What are you reading now? What did you just finish?
Currently Reading:
Recently finished reading:
Recently finished for courses:
Your turn.
Currently Reading:
- Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson I've been hearing praise for it for a while and I finally took the plunge. Brilliant! I'm loving every page of it so far. Strange how it doesn't take itself seriously and pokes fun at itself and cyberpunk concepts and corporate commercialization in general (the main character's called Hiro Protagonist for instance), yet it still deals with more profound subjects like Mesopotamian and Sumerian language and religion, the tower of Babel, comparisons of religion to computer viruses etc. Anyone read any of his other works? Care to recommend where to continue?
- H.M.S. Surprise, Patrick O'Brian What can I say? More Aubrey and Maturin, and it's good to know that there are still 17 books left in the series after this one. Highly recommended for anyone who has an interest in naval warfare in the Napoleonic era, those familiar with the Master and Commander film last year, or for those who've enjoyed C.S. Forester's Hornblower series. I like the naturalistic approach to storytelling. All the characters are fallible, there isn't any definite antagonist, and there's an immense attention to detail while still explaining enough for those who can't tell your fore topsails from your main staysails.
- Air America ["From WWII to Vietnam, the explosive true story of the CIA's secret airline"], Christopher Robbins Pretty good, as far as non-fiction historical aviation accounts go. Not just amusing anecdotes, though there are numerous good ones like a pilot who always wanted to fly in his sandals, or took out colouring books and crayons and started colouring with the radio-operator while under Chicom anti-aircraft fire in order to intimidate the new co-pilot.
Recently finished reading:
- Patrick O'Brian, Post Captain More Patrick O'Brian. Wheee!
Recently finished for courses:
- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen Actually very enjoyable. Superb characters and very well written dialogue.
- Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad Very hard to read initially, until I got the hang of it. It can be read in many ways, as a historical account of the effects European Imperialism in Africa during the previous turn of the century, or a journey to within the darkest places of the human mind where there is no restraint or inhibition, or as a straight exotic adventure account. A classic that I won't mind putting in plain vision on the shelf
- The Awakening, Kate Chopin Hmh. Not really to my taste. 19th century New Orleans, of how a woman awakens to her freedom, pursues several extra-marital affairs, discovers her own sensuality etc. While I understand its significance, and it is well written, I couldn't really identify with the character and her predictably inevitable decision to commit suicide.
- Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys Better. Ties in with Jane Eyre. It's more or less an account of a the mad wife of Rochester, Bertha, and how she became what she did. Still depressing, but it isn't afraid of tackling a lot of subjects since the main character does take a fair amount of suffering throughout the novel. Interesting dilemma with what happened to former slave-owners in post-emancipation Jamaica too. Doubt I would really have read it if it wasn't part of the course though, but it's always healthy to occasionally do something you don't like.
Your turn.
If it breaks, you get to keep both pieces.