What Are You Reading 2013 - Page 100

Prog455

Denmark970 Posts

August 19 2013 18:52 GMT

#1981

On August 20 2013 03:43 Steins;Gate wrote:

The books by Haruki Murakami looks interesting, which one would you recommend to start off with D:

Reading:
[image loading]

If you haven't read anything by Murakami yet i would recommend anything but 1Q84 and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I believe that A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance is his best works.

dmnum

Brazil6910 Posts

August 19 2013 19:35 GMT

#1982

On August 20 2013 02:48 corumjhaelen wrote:

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No problem, it's just that as a fellow Frenchman it was a bit confusing^^

Show nested quote +

Well, first thing is that ebooks in France are extremely expensive, a result of the high proctection of edition companies by the governement (mainly a forced fixed price for a given book), and of the fact that said companies are not exactly enthusiastic at the prospect of the numeric revolution.
The other thing is that Corti can be the only editor until Gracq's rights expire according to his will, and Corti is a very small house that only edits fine-looking books. There even is an artistic reason for one of them (you still have to cut the pages if you buy Au chateau d'Argol, and it's very likely for a reason).
The result of this is that possibly the greatest French writer of its generation is very little known outside of academic circles in France, and only one of his book (The Opposing Shore) has been translated into English unless I'm mistaken.

It's the same here in Brazil, except print books are even more expensive than in europe. A copy of The Brothers Karamazov costs R$100(50$) here . Also, while I could buy all of Kafka's short stories on an american store for 20$(Everyman's Library Edition), I have to pay about R$200 here, because they are divided in 8 books or so.
When my mom came back from Portugal and told me the price of the books I almost killed myself for not asking her to bring a bunch. Well, atleast she got me a beautiful edition of The Lusiads.

corumjhaelen

France6884 Posts

August 19 2013 20:02 GMT

#1983

On August 20 2013 04:35 dmnum wrote:

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On August 20 2013 02:48 corumjhaelen wrote:

On August 20 2013 02:35 Rizare wrote:

On August 20 2013 02:27 corumjhaelen wrote:
^ That's not the imgae you want, that's one of an essay on L'Etranger.
Also I hate José Corti with a passion for holding the rights to Julien Gracq's books for another 65 years, and selling them at a mere 20€ each -_-

Oh, sorry then. I was trying to find an image but they were too big. This one had a better size and I chose it without thinking about it thoroughly.

No problem, it's just that as a fellow Frenchman it was a bit confusing^^

On August 20 2013 02:36 packrat386 wrote:

On August 20 2013 02:32 corumjhaelen wrote:

On August 20 2013 02:29 packrat386 wrote:

Wait, do you think he ought to be charging more or less?

20€ for a 50+-yo 200-page book sounds like a lot to me :/
Especially since I can't find one of those I bought...
And yeah, sorry for my english^^

Your english is fine, its just that text based conversation can be ambiguous at times. Also yeah that does seem a bit excessive. Perhaps it might be cheaper as an ebook?

That sounds awful :/ In France hardcover are pretty expensive, but usually most classics are accessible. Also secondhand buy can help a lot.

TOCHMY

Sweden1692 Posts

August 19 2013 20:12 GMT

#1984

On August 20 2013 03:43 Steins;Gate wrote:

Show nested quote +

The books by Haruki Murakami looks interesting, which one would you recommend to start off with D:

Reading:
[image loading]

Any is fine, but I recommend Sputnik Sweetheart!

dmnum

Brazil6910 Posts

August 20 2013 06:56 GMT

#1985

Finished God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. I liked it, although not as much as Cat's Cradle. This novel was very straight-up in some parts, while dense in others(I don't really understand what Vonnegut was trying to accomplish with the fisherman and his sons).
The character I liked the most was Eliot, especially because he reminds me a lot of Prince Myshkin from Dostoyevsky's The Idiot. Both are generous to the point of seeming insane to a world mostly comprised of selfish people.

edit: I'm going to the take above poster's suggestion and start Sputnik Sweetheart since it has been sitting in my shelf for 2 months now.

Syn Harvest

United States191 Posts

August 20 2013 12:10 GMT

#1986

On August 20 2013 03:43 Steins;Gate wrote:

Show nested quote +

The books by Haruki Murakami looks interesting, which one would you recommend to start off with D:

Reading:
[image loading]

I love Haruki Murakami and read a large portion of his work. I agree with some of the statments that 1Q84 and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle are bad starting points. I would Also include Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World on that list of books of his not to start with.

His most accesible work is probably Norwegian Wood as it lacks the supernatural aspect most of his work contains. I personally think Kafka on the Shore is probably the best introduction to his supernatural kind of writing. It is one of my favorite works by him. Also Dance Dance Dance, and Sputnik Sweetheart are good introductions to his style. Now that I think of it South of the Border, West of the Sun is probably another one of his works that is a bit weird and probably not a good starting place because it is not the best representation of his general style.

grassHAT

United States40 Posts

August 20 2013 16:30 GMT

#1987

I am reading Genesis and I just got through the part where Israel finds out Joseph is still alive and they move to Goshen outside of Egypt to be closer to Joseph during the drought. My favorite part is when Joseph sees Benjamin for the first time and he weeps among his bros.

dmnum

Brazil6910 Posts

August 21 2013 02:45 GMT

#1988

Finished Sputnik Sweetheart. First I couldn't put down the book. Then, as I finished it, I was in tears. Now I can't think about it without feeling like crying again. This book has left me very raw. The description of relationships was so perfect...it's so sad how the characters(and people in general) are never able to truly connect with someone. I don't know if this is the best book I've ever read, but it's certainly the one that has affected me the most.

