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[Chiaroscuro]

I like your username. What made you chose it?

It is a art style/technic in drawing/painting based on the contrast of light and dark. It is Italian for both words combined.

I have a passion for visual arts and I am also an (amateur) artist (watercolors, pen&ink, beginning with Acrylics).

I used other forum nicknames before, even on GAF, but since 2004 this one sticks with me, also fits my personality.

 

[JonnyKong]

I finished this today,

Thoroughly enjoyed it 8/10

It's a lot more exciting and gritty than the (kinda) light hearted title suggests.

 

[Ravensmash]

Really enjoyed:

The Stand
The Lies of Locke Lamora

Thought they were alright:

The Lions of Al-Rassan
Shadow & Claw (The Book of the New Sun)

Read the free sample on Kindle but didn't enjoy enough to buy:

The Name of the Wind
The Way of Kings
The Blade Itself

In terms of fantastical settings, I've had more luck with finding books I love in the sci-fi genre:

The Forever War
1984
Hyperion
The Fall of Hyperion
Dune

All of these are amazing, in my opinion.

Have you tried the sequels to Locke Lamora?

The second book isn't as good in my opinion, but maybe that's because I'm not particularly enamoured to the setting.

I'll probably go on to the third book after though.

 

[danthefan]

Started reading the first book in The Expense series and I have to say I'm really really enjoying it. Think I'm around half way through now. I watched the TV series and found it forgettable, tht book seems much better.

 

[Zelenogorsk]

Might I recommend The Chronicles of the Black Company?

I found a copy of the first book for 2 bucks at the local used book shop, with that same sweet MF Doom cover. Thanks for the rec.

 

[Mumei]

It is a art style/technic in drawing/painting based on the contrast of light and dark. It is Italian for both words combined.

I have a passion for visual arts and I am also an (amateur) artist (watercolors, pen&ink, beginning with Acrylics).

I used other forum nicknames before, even on GAF, but since 2004 this one sticks with me, also fits my personality.

I know what it is! You should get yourself this book next time B&N has one of those 40% off coupons. It's chiaroscuro heaven.

It's also a term used since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to describe the ideal vocal qualities of a classically trained singing voice; specifically the combination of a combination of rich high-frequency elements that provide brightness with a simultaneous roundness and depth created by resonance above the vocal tract. Two examples. Do you hear it? Bonus~

It's a great word.

Have you ever posted your art on GAF?

 

[Chiaroscuro]

I know what it is! You should get yourself this book next time B&N has one of those 40% off coupons. It's chiaroscuro heaven.

It's also a term used since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to describe the ideal vocal qualities of a classically trained singing voice; specifically the combination of a combination of rich high-frequency elements that provide brightness with a simultaneous roundness and depth created by resonance above the vocal tract. Two examples. Do you hear it? Bonus~

It's a great word.

Have you ever posted your art on GAF?

Ah, sorry! I read your post quite quickly on the phone. On a second reading, it is clear that you mean why I choose the username, not what it means. Well, as I said, I am a fan of art in general, and the light/darkness contrast has also other subtle meanings.

While I have been on GAF since 1998/2000 (if I remember right) and I have been using this nickname since 2006 (I swear it was before that, but that it is written on my profile) this is the first time I post on the reading threads. I usually to read a lot more, but now I am going back to the old habit.

About my art? I am quite a beginning really, and while I already have participated on several local expositions, I never shared my works within GAF. Guess I can correct it, if you allow me to hijack the reading thread:

Some watercolors:

Indian ink and watercolor:

Indian ink pen:

Indian ink pen and watercolor:

 

[Haly]

I really like that second nude model (that's a model right?) and the last pen + watercolor.

 

[Chiaroscuro]

I really like that second nude model (that's a model right?) and the last pen + watercolor.

Yes, these two watercolors belong to a set of three 50x70cm watercolors painting an art model. They are representative of my figurative painting, but I also made a lot of more conventional watercolous, and some based on archicteture landmarks.

The other drawings are part of a project of mine that depicts scenes and places of my city. There are 35 of them right now (usually at size of 40x30cm), and I am going for 52 in the week (a weekly challenge for me). Msinly done in Indian Ink pens, but I try to mix the art materials a little, having produced some drawings in watercolor pencils, colored india ink, mixing technics, etc.

 

[Servbot #42]

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us.” —

This was quite the read. I don't think i anticipated the savagery in display, it was certainly horrifying. I'm not sure i fully grasped the symbolism, i'm talking about the part where i think the devil shows up.

