New now reading

[copehead]

I NEVER SAID IT WAS "INTELLECTUAL".

I know I did.

Would you say it isn't intellectual

I wouldn't call it intellectual, and I wouldn't say it's not intellectual. Would you call a painting "intellectual"?

Perhaps if it was a painting of Albert Einstein.

Doesn't seem that controversial to say some books are intellectual, perhaps highfalutin would be nearer the mark.

[harvey k-tel]

I know I did.

Would you say it isn't intellectual

I wouldn't call it intellectual, and I wouldn't say it's not intellectual. Would you call a painting "intellectual"?

Perhaps if it was a painting of Albert Einstein.

Doesn't seem that controversial to say some books are intellectual, perhaps highfalutin would be nearer the mark.

I have no problem with books being called intellectual - I just wouldn't use the term for the particular book under discussion.
I've seen the author referred to as a "literary artist", and, having read the book, I'd have no problem using that term to describe her.

[Darkness_Fish]

Anyone reading a fucking book around here?

[harvey k-tel]

Nah. I've been put off 'em.

[the masked man]

Anyone reading a fucking book around here?

I'm re-reading Ulysses. It's an incredible piece of work, startling in its scope. I've never read a book that mirrors thought more accurately.

I'm also bald.

It's OK, I suppose, but what do you make of its brewing and distilling content? Is it accurate?

[Ray K.]

[Brickyard Jack]

Ihave been reading Carrying the Fire, by Michael Collins, an absolutely brilliant read about his time as an astronaut. It is quite brilliant.

[Darkness_Fish]

Anyone reading a fucking book around here?

I'm re-reading Ulysses. It's an incredible piece of work, startling in its scope. I've never read a book that mirrors thought more accurately.

I'm also bald.

I have read Ulysses, but I must admit that I basically only finished it because I'd invested so much time and effort I thought I might as well get to the end. It didn't do much for me, but that might be because I don't think like an early 20th century Irish intellectual. I sometimes think about picking it up again, but I'm not sure I ever will.

I have little to offer on its alcohol or hair content.

[KeithPratt]

Getting time to read this in amongst Ovidian studies.

[clive gash]

What does Banana Republic even mean? It makes no sense.

[the masked man]

Camilla Grebe - The Ice Beneath Her

I love Nordic crime fiction, and Sweden's Camilla Grebe is becoming one of my favourites in the field. Previous books I've read by her were written in collaboration with her sister Åsa Träff, but this is her solo debut. It's the story of a Stockholm murder told from three perspectives, all three apparently unreliable. Peter is a doleful detective who listens to Morrissey and is trying to understand this baffling case. Hanne is a retired criminal profiler who takes on the case in an attempt to keep her mind fresh, as she's aware that she's starting to suffer from memory loss. The third part of the jigsaw is narrated by Emma a few months before the other two start their testimony. She was a working class woman who dated the principal suspect in the murder, a manipulative and misogynist businessman, and she is a strong candidate for being the victim of the murder. However, I suspect this is a deliberate red herring, as so far (150 pages into the book) the victim remains unidentified. Really compelling and psychologically convincing, this looks like another excellent chiller from this cold but fecund part of Europe.

[quix]

Camilla Grebe - The Ice Beneath Her

I love Nordic crime fiction, and Sweden's Camilla Grebe is becoming one of my favourites in the field. Previous books I've read by her were written in collaboration with her sister Åsa Träff, but this is her solo debut. It's the story of a Stockholm murder told from three perspectives, all three apparently unreliable. Peter is a doleful detective who listens to Morrissey and is trying to understand this baffling case. Hanne is a retired criminal profiler who takes on the case in an attempt to keep her mind fresh, as she's aware that she's starting to suffer from memory loss. The third part of the jigsaw is narrated by Emma a few months before the other two start their testimony. She was a working class woman who dated the principal suspect in the murder, a manipulative and misogynist businessman, and she is a strong candidate for being the victim of the murder. However, I suspect this is a deliberate red herring, as so far (150 pages into the book) the victim remains unidentified. Really compelling and psychologically convincing, this looks like another excellent chiller from this cold but fecund part of Europe.

I have put it on my list. Tack!

[copehead]

I wouldn't call it intellectual, and I wouldn't say it's not intellectual. Would you call a painting "intellectual"?

Perhaps if it was a painting of Albert Einstein.

Doesn't seem that controversial to say some books are intellectual, perhaps highfalutin would be nearer the mark.

I have no problem with books being called intellectual - I just wouldn't use the term for the particular book under discussion.
I've seen the author referred to as a "literary artist", and, having read the book, I'd have no problem using that term to describe her.

OK, just looked a bit heavy going. Literary artist sounds good, highfalutin.

[Brickyard Jack]

What does Banana Republic even mean? It makes no sense.

A place which claims to be a republic but its economy is based on one cash crop exported by one multinational company who maintain their monopoly and their profits by bribing senior ministers but treating the plantation workers like slaves.

[the masked man]

Camilla Grebe - The Ice Beneath Her

I love Nordic crime fiction, and Sweden's Camilla Grebe is becoming one of my favourites in the field. Previous books I've read by her were written in collaboration with her sister Åsa Träff, but this is her solo debut. It's the story of a Stockholm murder told from three perspectives, all three apparently unreliable. Peter is a doleful detective who listens to Morrissey and is trying to understand this baffling case. Hanne is a retired criminal profiler who takes on the case in an attempt to keep her mind fresh, as she's aware that she's starting to suffer from memory loss. The third part of the jigsaw is narrated by Emma a few months before the other two start their testimony. She was a working class woman who dated the principal suspect in the murder, a manipulative and misogynist businessman, and she is a strong candidate for being the victim of the murder. However, I suspect this is a deliberate red herring, as so far (150 pages into the book) the victim remains unidentified. Really compelling and psychologically convincing, this looks like another excellent chiller from this cold but fecund part of Europe.

I have put it on my list. Tack!

Hope you enjoy it. I personally loved how it ended. It was logical, but I did not see the big twists coming.

[mentalist (slight return)]

I've read about 10 pages of Finnegan's Wake. About 5 times.

[mission]

It's Finnegans Wake. To emphasise the pun - the Finnegans wake up, rather than just Finnegan's farewell funferal party.

And it is fucking hard to read. I would recommend something like this:

http://www.finnegansweb.com/wiki/index.php/Page_3

Or Joysprick by Burgess as a starter.

[mentalist (slight return)]

It's Finnegans Wake. To emphasise the pun - the Finnegans wake up, rather than just Finnegan's farewell funferal party.

And it is fucking hard to read. I would recommend something like this:

http://www.finnegansweb.com/wiki/index.php/Page_3

Or Joysprick by Burgess as a starter.

I'll be sure to do an annotated read in my dotage. Meanwhile I'll continue with the Neapolitan Novels as they have resurrected in me the joy of reading fiction.

[BARON CORNY DOG]

I finished Persuasion the other day and it was, by some distance, my favorite of the Jane Austens. Though I miss the sort of mathematical grammar from Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice.

Onward to Dickens!

[KeithPratt]

Not read any Chandler so I thought I'd start with a bio first.