Books, books, books...

[Max Ernst]

Masters of Atlantis is also cool and good. But Gringos is my favourite.

[seamus2389]

Talking bout stuff you were assigned to read in school I read this article which I think shoots down most of the arguments made for why you should be assigned Shakespeare or Gatsby in English. I has me thinking that the literature part of it should be made optional in secondary schools/ high schools.

 

Finished reading the bone flower throne which is a fantasy novel based on Toltec mythology which I would compare to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon in that it takes the evil seductress character (Morgaine or Quetzalpetlatl here), makes her the main character but with a heavier dose of romance. What furthers the comparison is she becomes a priestesses aiding her god against a foreign one, the authors states the male figure (her half brother - Topiltzin) is somewhat similar to the role Arthur plays in English mythology and incest between the two of them just like in the Mists of Avalon except without the guilt.

 

Also finished the Grace of Kings which is another fantasy novel whose plot, characters and even specific scenes is based very closely on the fall of the Qin and rise of the Han dynasties of China but set on an archipelago with 200 foot long scaled whales, a greek chorus of squabbling sibling gods and rudimentary but effective airships. Most of the focus is on the two characters who end up playing prominent parts in the rebellion against the  Xano ( Qin) and the war between them that leads to the establishment of the dandelion (Han) dynasty and the various people aid them.

 

The book follows the actual history so closely that reading about the early reign of the Han I think I know what is going to happen in the second book assuming it's set in the early days of the dandelion dynasty. Between the airships, the map of the archipelago and the Chinese influence it reminded me of Avatar except without any magic and a lot more throats being cut.

[Mangela Lansbury]

Talking bout stuff you were assigned to read in school I read this article which I think shoots down most of the arguments made for why you should be assigned Shakespeare or Gatsby in English. I has me thinking that the literature part of it should be made optional in secondary schools/ high schools.

The most glaring flaw in that essay is that it neglects the fact that having students read texts about challenging subjects gives them a framework and a language to approach those problems with. A lot of people I know talk about race, something they've fairly recently become acutely aware of and familiar with, with the framework and language they learned from To Kill a Mockingbird, required reading in 9th grade at my school, and the Watsons Go to Birmingham, which was required reading in middle school. They came into caring about these things as an adult, but who knows if they would have been able to approach it without that earlier introduction?

I think the strength of English classes is that role. It provides you with a way to talk about important things, if not now then later. It's harder to argue for Shakespeare and things like that, even if I think they're important so that a person has access to basic cultural touchstones that are referred to in all modern mediums. It may be better to approach Shakespeare as a Bas Luhrmann film or in some other more accessible way than on the page, but I think it's important to teach it.

I'm on my phone, so it's hard to express these things well, but I disagree with a lot of that article.

Also I'm reading that book on tidying by Marie Kondo and it's really good so far. It gets a little hokey (being tidy will change your life and make you happy and you'll lose weight!!!!!) but the meat of it -- how to keep your spaces tidy -- are high quality.

[I Saw Dasein]

Masters of Atlantis is also cool and good. But Gringos is my favourite.

I never read Gringos but I will definitely check it out... I kind of forgot about Charles Portis 

 

I am reading "So you've been publicly shamed" and its kind of manipulative and I think Jon Ronson is trolling at least a little. But I now do feel kind of bad for Jonah Lehrer. 

[pabosher]

The most glaring flaw in that essay is that it neglects the fact that having students read texts about challenging subjects gives them a framework and a language to approach those problems with. A lot of people I know talk about race, something they've fairly recently become acutely aware of and familiar with, with the framework and language they learned from To Kill a Mockingbird, required reading in 9th grade at my school, and the Watsons Go to Birmingham, which was required reading in middle school. They came into caring about these things as an adult, but who knows if they would have been able to approach it without that earlier introduction?

 

I think the real glaring flaw is that the author does not understand what they are attacking: every one of their criticisms can be placed on the backs of poor teachers and inappropriate teaching styles rather than the texts themselves.

[Gwardinen]

The little I heard about the upcoming film adaptation of the Martian led me to be interested in the book. I'm reading it now, and it's really good! This xkcd strip is not exactly inaccurate, but somehow it translates into a really riveting read, and it's surprisingly funny to boot!

 

Hopefully the book does not take a nosedive in the second half, and the film does it justice.

