I love Infinite Jest's refusal to have a real ending, it's perfect for it
I mean, deeply frustrating, sure, but anything else would be cowardice
That and you can just imagine at some point he sat there and said "how do I end this?/my editor is about to actually shit on my desk, best wrap it up" and here we are. There was probably no ending really possible for all those threads anyway, which is also part of the point. Anyway, gonna go huff my own farts for a bit.
I wouldn't say either bummed out or accomplished. Sated, perhaps. I'm not usually in a hurry to get to something new, after. There's also often a sense of something missing; though it's not really emotionally charged.
As a matter of perception (not analytical thought or actual observation), there's a sense with stand-alone novels that,
a) by the time the setting is fully established, the story is over; and
b) they're prone to being formulaic
while I perceive a series to
a) have the space to establish the setting and then let the characters live in it for a while; and
b) not be bound to a formula
I definitely agree that staying in the world of the story is a positive.
I do read stand-alone novels, but I suspect they're less common.
And, to be clear on the point, these are abstract preconceptions: when I hear of "a new book" or "a new series", these make up part of my mental calculus on whether I'll give it a try or not.
I was discussing this with a friend of mine recently, and it turns out he and I feel very differently about finishing books. When I finish a book I generally feel some sort of accomplished (exactly how accomplished might depend on the book), frequently with an excitement to get to something new and fresh. Whereas when he finishes a book, he said that he tends to feel a bit bummed out, because the thing that he's been enjoying is done now.
And interestingly, I think this reflects pretty strongly in our reading habits. I tend to prefer my books shorter if possible, and I avoid reading things that come in series, because that's just setting myself up for obligation. I also take a lot of pleasure from reading old/difficult/"canon" books, which I think is at least partially related. Meanwhile, my friend prefers to read big giant doorstoppers and long running series, because they let him stay in the world of his books longer and forestall some of those bummer feelings.
I don't really know if these things are cause or effect, and I imagine it's a bit of both, but I thought it was a neat pattern regardless and I wanted to know if it held true for other people as well.
Hmm. I finished. What's next. I Must feed. Give the words to consume.
...Then i re-read it, usually. And re-read it again. (Assuming i really likeed it/it wasnt too heavy. It's usually easier for me to list the books i havent re-read than the pile i have)
But also, these days i'm quite happy to start trying something and if it doesn't hook me or whatever, i'll drop it. I'll also hunt down spoilers if i can to get a feel for things, and see if it's someting that i think i'll enjoy or not.
I wouldn't say either bummed out or accomplished. Sated, perhaps. I'm not usually in a hurry to get to something new, after. There's also often a sense of something missing; though it's not really emotionally charged.
As a matter of perception (not analytical thought or actual observation), there's a sense with stand-alone novels that,
a) by the time the setting is fully established, the story is over; and
b) they're prone to being formulaic
while I perceive a series to
a) have the space to establish the setting and then let the characters live in it for a while; and
b) not be bound to a formula
I definitely agree that staying in the world of the story is a positive.
I do read stand-alone novels, but I suspect they're less common.
And, to be clear on the point, these are abstract preconceptions: when I hear of "a new book" or "a new series", these make up part of my mental calculus on whether I'll give it a try or not.
Huh, this is damn near the opposite way I feel about stand alone versus series. I generally find series incredibly formulaic, and think that they often get too tied up in setting versus actually having people that feel alive. Whereas standalones feel much more tenuous and prone to sudden twists from formula, much quicker at establishing setting because you can't just spend the first book doing it, et cetera.
How I feel about finishing a book very much depends on the book. A lot of times I feel a sense of completion and catharsis. But there are also a number of times when I've felt sad at saying goodbye to the characters. Becky Chambers's books are like that for me. I think the difference probably comes down to whether I'm more invested in where the plot is going or how the characters are growing? I haven't really examined that before.
Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
Oh shit! My next two Pratchett books arrived from the UK! They are the best packaged books I've ever received. They were both wrapped in waxed brown paper, then bubble wrap, then placed in the shipping box with additional cardboard to keep them from shifting and more paper. Then, because they are from the official Discworld Emporium, the box has Ankh-Morpork markings and stamps.
Oh shit! My next two Pratchett books arrived from the UK! They are the best packaged books I've ever received. They were both wrapped in waxed brown paper, then bubble wrap, then placed in the shipping box with additional cardboard to keep them from shifting and more paper. Then, because they are from the official Discworld Emporium, the box has Ankh-Morpork markings and stamps.
Here is a picture of the box. It might be big.
that is so radical
kinda wanna get some books just for the stamps.
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
William de Worde is another good one like that. In his own book he's a relatable protagonist and easy to root for, but when he shows up in anyone else's book they all think he's a pompous ass. And his character doesn't change, you just don't get his internal POV and justifications and life history, just how he presents himself to people who don't know him very well.
