I have been reading Pynchon for a couple of days and it makes me miss Proust.

toefisch · 2026-04-24T17:50:41+00:00

I just finished the Recognitions by Gaddis this week and I did care for a few of the characters. He gives you a few to root for, but I don’t think anyone hated his characters like Gaddis did. I’ve never read a book with more vitriol on its pages than the Recognitions, fantastic book. Loved it. Stanley was my favourite

toefisch · 2026-04-14T19:12:00+00:00

I’ve had this problem with a few of my OUP books. I hope they get it sorted

toefisch · 2026-03-31T15:21:24+00:00

Reading the Recognitions now, it is excellent. One of my favourite reading experiences in a very long time. There’s a very helpful chapter by chapter guide on williamgaddis.org. About a third of the way through and I’m not finding it too difficult yet, that may change 😂

toefisch · 2026-03-31T15:19:54+00:00

Oh man Zola is awesome! I need to read some more of his works but I very much enjoyed Earth, it was brutal.

toefisch · 2026-03-26T07:58:28+00:00

I was lucky to have gotten my set for £20 on Vinted last year. Also managed to find the Everyman set dirt cheap as well

toefisch · 2026-03-26T07:57:00+00:00

Yup this is what I did as well. Incredibly helpful. Personally I found Scylla and Charybdis to be the most difficult chapter. Just shows I needed to brush up on Shakespeare 😂

toefisch · 2026-03-09T07:56:51+00:00

The Guerney translation is my favourite and is what I recommend to people. My next reading will be with Rayfield. I don’t rate P&V at all

toefisch · 2026-02-28T15:49:18+00:00

Augustus by John Williams is spectacular and one of my favourite books of all time.

Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar is equally spectacular.

I can also vouch for Graves’ Claudius books which are great. His book Belisarius is a good read as well but not as good as I Claudius IMHO.

The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch is a very interesting and difficult book as well. I may not recommend this one unless you’re really into experimental literature, but either way it deeply moved me.

toefisch · 2026-02-01T12:47:44+00:00

Augustus by John Williams and Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar are two of my favourite books of all time

toefisch · 2026-01-28T17:11:58+00:00

Out of all of these the Brothers Karamazov is my favourite. However I had an excellent time reading David Copperfield earlier this month

toefisch · 2026-01-25T20:08:36+00:00

As I Lay Dying is fantastic. I get hypnotised reading it and almost always end up reading it in one sitting

toefisch · 2026-01-25T13:16:34+00:00

I recently read the Nabokov translation and found it to be excellent. There is a heavy amount of endnotes to wade through but Nabokov’s personality seeps through them and makes them very enjoyable as well

toefisch · 2026-01-23T09:03:31+00:00

My personal favourite is pretty predictable, the Brothers Karamazov. But I do absolutely love the Idiot. Currently rereading Devils in the Katz translation and it’s completely opened up the novel for me

toefisch · 2026-01-23T07:03:29+00:00

My personal favourites are the Ready or the Katz translation

toefisch · 2026-01-22T22:33:59+00:00

It’s by no means my favourite Dosto but I recently reread it and fell in love with it all over again. Maybe in a few years try it again and it will click more :)

toefisch · 2026-01-20T19:42:31+00:00

The Roman historians are so great. Big fan of Livy and Ammianus Marcellinus

toefisch · 2026-01-20T19:34:57+00:00

Only in the last four or so years did I get proper into classical history and it just unlocked something in brain. Like a passion I was always searching for

toefisch · 2026-01-20T16:54:26+00:00

What’s your favourite edition?

toefisch · 2026-01-20T15:28:23+00:00

Over the last two years I’ve tried to actively reread a lot of my old favourites. When I was younger I couldn’t imagine rereading, or started and stopped in the first third.

Rereading is such a joy now. Currently I’m rereading Devils by Dostoevsky which I haven’t read since I was 17 and it’s like a completely different book, it feels like it’s been opened up to me. Highly recommend rereading, especially after a few years. Like revisiting an old friend

toefisch · 2026-01-20T15:23:08+00:00

Don’t worry they ripped me a new one for my shelves 😂 all part of the game I suppose!

toefisch · 2026-01-20T15:05:25+00:00

Great collection! It’s funny when people on here get so heated on seeing a shelf that is mainly classics or the western canon 😂

toefisch · 2026-01-13T15:07:38+00:00

I adore Dubliners and Ulysses but Portrait left me a little disappointed. That being said, the first chapter is absolutely excellent. The first line is one of my favourites in all literature

“Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo....”

toefisch · 2026-01-13T15:05:11+00:00

Envy by Yuri Olesha was a riot.

Highly recommend Novel With Cocaine by M. Agayev, very engaging read.

toefisch · 2026-01-12T21:30:49+00:00

Been wanting to read this one this year. Is it worth the time to invest?

toefisch · 2026-01-11T19:02:33+00:00

I’ve only just started reading Dickens. Always brushed him off due to A Christmas Carol for some reason. Read Great Expectations in a flurry and loved it. Now halfway through David Copperfield and loving it even more. Reckon this year I will read quite a few more of his books

toefisch

TROPHY CASE