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Books You've Read in 2020
This could be an interesting thread to keep going this year, and I could always use some recommendations. I'll start:
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. The true story of Chris McCandless, a bright idealistic young man who went into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land, where he ultimately starved to death after making a few small mistakes. A cautionary tale of letting your ideals blind you from really understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and the harshness of reality. I, many of us I assume, can relate to Chris in some ways though ::
Quote:
He had a need to test himself in ways, as he was fond of saying, “that mattered.” He possessed grand - some would say grandiose - spiritual ambitions. According to the moral absolutism that characterized McCandless’s beliefs, a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn’t a challenge at all.
Annoyingly - the book mentions many photographs Chris took, but none are included in the book.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill.
Excellent overview of the ages of Dante, Giotto, Francis of Assisi, Torquemada, Hildegard and many more.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Into the Wild was great. Haven’t read it in years.
I’ve read a few Cahill books (the Irish, Jesus, etc) so will have to add this one to my list.
Mine so far:
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
can’t believe I hadn’t read this one before.
How Democracies Die- particularly on point these days (and even more so after last night)
The Secret Token - about the lost colony of Roanoke. A little academic in parts but I found it very interesting given the time I’ve spent in the area
Range- about why generalists succeed. Good case studies against over-specializing too early in life. Both in sports and other professional endeavors. (Only about halfway through but so far so good.)
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
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Originally Posted by
dgaddis
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. The true story of Chris McCandless...
Fascinating book and I really like Krakauer's writing style. Into Thin Air is another one of his, a captivating and well-researched true story of an expedition on Everest that went horribly wrong. The development of the various characters is phenomenal.
I'm reading 240 Beats per Minute, Life with an Unruly Heart. It was published by a cardiologist, a posthumous collection of letters and essays from a lifelong friend and college buddy. They were rowers at Amherst College in the 60's. Very interesting from the standpoint of how an aging athlete with a scientific mind deals with his own condition, how he researches it to develop his own theories and challenge his doctors, and how that made him both a good and bad patient. Appropriate and useful, as I am also the owner of an unruly heart.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-63299-186-7
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
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Originally Posted by
robin3mj
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
can’t believe I hadn’t read this one before.
How Democracies Die- particularly on point these days (and even more so after last night)
Oh man, American Pastoral remains one of my all-time favorite novels. The Plot Against America is ace.
On the note of highly relevant books, I just finished Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. I was a huge fan of Guns, Germs & Steel, and Collapse does not disappoint. It is at times hopeful, at times very damning, but always interesting. As with Guns, Germs & Steel, it is a bit dry but packed with so much interesting anthropology that anyone interested in the history of mankind would be remiss to pass on it.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
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Originally Posted by
thollandpe
Fascinating book and I really like Krakauer's writing style. Into Thin Air is another one of his, a captivating and well-researched true story of an expedition on Everest that went horribly wrong. The development of the various characters is phenomenal.
Check out Under the Banner of Heaven if you haven't yet.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Let me pile on and add a few I read last year as well:
American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee, about the wolves of Yellowstone was tremendous
American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee: 9781119286 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherin Boo, about a slum in Mumbai. Reads like a novel but is heartbreaking nonfiction
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo: 978812979329 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Horizon by Barry Lopez
Horizon by Barry Lopez: 97837578473 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Falter by Bill McKibben
Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?, by Bill McKibben
McKibben's older book about training full time at nordic skiing for a year was also great, and would probably interest lots of folks around these parts.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
I finally finished Thinking Fast and Slow, which to me is the most fascinating material on human thought and action i have read. but it was hard for me to consume all at once, it took lots of time to digest.
A book i also enjoyed very much recently:
The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko by Scott Stambach
such an incredible story of humanity
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dgaddis
This could be an interesting thread to keep going this year, and I could always use some recommendations. I'll start:
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. The true story of Chris McCandless, a bright idealistic young man who went into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land, where he ultimately starved to death after making a few small mistakes. A cautionary tale of letting your ideals blind you from really understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and the harshness of reality. I, many of us I assume, can relate to Chris in some ways though ::
Annoyingly - the book mentions many photographs Chris took, but none are included in the book.
