THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

  • 28 Mar 2024, 14:56
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 ... 22 23 [24] 25 26 ... 29   Go Down

Author Topic: What are you currently reading?  (Read 396797 times)

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1150 on: 17 Oct 2017, 06:52 »

I just finished Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. It was really good.  I loved the characters (especially the bad guy) and the premise. A small Illinois town is visited by a strange carnival a week before Halloween.  2 curious boys stumble upon its Dark and sinister secrets.  People of the town start to disappear after attending some of the attractions and its up to Will and Jim to save the day, with Will's distant father in tow.

The characters, settings, and story was amazing, however I was not a fan of the purple prose.  A number of times I told myself "we get it, we get it, its dark outside! Get on with it."  Baring the extreme descriptions I felt it had a lack lust ending.  Now this was written in 1968 so perhaps back then the ending wasn't so cliche as it is now-a-days (it did inspire Stephen King and Neil Gaiman).  I just wanted a more interesting ending I suppose.  I also wanted to know more of the carnival and the freaks.  What some of the rides/attractions did to people and how the mysterious illustrations came to be on the Illustrated man.

Baring the purple prose and the tropey ending, I would definitely recommend reading this (especially in mid to late October).  Bradbury is an amazing writer and very poetic.  His characters are well fleshed out but also leaving you wanting to know more about them.
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

Is it cold in here?

  • Administrator
  • Awakened
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25,163
  • He/him/his pronouns
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1151 on: 17 Oct 2017, 19:51 »

Mann and Ornstein's latest book about the collapse of American politics.
Logged
Thank you, Dr. Karikó.

JoeCovenant

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,863
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1152 on: 18 Oct 2017, 04:22 »

I just finished Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. It was really good.  I loved the characters (especially the bad guy) and the premise. A small Illinois town is visited by a strange carnival a week before Halloween.  2 curious boys stumble upon its Dark and sinister secrets.  People of the town start to disappear after attending some of the attractions and its up to Will and Jim to save the day, with Will's distant father in tow.

The characters, settings, and story was amazing, however I was not a fan of the purple prose.  A number of times I told myself "we get it, we get it, its dark outside! Get on with it."  Baring the extreme descriptions I felt it had a lack lust ending.  Now this was written in 1968 so perhaps back then the ending wasn't so cliche as it is now-a-days (it did inspire Stephen King and Neil Gaiman).  I just wanted a more interesting ending I suppose.  I also wanted to know more of the carnival and the freaks.  What some of the rides/attractions did to people and how the mysterious illustrations came to be on the Illustrated man.

Baring the purple prose and the tropey ending, I would definitely recommend reading this (especially in mid to late October).  Bradbury is an amazing writer and very poetic.  His characters are well fleshed out but also leaving you wanting to know more about them.

Sorry, I have to jump to defence here...

I know you mention it in your post, and that it was written almost as long ago as I've been alive, but to then go on to say it has a *tropey ending* seems to negate your understanding.

Bradbury was a STUNNING writer.
Where you see *purple prose*, I see literal poetry.

Have a go at "The Hallowe'en Tree"... it ranks right up there with some of the finest books I have ever read.
Logged
Covenant
A Man With Far Too Much Time On His Hands

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1153 on: 18 Oct 2017, 09:05 »

I meant no offence JoeCovenant. It was very poetic.  Perhaps it was the exciting nature of the story that I just desperately wanted to know what was going to happen next that my impatience got the better of me.  Which really is a testament to Ray Bradbury as a writer.  I think I am spoiled by the ending because it has been done over and over again as of now which is what makes it cliche.  The fact of the matter is, it has been done to death in the cultural conciseness as of now that it seemed lack luster.  I did qualify it by saying it may not have been when it was first published but so many stories have ended the same way since, that I have been exposed to, that it just didn't end as excitingly as I had hoped.  Not to say it was unexpected, and I am sure if I read this when I was younger and less jaded I would have been satisfied by the ending.

I would still compel others to read it as it is beautifully written and I loved the story, characters, and atmosphere.

I almost picked up "The Halloween Tree" but decided against it as I watched the movie when I was a child (which Ray Bradbury also wrote and wasn't adapted by someone else) and it was definitely a treasure!  I wanted to do something different. Sheepishly I will admit my pick of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" derived from the Rick and Morty episode "Something Ricked This Way Comes" which more parody's Stephen King's "Needful Things."  After reading "Something Wicked This Way Comes" I see how R&M may have designed Mr. Needful off of Mr. Dark.

I picked up Bram Stoker's Dracula to round out my October.  I almost picked up "Needful Things" but may save that for next year, along with "The Halloween Tree" after your recommendation.  :-)
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

JoeCovenant

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,863
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1154 on: 19 Oct 2017, 02:22 »

I meant no offence JoeCovenant. It was very poetic.  Perhaps it was the exciting nature of the story that I just desperately wanted to know what was going to happen next that my impatience got the better of me.  Which really is a testament to Ray Bradbury as a writer.  I think I am spoiled by the ending because it has been done over and over again as of now which is what makes it cliche.  The fact of the matter is, it has been done to death in the cultural conciseness as of now that it seemed lack luster.  I did qualify it by saying it may not have been when it was first published but so many stories have ended the same way since, that I have been exposed to, that it just didn't end as excitingly as I had hoped.  Not to say it was unexpected, and I am sure if I read this when I was younger and less jaded I would have been satisfied by the ending.

