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

Aelias said:
I'm sold on Piranesi and am going to order a copy. I thought Strange & Norrell was great, I didn't realize she had something new out.
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You could be forgiven since it's her first novel in 16 years.

If you liked Strange & Norrell, you'd likely enjoy The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a collection of short stories in the same universe, with in-universe academic notes, forewards, etc. It's slight by comparison, by virtue of not being eight hundred pages long, but very much scratches the itch.
 
kvetcha said:
@Bull Shannon started Post-Captain a couple of days ago. I'm very glad I have so many more of these novels to look forward to.
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This is where I sheepishly admit that with both the first and this book, I got 80% of the way through and simply lost steam. Both times I enjoyed the read immensely, then would tire of reading that particular book and move on to something else. I have a copy of HMS Surprise on my shelf, so I'll get to it sometime soon, but so far I've only been carried so far in to each book.
 
Bull Shannon said:
This is where I sheepishly admit that with both the first and this book, I got 80% of the way through and simply lost steam. Both times I enjoyed the read immensely, then would tire of reading that particular book and move on to something else. I have a copy of HMS Surprise on my shelf, so I'll get to it sometime soon, but so far I've only been carried so far in to each book.
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The last bit of Master and Commander is quite exciting!

With these books in particular, I basically proceed at a pace of a chapter a night - they're lengthy enough that each feels like a satisfying session, with a beginning and an end. I would not describe them as binge-able, but they do provide a comforting regularity to my bedtimes.
 
First post in this thread but I like books and read sometimes so thought maybe I'd join in.

After reading the last few pages I decided to pick up Piranesi - just started it yesterday but it's.....quite wonderful. Never really dove into this genre that much and didn't read Jonathan Strange....but this is scratching an itch I didn't know I had. And what a perfect story during the quarantine era. So thanks for the recommendation even though you didn't know you were recommending it to me.

Before this I read Ueno Station by Yu Miri which is a short, concise, quite beautiful and pretty sad little novel. But I loved it a lot.
 
Ericj32 said:
I started reading Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata. I’ve never read any Tolstoy, so I thought it would be a short and sweet introduction to his writing. And he is an engaging writer- it’s amazing how few words he needs to draw these characters and make you feel like you’re right there on the train with them.

But, the things he has his characters say about women and Jewish people are pretty horrendous, and those things appear to be, like, the main thrust of the whole book so far. Has anyone read this? Does it go anywhere? It says a lot that this book is so short and so well-written, but I’m not sure I can read much more of it.
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I haven't read that, but I read Anna Karenina a while back and absolutely loved it. And War & Peace is in queue but I have so much else to read, I need to dive into that undistracted.
 
Just finished, and very much enjoyed, A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (and Some Bears). Highly recommended to anyone looking for a breezy, well-written, funny, wildly concerning piece of non-fiction.

I’m about 70% through Post-Captain and quite like it, but am having to pace myself as I’m reading along with my brother in law. As such, I’ve picked up Tokyo Ueno Station at @livinsmall’s recommendation.
 
kvetcha said:
Just finished, and very much enjoyed, A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (and Some Bears). Highly recommended to anyone looking for a breezy, well-written, funny, wildly concerning piece of non-fiction.
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immediately intrigued, thanks for the rec.
 
I just finished Streets of Laredo; after taking a year to read Lonesome Dove in large bites, this sequel took me a week and a half to consume. It's very interesting; I was nervous to get into it, as a lot of reviews cite the lack of necessity for a sequel as well as the fact that this sequel is completely disinterested in continuing any of the story/character threads of Lonesome Dove. I found those complaints very strange, as I'd definitely say that those are thematic features, not bugs; if you got all the way to the end of Lonesome Dove, you shouldn't be cracking the next volume expecting sunshine and lollipops. It's definitely not essential, but it's close to just as good.
 
I just finished Chris Frantz - Remain in Love and I can't recommend it. It wasn't as boring as Nick Mason's book, so that's good. And it didn't expose the band in the way Steve Gorman did, that's probably good too.

Here's what I thought, in spoiler mode just in case someone wants to go in cold.

