mega thread What book are you reading?

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 2,920]

I am reading Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn's The Menace of the Herd or Procrustes at Large.

He discusses the herdist mentality where man is increasingly reduced to a mere quantitative entity; notions of equality and democracy reduces man to the lowest common denominator, and are contrary to the notion of liberty. Some of what he writes reminds me of ideas from other intellectuals, such as Guénon's idea of modernity being the reduction of everything to quantity (as opposed to elevation to quality); de Jouvenel's idea of the high-low middle mechanism, and that liberty is an aristocratic value; and Spengler's distinction between culture and civilization.

[Sir Hugsalot 9,017]

On 2024-07-09 at 6:00 PM, Otaku-sempai said:

So...The Canterbury Tales on an alien world? 

Pretty much that. To be honest I did not get to read The Canterbury Tales myself, but it is one comparison that appears in a lot of reviews of Hyperion. Seeing how common it is I presume that it's simply true  

Overall definitely a book worthy of reading. 

[Fluttershutter 2,324]

2 hours ago, Sir Hugsalot said:

Pretty much that. To be honest I did not get to read The Canterbury Tales myself, but it is one comparison that appears in a lot of reviews of Hyperion. Seeing how common it is I presume that it's simply true  

Overall definitely a book worthy of reading. 

Yeah, the format was based on The Canterbury Tales. I loved Hyperion but the sequel wasn't nearly as good. Tell us what you think of it.

Then I think the other two books, which happen further in the future, are great too.

[Finding_Marty 609]

Still looking for time to finish this amazing book. It is my 2nd attempt since I stopped reading this in the middle and then I felt like I want to read it from the begging. It's quite amazing how far we've come with the medicine and how it looked like only 150 years ago. Got some other Jürgen's books (The triumpf of the surgery) but I feel like I am really bad with time organazing... Anyway, the book tells the story how the surgeries looked like before antimicrobals and general anasthesia were discovered or it acctually describes the events when it is being discovered and how it effects the world. This book is a blast and I can recommend it to everyone, no matter if you are interested in medicine or not

[Captain Salty Scribbles 4,161]

Well, Dante's La Divina Comedia with illustrations of Dore.

Actually I have two copies, one is fancy album version, second one is very old book from library which probably does not exist anymore, much more handy to read in a bed.

The hard reading. I enjoyed it at first, but farther - harder.

[Finding_Marty 609]

I sometimes feel like a barbarian because I have never read Dante's Divine Comedy and I can imagine it's not easy. My guess is you need to be focused and have some knowledge about the medieval world to enjoy it...

[Captain Salty Scribbles 4,161]

33 minutes ago, Finding_Marty said:

I sometimes feel like a barbarian because I have never read Dante's Divine Comedy and I can imagine it's not easy. My guess is you need to be focused and have some knowledge about the medieval world to enjoy it...

Like Conan the Barbarian? That's awesome hah! Yes, you're right it made of references to Italian politic situation of that years on 50% 

[Finding_Marty 609]

13 minutes ago, Crypty Scribbles said:

Like Conan the Barbarian? That's awesome hah!

No, I never liked his image and I have never seen any serie nor read any comic book concerning him... Feels like I am coming from the Stone Age 

[Tao 7,236]

Elf Quest Vol 1 which is a VERY think book 

[Captain Salty Scribbles 4,161]

1 hour ago, Finding_Marty said:

No, I never liked his image and I have never seen any serie nor read any comic book concerning him... Feels like I am coming from the Stone Age 

Actually Conan has multiple images. It differs from natural leader with sharp mind and speaking many languages to uneducated almost nude man who can not read. Many writers wrote books about him, plus inconsistent movies, cartoons and comic books.

If we are talking about books, original stories by Robert Howard is important part of literature history as origin of heroic fantasy prose as a genre and I appreciate it a lot. ^•^ Even if they seem naive nowadays.

Edited July 15 by Crypty Scribbles

[Fluttershutter 2,324]

3 hours ago, Finding_Marty said:

I sometimes feel like a barbarian because I have never read Dante's Divine Comedy and I can imagine it's not easy. My guess is you need to be focused and have some knowledge about the medieval world to enjoy it...

It's not that hard, really. You've probably seen things based on it already where somebody travels through different levels of heaven and hell.

48 minutes ago, Crypty Scribbles said:

Actually Conan has multiple images. It differs from natural leader with sharp mind and speaking many languages to uneducated almost nude man who can not read. Many writers wrote books about him, plus inconsistent movies, cartoons and comic books.

If we are talking about books, original stories by Robert Howard is important part of literature history as origin of heroic fantasy prose as a genre and I appreciate it a lot. ^•^ Even if they seem naive nowadays.

Yep, that was fantasy even before LOTR and the beginnings of Sword and Sorcery. Have you ever read the Kull stories? I think I like them more than Conan.

[Otaku-sempai 320]

1 hour ago, Tao said:

Elf Quest Vol 1 which is a VERY think book 

Nice! I discovered ElfQuest back in the early days of the comic, also around the time I found Cerebus the Aardvark. 

   

Edited July 15 by Otaku-sempai

[Captain Salty Scribbles 4,161]

23 minutes ago, Fluttershutter said:

Have you ever read the Kull stories?

