Read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, sixteen years after publishing Jonathan Strange.
I don't want to spoil anything about the plot but unfortunately it's no Jonathan Strange :c
It falls in love with the honestly annoying capitalization of every Noun and Important Thing which is immensely distracting and hard to read at first. I say that as a lover of Mason & Dixon. It reads like a libertarian who has just discovered Alarming Facts about the State, or some impenetrable card game flavor text
With that being said there's some of the enchanting and lovely language that permeated Jonathan Strange
Eddy on
"and the morning stars I have seen
and the gengars who are guiding me" -- W.S. Merwin
... that's a solid pitch. I'll head over to hpb tonight and see if they have a copy.
----
picked up Dawnshard on kindle when it became clear there was no physical copy to be had yet, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
- The Lopen is such a fun character.
- I liked Huio and Cord being given a chance to speak Herdazian and Veden, respectively.
started Rhythm. Just starting from the beginning, even though I've read some of the preview chapters.
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David_TA fashion yes-man is no good to me.Copenhagen, DenmarkRegistered Userregular
Peen Huh. Thanks. I think between that one, which claims that Tarot's "original roots lie in the Mithraic tradition of the Persian Magi" and this one which purports to "cut through conventional misperceptions to explore the Tarot deck as it really developed in the Middle Ages and Renaissance Europe", I think I might be well-covered all the way around.
The only thing both agree on is that it certainly didn't originate in Egypt, so I may also pick up Aleister Crowleys book on the Thoth Tarot.
Unfortunately, the whole idea of postmodernism has generally been hijacked by Marxists and crypto-Marxist, especially in the American academy. Marxism itself is a quintessential school of modernism, but as it lost its worldwide position of prestige in the wake of the general failure of Marxist states at the dawn of the 1990s, its theories were retooled and weaponized as the doctrines of "po-mo", as some like to call it. This movement hass become established in the American academy from the highest levels dpwn to kindergarten. This version of postmodernism should not confuse the reader. Ignore it, if you can.
That's just from the introduction. Of a book about Tarot cards. I might not be able to power through here.
As recommended A Memory Called Empire was awfully good sequel please, also going by the back flap that Arkady Martine seems like a fabulously interesting person my word
Broke as fuck in the style of the times. Gratitude is all that can return on your generosity.
I have found and purchased a copy of Harrow the Ninth.
I hope you're happy
Happier than Harrow is, anyway!
A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
You fool! You've fallen directly into the SE++ Book Thread's trap!
I assume the title is a reference to that bit in Tacitus, referring to Roman imperialism:
Robbers of the world, having by their universal plunder exhausted the land, they rifle the deep. If the enemy be rich, they are rapacious; if he be poor, they lust for dominion; neither the east nor the west has been able to satisfy them. Alone among men they covet with equal eagerness poverty and riches. To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a solitude and call it peace.
Also commonly quoted as "They make a desert and call it peace"
A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
I’m such a mark for what the book is doing with Shallon. I know this whole three personas thing probably needs to come to an end but if she truly did find a way to be those three I’d be fine with it. There is something very refreshing about it. The idea of someone having multiple personalities that are all ultimately concerned for each other’s well being. Make’s me wanna write a story with a fantasy race that does that by default.
I think I'm probably done? It was fine, had some good stuff, some good payoffs. But..I think I'm tired of reading about people being absolute oblivious idiots for 900 pages and then great for 100. The balance is off, there's too much filler at times and I spent too much of it irritated at the characters.
The biggest disappointment of Harrow by far is that
we don't get more of the "harrow as an imperial officer and Gideon as the hot barista" AU
Kana on
A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
Peen Huh. Thanks. I think between that one, which claims that Tarot's "original roots lie in the Mithraic tradition of the Persian Magi" and this one which purports to "cut through conventional misperceptions to explore the Tarot deck as it really developed in the Middle Ages and Renaissance Europe", I think I might be well-covered all the way around.
The only thing both agree on is that it certainly didn't originate in Egypt, so I may also pick up Aleister Crowleys book on the Thoth Tarot.
Unfortunately, the whole idea of postmodernism has generally been hijacked by Marxists and crypto-Marxist, especially in the American academy. Marxism itself is a quintessential school of modernism, but as it lost its worldwide position of prestige in the wake of the general failure of Marxist states at the dawn of the 1990s, its theories were retooled and weaponized as the doctrines of "po-mo", as some like to call it. This movement hass become established in the American academy from the highest levels dpwn to kindergarten. This version of postmodernism should not confuse the reader. Ignore it, if you can.
That's just from the introduction. Of a book about Tarot cards. I might not be able to power through here.
Finally finished Antony Beevor's "Arnhem" after 18 years. Now I'm starting "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman, continuing my World War history deep dive.
This books seems pretty highly praised and just reading the forward Barbara Tuchman sounded like a consumate bad ass. I'm excited to dip into this.
Edit: yeah talk about a goddamned opening paragraph for a history.
