What are you reading now?

[Conchis]

That’s interesting because I have really enjoyed Pevear/Volkhonsky work in Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. I tried their translation in Zhivago but didn’t get much further than with any other translation

I struggled with the Pevear/Volkohnsky Karamazov - I woudl tend to agree with those critics who claim that, while they are more 'truthful' than other translators, their use of syntax is often jarring and 'un-English' (which may be the point, but it makes for a 'bumpy' read).

The best Karamazov translation I know of is this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Karamazov-Brothers-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199536376/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1514752962&sr=1-6&keywords=karamazov+brothers

It may have its issues but it reads better than others I've encountered.

[silvestrione]

Romola by George Eliot. I'd always avoided this novel, picking up from various places that it was definitely not GE at her best. In fact, now I'm determinedly reading through all her novels prior to reading Philip Davis's new book on her, I am really enjoying it. What a tour de force, in terms of evocation of an historical time and place (Florence, Savonarola's Florence, late 15th century)! And a gripping narrative, with the usual moral subtlety and depth. You gradually realise that the main character (not Romola, but Tito Melema) whose experience you're drawn in to share, is becoming, well, a Machiavellian villain, though that tag is too simple. Two or three chapters to go!

[teamsaint]

Complicated Game : The Songs of XTC.
Andy Partridge and Todd Bernhardt.

If you are interested in a song by song dissection of the writing and recording process of top quality pop/rock, then this is a highly recommended read. Partridge is a wonderful songwriter, and the book looks mostly at the band's recording career, working through record company driven time pressures, a succession of mostly excellent producers and sound engineers, ( including NR3F's very own Lordgeous who produced their album Big Express, ), how the band functioned and so on. Lots of juicy snippets and humour for fans too, but I suppose it does require a certain interest in the music.

[teamsaint]

Romola by George Eliot. I'd always avoided this novel, picking up from various places that it was definitely not GE at her best. In fact, now I'm determinedly reading through all her novels prior to reading Philip Davis's new book on her, I am really enjoying it. What a tour de force, in terms of evocation of an historical time and place (Florence, Savonarola's Florence, late 15th century)! And a gripping narrative, with the usual moral subtlety and depth. You gradually realise that the main character (not Romola, but Tito Melema) whose experience you're drawn in to share, is becoming, well, a Machiavellian villain, though that tag is too simple. Two or three chapters to go!

Ooh, I'm tempted by that.
One of our cats is named after Hepzibah from Silas Marner. Never read much of hers beyond that.

[Conchis]

Complicated Game : The Songs of XTC.
Andy Partridge and Todd Bernhardt.

If you are interested in a song by song dissection of the writing and recording process of top quality pop/rock, then this is a highly recommended read. Partridge is a wonderful songwriter, and the book looks mostly at the band's recording career, working through record company driven time pressures, a succession of mostly excellent producers and sound engineers, ( including NR3F's very own Lordgeous who produced their album Big Express, ), how the band functioned and so on. Lots of juicy snippets and humour for fans too, but I suppose it does require a certain interest in the music.

My awareness of their music is limited to the singles Making Plans For Nigel (like) and Senses Working Overtime (don't like) but a lot of people whose tastes I respect seem to like them. Andy Partridge is a big fan of Judee Sill, which can only be a good thing in my book.

I shoud make it a resolution to have a deeper listen in 2018. What would you say is the best starting point?

[teamsaint]

My awareness of their music is limited to the singles Making Plans For Nigel (like) and Senses Working Overtime (don't like) but a lot of people whose tastes I respect seem to like them. Andy Partridge is a big fan of Judee Sill, which can only be a good thing in my book.

I shoud make it a resolution to have a deeper listen in 2018. What would you say is the best starting point?

Oh dear, I'm afraid. I do bang on about them too much on here, but I can't help it.

The first two albums are inconsistent, spiky, punky, raw. Lots of good things, but avoid for now, unless that sounds like it is for you.

After that, all the albums are consistently high quality, so it is more down to style. I always found that their music takes a few listens, and the lyrics are important. My tentative suggestion would be to try Skylarking ( produced by Todd Rundgren) for an introduction to their more "pastoral " style. But you could go for Mummer instead. My second suggestion would be Nonsuch. This is rather more pop oriented, but the songs are exceptional. Its a very long album, but it flies by.

A third option, which gives you more of the style from the period that gave us " Making Plans for Nigel" is " Black Sea". Its a sensational album, IMO ! With traces of the early roots, and touches of something wider reaching, such as the finale " Travels in Nihilon".

If you don't like "Senses" then perhaps they aren't for you, but my best advice is to pick a couple of the albums mentioned and immerse in those.
Let us know how you get on.

[Conchis]

Oh dear, I'm afraid. I do bang on about them too much on here, but I can't help it.

The first two albums are inconsistent, spiky, punky, raw. Lots of good things, but avoid for now, unless that sounds like it is for you.

After that, all the albums are consistently high quality, so it is more down to style. I always found that their music takes a few listens, and the lyrics are important. My tentative suggestion would be to try Skylarking ( produced by Todd Rundgren) for an introduction to their more "pastoral " style. But you could go for Mummer instead. My second suggestion would be Nonsuch. This is rather more pop oriented, but the songs are exceptional. Its a very long album, but it flies by.

A third option, which gives you more of the style from the period that gave us " Making Plans for Nigel" is " Black Sea". Its a sensational album, IMO ! With traces of the early roots, and touches of something wider reaching, such as the finale " Travels in Nihilon".

If you don't like "Senses" then perhaps they aren't for you, but my best advice is to pick a couple of the albums mentioned and immerse in those.
Let us know how you get on.

Many thannks, ts. I'm a fan of Rundgren and was already aware of his work with XTC, so Skylarking sounds like my best bet. Will plunge in and report back!

[waldo]

I have just finished Daniel Swift's 'The Bughouse: the poetry, politics and madness of Ezra Pound.' He looks at Pound's time in hospital after the war, using accounts left by visitors such as William Carlos Williams, Robert Lowell and Charles Olson, as well as archive material from the hospital and the Department of Justice. Useful investigations of whether EP was, indeed, unfit to plead at the treason hearing and the nastiness of his politics (and their baneful afterlife in Italy in particular). I was impressed by it.

Only just caught up with this thread.......That book sounds very interesting, indeed. I've been nibbling at the edges of the Cantos for a bit and am still not sure whether to take the full plunge. I am tempted by the single volume Pisan cantos, which come with helpful annotations and (as you surely know) were written during his initial imprisonment at Pisa........

[silvestrione]

Only just caught up with this thread.......That book sounds very interesting, indeed. I've been nibbling at the edges of the Cantos for a bit and am still not sure whether to take the full plunge. I am tempted by the single volume Pisan cantos, which come with helpful annotations and (as you surely know) were written during his initial imprisonment at Pisa........

Pisan Cantos with supportive notes? Any more details of that, Waldo?

[waldo]

Pisan Cantos with supportive notes? Any more details of that, Waldo?

I was talking about the New Directions Paperbook, edited by Richard Sieburth. You can see some of the notes on Amazon preview; they look useful to me. It also comes with an introductory essay which is said to be very good. Searching on Amazon sometimes comes up with one priced at 20 odd pounds with no preview, sometimes with one priced around £10 with a preview: here

But as I said, I'm still a bit nervous about entering this particular doorway........

[silvestrione]

I was talking about the New Directions Paperbook, edited by Richard Sieburth. You can see some of the notes on Amazon preview; they look useful to me. It also comes with an introductory essay which is said to be very good. Searching on Amazon sometimes comes up with one priced at 20 odd pounds with no preview, sometimes with one priced around £10 with a preview: here

But as I said, I'm still a bit nervous about entering this particular doorway........

Ah yes, I see, thanks. Yes, Pound is certainly a difficult, ambivalent figure. I don't myself regard the complete Cantos as worth the effort, but the Pisan cantos, and much of the earlier poetry, I still do.

[Bryn]

Being the text scores of Robert Ashley's Celestial Excursions and Dust, plus a selection of earlier text based works. At £14.08 including p&p. a real bargain. Described as "In fair condition, suitable as a study copy" it was in rather better, more like "Good" condition, bar a front cover dog-ear introduced when it was packaged by the vendor.

Going through a bit of an Ashley phase at the moment, having been re-watching the Perfect Lives DVDs and reading the book of the opera:

[Rjw]

A Room with a View

[eighthobstruction]

....just finished Jonathan Franzen : Freedom....if I may I'll just paste what I wrote to a friend in an email and save my dyslexic mind a bit....

....it is a well writen book with modern themes, glad that i read it.... BUT


I've read a few of these type books Anne Tyler does them particularly well but her voice gets a bit samey Don deMIlo does them well too and of course the war horse Phillip Roth has gone on to major in this stuff. Frantzen creates a real page turner like Tyler. Freedom could have been 100 ppages shorter, it laboured in some places....the main news/ current affairs points of the story money corruption, war, ecology, war for money, war to divide and rule, big business evil ego rightwing s**ts etc etc were not any news to me, and while this stuff was happening in 2003 I thought, I wonder who and how they will write proper novels about this period.

But the main thrust was about families/ ties/loyalty/betrayal etc....yeah yeah Johnathon I think you made yer point yeah yeah you made yer yeah yeah you made....yeah yeah sure....

My main annoyance was the money and status of characters, with small people ignored....Patty grandfather patriarchial money LOTS, mother big time politician....Walters parents well off enough to have Motel (nice little plot line allowed for a bolt hole for folk to gravitate to and having metaphorical STUFF)

Joey brilliant at making money, sex, independance....Connie the weird but clever sex robot savant alwaysforgiving. Richard Katz the brilliant of course understood/misunderstood world reknowned musician....the huge money from corrupt big business for Walter .....huge corrupt money for Joey and escapes without recall....I guess all this added raceyness to the plot and would make it a best seller, and humourous which I think is Franztens appeal; 'humour'. Corrections was humourous. Frantzen tied up the pieces and ends quite well. And lets us know that even tho' you are 47/54yrs and a****oles at times, even after upheaval ----------there is still life to be lived....aw ah how lovely to know....ooooand a lil'bird reserve too....sweet

Ed: to say nothing about some very odd stuff about Jews....

[Conchis]

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: One Hundred Years Of Solitude.

It's not all that, imo.