Last Book You Read

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Re: Last Book You Read

Post by Annie »

Hey cool, Henrys Hair! I like your website. Does Amazon in the US sell your books? I didn't know we had a published author in here; I am impressed!
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Re: Last Book You Read

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Thanks Annie!

I took a look on Amazon US who don;t seem to have any themselves, although there are a couple of Marketplace sellers flogging it http://www.amazon.com/Evil-Women-Graeme ... 451&sr=1-1

There's an interview with John Neff in the Zines section of the site where he talks about working on Inland Empire among other things which is worth checking out. I think it's in the 2nd zine (whichever is the one with Jack Nance on the cover)
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Re: Last Book You Read

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Still working on "Beautiful Dark" but interspersing it with "A Lion Among Men," the third book in the Wicked series. Not that great but it's something to read. I just might start rereading my Dan Brown books again--can't wait to see "Angels and Demons!"
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Re: Last Book You Read

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Thomas Pynchon's The crying of lot 49, it was mesmerizing! I read it in finnish (it's his only book that is translated) but now I have to read them in english! Quite Lynchian, actually!

I have to also always recommend Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulum and Mihail Bulgakov's Master and Margarita. Like Kafka, that stuff should interest all Lynch fans. Great stuff.
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Re: Last Book You Read

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I'm now reading Irvin Yalom's "When Nietzsche Wept". Yalom is practicing psychologist and psychotherapist, and usually he write using stories and cases occurred in his practice. But not in this book, of course :) This one is half biographical, half fiction. I like Yalom's books because I find there some explanations of my behavior and life and behavior of people who are around me.
gavriloP wrote: I have to also always recommend Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulum and Mihail Bulgakov's Master and Margarita. Like Kafka, that stuff should interest all Lynch fans. Great stuff.
May I ask, are you Russian? :) (Your username prompted me this thought, not only Bulgakov). For some reason it is commonly supposed that M&M is hard to understand (or, maybe, to feel) for foreigners, maybe except Joshua's plotline. As for me, I am not sure about it. And I really like Bulgakov, his language and style. Most of all I like "The White Guard"and "Master and Margarita".

And completely support the advice about Umberto Eco! The truth is that I couldn't plough through "Focault's Pendulum", but "Name of the Rose"is really delighted me. For Annie: if you like Dan Brown, you'll maybe like Eco. They have something common in the way of narration, but as for me, Eco is much more don't know how to say more lifelike, and creative, and surprising (yes, I don't like Brown :)).
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Re: Last Book You Read

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areeng wrote:I'm now reading Irvin Yalom's "When Nietzsche Wept". Yalom is practicing psychologist and psychotherapist, and usually he write using stories and cases occurred in his practice. But not in this book, of course :) This one is half biographical, half fiction...

And completely support the advice about Umberto Eco! The truth is that I couldn't plough through "Focault's Pendulum", but "Name of the Rose"is really delighted me. For Annie: if you like Dan Brown, you'll maybe like Eco. They have something common in the way of narration, but as for me, Eco is much more don't know how to say more lifelike, and creative, and surprising (yes, I don't like Brown :)).

It sounds like the books you are referring to are a little too much of a "deep read" for me. I'm looking for entertaining reading that I can really take a vacation into. Since I am a practicing psychotherapist, I need some lighter reading when I'm not reading for work. And while I'm not going to argue about Dan Brown, I can certainly brag about his work. He's got a new book coming out in September...
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Re: Last Book You Read

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Annie wrote: It sounds like the books you are referring to are a little too much of a "deep read" for me. I'm looking for entertaining reading that I can really take a vacation into. Since I am a practicing psychotherapist, I need some lighter reading when I'm not reading for work. And while I'm not going to argue about Dan Brown, I can certainly brag about his work. He's got a new book coming out in September...
Oops, I didn't know you are psychotherapist :) I'm not going to persuade, I understand that you maybe want to rest from psychotherapy on vacations, but Yalom is not "deep read" at all. I read it in subway. But Eco is. And about Brown: every man has his own taste, it is not the issue to argue :)

I know! I can advise "light reading". It is Russian writer Boris Akunin, especially his books about Erast Fandorin. They are translated to English, I've checked on Amazon. That is a kind of historic crime story, I think, on a level with Agatha Christie's books. Every novel in this series has its own style: one is conspiracy story, other is spy story, third is "hermetic" story (I'm not sure about english word, but it means crime story where the criminal is someone of a limited number of people, who are locked in a closed space, like Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express"). In general, these are really absorbing books, even if you are not fan of crime stories.
Last edited by areeng on Mon May 18, 2009 11:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Last Book You Read

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OK areeng, I'll have to see if our local library carries Yalom's book.
I like to read before I buy. ;)
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Re: Last Book You Read

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OK :) I've updated my message, maybe you'll find Akunin in your library too :lol:
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Re: Last Book You Read

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OK, I just keep reading the same books. Which I realize is strange, but they're like old friends. I'm so excited for Dan Brown's new book, "The Lost Symbol," which will be out on 9/15. MUST pre-order.