I would still compel others to read it as it is beautifully written and I loved the story, characters, and atmosphere.

I almost picked up "The Halloween Tree" but decided against it as I watched the movie when I was a child (which Ray Bradbury also wrote and wasn't adapted by someone else) and it was definitely a treasure!  I wanted to do something different. Sheepishly I will admit my pick of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" derived from the Rick and Morty episode "Something Ricked This Way Comes" which more parody's Stephen King's "Needful Things."  After reading "Something Wicked This Way Comes" I see how R&M may have designed Mr. Needful off of Mr. Dark.

I picked up Bram Stoker's Dracula to round out my October.  I almost picked up "Needful Things" but may save that for next year, along with "The Halloween Tree" after your recommendation.  :-)


I REALLY hope you do!
And I REALLY hope you like LOVE it !   :laugh:
Logged
Covenant
A Man With Far Too Much Time On His Hands

Is it cold in here?

  • Administrator
  • Awakened
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25,163
  • He/him/his pronouns
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1155 on: 24 Nov 2017, 17:16 »

Mark Manson, "The Subtle art of not Giving a F*ck".

So far my summary would be "potty-mouthed Buddhism". I'm pretty sure I saw a paraphrase of the "second arrow" parable and a message about attachment.
Logged
Thank you, Dr. Karikó.

dutchrvl

  • Bling blang blong blung
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,152
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1156 on: 05 Dec 2017, 08:43 »

Mark Manson, "The Subtle art of not Giving a F*ck".

So far my summary would be "potty-mouthed Buddhism". I'm pretty sure I saw a paraphrase of the "second arrow" parable and a message about attachment.

Currently: "The emperor of all maladies" by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Pretty riveting read, despite (or because of?) its subject matter. May also be because i'm a biomedical engineer, so it's close to heart/head.

Previously: "Secret life of laszlo" by Anscombe. Really enjoyed that one.

Next: who knows? Perhaps something about hiking in the white mountains, although I'm also tempted to start rereading the Death Gate Cycle, which I read about 20 years ago in Dutch and absolutely loved. Kinda wondering if I'll still love it and if it'll feel different in English.
Logged

Thrillho

  • Global Moderator
  • Awakened
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13,130
  • Tall. Beets.
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1157 on: 10 Dec 2017, 07:55 »

Finding more time to read of late, and trying to make sure I do more of that.

Still reading Pride & Prejudice, which is great, and also a biography of FDR I got for my birthday which is a truly engrossing read and is helping me rediscover my love of history.
Logged
In the end, the thing people will remember is kindness.

Case

  • comeback tour!
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5,580
  • Putting the 'mental' into judgemental
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1158 on: 13 Dec 2017, 16:51 »

Just finished "So you've been publicly shamed" by Jon Ronson (1.19€ as Kindle-edition).

Starting on Charlie Stross' "Empire Games - A Tale of the Merchant Princes Universe".
Logged
"Freedom is always the freedom of the dissenter" - Rosa Luxemburg
"The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you're a member of the Dunning-Kruger club. People miss that." - David Dunning
"Brains are assholes" - SitnSpin

Tova

  • coprophage
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,725
  • Defender of the Terrible Denizens of QC
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1159 on: 19 Dec 2017, 01:34 »

Just finished Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

About to start in on the Philip Glass memoir Words Without Music.
Logged
Yet the lies of Melkor, the mighty and the accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days. (Silmarillion 255)

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1160 on: 27 Dec 2017, 07:12 »

I finished Dracula on Halloween.  I initial picked it up because my Dad was reading it when I visited him in August and figured we'd have something to talk about.  I talked with my dad recently on Christmas and, unfortunately he never finished it.  Not because he got bored or became uninterested; quite the opposite in fact!  He started having nightmares because of the book.  It was really nicely written.  If you knew nothing of vampires or Dracula going into it, the story would have seemed more like a novel about a serial killer than anything paranormal.

Not unlike Frankenstein, the book is written in the form of letters.  In this book it is a series of letters from 4 or so different people's points of view experiencing different things related to Dracula all at the same time.  About 2/3 of the way into the story it becomes relevant as Minna collects all of the letters from everyone and transcribes them for the rest of the cast to read.  This was interesting because after this moment everyone in the story was now synced up with what the reader knew.  I thought that was very clever and a good way of making the story framing device part of the story.

As for the plot:
I am putting it in spoilers as well it is spoilery and also has some possible triggers for those that may have suffered some abuse.

