What are you currently reading?

[avatar! | 1,855]

13 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Blah.  Nonstop, boring proselytizing, theorizing, moralizing.  Now I know why I gave up on it as a kid.

It's interesting just how influential the book is, but like you, I could not get into it. Admittedly when the book came out there really wasn't anything like it, and so today we're more likely to think "power suits? mechs? that's not new!" but of course Heinlein basically is the father of mechs. and back then it was new. Still, the book with it's plusses and minuses just bored me. Probably does not help that I strongly disagree with much of Heinlein's militaristic philosophy. Well, I slowly did get through it, but I would never read it again. Stranger in a Strange Land is so much better.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend reading The Forever War -- it's basically Joe Haldeman's response to Heinlein. Interestingly enough both Haldeman and Heinlein were in the military, and both have very different viewpoints. I tend to agree with Haldeman, and arguably even more importantly, The Forever War is just a wonderful read -- it's in my opinion what Starship Troopers should have been

[Reed Rothchild | 9,681]

I love The Forever War.  Probably in my top 25.

[avatar! | 1,855]

25 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I love The Forever War.  Probably in my top 25.

One of my favorites too!

Okay, what are your top 25?

[Reed Rothchild | 9,681]

31 minutes ago, avatar! said:

One of my favorites too!

Okay, what are your top 25?

I'd have to think about.  If I say The Shining and The Stand I'm going by stuff 25+ years ago 

[avatar! | 1,855]

2 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'd have to think about.  If I say The Shining and The Stand I'm going by stuff 25+ years ago 

Fair, I know our changes and sensibilities definitely change. Still, feel free to list what in your mind are your favorites, even if you haven't read them in a good while

[Reed Rothchild | 9,681]

21 minutes ago, avatar! said:

Fair, I know our changes and sensibilities definitely change. Still, feel free to list what in your mind are your favorites, even if you haven't read them in a good while

Just taking a swag attempt off the top of my head

• Slaughterhouse Five
• Catch 22
• Animal Farm
• 1984
• A Bridge to Terabithia
• The Witches
• The Wind in the Willows
• The Lord of the Flies
• Of Mice and Men
• The Shining
• Misery
• The Stand
• The Silence of the Lambs
• Let the Right One In
• A Song of Ice and Fire
• The Lord of the Rings
• Mistborn
• Hyperion
• The Terror (reading now, but serious candidate)
• Snow Crash
• The Forever War
• The Wasp Factory
• The Books of Blood
• American Psycho
• Masters of Doom

All well known stuff, but it's my true list

[Tabonga | 2,390]

25 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'd have to think about.  If I say The Shining and The Stand I'm going by stuff 25+ years ago 

  if you haven't read it you might want to give this a go - similar in some ways to The Stand it puts a much different  (and darker) spin on things.

 

0

Edited March 25 by Tabonga

[avatar! | 1,855]

2 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Just taking a swag attempt off the top of my head

• Slaughterhouse Five
• Catch 22
• Animal Farm
• 1984
• A Bridge to Terabithia
• The Witches
• The Wind in the Willows
• The Lord of the Flies
• Of Mice and Men
• The Shining
• Misery
• The Stand
• The Silence of the Lambs
• Let the Right One In
• A Song of Ice and Fire
• The Lord of the Rings
• Mistborn
• Hyperion
• The Terror (reading now, but serious candidate)
• Snow Crash
• The Forever War
• The Wasp Factory
• The Books of Blood
• American Psycho
• Masters of Doom

All well known stuff, but it's my true list

Have you read The Night Circus? I just started it, so far so good. We'll see what I think the farther in I get

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Circus

[Reed Rothchild | 9,681]

I will add both to the list

[Tabonga | 2,390]

 

I just finished "Ellie Jordan - Ghost Trapper" - the first in a series about a small group that deals with spirits in haunted houses.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500977004?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tpbk_0&storeType=ebooks 

A quick and fast paced read - 230 pages or so.

