The Reader’s Nook - The N&G Book Thread

Bennnnn said:
I genuinely love that book. I thought it would be too challenging or something, but I was pretty quickly immediately drawn to it. I had so much fun reading it and it took me about...two or three months I think?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've had it on my shelf for years and I kept putting it off because it's so big and I figured it'd be really tough. Only about 60 pages in so far but it's pretty easy going for the most part (except some of those multi-page paragraphs). I anticipated, like, Gravity's Rainbow density.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tyr
BjorgenFjorgen said:
Yeah, I've had it on my shelf for years and I kept putting it off because it's so big and I figured it'd be really tough. Only about 60 pages in so far but it's pretty easy going for the most part (except some of those multi-page paragraphs). I anticipated, like, Gravity's Rainbow density.
Click to expand...
If you're trying to make me fall in love with you by mentioning both Gravity's Rainbow AND Infinite Jest...you're succeeding. HA!

Good luck. LOVED Infinite Jest (with the exception of the one NA/AA mtg piece that drags on forever ever).
 
Finished Klara and the Sun the other day. Really good book; it's very much of a piece with Ishiguro's other work. To read the premise, it kinda sounds like you'll get another Never Let Me Go, but it's definitely its own thing. I'd love to hear what anyone reading it thinks; as is typical for Ishiguro's storytelling style, I'm left with many feelings and just as many questions.

Namely:

What happened to the homeless man and his dog? The book hews reliably to Klara's perspective, and while sometimes she's very perceptive, there are other times she thinks one thing is happening when something completely different is happening.

Is the homeless man just asleep? The dog is still as well, which makes me wonder. Or did the sun really bring him back to life, so to speak? Is that occurrence supposed to be the litmus test of what we're supposed to think happened to Josie? That if we believe the sun really brought the homeless man back to life, then it really was the sun which returned Josie to health? And if we think Klara's "deal" with the sun had nothing to do with Josie's recovery, likewise Klara simply didn't understand what happened to the homeless man?

Now I'm delving into Warlock by Oakley Hall. The prose is really great; it's a bit of a dense read, but sentence-to-sentence it's very enjoyable.
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
Yeah, I've had it on my shelf for years and I kept putting it off because it's so big and I figured it'd be really tough. Only about 60 pages in so far but it's pretty easy going for the most part (except some of those multi-page paragraphs). I anticipated, like, Gravity's Rainbow density.
Click to expand...
Yeah it’s not as densely complicated and hard to follow as one might think. I found it really approachable once you get DFW’s style (which I did know already as I read several nonfiction works from him). It’s just the length, and the discourse around it, that I think pulls people away from wanting to try. But I completely love it and like right when I finished I felt like I could start it over again. Still haven’t done that, but that’s how much I enjoyed it.
 
Bull Shannon said:
Finished Klara and the Sun the other day. Really good book; it's very much of a piece with Ishiguro's other work. To read the premise, it kinda sounds like you'll get another Never Let Me Go, but it's definitely its own thing. I'd love to hear what anyone reading it thinks; as is typical for Ishiguro's storytelling style, I'm left with many feelings and just as many questions.

Namely:

What happened to the homeless man and his dog? The book hews reliably to Klara's perspective, and while sometimes she's very perceptive, there are other times she thinks one thing is happening when something completely different is happening.

Is the homeless man just asleep? The dog is still as well, which makes me wonder. Or did the sun really bring him back to life, so to speak? Is that occurrence supposed to be the litmus test of what we're supposed to think happened to Josie? That if we believe the sun really brought the homeless man back to life, then it really was the sun which returned Josie to health? And if we think Klara's "deal" with the sun had nothing to do with Josie's recovery, likewise Klara simply didn't understand what happened to the homeless man?

Now I'm delving into Warlock by Oakley Hall. The prose is really great; it's a bit of a dense read, but sentence-to-sentence it's very enjoyable.
Click to expand...
I am hoping to finally finish this today. I have only been reading in kinda small doses but I am really enjoying it. I am towards the end right now.
 
Bull Shannon said:
Finished Klara and the Sun the other day. Really good book; it's very much of a piece with Ishiguro's other work. To read the premise, it kinda sounds like you'll get another Never Let Me Go, but it's definitely its own thing. I'd love to hear what anyone reading it thinks; as is typical for Ishiguro's storytelling style, I'm left with many feelings and just as many questions.