Dirkzor

Denmark1944 Posts

August 21 2013 07:06 GMT

#1989

=( I have 1Q84 on my shelf as the only one from Murakami...

And I was looking forward to it...

dmnum

Brazil6910 Posts

August 21 2013 07:17 GMT

#1990

I definitely plan on reading his other works now, but I'm short on money so they'll have to wait a bit. Man I freaked out after I finished the book, it took me two hours to calm down. Might I ask why you are not looking forward to 1q84 anymore?

Now I'm going to start Wuthering Heights.

Dirkzor

Denmark1944 Posts

August 21 2013 07:44 GMT

#1991

Since everybody said I should start somewhere else... =/ I will most likely read it before anything else he have written anyway...

dmnum

Brazil6910 Posts

August 21 2013 08:27 GMT

#1992

I think you should start by whichever book you feel like. At the end of the day it was well received, although from what I've read it's not very reprensentative of the rest of his work. But if you're interested, go for it without a second thought man. You can always read his other works later.

valaki

Hungary2476 Posts

August 21 2013 08:57 GMT

#1993

What are some really good epic fantasy books? Like LotR or GoT? I'm starting Malazan soon and I've heard that the Black Company is also decent. Any suggestions?

MajuGarzett

Canada635 Posts

August 21 2013 09:19 GMT

#1994

On August 21 2013 17:57 valaki wrote:
What are some really good epic fantasy books? Like LotR or GoT? I'm starting Malazan soon and I've heard that the Black Company is also decent. Any suggestions?

You could try Wheel of Time though its not everyone's cup of tea.

Prog455

Denmark970 Posts

August 21 2013 09:28 GMT

#1995

On August 21 2013 16:06 Dirkzor wrote:
=( I have 1Q84 on my shelf as the only one from Murakami...

And I was looking forward to it...

It is not a bad book. It pales in comparison to his other works, simply because his other works are insanely good and 1Q84 is just a fairly good book.

Doppelganger

488 Posts

August 21 2013 12:57 GMT

#1996

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books

check out the stuff on the list.

I did find some really nice books there.

Besides that: Sapkowski - The Last Wish
The Rest of the Witcher series can be read but this first volume is simply excellent and you should really check it out.

Syn Harvest

United States191 Posts

August 21 2013 13:26 GMT

#1997

Ahh this stuff is my fortay. I love fantasy and have read most of the great series around right now. Malazan is awesome and super epic probably the grandest fantasy there is. IMO it gets a little too big near the middle of the series and it becomes kind of daunting to maintain an accurate accoutn of all the characters. That being said Books 2 and 3 are some of the best fatntasy around.

If you like gritty fantasy like ASOIAF and Malazan you will love The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It has a little more magic than ASOIAF but not as much as Malazan. It is a great story and each book the writing becomes better and better. The characters in the series are phenomenal. Inquisitor Glokta is one of my all time favorite characters in any Fantasy.

The Gentelman Bastards series by Scott Lynch is very good and imo unique when it comes to modern fantasy. The first book is The Lies of Locke Lamora and it is set in a city that is similar to medieval Venice. Locke is a thief and it follows him through his upbringing, and his young criminal career as he and the other Bastards run confidence schemes on the nobility of the city all while dealing with a new menacing force coming up in the citys underworld. It is some fantastic stuff. Book 2 they are on the run in an island nation and theyre are pirates, assasins and all kinds of awesome stuff. Book 3 is coming out in October I believe. I am personally super excited for it.

You cant discuss fantastic modern fantasy without bringing up The Kingkiller Chronicles. It is the story of a wizard and his rise to promenince in his world. It is an interesting look into how a legened is never what he truly seems to be. And all the stuff attributed to Kvothe(the main character) he actually either didnt do at all or got lucky in his circumstance or used trickery to decieve others. It is a fantastically well written story. The authors use of language is probably the best in the fantasy genre at this moment.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is the first in a projected 10 book series. It is much grittier than his earlier work such as Mistborn and I think all the better for it. Book 2 is due out at the end of thisyear or the beginnign of the next.

There are too many to name but here is a list of other great fantasy available currently. The Broken Empire series, The Red Wolf Conspiracy, The Long Price Quartet, THe Dagger and Coin series, The Prince of Nothing trilogy, THe Engineer Trilogy,

Steins;Gate

1422 Posts

August 21 2013 14:22 GMT

#1998

ok, thanks guys ^^

packrat386

United States5077 Posts

August 21 2013 14:27 GMT

#1999

Did you read and Enjoy LotR? If so I suggest everything else that tolkein wrote. In particular I like The Silmarillion, The Tale of the Children of Hurin, The Lays of Beleriad, and of course, The Hobbit.