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What are you reading?

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Originally posted by rbmorris
If you want to check out an incredible book by an amazing author, read "Ask the Dust", but John Fante. Fante was Charles Bukowski's favorite author. He was an great writer, but never really got picked up by the mainstream.

Oh, also check out "The Man Who Was Thursday", by G.K. Chesterton.
I'm reading just now "The Innocence of Father Brown".

I have in my "agenda" "The Man Who Was Thursday" from pagebypage.com.

Delicious books. I really love "pure english" (not ofense intended to american english!). It is way more easy to read for me, since spanish is my mother tongue, and I learnt the basics of english language from a british professor. An eminence. But it was a very long time ago. And it is another history.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Cheers

- Julia

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Originally posted by CrazyLilTing
I'm reading just now "The Innocence of Father Brown".

I have in my "agenda" "The Man Who Was Thursday" from pagebypage.com.

Delicious books. I really love "pure english" (not ofense intended to american english!). It is way more easy to read for me, since spanish is my mother tongue, and I learnt the basics of english language from a british profe ...[text shortened]... ago. And it is another history.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Cheers

- Julia
Nice! How are you enjoying "The Innocence of Father Brown"? I'd be interested in checking out another book by Chesterton.

3 edits
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Originally posted by rbmorris
Nice! How are you enjoying "The Innocence of Father Brown"? I'd be interested in checking out another book by Chesterton.
inho, not being a native english speaker, I read few books in english, but I've enjoyed Chesterton and Christie novels the most (I mean the originals in english). I read almost 50+ novels by Agatha Chritie (almost all translated to spanish πŸ™ ).

But if you particularly enjoy the genre of policial/mistery/fantasy stories, read the novels by Chesterton, Doyle, Poe, Christie, and the tales by T. Hoffman... This last is somewhat childish, but has a lot of magic.
Doyle and Poe are highly recommended readings. And while Hoffman may be a little candid by today standards, you can't leave him apart.

There's a lot of reading in the genre I can recommend you.
And in the sci-fi realm there are lots of art works (really Art Works) too.

Enjoy your reading.

- Julia

P.S.: and don't left aside the spanish classics! πŸ™‚

Edit:
Oh sorry! I omit to answer your main question. I'm enjoing "The Innocence of Father Brown". Pure Chesterton. You can try it reading a few pages (or the complete book, all free) ar pagebypagebooks.com.

And if you haven't read it, a classic of sci-fi, I recommend you from the same site "The war of the worlds" by Orson Wells.

Lots of fum (well, at least for me! πŸ™‚ )

Cheers

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Originally posted by rbmorris
That's funny. I've been wanting to read that Nick Cave book too!
Sounds like i need to check out your book collection! πŸ˜€

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Originally posted by cmsMaster
Really? Palahniuk is bad? I heard he was quite good, but haven't read anything by him.
he's okay. but it's very much genre, and if you don't like it you don't like it.

a couple of tips:

tom spanbauer: in the city of shy hunters. semi-autobiographical story agout the new york gay community in the dawn of aids. maybe the best book I've ever read, and incredibly beautiful if you're into that sort of writing. he was the teacher of palahniuk, and you can really see that. but both still write completely differently. chuck is more of a b-movie type of thing, spanbauer very poetic and sensitive. I like both.

alex garland: coma. well, the guy falls into coma, and that's about it. strange little book, and very nice. dreamy.

"This is the way it is with dreams.
Not for the first time in this dream, I woke up."

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CHESS (II)

Faint-hearted king, sly bishop, ruthless queen,
Straightforward castle, and deceitful pawn -
Over the checkered black and white terrain
They seek out and begin their armed campaign.

They do not know it is the player’s hand
That dominates and guides their destiny.
They do not know an adamantine fate
Controls their will and lays the battle plan.

The player too is captive of caprice
(The words are Omar’s) on another ground
Where black nights alternate with whiter days.

God moves the players, he in turn the piece.
But what god beyond God begins the round
Of dust and time and sleep and agonies?

Jorge Luis Borges

- J

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Insomnia- Stephen King
The Funhouse- Dean Koontz
Holes- Louis Scachar
The Stand- Stephen King

All good stuff!

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Originally posted by CrazyLilTing
inho, not being a native english speaker, I read few books in english, but I've enjoyed Chesterton and Christie novels the most (I mean the originals in english). I read almost 50+ novels by Agatha Chritie (almost all translated to spanish πŸ™ ).

But if you particularly enjoy the genre of policial/mistery/fantasy stories, read the novels by Chesterton ...[text shortened]... r of the worlds" by Orson Wells.

Lots of fum (well, at least for me! πŸ™‚ )

Cheers
Thanks for all the recommendations, Julia. πŸ™‚ Haven't forgotten the Spanish classics. Actually, I plan on reading Don Quixote as soon as my wife finishes it.

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Originally posted by CrazyLilTing
I'm reading just now "The Innocence of Father Brown".

I have in my "agenda" "The Man Who Was Thursday" from pagebypage.com.

Delicious books. I really love "pure english" (not ofense intended to american english!). It is way more easy to read for me, since spanish is my mother tongue, and I learnt the basics of english language from a british profe ...[text shortened]... ago. And it is another history.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Cheers

- Julia
Spanish, eh? Que pasa, chiquita? Never mind.

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To My Wife

Choice of you shuts up that peacock-fan
The future was, in which temptingly spread
All that elaborative nature can.
Matchless potential! but unlimited
Only so long as I elected nothing;
Simply to choose stopped all ways up but one,
And sent the tease-birds from the bushes flapping.
No future now. I and you now, alone.

So for your face I have exchanged all faces,
For your few properties bargained the brisk
Baggage, the mask-and-magic-man's regalia.
Now you become my boredom and my failure,
Another way of suffering, a risk,
A heavier-than-air hypostasis.


Philip Larkin, 1951

1 edit
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Originally posted by SuperBishop999
Insomnia- Stephen King
The Funhouse- Dean Koontz
Holes- Louis Scachar
The Stand- Stephen King

All good stuff!
The Stand - Amazing. I actually didn't get the chance to finish it :/ - long story that you guys won't be interested in hearing.

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curious incident of the dog at midnight - mark haddon
history of the world in ten and a half chapters - julian barnes
the house of doctor dee - peter ackroyd

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Originally posted by rbmorris
Again, check out "The Man Who Was Thursday", by G.K. Chesterton. You can't go wrong there. Pretty quick read too.
One of my favorites is Replay by Ken Grimwood.

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Originally posted by rbmorris
Thanks for all the recommendations, Julia. πŸ™‚ Haven't forgotten the Spanish classics. Actually, I plan on reading Don Quixote as soon as my wife finishes it.
You are welcome.
I'm sure you'll enjoy "El Quijote de La Mancha" (it is its spanish title).
I think it is difficult to translate it into english language while conserving the beatifulness of Cervantes command of spanish language. Think that it was arcaic (sp?) spanish!
I've read "Lost Paradise" by Milton in english. I think it is a hard experience also to native english language speakers. But of course, I may be wrong.

- J

Cheers.

P.S.: Keep in your agenda all books by Umberto Eco.
Mainly "Foucaults Pendulum" and "The Name of the Rose".

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