No.633
>>6321Q84 was quite enjoyable. I have the Wind-up Bird Chronicle next on my reading list by him.
Most memorable books recently are Worm (
https://parahumans.wordpress.com/), which is an online series about a girl who controls bugs, and the Three-Body Problem, which is a Chinese sc-fi that got quite popular recently.
No.635
>>633I almost bought 1Q84 but I grabbed "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World".
Worm looks really interesting, thanks!
No.636
I recently read The Turn of the Screw by Henry James which was very interesting. I've also been reading through Infinite Jest for the past month or so but progress is slow, although I'm really enjoying it (even if it's probably all going over my head).
No.637
>>635I'm actually reading Hardboiled Wonderland right now, it's a really interesting story. I haven't finished it yet but whenever I notice a connection between the two stories I get chills, this book's great.
No.638
I just read through BLAME! for the first time and it's pretty cool. Atmospheric cyber dystopia thing that leaves enough to the imagination that you want more
No.639
I've read quite a bit of Murakami and come to the conclusion that he writes the same book many times over. The themes, general structure, characters, ideas, etc, all seem to be duplicated over and over. As much as I like him, I don't feel as though it was a good use of my time to read anything beyond Kafka on the Shore & Wind-Up Bird, as those do his formula the best out of all of them.
No.641
>>639I can agree with this. Reminds me a lot of the likes of Dan Brown.
Even in 1Q84 when he tried to be more ambitious the protagonist and the woman ended up being the same templates used in other books.
That's not to say it is awful, just that he lacks versatility. If I was to recommend Murakami my advice would be to wait a bit between books.
No.642
>>641Yeah I remember when I read Angels and Demons, The DaVinci Code and Inferno all on the same month and it felt empty, I'm not saying that those were bad books but reading one after the other was a bad idea and showed me the "boilerplate" plot of Dan Brown
No.643
I'm listening to "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. So far so good, I'm most likely going to buy it after I'm done listening to it. Apparently there's also a film adaptation
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651140/ but I'm not sure if I'll be watching it. Movies nowadays are the literal spawn of Satan which is funny in a way because the book warns you about the devil taking many shapes.
No.644
>>632>>639>>641I'm reading Wind Up Bird Chronicles cause I wanted something gentle I could sit and read last term when I was stressed with workload. Only about a fifth through but I'm enjoying the chill read.
Now that I have some more free time I'd like to finally get on to my copy of Crime and Punishment.
No.649
Currently reading Awakenings by Oliver Sacks. It's a nonfic centered on a disease from WW1 that caused Parkinsons in people who contracted it, and Dr. Sacks giving them a drug, L-DOPA, which briefly alleviates the symptoms. Unfortunately, it also often has debilitating side effects.
While at times the book can get a bit dense in medical jargon, Sacks is a decently interesting writer to hold interest, as well as the narratives about patients.
>>638Got my girlfriend into that recently, she loves the art but complains about the story constantly.
No.655
Right now I'm reading Beastars and I will be starting Midori Days. I always like watching the anime adaptation and the reading the source material to see the differences.
No.656
>>644oOOH I love crime and punishment, such a good read I highly suggest it
No.660
Infinite Jest. It worries me how consistently fun it is, when everything about it shouldn't be. Ironically, it makes the point of the book harder to swallow, especially since I can't read most of it seriously. The really harsh ridiculous parts are certainly sad, but I'm too in tune with black humor not to laugh.
On the side, I've been getting back into Pratchett and Discworld. I didn't expect Moving Pictures and Small Gods to become my favorites. Highly recommend the latter if you are an edgy agnostic. The best of light reads and witty satire.
No.661
Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles.
It was my favorite book as a child so i decided to read it again but in english this time. Seems to be way shorter than i imagined.
No.662
https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/1/Mother-of-LearningMagic school timeloop fiction with really nice in depth magic systems. Final chapters just came out recently.
No.663
No idea. I have a bunch of shit open.
But I'll probably read Grafton Tanner's "Babbling corpse", then Krasznahorkai's "The Prisoner of Urga", or if not that, I'll read Erofeev's "Moskva-Petushki" instead.
No.667
>>643Nice. I didn't know there was a movie adaptation but I can't imagine it's any good.
I'm reading Book of the New Sun right now, it's dense and challenging but extremely good.
No.678
I work offshore and this time I brought 5 books including my Bible. Just in case I get stuck in a quarantine somewhere and also because I no longer have a laptop to watch anime on. So I brought Moby-Dick, a book on swords, the Silmarillion, and Metro 2033.
>>643The Screw tape Letters are amazing, I actually have a box set of Lewis' works that I need to finish reading.
>>645I picked up a compilation of Lovecraft's writings and I read it every October. I really like how all of the stories are about a man studying something, looking for answers rather than just experiencing whatever horror the story is about. I can see how some would find that boring though.
No.679
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
is a trainwreck, I have no more words to describe it
No.680
Clarice Lispector - All the Short Stories
I don't know how to translate "Todos os Contos" in english.
No.681
>>680Usually you see it as "Complete Tales" or "Complete Short Stories" or something like that
No.682
>>681Tales is such a bad translation though. It invites expectations different from what you'd get.
No.684
>>678>biblemake sure it's a King James Bible! For reasons why see,
jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/1611_authorized_king_james.htm
No.685
I'm reading Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. It's a massive book but I'm getting near the end. Before that in the last few months I read The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and Neuromancer by William Gibson. I'm trying to always have a book with me at work to read on breaks.
No.686
>>684It's a Septuagint OT with a quasi- KJV NT. it's the Orthodox Study Bible if you're wondering. I think my pocket Bible is KJV though. It's neat because it's both testaments but it literally fits in my front pocket.
No.688
>>684I bought a NRSV bible under the impression it would be better, but I see so many people hail the KJV as the best bible. Should I continue with what I have or just read the KJV?
No.689
Currently reading The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson for some reason. It's pretty silly. I was at the library the other day and they just happened to have The Early History of God by Mark Smith, which is considered to be one of the seminal studies of early Israelite religion, so I'm reading that as well.
>>688Not that sushi roll, but I study biblical exegesis at university.
The NRSV is a good purchase. It's both literal and readable, and has the added advantage of being the closest thing there is to a standard translation among English-speaking academics. The idea that the KJV is the best translation follows from a religious conviction that the translation itself as well as the base New Testament text, called the Textus Receptus (which is different from modern critical editions of the NT), were divinely inspired. The majority of biblical scholars do not believe that the KJV is more accurate than modern translations, and most modern translations do not use the Textus Receptus.
Unless you're sympathetic to KJV-only denominations, from a practical perspective you're better off just reading the NRSV anyway. The language of the KJV is so archaic that many familiar words have completely different meanings, so you will either not understand or outright misinterpret it without some kind of commentary (I haven't read it personally, but I've seen the Norton Critical Edition of the KJV recommended). A common example of this is the word 'conversation' in e.g. Philippians 1:27, which has nothing to do with talking. The NRSV is also a revision of the KJV and the footnotes (if your edition has them) should point out the major passages where the NRSV's NT disagree with other manuscripts, such as the ones used in the Textus Receptus, so it's also good preparation for reading the KJV.
No.693
>>689>>688I think everyone should read both, or at least multiple translations. I like the archaic language of the KJV myself, although I'm also a huge fan of Shakespeare and other 16th century works. From that perspective, it's an incredible work of art.
No.709
>>693If sushi is really into it for whatever reason, they could even learn some ancient greek and read the original
No.711
Started my rereading (almost 20 years later) of Capital Volume 1 and I'm aiming to work my way through all three volumes this year. The current downtime will aid this immensely.
No.765
>>689Kissless Joyless Virgin?
sorry I just had to No.766
>>764I feel like art history gets unfairly ridiculed as some kind of joke of a discipline but it's actually kind of really hardcore.
No.767
>>711Neat! I’ve been meaning to do the same - I read Vol 1 ages ago but never got around to continuing with the other writings. I own the others and they glare at me when I walk past the shelves.
No.768
>>637Same here! I'm about halfway through
No.769
>>768I dropped Hardboiled Wonderland halfway through years ago. I really liked After Dark though
No.770
>>768I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
No.773
Just finished Nakano Thrift Shop. I'm disappointed.
It's like a filler episode of a subpar anime. Nothing happens. Which is fine if the presentation is interesting. It's not the case.
No.780
Just finished the Convenience Store Woman.
It's about an autistic girl who likes to do her job, and people around, who don't like this.
That's all.
No.783
>>780I read that book. It's a bit more nuanced because she's late 30's, single, and still working at a connivance store in a highly judgemental society.
The book left a bitter taste in my mouth, it's not the authors fault though, because my dad said the character reminded him of me and he's completely blind to how that might be an insult.
