Now reading...

[Brad]

Plumbing the New York Review of Books Classics catalogue:

Reading Alfred Hayes' My Face For the World to See.

[Matthew]

The Case of the Haunted Husband by Erle Stanley Gardner. I'm finding the Perry Mason novels very entertaining, I have 43 of them on my Kindle.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Matthew

[johnblitweiler]

Maybe Matthew will become like me. This time of year, about all I can handle are short thrillers.

[BillF]

Set in the BBC at the outset of World War II. Concise as always and well up to standard.

[Head Man]

Finished this in one sitting yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to whoever here recommended it (was it Chuck?).

I see he's written quite a few others... any recommendations?

[Jazzmoose]

I'm finding the Perry Mason novels very entertaining, I have 43 of them on my Kindle.

I think I've run through those three times now, foolishly getting rid of them each time so I have to rebuild the set when the urge hits again.

I'm back up to twenty-three...

[Head Man]

I'm finding the Perry Mason novels very entertaining, I have 43 of them on my Kindle.

I think I've run through those three times now, foolishly getting rid of them each time so I have to rebuild the set when the urge hits again.

I'm back up to twenty-three...

I guess that's what the Kindle was made for.........

[Matthew]

I'm finding the Perry Mason novels very entertaining, I have 43 of them on my Kindle.

I think I've run through those three times now, foolishly getting rid of them each time so I have to rebuild the set when the urge hits again.

I'm back up to twenty-three...

I guess that's what the Kindle was made for.........

They're made for Kindle, they have become my stress-busters books. Amazon had a big Perry Mason Kindle sale, so I bought about 30 books for $1.99 each.

Edited December 20, 2014 by Matthew

[Jazzmoose]

I'm finding the Perry Mason novels very entertaining, I have 43 of them on my Kindle.

I think I've run through those three times now, foolishly getting rid of them each time so I have to rebuild the set when the urge hits again.

I'm back up to twenty-three...

I guess that's what the Kindle was made for.........

Maybe so, but I'll be getting a Kindle about five years after it's adopted by the Amish community. I managed to handle CDs, and even MP3s, but I guess the printed word is where my inner curmudgeon takes over.

[Head Man]

[ejp626]

I'm finding the Perry Mason novels very entertaining, I have 43 of them on my Kindle.

I think I've run through those three times now, foolishly getting rid of them each time so I have to rebuild the set when the urge hits again.

I'm back up to twenty-three...

I guess that's what the Kindle was made for.........

Maybe so, but I'll be getting a Kindle about five years after it's adopted by the Amish community. I managed to handle CDs, and even MP3s, but I guess the printed word is where my inner curmudgeon takes over.

I hear you on the Kindle per se, as I think the screen is just too small and the whole thing too likely to be stolen. I've started getting pretty interested in epub files though, particularly when they are for older books out of print and thus free. I have just moved too many times (with one last move this spring) to not want to start going digital for at least some things.

But it's true -- for reading on the subway, not much beats an old paperback or even a used trade paperback with a forgiving spine.

I've reached Platonov's Soul (the NYRB edition). It's quite interesting seeing that a fair number of these stories actually were published in Communist journals, i.e. he wasn't really a Samizdat author, though uncensored versions of his works were not published until much later. It's a key question whether social realist writing can reach the level of art. Here we have a bunch of engineers in love with their trains and so forth. Or peasant women who get up in the middle of the night to shovel ashes and love it... My understanding from the introduction that most of the secret ironies are so slight that non-Russian audience would never understand his very small acts of rebellion in these stories, so not even rising to the level of say, Shostakovich. So far I find his stories curious rather than great, but I'll report back if I really love the short novel Soul or Happy Moscow.

[BillF]

Yes, strongly recommended. Rather surprisingly, I'm reminded of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday - slightly sentimental treatment of a group of outsiders living apart from from polite society, but united by strong communal bonds among themselves. After reading four of Fitzgerald's novels, I'm detecting a curious pattern concerning her characters. Often a main character emerges only some way into the book to whom the reader attaches his sympathies without being certain to what extent the novel is meant to be the story of this person - something I don't find with other novelists.

[A Lark Ascending]

With a sprig of holly as a page marker.

Evans is one of my heroes in historical writing. His 'In Defence of History' is a marvellous update on the 'What is History?' volumes of years gone by. And he's been superb in defending the way history teaching has evolved in schools since the 1970s against the misreporting of the Gove-ites.

I read the first volume on the rise of the Nazis about 18 months back and polished it off in a couple of weeks. This will go the same way. He has that knack of writing well researched history in a way that is engaging to the ordinary reader.

You can hardly turn the TV on without a programme about Nazi ephemera - Evans' books remind you of why the history matters.

Edited December 23, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[Leeway]

Read Sarah Thornton's excellent book while also reading another Iris Murdoch novel (more on that later). Thornton considers herself a "sociologist" and "ethnographer" of the art world, observing and participating in various art events to better understand how the art world, and in particular, the art market, works. She focuses on 7 aspects of the art market: the auction; art school grad "crit" (seminar); art fair; art prize (the Tate); art magazine (Artforum); artist's studio (Murakami); and the Venice Biennale. I found it fascinating. Even areas I thought I knew well, such as the auction house, yielded fresh insights. Engagingly written.

