books/review/michael-chabon-on-macdonald-harris-novel-herma.html?smid=tw-nytbooks&smtyp=cur&_r=0