(click to show/hide)

The themes of the novel were very interesting as well.  Not only does it seem like a cat and mouse game with a paranormal serial killer, but also deals with trauma.  Lucy becomes like her attacker, Minna becomes distant and feels unclean, her husband Jonathan goes crazy and feels no one would believe him and bottles it up.  Even the heroic trio Arthur, Dr. John, and Quincey show how the victim's family and friends would respond to loss and trauma suffered by a loved one.  The story also shows those who have been traumatized that they have a support network.  Whether is with friends and family, or with medical professionals.  There are many other themes too like, what is expected of a woman in Victorian times, science and mysticism, good vs evil, etc.  I feel like those are pretty evident and are more talked about than the theme of trauma so I will not go into detail about the other themes here.

All in all I would highly suggest reading this classic novel.  A century later it is still just as exciting, creepy, and relevant as when it was published.  Reading it around Halloween made it extra creepy, as the days in the novel started to sync up with the days I read them.
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1161 on: 30 Dec 2017, 01:29 »

Just read Animal Farm by George Orwell.  Was really good!  I loved the parallels that it shares with the Russian revolutions and how twisted absolute power can be on ideals and good intentions.  Many people think it just addresses Stalin-ism and communism, but it really doesn't stop there.  It is a critique of autocracy in general and can be applied to multiple political and social systems.

Its also super short.  My version was about 112 pages.
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

Is it cold in here?

  • Administrator
  • Awakened
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25,163
  • He/him/his pronouns
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1162 on: 30 Dec 2017, 07:46 »

The revolution could have succeeded if it hadn't been for the sheep.

"I Contain Multitudes", a book about microbiome research. Captivating! @Akima, the conclusion that seems inevitable after the first hundred pages, even though the author does not explicitly draw it, is that it's a mistake to think of organisms and their symbiotic microbes as separate entities. Is that dependent co-arising, or just a choice of scientific paradigms?
Logged
Thank you, Dr. Karikó.

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1163 on: 30 Dec 2017, 14:37 »

The revolution could have succeeded if it hadn't been for the sheep.
I'd argue it was because:
(click to show/hide)
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

LTK

  • Methuselah's mentor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5,009
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1164 on: 11 Jan 2018, 10:23 »

Worm. I've been glued to my screen for the past week.
Logged
Quote from: snalin
I just got the image of a midwife and a woman giving birth swinging towards each other on a trapeze - when they meet, the midwife pulls the baby out. The knife juggler is standing on the floor and cuts the umbilical cord with a a knifethrow.

Thrillho

  • Global Moderator
  • Awakened
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13,130
  • Tall. Beets.
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1165 on: 19 Jan 2018, 13:33 »

I've started reading an extensively researched, meticulous biography of FDR. It's just... a big bath in learning juice. Love it. I have the first part of a series of TR ones to read next, probably for my plane out to NYC.
Logged
In the end, the thing people will remember is kindness.

A Duck

  • Curry sauce
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 267
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1166 on: 19 Jan 2018, 15:00 »

I'm trying to shed my "100% videogames" self, one step at a time.

I read Frankenstein, pretty good book. I'm now reading Asimov's "The Complete Robot" and having a lot of fun with it.

Looking forward for some non-fiction after this, though.
Logged

LTK

  • Methuselah's mentor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5,009
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1167 on: 19 Jan 2018, 15:58 »

If it's science non-fiction you like, you really can't go wrong with The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. I read it years ago and I'm still reminded of it frequently. There's a lot of knowledge that it puts into perspective, new and old.
Logged
Quote from: snalin
I just got the image of a midwife and a woman giving birth swinging towards each other on a trapeze - when they meet, the midwife pulls the baby out. The knife juggler is standing on the floor and cuts the umbilical cord with a a knifethrow.

Is it cold in here?

  • Administrator
  • Awakened
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25,163
  • He/him/his pronouns
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1168 on: 20 Jan 2018, 19:59 »

Valerie Young, "The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women". Mostly about impostor syndrome and with most material also applying to men.
Logged
Thank you, Dr. Karikó.

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1169 on: 23 Jan 2018, 18:34 »

Just finished Red October by Douglas Boyd. The book chronicles the lead up to, the events of, and the civil war following the Russian Revolutions.  It was a great read as it starts with the lives of Marx and Engels and their philosophies. This is followed by the main trio: Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. After a brief origin story for each of them in the early chapters, the book then changes tune and follows the ineptitude of the last Russian Emperor as he blunders time and again with foreign and domestic policy.  He was totally out of touch on how to be a ruler, and on how his country was even ruled up to that point.  Times were changing, and Russia was in the past.  It didn't help that his father didn't bother to teach him anything, as he thought Nicholas II was too stupid to learn.  Why Nicholas II was made his successor is beyond me.  I put the blame on the entire revolution on the shoulders of Nicholas II and WW1.  Not only was the army woefully under armed and trained, but the home front could not support such an endeavor.  Combine this with outdated tactics, an aggressive enemy, and foreign funding of prominent exiled revolutionaries, it was a powder keg thrown into the fireplace.  I felt rather bad for Nicholas II.

