yea definitely gotta work my way up to that lol. English is my native language too but I'm more or less fluent in Spanish and finally at a level where I can read it without having to stop and look up so many words

good thing about Bolaño is he doesn't use very difficult vocabulary. I'm actually reading his novela Distant Star in Spanish now and enjoying it a lot

but yea 2666 in Spanish is going to be a challenge yet I figure it's best to read in the language written when possible

I respect that. i'm actually attempting to learn spanish atm as well. what resources have you used?

my best resource was moving to Argentina and marrying somebody that doesn't speak English

I think everybody learns differently but repetition is key. if I were trying to learn Spanish from scratch I'd probably find a native teacher on italki and have weekly classes while supplementing that with books, music, and movies/shows

really the best way tho is immersion. if you can travel to a Spanish speaking country and spend a few weeks in a language intensive school you'll make a lot of progress. if not, try to find Spanish speakers where you live

Aqui No Es Miami by Fernanda Melchor

A collection of true stories that took place in Veracruz, Mexico over the past 50 years. they're pretty harrowing with topics that range from murder, human trafficking, and UFO's. Melchor did a good job writing them in an interesting way with different character perspectives. I wasn't blown away, but still might check out her novel Hurricane Season.

7/10

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano

Took me like two months but I finally finished this. Very dense book about how ever since its inception, Latin America has been taken advantage of by western powers and never really allowed to develop. Interesting and important information but I didn't like the structure too much and would've preferred if Galeano went in more chronological order or by region. Also wish he touched on CIA involvement in politics but guess I'll have to read another book about that. Still, this is a must read for anybody interested in Latin American history.

8/10

Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl

Needed a light read after the Galeano book so went for this collection of short stories by Dahl. Usually known for his children's stories, Dahl also has some adult fiction that's pretty good. A few memorable stories but nothing too special.

6/10

Estrella Distante (A Distant Star) by Roberto Bolaño

Third Bolaño book I've read now and the second one in Spanish. It's a novel about a mysterious and dangerous Chilean poet during the Allende dictatorship and how he disappeared afterwards. This one didn't really click for me and finding out later it was a short story turned into a novel made a lot of sense. Great prose but the story didn't really feel fleshed out. Think the next Bolano I read will be another collection of short stories, Putas Asesinadas.

7/10

Finished this a few weeks ago and forgot to share.

9/10
It’s cold. It’s isolating. It’s real. Gass’ wonderful prose makes the banal utterly visceral. He’s turning out to be one of my favorite authors and this book of short stories did not disappoint. There’s a short story in the book that wasn’t necessarily my favorite but the others put it on its back. Gass’ characters and situations are written so well it’s hard to believe that any of these are fiction. As if he was there first hand to witness the events and write them down. Pick it up and give it a go. Highly recommend.

Finished Dante's Inferno (Hollander Translation)

Definitely held back by it's contemporary political commentary that only a scholar can appreciate. The religious stuff works because it just takes on the form of fantasy. Some excellent passages of description. The story just stalls out focusing on these historical figures I have zero interest in.

dante be like: "oh you were an enemy of mine irl? let put you in hell" 😂😂

Yeah, the general idea is funny af. Centuries later a lot of these guys are mostly only remembered through his descriptions of them suffering in hell lol

just started rereading “Imperialism by Lenin” finished it earlier this week

cool but how was
Lenin was always fascinating to me despite, let's say, not sharing those ideas of him

i enjoy it, but i can’t retain any of the information due to ‘anterograde amnesia’

Hurricane Season is hard as nails, definitely check it out!

i'm glad you digged that one, I gotta get back reading

Man, it’s crazy how much more in depth this is compared to the movie.

Great thriller though, definitely one of Highsmith’s best.

If On A Winter's Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino

was worried I wasn't going to like this one and I was right lol. just not a fan of postmodernism in literature and prefer linear stories well told instead of experimental novels that I find are usually style over substance. Italo is clearly a talented writer, and there were parts of this book I liked, but I could've just read the first chapter of 8 different books and had a similar reading experience

5/10

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

impressive collection of short stories by Salinger. really indicative of their time and post war NYC, but the characterization through dialogue was well done and the stories were engaging.

