What Book Are You Currently Reading? (2.0.)

[diptheriadan]

Collapse by Jared Diamond

[diptheriadan]

Collapse by Jared Diamond

I finished reading it about three days ago. Whoa, what a doozy of a book! It alternated between being enthralling and utterly boring depending on the chapter. Still, it was pretty informative. The Further Readings section at the end is also a treasure trove of information.

Currently reading: Four Months Afoot in Spain by Harry A. Franck (1911).

I expect this to go by much quicker than Collapse. It is consistently entertaining and about only about 300 pages.

EDIT: Everytime he mentions only paying one peseta for a meal or room, I cry. If only it were like that now. To put this into perspective, here's what he says after buying a long-distance train ticket good for two thousand kilometers:

The costs thereof -- besides the infelicity of sitting to a photographer in a sadly mosquito-bitten condition -- covering transportation, government tax on the same, printing and the tax therefor, the photograph and the tax for that privilege, and the government stamp attesting that the government was satisfied it could tax no more, footed up to seventy-three pesetas, or concisely, thirteen dollars and thirty cents. p.115-116

EDIT2: The Spaniards of yore really loved their dog/puppy idioms(?).

[diptheriadan]

Done reading Four Months Afoot in Spain. I will definitely try to read some of Franck's other books. Looking back immediately after reading, not a whole lot happened, basically just a dude's account of travelling Spain for four months, and most of the books consists of doing the four things most commonly done while traveling: obtaining shelter, food, transportation; and interacting with the locals. Franck's writing style really makes the book. Wikipedia describes it pretty well "plain, somewhat sardonic" and "undiscriminatingly humane, unpretentious, and courteous, if informal".

Because of the fact that his observations are so important in the book, one does have to wonder if he's biased. Frequently in the book he assigns certain values to the cultures he meets (ex. Andalusians being happy-go-lucky party people whereas Asturians and Galicians being hard-nosed, introverted mountain folk). Since i've not been to Spain, I can't really confirm any of this, but these sorts of generalizations are usually wrong. He also writes very negatively about the clergy, mainly blaming them for Spain's plight. Since i'm not well-read on Spanish history in the early 20th century, I can't really confirm this either. I would imagine that for those that are, this book would be a real treat for them to dissect.

Here's the link for the book on the Internet Archive.

[diptheriadan]

Now onto Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Hopefully my brain doesn't short-circuit trying to read Scots.

[diptheriadan]

Now onto Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Hopefully my brain doesn't short-circuit trying to read Scots.

Done. The Scots was easier as time passed, and the use of dialect was actually rather useful for identifying characters if it wasn't explicitly said (and there are more than a few occasions where it isn't).

I don't want to spoil too much of the book, but the drug addiction aspect of it is really secondary. If it is anything, its a set of tales about a f**ked up circle of friends in Leith, and it's quite enlightening in regards to how people like them think. It's quite a bit to chew on, and I'm gonna go do so for a few days.

Here's the link for the book on Internet Archive.

[diptheriadan]

Now to work my way through the ~8 unread books I have sitting on my bookshelf. Think I'm gonna do The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris.

EDIT: Actually, nope. I think I'm just gonna read a few more of Welsh's works. Teddy can wait.

[diptheriadan]

I'm finishing up Welsh's Glue. Good sh!t man. Good sh!t.

EDIT: Finished. I read this on the Internet Archive, but I think i'm gonna stop here. My poor eyes can't take it no more. So, Teddy's turn is up.

EDIT 2: Nope. Gonna be listening to Audible's free audiobooks for the next few months. Now reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

[diptheriadan]

Hey, Audible's got a bunch of audiobooks free for the pandemic.

[diptheriadan]

Finished Wuthering Heights. Fantastic novel. A part of me really hopes that some screenwriter here in the states will adapt it for the screen.

A note to any prospective reader: Don't let yourself get bogged down in its lack of realism; its necessary for the story for it to be like that. This is one of those novels that you have to let yourself be sucked into. I would advise memorizing the family tree though, just to remove any confusion. Several names are recycled.

Now reading C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters.

EDIT: And by 'lack of realism', I mean that the world that exists in Wuthering Heights is almost completely different from our own. Normal people in our world do not behave like normal people in this novel. Relationships rarely work like they do in this novel. All of this helps create a general sort of mood in the novel, which is pretty similar with most Gothic Fiction.

[diptheriadan]

Finishing up White Fang and I swear to god this is the cutest sh!t i've ever read.

[diptheriadan]

Just pulled in quite a haul from McKay's in Nashville. Cataloging here for ease later:

1. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
2. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
3. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
4. Windhaven by George R. R. Martin
5. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
6. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
7. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
8. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
9. "Co. Aytch" by Sam Watkins
10. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson
11. For Cause and Comrades by James McPherson
12. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
13. The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin
14. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
15. The Martian by Andy Weir
16. Polk by Walter R. Borneman
17. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
18. The Era of Reconstruction by Kenneth M. Stampp
19. The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward
20. The Cultural Life of the American Colonies by Louis B. Wright
21. The City in American Life by A bunch of people
22. Philomena by Martin Sixsmith
23. Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff (still in plastic for a buck)
24. Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders
25. 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
26. Citadel to City-State by Carrol G. Thomas and Craig Conant
27. In Search of the Trojan War by Michael Wood
28. The Prize by Daniel Yergin
29. The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley
30. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
31. Truman by David McCullough
32. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
33. I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt
34. History of Ireland by Malachy McCourt (planning on giving this one as a gift)
35. All The President's Men by you know who
36. The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

All in worn by overal decent condition and for the relativly low price of 122$.

[diptheriadan]

Just pulled in quite a haul from McKay's in Nashville. Cataloging here for ease later:

1. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
2. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
3. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
4. Windhaven by George R. R. Martin
5. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
6. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
7. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
8. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
9. "Co. Aytch" by Sam Watkins
10. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson
11. For Cause and Comrades by James McPherson
12. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
13. The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin
14. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
15. The Martian by Andy Weir
16. Polk by Walter R. Borneman
17. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
18. The Era of Reconstruction by Kenneth M. Stampp
19. The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward
20. The Cultural Life of the American Colonies by Louis B. Wright
21. The City in American Life by A bunch of people
22. Philomena by Martin Sixsmith
23. Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff (still in plastic for a buck)
24. Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders
25. 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
26. Citadel to City-State by Carrol G. Thomas and Craig Conant
27. In Search of the Trojan War by Michael Wood
28. The Prize by Daniel Yergin
29. The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley
30. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
31. Truman by David McCullough
32. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
33. I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt
34. History of Ireland by Malachy McCourt (planning on giving this one as a gift)
35. All The President's Men by you know who
36. The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

All in worn by overal decent condition and for the relativly low price of 122$.

I see you are like me in doing massive book hauls

I didn't mean to, but when I saw The Prize at only 1.50$ I just sorta blacked out and then suddenly my cart was full.

[diptheriadan]

Finished Blood Meridian about a week ago. Now that was some sh**t.