Selaws
Well-Known Member
Kitchen Confidential is a book I read every year, it's so well written and really is captivating.
2022 Reading Challenge
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dhodo
Well-Known Member
It was an excellent book. I don't know why I never got around to reading it until my wife gave it to me for Xmas.
I had never read it before and had watched a lot of Bourdain's shows. Impossible not to hear his voice when reading the book. It was sad reading all his optimism in the afterword in light of his death.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Yeah I know what you mean, especially considering that a lot of the book is about dealing with tough situations and pushing through.
WhiteDahlias
Active Member
I read The Vegetarian a few years ago and yeah it took me a lot longer than I expected to read it. I knew going in it was classified as "horror" and I am not usually a big horror fan but I was intrigued enough to give it a try. I'm still not totally sure how I feel about it, but I do love Han Kang's writing. Last year, I read Human Acts which was also disturbing (for different reasons) and connected with that one a lot more.
Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
Right, when I saw it described as "horror" I think I expected something a little more psychological, or horror that arrives from a more heightened set of circumstances. Instead it's all (so far) very grounded. The casual sexual violence and the description of the death of a dog are stomach-turning. Maybe it's the indifference of the language that makes those things even more horrifying in contrast. I don't know. I suspect a lot of my distaste stems from misaligned expectations and being shocked at what I assumed would be a more breezy read.
Turbo
Well-Known Member
Book #4
Finished this one over the weekend and finally getting around to posting here.
George Pelecanos "A Firing Offense" (1992 Back Bay Books, 2011 edition)
Impressions: Will keep this one brief. Pelecanos is a treasure. If you want to get into modern noir, from a good writer and storyteller, that knows how to build a gritty world to the point where you can feel and smell the city, read Pelecanos. You already know his work if you watched The Wire, Treme and The Deuce. "A Firing Offense" is his first novel. It doesn't disappoint.
Next up, a danish noir:
Sara Blaedel "The Midnight Witness"
Finished this one over the weekend and finally getting around to posting here.
George Pelecanos "A Firing Offense" (1992 Back Bay Books, 2011 edition)
Impressions: Will keep this one brief. Pelecanos is a treasure. If you want to get into modern noir, from a good writer and storyteller, that knows how to build a gritty world to the point where you can feel and smell the city, read Pelecanos. You already know his work if you watched The Wire, Treme and The Deuce. "A Firing Offense" is his first novel. It doesn't disappoint.
Next up, a danish noir:
Sara Blaedel "The Midnight Witness"
Mr Moore
Well-Known Member
Book 10 : The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Another good one. What began feeling like it was going to be an episode of 'How to Get Away With Murder' as the opening lines reveal that there has been a killing of a student in an elite campus, quickly transpired to be a detailed psychological profile of a core group of characters involved in the crime.
Tartt uses the classics as a tool to guide her characters through a year of their studies leading up to an ancient ritual that sees a total stranger lose their life and the consequences within the tight knit group that follows including internal blackmail and eventually murder.
There's definitely elements of Dostoevsky here as the characters struggle with their inner turmoil following the events and we witness some dealing with this with a confidence and casualness whilst alcohol and drugs lend a rather unhelpful crutch along the way to others.
Were I to look for criticism, it would be that none of the lead characters are particularly likeable, in fact the elitist group who have even shut themselves off from the majority of the rest of the school, are downright unlikeable for the majority of time which makes it quite difficult to empathise with them and/or root for them. There's some hope that the lead narrator and one of his cohort may develop their relationship into a partnership but Tartt even steals that away from us.
This aside, I enjoyed it for it's well written prose and confident style, especially for a debut. Despite the characters being flawed, they were fully developed and I never felt like they were behaving out of character. I look forward to reading more from Donna Tartt including The Goldfinch which I'm told is excellent.
Another good one. What began feeling like it was going to be an episode of 'How to Get Away With Murder' as the opening lines reveal that there has been a killing of a student in an elite campus, quickly transpired to be a detailed psychological profile of a core group of characters involved in the crime.
Tartt uses the classics as a tool to guide her characters through a year of their studies leading up to an ancient ritual that sees a total stranger lose their life and the consequences within the tight knit group that follows including internal blackmail and eventually murder.
There's definitely elements of Dostoevsky here as the characters struggle with their inner turmoil following the events and we witness some dealing with this with a confidence and casualness whilst alcohol and drugs lend a rather unhelpful crutch along the way to others.