[Brad]

The Burning of the World: A Memoir of 1914 by Bela Zombory-Moldovan. Zombory Moldov was a Hungarian artist who like many of his generation found himself thrust into war. He was seriously wounded and tried to return to normal life, which he now found strange. He had witnessed the end of a way of life, the end of the world as it existed.

This is another great book from New York Review of Books Classics. They have an incredible catalogue.

[Leeway]

Yes, strongly recommended. Rather surprisingly, I'm reminded of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday - slightly sentimental treatment of a group of outsiders living apart from from polite society, but united by strong communal bonds among themselves. After reading four of Fitzgerald's novels, I'm detecting a curious pattern concerning her characters. Often a main character emerges only some way into the book to whom the reader attaches his sympathies without being certain to what extent the novel is meant to be the story of this person - something I don't find with other novelists.

Interesting point. Maybe in Spark, characters determine their fates, while in Fitzgerald, Fate determines the characters.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Leeway

[ejp626]

The Burning of the World: A Memoir of 1914 by Bela Zombory-Moldovan. ...

This is another great book from New York Review of Books Classics. They have an incredible catalogue.

I know. I am halfway through their edition of Platonov's Soul. I even have a short post (http://erics-hangout.blogspot.ca/2014/08/publishers-of-note.html) going into some of the books that I find particularly worthy.

[Brad]

The Burning of the World: A Memoir of 1914 by Bela Zombory-Moldovan. ...

This is another great book from New York Review of Books Classics. They have an incredible catalogue.

I know. I am halfway through their edition of Platonov's Soul. I even have a short post (http://erics-hangout.blogspot.ca/2014/08/publishers-of-note.html) going into some of the books that I find particularly worthy.

I just visited your blog. An impressive list. I joined their book club and received as one of the bonus books My Face for the World to See. A very impressive book by Alfred Hayes, with an economic style of writing. The prose is taut and he explores some ideas that ring true for many of us.

I became initially interested in reading NYRB Classics by reading Zweig's Beware of Pity, his only full length novel. That was soon followed by his Chess Story, Post Office Girl and Confusion, all highly recommended.

[ejp626]

The Burning of the World: A Memoir of 1914 by Bela Zombory-Moldovan. ...

This is another great book from New York Review of Books Classics. They have an incredible catalogue.

I know. I am halfway through their edition of Platonov's Soul. I even have a short post (http://erics-hangout.blogspot.ca/2014/08/publishers-of-note.html) going into some of the books that I find particularly worthy.

I just visited your blog. An impressive list. I joined their book club and received as one of the bonus books My Face for the World to See. A very impressive book by Alfred Hayes, with an economic style of writing. The prose is taut and he explores some ideas that ring true for many of us.

I became initially interested in reading NYRB Classics by reading Zweig's Beware of Pity, his only full length novel. That was soon followed by his Chess Story, Post Office Girl and Confusion, all highly recommended.

I like Zweig as well, though I have mostly read his short stories. It's definitely worth checking out Pushkin Press. I am toying with the idea of getting their Collected Stories of Zweig, though there would be a lot of duplication. Also, as nice/impressive as this is, I would never read it on the train! http://pushkinpress.com/book/the-collected-stories-of-stefan-zweig/

Speaking of subscriptions, I am definitely looking into Melville House's subscription to their Art of the Novella series, though in my case I'd have to opt for the ebook version: http://www.mhpbooks.com/merchandise/novellas/

For me, it looks like April - July 2015 would be perfect.

[jlhoots]

Craig Johnson: Wait For Signs (12 Longmire stories)

[Leeway]

BIG BOOKS AND RESOLUTIONS

It's that time for New Year resolutions, and I was wondering if anyone had any New Year book resolutions or was planning to assay a "Big Book"?

For some reason or another, I've resolved to attempt more "Big Books," which is difficult for me since I like serendipity in my reading. Nevertheless, I'm feeling the need to --finally- read Clarissa." I'm not sure if I will just immerse myself in it, and not emerge until done, or if I should read a smaller work(s) alongside it, like one of those remoras that hang on sharks, or the horses that accompany race horses to the gate, just to provide some variety.

Another biggie I've got my eye on is Gaddis' The Recognitions. Very highly acclaimed, I suspect little read. I expect to try it.

As always, towering in the distance is Proust. I've never got through it all, not sure if this is the year.

Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time I have got through, but it would seem a pleasant past-time to go around again.

Any big books in 2015 for you? Any book resolutions?

[BillF]

BIG BOOKS AND RESOLUTIONS

It's that time for New Year resolutions, and I was wondering if anyone had any New Year book resolutions or was planning to assay a "Big Book"?

