paul-r-cfc Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 The Good ImmigrantMade up of a selection of essays from various people of an immigrant background living in the UK. Gives a fascinating insignt into the experiences of a whole range of people (although mostly within acting and journalism, but still good.)Really opens your eyes to a lot of the small acts of discrimination that happen every day without us being aware. It's certainly thought provoking and will make you appreciate the extra challenges non-white actors and journalists faced whenever you see them on TV. A very worthwhile read and the kind of book I'll be passing on rather than leaving on a shelf. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duszek Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 FInally finished Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy, which I've been savouring, reading in chunks since the start of the year. What a guy. Not only a great brain but a sound human being. Can't recommend this highly enough for anyone curious about how philosophy developed from the ancient Greeks to WW2. ↑↑↑ kenned the score Equally enjoyable, in a different genre, was Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant, who I knew as a short story writer but not as a novelist. A cracking yarn about a despicable shyster who seduces his way to the top. ↑↑↑ driven mad/deid of syphilis 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRoseKillie Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 On 19/07/2020 at 00:32, paul-r-cfc said: The Good Immigrant Made up of a selection of essays from various people of an immigrant background living in the UK. Gives a fascinating insignt into the experiences of a whole range of people (although mostly within acting and journalism, but still good.) Really opens your eyes to a lot of the small acts of discrimination that happen every day without us being aware. It's certainly thought provoking and will make you appreciate the extra challenges non-white actors and journalists faced whenever you see them on TV. A very worthwhile read and the kind of book I'll be passing on rather than leaving on a shelf. Exactly what I've done with my copy (currently circulating among Rosette 3's mates) - and yes, I agree it forces us to re-evaluate exactly how non-disriminatory we really are. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbartonBud Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 Last couple of books How to be right in a world gone wrong - James O’Brien. Good but incredibly a bit dated already, his radio show is definitely required listening for anyone that isn’t a right wing tosser. Lemn Sissay - My name is why. A really interesting insight into the care system in the 1970’s and also racial prejudice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-r-cfc Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 The Aquariums of Pyongyang, should be required reading for some blinkered people.For anyone interested that owns a kindle, the ebook version of this is only £1.19 on Amazon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genuine Hibs Fan Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 The man in the high castle A weird one. I enjoyed it but can't really say how. Had watched an episode or two of the tv show and hadn't been into it but have wanted to start his novels for a while and bought it on a whim. We expect a fair amount of world building in alt history novels which doesn't really exist here, except on a social hierarchy and linguistic level. Some interesting stuff about eastern philosophies interacting with western, and the plot goes at a pace that you can absorb it (although I think I need to ponder it more). In the end it's a 200 page pocket novel with, off the top of my head, 5 point of view characters, so it feels a little surface level and the start of something. The whole thing about "that's what really happened" at the end doesn't make much sense to me but I guess it ties in with the philosophical content and I think I need to consider it more. Worth the afternoon or two it takes to read and enjoyable though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Finished the first book in The Expanse series - Leviathan Wakes. I can totally see how this started off as an extended D&D game as it's got what I imagine (not a nerd, sorry ) are all the archetypes of a game but fair play for turning it into a good story with a constant forward momentum right to the end. Reading the book definitely gave me a greater appreciation for the TV adaptation, however. The characters and some of the writing is quite poor which the show does a great job with the casting and rearranging of some plot beats. Definitely have a much better appreciation for Thomas Jane for giving Miller (who's just a bit of a creep in the book) a good dose of melancholy in his quest to find Julie Mao and Shohreh Aghdashloo for toning down some of the more tedious epicness of Avasarala being a cynical sweary gran. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Just now, Genuine Hibs Fan said: The man in the high castle A weird one. I enjoyed it but can't really say how. Had watched an episode or two of the tv show and hadn't been into it but have wanted to start his novels for a while and bought it on a whim. We expect a fair amount of world building in alt history novels which doesn't really exist here, except on a social hierarchy and linguistic level. Some interesting stuff about eastern philosophies interacting with western, and the plot goes at a pace that you can absorb it (although I think I need to ponder it more). In the end it's a 200 page pocket novel with, off the top of my head, 5 point of view characters, so it feels a little surface level and the start of something. The whole thing about "that's what really happened" at the end doesn't make much sense to me but I guess it ties in with the philosophical content and I think I need to consider it more. Worth the afternoon or two it takes to read and enjoyable though. I read a good piece about Philip K. Dick years ago where they argued that the strength in Dick's material is less his writing or individual stories but more the consistent themes and worldview that emerges from reading a lot of them together. I definitely got that from reading a couple of collections of his short stories especially when I read that he wrote and developed some stories in as little as a fortnight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genuine Hibs Fan Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 1 minute ago, NotThePars said: I read a good piece about Philip K. Dick years ago where they argued that the strength in Dick's material is less his writing or individual stories but more the consistent themes and worldview that emerges from reading a lot of them together. I definitely got that from reading a couple of collections of his short stories especially when I read that he wrote and developed some stories in as little as a fortnight. That's really helpful mate thank you, had a similar experience reading a collection of Vonnegut's short stories. Any particular collection you'd recommend? