Oh shit there's a new Becky Chambers book I gotta finish one of these other books now
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Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
Just got an email from Amazon saying the release of the novel Axiom's End has been cancelled by the publisher so my kindle pre-order has been cancelled. I have no memory of what that book is, let alone pre-ordering it.
StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
Last night I finished reading Isadora by Amelia Gray, which was absolutely spectacular.
Isadora is about Isadora Duncan, who if you're not familiar, was an influential dancer from the first half of the twentieth century, one of the pioneers of modern dance as an art form. Specifically it is about the year of her life following the tragic death of her two children, who drowned when their runaway car plunged into the Seine in 1913. It is an often heart wrenching book about grief and recovery and artistic expression.
It's also absolutely not something I expected from Amelia Gray. I mean, the subject matter fits quite well, but a historical novel isn't really the sort of thing I've come to expect from her. She's an author I fell in love with for her short stories, specifically her collection Gutshot, in which the stories are very short, surreal, terrifying, and often short on things like named characters. Much of which doesn't seem entirely suited to historical fiction.
And she does the same thing here. The book is comprised out of chapters which are maybe better described as scenes - the whole thing has a theatrical feel to it, which I am certain is intentional. Her staging and dance was based on the idea of natural movement, as opposed to the heavily regimented forms of ballet, and the idea that the beauty a dancer should be expressing is an emotional openness created through the natural (if still heavily rehearsed) movements of life. The scenes in this book reflect that, to an extent, with each one having a title explaining what (and who) it is going to be about, which allows her to both skip directly to the main action of the scene and to play with expectations and anticipation of what is going to happen.
Anyways the point is that it's a good book and you should read it. I had barely any familiarity with Isadora Duncan going into it (I knew she was an influential dancer and I knew about her own tragic death, which is ever so briefly foreshadowed here), and while I certainly know a lot more now, it's a novel more focused on her emotional reality than like, the exact sequence of events that happened in her life.
I'm trying to learn French in bits and pieces so I bought Le Petit Nicolas a beloved and simple childrens book for young children and not idiot adults what don't know basic French like some kinda dumbass.
I totally get why he was considered a legend. His stuff is very inventive. But I'm not really enjoying it. It's fun the first few times we listen to pompous windbags giving rather surreal speaches but it ran out of steam. Although they are short stories so I'm being unfair reading a collection in a row perhaps
I bought the Broken Earth trilogy, largely because I was reading a reprise of the Sad Puppies episode, and it occurred to me that if it vexed people like them then it would probably please people like me.
Also there's a storm coming, and I want something to read while I drink this rum.
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3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
Oh you're in for a treat
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Tynnanseldom correct, never unsureRegistered Userregular
I just bought Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, I look forward to yelling about how many names I recognize from present day politics.
Read all the jacket and interior quotes by mainstream journalists praising it as "the best book about modern politics" and wonder just how much of the current clusterfuck has to do with the attitude by the press that only Hunter S. Thompson was "crazy" enough to write about politics as it really happened.
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Lost Salientblink twiceif you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered Userregular
What books do you all consider the definitive bookshelf staples?
I think for me my list is:
Complete Works of William Shakespeare
A dictionary
A style manual
Secondarily I would add a complete Sherlock Holmes, at least one book of familiar quotations a la Bartlett's and some form of wildlife guide. I guess I used to think of an atlas as a staple too when I was younger but uhh hello internet
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
What books do you all consider the definitive bookshelf staples?
I think for me my list is:
Complete Works of William Shakespeare
A dictionary
A style manual
Secondarily I would add a complete Sherlock Holmes, at least one book of familiar quotations a la Bartlett's and some form of wildlife guide. I guess I used to think of an atlas as a staple too when I was younger but uhh hello internet
A version of Lord of the Rings, (the older, the better) and the Hobbit.
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Raijin QuickfootI'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPAregular
No poetry collection is complete without some Keats
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
Irreplaceable reference volumes, you say?
Maybe skip the Shakespeare if you need to make room.
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Glynn Stewart released the first book in another new sci fi series, and I always really like his sci fi stuff, plus the Audible version is being done by the same guy who did audio for the Quintaglio Ascension series and I think he's pretty good. He does have a bit of a habit of making every sentence feel like it ends on a cliffhanger.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
edited February 2020
I just started reading Sundown Towns by James W. Loewen, author of Lies Your Teacher Told You. A "sundown town" is a town with explicit policies prohibiting non-whites from living there, commonly marked during the early twentieth century by signs at the city limits saying something like "N******, don't let the sun go down on you in White Falls, Illinois."
Residential segregation was actually pretty good right after the Civil War, peaked in the 1870s, and then grew steadily worse right up until the Civil Rights era. Levels of integrated communities didn't actually return to 1870s levels until the 1980s, and progress remains sluggish.