[Mangela Lansbury]

Verso Books has their ebooks 90% off until midnight, for anyone interested in that kind of thing. I picked up Happiness Industry last night and read it until too late into the morning -- it's really good so far! They're a really good publisher of radical thought, so if you're into feminist thought, Marxist economics, the stories of marginalized people, or critical theory, check them out!

[namman siggins]

Verso Books has their ebooks 90% off until midnight, for anyone interested in that kind of thing. I picked up Happiness Industry last night and read it until too late into the morning -- it's really good so far! They're a really good publisher of radical thought, so if you're into feminist thought, Marxist economics, the stories of marginalized people, or critical theory, check them out!

My bank account cries. My bank account cries....

[seamus2389]

They came into caring about these things as an adult, but who knows if they would have been able to approach it without that earlier introduction?

 

Who knows they  that they wouldn't be just as capable to do so without having read said books? I liked to see some large number of schools make it optimal at  say 13 age (after having to study it for 2/3 years) and see the long term effects of not continuing to study English to see if it does have the effect you mention with students who if given the option would not longer study English  versus those who have no choice in the matter (and versus those if given the option would continue to study English). 

 

 

 It's harder to argue for Shakespeare and things like that, even if I think they're important so that a person has access to basic cultural touchstones that are referred to in all modern mediums.

 

I don't think knowing Shakespeare really matters for most modern media consumption/enjoyment unless as a reference someone makes in it which someone can look up on the internet if they are wondering about it. 

 

I think the real glaring flaw is that the author does not understand what they are attacking: every one of their criticisms can be placed on the backs of poor teachers and inappropriate teaching styles rather than the texts themselves.

 

I think the odds that a majority of a group of people most of whom don't read fiction for leisure are going to care about a book you think they will like or should read cause it is important is pretty low. I really liked Roll of thunder hear my cry and went and read the rest of book in the series outside of school when I was 14 but I had been reading as a passtime for 4 years at that stage. 

 

I finished reading I am error which is part of MIT's platform studies focusing on the NES. Really interesting deep dive into the hardware, software, marketing and everything else. The parts I really liked was reading about how Nintendo figured out what kind of control inputs to have and about a graphic text adventure called Port Utopia which Enix developed that had you play the role of a detective solving a crime influenced their development of Dragon Quest.

[gregbrown]

Talking bout stuff you were assigned to read in school I read this article which I think shoots down most of the arguments made for why you should be assigned Shakespeare or Gatsby in English. I has me thinking that the literature part of it should be made optional in secondary schools/ high schools.

 

Elizabeth Bruenig has the best defense of teaching Shakespeare I've seen. Though as the others have noted, most of it comes down to good English teachers showing the context. It's why I really am skeptical of assigning classics on summer reading lists, especially for younger grades.

[Nappi]

I just listened to This American Life episode The Friendly Man which consists of four Scott Carrier stories. I found the episode, and him, really fascinating. Has anyone here read either of his books Running After Antelope or Prisoner of Zion: Muslims, Mormons and Other Misadventures?

[Mangela Lansbury]

I'm going to do my best to only read things by LGBTQ+ authors in July. I'm starting with Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman, which is great so far, and already reread Gentrification of the Mind by her, which is just a phenomenal book.

Does anyone have any suggestions for things to read? I have some things lined up, but because of systemic suppression of works by lesbians and general bi and trans invisibility, they're mostly works by gay men, which kind of defeats the purpose.

[seamus2389]

I'm going to do my best to only read things by LGBTQ+ authors in July. I'm starting with Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman, which is great so far, and already reread Gentrification of the Mind by her, which is just a phenomenal book.

Does anyone have any suggestions for things to read? I have some things lined up, but because of systemic suppression of works by lesbians and general bi and trans invisibility, they're mostly works by gay men, which kind of defeats the purpose.

 

Virginai Woolf,Gertude Stein, Maggie Nelson for non-genre.

 

For sci-fi and fantasy -

Jonanna Russ - the female man, we who are about to and how to supress women's writing. 

James Triptree (aka Alice Sheldon) - the women men don't see and Houston, Houston do you read?

Samuel R Delany - He has wrote a lot over the last 50 years. Dhalgern is his most famous work. Through the valley of the nest of spiders is  his most recent work. Has some pretty graphic sex scenes which is true of a fair amount of his writing.

 

Benjanun Sriduangkaew and Athena Andreadis are more recent short story writers.

 

Lightspeed magazine put out special issue called Queers destroy sci-fiction, which is short stories by written, edited and featuring LGBTQ+ people.

 

Also  Melissa Scott, Elizabeth Lynn, Seanan McGuire.

