2018 50 Book Challenge

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Clockwise counting 39/50: Paul Auster and J.M. Coetzee - Here and Now - Letters 2008-2011 (2013)

Two novelists nurture their friendship through letter correspondence and three years of writing to each other has resulted in this book. An entertaining correspondence indeed, these two writers can certainly write! 

It is very refreshing to read such eloquent and insightful discussions on life, death, sports, current events, literature and of course their own writing. It wetted my appetite for more of their novels, I have not read many of Auster's books and I am still missing a few of Coetzee's. 

I am also looking forward to "Letters 2011-2014" if they decide to publish the continuation, I can't see that they would want to stop writing each other. Auster only writes real letters on his typewriter, posted from New York to Adelaide, Australia with due stampage, while Coetzee seems to fax his PC produced letters. Excellent!

 

[Steve B.]

Have you read Slow Man?

You're really skimming the waves this year- I'm guessing you'll hit 50 some time in June.

Looks like LonerMatt and California Dreamer (again) will make it as well.

 

[LonerMatt]

1. The Undivided pt 1
2. The Undivided pt 2
3. No Country for Old Men
4. The Difference Engine
5. Wake in Fright
6. The River of Doubt
7. The Pearl
8. Crytonomicon
9. Shot in the Dark
10. Malcolm X - Biography
11. Final Empire
12. The Quiet American.
13. Habibi
14. The Invisible Man
15. Tender is the Night
16. Guardians of the West
17. King of the Murgos
18. Demon lord of Khandar
19. Sorcress of Darshiva
20. Seeress of Kell
21. Once We Were Warriors

22. Winter of our Discontent

Usually I'm a massive Steinbeck fan, but this didn't really grab me. I found most of th dialogue obnoxiously brief and stilted, and the implications of certain actions/comments hard to follow. The introspection that makes Steinbeck's novels excellent (for me) was all but missing, as if each character was trying to avoid making any conclusions about their own feels/thoughts/actions.

 

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Have you read Slow Man?

You're really skimming the waves this year- I'm guessing you'll hit 50 some time in June.

Looks like LonerMatt and California Dreamer (again) will make it as well.

Yes I did read Slow Man, strange but very good. Coetzee has just published a new novel, The Childhood of Jesus, but I didn't yet see it in the bookstore. Reviews have been good. The main reason I am reading so much this year has been my extensive travels. I am already on my third trip to Asia this year and I have done one trip to the US as well as a couple within Europe. I usually read straight through my flights.

It is good we are 4 this year. We seem to be picking up a new one each year but it would have been nice if more from the What Are You Reading Right Now thread were joining.

By the way, both Wind Up Bird and Sputnik Sweetheart were excellent but I didn't like Kafka On the Shore as much as most of the Murakamis I had read before. His latest 1Q84 was very disappointing, a light version of Murakami, which almost seemed to have been written by a less talented plagiariser or a team of ghost writers.

 

[Steve B.]



Yes I did read Slow Man, strange but very good. Coetzee has just published a new novel, The Childhood of Jesus, but I didn't yet see it in the bookstore. Reviews have been good. The main reason I am reading so much this year has been my extensive travels. I am already on my third trip to Asia this year and I have done one trip to the US as well as a couple within Europe. I usually read straight through my flights.

It is good we are 4 this year. We seem to be picking up a new one each year but it would have been nice if more from the What Are You Reading Right Now thread were joining.

By the way, both Wind Up Bird and Sputnik Sweetheart were excellent but I didn't like Kafka On the Shore as much as most of the Murakamis I had read before. His latest 1Q84 was very disappointing, a light version of Murakami, which almost seemed to have been written by a less talented plagiariser or a team of ghost writers.

Perhaps we should offer a prize and then welch.

Kafka on the Shores got a lot of mixed reviews so I'll bump it down till at least 500.

58. The Whole Truth 2008 David Baldacci

The president of an arms corporation and a PM (perception management) firm team together to create a war. Which is working until they screw with an agent from an unnamed super secret multinational police force and his fiancee. The fiancee gets killed, the agent gets pissed and does a little killing himself. With the help of an alcoholic (female) journalist the plot is foiled and the bad guys get killed in the end. Which is a little cheesy. Otherwise it's pretty good.

I'm beginning to think I could write thrillers...

