What are you currently reading?

[Doom_Dude]

I finished reading Circe in December and received The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller for Christmas and finished that off too. Circe took me ages to get into but that was due to me not being in much of a reading zone for a long time. Once I got back to reading, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Both books are page turners and Miller is an excellent story teller. Achilles had more romantic stuff going on but it made the story more tragic and true to the original source material. I liked Circe the best of the two. Good stuff if you like those ancient Greek stories of mythology and such. She is currently writing the story of Persephone, so that should be fun.

 

Then I finished reading Child of Light by Terry Brooks (also an Xmas gift). First book post Shannara for Brooks. It's a page turner and has a few twists in the story. I liked it myself and any following stories set in the same world, should be interesting. I always liked a lot of his earlier works. There's a few novels since The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy that I haven't read.

 

I'm currently reading The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. I have the 2nd book on hand and have to look for the 3rd.

 

So I had dual gift cards for Chapter's and picked up The Shadow of What Was Lost. Will read it next. I have $20 on the card so will grab book two later, I'm sure.

 

Oh and some 20 years ago I stopped reading The Wheel of Time. Made it to book 9 about 80 pages in and dropped it. So I picked it up again and trying to Slog through. It's apparent why I stopped. I made it 8 pages beyond where my old bookmark was and decided to read Circe and will try again later. lol

[Hawk of The Crystals]

Returning to say that I'm reading Till' A Seas by H.P Lovecraft.

[Dubium]

I'm glad you asked. I just started reading "The Trouble With Being Born" by Emil Cioran, a Roman philosopher. It's a book which contains a collection of aphorisms about how painful the nature of being alive is. He even described his birth as "a laughable accident" which gives you the idea of how many terrible things he had been through

 

I know this book sounds a little bit crazy to some people, but once you try to understand the philosophy of pessimism, it will be much more interesting to dig deeper into it

[ducon]

I read Le Nouveau péril sectaire (Antivax, crudivores, écoles Steiner, évangéliques radicaux...) by Jean-Loup Adénor and Timothée de Rauglaudre.

It’s about cults (The New Sectarian Peril in English), a state of the art of what’s happening in this topic in France and sometimes elsewhere.

They talk about Scientology (and the CAN case [Cult Awareness Network that the Scientology sued that bought]), Thierry Casasnovas (a French guru of eating crude food), islamic fanatism (yes, it’s related), Jehovah’s Witnesses, (Rudolf) Steiner schools and others.

They also try to understand why the French Miviludes (people who work on sectarian perils) workers are not in a good mood, so do the militants and alert launchers.

It’s not about religious freedom, because the movements studied here are not all religious (Scientology, Steiner…), it’s about manipulation of people, coercion of people, freedom of people. The cults talk about freedom, but only about their freedom to crush people, not about the freedom to criticize their teachings from the inside or even from the outside.

A small critic against the book: they refuse to talk about cults, to use the word. Doing this, it’s a small victory of these totalitarian movements. There might be another victory if the French state (and others) let them sue anti-cult movements, let them crush people, let them write the laws.

Anyway, it’s a good book.

 

Now, I’m going to read Le traître et le néant, a book written by Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme, a book against our president (Emmanuel Macron).

[Kokoro Hane]

Currently reading Star Wars: Dark Force Rising and hnnng it's just so good!

[DarkIceCyclone]

Doomworld forums. Technically it's a multipage book. 

That aside, currently dvelving deeper into psychological rabbit hole: Joe Navarros Dangerous Personalities

 

 @ducon hmm...you may be intrested in Karl Marx as well. He was surprisingly controversial character, atleast according to the translations of his writings. The problem is, translations inherently carry bias

Edited February 22, 2022 by DarkIceCyclone

[ducon]

I prefer Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.

[ducon]

I just read the sixteen issues of America, the French /revue/ about the United States of America, with a writer point of view. It’s published during 45’s mandate, four issues a year and now, it’s over.

