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Yiddish Policemen's Union, and so far am enjoying it. Good, vivid descriptions of the world it's set in. Described the flavour of a good beer perfectly: bitter caramel.
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Feb 7, 2024 11:53
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Deep Glove Bruno posted:simenon is great, but i think his romains durs (non-maigret books basically) are even better. he is brutally efficient with character and plot in a way where you're like, yeah, that's the exact minimum to get a good story and he nailed it Funnily enough I'm only part way into The Little Man from Archangel, which I found out after posting, is a non-Maigret human tragedy. Simenon's words can paint the scene beautifuly and put you inside the (often flawed) character's head. With or without Maigret, good stuff.
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Feb 7, 2024 13:27
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V brings the heat
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Feb 7, 2024 15:31
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Samovar posted:Yiddish Policemen's Union, and so far am enjoying it. Good, vivid descriptions of the world it's set in. Described the flavour of a good beer perfectly: bitter caramel. I re-read this last year and man does it still slap. I wish the Coen brothers adaptation had gotten off the ground.
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Feb 7, 2024 15:52
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Deep Glove Bruno posted:simenon is great, but i think his romains durs (non-maigret books basically) are even better. he is brutally efficient with character and plot in a way where you're like, yeah, that's the exact minimum to get a good story and he nailed it the only non-Maigret book i've read by Simenon is The Man Who Watched Trains Go By and it was way darker than the Maigret stuff. really good though. but you definitely have to be in the mood for that sort of thing.
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Feb 7, 2024 16:28
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Captain Hygiene posted:Well, I'm finishing up Jurassic Park today, and it mostly held up very well. It put me in the mood to re-read Lost World, which I have essentially no recollection of. I'm really curious how it will fare in comparison, I remember reading that Crichton was at least somewhat pushed into it by the first Jurassic Park movie being such a megahit, rather than being something he did out of his own interest. For what it's worth, I don't like the second movie, but I have a general idea of it not having much to do with the book. I guess I could just pull up Wikipedia and find out, but y'know, Oh, man, I forgot how cool the sequence about halfway through, before everything goes terribly where they realize that the computer has only been looking for fewer than expected animals and not more than expected. Really cool stuff. If you end up enjoying The Lost World, I'd also recommend Sphere, which I think might just edge out JP as my favorite Michael Crichton book.
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Feb 7, 2024 22:52
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Narzack posted:If you end up enjoying The Lost World, I'd also recommend Sphere, which I think might just edge out JP as my favorite Michael Crichton book. That's good to know, someone mentioned Congo earlier as a good one as well. I'll add them both to the list. I've actually read most/all of his books before, but it's probably been at least 20 years at this point  and I only really remember them in the most general sense, aside from Jurassic Park.
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Feb 7, 2024 23:01
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I really like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Combination of dumb writing, good writing, dumb bullshit, and fun bullshit. I honestly can't wait til his next book
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Feb 8, 2024 01:23
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Feb 8, 2024 01:37
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Mumpy Puffinz posted:I really like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Combination of dumb writing, good writing, dumb bullshit, and fun bullshit. I honestly can't wait til his next book Yeah, legit the best pulpy trash out there
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Feb 8, 2024 01:43
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My most amazing partner found me A Stitch In Time, an incredibly sought after book. I like the way the author describes dust.
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Feb 8, 2024 02:01
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Bottom Liner posted:Yeah, legit the best pulpy trash out there I know right? Now he has to marry that vampire, that took advantage of him several times
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Feb 8, 2024 02:38
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I read Left Hand of Darkness, it was emotionally exhausting but I really enjoyed it. The exploration of a hermaphroditic human subspecies and the impact that hermaphroditism has on societal roles was food for thought. Also read the first three Earthsea books. It was a nice change of pace from other fantasy books. Her writing is captivating and so beautiful. I appreciate how the conflict in the books is often internal to a character or externalized in a metaphor/representation of some intangible concept. Instead of good guys and bad guys with weapons and the need to overpower the other to “win”. My first encounters with LeGuin and I am very impressed.
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Feb 8, 2024 02:45
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DicktheCat posted:I'm reading Snow Crash for the first time. I reread that a few years ago and found myself skipping over the large sections where Protagonist would talk with the AI or whatever about religion. God that poo poo was pretentious and boring. The poo poo with the mob and the girl were awesome though. Except some of the poo poo with the girl gets super questionable. Narzack posted:I'd also recommend Sphere, I should read that again. Its been a long time and I remember that book being wild. Captain Hygiene posted:That's good to know, someone mentioned Congo earlier as a good one as well. I'll add them both to the list. I've actually read most/all of his books before, but it's probably been at least 20 years at this point I reread that a year or so ago and I was mostly bored with Congo. Timeline is probably my favorite Crichton book. I would read it again but I just can't. I've read it too many times.