Boyd really shows how dire life was during the wars, revolutions, and counter revolutions.  You really get to know the main three players mentioned earlier and how much they just hated each other.  If Stalin didn't over shadow Lenin in history as a megalomaniac, I'd rank Lenin up there with Napoleon and Alexander.  Lenin wanted the world, but only if he was the sole ruler of it.  Trotsky was rather flamboyant in comparison and was diametrically opposed to Lenin in most things.  Stalin just played in the background waiting, biding his time and gathering secret support.  It truly was a revolution, as it ended up similar from where they started.  After the dust was settled, Lenin (and later Stalin) were the monarchs, just in a different name.  The communist party was their religion, where banishment from the party was no different than being excommunicated from the church in medieval times.  The secret Tsar police, the Okhrana, was replaced by the Cheka.  Oppression of the peasants and the working class just changed hands rather than improved their well being.  The list goes on.

The most interesting of the accounts in the book was a chapter two-thirds of the way through about the execution and disposal of the Tsar and his family.  It is written as a report by the commissar in charge that was retold by said commissar years after the event.  If the subject matter wasn't so grim, it would be comical, but was overall very compelling.  There are a number of colorful characters that pop in and out throughout the book, along with flavorful small stories.

If I had one complaint: it's that the author seemed to sneer at the people or subject matter at times.  I know most of these men are not looked upon favorably by contemporaries, but I generally like a unbiased (or as unbiased as you can get) viewpoint when dealing with historical subjects.  That is just my own pet peeve, but all in all it was a really nice read, especially if the era or subject matter of revolution interests you.  I'd recommend it to any history buff.
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

LTK

  • Methuselah's mentor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5,009
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1170 on: 24 Jan 2018, 03:06 »

I finished Worm, took me about two weeks, and now I know that's the time it takes for me to read 1.65 million words, if I'm sufficiently motivated.

I see a lot of people saying "it's so dark and gritty!" which I'm not sure I agree with. It's *human*, with all the highs and lows that entails. Adding superpowers to an quintessentially human story makes those highs and lows correspondingly extreme: the stakes keep getting higher until they literally can't, victories become increasingly hard-fought and happen in lower and lower odds, and losses are more devastating each time.

The author hasn't bothered to give content warnings because pretty much every disturbing thing you can think of happens, with the exception of sexual violence. But unlike other grim 'n gritty stuff, it doesn't revel in it, it doesn't rub your face in how horrible people are, even if the upper limit for horribleness is much higher than normal. I really enjoyed it because of that; it contrasts with the other fiction I've tried to read recently, superhero and otherwise, where the world is shit and horrible things happen for basically no reason, which is no way to write a story.
Logged
Quote from: snalin
I just got the image of a midwife and a woman giving birth swinging towards each other on a trapeze - when they meet, the midwife pulls the baby out. The knife juggler is standing on the floor and cuts the umbilical cord with a a knifethrow.

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1171 on: 29 Jan 2018, 19:24 »

I reread "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward."  I tried to listen to this on audible during a trip.  In this case it was a train ride to NYC back in August.  I fell asleep several times and had to rewind and re-listen for me to catch up.  By the end of the trip I felt like this was by far the worse Lovecraft story I have ever read! I meant to write up my review but things were so busy in my life at that moment that it fell to the way side.  Last week I felt I should pick it up again and re-listen to it since it has been so long the details became fuzzy.  I finished it today on my way home from work and my opinion had reversed from my initial reading.  I am glad I gave it another try as there were chunks of the story I missed or misheard.

It was a great mystery story!  I will say, the second time reading it, having a basic blueprint of the story from the first reading did help me make more connections than previously.  I wonder if that is why I enjoyed it more the second time around.  Lovecraft seemed to be at his best in this novel.  Not the most chilling, but definitively his most satisfying from begging middle and end.  Whereas his previous stories seems to start atmospherically, bring on the tension, only to ramp up and rush the ending; this novel was very well paced and did not disappoint in the end.  His poetic language was expertly used and didn't come off as too self indulgent at all.  Definitely a fine read and I recommend it to any mystery and/or paranormal novel enthusiasts.
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1172 on: 03 Feb 2018, 16:23 »

I read Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman.  I was going through audible a few weeks ago with 2 credits and trying to figure out what to get.  I got Red October for myself and relized that my wife should read something too.  She didn't seem to interested in anything, but then I came across Bringing Up Bébé.  The synopsis seems to indicate it was an American mother's exploration of Parisian parenting.  It triggered what I learned in my French culture class back in college.  I mentioned it to her and played an excerpt of it for us to listen too.  It sounded so interesting that we decided to get it.  After I finished Red October I decided I hadn't read many "baby books" other than the mayo clinic's guide to pregnancy and newborns, and so I decided to listen to Pamela's pseudo-anthropological study of French parenting.

