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Post by Basil on Mar 30, 2018 23:24:53 GMT
I'm very skeptical on reading any works by Dan Brown cause how much Da Vinci Code really turned out. I understand that feeling. I consider Dan Brown beach reading. I like some of the historical facts he puts in there but in no way is it grounded in reality. I wish the movies based on his books were better, I do like Tom Hanks in the role. I think the movies were mostly okay. I mean, they're not great, but the only one I actively disliked was Inferno, the other two were fine. Tom Hanks is great as Langdon, but I also really love the way Sophie and Vittoria were portrayed in the movies, and that they were both played by two great actresses that I adore. Audrey Tautou and Ayelet Zurer. I still prefer the story the way it is told in the books, but as far as film adaptations go, I thought the first two were pretty enjoyable. Inferno was legit bad.
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Post by Enid on Apr 6, 2018 17:21:47 GMT
I'm reading Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology. It's pretty great, there are probably more in depth books about the Norse gods, but for someone like me, who knows basically nothing about it and has formed an opinion about Thor or Loki through the Marvel movies, is a very good starting point. Even though I'm trying not to, I just keep picturing the gods like they're in the MCU, and now I have a mini film in my head in which Loki is fucked by a stallion while he pretends to be a mare and another one with Thor dressed as a bride eating entires oxes. I'm having a lot of fun with it
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Post by Basil on Apr 6, 2018 19:13:28 GMT
Yeah, Loki is the mother of Odin's horse Sleipnir. I haven't read Neil Gaiman's version, but I read the Edda when I was younger. Way before the MCU was a thing, before I even knew that there were Marvel comics based on Norse mythology.
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Post by Singer of Death on Apr 13, 2018 1:10:48 GMT
Speaking of mythology, i'm currently reading Aru Shah and the End of Time. Even though i was never into Percy Jackson, i'm particularly into this because it's about Hindu mythology which i think it's a good start to learn about it. So far it's childish, but that's to be expected from middle grade reading level and it's actually quite enjoyable. Yeah, Norse myths are pretty weird, even by Greek myth standards. Like Marvel's Thor is cool. but in the myth he's pretty much a dumbass. He done some other hilarious stuff like drinking an ocean from a horn which ended up decreasing the water level, catching Jörmungand by using an ox head as a fishing bait, and kick a dwarf into Baldur's pyre (which btw doesn't serve any purpose in the myth whatsoever).
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Post by kingeomer on Apr 30, 2018 12:13:37 GMT
I finished the Grant biography (it's pretty good but I think out of three Ron Chernow biographies I've read, he remained objective about Washington and Hamilton, but seemed to have a soft spot for Grant).
I'm half way through I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle Mc Namara. It's pretty good considering that it was unfinished due to her death, so they pieced it together well. I started it the night before they announced they had gotten the Golden State Killer/Rapist and I expect that an updated version of this book will be released now that he's been caught.
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Post by kingeomer on Jun 7, 2018 12:16:51 GMT
Finished I'll Be Gone in the Dark, which was quite good and I am curious as to how her theories stack up once Joseph De Angelo is tried.
Since Charles Manson is dead and no longer freaks me out, I am finally reading Helter Skelter. Besides Manson creeping out, I don't know why I waited so long to read this when it basically just goes into how they were caught and most of the book is the trial. It's good so far.
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Post by kingeomer on Jun 8, 2018 13:25:30 GMT
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Post by kingeomer on Jun 29, 2018 12:37:05 GMT
Daughter is reading Little Women, so I read Retta's book (which was really charming and likable, like her). I started on Dodge City by Tom Clavin, basically how Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson brought law to a lawless town. It's pretty good so far and he tries to separate fact from fiction. ETA: Helter Skelter is a good read too...it's really more about the trial and prosecution then the actual gory stuff, Manson is a total asshole.
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Post by Singer of Death on Jul 6, 2018 5:38:33 GMT
I finally get to finish 1984 after several months due to work, and like wow... It’s the most depressing book I read so far and Orwell did a job with the writing in the third act of the plot.
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Post by Enid on Jul 15, 2018 12:29:01 GMT
I just read "The Circle" and it was disturbing. I've always been wary of social networks, the way they just ask and ask for more information about you for the sake of connecting you with people you have no need to connect with (which high school did you go to, which music groups do you enjoy, include the location of the pic you just took, tag everyone and their mothers in this picture...) just disturbs me, and this book just takes this notion to an extreme degree, which I liked. I've always been pro-privacy in the "security vs. anonimity" debate and if anyone ever asks me why I'll tell them to read the book.
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Post by kingeomer on Jul 15, 2018 14:46:56 GMT
I finished Dodge City, which was a pretty fast read. I started The Godfather (I've seen the movie but never read the book). Let me just say the movie is superior to the book.
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Post by Singer of Death on Aug 16, 2018 0:12:48 GMT
I have been conflicted on choosing what kind of books I want to read first.
On one hand, I'm a huge fan of history, so i had been digging a lot of books. So far I have SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, Persian Fire, and Lost to the West (an overview on the Byzantine empire).
But on the other hand, I still have few classics to finish off since I haven't start reading them for about a year. Still need to read Tales of Two Cities, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Pride and Prejudice.
And meanwhile i'm trying to finish reading art books that will help me on animation and art. I recently finished the Classic Human Anatomy book and now i'm on The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard William.
Any thoughts?