It's fairly empty overall. A detailed description of a European tour with The Ramones was the centerpiece, and while that was kind of cool to read about, Frantz offered nothing in depth about his drumming or producing. It was very simply written, and not very creative or full of many deep thoughts.
As one reviewer noted - Frantz mentioned salad dressing more times than interactions with Jerry Harrison.

And, he looooves Tina and has much disdain for David Byrne.
 
I'm not a big sci-fi person but I read some of the genre here and there. I got around to reading Dune.

Great book. Really difficult to get into at first, but within 30 or so pages it had me. First, how did people read this before the internet?! I'm only being half-serious, but the appendices did not explain all of the questions I had. Thank you to fandom wikis, 'cause it is one complicated universe.

Frank Hebert wrote some very insightful things about politics and civilization in the book. Some should become generally known maxims.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
I'm not a big sci-fi person but I read some of the genre here and there. I got around to reading Dune.

Great book. Really difficult to get into at first, but within 30 or so pages it had me. First, how did people read this before the internet?! I'm only being half-serious, but the appendices did not explain all of the questions I had. Thank you to fandom wikis, 'cause it is one complicated universe.

Frank Hebert wrote some very insightful things about politics and civilization in the book. Some should become generally known maxims.
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I've got a copy sitting on my shelf that has yet to be read. You've convinced me to give this one a shot once I get through some other things on my list.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
I'm not a big sci-fi person but I read some of the genre here and there. I got around to reading Dune.

Great book. Really difficult to get into at first, but within 30 or so pages it had me. First, how did people read this before the internet?! I'm only being half-serious, but the appendices did not explain all of the questions I had. Thank you to fandom wikis, 'cause it is one complicated universe.

Frank Hebert wrote some very insightful things about politics and civilization in the book. Some should become generally known maxims.
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trickyseven said:
I've got a copy sitting on my shelf that has yet to be read. You've convinced me to give this one a shot once I get through some other things on my list.
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It took me five tries to finally get into and finish Dune, but when I got through it, it was quite a read.

The thing that really got me to wrap my head around what was going on with that book was learning Herbert was studying for an article on sand dunes on the Oregon coast and came up with too much material. It's basically the first ecological science fiction novel, and realizing he was coming at it from the angle of 'how does ecology inform a society' really helped the whole thing click for me.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
First, how did people read this before the internet?! I'm only being half-serious, but the appendices did not explain all of the questions I had. Thank you to fandom wikis, 'cause it is one complicated universe.
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Many things were not developed further or explained until later novels. As with Tolkien, the depth and mystery of the lore is part of the appeal.
 
Was doing some early morning reading today and came across some quotes that have stuck in my mind for the last few hours. Didn't know where else to share them so I thought I'd drop them here. Enjoy, or not, I'm not your Dad.

'But perhaps no parent can truly see their child. When we look, we see only the mirror of our own faults' - Madeline Miller

'No art is possible without a dance with death' - Kurt Vonnegut

'Maybe the desire to make something beautiful is the piece of God that is inside each of us' - Mary Oliver
 
ayayrawn said:
Just finished My Year of Rest and Relaxtion. Totally fucked, extremely dark, but also kind of moving and pretty hilarious? I loved it.

Hope the Yorgos Lanthimos adaption goes through, it's perfect material for him. Definitely want to check out more Otessa Moshfegh.
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There has been a trend of disaffected, mourning protagonists (Severance, Pizza Girl) that My Year fits into and rises above. Moshfegh is so good at balancing depression, comedy, mourning, and degradation; and she never slips too far into any. She's got such a good handle on tone.
 
This is gold!

For us bookish types of a certain age (yes, even us extroverted bookish types), the MTV show Daria was a fountain of sarcastic comedy and biting social commentary. I used to watch it religiously even if her social life and nihilistic world view didn’t exactly match my own. Well, someone created a reading list of all the books mentioned or alluded to within the show‘s entire run. I am absolutely poring over this list and the accompanying stills from the show with the nerdiest of glee. It makes me realize that 17 year old Daria was and is far more well read than I as I’ve only made it through about 60% of the titles mentioned.

forreadingaddicts.co.uk

The Reading List of Daria Morgendorffer - For Reading Addicts

forreadingaddicts.co.uk forreadingaddicts.co.uk

Looks like I have some new works to pick up and add to my TBR pile. Also, I think I may have to go back and rewatch the series. Must find where it’s streaming.
 
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