SO GORGEOUS WAS THE SPECTACLE on the May morning of 1910 when nine kings rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England that the crowd waiting in hushed and black-clad awe, could not keep back gasps of admiration. In scarlet and blue and green and purple, three by three the sovereigns rode through the palace gates, with plumed helmets, gold braid, crimson sashes, and jeweled orders flashing in the sun. After them came five heirs apparent, forty more imperial or royal highnesses, seven queens—four dowager and three regnant—and a scattering of special ambassadors from uncrowned countries. Together they represented seventy nations in the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and of its kind the last. The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history’s clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again.
A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
that was a great trick, Ms. Muir. As I'm sure you expected, I'd been reading each of the 'present' chapters as traditional second-person narration.
While collecting my thoughts on Gideon the Ninth, I had decided for reasons that: G&P was Gideon and P.; Gideon was a guy; and that he was the cavalier. That the woman who delivered Gideon Nav was crying for her husband (and not, or not just, declaring a name for the child) seemed to make sense, and it would track reasonably well if that was P. calling out for her cav as she died. The only wrinkle there would be that Lyctors are notoriously hard to kill.
As a result of all that, it took me longer than it should have to twinge to "ORTUS the First" being a Gideon: near the top of chapter 20. At that point I paused and worked out the hasty find-and-replace nature of that part of the pact.
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
I finally was able to make some progress in Harrow
I still don't love it or even really like it all that much but it is improving slightly
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
Re-reading Tigerman by Nick Harkaway and I somehow completely forgot about the third act twist. Thanks, terrible brain, that was actually a real solid you did me, I can't wait for you to jettison the fact that Rosebud was the sled so I can enjoy that film all over again.
Re-reading Tigerman by Nick Harkaway and I somehow completely forgot about the third act twist. Thanks, terrible brain, that was actually a real solid you did me, I can't wait for you to jettison the fact that Rosebud was the sled so I can enjoy that film all over again.
I keep meaning to reread that with the twist in mind, because there's probably stuff I would pick up a bit more on now
better hop on it, I guess
Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
edited December 2020
So Half-Priced Books has their Cyber-Monday deal going on today and as a result I bought many books (as their cyber-monday deal is a simple 25% discount for everything less than $300).
I picked up:
-- The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern
-- The Flash: Stop Motion by Mark Schultz
-- JLA: Exterminators by Christopher Golden
-- Green Lantern: Hero's Quest by Dennis O'Neil
-- Wonder Woman Mythos by Carol Lay
-- Inca Gold by Clive Cussler
-- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen
it’s not even really worth getting mad about, by the end it’s just kind of there, Ernest Cline clearly has no interest in interrogating what it means to be always online and if that’s maybe a bad thing, Wade doesn’t really learn anything, humanity is still doomed with only the OASIS for comfort, aside from...well.
this is how the book ends, for real, seriously, if you don’t want to be spoiled don’t click
the big reveal is that the new OASIS headsets make digital brainscans of everyone that uses them, and the end of the book Wade gets the ability to clone those brainscans as immortal OASIS AIs, including people who have died
so he makes a few AIs, including AI copies of himself and his girlfriend, puts them on the hard drive of a spaceship and sends them off with a bunch of frozen embryos to try to colonize a new planet, and while they’re on their space mission the AIs get to hang out in the OASIS forever and ever, or until they hit a new planet, where they will then, I dunno, raise the embryos with the power of pop culture because there are no humans on the spaceship
real Wade stays on earth with Samantha who says she was totally wrong about the new headsets and marries Wade because he’s the protagonist of an Ernie Cline novel
GrobianWhat's on sale?Pliers!Registered Userregular
Hey book thread, you were very good to me last year when you recommended me books to give to my niece on christmas. This time I'm looking for something for my nephew. He's 10, he's bilingual, he's currently into Alex Ryder. But he has all the books in that series and also his parents find them vaguely racist, what with all the bad guys being Eastern European or brown or otherwise un-american.
Does anyone know of something else in the teenage spy genre?
10 is like 4th or 5th grade right? I was reading Redwall books around that time and then just yolod into the hobbit and lotr, and harry potter. The gentleman bastards books are kinda spy like. They start with The Lies of Locke Lamora. I'm also a fan of the Iron Druid books. They're super easy reads and would be fine for a kid.
Hey book thread, you were very good to me last year when you recommended me books to give to my niece on christmas. This time I'm looking for something for my nephew. He's 10, he's bilingual, he's currently into Alex Ryder. But he has all the books in that series and also his parents find them vaguely racist, what with all the bad guys being Eastern European or brown or otherwise un-american.
Does anyone know of something else in the teenage spy genre?
Oooft, teenage spy genre? I can recommend Andy McNab's books about doing sneaky spy shit, because they're very much based on real actual spy shit he actually did. When he was a spy. After he finished his time in the SASR.
Which means there's lots of graphic descriptions of brutal violence in them, so not so great for a 10 year old...
If the kid's like me and has already been exposed to some pretty gruesome violence through videogames and movies by that age, you'll be fine. If they're not already traumatised by media exposure to mans inhumanity to man, then give them a few more years yet.
