Litterater Thread

[Runnin]

Finally got around to this book, considered one of the finest pieces of journalism of the 20th century and not at all what I was expecting. It's the story of 6 survivors of the Hiroshima bomb, one a German priest, what they saw and experienced first hand and what happened to them in the subsequent days, weeks, months and years. Could not put it down. I loved the style, plain without any comment by the author, other than translating their stories into English. The work was quite a feat too. He got the assignment in May 1946 and it ran full length in the August 31 issue of The New Yorker the same year for the 1 year anniversary of the bomb. 3 months to fly over, find and interview the survivors and write the piece. That's a pro. I guess that's why he won a Pulitzer Prize.

 

[jpx7]

Finally got around to this book, considered one of the finest pieces of journalism of the 20th century and not at all what I was expecting. It's the story of 6 survivors of the Hiroshima bomb, one a German priest, what they saw and experienced first hand and what happened to them in the subsequent days, weeks, months and years. Could not put it down. I loved the style, plain without any comment by the author, other than translating their stories into English. The work was quite a feat too. He got the assignment in May 1946 and it ran full length in the August 31 issue of The New Yorker the same year for the 1 year anniversary of the bomb. 3 months to fly over, find and interview the survivors and write the piece. That's a pro. I guess that's why he won a Pulitzer Prize.

Assigned it freshmen-year of high-school; loved it anyways. I also recommend Kobe Abe's 'The Face of Another'.

 

[Runnin]

Assigned it freshmen-year of high-school; loved it anyways. I also recommend Kobo Abe's 'The Face of Another'.

Fixed it.

 

[jpx7]

Fixed it.

Thanks. Auto-correct only knows "Kobe".

 

[Runnin]

It's amazing how a writer today can uncover so much interesting and relevant historical information. Can't wait to get into The Mother Tongue.

 

[jpx7]

Picked up this gem for $2 at used bookstore in downtown Flagstaff. Been meaning to read some Zane Grey for a few months now.

 

[Runnin]

Loved this except for the meta ending, which I've read 3 times and still confused.

 

[Runnin]

Awesome story about arguably the best athlete ever. Imagine if Michael Jordon had won a half doz Olympic medals in track and field, then become a basketball player, then retired and become the best golfer in the world. That would make his career comparable to Babe Didrikson's. Anyway, great read.

 

[Runnin]

LOL

 

[Tapate50]

Just finished The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy. Flew threw the last half of that book like a hot knife through butter. Heavy subject matter and theme, but very good.

 

[jpx7]

Recents:



Absolutely incredible; lyrical to the point of poetry, poignant use of historicity, and a real cathectic sledge-hammer. A masterpiece—definitely the best work I've read since last June, when I flew through Coetzee's Foe.



Solid Chandler—so several notches above most noir fiction—but while there's some solid psychological meat there, neither the mood nor the prose nor the stakes ever reach the heights of, say, Farewell, My Lovely.

Currents:

 

[jpx7]

Both Winesburg, Ohio and The Men were superb.

The latter certainly won't be for everyone, and I'm still unpacking what is a very dense lyrical work, despite its svelte spine; but it's a pretty engaging interrogation, founded in simple, earthy rhythms, of the author's relationship to the world of men, with all the valences that has.

The former really should be for everyone. Equal parts strikingly modern, strikingly spare, and just striking, Winesburg—in a way very reminiscent of Guy de Maupassant's short-story work—presents a key antecedent to subsequent, more formally-daring pieces of modernist fiction. But there's a limpid, blithe simplicity to Anderson's prose: his exquisitely-honed rural imagery, and his austere, ripe rhythms (similar to Robertson's The Men, oddly enough) function, by undercutting, to beautifully problematize the somewhat cynical, apastoral schematic of his characters' inner lives. The effect—the culmination of a very slow-build—is a pretty wonderful cosmic thesis to cap Winesburg's sneaky Bildungsroman.

Currents:

 

[Runnin]

Since the election keeping my mind busy with thrillers. Gonna try and make it through the complete Jack Reacher chronicles. Hopefully I'll miss the inauguration.

 

[TURBO]

Been doing a ton of reading lately. Finished Ready Player One. Really enjoyed. Was fun. loved all the old gaming references. Also finished the Kingfountain Series. Didnt want to start it, but girlfriend asked me too so she could talk about it with me. Turned out to be decent. Easy reads but fun.

Just started The Blade Itself which is the first book in the First Law series written by Joe Abercrombie. Started a little slow but picking up. Some dark stuff in it with the tortue stuff.

 

[Hawk]

 

[jpx7]

Recently finished:

Recently started:

Looking ahead to:

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I suppose I should also soon hunt out a copy of The Big Sort so I can get [MENTION=54]50PoundHead[/MENTION] off my back.

 

[Julio3000]

Recently finished:

Recently started:

Looking ahead to:

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I suppose I should also soon hunt out a copy of The Big Sort so I can get [MENTION=54]50PoundHead[/MENTION] off my back.

My reading time is pretty severely curtailed, but I have read Winterson's Stone Gods and am decidedly a fan.

On an unrelated bibliophile note, my uncle had a 1st edition of Hemingway's collected stories that was inscribed by the author to Roald Dahl and occasionally annotated in similar fashion. He lent it to me when I was a wee one and I was almost afraid to crack it.

 

[jpx7]

My reading time is pretty severely curtailed, but I have read Winterson's Stone Gods and am decidedly a fan.

On an unrelated bibliophile note, my uncle had a 1st edition of Hemingway's collected stories that was inscribed by the author to Roald Dahl and occasionally annotated in similar fashion. He lent it to me when I was a wee one and I was almost afraid to crack it.

I've become a pretty huge fan of Winterson over the past year.

 

[Runnin]

Best maritime writing I've come across since Conrad. I must read more of Mr. Larson.

 

[Hawk]

Best maritime writing I've come across since Conrad. I must read more of Mr. Larsen.

He never fails. In the Garden of Beasts is also exceptional.

Also recommend The Devil in the White City ... apparently it's Scorsese's next film (with DiCaprio).