What are you reading at the moment?

[Feanor]

I'm working through The Blue and the White. It's a story about a Russian Imperial Navy officer graduating just on the eve of WWI. It handles questions of ethnic relations (he's in love with a Jewish girl), social questions (his best friend from childhood becomes a socialist agitator), issues of culture, class, and society. So far it's quite good. Unfortunately I don't think it's been translated, but in my opinion Lavrenev is a fantastic author worth checking out.

 

[d-ron84]

I am currently reading Harry Turtledove (alternate history fiction) and Peter F Hamilton (SF). There are couple of used book stores close to me and I am winnowing my way through their SF and fantasy sections. Finished some Raymond Feist (fantasy) books just before Xmas. Looking at some of Nigel Tranters historical fiction books. Read some years ago about James VI and Montrose et al.

Love some of the Alternate History stuff out there, I really liked Turtledove's "Worldwar" and Colonization" trilogies.
I've just started John Birmingham's "World War 3.1", a continuation of his "Axis of Time Trilogy."
I've also just completed the "Nantucket" trilogy.

 

[Feanor]

I picked up F. Scott Fitzegerald's Tender is the Night. I read his Tales of the Jazz Age, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned, and of course The Great Gatsby. So far he's more then living up to his reputation. Though to be fair between Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Steinbeck, I definitely prefer the latter.

 

[Feanor]

I'm working my way through a collection of short stories by Julio Cortazar. While he's considered a master, a sort of successor to Borges almost, so far I'm ambivalent. Some of his work I like, others not so much. I'm wondering if my translation is the issue. If anyone else has read him, feel free to speak up what your thoughts are.

 

[Feanor]

I've started on Our Acquaintances by Yuri German. He was another of that early Soviet phalanx of writers who started in the '20s, but went on through WWII. He isn't normally considered one of the great, but he's quite good. Some of his work has been translated into english, but not for a while. If you try to find him, you'll be hunting for those old Soviet-era foreign publications.

 

[Feanor]

I'm working my way through Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos. Previously I've read his USA trilogy and found it quite compelling. It's almost a window into the US of that time period. Manhattan Transfer, what I've gotten through so far, weaves together different threads of stories from people all in Manhattan despite their different walks in life. It appears to be setting up that many (given the title maybe all?) won't be ending there, rather it acts as a sort of transfer station where people spend some time, accomplish or fail at something, and then move on a different track. It makes for an interesting picture of the city and it's society from the pre-WWI period (at least so far). I'm enjoying it thus far, and I suspect I will be picking up many more of his works as time goes on.

 

[Feanor]

I've recently inhaled Richard Matheson's I am Legend. It's mostly nothing like the film, and very good. The plot is unexpected, the book is grim, and the book is probably the best post-apocalyptic novel I've read. I definitely recommend it, and I will be looking for other works by him.

 

[Feanor]

I just finished reading Anatoliy Rybakov's Heavy Sand. It's a powerful work, fictional in principle, though pieced together and firmly based on real stories. It tells the story of a Jewish community in a small town in northern Ukraine, near the RSFSR border, starting with the story of a family, and the town, and eventually culminating in the fate of this community under Nazi occupation during WWII. It's dark, powerful, and deeply revealing. I found it more compelling then Wiesel's Night, though this might be because of my own cultural background. It's definitely been translated into English and is available. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject, or looking for a good Russian novel.