merp
Darknut
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Pog.This is the best news I’ve read all week.
Yeah, I'll let you know how I enjoy it.
I've been meaning to read it for some time; you just gave me an extra reason to do so.
Pog.This is the best news I’ve read all week.
The City and the City by China Meiville? Also, I've kinda sworn off the Discworld series. I don't intend to ever read it.Hell yeah! This is great. First time reading The Hobbit? It's one of my favorites.
I'm listening to The City and the City, and I'm still reading The Once and Future King (I've been pretty slow on reading lately sadly).
Recommendation: Have you read Guards Guards? It's a great place to start on Discworld if you haven't read any. Sirens of Titan if you want a 2nd rec.
Roadside Picnic is great. Strugatsky Bros in general are tops. Monday Starts on Saturday and Hard To Be A God are particularly great. Dead Mountaineers Inn also gives me that "weird" feeling.
The City and the City by China Meiville? Also, I've kinda sworn off the Discworld series. I don't intend to ever read it.
And yeah, first time reading The Hobbit. Gonna read The Lord of the Rings now.
I haven't exactly sworn it off, but I prefer series that are either classics or are "on-going." The idea that Discworld ended abruptly doesn't do it for me. And I don't like "humor novels" that much. That, and if I read one, then I'll feel compelled to read them all and that's going to be hefty. Maybe later...Yeah that's the one, it's interesting so far. Why have you sworn off Discworld, just curious.
Enjoy Lord of the Rings! I prefer The Hobbit but LotR is still wonderful.
He sounds like that "Tingle" writer.I am reading Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung right now.
Lester Bangs could be an incredibly self-centered and prolix writer, but some of his stuff just cracks me up. In his later texts he cuts down on those problems, though, without losing the ability to make me laugh, which is pure awesome.
I haven't exactly sworn it off, but I prefer series that are either classics or are "on-going." The idea that Discworld ended abruptly doesn't do it for me. And I don't like "humor novels" that much. That, and if I read one, then I'll feel compelled to read them all and that's going to be hefty. Maybe later...
Oh my bad. Maybe I'll get into them, but I'm a completionist, and I'm afraid of getting too invested right now.Hmm, I don't think this will change your mind, but I want to clarify a couple things. Discworld books are pretty standalone, they are part of the same universe but it's not big some overarching story. Different characters have multiple books, but even those can sometimes be read in any order from my understanding. I'm unsure if any of the individual stories have any big cliffhangers remaining or not.
They are satire, like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but I think it's unfair to write them off as "humor novels".
July books haul!
Ancillary Justice good! The whole trilogy, actually.July books haul!
I read A Wizard of Earthsea for a children's lit class in college and absolutely adored it. I've since picked up a complete illustrated Earthsea collection but haven't yet read the others. I should really get around to that.After a lengthy hiatus, continuing to read the Earthsea cycle for the very first time. Sad I missed out on these growing up but thankful I’m in the thick of them now! Just incredible writing. I need to look up some other Ursulas to read once I’m all finished up.
I really need to read this, it's been on my TBR list for ages. Along with Glen Cook's The Black Company.On the 3rd book of Book of the New Sun, and this series continues to blow my brain apart on a regular basis.
I read The Black Company by Glen Cook but couldn't exactly get into it.I really need to read this, it's been on my TBR list for ages. Along with Glen Cook's The Black Company.
Oh yeah? I've heard mostly good things, and it's been cited as being a big inspiration in a lot of ways for Stephen Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, which is one of my favorite book series of all time. So I'd like to check it out at some point.I read The Black Company by Glen Cook but couldn't exactly get into it.
@1upmuffin
Since my last main post, I've read:
Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World by Daniel A. Bell and Wang Pei
Mythologies: A Political Economy of U.S. Literature, Settler Colonialism, and Racial Capitalism in the Long Nineteenth-Century by Joel Wendland-Liu
Science & Society, Jan - Mar 2023 Issue, edit. by David Laibman
Fire over Luoyang: A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD by Rafe de Crespigny
Legendborn (1) (The Legendborn Cycle) by Tracy Deonn
The Dark Forest (The Three-Body Problem Series, 2) by Cixin Liu, Joel Martinsen (translator)
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2) by George R. R. Martin
The Housing Question by Friedrich Engels
Strike The Zither (Kingdom of Three #1) by Joan He
Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise by Christopher Marquis and Kunyuan Qiao
Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor by Kim Kelly
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I'm currently reading The Lord of the Rings, and I'm listening to it by audiobook as well (narrated by Andy Serkis) and, so far, I have to say that I don't like Frodo in the books (but I'm at the beginning so there's that). Introduction to Logic (14th ed.) is also another one that I'm reading. It's more of a textbook but I like it anyways. It's about 700 pages long and very dense, but also, it describes things in a way that's easy to understand. I feel more, well, logical every time I read it and it breaks down language and arguments a lot. Revolting Capital: Racism & Radicalism in Washington, D.C., 1900 - 2000 by Gerald Horne is another one that I like, but too all-over-the-place. It meanders a lot, though not always in a bad way, and besides, you still learn a lot. A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book #3) by George R. R. Martin is something I started a week ago for the second time ever in my life. I'm listening to this while I read along the lines:
(Better than Roy Dotrice's version of the audiobook, though some of the accents may be off-putting at first.)
