I am really thinking about reading LOTR again... It has been about the same amount of time with that series also.
Palpatine returning... ugh.
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Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
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I am really thinking about reading LOTR again... It has been about the same amount of time with that series also.
Palpatine returning... ugh.
Just picked up a copy of Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius, as translated by Gregory Hayes (2003).
I recall that this has been mentioned and discussed here awhile back, particularly by @yaxomoxay.
Just started the introduction, which, among other things, is making me want to know more about the history of the Roman Empire. I am woefully ignorant on the topic, in spite of my history teachers' attempts to educate me.
I feel that I am finally ready to read and perhaps appreciate this work. We'll see.
I recall that this has been mentioned and discussed here awhile back, particularly by @yaxomoxay.
Just started the introduction, which, among other things, is making me want to know more about the history of the Roman Empire. I am woefully ignorant on the topic, in spite of my history teachers' attempts to educate me.
I feel that I am finally ready to read and perhaps appreciate this work. We'll see.
Going to revisit "The Hobbit" as I have not read it in over 30 years... if not longer. What is sad, is I can only remember the movies at this point.
I had forgotten how pleasant this is to read. My only quip with the it, and it isn't the fault of the author, is I now picture the characters from the movies when I read it.
The Hobbit is a wonderful story and always worth visiting again. I've read it quite a few times over the years and always enjoyed it anew.
Started re-reading my Perry Mason collection. I know they were considered pulp fiction at the time but I love the author's way with words and his descriptions of people and things. I have at least one copy of every book and also the complete DVD collection of the tv show.
Going to revisit "The Hobbit" as I have not read it in over 30 years... if not longer. What is sad, is I can only remember the movies at this point.
I’m annoying in just about any discussion comparing The Hobbit book to movies.
The movies, they suck, mostly because of their LOTRization, extreme bloat and filler, changed emphasis, fights/events that did not happen, at least not within the covers of the book.
A good introductory book on Roman history is SPQR by Mary Beard. Also, follow it with “The storm before the storm” by Mike Duncan, which discusses the end of the Roman Republic. Both books are introductory in style and not heavy, technical historical books.
Mike Duncan also has a podcast on Roman history, highly recommended.
Addendum: if you get to it, I highly recommend Adam Goldsworthy’s book on the Punic wars, which are a fundamental series of historical events that shaped the world and for which arguably we still feel the consequences.
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Nightwings by Robert Silverberg. These days I'm looking for reading material that is something I can relax with that is unrelated to our current events. It's giving me reason to go back to classic SF such as this novel, which happens to be one that I didn't read in my youth, so it's a new experience entirely for me.
@Matz: To @yaxomoxay's recommendation of (the invariably impressive) Mary Beard's outstanding SPQR (a seriously excellent work), - a recomendation with which a young cousin of mine, encountered at my aunt's funeral, who is a classics teacher by profession, ardently concurred, I would also add Tom Holland's extremely good and thought-provoking, and eminently readable account about the end of (the fall of?) the Roman Republic, "Rubicon".
Tom Holland is an infuriating writer, and nothing he has written since his two superlative early works (Persian Fire, and Rubicon, both excellent) has come remotely close to those for style, insight, and intelligent and thoughtful history.
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Thanks to you both! It appears that my reading queue is now full!
Wish I had had more interest in such things during my misspent youth.
Ah well. Retirement is giving me a chance to revisit many of the things I missed.
I marvel at - and wonder at - how some eras (the Napoleonic Wars, WW1, Tudor England, for example) give rise (at the time and later) to a lot of excellent literature (both "high" literature, popular, and - indeed - fantasy works), whereas other eras are hardly touched, or appear to offer little to the world of the imagination.
Recently, I read Naomi Novik's superb Temeraire series (dragons in an alternative Napoleonic War world); that brought to mind the excellent Aubrey/Maturin series (Patrick O'Brian), Bernard Cornwell's impressive Richard Sharpe series, - both also set in the era of the Napoleonic Wars - and, of course, the original, the outstanding, Jane Austen.
