I plan to read Lord of the Rings for the first time soon... but honestly I'm not sure if I should start with The Hobbit first.Re-reading The Hobbit for the second time to start 2022 off. After that I’ll probably start a read through of Harry Potter, alternating between that, Lord of the Rings and Foundation.
A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, by KJ Parker - hugely satisfying conclusion to his "Siege trilogy." Of the three, the first (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City) has the most amusingly voiced character, the second (How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It) has the best story, and A Practical Guide really widens the scope before shutting down the kitchen, putting the chairs up on the tables, mopping the floor, and burning the place to the ground on its way out.
How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu - A W E S O M E super wide screen humanist science fiction novel that covers a ton of ground. First part hit really hard because (not a spoiler, this is premise/first chapter stuff) there's a plague and it's way worse than the 50cc pandemic we are utterly failing our way through now. It's been a couple years since I read new science fiction that went this big and doesn't lose the plot along the way. I was worried at the beginning that it read like a fix-up novel, but the individual sequences were super compelling, and of course, it's not a fix-up, it unfurls into this collage novel that's playing a big game. Debut novelist. Fantastic. Best science fiction novel I've read since Embassytown came out back in 2011.
I'm not sure if it's the sort of thing you'd be interested in, but have you considered comparing the characters and situations, highlighting where they might be similar and where they are disparate, perhaps how these details affect themes and so forth? It seems a bit outside your current plans, but seemed worth asking.Actually, I'm not sure how I'll do it, but I don't want to focus on "anything and everything," just the stuff I'm interested in.
I think that I'll have a PDF open and a document open in another tab. I basically want to list all the information given about them and their backstories and leave comments as well. I'm... not sure how else I can improvise though. I haven't really done this thing before.
I'm one of those weird people who never read Harry Potter way back when, but those other selections are excellent.Re-reading The Hobbit for the second time to start 2022 off. After that I’ll probably start a read through of Harry Potter, alternating between that, Lord of the Rings and Foundation.
One isn't necessarily required reading for the other, but you probably couldn't go wrong to start with The Hobbit. It's lighter and breezier, the sense of humor very apparent, and some little bits might deepen your appreciation of the later works. It's a fast read.I plan to read Lord of the Rings for the first time soon... but honestly I'm not sure if I should start with The Hobbit first.
I never got into that scene, really, but I found a little comparison you might find useful. I do know writer Naomi Novik had a hand in the creation of Archive of Our Own, so that's cool.Not sure if this belongs here, but which one is better for fanfiction?
FF.net or ArchiveOfOurOwn (AO3)?
I still have Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It waiting on my shelf. It looks like there's a lot of that in my future.A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, by KJ Parker - hugely satisfying conclusion to his "Siege trilogy." Of the three, the first (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City) has the most amusingly voiced character, the second (How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It) has the best story, and A Practical Guide really widens the scope before shutting down the kitchen, putting the chairs up on the tables, mopping the floor, and burning the place to the ground on its way out.
How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu - A W E S O M E super wide screen humanist science fiction novel that covers a ton of ground. First part hit really hard because (not a spoiler, this is premise/first chapter stuff) there's a plague and it's way worse than the 50cc pandemic we are utterly failing our way through now. It's been a couple years since I read new science fiction that went this big and doesn't lose the plot along the way. I was worried at the beginning that it read like a fix-up novel, but the individual sequences were super compelling, and of course, it's not a fix-up, it unfurls into this collage novel that's playing a big game. Debut novelist. Fantastic. Best science fiction novel I've read since Embassytown came out back in 2011.
Hmm, that sounds like it could be interesting.I was going to read The Arabian Nights, but it's getting a new translation? Wonder if I should start with that translation rather than the older ones...
A New Translation Brings “Arabian Nights” Home
In their annotated edition, Yasmine Seale and Paulo Lemos Horta rescue the virtues obscured by centuries of adaptation.www.newyorker.com
Is this one of those "classics" that get translated or an actual novel that many Japanese people read and enjoy and have a fanbase for?I just finished reading The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, by Keigo Hashino.
It was a nice read. I felt like it could make for a nice movie!
I googled the title and apparently it did get a movie adaptation in 2017. XD
Maybe one day I'll check that out too.
Honestly, I have no idea myself.Is this one of those "classics" that get translated or an actual novel that many Japanese people read and enjoy and have a fanbase for?
Not being snippy, genuinely curious.
My wife is becoming an expert on erotic and romance literature. Got some old Anais Nin hardcovers from the local used book store and sort of building a small erotic story section of my library. Good luck to you.The Year's 36 Most Anticipated Romances
People fall in love with people all the time. That’s no secret, and it’s one of the unmitigated upsides of life on this planet. People fall in love w...www.goodreads.com
Everyone should take a look at this.
These are some damn good book covers.
I actually want to buy one. Of course, I'll probably read a book from this selection somewhere else.
I'm actually experimenting with romance novels. Well, I will sometime soon, but you get the point.
