Booktalk

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

I did not recall that the previous book thread was, uh, banished to the shadow realm. In the interest of keeping a conversation around the written word continuing, I'd like to open up a new one dedicated to just talking about what in the world of literature currently has your attention.

As of this evening, I finally started reading The Parable of The Sower by Octavia Butler. I've never had the pleasure to read anything by Ms. Butler, but this has kept my interest thus far. A co worker of mine suggested it, so I thought I might give it a try.

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

You may recall that I had mentioned reading Dilla Time awhile back. I had finished it months ago, and I'd say I enjoyed it for the most part. If you're for any reason interested in the history of hip hop, no, just music production in general, and how J Dilla fits into it, then I'd suggest picking it up. The last 100 pages or so were not exactly necessary to me, as it mostly deals with Dilla's legacy through legal battles and such. I didn't have to know this much personal information about his family and friends.

[LedZep]

Unfortunately I'm reading less and less as the years go by, instead focusing on other stuff. Which is a stark contrast to my teenage days - I'm doing it all backwards

That being said, I'm currently reading Masters of Doom, a biography of Romero and Carmack, the two wizards behind id Software and games like Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake. It's a bit romanticized, but tells an incredibly interesting story about the art of gaming in the 80s and 90s. I'm too young to have been there, so this is essentially a history lesson on the early days of computer mania, internet and gaming, as well as an origin story for some of the best games ever.
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[cestuneblague]

Yeah, obviously one book series-who-shall-not-be-named


I've been back to reading about spanish history, recently reading the Basque History of The World

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

[mickilennial]

My favorite book of all time is either Ivanhoe or The Count of Monte Cristo. Yes, I'm boring.

[albummaster]

Count of Monte Cristo also one of my favs. Pity there's no decent movie version that's true to the book. Currently re-reading The Beach after a short trip to Thailand.

[EyeKanFly]

I promise the vast majority of books I read have nothing to do with music, but right now I'm reading a book about modern music history:

Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres by Kelefa Sanneh. It's been a great read so far. Sanneh was a music critic at various publications for most of his career, and he writes about music with an appreciation for both critical darlings as well as best-sellers without being judgmental or looking upon any musician as unworthy of listening to. The 7 genres are rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance music, and pop. I've read through the intro, the Rock chapter (which includes a lot on metal), and most of the R&B chapter (which includes soul and touches on disco). Most looking forward to country, since it's the genre that I have the least understanding or appreciation for. My biggest complaint so far is that each genre so far seems to basically start in the late 60s/early 70s. The book does more to explain how the genres diverged, rather than seeking the origins of each. So far at least, having only ready 2/7 of the book.

If you like reading about music without getting too in-depth into a specific artist or genre (this is definitely not a biography or a complete history of any of these genres), I recommend picking this up.
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51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[melisandre]

Cloud Atlas. I don’t love it tbh.

[mickilennial]