 

Allison Bechtel,Diance Obomsawin for comics.

 

 

I found this  talking about David Foster Wallace and his legacy in light of the movie about him coming out pretty interesting. 

[Max Ernst]

Finally reading Stoner. It's very good and I like that its about a guy who avoids dying in the War and does nothing with the opportunity. That's a neat premise.

[Woodfella]

Hadnt been up to reading much for a while because LIFE. BUT last week I went up to Scotland on holiday and managed to make a dent in the third Neapolitan novel by Elena ferrante in between climbing massive hills http://imgur.com/nzV0wMk

Spent the first hundred pages or so desperately waiting for one of the main characters to turn up because things are just so much more interesting when she's around but then she does and its ace! These books are good the fourth and final one is out September first, the same day as MGSV! Big day. BIG day.

Anyone interested in a Neapolitan/Ferrante thread?

[feelthedarkness]

For LGBTQ books with a sci-fi bend I would recommend trying Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett. The main cast are african american people of all sexual dispositions, and it's like a combination of apocalyptic Cloud Atlas crossed with a little Murakami. It's a great, short read with a lot of heart.

[osmosisch]

Just finished A Visit from the Goon Squad. Marvellous. Very human, very insighful. Clearly mostly aimed at a somewhat older crowd with its musings about the loss of pretty much everything with time.

 

I really could have done without the 'SF' bits near the end, but that's my only quibble.

[Max Ernst]

Goon Squad is alright but the depiction of 80s punk rock culture is really off.

 

Bugs me because it is one of my favourite movements in modern music and its such a bummer that a haphazard Dead Kennedys reference is basically the extent of Egan's research. Also, the Nine Inch Nails cell phone songs for babies was really stupid.

[osmosisch]

For what it's worth, the punk stuff to me was entirely secondary to the point (but I loathe punk anyway so what do I know).

[Max Ernst]

I'm reading The Bell Jar, which I have resisted because it has become shorthand for COLLEGE ANGST. It's actually super legit!

[richardco]

Picked up Under the Dome in an airport. First Stephen King book I've started reading since 2004 when I finished the Dark Tower series. There's an incredible bit of dark comedy toward the beginning. The first 70 pages or so distracted me from a layover and flight, so I'm thankful for that. Not sure if I'll continue with the book. King really needs an editor, but I still have a favorable take on him from basically reading through his entire bibliography in high school.

 

Finished Mark Z. Danielewski's new book and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next 26 parts.

[barometz]

I watched some of the TV adaptation of Under the Dome a while ago. I haven't actually read any Stephen King in forever, but the TV series based on his books do have a habit of grabbing me .. for a while. Haven't been keeping up with Haven lately, things got slightly tedious.

 

Myself, I've been reading James S.A. Corey's Expanse series of sci-fi novels. Hadn't - somehow - heard of them before, but Tor.com had a bit about an upcoming TV adaptation (seeing a pattern here) and the premise sounded interesting enough. Hoo boy, it is. Civil and colonial strife among humans who are spread out across the solar system makes for some very interesting situations. The first book is half military sci-fi, half almost-hardboiled detective, but those settings and styles are always in service of the story. The second book is less military and more political in nature, so it smoothly turns into whatever it needs to be. Pretty nice use of POV characters, too, with lots of overlapping chapters which I hadn't seen before.

[richardco]

I watched some of the TV adaptation of Under the Dome a while ago. I haven't actually read any Stephen King in forever, but the TV series based on his books do have a habit of grabbing me .. for a while. Haven't been keeping up with Haven lately, things got slightly tedious.

 

Yeah, I remember not being very impressed with most of his TV adaptations. I remember really enjoying Storm of the Century, but I think I saw that in like '99. I have no idea if I'd like it if I rewatched it.

[Gormongous]

Hot off Hampton Sides' excellent Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West, a dual biography of the Navajo people and Kit Carson, the man who brought about their destruction, I allowed myself to be talked into reading S.C. Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.

