What are you currently reading?
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sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 11, 2025 02:14 PM)
The Stalin book looks interesting. On a similar note, I read this one relatively recently (back to back with Obama's memoir, in fact lol):
I need to read Dostoevsky and more Russian literature in general at some point. I hear that
The Brothers Karamazov
is his true masterpiece, so I might start there.
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Sofie, RAF — 9 months ago(June 11, 2025 02:21 PM)
yes, The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoevsky's magnum opus and the very last novel that he wrote. it's also his longest. so, maybe a better way getting into him would be something else, maybe? for many the gateway novel into Dostoevsky is
Crime and Punishment
or even
Notes from Underground
, but yeah, if you feel like you wanna start right away with
the
masterpiece and milestone of Russian literature where Dostoevsky wrapped up his entire body of work, then Karamazov it is, i guess. -
sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 11, 2025 02:28 PM)
Yeah, I've heard a lot about
Notes from the Underground
too and it apparently served as an inspiration for some other cool things I like. So that may be a good suggestion. My entire knowledge of 19th century Russian literature is limited to Kropotkin and some of Tolstoy's later theological works
But Bulgakov's
The Master and Margarita
is in my all-time top ten, so I'm sure I'll be into that stuff when I finally get around to it.
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Sofie, RAF — 9 months ago(June 11, 2025 02:35 PM)
Russian literature is my fav, honestly and i've made it my mission to read literally everything Pushkin, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy have written in my lifetime lol i really want to delve into other Russian writers' work as well, like Turgenev, Chekhov and yes, also Bulgakov, so i really have a lot left to do then.
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cryptoflovecraft — 9 months ago(June 20, 2025 07:25 PM)
I've read both of those. Young Stalin is a good biography. Demons (The Possessed) is, of course, one of Dostoevsky's finest and most tragic novels. I always considered it to be his most political work (along with Poor Folk). At that point in his life (1870s), Dostoevsky had seen enough of revolutionary movements and the unsavory characters that were attracted to them. Demons is Dostoevsky's criticism of such individuals and movements; people that put politics before their basic humanity tend to lead disastrous lives and equally disastrous political movements.
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Sofie, RAF — 9 months ago(June 29, 2025 06:51 PM)
yes, well said. and it's also interesting that Simon Sebag Montefiore was directly referring to Demons in his biography about Stalin. the young Stalin loved Dostoevsky's book.
i haven't finished Young Stalin yet but i have finished Demons and it's an instant fav. what a fantastic novel that is and i was already a huge Dostoevsky fan before i read this. -
Sofie, RAF — 9 months ago(June 29, 2025 07:14 PM)
i see. well what is Oates masterpiece then? lol i'm asking bc i havent read any of her books, yet, and looking at her catalogue i'm freaking intimidated by the sheer amount of books she has put out at this point, like HOLY SHIIT
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sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 29, 2025 07:21 PM)
Lol right? Like I said, I'm not an expert myself because her catalog is just too large and was going on for decades before I was born. But I liked
Blonde
(the basis for the Ana de Armas movie),
Black Water
,
them
,
We Were the Mulvaneys
and
Wonderland
, as well as her short story collection
High Lonesome
. But it's entirely possible that I'm missing something major. This one just seemed particularly interesting and was getting great reviews (including one from Stephen King's son in the New York Times). It was a worthwhile read, a lot of Ripley influence for sure.
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Sofie, RAF — 9 months ago(June 29, 2025 07:27 PM)
ok thanks, i can work with that!
yes,
Blonde
i'm familiar with (i have not read it yet but i know it's considered to be one of her goats, possibly even
the One
). i do own a copy of
A Garden of Earthly Delights
(her 2nd novel i think), actually, so i'll start there at some point. -
HollyJollyHanukka — 9 months ago(June 11, 2025 02:42 PM)
Just finished The Better Sister which I liked more than the miniseries. Just started The Wife by same author. Nice fluff for sitting by the pool.
