|
3D Megadoodoo posted:Der nasse Fisch by Volker Kutscher. Police crime mystery set in Berlin in 1929. Nothing special, but refreshing in that the main character is a complete gently caress-up and a murderer, like all cops. They made a TV series based on the book/series called Babylon Berlin, which is also the name of the translation I read. Apparently it is/was the most expensive European television production ever. The show is well worth watching if you like that setting.
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2023 16:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 04:38 |
|
|
Chas McGill posted:The show is well worth watching if you like that setting. I started on the second novel. They haven't translated any of the later ones into Finnish so I might have a look at the moving pictures after that. (Yeah I could read them in English but books much time not, as Plinius used to say.)
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2023 23:45
|
|
|
Just finished Death Troopers. Fun little horror romp on some Imperial ships from Star Wars. Very Alien or The Thing meets Star Wars. Dunno why the people who make these decisions are allergic to making fun or cool Star Wars stories into movies/TV shows.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2023 04:01
|
|
|
I finished Moby Dick  I am proud. It was grueling
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2023 00:04
|
|
|
escape artist posted:I finished Moby Dick Justine; or, The Misfortunes of Virtue (Marquis de Sade, 1791) Born into wealth and privilege, Justine and her sister Juliet are cast adrift when their father’s investments fail and he consequently kills himself. Family and friends suddenly want nothing more to do with the two girls who won’t even bring them a sou. Juliet is rather elated. She’d always been stifled by her conservative upbringing and is ready to go wild as a prostitute. But Justine! Justine believes in God and the godliness of virtue. Justine finds the virtuous path to be a rocky one. Wherever she goes, she’s robbed, raped, beaten, burned, bled, choked, and threatened alternately to be beheaded or buried alive. Merchant, nobleman, priest, young woman or old, no one plays fair with Justine and only wants her for their own depraved pleasures. When Justine seems to have won out at last by her faith in God, she’s struck dead by lightning. I knew of the Marquis de Sade’s writings, but I’d never read any of them before. And I’m rather surprised at how much Justine shies away from the sadism. It’s there, of course, but whenever misfortune falls on Justine, it’s just baldly stated in one line and then pushed aside. By far the majority of the book is given over to long monologues delivered by her abusers, all saying exactly the same thing (nature is amoral, morals are unnatural), and each stretching over three or four pages in a book that’s only 128 pages long.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2023 05:04
|
|
|
escape artist posted:I finished Moby Dick I like reading about whaling. I like ships. I am into verbose writing styles. I love novels in the age of sail. I earnestly watch long series of youtubes covering nautical history and have made flash cards to help me remember what different parts of the rigging are called. gently caress Moby Dick right in his sloppy blowhole. With an entire cactus. A SYPHILITIC CACTUS.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2023 13:27
|
|
|
I liked Hidden Figures. It's unimbiguously uplifting and hopeful, which puts it in contrast to most of the books about black history I look at. Reading the book lowered my opinion of the movie, which only covers a small slice of the book, maybe fifty to sixty pages or so.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2023 20:38
|
|
|
moby dick rules
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2023 13:04
|
|
|
dangerdoom volvo posted:moby dick rules
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2023 15:53
|
|
|
Blackwater by Michael McDowell. A flood strikes a small town in Alabama in 1919. Hidden in one of the upper floors of the town’s hotel is a mysterious woman. Found by the son of a prominent family in the lumber business, she’s taken to a nearby church where the citizens are hiding in refuge. She’s come, she says, to teach the town’s children. But how did she survive in an upper floor of the hotel for days during the worst flood this town has ever seen? The matriarch of the family doesn’t trust her. The woman’s story is too neat. It’s not really a spoiler to say that the woman is not what she seems, but what would be a spoiler is the multi-generational saga that unfolds, starting with one fortuitous rescue. A wonderful book from top to bottom. McDowell interweaves some truly gut-wrenching horror into a multifaceted tapestry of interpersonal relationships in the southern gothic mold. Who and what this woman is is only one small part of the book. It’s more about soft power, manipulation, scheming, growing and shrinking fortunes, familial loyalty, redemption, betrayal, cruelty, aspiration, everything that makes reading about characters being people a joy. I’d recommend this book to nearly anyone. The dynamics that McDowell created between this sprawling family and its new visitor are fascinating and thrilling. McDowell’s knack for observation and his ability to realize