BARBELITH underground
 

Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.


Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

What are you currently reading?

  
  

Page: 1 ... 1112131415(16)17

 
 
Persephone
12:17 / 20.12.02
i have been devouring dorothy sayers peter wimsey books in no particular order...thanks to barbelith

Oh alas, me too! I just found in the used bookstore yesterday Unnatural Death ...they are getting harder to find, now. There was also a hardcover of The Documents in the Case, and I wanted to ask the DLS crew if that's something I should get?
 
 
Sax
13:50 / 20.12.02
Like Ariadne I'm reading The Little Friend but I'm afraid my attention has drifted after the first 150 pages or so, which is damned frustrating because I wanted to like it so much.

In between trying to get back into it I read Gustav Meyrink's The Golem, which led to a re-reading of Kafka's The Trial, and now I've got Meyrink's The Angel of the West Window, but to be honest I'm a bit Pragued out at the moment and I'm not getting into at as much as I'd like to. I'm dipping into Can Reindeer Fly? The Science of Christmas by Roger Highfield, which I had to read for a feature at work and which is quite interesting although I don't think I have the technical know-how to grasp everything, although it is extremely entertaining. Also 100 World Myths and Legends by Geraldine McCaughrean, which is very nice and bite-sized although I may only be reading it in search of a culling poem a la Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby.
 
 
Mister Six, whom all the girls
15:12 / 20.12.02
Currently reading Alasdair Gray's 'Ten Tales Tall and True,' which is quite nice as it makes me laugh and causes my balls to curl whenever an intimate relationship is created. Why doesn't one of them work out?? I'd heartily reccomend Lanark to anyone. Great stuff.
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
18:48 / 20.12.02
Hmm, I thought 'Odyssey' meant journey or something while 'Odysseus' meant 'he-who-journeys'.

I suppose the word 'Odissey' comes from the name Odysseus, like many words today come from other greek/latin names
 
 
Brigade du jour
21:38 / 20.12.02
I know Homer didn't write Ulysses, I just put that so as to avoid confusion for people perhaps not blessed with such knowledge.

Mind you, you could argue that he (or she) did because Homer was Greek and in Greek the main character would be called Ulysses. Odysseus is the Latin translation that we've been lumbered with.

Benefits of a classical education ;-)
 
 
Brigade du jour
21:46 / 20.12.02
Off the point slightly, but hey Persephone, I used to live in Witham, which is where Dorothy Sayers was from. Blue plaque on the house, still standing, and a statue over the road, next to the fish & chip shop.

Nice library for classical drama, too. Even though this town is in Essex.

Shall I start a travelogue thread?
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
01:36 / 21.12.02
In Greek, Odysseus. In Latin, Ulixes or Ulises. James Joyce wrote Ulysses. The epic is called the Odysseia, i.e. the thing to do with Odysseus.

Calm now. Apologies.
 
 
Brigade du jour
03:19 / 21.12.02
Calm down, man. Okay you're right, I give up.

I didn't think I was being smug. Probably can't help it.
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
09:23 / 21.12.02
Have a grip on yourself, Haus, we all know you're the smartest bloke here.

Honestly now, when refering to Homer's character Odysseus, how many people actually call him Ulixes? I tell you: bugger all. Everyone calls him Ulysses, which is the name in english.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
10:41 / 21.12.02
Oh, for fuck's sake...yes, Ulysses is the name "in English". As is Osysseus, for that matter. If you talk about the character of Ulysses in the Odyssey, people will correct you. There is no character called Ulysses in the Odyssey. And of course I wouldn't call him "Ulixes" if I was talking about the character in the Odyssey. Because "Ulixes" is Latin. Christ on a rope....

I should leave this thread, because the level of confident misinformation is depressing me to the point of coma, and I need to do stuff.
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
11:36 / 21.12.02
There is no character called Ulysses in the Odissey? Funny, then all ebook versions of Odissey must be wrong, because the name keeps coming back at me; oh, and all book versions you buy in a shop, for that matter.