Also i'm reading this book only because is set in snow, the prologue was kinda of a chore to get trough, hopefully the rest of the book picks up.

 

[TwntyOneTwlv]

I noticed that Bernie Sanders' book, "Our Revolution", is currently $3.99 on Kindle. I don't know how long it's been that price or how long it will last!

 

[TestMonkey]

I'm about halfway through and am really liking it. Feels like if David Wong wrote about racism instead of horror. The absurdity of a lot of it got me thinking that maybe it's not so absurd.

 

[Maklershed]

About my art? I am quite a beginning really, and while I already have participated on several local expositions, I never shared my works within GAF. Guess I can correct it, if you allow me to hijack the reading thread:

Wow, you are an incredible artist. That's very impressive work. I love it all.

 

[Auctopus]

About my art? I am quite a beginning really, and while I already have participated on several local expositions, I never shared my works within GAF. Guess I can correct it, if you allow me to hijack the reading thread:

Great work, I love all of that.

 

[Ravensmash]

I'm about halfway through and am really liking it. Feels like if David Wong wrote about racism instead of horror. The absurdity of a lot of it got me thinking that maybe it's not so absurd.

I just could not get past the introduction.

I read it, took a break and then came back completely unaware of what I'd just read.

Maybe it's just not my style unfortunately

 

[mu cephei]

Currently reading The Thing Itself by Adam Roberts. Loving it so far. If you've read any popular physics books or follow that kind of thing, the ideas it uses won't be new, but I'm not well-read in philosophy (apart from some episodes from The Partially Examined Life podcast) and I'm really enjoying the Kant stuff, and I'm very interested to see where it's going.

I read the book one week before seeing the movie, so it was fresh in my mind, which made me almost impossible to enjoy the movie.

I agree with your points, book and movie goes in opposite directions.

What the book lacks and movie has is conflict. While it wasn't need for the purpose of the story in the book, it is needed in such a movie. The tension and emminent conflict between the world's nations, the fear of the unknow of the general population, is very well represented in the movie.

However the conflict demands a resolution, and the way it unfolds is pretty much absurd and against the very core idea of the book. Knowing the future does not mean that you can influence the present, means just you have to fulfil it. You cannot act in present knowing about the future, cause and effect are still valid.

That was what I hated the most in the movie.

I guess that was why the fate if her daughter was changed for the movie too, from a simple accident that could have been avoided (but could not in the premisse of the book) to an incurable fatal illness (fate, in the movie).

And all science and language stuff were dumbed down for the audience, to the point the phisic guy does nothing in the story, becomes just her assistent.

(I was on holiday, or I would have responded sooner). A few people here have said that the film needed conflict which the story didn't have, so needed to invent it. I don't totally agree with that, or rather, I was hoping for a different sort of film, I guess one that reinterpreted the story in a visual way, not one that says the complete opposite to the story and gets time totally wrong. I found it difficult to appreciate the conflict, I couldn't help seeing it as manufactured and tacked on. The reduction of the role of the physicist was unnecessary, and though the change in cause of

Spoiler

the daughter's death

was annoying, it was just a symptom of the general malaise of the film.

(on an unrelated note, I looove your art)

I decided to give a collection of his a try as well, mostly because The Fellowship of the Ring is kind of boring. I'm through Tower of Babylon, Understand, Division by Zero, and Story of Your Life so far. It's been interesting, he has some cool ideas.

Regarding Story of Your Life specifically, and without having seen the movie, time and language are the two outstanding parts.

Spoiler

The first he sets up brilliantly, those last paragraphs trigger a key puzzle piece falling into place feeling while creating a whole other dimension to the main character's relationship with her daughter, it's sublime. Language written sort of unburdened of linear time is the cool ideas part, but it wouldn't make for a great story on its own, which has been a shortcoming of his other stuff I've read.

From a philosophical view, I didn't find the argument for the nature of the aliens' mind convincing. People have been trying to rationalize God's omniscience and free will existing together for ages. Speaking of which, I noticed He doesn't come up, teleological arguments for Him are fraught with potholes as well. It doesn't mar the story of course.

I can see why someone would be inspired to make a movie based on it, it's great.

I would describe the ending of Story of Your Life as inevitable, in the way the endings of good stories can be, but we probably mean the same thing. And I like that it was inevitable, it fits. As I said above, I'm not well-read in philosophy, so I didn't really view how Chiang presented the nature of the aliens' mind in that way; I thought it worked quite well. Also, why would god come up? I don't think Chiang was approaching things from that direction, wasn't the aliens' 'omniscience' quite specific? (I would need to re-read the story to discuss this properly). Actually, you might find The Thing Itself pretty interesting.