Namely:

What happened to the homeless man and his dog? The book hews reliably to Klara's perspective, and while sometimes she's very perceptive, there are other times she thinks one thing is happening when something completely different is happening.

Is the homeless man just asleep? The dog is still as well, which makes me wonder. Or did the sun really bring him back to life, so to speak? Is that occurrence supposed to be the litmus test of what we're supposed to think happened to Josie? That if we believe the sun really brought the homeless man back to life, then it really was the sun which returned Josie to health? And if we think Klara's "deal" with the sun had nothing to do with Josie's recovery, likewise Klara simply didn't understand what happened to the homeless man?

Now I'm delving into Warlock by Oakley Hall. The prose is really great; it's a bit of a dense read, but sentence-to-sentence it's very enjoyable.
Click to expand...
I just bought this, probably will be the next thing I start and I am excited!
 
Bennnnn said:
Yeah it’s not as densely complicated and hard to follow as one might think. I found it really approachable once you get DFW’s style (which I did know already as I read several nonfiction works from him). It’s just the length, and the discourse around it, that I think pulls people away from wanting to try. But I completely love it and like right when I finished I felt like I could start it over again. Still haven’t done that, but that’s how much I enjoyed it.
Click to expand...
I read The Broom of the System about eight years ago and I don't remember that being too rough if at all, so I'm not sure why I dragged my feet for so long, but I'm enjoying it. Though my main reason for finally reading it now is that I can read it all at home and not have to lug the massive thing around everywhere. I did most of my reading in the before-times on the subway on the way to work, so this is a lot better.
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
I read The Broom of the System about eight years ago and I don't remember that being too rough if at all, so I'm not sure why I dragged my feet for so long, but I'm enjoying it. Though my main reason for finally reading it now is that I can read it all at home and not have to lug the massive thing around everywhere. I did most of my reading in the before-times on the subway on the way to work, so this is a lot better.
Click to expand...
I bought a copy of Infinite Jest like 10 years ago and still haven't cracked it open. I think my thinking is always that I could read like twenty other books in the time it would take me to read that. There are just too many good books that I've purchased with the intent to read them someday and I'm woefully behind. The overstuffed bookshelves in my apartment are so intimidating now.

But I'm feeling inspired by everyone on here, so I'm going to make another run at finishing Bleak House. 4th time's the charm!
 
Ericj32 said:
I bought a copy of Infinite Jest like 10 years ago and still haven't cracked it open. I think my thinking is always that I could read like twenty other books in the time it would take me to read that. There are just too many good books that I've purchased with the intent to read them someday and I'm woefully behind. The overstuffed bookshelves in my apartment are so intimidating now.

But I'm feeling inspired by everyone on here, so I'm going to make another run at finishing Bleak House. 4th time's the charm!
Click to expand...
I've basically stopped buying books for that exact reason! (That and I've started to use my public library religiously.) I think I bought my copy about that long ago, too. There are definitely a lot of books that I want to read, but they're not going anywhere.
 
How did I not know this thread existed?! Tell me, everyone, what are you reading and how are you liking it?

I'm currently working though Obama's A Promised Land. It's been interesting so far. Since December my mom and I have been reading this coffee shop mystery series "literally called that". I'll order like 5 at a time and we'll share them. They're fun, easy to read, but have good plot twists so you never see the killer coming. The next 5 in the series should get here this weekend and I'm pumped.
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
I've basically stopped buying books for that exact reason! (That and I've started to use my public library religiously.) I think I bought my copy about that long ago, too. There are definitely a lot of books that I want to read, but they're not going anywhere.
Click to expand...
I think at some point I consciously switched over from buying-books-that-I-thought-I'd-have-time-to-read-in-the-near-future to "building my library" for when I'm retired or bed-ridden or whatever and have all kinds of time. It's kind of depressing how little of them I've read during the past year of having so much extra time haha. But at the same time, there are probably only like 20 books on my shelves that I feel like I really NEED to read: (in no particular order)

1. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
2. My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard [at least the first volume of it]
3. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon [I want to at least start it and see how far I make it]
4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
5. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
6. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy [and maybe Anna Karenina]
7. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky [and probably Demons, too]
8. Ulysses by James Joyce [or maybe I'll just try with APOTAAAYM]
9. the Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel
10. a Donna Tartt book
11. a Kazuo Ishiguro book
12. a Haruki Murakami book
13. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
14. a Salman Rushdie book
15. an Orhan Pamuk book
16. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
17. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
18. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
19. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
20. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I guess that's my to-do list.
 
sarcasticfairyprincess said:
How did I not know this thread existed?! Tell me, everyone, what are you reading and how are you liking it?