[T-Pac | 7,688]

Finished reading Stories by O. Henry, a collection of the author’s short works written between 1900 and 1910.

Spoiler

O. Henry’s fiction is defined by its twist-endings, which to my knowledge are often panned by literary critics for being “low-brow”. But I think dismissing the medium of short stories and the trope of twist endings discredits their value as fun, casual entertainment. And even still - that takes nothing away from the powerful themes and often very moving plotlines that O. Henry crafts. For example - “The Gift of the Magi” wouldn't be half as successful if it weren’t for its format. The brevity of these works and the punch of their climaxes only serve to distill O. Henry’s messages into exceedingly approachable packages. 

And I think a key to the approachability of his stories is a mastery of archetypes. O. Henry instantly transports you to a defined place and time, surrounded by people you know, thanks to his reliance on stock characterization. Yet he still expertly develops those characters into their own personalities once he’s eased the reader into the comfort of a base familiarity. One of my favorite stories introduces a wild-west ruffian who scoffs at his old partner-in-crime for going soft after getting married and settling down, but O. Henry toys with our expectations of such an archetype by ultimately reversing the two principal characters’ roles. Another story even manages to imbue and develop familiar personalities to dollar bills as the plot evolves from their perspective.

Anticipating the climactic twist at the end of each story could easily spoil the surprises in theory, but O. Henry always leads toward a satisfyingly appropriate conclusion without betraying so much information along the way as to make the ending predictable. There’s such a range between tragedy and comedy that you never know if these characters will come-out for the better or the worse when all is said and done. I’d certainly say that I came out for the better by picking up this book, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend some O. Henry shorts to anyone looking for some light, fun reading.

[T-Pac]
 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,681]

Just finished D-Day by Stephen Ambrose, 25 years after adding it to the booklog.

Funnily enough, I read Citizen Soldiers long ago, I got to Band of Brothers 10 years, and just now did D-Day.

So I did the Overlord/Easy Company stories in reverse order, in a sense.  Whatever works I guess.

[Daniel_Doyce | 478]

4 hours ago, T-Pac said:

Finished reading Stories by O. Henry, a collection of the author’s short works written between 1900 and 1910.

  Hide contents

O. Henry’s fiction is defined by its twist-endings, which to my knowledge are often panned by literary critics for being “low-brow”. But I think dismissing the medium of short stories and the trope of twist endings discredits their value as fun, casual entertainment. And even still - that takes nothing away from the powerful themes and often very moving plotlines that O. Henry crafts. For example - “The Gift of the Magi” wouldn't be half as successful if it weren’t for its format. The brevity of these works and the punch of their climaxes only serve to distill O. Henry’s messages into exceedingly approachable packages. 

And I think a key to the approachability of his stories is a mastery of archetypes. O. Henry instantly transports you to a defined place and time, surrounded by people you know, thanks to his reliance on stock characterization. Yet he still expertly develops those characters into their own personalities once he’s eased the reader into the comfort of a base familiarity. One of my favorite stories introduces a wild-west ruffian who scoffs at his old partner-in-crime for going soft after getting married and settling down, but O. Henry toys with our expectations of such an archetype by ultimately reversing the two principal characters’ roles. Another story even manages to imbue and develop familiar personalities to dollar bills as the plot evolves from their perspective.

Anticipating the climactic twist at the end of each story could easily spoil the surprises in theory, but O. Henry always leads toward a satisfyingly appropriate conclusion without betraying so much information along the way as to make the ending predictable. There’s such a range between tragedy and comedy that you never know if these characters will come-out for the better or the worse when all is said and done. I’d certainly say that I came out for the better by picking up this book, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend some O. Henry shorts to anyone looking for some light, fun reading.

 

He had a very specific niche, but did it spectacularly. Although I admit I once bought a compilation of his complete works, and stopped about halfway through since it was getting a bit tedious.