The movie is also pretty good, and follows the book.
the "magic bus" that the movie used sits at a brewery in AK, pretty cool.
I've also hiked a bunch of miles along the stampede trail, where it all went wrong for McCandless. Rugged territory for sure. One of these days i'll make it all the way out to the real bus. multiple have died attempting to do so, but with some real back country experience and skill it should be pretty doable.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dgaddis
This could be an interesting thread to keep going this year, and I could always use some recommendations. I'll start:
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. The true story of Chris McCandless, a bright idealistic young man who went into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land, where he ultimately starved to death after making a few small mistakes. A cautionary tale of letting your ideals blind you from really understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and the harshness of reality. I, many of us I assume, can relate to Chris in some ways though ::
Annoyingly - the book mentions many photographs Chris took, but none are included in the book.
This book, while a good read, is incredibly dangerous. It's inspired many people to venture into the wilderness without any sort of training or preparations. It also lacks any discussion about how wildly unprepared McCandless was.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
That Wild Country: An Epic Journey through the Past, Present, and Future of America's Public Lands by Mark Kenyon. Pretty good mixture of his personal experience story exploring public lands from national parks to wildernesses as well as how each was formed. Also touches on the challenges that public land faced in the past and how they're constantly under threat by corporate interest and exploitation.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JJohnson
This book, while a good read, is incredibly dangerous. It's inspired many people to venture into the wilderness without any sort of training or preparations. It also lacks any discussion about how wildly unprepared McCandless was.
Eh, the book talks quite a bit about how unprepared he was and how ill advised this journey was, and the many mistakes he made like not taking a or even looking at a map of the area, no real training, almost no supplies, no proper gear, etc. Quite a few quotes from experienced Alaskans about how reckless he was. I mean the story ends with a guy starving to death, alone in a bus in the woods, that's a terrible way to go. Anyone who reads it and says "hey I'll do that too" isn't paying attention.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
The Anarchy by William Dalrymple - an interesting take on how a company with an army (the British East India Co.) conquered an empire and took over a country.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Submission by Michel Houellebeq.. I read it non stop in one day. I guess i would file under "entertaining".
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
I'm more than half way into The Water Dancer, and it's excellent. I so deeply appreciate being exposed to such a well done imagining of our nation's dark violent history, from the perspective of the people sinned against.
Two more are queued up, Jill Lepore's These Truths and Charles Mann's 1491.
I loved both of those Krakauer books. I vividly remember sitting on a 90 degree beach while reading Into Thin Air's description of climbing toward basecamp, and shivering in sympathy. Under the Banner of Heaven is a crazy wild story, wonderfully told.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JJohnson
This book, while a good read, is incredibly dangerous. It's inspired many people to venture into the wilderness without any sort of training or preparations. It also lacks any discussion about how wildly unprepared McCandless was.
heh?
spoiler alert: he died of starvation alone, deep in the woods. is that not a clear enough indicator that he was not prepared to "survive" this ordeal?
this mentality that everything needs a warning label annoys me. it's a watering down of common sense. adults should be aware of their surroundings and aware that actions have consequences, and that it's not everyone else's responsibility to protect them.
personal responsibility is an endangered character trait. if i wander into the woods alone and i get in over my head and die - that's on me. it's not a books fault for not warning me, it's not an Alaska Park Ranger's fault for not stopping me, and it's not the governments fault for not putting a fence around the whole wilderness so i dont hurt myself.
this is what the world is coming to:
https://media.istockphoto.com/photos...IpMKrsa92T82c=
Sorry: Rant Over.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Justice on Trial, By Mollie Hemingway. To gain a better understanding of contemporary politics.
