Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage - by Emily Post. I've got a meeting with some big shots and their wives on Friday, so it doesn't hurt to brush up on things I've always neglected. Last Argument of Kings - By Joe Abercrombie. Finally finished Before they are hanged, so I'm looking forward to this one.
Still working through Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not. It’s a bit weird because the first few chapters were in first-person. I’ve now reached Part 2 and it’s switched to third. Nothing particularly weird about that, except for the fact it’s dealing with the same character. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this before. Most of the reviews for this book make me wonder if the reviewers have actually read a single word, as they all depict the CC as an ‘honest, good man...’. He refers to his black boat hand as ‘the nigger ‘, the Chinese he cargos as ‘Chinks’ who stink his cabin out, and within the first couple of chapters has broke the arm of, and strangled, the man who’d hired him to transport said Chinese, before tying lead weights to his ankles and dumping the body overboard. Yeah, he’s a lovely chap.
The Bluest Eye __ Toni Morrison I love the almost poetic voice of her work. RIP to one of the greats.
Cate Holohan's One Little Secret. Also just re-read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
I’m currently reading (title re-edited) “My Name Is Red” by Orhan Pamuk. He apparently won a Nobel prize in literature for writing this book! I recommend it to people who’d like an idea on what constitutes a Nobel prize-winning book. Edit: here’s little more info on it https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_Red
I only found My Name is Red. https://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Red-Orhan-Pamuk/dp/0375706852/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=i+am+red&qid=1565287864&s=gateway&sr=8-1
To Have and Have Not by Hemingway - I’ve never known anything like it for POV changes. I have no idea what Hemingway’s purpose was, but not only does it switch to and from various characters, and from first to third, we also get lengthy internal ‘thoughts’ from characters depicted in the third-person, which effectively switches the POV to first. It’s very readable, but full of loathsome characters for whom I can neither relate to nor sympathise with.
Isn't Hemingway supposed to be the greatest writer ever or something...? There are plenty of people who are loathsome but if you don't have someone the reader roots for you're going to make it very hard for them to continue.
I’m thinking of giving Hemingway a go myself once I’ve finished what I’m currently reading. I don’t know if romance is really your genre.. and all that sentimental stuff. Some people love it, some people hate it but I can sort of relate to your sentiment. I absolutely hated the Twilight saga and liked everything else BUT the romance (which constituted practically the whole plot line) and actually FORCED my way through the whole story - while I couldn’t stand Bella and Edward’s obsession with one another. It was one of those books where the secondary characters were actually a lot more interesting.
I like Hemingway, but I always found he was best in small doses. That's probably why I'd recommend his short stories first, then The Old Man and the Sea. Of his novels, To Have and Have Not is probably my least favourite of the ones I've read.
Hemingway’s accessible enough? I think @Jud you have choosed the wrong Hemingway. ‘Farewell to Arms’/For whom the Bell/bells...’ and the ‘Shooting Elephant’ shorts are all fascinating. ‘Old Man & The Sea’ is possibly a bit-bit bawring..mmm..
Maybe I just relate to the main character too much. Some old, desperate fool off alone somewhere, in way over their head and yammering nonsense to themselves.
I only remember it as a ‘school book’ that everybody complained about. Sure it’s a great read as an adult. Oh, and the worthy-type film adaptation didn’t help much... ALL half-memories/icky 50s cinema probably due a reassessment..
Speaking of Hemingway, I know not everybody here is into audiobooks, but Donald Sutherland's reading of The Old Man and the Sea is one of the best I've heard. (Maggie Gyllenhaal performing The Bell Jar is number one, of course. )
I'm close to finishing Papillon. I've watched the movie (Steve McQueen!) a number of times since I was a kid, and they're both great, but something I never could have guessed from the film was just how balls in love with himself Henri Cherriere was. What an anti-hero freaking paragon he made of himself in this "autobiography." Just wow. The character is cool as hell, but knowing that he tried to pass this off as a beat-for-beat true story about himself right up through his death speaks to an ego the size of French Guiana.
Both of those are excellent. If you want something hilarious to listen to though, try William Shatner reading The Raven. I'm currently reading Nueromancer by William Gibson. It's quite the eccentric style, and I really can get into it.
As discussed before, did try Neuro but gave up for another, more readable style. He does tend to describe new tech in odd terms sometimes. I will try again when I'm in the mood. Will be interested in hearing your thoughts when you've finished.
