I've always been curious about The Moon is down. It is one of those war time odd balls that many writers in a war produce which seems an outlier in their work, but says so much about the times. I've been wanting to reread Bartlby for the last few years. I think it's time to take it off the shelf finally.
Read:
* Forbidden Hollywood - Mark Vieira (I'm here for the Film Noir content after all)
I wouldn't start with One Man's Initiation. It is an early work and not really representative of his best known work. It's a short novel. ~80 pages in the Library of America edition, but it's a mix of dreamy impressions of France, short conversations, and descriptions of the horrors of the war. It has it's merits and the way he juxtaposes comedy and war can be effective.
I also just finished Three Soldiers, his WWI novel. Although, to call it a WWI novel is at times a bit of a strech. It's not representative of his work either, and certainly not the best of the American WWI novels (A farewell to Arms and Through the Wheat are the best I've read so far). It is certainly a love letter to Paris.
I'm starting Manhattan Transfer, the last of the novels in my LOA eddition. It should be more representative. But USA is really the one. It is much more daring and different than these works.
The Tokarczuk sounds like my kind of thing- I'll definitely check it out! Another novel of hers- The Books of Jacob- has tempted me a few times at the local bookstore, but at nearly 1000 pages, it seemed like too much commitment for my first try of an author. The Empusium looks like a more manageable length.
My January book was Navalny's memoir. Highly recommended- Not only is his story fascinating and inspiring, he's just a very good and engaging writer, whether telling his life story, or writing his prison diary, which makes up the second half of the book.
I also gave Murakami a shot earlier in January. Any opinions on him? I heard Norwegian Wood was a good one to start with, but I became increasingly aggravated with it, mostly because it seemed like so much telling and so little showing, and I put it down halfway through to start in on the Navalny book. Now I can't bring myself to pick it up again. I'm reading now that Norwegian Wood actually isn't a good example of his style, and people just say to start with that one because it's less fantastical, and thus I guess more accessible, than his other works. I may give another one of his books a shot.
Hey there - Always great to hear from you! (I still have Laurus on my list - I haven't forgotten about it!) The Empusium is a fairly quick read. Her characters are wonderful, and the tone is perfect. I'll be eager to hear your thoughts.
I just placed a hold on the Navalny audiobook - A 10-week wait! Must be good!
I'm also on hold for the new Murakami. I've only read two: Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. I enjoyed them as I was reading, but can't remember much about them, so they didn't stick. We'll see about the new one.
I should dig into the 87th Precinct series one of these days. Besides High and Low, I watched Without Apparent Motive which was a fun French interpretation of McBain's books with a solid Trintignant performance.
Pretty light on books this month - "The Burglar" by David Goodis and "The Big Fix" by Roger L. Simon. Definitely need to rewatch the film version of Big Fix
Lots of comics and zines, though:
"The City" by Stephen Crowe and Melanie Amaral (all four issues)
"In the Garden of Earthly Delights" by Rich Tommaso
"Skree - The Noir Issue"
"Negative Eye" issue #1
"The Physical Media Advocate" issue #15
"Misfit Cinema Journal" issue #1
"Sawfish or Sawshark" by catsn0t
"Houses of the Unholy" Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Thanks, Matt - I'll check out Without Apparent Motive. I'm also a fan of The Big Fix movie. (Haven't yet tried the novel.) Glad to see you're reading Goodis. I'm working through his novels myself. Thanks for the comic recommendations. I read a ton of comics about 10 years ago and got a bit burned out, but the ones you mentioned look intriguing. Thanks again!
Derek, always great to hear from you! So glad you enjoyed Dylan Goes Electric also! I need to reread that Hemingway sometime... Interested in the Roosevelt book as well. Take care!
I decided to shop my bookshelf and found The Score by Robert Park/Donald Westlake in a Library of America volume on crime novels. Now I'm hooked!
So glad to hear it! I envy you reading these for the first time. Enjoy!
Argh—Richard Stark. I blame autocorrect.
I've always been curious about The Moon is down. It is one of those war time odd balls that many writers in a war produce which seems an outlier in their work, but says so much about the times. I've been wanting to reread Bartlby for the last few years. I think it's time to take it off the shelf finally.