Were I to look for criticism, it would be that none of the lead characters are particularly likeable, in fact the elitist group who have even shut themselves off from the majority of the rest of the school, are downright unlikeable for the majority of time which makes it quite difficult to empathise with them and/or root for them. There's some hope that the lead narrator and one of his cohort may develop their relationship into a partnership but Tartt even steals that away from us.
This aside, I enjoyed it for it's well written prose and confident style, especially for a debut. Despite the characters being flawed, they were fully developed and I never felt like they were behaving out of character. I look forward to reading more from Donna Tartt including The Goldfinch which I'm told is excellent.
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
Was planning on starting this next!
WhiteDahlias
Active Member
So instead of reading one of the 3 books I currently have ongoing... I picked this one up at the bookstore last week and started it right away. If you can't tell, I have a weakness for books with pretty covers.
Book #9: People From My Neighborhood - Hiromi Kawakami
This is a book of very short stories (I think they would technically be considered flash fiction) that are vignettes of the goings on in this neighborhood in Japan. I really liked the progression of the stories as it starts off as kind of quirky slice of life stuff and by the end it's really fun fabulist/magical realism wackiness.
I enjoyed this one very much and would recommend it to people that like magical realism and are okay with short stories that don't have much plot.
Book #9: People From My Neighborhood - Hiromi Kawakami
This is a book of very short stories (I think they would technically be considered flash fiction) that are vignettes of the goings on in this neighborhood in Japan. I really liked the progression of the stories as it starts off as kind of quirky slice of life stuff and by the end it's really fun fabulist/magical realism wackiness.
I enjoyed this one very much and would recommend it to people that like magical realism and are okay with short stories that don't have much plot.
Mr Moore
Well-Known Member
Book 11: Bright Lights, Big City - Jay McInerney
I honestly struggled a bit to really enjoy this one. It was much shorter than I'd realised, (Kindles are buggers for not really appreciating the size of a book) and it frequently felt like the characters and the story needed a little more 'filling out' for my tastes. Couple that with the second person narration which I didn't like at all and it has been my least favourite read of the year so far.
It's a shame, the story of a young man making his way in the big city which he isn't native to and the good and bad times associated with that really ought to have spoken to me a little more but alas, it fell a bit flat on me.
I honestly struggled a bit to really enjoy this one. It was much shorter than I'd realised, (Kindles are buggers for not really appreciating the size of a book) and it frequently felt like the characters and the story needed a little more 'filling out' for my tastes. Couple that with the second person narration which I didn't like at all and it has been my least favourite read of the year so far.
It's a shame, the story of a young man making his way in the big city which he isn't native to and the good and bad times associated with that really ought to have spoken to me a little more but alas, it fell a bit flat on me.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Book 7:
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami (Harvill Secker, 2018)
The second Murakami book of the year and it took a good few weeks for me to read it, but thats not a reflection of my interest its just one hell of a thick book. What I really like about his writing is that it leaves and incredibly comfortable, warm feeling which slow burns to a more out-there fantasy element. He builds an incredibly detailed world effortlessly and its amazingly captivating as a result. I found myself thinking about where the story was going to go even when I wasn't reading it. With this particular book its very straight forward apart from one or 2 minor fantasy elements, until the last 100 pages when it really does go far-out. I do feel like there were a few unanswered questions when it comes to this particular story
and I also feel like it finished abruptly. There's 704 pages here and its really only the last chapter (perhaps 8 pages) where everything is tied up in a much faster pace than the rest of the book. Still, I really enjoyed this and will definitely be looking out for more of his books when I am out an about. On a side note, I bought this copy from a charity shop so im not sure if this is the standard release or a special edition, but its pretty stunning graphically. The dust jacket is a really nice design with holes cut out across the front which lines up with different coloured blobs on the actual hardcover. When the dust jacket is removed there is an additional design that lays out a series of coloured, numbered circles (the main character is an artist so it ties in). Inside the book the opening and closing pages have sketches of key elements to the story (which only becomes evident as the story unravels). Really nice stuff.
