I enjoyed reading Crime and Punishment. Later I also enjoyed The Idiot.
I disliked The Brothers Karamazov so much I decided I was done with with the author.
After reading the above comments and opinions I feel maybe I should try again. But I know that I wont.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
@RogueCooper Have you read much more of Hunter S. Thompson’s stuff?
I had a real binge of his work in my early 20s and think F&L on the Campaign Trail is one of my favourites. The Hell’s Angels book is great too and think I’ve only read Shark Hunt of the collections of essays etc but it’s cool to see his work evolve.
@Thrillho@RogueCooper I have always meant to read more of Hunter S. Thompson's work, as I've only read The Rum Diary so far, recently added Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas , The Great Shark Hunt ,Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 and Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone to my Wishlist.
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
@FuriousMachine I've read about a sixth of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle so far. So far, there's been some astrological delvings and light eroticism ,and without spoiling anything, it's all been revolving around the search for a missing cat! Bonkers! I'm sure you'll love it!
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
@RogueCooper I absolutely will...well, once things calm down a bit over there. I love travelling by train and watching the world from the window, so this one is high on my bucket list.
@FuriousMachine I dare not ask how high or low on that list, as I know that list to be fairly long! I fear it'd be similar to asking the Colonel when he plans to play a game released in the year of our lord 2025 😁
I almost forgot about it tbh, as I thought it was going to be out much earlier in the year, but then noticed the pre-order page today while nosing about the virtual bookstore. I do like the unified release with Hardcover and Audiobook, and it might be the first one I actually listen to before reading myself because Peter Kenny has been a fantastic narrator for Sapkowski. It may be sacrilege to some, but it's not like its being read by Liam Hemsworth or something mad like that.
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
@Ravix It's high So high, in fact, that it may not even have come out by the time I get to it, so I expect having to bump it until it releases.
There are certain audiobook releases that makes me wish I could listen to them without losing focus, such as the Discworld books narrated by Tony Robinson and anything narrated by Stephen Fry, but, sadly, all attempts at audiobooks end in frustration as I cannot maintain focus when only listening.
@FuriousMachine ah, very good. Let me know if Golancz actually pushes the date forward to cater to your unstoppable reading prowess, which they clearly should do!
That is a bit of a shame that you can't get on with them. Some audiobooks I will listen to the preview and nope out instantly as I cannot be doing with the style of narration. But some are superb! I also have the Silmarillion to get to, as I thought it'd be good to hear Andy Serkis read some Tolkein and maybe get the whole series if I indeed do like the narration.
I was thinking the other day when you and a few others were chatting about kindles and how that makes reading on the go more manageable, how for me Audiobooks are perfect for that, and I find it much easier to listen to a book on the move or when doing something else, and find actual reading requires much more of a zen environment where I can completely concentrate on the book and nothing else. So I'm glad there are some very good examples out there.
@Ravix Yeah, there are instances when my mind wanders when reading on the bus or similar, too, but at least the book doesn't continue without me when that happens. That is the main reason for me giving up on audiobooks. It became more frustrating than not to constantly be rewinding to find back to the spot where I zoned out. Also, I find that the act of actually sitting down to read and not do anything else is very calming for me and has done a lot to counter the stress and anxieties of daily life.
@FuriousMachine I actually fell off Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle as things started to get rather graphic/gory at a certain point and that put me off. But it was a good read up to that point. Those are my thoughts anyway. Now moving on to Victor Hugo by Graham Robb, a biography of the great man.
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Wow, that Murakami got graphic/gory was a twist I really didn't see coming. He doesn't strike me as that kind of author, yet I understand he is rather versatile and somewhat unpredictable, from what I've heard. Now I got even more interested in The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and may choose it as my first book when I return to Murakami down the line
@FuriousMachine it is unfortunate audiobook wise, but still good that you can have that more relaxed moment of focus when reading to de-stress and unwind. I know the feeling of the "wait I need to rewind a chapter" 😅 but I find the audiobooks similarly theraputic, I guess. A little less chance for me to be disturbed and having to 're-read' more so than when just reading, and having to re-read lines or paragraphs multiple times if I am being disturbed is the exact opposite of relaxing...
He just wanted to read his book... But that book is now evidence in his trial
Now there's a tagline that makes me want to get back on the legal thriller wagon 😁
@FuriousMachine Yeah it came rather out of the blue, and as I still have nightmares about horror movies from my youth, I decided to put the book down at that point, I am much more of an action-adventure than horror type of guy when it comes to the presentation of violence in art.
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
@Ravix A good courtroom drama/legal thriller is always welcome I enjoyed Michael Connelly's "Lincoln Lawyer" books, very good. Will get into some Grisham down the line, too (don't think I've ever actually read any of his).
And speaking of taglines, I think mine will be "Unwind, don't rewind"
@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I get that. I am a real horror hound myself, but I prefer it when there is a humorous component to the gory bits (like when it's completely over the top ala early Peter Jackson)
@FuriousMachine We're getting slightly off-topic here, but I can handle stuff like Braindead where it's clear the effects are all fake, but anything in later eras where the horror looks a lot more realistic is definitely not my cup of tea, I quite liked Ghost Stories when I was younger though, by different authors, but it's something I feel I grew out of.
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
I've finished the final China Thriller novel 'Chinese Whispers' by Peter May. I have really enjoyed my time with these characters. Thanks to @FuriousMachine for introducing me to the series & author. I have picked up his Lewis trilogy & I believe there is a new book in the series out this week it seems 😀.
I'm now reading "Did you hear what Eddie Gein done?" A True crime graphic novel by Harold Schechter & Eric Powell.
After that I'll be diving into 'The Master and Margarita'.
@RogueCooper now I need to listen to some Japanese Breakfast. I'm sure I've seen the title mentioned on here before. Enjoy.
@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I think ghost stories need some pathos in order to be good, but when they do, like the excellent Broken Ghosts that I read recently, they can be quite powerful, IMO.
@RogueCooper Never heard of Japanese Breakfast, but the autobiography looks compelling nonetheless, so I added it. Listening to them on Spotify right now and at first blush I like it. Getting slight The Sundays vibes, which is a very good thing
@MightyDemon82 I can't find any trace of info about a new novel in the Lewis series, unless there is maybe a new release of last year's The Black Loch that you're thinking of? He surprised me with releasing the fourth novel in the "trilogy" out of nowhere last year, so it may be that he's doing the same now.
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