Can I suggest the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, perhaps? There's a bit of sneaking onto alien spaceships and such in Only You Can Save Mankind.
Posts
I don't want to spoil anything about the plot but unfortunately it's no Jonathan Strange :c
It falls in love with the honestly annoying capitalization of every Noun and Important Thing which is immensely distracting and hard to read at first. I say that as a lover of Mason & Dixon. It reads like a libertarian who has just discovered Alarming Facts about the State, or some impenetrable card game flavor text
With that being said there's some of the enchanting and lovely language that permeated Jonathan Strange
and the gengars who are guiding me" -- W.S. Merwin
Tamsyn Muir is a goddamn lunatic.
@Tamin please read Harrow like, immediately. It's what I did, per this thread, and I don't regret it at all.
----
picked up Dawnshard on kindle when it became clear there was no physical copy to be had yet, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
- The Lopen is such a fun character.
- I liked Huio and Cord being given a chance to speak Herdazian and Veden, respectively.
started Rhythm. Just starting from the beginning, even though I've read some of the preview chapters.
That's just from the introduction. Of a book about Tarot cards. I might not be able to power through here.
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
I hope you're happy
Happier than Harrow is, anyway!
Well that's not an ominous title or anything...
Also commonly quoted as "They make a desert and call it peace"
I’m such a mark for what the book is doing with Shallon. I know this whole three personas thing probably needs to come to an end but if she truly did find a way to be those three I’d be fine with it. There is something very refreshing about it. The idea of someone having multiple personalities that are all ultimately concerned for each other’s well being. Make’s me wanna write a story with a fantasy race that does that by default.
Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
I am now a few chapters into Harrow. Two points:
a) I totally missed the Dramatis Personae of the first book, and man that would have made things easier; and
b) you were not kidding
It's so fucking wild and I can't put it down even though I've got absolutely no idea what the hell is going on for pretty much the entire book.
Oh no, I'm so sorry.
This books seems pretty highly praised and just reading the forward Barbara Tuchman sounded like a consumate bad ass. I'm excited to dip into this.
Edit: yeah talk about a goddamned opening paragraph for a history.
I audibly gasped when I finally figured out the word play about the second one.
My brain is seriously broken this week
While collecting my thoughts on Gideon the Ninth, I had decided for reasons that: G&P was Gideon and P.; Gideon was a guy; and that he was the cavalier. That the woman who delivered Gideon Nav was crying for her husband (and not, or not just, declaring a name for the child) seemed to make sense, and it would track reasonably well if that was P. calling out for her cav as she died. The only wrinkle there would be that Lyctors are notoriously hard to kill.
As a result of all that, it took me longer than it should have to twinge to "ORTUS the First" being a Gideon: near the top of chapter 20. At that point I paused and worked out the hasty find-and-replace nature of that part of the pact.
I still don't love it or even really like it all that much but it is improving slightly
I keep meaning to reread that with the twist in mind, because there's probably stuff I would pick up a bit more on now
better hop on it, I guess
I picked up:
-- The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern
-- The Flash: Stop Motion by Mark Schultz
-- JLA: Exterminators by Christopher Golden
-- Green Lantern: Hero's Quest by Dennis O'Neil
-- Wonder Woman Mythos by Carol Lay
-- Inca Gold by Clive Cussler
-- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen
What the fuck is wrong with me
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
Everything is fine.
need to re-read parts of that. I'm not positive I followed everything.
Thanks for pushing me to pick it up.
honestly, shrug
it’s not even really worth getting mad about, by the end it’s just kind of there, Ernest Cline clearly has no interest in interrogating what it means to be always online and if that’s maybe a bad thing, Wade doesn’t really learn anything, humanity is still doomed with only the OASIS for comfort, aside from...well.
this is how the book ends, for real, seriously, if you don’t want to be spoiled don’t click
so he makes a few AIs, including AI copies of himself and his girlfriend, puts them on the hard drive of a spaceship and sends them off with a bunch of frozen embryos to try to colonize a new planet, and while they’re on their space mission the AIs get to hang out in the OASIS forever and ever, or until they hit a new planet, where they will then, I dunno, raise the embryos with the power of pop culture because there are no humans on the spaceship
real Wade stays on earth with Samantha who says she was totally wrong about the new headsets and marries Wade because he’s the protagonist of an Ernie Cline novel
the end!
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
Does anyone know of something else in the teenage spy genre?
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
Oooft, teenage spy genre? I can recommend Andy McNab's books about doing sneaky spy shit, because they're very much based on real actual spy shit he actually did. When he was a spy. After he finished his time in the SASR.
Which means there's lots of graphic descriptions of brutal violence in them, so not so great for a 10 year old...
If the kid's like me and has already been exposed to some pretty gruesome violence through videogames and movies by that age, you'll be fine. If they're not already traumatised by media exposure to mans inhumanity to man, then give them a few more years yet.
Can I suggest the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, perhaps? There's a bit of sneaking onto alien spaceships and such in Only You Can Save Mankind.
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor