Welcome goonlings to the Awful Book of the Month! In this thread, we choose one work of Resources: Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org - A database of over 17000 books available online. If you can suggest books from here, that'd be the best. SparkNotes - http://www.sparknotes.com/ - A very helpful Cliffnotes-esque site, but much better, in my opinion. If you happen to come in late and need to catch-up, you can get great character/chapter/plot summaries here. For recommendations on future material, suggestions on how to improve the club, or just a general rant, feel free to PM me. Past Books of the Month [for BOTM before 2014, refer to archives] 2014: January: Ursula K. LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness February: Mikhail Bulgalov - Master & Margarita March: Richard P. Feynman -- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! April: James Joyce -- Dubliners May: Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- 100 Years of Solitude June: Howard Zinn -- A People's History of the United States July: Mary Renault -- The Last of the Wine August: Barbara Tuchtman -- The Guns of August September: Jane Austen -- Pride and Prejudice October: Roger Zelazny -- A Night in the Lonesome October November: John Gardner -- Grendel December: Christopher Moore -- The Stupidest Angel 2015: January: Italo Calvino -- Invisible Cities February: Karl Ove Knausgaard -- My Struggle: Book 1. March: Knut Hamsun -- Hunger April: Liu Cixin -- 三体 ( The Three-Body Problem) May: John Steinbeck -- Cannery Row June: Truman Capote -- In Cold Blood (Hiatus) August: Ta-Nehisi Coates -- Between the World and Me September: Wilkie Collins -- The Moonstone October:Seth Dickinson -- The Traitor Baru Cormorant November:Svetlana Alexievich -- Voices from Chernobyl December: Michael Chabon -- Gentlemen of the Road 2016: January: Three Men in a Boat (To say nothing of the Dog!) by Jerome K. Jerome February:The March Up Country (The Anabasis) of Xenophon March: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco April: Plain Tales from the Hills by Rudyard Kipling May: Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima June:The Vegetarian by Han Kang July:Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees August: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov September:Siddhartha by Herman Hesse October:Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse November:Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain December: It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis 2017: January: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut February: The Plague by Albert Camus March: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin Current: The Conference of the Birds (مقامات الطیور) by Farid ud-Din Attar Book available here: http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D02602030%26ct%3D0 http://thekingdomwithin.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The_Conference_of_the_Birds_Fardiuddin_Attar.pdf https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBJ5LS8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 About the book: quote:The Conference of the Birds or Speech of the Birds (Persian: منطق الطیر, Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr, also known as مقامات الطیور Maqāmāt-uṭ-Ṭuyūr; 1177), is a celebrated literary masterpiece of Persian literature by poet Farid ud-Din Attar, commonly known as Attar of Nishapur. About the Author quote:Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; Persian: ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn (فرید الدین) and ʿAṭṭār (عطار, Attar means pharmacist or perfumer), was a Persian[2][3][4] Sunni[5] Muslim poet, theoretician of Sufism, and hagiographer from Nishapur who had an immense and lasting influence on Persian poetry and Sufism. Themes and Background quote:Attar's masterful use of symbolism is a key, driving component of the poem. This adroit handling of symbolisms and allusions can be seen reflected in these lines: quote:
quote:according to Edward G. Browne, Attar as well as Rumi and Sana'i were all Sunni Muslims, as evident from the fact that their poetry abounds with praise for the first two caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattāb - who are detested by Shia Islam.[14] According to Annemarie Schimmel, the tendency among Shia authors to include leading mystical poets such as Rumi and Attar among their own ranks, became stronger after the introduction of Twelver Shia as the state religion in the Safavid Empire in 1501.[15] Pacing Just read, then Post. Please bookmark the thread to encourage discussion. References and Further Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Khayyam (Same town, died about 30 years before Attar) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parlement_of_Foules (Chaucer also wrote a Parliament of Birds, about 200 years later) Final Note: Thanks, and I hope everyone enjoys the book!
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# ? Apr 9, 2017 21:37 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 08:35 |
ulvir posted:which version should I for my kindle, this or this? Tree Goat posted:don't get the $2.00 (or 1.99 or whatever) kindle version, it's the same as the one of the free public domain versions. the new translation is supposed to be good (but i haven't read it), the amazon kindle version is https://www.amazon.com/Conference-Birds-Attar-ebook/dp/B01HDSU0G0/
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# ? Apr 9, 2017 21:40 |
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I got a copy of the Penguin edition at the library yesterday, but didn't get a chance to begin it until today. The language of the translation is really engaging and esoteric sects and their doctrines fascinate me more than anything else, so I have a feeling this book is going to be a favorite.
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# ? Apr 10, 2017 04:20 |
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the Circumference of the Turds (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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# ? Apr 10, 2017 10:13 |
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let’s meet the birds. today’s bird is the main bird of the book, the hoopoe. for those of you who live in north america and/or northern europe, you might naturally wonder: q: what is a hoopoe? a: a hoopoe is a neat bird with a folding crest of feathers on its head q: what does it look like? a: reddish-dun breast, black and white wings, orange feathered crest with black and white spots, long curved beak. q: where does it live? a: throughout europe and asia, with the exception of the nordic countries and the british isles. q: what does it sound like? a: its call sounds pretty much like the "whoop whoop" sirens in krs one's "sound of da police " q: does it shut the gently caress up when you are trying to sleep? a: no q: is it wise irl? or is it just depicted as wise in the book? a: idk, the ones i have seen mostly fly around + eat bugs + make noise. q: is enlightenment possible without utter, voluntary, submission to G-d? a: great question! no. let me know if you have any additional questions about hoopoes, or any of the other birds you encounter in this book.
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# ? Apr 10, 2017 23:50 |
Oh, this actually exists. I think I ran into this in a Borges story so I was kind of dubious, this being April and all. edit: VVV Probably should've thought a bit more on that, yeah. It's been some time. Anyway, I'll try to pick it up this week. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Apr 11, 2017 |
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# ? Apr 11, 2017 05:31 |
anilEhilated posted:Oh, this actually exists. I think I ran into this in a Borges story so I was kind of dubious, this being April and all. Oh nice catch! But looks like it's from Borges' Collected Non-Fictions quote:
http://aphelis.net/borges-simurgh/
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# ? Apr 11, 2017 05:34 |
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Tree Goat posted:let’s meet the birds. today’s bird is the main bird of the book, the hoopoe. Thank you for the bird information.
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# ? Apr 11, 2017 05:35 |
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that passage originally shows up as a part of an entry in borges' "book of imaginary beings" iirc. he reused it for the essay "the simurgh and the eagle" later (but don't trust my chronology on that one). A human heart posted:Thank you for the bird information. when it comes to bird facts, i aim to please.
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# ? Apr 11, 2017 05:49 |
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You're all stupid Borges Babys, later editions of Fictions contained a story from 1936 that originally appeared in History of Eternity, called The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim, which is a review of a book in which a Law student in Bombay murders someone then flees across India, hoping to find the perfect man (Al-Mu'tasim). He finally reaches the palace, pulls back the curtain, and the book ends. The review then has like a page long footnote about the Conference of the Birds, and how The Approach to AL-Mu'tasim closely follows it in themes. It's great.