 

Honestly, I was very disappointed with it. Maybe I should have been able to tell from the disparity between the two books' subtitles, but Blood and Thunder was an intimate portrayal of two extremely private subjects, largely interested in rediscovering and reassembling their own words in order to understand them primarily on those terms. When the evidence is wanting, Sides says so and then is silent. Conversely, Gwynne revels in the silences, imagining a version of the American West where extreme coincidences were commonplace, mostly through liberal use of the phrases "must have been there" and "must have spoken." He is deeply enamored with the century-long Comanche empire that dominated the southern United States, but lacking the contemporary accounts to understand it in full, he falls back repeatedly on what were its most striking aspects to white observers: its primitive technology, its underdeveloped culture, its functional poverty, and most of all its extreme brutality. Never did I think I'd read a book published in my lifetime that contains the phrase "Stone-Age pagans" unironically, but there you go. Despite appearances, I don't think that Gwynne was trying to demean the Comanche, really, but to emphasize how improbable and underappreciated their power has been, at least to a popular audience, yet the terms he uses are clumsy and sometimes offensive. Hence, It's not surprising, then, that he has a similar attitude towards the people about whom he writes. Barring a few well-documented military careers that prevent him from doing it, and even then the most detailed one about Ranald Slidell Mackenzie is an exception, Gwynne frequently descends into historiographical ecstasy about how important this person or that person was to the exact sequence of events that changed some aspect of the nineteenth-century American West. Even if it's a single conversation or a ten-man shootout, Gwynne takes pause to wonder at the marvel that is human causality.

 

The only real exception to Gwynne's overly sensational take on past people and events are the final two chapters, plus the epilogue, on Quanah himself. I have to assume that this man, a half-breed Comanche who was a violent opponent of peace but later became a prosperous cattleman and advocate of Indian interests, had inspired the study, but whose life prior to his late thirties or early forties turned out to be too poorly documented to hold an entire book together, because it is fascinating how well he ended up playing the white man's game while still preserving a distinctive personal and cultural identity. I wish I could have known more about him, but Gwynne is more content to crow about Quanah's fame overall than document his life in too much detail. Oh well, at least that last bit about a truly unique figure in the Indian Wars meant that I didn't hate this book entirely...

[seamus2389]

Hot off Hampton Sides' excellent Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West, a dual biography of the Navajo people and Kit Carson, the man who brought about their destruction, I allowed myself to be talked into reading S.C. Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.

 

Honestly, I was very disappointed with it. Maybe I should have been able to tell from the disparity between the two books' subtitles, but Blood and Thunder was an intimate portrayal of two extremely private subjects, largely interested in rediscovering and reassembling their own words in order to understand them primarily on those terms. When the evidence is wanting, Sides says so and then is silent. Conversely, Gwynne revels in the silences, imagining a version of the American West where extreme coincidences were commonplace, mostly through liberal use of the phrases "must have been there" and "must have spoken." He is deeply enamored with the century-long Comanche empire that dominated the southern United States, but lacking the contemporary accounts to understand it in full, he falls back repeatedly on what were its most striking aspects to white observers: its primitive technology, its underdeveloped culture, its functional poverty, and most of all its extreme brutality. Never did I think I'd read a book published in my lifetime that contains the phrase "Stone-Age pagans" unironically, but there you go. Despite appearances, I don't think that Gwynne was trying to demean the Comanche, really, but to emphasize how improbable and underappreciated their power has been, at least to a popular audience, yet the terms he uses are clumsy and sometimes offensive. Hence, It's not surprising, then, that he has a similar attitude towards the people about whom he writes. Barring a few well-documented military careers that prevent him from doing it, and even then the most detailed one about Ranald Slidell Mackenzie is an exception, Gwynne frequently descends into historiographical ecstasy about how important this person or that person was to the exact sequence of events that changed some aspect of the nineteenth-century American West. Even if it's a single conversation or a ten-man shootout, Gwynne takes pause to wonder at the marvel that is human causality.

 

The only real exception to Gwynne's overly sensational take on past people and events are the final two chapters, plus the epilogue, on Quanah himself. I have to assume that this man, a half-breed Comanche who was a violent opponent of peace but later became a prosperous cattleman and advocate of Indian interests, had inspired the study, but whose life prior to his late thirties or early forties turned out to be too poorly documented to hold an entire book together, because it is fascinating how well he ended up playing the white man's game while still preserving a distinctive personal and cultural identity. I wish I could have known more about him, but Gwynne is more content to crow about Quanah's fame overall than document his life in too much detail. Oh well, at least that last bit about a truly unique figure in the Indian Wars meant that I didn't hate this book entirely...

 

You might want to check the searchers : making of an american legend a book about the movie. It starts looking at the events the book were based on and the lives of Cynthia Ann and Quanah. Most of the book looks at the book and film as well as the careers of John Ford and  Wayne. Definitely worth checking out if you like the movie and have an interest in the persona of John Wayne the western character.

 

The Lamar series of western history might also be worth your while.