Rereading good ole' The Hobbit. I'm eager to see how Percy Jackson has drifted away from the actual novel. Saw the movie on Thursday.
Also rereading along side my last, non-conversation related post, Nietzsche's Twilight of the Idols and the Anti-Christ. A combination of revisiting one of my favorite books by one of my favorite philosophers with one of my favorite books from one of my favorite translators. Imma be happy for a while.
Well that does it. I truly do have a terrible memory. Earlier this year I wrote an essay for a subject at university and referred to the play Antigone within. Lemex, your mentioning of this same play jolted my memory however, I could not remember how the story goes. I had to look it up on Wikipedia. Quite a disgrace if you ask me. I honestly need a better memory.
I read what can only be described as an interesting translation of Antigone a couple of years ago for a module at uni. It was translated by Marianne McDonald, and it was clearly meant to act as an introduction to Greek drama's themes rather than it's power. Half of it was colloquial, none of it was inspiring, and all of it was hilarious read out loud when compared to what other members of the class had. I might have to give Fagles' translation a go. But not before I finish Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy. I'm on to the last novel in the series, and I'm enjoying it. It's been a while since I read any epic fantasy, and it's made a nice change of pace while I've been grandparent-sitting.
I bought a couple of volumes of William T. Vollmann's Seven Dreams series, about the European settlement of North America. I got Fathers and Crows and The Rifles. I'm deciding right now which of them to tackle first. Who knows - I might wind up reading them both simultaneously. I've read about Vollmann, including an in-depth interview with him, and he comes across as a mix of genius and self-obsessed asshole. I don't guarantee that I'll finish these books if the asshole aspect seems predominant. Still, I'm interested enough right now to give him a try.
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. Almost done! After being stuck on the Tale of Beren and Lúthien (and later on Túrin Turambar) for years, I'm almost finished. Can't wait so I can start re-reading the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
I'm currently working my way through Snuff (my first ever Terry Pratchett book). Before it I read both Mr. B. Gone (by Clive Barker) and The Phantom Tollbooth (by Norton Juster). Mr. B. Gone is a really interesting read in which the main character directly addresses the reader and tries to convince him/her to burn the book, The Phantom Tollbooth must be the most random book I've ever read, though on the other hand it can be a really educating read as it handles many different angles of the English language and its idioms (whilst at the same time being a "a guy must rescue the princess from a castle protected by monsters" book).
Peter Jackson. Yeah, I REALLY love the Hobbit, it is one of my favorites! Unfortunately, I haven't seen the movie yet .
A Memory of Light. Trying to take my time, because I think anyone who's followed the series know's how it's going to end, and as much as I wanted it to be over in the middle books it's bittersweet to see the end of such a huge series I've followed over half my life. I still can't believe it's over.
Railsea by China Mieville - it's as fascinating as everything else I've read by him. It's about a world far in the future with waterless oceans. There are railroad tracks running above the seas of dust and nasty monsters lurking underneath. But, throughout the book he uses & instead of 'and', it keeps pulling me out of the story. About halfway through, he tells you why he's doing it and makes perfect sense. I'm not sure why the & is still bothering me on page 219. By the end of Iain M. Banks' Feersum Endjinn, I was reading the phonetic spelling as if it was everyday English. I have another couple of hundred pages of Railsea to go and really hope I stop seeing the &.
Thomas Pynchon's Vineland. Why not? There are rumors of a new Pynchon book coming out so this seems timely. Also reading Ernest Hemingway's The First Forty-Nine Stories. Already this book is inspiring my own short stories.
It is a book I read when I was a kid. I know I enjoyed it, but can' remember it. Strangely a friend bought it for me about ten years ago, but I haven't had time to re-read it. I think you have just provided the incentive! Thanks.
Right now I am reading Stephen King's Carrie. I got a hardcover edition that has King's first three novels (Carrie, Salem's Lot, and The Shining) and though I have read them all already I am very excited to read them again in this awesome volume.
I'm in the middle of a Tom Clancy series marathon, which i read in bed, but due to the fact i'm waiting for the next one to become available, I've decided to read Vladimir Bartol's ALAMUT, which details the birth of the HAshashin (Leventine Assassins, which spawned the ASSASSINS CREED series). IT's a good read, slow at times but persevere and it becomes enthralling. I'm also reading some nonfiction books about the victorian era for research on a new project too
Pride and Prejudice. I've attempted this several times but I've just never got into it despite knowing the story so well. I've managed to stick with it this time though and I'm quite enjoying it.
I'm doing it... I'm rereading the Lord of The Rings. Last time I read it I was 12, and missed most of what was going on.
I'm reading a book I found on the library teen shelf called Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen. It's a play off of Robin Hood with a thief girl and no Maid Marian. Being in first person, the character is really intriguing. I like it so far!
I finished "The Killing Place" by Tess Gerritsen yesterday. It's honestly, for the first around three quarters one of the scariest books I have read in a while. The ending was a bit strange, not at all what I was expecting, but its a very good book and I would advise it to anyone who likes scariness, horror, insane plot twists and crime
I'm reading this at the minute too. I'm really, really liking it. My favourite book that I've read in a while. It's causing me to dream about the direction I want my life to go in...ah sigh...
Reading "Looking for Alaska" by John Green. I've heard he's fantastic. The start of the book is only okay so far, so I'm hoping it picks up. On another note, just wanted to chime in and say that yes, "On The Road" is great and I think you'll love the ending!
I decided to take a break from Iain M. Banks after finishing 'Look to Windward'. I'm now reading Martin's 'The Dying of the Light'. No idea how I've missed reading it until now.
Currently I'm reading two books. One is non-fiction--Strassman's, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, which is about his research on psychoactive chemicals, specifically DMT, how it effects brainchemistry, his ideas on how we produce DMT naturally, both conclusive and inconclusive, and a study about the pineal gland and its relation to consciousness. The other is fiction--Melville's, Moby Dick. Not sure why I've waited so long to dive into these salty waters, but I am immersed now, and swimming happily. I will say, however, the grammar gets annoying sometimes, for my reading comprehension is inconsistent--mostly great, other times poor, so it takes me a little while to warm up to the language, but once I'm a few pages into a session, everything's all good and the experience is pleasant.
I love John Green! Looking for Alaska was the first book I read of his and I just sped through it because I found it so engaging and awesome. I'm reading The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. I absolutely love his writing style.