Read:
* Forbidden Hollywood - Mark Vieira (I'm here for the Film Noir content after all)
* Aftermath - Farley Mowat
* Back to the Local - Maurice Garham
* One Man's Initiation - John Dos Passos
Thanks, Paul - For the first several pages I was afraid The Moon is Down would be too on-the-nose, but was pleasantly surprised.
Back to the Local sounds fun. I'll seek it out.
I've been meaning to read Dos Passos. Is One Man's Initiation a good starting point?
I wouldn't start with One Man's Initiation. It is an early work and not really representative of his best known work. It's a short novel. ~80 pages in the Library of America edition, but it's a mix of dreamy impressions of France, short conversations, and descriptions of the horrors of the war. It has it's merits and the way he juxtaposes comedy and war can be effective.
I also just finished Three Soldiers, his WWI novel. Although, to call it a WWI novel is at times a bit of a strech. It's not representative of his work either, and certainly not the best of the American WWI novels (A farewell to Arms and Through the Wheat are the best I've read so far). It is certainly a love letter to Paris.
I'm starting Manhattan Transfer, the last of the novels in my LOA eddition. It should be more representative. But USA is really the one. It is much more daring and different than these works.
This is helpful - Many thanks!
The Tokarczuk sounds like my kind of thing- I'll definitely check it out! Another novel of hers- The Books of Jacob- has tempted me a few times at the local bookstore, but at nearly 1000 pages, it seemed like too much commitment for my first try of an author. The Empusium looks like a more manageable length.
My January book was Navalny's memoir. Highly recommended- Not only is his story fascinating and inspiring, he's just a very good and engaging writer, whether telling his life story, or writing his prison diary, which makes up the second half of the book.
I also gave Murakami a shot earlier in January. Any opinions on him? I heard Norwegian Wood was a good one to start with, but I became increasingly aggravated with it, mostly because it seemed like so much telling and so little showing, and I put it down halfway through to start in on the Navalny book. Now I can't bring myself to pick it up again. I'm reading now that Norwegian Wood actually isn't a good example of his style, and people just say to start with that one because it's less fantastical, and thus I guess more accessible, than his other works. I may give another one of his books a shot.
Hey there - Always great to hear from you! (I still have Laurus on my list - I haven't forgotten about it!) The Empusium is a fairly quick read. Her characters are wonderful, and the tone is perfect. I'll be eager to hear your thoughts.
I just placed a hold on the Navalny audiobook - A 10-week wait! Must be good!
I'm also on hold for the new Murakami. I've only read two: Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. I enjoyed them as I was reading, but can't remember much about them, so they didn't stick. We'll see about the new one.
Hope all is well with you!
I should dig into the 87th Precinct series one of these days. Besides High and Low, I watched Without Apparent Motive which was a fun French interpretation of McBain's books with a solid Trintignant performance.
Pretty light on books this month - "The Burglar" by David Goodis and "The Big Fix" by Roger L. Simon. Definitely need to rewatch the film version of Big Fix
Lots of comics and zines, though:
"The City" by Stephen Crowe and Melanie Amaral (all four issues)
"In the Garden of Earthly Delights" by Rich Tommaso
"Skree - The Noir Issue"
"Negative Eye" issue #1
"The Physical Media Advocate" issue #15
"Misfit Cinema Journal" issue #1
"Sawfish or Sawshark" by catsn0t
"Houses of the Unholy" Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Thanks, Matt - I'll check out Without Apparent Motive. I'm also a fan of The Big Fix movie. (Haven't yet tried the novel.) Glad to see you're reading Goodis. I'm working through his novels myself. Thanks for the comic recommendations. I read a ton of comics about 10 years ago and got a bit burned out, but the ones you mentioned look intriguing. Thanks again!
"Ghostroots" look good, I will have to read that. "Dylan Goes Electric" was indeed awesome -- remember citing that in a history class once.
My reads for Jan 2025:
Fiction:
"For Whom The Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway
"Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain
Non-fiction:
"The Power of Character Strengths: Appreciate and Ignite Your Positive Personality" by Ryan M. Niemiec
"We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter" by Celeste Headlee
"The Strenuous Life" by Theodore Roosevelt
Derek, always great to hear from you! So glad you enjoyed Dylan Goes Electric also! I need to reread that Hemingway sometime... Interested in the Roosevelt book as well. Take care!