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What book(s) are you currently reading? 27 July (self.books)

submitted 1 year ago by dresden to c/books@lemmy.world

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Hello Everyone!

What are you all reading?

I am currently going through a re-read of Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Currently on 2nd book, Fool Moon.

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[–] DrMango@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Finally pushed through The Sound and the Fury. Definitely lived up to it's reputation for being difficult and inscrutable. Probably could have just stuck with the spark notes on this one, frankly.

I picked up Ovid's Metamorphoses on a whim and I'm finding it surprisingly fun and approachable. I've always had a healthy appreciation for western mythos, so this is a fun little dip back into that world for me, and I am also enjoying going back and reading some academic commentary once I finish a section. Makes me feel like I'm back in college in a good way.

I also started The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and I'm really enjoying her prose so far. I am a little surprised, frankly, with how much I'm enjoying this one and how hard it is to put the book down. Maybe because I tend to select books I don't expect to like, but rather which I believe will be beneficial to read (which provides it's own form of enjoyment for me, rest assured).

Also trying to maintain momentum on my second read through of Infinite Jest. One of my favorites, even (especially?) the second time through.

Last year I read mostly nonfiction so I guess this year I've swung in the other direction as I've read almost exclusively fiction so far.

[–] dresden 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nice list! I looked up The Sound and the Fury, from wikipedia:

It is nearly unanimously considered a masterpiece by literary critics and scholars, but its unconventional narrative style frequently alienates new readers. Although the vocabulary is generally basic, the stream-of-consciousness technique, which attempts to transcribe the thoughts of the narrators directly, with frequent switches in time and setting and with loose sentence structure and grammar, has made it a quintessentially difficult modernist work.

Interesting. Will add it to the list of "literary classics, some day" to-read list.

Which translation are you reading for Metamorphoses? And any interesting academic commentary you can link to? Recently, I have been thinking of reading some of the older, historical work, starting with the most obvious choice, Homer's Odyssey. Haven't started it yet though, so many things to read, so little time.

And respect for reading books that are beneficial to you!

[–] DrMango@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, The Sound and the Fury was a doozy. I'm no stranger to difficult books and I generally like stream-of-consciousness modernist writing, but this one really tested me! I'll have to revisit it some day I think.

I have the Penguin Classics edition of Metamorphoses which credits David Raeburn as the translator. I've dabbled in the Iliad/Odyssey but frankly have found them entirely too dense to be worth my effort with the primary text. I... Haven't found a lot of good resources for Metamorphoses yet. I have just been Googling "Metamorphoses Book 3 discussion" when I finish a section and perusing the submissions.

[–] dresden 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated!