November reads.
Sat, Nov. 30th, 2019 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scvdderMuch to my dismay, I was wholly overwhelmed with uni during October and didn't manage to make much of a dent in my scheduled Halloween reads, but I have made some progress this month. I started with Carrie by Stephen King, as it's a classic horror novel but also because my brother reveres Stephen King and thought I'd give him a try before dismissing him as not my cup of tea. My instincts were right, however, and I really didn't enjoy it. I had a few more minor qualms which were mostly just a matter of taste, but boy does he love sexualising underage girls. I'd heard rumours that in It, he made Beverly have sex with all the other children in the loser's club when they were all 15 or something in front of each other, because of Pennywise. I realise that he is writing horror and is relevant thematically, but I don't think it's appropriate for a grown man to write about underage girls having sex for adult consumption, and not in such obscene detail as I have witnessed. I didn't finish Carrie, it wasn't my jive.
After that, I read On Anarchism by Noam Chomsky, which was a gift from a pen pal, and a pretty solid book. I haven't read much contemporary anarchist theory save for articles, etc. on the internet, so I suppose I have little to contrast it with, but Chomsky is very well-spoken. And in comparison to the nineteenth century anarchist theory I've read, it's so refreshing to read references to historical events I actually have knowledge of. Kropotkin, bless his heart, talked at length about the Paris Commune and honestly, I've not read much about it, I had no idea what he was talking about.
Easily the best thing I've read this month was Heroes by Stephen Fry, a retelling of the mythology of the Greek Heroes. Many retellings discomfort me because it is difficult to infer what level of what is said is literal, and what is creative interpretation or for comedic effect, but this was so enthralling, and Stephen would always be factual and take the time to be clear. He also often will repeat names and genealogies when characters reappear so you don't have to flick back through the book for 15 minutes to work out what's going on which is such a relief. It's also worth mentioning that I listened to the audiobook, which was a delight. Heroes is the spiritual sequel to an earlier book Mythos which I believe centres more on creation and the gods & titans, and I actually enjoyed Heroes so much I bought a copy of Mythos yesterday.
I'm currently reading the collected short fiction of Oscar Wilde, and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, which have both been both puzzling and rewarding, but on those I shall reserve judgement until I am finished. And I've been burning through gift vouchers to bookstores that I got for my birthday, and so far have bought: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Stoner by John Williams, A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh, The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka, and Mythos. I've got so much good stuff ahead of me. And I think I will reread Brideshead Revisited soon because that is long overdue.
After that, I read On Anarchism by Noam Chomsky, which was a gift from a pen pal, and a pretty solid book. I haven't read much contemporary anarchist theory save for articles, etc. on the internet, so I suppose I have little to contrast it with, but Chomsky is very well-spoken. And in comparison to the nineteenth century anarchist theory I've read, it's so refreshing to read references to historical events I actually have knowledge of. Kropotkin, bless his heart, talked at length about the Paris Commune and honestly, I've not read much about it, I had no idea what he was talking about.
Easily the best thing I've read this month was Heroes by Stephen Fry, a retelling of the mythology of the Greek Heroes. Many retellings discomfort me because it is difficult to infer what level of what is said is literal, and what is creative interpretation or for comedic effect, but this was so enthralling, and Stephen would always be factual and take the time to be clear. He also often will repeat names and genealogies when characters reappear so you don't have to flick back through the book for 15 minutes to work out what's going on which is such a relief. It's also worth mentioning that I listened to the audiobook, which was a delight. Heroes is the spiritual sequel to an earlier book Mythos which I believe centres more on creation and the gods & titans, and I actually enjoyed Heroes so much I bought a copy of Mythos yesterday.
I'm currently reading the collected short fiction of Oscar Wilde, and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, which have both been both puzzling and rewarding, but on those I shall reserve judgement until I am finished. And I've been burning through gift vouchers to bookstores that I got for my birthday, and so far have bought: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Stoner by John Williams, A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh, The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka, and Mythos. I've got so much good stuff ahead of me. And I think I will reread Brideshead Revisited soon because that is long overdue.