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami (Harvill Secker, 2018)
The second Murakami book of the year and it took a good few weeks for me to read it, but thats not a reflection of my interest its just one hell of a thick book. What I really like about his writing is that it leaves and incredibly comfortable, warm feeling which slow burns to a more out-there fantasy element. He builds an incredibly detailed world effortlessly and its amazingly captivating as a result. I found myself thinking about where the story was going to go even when I wasn't reading it. With this particular book its very straight forward apart from one or 2 minor fantasy elements, until the last 100 pages when it really does go far-out. I do feel like there were a few unanswered questions when it comes to this particular story
such as the unexplored "Bluebeard" room that supposed to be in Menshiki's house.
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
Murakami does vibes like no one else. I don't remember a ton of the story from reading this one, but i do remember being enthralled by the mood.
Bluecloud777
Well-Known Member
Novel 5 Christopher Isherwood „Goodbye to Berlin“ from 1939
I've listened to this and the novel below on audio. This novel that was released by British- American writer Christopher Isherwood in 1939, gives impressions of the life in Berlin and places like the Baltic Sea Island Rügen in the early 30s. The lyrical I is a British English teacher that lives as a guest in various households, so we get acquainted with various characters. Among them are people working in a bar, working as prostitutes, but also people from upper society. As both the writer and the narrator are gay, we also get some glimpse into gay relationships at that time, for instance the one between Otto, a young guy, and the significantly older Peter, who the narrator lives with while being on vacation in Rügen. At the same time, nearly told in half sentences besides, we get introduced to the worrying developments in Germany at that time and the increasing influence of the Nazi Movement.
The sound of the novel is very light, and some might think it's a bit shallow at first sight, but Isherwood manages to really draw the reader into the plot. Looking at how all those fictional people used to live, knowing what will be happening to them in future years when the horrors of war and persecution kick in, gives us goosebumps.
Novel 6 Ivan Turgenev „Fathers and Sons“ from 1862
I've also listened to this novel. I've actually read it before, but it's over 20 years ago. The novel depicts ideas and movements of that time. As the title already indicates, it's a generational novel that contrasts ideas of the young generation to the ones of the older generation. The main character is a young student of medicine called Bazarov, who considers himself a nihilist. He despises Romanticism, poetry and the culture of the older generations, is opposed to any authorities, rejects the old order and wants to become a famous man. His friend Arkadi adores him, but seems to naive and dependent. When they visit Arkadi's Father, a liberal noble man who has a kid with a female servant, the gap between them gets obvious. When Bazarov finally falls in love with a woman, who ultimately rejects him, his downfall starts.
Reading the novel was an interesting journey into another time, and I can see how parts of this famous novel must have inspired people like Thomas Mann, Gustave Flaubert and Friedrich Nietzsche.
I've listened to this and the novel below on audio. This novel that was released by British- American writer Christopher Isherwood in 1939, gives impressions of the life in Berlin and places like the Baltic Sea Island Rügen in the early 30s. The lyrical I is a British English teacher that lives as a guest in various households, so we get acquainted with various characters. Among them are people working in a bar, working as prostitutes, but also people from upper society. As both the writer and the narrator are gay, we also get some glimpse into gay relationships at that time, for instance the one between Otto, a young guy, and the significantly older Peter, who the narrator lives with while being on vacation in Rügen. At the same time, nearly told in half sentences besides, we get introduced to the worrying developments in Germany at that time and the increasing influence of the Nazi Movement.
The sound of the novel is very light, and some might think it's a bit shallow at first sight, but Isherwood manages to really draw the reader into the plot. Looking at how all those fictional people used to live, knowing what will be happening to them in future years when the horrors of war and persecution kick in, gives us goosebumps.
Novel 6 Ivan Turgenev „Fathers and Sons“ from 1862
I've also listened to this novel. I've actually read it before, but it's over 20 years ago. The novel depicts ideas and movements of that time. As the title already indicates, it's a generational novel that contrasts ideas of the young generation to the ones of the older generation. The main character is a young student of medicine called Bazarov, who considers himself a nihilist. He despises Romanticism, poetry and the culture of the older generations, is opposed to any authorities, rejects the old order and wants to become a famous man. His friend Arkadi adores him, but seems to naive and dependent. When they visit Arkadi's Father, a liberal noble man who has a kid with a female servant, the gap between them gets obvious. When Bazarov finally falls in love with a woman, who ultimately rejects him, his downfall starts.
