This thread used to exist in the old forum and it was something I was quite interested in. So let's keep on with it

I'll just copy-paste my old first post so you get an idea of the point of this thread :


Here you'll be able to present to other metalstormers the book(s) you're reading at the moment. I don't want this to become a junkyard thread like "now playing" or whatever!
It's different from the "favourite book" thread. The aim is to provide other readers with a good presentation of the book (without telling the story with every detail : ), what you think about it : in a word, a critic. this could be interesting IMO!


I'll start with Baudolino by Umberto Eco. I've just finished reading it.

I guess you know Umberto Eco is the author of The Name of the Rose (maybe better known by the movie with Sean Connery) or Foucault's Pendulum. Those were the only books by him I had read before starting Baudolino. In this book you can find the usual historical background, kinda mysterious.
Here you follow Baudolino through his tale. He was Barbarossa's man, a tricky character, liar, mischievous. But his lies, to some extent, always come true... you follow him wandering, looking for a semi-mythical realm (Priest Johannes' Kingdom) in order to protect and increase his emperor Barbarossa's fame and power. Fake relics, Barbarossa's murder, politics and myths...

I found this book very enjoyable, as much interesting as Eco's other books I had read, and kinda more comic, light-hearted. Baudolino tells his story to a Greek historian, it'a all between confession and tale, he claims to be a liar so you never know if he's being sincere or not! the beginnig may be a bit long to get into, but the whole book (666 pages ) is definitely worth reading!

I'm reading some Hemingway novels right now, and I don't really like them... Also, finally discovering Baudelair

Written by Damnated on 17.05.2006 at 21:16

Also, finally discovering Baudelaire

about time Baudelaire is definitely a must reading in poetry I wonder how is the translation

As per my large thirst for learning : I am reading four non-fiction books at the moment.

1) is Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson. It is a study into the neuroscience of everyday life. What stimulus makes our brain tick and why!

2) is the Portable Jung by, well, Carlos Jung, the emminent psychologist and philosopher, famous for, among other things, his wealth of understanding concerning dreams in relation to the sub-concious mind.

3) is the Essential Rumi -collected poems based on the poets experiences with Suffism and its traditions.

& 4) is called Under the Banner of Heaven and it details the violent faith of Fundamental Mormonism in the USA.

I would recommend each and everyone of the above books to anyone with even the slightest interest in their subjects. I luckly picked them all up second hand, for about the equivelent of $20.

Quote:

I wonder how is the translation

Well, personally I have not studied the French language since I was in High School, but the translations I am familar with are very good indeed. All of the original tenure and emotion is intact; the translators having sacraficed nothing of the poets majesty and grace with the written word.

The "Flowers of Evil" will always remain at the forefront of my book shelf. Beautiful to this day.

Written by Sekhmet on 17.05.2006 at 21:49

Written by Damnated on 17.05.2006 at 21:16

Also, finally discovering Baudelaire

about time Baudelaire is definitely a must reading in poetry I wonder how is the translation

I know, but it's hard to find here, not talking about a good translation. The translation that I've found is the best existent, the best poets of the 20th century translated it, highly recommendable, although I don't think, that you're interested.

Written by Damnated on 17.05.2006 at 22:01

...although I don't think, that you're interested.

It's obvious I'd probably prefer the original but I was rather curious. It sounds so flawless and brilliant in French that I was wondering how a translator could reproduce so much majesty
But Daibh and you kinda reassured me

I think you will always lose something in a translation. I mean, it can NEVER be totally identical. And for me, it was a completely different experience to read Rimbaud and Baudelaire in french...it cannot be compared...and this almost makes me want to learn german, to be able to read the german authors in original.

I just finished reading Joris-Karl Huysmans - La-bas - pretty interesting [fiction] novel, following the life of a writer (XIXth century) who works on a book about Giles de Rais. He does researches on modern satanism, and occultism, and when finally gets himself involved in a satanic mass, he leaves in disgust, convinced that not even the essence of pure evil could survive in 'our' modern times.