Recently, I read Naomi Novik's superb Temeraire series (dragons in an alternative Napoleonic War world); that brought to mind the excellent Aubrey/Maturin series (Patrick O'Brian), Bernard Cornwell's impressive Richard Sharpe series, - both also set in the era of the Napoleonic Wars - and, of course, the original, the outstanding, Jane Austen.
Mistborn The Final Empire has pulled me in.
The artist who created this series of covers, bravo!
Just finished the Mistborn trilogy, 👍👍👍 and this story is epic, creative, intriguing, and exciting with a strong female character. I don’t know if using metals to produce magic is a common idea in fantasy stories or not, but if not, this author created a complete basis for a system of magic granting physical powers involving metal that are related to Gods. You have to read all 3 to get the complete story and the arc climax and resolution to the story.
Is there a movie in the works? Maybe, maybe not… this from 2015:
Mistborn Movie Cast
www.imdb.com
I think you will find it is a combination of --
- Who was living at the time - Baron Orczy, Dickens, Austen, Charles Darwin, Hemingway, Rachel Carson - and
- What they wrote with. There is very little excellent literature that was not written with pen and/or pencil. After people started writing with keyboards (typewriters and computers) the quality of writing has decreased substantially. (Hemingway and Carson both wrote with pencil, others like Neil Gaiman write with pen.)
Actually, I think that it may go a bit deeper than that.
Tudor England, the Napoleonic Wars (following hot on the heels of the revolutions in France, and earlier, in the United States), and WW1, were a time of extraordinary and transformational political, economic, social, technological, and revolutionary change - that is always a compelling story, for there are deeer stressors and tensions that go beyond most ordinary "war" stories..
And some of the (genuine) historical characters alive at the time are (were) genuinely quite compelling.
Delighted that you enjoyed it.View attachment 1996011
The artist who created this series of covers, bravo!
Just finished the Mistborn trilogy, 👍👍👍 and this story is epic, creative, intriguing, and exciting with a strong female character. I don’t know if using metals to produce magic is a common idea in fantasy stories or not, but if not, this author created a complete basis for a system of magic granting physical powers involving metal that are related to Gods. You have to read all 3 to get the complete story and the arc climax and resolution to the story.
Is there a movie in the works? Maybe, maybe not… this from 2015:
Mistborn Movie Cast
I must say that I also loved this series; I loved Vin (a seriously strong, female, protagonist, her arc was wonderful) and also loved her relationship with Elend and how it evolved over the course of the three books.
And Sazad just rocked (as, indeed, did TenSoon).
Moreover, the system of magic in the Mistborn trilogy was one of the best, most original, most credible (yet internally logical and narratively satisfying) that I have ever encountered in (fantasy) fiction.
Re-Mistborn trilogy. It is quite impressive how each character, the protagonist at the start, the various members of Kelser’s crew, the on-going research by Sazed to reveal a lost history, the role of mists and metal, what these represent, and even how the classes of mythical creatures fit into their cohesive parts of the narrative, and especially the origin of these creatures and how mist and metal is involved from start to finish in not only their existence, but their actions, motivations, and control. And finally the revealed answer as to why this dying world is the way it is Is simply awesome.
If you like this genre of story, it is the best for these reasons: Besides a cohesive and compelling plot, with a bevy of interesting and likable characters, the magic wielded by mortals is not completely vague where anything goes. And although the realm of Gods and supreme but limited power is touched upon, (due to an initially unexplained status quo), instead for mortals and magic, although related to Gods, it is based on metals and is presented as a defined framework of abilities with rules and limitations. You don’t usually see this kind of effort in a story involving magic, where usually it’s power is not as well defined
I’ve read the LOTR series 3 times, initially as a child where I stumbled onto them, in college where I wanted to relive them, and just prior to the movies being released, to refresh my memory.
I’ve read the LOTR series 3 times, initially as a child where I stumbled onto them, in college where I wanted to relive them, and just prior to the movies being released, to refresh my memory.