For some reason or another, I've resolved to attempt more "Big Books," which is difficult for me since I like serendipity in my reading. Nevertheless, I'm feeling the need to --finally- read Clarissa." I'm not sure if I will just immerse myself in it, and not emerge until done, or if I should read a smaller work(s) alongside it, like one of those remoras that hang on sharks, or the horses that accompany race horses to the gate, just to provide some variety.

Another biggie I've got my eye on is Gaddis' The Recognitions. Very highly acclaimed, I suspect little read. I expect to try it.

As always, towering in the distance is Proust. I've never got through it all, not sure if this is the year.

Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time I have got through, but it would seem a pleasant past-time to go around again.

Any big books in 2015 for you? Any book resolutions?

Best of luck with Clarissa. One of my daughters is named Clarissa, though I've only read extracts from the novel. I was once on a badly planned course on the 18th century novel in which students were given a week to read Clarissa. Needless to say, no one succeeded. Fielding's Tom Jones, half the length of Clarissa, was more within my grasp and I've read it twice.

My wife staggered through volume after volume of Proust in English translation, but still didn't reach the end.

At university I got through a big chunk of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The prose style was magnificent.

It took me many months to read Boswell's Life of Johnson, although it's not a particularly long book. I kept by my bedside and it was a great sleep inducer. A paragraph acted like a blow to the head with a blunt instrument :-)

Edited December 27, 2014 by BillF

[ejp626]

Last year I finally tackled Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and enjoyed it quite a bit. Late 2013 and early 2014 was devoted to Proust, and as I went into some detail here found it a complete slog and not worth the effort. Fairly early in 2015, I will start in on Dos Passos' USA Trilogy. Not entirely sure what to expect.

At my current rate of reading, I'll get around to Musil's The Man Without Qualities in 2016. That is probably the last really long, high literature series I expect to tackle, aside perhaps for Lessing's Children of Violence series.

[Leeway]

BIG BOOKS AND RESOLUTIONS

It's that time for New Year resolutions, and I was wondering if anyone had any New Year book resolutions or was planning to assay a "Big Book"?

For some reason or another, I've resolved to attempt more "Big Books," which is difficult for me since I like serendipity in my reading. Nevertheless, I'm feeling the need to --finally- read Clarissa." I'm not sure if I will just immerse myself in it, and not emerge until done, or if I should read a smaller work(s) alongside it, like one of those remoras that hang on sharks, or the horses that accompany race horses to the gate, just to provide some variety.

Another biggie I've got my eye on is Gaddis' The Recognitions. Very highly acclaimed, I suspect little read. I expect to try it.

As always, towering in the distance is Proust. I've never got through it all, not sure if this is the year.

Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time I have got through, but it would seem a pleasant past-time to go around again.

Any big books in 2015 for you? Any book resolutions?

Best of luck with Clarissa. One of my daughters is named Clarissa, though I've only read extracts from the novel. I was once on a badly planned course on the 18th century novel in which students were given a week to read Clarissa. Needless to say, no one succeeded. Fielding's Tom Jones, half the length of Clarissa, was more within my grasp and I've read it twice.

My wife staggered through volume after volume of Proust in English translation, but still didn't reach the end.

At university I got through a big chunk of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The prose style was magnificent.

It took me many months to read Boswell's Life of Johnson, although it's not a particularly long book. I kept by my bedside and it was a great sleep inducer. A paragraph acted like a blow to the head with a blunt instrument :-)

It's funny how we are all playing in the same sandbox, but with different pails and shovels . For my part, I've been a big Sam Johnson fan for a long time. AT one point, it was quite intense, as I gave my son the middle name of "Samuel." Lesson: literary infatuations are for a while, names are permanent. I still find SJ and JB quite entertaining, although I wouldn't attempt to read the "Life" straight through. I still have a hope of following in SJ's footsteps on a tour of the Hebrides.

OTOH, whenever I have trouble sleeping, my wife suggests I take down my volume of Gibbon. I doubt I made more than 10 pages before falling blissfully asleep. I do like the prosody, and the intellect, but it works like a narcotic on me.

I'm screwing up my courage for "Clarissa"!

Last year I finally tackled Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and enjoyed it quite a bit. Late 2013 and early 2014 was devoted to Proust, and as I went into some detail here found it a complete slog and not worth the effort. Fairly early in 2015, I will start in on Dos Passos' USA Trilogy. Not entirely sure what to expect.

At my current rate of reading, I'll get around to Musil's The Man Without Qualities in 2016. That is probably the last really long, high literature series I expect to tackle, aside perhaps for Lessing's Children of Violence series.

I have got through DosPassos' trilogy; it has a kind of early jazzy feel to it, with what were then some leading edge experimentalism, which now has faded. I've read some Mahfouz and liked it. Musil I got nowhere with; I couldn't develop a gram of care for the characters. It was readable though.

[Matthew]

George Whitefield: America's Spiritual Founding Father by Thomas Kidd. Fascinating account of Whitefield and his impact on the American colonies. Helped to usher in the "Great Awakening" of the 1740s.

Edited December 28, 2014 by Matthew