It was fascinating!  Druckerman had moved to Paris with her British husband and decided to settle there.  After having her first baby and she started noticing that French babies behaved differently.  They did not cry or throw a fit in public, they slept through the night 3-6 weeks after delivery, and they were overall just well behaved.  And the French parents looked happy and content as opposed to the ragged looking American and British parents.  She found through Parisian anecdotes and some research that the French parenting philosophy exists but is taken for granted in France.  To them what they do is just "common sense."  There's an entire chapter dedicated to what the author calls "The Pause" and how it teaches the baby to "do their nights" as well as instill patience in their child.  Another chapter is how they introduce children to food in a way they gets them to eat all kinds of different foods that most Anglophone kids would never eat let alone try.  Its all very fascinating with pros and cons to the French parenting philosophy.  For example, my wife and I have decided that we will do "The Pause" as well as getting them on a feeding schedule that matches our own, but unlike the french we do plan to breastfeed and do more than just let the child "discover" things.

I would highly recommend this book if you are going to be a parent, love french culture, interested in anthropology, love philosophy, or just love fun short stories about family.  It was just an utterly captivating book that not only shows and critiques French parenting philosophy but also Anglophones as well.
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1173 on: 05 Feb 2018, 20:18 »

I am at an impasse.  I want to continue delving into classical literature, particularly those that are well known that I have missed out on.  I am trying to choose from the following:

Moby Dick
Pride and Prejudice
The Three Musketeers
War and Peace
Heart of Darkness

any suggestions?
« Last Edit: 16 Oct 2018, 13:55 by LeeC »
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

TheEvilDog

  • Guest
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1174 on: 06 Feb 2018, 13:50 »

Moby Dick is one of those books where you need to read it in a couple of sessions over a relative short period, its not the kind you can drop and pick it up over weeks or months. Its just so dense.
Logged

Cornelius

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1175 on: 06 Feb 2018, 23:37 »

It really is. But don't let that discourage you: it really is rewarding, and, to me, much more so than Pride and prejudice. But then, I'm not an Austen fan.
Pride and prejudice is a fairly easy read.
The three Musketeers, I'm ashamed to admit I've only ever read in translation, but it's full of everything you would expect from the story, including some very funny episodes that don't generally make it into the movies.
War and Peace is still on my reading list, so that's all I can say about that. If it is like the other Russian literature from that period, it'll be slightly less dense than Moby Dick.
Heart of Darkness, being only a novella, is the shortest read of them all. It manages to pack quite a lot in there, though. I'd say it's definitely Conrad's best work. I like to borrow his description of Brussels.

I've just finished Notre Dame de Paris, and started Kipling's Plain Tales from the Hills.

Edited to clean up the autocorrect.
« Last Edit: 07 Feb 2018, 10:49 by Cornelius »
Logged
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.

Is it cold in here?

  • Administrator
  • Awakened
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25,163
  • He/him/his pronouns
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1176 on: 07 Feb 2018, 10:33 »

I'm wrestling with "The Divine Milieu" by Teilhard de Chardin.
Logged
Thank you, Dr. Karikó.

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1177 on: 24 Feb 2018, 21:12 »

I ended up going with The Three Musketeers. What an amazingly fun adventure!  So many fun and interesting characters, places, situations, and intrigue.  I feel the book has been cheated in its movie adaptations (granted I have only seen the one Disney made in 1993).  So many characters cut out or completely changed!  It was an audio book and the voice actor did an amazing job. I really loved whenever he did Planche's voice as it sounded like Baldrick from Blackadder and its how I imagined him.  Nearly every character was well developed with interesting backstories, ambitions, and attitudes. I fell in love with some and detested the villain (great job Dumas!!).  The ending was a bit bittersweet with a few items tied up in the epilogue which could have used its own chapters but it was still and amazingly fun adventure.  I highly recommend this book!

I am not sure how good the current BBC show is, but I really wish I could find a show or movie that did the book justice.  The 1993 Disney movie was fun in a cheese action comedy kind of way, but does not do the book nor the characters justice. :psyduck: 
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

Cornelius

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1178 on: 26 Feb 2018, 08:07 »

Glad you enjoyed it. From what I've seen, the current BBC series is good to watch, but should not be watched as a representation of the book. Rather it takes the setting, the basic conflict, and the characters, and goes its own heroic way.

Having finished Kipling's tales, I've started on the Discworld novels.

Logged
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.

JoeCovenant

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,863
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1179 on: 26 Feb 2018, 08:27 »

Glad you enjoyed it. From what I've seen, the current BBC series is good to watch, but should not be watched as a representation of the book. Rather it takes the setting, the basic conflict, and the characters, and goes its own heroic way.

Having finished Kipling's tales, I've started on the Discworld novels.

Force your way through the first one... the second gets easier, after that.. it's all gravy! :)
Logged
Covenant
A Man With Far Too Much Time On His Hands

TheEvilDog

  • Guest
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1180 on: 26 Feb 2018, 08:43 »

I've had to go to Dublin repeatedly the last couple of weeks, which means a five hour round trip on the train. So I've taken the opportunity to do some travel reading, which usually means the novel equivalent of trash B-movie horrors.

