I'm reading The Paladin Prophecy. Not liking it too much though, so it's going slowly, one chapter every few days.
I'm reading 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,' an American book about cremation, it's okay but not 'prose' so much, more tabloid. Reading 'about' W.H Pugmire who sounds interesting, a prose poet, was looking to find something for £1 or £2 but no luck so far. And am trying to remember, if anybody can help me - the name of the US/Canadian eccentric, who used to sell his books on the street, never published, and kind of crazy. Died very recently. I think there was a thread about him.
No, I just looked at the amazon freebee and there seemed to be an energy about the words. I saw the pic on wiki - kind of hated him, of course, but was intrigued. Lovecraft has passed me by, so far. I did Pink Floyd (do I mean B Sabbath or someone else?) Led Zeppelin and never back-tracked at the time. I liked Bukowski at twenty and Jeffrey Barnard's bio. Bukowski's still everywhere. I wish it was more diverse, other voices. It's just a perception of mine, I'm sure.
I'm reading Curtains for three by Rex Stout. Followed likely by another by the same author. I'm in a detective novel kind of mood.
Finished reading the complete poetry of Marianne Moore. She's a bit inconsistent. A lot of it was good, a lot was sort of not. I can see why she is so influential in modern poetry, but I can also see why her herself is not a popular poet - she is very very dense. Actually, I think she's one of the more dense, complex, and difficult poets out there. Which is also weird considering when you start reading her she may not seem that way. At first she may even seem rather easy - but my god, read more and you'll see what I mean. I think I like her, but she's far from a favourite poet. Now reading Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square. I've heard this is one of England's finest unknown writers, and so many other good things. So far it's all true, this book is fantastic!
Just started Emma by Jane Austen. Not really a fan so far, but I feel like I should at least read through her complete works so I have the knowledge.
Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square is one of the better novels I've read. Everyone simply must check it out. Rereading Jane Austin's Mansfield Park and Death in Venice by Thomas Mann for an essay.
Sword of the Bright Lady, World of Prime Book One by M.C. Planck. Basically a mild-mannered mechanical engineer from Arizona finds himself lost in a fantasy setting that's currently in the middle of an endless war. In a quest to return home, he pledges allegiance first to a collection of priests, then to a god of War. Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes, the first book of the Hodges Trilogy.
Can you tell me what that's like? I've not read anything King has put out since Lisey's Story and I'm wondering if I should give his newer stuff a chance.
I've only started reading King's work. Dr. Sleep was all right, but it was more of a thriller 'stop the psychopathic people from absorbing shinings' rather than anything actually paranormal. He does like to flip to various different perspectives without warning, so it's a bit jarring for those not used to that style. I'll give this one a read, though I think it's going to be more action-pack/thriller.
What other King have you read so far? Some King I think is very worth it actually, I can recommend his poetry (no joke), some of his short stories, and one or two of his novels if you want? I'm currently, now my MA semester is pretty much over for the year, and I just have to write two long essays now, have been listening to the audiobooks of the Harry Potter series while I write.
So far? Doctor Sleep and that's it. I just entered the gates of the Kingdom. Have fun with the essays! Glad to see Potter is keeping you entertained as you write.
If you are gonna read King then basically everything that makes a good film:- The Shining; and I believe Shawshank and Stand by Me are in the same compilation, and that's about it. I remember the first half of It being good. I was travelling two years ago and the only books that weren't best-seller-list trash available were Iain M Banks and I got quite into them. Unfortunately the poor bugger is dying now. I would recommend the following music to enjoy with any of the above
Kingdom, hahaha! Very good. I like it. Check out Misery (I'm sure you've heard that). The Shining novel is alright, worth reading, and the Kubrick film can only be understood alongside it I think. Salam's Lot is weird because it starts out awful, but by the end is pretty decent - honestly hair-raising. Different Seasons, the best one is Shawshank - Apt Pupil is very silly - Stand By Me is better than The Body, so just watch that - and Breathing Method is an odd little surprise, good though, I like it. Bag of Bones is another one I like, it's a very fun story. The short stories are often worth looking at, stuff like The Mist, Man in Black Suit, Riding the Bullet, and The Fifth Quarter are all excellent short stories/novellas. Lisey's Story, the first half is one of the best pieces of writing King has ever put out - damn shame, then, that the second half is among the worst. The rest I've either not read, or are just sort of middle of the road - neither 'good' or 'bad', and I suppose that's something! I recommend you staying away from The Tommyknockers though, that one is a baaaaaddddddd novel. And yeah, returning to Potter again is something I've been meaning to do for some time. I've been wondering if my near irrational hatred of it is well founded - so far I can certainly say it is.
Finished Jo Walton's Among Others (great book). Currently reading: Joyce, Portrait of the Artist... Trevanian, Shibumi David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest James S.A. Corey, Cibola Burn Dan Abnett, Ravenor
@Link the Writer: Yeah, I'm a King fan and I can't even recommend The TommyKnockers. It was just so friggin' bad... I do suggest Duma Key, though. It's actually scary. And also ditto @Lemex on "Breathing Method." Stephen King's short stories are good, so I recommend any collections you can get your hands on. One version of a collection was just a black book, sans any markings at all. That alone was a bit creepy, but I also bought it in a used book store: near the climax of one scary story, I turned a page to realise the previous owner had been using the book to kill flies. It made me jump.
King's son, Joe Hill, is pretty good. I liked his short story collection 20th Century Ghosts as well as Heart-Shaped Box.
The Plague by Albert Camus. Just finished The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford, and working through Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain, (was that a laptop someone just threw at me?)