Only "By this Axe I Rule". Didn't know that there's many of them. I'll check it, thank you ^•^

[Finding_Marty 609]

27 minutes ago, Fluttershutter said:

It's not that hard, really. You've probably seen things based on it already where somebody travels through different levels of heaven and hell.

Yep, that was fantasy even before LOTR and the beginnings of Sword and Sorcery. Have you ever read the Kull stories? I think I like them more than Conan.

It's not that I have never heard about it. References to the book can be found in many places, even games. I just always wanted to read it

1 hour ago, Crypty Scribbles said:

Actually Conan has multiple images. It differs from natural leader with sharp mind and speaking many languages to uneducated almost nude man who can not read. Many writers wrote books about him, plus inconsistent movies, cartoons and comic books.

If we are talking about books, original stories by Robert Howard is important part of literature history as origin of heroic fantasy prose as a genre and I appreciate it a lot. ^•^ Even if they seem naive nowadays.

The only Conan image I know is a half-naked barbarian fighting with a sword which doesn't mean this is the only image. And the Howard's stories have had a huge impact on the literature. Together with The Chronicles of Narnia they led to a creation of the fantasy genre (or at least this is what I onced learnt :D).

[Otaku-sempai 320]

7 hours ago, Finding_Marty said:

It's not that I have never heard about it. References to the book can be found in many places, even games. I just always wanted to read it

The only Conan image I know is a half-naked barbarian fighting with a sword which doesn't mean this is the only image. And the Howard's stories have had a huge impact on the literature. Together with The Chronicles of Narnia they led to a creation of the fantasy genre (or at least this is what I onced learnt :D).

Robert E. Howard should probably be regarded as the father of modern Swords & Sorcery fantasy. C.S. Lewis' Narnia was a very different kind of fantasy, a precursor (along with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and others) to the Isekai genre infused with a heavy dose of allegory. And J.R.R. Tolkien basically invented modern high fantasy. 

[Fluttershutter 2,324]

8 hours ago, Crypty Scribbles said:

Only "By this Axe I Rule". Didn't know that there's many of them. I'll check it, thank you ^•^

There aren't as many stories as Conan, you can get them all in one book. Or they're also public domain.

[Finding_Marty 609]

9 hours ago, Otaku-sempai said:

Robert E. Howard should probably be regarded as the father of modern Swords & Sorcery fantasy. C.S. Lewis' Narnia was a very different kind of fantasy, a precursor (along with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and others) to the Isekai genre infused with a heavy dose of allegory. And J.R.R. Tolkien basically invented modern high fantasy. 

This is just something I learnt when I was preparing for my final oral exam from the literature. I guess that subdivision of the fantasy genre is much more complex than what I know  

[slavagotchiz 17]

Since my last response, I've been reading The Wasp Factory. I'm really enjoying it, it's very cruel but very good.

[Gun Metal Zebra 2,177]

I am currently reading Memoirs of General W.T. Sherman, Volume 2 (I finished the first volume recently).

[Arrlong28 352]

Vom Krieg (Of the War) by Carl Von Clausewitz, a General-philosopher from Prussia. Sun tzu and his Art of the war is nothing compared to this book.

[Crash_xox 226]

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes :3

[returned_dragon 133]

Started reading Hostage to the Devil by Malachi Martin again last night. Didn't make it very far due to fatigue and general laziness, but it's an interesting book all the same. 

Martin was a controversial figure in his own lifetime to put things mildly. If you are a fan of Coast to Coast AM or books dealing with the paranormal/supernatural it's a possibility that you are already familiar with him. As you might expect from the title, it deals with a number of supposedly real incidents involving demonic possessions that chiefly took place in the United States. Martin was himself once a Roman Catholic priest and Jesuit who worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls and even claimed to have been present at a real exorcism that took place in Egypt. Did he tell the truth about everything? Well, at least some parts of the book (the dialogue and thoughts) had to have been invented by Martin himself. 

With that said, a good deal of what he has to say about the ground rules of the subject appears fairly sober and seems to jive with what little I know of the subject. Martin claimed to have known quite a few people in the global wings of the church including some of the higher-ups, and I don't doubt at all that he had sometimes heard and seen some unusual things: I'm actually inclined to accept the broad outline of his work as having at least some basis in reality. I've heard historical writers express the opinion that historical fiction can at times reach the heart of a period better than a standard history or biography, and perhaps that is the case here as well.

Said to be based on real incidents, it likely represents a collection of rumors tailor-made to cater to the reading audience of that time period. Real or exaggerated, the stories are generally well-presented and managed to hold my attention on the first read. Martin's style is easy to handle without needless complication or undue trivialization of the subject matter. Not bad. 

[Starlight Serenade 2,411]

I just read "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera, and it's a poignant, heart-wrenching story that beautifully captures the fleeting nature of life. The main characters, Mateo and Rufus are relatable, and their final day together is both heartbreaking and life-affirming. This novel was a memorable exploration of love, friendship, and the value of living each moment to its fullest.

[Fluttershutter 2,324]

I started Notre-Dane de Paris, better known as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. I want to start reading more classics.

[returned_dragon 133]

On 2024-07-16 at 9:11 PM, slavagotchiz said:

Since my last response, I've been reading The Wasp Factory. I'm really enjoying it, it's very cruel but very good.

A book close to my heart. The protagonist's way of life reminded me of many aspects of my own younger years except for the "Murdering three children" part and maybe one or two other little things. 

Edited August 19 by returned_dragon