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Re: A serious discussion about books and such

RoundTheBend — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 20:36:26 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 08/27/2020 00:36

PurpleHazel wrote:

RoundTheBend wrote:

As well as HP.

Also if you are a 15 year old male (or still act like one), you must read the catcher in the rye.

So no age limit for Harry Potter, but you have to have the maturity level of 15-year-old male for Catcher in the Rye? 😉

Catcher in the Rye's great at expressing dissatisfaction with society and humanity. Guess that makes it more timely than ever.

Yeah I guess there's a bit of ageism there from my side. Sorry, not intended. I just remember it resonating with me a lot at 15 or something. I haven't read it again... maybe I should. I just remember him being young, so catharsis and al (identifying stronger cuz I was about his age).

And yeah - HP imo is a bit more timeless actually because it's a lot deeper philosophically/culturally, etc. than what's at the surface. (please read that as I was 15 with the catcher in the rye... it could just as well be as deep).

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 19:48:58 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/26/2020 23:48

Going through Mason & Dixon to try and get a hold of my door stopper pile. Always amazed by how Pynchon subverts expectations. For instance all of the stuff in St. Helena. What starts like the plot of some bizarre and reprehensible harem anime zooms back camera Jodorowsky style to critique institutionalized racism and lay bare flaws in the founding of America. Then of course classic Pynchon. A long explanation of astronomical equations to be punctuated by an dick joke. Pynchon names too Jet Vroom, Rev. Cherrycoke, Police Official Bonk, etc.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

RoundTheBend — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 20:20:45 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 08/23/2020 00:20

Also, not a book, but I find Wikipedia a great place to brush up on comprehension skills in German. It's not helpful for idiomatic phrases, etc. you find in poetry or fiction.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

RoundTheBend — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 20:15:46 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 08/23/2020 00:15

cestuneblague wrote:

RoundTheBend wrote:

I was a German Lit. major and this was more or less the reading list.

There are English translations online for free if interested: Those in bold were my favorite

Early German:
Walter von der Vogelweide: Select Minnesang (Under der linden)
Johannes von Tepl: Der Ackermann
Martin Luther: Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen & Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen

Lessing: Hamburgische Dramaturgie Nr. 14 Lessing
Lessing: Hamburgische Dramaturgie, Nr. 46 Lessing
Lessing: Nathan der Weise
Schiller: Die Schaubühne als moralische Anstalt
Schiller: Briefe über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen, Briefe 1 – 6
Goethe: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers
Loest: Nikolaikirche
Williamson: The Longing for Myth in Germany (this is in English, so of course, but key to understanding German culture pre-1900.
Goethe: Gedichte
Brecht: Die Dreigroschenoper
Christa Wolf: Was belibt
Brecht: Der gute Mensch von Seszuan
Brecht: Die unwürdige Greisin
M. v. Ebner-Eschenbach: Das Gemeindekind
May Ayim: Nacht Gesang
Bettine von Arnim and Gisela von Arnim Grimm: Das Leben der Hochgräfin Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns
Wolfgang Borchert: Nachts schlafen die Ratten doch

These are good recs, where would be a good starting point if you want to read it in the original german but are only intermediate level?

Anyways I got some Camus & The Charterhouse of Parma I'm attempting to read in the original french, and some nice modern fantasy and books on 15th century medieval politics, so plenty filled up for the time being.

Sorry I totally missed your comment here.

Anyway, intermediate level German - I found poetry the easiest to understand (less words). At least until they started using old words. May Ayim: Nacht Gesang is a good place to start there - not only powerful poetry but modern/easy to understand.

Der Ackermann I remember being easier to understand because it was conversational. Often a discussion with Death.

Likely the most read german lit book that's also pretty easy to understand (supposedly Napoleon read it constantly and kept a copy on him) is Die Leiden des jungen Werthers.

Loest's Nikolaikirche is more modern, so that might be helpful.

Also a few things up there are like letters. Easier to read because of that, but it's philosophy, so not always easy to wrap your head around in any language. It almost reminds me of Monty Python's Holy Hand Grenade scene... 🤣

Also if you can read any Kant in German, you are no longer Intermediate. Here's an example in English to see what I mean:

Quote:

In all judgements wherein the relation of a subject to the predicate is cogitated (I mention affirmative judgements only here; the application to negative will be very easy), this relation is possible in two different ways. Either the predicate B belongs to the subject A, as somewhat which is contained (though covertly) in the conception A; or the predicate B lies completely out of the conception A, although it stands in connection with it. In the first instance, I term the judgement analytical, in the second, synthetical. Analytical judgements (affirmative) are therefore those in which the connection of the predicate with the subject is cogitated through identity; those in which this connection is cogitated without identity, are called synthetical judgements. The former may be called explicative, the latter augmentative judgements; because the former add in the predicate nothing to the conception of the subject, but only analyse it into its constituent conceptions, which were thought already in the subject, although in a confused manner; the latter add to our conceptions of the subject a predicate which was not contained in it, and which no analysis could ever have discovered therein. For example, when I say, “All bodies are extended,” this is an analytical judgement. For I need not go beyond the conception of body in order to find extension connected with it, but merely analyse the conception, that is, become conscious of the manifold properties which I think in that conception, in order to discover this predicate in it: it is therefore an analytical judgement. On the other hand, when I say, “All bodies are heavy,” the predicate is something totally different from that which I think in the mere conception of a body. By the addition of such a predicate, therefore, it becomes a synthetical judgement.