I guess he's not entirely wrong because the book summed up my marriage plan
>While they have no affection for each other, Shiraha eventually moves in with Keiko. They decide that by pretending to be a couple they can avoid problems with families and a society that expects them to have romantic relationships, children and stable job. No.785
>>783This sounds like an awfully upsetting book…
No.788
>>677Just read this yeasterday
No.802
>>632Currently reading "The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson. Sometimes he sounds like a know-it-all prick but most of his insights on self-esteem and such are actually useful. Will move on to "What a Carve Up!" after this.
No.803
I've recently reread the Wheel of Time. Egwene and Rand are both more insufferable than I remember but Mat and Nynaeve don't annoy me as much this time through.
>>633>three body problemDid you enjoy it?
No.806
Going through The Craftsman by Richard Sennett. Quite interesting so far. Here are some quotes.
“Craftsmanship names an enduring, basic human impulse, the desire to do a job well for its own sake.”
“Issac Stern rule: the better your technique, the more impossible your standards.”
“Developments in high technology reflect an ancient model for craftsmanship, but the reality on the ground is that people who aspire to be good craftsmen are depressed, ignored, or misunderstood by social institutions. These ills are complicated because few institutions set out to produce unhappy workers. People seek refuge in inwardness when material engagement proves empty; mental anticipation is privileged above concrete encounter; standards of quality in work separate design from execution.”
No.851
Finished All Quiet on the Western Front
It's kind of strange to me how WWI seemed to have shattered the consciousnesses of an entire generation of people and you can see its influence in all sorts of places you might not expect, like fantasy MMOs with their cratered hellscape vision of war, yet WWII, which is usually touted as the bigger, more important one, didn't really leave much of an impact at all when it comes to ongoing culture.
No.869
>>639>>641>>809If you enjoy reading the same drivel over and over again, who cares?
Is it worse than watching a sitcom?
Is anything ever really original, anyways?
Reading Murakami is like masturbating in a corner while hallucinating various forms of magical beasts in the patterns of the dried paint on the wall. Some people think dried paint is boring. I think it's fun, maybe even arousing.
I encourage each and every one of you to find your own magical beasts in the books you read. Sometimes all it takes is a little imagination, possibly some schizophrenia, but, I can tell you one thing…
It's a hell of a good time.
No.871
>>852I picked up a compilation of Lovecraft stories as well and I've been reading it on and off. I really enjoy them.
No.879
>>804I haven't read that, but I've read Marcovaldo by the same guy and liked it a lot.
No.880
>>852I just finished Roadside Picnic recently. The last few weeks I've been going on a STALKER binge, I watched the Tarkovsky adaptation and I've been playing modded Anomaly. Really good stuff.
This year I've been reading a lot of Russian stuff actually. Right now I'm juggling The Ugly Swans (also by Strugatsky bros) and Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky. Honestly it's made me consider starting to learn Russian, but I want to get proficient in Spanish before I switch over.
No.884
Since my last post I've read:
Slan by A.E Van Vogt, a very good short sci-fi book about a young boy who is a Slan(a mutant) trying to survive in a futuristic world and find other Slans;
Permanent Record, Edward snowden's biography, he is a very interesting person, the type who you'd only see/read in crazy conspiracy blogs
I've continuing to read Lovecraft's stories, Call of Cthulhu deserves the recognition it has
I am currently reading Do androids dream of electric sheep, i am a fan of Blade Runner, especially 2049, and plan on reading Neuromancer, Gaiseric the vandal who destroyed Rome and Where wizards stay up late: The origins of the internet
>>870yes sushi roll, I've read it a couple of months ago and it's probably in my top favorite books, I've liked it so much that i even bought it physical and watched STALKER(very good movie btw)
No.917
It's a non fiction book so I dunno if it's the right kind of book for this thread but I'm reading - 1587: A Year of No Significance; the Ming Dynasty in Decline - and I really like this style of historical literature. Anyone else have books like it?
No.930
>>638> BLAME!Really great manga. As far as sci-fi manga goes imo it's only surpassed by Akira and Alita. Also, read Eden! if you haven't already.
>>635>>633How's 1q84? Diving into a long Murakami's novel feels comfy but I think that over time I grew tired of his style, he just uses the same characters archetypes and plot structures in every novel.
I want to give a shot to his short stories tho, can anyone recc a good one to start with?
No.931
>>773>>780I think this theme is quite common with japanese literature. Most authors tend to focus mostly on the aesthetic and atmosphere while leaving the real content behind. There are some exception tho.
