Not as good as the Neopolitan series, but pretty good. I also think that as a guy there's no way to truly understand/feel this. I take her words for it.DaveA wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 3:25 pm
The Days of Abandonment - Not the best Ferrante according to book nerds, but the plot (a wife kinda losing it after finding out her husband's been cheating on her) was a selling point. Pretty good so far.
Re: What are you reading?
662Just finished Banal Nightmare by Halle Butler. Like her other books, it's neurotic, slightly depressing, and occasionally hilarious. Example: the protagonist characterizes some party music as "Cialis jazz". She expertly morphs first person perspective from one character to another.
Re: What are you reading?
663I highly suggest checking out Ellroy’s American Tabloid which he wrote partly inspired by Libra. It is essentially the the same story told from the CIA/FBI perspective. Both are incredible works, not sure which one was better. Speaking of which, I am currently reading “the cold six thousand” which is the sequel to Tabloid, it is fantastic as well.
DaveA wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 3:25 pm
Libra - My first DeLillo, and, it seems, a great place to start. So far, it fulfills my concept of how a good book behaves, in that the way the story is told is just as interesting, if not more interesting, than the subject matter. Am probably on some FBI list now what with doing searches for Lee Harvey Oswald and his wife, and Jack Ruby, at like three in the morning.
Re: What are you reading?
664Funny, was sizing up that Ellroy book the other day, while also debating whether to revisit the Oliver Stone film for the first time since the early nineties (memory of it is quite hazy). Stephen King also wrote a fictionalized book related to the assassination, which was made into a miniseries. Not long before he died, Richard Beltzer co-authored a non-fiction book supporting the idea of a conspiracy. And Lou Reed had a song about Kennedy dying on The Blue Mask, and more recently Bob Dylan had "A Murder Most Foul." And on and on. We get it, white boomer dudes: the JFK assassination has transfixed you!
I have to say that, like the Zodiac killer and a lot of the hullabaloo surrounding 9/11, my interest in the subject itself is limited. The DeLillo book, at least, makes up for this in the telling itself, which elevates the proceedings with various details and insights. Am sure the others, like that Ellroy book, have their merits too, but for now at least, there's only so much of this I can probably take.
I have to say that, like the Zodiac killer and a lot of the hullabaloo surrounding 9/11, my interest in the subject itself is limited. The DeLillo book, at least, makes up for this in the telling itself, which elevates the proceedings with various details and insights. Am sure the others, like that Ellroy book, have their merits too, but for now at least, there's only so much of this I can probably take.
Re: What are you reading?
665Very interesting. Might be interesting to rank JFK stuff. I think that the movie is a masterpiece although very little of it is valid. I have the Richard Beltzer book in my basement bathroom, Steve would make fun of it often. The Beltzer book is about all of the people who died surrounding the conspiracy and it may be the worst thing I’ve ever read.DaveA wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2024 4:49 pm Funny, was sizing up that Ellroy book the other day, while also debating whether to revisit the Oliver Stone film for the first time since the early nineties (memory of it is quite hazy). Stephen King also wrote a fictionalized book related to the assassination, which was made into a miniseries. Not long before he died, Richard Beltzer co-authored a non-fiction book supporting the idea of a conspiracy. And Lou Reed had a song about Kennedy dying on The Blue Mask, and more recently Bob Dylan had "A Murder Most Foul." And on and on. We get it, white boomer dudes: the JFK assassination has transfixed you!
I have to say that, like the Zodiac killer and a lot of the hullabaloo surrounding 9/11, my interest in the subject itself is limited. The DeLillo book, at least, makes up for this in the telling itself, which elevates the proceedings with various details and insights. Am sure the others, like that Ellroy book, have their merits too, but for now at least, there's only so much of this I can probably take.
The Ellroy book is a great book if you’re into noir/pulp stuff. It gets into everything that the Stone movie doesn’t, primarily the Bay of Pigs and the impact that had on everyone surrounding it. There may be a reason we don’t really learn much about it during grade school/high school - because it’s pretty damning.
