Reading Envy Readers discussion

Bonus episode!

It's been a while since I've done a speed dating bonus episode, and this one is all about Russian novels for the Reading Envy Russia novel quarter. I discuss books I tried, what I thought of them, and books I read previously. We might be moving on to non-fiction officially, but that doesn't mean we have to leave Russian literature behind forever.

Link to episode:
http://readingenvy.blogspot.com/2022/...

I love these speed dating eps. It seems like a good approach. Wish I could get over my hang-ups about dnf'ing or having several books on pause at once. Not that I can never DNF, just that I could/should be much better at it than I am. I too often let a book become a brick wall when life is too short. Still working at it.

Matthew wrote: "I love these speed dating eps. It seems like a good approach. Wish I could get over my hang-ups about dnf'ing or having several books on pause at once. Not that I can never DNF, just that I could/s..."

It sometimes does backfire when I return to the book, depending on when I return..do I have to reread the first 50 pages? Often. But I'm such a mood reader that giving myself permission is worth sometimes rereading the first chapter or 50 pages.

Great episode! I find I have less and less patience for stories like Turgenev's 'First Love' - it seems like they're a dime a dozen as far as literary classic works but most don't seem to be wiser than the character who is overcome with instantaneous, creepy unrequited love.

I both want and don't want to reread Lolita. On the one hand, the passage you read is a great example of how this novel works in reverse to many others: I think Nabokov wants you to judge him even more harshly as you know more about him. Humbert Humbert is the darkest of all literary villains, but that's not how the novel is discussed in popular culture (he's portrayed by James Mason in the film, but he's doing some other character, nothing like the real HH). I'm almost always up for a good deep dive into evil characters, but it's tough to have Humbert Humbert in your head for an entire novel!

Vinny wrote: "I both want and don't want to reread Lolita. "

I hear you, Vinny. I'm struggling through a second reading of Pale Fire, several decades after the first time. I loved it the first time, amazed by the conceit and the writing and entertained by the story, but now it just feels like empty cleverness and erudition.
Like Nabokov is a razzle dazzle magician, but ultimately..... so what? I don't need deep meaning in every book I read, I'm happy to just be entertained, but that's not working for me here. On the other hand, Charles Kinbote is no Humbert Humbert pedophile, so it might be a better way into Nabokov. I'm still hanging in there, but setting it down a lot for other books.

Vinny wrote: "Great episode! I find I have less and less patience for stories like Turgenev's 'First Love' - it seems like they're a dime a dozen as far as literary classic works but most don't seem to be wiser ..."
I get into this whole cycle, like it takes great mastery to write an icky character, just like it takes great mastery to transform into one on TV/film/stage. But could we use our skills differently?

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I get into this whole cycle, like it takes great mastery to write an icky character, just like it takes great mastery to transform into one on TV/film/stage. But could we use our skills differently?..."

I feel like Humbert Humbert was icky for icky's sake - like he was a writing exercise for Nabokov, vs. a character who is 'bad' in a more complex way, especially when living in extreme circumstances, like war. For example, the two protagonists in Bolla. My brain keeps wanting to turn to Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment to think about this, but I read that so long ago that I have no real memory of him.....

Nadine, I'm also taking Pale Fire slow as I'm reading other books. I am enjoying it but not at all in the same way I did when I first read it. The first time I was also really interested in the unique form and trying spot weird connections or coded messages. But I think I missed a lot of the humor then, so I'm enjoying that aspect this time around. It's got a lightness to it that is in many ways the completely opposite of a book like Lolita.

Great introduction to this episode, Jenny. I think that was very well-stated. Thank you for your care in explanation and thoughtfulness.

I never finished Lolita. I didn’t make it even fifty pages in before I felt creeped out by the character.

Vinny wrote: "Nadine, I'm also taking Pale Fire slow as I'm reading other books. I am enjoying it but not at all in the same way I did when I first read it. The first time I was also really interested in the uni..."

Thanks to the reading break, I'm feeling more interested in and appreciative of Pale Fire again. I'm ready for another bout! There are some pretty funny set-pieces.