Then I'm looking forward to the new Anne Rice book, which is more about trials and tribulations of angels in October. Although it's about angels, she promised it won't be like her Jesus books. Well, maybe I'll try the library on that one.
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Re: Last Book You Read

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I rarely Post in Off-Topic discussions, because , sooner or later, I'll Post some non-PC , off-the-cuff comment and get tossed. :D
I just bought Against The Day by Thomas Pynchon and, soon as I get a few days off to camp, will read it. I'm waiting for my son to send me The Archaeology Of Chaco Canyon and his MA dissertation about Central Place Formation around the North Sea.
These will hold me for awhile.

*GavriloP, do they not have V. or Gravity's Rainbow in translation? They are are his good ones, imo.

The last novel I finished was William Gibson Spook Country ( boring, commercial crap, from my fave prose stylist). Before that, Nathaniel Hawthorne The Blythedale Romance, which was charming and subtle, though not on a par with 7 Gables or The Scarlet Letter.
The last nonfiction book I read was The Code Of Kings by Peter Mathews and the late Linda Schele( r.i.p.) Well enough researched, but tendentious and the drawings of the glyphs and plans and elevations were too small and cluttered to be of much use.
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Re: Last Book You Read

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Sorry, this took some time to answer...
May I ask, are you Russian? :) (Your username prompted me this thought, not only Bulgakov). For some reason it is commonly supposed that M&M is hard to understand (or, maybe, to feel) for foreigners, maybe except Joshua's plotline. As for me, I am not sure about it. And I really like Bulgakov, his language and style. Most of all I like "The White Guard"and "Master and Margarita".
I am finnish, but I have russian blood from my father's mother's side (they were goldsmiths in St. Petersburg so revolution wasn't their cup of tea and they fled) Sadly, they sold their possessions to rubles and then rubel tanked, leaving them essentially broke... Anyway, I feel that we can relate to many things russian, even though we have had pretty heated history ;)

I really love M&M and it is generally very liked book in my country, so maybe the geography does affect ;) It has actually damn cool translated name: Saatana saapuu Moskovaan (Satan arrives to Moscow). Heh. But anyway it also has great influence of american slapstick cinema and stuff like Goethe's Faust. That cryptic second book of this big german actually has similar feel to the latter part of M&M. It is very enjoyable, funny and very thought-provoking and suspenseful also mysterious. What more can one hope?

And just for the record, my real name is not Gavrilo but Mikko ;) But I like to remind myself about the Gavrilo principle, the principle that one can really change the world. I just hope it could be done without violence too (man can dream). I actually thought about writing about Gavrilo Princip when I was younger, but you know how it goes...

and then to Carl:
*GavriloP, do they not have V. or Gravity's Rainbow in translation? They are are his good ones, imo.
Sadly, no. Somehow Pynchon has always been thought of as untranslateable, for some reason. Even The crying of lot 49 was translated only recently. Literature and language have been very respected in this country so it is strange. Normally all the classics are available.

Actually, I have bought Gravity's Rainbow, but haven't got very far. The language is damn beautiful, like constant poetry, but that makes it also very tasking. Normally english is no problem to me, but this book is on the next level. But one day I'll read it!

And just to stay on topic ;)

I just read the published screenplay to Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective (seen the show many times, so this was fandom). But I have to say it works damn well as literature too! I also read Nabokov's Laughter in the Dark (in finnish) and that was delight. Talk about cinematic books! Well, original name was camera obscura and it didn't lie. I'd say this book really would work with Lynch fans.
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Re: Last Book You Read

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Yes, Mikko, my wife and I also love Laughter in The Dark. I have searched for the old Nicol Williamson movie version on DVD, but so far with no success.I think they filmed it because of the slight similarities to Lolita.
I finally saw the deleted scenes to the re-make of Lolita on you-tube. Painfully earnest and 'faithful'; neither funny nor erotic.
.
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Re: Last Book You Read

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Carl wrote:Yes, Mikko, my wife and I also love Laughter in The Dark. I have searched for the old Nicol Williamson movie version on DVD, but so far with no success.I think they filmed it because of the slight similarities to Lolita.
I finally saw the deleted scenes to the re-make of Lolita on you-tube. Painfully earnest and 'faithful'; neither funny nor erotic.
.
Somehow strangely I have always missed Lolita, both film and book. Kubrick has always been very high on my list but I have failed to see both Paths of Glory and Lolita. Maybe it's time to check our library again :)

I also thought about bying Pale Fire in english. I have this difficulty that when something is generally praised or given high status, I have this natural counter reaction. It is subconscious and stupid. But the good thing is that there is still lots of classics to find again! Actually I almost missed Twin Peaks for this very same reason when I was young back in the day. I thought it can't be good because it was so hyped (it aired almost year later in here). Well, they proved me wrong :)
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Re: Last Book You Read

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The Kubrick Lolita suffers mostly from an access of Peter Sellars' pat clowning. Although a bit too mature for her part ( she was 14 when filming began) Sue Lyons delivers one of the most nuanced performances which I have ever seen. Her later scenes with James Mason are wonderful.
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