Oh, btw:
Does anyone have a book on the science of story-telling?
Like, how it works?
Or how culture affects it?
Anything on poetics or narratology?
Gonna need something like that.
DMing you.Instant recommendation: for literary theory discussion on video game board, an unusual but useful starting point might be Cybertext, by Espen Aarseth (1997) - the book's focus is digital literature, but Aarseth places it in a much wider perspective of ergodic ("open", dynamic, etc.) literature throughout history.
Something to avoid, or not dig too deeply into: a ton of writing - starting with Aristotle's "Poetics" and rushing straight up through Vladimir Propp in the early 20th century and probably most recently Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" and its pop culture hangers-on in the later 20th century - on literary theory by way of atomizing stories into a zillion discrete little types or aspects, and theoretically assembling new stories and/or meaning for one's own life from the little building blocks. I'd say skip 100% of that stuff, or maybe just read "Poetics" and realize that nothing has really developed past that point.
You mentioned you are reading some history. One thing that was really important for me personally was to develop some understanding of oral storytelling and/or oral transmission. Consider that this was, and is, how we humans have spent most of our time telling and listening to stories (and all kinds of information). If I could recommend one book - and it's a real classic in this field - it'd be The Singer of Tales, by Albert Lord (1960). This book builds on a bunch of research and analysis of Slavic epic poems/songs to then integrate or survey a bunch of the classic epics. A more recent book I super loved, although with a different focus, is The Art of Listening: A Guild to the Early Teachings of Buddhism, by Sarah Shaw (2014). This one is a Buddhist history book focused specifically on the early Buddhist suttas, but even if you're not interested in that, the introduction and first 2 chapters are a really great introduction to oral literature and how it operates (including some discussion of Albert Lord's work).
Reggie Fils-Aimé has a book coming out?
Was How High We Go in the Dark written during the pandemic?A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, by KJ Parker - hugely satisfying conclusion to his "Siege trilogy." Of the three, the first (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City) has the most amusingly voiced character, the second (How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It) has the best story, and A Practical Guide really widens the scope before shutting down the kitchen, putting the chairs up on the tables, mopping the floor, and burning the place to the ground on its way out.
How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu - A W E S O M E super wide screen humanist science fiction novel that covers a ton of ground. First part hit really hard because (not a spoiler, this is premise/first chapter stuff) there's a plague and it's way worse than the 50cc pandemic we are utterly failing our way through now. It's been a couple years since I read new science fiction that went this big and doesn't lose the plot along the way. I was worried at the beginning that it read like a fix-up novel, but the individual sequences were super compelling, and of course, it's not a fix-up, it unfurls into this collage novel that's playing a big game. Debut novelist. Fantastic. Best science fiction novel I've read since Embassytown came out back in 2011.
Was How High We Go in the Dark written during the pandemic?
Might read the "classics" myself with the likes of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.Good news! I finished The Horse and His Boy and I just started The Magicians Nephew! Almost done the series then I will read something not fantasy.
Might read the "classics" myself with the likes of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
But that's after I finish Romance of the Three Kingdoms (an even order book that I'm also reading for the first time).
How far are you? I really enjoyed reading that last year.Might read the "classics" myself with the likes of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
But that's after I finish Romance of the Three Kingdoms (an even order book that I'm also reading for the first time).
So far? Volume 1 of the recent translation (not the older one by Moss) but I do enjoy it. Once you dispense with pre-conceived notions of the era and the story itself, then you're good. You kinda have to grasp what Luo Guanzhong is trying to do and accept it.How far are you? I really enjoyed reading that last year.
Been reading Three Kingdoms too, it kicks so much assMight read the "classics" myself with the likes of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
But that's after I finish Romance of the Three Kingdoms (an even older book that I'm also reading for the first time).
You're in for a treat with Tolkien. A lot of people find much of his work unimaginative, due entirely to years consuming products derived from what he set forth -- itself inspired by much older traditions -- but what he put together is incredible.Might read the "classics" myself with the likes of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
But that's after I finish Romance of the Three Kingdoms (an even older book that I'm also reading for the first time).
Dian Wei is already a favorite of mine, him and his two twirling spears.Been reading Three Kingdoms too, it kicks so much ass
Stuff like The Silmarillion is nothing to me.You're in for a treat with Tolkien. A lot of people find much of his work unimaginative, due entirely to years consuming products derived from what he set forth -- itself inspired by much older traditions -- but what he put together is incredible.
His works are also much less dry than detractors often claim; there's a wit to be found within.
If you want more, I would heartily recommend continuing on with The Silmarilion. It seems daunting for a lot of people, but you're already reading and enjoying The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so I'm sure you'll be fine.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms itself is an amazing piece. For all the fiction of it, it really has a strong core of historicity. And there's a lot in the historical context there.
Read the Brewitt-Taylor version, I believe, a while back. Newer renditions, I'm sure, have a much different flow.