 

[Chiaroscuro]

Wow, you are an incredible artist. That's very impressive work. I love it all.

Great work, I love all of that.

.

(on an unrelated note, I looove your art).

Thanks, guys!

 

[Sean C]

Well, that was...quite something. This feels in some ways like a kindred spirit to the drug-fueled novels that began to really enter the American literary canon in the 1950s with the rise of the Beats, but that it was written in the Soviet Union a generation earlier (though only published in the 1960s due to censorship). I'm sure it felt like quite a breath of fresh air in that environment, and it's by times fascinating to read, but its consistent stylistic weirdness never particularly feels like it's cohering into anything beyond a series of increasingly strange happenings. Like, the second part of this novel opens with

Spoiler

a writer's mistress being contacted by an agent of the Devil who intermittently looks like a cat, who gives her a skin ointment to rub over herself at night, which she does, which makes her more beautiful and impels her to ride around Moscow on a broomstick naked, while her maid also gets her hands on the ointment and uses it on herself and on her husband, who is turned into a pig by the ointment, and then the maid uses the pig to fly around after the mistress, and then they end up at a giant costume ball being hosted by the Devil and attended by various obscure historical personages. Granted, that's probably the peak of its weirdness, but still.

 

[TwntyOneTwlv]

I finished this up a few days ago. I never knew how terrible a place the rain forest was! Apparently there's a species of fly that plant their eggs on mosquitoes, which get transferred to human flesh when the mosquito bites you. The eggs hatch, and soon you have maggots growing in your skin.

NOOOOOOOOOOOPE

 

[Plasticine]

Finished Skinwalker by Faith Hunter. I really liked it. The central relationship between Jane Yellowrock and Beast made the book work. The New Orleans setting was enjoyable, even if it's not up there with the best depictions of the city I've ever read. Some of the technical stuff, like gun knowledge and motorcycle details, felt awkward. Like they were plugged in from a web search, and not real knowledge of the character. The greater world Hunter built was solid enough. Some things didn't totally make sense, but I think that comes down to the limited viewpoint the first person perspective allows. I'm sure she fleshes out the vampire world better over the next couple of books. But I'm not moving on with the series. At least not yet. Up next:

Again keeping up with the Urban Fantasy. Decided to move onto one of the big time series in the genre.

 

[aravuus]

I think I had to finally drop the Dresden Files around book 6 last week. Harry just got too frustratingly annoying, and stupid, and unfunny, and hypocritical for me to continue. Shame, because I liked everything else about the books.

So I picked up the Harry Potter books again, because why not. Already read the first two over the weekend.

 

[EVOL 100%]

Been reading And Then/Sorekara by Natsume Soseki

Reading this novel is so goddamn painful, it feels like reading about myself in a rather unflattering light.

 

[TTG]

I would describe the ending of Story of Your Life as inevitable, in the way the endings of good stories can be, but we probably mean the same thing. And I like that it was inevitable, it fits. As I said above, I'm not well-read in philosophy, so I didn't really view how Chiang presented the nature of the aliens' mind in that way; I thought it worked quite well. Also, why would god come up? I don't think Chiang was approaching things from that direction, wasn't the aliens' 'omniscience' quite specific? (I would need to re-read the story to discuss this properly). Actually, you might find The Thing Itself pretty interesting.

Yea, it's beautiful. As to why I thought God was relevant, free will at odds with knowing the future and teleological arguments were heated subjects in the past as great thinkers tried, futilely(is that a word), to rationalize Christianity. I thought it was a novel way to interpret that in a sci fi context, it just didn't make for a convincing argument.

I'll look into The Thing Itself, thanks.


Along a similar religious line, I just finished Gilead:

So, if you've seen this book come up every once in a while, but have thought this has nothing to do with what you find interesting, as I did, you may want to give it a try at some point anyway. You'll find the distance between its characters and you a comfort for the emotional punch it packs is acute even this far removed. Not that it's full of grief or draining, the narrator is quite happy and content, but Marilynne Robinson's power to evoke emotion is among the greatest. I should also mention her skill as a writer while I'm at it. I just kept thinking, written in this style with these subjects, it has to flounder at some point, but it never did. I mean, straight from Wikipedia:

Marilynne Robinson’s novel, Gilead, follows the discontinuous form of a letter to reveal pastor John Ames’ parting words to his seven-year-old son. The novel is named after the small town of Gilead, Iowa, a seemingly insignificant place that carries an air of simplicity. Yet, despite this mundane and modest lifestyle, John Ames expresses that though he has “lived [his] life on the prairie, a line of oak trees can still astonish [him]"(Robinson 57).