8/10

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

loved this. story of an Indigenous boy in Canada in the 60s and his tough life growing up. quick and easy read with Wagamese's simple prose but he did an excellent job making the main character empathetic and interesting. very heartfelt story without being manipulative, can tell this will stick with me for a while. one of my favorite reads of the year so I highly recommend this one and I'll definitely be checking out more from Wagamese

9/10

Just finished Never Let Me Go. I def enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away. Too much drama, but extremely interesting idea.

Big fan of nine stories, read this back in the winter of ‘17 and the vibes were 👌

Can we also post books we DNFed as long as there's an accompanying reason or if there's a plan to read them again some other time ? I know this kinda defeats the purpose of the thread and all but

of course, no strict rules in this thread

but there's a thread for unfinished books too

ktt2.com/books-you-havent-finished-32503193

I read the last page of the book and take a sip of coffee. It’s mildly warm as it’s been sitting out for 20 minutes or so. I slowly fold the book and place it on my lap. Standing on his four legs next to me on my couch is my 16 year old cat. My cat is all white, pink skin that showed on his ears and little nose and paw pads. He also had lovely pair of green eyes. His face was proportionally sized and was grooming himself as he was making conversation. He looks over and asks , “How’d you like it?” I pause. I try and collect my thoughts as there are a lot running through me.

“I don’t get it” I respond. “I use to love his writing. I use to think his writing was beautiful. But I feel lately that I’ve slowly fallen out love with his work. Like he’s trying too hard to be prophetic. It’s like he has all the ingredients but it all just comes across as super contrived” I look down at my lap and take another sip of coffee. “What I like best about his work is his surrealistic tendencies but it often gets overshadowed by the actual plot of the book. When a story is plot centric you have to follow a specific amount of rules to make sure it gets completed or at least explained to some extent. But at the same time you loose that surrealism because the author all of a sudden has to explain things to you. He has to blatantly point out details or storylines that feel like they’ve came from left field and are borderline pointless”.

“Surrealism is suppose to be illogical and abstract. So by having a plot in the first place you’re totally negating some of the pillars of surrealism and abstraction because you’ve just added logic to something that is inherently illogical”. I run out of breath. I take another sip. My cat, still grooming, is also listening and will respond with small “hmmms” and “ooo’s” as I converse.

“I guess I enjoy his philosophical takes here and there but when you have to blatantly explain the philosophy and then pat yourself on the back within the book for using that exact method or making those cultural references it just comes off as lazy and uncreative… and again, contrived…” “because at that point you’re not clever or expanding on the work that you’re referencing, you’re just copying it… adding some glitter to it and calling it a day.”

“the highlights of the book weren’t even highlights they were just shock with no value which ironically is the most surreal part of the book because I couldn’t believe the author thought it was actually good story telling to place in the story given the circumstances of where things where coming up in the book - -“

my cat cuts me off. “okay. I get it. Instead of focusing on the bad can you tell me what you liked if you liked anything?”

“Umm sure. Yeah I guess I liked the first half of the book more than the last half. I thought the story was fun and could make for an interesting adaption to tv like some mature Pixar show… my favorites characters are the B story characters. One of em talks to cats” … “that’s it” … “yeah” … “yeah?” … “Yeah”.

Light 6/10

I love Highsmith but I thought this one was just okay. Felt like a short story stretched out to the length of a novel and it loses a bit of it's tension in a way that her best books don't

Yikes I just picked up 'If on a winters night a traveller' for some holiday reading. Wanted an Italian book and it sounds like something I'd dig, hopefully I get more out of it than you did

if it sounds like something you'd dig then don't let my opinion sway you. it's highly regarded for a reason but just not the type of book I usually like. lmk what you think if you get around to it

Was this the one with the graphic animal cruelty
Yuck

I didn’t find that be a problem as most would. I read a lot of fiction and some authors have written about a bunch of f***ed up s***. But that’s fiction and I think fiction is the Avenue in order to explore those themes but my critique is just from a story perspective and a writing perspective .