New books and stuff

[Stjepan Veliki]

I just bought my christmas presents (for myself - woot!)Music: 8 albumsSavage Circus - Dreamland Manor***For Blind Guardian fans, Thomen Stauch's new band after he left Blind Guardian. Sounds like old BG and is highly awesome.Bathory - Nordland I & II***The final two-album opus of the legendary band before the death of Quorthon.Paradise Lost - Shades of God***Completing my Paradise Lost collection! woot!Neurosis - Through Silver and Blood***Experimental post-hardcore + sludge metal. Like a lot of the more avante-garde doom metal bands in some ways.Manowar - Hail to England***I decided to purchase the first four Manowar albums (but not the ones afterwards as they're less creative. I'll just have them on mp3). This will be my first one. woot.Witchcraft - s/t***This is a very new band playing a very strong classic doom style very much influenced by Pentagram (US). Quite awesome.Mourning Beloveth - A Murderous Circle***The latest album by the Irish doom metallers. I've heard parts of it and though it has less of the classic doom feel of the older stuff it is nonetheless quite cool.I've also bought a ton of books at as low cost as I could get. Some of them for less than $2. They include (organized by author):Witold Gombrowicz-Cosmos-Pornografia-FerdydurkeExtremely good Polish writer whose books can be described as more or less absurdist (his diary, which I have read parts of, is particularly so). They're always very psychological and paradoxical element as well as a certain anti-nationalist element. The difficult history of Polish society is where he grounds his novels.Slavenka Drakulic-S-How We Survived Communism & Even Laughed-The Balkan Express: Fragments From the Other Side of WarCroatian journalist and writer of whom I have read a number of works (particularly her essays on political and social life under late President Tudjman in Cafe Europa). Her books are typically collections of essays about how she understands recent history, identity, and modern social reality - particularly from the perspective of a woman. She has an incredible eye for the significance of seemingly every day detail, and is one of the best authors to come out of Croatia in decades.Emile M. Cioran-The Temptation to Exist-All Gall is DividedFranco-Romanian skeptic/almost nihilist philosopher. I've read "All Gall is Divided" which consists of a number of aphorisms grouped thematically. Some of the most intelligent stuff I've read and kind of strange in its ability to have both a sort-of mystical quality on one hand, while also being even cruelly rational on the other. Owes a lot to Nietzsche. Bohumil Hrabal-Too Loud a Solitude-Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age-The Little Town Where Time Stood StillOne of the best of Czech writers. His most famous book is "Closely Watched Trains" which I've not been able to grab yet...but I will! (someday). Writes in a very visual and imaginative style with humor (simpleton characters having occassional uber-profound thoughts). Loves run on sentences too. I've read Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age (borrowed from a friend) and it is composed of a single sentence for all 100+ pages. SF-SNEdited by: Stjepan Veliki at: 11/29/05 20:54

[Stjepan Veliki]

The lack of posts in this topic indicates to me a serious lack of culture.Get reading!! SF-SN

[RicLyon]

Drakulic = daughter of Drakula? hah.Sorry, I'm unsophisticated and haven't heard anything about those authors before. Probably not even translated to my mother tongue.

[Stjepan Veliki]

Drakulic may not be (though I suspect she probably is because she lives in Sweden now), but the rest for the rest of them, I am almost positive that they are. They've been translated in upwards of 30 languages on average. SF-SN

[RicLyon]

If that's the case I'm just unsophisticated If we're talking Slavic literature here the only thing I know something about is a tiny little bit of Polish and some Russian...Is there a book by a Slavic author that you really, really would like to recommend?

[RicLyon]

Well, I'llsee if they have any of those authors at the local library Richard LyonYansha Elaer Kyon gef ShanPernem kahn gef kuymal per varga stiPernem kahn gef varga per kuymal sti

[Stjepan Veliki]

Well, this isn't so much slavic as it is just central european for the most part (with a good amount of the french, austrians, and germans involved too, but not in this list so much)I really wouldn't know what to tell you. There are so many fantastic authors from Central and Eastern Europe. SF-SNEdited by: Stjepan Veliki at: 12/2/05 13:42