Premier Rock Forum

I'm currently reading a book called "Proust in the Power of Photography",by Brassaï.
It`s about the importance of photography in the life and work of Marcel Proust. Non-fiction.

Wanted to bump this one. A lot of Neal Stephenson going on, which I would have caught if I bothered to read the damn thread before posting...I'm a fan, although it reads a bit 'modern' in overall style.

About Umberto Eco...I liked the two I read by him, but did anyone else get the feeling that he didn't necessarily merge the academia with the fiction well? A lot of the research referrals used ended up seeming nearly gratuitous to me. This despite the fact that I liked both the story and the subjects of his research...

Burroughs (Bill, that is) is one of those writers I read everything by unconditionally. I felt like I got a LOT of content out of it. Whether that content was the writing, or some process of projection is beyond my ability to care. Tis' probably due to a more-than-passing interest in cognitive psychology.

Been reading bits of Kenneth Grant books lately...a friend of mine has a comprehensive collection. Goofy to be sure, but entertaining on several levels. Lovecraftian occult theory, probably intended to be taken seriously. I guess you could...

'A People's History...' is great. And depressing.

Geek Love was fantastic.

I'm surprised by the number of Stephen King readers here. Is that new stuff really that interesting? I got severely turned off for all the obvious reasons...his books read like television programs.

I'm always looking for recommendations, especially on older writers. Gustav Meyrinck, Ambrose Bierce, Anatole France, Rynosuke Akutagawa, James Branch Cabell, Jane Austen, etc.

Oh, and 60's-70's sci fi. Ballard, James Blish, Piers Anthony, Michael Moorcock, etc. It seems like there was a lot of fantastic writing in that period, and a lot of it isn't ever mentioned...at least I feel that way, when I go through older issues of mags like Analog. A lot of these writers that ended up churning out crap started out with a few really interesting reads. Am I alone on this?

the art spirit - robert henri (this is quite simply a very good book)

the conspiracy of art - jean baudrillard (good pomo-y food for thought)

stories of john cheever (i was borrowing this and spilled beer all over it)

in the moment - ben gazarra (worth it for the self-effacing opening chapter)

Managed to read Silence by Shasuka Endo, which Steve recommended. Easily the most thought provoking book I've read in a while. My wife and I spent a long time discussing it.

Just finished Kaputt by Curzio Malaparte and about to start his other book Skin. He's a fascinating and somewhat mercurial writer. I need to get hold of his collected war journals Volga Rises in Europe. And I think he made a film too.

I've been doing some reading around him, so I'm also reading The Appeal of Fascism: A Study of Intellectuals and Fascism 1919-1945 by Alastair Hamilton and Curizo Malaparte: The Narrative Contract Strained by William Hope, at the same time.

I have also got a couple of books about his Capri house, one of which cost £130(!), that I luckily got used on Amazon.

On my pile I've got Stalin Front by Gert Ledig and Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman.

My dad also gave me a couple of war books for christmas:

Panzer Commander by Hans Von Luck (a Knight's Cross holder that my dad has met on several occasions in Normandy on battlefield tours)

The Hitler Book based on the transcripts of the Soviet interrogations of Hitlers top aides Otto Günsche and Heinze Linge.

I've got Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountian on hold and slowly trying to read Kant's Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics with a view to eventually read the Critque of Pure Reason.

And finally just been dipping into Giorgio Locatelli's Made in Italy, a cookbook that I got also got as a present.

rayj wrote:Wanted to bump this one. A lot of Neal Stephenson going on, which I would have caught if I bothered to read the damn thread before posting...I'm a fan, although it reads a bit 'modern' in overall style.

It's modern, but I quite like that style sometimes, especially in cryptonomicon - that's becoming really the only book I love by him.

Burroughs (Bill, that is) is one of those writers I read everything by unconditionally. I felt like I got a LOT of content out of it. Whether that content was the writing, or some process of projection is beyond my ability to care. Tis' probably due to a more-than-passing interest in cognitive psychology.

