Jirohnagi
Braava Braava
I feel like i am so proud to see so many people reading books that aren't twilight ^^ Also Silmarillion is awesome.
Which Book Are You Currently Reading?
- Thread starter Joy
- Start date
Oracle of Truth
Perplexed
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2014
- Location
- Reflecting
Reading The Invisible Man (HG Wells) for my own enjoyment and intend to finish it during my trip. After I can spare some more time and money, I'll get A Memory of Light (Robert Jordan/Sanderson) and finish up The Wheel of Time Series.
I'm an indecisive little *****. I'm reading like, 5 books or something? At least, I've started that man. Not sure which ones I'll ever get back to, but we'll see.
Those are:
Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
Flatland, by Edwin A. Abbot
The Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett
Beware of Pity, by Stefan Zweig
The Blood Cell, by James Goss (some short Doctor Who novel)
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin
Foundation is cool. Since I read the A Song of Ice and Fire series, I've found I really like political intrigue. Generally I'm quite naive about people in real life, and hate the social politics that get between people (because I'm no good at it), so naturally I'd enjoy political intrigue, because it makes me feel like I'm learning something useful about human nature. There's plenty of it in this, when you get over all the sci-fi chatter. I enjoy getting a chapter done every now and then.
The Hogfather and The Blood Cell (Doctor Who) are both more light-hearted books I picked up at different times on impulse; wanting something lighter to make up for some of the heavier content in the other books I was reading at the time.
Beware of Pity is brilliantly written and it really really speaks to me. I loved The Grand Budapest Hotel and when I heard that the movie was based in part on lots of ideas and characters from various works by the author Stefan Zweig, I decided to give him a go. Beware of Pity is very little like The Grand Budapest Hotel, and similar only in the eloquence of it's narration. I still don't feel like I know the story enough yet to sum up the book. I've loved reading it, but it's awfully difficult; I end up getting so emotionally absorbed, and reread passages. Repeating chapters like a favourite song. I have to chew on what I've read for a little while, and sit back after a chapter ends, or a particularly good paragraph. It's a bit full-on, and I can't deal with reading it quickly.
Flatland has a lot of good mathematical intrigue in it. Written by a mathematician and published in 1884, it's about a 2-dimensional square pondering his existence in his 2-dimensional world, before being transported to the 3-dimensional world. By extension it makes a good argument for 4th dimensions, as, from a 2-dimensional creature's perspective, a 3rd dimension doesn't make any sense. Since it's from 1884 as well, it almost doubles as a period drama, since it has a lot of Victorian-period social critique. Kind of surreal to have such an abstract idea for a book being released 130 years ago.
The Left Hand of Darkness is actually a book I've already read, but I felt like rereading it lately because it has so much good gender commentary. It's what you'd call feminist science fiction I guess, and it's pretty great. The first time I read through it, it was a bit of a drag. I wasn't really into it, since a lot of it was slow paced, or philosophically heavy. I loved the ideas, but there were so many of them. I feel like it'd benefit from a second read; going in with an understanding of the material in advance so I already understand the ideas. It can just reaffirm that understanding a little. I have quite a vibrant image of the world in my head as well, and I feel like I want to develop that a little more.
Those are:
Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
Flatland, by Edwin A. Abbot
The Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett
Beware of Pity, by Stefan Zweig
The Blood Cell, by James Goss (some short Doctor Who novel)
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin
Foundation is cool. Since I read the A Song of Ice and Fire series, I've found I really like political intrigue. Generally I'm quite naive about people in real life, and hate the social politics that get between people (because I'm no good at it), so naturally I'd enjoy political intrigue, because it makes me feel like I'm learning something useful about human nature. There's plenty of it in this, when you get over all the sci-fi chatter. I enjoy getting a chapter done every now and then.
The Hogfather and The Blood Cell (Doctor Who) are both more light-hearted books I picked up at different times on impulse; wanting something lighter to make up for some of the heavier content in the other books I was reading at the time.
Beware of Pity is brilliantly written and it really really speaks to me. I loved The Grand Budapest Hotel and when I heard that the movie was based in part on lots of ideas and characters from various works by the author Stefan Zweig, I decided to give him a go. Beware of Pity is very little like The Grand Budapest Hotel, and similar only in the eloquence of it's narration. I still don't feel like I know the story enough yet to sum up the book. I've loved reading it, but it's awfully difficult; I end up getting so emotionally absorbed, and reread passages. Repeating chapters like a favourite song. I have to chew on what I've read for a little while, and sit back after a chapter ends, or a particularly good paragraph. It's a bit full-on, and I can't deal with reading it quickly.
Flatland has a lot of good mathematical intrigue in it. Written by a mathematician and published in 1884, it's about a 2-dimensional square pondering his existence in his 2-dimensional world, before being transported to the 3-dimensional world. By extension it makes a good argument for 4th dimensions, as, from a 2-dimensional creature's perspective, a 3rd dimension doesn't make any sense. Since it's from 1884 as well, it almost doubles as a period drama, since it has a lot of Victorian-period social critique. Kind of surreal to have such an abstract idea for a book being released 130 years ago.
The Left Hand of Darkness is actually a book I've already read, but I felt like rereading it lately because it has so much good gender commentary. It's what you'd call feminist science fiction I guess, and it's pretty great. The first time I read through it, it was a bit of a drag. I wasn't really into it, since a lot of it was slow paced, or philosophically heavy. I loved the ideas, but there were so many of them. I feel like it'd benefit from a second read; going in with an understanding of the material in advance so I already understand the ideas. It can just reaffirm that understanding a little. I have quite a vibrant image of the world in my head as well, and I feel like I want to develop that a little more.
I'm halfway through Time Dancers, the second book of The Meq trilogy.
Then it's on to Mirror Sight, the latest book in the Green Rider series. Swooooooon.
Then it's on to Mirror Sight, the latest book in the Green Rider series. Swooooooon.
Batman
Not all those who wander are lost...
Read "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English" by John McWhorter yesterday and it was absolutely phenomenal. No better book out there when it comes to the history of English grammar.
Right now I'm reading another of McWhorter's books, "The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language". About a hundred pages in and I can't put it down. McWhorter is now officially my favorite linguist.
I highly recommend his work to people interested in language.
Right now I'm reading another of McWhorter's books, "The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language". About a hundred pages in and I can't put it down. McWhorter is now officially my favorite linguist.
I highly recommend his work to people interested in language.
Batman
Not all those who wander are lost...
I am reading two books.
"The Stories of English", by David Crystal and "How Language Works: How Babies Babel, Words Change Meaning, and Languages Live or Die", also by David Crystal.
The former is a scholarly examination of the history of the English language, from its West Germanic Anglo-Frisian roots through Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, to English in the modern day. It covers the history of the standard varieties and nonstandard dialects equally, and emphasizes the ridiculousness behind pedantic prescriptivism and false notions of why prestige languages are prestigious. I'm absolutely loving it so far. It's a huge tome of a book, exhaustively researched and overflowing with examples of English as it's been written and spoken throughout its fascinating history. With Crystal being an expert specializing in English historical linguistics, there's really nothing quite like it.
The latter is a general linguistics book covering all the major areas of linguistic science with short essay chapters focusing on particular subfields and important ideas within those subfields. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning about what linguistics has taught us about human language. It's one of the best introductory texts to linguistics I've read. Phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, speech-language pathology, writing systems, you name it - it's in the book.
"The Stories of English", by David Crystal and "How Language Works: How Babies Babel, Words Change Meaning, and Languages Live or Die", also by David Crystal.
The former is a scholarly examination of the history of the English language, from its West Germanic Anglo-Frisian roots through Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, to English in the modern day. It covers the history of the standard varieties and nonstandard dialects equally, and emphasizes the ridiculousness behind pedantic prescriptivism and false notions of why prestige languages are prestigious. I'm absolutely loving it so far. It's a huge tome of a book, exhaustively researched and overflowing with examples of English as it's been written and spoken throughout its fascinating history. With Crystal being an expert specializing in English historical linguistics, there's really nothing quite like it.
The latter is a general linguistics book covering all the major areas of linguistic science with short essay chapters focusing on particular subfields and important ideas within those subfields. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning about what linguistics has taught us about human language. It's one of the best introductory texts to linguistics I've read. Phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, speech-language pathology, writing systems, you name it - it's in the book.