 

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Welch is reasonable under these circumstances.

Couldn't find Coetzee's latest either in Bangkok or Hong Kong book stores. Picked up Paul Auster's latest instead. But now reading another Kazuo Ishiguro.

There is a long list of amazing Murakamis that should be read instead of Kafka OTS.

 

[Steve B.]

I'm only reading List books... Must be a dozen by Coetzee. I'm reading them next. I disliked Disgrace, but I liked the others. I liked both books by McEwan that I read and there are quite a few of his as well.

Wish I could find a 2010 or 2012 with a check off list...

 

[LonerMatt]

It is good we are 4 this year. We seem to be picking up a new one each year but it would have been nice if more from the What Are You Reading Right Now thread were joining.

By the way, both Wind Up Bird and Sputnik Sweetheart were excellent but I didn't like Kafka On the Shore as much as most of the Murakamis I had read before. His latest 1Q84 was very disappointing, a light version of Murakami, which almost seemed to have been written by a less talented plagiariser or a team of ghost writers.

1. I like this more, as it's less a random assortment of people's reading, and more a focused look at how different people are progressing through their reading in a year. Much more interesting than random titles and people flitting in and out.

2. I have IQ84, I am not looking forward to reading it anymore ... (that being said, I had this illogical idea that it was 1984 set in Japan).

 

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There is this guy who has kept a spreadsheet online for a long time. I got the app for my iPhone a while ago. Then the app became unavailable due to some conflict with the publisher. Now I found the spreadsheet is possible to purchase online again. My app works very nicely but only has 2006, 2008 and 2010 editions. The spreadsheet has covered also 2012 edition. Maybe something you want to invest in?

http://johnandsheena.co.uk/books/?page_id=4230

 

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1. I like this more, as it's less a random assortment of people's reading, and more a focused look at how different people are progressing through their reading in a year. Much more interesting than random titles and people flitting in and out.

2. I have IQ84, I am not looking forward to reading it anymore ... (that being said, I had this illogical idea that it was 1984 set in Japan).

If you haven't read any Murakami before, you may still like 1Q84. It is entertaining in its own right. It just fails to deliver that special Murakami magic that made him such an unusual and world famous writer. It is also decidedly more simplistic, although much longer. Reading people's reviews of the book on amazon, there are lots out there who don't share my view.

 

[LonerMatt]

I've only read "What I talk about when I talk about running" - which is pretty non-standard. We'll see how I go when I get around to it.

....and an update.

1. The Undivided pt 1
2. The Undivided pt 2
3. No Country for Old Men
4. The Difference Engine
5. Wake in Fright
6. The River of Doubt
7. The Pearl
8. Crytonomicon
9. Shot in the Dark
10. Malcolm X - Biography
11. Final Empire
12. The Quiet American.
13. Habibi
14. The Invisible Man
15. Tender is the Night
16. Guardians of the West
17. King of the Murgos
18. Demon lord of Khandar
19. Sorcress of Darshiva
20. Seeress of Kell
21. Once We Were Warriors
22. Winter of our Discontent

23. Othello

One of the more interesting Shakespeare plays I've read. A tad predictable, and a little prolonged and dramatic, but generally pretty enjoyable (much more so than any other Shakespeare I've read).

 

[Steve B.]



There is this guy who has kept a spreadsheet online for a long time. I got the app for my iPhone a while ago. Then the app became unavailable due to some conflict with the publisher. Now I found the spreadsheet is possible to purchase online again. My app works very nicely but only has 2006, 2008 and 2010 editions. The spreadsheet has covered also 2012 edition. Maybe something you want to invest in?

http://johnandsheena.co.uk/books/?page_id=4230

DUDE...That is an AWESOME list. Thank you!

 

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DUDE...That is an AWESOME list. Thank you!

Happy to be of service to the mighty.

 

[Steve B.]

I don't feel mighty...But thank you.


Especially since I went down 20 books again.

Seems everybody has their own version.

It's good to see some McEwan and Coetzee books drop off. There were too many on there IMO.

 

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I don't have the 2012 list so I measure myself against the other three. Imagine when you drop 20 books again after publication of the 2032 edition. It will be hectic to get to 1001 before you die. Have you ticked off your read books in the new spreadsheet yet? What's your percentage score of your "best" list?