pannpann Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Currently in the middle of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence and it's phenomenal! I'm trying to read books on the "I should have read this but it was never assigned" list from undergrad, and besides hating Love in the Time of Cholera, loving Invisible Cities and being greatly underwhelmed by Gulliver's Travels I have to say I am absolutely delighted with Wharton. I can't believe I hadn't read her before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fancypants09 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Ugh, I feel your pain. I found the first half pretty interesting but by the time I reached the end I was left with the impression that it coulda been waayyyyy more succinct. Have you tried The Secret History? Sorry, just saw this now---I had stopped reading, full stop, with the onset of anxieties last week. I'm only slowly recovering from the anxiety + excitement. Exhausting, really, with no desire to read whatsoever. I have, however, made it to page 180 of The Goldfinch and while it's picked up a bit, it's not quite the page-turner that everyone has been raving about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattie Roh Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 As an aside, I'm curious about everyone's reading speeds here. I feel sometimes that I crawl when I read novels (Victorian ones, in particular) and I'm not sure if I have a problem or not. I can usually do 40-50 pages an hour.. (that's a complete guess)? Critical writing is a whole other bag, though. I'm at about this speed as well. I've always felt I was a little slower than everyone else. Good to know I'm not the only one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I'm at about this speed as well. I've always felt I was a little slower than everyone else. Good to know I'm not the only one! I probably run around 30-35. I also need utter silence to read. I actually have a pair of industrial earmuffs I wear at home to block out ambient sound. It doesn't help that I have tinnitus (years of playing in a rock band, alas), but it's still mostly effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattie Roh Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I probably run around 30-35. I also need utter silence to read. I actually have a pair of industrial earmuffs I wear at home to block out ambient sound. It doesn't help that I have tinnitus (years of playing in a rock band, alas), but it's still mostly effective. Ha! I need silence, too. I'm always sitting on coffee shops with my hands over my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I probably run around 30-35. I also need utter silence to read. I actually have a pair of industrial earmuffs I wear at home to block out ambient sound. It doesn't help that I have tinnitus (years of playing in a rock band, alas), but it's still mostly effective. Ha! I need silence, too. I'm always sitting on coffee shops with my hands over my ears. Funny, sometimes I go to this site and turn on the ambient coffee shop noise when I'm home alone and trying to get some reading done! http://asoftmurmur.com/ pannpann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules773 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Currently in the middle of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence and it's phenomenal! I'm trying to read books on the "I should have read this but it was never assigned" list from undergrad, and besides hating Love in the Time of Cholera, loving Invisible Cities and being greatly underwhelmed by Gulliver's Travels I have to say I am absolutely delighted with Wharton. I can't believe I hadn't read her before. I loved The Age of Innocence, as well! I'm currently reading Daniel Deronda, and I have to say, I'm enjoying it much more than Middlemarch, which was a rewarding read but took me months to slog through. Also, hi everyone! I've been trolling the forum over the last few months-- I planned on applying to English Lit PhD programs this admissions cycle, but decided to defer for a year. Wishing everyone who is waiting to hear back the absolute best! Edited February 11, 2015 by jules773 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fancypants09 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I probably run around 30-35. I also need utter silence to read. I actually have a pair of industrial earmuffs I wear at home to block out ambient sound. It doesn't help that I have tinnitus (years of playing in a rock band, alas), but it's still mostly effective. For me speed depends on the material and the purpose for reading. If I'm reading for fun I can read up to 60 pages an hour---no problem devouring novels for funsies (this is why I can't understand my painful read of Donna Tartt's latest). But if I'm reading for work, then it's at 10 pages an hour, regardless of genre, language, size of font and page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramus Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I've moved on to reading Bourdieu's Distinction. I think its ideas are brilliant, but the prose is so turgid that I can only do about fifteen pages an hour. And even then I have to read it aloud to keep up with its convoluted syntax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowMoreSerious Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Uncle Tom's Cabin. __________________________ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Uncle Tom's Cabin. Nice. I had the opportunity to study it in depth last year. It was an eye-opener, to say the least. NowMoreSerious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__________________________ Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Funny, sometimes I go to this site and turn on the ambient coffee shop noise when I'm home alone and trying to get some reading done! http://asoftmurmur.com/ Yeah, sometimes more "flat" noises helps when there are distracting and erratic noises about. I'm kind of anal about peace and quiet when I'm reading too. This site is great though, so thanks for sharing! My downstairs neighbor is often either yelling at her dogs or blasting really obnoxious new agey music soundscapes and white buddhist "hip hop" about TM and nirvana and shit (really wish I'd never had the displeasure of being introduced to that particular genre of music). I sometimes remedy this with some harsh noise walls, which cancel out the distracting noises and allow me to get back to Piers Plowman, or whatever else I happen to be reading, in peace. In terms of current reads, I just picked up a copy of Aimé Césaire's Discourse on Colonialism to read through as I prepare to offer remedial supplements to the high school curriculum that wants me to teach about "Cultural Studies" and have my students read some Kipling to learn about colonialism. Another small step in my quixotic journey to turn these kids into communists... Hannalore and Katla 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannalore Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I sometimes remedy this with some harsh noise walls, which cancel out the distracting noises and allow me to get back to Piers Plowman, or whatever else I happen to be reading, in peace. Just want to jump in and say I am all about Piers Plowman. What a trip that was! __________________________ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__________________________ Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Just want to jump in and say I am all about Piers Plowman. What a trip that was! Yeah, I'm loving it. I keep getting interrupted from it for various reasons so I've been much more stop and go with it than I would prefer, unfortunately. Which version did you read? I'm reading the B-Text... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannalore Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Yeah, I'm loving it. I keep getting interrupted from it for various reasons so I've been much more stop and go with it than I would prefer, unfortunately. Which version did you read? I'm reading the B-Text... Yup, that's what I read. Seems like if you're going to choose one, B is the best bet. I've been meaning to get into C and compare though, since I like the whole Lollard angle and want to see the censoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowMoreSerious Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Nice. I had the opportunity to study it in depth last year. It was an eye-opener, to say the least. Yeah what's even more interesting, to me, are the novels written in response to it. In literary studies many people employ the whole, "Yeah, there was racist stuff in literature back then; it was the times." But I'm starting to study mostly-ignored 19th Century American novels that are unapologetically, and unabashedly racist and written for specifically pro-slavery racist political ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Yeah, sometimes more "flat" noises helps when there are distracting and erratic noises about. I'm kind of anal about peace and quiet when I'm reading too. This site is great though, so thanks for sharing! My downstairs neighbor is often either yelling at her dogs or blasting really obnoxious new agey music soundscapes and white buddhist "hip hop" about TM and nirvana and shit (really wish I'd never had the displeasure of being introduced to that particular genre of music). I sometimes remedy this with some harsh noise walls, which cancel out the distracting noises and allow me to get back to Piers Plowman, or whatever else I happen to be reading, in peace. No problem! The thought of "White Buddhist hip hop" makes me cringe already so I can only imagine what you have to deal with. Just want to jump in and say I am all about Piers Plowman. What a trip that was! The medievalist at my MA school edited the most recent Norton edition and he's a super brilliant genius guy. Having him teach Piers to us was a treat and a half! __________________________ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurayamino Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I hope I won't be mocked for this, but I've just started reading The Taming of the Shrew. I hadn't ever had a chance to read it in high school or in my class on Shakespeare (which focused more on the tragedies). I will say though, that I have seen Kiss Me Kate with Howard Keel (who was also fantastic in Kismet). I'm also re-reading Middlemarch for an in depth study of the book and it's very nice to read it at a leisurely 60 pages a week instead of having to finish the text in two weeks! I can actually enjoy it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramus Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 The medievalist at my MA school edited the most recent Norton edition and he's a super brilliant genius guy. Having him teach Piers to us was a treat and a half! No kidding! In addition to some other reading, I'm working my way through this edition right now. I'm not terribly fond of all the Norton Critical Editions, but I love this one. Hannalore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 No kidding! In addition to some other reading, I'm working my way through this edition right now. I'm not terribly fond of all the Norton Critical Editions, but I love this one. Yeah, it's so detailed and unique. I had to do a presentation in his class on New Philology using the Norton Piers as example. Lemme tell ya, presenting an expert in the field his own work definitely gave me heart palpitations. Luckily, he's a very generous and kind audience member (and commenter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I hope I won't be mocked for this, but I've just started reading The Taming of the Shrew. I hadn't ever had a chance to read it in high school or in my class on Shakespeare (which focused more on the tragedies). I will say though, that I have seen Kiss Me Kate with Howard Keel (who was also fantastic in Kismet). No shame in that! I've read a lot of Shakespeare, but haven't read Shrew either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snyegurachka Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I am reading Domesticating History, a history of the political origins of American house museums. Oh, and my thesis. Millions of times over and over again. I can't even remember the last time I read a fun, fiction book for something outside of school. I was on a pretty big Marguerite Duras kick but mostly reading short stories, essays, and newspaper articles. The joke here is that I am terrible nearsighted and have astigmatism that my glasses/contact lenses only sort of correct. The most comfortable way for me to read without getting a headache is to sit at a desk with a book in front of me at enough of a distance that I don't get dizzy. My days of being able to read in bed ended long ago.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Very much enjoyed As I Lay Dying. I used to say that I didn't care for Modernism (I still can't do Joyce, sorry), but I've read enough of it in the past year or so to realize that that's just not the case. Some brands of Modernism I still find obnoxious, but I find I'm opening up to some of the different approaches certain writers starting using in the '20s and '30s. Next on my docket will be The Two Noble Kinsmen and Brucker's Giovanni and Lusanna, followed by Jean Toomer's Cane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Very much enjoyed As I Lay Dying. I used to say that I didn't care for Modernism (I still can't do Joyce, sorry), but I've read enough of it in the past year or so to realize that that's just not the case. Some brands of Modernism I still find obnoxious, but I find I'm opening up to some of the different approaches certain writers starting using in the '20s and '30s. This (aside from Dubliners) was my first real encounter with Modernism and it hit me like a brick in the face. (PS. I can't believe you hate Joyce!) Also, has anyone picked up the new Ishiguro yet? His first in a decade... very exciting! Edited March 1, 2015 by 1Q84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonton Soup Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I have been on a Marxist tear lately--Marx to Luxemburg to Lenin and now about to start Lukacs. I'm trying to pack in a lot of fun reading that will be a bit harder to do once I start coursework again in the fall. poliscar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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