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Feb 8, 2024 05:22
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madmatt112 posted:I read Left Hand of Darkness, it was emotionally exhausting but I really enjoyed it. The exploration of a hermaphroditic human subspecies and the impact that hermaphroditism has on societal roles was food for thought. I highly recommend The Dispossessed if you haven't yet read it. It's a parable between capitalism and communism via the story of a scientist traveling from a moon where a kind of communism was established, when he felt he had gone as far as he could in that system and sought more on the main planet. I'm now about halfway through Ruth Ozeki's My Year of Meats, a picaresque story of a documentary filmmaker working with a Japanese station on a series about American housewives cooking various meat based dishes on behalf of an industrial meat conglomerate. It's quite funny and incisive at the same time. Another of hers, A Tale for the Time Being, is a metaphysical story about creativity and disappointment, and is also quite good.
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Feb 9, 2024 23:35
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Started reading Misery while sick and have yet to finish
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Feb 9, 2024 23:37
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i'm reading The Godfather cause the movies are really good. I like the book cause it's so pulpy and unpretentious. it's all like Ayy Oh! I'm Walkin' Here!!
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Feb 9, 2024 23:42
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Doctor Dogballs posted:i'm reading The Godfather cause the movies are really good. I like the book cause it's so pulpy and unpretentious. it's all like Ayy Oh! I'm Walkin' Here!!  that's funI don't think I've ever known anyone in person who's read it, I just know it as one of the classic "movie was better than the book" examples.
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Feb 10, 2024 00:10
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i enjoyed the book but yeah the movie is better. the book has several other plotlines that were cut from the movie, of varying quality. also a lot of stuff that ended up in the second movie as the basis for the young vito story.
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Feb 10, 2024 01:24
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madmatt112 posted:I read Left Hand of Darkness, it was emotionally exhausting but I really enjoyed it. The exploration of a hermaphroditic human subspecies and the impact that hermaphroditism has on societal roles was food for thought. I recently read several short story collections of hers and was also smitten. There's a story set on the Left Hand planet that gets into the specifics of how the houses they go to for sex work, definitely not essential but well thought out and unique like all her stuff. I'll also second the Dispossessed, one of the best good faith explorations of an anarchist society, one that doesn't shy away from the negatives and the ultimate reliance on established forms of power, but presents a compelling picture of how a society that valued solidarity over individual self-interest might actually function.
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Feb 10, 2024 01:48
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Earwicker posted:i enjoyed the book but yeah the movie is better. the book has several other plotlines that were cut from the movie, of varying quality. also a lot of stuff that ended up in the second movie as the basis for the young vito story. this is a weird way to explain the Harry Potter movies
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Feb 10, 2024 01:54
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titty_baby_ posted:Started reading Misery while sick and have yet to finish I got a sledgehammer for you baby. Or an Axe if you interested in the book
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Feb 10, 2024 01:56
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Thanks to both of you for the Dispossessed recommendation - I put it on hold at the library the day after I finished Left Hand. Looking very much forward to reading it. I’m also going to find the short story about the kemmer houses because why not life is short. Phoneposting so I can’t quote your posts but feel free to imagine that sweet purple dopamine hit now.
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Feb 10, 2024 05:15
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I just had a nice surprise seeing that the Sphere audiobook is on sale for $5, so I guess that'll be my next Crichton reread. I'm enjoying Lost World, I've just been distracted by other stuff so I'm getting through it pretty slowly. Looking through his other titles, I just got reminded that he has a posthumous novel, Eruption coming out in a few months, finished by James Patterson. The blurb is about an eruption threatening to destroy Mauna Loa, but also involving a dangerous military secret hidden there. Curious how that'll turn out. I was just reminded of Crichton's questionable politics later in his life, but I don't know how much that'll overlap with whatever he wrote on this project. And I thought I'd read some James Patterson, but I guess I just recognize his name - whatever thrillers I've read that I was picturing were actually from some other author whose name I haven't remembered yet.
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Feb 12, 2024 23:25
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Earwicker posted:i enjoyed the book but yeah the movie is better. the book has several other plotlines that were cut from the movie, of varying quality. also a lot of stuff that ended up in the second movie as the basis for the young vito story. I have to admit, I'm glad the vaginoplasty plotline wasn't included.
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Feb 13, 2024 10:35
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Is there a German word to describe the feeling of continuing to read a long rear end book not because you're particularly interested anymore, but rather you feel a sense of duty and obligation to finish it?
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Feb 13, 2024 13:44
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versunkene Kosten
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Feb 13, 2024 13:59
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redshirt posted:Is there a German word to describe the feeling of continuing to read a long rear end book not because you're particularly interested anymore, but rather you feel a sense of duty and obligation to finish it? I don't know but this post reminded me of an opposite phenomenon where it took me like 400 pages to get into Mason & Dixon but by the end I really enjoyed it. Speaking of huge tomes, I'm listening to Freedom by Jonathan Franzen on audiobook and I'm really enjoying it. It's a long sprawling novel about the growth and dissolution of a family, and their various backgrounds. The style really lends itself to listening, and I've been getting through it at the gym and on my commutes.
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Feb 16, 2024 02:37
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Reading "Blue Skies," by T.C. Boyle. I like how his characters have progressively crazier daydreams until they snap back to reality and finish parking their car, or some prosaic thing like that.
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Feb 16, 2024 03:49
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redshirt posted:Is there a German word to describe the feeling of continuing to read a long rear end book not because you're particularly interested anymore, but rather you feel a sense of duty and obligation to finish it? The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro fits, I ended up liking it but darned if I can summarize the plot or explain the appeal.
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Feb 16, 2024 04:50
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Earwicker posted:i can't imagine reading that book now. i read it in the mid-90's and loved it but after everything the internet has turned into since then it would read so completely differently. and also im no longer a horny idiotic teenager. I read it for the first time around 2018. I thought it held up okay, despite the hindsight from Second Life, MMOs, social media, actual VR headsets, etc. Wasn't too hard to suspend disbelief, I guess.
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Feb 16, 2024 11:09
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I'm reading "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that can't stop Talking" by Susan Cain. It's nonfiction, and for book club. Real surprise pick for them, as this is like a self help book with a corporate edge, and that doesn't seem like their style. I'm just excited to go to the next book club, so I'm half way through, but, meh. There's some interesting observations - like how American culture changed with mass industrialization around 1900. Epitomized by the 1920s book "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie. But otherwise, I'm skimming large sections so I can make a few comments next week.
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Feb 26, 2024 04:10
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I binged Charles Stross Accelerando yesterday. I thought it was interesting, a tiny bit prescient for being written 1999-2004, but also mostly that science fiction really doesn't need sex scenes
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Feb 26, 2024 04:18
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Reading the DS9 book A Stitch in Time by Andrew G. Robinson who played Garak. The prose is pretty bad and the constant switching of tenses is weird, but it's a pretty good read regardless. Just fun to spend more time with the DS9 characters. Also reading the name "Tain" over and over is funny. I'm prob gonna re-read The Name of the Rose after. I watched the adaptation with Sean Connery again and while it doesn't really capture what makes the book such a masterpiece, I still think it's a good rear end movie. Wish there was more media that just took place in monasteries. I'm chipping away at Galactic Pot-Healer as well, but that one has been slow going as PKD can put me into a funk if I'm not in the right mindset. When I was a teen and in my early twenties I thought his books were super entertaining mind-bending romps with a lot of incredibly clever ideas, now that I'm older, they're still that, but all the existential and emotional poo poo hits a million times harder. He had an uncanny, and kinda brutal, knack for getting at the core of what makes people anxious and confused about life and existence on an elemental level; a big reason why I think he's one of the greatest authors I've ever read. PKD could bang out those short books like a maniac and still somehow managed to send you down a philosophical, self-reflecting rabbit-hole with far fewer words and far less descriptive and emotive prose than other writers could manage in 500+ page novels. Martian Time-Slip is mad unsettling.
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Feb 26, 2024 06:06
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I'm waiting for a new Dresden book from Jim Butcher
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Feb 26, 2024 06:32
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Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:Wish there was more media that just took place in monasteries. you seen either or both versions of "the nun"? not the american horror movie. the 1966 jacques rivette one or the 2013 guillaume nicloux. they both kind of shred. it's convents and not monasteries but who's splitting hairs
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Feb 26, 2024 10:49
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I started reading 'Lovecraft Country', reached a section which made me think, '...is the author of this book white?', looked it up, found that it was indeed the case, and now really can't get back into it (also with the fact it isn't really grabbing me). Still trying to get through Stone Butch Blues but... That's a hard one.
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Feb 26, 2024 10:55
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Deep Glove Bruno posted:you seen either or both versions of "the nun"? not the american horror movie. the 1966 jacques rivette one or the 2013 guillaume nicloux. they both kind of shred. it's convents and not monasteries but who's splitting hairs Also Sister Act
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Feb 26, 2024 14:22
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A Strange Aeon posted:Also Sister Act cmon son
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Feb 26, 2024 15:23
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Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:Reading the DS9 book A Stitch in Time by Andrew G. Robinson who played Garak. The prose is pretty bad and the constant switching of tenses is weird, but it's a pretty good read regardless. Just fun to spend more time with the DS9 characters. Also reading the name "Tain" over and over is funny. Me too!!!
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Feb 26, 2024 15:46
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