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# ? Apr 11, 2017 06:45 |
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today’s bird is the huma/homa q: what is a huma? a: a bird that never touches the ground but is always in flight q: what happens if you catch it? a: you can’t catch it, it is 1) mythical and 2) impossible to catch since it is always high in the air. even being close enough to see its shadow is a sign of good fortune. depending on the myth, if you do catch one, you die in 40 days. q: what happens when you see its shadow? a: in conference of the birds, you are supposed to then be marked for kingship. other sources say that you will be happy for the rest of your life. in later myths, it had to land on your shoulder in order for the kingship thing to work out. in some versions, the eternal happiness thing happens when hearing its song, rather than seeing its shadow. q: what does it look like? unclear? some common elements seem to be feathers like jewels, and a big eagle-like curved beak. q: did it ever appear in an episode of mst3k? a: yes. in Садко (US: The Magic Voyage of Sinbad), one of the plot elements was seeking “the bird of paradise/happiness,” a bird whose song is sweet enough to grant happiness to whoever hears it, a direct mythological descendent of the huma. somewhat paralleling conference of the birds, sadko learns later over the course of his quest that true happiness is in his homeland, and he need not have journeyed far for it. q: who should have been the first caliph, after the death of the Prophet? a: attar was okay with the choice of abu bakr, but other people think it should have jumped directly to ali. curious to see what the thread thinks about this one! Tree Goat fucked around with this message at 07:13 on Apr 16, 2017 |
# ? Apr 16, 2017 07:09 |
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quote:A man whose job it was to keep the peace "gently caress the police" - Farid Ud-Din Attar
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# ? Apr 18, 2017 04:22 |
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Almost halfway through (reading the Penguin Classics version) and this is some cool poo poo. Frequently funny, too.
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# ? Apr 20, 2017 09:02 |
Tree Goat posted:when it comes to bird facts, i aim to please.
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# ? Apr 21, 2017 03:34 |
Oh we will need suggestions for next month This month has really flown by
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# ? Apr 21, 2017 03:40 |
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Finished the book last night. I found it interesting that my copy ended with another parable/allegory after the birds discover the Simorgh. From reading the introduction, it seems like there is an epilogue that wasn't included in the Penguin classics version, as well. I don't usually read poetry so this was a bit of departure for me, but I found the language really beautiful and I'm definitely looking for more.
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# ? Apr 23, 2017 19:44 |
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Crossposting from NMD with an appropriate soundtrack for this book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiG6SDTnWHk
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# ? Apr 25, 2017 06:01 |
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TheManFromFOXHOUND posted:Finished the book last night. I found it interesting that my copy ended with another parable/allegory after the birds discover the Simorgh. From reading the introduction, it seems like there is an epilogue that wasn't included in the Penguin classics version, as well. I recommend Ovid's Metamorphoses (the A.D. Melville translation).
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# ? Apr 25, 2017 09:27 |
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Juaguocio posted:Crossposting from NMD with an appropriate soundtrack for this book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiG6SDTnWHk If you're going to post music named after the poem the least you could do would be something that isn't dull stoner metal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfMrPeqg66Q
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# ? Apr 25, 2017 11:54 |
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TheManFromFOXHOUND posted:Finished the book last night. I found it interesting that my copy ended with another parable/allegory after the birds discover the Simorgh. From reading the introduction, it seems like there is an epilogue that wasn't included in the Penguin classics version, as well. If you're interested in more modern Arabic poetry then you should read Adonis. There might be other people writing poetry in Arabic atm but no one bothers talking about them because they're not Adonis. He also does cool essays on things like Sufism + Surrealism and Arabic poems from the past that are not written by him, Adonis.
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# ? Apr 25, 2017 13:20 |
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Finished, was an awesome book. Also surprisingly frequently fabulously gay. Not to mention all the drunkenness and general immodesty.
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# ? Apr 27, 2017 22:35 |
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I ordered it physically from a book store that took for-loving-ever to mail it, so I'll be lucky if I manage to finish it before May, but I'm gonna start reading tomorrow
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# ? Apr 27, 2017 22:48 |
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I've just started reading the book today. I've just passed the second parable now, and I really love it so far.
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# ? Apr 29, 2017 19:51 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 08:35 |
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I happened to read the story of Tereus in Ovid's Metamorphoses, and oh boy is it a contrast;quote:With a great shout the Thracian king thrust back
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# ? May 4, 2017 11:39 |