L-Space- The Darkened Wardrobe

L-Space- The Darkened Wardrobe

Way back in March of this year I created a post entitled The Glass Cabinet, which listed each book on my unread pile. I find it hard not to buy books, especially because I very much enjoy going in to certain charity bookshops and looking for interesting, cheap stuff. My favourite being the many Oxfam Bookshops you get across Britain (and possibly further, I don't know), since they always have the widest selection and have greater standards for second hand books than most. They cost a little more than other shops, but it's worth it, especially for the constant stream of well-kept classics and modern classics that I can't resist buying.

Anyway, the last time I did this it was called The Glass Cabinet because I kept my unread pile in a nice glass cabinet which lit up and had lots of classy glass shelves. Since then I moved house, and sadly don't have said cabinet anymore. Instead, I have the less fancy, but much moodier and mysterious darkened wardrobe, so that's what it's called. Also, I'm probably moving house again in about a week, so six months down the line I'll do this with a different name. Finally, a fair few of these books were on the last list, but some of the books on the last one got dumped because I changed my mind about reading them, or started and quickly gave up in disgust. Cormac McCarthy fans, you may fall out with me when you hear that I dumped the entire Border Trilogy, because I am not a fan. And now, we shall begin;

Terry Pratchett- Dodger, Discworld- Raising Steam & The Long Earth (with Stephen Baxter)

Dodger was on the last list, I'll get around to that at some point, but I wasn't a fan of Pratchett's last non-Discworld novel, Nation, so I'm not excited. Raising Steam, meanwhile, as the latest Discworld book, is something I'm very much looking forward to. The Long Earth is a curious one, as it was written in conjunction with science fiction author Stephen Baxter as the start of a long series, and is based on a short story included in Pratchett's collection of fiction miscellany in A Blink of the Screen.

Haruki Murakami- Dance, Dance, Dance

Aside from Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973, which are Murakami's first two novels and have yet to be reprinted in English (meaning the few older copies available on ebay and the like are extortionately priced, so I'm patiently hoping for a reprint)  Dance, Dance, Dance is the final Murakami book available to me. I'm putting it off like Desmond Hulme did with A Tale of Two Cities in Lost. Thankfully though, Murakami's latest book should be translated into English next year.

Jay Rubin- Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words

Longtime Haruki Murakami translator Jay Rubin writes a book of literary analysis on the work of the Japanese author. There's almost no way I'm not going to enjoy this.

Anthony Storr- The Dynamics of Creation
J.A.C. Brown- Techniques of Persuasion

Both are Pelican non fiction paperbacks that were in the cabinet, and both are essentially about writing techniques, literary theory, that sort of thing. I'm hoping they're good, but both could easily be dumped after a few unsatisfying pages.

W. Somerset Maugham- Cake and Ale & The Magician

Another two books that've been on the pile for six months, but I've just started reading The Magician and I'm very excited about it, having learned more about the character of Oliver Haddo and the real life acquaintanceship of W. Somerset Maugham and Alistair Crowley.

Sam Kean- The Disappearing SpoonAlex Boese- Elephants on Acid and other Bizarre Experiments 

John D. Barrow- The Book of Universes

My interest in casual science books shows no sign of waning, with The Book of Universes added to this list of stuff that will hopefully make me feel like I've learned something, even if I can't exactly tell you what. Also in this vein...

Richard Dawkins- The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life

Steven Pinker- How the Mind Works

... two books by two masters of the pop. science genre. The Ancestor's Tale is, as is obvious with Dawkins, about evolution and is worryingly long. Pinker, meanwhile, wrote The Language Instinct, and How the Mind Works looks like an equally interesting look at the human psyche.

Russel Hoban- Amaryllis Night and Day

As I wrote last time, I have no memory of buying this book, nor can I quite figure out why I did. It is very short though, so maybe I'll pick it up soon just to figure out what the hell is going on.

George R. R. Martin- A Dance with Dragons- Book 2- After the Feast

I will definitely read this at some point, but I've also been considering donating my Song of Ice and Fire books to someone else before I move house. It's not that I totally hate them, it's just that I don't like them enough to justify them visually dominating my book collection with their flashy thick spines. Unfortunately the only person I've found who wants them is my fiance, who I'm moving in with, so that probably doesn't help.