Here is the table of contents of a standard issue:
  The cover, as shown above
  A quote
  The word of the editor
  A poem or a short text
  An illustration
  The table of contents
  Two pages with the list of who worked here and a map of the USA, the states where the action stands are highlighted
  Three months in America, a chronology
  The yellow fish chronicle
  A big interview with a living writer: Toni Morrison, Don Delillo, James Ellroy, Paul auster, Jonathan Franzen, John Irving, Patti Smith, Russel Banks, Bret Easton Ellis, T.C. Boyle, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, Richard Powers, Siti Hustvedt, Salman Rushdie, Colum McCann.
  The dossier about or with Barack Obama, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the FBI, Violence in America, The wilderness, Ladies first, Religion, Race (and slavery), Indians in America, The American Dream, The Edges inside America, War, the Youth, Sex, Money, America’s future.
  A portfolio and a topic about a city or a state with a few albums, books and films about it: For example Los Angeles, Yellowstone, from Chicago to New Orleans, Chicago, New Orleans, Amishes on holidays, San Francisco, Boston, Washington City, Miami, Las Vegas, Seattle, Sun City, Alaska, Hawaii, On the Road.
  A film
  A series: Westworld, Breaking Bad, The Simpson, Mad Men, Friends, House of Cards, The Wire, ER, the Sopranos, Orange is the New Black, South Park, Six Feet Under, Twin Peaks, Homeland, Desperate Housewives, Seinfeld.
  A chronicle about the USA
  One great novellist, with an excerpt and quotes from other authors who explain why they like him or her: Moby Dick (Herman Melville), Martin Eden (Jack London), Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain), On the Road (Jack Kerouac), The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner, Philip Roth (no excerpt), The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers), The Great Gatsby (Francis Scott Fitzgerald), The Catcher in the Rye (Jerome David Saligner), Ask the Dust (John Fante), For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway), To Kill a Moncking Bird (Harper Lee).
  A chronicle about 45’s USA
  A Wallace Stevens quote
  The back cover
The table is not always exactly this one.

If you read French (or if it’s translated), read it. It’s against 45 but not against the people who voted for him. Intead, they try to understand what has happened, with a writer point of view, they even interviewed writers (at least, one) who voted for him.
What’s missing? No science fiction, no fantasy, no music (three albums per issue, hrm), a few films.
For example, only Stephen King talked about Lovecraft (as inspiration), nothing about Lord Valentin’s Castle (Robert Silverberg) that is a major allegory of America, nothing about Frederik Pohl (the Space Merchants), nearly nothing about Philip K. Dick. Nearly nothing about comics or graphic novels, nothing about series, writers, actors, that are a bit more fond of 45.
In the end, I felt that the same heads were seen here, sometimes twice or thrice.
Anyway, these sixteen books are to be read.

 

Now, I’m going to read the catalogue of the French exposition about JRR Tolkien in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

http://editions.bnf.fr/sites/default/files/styles/w340/public/Tolkien_Couv_HD.jpg

Edited March 18, 2022 by ducon

[ducon]

I read the Tolkien catalogue:

It’s full of fac-simile of sheets of paper that JRRT himself covered with drawings, paintings, elfic writings or English text; and often a mix of those.

It’s written in French, of course, but I don’t know if all the images in it are readable elsewhere. Here is an example, it’s a view of Orthanc:

The book opens with a dozen short texts about JRRT’s personal history (where he lived, his family…), activities (his job in Oxford…) and interests (poetry, old languages, philology…)

His fantasy work was constantly reworked and his son, Christopher, made a considerable work in order to publish (and sometimes rewrite) his father’s writings.

 

In a quite different style, but contemporary, I’m reading the Complete HPL fiction. This one:

[Doom_Dude]

I finished this Mercedes Lackey book a week ago. It was pretty good, despite the fact that I find her books can be hit and miss. Thankfully it's not another Valdemar story as I think I'm bored of reading those, I guess. Better than expected for sure.

Since I own the 2nd book, I decided to go right into that before exploring James Islington like I had planned.

 

 

[Naarok0fkor]

On 3/17/2022 at 10:12 AM, ducon said:

I just read the sixteen issues of America, the French /revue/ about the United States of America, with a writer point of view. It’s published during 45’s mandate, four issues a year and now, it’s over.

Here is the table of contents of a standard issue:
  The cover, as shown above
  A quote
  The word of the editor
  A poem or a short text
  An illustration
  The table of contents
  Two pages with the list of who worked here and a map of the USA, the states where the action stands are highlighted
  Three months in America, a chronology
  The yellow fish chronicle
  A big interview with a living writer: Toni Morrison, Don Delillo, James Ellroy, Paul auster, Jonathan Franzen, John Irving, Patti Smith, Russel Banks, Bret Easton Ellis, T.C. Boyle, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, Richard Powers, Siti Hustvedt, Salman Rushdie, Colum McCann.
  The dossier about or with Barack Obama, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the FBI, Violence in America, The wilderness, Ladies first, Religion, Race (and slavery), Indians in America, The American Dream, The Edges inside America, War, the Youth, Sex, Money, America’s future.
  A portfolio and a topic about a city or a state with a few albums, books and films about it: For example Los Angeles, Yellowstone, from Chicago to New Orleans, Chicago, New Orleans, Amishes on holidays, San Francisco, Boston, Washington City, Miami, Las Vegas, Seattle, Sun City, Alaska, Hawaii, On the Road.
  A film
  A series: Westworld, Breaking Bad, The Simpson, Mad Men, Friends, House of Cards, The Wire, ER, the Sopranos, Orange is the New Black, South Park, Six Feet Under, Twin Peaks, Homeland, Desperate Housewives, Seinfeld.
  A chronicle about the USA
  One great novellist, with an excerpt and quotes from other authors who explain why they like him or her: Moby Dick (Herman Melville), Martin Eden (Jack London), Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain), On the Road (Jack Kerouac), The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner, Philip Roth (no excerpt), The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers), The Great Gatsby (Francis Scott Fitzgerald), The Catcher in the Rye (Jerome David Saligner), Ask the Dust (John Fante), For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway), To Kill a Moncking Bird (Harper Lee).
  A chronicle about 45’s USA
  A Wallace Stevens quote
  The back cover
The table is not always exactly this one.

If you read French (or if it’s translated), read it. It’s against 45 but not against the people who voted for him. Intead, they try to understand what has happened, with a writer point of view, they even interviewed writers (at least, one) who voted for him.
What’s missing? No science fiction, no fantasy, no music (three albums per issue, hrm), a few films.
For example, only Stephen King talked about Lovecraft (as inspiration), nothing about Lord Valentin’s Castle (Robert Silverberg) that is a major allegory of America, nothing about Frederik Pohl (the Space Merchants), nearly nothing about Philip K. Dick. Nearly nothing about comics or graphic novels, nothing about series, writers, actors, that are a bit more fond of 45.
In the end, I felt that the same heads were seen here, sometimes twice or thrice.
Anyway, these sixteen books are to be read.

 

Now, I’m going to read the catalogue of the French exposition about JRR Tolkien in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

http://editions.bnf.fr/sites/default/files/styles/w340/public/Tolkien_Couv_HD.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr2enzcl83o

 

[Sena]

Finished the Oxford Portrait on Samuel Adams last week or so, which I have to say is good, solely on the basis that there doesn't seem to be any major interest in him, so any biographies or works that deal with him as a central figure are hard to come by. Too bad I have no idea what to read now I'm done with that.

[LadyMistDragon]

The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie. I really like the delightfully dry dialogue of many of his characters. It's very British, but they're international best-sellers so people must really like. Grim though.

[Thelokk]

Just started out Maijo Otaro's Disco Detective Wednesdayyy. If the next 900 pages are as trippy as the first 100...

[Arrowhead]

[Redneckerz]

 

Haruki Murakami: Killing Commendatore.

Two Parts:

• Part 1: The Idea Made Visible
• Part 2: The Shifting Metaphor

As Murakami fan this is once again easily recommended, although it doesn't come near his masterpieces Kafka On The Shore and 1Q84. We are following the trail of a unnamed portrait painter who, due to a divorce, goes on a trip through the country. He eventually settles in the house of one Tomohiko Amada, a famous painter now living in a nursery home. Our protagonist finds the place odd, especially when he is met by a man called Wataru Menshiki, a truly strange man.

 

Killing Commendatore focuses on the shadow realm between life and the afterlife and how they manifest in the real world. I found the book very intriquing and enjoyable, partially due to Murakami's excellento writing style and referential habits. It does not have the appeal of a 1Q84 to me though, but Killing Commendatore does paint (heh) a interesting portrayal of how common things are not so common at all. To whomever has an observative and reserved character, Killing Commendatore does not disappoint.

