Iain Smith
@IainSmithNZ
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I quite like books.
Wellington Region, New Zealand
Joined April 2020
Belatedly, my best of 2024. Powys, Llosa, White and Turner were standouts, though on another day I’d happily single out others!
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@henryjwright @dklive2 Can understand that but there is a lot of narrative nested in the footnotes that’s best not missed - if you ever decide to go again, that is.
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@StevenErlanger I just had to have a Vollmann in there and it was quite a tough choice in the end. Another day it could easily have been Europe Central, The Royal Family or even Argall, which I have a soft spot for.
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@Apocryphal_Book No, Gaddis isn’t difficult. Any reader will need to adjust to his style but that’s part of the pleasure. I think Franzen did him a great disservice with that “Mr Difficult” comment.
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@TheWhyOfFI Absolutely prioritise rest as Zach says but if you need some shorter books to try: Death in Spring, Pedro Peramo, Too Loud a Solitude, Pitch Dark, M31: A Family Romance, Aphasia, The Third Policeman, Zama, Saint Sebastian’s Abyss, They, Doom Town, The Doloriad, The Long Cut…
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@henryjwright First time I read the paperback I immediately swooped for the hard cover. It’s far superior to that pokey mass market type edition we see here in NZ (which is just not the best way to read this book).
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@orbis_quintus That is a cover for the ages and pretty much sums up the feel of the book I think. If Cisco’s not your thing I can see how this might not appeal, especially over the long haul.
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@darwin8u @DCGranville I’ve been meaning to go back to figure out if the book is as trippy as I think or if that was just the tramadol I was on, recovering from a bad mountain bike crash - but I like not being sure on this point. However you go about it you’ll be ambushed.
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@giger_paul30975 All good. I considered GR but it’s still a work-on for me. Though I’ve read it, it needs a better, more considered read from me now that I’m 25 years older. Am planning to revisit, maybe next year.
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@OnixOnux I really liked The Royal Family too. I’ve also heard nothing but good about The Dying Grass. I have a good feeling that it might jump to the top of the order when I read it later this year.
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@giger_paul30975 Right here.
A stack of no surprises. The books that immediately simmer to the surface of my mind if asked to compile a top 10. Almost all of them are the first that I read by these writers and are memorable for it.
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