people in the tiniest details are what make this good. I’d suggest though that those easily disturbed stay clear. I’m not one for shrinking from the horrific, but there’s some seriously gnarly stuff in here. That said, the horror is a very small percentage of the book by volume. If you like political scheming, unspoken tension, screwy and weird families, or southern gothic stuff generally, you’ll dig. I have only one minor quibble with the book, and it’s an issue common to most horror. The ending feels somewhat perfunctory and abrupt. A few threads are left dangling. But honestly, I don’t know how those threads could have been tied off without diminishing the work overall. For those who’ve read: Eleanor’s acceptance of her ultimate fate, the vengeance of the family’s ghosts, all that, it all kinda just happened. You knew it was coming to a head, and the town’s ultimate fate—being flooded once more, practically erased—was pretty heavily lampshaded by the last book being called Rain. I guess i’d hoped that there would be something just a tiny bit more final, regarding those restless spirits. I think by the time the book was over, we’re meant to see Eleanor as ultimately sympathetic, that she went native despite her original intentions, which while never openly stated—she’s never even a POV character for crying out loud—of using the town as a temporary nesting place were undone by the family and her love for Oscar. There had to be some retribution for her, after all the people she murdered. But a lot is left dangling. Sure, she was shot, but did she intend that? Was she waiting to die, wanting to see the town swept away? There’s no definitive answer, only the words she speaks to other characters. Her mechanical precision and fierce single-mindedness imply that she could have been playing a very long con, waiting to utterly wipe everyone out. And yet, she stayed with Oscar for nearly fifty years. Like I said, I think she ultimately wound up doing her best to atone, to become human, or as human as she is capable of being. But the fact that there’s ambiguity remaining by the end of the novel is a testament to its quality.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2023 16:53
|
|
|
It's been years since I read Moby Dick, and it took me years (on and off, between other books) to get through it. Most of it passed through my head without making much of an impression, but there are still parts that stick with me (in particular, Ahab's explanation to Starbuck of why he hates the whale). I just polished off The Flying None by Cody Goodfellow. It's the first book by the author I didn't really enjoy. The whole thing felt like a much weaker version of other stories by the same author - The Snake Handler, with elements of All Monster Action stirred in at the end. It felt like a YA take on the same subject matter, but as far as I can tell it was released under the same imprint as all his other stories.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2023 01:48
|
|
|
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes I started this one a few days after wrapping up American Prometheus because I wanted to know more about the actual science behind what they accomplished at Los Alamos. This book was recommended using words like "incomparable" and "monumental". And it is those things. It's easily one of the best history books I've read, on any topic, and I came away from it having learned so much more than just the science. Rhodes manages to distill an almost unimaginable amount of information into ~900 pages in such a way that, even though it is a dense and very comprehensive work, it remains accessible and enjoyable. Not only are you going to learn about the bomb, you're going to learn about the major contributors to the program and to the related science (including many brilliant women who are often omitted or overlooked) and how the the European antisemitic movements of the late 19th/early 20th century and the rise of fascism served to scatter them all to the wind - only to have them coalesce back into groups which would make possible the multi-decade odyssey leading to the destruction of two Japanese cities and alter the course of human history. And you're going to get paragraphs, even entire chapters, about important events surrounding the main thread where other authors would maybe give you a sentence or two, at best. Rhodes also presents the facts, chronology, and context for both the decisions to drop the bombs and to keep the weapons program and the discoveries secret. The latter would ultimately lead to the nuclear arms race and the proliferation of the weapons. Also, just a heads up that he does not shy away from the aftermath of the bombings (nor should he) and includes very graphic first-hand accounts from survivors and observers. If you take away anything from the book, it should be what you're going to come across in the final chapters. FreelanceSocialist fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Feb 3, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2023 01:13
|
|
|
Moby Dick rules. You can definitely skim most of the discussions of Whales Are Big, but also realize that Melville is intentionally being an rear end in a top hat with big parts of that. It rules for being Great American Literature that is Weird, Real, and Gay As Hell.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2023 03:59
