Good Reads - Discussion of Books, Literature, Reading, etc.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

6 hours ago, crp said:

regardless and irregardless are both legitimate words.

 

I'll politely disagree with this statement and move on to avoid any debate. Have a wondrous day!

[crp]

6 hours ago, sunrat said:

 

I know it's accepted these days but it doesn't make sense. The first and last syllables sort of cancel each other out so it should be a double negative. Stupid millennials, shame on the education system.

it is not a "these days" thing. if anything, the "these days" are doing the word shouldn't be used. "irregardless"  goes back to at least 1790s. (regardless dates back to at least the 1550's).

[abarbarian]

Kurt Vonnegut’s Unpublished World War II Scrapbook Reveals Origins of “Slaughterhouse-Five”

 

Quote

According to Christie’s, the notes reflect Vonnegut’s “trademark satire and dry humor” under even the most dire of circumstances. In a January 3, 1945, letter composed around two weeks after his capture, he offers a gross understatement: “It’s been one helluva holiday season for all of us.” And, in a message written two days after his liberation, he declares, “It is a source of great delight to be able to announce that you will shortly receive a splendid relic of World War II with which you may decorate your hearth—namely, me in an excellent state of preservation.”

 

Quote

Vonnegut himself once darkly stated that the Dresden bombings were so meaningless that he may have been the only individual to have gotten something out of them. “One way or another, I got two or three dollars for every person killed,” he once said. “Some business I’m in.”

 

Those notes and stuff would be a fascinating read I bet.

[abarbarian]

Just finished The Warrior Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell got the series from a link kindly posted by someone earlier in this thread. Thanks. Am now reading The Girl in the Woods by Lackberg Camilla (z-lib.org). Love that Swedish vibe, am watching The Bridge on tv at series 4, fascinating stuff.

[crp]

Assimov's Treasury of Humor. 

Read it decades ago, not a story just a collection of jokes. 

 

[sunrat]

2 hours ago, crp said:

Assimov's Treasury of Humor. 

Read it decades ago, not a story just a collection of jokes. 

 

 

*Asimov  

[abarbarian]

THE MISTBORN® SAGA – THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY

 

Quote

Mistborn is the name of Brandon’s epic fantasy trilogy. The first book is technically Mistborn: The Final Empire, though people just tend to call it Mistborn or Mistborn 1. The entire trilogy consists of The Final Empire (2006), The Well of Ascension (2007), and The Hero of Ages (2008). It’s a hybrid epic fantasy heist story with a focus on political intrigue and powerful action scenes.

 

I enjoyed these, took my mind of covid for a good long while.

[crp]

anyone have non-murder mystery books that they liked?

 

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Non-murder mystery... hmm... I can't think of any non-murder mysteries right off the top of my head.

 

Oooh, I thought of one...

 

- The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

 

I'm sure there are others. Here's a list by someone at GoodReads.

 

I'm not sure if they'd be considered mysteries or suspense, but two very good books I read years ago by Dan Simmons:

 

- The Terror

 

and

 

- Drood

 

Have fun!

[abarbarian]

10 hours ago, crp said:

anyone have non-murder mystery books that they liked?

 

 

I listened to the BBC adaptation lately of these books I enjoyed when I was younger. From 1927 they are still a great read.

 

The_Midnight_Folk

 

Quote

The Midnight Folk is a feast of imaginative story-telling, a glorious cornucopia of pirates and witches, lost treasure and talking animals. Although it was published in 1927, it evokes an older world: houses are lit by oil lamps, and travel is by horse, carriage – or broomstick. Masefield perfectly captures a child’s perspective, from the terrors of tigers under the bed to the horrors of declining a Latin adjective. Yet there is also plenty of humour that adults will appreciate, from Miss Piney Trigger, who swigs champagne in bed and prides herself on having backed a host of Derby winners, to Kay’s lessons: ‘Divinity was easy, as it was about Noah’s Ark. French was fairly easy, as it was about the cats of the daughter of the gardener.’ This mingling of past and present, reality and fantasy, has made this one of the most rewarding and influential children’s books ever written.

 

The Box of Delights

 

Quote

 

“This witty and wonderful children’s novel by the onetime Poet Laureate of the UK is widely beloved on the other side of the pond, but lesser known here. A travesty, that, since it’s a magic box in itself: a magical adventure that begins with a boy on his way home for Christmas, stopped by a man who implores him, ‘And now, Master Harker, of Seekings, now that the Wolves are Running, as you will have seen, perhaps you would do something to stop their Bite?’ Enter wizards and witches, mice, Roman soldiers, the toughest little girl you’ll ever meet, and Christmas just might be saved after all.” —Flavorwire

 

 

 

Another BBC adaptation I listened to a short while ago tempted me to dig up the couple of Tin Tin albums I own. They too are a good read though possibly not true books.

