Let's Talk About Bookcore

[bicycleradical]

I miss those trappings. I find myself tiring of quick Internet reads and articles with distracting links embedded. Greatly prefer a long-form article in the Atlantic, New Yorker, NYRB, etc. About to go back and re-read some Dostoyevsky as well.

I understand how you feel. The short form writing is boring me as well. I've been delving back into books and longer articles lately as well.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

About to go back and re-read some Dostoyevsky as well.

Ha. I've just started reading The Brothers Karamazov in the newer translation and soon realised that, despite all the plaudits, it's one of the most tedious books ever written. And I have loved everything else I have read of his work.

 

[smittycl]

Ha. I've just started reading The Brothers Karamazov in the newer translation and soon realised that, despite all the plaudits, it's one of the most tedious books ever written. And I have loved everything else I have read of his work.

I read it in high school and loved it. We had to read one extra book per quarter above and beyond the syllabus. Instructor had them grouped in A+, A, or B+ options and Karamazov was in the A+ category. Thought I'd revisit now.

Ever read the Master & Margarita? I love that one. Actually made me laugh.

 

[otterhound]

Call me a philistine, but the convenience of reading Kindle e-books on phone or desktop has destroyed any desire in me to interact with physical books or go to a bookstore or library. I read many more full-length e-books than I ever read physical books due to the sheer ease of book discovery and reading on a screen. Plus, being able to download a sample before buying is the shiznit.

 

[smittycl]

Call me a philistine, but the convenience of reading Kindle e-books on phone or desktop has destroyed any desire in me to interact with physical books or go to a bookstore or library. I read many more full-length e-books than I ever read physical books due to the sheer ease of book discovery and reading on a screen. Plus, being able to download a sample before buying is the shiznit.

I find I concentrate better and read a bit more deeply with an actual book. eBooks on my iPad are nice but it's so tempting to access the Internet and just doodle around.

 

[bicycleradical]

I find I concentrate better and read a bit more deeply with an actual book. eBooks on my iPad are nice but it's so tempting to access the Internet and just doodle around.

Codex forever!

Codex - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[krudsma]

Loosely related, but I have a question about fit as it pertains to a bookcore outfit. My usual pit-to-pit measurement for a sportcoat is around 19.5". That said, I've been looking for an older, looser fitting jacket that might pair well with the vintage wide-leg trousers I've been wearing lately. If I were to find a jacket with a pit-to-pit of 21" or so, do you think this would feel cohesive with the look? Or would it just look like it doesn't fit? Obviously a lot of the other details would have an impact (shoulder measurement/padding, structure, cut of the jacket), but speaking strictly about the chest, is there some wiggle room in terms of what "fits" in the context of different aesthetics?

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Ever read the Master & Margarita? I love that one. Actually made me laugh.

One of my favourite novels of all time.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

Call me a philistine, but the convenience of reading Kindle e-books on phone or desktop has destroyed any desire in me to interact with physical books or go to a bookstore or library. I read many more full-length e-books than I ever read physical books due to the sheer ease of book discovery and reading on a screen. Plus, being able to download a sample before buying is the shiznit.

The pleasure of the text extends into the physicality of the book as far as I am concerened.

I have had to read reams of documentation for work assignments in electronic format so the there is no way I would read a book on a e reader.

I was working in a film art department and had to buy a copy of The Little Red Book by Mao…not the easiest task in 1991. I had to go to Goulds Book Exchange in Newtown..it was huge disorganised jumble

The owner Bob Gould was a bastion of the progressive left in Sydney from the late 60’s and established one of the first citizens against the Vietnam War movements, anti nukes and other progressive causes. The mourners sang the International at his funeral.

However he knew exactly were everything was and gave me directions through the labyrinth to where I found numerous editions of Mao. Sadly it closed years ago.

 

[Sir Jack II]

Ha. I've just started reading The Brothers Karamazov in the newer translation and soon realised that, despite all the plaudits, it's one of the most tedious books ever written. And I have loved everything else I have read of his work.

Are you reading the Pavear and Volokhonsky translation? I rereread the Brothers just a couple years ago and stuck with David Macduff’s (Penguin) after reading surprisingly contentious debates about the merits of the P&V.

On this reread, the Brothers seemed even more magnificent and much more hilarious than it did in my more youthful readings.

 

[smittycl]

Are you reading the Pavear and Volokhonsky translation? I rereread the Brothers just a couple years ago and stuck with David Macduff’s (Penguin) after reading surprisingly contentious debates about the merits of the P&V.

On this reread, the Brothers seemed even more magnificent and much more hilarious than it did in my more youthful readings.

I enjoyed their M&M translation as well as their War and Peace. I'll read their Karamazov as well I think.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

P&V. But I genuinely don't understand what either of you think is so funny about Brothers Karamazov. Mind you I have the same problem with Gogol, who people assured me was just hilarious, and who I find turgid and unbearable. And BTW, I read a fair bit of Russian literature (well, a fair bit of everything...).

 

[smittycl]

P&V. But I genuinely don't understand what either of you think is so funny about Brothers Karamazov. Mind you I have the same problem with Gogol, who people assured me was just hilarious, and who I find turgid and unbearable. And BTW, I read a fair bit of Russian literature (well, a fair bit of everything...).

Karamazov was funny? It's kind of sad and existential if I remember right. Master and Margarita, however, was very funny.

 

[MythReindeer]

Public library systems are terrific, and it is astounding how (relatively) little used many of them seem to be. I remember, as a child, just devouring books from the library and hitting my checkout limit every time my parents would take me. In the past couple of years I have gotten back into making regular trips to either the branch downtown near my office or the one near my home--just picked up "Elmer Gantry" by Sinclair Lewis and a biography of George Bird Grinnell a few days ago. My 6-year-old son loves making the trips and picking out books now, too.

I can't think about libraries' missions too deeply without sometimes tearing up. They're just so wonderful. I wish more things worked like the library. My city has a tool library, so you can borrow that tool you need once a decade for a weird task. I have not used that, but it's so cool.

 

[domdomdomdom]

You don't even know when it was created. It's not from the 80's. 9.5 out of 10 people haven't heard of it. There will always be subcultures created from minority communities and people on the margins. By the time you find out about it, it will have morphed into a different form and those people will have moved on or created a palpable version for your consumption. To say there are no subcultures anymore is just not factual. I'll take you into Black culture alone and show you a ton. There are subcultures around dress, music, food, sex, hair, dance, etc.

I'm far too late to be digging this up. I agree with your quoted post. I did want to make one point more in response to your throwaway comment about "footwork remaining underground in Chicago", which only serves to stratify what you call "underground". Footwork found an international online audience over a decade ago, when DJ Nate released "Da Trak Genius" EP on Planet MU. Ramadanman and others from the UK also began aping this style around that time. Just a few years later, DJ Rashad was releasing full-scale LPs on Hyperdub, one of the largest record labels of the "underground".