I'll be finished by Sunday, so I'll let you know. So far it's very noticeable that this is the early stages of novel writing being accepted as a genre. I have an old copy from 1945 which has nice illustrations, but it still has summaries of the chapters at the beginning of each chapter, as was customary in the beginning of the novel as a genre. I've learned to skip them. It is charming though, even with its listing and telling of events.
And what rabbits they are; rabbits with powers. Yeah, there are some weird warrens in there, that's for sure.
I'm currently re-reading The State of the Art, which is a mixed bag of short stories by the late Iain M. Banks. He's my hands-down favorite author but this contains some of his earlier work. It's a little less polished, a little less sure of itself in some stages, and that sort of thing is really heartening to read in that you can see that at least this one of the "greats" didn't spring fully-accomplished from his own forehead.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I'm enjoying it, but I'm continually taken aback at just how many semicolons he peppers in. Admittedly, I haven't read anything from that era in a while. Spoiler: Example “My good Utterson,” said the doctor, “this is very good of you, this is downright good of you, and I cannot find words to thank you in. I believe you fully; I would trust you before any man alive, ay, before myself, if I could make the choice; but indeed it isn’t what you fancy; it is not as bad as that; and just to put your good heart at rest, I will tell you one thing: the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde. I give you my hand upon that; and I thank you again and again; and I will just add one little word, Utterson, that I’m sure you’ll take in good part: this is a private matter, and I beg of you to let it sleep.”
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. I'm not sure what I think about it. It's well written for the most part, but I'm neither invested nor particularly entertained. I think I haven't paid it the attention it deserves. It's short enough that I'm guaranteed to finish it, short enough even that I'll probably take a second listen in a bit.
So I've finished it now and...I had a hard time getting all the way through. I understand that it is entirely satire and regarded by many as the greatest English satire of the Restoration/Enlightment period, but it's also a travelogue. By book 3 of it I was super tired of the recurring methodology, and book 4 just put me off entirely. In the end, I wasn't disappointed, just not interested. And I don't feet like it brought anything new to my perspective, but I recognize it would be a drastic shift at the time. Book 4 also is confusing in that it refutes or converts it's own satirical points. It's a difficult novel under the surface, but not in ways I particularly enjoy. Not on my recommended list.
I just don't think Banks' strength was in short fiction. He was at his best when he could really explore a concept at length. I had similar thoughts about the same book when I read it a few years ago. Having just finished the near-glorious The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel, I'm returning to some space opera myself. Gareth L. Powell's Embers of War and its sequels will be my summer read, alongside Miranda Kaufman's Black Tudors. For work I'm meant to be reading a couple of books on the Middle East, but they'll wait until I'll good and relaxed.
I'm currently reading Noir by Christopher Moore. This is something like my eighth Moore book, and it does not disappoint. I'm also trudging through I Sing the Body Electric by Ray Bradbury. I'm a fifth of the way through, and I'm bored to tears. I love his novels, and I enjoyed The Illustrated Man, but so far, there's not a lot of the type of Bradbury stories I love in this one. I'm starting to see how he was able to write for hours a day every day of his life and still only release half a dozen novels. Most of these stories (and I'm only through six of them) lack anything resembling a plot. I don't think he had a concept; I think he just wrote, which apparently covers about half the advice in his writing manual: just write all the time. I haven't read it yet. That's just what I heard.
Looking at his bibliography I find I'm only certain of having read Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. IMHO F451 was important conceptually but I don't recall actually enjoying it much, and TMC I actively disliked as I was slogging through it. Dunno, never felt inclined to pursue more after those two.
I've read Lamb and The Serpent of Venice (just bought the sequel for my library, too). They were great. Good to know the others will be as good. I have my eye on Sacre Bleu
I actually loved everything about Fahrenheit 451 except for the fact that it's half a book. It's as if he just ran out of ideas and stopped writing, much like some of his (and a lot of my favorite authors') short stories. It would be like ending 1984 as soon as they meet up in the room for the first time. There was no closure on any thread. If you ever decide to try again, I highly recommend Something Wicked This Way Comes. It's poetry. In a good way. Lamb is my favorite so far, and I'm told it will likely remain so. I still haven't read The Serpent of Venice, but I will. According to my brother, who is a Christopher Moore addict, Sacre Bleu is good, but it's his least funny work. If you get a chance, definitely read Island of the Sequined Love Nun and the two Grim Reaper books. I'm going to read the vampire trilogy next. Edit: And if you enjoy those, check out Damned and Doomed by Chuck Pahlaniuk.
Isn't it weird how TWO of the major dystopian books (brave new world/faranheit) involve this idea of outcasts of society reading Shakespeare to stay 'human.' Which is a notion I'm sure Shakespeare himself would have mocked/found ridiculous. There is a speech Ray Bradbury gave where he said writers should read one short story, one poem and one essay per day to help fill your head with ideas for stories. I've always kept that in mind. I guess I have a soft spot for the guy cos we have the same damn name.
Started reading our next forum book club selection, Lonesome Dove. I've read it before, a long time ago. I'm enjoying it again.
I'm reading The Complete Guide to DAZ Studio 4. The workers who are building an extension on our house have packed up my entire library in boxes, so I can't get to my regular books. Aargh. This will last probably another four weeks!
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope. I think I will be reading Trollope for the foreseeable future.
I've embarked on The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams, the first in his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. It isn't bad, quite decent actually, but I wouldn't call it amazing yet. It's very slow-going, like the reviews say, though it is supposed to get really good later on. I'm just not sure I care enough to spend 30+ hours with this story, to say nothing of the sequels. We'll see, I guess. I'm also reading Wyrd Sisters, my first even non-audiobook Discworld novel. It works just as well in print, I find, though I do apply the voices from my favorite DW narrator Nigel Planer. I've been a bit disappointed with my last few Discworld listens, all of which were later entries to the series; but this early installment is one of the really good ones.