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 5 minutes ago, Genuine Hibs Fan said: That's really helpful mate thank you, had a similar experience reading a collection of Vonnegut's short stories. Any particular collection you'd recommend? The physical copy I remember owning as a wee guy was Human Is? A Philip K. Dick Reader which I loved but I don't know how much is down to nostalgia. It's got my favourite story of his, Second Variety, and also his worst, The Pre-Persons, which might be a good indicator of the gulf in quality between stories. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanton Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Just finished a bit if a Jo Nesbo / Harry Hole marathon. read books 3,4,5,& 6 Hard work at times but good stories. Now reading Ian Rankins' rereleased Westwind 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duszek Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Started Finnegans Wake at the weekend and it is fucking bonkers. Planning to read about 15 pages a day which would mean finishing it end-August. I’ll say it again. Fucking bonkers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 35 minutes ago, Duszek said: Started Finnegans Wake at the weekend and it is fucking bonkers. Planning to read about 15 pages a day which would mean finishing it end-August. I’ll say it again. Fucking bonkers. Been gearing myself up for months to start either Ulysses or Moby Dick but I've still to get through the last Knausgaard and then decide if I want to plough through the Mishima novels I've got. Think it's good to always have a bonkers book on the go. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic Joe Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 19 minutes ago, NotThePars said: Been gearing myself up for months to start either Ulysses or Moby Dick but I've still to get through the last Knausgaard and then decide if I want to plough through the Mishima novels I've got. Think it's good to always have a bonkers book on the go. Congratulations to anyone who has completed Ulysses and can explain what it is all about. I'm convinced Joyce was at the capers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moomintroll Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 11 minutes ago, Angusfifer said: Congratulations to anyone who has completed Ulysses and can explain what it is all about. I'm convinced Joyce was at the capers Completed it, not a single fucking clue what the hell was going on, I think I understood the book better before I read it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duszek Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Perkin Flump said: Completed it, not a single fucking clue what the hell was going on, I think I understood the book better before I read it. 31 minutes ago, Angusfifer said: Congratulations to anyone who has completed Ulysses and can explain what it is all about. I'm convinced Joyce was at the capers Fellas, Ulysses is a breeze compared to Finnegans Wake. I’ll just give you a bit at random from the page I’m on now: p54, lines 10-14 Huru more Nee, minny frickans? Hwoorledes har Dee Dey? Losdoor onleft m’ladies, cue. Millecientotrigintadue scudi. Tippoty, kyrie, tippoty. Cha kai rotty kai makkar, sahib? Despenseme Usted, senhor, en son succo, sabez. O thaw bron orm, A’Cothraige... The WHOLE BOOK is like this. Edited July 27, 2020 by Duszek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnash Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 52 minutes ago, NotThePars said: Been gearing myself up for months to start either Ulysses or Moby Dick but I've still to get through the last Knausgaard and then decide if I want to plough through the Mishima novels I've got. Think it's good to always have a bonkers book on the go. Moby Dick was quite good and not too difficult to understand. The Satanic Verses, though - no idea what was going on there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moomintroll Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, Duszek said: Fellas, Ulysses is a breeze compared to Finnegans Wake. I’ll just give you a bit at random from the page I’m on now: p54, lines 10-14 Huru more Nee, minny frickans? Hwoorledes har Dee Dey? Losdoor onleft m’ladies, cue. Millecientotrigintadue scudi. Tippoty, kyrie, tippoty. Cha kai rotty kai makkar, sahib? Despenseme Usted, senhor, en son succo, sabez. O thaw bron orm, A’Cothraige... The WHOLE BOOK is like this. I'm in, that is getting downloaded to my Kindle to read when i get pished. Might help me to make more sense of Ulysses or at the very least realise it's not me, it's him who is full of the nonsense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Academically Deficient Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 20 minutes ago, Duszek said: Fellas, Ulysses is a breeze compared to Finnegans Wake. I’ll just give you a bit at random from the page I’m on now: p54, lines 10-14 Huru more Nee, minny frickans? Hwoorledes har Dee Dey? Losdoor onleft m’ladies, cue. Millecientotrigintadue scudi. Tippoty, kyrie, tippoty. Cha kai rotty kai makkar, sahib? Despenseme Usted, senhor, en son succo, sabez. O thaw bron orm, A’Cothraige... The WHOLE BOOK is like this. They might be at it, but I remember someone mention that when read aloud in a specific accent from the West of Ireland, it makes SOME sense - as long as you are able to "tune in" to the accent. Alternatively, Joyce was a literary Mark E. Smith and quite enjoyed winding people up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Academically Deficient Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Coincidentally the book I've got on the go is about real, random meetings between famous people. Joyce features in 2 episodes, one with Marcel Proust at which he turns up late to a dinner, stays silent unless it's to contradict people and generally behaves like a dick. By the time he warms up and fancies making a night of it, the others leave him in the taxi and scraper to another do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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