 

The Adventures of Tintin

 

Quote

The Adventures of Tintin were a veritable initiation into geography for entire generations. At a time when television didn’t exist, the international expeditions undertaken by the young reporter opened young people’s eyes to countries, cultures, landscapes and natural phenomena which were still relatively unheard of. From the sands of the Sahara to the glaciers of the Himalayas, from the Amazon rainforests to the Scottish highlands, Hergé’s pictures overflow with details revealing a world full of wonder, danger and excitement – a passionate introduction to Planet Earth.

 

Then there is one of my favourite mystery books.

Quote

The Tao Te Ching is a series of meditations on the mysterious nature of the Tao--the Way, the guiding light, the very source of all existence. According to Lao Tzu (a name meaning "the old master"), the Tao is found where we would least expect it--not in the strong but in the weak; not in speech but in silence; not in doing but in "not-doing."

 

Tao Te Ching

 

Quote

 

In what may be the most faithful translation of the Tao Te Ching, the translators have captured the terse, enigmatic beauty of the original masterpiece without embellishing it with personal interpretation or bogging it down with explanatory notes. By stepping out of the way and letting the original text speak for itself, they deliver a powerfully direct experience of the Tao Te Ching that is a joy to come back to again and again.

And for the first time in any translation of the Tao Te Ching, now you can interact with the text to experience for yourself the nuanced art of translating. In each of the eighty-one chapters, one significant line has been highlighted and alongside it are the original Chinese characters with their transliteration. You can then turn to the glossary and translate this line on your own, thereby deepening your understanding of the original text and of the myriad ways it can be translated into English.

 

 

 

Enjoy

[abarbarian]

The best sci-fi and fantasy books of 2020 to catch up with  Stretching from the expanse of space to sagas right here on Earth

 

This looks like a interesting list of books.

 

 

[abarbarian]

https://b-ok.cc/s/Liu Cixin/?e=1&yearFrom=&yearTo=&language=&extension=

 

Cixin Liu is best known for his mind-bending trilogy The Three Body Problem.Finished this trilogy last week, a most interesting read.

Seems like the guy is china's first really famous sci-fi writer. These two articles on him are well worth a read too.

 

“To Reach the Pure Realm of the Imaginary:” A Conversation with Cixin Liu

 

Liu Cixin’s War of the Worlds

 

[abarbarian]

Neverwhere: A Novel by Neil Gaiman

 

Quote

The morning after Richard rescued the girl, named Door, from the streets, she is greatly recovered, and sends him to find the Marquis de Carabas, a man who will be able to help Door escape two infamous and seemingly inhuman assassins, Croup and Vandemar. Richard brings the Marquis back to his apartment to meet Door, only to see both of them vanish immediately. Soon after, Richard begins to realise the consequences of his actions. He appears to have become invisible; he loses his job, where no one seems to recognise him, and his apartment is rented out to other people. His fiancée no longer recognizes him.

 

most enjoyable read.

[abarbarian]

BOOK BUB - Legaly free books

 

 

Quote

 

Free Ebooks

Looking for free ebooks? BookBub features limited-time offers for the best free books in over twenty genres, from both top-tier publishers and critically-acclaimed independent authors. These free ebooks are available on all devices, including Kindle, Nook, iPad, and Android. Check out some of our current selections:

 

 

You do not need to sign in or join the site to obtain books.

 

Most of the books are available from , Amazon, Apple, Google or Kobo. I tried a google book and it showed up in Google Play. From there I was able to download it as a e-pub file for reading on my Nook.

 

The selection of books is not earth shattering but so far I have found some promising reads from authors I do not know.

 

[abarbarian]

The Cat Who Walked Through Walls by Heinlein Robert A

 

Quote

When a stranger attempting to deliver a cryptic message is shot dead at his table, Dr. Richard Ames is thrown headfirst into danger, intrigue, and other dimensions, where a plot to rescue a sentient computer could alter human history...

 

Isle of the Dead by Roger Zelazny

 

Quote

Francis (Frank) Sandow is a human, over 500 years old. He is also Shimbo of Darktree, the Shrugger of Thunders, one of the Named Gods, a world shaper, the only non-Pei’an (i.e. the only human) member of the Named. He is incredibly wealthy and reclusive. The arrival of three messages simultaneously shake his world. One is from his mentor, Marling, who is in the process of dying and wants Frank to come perform various rites used in the passing of the Named. Frank has time. The second message is from Earth, where the Central Intelligence Bureau wants to talk with him. The third is from an old lover, Ruth, and it says “Come now” and includes a recent photo of Frank’s dead wife.

 

 

Short reads but entertaining. I must have missed these when I was a teenager, I thought I had read all the Heinlein stuff.

[lewmur]

31 minutes ago, abarbarian said:

The Cat Who Walked Through Walls by Heinlein Robert A

 

 

Isle of the Dead by Roger Zelazny

 

 

 

Short reads but entertaining. I must have missed these when I was a teenager, I thought I had read all the Heinlein stuff.

