Tuesday 19 March 2013

L-Space- The Glass Cabinet

My review of Small Gods is tumbling out of control, as previously unknown stores of real effort have been accessed by my brain for some reason, so it's going to take me a little while. In the meantime, I've been buying books again because I can't help it. I just have so much nerdy fun hunting for these things in small little shops that I gave up on trying to limit it a while ago. So, in the spirit of vague organisation, the contents of the glass cabinet in my room are...

Haruki Murakami- After Dark, Dance Dance Dance & Underground- The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche
I've been a fan of Murakami for years now but since I tend to have little focus on what I'm going to read next, it's taken me a long time to get near the end of his bibliography. These are the final three of his widely available novels, though there are a couple more early ones from different publishers available online too.

Cormac McCarthy- The Border Trilogy- All the Pretty Horses, Cities of the Plain & The Crossing
While I've not given up on really enjoying Cormac McCarthy, I have come to realise that, despite how much I liked The Road, he's never going to become a favourite author. His famous Border Trilogy is the most well-known of his work that I haven't read, and I picked the three books up very cheaply a while ago. The problem is if the first book ends up being like Blood Meridian then I'm just going to give up on it completely and give them all back to the charity shop, especially since there's so much else I have to read.

Sam Kean- The Disappearing Spoon
Alex Boese- Elephants on Acid and other Bizarre Experiments
Bertrand Russel- ABC of Relativity
I'm enjoying more and more non-fiction recently, and I've always wanted to know a little more about science, though only if the book entertains me enough because I'm fickle. I've also wanted to read a bit of Bertrand Russel for a while, and that happened to be the first book of his I saw.

George Orwell-  Burmese Days & Homage to Catalonia
I've read Homage to Catalonia before, but that was a while ago and at the time I didn't get anything out of it. I love Orwell and so I feel the need to rectify that by reading it again. Burmese Days, meanwhile is his first novel, and the only one left for me to read for the first time.

Phillip Reeve- Mortal Engines
I think some young adult fiction can be brilliant, and I haven't read any in a while. This was recommended to me and I'm pretty hyped for it.

Chris Ayres- War Reporting for Cowards
Jon Ronson- The Men Who Stared at Goats
Back on the non-fiction trail, on more of a military track. I've really got no interest in that sort of thing for the sake of it, but these seemed like interesting books on their own merit.

Simon Garfield- The Wrestling
I've read this before too, back in the legendary Aberystwyth Town Library. It was great, and I'm a big pro-wrestling nerd, so once I saw it again I snatched it up.

Charles Bukowski- Women & Notes of a Dirty Old Man
I've only read one Bukowski novel, Post Office, but it's one of those times where you read an author's work for the first time and you just know you're going to love everything he's ever done.

Jack Kerouac- On the Road
Read this years and years ago, didn't quite get it. The new film came out last year and I wanted to reread it before I watched it. So far I've done neither.

Alex Garland- The Beach
During my first year at University (the year where your final mark doesn't count towards the degree) I had questions come up on this book during an exam, and I hadn't read it. Passed by one mark. Should be interesting.

Terry Pratchett- Dodger
I didn't particularly enjoy Nation, Pratchett's previous, recent non-Discworld book, so I don't have my hopes up too high for this. But perhaps I shouldn't doubt Sir Terry.

Truman Capote- Breakfast at Tiffany's & In Cold Blood
Herbert Selby Jr.- Last Exit to Brooklyn
Both authors who I'm very keen to start reading for the first time.

Paul Auster- Moon Palace
As I did with Murakami, I've been going slowly with Auster despite him being one of my favourite authors. I don't know anything about this book except that he wrote it, and therefore I want to read it.

W. Somerset Maugham- Cake and Ale & The Magician
Oscar Wilde- Complete Shorter Fiction
Grouped together because they're both very well respected classic English authors, and I'm slowly going through their work. I'm intruiged by The Magician and the character of Oliver Haddo, particularly thanks to Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series.

George R.R. Martin- A Song of Ice and Fire 05- A Dance with Dragons 01- Dreams and Dust
I've been holding off on this for a while now, simply because it's so damn long it's going to take an age to get through.

David Nicholls- Starter for Ten
I like the premise but I have no experience of the author and he's of the type I'm usually suspisious of because I'm a hipster.

Jorge Luis Borges- A Universal History of Infamy & Dr. Brodie's Report
Collected short stories from a very famous author who I have very limited experience of. These two very short collections should be a good introduction.

Carlos Castaneda- The Eagle's Gift & A Seperate Reality
All I know is that they sounded really interesting and that episode of The Simpsons where Homer trips out for twenty minutes is kind of an homage.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky- Letters from the Underground
Euripedes- Madea and Other Plays
Jean-Dominique Bauby- The Diving-Bell & The Butterfly
R.K. Narayan- The Guide
A few world classics that I'll probably enjoy to varying extents, but I always enjoy finding out and forming an opinion.

Kobo Abe- The Face of Another
I first read a Kobo Abe book (The Woman in the Dunes) about seven years ago. I loved it, and decided that I really wanted to read more. This is how long it takes me to do anything. Seriously though, Japanese literature is something I want to explore a lot more,

Russel Hoban- Amaryllis Night and Day
I literally have no memory of buying this, nor can I exactly work out why. Actually, it's probably all the review quotes on the cover.

Gore Vidal- Messiah
Because he died recently and this looked interesting.

Pierre Boulle- Planet of the Apes
Classic French science fiction from the 1960's that also happens to be Planet of the Apes? How could I not buy this?

Phillip Pullman- The Good Man Jesus and the Soundrel Christ
The man who wrote the His Dark Materials trilogy will forever have my undying respect, and if he wants to re-write the story of Jesus Christ then by God I'll read it.

Anthony Storr- The Dynamics of Creation
J.A.C. Briwn- Techniques of Persuasion
These two are both Pelican paperback non-fiction, as part of a series identifiable by their bright blue back covers. I've read a few in the past and some can be fascinating, it's kind of a gamble since I have no idea who the authors are. These are both analytical philosophy, or so they look. If they're crap, I'll give up on them quickly.

Christopher Marlow- Faustus
Goethe- Faust
Published in one very nice-looking classic hardback edition, I wanted to read Faustus again because it was the very first thing I studied at University. Goethe's equally famous version will be interesting.

Judge Dredd- The Complete Case Files Vol. 10
The Boys- Vol. 7
The Walking Dead- Book 1
Nemo- Heart of Ice
That's my current graphic novel to-read collection. I've been reading the former two at a slow pace for a year or so now, but I couldn't resist waiting to finish The Boys before starting The Walking Dead, especially after the third season of the TV show reignited my interest. Nemo, meanwhile, is the newest installment in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series.

I think that's it all covered. I'm more intimidated now than anything else.

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