I'm currently working though Obama's A Promised Land. It's been interesting so far. Since December my mom and I have been reading this coffee shop mystery series "literally called that". I'll order like 5 at a time and we'll share them. They're fun, easy to read, but have good plot twists so you never see the killer coming. The next 5 in the series should get here this weekend and I'm pumped.
Click to expand...

I'm currently reading Creative Quest by Questlove and it's not totally grabbing me...but I'll plow forward for another couple chapters.
I just finished Karl Ove Knausgaard's My Struggle volume 3 and am going to order volume 4 this weekend, along with War and Peace and A Prayer for Owen Meany. PLUS, I have a Janis Joplin bio and Levon Helm's Wheel's on Fire in queue, as soon as I'm ready for another music bio.

Ericj32 said:
I think at some point I consciously switched over from buying-books-that-I-thought-I'd-have-time-to-read-in-the-near-future to "building my library" for when I'm retired or bed-ridden or whatever and have all kinds of time. It's kind of depressing how little of them I've read during the past year of having so much extra time haha. But at the same time, there are probably only like 20 books on my shelves that I feel like I really NEED to read: (in no particular order)

1. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
2. My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard [at least the first volume of it]
3. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon [I want to at least start it and see how far I make it]
4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
5. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
6. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy [and maybe Anna Karenina]
7. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky [and probably Demons, too]
8. Ulysses by James Joyce [or maybe I'll just try with APOTAAAYM]
9. the Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel
10. a Donna Tartt book
11. a Kazuo Ishiguro book
12. a Haruki Murakami book
13. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
14. a Salman Rushdie book
15. an Orhan Pamuk book
16. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
17. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
18. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
19. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
20. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I guess that's my to-do list.
Click to expand...

Looks like a great list, I've only read a few of these...I highly recommend Anna Karenina and Oryx and Crake.
Have you read Crime and Punishment?
 
Ericj32 said:
I think at some point I consciously switched over from buying-books-that-I-thought-I'd-have-time-to-read-in-the-near-future to "building my library" for when I'm retired or bed-ridden or whatever and have all kinds of time. It's kind of depressing how little of them I've read during the past year of having so much extra time haha. But at the same time, there are probably only like 20 books on my shelves that I feel like I really NEED to read: (in no particular order)

1. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
2. My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard [at least the first volume of it]
3. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon [I want to at least start it and see how far I make it]
4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
5. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
6. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy [and maybe Anna Karenina]
7. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky [and probably Demons, too]
8. Ulysses by James Joyce [or maybe I'll just try with APOTAAAYM]
9. the Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel
10. a Donna Tartt book
11. a Kazuo Ishiguro book
12. a Haruki Murakami book
13. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
14. a Salman Rushdie book
15. an Orhan Pamuk book
16. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
17. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
18. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
19. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
20. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I guess that's my to-do list.
Click to expand...
This is AMAZING!

7 of your top 10 to read books are in my top 20 fave books list. You have exquisite taste. Bleak House is Dickens’ best imo, even though my favorite of his still David Copperfield. Yes yes I know.

I made a book TikTok video where I discussed favorite books for certain scenarios. It got me started on re-reading The Possessed by Dostoyevsky.

Actually, fuck it I’ll link it.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeSpVUWB
 
Ericj32 said:
I think at some point I consciously switched over from buying-books-that-I-thought-I'd-have-time-to-read-in-the-near-future to "building my library" for when I'm retired or bed-ridden or whatever and have all kinds of time. It's kind of depressing how little of them I've read during the past year of having so much extra time haha. But at the same time, there are probably only like 20 books on my shelves that I feel like I really NEED to read: (in no particular order)

1. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
2. My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard [at least the first volume of it]
3. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon [I want to at least start it and see how far I make it]
4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
5. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
6. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy [and maybe Anna Karenina]
7. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky [and probably Demons, too]
8. Ulysses by James Joyce [or maybe I'll just try with APOTAAAYM]
9. the Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel
10. a Donna Tartt book
11. a Kazuo Ishiguro book
12. a Haruki Murakami book
13. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
14. a Salman Rushdie book
15. an Orhan Pamuk book
16. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
17. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
18. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
19. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
20. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I guess that's my to-do list.
Click to expand...
One Hundred Years of Solitude is my favorite book of all time. You know how some people say The Giver or The Alchemist is the book that had a profound, lifelong impact on them? Yeah, One Hundred Years is mine. I'll never forget the first time I read it.
 