2020 FAR/AIM. Light reading for sleeping.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AngryScientist
heh?
spoiler alert: he died of starvation alone, deep in the woods. is that not a clear enough indicator that he was not prepared to "survive" this ordeal?
this mentality that everything needs a warning label annoys me. it's a watering down of common sense. adults should be aware of their surroundings and aware that actions have consequences, and that it's not everyone else's responsibility to protect them.
personal responsibility is an endangered character trait. if i wander into the woods alone and i get in over my head and die - that's on me. it's not a books fault for not warning me, it's not an Alaska Park Ranger's fault for not stopping me, and it's not the governments fault for not putting a fence around the whole wilderness so i dont hurt myself.
this is what the world is coming to:
https://media.istockphoto.com/photos...IpMKrsa92T82c=
Sorry: Rant Over.
this is exactly why the story is beautiful. if he went in prepared and came out alive, it wouldn't be a story, and nobody would be talking about it right now. Dangerous? what are people so afraid of, we do pretty well overall with this whole surviving thing. so much fear for a species with such high rates of survival.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AngryScientist
heh?
spoiler alert: he died of starvation alone, deep in the woods. is that not a clear enough indicator that he was not prepared to "survive" this ordeal?
this mentality that everything needs a warning label annoys me. it's a watering down of common sense. adults should be aware of their surroundings and aware that actions have consequences, and that it's not everyone else's responsibility to protect them.
personal responsibility is an endangered character trait. if i wander into the woods alone and i get in over my head and die - that's on me. it's not a books fault for not warning me, it's not an Alaska Park Ranger's fault for not stopping me, and it's not the governments fault for not putting a fence around the whole wilderness so i dont hurt myself.
this is what the world is coming to:
https://media.istockphoto.com/photos...IpMKrsa92T82c=
Sorry: Rant Over.
Ah yes the old "personal responsibility" rant. I guess I'm still not old enough to fall in to this line of thinking, hopefully I never get there. And then a hot coffee warning mug to top it off, which I assume is to reference the McDonalds suit, which was actually a valid and just ruling, if you were to look in to it.....
Anyways, while I haven't read the book, it sounds like the guy died a pretty useless death, was suit brought? Did his family sue anyone? I doubt it. I don't think that saying the book should have pointed out his lack of preparation, which from other more metered responses, sounds like it actually does, is a bad thing.... I don't think anyone is blaming the government or rangers or really anyone you mention.
The fact that the book has, allegedly, encouraged people to follow suit is unfortunate, but again I don't think anyone is blaming the government, rangers etc, merely saying that the book might have done a better job warning people that the guy died from lack of prep etc... Which again from other responses may or may not be the case.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AngryScientist
heh?
spoiler alert: he died of starvation alone, deep in the woods. is that not a clear enough indicator that he was not prepared to "survive" this ordeal?
this mentality that everything needs a warning label annoys me. it's a watering down of common sense. adults should be aware of their surroundings and aware that actions have consequences, and that it's not everyone else's responsibility to protect them.
personal responsibility is an endangered character trait. if i wander into the woods alone and i get in over my head and die - that's on me. it's not a books fault for not warning me, it's not an Alaska Park Ranger's fault for not stopping me, and it's not the governments fault for not putting a fence around the whole wilderness so i dont hurt myself.
this is what the world is coming to:
https://media.istockphoto.com/photos...IpMKrsa92T82c=
Sorry: Rant Over.
Note on the hot coffee lawsuit implied above..
summary;
do a google search for some of the details about this lawsuit against McDonalds and then tell me
the lady shouldn't have gotten $10,000,000 instead of whatever the final settlement was.
It was utterly blown by a 3rd rate attorney. Initially the woman wanted an apology and for them to correct the heat setting, no $$...
and they had had hundreds of complaints cause the coffee was 40 degrees hotter than the coffee machines instructions noted.
Beyond scalding.
total McD cluster f.
and it is always cited when anyone sues about anything as proof that American sue about anything.
It is disinformation repeated over and over.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
I've read Into The Wild twice, and it absolutely discusses how unprepared he was. And interviews people who also discuss how absolutely unprepared he was. This isn't my opinion - just read the book.