Reading the novel was an interesting journey into another time, and I can see how parts of this famous novel must have inspired people like Thomas Mann, Gustave Flaubert and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Bluecloud777
Well-Known Member
I've read "The Goldfinch" last summer and have enjoyed it a lot indeed. The prose is very easy to read, so despite the lenght I've just needed a couple of days to finish it. Great characters, and the whole book feels like a vacation to other places.
Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
I'm stalled out on David Burr Gerrard's The Epiphany Machine.
I really hate giving up on a book once I've started it, in the hopes that I might find some redeeming quality in it by the end. But what ends up happening is that I avoid the book for days at a time. I'm still "reading it," but my progress toward my goal slows to a crawl. This is two thumbs-down selections in a row for me. Do you all find it similarly difficult to close a book and put it down forever without finishing it, without giving yourself that closure? How much of a chance do you give it before you make that choice?
I really hate giving up on a book once I've started it, in the hopes that I might find some redeeming quality in it by the end. But what ends up happening is that I avoid the book for days at a time. I'm still "reading it," but my progress toward my goal slows to a crawl. This is two thumbs-down selections in a row for me. Do you all find it similarly difficult to close a book and put it down forever without finishing it, without giving yourself that closure? How much of a chance do you give it before you make that choice?
Mr Moore
Well-Known Member
Generally, if I stop a book part way through it tends to lead to a prolonged period of not reading at all so I've been trying really hard not to do that these past few years. I've got lucky too as almost everything I've read, I've enjoyed with only a very few exceptions. I was really tempted with Infinite Jest but I'm glad I didn't because it wasn't until about half way through that I really started enjoying it but I'd already dedicated about 10 days to it by then.
I've started quite a few books and not finished them over the years, but none lately. A lot of times it's not the book's fault, it's that the timing of my book choice is poor. Now I try to alternate fiction and non-fiction, and try to alternate the types of each I read as well.
One from recent memory (a couple years ago) that I stopped cold was David Byrne - How Music Works. I thought this would be up my alley but found my mind wandering while reading or just trying to get more pages read...that's not really reading for enjoyment at that point. Maybe I'll pick it up again and give it another chance but at this point I'm avoiding it.
Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
Yes, I find it easier to give up on something open-ended like a TV show than on a finite piece like a book. How bad can it be for me not to give it a few more hours/pages/chapters/days?
That's a good point re: not being in the right frame of mind for a book. It can be especially difficult if you've really gotten into the groove with a certain author, to jump tracks to a totally different tone and relax into that new voice.
For a while I tried to adopt a 20% rule. If I didn't at least think a book was "good" (i.e. well-written, even if I wasn't particularly enjoying it) by 20% of the way through it, I could set it aside in good conscience. But it's harder to do in practice. I think sometimes I trick myself into thinking that a challenging book that I don't like (like The Vegetarian) is the same thing as a book that is challenging primarily because I don't like it. I should be able to walk away from the latter, but it still feels like admitting defeat somehow.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
I've been in the position a few times where other things have gotten in the way of me reading so I stop halfway through without going back to it. This tended to happen during my university studies when projects and deadlines got in the way. In recent years I made a point of revisiting some of them, with a few more in my read pile. These include:
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Temple by Matthew Reilly
- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (This is one that I plan on reading, I got a few chapters in last time and didnt get chance to finish)
Mr Moore
Well-Known Member
Book 12: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Such an amazing book, simply blew me away. This should be required reading for all secondary school kids so we could all have a better understanding of the frailty of our mental health and that of those around us.
Plath perfectly describes the finest of lines between perceived normalcy and insanity, how easily and almost indecipherably one can cross from one side to the other and how it affects her and those around her. One only hopes the treatment of such illnesses has improved since this was written.
I'd often heard of this book as being depressing. I didn't find it depressing, I found it to be eye-opening, real, sad at times, tragic even but it really felt like essential reading, I wish I'd read it much sooner.
Such an amazing book, simply blew me away. This should be required reading for all secondary school kids so we could all have a better understanding of the frailty of our mental health and that of those around us.
Plath perfectly describes the finest of lines between perceived normalcy and insanity, how easily and almost indecipherably one can cross from one side to the other and how it affects her and those around her. One only hopes the treatment of such illnesses has improved since this was written.
I'd often heard of this book as being depressing. I didn't find it depressing, I found it to be eye-opening, real, sad at times, tragic even but it really felt like essential reading, I wish I'd read it much sooner.