|
|
|
you should not skip the digressions about whale lore because they're cool and fun to read
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2023 08:30
|
|
|
A human heart posted:you should not skip the digressions about whale lore because they're cool and fun to read It plays into the ending, too: without those digressions, you wouldn't know exactly how Ahab's death works. If you've read them, and you realize what he did wrong when you get to that scene, it's so goddamn funny. Moby Dick rules. EDIT: I should probably follow up with an actual post: I finally got around to finishing The Magic Mountain. I'm glad I stuck with it. Definitely gets better as it goes along, and the last chapter as a whole is bleak as hell. Then I nearly lost it when I got to the very end and the author asks "do you think love can bloom even on a battlefield?" It hits a bit different given that it's in the context of WWI, but still. Meaty Ore fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Feb 3, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2023 18:34
|
|
|
Meaty Ore posted:It plays into the ending, too: without those digressions, you wouldn't know exactly how Ahab's death works. If you've read them, and you realize what he did wrong when you get to that scene, it's so goddamn funny.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2023 22:07
|
|
|
Recently I just finished Red Rising and boy howdy am I bored of two things very prevalent in that book: 1) Sudden main character ubermensch syndrome; good lord the amount of times where the main character just flat out is better, faster, smarter, sexier, amazinger out of nowhere 2) Sexual Assault and rape as a vehicle for authors to be like "See how bad this guy is? Don't believe me? Wait til you read about what he does next -- he's a bad guy you guys, he's really baaaad" Yawn.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2023 16:50
|
|
|
One of those books where the things its ardent fans say make it sound terrible.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2023 17:46
|
|
|
Slotducks posted:Recently I just finished Red Rising and boy howdy am I bored of two things very prevalent in that book: It's been some years since I read that lovely book but don't the main character and his buddies get captured like idiots a bunch of times? I feel like there were at least three occurrences of that. Either way, terrible book.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2023 18:08
|
|
|
BurningBeard posted:It's been some years since I read that lovely book but don't the main character and his buddies get captured like idiots a bunch of times? I feel like there were at least three occurrences of that. Either way, terrible book. Yeah I read the plot synopsis' for the book after and just eye rolled so hard the second book is just another "school" thing? just larger scale? borrrrrrrrrrring
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2023 18:17
|
|
|
Slotducks posted:Sudden main character ubermensch syndrome; good lord the amount of times where the main character just flat out is better, faster, smarter, sexier, amazinger out of nowhere For what it's worth, Darrow's "superpowers" came from, according to the book, body augmentation early on so he could level up to be as dangerous as other Golds. A cheap trope, of course. It's interesting these augmentations stayed stable as the series progressed.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2023 20:38
|
|
|
About halfway through the book, there's a discursive chapter explaining how the line in the whaling boats is arranged. It sits coiled up in a big tub at the front of the boat, and zigzags back and forth along the boat's length a couple of times before being tied to the harpoon at the front end. A whale upon getting harpooned is going to dash off as fast as it can, pulling out a bunch of the line before it slows enough that the men can safely grab the line and hold it. Eventually the whale tires out and the boat can get close enough to finish it off. There's over 1200 feet of rope in the tub, which is enough in most cases; in case it isn't the bottom of the rope isn't attached to anything so the boat can't get pulled under. With this in the back of your mind, consider that Moby Dick is an unusually large, powerful, aggressive and therefore an especially dangerous sperm whale, one which can shoot off and easily take the whole drat line with him. Ahab in his obsession has by now forgotten that basic point, or at least its implications. So he throws his harpoon and hits his target, which goes off with such a start it yanks the line out of its guide at the front of the boat. Ahab ducks out of the way, right into one of the other runs of the line and instantly gets zipped off into oblivion. It takes up less space in the narrative than the speech he gives just before throwing the harpoon. After having dominated the narrative for so long, Ahab meeting such an anticlimactic death due to a simple, momentary lapse in spatial awareness is something I found quite funny. And without that chapter explaining how the line is set up, it wouldn't be clear how he could successfully duck out of the way and still get hit by it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2023 21:31
|
|
|