Yes, there is a guy called Ulysses in Odissey, as well as one in Iliad.
 
 
lolita nation
12:01 / 21.12.02
i'm reading futility by william gerhardie. i just started it - is anyone else familiar with this guy? despite the warning on the cover PREFACE BY EDITH WHARTON, i'm liking it.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
12:06 / 21.12.02
I'm sorry. I would take this far more seriously if you could spell Odyssey. Sad but true.

There is a character called Odysseus, elsewhere referred to as Ulysses, in the Odyssey and the Iliad. There is no character, to ,my knowledge, in the Odyssey or the Iliad called Ulysses.

I suggest we look at the original Greek text, rather than "ebooks" (for God's sake). I have Stanford's Odyssey with me, and I dont see the word "Ulysses" cropping up in it so far.

Oh, and the translation by E.V. Rieu refers throughout to Odysseus rather than Ulysses, so your statement about "and all book versions you buy in a shop, for that matter" using the name "Ulysses" is wrong. You are wrong. There's no shame in that, but you are now being wrong and *dumb*.
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
12:39 / 21.12.02
Hm, i'm feeling rather embarassed here. Just figured out what's my problem: in the portuguese version (my mother language) either in Odyssey or Iliad, Odysseus' name is translated into Ulisses, which is similar to the english Ulysses - i've been refering to portuguese versions, as i never needed to read the english ones.

By a mistake of association, i kept translating it into Ulysses, when in fact is Odysseus.

As usual, you're right, i'm wrong.
 
 
Cavatina
12:49 / 21.12.02
Peace be with you, Haus - and merry Christmas.

Cheers, Rosa. Haus often gives newbies a hard time; but it is best to check in The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature before taking him on re any ancient Greek and Roman lit.

My current reading. For the last few months or so I've been much taken up (again) by arguments for the knowability of history, and have just started reading Reconstructing Contexts: The Aims and Principles of Archaeo-Historicism by Robert D. Hume. Doubt I'll get far with it until after Christmas, though.
 
 
Cavatina
12:55 / 21.12.02
Oh dear, I see that I've omitted the 'L. M.' from your name -- my apologies.
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
13:04 / 21.12.02
Oh dear, I see that I've omitted the 'L. M.' from your name -- my apologies.

No problem, Cavatina.

By the way, i was told you were the ideal person to recommend Gothic novels. I actually started a thread on that. Could you give me some titles to look for?
 
 
The Strobe
16:29 / 21.12.02
Finished Lucky Jim. Wonderful. Now: Miss Wyoming (because I can't really put Coupland down) and Moonshadow, which I got for a tenner, and is fantastic. I am Ira.
 
 
Brigade du jour
20:50 / 21.12.02
Thanks for the tip Cavatina. Suppose that'll teach me to be smug and ignorant at the same time. One or the other, I really must learn.

Check out 'Veronika Decides To Die' by Paolo Coelho, too.
Oh, and 'Stupid White Men' by Michael Moore (who's a very nice bloke btw)
'Our Posthuman Future' by Francis Fukuyama
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
21:11 / 21.12.02
I guess we both share the same problem, Hardy: we're both arrogant and ignorant, but let's try do something about it.

Anyway, Veronika Decieds To Die, which is indeed very good, was written by Paulo, not Paolo, Coelho.

By the way, just for trivia's sake, Coelho means 'Rabbit'
 
 
Brigade du jour
23:00 / 21.12.02
You speak Portuguese? Cool.

I don't think we're the most arrogant or ignorant in the world though. Or on Barbelith, probably.
 
 
Brigade du jour
23:12 / 21.12.02
By the way, can I put one last word on the 'Ulysses/Odysseus/Odyssey' issue? I really really really really really really really wish I hadn't brought the cunt up now, and the english language didn't exist when The Odyssey (or whatever you want to call it) was written (or probably sung and misunderstood by someone other than Homer, maybe not though, I don't care).

I feel fucking bad for causing so much bad feeling around this place, especially when it's Christmas and therefore very cold outside. Sorry everyone.

Smug and arrogant enough for you, Haus?
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
08:43 / 22.12.02
You speak Portuguese? Cool.

I don't think we're the most arrogant or ignorant in the world though. Or on Barbelith, probably.

the most arrogant and ignorant in the world, no, but we certainly are a bit - well that's my opinion, anyway; there i was trying to get the better of Haus, i guess that's arrogance.