>>804A real masterpiece, read "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" if you haven't already
No.936
I just finished Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, and was hooked all the way through from the second page. Excellent fantasy novel. I am now a few chapters into House of Leaves, and it looks like it's going to be as spooky as people say.
No.958
This is my favorite book: A Little Princess.
Never understood why The Little Prince is more popular, I think this book is way better.
Sara's dad and his relationship with Sara is admirable and makes me wish we had more father figures like Mr. Crewe in our media.
Even when she's starving, Sara chooses to feed a girl that looks hungrier than her. This shows that dignity is a state of mind.
There's also a movie and I think one anime based off this book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3WJrWZ_npg …but I am absolutely in love with this book's ending. 'Since you know what hunger feels like…'
No.967
Bit of an FDA binge, but "Bracing for Armageddon?: The Science and Politics of Bioterrorism in America", "Hitting America's Soft Underbelly: The Potential Threat of Deliberate Biological Attacks Againist the U.S. Agricultural and Food Industry", and "In Food We Trust: The Politics of Purity in American Food Regulation".
First is a book going over the most likely bio-terror methods and their expected outcome. The book sounds like "doomsday is upon us", but it actually spends most of the text arguing while bioterrorism can kill many it is extremely unlikely to happen making the billions invested in its prevention wasted money and that said billions wasn't spent in response to an actual threat, but instead post 9/11 and anthrax letters paranoia. The book suffers from trying to balance being both an overview of Bio-terror and a sociological study on what caused the fear of it making both thesis come out half baked. It's a nice book if you want a quick overview of bioterror and it's history, but if you want something in-depth I'd go with Seth Carus book on the subject and a standard history of post-9/11 America. The books most interesting chapter is it going over what the author thinks a pandemic would play out like. His guess is eerily similar to covid even predicting the rise of anti-vaxxers.
"Hitting America's Soft Underbelly" is a more indepth bio terror book with a trade off when it comes to generality. The book was fun to me though because I lived near farms and what they said rang true. The average farm has terrible security to the point I could walk up to a chicken house and inject the chickens with god knows what. Overall more of a government report than a fun read.
"In Food We Trust" is a history of the FDA and critique of it's lack of power. The books best part was that it brought big news stories everyone forgot about, jack in the box salmonella, PB salmonella, Chilean grape scare, and analyzed them in depth. Another point of interest was how it went over how weak the FDA is, underfunded and staffed, inability to force companies to recall products, and more. One downside is that the book isn't trying to be a full history of the FDA, but instead it's trying to explain how the FDA's flaws developed. The book sped through or straight up skimped 'unimportant' eras. Overall a good book.
Jesus I gotta start reading more fiction.
No.968
>>936I really got into the Brandon Sanderson books, all the cosmere things. He also cranks out books like crazy, which is nice. I really like the way he settles climaxes in his books. His books play out like a movie in my head.
I got pretty darn spooked out by the House of Leaves when I read it too.
I honestly checked the date of this post to make sure it wasn't me, lol.
I'm currently reading All Quiet on the Western Front, though.
No.971
>>936 here. I took a break from House of Leaves, and am currently reading the second Mistborn book by Brandon Sanderson, and The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. Both are really good.
No.975
>>974Ooh, I remember liking Rama as a kid. Nothing really "happens" in that book, but there's still something gripping about it.
No.976
Been reading Don Quixote on my work breaks. Really enjoyable book, its shockingly similar to modern novels in its style and prose. After that I am going to read The Fall of Gondolin by Tolkien.
>>678Let me know what you think about the Silmarillion, I really like that work.
No.991
Haven't had much time to read lately, right now I'm still stuck in Dune. I hope during my Christmas break I can get through it.
No.995
>>990Capitalism and freedom
How is this book? By the title it would seem to me that it were written by a capitalist and therefore prone to selective information. My question is, is it actually critical, or does it read more like a defense of capitalism?
No.997
>>990i used to carry this copy of the myth of sisyphus in my messenger bag everywhere i went when i was 17-18 years old and just started college.
i always hoped a cutie would come up to me while i read it and say that I'm really cool and want to be my friend (but that never happened, obviously). i don't think anyone thought i was cool, they probably thought i was a tryhard (i clearly was, obviously).
