So, What Are You Reading?

Whose translation?

If you feel up to reading Hamlet in English, I highly recommend it. The play's genius isn't cleanly separable from its language; even an elegant rephrase leaves one with a slightly busy revenge drama, and little more.

The translation was done by Panapo Editorial, from Venezuela. Say, I also watched the Hamlet movie with Mel Gibson translated in spanish too, and noticed many of the phrases are almost similar, so maybe my translation comes from Spain.

Who knows, I need to read the english version, of course.

Currently working my way though the sixth book in the Death Gate series. Enjoying them a lot.

Finished Oedipusthe King! It was actually pretty good, I was fascinated!

My book came with Oedipusat Colonus. Should I read it?

Absolutely! But don't expect more of the same; it's a huge tonal shift from the more famous Oedipus play. At the risk of spoilers: be prepared for fewer horrific narrative fireworks, and more dramatic explorations of how such horrors can serve the gods' ends, and can even pave the way for an incomprehensible sort of repose.

Read it. I felt terrible for poor Oedipus, and the fact his former friend and uncle wanted to take his daughters from him. I didn't feel, however, the same strenght than with Oedipus Rex. I mean, yeah, I felt catharsis, according to Aristotle, feeling bad for Oedipus at the beginning, but I felt kinda bored later. The chorus also talked too much.

I also didn't fully comprehend the whole deal with his son. Maybe I need to read that again.

edited 11th Aug '16 2:16:05 PM by Tomodachi

The business with his son is something that Athenian audiences would've known all about, but isn't clearly spelled out in the play. Long ago, Oedipus had cursed two of his sons for shows of disrespect: they'd held him a dinner featuring a table & cup that he didn't care for, and served him a sacrificial haunch, instead of the shoulder cut that Oedipus had coming. I think you'll agree, those monsters got off light.

Anyhoo, the whole subplot with Polynikes is a Shout-Out to the famous (to the original audience) story of the Seven Against Thebes, two of whom were those cursed sons. The audience is meant to realize that Oedipus at Colonus takes place virtually on the eve of that battle.

Brave New World. I first hear an audiobook some months ago, now i'm reading the novel. I like the narration in episode two, it actually sorta confused me and scared me! (the point, I guess)

edited 14th Aug '16 4:57:11 PM by Tomodachi

I'm starting to read The Fault In Our Stars. Now my friends, I have to ask you: I imagine The World State from Brave New World looks like Rapture from Bioshock, except not under water and not as insane. Is my view incorrect? How did you saw The World State?

I finished What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson. I thought it was pretty good. I hope to see the movie soon.

I wonder a lot if the Mustapha Mond has a point. Most people are happy, or content at least, and if creativity is stifled there's always the islands as an outlet.

That's the terror about The World State. Is a good place to live. Unlike Oceania, this fear is more psychological rather than fear based.

At the end, we would enjoy living in a place like that, however, we have to say goodbye to things that make us humans. Arts, poetry, different thoughts. Imagine if the videogames were all the same there! It would be horrible.

And for the creative and intelligent few there are the islands. In real life most people are not only sheep they want to be sheep. The World State just optimizes this. I know I'd be a lot happier if I was less intelligent and perceptive.

Anyway, back to the main subject. Currently reading:

The Brothers Cabal by Jonathon L. Howard, another in the Johannes Cabal series, about a cynical and obsessive necromancer and, in this book, his far less amoral vampire brother.

The Summer Tree, first book in Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionvar Tappestry

Shipstar, second half of Gregory Benford and Larry Niven's Bowl of Heaven duology

Red Seas Under Red Skies, second book in Scott Lynch's ''Gentlemen Bastards series.

edited 24th Aug '16 7:39:50 AM by tricksterson

I was just talking about the Cabal books in the Recommendation Thread.

Brothers Cabal is good though not my favorite. I recently read several of the Cabal short stories-"House of Gears" is really good, and Ouroboros Ouzo gives us (among other things) Cabal in a panama hat and white clothes(!).

I was a little embarrassed to find out the fifth novel is due out as soon as next month.

The miserables and Sandman, volume 6. Poor, poor, poor Fantine!

My translation of The Miserables is kinda, you know, it sucks, so I decided to read other book while slowly reading Victor Hugo story.

The book is Voces Nuevas, an anthology from my country, with a bunch of local authors. So far, the stories are:

• Flores y Arsenico: A guy with tourette syndrome Dies. This one sucks balls, and I mean, really sucks.

• I could feel a bit of annoyance: A scientist of the future manage to capture the devil trying to capture Death, and she is talking with him. I like this story, is insane, and it reminds me of the first chapter of Sandman.

• Rasputin in Caracas: A man who uses herbs manage to cure the president son out of his disease, and the president make the man, "The red Rasputin", the new director of a university. Considering all the nepotism cases in my country, this story rings closer to home. Is also appears to be based on a real person, which make it kinda sadder.

• Liberation: A man reflects on his life. A sad play.

Short plays are more enjoyable than the Miserables. I said it!

I finished The Gods Themselves. I found the final part to be anticlimactic, but I really enjoyed the book.

This morning I finished The Handmaid's Tale, after work I'll start on Nineteen Eighty Four, two I feel like I should have read a long time ago.

I finally got around to reading my Copy of The Bridge by Iain Banks. Following on from Consider Phlebas it's something of a shift in tone (often shifting between chapters). While I have a pretty good idea of what's going on at the same time I have next to no idea what's going on.

It's rather bracing.

PS: Consider Phlebas was a Goddamn punch in the gut and all.

"PS: Consider Phlebas was a Goddamn punch in the gut and all."

Just wait until you get to Use of Weapons.

That's the one I read first! Years ago, mind. Then I read it again and actually understood it. Yeesh.

Less a punch in the gut more someone running up behind you and cracking you over the head with a bat. Skaffen Amitskaw remains my favourite drone name, if only because it kinda sticks in the mind. Also knife missiles. But yes.

Iain Banks: dispenser of gut punches.

For sure, he doesn't hold back. I've read all of his science fiction now, will start on his mainstream novels at some point.

I lent my mother the Wasp Factory. It may turn out not to be her sort of thing, but I have no-one else to talk to about it so it's worth a shot.

Bram Stoker: Dracula. Or rather was. Now I'm considering dropping it.

I rather liked the intro section (the poor trapped Jonathan Harker was proper horror), and the arrival and the tale of the ship to was thrilling enough, but now I have arrived to Ch. 8 and and have lost of my interest. Actually, I got to chapter 8 about a week ago, but can't just bring myself to open the book and finish it, despite the numerous opportunities to do so.

Last time I tried I just ended up reading some of the critical / historical context essays from the back of the book instead (I have the Norton critical edition), but I didn't find the convoluted arguments about pre-Oidipal complexes, or how the novel's popular because it's hostile towards female sexuality, exactly interesting either.

I'm not too much of a gothic horror or vampires fan, but this is a classic of the genre, which sparked some interest when I saw it in the library. But in the end: meh.

Ugh, Dracula is a boring mess of a book for me. I read it years ago, and I can't bear to remember anything about it. I don't even like vampires.

Frankenstein, that's the guy I could read again.