As for my Portuguese, well, considering i am Portuguese, i guess i should at least pretend to speak it, hehe...

Feliz Natal,Hardy, e bom Ano Novo, e para todos no Barbelith.
 
 
pointless and uncalled for
11:11 / 22.12.02
Retrying The Republic to see if any of it will sink in this time around. Don't hold your breath though. Also Burg by Wolfgang Tillmans which I don't know if it counts. It's not as if you read books of photographs, or maybe you do.
 
 
The Photographer in Blowup
12:18 / 22.12.02
The Republic, as in Plato's The Republic? Yeah, that's a though one, and a bit long, by that never puts me off books.
 
 
Kit-Cat Club
16:21 / 22.12.02
The Difference Engine - watch for a revival of the ancient Steampunk thread.

Does anyone think this thread is a bit unwieldy, and we might be at the stage where a new 'general books chat' thread would be appropriate? In the NY I might try and revive the old communal reading things (I want to read Gilgamesh) - Book Personals is a great idea which I think we should be promoting a bit more strongly, and hopefully I'll be a bit more with it in Hilary and will be able to pay a bit more attention to things in this forum.

New Barbeloids with an interest in Homer might like to have a look at the old Book Club threads on the Iliad, here (Notes & Queries) and here (discussion). There are also a few threads from the Book Personals reading of Ulysses, which died after the first seven chapters (though I finished the book and loved it, and I imagine several other people did so too).
 
 
Persephone
20:47 / 22.12.02
It didn't die, it was very ill and Ariadne tried to save its life... and well, then it died.

Notes and Queries
Discussion: Ch 1-3
Discussion: Ch 4-7

...and the poignantly named Ulysses - are we still going?

New book chat thread would be good for the new year... do you know, I just read through this whole thread --all 14 pages-- and it was fascinating, being basically the year in books on Barbelith. It would be fun to start fresh again.

I do always wonder what happened to seamonkey?
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
20:48 / 22.12.02
Mm. Sorry about that, chaps. I was all gung-ho for the Ulysses thang and ran out of steam to annotate. But I did enjoy reading it again. I am planning on kicking up that The Golem thread, though, so if anyone else wants to join me...

I'm still reading Cain. Mildred Pierce at the moment, though it's much different to the others of his I've read. Veda is a bitch!
 
 
Old brown-eye is back
13:48 / 23.12.02
At the moment, I'm having the most fun with Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker.

(Um, yeah - treat yourself and leave the thread. Or stay. You know, whatever.)
 
 
wembley can change in 28 days
16:58 / 23.12.02
Just finished Nabokov's Lolita which was definitely worth reading, but I'm glad it's over. Now I've picked up Charlie Chaplin's autobiography and I hope I learn something or other from it.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
17:22 / 23.12.02
Another 4 or 5 books over the last couple of days, but nothing of any particular interest - train or insomnia in mother's house stuff. Inwood's Heidegger still vaguely on the go...
 
 
Optimistic
16:59 / 25.12.02
I'm reading The Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson...has anyone else read it and if so could you recommend any similar books?
 
 
Goodness Gracious Meme
23:05 / 25.12.02
I am the only person in the world, it seems, who hasn't read the Harry Potter books.

But I got them (and a whole stack of other books) for xmas so have just started the first one. But really want to have a decent attention span and get on with The Person-Centred Approach: A Passionate Presence, Peggy Natiello

Read the introduction, and had to stop as i wasn't doing itjustice, but did so only reluctantly, am gagging to get on with this, it seems great thus far.
 
 
Foust is SO authentic
02:33 / 26.12.02
I just finished Lulluby by Palahniuk, and am starting The lovely Bones by Alice Klebold.
 
 
Tryphena Absent
03:36 / 26.12.02
I'm trying 'The Fashion in Shrouds' by Margery Allingham but I keep getting distracted by the ever-increasing number of graphic novels appearing on the shelves downstairs. Paul Steinberg's 'Speak You Also' is also being ignored though I like it best of all the holocaust memoirs I've encountered.
 
  

Page: 1 ... 1112131415(16)17

 
  
Add Your Reply