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"Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor." - Alexis Carrel
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File: 1579052968145.jpg (67.55 KB, 600x315, book.jpg)

 No.632[Last 50 Posts]

Let's talk about the books/manga/etc that you are reading.

I'm halfway through After Dark by Haruki Murakami and I'm loving it, already bought another 3 books from him to read after this one

 No.633

>>632
1Q84 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

>>633
I 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

>>635
I'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

>>639
I 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

>>641
Yeah 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

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>>632
>>639
>>641
I'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.645

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I am reading Belgarath the Sorcerer of David Eddings. It's a very pleasant and comfortable read, I feel like I'm on an adventure with some friends. I have not read the Belgariad yet but I will soon once I finish this one.
I am also reading Dreams of Terror and Death by H.P Lovecraft. I am a total newbie to H.P Lovecraft, but so far I am having a good time.
Finally, I am trying to pick up the Welcome to the NHK light novel again, but it's hard. I lost that flow I was in initially.

Happy reading everyone!

 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.

>>638
Got my girlfriend into that recently, she loves the art but complains about the story constantly.

 No.653

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 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

>>644
oOOH 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-Learning
Magic 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.665

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I’m reading The Stand by Stephen King . Pretty good so far

 No.666

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I'm reading Cur Deus Homo by St. Anselm and City of God by St. Augustine for class. They're both getting pretty good once I can wrap my head around them.

 No.667

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>>643
Nice. 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.677

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File: 1583776803678-1.epub (405.51 KB, No Longer Human by Dazai ….epub)

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

 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.
>>643
The Screw tape Letters are amazing, I actually have a box set of Lewis' works that I need to finish reading.
>>645
I 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

>>680
Usually you see it as "Complete Tales" or "Complete Short Stories" or something like that

 No.682

>>681
Tales is such a bad translation though. It invites expectations different from what you'd get.

 No.684

File: 1584161437506.gif (55.95 KB, 507x600, bible-read.gif)

>>678
>bible
make 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

>>684
It'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

>>684
I 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

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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.

>>688
Not 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
>>688
I 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

>>693
If 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.764

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Reading a history book on art. I like it, but I didn't realize how intermediate/high level it is. I get very little read because I have to google words every few seconds, though I do find the google quests enjoyable.

My favorite part is a dude in the 30's predicated how people would react to art today, cult vs exhibition value.

 No.765

>>689
Kissless Joyless Virgin?
sorry I just had to

 No.766

>>764
I 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

>>711
Neat! 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

>>637
Same here! I'm about halfway through

 No.769

>>768
I dropped Hardboiled Wonderland halfway through years ago. I really liked After Dark though

 No.770

>>768
I 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

>>780
I 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

>>783
This sounds like an awfully upsetting book…

 No.787

>>785
It isn't.

 No.788

>>677
Just read this yeasterday

 No.802

>>632
Currently 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 problem
Did you enjoy it?

 No.804

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I just finished Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.

 No.805

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Reading through Anti-Oedipus, Feels more like solving a puzzle than reading a book, I go very slowly through it while taking lots of notes in hopes of piecing it all together.

Unfortunately i'm not very familiar with Spinoza or Marx, There is a constant barrage of unfamiliar terms from them.

 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.809

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>>639
>>641
I agree with the readers who say Murakami keeps banging the same drum. He wrote his heart and kept pouring it out over several titles. For me that works. The repetition ensures that you don't miss his obsessions. I find it pleasant - the expectation of a hole in the ground, some fun jazz and classical music, an incomprehensible woman, and a supernatural sheep dream makes it a delight when, as expected, those things occur. He says that his first novels were not up to his present standards, and although I agree, I recommend reading those rat and pinball things. The are the key to everything he wrote after.

 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.852

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I've been reading H.P Lovecraft's stories for the past month,my favorites until now being: The whisperer in Darkness and The white ship, I'm also planning on reading Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky but can't seem to find it anywhere online,can someone here help me with that?

 No.853

File: 1601183085992.pdf (261.84 KB, RoadsidePicnic.pdf)

>>852
Not sure about the translation quality or anything but it was what I found from googling "roadside picnic download"

 No.854

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>>853
arigato sushi roll!

 No.869

>>639
>>641
>>809
If 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.870

>>852
>whisperer in the darkness is an amazing tale. Did you ever get around to reading Roadside Picnic? Ive heard good things about it.

 No.871

>>852
I picked up a compilation of Lovecraft stories as well and I've been reading it on and off. I really enjoy them.

 No.879

>>804
I haven't read that, but I've read Marcovaldo by the same guy and liked it a lot.

 No.880

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>>852
I 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

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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

>>870
yes 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
>>633
How'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
>>780
I 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.

>>804
A 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

>>936
I 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.973

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Started reading The Cheese and the Worms by Carlo Ginzburg. It's a very classic study of popular ideas in the 'subordinate culture' in the 1500s, focusing on the two trials and eventual execution of a miller named Menocchio by the Holy Office.

 No.974

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Recently finished reading Rendezvous with Rama, started reading Magician by Raymond E. Feist. I read Magician and the rest of the Riftwar Saga back when I was a kid.

 No.975

>>974
Ooh, I remember liking Rama as a kid. Nothing really "happens" in that book, but there's still something gripping about it.

 No.976

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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.
>>678
Let me know what you think about the Silmarillion, I really like that work.

 No.978

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Picked up Isaac Asimov's Foundation in the beggining of the month and been reading it a few pages everyday when i find the time.
The worldbuilding is something really amazing and characters are incredibly well written and 3 dimensional
I can see why it is considered one the most important science fiction work of all time
I will be getting the sequels

 No.984

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Just finished Inside Mr. Enderby and am about to finish the other 3 books in the series. They're pretty comedic, a bit immature, romps about a flatulent poet, a good 5 of the big gags in the book are fart jokes, and his adventures ranging from cheating accusations to drunk antics. I think the main standout of the book is how it manages slapstick comedy pretty well for a non visual medium.
The book got a bit frustrating at the end when Enderby hooks up with a rich milf, he was living off his moms money and his poetry before her, but abandons her because he can't take being an adult. They were a good-ish couple to, so it was a shame to see them break up. It didn't help Enderby abandoned her without telling either. The story has those complex character vibes, so you can understand his actions and still want him to be better.
Also yes this is by the guy who wrote clockwork orange. The book is surprisingly like clockwork orange as both stories follow a person alienated from society who get a chance to be redeemed, but give it up only to be saved last second. Enderby being an ex-catholic and writer also makes the story a bit of a writers insert.

 No.989

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Just started Discworld! I didn't really know where to start, so I asked a buddy and he actually had a print copy of Guards! Guards! that he let me borrow. Loving it so far!

 No.990

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I'm currently reading three books:
The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
Capitalism and Freedom - Milton Friedman
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins

 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.993

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Been reading Yuria 100 Shiki lately, it's a pretty entertaining ecchi manga with a premise that hooked me in from the start.
The art is amazing and I never get tired of the wrestling moves the protagonist does on the horny dutch wife. Something about the comedy in it makes me feel like the mangaka "gets it".

 No.995

>>990
Capitalism 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

>>990
i 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

>>995
It'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 Thatcher
Oh 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

>>1001
Thank you for the rec of Schumpeter. I guess then I'll have to read a bit of different authors with different viewpoints.

 No.1052

File: 1644294564777.jpg (99.74 KB, 500x688, 1618343672767.jpg)

I've been very dissapointed with all the books I've been reading recently.
I read metro 2033 and it sucked. I got halfway through metro 2034 and that was even worse so I gave up. Then I read roadside picnic and it was okay but kinda boring with only a couple of chapters about the actual interesting stuff. I read how to win friends and influence people and that was incredibly retarded.

Maybe I'm just reading the wrong books but it feels like everything is just bullshit by people who don't know how to convey information concisely.

I think I'd like to read something that has all the classical greek stories from the age of heroes. Does anyone know anything like this? I know nothing about greek mythos so I don't know where to start.

 No.1060

File: 1644548669595.png (782.77 KB, 900x900, ClipboardImage.png)

Has anyone read of Yukio Mishima? Would like to get into his literature but I only know about him tangentially. I have read the Hagakure, which was important to him, but none of his work.
Is reading his book regarding the ethics of the samurai in modern Japan a good start? If I were to read this, where should I go next?

 No.1061

File: 1644553194336.png (18.22 KB, 650x323, mishima.png)

>>1060
Confessions of a Mask and Kinjiki is probably the most representative of who Mishima was as self-referential works. Temple of the Golden Pavillion also elaborates on his thoughts of beauty and destruction. I wouldn't take any of his contemporary commentary on post-war Japan seriously, he had always been a fringe figure domestically.