In the last few weeks I've read:
- Vespers, by Jeff Rovin. A cop and a biologist team up to investigate a series of mysterious deaths. Turns out its giant bats descended from one that was exposed to the Chernobyl disaster.
- Meg, By Steve Alten. Deep sea submariner is called in to help a friend with a project involving a deep sea trench. Turns out megalodons still live in the trench and one is accidentally brought to the surface. Submariner has to stop the shark.
- Flesh and Blood, by Graham Masterton. Guy kills his family, samples of his son's brain is placed into the brain of a giant pig. It all goes downhill from there.

They're not the best novels, but they're good for what they and they're entertaining enough for a train ride.
« Last Edit: 26 Feb 2018, 17:44 by Castlerook »
Logged

Blyss

  • 1-800-SCABIES
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 821
  • I got skillz with the plastic motherfucker. SKILLZ
    • Gamers like games
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1181 on: 13 Mar 2018, 09:29 »

Started rereading the Dresden Files again.  Just recently finished "What the hell did I just read?" the third in the "John Dies at the End" series.

Nothing too taxing at the moment, but comfort reading I guess.
Logged
"Psychos?!  Did they look like psychos?  They were vampires!  Psychos DO NOT explode when sunlight hits them, I don't give a fuck how crazy they are!"  Seth Gecko

My blog

NovemberX

  • Not quite a lurker
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1182 on: 13 Mar 2018, 20:55 »

The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame, Volume One

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Logged

NovemberX

  • Not quite a lurker
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1183 on: 13 Mar 2018, 20:57 »

Flowery language and beautiful prose, deeper truths, whoopee. But will that save you when the zombies come? Didn't think so.

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

Arm yourselves with knowledge... and a shotgun.
And a crowbar!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Logged

NovemberX

  • Not quite a lurker
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1184 on: 13 Mar 2018, 20:59 »

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams.
This book has posed a large problem in that I read it on the subway, and on more than one occasion I have laughed heartily, out loud. This morning I chuckled at a certain passage and a woman looked at me like I'd kicked a puppy.
That means you're doing something right!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Logged

Clovis Man

  • Not quite a lurker
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 10
  • A well-preserved paeleoindian.
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1185 on: 14 Mar 2018, 23:38 »

I just finished two by Russian authors (in translation, of course).

The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, was recommended by an acquaintenance at the local coffee shop.  It's a brilliant satire on late 1930s Moscow.

When I ordered The Master and Margarita, Amazon recommended We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin.  It's set up as the diary an engineer, set in a failed scientific socialist utopia (think: H.G. Wells gone badly wrong) after a 200-year war.  Published in 1921, it predates 1984 and Brave New World.
Logged
My consuctress on the number 19, she was a honey,
Pink toenails, hands all dirty with money...
== Dire Straits, Wild West End

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1186 on: 17 Mar 2018, 12:44 »

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is required reading in nearly all schools in the States.  Like most of these schools, I too had to read Mark Twain's tale of a young adolescent as he went on his own Mississippi Odyssey with an escaped slave. The book is actually a sequel, and Huck first showed up with Tom Sawyer in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."  I am vaguely familiar with the story of Tom Sawyer from made for TV movies and cartoons in my youth but never actually read it.  When I saw it on Audible, and narrated by Nick Offerman himself (Ron Swanson of Parks and Rec), I decided it was time to know the chronicle of this little boy from Missouri.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is truly a love letter to being a little boy.  His adventures and superstitions remind me of when I was a little lad; trying to not get caught as I pursued my own fun with my friends and relations. What really struck me was how they think they know the world and proper incantations to bring about good luck or remove warts.  It's a true insight on being a young kid.  His adventures become the talk of the town as he witnessed a murder with the town delinquent and the wrong man was arrested, to striking it out as a pirate, and avoiding the real killer who may be out for vengeance.  I would say that if "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was "The Odyssey" then "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" would be the stories with Thor and Loki from "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman (which is also a good read).  The ending was amazing and could only happen to an 8 year old.

I did tell my wife that if our next baby is a boy, then this book will be required reading for her.   :mrgreen:
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

NovemberX

  • Not quite a lurker
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1187 on: 24 Mar 2018, 17:05 »

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is required reading in nearly all schools in the States.  Like most of these schools, I too had to read Mark Twain's tale of a young adolescent as he went on his own Mississippi Odyssey with an escaped slave. The book is actually a sequel, and Huck first showed up with Tom Sawyer in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."  I am vaguely familiar with the story of Tom Sawyer from made for TV movies and cartoons in my youth but never actually read it.  When I saw it on Audible, and narrated by Nick Offerman himself (Ron Swanson of Parks and Rec), I decided it was time to know the chronicle of this little boy from Missouri.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is truly a love letter to being a little boy.  His adventures and superstitions remind me of when I was a little lad; trying to not get caught as I pursued my own fun with my friends and relations. What really struck me was how they think they know the world and proper incantations to bring about good luck or remove warts.  It's a true insight on being a young kid.  His adventures become the talk of the town as he witnessed a murder with the town delinquent and the wrong man was arrested, to striking it out as a pirate, and avoiding the real killer who may be out for vengeance.  I would say that if "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was "The Odyssey" then "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" would be the stories with Thor and Loki from "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman (which is also a good read).  The ending was amazing and could only happen to an 8 year old.