I'm not the most prolific reader in the world. Somewhere in my twenties I pretty much quit reading completely getting through maybe two books a year at best. A few years ago I made a concerted effort to try and start reading again and I managed 8 books a year for 2019 and 2020. I set myself the challenge of reading 10 books this year and its been a great first quarter, I've managed 12! So, I've upped my challenge to 15 (I start work again next month so I know I'll slow down significantly). Here's my past few years:

2019.PNG
2020.PNG

This kindle app only lets me display 9 at a time so this year is split over 2 pics, starting the year with The Trial and just finishing Mann's Death in Venice and other short stories today. Not sure what I'm moving onto next but I thing Auster's 4321.
2021.PNG
2021.2.PNG

sarcasticfairyprincess said:
One Hundred Years of Solitude is my favorite book of all time. You know how some people say The Giver or The Alchemist is the book that had a profound, lifelong impact on them? Yeah, One Hundred Years is mine. I'll never forget the first time I read it.
Click to expand...

I loved this too. I read Love in the Time of Cholera in my twenties and thought it one of the best things ever (I still do), and it took me another 20 years getting around to One Hundred Years but wow, it's such a great book. For a writer to have one work that special is something but to have two that are this good, well, one could only dream of being that skilled.
 
Mr Moore said:
I'm not the most prolific reader in the world. Somewhere in my twenties I pretty much quit reading completely getting through maybe two books a year at best. A few years ago I made a concerted effort to try and start reading again and I managed 8 books a year for 2019 and 2020. I set myself the challenge of reading 10 books this year and its been a great first quarter, I've managed 12! So, I've upped my challenge to 15 (I start work again next month so I know I'll slow down significantly). Here's my past few years:

View attachment 92557
View attachment 92558

This kindle app only lets me display 9 at a time so this year is split over 2 pics, starting the year with The Trial and just finishing Mann's Death in Venice and other short stories today. Not sure what I'm moving onto next but I thing Auster's 4321.
View attachment 92560
View attachment 92559



I loved this too. I read Love in the Time of Cholera in my twenties and thought it one of the best things ever (I still do), and it took me another 20 years getting around to One Hundred Years but wow, it's such a great book. For a writer to have one work that special is something but to have two that are this good, well, one could only dream of being that skilled.
Click to expand...
How did you like The Name of the Rose? I recently read Foucault's Pendulum and while I enjoyed it, I also found it a little too intellectual and not, I dunno, character- or really plot-based enough to really keep my interest all the time.

I'm also hoping to read In Cold Blood very soon. It's another title that's been high on my to-read list for too long.
 
Mr Moore said:
I'm not the most prolific reader in the world. Somewhere in my twenties I pretty much quit reading completely getting through maybe two books a year at best. A few years ago I made a concerted effort to try and start reading again and I managed 8 books a year for 2019 and 2020. I set myself the challenge of reading 10 books this year and its been a great first quarter, I've managed 12! So, I've upped my challenge to 15 (I start work again next month so I know I'll slow down significantly). Here's my past few years:

View attachment 92557
View attachment 92558

This kindle app only lets me display 9 at a time so this year is split over 2 pics, starting the year with The Trial and just finishing Mann's Death in Venice and other short stories today. Not sure what I'm moving onto next but I thing Auster's 4321.
View attachment 92560
View attachment 92559



I loved this too. I read Love in the Time of Cholera in my twenties and thought it one of the best things ever (I still do), and it took me another 20 years getting around to One Hundred Years but wow, it's such a great book. For a writer to have one work that special is something but to have two that are this good, well, one could only dream of being that skilled.
Click to expand...
Some thick ones in there!! Strong work!

I've set my goal on goodreads every year since like 2012 maybe, originally hitting around 40 or 50 at one point, but in recent years it's been closer to 30. This year I made it a goal, to NOT have a number to shoot for and instead to just read what I want, when I want regardless of length or time it'll take me to read. It's been great so far. Reading rules!

Edit: Also, I've been in a sci fi book club with some friends since 2017, and I think The Memory Police is going to be our next book! Once I finish Anna Karenina, I think I'll start that one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top