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== of [[Fabrice]] == | == of [[Fabrice]] == | ||
− | {{pet}} in no particular order (I aggregate at the end). Entries | + | {{pet}} in no particular order (I aggregate at the end). Entries striken through are those I finally read (maybe with a line or not commenting on my experience). You might also be interested in its scientific counterparts (for [[Scientific books to read|books]] and [[papers to read|papers]]). |
+ | |||
+ | A good source of suggestions is [https://thegreatestbooks.org/ thegreatestbooks.org] that compiles [https://thegreatestbooks.org/lists/details various lists] of "best books". | ||
# <s>''Darkness at Noon''</s>, Arthur Koestler, set in 1938 during the Stalinist purges and Moscow show trials. | # <s>''Darkness at Noon''</s>, Arthur Koestler, set in 1938 during the Stalinist purges and Moscow show trials. | ||
+ | #* Interesting for its role in shaping Orwell's thoughts, but actually failing to convey the atrocity and fear of totalitarianism, precisely what Orwell achieves. | ||
# <s>''Le Feld-Maréchal von Bonaparte''</s> and ''Au bon beurre'', Jean Dutourd. | # <s>''Le Feld-Maréchal von Bonaparte''</s> and ''Au bon beurre'', Jean Dutourd. | ||
− | #* Following reading le Feld-Maréchal in [[July (2018)]], and recognizing Dutourd as a major contemporary writer and thinker, I add to this list ''Le Septième Jour'', ''2024'', ''Rivarol'' and ''Mémoires de Mary Watson'' as a first salve (there are more titles of interest). | + | #* Following reading le Feld-Maréchal in [[July (2018)]], and recognizing Dutourd as a major contemporary writer and thinker, I add to this list ''Le Septième Jour'', ''2024'', <wz tip="Not from Dutourd but his selection of favourite texts; Rivarol seemed so influential in the Feld-Maréchal that this seems a must-read.">''Rivarol''</wz> and ''Mémoires de Mary Watson'' as a first salve (there are more titles of interest). |
# ''The Diary of a Young Girl'' of [[Anne Frank]], classic. | # ''The Diary of a Young Girl'' of [[Anne Frank]], classic. | ||
# <s>''Things Fall Apart''</s>, Chinua Achebe (1958), as the most widely read book in contemporary African literature, focuses on the clash of colonialism, Christianity, and native African culture. | # <s>''Things Fall Apart''</s>, Chinua Achebe (1958), as the most widely read book in contemporary African literature, focuses on the clash of colonialism, Christianity, and native African culture. | ||
+ | #* A masterpiece with a deserved position in the list of universal and timeless writings. Achebe's Nigerian particular case describes the estranged man from any cultural background. It resonated a lot with me. As the first part of the African trilogy, this brings ''No Longer at Ease'' and ''Arrow of God'' in my list. | ||
# ''Syntactic Structures'' Noam Chomsky (1957), laying out his ideas of transformational grammar, revolutionized the field of linguistics and at the same time dethroned behaviorism in psychology. | # ''Syntactic Structures'' Noam Chomsky (1957), laying out his ideas of transformational grammar, revolutionized the field of linguistics and at the same time dethroned behaviorism in psychology. | ||
# ''Seven Habits of Highly Successful People'' Stephen Covey (1989) set the standard for books on leadership and effectiveness in business. | # ''Seven Habits of Highly Successful People'' Stephen Covey (1989) set the standard for books on leadership and effectiveness in business. | ||
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# ''Confessions of a Mask'', Yukio [[Mishima]], on homosexuality in wartime Japan; I put the more urgent ''Temple of the Golden Pavilion'' on my [[Blog:Fabrice/My_May_reading_list:_Sade,_Nabe_and_Mishima.|May reading list]]. | # ''Confessions of a Mask'', Yukio [[Mishima]], on homosexuality in wartime Japan; I put the more urgent ''Temple of the Golden Pavilion'' on my [[Blog:Fabrice/My_May_reading_list:_Sade,_Nabe_and_Mishima.|May reading list]]. | ||