 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

>>880
Honestly, 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

>>1060
I'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

>>1064
I 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.1087

File: 1651206938358-0.jpg (148.42 KB, 606x1280, wizardsbane1.jpg)

File: 1651206938358-1.jpg (161.45 KB, 606x1280, wizardsbane2.jpg)

I found this fun campy book series from the late 80s / early 90s about a hacker who gets summoned into a fantasy universe and realizes that magic is a lot like programming. I am on the second book and really loving it. It is definitely written by an actual programmer.

 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

>>1088
I think all isekai are actually ripping off A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain published in 1889.

 No.1091

>>1089
Exactly, 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.

 No.1150

I'm currently reading the fifth installment of the Dune series - Heretics of Dune - albeit I'm not the biggest fan. I'm halfway through, and it feels like it won't get close to God Emperor of Dune.

I've also started with a translation of Ursula K. Le Guins "The Dispossessed" in my native tongue. I already have an English copy of it, but the form factor and small text makes it near impossible for me to read.

 No.1151

>>1150
I've always felt uneasy about reading translations if I know the original language. Feels wrong.

 No.1152

>>1151
I think it depends how well the translation is made and how much the story depends on its original language.

For myself, if I read older English books I often have to look up words which can become a fun killer, especially when I'm tired and reading after work

 No.1163

>>804
Invisible Cities.
You just finished.
I'm starting.
1 page in.
Loving it.

 No.1168

File: 1672005612315.jpg (152.05 KB, 698x885, tumblr_f7d45354e2d1ca8f2d3….jpg)

Oh boy, the last three months I was subscribing to the audiobook service. Digested more books in this period, than throughout my university (which I will finish sooon). It helped with my eyes, too.

Murakami's Dance Dance Dance - definitely the most dreamy position I read from him. I can recall so many scenes from this book, yet can't really connect them in anything that would make sense. I am not really a gifted thinker - prefer style over substance, and Murakami's writing is just so good in this aspect.

I also decided to read "What I talk about when I talk about running", which I recommend. A lot of self-reflection from Murakami, and some advice for kids.

Kawakami's Heaven. This one hurted. I will just say it is about bullying, and it is quite graphic.

1984 - gived up on this lecture in highschool, it was too boring. The audiobook service had a radio drama version, which was fantastic.

Also finished Kafka's Metamorphosis, only because it is a classic. I found it tremendously boring, even in the audio form. Gregor Samsa is just like me, though.

Now I read Crime and Punishment for the third time. There is a fair bit of humour in this book juggled with a feeling of hopelessness. Sonya? She just like me, for real.

 No.1176

>>984
Why did Penguin put a picture on the cover which makes Enderby look jewish?

Nothing in the the text supports that.

 No.1193

Quick reviews of some works I finished
>Brutes or Angels: Human Possibility in the Age of Biotechnology
Surprisingly tame compared to the title. Its just "bioethics 101" when it comes to human modification. It explains an issue, the benefits, and then ends with the cons of it. If you've read any book on transhumanism or bio ethics this book is to simple for you. The only interesting factor was the religious sections were it explain different religious views on bioethics. Again if you read a book on relegion and bioethics doesn't add much.
>Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses
A work about the authors relation to moss and her cultural identity. It manages to capture your attention when talking about some pretty dense moss facts. I say it's a nice intro to bryology.

 No.1194

>>1193
>A work about the authors relation to moss
That sounds fantastic and very cute
Moss facts appeal to me

 No.1209

File: 1682819384415.jpg (873.11 KB, 1920x1200, looker.jpg)

My books are totally insane and will make you laugh!!! heh… okay back to my padded cell i go

files.catbox.moe/4s8yl4.pdf
files.catbox.moe/f21v69.pdf
files.catbox.moe/82sced.pdf
files.catbox.moe/irz98h.pdf

 No.1210

just bought some manga from amazon. im reading death note and fullmeteal alchemist

 No.1211

>>1209
"Cuckqueens aren't real, take your meds"
I cackled

 No.1212

File: 1683351541429.jpg (39.01 KB, 480x853, cateat.jpg)

>>1211
Yeah that is one of my fav lines too haha. Always glad to make sushi roll laugh!