I did tell my wife that if our next baby is a boy, then this book will be required reading for her.   :mrgreen:
I never actually had to read Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer. I should really remedy that.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Logged

Cornelius

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1188 on: 10 Apr 2018, 02:47 »

Force your way through the first one... the second gets easier, after that.. it's all gravy! :)

To be honest, there's not much force necessary. I've definitely read worse.

I'm tackling them chronologically, and it's nice to see the development he's gone through.
Logged
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.

Thrillho

  • Global Moderator
  • Awakened
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13,130
  • Tall. Beets.
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1189 on: 10 Apr 2018, 05:21 »

I finished the FDR Biography. I was very pleased that it immediately ended as soon as Franklin died rather than eulogizing him or going into the political events after the War. I was less pleased that it had 300 pages of notes and Bibliography in a 900 page book. Also irritated it didn't touch on the Newport Sex Scandal, like the Ken Burns ones didn't.

I have moved onto the first part of the Theodore Roosevelt biographies by Edmund Morris, the Pulitzer Prize-winning ones from the early 1980s.

It's in a whole other league to the FDR one. The FDR one was crammed with information and analysis and was just a great big delicious cup of knowledge juice.

But Morris writes about TR, who was a larger-than-life character almost from birth, as if it's a novel. He writes a novel about a non-fiction individual. And it's beautiful and moving and brutal and honest and heartbreaking and epic and rage-inducing and so many more things in between. It's a fucking masterpiece and I've hoovered up 700 of its 800 pages in the past two weeks.
Logged
In the end, the thing people will remember is kindness.

Ignominious

  • The German Chancellory building
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 456
  • Account no longer in use - goodbye and good luck
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1190 on: 13 Apr 2018, 02:49 »

I just discovered that The City and The City by China Meiville has been televised so now I'm rushing through the book before it gets taken off IPlayer. Its a rare occaision to be glad it isn't one if his finger straining tomes that cripple ligaments long before your appetite for the story is sated.
Logged

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1191 on: 30 Apr 2018, 20:15 »

I did it. I got my harpoon and went a-whaling, I went after the white whale and read Moby Dick.  Herman Melville is an amazing author and is very poetic in his writing. I read the unabridged version, so 1/3 of the book was about Ahab and the crew of the Pequod going after Moby Dick.  The other 2/3 of the book is everything to know about whales and whaling.  Even those parts are beautifully written! It can be a bit of a slog because it goes off tangent and talks about whales.  Stories, legends, paleontology, oceanography, history, how to hunt and harvest whales.  It really gets into the nitty gritty of it all.  I can see why its a classic, the story itself is pretty amazing as we follow Ishmael and his budding friendship with the Polynesian Queequeg as they sign onto a whaling voyage with the bitter old Ahab who wants nothing but revenge!

Honestly, you could probably find the abridged version without all the whale and whaling stuff in it, but I think you really lose out on the atmosphere and foreshadowing that Melville uses with those chapters, to build up tension and under stand what risks are involved when going after the demi-god of whales.

I also have found when talking to other people about this book, that different people get different things out of the story.  Sometimes its a vengeance rampage tale, others its a philosophical look on existence, and everything in between.  Not only is it a wonderful story, but it may be also worth the read to see what the ink blot shows you.  Another book worthy of the title "classic."



Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

LTK

  • Methuselah's mentor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5,009
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1192 on: 01 May 2018, 03:52 »

I totally agree, I'd read the complete version over the abridged version containing only the bits about the Pequod any day. Maybe that's because I'm a huge nerd, but encyclopedic chapters really do add a lot to the overall mood of the book. Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick wouldn't be nearly as credible without it.

A while ago I backed a project for an illustrated version of Moby Dick on kickstarter, and the author had some interesting things to say about the book:

Quote
I recently finished a big series of illustrations for Moby-Dick, and I’m currently running a Kickstarter campaign to self-publish an illustrated edition of the book (but also, you can read the book for free any time you like). I’m going to use this as an excuse to add to the pile of writing about one of the most written-about books in history: a book that is pored over and analyzed and cross-referenced as if it were scripture.

I am obsessed with this book: as a story and as an unfashionable, aggressive effort, and as an articulation of an interest I have in humanity’s confrontation with the limits of itself and its understanding. I am only lately and by the light of this book seeing that particular throughline connecting a lot of the stories I’ve been preoccupied with throughout my life. It’s a good book to get obsessed with, and to build an overambitious, impractical project on the back of.

Full blog post
Logged
Quote from: snalin
I just got the image of a midwife and a woman giving birth swinging towards each other on a trapeze - when they meet, the midwife pulls the baby out. The knife juggler is standing on the floor and cuts the umbilical cord with a a knifethrow.

TheEvilDog

  • Guest
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1193 on: 01 May 2018, 07:51 »

Yeah, its often been said that Moby Dick was less a story about whaling and revenge and more an encyclopedia about 19th Century whaling.
Logged

Cornelius

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1194 on: 02 May 2018, 01:00 »

Recommended background reading: The Ashley Book of Knots
Logged
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.

