Current Reading - Books best thread

[Gangster Octopus]

After not reading books for far too long, I decided to start re-reading Terry Pratchett earlier this year. One of the fascinating things is finding the bookmarks that I used. I should probably start a thread on bookmarks.

[Sunderporinostesta]

After not reading books for far too long, I decided to start re-reading Terry Pratchett earlier this year. One of the fascinating things is finding the bookmarks that I used. I should probably start a thread on bookmarks.

I started using them for the first time during lockdown. Acquired from an Istanbul Barcello Hotel a few doors down from the U.K. ambassadors house that’d been car bombed a couple of years prior.
This was on a football trip in which no football was watched due to a govt enforced anti hooliganism members only policy that required tkts to be bought using an account with the bank sponsoring the league. Bloody forriners coming over here spending their money, not watching our football, nicking our bookmarks etc.

[Levin]

I'm going to reread the first volume of The Aesthetics of Resistance prior to reading the second one which was published in English last year. Hopefully the third won't take another 15 years.

Now my question is. What book refers to the Aesthetics of Resistance? I wouldn't have heard about it without that mention. I feel it's Sebald, but it might be something else.

[ursus arctos]

“[The Aesthetics of Resistance,] which [Peter Weiss] began when he was well over fifty, making a pilgrimage over the arid slopes of cultural and contemporary history in the company of pavor nocturnus, the terror of the night, and laden with a monstrous weight of ideological ballast, is a magnum opus which sees itself . . . not only as the expression of an ephemeral wish for redemption, but as an expression of the will to be on the side of the victims at the end of time.” — W. G. Sebald,, On the Natural History of Destruction

[Levin]

That was quick. Thank you Ursus.

Now strangely, I've not read On the Natural History of Destruction so I must have read a reference to that reference somewhere. I do not expect anyone to track that down. I had a nagging suspicion that it was Énard's Zone, but that was published after I read the first volume of Weiss. Maybe is was in Air Raid or possibly December by Alexander Kluge.

[imp]

According to the search engine, she's never been mentioned on OTF, but I am loving and tearing through Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other. Booker Prize co-victor in 2019 - for once they actually gave it to a deserving writer.

Mind, I've not read that many Booker winners since my mum gave me Anita fucking Brookner's dreadful Hotel du fucking Lac 35 odd years ago. [Checks winners' list on wikipedia - actually I've read a load of them, and some were decent enough, but nothing this brilliant.]

[Philip Marlow]

Black Spartacus, Sudhir Hazareesingh's new biography of Toussaint Louverture. Having finally finished the copy of The Black Jacobins which has been sat on my shelves for aeons. Much more closely focused on the life of Toussaint personally than the James book, which treats it as an accompaniment to the wider subject of revolutionary politics, but still interesting.

[Felicity, I guess so]

I just finished a Booker nominee: 2011's Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan.
Black German and US jazz musicians in Berlin then occupied Paris. Really good stuff.

Awake in the night random kindle read threw up a Sandford crime novel (Lucas Davenport series- Shadow Prey ) which has an interesting Native American hit squad at its core.

And P. Marlow's recommendation is on the list for Ms F's next birthday (ta!)

[Sam]

According to the search engine, she's never been mentioned on OTF, but I am loving and tearing through Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other. Booker Prize co-victor in 2019 - for once they actually gave it to a deserving writer.

It definitely has been mentioned, because I finished reading it on 3 March this year, and would have recorded it on this very thread. And I concur as to its brilliance.

I only found out a week or two ago that the whole sharing-the-Booker-with-Margaret-Atwood controversy came about because the bloke who was running Hay Festival and had to stand down due to allegations of being a bully and a sex pest was on the jury and point blank insisted that Atwood had to win, even though the whole rest of the jury wanted to give it to Evaristo.

[Sam]

Confirmed! I did indeed mention reading it, although I managed to do so without mentioning Bernardine Evaristo by name. Tony C named both author and book on 1 February.

[Philip Marlow]

I just finished a Booker nominee: 2011's Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan.
Black German and US jazz musicians in Berlin then occupied Paris. Really good stuff.

Awake in the night random kindle read threw up a Sandford crime novel (Lucas Davenport series- Shadow Prey ) which has an interesting Native American hit squad at its core.

And P. Marlow's recommendation is on the list for Ms F's next birthday (ta!)

Read the Edugyan myself a few years ago and you're right, it's very good indeed. And nae bother on the recommendation.

[Balderdasha]

So the first time I went psychotic, I couldn't properly read a book for years afterwards. Fact and fiction had become too muddled in my head and the combined effects of recovery from psychosis and various medications destroyed my concentration span. This time round I am determined to keep reading. I bought myself "Nomadland" and "The Thursday Murder Club" from the hospital book shop after a blood test this week. I've started on Nomadland (which I have not yet seen the film version of). It's fascinating so far.

[jameswba]

I don't really keep track of Booker winners, so I was curious to see how many I've read. It's just under half. For me, the best have been In a Free State by Naipaul and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, closely followed by Midnight's Children and Anna Burns' Milkman. I hadn't heard of the latter before a friend lent it to me this year, but it was wonderful. An India connection runs through the other three, and it's also noticeable that three of the 70s winners were Raj novels ; The Siege of Krishnapur, Heat and Dust and Staying On. I enjoyed all those too, when I read them, though that's a while ago now in all cases.

I know for a fact I've read one Anita Brookner novel but can't remember if it was Hotel du Lac or something else. Not even reading a plot summary of it helps. One winner I truly couldn't stand was Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea. 1978 must have been a poor year.

[S. aureus]

I know that I've read hotel du Lac, but also have little recollection of it. I don't think I hated it, more indifferent.
Probably Vernon God Little is the Booker Prize winner I liked the least, or The Line of Beauty. Apart from those I've liked the ones that I've read, though it isn't close to all of them (there's a chance that I might have read and forgotten one or two).

[Sporting]

FWIW my favourite Booker winner of those I've read is The Siege of Krishnapur by J G Farrell, a marvellous writer taken from us far too early.

[Sam]

I think my favourite Booker winner is a toss-up between Midnight's Children and A Brief History of Seven Killings, although I've really enjoyed all the ones I've read apart from The Line of Beauty which I thought was OK but nothing more (and which I had no idea was a Booker winner until I read S. aureus's post just now). The others I've read and am aware have won it are Girl, Woman, Other of course and The Sellout. I've used a few prize short/longlists as book-buying suggestion lists over the last couple of years, as I've rediscovered my reading mojo – the Booker, the Jhalak, the Women's Prize and some others.

[Sam]

Having written the above deliberately without checking, I've now had a look at the list of winners and can add The Remains of the Day and The White Tiger to my list of Booker winners read. I really liked both, but am still sticking with the two I've named above as my favourites.

[Sporting]

FWIW my favourite Booker winner of those I've read is The Siege of Krishnapur by J G Farrell, a marvellous writer taken from us far too early.

I had forgotten that he also won the Lost Booker prize, for Troubles. Another brilliant novel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Man_Booker_Prize

[Anton Gramscescu]

Having written the above deliberately without checking, I've now had a look at the list of winners and can add The Remains of the Day and The White Tiger to my list of Booker winners read. I really liked both, but am still sticking with the two I've named above as my favourites.

Have you read Milkman? Probably my fave Booker.

[Sam]

I haven't, AG. On checking, it looks like that one was awarded in the middle of my last visit to Europe, which explains why it rang no bells at all. Of the 2018 shortlist I've got a paperback of The Overstory (bought recently from a friend who moved back to England in May) but haven't heard of any of the others. Have just bought a Kindle copy of Milkman, so thanks for the recommendation!

[Sam]

Actually, 'haven't heard of any of the others' isn't accurate: Washington Black rings a bell as well for some reason.