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Post by kingeomer on Aug 17, 2018 12:14:33 GMT
Singer of Death Go with the history books. I say that because I am a history nerd. Book I just finished: The Road to Jonestown-Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. Excellent book. The research is through that shows how Jim Jones got his start and how Peoples Temple came to be infamous. I wish there was more of the aftermath of Jonestown but that's a minor compliant. I highly recommend it! Book I just started: Hope Never Dies-A fictional account of Former President Obama and Former Vice President Joe Biden teaming up to solve a crime in Wilmington, Delaware. So far very entertaining.
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Post by stoneheartsrevenge on Aug 21, 2018 10:22:38 GMT
N.k.Jemisin made it 3/3 at the Hugo's, taking home beat novel for The Stone Sky, the third in her Broken Earth trilogy. It's an excellent book and fantastic trilogy, I heartily recommend it. Currently reading Spinning Silver which is excellent fairy take-up questions fantasy
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Post by kingeomer on Aug 31, 2018 12:18:42 GMT
Hope Never Dies-the book where Obama and Biden solve a crime together was legit good and I hope there is another adventure in store for them. I'm almost done Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains, a fictional account of Isabel, a slave during Revolutionary War times. It's part of three book series...so it's good so far. Love the shout outs to Phillis Wheatley. Am making husband read the Road to Jonestown book because he claimed he never heard of it, until I started telling him what happened and he said, "OH YEAH, THE KOOL AID PEOPLE." Me: Flavor-Aid and you have a reading assignment.
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Post by kingeomer on Sept 21, 2018 12:12:55 GMT
Finished Chains...a really excellent book. It's part of a three book series and I will get the second book soon.
Also finished Elinor Oliphant is Fine. It's pretty and mixes humor and tragedy rather well.
Started Madeline Miller's Circe. Too soon to tell how I feel about the book.
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Post by stoneheartsrevenge on Sept 21, 2018 13:09:29 GMT
Finished Chains...a really excellent book. It's part of a three book series and I will get the second book soon. Also finished Elinor Oliphant is Fine. It's pretty and mixes humor and tragedy rather well. Started Madeline Miller's Circe. Too soon to tell how I feel about the book. Funny, I just finished up Circe! I really loved it, excellent writing and interesting telling of the various myths associated with the character. I think the story works well as a whole, there is real development of character throughout so tha tthe Book feels like a complete journey by the end
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Post by kingeomer on Sept 24, 2018 12:16:58 GMT
Finished Chains...a really excellent book. It's part of a three book series and I will get the second book soon. Also finished Elinor Oliphant is Fine. It's pretty and mixes humor and tragedy rather well. Started Madeline Miller's Circe. Too soon to tell how I feel about the book. Funny, I just finished up Circe! I really loved it, excellent writing and interesting telling of the various myths associated with the character. I think the story works well as a whole, there is real development of character throughout so tha tthe Book feels like a complete journey by the end This is great news! I'm liking it so far, but I am still in the beginning of the book.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 2:30:18 GMT
i've been trying to read a few classics
- Homer's 'Illiad' - 'One thousand and one nights'
Can't seem to get through them. I heard 'the odyssey' is better. I find the language hard to read and the story lacks flow and cohesion jumping from one perspective to the next in the Illiad. Lot of words in there i'm sure are not part of English vocabulary these days. Maybe i'll find a better written version, i picked these up second hand and they are very old versions. The mythology in One thousands and One nights is interesting in parts but there are many things that are specific to that time in the middle east that i have no idea what they are talking about in parts when referring to things.
Read Outlander, even though i'd seen the series the book still offered more insight into the character of Claire. I thought there were a few instances where the book made more sense but i think the show stands up to it and did a few great things too. Like showing Frank in the future or Jaime's point of view for an episode. Black Jack Randall is an outstanding character, complex and vile. The book definitely went further with the beating of Claire and it shocked me to read that Jaime could be that violent. It bothered me and perhaps shook me to reality - Jaime is not the 'perfect' guy they try to represent - by modern standards at least. It annoyed me the amount of times both Claire and Jaime had to avoid rape and assault, was everyone out to rape during that time?
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Post by kingeomer on Sept 28, 2018 12:20:49 GMT
i've been trying to read a few classics - Homer's 'Illiad' - 'One thousand and one nights' Can't seem to get through them. I heard 'the odyssey' is better. I find the language hard to read and the story lacks flow and cohesion jumping from one perspective to the next in the Illiad. Lot of words in there i'm sure are not part of English vocabulary these days. Maybe i'll find a better written version, i picked these up second hand and they are very old versions. The mythology in One thousands and One nights is interesting in parts but there are many things that are specific to that time in the middle east that i have no idea what they are talking about in parts when referring to things. Read Outlander, even though i'd seen the series the book still offered more insight into the character of Claire. I thought there were a few instances where the book made more sense but i think the show stands up to it and did a few great things too. Like showing Frank in the future or Jaime's point of view for an episode. Black Jack Randall is an outstanding character, complex and vile. The book definitely went further with the beating of Claire and it shocked me to read that Jaime could be that violent. It bothered me and perhaps shook me to reality - Jaime is not the 'perfect' guy they try to represent - by modern standards at least. I t annoyed me the amount of times both Claire and Jaime had to avoid rape and assault, was everyone out to rape during that time? DG uses rape and assault as a constant plot device throughout her books. It's why I had to stop reading.
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