If you can’t say something nice, say something clever but devastating. -
sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 11, 2025 04:34 PM)
Now finished with
Lone Women
, which I would highly recommend to genre fans, although the more reactionary types are sure to label some of it's content "woke."
Now heading to the library to pick this one up, just released yesterday:
Cosby is, in my opinion, the best crime fiction author to come along in years, although affixing that label to his work seems to diminish it somewhat. I'd particularly recommend
Razorblade Tears
and
Blacktop Wasteland
. Hopefully this new one is on the same level.
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sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 13, 2025 11:11 PM)
Finished
King of Ashes
. I admittedly went in with very high expectations, Cosby having written three of my favorite novels of the past decade, and ended up being disappointed. The tired
Yojimbo
retread of a plot and page after page of low-level gangster shenanigans just weren't that interesting and the lead character was unlikable from the first page. The subplot featuring his sister was far more compelling, but there wasn't nearly enough of it. I will continue to recommend Cosby's work and hope that this one will prove to be an outlier, but those interested in reading him should start anywhere but here.
Next up will be:
This is the fourth volume in Offutt's eastern Kentucky-set Mick Hardin series. Although I prefer Offutt's work outside of this series, these have been fun so far and fans of the TV series
Justified
should find this world pretty familiar. It should be perfect to take along for my day hike tomorrow.
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sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 16, 2025 02:14 AM)
The Reluctant Sheriff
was, unfortunately, yet another dud. An ongoing thriller series has always been a bit of a mismatch for Offutt, who had for decades been a respected writer of literary fiction and memoirs. But, as I stated above, the series had been a lot of fun thus far. But here if completely jumps the shark, with MI6 operatives and Belarussian mobsters traipsing the backwoods of Kentucky and an entire subplot taking place in Corsica. The novel meanders more than any book of less than 300 pages has a right to, but the ending seems like a fitting enough end to the series as a whole. I'll hope that's the case and that Offutt soon returns to his earlier style.
Up next:
This is one I missed when it came out last year, having previously enjoyed Iglesias's
The Devil Takes You Home
, which I found to be a brilliant melding of horror and modern noir set in the world of the cartels. This one is apparently more a coming of age novel set in Puerto Rico.
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sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 18, 2025 04:42 AM)
After a couple of mediocre books in a row, I've happened upon a winner.
House of Bone and Rain
is phenomenal and I would rank it third on my list of favorite books published in 2024, behind only Tommy Orange's
Wandering Stars
and Kaveh Akbar's
Martyr
. Billing itself as a "barrio noir," it is simultaneously an ultraviolent revenge tale set in the Puerto Rican underworld in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, an effective horror story with Lovecraftian overtones and a stinging indictment of colonialism. Reading it I was reminded of the surreal Basin City of Frank Miller's
Sin City
comics and the brilliant fiction of Argentinian author Mariana Enríquez. Highly recommended. In fact, I think this is one that
@Sophienoire
would very much enjoy.
Tomorrow, I will begin adding some nonfiction to my literary diet with this one:
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sheetsadam1 — 9 months ago(June 20, 2025 06:45 PM)
Empire of the Summer Moon
was very insightful. While I am quite well-read on the Eastern tribes and those of the old Northwest Territory, and the story of the Sioux is one that any American with a modicum of historical or cultural literacy will know the basics of, I began this book with little knowledge of the Comanche tribe beyond their reputation as fierce warriors, promulgated through many Westerns. But their story is a fascinating one and here the author examines a three-century history involving the tribe's dealings with the Spanish Empire, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States, while honing in specifically on Quanah Parker and his mother Cynthia Ann. This is mostly objective history, with nobody coming across as saintly, although the author does seem to suffer slightly from the excessive pride which seems to be ubiquitous among Texans. Would definitely recommend to anybody looking to gain a greater understanding of this period of American frontier history.
Up next, I will be tackling an early book by Barbara Kingsolver, author of the brilliant novels
Demon Copperhead
and
The Poisonwood Bible
.
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