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The 2020 Book Club Thread Strikes Back!

Discussion in 'Off-topic Discussion' started by aspiringwriter1997, Aug 10, 2020.

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  1. I'm currently reading through a WW2 book All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings. It covers the entire war.
     
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  2. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    Just finished reading Fellowship of the Ring. Great book, am glad I finally got around to it. Gonna take a short break then start reading Two Towers.
     
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  3. Akeakua

    Akeakua Fapstronaut

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    I read Fellowship last summer. Amazing! I really wish Peter Jackson had shown us Tom Bombadil on the big screen. So happy I read it. And I still haven't read Two Towers or Return. 2 more to add to my list before end of year. Thank you!
     
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  4. What were your thoughts on it?
     
  5. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    I really liked it, there is a lot to digest and the level of detail is incredible. I particularly enjoyed the way Boromirs slow temptation by the ring is set up, and how Saurons presence is described at the end when Frodo puts the ring on to get away from him.
     
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  6. That is awesome to hear. I remember enjoying The Hobbit a lot but the trilogy is also just as good. I adore the level of detail and how Tolkien creates this world that is easy for us to follow along and be a part of. Any favorite characters?
     
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  7. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    To be honest, I like all the characters I have come across so far, but I may have to go with Tom Bombadil just because of how interesting he is. I think the characters all work really well together so its hard to pick one from the main Fellowship.
     
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  8. Ashen One

    Ashen One Fapstronaut

    Me too, mate!
     
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  9. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    What did you think of it?
     
  10. fredisthebes

    fredisthebes Fapstronaut

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    So far this year:
    Pale Fire - Nabokov
    The Prince - Machiavelli
    The Volcano - Lowry
    The Power of Habit - Duhigg
    Either/or - Kierkegaard
    How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony - Duffin
    Ducks, Newburyport - Ellmann
    on the Shortness of Life - Seneca
    Japanoise: Music at the Edge - Novak
    Decline of the English Murder - Orwell
    The Plague - Camus
    King Leopold's Ghost - Hochschild
    My Uncle Oswald - Dahl
    The Fall - Camus

    plus a few baby care books, books for uni, and daily Bible reading each morning. I set aside half an hour for reading every day, it's great self-discipline and, depending on the book, usually very enjoyable!
     
  11. That sounds like a good plan. When do you do that half-hour reading? Any thoughts on the books you have read above?
     
  12. omerico2121

    omerico2121 Fapstronaut

    For me it takes a lot from a book to get my attention. I guess I'm not a reader, but the trilogy of Sword of Truth caught my eyes a few years ago and I started reading, and even got the late books in English when they stopped translating the books to Hebrew. I've just finished Chainfire, the ninth book in the series. It was left with an unfinished issue so I had to order the next book, Phantom.
    I also currently read A Liberated Mind, How to Pivot Toward What Matters, by Steven C. Hayes, which is a psychological book.
     
  13. Ashen One

    Ashen One Fapstronaut

    It was the most important book I read this year, since it made me want to read other books and to like reading. The Hobbit is awesome!
     
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  14. fredisthebes

    fredisthebes Fapstronaut

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    Early morning is an excellent time to read, assuming that you wake early without too much effort. I read the bible first thing upon waking up, before I do anything at all, as I want to make this a top priority in my life. There are exceptions, of course - I didn't read it until after lunch after my shocking lie in this morning! But that is the usual.

    My half hour plus of fiction/non fiction reading I schedule in for a nice break in studying, between two morning sessions or mid afternoon, or even both if I am having a long day studying. If I am looking after the baby then I read when he is having his afternoon nap. Just fit it into your routine, whatever works. It's almost easier to get round to it when I am busy, as I plan my day with care. If I have nothing to do it's easy not to get round to it...
     
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  15. fredisthebes

    fredisthebes Fapstronaut

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    Mostly this year I have been reading books recommended to me from various places/various people, which is why it is rather varied, though honestly I like to read a lot of very different books anyway. I usually alternate fiction/non fiction on alternate days. I'll probably do a session of both each day once my studies stop at the beginning of September.

    Pale Fire is an amazing book, written in a quite eccentric way, but it's a gripping read once you get into it. I've been avoiding Nabokov, due to his most famous book, but I must check out more. Pnin and Bend Sinister have gone on the 'to read' list.
    The Prince - it's about political power and how to keep it. Immediately recognised it's influenced on my own government, particularly as we were going through an election at the time.
    Under The Volcano - dark and complex allegory disguised as 24 hours in the life of an alcoholic. It's not as good as Ulysses.
    Power of Habit - courtesy of this forum, so probably don't need to say more. It's worth reading the whole thing, although it's core ideas have been neatly summarised in many a youtube video.
    Either/or - typically eccentric collection of essays by fictional pseudonyms of Kierkegaard, illustrating different attitudes to life. Kierkegaard is quite literary and readable by philosophy standards, but he certainly doesn't present any easy answers.
    Equal Temperament - it's a fairly niche topic for musicians, but of interest if you are concerned about the compromises we make to intervals to achieve modern day tuning methods.
    Ducks Newburyport - this is an extraordinary book, enormous and mad and probably the highlight of my year so far. It's also, in terms of current affairs that are referred to throughout, rendered quite dated by Coronavirus/lockdown. But worth reading bearing that in mind. It's modernism, a la Joyce, but quite conversational and appealing in its prose. For fans of lists.
    Shortness of life - Ancient Greek Stoicism. A nice short summary of the main ideas.
    Japanoise - everything you wanted to know about the niche genre, and an interesting look into the mini cults surrounding 'hidden' Japanese record stores and performance spaces.
    Decline of the English Murder - actually a collection of short essays, always readable and interesting as Orwell always is.
    The Plague - I it appropriate to read this now. Short and sweet, probably allegorical although a bit lost on me. Ever notice how these fictional plagues are always contained in one town/country/area? Seems curiously optimistic now doesn't it?
    King Leopold's Ghost - a really well written account of the Belgian colonies in the Congo, not for the faint of heart. Been meaning to read this for ages, and although horrible in places, it was also gripping.
    My Uncle Oswald - slight trigger warning for this one, it's fairly sexual in places, I found it very likeable and hilarious.
    The Fall - more appealing than the Plague for me, this one is a barfly conversation with a stranger who shares his strange attitude to life in a confessional way, recounts his personal crisis and fall from grace and his attempts to make amends for that. It's very short - 92 pages, I read it in a week although I could easily have finished it in a weekend if I put my mind to it.

    Currently reading Dostoevsky - Notes from the Underground/The Double, really compelling and interesting so far.
     
  16. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    Thats great to hear, I also really liked it. You should definitely move onto reading Lord of the Rings.
     
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  17. Well, I would do early morning, except that I tend to write first thing in the morning because that is when my brain is at its clearest and I want to make sure that I get my writing underway before I start any other work that needs to be done. I say that afternoon or early evening would be the best time for me to read something. I usually try to read my Scriptures or religious books after lunch. I like what you are suggesting and I will have to see if I can follow that sometime soon.
     
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  18. Cathcart22

    Cathcart22 Fapstronaut

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    What do you think of it? I’ve been getting into historical biographies recently and could use some recommendations.
     
  19. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    Started reading The Two Towers. I really like it so far. Picking up right where Fellowship left off, its the point in the narrative where things really start to heat up.
     
  20. The one he's reading is more Human experience througt the war. He also done Armagedon and Operation Overlord from Ww2.
    Hasting is a master on his work.
    Other great books of WW2 are Arnheim 1944 of Anthony Beevor and Nicholas Stargardt - The German War if you are interested.
     

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