Meaty Ore posted:About halfway through the book, there's a discursive chapter explaining how the line in the whaling boats is arranged. It sits coiled up in a big tub at the front of the boat, and zigzags back and forth along the boat's length a couple of times before being tied to the harpoon at the front end. A whale upon getting harpooned is going to dash off as fast as it can, pulling out a bunch of the line before it slows enough that the men can safely grab the line and hold it. Eventually the whale tires out and the boat can get close enough to finish it off. There's over 1200 feet of rope in the tub, which is enough in most cases; in case it isn't the bottom of the rope isn't attached to anything so the boat can't get pulled under. meanwhile I'm still squeezing sperm
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2023 02:40
|
|
|
Slotducks posted:Recently I just finished Red Rising It’s one of the worst books I’ve ever finished. The author mentions urine so many times (vaguely remember doing the math and it was roughly once every 6 pages) I briefly renamed the group chat where I got the recommendation “Pierce Brown’s golden shower power fantasy appreciation station” The bigger problem was any one section of the book could have made a compelling novel length story, but Brown tried to fit so much in there nothing had time to breathe.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2023 07:01
|
|
|
Fate Accomplice posted:It’s one of the worst books I’ve ever finished. I should've dropped it when he starts outsmarting pseudo gods who are apparently the most scary and skilled people in their society (peerless scarred?) with such simple ease loving yawn.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2023 18:35
|
|
|
Sounds like YA fiction that isn't properly classified as such?
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2023 20:25
|
|
|
Xander77 posted:Sounds like YA fiction that isn't properly classified as such? There's been decade long discussions about Red Rising and how it should be classified as YA. There's FERVENT people saying it's not YA. It's 100% YA. I got duped.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2023 20:29
|
|
|
Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed by James C. Scott pursues through many examples the ways in which the world has been molded into forms suited to bureaucratic observation and management. Very educational, but it's such a drat shame that a long chapter on the Tennessee Valley Authority was cut out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2023 20:12
|
|
|
I just finished Hyperion and it was incredible, super cool and I loved the characters and story a ton by the end.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2023 20:02
|
|
|
Snuff Melange posted:I just finished Hyperion and it was incredible, super cool and I loved the characters and story a ton by the end. I don't think I liked the horror porn.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2023 20:08
|
|
|
3D Megadoodoo posted:I don't think I liked the horror porn. I was actually just planning to start Hyperion soon, can you be a little more specific without spoiling?
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2023 20:17
|
|
|
Guy has sex. Then it gets nightmarishly frightening.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2023 20:22
|
|
|
Many such cases
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2023 20:41
|
|
|
Snuff Melange posted:I just finished Hyperion and it was incredible, super cool and I loved the characters and story a ton by the end. Yeah Hyperion is one of my favourite sci-fi's, so glad you liked it!
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2023 21:56
|
|
|
Snuff Melange posted:I just finished Hyperion and it was incredible, super cool and I loved the characters and story a ton by the end.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2023 22:35
|
|
|
Yeah it’s best to view the sequels as unrelated to the original imo, and I even enjoyed most of them!
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2023 01:22
|
|
|
Flowers for algernon. I really liked it, the diary-entry format made it so personal. Heartbreaking though
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2023 04:16
|
|
|
3D Megadoodoo posted:I don't think I liked the horror porn. There's only one scene I can think of that might be what you're describing and its super brief, but fair I suppose. re: the sequels I'm definitely wary and had the feeling they wouldn't live up to this standard.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2023 20:00
|
|
|
Snuff Melange posted:There's only one scene I can think of that might be what you're describing and its super brief, but fair I suppose. I mean for fantasy literature and especially sciffy in particular, it's almost prudish. Which isn't saying much, of course. I started on the second novel but soon gave up because it's a thick pocketbook with very narrow margins and I absolutely hate reading it, mechanically.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2023 20:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 04:38 |
|
|
Happy to see it discussed on this page because I also just finished Moby Dick. My thoughts in entirety:dangerdoom volvo posted:moby dick rules Kart Barfunkel fucked around with this message at 09:00 on Feb 12, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2023 08:42
|
|