FINALLY finished the Inheritance trilogy
turns out I stopped a lot closer to the end than I thought I did, because the omnibus included a novella at the back, which I'm not sure I'll bother reading. Overall I'm just glad it wasn't the first Jemisin I read, because if I'd started with this trilogy I probably wouldn't have tried The Broken Earth.
Now I've got some afrofuturism to dive into, plus I finally found where I'd been keeping my book wishlist and also read a bunch of reviews, which lengthened it considerably. I probably should make a concerted effort to read the books I actually have first, though.
I'm wondering if I should maybe post this in the job/librarian thread, but here goes:
Anyone know of a book (preferably in Kindle format, I'll be honest) about Tarot and Tarot decks that's about the history of it and such and not about how to do readings?
David_T, I stumbled on this post in searching for history books, but
The Robert Place book you linked in your next post is good, but Stuart Kaplan's four-volume Encyclopedia of Tarot is supposed to be excellent (I only have the first, but luckily, 5 bucks nets you a kindle copy, too.) Unfortunately, he died earlier this year, but I'm hoping the other volumes get digitized or a reprint; he basically popularized the 70s revival of tarot in the States by importing and then publishing decks, and the fourth volume showed an extensive variety thereof.
No. I looked for one pretty hard last time this came up, and was defeated. So much of the...I don't want to say "marketing" because I know some pretty genuine people who use it as a spiritual practice, so I guess "identity" of tarot is wrapped up in ancient wisdom, and it's a pretty old practice all by itself. So the search parameters are poisoned all the hell no matter how I hashed 'em.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has better luck this time around, because I'd really like to read one.
Status Update on The Tyranny of the Night
- made it a bit further than last time; or at least things have stopped feeling as familiar
- proper nouns seem less invented and more swapped out: Patriarch from Pope; Brothen for Italian; Chaldarean for Christian; and similar. I find this approach mildly frustrating.
- I rarely use the maps so commonly included with fantasy stories (I liked the ones in Baru Cormorant), but the absence here is keenly felt.
Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
edited July 2021
I just finished The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe. It is a YA book about Nora, her ex boyfriend, and her current girlfriend, who are swept up in a bank robbery and Nora must use the skills she was taught in her childhood by her abusive mother who forced her to be a part of the mother's cons. That might sound dumb, but the book is very brutal and honest about the suffering and survival of abuse in different forms. It kinda has a little bit of Leverage/Burn Notice vibe to it as well. It is written as a complete story but there are some hooks for more, which I'd like as I want to see more of Nora just fuck bad dudes up.
Hello Gideon/Harrow thread, I recently finished the newest Star Wars book, The Rising Storm. I thought it was alright, but not as good as the previous book. I felt like it had a Two Towers problem where the first 1/3 or so was just trying to get all the main characters in one place so it was a little bit of a jerky start but the action was really good I thought.
In between reading the first book in this series earlier this year I also read a couple Star Wars Tales books - Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales of the Bounty Hunters. I like those weird old stories where every character on screen has to have a detailed backstory so some of them go some places (Greedo especially) since there's like 40 background characters to flesh out.
I'm really behind, but because of this thread I picked up Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace. But because of the order they're displayed in on my Kindle I ended up 4 chapters into Desolation before I realised that it wasn't just pulling a "Gardens of the Moon" and dropping me into a world without any backstory / prelude. So I guess I'll be reading those 4 chapters again once I finish the first book and have some context
I was really enjoying them -- just had a weird feeling I was missing something
The one about the fucking space hairdresser and the cowboy. He's got a tinfoil pal and a pedal bin
Dont worry that feeling will come back pretty quickly, although in a slightly different way!
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
I just finished The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass. It is about a gay black teen at an all white school. Also he's a spirit medium who sees dead people and it currently being haunted by the currently murderous spirit of a high school mass shooter. The best comparison I can make is a CW version of The Frighteners, but more serious than CW would be.
It was entertaining. Should be able to sell it to students.
Q: Thank you for the AMA! How did your experience in the diplomatic services influence your writing?
A: It made me incredibly impatient with gasbagging old men who like to hoard power for decades, who want only to be lauded for their achievements in times past, who are happy to let a country fall apart for the sake of their own gigantic egos. A few characters like that definitely made it into the book. I'm a spite-powered writer, so I enjoyed serving them their comeuppance in fictional form.
I’m about 1/5 of the way through the book, and it’s pretty good y’all.
Civics is not a consumer product that you can ignore because you don’t like the options presented.
+15
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
Q: Thank you for the AMA! How did your experience in the diplomatic services influence your writing?
A: It made me incredibly impatient with gasbagging old men who like to hoard power for decades, who want only to be lauded for their achievements in times past, who are happy to let a country fall apart for the sake of their own gigantic egos. A few characters like that definitely made it into the book. I'm a spite-powered writer, so I enjoyed serving them their comeuppance in fictional form.
