Goodreads Reading Challenge/General Bookery

[Moses Julep]

1 hour ago, RPS said:

Done. If anyone has not read this. It's really provocative. I'm still thinking about it after I finished it yesterday. 

I will echo this, it’s a short book that leaves you thinking for a while.

[GhostMachine]

I'd been trying to find a copy of Hans Holzer's book Ghost Hunter about some of his investigations for at least two years, but its been long out of print. (He wrote the book in 1963, and died in 2009) A lot of paranormal investigators recommend it, and I've always been interested in ghost stories. I finally gave in and ordered a copy for my Kindle off Amazon. I've only had time to read a few stories, but it does not disappoint. Highly recommend it. 

*edited to add* I recommend looking up books by Peter Underwood, who was a British parapsychologist, as well.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by GhostMachine

[VerbalPuke]

I tried reading Naked Lunch, and I really can't get into it. The weird disjointed nature of it and nothing making sense didn't appeal to me at all. Disappointing because I really liked Burroughs "Junky".

[GhostMachine]

To be fair, the book is about a junkie and based somewhat on Burroughs' own experiences, but it is a realy messed up book. He did say each part could be read in any order, and that is a problem. 

 

[RPS]

I just finished The Cell by Stephen King. I enjoyed it, but I feel like if I thought about the plot devices and story for more than a minute I would loath it. 

I have a bunch of your recommendations that I'm getting too after I read Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I've been reading Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor, by Kim Kelly. I think most people know her as a labor columnist for Teen Vogue, but she also does a lot of independent reporting about labor issues and organizing. 

It's a pretty interesting book so far, I'm a little less than halfway through it. I read at a snail's pace these days.

[Liam]

On 27/04/2022 at 21:27, VerBlue Christmas said:

I tried reading Naked Lunch, and I really can't get into it. The weird disjointed nature of it and nothing making sense didn't appeal to me at all. Disappointing because I really liked Burroughs "Junky".

 

On 28/04/2022 at 06:23, GhostMachine said:

To be fair, the book is about a junkie and based somewhat on Burroughs' own experiences, but it is a realy messed up book. He did say each part could be read in any order, and that is a problem. 

 

Isn't the whole point of Naked Lunch that it was when Burroughs was writing sections, cutting them up, and moving them around as a stylistic choice? I'm not surprised that it would be pretty hard to follow if that was the case.

7 hours ago, RPS said:

I just finished The Cell by Stephen King. I enjoyed it, but I feel like if I thought about the plot devices and story for more than a minute I would loath it. 

I have a bunch of your recommendations that I'm getting too after I read Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

Less is a very good book.

[VerbalPuke]

18 minutes ago, Liam said:

 

Isn't the whole point of Naked Lunch that it was when Burroughs was writing sections, cutting them up, and moving them around as a stylistic choice? I'm not surprised that it would be pretty hard to follow if that was the case.

Less is a very good book.

I don't know exactly, I just know the disjointed feeling wasn't for me. 

I'm sure plenty of people dig it, and I can understand that as it's pretty wild so it probably has a certain appeal.

This was actually back in January when I read it, or tried. I gave up. Also not sure why I wrote this in four separate lines. 

[Jimmy]

Been burning through books recently, which has been a super nice feeling. 

I just finished Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow, which at its best, gave me Homegoing vibes. I thought it weaved tragedy and beauty together in such a poignant way, I was beaming and plagued by heartache throughout. 

I really enjoyed Tunnels by Rutu Modan and The Earth Wire by Joel Lane. The former is a graphic novel about an archeological hunt that investigates the relationship between Israel and Palestine, while the latter is an eerie collection of short stories, mostly set in Birmingham, by a writer who was clearly deeply disillusioned and disturbed by Thatcherism. Infux have just published one of his novels, which I picked up. 

Currently reading Paradais by Fernanda Melchor, which is her second novel available in English. I absolutely loved / loathed Hurricane Season, which was the first available. 