Kind of talking about my "signature", although technically from Hegel.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Spyglass — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 15:09:04 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 08/13/2020 19:09

My favorites based on what little I've read of the modern age would be Crichton and Puzo (Jurassic Park is superior to the film but The Godfather is inferior), but I'm mostly a Verne fan.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

mickilennial — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 14:43:01 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 08/13/2020 18:43

Also traditional literature was often more technical, language-rich, and interesting. I don't think most of "bestsellers" in the new millenium era of literature are particularly good. Some exceptions but I've read a lot of mediocrity. But maybe a lot of that is my expectations for prose is higher as a would-be fiction writer that grew up with certain ideas of writing. Have not read a writer in the modern day I like even half as much as Dumas, Brontë, or Dostoevsky.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Spyglass — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 15:21:12 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 08/12/2020 19:21

I've found myself to be mostly attracted to the classic instead of the modern book, largely because of reputation, freedom to read without payment, and the fact that so many modern novels are part of a series.

Throw in the new knowledge you gain from the past.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

mickilennial — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 18:22:56 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 06/23/2020 22:22

Patman360 wrote:

Wonderful stuff, cheers for that, gonna have to start digging around for these!

No problem. Anytime, Pat.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

PurpleHazel — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 19:11:58 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/22/2020 23:11

Heinlein's The Puppet Masters is pulpy too -- in the best possible way.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Patman360 — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 08:19:46 GMT

Author: Patman360

Posted: 06/22/2020 12:19

Wonderful stuff, cheers for that, gonna have to start digging around for these!

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

mickilennial — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 19:09:57 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 06/17/2020 23:09

Patman360 wrote:

Lovely, cheers for that!

There's also a underrated pulpy space opera I used to read that is obscure, let me try to find it for you. IDK if I still have it or not. It'd be in my bookshelf.

EDIT:

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Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Patman360 — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 09:34:05 GMT

Author: Patman360

Posted: 06/17/2020 13:34

Gowi wrote:

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Lovely, cheers for that!

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

mickilennial — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 19:16:56 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 06/13/2020 23:16

Patman360 wrote:

Anyone got some decent curve-ball sci-fi recs? Got a craving and looking for some when I finish my current books.

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Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Patman360 — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 16:55:43 GMT

Author: Patman360

Posted: 06/13/2020 20:55

Cheers for these lads, I read a lot but I've been outta sci-fi stuff for some time and it has fallen well off my radar, gonna be digging through these for some recs to get back into it!

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

PurpleHazel — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 13:46:33 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/13/2020 17:46

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

How much Philip K Dick have you read?

He's one of my favorite authors. UBIK is often called his best work, and I would agree.

One of my favorites too. Perhaps not a curve-ball writer any more thanks to all the movie adaptations (Bladerunner, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall etc.) and the other films that basically swipe his concepts (The Matrix, Vanilla Sky/Open Your Eyes, The Truman Show). But many of his best books like Ubik are about as curve-bally as you can get in terms of story. Other excellent novels of his include Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Bladerunner), Time Out of Joint, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and Martian Time-Slip (the first two are probably the best introductions -- a little more accessible).

Was just sorting my science fiction book collection, so it's been on my mind:

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card - obvious choice, but one of the most addictive SF books I've read
The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester
The Puppet Masters - Robert Heinlein (made into a so-so Canadian movie with Donald Sutherland)
The Door into Summer - Heinlein
The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula Le Guin (The Left-Hand of Darkness is her most famous; this one's a terrific P.K. Dick homage that was made into a PBS TV movie!)
More Than Human - Theodore Sturgeon
Camp Concentration - Thomas M. Disch
The Second Trip - Robert Silverberg
The Mars Trilogy (Red Mars & Green Mars are much better than the third one) - Kim Stanley Robinson

Easier to make recs when I know which SF books someone likes already. The great thing about the Mars Trilogy is that often SF is divided into hard SF (scientifically accurate) and soft SF (often deals more with sociological and purely imaginative subjects; tends to be better-written and have better characterizations). Kim Stanley Robinson does a great job of combining both. The books depicting the future history of the colonization of Mars are scientifically sound, well-written, have good characters and focus on social and political changes as much or more than the technological ones. Very believable.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 10:14:43 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 06/13/2020 14:14

How much Philip K Dick have you read?

He's one of my favorite authors. UBIK is often called his best work, and I would agree.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Spyglass — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 09:52:38 GMT

Author: Spyglass

Posted: 06/13/2020 13:52

Patman360 wrote:

Anyone got some decent curve-ball sci-fi recs? Got a craving and looking for some when I finish my current books.

I don't have a lot of sci-fi books, but I suggest Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

albummaster — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 06:26:49 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 06/13/2020 10:26

Patman360 wrote:

Anyone got some decent curve-ball sci-fi recs? Got a craving and looking for some when I finish my current books.

I'd be interested to see any too 🤤 I think the ones I've read, you've probably seen before.

Mythtall wrote:

Anyone here read any life improvement books lately?

I have been reading the The Road Less Travelled lately which has been very good so far 😄

Perhaps we can start sharing books on this thread over post? Lots of pdfs are online too. I know of a website named Gutenberg which contains many free ones you can read online.

depends what angle you are approaching this from (productivity, spiritual etc), but Atomic Habits is the best self-help book I've read recently (going back a but further, I've been through loads).

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Patman360 — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 04:26:16 GMT

Author: Patman360

Posted: 06/13/2020 08:26

Anyone got some decent curve-ball sci-fi recs? Got a craving and looking for some when I finish my current books.

Re: A serious discussion about books and such

Anonymous — Wed, 6 May 2020 17:51:38 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 05/06/2020 21:51

Anyone here read any life improvement books lately?

I have been reading the The Road Less Travelled lately which has been very good so far 😄

Perhaps we can start sharing books on this thread over post? Lots of pdfs are online too. I know of a website named Gutenberg which contains many free ones you can read online.