That sounds really dull and yet this book is a treasure(that has nothing to do with oak trees).

 

[Funyarinpa]

Just finished rereading Dune. Only thought it decent after my first read, but now it's in my top five probably. Holy SHIT. Arrakis. Muad'Dib. The last sentence.

Holy. SHIT.

 

[wilder.Boy]

1984 - George Orwell.

 

[Sean C]

Along a similar religious line, I just finished Gilead:

Heh, I just started that last night.

 

[Ikuu]

Finished second Expanse and now onto:



Pretty good so far, first time I've read a collection of short stories.

 

[Lashley]

I maybe should've started with earlier in the series' but these were 2 for £7 at ASDA

 

[Mastadon]

Just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Just full of incredibly quotable lines - I think I ended up highlighting about 20% of the book. The theme of aestheticism versus morality is perhaps more relevant today than ever.

Next stop on my tour of long-neglected British classics is Great Expectations.

 

[Maklershed]

Finished The Fifth Season - interesting series, reminds me of Mistborn in a way. Now on to Oliver Twist.


Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

 

[TwntyOneTwlv]

I'm currently exactly half-way through Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I have to say, I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying it. All the hate it got led me to believe that it was pretty much a waste of time. But I just finished Part 1, and I'm completely wrapped up in the story.

I'd love to see how this could be pulled off on stage. It must be quite an experience!

 

[fakefaker]

Need a bit of a breather from The Inheritance Trilogy(it's really well done) so jumping into An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel.

 

[dakini]

Just finished North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I really enjoyed how she delved into the relationships between workers and the factory owners. I also in general just love Victorian era prose, so I feel like that automatically makes something three stars in my book lol.

 

[Mumei]

Ah, sorry! I read your post quite quickly on the phone. On a second reading, it is clear that you mean why I choose the username, not what it means. Well, as I said, I am a fan of art in general, and the light/darkness contrast has also other subtle meanings.

While I have been on GAF since 1998/2000 (if I remember right) and I have been using this nickname since 2006 (I swear it was before that, but that it is written on my profile) this is the first time I post on the reading threads. I usually to read a lot more, but now I am going back to the old habit.

About my art? I am quite a beginning really, and while I already have participated on several local expositions, I never shared my works within GAF. Guess I can correct it, if you allow me to hijack the reading thread:

Thanks for sharing! I really like it.

Also, you said that you've participated in a few local expositions? You know, I saw a book at the library recently that was basically about getting your art on display. I can't remember the title offhand, though. I'll try and see if I can find it. It was pretty interesting just flipping through it and reading about it, and I'm not even an artist.

Need a bit of a breather from The Inheritance Trilogy(it's really well done) so jumping into An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel.

For a moment, I thought of the other Inheritance fantasy series.

 

[fakefaker]

For a moment, I thought of the other Inheritance fantasy series.

There's another one? Do tell!

 

[Mumei]

There's another one? Do tell!

As you wish.

 

[Number45]

Along a similar religious line, I just finished Gilead:

Added to my list, purely to find out if there's any relevance to The Dark Tower series in there.

 

[sparky2112]

Y'all gonna make me crack out some Marilynne Robinson, aren't you?

 

[Krowley]

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that Clive Barker's Weaveworld is available on Amazon today for 99 cents...

This is probably his best book, or if not it's very close. He's known mostly as a horror writer, but this book is not really a fit for that genre, at least not in a comfortable way. I would describe it as very VERY dark contemporary fantasy.

It's a standalone novel, not part of a series, and quite long. It's twisted and fun and beautifully written. The imagination on display is staggering.

 

[aidan]

Added to my list, purely to find out if there's any relevance to The Dark Tower series in there.

While you're at it, read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Finished: Fatherland
Alternative history, nazi's won the war, cease fire with the US. A high nazi party member is found dead and through the investigation the police officer uncovers a large conspiracy (about:

Spoiler

what happened to the Jews when they were "sent East"

). Decent enough read, bit of an open ending. Would have been interesting to see the fallout in the world once the conspiracy was made public.

Now on to: The Winter Over
Death on Antarctica. At about 10% now.

