What are you reading

[RyanWreck]

Suburban Hustler by Aaron Lawrence. Read the review o Cruising For Sex and thought it might be of interest. Well it wasn't a totally let down but it wasn't amazing. I must be jaded about this stuff from all the Sotos I have been reading for years and years.

[HongKongGoolagong]

David Morehouse 'Psychic Warrior' (1995)

Unbelievably bizarre account of life in secret US military remote viewing facilities, where highly trained soldiers meet the spirit world head on. Alternately hilarious and creepy. NB I was 'guided' towards finding this rare book in a second-hand shop by my own 'gifts' ;)

[Mme Deficit]

Currently reading this:


And I've recently finished this:

[tiny_tove]

"La gioia armata" - Alfredo Bonanno.
Theoretical pamphlet for anarchist armed struggle. Written in the 70's, banned and burned for a long time, now easily available on the net. Definitely suits this new -apparently- anarchist oriented uprise in Italy with bombs, vandalism and one shooting.
The book itslef is completely out of reality, but some remarks are very intense.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I have probably 5 different versions of this, but couldn't refuse to buy quite new Finnish edition with so neat look on the book since it was so cheap. Very traditional hardcover. Absurdity of nonsense and level of violence is so high, you sometimes wonder what exactly children get from it - or do they get more? It's quite quick read and story ends very abruptly.
There is now 6 finnish translations? Curiously one done in 60's (2nd translation) was banned, since court ruled it destroys the artistic value of the book. 2010 book consisting also Through the Looking Glass, is told to be absolutely best and most joyful of all. It has also original artwork (except if you consider Carrolls own sketchbook version of story "original").

[ARKHE]

How has the prose & rhymes translated into Finnish? I remember from the Swedish edition that the translator claimed it was one of the hardest works in his career, with all the paraphrased nursery rhymes etc that Victorian kids, and in some cases contemporary ones would get, but Swedes/non-Brits would miss completely, an appropriating it to Swedish cultural heritage.


Started working through the anthology "Beyond Binary - Gender-queer and sexually fluid speculative fiction", but after a few short stories I gave up. I appreciate the attempt but many of the stories seemed too arbitrary, semi-Medieval or urban fantasy (I prefer proper science fiction). Just to provoke against the reader's expectations, "they should be monogamous heterosexuals, but they are... polyamorous transvestites!" Some of the stories portrayed some interesting "perversions", for example one fantasy story where warriors travel in quads (2 males 2 females in open sexual relationship), and the "hero" who hooks up with one of these groups turn out to be sexually aroused by his style of fighting only - each time he practices, it is sex for him, which of course is a bit troublesome when he realizes that by practicing with his friends, he rapes them unknowingly. But all in all there was a bit too much point-proving, which seems to often be the case in thematical anthologies.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky

Good example showing the poem in its original english form, and 4 "translations" in Finnish. When original poem is nonsense, each "translation" differs drastically. It could be hard to even recognize that we're talking about same poem, if we see the verse separately. How accurately they represent the original spirit and intention - I leave that judgement to literature professors - such as the translator herself was. To me it worked well.

[Human Larvae]

I haven't really ever read alice in wonderland. What is so violent about it, the "off with their heads" bit?

[FreakAnimalFinland]

That, but also for example the visit in house where they appear problems with child torture, but eventually child turn out to be pig.

[tiny_tove]

total classic...
and definitely not a children's book.


I am reading Mario Mierli's Homosexuality and Liberation: Elements of a Gay Critique.
Very extreme book dealing by Italy's cult gay figure that definitely touches some nerves.
History seen as a curruption of nature due to heterosexual rule that negates the intrinsic transexuality of humanity.
Visionary suggestion for liberation through a transexual communist utopia...

Despite being an icon for many righteous homosexuals, his work definitely differs from the classic raimbow coloured rethoric and stresses out and ecourage pedohilia, necrophilia, tranvestitism and coprophilia.
I was not expecting such an extreme approach. Although I do not agree with one single sentence I have read until now, it has become an instant classic.
I have discovered he was born in my hometown and after he killed himself with gas he got buried 5 mins drive from where I am writing.
Definitely want to know more about and see what political homosexuals think about his legacyabout child abuse and poo fetishism.

http://libcom.org/library/gay-communism-mario-mieli

[Strömkarlen]

Speaking about Gay. Have anyone read Destroyer?



The gay establishment in Sweden hates it so I guess it could be good...

And speaking about gay I was asked yesterday if I was woman by a transsexual. I thought the beard would be a give away but no. He was trying out his new outfit by the kids pool/fountain in our yard. The kids looked at him like the UFO he really was. 

[Tenebracid]

ian brady's gates of janus. found a 2nd hand copy (first page has handwritten "mother's day 2002" and there are stains of dry blood? or is it chocolate? in some pages) of this in abebooks uk for dirt cheap. Takes me a bit more effort to read since english is not my mother tongue but it's a pretty addictive read so far

[NEHPF]

Kuolema - Oikeuslääkäri Selvittää by Kari Karkola

Cheap paperback by old school coroner. He explains the work in common language with his own remarks, and throws in some stories about peculiar cases.

[ConcreteMascara]

Philip K Dick - The Divine Invasion

Second part of Dick's final trilogy. Read VALIS back in college and never thought to read the next two books. It's good so far but not quite as good as VALIS.

[H.H*D.H]

I never got into Philip K. Dick. The writing is too boring for me, even if the ideas and story are good. His books simply can't hold my interest.

I recently finished Kawabata's Thousand Cranes. Enjoyed it completely. Kawabata is probably my favourite japanese writer. His stories aren't too amazing but his minimalistic writing is just too good. While most writers descripe a lot of the places, things that happen and so on, Kawabata leaves most of that out focusing on the interaction of the characters instead. While I enjoyed the book some of the things that cause distress or are taken as insults confuse me but maybe I should be japanese and live in that time period to understand them.

Now I am reading The Golden Pavilion by Mishima. It's much darker in tone than Kawabata's book and the text is far more heavier but it clearly stands on it's own feet as a good read.