I did walk by the drugstore he owned or just worked at (forgot which exactly) for about 6 years of my professional career, whenever I'd go to lunch on the main drag in his hometown. There was a place that served massive fried burritos and I'd get double steak with a huge side of rice and beans that would absolutely destroy my GI tract for the rest of the afternoon.

Edited April 30 by Daniel_Doyce
quotin'

[T-Pac | 7,688]

On 4/30/2024 at 12:04 PM, Daniel_Doyce said:

He had a very specific niche, but did it spectacularly. Although I admit I once bought a compilation of his complete works, and stopped about halfway through since it was getting a bit tedious.

Yeah - I probably would've lost steam on his short stories, too, if I hadn't been reading them bit-by-bit on my lunch-breaks at work. I think that was the ideal way to enjoy them without burning-out.

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,688]

Finished reading Le Morte D’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory and William Caxton’s late-1400s compilation and translation of various earlier French texts chronicling the adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Spoiler

Given that the story is sourced from different accounts, it’s interesting to note the tonal shifts that take place from section to section. There’s almost a biblical quality to a large portion of it, where the intent of the narrative leans more heavily into a dry documentation of events rather than trying to communicate dramatically as you’d expect from a fantasy-heavy epic. The segmentation is also apparent in the variety of “olde English” phrases used throughout the book. I had to rewire my brain to parse some fun but obtuse archaic prose every time I sat down to read - but it was worth the effort over the course of 900+ pages covering the entire lifespan of Arthur, Launcelot, Galahad, and all sorts of legendary knights.

The many disparate adventures contained here don’t exactly paint a cohesive, flowing narrative like The Once and Future King - but what Le Morte D’Arthur lacks in engaging literary convention, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. You get everything from Merlin and the sword in the stone, to Morgan Le Fey’s curses, to the search for the Holy Grail, to the exploits of Sir Tristram outside of England, and everything in-between. But even still, there’s a consistent underpinning of power dynamics and shifting alliances throughout the whole book, almost like a medieval version of Dragon Ball Z where the narrative mainly concerns itself with who the strongest knights are and how they compare to each other. Consequently, my favorite part of these chronicles was the quest for the Sangreal, where that dynamic actually shifts to focus on who the holiest knights were, and how they strove for a seemingly unachievable level of purity in order to see God Himself.

It was a seriously fascinating read, and considering how much I love medieval fantasy in the first place - I’m glad I dedicated the time to finishing such a thorough rendition of the legendary Knights of the Round Table.

[T-Pac]
 

[avatar! | 1,855]

6 hours ago, T-Pac said:

Finished reading Le Morte D’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory and William Caxton’s late-1400s compilation and translation of various earlier French texts chronicling the adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

  Hide contents

Given that the story is sourced from different accounts, it’s interesting to note the tonal shifts that take place from section to section. There’s almost a biblical quality to a large portion of it, where the intent of the narrative leans more heavily into a dry documentation of events rather than trying to communicate dramatically as you’d expect from a fantasy-heavy epic. The segmentation is also apparent in the variety of “olde English” phrases used throughout the book. I had to rewire my brain to parse some fun but obtuse archaic prose every time I sat down to read - but it was worth the effort over the course of 900+ pages covering the entire lifespan of Arthur, Launcelot, Galahad, and all sorts of legendary knights.

The many disparate adventures contained here don’t exactly paint a cohesive, flowing narrative like The Once and Future King - but what Le Morte D’Arthur lacks in engaging literary convention, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. You get everything from Merlin and the sword in the stone, to Morgan Le Fey’s curses, to the search for the Holy Grail, to the exploits of Sir Tristram outside of England, and everything in-between. But even still, there’s a consistent underpinning of power dynamics and shifting alliances throughout the whole book, almost like a medieval version of Dragon Ball Z where the narrative mainly concerns itself with who the strongest knights are and how they compare to each other. Consequently, my favorite part of these chronicles was the quest for the Sangreal, where that dynamic actually shifts to focus on who the holiest knights were, and how they strove for a seemingly unachievable level of purity in order to see God Himself.