# ''Billy-Ze-Kick'', Jean Vautrin, recommended by [[Henri Guillemin]] [http://goo.gl/UY2fl2]. | # ''Billy-Ze-Kick'', Jean Vautrin, recommended by [[Henri Guillemin]] [http://goo.gl/UY2fl2]. | ||
− | # ''Le camp des Saints'', Jean Raspail. | + | # ''<s>[[Le camp des Saints]]</s>'', Jean Raspail. |
+ | #* Premonitory. | ||
# <s>Catch-22</s>, major contemporary work that sets out the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(logic) catch-22 fallacy]. | # <s>Catch-22</s>, major contemporary work that sets out the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(logic) catch-22 fallacy]. | ||
+ | #* Disappointing. Too clever, the same trick ad nauseam quickly tired me. As compared to Slaughterhouse 5, this is mere litterature. | ||
# Works from [https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ric-Emmanuel_Schmitt Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt] such as <s>[https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Visiteur_(Schmitt) Le Visiteur]</s> or <s>[https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27%C3%89vangile_selon_Pilate L'Évangile selon Pilate]</s>. | # Works from [https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ric-Emmanuel_Schmitt Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt] such as <s>[https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Visiteur_(Schmitt) Le Visiteur]</s> or <s>[https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27%C3%89vangile_selon_Pilate L'Évangile selon Pilate]</s>. | ||
+ | #* Fine but one can do without. The ''jounal d'un roman volé'' after the ''Évangile selon Pilate'' is more interesting than the work itself. No hurry in this life to read more from this Author, whose masterpiece seems a poor man's version of [[Kazantzakis]] (but don't avoid it if curious yourself). | ||
# The Good Soldier Švejk, a classic of Czech literature. | # The Good Soldier Švejk, a classic of Czech literature. | ||
− | # Everything from [[Kurt Vonnegut]]; after reading ''Slaughterhouse 5'', I realised that Vonnegut is probably a favourite Author (what ''Cat's cradle'' by itself did not make me realise right away although it gives a consistent picture). This could include as a first further exploring: ''Player Piano'' (first novel), <s>''Mother Night''</s> (memoirs of the American Nazi met by Bobby Pilgrim) and ''Galapagos'', as a later work, featuring Darwinism. ''Breakfast of Champions'' should also surface at some point. | + | # Everything from [[Kurt Vonnegut]]; after reading ''Slaughterhouse 5'', I realised that Vonnegut is probably a favourite Author (what ''Cat's cradle'' by itself did not make me realise right away although it gives a consistent picture). This could include as a first further exploring: ''Player Piano'' (first novel), <s>''Mother Night''</s> (memoirs of the American Nazi met by Bobby Pilgrim) and ''Galapagos'', as a later work, featuring Darwinism. ''<s>Breakfast of Champions</s>'' should also surface at some point. |
# The portrait of the artist as a young man, not in my [[Blog:Fabrice/My_August_(2017)_reading_list|Joyce's reading list selection]] of August 2017. | # The portrait of the artist as a young man, not in my [[Blog:Fabrice/My_August_(2017)_reading_list|Joyce's reading list selection]] of August 2017. | ||
# ''Robinson Crusoe'', Defoe, classic. | # ''Robinson Crusoe'', Defoe, classic. | ||
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# ''White Teeth'', Zadie Smith | # ''White Teeth'', Zadie Smith | ||
# ''The Man Without Qualities'', Robert Musil | # ''The Man Without Qualities'', Robert Musil | ||
+ | # The remaining novels from [[Victor Hugo]] I haven't read yet: ''Bug-Jargal'', ''Han d'Islande'', ''Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné'', ''Claude Gueux'', ''Les Travailleurs de la mer'' and ''L'Homme qui rit''. | ||