 No.1324

File: 1727222523938.png (339.39 KB, 810x756, 1720391161510983.png)

i got this book called recipies from the garden of contentment. its the palace cookbook of the chinese emperors. i figured i could use this to learn to cook. so i made one of the rice dishes and it was nice

also trying to read mahmoud darwish poetry but i dont like it

 No.1326

File: 1727237684411.jpg (35.01 KB, 473x398, d51a9136da7fdb4457f27d273c….jpg)

Books on the occult. Specifically those that influenced my grandparents' beliefs… I'm trying to edit them (two books, one is in ancient french and I'm working on a translation into modern english and modern french, another that's just got minor spelling errors here and there) and then figure out a way to preserve them. Also trying to write a short story myself but it's fanfiction, LOL

 No.1336

File: 1730337499875-0.jpg (60.86 KB, 474x732, th-3892972898.jpg)

File: 1730337499875-1.pdf (6.33 MB, Horkheimer_Max_Adorno_Theo….pdf)

Probably one of the most devastating criticisms of modern society and the Enlightenment ever written. The general gist is that modern problems come from an Enlightenment era mentality which is all about having power over nature and exploiting it for selfish ends. This instrumental rationality has colonized our lives, reducing people to statistics and valueless playthings in the service of markets and bureaucracies.

I love Horkheimer and Adorno and this book feels more important today than when it first came out. Some of their claims about the culture industry and the mass manufacturing of entertainment slop doesn't hold up. I wonder what they'd make of doujin culture, fan works, free software or even piracy. I guess no matter how much autonomy people try to exert from the corporate system they nevertheless end up failing and remain hopelessly controlled and corrupted by it. In part, this explains why the internet feels so trashy now. There's been a gradual move away from community run spaces and user generated content to big tech platforms where the major "content creators" are bankrolled by corpos and managed by talent agencies.

Downside is these books have made me more and more negative and pessimistic. I'm convinced most people today are truly hopeless.

 No.1337

File: 1730396840263-0.png (524.75 KB, 810x1080, __gotoh_hitori_bocchi_the_….png)

File: 1730396840263-1.jpg (259.04 KB, 2000x2000, __gotoh_hitori_and_kuroki_….jpg)

I read volume 1 of Bocchi The Rock! and it was very enjoyable

 No.1338

File: 1730466087792.jpg (30.24 KB, 535x722, de82de7da86bd920b985e88943….jpg)

I was reading Klaus Mann's Mephisto and The Volcano since i recently got hooked on the idea of reading more literature from germans who had to go into exile in the 30s and 40s.
Mephisto describes the career of an actor who decided to not go into exile and even become friends with important nazis to boost his career while the volcano describes the every day live of different people in exile, wich includes stuff like drug addiction, problems with passports, and political activism.

 No.1343

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File: 1731328347689-1.jpg (128.7 KB, 500x750, filename2.jpg)

I have only read novels or math/physics textbooks up until now, but I recently gained an interest in analytic philosophy because of its relation to formal logic and math foundations and thus I've started reading wittgenstein (I'm already familiar with Russel and Frege's works from my study of logic) It seems wittgenstein only focuses on natural language here however I've only just began.

I've also started re-reading the re:zero novels because of its recent anime release.

 No.1351

File: 1732415257303-0.jpg (38.38 KB, 600x315, Sufism and Deconstruction ….jpg)

File: 1732415257303-1.jpg (329.47 KB, 1500x850, red_chamber_banner-1500x85….jpg)

Recently re-read this. Almond tries to draw parallels between Sufism and 'post-modern' philosophy. The problem with books like this that have the opposite of their intended effect. If Zen Buddhism or Taoism are basically just like Deleuzian philosophy (or whatever's the fad), then people will just skip over Zhuangzhi or Kukai and read Deleuze. The pain for "Eastern philosophy" is that to be taken seriously we have to show how its simmilar to what people are currently thinking, but if we do that then philosophers just treat it as not worth reading because Derrida or Deleuze or whoever are saying the same thing anyway.

I also started Dream of a Red Bed Chamber because I need a break from mind numbing otaku trash.

>>1343
I'm not a fan of the analytic approach to philosophy but I love the later Wittgenstein. I hope to read Ayer and Quine at somepoint and get familiar with formal logic. Philosophical Investigations is great.

 No.1352

File: 1732463035880.png (201.37 KB, 417x336, thicc.PNG)

I'm reading Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson by G. I. Gurdjieff
Its a tale used as a vessel for Gurdjieff's teachings, but the esoteric part gets shamelessly incomprehensible without reading the rest of the trilogy first.

 No.1353

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File: 1732463529846-1.jpg (15.84 KB, 400x619, Character.jpg)

File: 1732463529846-2.jpg (411.21 KB, 1650x2475, BeyondBlame.jpg)

I want to change up how I think and act toward people. I guess I've always been like self-help stuff…

 No.1354

>>1343
You should also read the work of Martin Löf

 No.1355

>>1353
o kama sona pona!



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