Now I'm reading E.T.A. Hoffmann - Contes fantastiques (the french translation) - After reading all the notes and introductions concerning the work of Hoffmann, I got to the conclusion that the french translator has modified a lot of the original, mainly to make it more appealing to french people.
Anyway, Hoffmann is a german writer, and besides his philosophical/artistic/musical approach (which can get extremely annoying at some point) he has some very interesting fantastic short-novels, which perfectly fit in the German Romanticism...

The current book I am reading now is called "Unknown Solider" by a Finnish author named Vännö Linna.
I haven´t read much, because I have been busy with school and stuff. It is about some Finnsih soliders during WWII. So far it is very intresting.
I´m also reading "Forrådt", don´t know what the title is in English, its written by the Norwegian author Amalie Skram. I have to read it for some school study and it is not an interesting book, just plain boring.

I am currently reading (almost finished it) The Human Stain by Philip Roth. It's a recent novel that tells the story of a 70-year-old college teacher in the USA who's accused of racism by some of his students and has at the same time a secret relationship with a 35-year-old illiterate woman. But here's the thing, this teacher holds a secret that could prove him innocent of all accusation of racism. Basically the book is divided between his present life and flashbacks on his future and how he acted to be taken for someone he's not all his life.

This book is great and funny, very well written (Philip Roth is one hell of an author) and I particularly like the way he switches from the first to the third person without creating a big mess. It also provides some very insightful and interesting reflections about racism, ambition, society, death, paranoia and sex. Top stuff

Written by Damnated on 17.05.2006 at 21:16

I'm reading some Hemingway novels right now, and I don't really like them... Also, finally discovering Baudelair

Baudelaire is THE best sybolistic peot ever....one of my personal favs;D u should also try Paul Verlaine, and Arthur Rimbaud

Currently re-reading Neuromancer, by William Gibson, a book set in a techno-future. Case, a legendary hacker, is hired for a job that seems impossible. Working with him is a woman named Molly, a "razorgirl" with cybernetic implants for eyes and razors beneath her nails which she can extend and retract(if you've seen X-Men II, think of Deathstrike).

This book was perhaps the greatest inspiration for The Matrix, as it features "the matrix", a cyberspace world which could be accessed by anyone. Think internet with your mind, basically. It examines such elements as, to quote the entry for it on Wikipedia, "artificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, multinational corporations overpowering the traditional nation-state and cyberspace".

Written by [user id=4571] on 19.05.2006 at 20:48

Written by Damnated on 17.05.2006 at 21:16

I'm reading some Hemingway novels right now, and I don't really like them... Also, finally discovering Baudelair

Baudelaire is THE best sybolistic peot ever....one of my personal favs;D u should also try Paul Verlaine, and Arthur Rimbaud

Thanx, but I dunno if I can find something from them, gonna try though.

I'm currently reading some Lovecraft's stories, so I posted in the Lovecraft thread.

Also a non-fiction book : Biology during the Age of Enlightenment by Paul Mazliak. Interesting stuff about the birth of biology, which didn't use to be considered as a science before then. The autor describes and analyses how a mere observation of nature, natural history, became a true science. If you're a biology student interested in History and Philosophy (like me ), it's for you! (but other people can enjoy it too :)

I didn't have that much time these last weeks, so I didn't read anything but Anatomy and Biology books . But well, the last book I read was 'Angels and Demons', by Dan Brown. It's simply great, and IMO, even better than 'The Da Vinci Code'. Since I'm a true fan of discussions about religion and physics, and the struggle between science and faith, this book completely caughed my attention!

Another book I recommend everyone is 'Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira' (something like 'An assay about blindness'), by José Saramago. A five-stars book, definitely.

I am half way through reading a book called "We Need To Talk About Kevin" written by Lionel Shriver.

It is written from the point of view of a mother whose son has massacred people at his school (similar to Columbine).
Ii is one of those books that you have trouble putting down - although as none of you are parents it might not be quite so interesting for you.

