Books, what are you reading right now?

[flyingcakes]

[Joseph]

I’ll be that guy who just finished Infinite Jest and thought it was fantastic.

Heatily recommended to anybody whom has dealt with addiction and mental illness.

For a lighter read, I recently binged this and, as with Infinite Jest, thought it was fantastic

[ajgringo619]

Couldn’t agree more. The “Wax & Wayne” series is excellent as well.

[Kresimir]

[Talera]

[wordler]

I’m thinking about re-reading this trilogy. It’s been a long time.

This is the first one.

[drhoopoe]

Just finished this. Great book for those thinking about the climate catastrophe and the years ahead.

[ceph]

Cool! I only tried 2312 and planning to read his other books.

I am reading Isaacson’s new book

[Nick]

I’m really not a true-crime fan but I randomly picked up Killer On the Road (https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Road-Violence-Interstate-Discovering/dp/0292757522) a couple of years ago and am re-reading it. In a nutshell, the author attempts to link the development of the U.S. interstate highway system in the mid 20th century with the rise of serial murders at the same time. Bit of a stretch in my opinion but interesting parallels are drawn nonetheless.

[Nick]

Oooh I love KSR…haven’t read anything of his since Aurora a couple of years back (which I highly recommend if you haven’t read it already)

[NX-01]

@Pudge

Shogun by James Clavell

I can’t say I’m reading it right now. Started reading it again, probably for the 5th or 6th time since it came out in 1975. Then part way through I got involved with EndeavourOS Arm and it got set aside. It’s been long enough now that I will probably start over when I get back to it.

Pudge

A classic! I liked both, the book and the TV series.

@OdiousImp

Finally thank you for this thread! I’ll certainly be active here. I’m currently studying post-war literature at uni, so we’re currently reading Jessie Pope’s who’s for a game and personally myself I’m reading 1Q84 a novel by Haruki Murakami. It’s certainly a challenging read in both length and content but I find by myself enjoying it!

I won’t say it’s bad, but I enjoyed other books by Murakami more. For example “Kafka on the shore”, which I read right before 1Q84. I never read the 3rd book so I guess it really didn’t impress me that much.

@freebird54

If you want somewhere to get lost for a while - this is a good read!

I started this a while ago but I didn’t get past about half of the book.

What of the chain? Its position, defined by C, begins at 0 and reaches 1 when its next link moves forward to the fatal position, then 2 and so on. The chain must move in synch with the teeth on the sprocket at the center of the rear wheel, and that sprocket has n teeth, and so after a complete revolution of the rear wheel, when theta = 0 again, C = n. After a second complete revolution of the rear wheel, once again theta = 0 but now C = 2n. The next time it’s C = 3n and so on. But remember that the chain is not an infinite linear thing, but a loop having only l positions; at C = l it loops back around to C = 0 and repeats the cycle. So when calculating the value of C

It’s a very special book for sure

@AmandaONeill

for the like 3rd time? apparently not enough yet.

I’m aware this may be considered as heresy but LOTR is one of the few cases where I like the movies more than the books. Tolkiens style feels so “dry” to me.

@zangoku

Ready player Two by Ernest Cline

It is the events that follow the famous movie and novel Ready Player One. I decided to hop on the band wagon and give it a read. I got a paper copy, I don’t like digital books unless it’s related to school. I must say the cover design is interesting.

How did you like it? The first one was a fun read!

[freebird54]

@NX-01

I started this a while ago but I didn’t get past about half of the book.

May I suggest that it is worth retrying? (You don’t need to follow the algorithms, just their influences on the story!). This is one of very few books I have read that I really didn’t know what was coming next - and that despite the humour and F-ups that occur, it ‘rings true’ in a most satisfying way - providing a view of war (and corporate economics) that could be and has been…

There are lots of other unexpected places to go with this author, too.
(Anathem, REAMDE, even Diamond Age… I won’t go on about the Baroque Cycle, because that is MUCH harder to ‘grok’…

[NX-01]

I’m sure I will give it a second chance but not anytime soon. My “To read” list is packed pretty tightly and I still have 4 credits to spend on Audible

[freebird54]

Now Audible is not something I’ve ever tried - it doesn’t even tempt me, actually. The first thing I think of is that there is no way of knowing where you left off if you fall asleep - which seems all too likely if listening! At least a book will probably be on the right page - for that matter even an ebook is probably pretty close. Now - how do you guess how far in you were when you drifted off - and how do you find it!

(yes, I’m getting older - I’ve even managed to fall asleep watching a game - but fortunately I PVR them so I can ‘continue’ pretty easily…)

[NX-01]

Oh my god, you got me there! I fall asleep almost every night while listening. Audiobooks are definitly the best otc sleep aids out there And then I have to search manually for where I fell asleep. But usually it’s easy to find. And to be fair, the Android app offers various sleep timers (by time, by chapter, etc.). I just never use those 'cause I’m always certain that I won’t fall asleep this time

[NX-01]

A book written more than 70 years ago, and still it feels so relevant today. Everybody should read this!

[Kresimir]

A book that was meant as a warning, but people mistook it for a manual.

[Celty]

@OdiousImp

Finally thank you for this thread! I’ll certainly be active here. I’m currently studying post-war literature at uni, so we’re currently reading Jessie Pope’s who’s for a game and personally myself I’m reading 1Q84 a novel by Haruki Murakami. It’s certainly a challenging read in both length and content but I find by myself enjoying it!

@NX-01

I won’t say it’s bad, but I enjoyed other books by Murakami more. For example “Kafka on the shore”, which I read right before 1Q84. I never read the 3rd book so I guess it really didn’t impress me that much.

Agree with this. I started with 1Q84, and while it’s not a bad book, having now read all of his works, most of his other titles are more appealing to me. Norwegian Wood, Sputnik Sweetheart, After Dark, and Kafka on the Shore are wonderful. If you like 1Q84, I’d recommend you continue reading Murakami. He has a unique style, and is one of the best authors of magical realism from this century.

[lxnauta]

I also like what I read of Murakami; I’d like to add " What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" to the list; it’s not a novel, it’s an autobiographical account of how he started to run, just that, but it adds his style to the topic of running.

[lxnauta]

I think “Brave New World” contends with 1984 as an inspiration to modern dystopias. And it wins.