The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

WALDENPOND

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I only read this for the first time last month - I'd read other works by Steinbeck, (Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men) but for whatever reason I hadn't gotten around to reading what I guess is considered one of his greatest..

Read the whole thing in a couple of days, and initially before reading I didn't even really know what the book was about, but realised early on how it was likely to turn out based on the plot of In Dubious Battle - The book has stuck with me since and only last night watched the 1940 film adaption for the first time too -

Obviously wasn't surprised that the final scene of the book was cut from the film, but a little dissapointed that the film changed the order of events to make it seem like the Joads had probably dealt with the 'worst of it' - but then again this was 1940 and it would be interesting to know whether or not critics at the time considered the movie 'too left' or 'red sympathising', despite my own bias feeling as though the movie probably went to the conservative side of Steinbeck's story.

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anyway, the book I am reading now is Coming Up for Air by George Orwell. It actually arrived in the mail last Friday from an anonymous source... Addressed to me, but no note and no return address anywhere... A rather curious event to occur, I have my suspect and despite denials from them, I still think they sent it... for some reason.. ? o_O
After only reading Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. What would you suggest be the best Steinbeck book to recommend I read?
 

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radiojake

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Cannery Row was the first Steinbeck that I read - I still think it's my favourite but I don't know if I'm being sentimental about it - I haven't re-read it for a long time, but the characters he developed were great -
 

Quinz

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Just started a book I've been meaning to read for a long time- A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin. About the middle east after the first world war, and the factors that lead to the creation of the modern states in that area.
 

Dagless

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I'm finding it interesting. Only 2 or 3 chapters in and trying to get a hold of where all the characters sit in terms of good, bad or somewhere in between.
Definitely the point, especially with the 'gods'.

Currently reading Pharmako Poeia: Power Plants, Poisons and Herbcraft by Dale Pendell. Part of a trilogy he wrote, it's a weird amalgam of 'scientific' research and Pendell's poetics. The research of course revolving around psychoactive plant-based drugs. You would be silly to take it TOO seriously, but it's pretty fun. Particularly enjoy the relationships he describes between contexts and the resultant effect of the drug on that context. ie, for 'Cannabis Sativa', the correspondences are as such.

Form of Energy - Biomass
Grammar - Language of birds
Discipline - Music
Crutch for - Statis
Archetype - Jester

Get into it Gough
 

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2w2l

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I AM READING GOOD BOOKS RIGHT NOW-
The Crying of Lot 49 by that post-modern person with a name like "Python"
Got a chapter to go in "HOW MUSIC WORKS" written by God aka David Byrne from the greatest bad ever **** yeah.

Got CONFEDEREACY OF DUNCES lined up next.
 

2w2l

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Started Gravity's Rainbow. Until recently, I knew nothing about Pynchon except that he wears a paper bag donning a ? over his head for public appearances, but now I know he is also the keeper of every banana recipe ever made.
I've carried this book to like so many countries and never opened the first page :( but I'm reading a Pynchon now :)
 

fpcookie

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Currently reading: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

Have seen the movie, it is one of my favourites. Keen to see how he ties it all together in the book as the six different time periods are written in chapter order first chonologically then reverse-chonologically, whereas the movie it's all chopped up.
 
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