Read The Cat several times.  Heinlein is my favorite author.  Currently re-reading "Time Enough for Love".

[V.T. Eric Layton]

My current reading...

 

S. T. Joshi's I Am Providence - The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft.

 

 This is a massive tome - Hardcover, 1148 pages/ePub, nearly 1400 pages. Fortunately, I'm reading the ePub version on my Nook. I'd have carpel tunnel issues trying to hold up that hardcover.

 

 

[abarbarian]

On 3/12/2021 at 5:21 PM, lewmur said:

Read The Cat several times.  Heinlein is my favorite author.  Currently re-reading "Time Enough for Love".

 

My favourite Heinlein's  are Methuselah's Children and Waldo and Magic, Inc. Cracking reads.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft by S. T. Joshi – a review

[abarbarian]

On 3/18/2021 at 4:30 PM, V.T. Eric Layton said:

I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft by S. T. Joshi – a review

 

I really like Lovecrafts tales but I doubt I could read a book that thick on his life.

[abarbarian]

Just finished the Ringworld series of five books. I had read them as a teenager and they were still a good read.  I never read the prequel books so I will give them a go probably in the autumn.

 

Publication Order of Ringworld Books By: Larry Niven, Edward M. Lerner

 

I am sci-fied out at the moment so am returning to real life with ,

 

The Preacher by  Camilla Lackberg

 

This is the second of her books I have read. The first was the excellent Ice Princess.

 

[abarbarian]

Fleet of Worlds • Juggler of Worlds • Destroyer of Worlds • Betrayer of Worlds • Fate of Worlds

 

Could not wait till the autumn. Have just finished the rest of the Ringworld books by Larry Niven. Cracking read.

[abarbarian]

Just finished this fine book. It is well worth a read.

 

The Alchemist, 25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream

Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho de Souza (born 24 August 1947) is the best-selling Brazilian novelist of all time. Beginning his literary career with The Pilgrimage after a spiritual awakening in 1987, Coelho went on to write The Alchemist In 1988, which sold 35 million copies worldwide and became the most translated book in the world by a living author. Writing in philosophical and mystical fiction, most of Coelho’s books focus on love and spirituality, they’re based on his own spiritual experiences and are intended to be inspiring, uplifting and life-changing for the readers. Since the publication of The Alchemist, Coelho has produced a new book at a rate of about one every two years. In all, he has written about 26 books that have collectively sold more than 65 million copies in at least 59 languages. Coelho has been married to his wife, the artist Christina Oiticica, since 1980. Together the couple spends half the year in Rio de Janeiro and the other half in a country house in the Pyrenees Mountains of France.

 

https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/author/Paulo+Coelho

 

Really like this quote,

 

“You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it.”

Too often, we allow ourselves to sink in misery while we could pull ourselves out of it.

Even though we all face bad days and challenging situations, we can always choose how to deal with these difficulties.

We can accuse others, act like a victim, or even let small situations ruin an entire day. But we can also do the opposite by taking responsibility, accepting that **** happened, and embracing life just the way it is.

How to apply it:

Next time you find yourself in a difficult situation, pause for a moment. Take a few minutes and write down all the different opportunities you have on how to deal with that challenging situation.

Sometimes, structuring different opportunities to solve a problem and approaching it systematically can lead to more relief than anything else.

You can always drown in self-pity and act like a victim. But most of the time, you can also take action and make a change.

Maybe you can call a friend or family member and ask for help? Or ask for professional advice?

And sometimes, a few calm moments, a long walk, or a good cup of coffee with a beloved friend are all we need to find our way back to reality and acknowledge all the beauty of life.

[sunrat]

The Alchemist is one of my favourite books ever read.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Funny how subjective books can be. I read The Alchemist back in 2014. I wasn't impressed in the least. I gave it two stars at GoodReads and never bothered to write any comments or reviews about it. I don't even really remember the story at all.

[zlim]

My reading tastes run to mysteries and a lot are food based.

I finally went to the library yesterday and picked up 3 books. It was the first time I've been in since February 2020!

Titles: Raspberry Danish Murders,  Christmas Cake Murder and Strangled Eggs and Ham.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edited to change the year to 2020 not 2019! 2020 was so much of a non-year that I rarely think about anything happening, because it didn't.

Edited May 29, 2021 by zlim

[ebrke]

1 hour ago, zlim said:

My reading tastes run to mysteries

Mine too. I really like several British authors but get very impatient when they don't produce a new book in a series fast enough! Then again, better that than the way James Patterson started being an industry with what seem like mass-produced efforts.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Love the titles of those books, particularly the last one.

[amenditman]

I don't usually like food mysteries. I really like knowing what I'm eating.

[zlim]

The books include the recipes so you can see exactly what is in the food and bake/cook it if you wish.

The Raspberry Danish mystery has 29 recipes.

 

No one dies eating the food. That isn't the method used to kill someone.

Edited May 29, 2021 by zlim