Other than all of that, I'm reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler at the behest of a therapist. I'm autistic (AuDHD) and I was told that I'd find this relatable and fulfilling as a book, that I might even learn something from it. And lastly, there's Death's End (The Three-Body Problem Series, 3) by Liu Cixin and translated by Ken Liu, which I just started today. So yeah, that's each and every book I'm reading and each and every book that I've read since page 6 of this thread. Maybe you all found some interesting stuff to read.
Recommendations based off of what I've read so far:
Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor by Kim Kelly
Mythologies: A Political Economy of U.S. Literature, Settler Colonialism, and Racial Capitalism in the Long Nineteenth-Century by Joel Wendland-Liu
A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin (while listening to the audiobook by DavidReadsAsoiaf)
The Three-Body Problem series by Cixin Liu
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, if only see what all the fuss and hype is about.
That one's still on my list, I'm slowly reading a new Discworld book every now and then since I know we'll never get any more, sadly. But I hear a lot of good things about it.Monstrous Regiment is so good. I ended up binge reading it in about two days. This might be the one Discworld book that’s left me wanting more of its characters the most, so of course it’s stand alone.
Late, but, yeah. I borrowed that from the library several months ago and had p much the same reaction. It’s a miserable, mean spirited book, but not in the way that King can sometimes make that enjoyable to read, as in some of his short stories.Finished reading Needful Things today. Stephen King is usually a real comfort read for me, and I think some of his books are great, but gotta say this was one of his very worst. A struggle to get through.
Bummer to hear. I’m about ⅔ through Fairy Tale and having a pretty good time.Finished reading Needful Things today. Stephen King is usually a real comfort read for me, and I think some of his books are great, but gotta say this was one of his very worst. A struggle to get through.
So much older sci-fi is still a blast. I'm always delighted to see the areas where authors kind of nail how technology and society will progress vs those where they completely miss.Reading Childhoods End currently, really good sci fi book! It holds up so well (in terms of the technology/future it discusses, not in all aspects) despite being older.
Gonna second loving older scifi. The future being off never bothers me, its more an interesting view into a different time. If you want some more recs for god old scifi, The Space Merchants, The Stars My Destination, The Dreaming Jewels, and Hard to Be A God are all worth your time.Reading Childhoods End currently, really good sci fi book! It holds up so well (in terms of the technology/future it discusses, not in all aspects) despite being older.
hell yeah, phosThe Stars My Destination
Phosphorescent Skeleton is my namehell yeah, phos
Bester's writing feels so outside its time, like someone dragged early Neal Stephenson kicking and screaming into the mid-50s. It kicks ass.Phosphorescent Skeleton is my name
Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place
And hell is my destination
Great book, love the funny catI don't read as much as I should, but I absolutely recommend The Master and Margarita to everyone. A Russian novel that wasn't released until the author's death, it's an absolute blast!
It's kinda split into two parts, where the main story follows the Devil coming to Moscow in 1930s and generally doing whatever the fuck he wants with his posse (the main trio includes a jester, a tough guy, and a giant cat). The side-plot is a bit more hit-or-miss and depends on your tastes, as it's a much more serious story of Jesus talking to Pontius Pilate. While it feels weird to say this about a complete work of art that's one of the best Russian books, I wouldn't blame anyone reading if you've gone through the first chapter of Jesus story and later skipped all of it, because it's very different in tone and not even similar to other stuff from Bulgakov who's usually a bit more humorous and satirizing.
Obviously, USSR wasn't really into religion, so it took 30 years to get published. Style-wise at least the main plot reminds me somewhat of Douglas Adams' writing, only more grounded, with its use of absurd situations and humor. The 2005 Russian miniseries was my first encounter with it (big thank you to my mom who didn't care that most of it featured a naked woman) and was incredibly important to my sense of humor.
Try The Amulet by Michael McDowell. Think that might have some of the flavor you're looking for.Speaking of, if I read an loved Salem's Lot a couple of years back, what would people recommend in a similar vein? Vampires or the supernatural taking over a small town, looming threats outside and community decay, that sort of thing. There's a cosiness to small town horror I love.
The second Mistborn can get like that, and I feel you on the annoying characters. Definitely not as good as the first one. It does have a really good ending, though, and I loved the sort of meta way that Sanderson pulls part of it off.Been in a rut because I was reading the Mistborn books at the behest of a friend and unfortunately I was finding the second book super boring and two of the protagonists pretty annoying.
Then today I had some downtime and nothing to do so decided to start something else and put that on hold. I had Stephen King's Night Shift on my Kindle so have started that, and I had forgotten this had not one but two Salem's Lot stories - hell yeah! I'm hoping this excites me because this would free me from the rut brought on by Sanderson and would shake off my King rut (I ill-advisedly tried making it through Tommyknockers last year, and yeah it's a cocaine opus but it's also hard, self-indulgent work).
Speaking of, if I read a loved Salem's Lot a couple of years back, what would people recommend in a similar vein? Vampires or the supernatural taking over a small town, looming threats outside and community decay, that sort of thing. There's a cosiness to small town horror I love.