|
Esme posted:Babel-17, by Samuel R. Delany - I never know what to expect with old sci-fi, and this book pleasantly surprised me. The world and ideas presented varied between interesting and progressive, charmingly 60s-future (you can order a starship crew at a moment’s notice, but you need to use a phone booth to do it), and straight-up bizarre. I doubt that I’ll read more by Delany, but I’m glad I picked this up on a whim. If you're going to read sf, read Delany.
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2018 07:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 18:14 |
|
|
Hogg is chill and everyone should read it
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2018 08:27
|
|
|
February This was a short busy month for me. Still, I enjoyed what I read. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) Absolutely loved this. Highly recommended. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist—the Facts of Daily Life in 19th-Century England by Daniel Pool (1993) I read it as a companion to Pride & Prejudice. It's structure makes it incredibly easy to refer to specific topics as they come up in stories, or to jump around as the curious mind asks more questions. Recommended. The 2018 Booklord Challenge 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge 5/24 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 1/5 Pride & Prejudice 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 3/5 Aunt Julia & the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Multiple Choice by Alejandro Zambra 4. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2018 & participate in the SHAMEFUL The Greatest Books You've Never Read thread 6 times BOTM: coming soon Shameful: 2/6 Aunt Julia & the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen 6. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it.  I need a new wildcard, the one chosen for me is out of print and too expensive. Something preferably under 500 pages.7. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one.  8. Read something written before you were born. Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (published in 1989) 9. Read a book published in 2018. 10. Read something translated from another language. 11. Read something political. 12. Read a poetry collection. 13. Read a collection of short stories. 14. Read a play. 15. Read something involving history. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist—the Facts of Daily Life in 19th-Century England by Daniel Pool 16. Read something biographical. 17. Read something about religion. 18. Read something from a non-traditional perspective. Multiple Choice by Alejandro Zambra 19. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 20. Read something about music. 21. Read something that involves Maslow's hierarchy of needs. 22. Read something about the future. TOTAL CHALLENGE GOALS COMPLETED 3/22
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2018 04:27
|
|
|
I read less in February than I did in January, but still a lot. I intentionally read mostly books by black authors; I also read my first cozy mysteries. Favorites included Everfair by Nisi Shawl, An Unkindness of Ghosts by River Solomon, The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, and Bingo Love by Tee Franklin. Here's what I read in February (technically January 31-March 5, but whatever): 33. The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman (4/5) Really fun; looking forward to reading the other books in the series (if NYPL ever actually brings them to my branch...) 34. Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 5 - Akiko Higashimura (3/5) I read Vols. 5-7 basically in one sitting because I thought the story was complete after 7; turns out it wasn't and I'm stuck waiting a few more months for the concluding volumes to come out in English. 35. Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 6 - Akiko Higashimura (3/5) 36. Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 7 - Akiko Higashimura (3/5) 37. Everfair - Nisi Shawl (4/5) What if steam power enabled the Congolese people to throw off Belgian oppression? I wish I had gotten to know the various POV characters better; I honestly would have read a whole book about each of them. 38. Long Way Down - Jason Reynolds (4/5) YA novel about gun violence; it's told in verse. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. 39. An Unkindness of Ghosts - Rivers Solomon (4/5) Takes place on a generation ship modeled after the Antebellum South. Intense read, but I highly recommend it. 40. You Can't Touch My Hair - Phoebe Robinson (3/5) Listened to this on audio. It had its moments and I generally enjoyed it, but I was also ready for it to be over when it was. 41. The Salt Roads - Nalo Hopkinson (5/5) I loved this book. Queer time travel with slave rebellions and other things. Highly recommend. 42. How It Went Down - Kekla Magoon (3/5) More YA fiction about racism and gun violence. I really like Kekla Magoon, but didn't like this as much as The Rock and the River, which I read a few years ago. 43. Binti - Nnedi Okorafor (4/5) A solid coming-of-age story with aliens and space travel. 44. Binti: Home - Nnedi Okorafor (4/5) The next installment; you get to know the characters a lot better and see the world where she's studying. 45. Binti: The Night Masquerade - Nnedi Okorafor (3/5) I liked this less than the previous two but still really enjoyed it. You learn more about Binti's family history and home society. 46. We Love You, Charlie Freeman - Kaitlyn Greenidge (4/5) A coming-of-age novel that explores the history of race's intersections with medical/anthropological research. Hard to elevator pitch, but I highly recommend it. 47. Murder in G Major - Alexia Gordon (3/5) Black American conductor ends up working at a boys' school in a small town in rural Ireland; she solves mysteries with the help of the sassy ghost of one of her favorite composers. A much-needed break from the heavier fare I had been reading earlier this month. 48. Death in D Minor - Alexia Gordon (3/5) Next book in the series; this one has art crime more than music. 49. Killing in C Sharp - Alexia Gordon (3/5) Got an ARC of this one. The author's definitely getting better at writing. Back to music here and a stronger paranormal element to the mystery. 50. Bingo Love - Tee Franklin (5/5) Beautiful and heartbreaking lesbian romance comic. 51. Born a Crime - Trevor Noah (4/5) Interesting and smart; I'm really glad I listened to this because Noah's narration really makes it. I learned a lot about Apartheid and South Africa. 52. Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles - A.L. Herbert (3/5) More cozy mysteries, this one featuring a woman who runs a soul food restaurant. Although the author is better at writing than Alexia Gordon, I was less interested in the food than I was in the classical music. 53. Murder with Macaroni and Cheese - A.L. Herbert (3/5) Still read the second one, though. 54. Moving Pictures - Kathryn & Stuart Immonen (3/5) Really interesting and I loved the art. It's not the story I wanted to read when I picked it up, but it's still very good. And now, my Book Lord progress. Books can count for regular and bonus challenges, but not more than one challenge on the same tier. The first four are obvious exceptions. In situations where I read more than one book by an author who is new to me, only the first book I read is counted as being by a new author. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge: 54/100 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. Currently at 83% non-male authors and 87% books by non-male authors. — bonus: Of these make sure half are by authors new to you 65% of the non-male authors I've read are new to me; 64% of the books I've read by non-male authors have been by authors new to me. 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. Currently at 56% authors of color. — bonus: Of these make sure half are by authors new to you 85% of the authors of color I've read are new to me; 57% of the books I've read by authors of color have been by authors new to me. 4. — bonus: Make sure 10% of the books you read this year are by LGBT authors I'm not actively tracking queer authors, but I'm definitely well over this. 5. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2018 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). — bonus: 6. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. — bonus: Similarly, get a wildcard from another thread in this forum 7. — bonus: Read literally the first in-person book recommendation you get in 2018 (solicited or not) 8. — bonus: Read a book written/published the exact year you were born 9. — bonus: Read something that wins an award in 2018, but only after it is announced (i.e. don't apply retroactively) 10. —bonus: Read something that isn't in your primary language 11. — bonus: 12. Read a poetry collection. — bonus: Read poems by at least 10 different poets 13. — bonus: 14. Read a play. — bonus: Read a play first published in the last 10 years 15. — bonus: Read something about a (nonfictional) war that didn't involve the U.S. 16. — bonus: Read something biographical about someone you've met/seen in person 17. Read something about religion. — bonus: Read a major religious text 18. — bonus: Read something narrated in the 2nd person 19. — bonus: 20. Read something about music. — bonus: Read something about a genre of music you're explicitly not a fan of 21. — bonus: Read something about hunger 22. — bonus: Read something about a future that takes place before the current year nerdpony fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Mar 5, 2018 |
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2018 17:41
|
|
|
2018 Reading Challenge Theme Week #2 - Read something by a woman So in honor of the first full week of Women's history month, this next theme week is all about reading something written by a woman. As a bonus, this can give challengers ideas for their ongoing challenge number 2. This week I am reading Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. I had previously read her book The Round House which was great, this one has started out as more of a pre-apocalypse novel which is pretty intriguing. I also need to generate a broader list of new-to-me female authors for the bonus challenge, so I am counting on your help for ideas. I'm thinking the next challenge will be in a few weeks and be a play in honor of World Theatre day near the end of March. I'll probably rough up a full schedule so people can schedule their books around it, but of course this is just a fun thing to fill the time and give people more suggestions and generate conversation, so no pressure. Happy reading!