JetstreamSam
Harbinger of Chaos
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2015
Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon (again xD)
I HIGHLY recommend this book! When I say I read a lot, it's an understatement. So when I say this is the best book I've ever read....well its THE BEST. xD A Post-Apocalyptic masterpiece with a few fantasy themes and bible references. ITS. JUST. SOO. GOOD!
I HIGHLY recommend this book! When I say I read a lot, it's an understatement. So when I say this is the best book I've ever read....well its THE BEST. xD A Post-Apocalyptic masterpiece with a few fantasy themes and bible references. ITS. JUST. SOO. GOOD!
TheRockinStallion
If I'm not back in 15 minutes, just wait longer!
Being a brony, I'm going to try to start reading the 3rd book in the Daring Do box set soon.
selicyc
i never knew daylight could be so violent.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2012
- Location
- somewhere, I suppose.
- Gender
- a mystery inside of an enigma wrapped in a soft fuzzy blanket of I don't even know what
I've been juggling several books.
I just finished reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett. The tagline accurately describes the content of the book: the apocalypse has never been funnier. I've picked up another book by Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and I'd like to start reading it this weekend. I'm also wanting to picking up a few books by Terry Prachett too, though I have no idea where to begin. Any suggestions?
In the non-fiction section, I've been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. His humour is sharp-witted and insightful, though I've been reading it in small sections because his writing comes off as aggressive. (That, and I'm trying to take in as much knowledge as I can). A good friend of mine made a suggestion to read another book of his, The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution. I'm liking what I see so far and I'm planning to buying a copy of it soon.
I've also been reading The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort. Sadly, his vocabulary is rather limited; in particular, the phrase "luscious, loamy loins" seems to be a favourite of his and will pop up in the narrative frequently. On top of that, whenever he does something bad, it wasn't his fault. But when he does something "good," he proclaims himself as a genius. It's enough to make the reader stop and say, "Okay, I get it!"
Outside of this, it's completely unapologetic -- the memoir tells of his days as a degenerate power broker, coupled with wild tales of drug use and levels of debauchery so unreal that even I couldn't imagine such a thing. The more I read about him and his merry band back in their "glory days," the more appalled and unsympathetic I become. Even then, I can't put it down because I want to see just how far down the rabbit hole this guy fell.
I just finished reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett. The tagline accurately describes the content of the book: the apocalypse has never been funnier. I've picked up another book by Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and I'd like to start reading it this weekend. I'm also wanting to picking up a few books by Terry Prachett too, though I have no idea where to begin. Any suggestions?
In the non-fiction section, I've been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. His humour is sharp-witted and insightful, though I've been reading it in small sections because his writing comes off as aggressive. (That, and I'm trying to take in as much knowledge as I can). A good friend of mine made a suggestion to read another book of his, The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution. I'm liking what I see so far and I'm planning to buying a copy of it soon.
I've also been reading The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort. Sadly, his vocabulary is rather limited; in particular, the phrase "luscious, loamy loins" seems to be a favourite of his and will pop up in the narrative frequently. On top of that, whenever he does something bad, it wasn't his fault. But when he does something "good," he proclaims himself as a genius. It's enough to make the reader stop and say, "Okay, I get it!"
Outside of this, it's completely unapologetic -- the memoir tells of his days as a degenerate power broker, coupled with wild tales of drug use and levels of debauchery so unreal that even I couldn't imagine such a thing. The more I read about him and his merry band back in their "glory days," the more appalled and unsympathetic I become. Even then, I can't put it down because I want to see just how far down the rabbit hole this guy fell.
Ominethious
Aku
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2015
- Gender
- An Attack Roflcopter
The Leviathan series.
I recommend it to any of you WW1 history junkies out there.
Its basically an alternate universe of ww1 where there is steam punk machines, and creepy Darwinian evolutionists with either massive bears, or a flying whale as a zepplin. ^^
I recommend it to any of you WW1 history junkies out there.
Its basically an alternate universe of ww1 where there is steam punk machines, and creepy Darwinian evolutionists with either massive bears, or a flying whale as a zepplin. ^^
Fraxinus
chunky plant goop
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
I got it yesterday and I'm already halfway done with it. All I've done today has been reading and sleeping. uwu
I got it yesterday and I'm already halfway done with it. All I've done today has been reading and sleeping. uwu