Re: What are you reading?
666Oh man, that whole Ellroy trilogy is fucking great. Untouchable in my eyes. A few years ago I revisited through the audiobooks. The books were read by Craig Wasson from Body Double and he kills it. Chews up Ellroy’s text in just the best way. I have never heard another reader come close to what he did there.akosinski wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2024 4:03 pm I highly suggest checking out Ellroy’s American Tabloid which he wrote partly inspired by Libra. It is essentially the the same story told from the CIA/FBI perspective. Both are incredible works, not sure which one was better. Speaking of which, I am currently reading “the cold six thousand” which is the sequel to Tabloid, it is fantastic as well.
DaveA wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 3:25 pm
Libra - My first DeLillo, and, it seems, a great place to start. So far, it fulfills my concept of how a good book behaves, in that the way the story is told is just as interesting, if not more interesting, than the subject matter. Am probably on some FBI list now what with doing searches for Lee Harvey Oswald and his wife, and Jack Ruby, at like three in the morning.
(Maybe Michael Shannon doing Denis Johnson’s The Starlight On Idaho, but that’s a single short story)
Re: What are you reading?
667That’s interesting. I can’t imagine listening to anyone read these pages. It’s pure filth.llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2024 7:55 pmOh man, that whole Ellroy trilogy is fucking great. Untouchable in my eyes. A few years ago I revisited through the audiobooks. The books were read by Craig Wasson from Body Double and he kills it. Chews up Ellroy’s text in just the best way. I have never heard another reader come close to what he did there.akosinski wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2024 4:03 pm I highly suggest checking out Ellroy’s American Tabloid which he wrote partly inspired by Libra. It is essentially the the same story told from the CIA/FBI perspective. Both are incredible works, not sure which one was better. Speaking of which, I am currently reading “the cold six thousand” which is the sequel to Tabloid, it is fantastic as well.
DaveA wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 3:25 pm
Libra - My first DeLillo, and, it seems, a great place to start. So far, it fulfills my concept of how a good book behaves, in that the way the story is told is just as interesting, if not more interesting, than the subject matter. Am probably on some FBI list now what with doing searches for Lee Harvey Oswald and his wife, and Jack Ruby, at like three in the morning.
(Maybe Michael Shannon doing Denis Johnson’s The Starlight On Idaho, but that’s a single short story)
Re: What are you reading?
668Not telling you what to read, but the zodiac killer isn’t really a comparison. The JFK assassination (and the corresponding executions of RFK, MLK, etc.) had significance for people’s lives all over the world on a level on par with the atomic bomb, the moon landing, the fall of the USSR, 9/11, and any almost other event within the last 100 years.DaveA wrote:
We get it, white boomer dudes: the JFK assassination has transfixed you!
I have to say that, like the Zodiac killer and a lot of the hullabaloo surrounding 9/11, my interest in the subject itself is limited. The DeLillo book, at least, makes up for this in the telling itself, which elevates the proceedings with various details and insights. Am sure the others, like that Ellroy book, have their merits too, but for now at least, there's only so much of this I can probably take.
Is the zodiac killer a thing now?
Re: What are you reading?
669Didn't mean to minimize the JFK assassination and the huge confluence of events surrounding it by comparing them with the admittedly less impactful Zodiac killings. Just saying that I'm not the type of person to pore over conspiracies and perennial mysteries night and day. A little here and there is fine, but there are limits to what I'll indulge. HTH
Re: What are you reading?
670I figured as much from the bits i'd seen, but i'm maybe 100pp in and it's not even particularly veiled. also, is greatDave N. wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2024 10:40 amSpoiler alert: Moby Dick is way more homoerotic than A River Runs Through Iteephus wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2024 10:18 amAll very good books I think.zircona1 wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2024 10:04 am
I liked Wolf in White Van a lot more. Haven't gotten to Devil House yet.
I just started Moby-Dick. I know everyone has been waiting to know what I think of it. Will advise, pretty sure it involves fishing and I liked A River Runs Through It so I'm optimistic.