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... and commentary written about them. (In the spirit of wynand.) See also books I read in January.
Saussure, Course in General Linguistics. A classic of the field, I'm glad to have read it, and can easily recommend it (despite its age) to anyone with an interest in either linguistics or semiotics. It's frustrating how he seems to be on the right track when he says "The system united as a whole is the starting point, from which it becomes possible to identify its constituent elements" but then insists that grammatical rules are like chess, leading to years and years of generative grammar.
Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America. Bought this on harvey's distantly remembered recommendation and loved it, especially the first section, Trout Fishing in America proper. (Didn't care much for the poetry, it really just seemed like his verse except with line breaks thrown in.) Vivid, spins off into imaginary worlds in a seamless way that I admire.
Nabokov, Short Stories. Started this last year, actually, only to finish it in February. The later stories were generally less enjoyable than the earlier ones, subverting my expectations. It's interesting to see Nabokov develop the techniques that allow him to so breezily discard time and space in his novels, and to see the Pnin character, embodied in various portly, bald, ineffectual fellows, pop up again and again.
Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Enjoyed this immensely, especially the bits about Bokononism and the invented language/country/politics. I kind of wish it had lasted longer, though.
Nabokov, Pale Fire. My new favorite book.
( dawkins, montgomery, chopin, lakoff, foer, mitchell, more vonnegut, rowling, gaiman, lovecraft, thompson, leguin, capote )
Saussure, Course in General Linguistics. A classic of the field, I'm glad to have read it, and can easily recommend it (despite its age) to anyone with an interest in either linguistics or semiotics. It's frustrating how he seems to be on the right track when he says "The system united as a whole is the starting point, from which it becomes possible to identify its constituent elements" but then insists that grammatical rules are like chess, leading to years and years of generative grammar.
Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America. Bought this on harvey's distantly remembered recommendation and loved it, especially the first section, Trout Fishing in America proper. (Didn't care much for the poetry, it really just seemed like his verse except with line breaks thrown in.) Vivid, spins off into imaginary worlds in a seamless way that I admire.
Nabokov, Short Stories. Started this last year, actually, only to finish it in February. The later stories were generally less enjoyable than the earlier ones, subverting my expectations. It's interesting to see Nabokov develop the techniques that allow him to so breezily discard time and space in his novels, and to see the Pnin character, embodied in various portly, bald, ineffectual fellows, pop up again and again.
Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Enjoyed this immensely, especially the bits about Bokononism and the invented language/country/politics. I kind of wish it had lasted longer, though.
Nabokov, Pale Fire. My new favorite book.
( dawkins, montgomery, chopin, lakoff, foer, mitchell, more vonnegut, rowling, gaiman, lovecraft, thompson, leguin, capote )
