What is everyone reading?

[Asteriktos]

Lolita, by Nabokov

Ugh.

 

[biro]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdi3XOYnDqb/

Thanks be to God, this came in the mail today.

 

[Asteriktos]

Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather

About the hardships/doings of two French Catholic missionaries (a priest and a bishop) in the mid-19th century who are sent to New Mexico shortly after it became part of the U.S.  Good stuff, though I'll admit that part of the fun for me is thinking about how certain Catholics* I've seen on the internet would respond to the situations.


*I'm thinking of those who consider holding strictly to the letter of the law to be far above any and all pastoral or contexual factors

 

[Volnutt]

The Disaster Artist

This turned out to be a downer. It's one of those autobiographical books where the author spends time defending himself, and often comes off like a butthole because of (rather than in spite of) his defenses. More importantly, I have to agree with several reviewers that it seems like there are some serious mental illness or brain damage issues going on with Tommy Wiseau, making it (at the very least) in poor taste to mock his work or laugh at him.

I won't try and defend Greg Sestero (mostly because I've not read the book), but isn't that kind of patronizing/dehumanizing to Wiseau? Even if he is mentally ill, lots of mentally ill people know not to make arrogant asses of themselves the way he has over the years. He's at least self-aware enough to try and backpedal in the face of the laughter and claim that "the Room was a comedy all along."

 

[Asteriktos]

We Have Never Been Modern, by Bruno Latour

 

[Volnutt]

We Have Never Been Modern, by Bruno Latour

I had to read a Latour article for a Lit Crit class, made absolutely no sense to me. Too bad it was assigned at the end of the semester, we fell behind in the schedule and didn't get to actually discuss it in class.

My best guess as to what he was saying- We can't prove things like the Holocaust or global warming because postmodernism, but we should believe in them anyway because it's moral and useful to do so.

Then again, this was a few years ago and I zoned out several times while trying to make it through. I could be misrepresenting his argument. I'd go back and re-read it, but I only ever read it online and the school scrubs the materials of old classes (assuming I could even get back on the network as a graduate).

 

[mcarmichael]

We Have Never Been Modern, by Bruno Latour

I had to read a Latour article for a Lit Crit class, made absolutely no sense to me. Too bad it was assigned at the end of the semester, we fell behind in the schedule and didn't get to actually discuss it in class.

My best guess as to what he was saying- We can't prove things like the Holocaust or global warming because postmodernism, but we should believe in them anyway because it's moral and useful to do so.

Then again, this was a few years ago and I zoned out several times while trying to make it through. I could be misrepresenting his argument. I'd go back and re-read it, but I only ever read it online and the school scrubs the materials of old classes (assuming I could even get back on the network as a graduate).

I never heard of the book, yet it describes me completely. I like this *Latour (like "grrr"). 9/9

 

[Ainnir]

Saga, volume 8.

 

[Arachne]

The Suprahuman Secret novella series, by Milo James Fowler. Getting towards the end of #2 and pondering whether to buy #3 and #4 immediately or wait for them to be marked down.

 

[Asteriktos]

Frankenstein in Baghdad: A Novel, by Ahmed Saadawi
Los Nefilim (#1-3), by T. Frohock

 

[biro]

Like lotsa people, I'm going to get an Ursula LeGuin book out of the library. Not sure which one.

 

[Asteriktos]

So were some posts lost when the forum was down a short time ago? Cause I thought I had posted about reading A Wizard of Earthsea in this thread, but I don't see it any more...?  The reason I'm asking is: next time something similar happens, could I arrange to have some other posts of mine disappear? Like, maybe, everything before April 2017? That'd be swell!  ;D

 

[mcarmichael]

So were some posts lost when the forum was down a short time ago? Cause I thought I had posted about reading A Wizard of Earthsea in this thread, but I don't see it any more...?  The reason I'm asking is: next time something similar happens, could I arrange to have some other posts of mine disappear? Like, maybe, everything before April 2017? That'd be swell!  ;D

Do you ever look at the "Who's Online" page? It's full of people browsing some of the most archane ocnet threads ever.
I'm hoping it's google search qualifying as a visitor, because some of the topics are really weird, too.
Also, I just started reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Weird stuff. I also started Dostroevsky's Notes, which also seems like weird stuff.
It's not as if I'm some sort of existentialism kick or something, either. Somehow I thought Moby Dick would be more like Hemmingway.
I'm having an actual existential crisis. I can't seem to escape existentialism. Does anybody know what it is?

 

[Arachne]

I'm hoping it's google search qualifying as a visitor, because some of the topics are really weird, too.

When a site has been around as long as OC.net, a simple keyword search can start some pretty impressive rabbitholes.

Somehow I thought Moby Dick would be more like Hemmingway.

If Melville wrote like Hemingway, Moby Dick would be like The Old Man and the Sea.

I'm currently powering through The Last Wild trilogy by Piers Torday. Probably time to pick up the Earthsea Quartet next; it's been sitting in a corner of my Kindle cloud long enough.

 

[Volnutt]

Earthsea is only four books long? Somehow I always assumed it was Song of Ice and Fire length. I might pick it up soon, then.