[imp]

Have started Wrong's recent book on Rwanda, Do Not Disturb. She mentions how much Paul Kagame has had a free pass from the western press for a long time, and it struck me that there's been no criticism - as far as I know - of Arsenal FC for being sponsored by a murderous, authoritarian regime.

[Philip Marlow]

Cold Water-Gwendoline Riley. Been wanting to catch up on this author for a while & have started with her debut novel. Slight at 160 pages the narrative follows a 20 year old Carmel during her 'wilderness years' in Manchester. Working behind bar at a night club its her journey through the underbelly of the city life-as such its about characters rather than plot. The city is changing-the book was written 2002 although not being familiar with Manchester its not clear whether the changes are contemporary to this era-but Carmel isnt despite her dreams of get away. It could be that this story has an autobiographical slant and it does offer the promise of an author who will develop in future novels.

Mind if I ask what you made of it? I read Cold Water a few months after it was published, I think - Random browsing? A persuasive review? Reason why lost to the mists of time - and loved it sufficiently that I've kept up with Riley ever since. Somewhere or other I've even got Tuesday Nights and Wednesday Mornings, which is her second novel (and probably my favourite) Sick Notes, plus a handful of very short stories. As for what pulled me in...Similar age, spent a lot of time knocking around Manchester, shared a certain somewhat cold view of the world, maybe. I'll admit to experiencing a little sliver a spiteful joy when her last one, First Love, made the Booker shortlist, thus attracting a wider readership many of whom, going by the online reviews, were horrified by how very not nice it all was. Not quite the improving literature they were presumably looking for.

So, what did you reckon?

[Sam]

Finished Sway about 24 hours ago, and very interesting it was too. All about unconscious bias: what it is, how we evolved to have it, how it manifests in society on individual and institutional levels today, and challenges it poses for the future (AI etc.). Highly recommended.

I'm now reading Daniel Defoe's The King of Pirates, which purports to be (but almost certainly isn't) a couple of letters written to Defoe by Henry Every disputing many of the rumours popular in England at the time about just how naughty he was being down in Madagascar.

[ale]

Mind if I ask what you made of it? I read Cold Water a few months after it was published, I think - Random browsing? A persuasive review? Reason why lost to the mists of time - and loved it sufficiently that I've kept up with Riley ever since. Somewhere or other I've even got Tuesday Nights and Wednesday Mornings, which is her second novel (and probably my favourite) Sick Notes, plus a handful of very short stories. As for what pulled me in...Similar age, spent a lot of time knocking around Manchester, shared a certain somewhat cold view of the world, maybe. I'll admit to experiencing a little sliver a spiteful joy when her last one, First Love, made the Booker shortlist, thus attracting a wider readership many of whom, going by the online reviews, were horrified by how very not nice it all was. Not quite the improving literature they were presumably looking for.

So, what did you reckon?

Heh. A book review that offered the casual reader no personal insight into the tome in question. Guess will have to reconsider the alternative career plans.

As an introduction to Gwendoline Riley I thought it worked just fine. An author have been intending to pick up for a while now and this one was available for a bargain price-also got Opposed Positions for same reason. I dont have the same contemporary experiences as you but didnt feel this fact mitigated against the story-indeed at times it could have been a late 1970s/early 1980s period with which I am more familiar- the references to Joy Division and industrial Manchester floating in background . The snooker player frequenting the club I also took as being Alex Higgins on this basis. Riley also pulled off the not inconsiderable feat of not immersing the lead character in heaps of self-pity or loathing and refrained from drowning the backdrop in sleaze & sordid excess (though one mans poison may well be another mans meat on this point). As said I feel sure there will be a tinge if not more of autobiography in the tale & while the protagonist was frustrated each time she tried to improve her lifestyle it was done with empathy & understanding. The company which flickered through Carmel life were also drawn on the same basis.

I reiterate previous conclusion that it a novel to build on and reviews of later books-including your own acknowledgements in this direction-suggest literary development to the good.