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I gotta skip the misogyny/alt-right crap today. So here’s a question for you all: what are you reading?
I’ll start: in addition to reading way too many news stories about Donald Trump, I’ve been reading about meditation. Here are a couple of books I especially like:
Mindfulness in Plain English, by Henepola Gunaratana (An older version is available for free online!)
The Mind Illuminated, by Culadasa (John Yates). Website here.
How about you?
As an added bonus, here are some words of wisdom from my unconscious mind:
"Pickles don't just CAUSE hippies. Pickles ARE hippies." — Someone said this in a dream of mine last night. #PicklesAreHippies #TrumpTail
— David Futrelle (@DavidFutrelle) September 30, 2016
It didn’t make any more sense in the dream than it does in the real world.
And a Pledge Drive capybara reading a goddamn book!
Kylo Ronin:
Sadly, it’s all downhill after The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, his best work. I couldn’t actually finish 1Q84, though I’ll return to it sometime. I’d recommend Sputnik Sweetheart and Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World.
I’m currently reading The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee, a North Korean woman who escaped (in somewhat unusual circumstances). Fascinating and at times heartbreaking, and a different perspective on North Korea (her family weren’t part of the elite, but were in some ways more privileged than many).
Theladyinsomnia:
You will make puppies sad!
@Julia
Welcome! That’s quite the twitter hornet’s nest you’ve stirred up, there.
I’m not a great reader but I’m still trying to get through ASoIaF. I’m midway through book 2 now.
Other than that, I’m reading introductory level social work stuff. Trying to get a career.
Currently “Jesus Interrupted” by Bart Ehrman
Nthing recommendations for The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate. I also just finished Jemison’s Inheritance Trilogy which I also really enjoyed.
Just about to start Europe: A History by Norman Davies and after that I will be starting Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams.
I read a lot of history. I just got done with ‘The Last Days of Hitler’ by Trevor-Roper. Before that was biography of Herman Goering.
@Brony – Oh he knows exactly who Roosh is. Remember the fishing metaphor of trolling: he just tossed his lure in. But it’s a turd with a treble hook, steel leader, and 30 lb. test attached. Doesn’t sound tasty.
I am about five chapters into Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It’s the penultimate book in her Anne of Green Gables series. It’s prompted me to think about the ways in which an author’s life experience affects their work; LMM lost her second son in the first world war and she was very bitter about it. That’s showing up in Rilla and apparently it will also show up in the last book in the series too.
I’m also skimming through Don’t Think of An Elephant! by George Lakoff, which my brother-in-law bought for me and which he has been pushing mightily for me to sit down and read.
I just finished ‘Dead Girl Walking’ by Chris Brookmyre, and just started ‘Destination Unknown’ by Agatha Christie.
Slightly off-topic: I’m actually hella sick today, so I think I’m going to spend today trying to finish my books before they have to go back to their home.
I’m currently listening to The Obelisk Gate on audiobook. I love NK Jemison’s work, though I’ve found I have to listen to her books rather than try to traditionally read them or the (awesome) dense-ness of her prose and world building is too much for me.
I also need to start Once Broken Faith the newest book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, but there’s part of me that’s putting it off because I know if I start it I’m going to want to just plow right through it and then I won’t get anything else in my life done.
I’m alternating between two books at the moment, depending on what mood I’m in.
In the serious acquisition of knowledge corner is Delusions Of Gender by Cordelia Fine. It was the book my book club decided not to read this month (we decided on The Gender Trap by Emily W Kane, but I’ve finished that already). So far, it’s fascinating and anger-inducing by turns.
In the horrible violence but it’s not real corner is A Dance With Dragons by George RR Martin. I read it when it first came out but watching season six made me realise that I had no recollection of 95% of the contents (yes, I know the two aren’t the same material, it’s just what occurred to me while watching).
But I’m loving that some of my established favourites are name-checked above, and also that there are a lot of books mentioned that I’ve not heard of but that sound intriguing.
@Lea: Isn’t it good? Surprisingly touching, too. I believe it’s currently being made into a movie.
@Brian That was my first exposure to Wong. I had no idea what to expect and found it a lot of fun. Think I should read his first two?
@Buttercup
Otter and I went to see the Harry Potter play in London for our 5th wedding anniversary. It was actually pretty amazing. The visuals and illusions on stage were surprisingly awesome.
EDIT: Also, a Snorlax appeared right in the theater before the first act started, and everybody around us caught it. We had no access to data in the UK. Still haven’t encountered a Snorlax again. 🙁
I’m currently reading Justice Hall by Laurie R King, which is part of her Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series. I started reading it because of a recommendation for the first book (The Beekeeper’s Apprentice) that I got on a previous iteration of this thread. 🙂
I’ve been reading Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel, the second book in the Wolf Hall trilogy. Mantel’s idiom is something I love but I can see why some people dislike it.
It’s fascinating being put into the head of one of history’s villains.
@epitome of incomprehensibility:
I loved Glassbead Game. Please let me know what you think it’s about – I’m fascinated to see people’s receptions of it.
You’re absolutely right about the gender issues though. I missed them the first time through, when I was younger and was less aware. It’s interesting how novels seem to change as the reader changes.
“Ignition! An informal history of liquid rocket propellants” which turns out to be startlingly entertaining (and you can get it free as a PDF to boot).
Here’s what I’m reading, even the embarrassing stuff. You’re welcome!
– Get Your House Right: Architectural Details to Use and Avoid: I’m a carpenter, this is work reading. It’s also really really cool.
– The Language of Doors: More work reading. You can read the architectural history of a whole town by looking at its doors.
– Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma: This book is directed toward women, which I am not. However, it’s still been extraordinarily helpful.
– Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica: Both sexy and interesting.
I just finished Meat Market by Laurie Penny night before last. I liked it, but I think I’ll reread it soon since I was trying to get through it* during poor Catbeast’s health crisis and I was scattered.
Last week I finished the revised edition of Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini. This one came out of Husbeast’s mother’s collection (possibly his father’s; it came out of one of the storage units.) Good information on how not to get pressured by hard-selling salespeople by countering their tactics. Of course, in order to do that, you have to learn how and why the tactics work so it’s also a how-to for manipulators. 🙁
I’ve been more interested in nonfiction for the past few years, but I’m ready to venture back into fiction again so I’m going to go back over this thread in order to make a list and click on a few links.
*more like try to take my mind off my anxiety, which nonfiction, for me, isn’t much good at.
In bed with the Georgians, by Mike Rendell, which is about the sexual mores of the Georgians
And, Return of the King, by JRR Tolkien. I haven’t read it in a few years but I finished The Two Towers a few days ago and decided to get on with it.
I recently finished “The Dark Forest” by Cixin Liu, which blew me away, and “Tau Zero” by Poul Anderson which didn’t, but helped me verbalize some of the things I liked and didn’t like in Neal Stephenson’s “Seveneves”. Right now I’m reading “Crystal Phoenix” by Michael Berlyn. I know Michael Berlyn as one of Infocom’s Imps, and I really enjoyed his work there, but so far I’m seriously underwhelmed, and creeped out, by this novel. I’m still going to carry on a bit, hoping that it’s going somewhere brilliant. It does happen.
Just learned from brian upthread that there’s a newer David Wong, which I am totally going to pick up! Love threads like this.
@Pie:
…you can? Where? I’ve been trying to get hold of Ignition! for ages now.
Hey everyone, long time no see. I read the site from every other day but usually on my phone so I never comment, but I figured I had some cool stuff to talk about! So, this past Tuesday was the absolute best. I was watching my favorite streamer* play FF14, and unlike usually, she and her friends all had mics on! I really enjoyed hearing her voice, I could *hear* her smiling. Which is especially nice cause she’s been really depressed and recently took up smoking, but it’s nice to see she had a good day!
That same day, I formed a DnD group with some of my friends and acquaintances from the stream chat, and invited my IRL best friend too. We’re all getting our character sheets done, most of us have finished, and I think the DM is going to go over house rules and stuff later.
Back on topic, I don’t read much but I was reading this book called The Dog Stars a few months back. Haven’t finished it but I liked it pretty well, it’s about a man living in a post-apocalyptic world, but it’s not like Fallout or Mad Max or anything, don’t really know how to describe it. Also haven’t finished it but Watchmen is a good read too, and would wholeheartedly recommend!
I am going to take this opportunity to grit my teeth and allow a little self-promotion.
https://www.wattpad.com/story/80896874-tivadar's-casebook
There. I did and I feel dirty.
@vox
maybe?
John Dies at the End has some issues but is pretty fun still, imo, if you don’t mind main characters that are kind of awful.
This Book is Full of Spiders is SUCH a huge improvement, imo. it’s technically a direct sequel, but I don’t think it would suffer much from not having read JDatE first.