No.999
>>995It's one of the most influential books on economics. The writer was one of the cornerstones of the "Chicago school" and an economic advisor to both former US President Reagan and former UK Prime Minister Thatcher. It's definitely written from a pro-capitalist, specifically supply side, point of view, and the central idea of it is basically the "the freer the markets the freer the people" maxim.
Though, strangely, it's not as anti-state assistance as some other books in that vein are and actually argues for a GMI. It's still packed with ideas that I find downright absurd, like getting rid of licensing for medical professionals.
No.1000
>>999>Reagan and ThatcherOh god. Yes I did read some reviews after I posted that and I realized it's pretty much neoliberal thought (from what I read). I asked because I've been reading Sowell's Basic Economics and while it's been illuminating it also omits some of the more bleak consequences of the very same principles he advocates for free markets, you know, the stuff we perceive every day comingfrom big corp.
I just wish there was a less biased book on economics. Well, I suppose there are, I just gotta look for them .
No.1001
>>1000>you know, the stuff we perceive every day comingfrom big corp.Most hardcore liberals would argue that the existence of megacorps that are a law unto themselves is a product of government intervention. Without entering into a parasitic relationship with the state these organisations would inevitably become inefficient, lose focus, and collapse under their own weight. The fact that legislators also refuse to let large corps collapse for fear of short term economic consequences is its own issue.
I don't think you're ever going to find an unbiased take on economics, any author that purports to be is trying to hide his biases which is worse, in my opinion. The best economics book I've read is J.A. Schumpeter's Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, it's full of these insanely clever detached observations and almost anti-ideological in that Schumpeter throws sand in the face of all the conventional positions at the time (written in the '30s).
tl;dr; capitalism is doomed to fail because the more wealth it creates in society the more it breeds a sense of antipathy among the intelligentsia, the same way the Church's fostering of literacy and learning eventually led to the enlightenment. Socialism, on the other hand, is completely impossible in practice and every Socialist regime will have to adopt market reforms to survive. They'll become essentially capitalist societies where everyone has to wave a red banner and pretend they're doing Socialism. In fact, this phony Socialism will be even more capitalist than capitalism since there can be no independent labour movements, the state and industry are one and the same, and any dissenters can be branded enemies of the people.
No.1002
>>1001Thank you for the rec of Schumpeter. I guess then I'll have to read a bit of different authors with different viewpoints.
No.1062
I've been reading Pascal's works, right now Lettres Provinciales and Pensées. I've also been tackling SICP but it's difficult not to have a hard time with it. I'm stuck on chapter 2.1.2 But it's a long time endeavor, I guess.
No.1063
>>880Honestly, speaking both languages (even though I'm a native Spanish speaker) I'd consider starting with Russian right away. If Spanish is tricky when it comes to verbs, wait until you hear about them in their actual version in Russian. If you can, start with it ASAP.
No.1064
>>1060I've read most of his shorter books that have been published in English. I've got the Sea of Fertility sitting on my shelf too; eventually I'll get around to it but it's a bit of an investment and I haven't been in a Mishima mood for a while.
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea is probably his most quintessential novel and embodies a kind of anti-subtlety that's common in Japanese literature and really damn delicious when done well. It's plainly allegorical and you basically know everything that's going to happen in the book as soon as you hear the premise, but the suspense of waiting for it to play out is so intense.
Confessions of a Mask is also essential Mishima, but I'd read one or two of his novels first. There are some extremely good musings and hot takes in there. I remember him reflecting on the concept of purity and beauty for a few paragraphs before concluding that purity is the most degenerate thing of all and dropping the topic alltogether.
Mishima's only sci-fi story, Beautiful Star, is also getting published in English in a few months time, I'm extremely excited. He was actually a big fan of the genre, surprisingly; Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke was one of his favourite novels.
No.1065
>>1064I visited the Yukio Mishima museum in Kawaguchiko. It all starts making a lot of sense after you learn about his relationship with his wife and children, it's truly amazing how he captured that longing for something else, something freer where he can express himself, despite his sexuality and all of that which it entails.
No.1088
>>1087>gets summoned into a fantasy universe and realizes that magic is a lot like programming.We finally found what all the damn isekai LN authors are ripping off! lol
No.1089
>>1088I think all isekai are actually ripping off A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain published in 1889.
No.1091
>>1089Exactly, I've been saying this for years. It even has a long title that explains the premise of the plot.
No.1092
boogiepop
No.1111
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Murakami Haruki novels seem always similar to other Murakami Haruki novels.
Why might that be, and why does no one level that accusation at Jane Austin.