I am almost done with the Hobbit and I am thoroughly enjoying myself and it is making want to read LOTR again! I haven't read them in quite some time and I think it is time!
Agreed.Re-Mistborn trilogy. It is quite impressive how each character, the protagonist at the start, the various members of Kelser’s crew, the on-going research by Sazed to reveal a lost history, the role of mists and metal, what these represent, and even how the classes of mythical creatures fit into their cohesive parts of the narrative, and especially the origin of these creatures and how mist and metal is involved from start to finish in not only their existence, but their actions, motivations, and control. And finally the revealed answer as to why this dying world is the way it is Is simply awesome.
If you like this genre of story, it is the best for these reasons: Besides a cohesive and compelling plot, with a bevy of interesting and likable characters, the magic wielded by mortals is not completely vague where anything goes. And although the realm of Gods and supreme but limited power is touched upon, (due to an initially unexplained status quo), instead for mortals and magic, although related to Gods, it is based on metals and is presented as a defined framework of abilities with rules and limitations. You don’t usually see this kind of effort in a story involving magic, where usually it’s power is not as well defined
Actually, I really liked that the system of magic (based on metals) had rules it was obliged to follow (similar to elements in the periodic table, or what one learned when studying science at school), that it had limits, (on its use, re time, potency, type of magic in question - not every metal had equal power), that it had costs (to the user as well as to the target), and that it was fully integrated into - and completely logical within - the world where it was used.
I’ve read the LOTR series 3 times, initially as a child where I stumbled onto them, in college where I wanted to relive them, and just prior to the movies being released, to refresh my memory.
As it happens, I, also, have read TLOTR all of three times, and devoutly hope, intend, (and plan) never to read them again.
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Has anyone read The Bone People by Keri Hulme (it won the Booker Prize in 1985)?
Recently, I re-read it.
My (German) sister-in-law gave it as a gift to my mother in the early 1990s, - which is when I first read it (as did my mother, I recall our discussion about it - gosh, I must say that I do miss discussing and debating books with my parents, especially my mother, who was an avid reader, but, they both read extensively; growing up, I was amazed - and stunned, and disbelieving - to discover that there were houses and homes where there were no books, not on neatly shelved on shelves, not lying around, on coffee tables, or sofas, not found by beside a pillow or on a bedside locker, or, on the carpet beside a bed, and houses where nobody read anything).
Anyway, we both thought it an extraordinary, powerful, compelling - disturbing at times - and completely original work.
Recently, I re-read it.
My (German) sister-in-law gave it as a gift to my mother in the early 1990s, - which is when I first read it (as did my mother, I recall our discussion about it - gosh, I must say that I do miss discussing and debating books with my parents, especially my mother, who was an avid reader, but, they both read extensively; growing up, I was amazed - and stunned, and disbelieving - to discover that there were houses and homes where there were no books, not on neatly shelved on shelves, not lying around, on coffee tables, or sofas, not found by beside a pillow or on a bedside locker, or, on the carpet beside a bed, and houses where nobody read anything).
Anyway, we both thought it an extraordinary, powerful, compelling - disturbing at times - and completely original work.
True Biz, by Sara Novic.....a wonderfully written novel about young people in a residential school for the Deaf. Each of the main characters comes to the Deaf community from different backgrounds, as does their headmistress, a hearing child of Deaf parents (CODA). The book is both entertaining and educational, as along the way there are illustrations showing hand shapes and how to make various signs in ASL. The reader is exposed to significant issues within the Deaf community, including concerns around the value of cochlear implants, and also treated to important milestones in Deaf history as well. As someone who is hearing-impaired myself, although not profoundly deaf, I am thoroughly enjoying this book.
I just started SPQR, by Mary Beard, based on recommendations by @yaxomoxay and @Scepticalscribe. I decided to read it before proceeding with Meditations. It may not be necessary, but I think that reading SPQR first (and perhaps Duncan's and Holland's books) will provide a context for more fully appreciating Meditations. I'm excited!