What are you reading, right now...

[marque_pierre]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

I am sort of summoning up stamina to re-read Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment. I want to deduce how on earth he makes us feel pity for one of the arch villains in the final part of the book.

Currently I am reading Truffaut's book on Hitchcock. Absolutely marvellous. Nothing short of an education in storytelling.

[goldmund]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

I am sort of summoning up stamina to re-read Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment. I want to deduce how on earth he makes us feel pity for one of the arch villains in the final part of the book.

Currently I am reading Truffaut's book on Hitchcock. Absolutely marvellous. Nothing short of an education in storytelling.

Never cared much for it, too preachy. Of Russians, Chekhov is obviously superior.

Truffaut on Hitchcock is mega-cool. I also recommend Herzog on Herzog, very inspiring.

I'm reading Ask the Dust, by John Fante -- very cool, reminds me of Knut Hamsun's Hunger, set in Las Vegas :-)

A bit like Bukowski but without the profanity and, I think, more honest psychologically.

[The Road Warrior]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

I am sort of summoning up stamina to re-read Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment. I want to deduce how on earth he makes us feel pity for one of the arch villains in the final part of the book.

For my money I've tended to think it's some combination of these: a fever, he's not in command of his senses, we sense this is not quite him, before the fall, he obviously inspired the admiration of his friends, esp. Raz. - he looks after his family, mum/sister. he's extremely bright/intelligent, and moral, steps in to defend a young drunk girl against a street predator who'll follow and rape her once she detours from the main streets; listens to the drunk who is spending all of his money on drink and sleeping on the canal bank, a great comic character, and later Raskol. leaves money for said drunk's wife/child on the kitchen table, he has little, so it means more.
And so on .... and then to counterbalance all that, Dostoyevsky I noticed makes the murder victim as unappealing as he possibly can, she's small, vile and vicious and regularly beats her sister, and so this implicates us in the psychology of the murder, we're hoping he gets away with it, kind of.

[The Road Warrior]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry

Fished out the script to "Frozen River" by Courtney Hunt.

I like the combo of a small town story and spare writing on the page.

[marque_pierre]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

Never cared much for it, too preachy.

I admit, it takes a lot of effort on the part of the reader; it is hardly a page turner. But the last 200 pages ravished me like I have never been by any piece of story - film, book or other. The plot turns came thick and fast and you are throughout gasping, wondering how it will all end.

For my money I've tended to think it's some combination of these: a fever, he's not in command of his senses, we sense this is not quite him, before the fall, he obviously inspired the admiration of his friends.

[goldmund]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

If you like turning to the classics for inspiration, I can't recommend enough Thomas Mann and his Magic Mountain -- a tremendous bore for some, for me the best novel ever written...

with the most unique and unpredictable and unforgettable duel scene ever!

[The Road Warrior]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

No, my fault, I skimmed over your post and thought I'd read it as protag. I do like C&P, I've read it a few times over the years.

[Max Otto Schrenck]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

AFTER HAILEY by Scott Frank

OUT OF THE NIGHT by Jan Valtin

HOW IT BEGAN by Chris Impey

and continuing off-and-on to try to read:

INFINITE JEST by David Foster Wallace

I read Thomas Mann's THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN years ago and DR. FAUSTUS recently. Something has been lost either in time or translation, because I found both to be baggy and artless, with a near-complete disregard for either the reader's interest or narrative drive in general. That said, I did manage to finish both.

Dostoevsky is great, though, whether baggy or sharply drawn. Some things are not lost in the mix...

[medavidson]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

Pacific Rim

[Southern_land]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

I've just finished the Troy Trilogy by David Gemmel and they are surprisingly good. Gemmel wrote a bunch of swords and socery books before he died, I've read a few and honestly can't recall one of them except these final three.

Lord of the Silver Bow, Shield of Thunder and Fall of Kings take the Troy story and twist it into a whole new shape. It's an interesting example of how to take a well known story that's been done to death and give it new life yet leave all of the integral parts intact.

[Bananos]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

"inferno" by august strindberg. a sort of diary based on his days in paris, written in a psychosis. it's completely insane and hillarious. to think that this is actually real, at least most of it, is simply magical. he is not able to take care of himself at all. being already famous at the time, he has no money, and he leaves his wife and kids to go to paris and become a scientist in alchemy. he had just released his scientific masterwork "antibarbarus" to critical failure and riducule. of course, nothing makes sense. he thinks he can make gold eventually, but for now he keeps trying to prove the existence of sulfur in coal or something crazy. so at the start of the novel he is just sitting in his hotelroom burning coal and destroying his hands in the process.

i love all the biblical references everywhere and the fact that he was a well read man. he also meets alot of real life famous people, like edvard munch (who, of course, he thinks is trying to kill him).

"inferno" is, as i understand it, just snippets of his diary. earlier this year his complete diary was released as "occult diaries", which i'm looking forward to read. i have heard he apparently has a telepathical adulterous affair in it.

[jcpdoc]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

If you like turning to the classics for inspiration, I can't recommend enough Thomas Mann and his Magic Mountain -- a tremendous bore for some, for me the best novel ever written...

with the most unique and unpredictable and unforgettable duel scene ever!

I agree (and agree that many would agree with the "tremendous bore"), but you can't help what you love, right? I have Mann's "journals" from the time when he wrote it... And who doesn't like Death in Venice or Felix Krull or Buddenbrooks? Whenever I get a bad cold, I always take the "horizontal cure."

[dangerouscreenwriter]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

"inferno" by august strindberg. a sort of diary based on his days in paris, written in a psychosis. it's completely insane and hillarious. to think that this is actually real, at least most of it, is simply magical. he is not able to take care of himself at all. being already famous at the time, he has no money, and he leaves his wife and kids to go to paris and become a scientist in alchemy. he had just released his scientific masterwork "antibarbarus" to critical failure and riducule. of course, nothing makes sense. he thinks he can make gold eventually, but for now he keeps trying to prove the existence of sulfur in coal or something crazy. so at the start of the novel he is just sitting in his hotelroom burning coal and destroying his hands in the process.

i love all the biblical references everywhere and the fact that he was a well read man. he also meets alot of real life famous people, like edvard munch (who, of course, he thinks is trying to kill him).

"inferno" is, as i understand it, just snippets of his diary. earlier this year his complete diary was released as "occult diaries", which i'm looking forward to read. i have heard he apparently has a telepathical adulterous affair in it.

This sounds fun, I'mma track it down!

I'm currently reading Robert Heinlein's sci-fi masterpiece A Stranger in a Strange Land, and highly recommend it to EVERYONE. Originally read it @ 15 years ago & it had a major impact on me, so decided to reread it and lo & behold, still packs the same punch. Guess that's why it's a classic - a great story, well told. Science!

[dangerouscreenwriter]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

Also just read Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, his reinvention of The Jungle Book. Great example of reinventing a public domain property & making it your own!

[marque_pierre]

Re: What are you reading, right now...

H. G. Wells' The Time Machine. Which was a hop, skip and a jump. Didn't care too much about the pontificating and preaching of the author's socio-economic opinions.

That took me on to Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls. Dammit! That was good. Hemingway, why must you break my heart so? Sadness is certainly not the only emotion you experience reading this must-read tome.

I am back on H. G. Wells again - The War of the Worlds - blame it on a discrepancy at my local library. At least it will be a short experience. Then more Hemingway and eventually Tolstoy is looming on the horizon. Oh yes. The mighty War and Peace...