This is the 2018 second edition of the 2006 original, which has been revised and expanded due to all the crowd-sourced evidence the author collected that shows things were even worse than he thought when he first wrote the book. In many midwestern states, the majority of all towns and cities were sundowned by the 1960s. A whole lot of previously official sundown suburbs are still de facto all-white enclaves, and it's never accidental. You can probably come up with the ones in your own metropolitan area without thinking too hard, but there's also a map if you want to get sad today.
Ninth House claims to be a book about secret societies and their conspiratorial magic but it's actually about a young women becoming a detective while railing against the social injustices of capitalism, nepotism, sexism, racism, and mainstream feminism's failure to help poor women if color.
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Aren't I depressed enough without assistance?
I read the previous two each in a single day
Isadora is about Isadora Duncan, who if you're not familiar, was an influential dancer from the first half of the twentieth century, one of the pioneers of modern dance as an art form. Specifically it is about the year of her life following the tragic death of her two children, who drowned when their runaway car plunged into the Seine in 1913. It is an often heart wrenching book about grief and recovery and artistic expression.
It's also absolutely not something I expected from Amelia Gray. I mean, the subject matter fits quite well, but a historical novel isn't really the sort of thing I've come to expect from her. She's an author I fell in love with for her short stories, specifically her collection Gutshot, in which the stories are very short, surreal, terrifying, and often short on things like named characters. Much of which doesn't seem entirely suited to historical fiction.
And she does the same thing here. The book is comprised out of chapters which are maybe better described as scenes - the whole thing has a theatrical feel to it, which I am certain is intentional. Her staging and dance was based on the idea of natural movement, as opposed to the heavily regimented forms of ballet, and the idea that the beauty a dancer should be expressing is an emotional openness created through the natural (if still heavily rehearsed) movements of life. The scenes in this book reflect that, to an extent, with each one having a title explaining what (and who) it is going to be about, which allows her to both skip directly to the main action of the scene and to play with expectations and anticipation of what is going to happen.
Anyways the point is that it's a good book and you should read it. I had barely any familiarity with Isadora Duncan going into it (I knew she was an influential dancer and I knew about her own tragic death, which is ever so briefly foreshadowed here), and while I certainly know a lot more now, it's a novel more focused on her emotional reality than like, the exact sequence of events that happened in her life.
There is a leather bound one that also collects the other books.
Sounds like a real fundamental text.
i appreciate this joke
The pictures are nice, though.
My Kinokuniya basket thirty minutes later:
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
I totally get why he was considered a legend. His stuff is very inventive. But I'm not really enjoying it. It's fun the first few times we listen to pompous windbags giving rather surreal speaches but it ran out of steam. Although they are short stories so I'm being unfair reading a collection in a row perhaps
One-up her with the RSC Complete Works.
With annotations and footnotes.
I picked that up because of this post and it's great.
Also there's a storm coming, and I want something to read while I drink this rum.
Not just names, either.
Plus ca change...
EDIT: btw, you might find this helpful when you read it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibogaine
Read all the jacket and interior quotes by mainstream journalists praising it as "the best book about modern politics" and wonder just how much of the current clusterfuck has to do with the attitude by the press that only Hunter S. Thompson was "crazy" enough to write about politics as it really happened.
Why yes that IS what I'm looking for
What books do you all consider the definitive bookshelf staples?
I think for me my list is:
Complete Works of William Shakespeare
A dictionary
A style manual
Secondarily I would add a complete Sherlock Holmes, at least one book of familiar quotations a la Bartlett's and some form of wildlife guide. I guess I used to think of an atlas as a staple too when I was younger but uhh hello internet
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Depending on your interests, perhaps this?
This would probably be the go-to?
EDIT: For English poetry, that is. No Neruda will be found in there, alas.
Maybe skip the Shakespeare if you need to make room.
Absurd.
There's always room for another shelf if you really want it.
Which is why there are piles.
Residential segregation was actually pretty good right after the Civil War, peaked in the 1870s, and then grew steadily worse right up until the Civil Rights era. Levels of integrated communities didn't actually return to 1870s levels until the 1980s, and progress remains sluggish.
This is the 2018 second edition of the 2006 original, which has been revised and expanded due to all the crowd-sourced evidence the author collected that shows things were even worse than he thought when he first wrote the book. In many midwestern states, the majority of all towns and cities were sundowned by the 1960s. A whole lot of previously official sundown suburbs are still de facto all-white enclaves, and it's never accidental. You can probably come up with the ones in your own metropolitan area without thinking too hard, but there's also a map if you want to get sad today.
no idea what's going on but the main character seems to go to the toilet a lot
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Also the magic is really neat.
it was cited as a major influence on Kentucky Route Zero so I think I'm gonna grab it outta the library
i have to believe it's going to be more than just good companies fighting bad companies
i get that a lot of fucked things are going to happen but a lot of fucked things have always happened, get some historical perspective
also i'm wondering if Daedra West is supposed to be descended from Kanye, i think it says she's from a rich American family