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2018 04:05
|
|
|
Guy A. Person posted:2018 Reading Challenge Theme Week #2 - Read something by a woman I read this and Alderman's "The Power" back-to-back and enjoyed both for different reasons. Ultimately, my criticism of Future Home of the Living God was that - despite so much potential - there just wasn't enough exploration of politics / racism / misogyny / etc. It was gripping and entertaining, but fell short. Please post your impression of it when you're done.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2018 06:09
|
|
|
Bitchkrieg posted:I read this and Alderman's "The Power" back-to-back and enjoyed both for different reasons. Ultimately, my criticism of Future Home of the Living God was that - despite so much potential - there just wasn't enough exploration of politics / racism / misogyny / etc. It was gripping and entertaining, but fell short. Please post your impression of it when you're done. Will do! I hadn't had The Power on my radar either, I will add that. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 04:12
|
|
|
I just finished 3 books by women authors. Most notable is probably Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong. I saw it on a few Best Of lists last year. A young woman moves home to help her mom cope with her father's Alzheimer's. It was good, there's some ruminations about memory and trying to come to terms to the failures of your paternts. It also had a decent sense of humor running through things to keep it from getting too weighty. Mentally, I'm kinda throwing it in a bucket with Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto and So Many Olympic Exertions by Anelise Chen where big life changes in the 20's force a second (or delayed) "coming of age" for their protagonists. I don't know if that's a real genre, but that's 3 I've read in the last year. For the SFF crowd, I would recommend Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly. It's up for a Nebula this year, so that's a plus. Rather than being a more standard SF or Fantasy novel, it's more a second world type thing with a rising tide of fascism in a fictional world that has parallels to the Weimar Republic. It's a pretty spiffy little spy novel and while it's now the first of a trilogy, it wasn't when it was written, so if that's a deterant for anyone this can be read as a solo. I'd also grabbed Glory Days by Melissa Fraterrigo. It's a novella/collection of short stories focusing on a few people in a small town as it becomes gentrified and then how that falls apart. It's all farmers and others who lost their lifestyle as land was bought up for subdivisions and an amusement park. This is grim, but was pretty good I thought. Aside from those 3 recent works, I had a real good run last year of Latina authors. Umami by Laia Jufresa, The Story of my Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, Lady Matador's Hotel and The Aguero Sisters by Cristina Garcia, and In the Time of the Butterflies and by Julia Alvarez. It's a good reminder that I'd like to get more by these authors on my list this year. Finally, I'll throw in a rec for Rachel Ingalls. Apparently she's having a bit of a renaissance with a book of short stories out last year and a republishing of Mrs. Caliban. Mrs. Caliban is a short novel about a housewife who falls in love with a frog monster. That sort of thing is all the rage these days, but it's a really good little book anyways.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 16:44
|
|
|
I recommend them all the time but they're two of my favorite authors and deserve it: Flannery O'Connor and Carson McCullers. Excellent writers, dark Southern Gothic stories that gives chills and sticks in the mind. I'm planning on reading O'Connor's Wise Blood because I somehow haven't read it yet for the challenge, though I may not get to it in time for this week challenge. A few other female authors I enjoy, but also need to read more of: Shirley Jackson, one of the greatest horror authors who embraced negative space writing which allowed her stories to be psychologically unnerving rather than hoping to shock with blood, guts and monsters Han Kang is a South Korean author who's tales are simple and horrific. The Vegetarian was a BotM a while ago, which was a really good thread Susan Griffin is an award-winning feminist writer who explores modern conflicts between genders, sexuality, and society. She has a book on rape, pornography and a collection that's all-encompassing of her ideas. Thought-provoking writings on subject matters that make people squeamish. Ben Nevis posted:I'll throw in a rec for Rachel Ingalls. Apparently she's having a bit of a renaissance with a book of short stories out last year and a republishing of Mrs. Caliban. Mrs. Caliban is a short novel about a housewife who falls in love with a frog monster. That sort of thing is all the rage these days, but it's a really good little book anyways. This is also on my to-read list. Should move it higher on the pile.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 17:20
|
|
|
Awesome posts guys, I am adding a bunch of these to my to-read shelf. I will try to do a larger effort post of my own recommendations later tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, I just dropped in to announce that this month's BotM is Lincoln in the Bardo. If you haven't read it yet (or even if you have) you definitely should, and fulfill a challenge at the same time.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 19:42
|
|
|
Probably everyone knows this already, but please read Ursula Le Guin. I'm reading/working through her book about writing, Steering the Craft and it's an absolute joy. Her wit comes through excellently. Plus the book is full of fun and useful writing exercises. I'm taking it kind of slow to make sure I get the most out of it; it's not a very long text. I'm also reading Ada Palmer's Seven Surrenders, the sequel to Too Like the Lightning. I really fell in love with Palmer's world and her writing style and returning to it has been quite a treat. Probably not for everyone, but the intricate politics of the "utopian" setting and its Hives and technological advancements... It's just really fun to exist in for a while.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2018 01:07
|
|
|
apophenium posted:Probably everyone knows this already, but please read Ursula Le Guin. I just finished The Word for World is Forest. Certainly a very different kind of science fiction.
|
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2018 19:39
|
|
|
February 1. Prey - Michael Crichton 2. Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions - Valeria Luiselli 2. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke 3. The Pride of Chanur - C.J. Cherryh 4. At the Mountains of Madness - H.P. Lovecraft 5. The Collapsing Empire - John Scalzi 6. Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky Average page count: 411. Read over 50% more than January, total. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge (10/75) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. (3/15) (Luiselli, Cherryh, Clarke) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. (3/15) (Luiselli) 4. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. (3/8 for 10%) (C.J. Cherryh) 5. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2018. 9. Read a book published in 2018 (or if you're eager to start early, the latter half of 2017). 10. Read something translated from another language. 11. Read something political. 12. Read a poetry collection. 13. Read a collection of short stories. 14. Read a play. 15. Read something involving history. 16. Read something biographical. 17. Read something about religion. 18. Read something from a non-traditional perspective. (Does a novel half-told from the perspective of a race of spiders count?) 19. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 20. Read something about music. 21. Read something that involves Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Going to need to find some more non-fiction that interests me for the last half of the challenges. Should be interesting since I primarily read books for entertainment.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2018 03:09
|
|
|
New post for a new month! 1. Bird Box - Joshua Malerman . . . post-apoc agoraphobic body horror endangers children 2. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House - Michael Wolff . . . hell, same 3. In The Swarm - Byung-Chul Han . . . "Sovereign is he who commands the shitstorms of the Net." 4. The Golem - Gustav Meyrink . . . so who the gently caress was Pernath? 5. Hiding in the Mirror: The Quest for Alternate Realities - Lawrence M. Krauss . . . umpteenth rehash of standard model and string theories 6. Late Victorian Holocausts - Mike Davis . . . capital exploits and deepens natural disaster, a century before climate change 7. The Cynic Enlightenment - Louisa Shea . . . Diogenes' fashionable influence on the salons of the French Revolution 8. The World, The Flesh and The Devil: An Enquiry into the Future of the Three Enemies of the Rational Soul - J. D. Bernal . . . influential futurism from the early-20th century perspective of a brilliant Communist and American scientist 9. communism for kids - Bini Adamczak . . . they should teach this book to middle schoolers ---------- end of January 10. Black - Alain Badiou . . . aging philosopher pontificates tediously, sells many copies 11. Tales of Misery and Imagination - Scott S. Phillips . . . these were okay stories, worth a bargain-bin read 12. Nine Dantesque Essays - Jorge Luis Borges . . . little gems from a peerless mind on a timeless subject 13. Rings of Saturn - W.G. Sebald 14. e: The Story of a Number- Eli Maor 15. My Struggle, Book 1 - Karl Ove Knausgaard 16. LoveStar - Andri Snær Magnason 17. Pessimism: Philosophy, Ethic, Spirit - Joshua Foa Dienstag ----------- end of February 18. My Struggle, Book 2 - Karl Ove Knausgaard 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge: 15/100 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women.1/20 — bonus: Of these make sure half are by authors new to you 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white.2/20 — bonus: Of these make sure half are by authors new to you 4. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. — bonus: Make sure 10% of the books you read this year are by LGBT authors 5. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2018 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). — bonus: Participate in the SHAMEFUL The Greatest Books You've Never Read thread 6. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. — bonus: Similarly, get a wildcard from another thread in this forum 7. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. — bonus: Read literally the first in-person book recommendation you get in 2018 (solicited or not) 8. — bonus: Read a book written/published the exact year you were born 9. Read a book published in 2018 (or if you're eager to start early, the latter half of 2017). — bonus: Read something that wins an award in 2018, but only after it is announced (i.e. don't apply retroactively) 10. — bonus: Read something that isn't in your primary language 11. — bonus: Read something political from/about a country you aren't from and don't currently live in 12. Read a poetry collection. — bonus: Read poems by at least 10 different poets 13. — bonus: Read short stories by at least 10 different authors 14. Read a play. — bonus: Read a play first published in the last 10 years 15. Read something involving history. — bonus: Read something about a (nonfictional) war that didn't involve the U.S. 16. Read something biographical. — bonus: Read something biographical about someone you've met/seen in person 17. Read something about religion. — bonus: Read a major religious text 18. Read something from a non-traditional perspective. — bonus: Read something narrated in the 2nd person 19. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. — bonus: Read something currently banned, censored, or challenged in its country of origin 20. Read something about music. — bonus: Read something about a genre of music you're explicitly not a fan of 21. Read something that involves Maslow's hierarchy of needs. — bonus: Read something about hunger 22. — bonus:
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2018 03:23
|
|
|
Previous books 1. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman 2. Blindness by Jose Saramago 3. Last to Die by Tess Gerritson 4. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up by Marie Kondo 5. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto February update 6. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - The first couple of chapters I thought this was going to be a bog standard, not very good chick lit but it was actually a lot more than that. 7 & 8. Ice Cold and The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritson - Not much to say about these, crime thrillers led by women are my go to quick fiction reads. These are pretty good. 9. Eat Up by Ruby Tandoh - A combination of memoir, recipe book and examination of what food and eating means. Probably quite helpful for those with/recovering from eating disorders, for me it wasn't exactly life changing but an interesting read all the same. 10. The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann - this took me more than two months to read and I'm not sure I've sorted my thoughts about it out. I enjoyed reading it and hated it at the same time. I did like the super descriptive writing style and it was often humorous and interesting, but I found my eyes glazing over the long winded philosophical 'essays' and yet more characters being introduced for no reason at all. Definitely not up for the recommended second reading right now... Booklord challenges completed: 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge: 10/40 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women: 7/10 (70%) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 3/10 (30%) 4. Read at least one book by an LGBT author: Eat Up 8. Read something written before you were born: The Magic Mountain 9. Read a book published in 2018: Eat Up 10. Read something translated from another language: Kitchen & Blindness 13. Read a collection of short stories: Norse Mythology
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2018 18:42
|
|
|
My book club chose Hunger by Roxane Gay and the SHAMEFUL thread chose The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood, so those are my female author books for the near future.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2018 18:13
|
|
|
Can I get a wildcard?
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2018 07:14
|
|
|
Esme posted:Can I get a wildcard? Under Satan's Sun by Georges Bernanos
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2018 08:00
|
|
|
My February: 8. The Fifth Season, by N. K. Jemisin 9. The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin 10. The Stone Sky, by N. K. Jemisin Jemisin has written a fun little series here. The setup is that Father Earth is at war with his children: the land is ravaged regularly by quakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, and sometimes these are so disastrous that the world experiences a six-months-or-longer winter. This is called a Fifth Season when it happens. Fortunately there are people, orogenes, who have powers than can alleviate these disasters. Twists and turns progress from there. The first book has the best pacing, both in its journeys and its revelations. Book 2 goes too slow, and Book 3 hurries things along to conclusion. All three books are best when handling how abuse is inherited, both literally and allegorically. If a science-fantasy on that subject appeals to you, then these are great books. Otherwise they’re just pretty good. (4/5 for The Fifth Season, 3/5 for the sequels) 11. Priestdaddy, by Patricia Lockwood Patricia Lockwood has been best known for her poetry, and she uses her words her to amazing effect. Priestdaddy has been one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, and it’s beautifully written to boot. Her turns of phrase surprise at the same time that they feel time-tested. To explain the title shortly: Her father was a priest, but non-Catholic, which is ok. Then he converted to Catholicism, which lets such converted priests with children become Catholic priests, as long as (I assume) they cease any attempts to multiply. The dude is weird, and so is the rest of her family. A lot of the book is fun, but a lot of it is brutal. There are some moments, when she’s building up to airing some seriously dirty laundry, where I was mouthing “holy poo poo!” Some jokes will work best if you know how funny and filthy her poetry can be, and how raw it can be. My advice is, as soon as she mentions a poem by name, look it up and read it, ok? (5/5) 12. A History of Violence: Living and Dying in Central America, by Óscar Martínez I first read Martínez’s work a couple of year ago. He begins in a Nation article “There are bodies down there. Not prosecutors, not gang members, not journalists, not policemen, not even the government doubts that in this exact spot, deep below ground level, there are bodies. And now that everybody knows, the question remains: What do we do?”. From there, he tells the Sisyphean story of a man determined to exhume that mass grave in a remote well. This fragment forms one of the chapter of A History of Violence; other chapters deal with police informants, human traffickers, a death-squad assault on a police station, and numerous other intersections of the brutal with the everyday. This isn’t a happy read, but it’s an important one. (5/5) 13. Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, by Bart Ehrman Ehrman remarks that both believer and nonbelievers hate him for his writings; the believers take issue with how he treats Biblical texts as fallible, falsifiable products of human writers, and the nonbelievers take issue with how seriously he takes religious people and how, as in this case, he maintains that the religious figure Jesus refers back to a historical man. Since I’ve read Ehrman’s work before a lot of what he says here is familiar, but I appreciate the focused nature of this work and how well he handles the argumentation. Importantly this book is suitable for someone’s first critical treatment of the Bible. Ehrman lays out the “secret knowledge” that has been hanging around for decades but doesn’t get mentioned in sermons, like the lost sources for the Bible, the whole forgeries deal, and the clear evidence that even the writers of the New Testament disagreed a lot about religion. He takes that, along with readings of non-Biblical texts, and builds out an argument that even when you dispense with the miraculous and the dogmatic enough evidence remains to convince him that Jesus was a historical person. Maybe you think that’s obvious, or obviously wrong; I’d recommend this book anyway to get familiar with the various pieces of evidence and how they can be used. (5/5) 14. Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson So it’s Mara Wilson’s first memoir; it’s especially good if you already like her, but unlike the best memoirs certain parts would only hold up to those familiar. The best comes in an extended rumination on her relationship to Matilda, and when she talks about the demands placed on children and women in our media culture. (4/5) 15. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England, by Ian Mortimer The best thing about Mortimer’s book is that he doesn’t just show you one England. He ranges from 1300 to 1400, showing that the Medieval period wasn’t stagnant or frozen but evolving constantly. Furthermore, he treats both the urban and the rural, the noble and the holy, the free and the unfree, with careful attention and respect. House construction, law and its enforcement, the markets and bandits and traveling fairs all got memorable explanations. A highlight of the book: Mortimer mentions that depictions of torture and execution are particularly valuable not for the acts themselves, but because the victims are nearly always portrayed in undergarments! Undergarments, you see, are not the subject of polite art or letters, and tend not to survive as physical artifacts. (5/5) 16. Leviathan Wakes, by James A. Corey At the end of the month I was a juror in a pretty complex trial, so I needed something brainless to read. This fit the bill perfectly. I’m not going to do a plot outline because Wikipedia exists, but here are the most groan-inducing parts: it’s a space opera with zombies. And gray goo. The gray goo makes the zombies, see. One of the two viewpoint characters (they have alternating chapters! woo!) has hallucinations of a manic pixie dream girl. The other main character hosed a lot in the past but didn’t know he could be loving the only woman in the book, the whole time. Fortunately he realizes his mistake! Oh and very little of the book goes inside either of the viewpoint characters’ heads in a meaningful way: during the middle section the two meet up and spend all their time together, and you’d be hard pressed to determine which of them was the viewpoint without peeking at the chapter heading. This book also wins the award for worst buildup/payoff ratio for a Chekov’s Gun, ever. If you like crummy space opera that’s fine and dandy, you’ll like this book. I’ll read the sequels when I’m feeling masochistic, honest. (2/5) 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (16/80) 4. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. Where Am I Now? 5. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2018 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). Njal’s Saga 7. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. — bonus: Read literally the first in-person book recommendation you get in 2018 (solicited or not) Priestdaddy 10. Read something translated from another language. A History of Violence 11. Read something political. The Violent American Century 15. Read something involving history. How Paris Became Paris 17. Read something about religion. - The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy 18. Read something from a non-traditional perspective. The Fifth Season — bonus: Read something narrated in the 2nd person The Obelisk Gate 22. Read something about the future. Leviathan Wakes
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2018 18:33
|
|
|
If you're interested, Carrier politely slaughters Ehrman in what is likely to be the only peer-reviewed mythicist work for some time yet to come, On the Historicity of Jesus. Changed the way I think about a number of issues surrounding the question.
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2018 01:29
|
|
|
If the price for the book were lower, or it were available for ILL in my region, maybe. As is I've read enough of their online debates to have an informed enough opinion for someone who's not a New Testament scholar. Further discussion would be inappropriate for this thread I think.
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2018 04:11
|
|
|
Can I get a new wildcard please? I can't get a copy of the one given to me. Preferably under 500 pages.
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2018 12:33
|
|
|
Don Carmusso by Machado de Assis. Also using this post to state my intention to do this this year.
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2018 12:45
|
|
|
Mr. Squishy posted:Don Carmusso by Machado de Assis. Nevermind, they are the same text by Helen Caldwell, one just has an intro by Elizabeth Hardwick. Thanks Mr. Squishy! Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Mar 15, 2018 |
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2018 12:51
|
|
|
Bitchkrieg posted:Ultimately, my criticism of Future Home of the Living God was that - despite so much potential - there just wasn't enough exploration of politics / racism / misogyny / etc. It was gripping and entertaining, but fell short. Please post your impression of it when you're done. I agree with this criticism although my bigger one was the redundancy toward the end: "they're hiding, she's captured, they're hiding again, she's captured again". I get the idea but I also feel like there could have been more opportunities to explore the themes you talked about or even just find out more about what was going on with the outside world. It was good but dragged toward the latter half and was a little underwhelming.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2018 21:01
|
|
|
2018 Reading Challenge Theme Week #3 - Challenge no. 14: Read a play Next Tuesday, March 27 is World Theatre Day, so this (and next) week's theme week is to read a play! Plays are typically light reads, so my personal plan is to read one on the actual day (and probably one or two more in the surrounding days) but obviously again this is just to encourage discussion of what everyone is planning to read. My main challenge pick this year is The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. I haven't ever read any Wilde and this was one I've had my eye on for awhile. I also wanted to do something a little older to contrast with the Bonus challenge: read a play first published in the last 10 years for which I just did the maybe obvious thing and hit up the list of Pulitzer winners in drama: http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/218 So I checked out The Humans by Stephen Karam and also put a hold on last year's winner Sweat by Lynn Nottage. I also went a little past the 10 year window and checked out Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks. So I will be reading some combination of those on/around next Tuesday and in the coming weeks. For other recommendations, these are some plays I've read and enjoyed in past years challenges: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Death of a Salesman Waiting for Godot John by Annie Baker A Number by Caryl Churchill Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2018 21:52
|
|
|
I am quite fond of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, which I would recommend to you Guy A. Person, but I also like Our Town by Thornton Wilder and Fences by August Wilson, and of course Waiting For Godot by Becket. I also have a fondness for the Oedipus cycle of plays by Sophocles. I have also been putting off reading a copy of The Importance of Being Earnest. I may join you in reading that, but I'm not sure. I recently bought a collection of plays, but I don't remember the playwright's name, and didn't seem to add it to my reading list.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2018 22:07
|
|
|
read shakespeare idiots
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 01:03
|
|
|
chernobyl kinsman posted:read shakespeare idiots Pick one for me. Not Hamlet.
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 01:16
|
|
|
I read the Tempest last year and it rocked. As a bonus a few months later I read a Margaret Atwood book called Hag-Seed which was about a dude putting on the play at a prison, so it was cool knowing everything about it. I've also picked up more references from it here and there in shows/movies/books. I read this Cambridge Press version that had the text of the play on one side and contextual/historical notes on the opposite side, which was kind of annoying at first but once I got used to it gave a lot of cool extra info. My local library has a whole collection of those so I'll probably pick up something else for next week as well. Maybe I'll just do a full week of plays!
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 01:25
|
|
|
I read Indecent by Paula Vogel and absolutely loved it, but I'm not sure if someone who hasn't seen it on stage would have enjoyed it as much as I did. It was nominated for (and probably should have won, although I admittedly didn't see Oslo) the Best Play Tony. It's a play about The God of Vengeance, a famous and controversial play by Yiddish playwright Sholem Asch that included the first (known) lesbian kiss on the American stage. It was filmed and aired as part of PBS's Great Performances series this fall, so may be available for streaming somewhere. I have a copy of Angels in America sitting on my nightstand, and I'm going to read that soon. I saw both parts on Saturday and am looking forward to spending some more time with it. Eugene O'Neill's plays, in addition to generally being very good, are notorious for their detailed stage directions -- unlike some other playwrights, reading the play gives you a lot of insight into it you might not have otherwise. nerdpony fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Mar 21, 2018 |
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 02:14
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:Pick one for me. Not Hamlet. Macbeth
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 02:42
|
|
|
Guy A. Person posted:2018 Reading Challenge Theme Week #3 - Challenge no. 14: Read a play I also wound up with a copy of Sweat today. Obviously Shakespeare is dope as hell, if all you want to do is get more in tune with our literary and cultural foundations and also read a good play. But sometimes you gotta snag that bonus challenge!
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 04:29
|
|
|
I'm glad this theme week was chosen because otherwise I would have put off reading a play until the very end. I borrowed A Raisin in the Sun and will try to get a copy of Sweat to read this week.A human heart posted:Under Satan's Sun by Georges Bernanos
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 06:45
|
|
|
Guy A. Person posted:I read the Tempest last year and it rocked. As a bonus a few months later I read a Margaret Atwood book called Hag-Seed which was about a dude putting on the play at a prison, so it was cool knowing everything about it. I've also picked up more references from it here and there in shows/movies/books. I literally read The Tempest and then Hag-Seed this month, I have a big book of collected Shakespeare that I have barely touched and I wanted to fix that + my wife bought me Hag-Seed for my birthday so it seemed providential. I thought Hag-Seed was a great take on the play and managed to use the basic elements really creatively. My Feb update was pretty short, I only read 4 books since I had another professional exam to prepare for in early March: February - 4: 07. Byzantium: the Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire (Judith Herrin) 08. Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) 09. 2084: The End of the World (Boualem Sansal) 10. The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin) 2084 was pretty disappointing. It's an Algerian take on 1984, with the basic premise being that a post-Islamic totalitarian state called Abistan has come into existence and taken over the world. It won a ton of French-language awards and I really can't see why - the characters are completely non-existent and there's huge sections of what are basically just exposition dumps, it sort of reads more like Sansal's notes on what Abistan is than a novel which takes place there. I can't think of a single notable thing about the protagonist or remember any character's name, they just move from place to place so you can be told more about the setting. My wife also bought me Slaughterhouse-Five which I'm counting as a recommendation, and Herrin's Byzantium is underpinned by examining Greek Orthodoxy so I'm counting that as "about religion" for 17. Left Hand of Darkness for 22, future. Year to date - 10: Booklord: 7-8, 10-11, 15, 17, 19, 22 Challenge 2 (women): 3/10 - 30% Challenge 3 (non-white): 3/10 - 30% Wildcard: My Uncle Oswald, Roald Dahl 01. The Man with the Compound Eyes (Wu Ming-yi) 10 02. Marie (Madeleine Bourdouxhe) 8 03. Small is Beautiful (E.F. Schumacher) 11 04. Madonna in a Fur Coat (Sabahattin Ali) 19 05. Byzantium: A Very Short Introduction (Peter Sarris) 15 06. The Man Who Was Thursday (G.K. Chesterton) 07. Byzantium: the Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire (Judith Herrin) 17 08. Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) 7 09. 2084: The End of the World (Boualem Sansal) 10. The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin) 22 Living Image fucked around with this message at 13:07 on Mar 21, 2018 |
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 13:03
|
|
|
Corrode posted:I thought Hag-Seed was a great take on the play and managed to use the basic elements really creatively. Yeah, I thought Hag-Seed was actually really great, especially because I had been on a run of underwhelming Atwood stuff (I thought The Heart Goes Last sucked and the last two books of the MaddAddam trilogy didn't live up to the potential) and it seemed like a return to form for her. Also, I'm a little late on this but for those of you doing the #9 bonus challenge (read a book that wins an award in 2018), The National Book Critics Circle Award winners were awarded last week: http://bookcritics.org/awards
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2018 16:57
|
|
|
Just finished reading The Importance of Being Earnest, going to read The Humans tomorrow in honor of National Theatre day, and I also checked out Othello from my library. Still waiting on a few other holds I placed for play. Earnest was a lot funnier than I anticipated, even tho I knew it was supposed to be funny. Nearly every line contains some sort of clever wordplay or humorous irony, I was smiling most of the time reading it. Very glad I read it, and it made me want to check out more of Wilde's stuff.
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2018 00:26
|
|
|
1. Bird Box - Joshua Malerman . . . post-apoc agoraphobic body horror endangers children 2. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House - Michael Wolff . . . hell, same 3. In The Swarm - Byung-Chul Han . . . "Sovereign is he who commands the shitstorms of the Net." 4. The Golem - Gustav Meyrink . . . so who the gently caress was Pernath? 5. Hiding in the Mirror: The Quest for Alternate Realities - Lawrence M. Krauss . . . umpteenth rehash of standard model and string theories 6. Late Victorian Holocausts - Mike Davis . . . capital exploits and deepens natural disaster, a century before climate change 7. The Cynic Enlightenment - Louisa Shea . . . Diogenes' fashionable influence on the salons of the French Revolution 8. The World, The Flesh and The Devil: An Enquiry into the Future of the Three Enemies of the Rational Soul - J. D. Bernal . . . influential futurism from the early-20th century perspective of a brilliant Communist and American scientist 9. communism for kids - Bini Adamczak . . . they should teach this book to middle schoolers ---------- end of January 10. Black - Alain Badiou . . . aging philosopher pontificates tediously, sells many copies 11. Tales of Misery and Imagination - Scott S. Phillips . . . these were okay stories, worth a bargain-bin read 12. Nine Dantesque Essays - Jorge Luis Borges . . . little gems from a peerless mind on a timeless subject 13. Rings of Saturn - W.G. Sebald 14. e: The Story of a Number- Eli Maor 15. My Struggle, Book 1 - Karl Ove Knausgaard 16. LoveStar - Andri Snær Magnason 17. Pessimism: Philosophy, Ethic, Spirit - Joshua Foa Dienstag ----------- end of February 18. My Struggle, Book 2 - Karl Ove Knausgaard 19. Monday Begins On Saturday - Arkady & Boris Strugatsky 20. Gnomon - Nick Harkaway 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge: 16/100 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women.1/20 — bonus: Of these make sure half are by authors new to you 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white.2/20 — bonus: Of these make sure half are by authors new to you 4. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. — bonus: Make sure 10% of the books you read this year are by LGBT authors 5. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2018 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). — bonus: Participate in the SHAMEFUL The Greatest Books You've Never Read thread 6. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. — bonus: Similarly, get a wildcard from another thread in this forum 7. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. — bonus: Read literally the first in-person book recommendation you get in 2018 (solicited or not) 8. — bonus: Read a book written/published the exact year you were born 9. Read a book published in 2018 (or if you're eager to start early, the latter half of 2017). — bonus: Read something that wins an award in 2018, but only after it is announced (i.e. don't apply retroactively) 10. 11. — bonus: Read something political from/about a country you aren't from and don't currently live in 12. Read a poetry collection. — bonus: Read poems by at least 10 different poets 13. — bonus: Read short stories by at least 10 different authors 14. Read a play. — bonus: Read a play first published in the last 10 years 15. Read something involving history. — bonus: Read something about a (nonfictional) war that didn't involve the U.S. 16. Read something biographical. — bonus: Read something biographical about someone you've met/seen in person 17. Read something about religion. — bonus: Read a major religious text 18. Read something from a non-traditional perspective. — bonus: Read something narrated in the 2nd person 19. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. — bonus: Read something currently banned, censored, or challenged in its country of origin 20. Read something about music. — bonus: Read something about a genre of music you're explicitly not a fan of 21. Read something that involves Maslow's hierarchy of needs. — bonus: Read something about hunger 22. — bonus:
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2018 03:16
|
|
|
Finished The Humans last night. It was alright, I did enjoy the way some of the notation helped you to envision the dialogue being acted out more, with the side-by-side segments and the "/" being used to indicate that another character cuts in. It also seemed to have some really cool imagery and a handful of resonant ideas. On the whole it seemed like a typical struggling middle-class family narrative which didn't exactly wow me, but I wouldn't mind seeing it on stage, the end scene especially seems like it would be really powerful to see. Started Othello this morning which is good so far. Looking forward to seeing if it has some of the classic archetypes that appear in other stuff like I noticed with the Tempest; Iago is the obvious one. I enjoyed the gag where Desdemona's father is abusing the dude who shows up to talk to him at the beginning of the play, saying he's not good enough for his daughter, until he finds out she eloped with a black dude and then he's all, "oh woah is me, if only she'd married you".
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2018 16:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 18:14 |
|
|
I think I'm going to do Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang for a modern play, but gotta wait for ILL to get it to me. Sounds fun though. Though it doesn't make the 10 year cut off, I have The Goat or Who is Sylvia by Albee coming in as well, because I've liked Albee in the past and who doesn't want a play about goatloving?
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2018 16:14
|
|