 

[Peru]

Housekeeping is one of my favorite books, totally unlike anything else I've read. Gilead also great

Just finished North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I really enjoyed how she delved into the relationships between workers and the factory owners. I also in general just love Victorian era prose, so I feel like that automatically makes something three stars in my book lol.

Margaret one of the more sympathetic Victorian heroes for sure. A pragmatic spirit runs through the book.

 

[Number45]

While you're at it, read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Added, thanks.

 

[Mike M]

Almost done with The Troop at this point.

It's been a pretty "meh" experience. I'm driven to distraction by the details of the interstitial experiment notes between chapters because there are errors that only people who have actually worked in biotech research are likely to recognize.

Spoiler

I'm like 99% sure Marshall Bioresources does/did not sell chimpanzees. Even before all research on chimps was banned last year, it was far from trivial to acquire them for research, they wouldn't have been able to get anything without spelling out in extreme detail what they planned to use it for. I suppose it could potentially be hand waved away as "they lied," but the author could have gone with a macaque or a baboon and been more believable. Also, they would not record the animal's weight in pounds, we use the metric system in scientific fields. It's a weird error, especially since he got it right with smaller animals being weighed in grams in an earlier note section.

I actually did a fair amount of coursework in

Spoiler

parasitology

in university, too, so maybe this just isn't an effective story with me because it's just an exaggerated version of things that I've been familiar with for so long that it just doesn't have any impact anymore. Sure, it could be considered gross in parts, but I've seen some shit, man.

 

[Servbot #42]

I'm currently reading The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. This is a wonderful piece of work, it's about a couple of constructor robots that create chaos in the universe with their contraptions. I'm only a couple of stories into the book so far, but it has already revealed itself to be an amusing book, this is not something I expected from Lem considering the couple of books I have read from him.

 

[Ravensmash]

I maybe should've started with earlier in the series' but these were 2 for £7 at ASDA

I've just borrowed Along Came a Spider from a friend. Looking to read it as a break between the Gentleman Bastards series.

I'm an e-reader though, so who knows how I'll get on with a physical book!

 

[JonnyKong]

After exhausting all the Stephen King books I want to read, I thought I might give Dean Koontz a try.

What would you guys say is his best book to start with?

 

[sparky2112]

Y'all gonna make me crack out some Marilynne Robinson, aren't you?

Actually, now that I think about it, in the last days of the Adult...uh, I mean the Obama administration, he hosted a lunch with his favorite current writers - Diaz, Eggers, Zadie Smith, Robinson, and...I'm blanking if there was anyone else...just still, cool as hell...

I love Obama. At the VERY least, he reads books (lookin' at YOU, Cheeto Hitler). And one day I will play a round of golf with him. Maybe.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Finished: Fatherland
Alternative history, nazi's won the war, cease fire with the US. A high nazi party member is found dead and through the investigation the police officer uncovers a large conspiracy (about:

Spoiler

what happened to the Jews when they were "sent East"

). Decent enough read, bit of an open ending. Would have been interesting to see the fallout in the world once the conspiracy was made public.

I enjoyed it for what it was when I read it two decades ago, which I only knew about because there's a movie adaptation with Rutger Hauer.

edit: ah dammit, new page. Well, snipping the picture then.

 

[TTG]

Added to my list, purely to find out if there's any relevance to The Dark Tower series in there.

When Roland says you've forgotten the face of your father he actually means minister John Ames.

Actually, now that I think about it, in the last days of the Adult...uh, I mean the Obama administration, he hosted a lunch with his favorite current writers - Diaz, Eggers, Zadie Smith, Robinson, and...I'm blanking if there was anyone else...just still, cool as hell...

I love Obama. At the VERY least, he reads books (lookin' at YOU, Cheeto Hitler). And one day I will play a round of golf with him. Maybe.

That's really cool. Is there a resource for famous persons' favorite writers/books?

Edit: the last name was Barbara Kingslover. Was this the article? It's really interesting: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/obamas-secret-to-surviving-the-white-house-years-books.html The Three Body Problem, huh.

Anyway, I read Julius Caesar today, but have nothing to say about it. I mean, like a fourth of the text I've seen quoted in other books, so it doesn't have the same punch, but it was fun, it moves fast. I enjoyed recalling ancient Roman history which I haven't so much as thought of for years while reading; it was like oh yea, the second triumvirate was a thing. I also haven't read a play since high school and I really enjoyed the bare dialogue. I think I'll be going back for more.

If someone is interested in the historical fiction side of it, you could read Julius Caesar and Augustus by John Williams back to back. That would be good.