obv the narrator is an outright cynical operator but it’s a story I think of when it comes to questions of applying “sense” to particular subjects and making a text out of them, Ballard had his own blind spots in this respect (as do we all (except me))
Well I feel like this is now a vaudevillian situation where we’re both pointing at the same thing saying “now THIS is what I’m talking about!”
finished Lysistrata and immediately began work on my screenplay that’s a modern-day adaptation of Lysistrata set on Love Island
While I was in Chicago last month I stopped by Exile in Bookville on @yeso 's recommendation–what an amazing little shop! Huge selection for such a small space, though I especially appreciated the handwritten recommendations on the shelves, which informed a few of my purchases. Here’s what I picked up:
I bought The Message as a gift–I read that and Between the World and Me back to back a few months ago and thought they were both fantastic. It was my first time reading Coates and I appreciated the personal, conversational tone of his writing, real page-turners.
I just finished Never Let Me Go, my first Ishiguro book and generally liked it, a solid 4/5 or so. I went in completely unawares, as the tag at the bookshop recommended, but was able to intuit what was going on pretty quickly and could see the emotional payload speeding toward me from 600 miles away. I read part 1 in one sitting and thought he described the vagaries of half-remembered childhood experiences incredibly well. I lost a lot of steam in part 2 and picked away at the book before I was back on board again in part 3, which perfectly captured how it feels to reconnect with others way after the immediacy of their former context in your life has faded. I had mixed feelings about the lore dump at the very tail end of the book, but it did feel like a decent payoff in a way, a good allegory for the unseemly bits we have to consciously ignore to enjoy the spoils of modern society.
Haven’t read the other two yet, but they seem like they’ll be relatively quick. The Hole was another purchase based on the recommendation card, while Convenience Store Woman was on my mind after it came up in conversation with yeso.
Some other stuff I read this year:
The Three Body Problem–this was a rough one for me, ended up being a chore to finish. Just schlocky sci-fi with an air of self-satisfaction for how clever the author seemed to think he was. Jumped several sharks, annoying character archetypes. I started the sequel but only made it a short way in before I just couldn’t force myself through the over-long chapters.
The Woman in the Dunes–my second Abe book after reading The Box Man years ago, I loved this one. Deeply uncomfortable, such a perfect portrait of your stereotypical big city man of logic contending with a reality that couldn’t care less about his particular logic or expectations.
Kitchen–I had been meaning to read this short one by Banana Yoshimoto for a while, finally did so this year. A thorough disappointment, unfortunately…felt weightless and almost completely lacking in substance, magical reality without the magic or the reality. Threads that seemed to go nowhere, paper thin characters, questionably handling of a trans character, and an unexpected (for me) transition to an unrelated second tale partway through, truncating an already insubstantial novel…might have set my expectations too high.
yeah Woman In The Dunes is good I like The Ruined Map a lot and still think of it despite it being like 15 years since I read it. I think Secret Rendezvous is the one Abe I haven’t read I should give it a try
Going to stop by the comics shop and pick up Blessed Be by Rick Altergott though idk if so need to go back and read much Doofus first* Not too familiar but always really liked his cartooning and was pleasantly surprised to see he wrote a full novel length book.
*re Doofus no one post something like why would you read your own autobiography etc. I already thought of this kind of burn so you can’t use it against me
Just finished Lonesome Dove. I don’t think any book has impacted me this emotionally since first reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X, 20 years ago. And I don’t think Lonesome Dove would’ve impacted me as it has now, had I read it when I was younger & less weathered.
I was definitely meant to read it now. Went into it looking for a great western story, and ended up finding some timely wisdom and comfort.
a friend of mine also read that recently and described it as a real knock out.
it’s oop unfortunately but you would really like inter ice age 4 if you can ever get your hands on it
I just started The Message, keen to properly sit down with it and dive in.
any mike davis fans here? i’ve always liked the articles i’ve read but have never dove into a book.
I’m looking back at my list of books read this year and thought I’d make a quick rundown of my most memorable reading “moments” of 2024.
This year I went through a Daniel Defoe phase with The Storm and then Robinson Crusoe, the latter of which was a rabbit hole into itself. Though I cringe at the memory of posting a overlong essay on this thread about it, I genuinely enjoyed picking it apart from different angles. All in all, it was the one book I really dug my teeth into this year. I even named my cat Friday.
Another phase was getting into Yukio Mishima at the beginning of this year. They were short books so easy to string one after the other. I was enticed by the ominous undercurrents of his books, each had a distinct flavor and left me wanting more. I take it Confessions of a Mask is one of his greatest, but have not read that one yet.
Towards the end of the year, my time with Machado de Assis was wonderful. The Posthumous Memories of Bras Cubas is a phenomenal book in my opinion. He hit all the notes of stuff I like. I was really into Dostoevsky when I was in college, and Bras Cubas felt like Notes from the Underground but dripping with humor, charisma and wisdom as embodied in the narrator. I just finished Quincas Borba and loved it deeply as well. Looking forward to Dom Casmurro and whatever else by him I can get. I enjoy how Assis uses satire and irony in his books.
After thinking about it a bit, I think Wuthering Heights was my favorite book read this year. To me, this book epitomizes the trifecta of gloomy, somber and mysterious. It’s hard to describe, but everything about this book felt heavy and cold like concrete. The interactions between characters swings between passionate devotion and deep, cold hatred. The depiction of family life and conflict felt fully fleshed out, everything had a certain weight to it and made the experience of reading the book feel “intense”. It’s like when combat i na videogame is described as “punchy” or “satisfying” if that makes sense at all. In other words, the vibes are off the charts in this one.
I don’t usually set reading goals for myself other than just keep doing it, but I thought it would be fun to put certain wishes of mine in writing.
i want to read a philosophy book by jiminy glick
great write up @Bonsai, nothing to feel cringe about for your earlier writings. you have me wanting to reread wuthering heights. if there is room for another mishima in you in 2025, i recommend confessions of a mask to the utmost, easily his most vulnerable book and maybe a skeleton key of sorts to close reading the rest of his oeuvre
Alan Partridge: HEATHCLIFF, it’s me Cathy. I’ve COME HOME. I’m so co-o-o-old
how could one man be so funny
It’s a difficult burden but I manage
came across Ignacio Echevarría’s “Los libros esenciales de la Literatura en Español narrativa de 1950 a nuestros días” [The essential narrative books of Spanish Language Literature from 1950 to the present day] (meaning 2011 in this case)
Some good picks some I don’t quite understand, and some major imo omissions. It’s pretty white dude-forward. Green book = english translation and smiley face = I would recommend. Puke face for the vargas. If anyone has any thoughts about individual works or authors please share @xhekros @JoJoestar . Looks like there’s a translation gap in 1990s Spanish fiction or at least according to Echevarria’s taste.
(havent read but this is a good writer so the book is probably good too) (havent read but this is a good writer it’s probably good too) thanks, @yeso. a great resource. i will add my own to the following:
also….no for 2666 or just an accidental omission?
i’m gonna take a page from the @RubySunrise book and try not to buy any books in 2025 so i guess i gotta stock up tonight
May I suggest adding a 
for your blunt rotation draft picks
not related to the list above but top of mind i would smoke weed with ts eliot just to see what happens
