You can learn a lot about human psychology from this book

Heat 2 by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner

4.5/5

this is how you do a sequel (and prequel) with fast-paced, tight dialogue and an even seedier and grimier main villain in Otis Wardell, the book is just as alive and breathing as its’ predecessor and makes you feel like you popped a couple addys and snorted a line of coke. f***ing loved it, even though it slightly dragged in the middle.

4/5

A story about 3 black brothers living in the rural south during the 1920's who head north during The Great Migration only to endure a new type of struggle and brutality. I'm not sure how known William Attaway is among black authors but he digs deep not only into racism but hard labor, loneliness and masculinity with an authenticity of someone who's lived it. Being published in the 40's its certainly not hard to believe. The descriptions of The Steel Mill feel surreal, something its laborers had to survive.

I would recommend this for fans of the black filmmaker Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep), Delta Blues music, and Ralph Ellison.

Couple books from me since my last check-in — will post my reviews later tonight

This book was great

just started the audiobook today my first nonfiction title as a grown ass man

Lol this was the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Have to drive a lot these days and audiobooks by far the best way to get through those. Plus it’s so incredibly easy to get free audiobooks on audible.

Book is very enjoyable, post your thoughts when you finish

i barely started it but so far i'm really enjoying it. the seeds of the megalomaniac have been planted

i will lyk my thoughts twin

Anyone in here read any Nabokov? I was thinking about reading pale fire, but that s*** sounds hella complex. So might want to start reading his autobiography 🤔

Had difficulty with following Pale Fire last year but it was worth the trip

Decided to read Lolita first and if I like it delve into Pale Fire afterwards

Reading buddy of mine checked out Pale Fire. She said it was a difficult read but it clicked for her as it went on. If I'm gonna tackle Nabokov, I'll probably start with Lolita and work my way through his other novels

Interested in this. Does it find a way to hope? Read Invisible Man a few times and just read Beale Street. Been looking for something that ends differently.

About as much hope as the 1920’s had for black people if that answers your question

Lolita is a must read everyone should have in their repertoire — just simply because of the prose. Nabokov is a master at writing about something so twisted in such a compelling manner.

Pale Fire definitely requires a lot more brainpower but it follows similar themes of masterful writing with an unreliable narrator.

Couple for Feb/March. Back again in a month or two.

Never Let Me Go (2005) — Kazuo Ishiguro

After being absolutely enamoured with Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day, I thought I’d try another novel of his.

Structurally, the novel is very similar to the aforementioned. Kathy, the protagonist is now in her 30s and unreliably narrates her formative years of school and college in an attempt to come to terms with the inevitability of her life — the major point of which is revealed about 40% of the way through. She, and her friends, are clones created for human organ harvesting

This was the same time I realised it was actually science fiction. Now, I’m not really a sci-fi fan in the slightest and felt some reversion to these aspects, though I do think Ishiguro does well in navigating the sci-fi as supplemental to the main themes that pervade the novel.

There is no real shock because the main plot point is revealed so early; therefore the novel is more there for you to acknowledge the harrowing realisation of the terrible position Kathy finds herself in, and draw the parallel between her passive acceptance to her fate, and the very same indifference we show in real life to such atrocities.

Despite the above, I feel that the writing, the plot, and the impact of this novel was good, but strongly pales in contrast to RotD.

It’s almost a novel you read for significance, not necessarily pleasure.

3/5

————

The Wall (1939) – Jean Paul Sartre

Read for the existential philosophy, enamoured by the prose. The short story takes place in one full night of prison captivity and during this time the protagonist Pablo begins feeling patriotic in his cause, before oscillating between disgust in some of the other prisoners and sympathy to the others, and then ultimately falling to the indifference of how benign his existence is – only for the novel to culminate with a sick twist, ending the story with Pablo being able to do nothing but laugh.

The way he describes the sheer indifference of Pablo’s existence once he discovers that he will be sentenced to die is just phenomenal. The complete shutdown of the physical and the metaphysical is fantastic.

4/5

I read The Defense (also called The Luzhin Defense) and absolutely loved it. It's a psychological story about a chess savant who becomes so engrossed in the game he loses his mind. The writing was gorgeous. For me it was a good Nabokov jumping off point because it doesn't have the metafictional weight of Pale Fire and doesn't have the weird cultural baggage of Lolita

I’m about 15% into Lolita and I really dig it til now, it kind of reads like a proto-American Psycho in a way. It’s got the same humour. The premise of The Defense sounds great tho, might check that out before Pale Fire after I finish Lolita.

Finally get to come back ITT, feels good

What a misanthropic, lopsided and disjointed little thing this was! Took me forever to get through it, but the book has great merit still. It’s fitfully hilarious, sometimes deeply unfunny, though in a way that feels authentic to the 60s/70s. Probably the most Carroll-esque of the D*** books I’ve read so far, he really delights in flipping and twisting his words around here. Lots of semi-prophetic sentiments, some lovely turns of phrase, a dozen great futuristic objects or concepts, and some truly depressing observations on a life of addiction that felt right even when they don’t stand up to reason.

And yet I can’t see how this book is considered a masterpeice among those who don’t have a semi-working knowledge of the dude’s personal life (he lived his raps, for sure). And even then, I’m unsure if it’s a great -or even good? - work of literature. This one does not so continuously pull the rug out from under you like Ubik, its rhythm of twists and turns is irregular by comparison. But he’s really putting so much of himself on the page, warts and all. The only fiction of his that seems more personal than this one is Valis

I found myself wondering if PKD “got it” in general, which we ask of most public creatives – are they in on the joke, do they recognize the forces powering the ideas we see in their art? Do they interrogate their own premises? Mostly, I would say with regard to Darkly, he did; especially in copping to the fact that the last person to understand what something means is often the one who said it. A sentiment in accordance with the roundabout logic of the novel

Amuleto by Roberto Bolaño

saw this recommended in here and definitely wanted to add it to the list of Bolaño books I've read. almost seemed like a short spinoff of The Savage Detectives in a way. there were some engaging parts but I didn't really find the main character or plot interesting enough for this to resonate with me. gotta say of all the Bolaño I've read, The Savage Detectives is still his magnum opus imo and I do enjoy his short stories a lot too

7/10

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

sequel to his hit debut novel There There but I felt like this struggled to capture the same magic. maybe I would've enjoyed it more if I read it right after There There. this novel takes a look at ptsd, depression, and addiction with Native American identity issues going on in the background. moving at times but didn't feel as fleshed out as it could've been

7/10

There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib

might've gotten my hopes up too high for this one. as always, Abdurraqib is a talented, lyrical writer, but this book of essays seemed more like a memoir than I would've liked. was hoping it would speak to the universal love of the game of basketball, and it definitely did to an extent, but this was so centered on Ohio that I found it difficult to relate to. still a writer I will always check out, but this just wasn't what I wanted it to be and that's ok

8/10

I left it at 35%, but I agree with most of what you're saying. It's really weirdly disjointed sometimes. Meant to go back to it but idk lol

im currently small pacing Mrs Dalloway

this was such a fun read. once it hits the second act, I could not put this thing down. highly recommend and can't wait for the show

Anyone read the new book by Labatut on Von Neumann?