Currently reading The Immortal Irishman, Timothy Egan's biography of Irish independence advocate and American Civil War general Thomas Francis Meagher. My blood is still boiling from reading about the Crown's handling of the Potato Famine.

 

[Asteriktos]

Frankenstein in Baghdad: A Novel, by Ahmed Saadawi

I'm about 30% through this book and one of the main characters so far has been an elderly Assyrian Christian lady in Iraq, with lots of religious details included as important story points. I guess in my naivete I just assumed everyone would be muslim or secular-but-pretending-to-be-muslim.

 

[mcarmichael]

Somehow I thought Moby Dick would be more like Hemmingway.

If Melville wrote like Hemingway, Moby Dick would be like The Old Man and the Sea.

I'll bet Hemmingway is free at the goodwill store (intentional pun.).

 

[Asteriktos]

In Search of Time: The History, Physics, and Philosophy of Time, by Dan Falk

 

[Asteriktos]

 

[Arachne]

Earthsea is only four books long? Somehow I always assumed it was Song of Ice and Fire length. I might pick it up soon, then.

Correction: Five novels and a short story collection. My hard copy only includes the first four novels, as the fifth was not yet written at the time of printing, hence the confusion. The total, by Goodreads reckoning, adds up to 1390 pages, give or take a few. So, about the size of A Storm of Swords.

 

[RobS]

 

[RobS]

 

[Volnutt]

Let me know how that is. Contemplation (as distinguished from theological pondering) is a concept I've never really understood all that well, most likely to my detriment.

 

[Volnutt]

Earthsea is only four books long? Somehow I always assumed it was Song of Ice and Fire length. I might pick it up soon, then.

Correction: Five novels and a short story collection. My hard copy only includes the first four novels, as the fifth was not yet written at the time of printing, hence the confusion. The total, by Goodreads reckoning, adds up to 1390 pages, give or take a few. So, about the size of A Storm of Swords.

Ok. Thanks.

 

[Asteriktos]

Not sure why I thought this would be better than his usual stuff. The last book of his that I read, 'Did Jesus Exist,' was fine, which maybe created more room for optimism; but then answering the dodgier claims of people like Robert Price is kinda like shooting fish in a barrel. Impulse buy I guess. The main problem is that he's a traditionalist who relies too heavily on authorities--his tradition and authorities being skeptical critical scholarship from the last few generations--and hasn't himself read deeply enough in the materials he's dealing with. I dislike when scientists speak poorly of 'popularizers' in their field, but any time I read a book like this I can sympathize, because I feel the same way about popular religious writers like Ehrman.

 

[RobS]

Let me know how that is. Contemplation (as distinguished from theological pondering) is a concept I've never really understood all that well, most likely to my detriment.

It's superb, highly recommend it. Concise and easy to read. Would recommend as an introduction into the beginning of the Christian spiritual life.

I picked up his other book today, will start that soon.

 

[Volnutt]

Thanks.

 

[RobS]

Eucharistic Ontology

 

[Arachne]

Crying so hard right now. :laugh:

 

[Volnutt]

Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany. I didn't expect post-apocalyptic sci-fi to be this dreamlike. I can see why it's been compared to the Magical Realists of Latin America.

 

[Volnutt]

Eucharistic Ontology

That looks really interesting. How much St. Maximus have you read and do you think one needs to have read a lot of him to understand Fr. Loudovikos's arguments?

 

[Iconodule]

 

[Volnutt]

Hey, Icondoule, what's your favorite translation of Journey to the West? I bought the Anthony C. Yu translation but haven't read it yet.

 

[Iconodule]

I couldn't begin to say. I read an abridged version ages ago and don't even remember who wrote that. I need to read it properly.

 

[Volnutt]

I couldn't begin to say. I read an abridged version ages ago and don't even remember who wrote that. I need to read it properly.

I don't blame you. The version I've got is four thickish volumes.


Maybe I'll just watch Dragonball again...


Kidding

 

[biro]

Still reading "Death in the Air," by Kate Dawson.

 

[Arachne]

Starting on two new books that my son has picked up - one he picked at a World Book Day event at his school (signed by the author, no less) and the one he chose to spend his WBD token on.

 

[biro]

"The Hobbit." I got a new box set of "The Lord of the Rings," the latest of many I have owned throughout my life, which means I have to start over from the very beginning.

 

[Dominika]

I've finished reading of Ravished Armenia (in Polish translation Rzezie chrześcijan w Armenii) by Aurora Mardiganian that has survived the Genocide, so decribed all the suffering and the happening of the Genocide she had witnessed. I'm really touched. The numbers don't so much, as these decriptions. So I'm now more glad that the Armenian Orthodox Church canonised the victims of the Genocide.

 

[Alpo]

Andre Aciman - Call Me By Your Name

Saw the movie recently and it was the best movie I've seen for a while. Just had buy the book when I saw the book was only 5€ on Google Books. The movie was comparable to Torka Aldrig Tårar Utan Handskar (No idea whether it has spread to the US nor English title) TV series I Saw a years ago. Rarely one sees a movie where the dialogue and characters were actually realistic.