It was a seriously fascinating read, and considering how much I love medieval fantasy in the first place - I’m glad I dedicated the time to finishing such a thorough rendition of the legendary Knights of the Round Table.

[T-Pac]
 

T-Pac, I wish we could just get together at a nice coffee shop and sit down and talk about books and video games! Have you read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? If you enjoyed Morte D'Arthur you will absolutely enjoy Green Knight, perhaps even more. The other work that I consider canonical for that period and genre is Spencer's The Faerie Queene. Faerie Queene definitely is a long and very symbolic work that will likely require a lot of notes to fully understand the meaning behind it, but again, if you enjoy that kind of classical work it's absolutely worth reading, at least once! My favorite work from Medieval Europe has to be The Canterbury Tales. That said, Faerie Queene was published in 1590, so it is in most ways easier to read than Canterbury Tales, especially if you're aiming to read it in Middle English -- and more power to you if you do

[Code Monkey | 2,036]

I just finished reading this, it was good.

 

[T-Pac | 7,688]

16 hours ago, avatar! said:

T-Pac, I wish we could just get together at a nice coffee shop and sit down and talk about books and video games! Have you read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? If you enjoyed Morte D'Arthur you will absolutely enjoy Green Knight, perhaps even more. The other work that I consider canonical for that period and genre is Spencer's The Faerie Queene. Faerie Queene definitely is a long and very symbolic work that will likely require a lot of notes to fully understand the meaning behind it, but again, if you enjoy that kind of classical work it's absolutely worth reading, at least once! My favorite work from Medieval Europe has to be The Canterbury Tales. That said, Faerie Queene was published in 1590, so it is in most ways easier to read than Canterbury Tales, especially if you're aiming to read it in Middle English -- and more power to you if you do

Likewise!

And thanks for the recommendations - I've been meaning to read Canterbury Tales, and those other two sound like excellent suggestions in the same vein as well. Time to see if my library has any of 'em!

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,688]

Finished Reading The Beauty of Everyday Things by Soetsu Yanagi.

Spoiler

When I picked this book up, I was expecting an interesting discourse on the evolution of functional design in all sorts of unassuming, essential items from microwave ovens to mittens. But instead, I got a series of essays lauding Japanese folk crafts - most notably ceramics, textiles, prints, and sculptures. Soetsu Yanagi is a museum curator with an overwhelming enthusiasm and almost spiritual respect for these handicrafts - almost to the point of disdain towards what would more readily be recognized as individualistic art. He asserts that the magnificence of woodblock prints, tea ceremony utensils, etc., lies in the marriage of utility, craft expertise, and the natural foundations of the work. He places a great emphasis on crafting to the strengths of the medium, so to speak - rather than defiantly forcing a standard of perfection that fights the natural process.
I respect Yanagi’s sentiments and admire his reverence for handicrafts, yet I can’t help but disagree with a lot of his philosophies on art, if only because his reflections border on an off-putting pretentiousness stemming from the blanket objectivity in many of his statements. 
But there are two ideas here that I definitely fall in-line with. First, Yanagi is ardent in the claim that analytical valuation of art is useless without an instinctual appreciation taking precedence. And second, he lauds patterns as a supremely appealing functional and decorative asset to handicrafts. This is because, as Yanagi views it, we perceive nature in patterns - so a good pattern reflects the beauty of nature in a way that appeals to our human disposition in viewing the world.
Although I may not share Yanagi’s aesthetic sensibilities as far as handicrafts are concerned, I can definitely learn from his love for underappreciated art and apply it to my own tastes and experiences. I’ve always praised utility, but now I hope to find the beauty in those unassuming objects which bring that utility to fruition. 

[T-Pac]