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[Humdinger]

I've started reading again somewhat recently, these are the books I've finished so far:

The Plague (Albert Camus): It's amazing how a novel from almost eighty years ago can capture so many of the same fears, behaviours and paranoias which occurred decades later in the Covid pandemic. Camus' plague might be fictional but his grasp of human behaviour is astonishingly on-point and he paints an incredibly vivid picture of how the city changes throughout the various stages of the plague, and how the myriad characters react to it for both altruism and cynical self-advancement. The optimistic end-note is a bit out of place, as the book feels more like a chronicle than a judgement until that point (as the narrator says) but the book is a remarkable testament to how well-observed writing can stay relevant for decades and how human nature remains the same even as technology and time advances at pace.

If I remember right, the plague in The Plague is a metaphor for the meaninglessness of life or what Camus called the absurd. The characters represent different ways of dealing with that. You can read it as a story about a pandemic, but you can also read it at a philosophical level. Nearly all of Camus' works reflect his preoccupation, in one way or another, with the theme of the absurd.

Thanks for the thoughts about The Talented Mr. Ripley. I was thinking of picking that one up eventually, just for entertainment.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke

This book was short but fantastic. Really enjoyed finding out what the crew discovers while exploring Rama

Wind and Truth Preview Chapters

I'm all up to date and now I'm anxiously awaiting for the actual release which is coming this December 6

The Orc King by R A Salvatore (The Transitions Trilogy Book 1)

I'm currently reading through this book and it is fantastic. I'm a huge fan of The Legend of Drizzt Series and have to read the rest of the other Forgotten Realms books that are not Legend of Drizzt. I'll be able to finish this before Wind and Truth comes out. So far the story is really good with the same cast I love that I have been following since highschool twenty years ago

 

[Cfh123]

Shadow of the Torturer, by Gene Wolfe. Beautifully written.

The conceit is Gene Wolfe is translating a memoir written far in the future. Archaic or latin words are used to describe things in the future that do not exist now. Thus the reader is left to image what he is describing. The words chosen are evocative so one gets a sense of what the thing is.

I read this book a long time ago, and I believe one or maybe the rest of the books comprising the Book of the New Sun.

 

[calistan]

I'm currently reading Butter, by Asako Yuzuki. It's about a food blogger accused of killing a bunch of wealthy older men she seduces on dating sites, and the non-foodie female journalist who gains her trust by learning to appreciate her recipes. It focuses on the role of women in Japanese society, and there are detailed descriptions of meals that remind me of the album reviews in American Psycho.

Made me realise I hardly ever read anything by modern female novelists. There's so often a feminist theme (women's issues, the patriarchy, etc - it's really heavy in this one) that I don't fully appreciate or it makes me feel like I'm intruding somehow. I wonder if male writers are equally alienating to a female audience, even if it's unwittingly so.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Listening to dungeon crawler carl and it's really good. The way pop culture references work is much better than ready player one which always felt shoehorned.

 

[Windle Poons]

I'm reading a book called The Games That Weren't.

The Games That Weren't

The book The Games That Weren't looks at dozens of retro video games made between 1975 and 2015 that were cancelled, canned, abandoned, or simply unreleased.

www.bitmapbooks.com

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I'm reading a book called The Games That Weren't.

The Games That Weren't

The book The Games That Weren't looks at dozens of retro video games made between 1975 and 2015 that were cancelled, canned, abandoned, or simply unreleased.

www.bitmapbooks.com

That sounds super interesting. I'll add that to my read list

 

[Dr.Morris79]

This guy is my spirit animal.

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

This guy is my spirit animal.

Did you catch that recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Zahi Hawass? It made me want to finally read Hancock's book

Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke

This book was short but fantastic. Really enjoyed finding out what the crew discovers while exploring Rama

Read this one a couple years ago, absolutely loved it. Apparently Denis Villanueve is directing the film adaptation. Have you read any of the Rama sequels?

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Read this one a couple years ago, absolutely loved it. Apparently Denis Villanueve is directing the film adaptation. Have you read any of the Rama sequels?

I'm probably gonna to read the second book later this year

 

[Poppinfresh]

What do you see...?

When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the desert on the outskirts of Los Angeles, the detective assigned to the case can't deny the similarities between this murder and one that occurred a year prior. Media outlets are quick to surmise this is the work of a budding serial killer, but Detective Bill Renney is struggling with an altogether different scenario: a secret that keeps him tethered to the husband of the first victim.

What do you hear...?

Maureen Park, newly engaged to Hollywood producer Greg Dawson, finds her engagement party crashed by the arrival of Landon, Greg's son. A darkly unsettling young man, Landon invades Maureen's new existence, and the longer he stays, the more convinced she becomes that he may have something to do with the recent murder in the high desert.

What do you feel...?

Toby Kampen, the self-proclaimed Human Fly, begins an obsession over a woman who is unlike anyone he has ever met. A woman with rattlesnake teeth and a penchant for biting. A woman who has trapped him in her spell. A woman who may or may not be completely human.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Did you catch that recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Zahi Hawass? It made me want to finally read Hancock's book

I actually didn't but thanks for the nod, I'll definitely be checking that out!

I know folks say Graham's a fraud but I honestly do think he's onto something, I truly believe there is something we're not collectively cottoning onto, a past we're either being lied to about or people are just collectively ignorant about

But this isn't everything.

 

[Nocty]

I'm currently on a re-read of the LOTR books.

It's like meeting an old friend for a beer in a cozy pub somewhere.

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

I actually didn't but thanks for the nod, I'll definitely be checking that out!

I know folks say Graham's a fraud but I honestly do think he's onto something, I truly believe there is something we're not collectively cottoning onto, a past we're either being lied to about or people are just collectively ignorant about

But this isn't everything.

Agreed. The older I get, the harder it is for me to completely buy what the mainstream Egyptologists say are the methods and means used to build the pyramids. Does that means it was aliens? Probably not, but who the fuck knows. It doesn't seem all that far fetched that at some point there were civilizations around that were more advanced in some ways than we are now.