What book are you reading right now?

[Inkachu]

I tried reading that not too long ago, Miles...I couldn't get into it.

 

[Niels]

I tried reading that not too long ago, Miles...I couldn't get into it.

What didn't you like about it?

 

[Dent]

I have two on the go - The Cruel Sea and the Malcolm X book.

 

[Ayersy]

Just to be a stereotypical atheist...

Currently I am reading God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Pretty good read, so far.

After that I'm going to move onto... Yup, The God Delusion.

 

[Themistocles]

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. It's better than I expected.

I just read it a few months ago. Which translation are you reading? I can't deny that it was a great novel and I couldn't stop reading it. The parts that almost everyone finds slow were some of my favorite- somehow Levin's land issues had me hooked. But overall I feel ambivalent about it. Here's a snippet from a facebook review I wrote (lol): "in the distance that Tolstoy supposedly has from his subject, the only hazy sense the reader has of the author's presence, his judgments, his motives, his themes; in this quality which is the product of "bagginess" and critics see as something more, there is something artificial. Tolstoy stands at the juncture of emotion, the fork of catharsis, the crossroads of revelation and at every point calmly wags his magisterial finger and directs you, instead to a little byway where stands a copse of lime trees and a ruddy cheeked stranger with fascinating opinions. You can never decide what to feel about anything- how to see Anna, for instance- because a colossal genius has neatly arranged endless distractions and about faces. In a lesser author this would be inexcusable; a lesser author couldn't even attempt it without us feeling, instantly, that we'd been cheated. Novels simply shouldn't go this way we'd scream. There must be progressions. There must be a way to decide on something, on some emotion, some new revelation, without constantly being set on byways".

Still, it's absolutely worth a read.

 

[Toronto]

I'm reading Uglies by Scott Westerfield for pleasure. As far as schooling goes, at this very minute, it's Essentials Of Human Anatomy And Physiology: Ninth Edition by Elaine N. Marieb. So dry, yet so fascinating.

 

[.Iona.]

Our lady of the forest and The Dice Man. I usually have a couple on the go at any one time.

 

[Wren]

I just read it a few months ago. Which translation are you reading? I can't deny that it was a great novel and I couldn't stop reading it...

It only took a few hours to read my last book (which I named in this thread), so I need a new book. I know the library has plenty of copies of that book available, so maybe I'll pick it up later today after the museum.

 

[Themistocles]

It only took a few hours to read my last book (which I named in this thread), so I need a new book. I know the library has plenty of copies of that book available, so maybe I'll pick it up later today after the museum.

Cool. But if you're looking for a great, big 19th century novel, Middlemarch by George Eliot is even better. I read that the week before Anna Karenina so I always connect the two in my mind. Either way you're in for really well-drawn characters and strong female protagonists.

 

[Niels]

I just read it a few months ago. Which translation are you reading? I can't deny that it was a great novel and I couldn't stop reading it. The parts that almost everyone finds slow were some of my favorite- somehow Levin's land issues had me hooked. But overall I feel ambivalent about it. Here's a snippet from a facebook review I wrote (lol): "in the distance that Tolstoy supposedly has from his subject, the only hazy sense the reader has of the author's presence, his judgments, his motives, his themes; in this quality which is the product of "bagginess" and critics see as something more, there is something artificial. Tolstoy stands at the juncture of emotion, the fork of catharsis, the crossroads of revelation and at every point calmly wags his magisterial finger and directs you, instead to a little byway where stands a copse of lime trees and a ruddy cheeked stranger with fascinating opinions. You can never decide what to feel about anything- how to see Anna, for instance- because a colossal genius has neatly arranged endless distractions and about faces. In a lesser author this would be inexcusable; a lesser author couldn't even attempt it without us feeling, instantly, that we'd been cheated. Novels simply shouldn't go this way we'd scream. There must be progressions. There must be a way to decide on something, on some emotion, some new revelation, without constantly being set on byways".

Still, it's absolutely worth a read.

Nice review. Your reference to the copse brings to mind snipe hunting with Levin and Oblonsky.

I'm enjoying how Tolstoy allows the reader to develop his or her own opinions of the characters. That makes it a more interesting and realistic read, in my opinion. Although the detail of Levin's land issues may seem a bit excessive to some they help paint a more vivid picture of his life, and underscore the fact that he isn't just a country bumpkin.

I'm not sure which translation I borrowed while on vacation. It was printed in the early '70s... "Titan Edition - Unabridged" or something along those lines. I was only about 300 pages (1/3) into it when I had to leave. The question of translation is something that I should probably look into before I pick up a copy for myself after work.

 

[Tehchad]

I'm reading a couple right now: almost finished with Band of Brothers; Breakthrough - a Vineyard book on Kingdom Theology.
Both are really heavy.

 

[Themistocles]

Nice review. Your reference to the copse brings to mind snipe hunting with Levin and Oblonsky.

I'm enjoying how Tolstoy allows the reader to develop his or her own opinions of the characters. That makes it a more interesting and realistic read, in my opinion. Although the detail of Levin's land issues may seem a bit excessive to some they help paint a more vivid picture of his life, and underscore the fact that he isn't just a country bumpkin.

I'm not sure which translation I borrowed while on vacation. It was printed in the early '70s... "Titan Edition - Unabridged" or something along those lines. I was only about 300 pages (1/3) into it when I had to leave. The question of translation is something that I should probably look into before I pick up a copy for myself after work.

I like the Constance Garnett translations of Russian books. They're criticized, apparently, for not being faithful to the individual styles of Russian writers, but I sort of disagree with their premise. Translations are pretty much a collaboration. I don't read Russian so I can't possibly tell if a translator misses vague nuances. I can tell, however, if they write clunky English. So generally I prefer translations that read well, in English, to translations that are supposedly more technically accurate. I read Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov nearly half and half- reading the two most popular translations. The Garnett translations, which are criticized for sounding like a Victorian English novel, and the more recent Pevear and Volokhonsky translations. Both were well done but sometimes the Pevear and V stuff just sounds odd in English. Just kind of a tip on the translations if you're going to look into it. If you want something that best approximates the Russian, probably go for Pevear. If you want something that feels more natural in English, Garnett wins by a nose.

 

[Fenny the Fox]

"God of small things" by Arundhati Roy.
And am just starting "And the Band Played On" by Randy Shilts.

 

[Blank123]

Cultural Anthropology - Barbara D Miller, Penny Van Esterik, John Van Esterik

 

[Wren]

Well, Tolstoy will have to wait. I went to the library (still there actually) and got two books that I've been waiting for plus a book that caught my eye and sounds really interesting.

I think I will start with Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

 

[Wren]

Now onto the next library book: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

 

[Oddish]

Ecological Economics by Davy and Farley
Public Speaking for Dummies
Particle Physics

 

[ceh85]

One Day by David Nicholls.

 

[Gym]

Particle Physics

geeze... I feel like my IQ level is sooo insufficient

 

[.Iona.]

Tess of the D'Ubervilles.