I don't see how chronicling what occurred makes this an irresponsible book, anymore so than any other work of nonfiction.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
my rant had nothing to do with lawsuits. i was responding to the poster who said the book was "incredibly dangerous", and lamenting that we now think everything dangerous requires a warning.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Into the Wild was a great book, highly entertaining. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it dangerous, but I can empathize with that sentiment. While Krakauer does a good job of noting the long list of preparation failures, the overall impression the writing leaves is more celebratory of McCandless’ spirit than critical of his lack of preparation. I think celebrating his spirit is somewhat irresponsible. Outdoor recreation has exploded in the past few decades, partly because of “burnout culture” in the workplace and partly because hiking has finally become socially acceptable and not just for bearded dorks in knee high socks. And so the number of people venturing into the wilderness with no idea what they’re doing is pretty high these days, and in light of that, I would’ve preferred to see Krakauer take a more harshly critical stance in the book. Disclosure-- I work for a federal land management agency, where we are constantly trying to strike a reasonable balance between encouraging responsible exploration of public lands and reducing the number of people who needlessly put themselves in danger.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
^^^ I can get on board with this. I did find, at times, to be somewhat irritated at the angle you describe, when I felt that McCandless was irresponsible (to the point of putting others in harms way) and perhaps even psychologically impaired or even suffering from something more significant.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Walden by Thoreau was excellent.
On my nightstand, Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout II, and my wife is reading To Kill a Mockingbird which I gave her years ago. I read the first page last night and want to reread. Ms. Lee was on top of her game.
I read Into the Wild at Peace Corps training in Mauritania in 1997. I remember I was devouring it in the back seat of a Toyota Landcruiser flying across the Sahel. I finished in 1-2 days and passed it on to other volunteers. It was universally well received.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
I'm a huge fiction fan.....
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva
I'm currently slogging through Inland by Tea Obreht
But for light reading in bed before I go to sleep I've been going through some books I got for Christmas:
The Spring Classics, Goggles and Dust and Cycling's Golden Age - truly inspiring bios and photographs of some of my bicycling heroes. The Bicycle Artisans by Will Jones is fueling my desire for a custom bike. Chris Bishop.......I'm this close.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
I'm nearly through this. Definitely something different:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4,203,200_.jpg
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Full disclosure: this is a biography of my uncle. I’m a stickler for detail. This bio is both incredibly accurate and a very well crafted story. If you’re a fan of manned space flight, you will love this book.
Greg
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
low got a biography? took them long enough. kranz got all the glory because he was the one actually running around and yelling, as with many things in life...
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Fiction consumed while sitting on the beach on an island vacation -
Rules of Civility - Amor Towles - loved A Gentleman in Moscow, so thought I’d give this a try and enjoyed it a lot (but not as much as Gentleman)
News of the World - Paulette Jiles - moving story ...
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
gregl
Full disclosure: this is a biography of my uncle. I’m a stickler for detail. This bio is both incredibly accurate and a very well crafted story. If you’re a fan of manned space flight, you will love this book.
Greg
I'll have to add that to my list. After watching a documentary about mission control I picked up Failure Is Not An Option by Gene Kranz, I'm looking forward to getting to it too.
The documentary is on YouTube, highly recommend checking it out. Trailer below. Pretty sure I watched it originally on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDTSfyFTTY
I just started Dune for something different, probably read Failure Is Not An Option after that.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JJohnson
This book, while a good read, is incredibly dangerous. It's inspired many people to venture into the wilderness without any sort of training or preparations. It also lacks any discussion about how wildly unprepared McCandless was.
Abusus non tollit usum
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
In the midst of Monkey, an ancient Chinese epic. Really funny, and fun to read a non-western take on the problem of existence, the good life, etc.
Also, Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue. Not a good writer. But, great thinking about ethics for any Aristotelian.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Just finished "The Indifferent Stars Above" by Daniel James Brown about the Donner Party. I knew the tale well, but this one really gets into it.
A previous tale of survival is Nathaniel Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea". The next one on my list of his is "Valient Ambition".
Currently reading Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace". That should keep me busy till the Spring melt.
A great piece of fiction I just re-read is "The Meaning of Night: A Confession" by Michael Cox.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
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Originally Posted by
fortyfour
....A previous tale of survival is Nathaniel Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea"
Wow was that a gut-wrenching read. I'll check out the Donner Party read as well.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
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Originally Posted by
fortyfour
Tolstoy
Report back. I have never connected with the Russians but want to try again. I loved something about Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov but am maddeningly 75 pages from the end and haven't been able to pick it back up for years now. Am an American lit guy mostly but I love how others love Fyodor, Leo, etc.... And I want to love them too.