Hunter S. Thompson- Hell's Angels & Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degredation in the 80's

I've wanted to read Hell's Angels for years and years but never got around to it. Generation of Swine is a collection of articles in the same manner as The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time. One day I will have read every Thompson book. Probably in sixty years or so.

Carlos Castaneda- The Eagle's Gift & A Separate Reality

Initially bought on impulse ages ago, further research shows me that I really need to read a copy of The Teachings of Don Juan before I read these later books in the series.

Toby Young- The Sound of No Hands Clapping

The sequel to the moderately entertaining memoirs How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. I don't expect it to blow me away, but it should be fun enough.

 
Euripedes- Madea and Other Plays
 Jean-Dominique Bauby- The Diving-Bell & The Butterfly
R.K. Narayan- The Guide

Gore Vidal- The Messiah

Various random world classics I've picked up here and there, none I'm dying to read right now but nonetheless I should get something positive out of all of them.

Johan Goethe- Faust

Horace Walpole- The Castle of Otranto and The Mysterious Mother

I reread Marlow's Dr. Faustus recently, but I'm leaving a gap before starting Goethe's version of the tale. Sticking with gothic fiction, The Castle of Otranto is something I read at university as an example of the first ever Gothic horror fiction, and it's completely mental. The edition I bought contained the play The Mysterious Mother and I'm hoping that it's just as mad.

Phillip Pullman- Grimm Fairy Tales

Though I didn't enjoy Pullman's retelling of the new testament, this retelling of the brothers' Grimm promises to be much, much better. 

Charles Bukowski- Ham on Rye & Woman

As with Hunter S. Thompson, I want to complete Bukowski's entire bibliography one day, hopefully before Skynet takes over the world.

Michael Bollen- Earth Inc.

Mark Gatiss- The Vesuvius Club/The Devil in Anger

Two fairly random comedy novels by British authors that I picked up because they look like fun. I can't remember the last time I found a satirical British author that I really enjoyed, so hopefully one of these authors will remind of the likes of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, not much to ask there. Gatiss seemingly has the better pedigree, but Bollen's Earth Inc. has a wonderful-looking dystopian advertising future tone going for it.

Jack Kerouac- On the Road

Ken Kessey- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Truman Capote- In Cold Blood

Edward Abbey- The Monkey Wrench Gang

Jay McInerney- Bright Lights, Big City

I'm really pleased with my line-up of 20th century US classics, a genre that I enjoy ninety nine times out of a hundred. I read On the Road years ago and promptly forgot most of it, while In Cold Blood is my second Capote after the absolutely brilliant Breakfast at Tiffany's. The other three are American classics that I'm very much looking forward to reading. 

Jon Ronson- The Men Who Stare At Goats

Stephen Fry- Moab is My Washpot

Two more bits of non-fiction picked up on reputation. The Men Who Stare At Goats should be quick, amusing reading, while Fry's autobiography is something I've meant to pick up for some time. Supposedly both brilliantly witty and despairingly depressing.

George Orwell- Homage to Catalonia

Oscar Wilde- Complete Shorter Fiction

Having completed Orwell's novel bibliography (does that phrase make sense? Ah well...) with Burmese Days, I still want to reread Homage to Catalonia because I feel I didn't give it a fair chance the first time around; reading it too quickly with not enough attention paid. Oscar Wilde, meanwhile, I actually find hit or miss, but I'm a literary snob and he's probably the king of the literary snob's bookshelf fillers.

Jose Luis Borges- Doctor Brodie's Report

Ryu Murakami- Piercing

Mikhail Bulgakov- The Master and Margarita

Some wordwide literature here. Borges is someone I want to explore further, Ryu Murakami is a guy who I read one good book by five years ago and forgot about for some reason, and Bulgakov is my latest attempt to get into Russian literature, having failed to enjoy Dostoyevsky on first try.
 

Paul Auster- Moon Palace & The Book of Illusions

My second favourite contemporary author behind Haruki Murakami, I've been saving the work of Paul Auster over the years but I'm getting closer and closer to the end of his bibliography. 

Neil Gaiman- The Absolute Sandman Vol. 4 & Signal To Noise

Last but not least, my unread comics. 

Oh my god, this list is ridiculously long. I really need to get a move on reading this crap, and not adding to it. In the meantime, I really should write the next Discworld review after this, and I've got about three or four more Comics Snobbery columns to write. Also I want to do an L-Space column on the three or four books I read over the past year and didn't write full reviews for. Anyway, to the publish button!