[GhostMachine]

Currently reading:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6177069-knoxville-s-1982-world-s-fair?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=YDdcpDLrBf&rank=2

[RPS]

On 06/05/2022 at 16:58, Liam said:

Less is a very good book.

It was really good. I really enjoyed that the first half of the book was quite breezy and lighthearted, but the second half of the book was more of an exploration of aging and regret and loss. 

Spoiler

There was a quote in the second half of the book where Arthur Less was talking about getting old. The first half of our lives is getting used to the restaurants, the bars, the bathhouses, the house parties and the second half of our lives is slowly being inched out of these spaces because of age. 

I really did enjoy what a mediation on aging and being consumed in a culture so obsessed with age and beauty. I related a lot to it. 

Now onto Commonwealth! 

[RPS]

On 18/05/2022 at 11:13, RPS said:

Now onto Commonwealth! 

What a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. What could have been cliche was not. I really enjoyed that Pratchett seemed to avoid narrative resolution in the traditional sense. Each segment, each chapter, each thread for the characters ends in unexpected ways. 

[RPS]

On 22/03/2022 at 10:01, Moses Julep said:

If you want a trashy thriller I’m going to recommend the Silent Patient by Alex Michaelidis

I do want a trash thriller, so I am reading this next. 

[Liam]

2 hours ago, RPS said:

What a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. What could have been cliche was not. I really enjoyed that Pratchett seemed to avoid narrative resolution in the traditional sense. Each segment, each chapter, each thread for the characters ends in unexpected ways. 

Since I recommended it to you (whether you chose it off of that or not), I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. It was a really excellent read.

[RPS]

On 01/06/2022 at 09:19, RPS said:

I do want a trash thriller, so I am reading this next. 

So. I was not a huge fan of the Silent Patient. I think mainly because I knew the twist before it occurred. Wasn't spoiled. Just figured. It was good as a trashy thriller, just lots of obvious plot holes and a lot of suspension of disbelief.

I'm reading something short - Grief is The Thing With Feathers. It's very bizarre. 

[Skummy]

On 10/06/2022 at 22:47, RPS said:

I'm reading something short - Grief is The Thing With Feathers. It's very bizarre. 

Really fascinated what you make of this one - I loved it, but it's certainly unique. I feel I'd maybe have liked it more if I knew more Ted Hughes stuff, as I'm sure there's references in there that went over my head.

Porter's second book, Lanny, stuck with me a lot more, in part because a lot of the rural village setting reminded me of my childhood, and there's a lot of (albeit very abstract) folk horror elements.

[RPS]

5 hours ago, Skummy said:

Really fascinated what you make of this one - I loved it, but it's certainly unique. I feel I'd maybe have liked it more if I knew more Ted Hughes stuff, as I'm sure there's references in there that went over my head.

Porter's second book, Lanny, stuck with me a lot more, in part because a lot of the rural village setting reminded me of my childhood, and there's a lot of (albeit very abstract) folk horror elements.

I really did enjoy it. I will have to read several more times to digest it. It's very uniquely written. As is admitted in text, the prose and the feelings are more important than plot. There is no plot, really. It's incidents, events, feelings that appear unconnected. But they are. It's the experience of grief and how to process trauma. It was evocative and raw, but understandably so. I have experienced personal loss sparingly in my life but the feeling described in the story is how I experience grief. The Crow as a symbol for grief and trauma and loss were fascinating. 

I'm now onto The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. It's really good so far. 

[TheGrandAvatar]

Have too many physical books to catch up on at the moment. All various titles. E-Books also. From non fiction to fiction.  Can never stick with one book and just glance at various books over the course of a day. 

BookBud is a email subscription you can get that daily shows a selection of books on the Kindle app for sale. 

[RPS]

@TheGrandAvatar, this is why I only have one book I haven't read at a time. I know I would just buy and buy and buy...

 

[TheGrandAvatar]

That is my problem @RPS

I keep buying and buying. Too many good little cheap deals about daily. Having to tone it back for now. Just picked up two wrestling books on the kindle so will read them before anything else.