Trebane

  • Not quite a lurker
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1195 on: 02 May 2018, 02:54 »

I went through a period of trying to break out of fantasy novels, unfortunately classical literature and depressing real life books like Thousand Splendid Sons just don't do it for me.

I decided to be true to myself as a person and read what I love, not reading what I "should" be reading. I finished Half a King by Joe Abercrombie which was just ok, It was paced well but felt too cliche. I read the first 4 books of the Earthsea which was fantastic, on the lookout for more. I'm currently rereading the Abhorsen trilogy. I think Lirael might be my favourite character in all of fantasy.
Logged

pwhodges

  • Admin emeritus
  • Awakened
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 17,241
  • I'll only say this once...
    • My home page
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1196 on: 02 May 2018, 03:13 »

Aeschylus - The Oresteia; Murakami - after the quake and Underground.

Well, so far I have read the introduction to the Aeschylus in my Oxford edition, which is as long as the text of the three plays (and the notes on the text are as long again); also the first Murakami, which is a collection of short stories themed around the Kobe earthquake of 1995.

I am reading these as background after finding a series of articles which tie the themes of both The Oresteia and Underground to the plot and individual personalities of the anime Marawu Penguindrum.  The anime is built on the idea of inescapable familial guilt, and specifically it references the Tokyo underground (subway) sarin gas attack, also of 1995.  The idea of responsibility being passed down a family is present in Japanese society as well as in Greek myth, which is obviously where the Aeschylus comes in; and the second Murakami book is his account of interviews with survivors and other people affected by the gas attack.  One of the short stories (Super-Frog saves Tokyo) becomes a plot item in the anime, and is about forestalling disaster by challenging and placating the gods (a giant worm in this instance).

All very educational, at the least.
Logged
"Being human, having your health; that's what's important."  (from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )
"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?"  (from: The Eccentric Family )

LeeC

  • Nearly grown up
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8,031
  • Be excellent to each other, party on Dudes!
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1197 on: 17 May 2018, 10:27 »

I took a plunge and read The Iliad by Homer.  It takes place in the 9th year of the Trojan War and largely follows Achilles and Hector. There was a lot of drama between the Achaeans and their champions. Some I never heard of (like Diomedes) but it was fun to learn about them. Hector just out and out hates Alexandros (aka Paris) for being a little arrogant punk. Helen at one time decides to give herself up to end the war, but Aphrodite threatens to make her existence a living hell for the rest of her life if she does. Poor Helen.  Most of the story seems to be x killed y with their z, which made the story a bit of a slog at times.  I felt like sometimes my mind checked out until a familiar or important hero shows up like Diomedes or Aeneas. It does paint quite the picture on how the ancient Greeks performed war.  Its less like phalanxes coming at each other (that's way later in the historical record anyway) and more like a brawl of dogs fighting over meat (in this case dead men's armor).  Also there is no cavalry. Cavalry didn't exist yet as horses where not bred for that (which matches historical/archaeological evidence), but there were a ton of chariot fights.  Sometimes fighting like a mobile platform, sometimes as mobile archery positions, and sometimes just to drop off and pick up champions in the fight.  The Olympians get funky fighty with themselves and the mortals too. Always trying to undermine Zeus and each other by helping/hindering the mortals.  You learn about some of the physical features of the gods too, like Athena having grey eyes and a storm cloud on her shield. I thought that was pretty cool.  I also liked that they illustrated the time frame of when this event took place as they mentioned that several of the fighters are literal sons of Hercules.  Which is kind of cool, as now you have a sense of time in the legends.

I liked it, but would only really read it again for research purposes.  It doesn't read like a compelling novel and there are many parts that you have to slog through as its just x killed y with z and repeat.  It is a great piece of work when it comes to historical warfare and Greek mythology though.  The language can be a bit dense at times and beautiful at others, but that may depend on what translation you read. I don't really give out ratings for the books I read, but I'll make an exception and rate this a solid 3/5 golden apples.
 :mrgreen:

edit:
Also this legit happens in the book.
(click to show/hide)

le sigh, I really miss Hark a Vagrant.  :-\
« Last Edit: 17 May 2018, 11:53 by LeeC »
Logged
You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

SordidEuphemism

  • Plantmonster
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 41
  • Treguna Mekoides Tracorum Satis Dee
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1198 on: 18 May 2018, 10:03 »

I've discovered that my library now has audiobooks online available for checkout, so I've been re-"reading" my favorites from Gaiman. Just finished Anansi Boys, and Lenny Henry was an excellent choice for the narrator.
Logged

Thrillho

  • Global Moderator
  • Awakened
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13,130
  • Tall. Beets.
Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1199 on: 18 May 2018, 13:14 »

Lenny Henry was an excellent choice

THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT I'D READ EVER FOR 500
Logged
In the end, the thing people will remember is kindness.
Pages: 1 ... 22 23 [24] 25 26 ... 29   Go Up