Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

[VisceralRealist]

An excellent and compelling work.

How do you find it on a re-read? Some books age well, others, less so. In any case, I've not read it since I read it originally, around three decades ago.

I'm reading it only after a couple years, so I'm sure it's a different kind of impact than re-reading it after decades, but as with most things I re-read (which doesn't happen often!), I'm enjoying it more the second time than the first. I liked it that first time, but I do remember finding it a bit confusing and difficult to follow. It is complex, but I'm loving being immersed in the strange world of Macondo again. I'm not the most avid reader (apart from all I have to read for school) but I read a lot of translated fiction, in particular Latin American (my user name is a reference to a Bolaño novel) and Japanese.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Have just finished Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
Now, Heinlein was noted for writing a rollicking good story and won several Hugos and Retro Hugos.
However, his characterisation was rather wooden, and his stories were generally plot-based rather than character-based. And, he was a genuine, certified, Class-A male chauvinist. Polite about it, but still a male chauvinist.

But...

Stranger in a Strange Land was written 70-odd years ago, and is remarkably prescient for the current time, especially the afterword. In that he details exactly what is needed to turn from a co-operative democracy to a religious autocracy.

If you haven't read it, read it, if not the whole novel, just the afterword. I can't quote the relevant section here, but find the book, turn to the last page and look for the paragraph that starts "Could it be otherwise here?"

 

[J.A.K.]

Do audio books count as 'reading'?

If so, I'm 'reading' the Illiad as translated by Emily Watson and narrated by Audra McDonald.

 

[Chuckeee]

Have just finished Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
Now, Heinlein was noted for writing a rollicking good story and won several Hugos and Retro Hugos.
However, his characterisation was rather wooden, and his stories were generally plot-based rather than character-based. And, he was a genuine, certified, Class-A male chauvinist. Polite about it, but still a male chauvinist.

But...

Stranger in a Strange Land was written 70-odd years ago, and is remarkably prescient for the current time, especially the afterword. In that he details exactly what is needed to turn from a co-operative democracy to a religious autocracy.

If you haven't read it, read it, if not the whole novel, just the afterword. I can't quote the relevant section here, but find the book, turn to the last page and look for the paragraph that starts "Could it be otherwise here?"

The original Stranger in a Strange Land is a definitely a must read. Should be noted that this novel is significantly different than most Robert Heinlein’s other works (Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress).

 

[diggy33]

Watership Down, by Richard Adams. My absolute favorite book I read as a child, and I have read it every few years since.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Have just finished Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land Revolt in 2100
Now, Heinlein was noted for writing a rollicking good story and won several Hugos and Retro Hugos.
However, his characterisation was rather wooden, and his stories were generally plot-based rather than character-based. And, he was a genuine, certified, Class-A male chauvinist. Polite about it, but still a male chauvinist.

But...

Stranger in a Strange Land Revolt in 2100 was written 70-odd years ago, and is remarkably prescient for the current time, especially the afterword. In that he details exactly what is needed to turn from a co-operative democracy to a religious autocracy.

If you haven't read it, read it, if not the whole novel, just the afterword. I can't quote the relevant section here, but find the book, turn to the last page and look for the paragraph that starts "Could it be otherwise here?"

Apologies, I meant to say Revolt in 2100

 

[Macky-Mac]

I'm reading it only after a couple years, so I'm sure it's a different kind of impact than re-reading it after decades, but as with most things I re-read (which doesn't happen often!), I'm enjoying it more the second time than the first. I liked it that first time, but I do remember finding it a bit confusing and difficult to follow. It is complex, but I'm loving being immersed in the strange world of Macondo again. I'm not the most avid reader (apart from all I have to read for school) but I read a lot of translated fiction, in particular Latin American (my user name is a reference to a Bolaño novel) and Japanese.

It's a book that I found a bit tedious the first time I read it, but when I re-read it years later, I really enjoyed it

 

[Chuckeee]

Just finished Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, YA fantasy novel. It is the 1st book of a trilogy and evidently was also made into a movie and a video game. I found the premise interesting, a magical ability to read characters and things out of books by reading aloud. I was a bit disappointed by the book and have no intention of reading the rest of the series. It is probably ok for some YA readers, but if you have read any fantasy before, the plot has no surprises. You’ll know the entire plot and outcome well before being ¼ of the way through the novel.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Just finished Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, YA fantasy novel. It is the 1st book of a trilogy and evidently was also made into a movie and a video game. I found the premise interesting, a magical ability to read characters and things out of books by reading aloud. I was a bit disappointed by the book and have no intention of reading the rest of the series. It is probably ok for some YA readers, but if you have read any fantasy before, the plot has no surprises. You’ll know the entire plot and outcome well before being ¼ of the way through the novel.

View attachment 2345519

Gorgeous cover art.

I remember reading that book (actually, the entire trilogy) around 20 years ago, (if memory serves, it was recommended by my German sister-in-law), and find myself broadly in agreement with you.

 

[LedRush]

I just read East of Eden. It might be the best novel I’ve ever read. It spoke of eternal truths, and even when I disagreed I saw the truth in the sentiment. It was beautifully evocative, and wonderfully written.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I just read East of Eden. It might be the best novel I’ve ever read. It spoke of eternal truths, and even when I disagreed I saw the truth in the sentiment. It was beautifully evocative, and wonderfully written.