Burroughs is pretty great, but at some point the method becomes more crucial to the content. Compare Junkie to Dutch Schultz - it's really only the underlying method. I still like him, though.

I'm surprised by the number of Stephen King readers here. Is that new stuff really that interesting? I got severely turned off for all the obvious reasons...his books read like television programs.

He writes a thriller like no one else I know. Its not transcendant, but it's good meaty stuff.


I just finished a book given to me as a gift - Any Human Heart by Thomas Boyd - anybody hear of it? Any opinions?[/i]

Dylan wrote:

It's modern, but I quite like that style sometimes, especially in cryptonomicon - that's becoming really the only book I love by him.

I'm having a hard time getting started with Cryptonomicon, I think that I just have too much going on right now. I love Snowcrash and have read it several times. I have a thing for "cyberpunk" though.

about Stephen King
Dylan wrote:

He writes a thriller like no one else I know. Its not transcendant, but it's good meaty stuff.

I'm in total agreement with you. He's not the best writer that I've ever read, but I've enjoyed several of his books. Yes, I admit it.

Cranius wrote:I've been doing some reading around him, so I'm also reading The Appeal of Fascism: A Study of Intellectuals and Fascism 1919-1945 by Alastair Hamilton

Panzer Commander by Hans Von Luck (a Knight's Cross holder that my dad has met on several occasions in Normandy on battlefield tours)

I've got Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountian

Could you post further on these when you absorb them a bit? I'm looking at all of them myself, on other recommendations here. They all look pretty fascinating, and I need to balance out my steady diet of pulp...gotta play catch up a little on my short stack, though.

Whilst away, I caught up a little with my reading. All of these are very quick books to get through.

Kangaroo Notebook - Kobo Abe: This is a lunatic book, and very enjoyable for it. It is difficult to sum up, but in essence it charts a journey by the narrator through all kinds of gaudy horror. Whilst utterly irrational, it is a coherant and straightforward narrative, and thus easier to digest than his also-great The Box Man.

Minima Moralia - Theodor Adorno: I finally finished this on holiday. I love it, but by the end I had a dull ache in my tiny brain. I plan to revisit the grumpy sod piecemeal in the future to better absorb some of the trickier concepts.

The Heart of a Dog - Mikhail Bulgakov: He wrote this before The Master and Margarita, and whilst it does not the greatness of the latter, it is a very funny, imaginative and scathing read. It is practically a novella.

Scandal - Shusaku Endo: Of his books, I had only previously read Silence, so this made quite a change. The novel is set in 1980's Japan, and incorporates lots of autobiographical elements alongside the main story about the author protagonist fearing having a doppleganger. I found it genuinely chilling.

The Seven Who Were Hanged - Andreyev Leonid: I read this yesterday in a hungover mood and felt pretty rotten afterwards. The book had been lying around in my room for a few months, and when I spotted it I picked it up due to the synchronicity. It is a short, brilliant and grim fictional account of the last days of five would-be terrorists and two criminals up to their hanging in pre-Revolutionary Russia. It is beautifully written (once you ignore the cheap typos) and very moving, but I would not recommend it if you do not feel like being disturbed and horrified. I went to the supermarket afterwards and saw the cover of a paper with Saddam's dead, hanging form - lovely.

And on that note, if anyone can recommend me something cheerful, uplifting and well written, please jump in. My recent reading matter has left me feeling glum.

sparky wrote:And on that note, if anyone can recommend me something cheerful, uplifting and well written, please jump in. My recent reading matter has left me feeling glum.

Richard Brautigan always cheers me up - try 'In Watermelon Sugar', or anything.

sparky wrote:And on that note, if anyone can recommend me something cheerful, uplifting and well written, please jump in. My recent reading matter has left me feeling glum.

I push this guy too much, but 'Jurgen' by James Branch Cabell had me laughing out loud in ways I've never thought possible. The effect was probably similar to what the film 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' (the Terry Gilliam version) provided fans of said movie, only much better, and in literary form.