@ Kurzag - I've got "The unknown Soldier" to read next - don't tell me what happens

well right now I'm reading a book call "El amante Japones" by... I can't remember who! well the book is not exactly what I like to read but my teacher buy me the book so I must read it. is the (fucking bored) story of a girl in Japan, she have like an adventure with a Japanese guy and well is very sexy (the story) but nothing special. I think that the most interesting thing of the book is that they try to explain the Japanese culture and show us how different it is if you compare it with our culture. I hope finish this book in a week and star with "the body thief" by Anne Rice.
Damnated i love Baudelaire, one of my favourite writers! I'm so glad that you can discover his world...
Sinsanity I agree with you. It happen to me when I read Virginia Wolf. on friend of mine read the original book and (with a lot of patience) she try to explain it to me. I fall in love. then I read the translation made by Borges (a pretty good one) and well it was so much like him. I mean you know there is something that Borges left in the book he was trying to translate. And he is someone I admire but I, what I was trying to read was Virginia Wolf.

I've just began a new book : El fin de la locura (the End of Madness) by Jorge Volpi. It's the story of a Mexican guy during the "revolution" of May 1968 in France. Interesting point of view from a foreigner under the form of a novel. I've just read about 30 pages but so far it's good.

I've just finished a great book. But I don't know the name in english. In portuguese is "Berlim 1945: A Queda", the author is Antony Beevor.

It's a great book about the fall of the III Reich, much more focused in the Red Army violent counter attack over the germans. I was impressed with the terrible crimes made by the two sides, but war is war. I recommend this book to anyone who likes history or like to know about the WWII, the III Reich, the Soviet Union and stuffs like that.

I had planned to read Kerouac during the summer holidays too!! My litterature teacher made us a lesson about the beat generation not so long ago which made me want to discover more... But I dunno the other writers that you mentionned, like Burroughs or Thompson

I read Harry Potter 6 yesterday, and I liked it, although the story is far worse then before, it is a very mature book among the others I might add.

I am currently reading 'Crawling Chaos' which is a collection of short stories by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. I just got it from the library today. I had to go all the way across town to find something, but it was worth it. I've read 'Dagon'; 'The Crawling Chaos'; 'Nyarlathotep'; 'From Beyond'; 'The Picture in the House'; 'The Outsider'; and 'The Music of Erich Zann' so far. Really captivating writing, strongly influenced by Edgar Allen Poe.

Damnated: finally! hell, so tell me... Did you enjoy the book? I told you this book is more that everyone think. Im glad at least you can read it.
Now for me I'm reading a lot of Freud and I have to said this man is fucking crazy and I hate him. I mean at the beginning there were a lot of interesting things in his books but now... I WANT KILL HIM! and I don't have time to read other things besides of Skinner, William James... bla bla

Just finished 'Deception Point' by Dan Brown. A good book with a nice story and some twists to it so it doesn't get boring. I would say average if rating it.

Just finished reading Dead Famous - Ben Elton a really funny book on the reality tv phenomenon where people get locked in a house for a certain amount of time and have to vote someone out every week (original concept of that showw is unfrotunately from the Netherlands)

and now reading Until I Find You - John Irving quite a voluminous novel consisting of 860 pages. But knowing Irving the sheer volume shouldn't be a problem with the way he writes.

Currently reading the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, it's basically a very funny and skewed version of a fantasy story. i love it and reccomend reading his stuff for anyone who likes a good laugh at the piss take on fantasy. very well written

Written by [user id=2134] on 08.07.2006 at 08:43

Currently reading the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett

Yeah, I love this stuff I haven't read all the novels yet, I'm planning to read the rest on holidays... But I guess it doesn't work with everyone: people I know who enjoyed Pratchett were already into fantasy, but people who have never been really interested in fantasy books just can't see the point and the humour in his work... They don't know what they're missing

Ah, good to know theres another Pratchett fan out there.

I've also started re-reading some of Steven Kings old classics like "It" and "Salems Lot". Too bad he isn't as good as he used to be, but I guess thats just how it is.

I used to read a lot, but haven't read a book in a long while. But, I recently acquired "Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal" by Ian Christie. I've just started it, but it does have a very good piece on Black Sabbath to start.

Currently reading a novel, the United States of Africa by Abdouraman Waberi. The story is some kind of mirror directed to the Western countries, in which the "USA" mean "United States of Africa" whose countries host business centers, the best scientists and most famous artists,... Here black people feel nothing but indifference towards caucasian refugees and civil war spreading through Europe, and many illegal immigrants die in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean sea southwards.
The way he writes brings poesy to this satire, transports you to different horizons, and makes you think... a lot