What are you currently reading?

[anapuni808]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, originally published in 1846. Still loving all the free books from Kindle!

[Pohaku]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Hm, I've not yet read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle or Kafka on the Shore. but people keep talking them up; guess I'll nudge them up higher on the list.

Just curious, why did you think Hard-Boiled was not a good candidate for a re-read?

Well, I felt that I sort of "got" the central conceit or gimmick of Hard-Boiled Wonderland, and while it was cool and evocative and thought-provoking, I'm not sure I see myself coming back to it for new insights. It has been ages since I read it, though, so maybe I'm mistaken.

I enjoy his more wildly fantastic stuff like HBW or Dance Dance Dance, and I really liked Sputnik Sweetheart's more delicate touch. Thanks for the news about his latest novel! That sounds fascinating, although it's hard for me to commit to a 900-pager these days. An exception will be made for a new Murakami book!

[Leo Lakio]

Re: What are you currently reading?

A collection of scripts and writings by the late British comedian, Peter Cook, titled "Tragically I Was An Only Twin."

[Honoruru]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Well, I felt that I sort of "got" the central conceit or gimmick of Hard-Boiled Wonderland, and while it was cool and evocative and thought-provoking, I'm not sure I see myself coming back to it for new insights.

Actually, I felt exactly the same way you did when I first read it. It was only much later that I began to wonder if I’d miss something.

Right now, on my Kindle, I’m reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson, translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland. This is the third and final volume of the Millennium trilogy, although there’s rumor a fourth manuscript has been found.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: What are you currently reading?

... although there’s rumor a fourth manuscript has been found.

'Tis more than rumor, it exists (about 3/4 complete). But the publication is held up by legal battles between Larsson's family (father & brother, whom Swedish courts have ruled constitute his estate) and his long-time companion (who has the computer that contains the manuscript; Swedish law does not recognize common-law marriage).

[Leo Lakio]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Just finished a history & study of punning, John Pollack's "The Pun Also Rises." Today, I started "A Brief History of King Arthur," Mike Ashley's analysis of historical record and possible evidence as to whether or not the legendary figure existed.

[Honoruru]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Currently reading The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell. This is my introduction to David Mitchell, a young British writer who has been getting a lot of praise lately, especially for Cloud Atlas. However, this is not Cloud Atlas. This seems a more traditional novel, a historical fiction set in 1799/1800 Japan, on the man-made island of Dejima in Nagasaki, where Dutch traders lived and traded, providing the only glimpse of the Western world to the isolationist shogunate of 18th and early 19th century Japan.

For various reasons (personal and stylistic) I had a difficult time getting into this novel, but now that I’m into it, I’m somewhat hooked.

[Mike_Lowery]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Currently reading 'The Madonnas of Echo Park,' by Brando Skyhorse. Just started. Good character development in short stories so far.

[Pohaku]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Currently reading 'The Madonnas of Echo Park,' by Brando Skyhorse. Just started. Good character development in short stories so far.

I used to live near Echo Park, that interesting hilly part of Los Angeles. I would read stories set there.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Nevin Martell's "Looking for Calvin and Hobbes"

[Mike_Lowery]

Re: What are you currently reading?

I used to live near Echo Park, that interesting hilly part of Los Angeles. I would read stories set there.

you should get this book! The imagery is wonderful, especially if you know Echo Park.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Just started a bio of Canadian broadcast icon Peter Gzowski.

[Mike_Lowery]

Re: What are you currently reading?

Just started "Where We Once Belonged," by Sia Figiel

[Pohaku]

Re: What are you currently reading?

I'm maybe a third into the most recent "Song of Ice and Fire" book by George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons. I've been waiting six years for this one to come out, and it is excellent.

[Honoruru]

Re: What are you currently reading?

I’m currently into Cloud Atlas, a highly praised novel by David Mitchell. It has been labelled sci-fi, but I’m not sure this is an appropriate definition. It is composed of six different narratives, each written in a different style, from a different point of view, and set in different places and time, but all relating, somehow, to one overall vision. Or so I’m told. One of the narratives (the last one) is set in Hawaii (albeit a post apocalyptic Hawaii) atop Mauna Kea.

So far, I’m just into the first narrative, The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing, which takes place somewhere in the mid-1800s. It is interesting how Mitchell uses the journal-style language of that time, including ampersand everywhere, and transforming much of it into unique expressions, which would not be possible otherwise.

Cloud Atlas is slated to be made into a movie, the latest project by the Wachowski brothers (the Matrix trilogy) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), scheduled to be released in October 2012. So far, the cast includes Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, and others. I can hardly wait for it. But first, I have to finish reading the novel.