Agree with you, to a large extent.

To my mind, this is Steinbeck's best novel (by far).

Okay, with the exception of Abra, the portrayal of women was grim, which irks me.

Howver, I remind myself that Steinbeck was going through a messy divorce at the time, and doubtless, this influenced the tone of the book.

Other than that, (and yes, this is a big "other than that"), I think the book is superb, (and far better than the movie, as the movie omitted the first two thirds of the book, focussing on Cal and Aron, but missing the cyclical nature of their tragedy, and the profound philosophical nature of much of the book).

To me, the philosophical - and moral, or ethical - heart of the novel are the absolutely gripping series of conversations - discussions, dialogues - mutually respectful, intense, interesting, intelligent, and utterly compelling - between Samuel Hamilton and Lee (who was - by far - my absolutely favourite character in the book: I loved Lee).

 

[LedRush]

Agree with you, to a large extent.

To my mind, this is Steinbeck's best novel (by far).

Okay, with the exception of Abra, the portrayal of women was grim, which irks me.

Howver, I remind myself that Steinbeck was going through a messy divorce at the time, and doubtless, this influenced the tone of the book.

Other than that, (and yes, this is a big "other than that"), I think the book is superb, (and far better than the movie, as the movie omitted the first two thirds of the book, focussing on Cal and Aron, but missing the cyclical nature of their tragedy, and the profound philosophical nature of much of the book).

To me, the philosophical - and moral, or ethical - heart of the novel are the absolutely gripping series of conversations - discussions, dialogues - mutually respectful, intense, interesting, intelligent, and utterly compelling - between Samuel Hamilton and Lee (who was - by far - my absolutely favourite character in the book: I loved Lee).

I agree with you, except for the grim women. The women seem about as similarly grim as the men, with the exception of Cathy. Faye is largely warm and sympathetic, Liza is the bedrock of her family and positively portrayed, Ollie was similar, though more warmly portrayed. It seems as a percentage of characters, the women come off far better than the men, who are often unsympathetically weak and depressing. Like Disney destroying every character I love with depressing endings, even Samuel was taken down at the end (though he remains the bright spot). It’s not that there aren’t things to appreciate in them, or that they aren’t beautifully written, but the men are mostly gloomy and brooding.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Reading my Heinlein collection (again). I came across this quote --

"How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven."
"Really?"
"That's straight out of the Bible; you can look it up."

So, not only did cats teach Schrödinger quantum, they also wrote (at least part of) the Bible?

I suspect they are cooperating with the mice mentioned by chown33 in this post to actually run the universe...

On a side note, Heinlein must have been a cat person. He invented my two favourite fictional cat-people -- Pixel and Petey.

 

[frazzm737]

I am currently reading "Doors Open" by Ian Rankin. It's entertaining but not as good as his Rebus books.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Origins of Totalitarianism - by Hannah Arendt

Border - A Journey Around Russia Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway and the Northeast Passage - by Erika Fatland.

 

[txa1265]

Currently close to finishing 'The Women' by Kristin Hannah ... and it is a reminder of why I need to be better at DNF'ing books!

I have enjoyed several of her books such as The Nightingale, Winter Garden, and even Four Winds (which I described to my wife as essentially 'endless trauma porn') ... you know you are getting a trauma-filled, gut wrenching story where there is never enough time to think about the plot holes before the next terrible thing arrives (and inevitably someone discovers they're pregnant after throwing up multiple times).

But THIS ... is just bad enough that you DO think about it. I know the book will be popular and get good reviews from the target audience of white women whom Hannah has learned to emotionally manipulate without them actually asking WTF? First off this book should be called "The White WomAn" as it really has one main character and a bunch of accessory characters who exist only in context of that one woman. And she is a pretty, rich, white, privileged girl who was being positioned to work until well married and head to the country club. The problem is that level of privilege never leaves her - she just gets outraged when everything doesn't go her way. Even as her less-privileged friends suffer, she only looks inward ... and yet we are supposed to empathize.

I expected a story about 'The Women' - the nurses of Vietnam who were overlooked because they were outnumbered so vastly by men - but instead we get a tale of white privilege, white supremacy, and white woman tears.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism - Martin Wolf

 

[pachyderm]

Still nibbling on the Flannery O'Connor shorts... a pretty decent read.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism - Martin Wolf

An excellent, thought-provoking and unsettling read.

 

[Chuckeee]

Just The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card and I enjoyed it immensely. This hard Science Fiction novel is only a few years old and is the latest installment of the Enders universe. It does strongly build on the previous novels, both the Ender and Bean novels. It’s primary characters are Bean’s grandchildren, that are introduced in this novel. Although previous characters and plot points are extensively referenced throughout this new story.

 

[Herdfan]

Now that Reacher S3 has been announced to be based on Lee Child's Persuader, it will be my next airplane book.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Re-reading the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik.

 

[GerritV]

The Practical Reform Handbook.

 

[KaliYoni]

Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski?

Strongly recommended (by me).

I recently finished reading Imperium. It's a fine book, especially for anybody interested in the end days of the USSR. Two sections that will stick with me are how a swimming pool (for the masses) replaced the Temple of Christ the Savior (built, lavishly, over decades and decades) in Moscow and the tale of how Kapuściński smuggled himself into Nagorno-Karabakh.

 

[Rafterman]