I’m about 1/5 of the way through the book, and it’s pretty good y’all.
Welp. I found the one response that will make me immediately add an author's book to my reading list.
Posts
That and you can just imagine at some point he sat there and said "how do I end this?/my editor is about to actually shit on my desk, best wrap it up" and here we are. There was probably no ending really possible for all those threads anyway, which is also part of the point. Anyway, gonna go huff my own farts for a bit.
As a matter of perception (not analytical thought or actual observation), there's a sense with stand-alone novels that,
a) by the time the setting is fully established, the story is over; and
b) they're prone to being formulaic
while I perceive a series to
a) have the space to establish the setting and then let the characters live in it for a while; and
b) not be bound to a formula
I definitely agree that staying in the world of the story is a positive.
I do read stand-alone novels, but I suspect they're less common.
And, to be clear on the point, these are abstract preconceptions: when I hear of "a new book" or "a new series", these make up part of my mental calculus on whether I'll give it a try or not.
Hmm. I finished. What's next. I Must feed. Give the words to consume.
...Then i re-read it, usually. And re-read it again. (Assuming i really likeed it/it wasnt too heavy. It's usually easier for me to list the books i havent re-read than the pile i have)
But also, these days i'm quite happy to start trying something and if it doesn't hook me or whatever, i'll drop it. I'll also hunt down spoilers if i can to get a feel for things, and see if it's someting that i think i'll enjoy or not.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
Switch: 0293 6817 9891
Huh, this is damn near the opposite way I feel about stand alone versus series. I generally find series incredibly formulaic, and think that they often get too tied up in setting versus actually having people that feel alive. Whereas standalones feel much more tenuous and prone to sudden twists from formula, much quicker at establishing setting because you can't just spend the first book doing it, et cetera.
wish list
Steam wishlist
Etsy wishlist
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Here is a picture of the box. It might be big.
me, checking the cost: oh it's £190 to ship the whole collection. I understand the getting them a few at a time plan.
that is so radical
kinda wanna get some books just for the stamps.
Whenever I finish the City Watch I might just buy the whole run of whichever arc I start next.
I just ordered the last two, Thud! and Snuff. Get those two processing through the Royal Mail.
he left them all behind when he moved to ireland
I do love all the non wizard books, because absolutely everyone hates the wizards and wants nothing to do with their shit
Steam // Secret Satan
Steam // Secret Satan
turns out I stopped a lot closer to the end than I thought I did, because the omnibus included a novella at the back, which I'm not sure I'll bother reading. Overall I'm just glad it wasn't the first Jemisin I read, because if I'd started with this trilogy I probably wouldn't have tried The Broken Earth.
Now I've got some afrofuturism to dive into, plus I finally found where I'd been keeping my book wishlist and also read a bunch of reviews, which lengthened it considerably. I probably should make a concerted effort to read the books I actually have first, though.
Oh, something went somewhere.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
The Robert Place book you linked in your next post is good, but Stuart Kaplan's four-volume Encyclopedia of Tarot is supposed to be excellent (I only have the first, but luckily, 5 bucks nets you a kindle copy, too.) Unfortunately, he died earlier this year, but I'm hoping the other volumes get digitized or a reprint; he basically popularized the 70s revival of tarot in the States by importing and then publishing decks, and the fourth volume showed an extensive variety thereof.
- made it a bit further than last time; or at least things have stopped feeling as familiar
- proper nouns seem less invented and more swapped out: Patriarch from Pope; Brothen for Italian; Chaldarean for Christian; and similar. I find this approach mildly frustrating.
- I rarely use the maps so commonly included with fantasy stories (I liked the ones in Baru Cormorant), but the absence here is keenly felt.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Harrow truly shows us the weakness of a belief system that doesn't
In between reading the first book in this series earlier this year I also read a couple Star Wars Tales books - Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales of the Bounty Hunters. I like those weird old stories where every character on screen has to have a detailed backstory so some of them go some places (Greedo especially) since there's like 40 background characters to flesh out.
it certainly is that
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
I was never really into Star Wars as a kid, and definitely never read any of the books so I'm trying to catch up and enjoying them a lot
But I did find a first edition copy of Contact which has been pretty dope.
I was really enjoying them -- just had a weird feeling I was missing something
It was entertaining. Should be able to sell it to students.
Okay. Next, more Pratchett.
Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun, did an AMA on reddit. For context, Parker-Chan previously was a diplomat and who previously worked in international development. And with that context, she gave one of my favourite AMA answers ever:
I’m about 1/5 of the way through the book, and it’s pretty good y’all.
Welp. I found the one response that will make me immediately add an author's book to my reading list.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
If I waited a bit longer I could have extended this to everyone in the book.
No idea where we're going still, but i'm only 1/3 of the way through, so.