Currently reading and recently read:

• Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee. I think a more fitting title would've been Hubris. In any case, this was the first book I read this year, and it's as good as people say. If you haven't read it--okay, who hasn't?--then get to it.
• The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. The Book of Disquiet is damnably good. It's quieting, the perfect book to read after a shitty day at the office.
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Now that I'm reading Crime and Punishment--the translation is by Jessie Coulson--I'm wondering why it took me so long to get around to it. Raskolnikov's psychology is nauseating and headache-inducing (I felt the same way while reading Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina), but it adds to the overall experience. Raskolnikov is a sick, bitter character, and Dostoevsky's underlying themes of crime and poverty are still relevant today. Bonus: I want to read this now.

Comments

[Dorothy W.]

I've got a copy of the Pessoa book, and I'm curious about it. I don't have much of an idea of what it's like, so it's interesting to hear that it's quieting. That sounds appealing.