[ducon]

I read Le traître et le néant, written by Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme.

The title is a pun with L’être et le néant (Jean-Paul Sartre), because our French president is said to read philosophy and to have been Paul Ricœur’s secretary. Maybe.

The two authors interviewed a lot of people that met Macron (and not Makron even if Quake 2’S villain might be overthrown by such a vicious politician). Some other people refused to be interviewed (two pages!), maybe because they are afraid, or they have been told not to.

First, Le traître , the traitor. It’s the story of how Macron betrayed the previous president (Hollande), feeling that there was a good coup to be made.

Then, Le néant, the nothingness. He is nearly alone as president, his party (LReM) is hollow, just here for his election and his re-election. There is no ideology, nearly no elects (except in the parliament).

The book alternates this story and focuses on interviewed (or not) people.

Conclusion: Macron is a populist of the French elite.

 

I’m now reading The Discworld Companion (in English).

Edited April 3, 2022 by ducon

[Thelokk]

Done with Disco Detective... holy heck, what a trip. Now working on Nisio's Ningen series and, in between, rereading Maldoror.

[shark man]

just ordered this off luke smith's thing

 

 

Spoiler

 

[RandoBust]

Dracula

 

It's rare that I drop a book but I've tried getting through this one a few times now. Bit of a slog but I think I might make it this time. 

[Dusty_Rhodes]

Just finished Alice in Wonderland. It was a favorite growing up, sitting beside The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit as my favorite fantasy books. Despite it being a children's book, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Alice went through some very intriguing situations. I would say some of the humor is great too, the fact she scares off the various birds and mammals by bragging her cat hunts them well, the screaming baby turning into a pig and living a happy life in the woods, the Red Queen screaming about chopping off heads but never really doing it, etc. Just an absurd book which led to a lot of chuckling on my end. From writing perspective, the prose and poetry are very nice. The English generally sounds nice, particularly when spoken. These might seem like weird things to praise, but Alice in Wonderland is a weird book so I think it's fair. 

 

6 hours ago, shark man said:

just ordered this off luke smith's thing

 

 

  Hide contents

 

I should definitely read that.

[Arrowhead]

Just started reading Blindness by Saramago. Really really digging it so far... Found a used first-edition at a thrift store. :)

[ducon]

I read The Discworld Companion (in English). Darn, it’s good to have news from this world. I want to read the Discworld books in English, now.

 

Now, I’m reading Petit cours d'autodéfense en économie by Jim Stanford, illustrations by Charb (yes, the guy killed on 7th January 2015).

[vyruss]

Some light reading...

https://gamemath.com/book/

 

Getting into a lot of C++ reading too lately...

[ax34]

[ducon]

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Qc8AAOSw0HthS-SA/s-l500.jpg ← Fuck you ebay

[hybridial]

I just finished the second book of the Dragonlance Legends set, the story centred on the Majere twins which I have heard quite a bit about, also heard a very nice Pyramaze song based on it. It's more engaging and character driven than the War of the Lance trilogy. 

[LadyMistDragon]

Imago, the last book in the Xenogenesis trilogy by Octavia Butler. It's hard not to think about your own place in the world as you're reading her, unless perhaps you're closed-minded anyway (or you just find here writing style boring, which is legit, but the Parable books are shockingly prescient

[Daytime Waitress]

17 hours ago, hybridial said:

I just finished the second book of the Dragonlance Legends set, the story centred on the Majere twins which I have heard quite a bit about, also heard a very nice Pyramaze song based on it. It's more engaging and character driven than the War of the Lance trilogy. 

 

Only knowing of Weis and Hickman for popularising narrative-driven DM'ing, and for creating the abominations that are the Kender, I was floored by how much I enjoyed the four of the first six or so Dragonlance books that I read. They're not literary classics, sure, but I didn't want to put them down, either.

[ducon]

I read (again) the six tomes of Akira:

It’s manga about two boys, Tetsuo and Kaneda. Tetsuo has a great power, that made him a monster with no limit. Kaneda kept his feet on the ground.

Now, this: