What book are you reading? And what do you like about it?

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > What book are you reading? And what do you like about it?

Zugzwang: Jan 2, 2005; You have a kind of sick desperation in your laugh.; Ramrod XTreme

I'm listening to "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy. It's a memoir from a former child star who was pushed into acting by her abusive mom. I like that it's funny and well-written, and it's full of lessons about how not to parent my own kids.

# ¿ Dec 26, 2023 06:55

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 06:21

Zugzwang: Jan 2, 2005; You have a kind of sick desperation in your laugh.; Ramrod XTreme

neato burrito posted:

Hocus Pocus by Vonnegut

It's the first book I've cracked open in years; it's high time I get off a screen for leisure more often. I have a stack of Vonnegut from my early 20s when I still read regularly, gonna revisit them all.

I like Vonnegut a lot because I think he does a better job than just about anyone at seeing through all the bullshit in the world but not letting it doompill him. Like his books are all about "haha yeah humanity is chock-full of stupidity and ridiculousness but you should still be kind to people goddammit."

# ¿ Dec 27, 2023 22:07

Zugzwang: Jan 2, 2005; You have a kind of sick desperation in your laugh.; Ramrod XTreme

Doctor J Off posted:

What translation of War and Peace does everyone read? I've heard that Constance Garnett's is notoriously bad, are there any others someone can recommend?

Pevear + Volokhonsky are great for the major Russian writers.

Garnett was not good enough at Russian to be a translator, and her prose feels antiquated as gently caress.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2024 21:57

Zugzwang: Jan 2, 2005; You have a kind of sick desperation in your laugh.; Ramrod XTreme

My problem with audiobooks is that podcasts exist. There are too many good ones that only require me to pay attention for, say, 40-90 min rather than many many hours. I generally prefer to just read something if there's that much material to consume. And also, I mostly am interested in nonfiction and want to take notes or highlight or re-read difficult sections. Those things are either impossible or much more of a hassle with audiobooks.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2024 00:17

Zugzwang: Jan 2, 2005; You have a kind of sick desperation in your laugh.; Ramrod XTreme

Earwicker posted:

you don't have to pay attention to an audiobook for many hours though? most of them have chapters. just like a typical podcast (or tv show) has a season divided into many episodes. there are quite a few that have a season-long narrative, but you still listen to each episode one by one. audiobooks work the same way, you can easily just listen to one chapter at a time.

I hear ya. My issue is that I may lose interest in the topic and not want to listen for a week or two. Then I find audiobooks more difficult to get back into than print books because it takes longer to refresh my memory of the material. But mostly, it's that I don't like listening to a lot of nonfiction unless it's something narrative like a memoir (I really liked Jennette McCurdy's "I'm Glad My Mom Died") or investigative journalism (like Number Go Up).

# ¿ Feb 3, 2024 11:36

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > What book are you reading? And what do you like about it?