I think I was taking it too seriously, too, and missed how darkly comic it is. Anyway, earnestness is nice sometimes but if it makes you miss the joke, then, well, yeah.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
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Originally Posted by
monadnocky
Wow was that a gut-wrenching read. I'll check out the Donner Party read as well.
The Indifferent Stars Above is incredible. The detail the author goes into the mental and physical factors that go into survival, and what actually happens mentally and physically when humans are pushed to that line is pretty incredible and fair warning: Graphic. What was a bit surprising was just how quick the members in that party turned to cannibalism.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zambenini
Report back. I have never connected with the Russians but want to try again. I loved something about Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov but am maddeningly 75 pages from the end and haven't been able to pick it back up for years now. Am an American lit guy mostly but I love how others love Fyodor, Leo, etc.... And I want to love them too.
I think I was taking it too seriously, too, and missed how darkly comic it is. Anyway, earnestness is nice sometimes but if it makes you miss the joke, then, well, yeah.
If you've ever read any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories, you'll know how he quickly sets the hook and pulls you right into the story. Tolstoy does this immediately within the first two chapters I'd argue. The way he describes Pierre paints a vivid picture in your imagination.
Another is Caroline Alexander's translation of the Iliad. Now I read that one as required reading while at PSU for one of my required art history classes but that was the Lattimore translation. The Lattimore translation took every bit of at least a month to read. The Alexander translation? I blew through that one in less than a week. Comparing line for line, they read and translate essentially the same, but there's something Alexander's version of the translation does that Lattimore doesn't: The words kind of dance and sing on the page. It's quite amazing. Reading two excerpts out loud, Lattimore read kind of clunky I'd say. Her version of Achilles dressing down Agamemnon in the first chapter starting on line 149 is gold.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zambenini
Report back. I have never connected with the Russians but want to try again. I loved something about Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov but am maddeningly 75 pages from the end and haven't been able to pick it back up for years now. Am an American lit guy mostly but I love how others love Fyodor, Leo, etc.... And I want to love them too.
I think I was taking it too seriously, too, and missed how darkly comic it is. Anyway, earnestness is nice sometimes but if it makes you miss the joke, then, well, yeah.
When I get some time I can pull together a list for you. Don't let my career in tech fool you, my formal training is in Russian Literature. A good way to build up to the large works from the Golden Age is with povest (novellas) that are shorter and help develop an appreciation for the depths of the big works. Dostoevesky's Notes from Underground is a great warmup to Crime and Punishment. Some of the short stories and novellas from Pushkin, Gogol and Turgenev are also great and not typically on the Russian sampler reading list.
Also, I think 20th century Russian Lit has some of the best (and absolute worst, but that's for another day). Two of my absolute favorites are The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov and The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Matthew Strongin
When I get some time I can pull together a list for you. Don't let my career in tech fool you, my formal training is in Russian Literature. A good way to build up to the large works from the Golden Age is with povest (novellas) that are shorter and help develop an appreciation for the depths of the big works. Dostoevesky's Notes from Underground is a great warmup to Crime and Punishment. Some of the short stories and novellas from Pushkin, Gogol and Turgenev are also great and not typically on the Russian sampler reading list.
Also, I think 20th century Russian Lit has some of the best (and absolute worst, but that's for another day). Two of my absolute favorites are The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov and The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin.
LOL, I did not know that about you! I need to pull the humanities escape hatch, too, you just had the sense to do it before me. That's great ... Bulgakov and Turgenev have come up a lot in people I've read or known. I have "Fathers and Sons" on my shelf, just not gotten to it. Melville and Steinbeck type stuff are my lane, the dark, brooding, biblical American apocalyptic stuff. Bbut when I depart from them, I usually love it. Got on a big translation kick two or three years back; read a buncha stuff; Polish, Lebanese, French writers, it was fun.
Have you read Laurus by Eugene Vodalozkin? Buncha peeps I hang with raved about it. It's been on my list of Eastern writers.
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Re: Books You've Read in 2020
I want @caleb to be in this thread too. Where you at?