+ | # ''Saint Joan'' by George Bernard Shaw. | ||
+ | # [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bone_Clocks The Bone Clocks] by David Mitchell. | ||
+ | # ''The Pigeon'' (Die Taube), Süskind. | ||
+ | # Soljénitsyne's books: ''Une journée d'Ivan Denissovitch'', ''Deux siècles ensemble'', etc. | ||
+ | # Books recommended by [http://quantum.info/andrew/interests/index.html Andrew White]: "The Future Eaters", by Tim Flannery; "Guns, Germs & Steel", by Jared Diamond; "The Red Queen", by Matt Ridley; and "The Language Instinct", by Steven Pinker. | ||
+ | # ''Batouala'' de René Maran, Français noir d'origine guyanaise, Goncourt 1921 pour son roman "véritable roman nègre". | ||
+ | # ''Ivanhoe'', [[Walter Scott]] (made [[Ashby de la Zouche]]'s castle famous). | ||
+ | # [[Kary Mullis]]' [http://www.karymullis.com/pdf/thoughts-books.pdf reading list] (itself a must-read), including Julian Barbour's "The End of Time", Max G. Gergel's "Excuse Me Sir, Would you like to buy a Kilo of Isopropyl Bromide" or David Bohm's "Wholeness and the Implicate Order". | ||
+ | # All of [[Burgess]], or almost, starting with a selection of his most-interesting looking pieces after those [[Blog:Fabrice/My_biblical_Burgess_reading_list|already read]] (and in addition to [[Ninety-Nine Novels|his own reading list]]): | ||
+ | ## [[1985]], Burgess' take on [[1984]], can't be missed (top of the sub-list). | ||
+ | ## [[Napoleon Symphony]], no comments necessary. | ||
+ | ## [[The End of the World News]], following [[Trotsky]], [[Freud]] and the future. | ||
+ | ## [[M/F]], unclear what this is but Burgess' own personal favourite. | ||
+ | ## [[Blog:Fabrice/My_biblical_Burgess_reading_list|Biblical trilogy]]: [[Moses]], [[Man of Nazareth]] and [[The Kingdom of the Wicked]]. | ||
+ | ## [[Any old iron]], seemingly with the same epic journey throughout history than in Earthly Powers, which was one of the highly appealing features of the novel. | ||
+ | ## [[One Hand Clapping]] on the demise of Western culture. | ||
+ | ## [[The Wanting Seed]] on overpopulation. | ||
+ | ## [[The Right to an Answer]] on returning from exile. | ||
+ | ## [[A Vision of Battlements]] his first novel, written in [[Gibraltar]] during [[WW2]]. | ||
+ | ## The "exotic novels": [[Time for a Tiger]], [[The Enemy in the Blanket]], [[Beds in the East]] and [[Devil of a State]]. | ||
+ | ## The Enderby series: [[Inside Mr Enderby]], [[Enderby Outside]], [[Enderby's End]] (aka "the Clockwork Testament") and [[No End to Enderby]] (aka "Enderby's Dark Lady"). | ||
+ | ## [[An Essay on Censorship]], as title says. | ||
+ | ## [[Homage to Qwert Yuiop]], essay on journalism. | ||
+ | ## [[One Man's Chorus]], latest pieces (essay, articles...) | ||
+ | ## [[The Doctor Is Sick]]. | ||
+ | ## [[The Pianoplayers]], a similar title to [[Vonnegut]]'s first novel. | ||
+ | ## [[Little Wilson and Big God]] and [[You've Had Your Time]], biographies. | ||
+ | # [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_a_Super-Tramp The autobiography of a super-tramp] by [[W. H. Davies]], that inspired [[Supertramp]]. | ||
I have a much longer reading list but it is not in electronic format yet, so I just add titles here now. | I have a much longer reading list but it is not in electronic format yet, so I just add titles here now. |
in no particular order (I aggregate at the end). Entries striken through are those I finally read (maybe with a line or not commenting on my experience). You might also be interested in its scientific counterparts (for books and papers).
A good source of suggestions is thegreatestbooks.org that compiles various lists of "best books".
I have a much longer reading list but it is not in electronic format yet, so I just add titles here now.