Dominion Strategy Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5  All

Author Topic: My Post to Boast a Bit (A Place to Talk About Books)  (Read 32237 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

yuma

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 695
  • Respect: +609
    • View Profile
My Post to Boast a Bit (A Place to Talk About Books)
« on: November 30, 2012, 09:35:48 pm »
+8

I recently quit facebook and as such I now have nowhere to post about my life accomplishments to people that I know. So instead I thought I would brag here with people that I don't know about how cool I am and accomplished one of my goals this year.

A few weeks ago I completed my goal of reading 40 books this year... I am now up to 43 and hope to hit 50.

Favorite books from this year include:

This Earth of Mankind (The whole Buru Quartet is an amazing look at colonial Indonesia)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Fun, quirky non-stereotypical book about high school)
Cloud Atlas (already been discussed on this forum, but is seriously awesome)
Lolita (been on my list for years, but finally was able to get over that the book was about pedophila, it ended up being a really well written book that made me uncomfortable, but well written books are supposed to do that)
Watership Down (how I never heard of this book as a kid I don't know... It is like Lord of the Rings with rabbits)
The Ragged Trouser Philanthropist (in defense of socialism)
Rooftops of Tehran (a coming to age book set in Iran in the 1970s)


Edit:
List of book recommendations from this thread:
His Dark Materials
Casual Vacancy
The Left Hand of Darkness
Snuff
Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Folding Knife
The Sparrow
Flight Behavior
Invitation to the Beheading
The Great Train Robbery
Faust
Kalevala
The Little Mermaid
Song of Saya
The Hobbit
To Kill a Mockingbird
Count of Monte Cristo
Wheel of Time
Worm
Game of Thrones
Love in the Time of Cholera
Crabwalk
The Trial
Disgrace
Gravity's Rainbow
S.
The Earth to the Moon
Open veins of latin america
Leave it to Psmith
When Nietzsche Wept
The Unconsoled
The Girl With Glass Feet
Fabian: The Story of A Moralist
Gaming Instinct
Snow Crash
Sphere
Never Let Me Go
Colorless Tsukuru and His Years of Pilgrimage
Norwegian Wood
The Idiot
« Last Edit: November 12, 2015, 10:42:05 pm by yuma »
Logged

Captain_Frisk

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1257
  • Respect: +1263
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2012, 09:48:44 pm »
+4

I recently quit facebook and as such I now have nowhere to post about my life accomplishments to people that I know. So instead I thought I would brag here with people that I don't know about how cool I am and accomplished one of my goals this year.

A few weeks ago I completed my goal of reading 40 books this year... I am now up to 43 and hope to hit 50.

Favorite books from this year include:

This Earth of Mankind (The whole Buru Quartet is an amazing look at colonial Indonesia)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Fun, quirky non-stereotypical book about high school)
Cloud Atlas (already been discussed on this forum, but is seriously awesome)
Lolita (been on my list for years, but finally was able to get over that the book was about pedophila, it ended up being a really well written book that made me uncomfortable, but well written books are supposed to do that)
Watership Down (how I never heard of this book as a kid I don't know... It is like Lord of the Rings with rabbits)
The Ragged Trouser Philanthropist (in defense of socialism)
Rooftops of Tehran (a coming to age book set in Iran in the 1970s)

I'm most proud of you quitting facebook!
Logged
I support funsockets.... taking as much time as they need to get it right.

Donald X.

  • Dominion Designer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6357
  • Respect: +25671
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2012, 09:52:24 pm »
+21

I'm most proud of you quitting facebook!
That's nothing, I can quit facebook while juggling and without breakfast.
Logged

werothegreat

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8172
  • Shuffle iT Username: werothegreat
  • Let me tell you a secret...
  • Respect: +9625
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2012, 12:37:25 am »
+1

I've read quite a bit this year myself, but definitely not 40 books.  This might be overlapping from last winter, but I've read:

His Dark Materials (see the relevant thread in this subforum)
The Casual Vacancy (I enjoyed it, though it took a while to stop laughing at how many times Ms. Rowling used the word "fuck")
The Left Hand of Darkness
Snuff (good, but not as good as other Discworld books)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Hugo loves his architecture)
The Folding Knife (rather fascinating read about the politics of one's life)

I'm sure there were more, but that's all I can think of...
Logged
Contrary to popular belief, I do not run the wiki all on my own.  There are plenty of other people who are actively editing.  Go bother them!

Check out this fantasy epic adventure novel I wrote, the Broken Globe!  http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Globe-Tyr-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B00LR1SZAS/

Morgrim7

  • Torturer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1701
  • Torturer chains? How primitive.
  • Respect: +748
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2012, 12:44:22 am »
+3

I'm most proud of you quitting facebook!
That's nothing, I can quit facebook while juggling and without breakfast.
i didn't even start facebook to begin with.
Logged
"Oh sweet merciful heavens.

I sit here, lost amongst the cloud, that which is the brain of the Morgrim Mod. Perhaps I will learn the inner workings of that storied mind. Perhaps I will simply go mad.

Mad, I tell you.

Maaaaaaaaaaaaad." -Voltgloss
Dominion Notation: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=7265.msg206246#msg206246

eHalcyon

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8689
  • Respect: +9187
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2012, 12:54:58 am »
+3

Logged

Robz888

  • Margrave
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2644
  • Shuffle iT Username: Robz888
  • Respect: +3388
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2012, 02:54:36 am »
+1

Cool that you read Lolita! That's a great one.

I burned through all 5 Game of Thrones books and then Cloud Atlas between August and three weeks ago, so that's sort of an accomplishment.
Logged
I have been forced to accept that lackluster play is a town tell for you.

Eevee

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1010
  • Shuffle iT Username: Eevee
  • A wild Eevee appears!
  • Respect: +867
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2012, 08:34:33 am »
+8

Most of the stuff I've read lately has been written by Galzria, Robz888, Voltgloss or the likes.
Logged

Lekkit

  • 2011 Swedish Champion
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1253
  • Shuffle iT Username: Lekkit
  • Respect: +674
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2012, 08:42:25 am »
+1

I want to read more than I actually do. Started to reread The Walking Dead recently. That's one good graphic novel (because comic seems really wrong for that genre).
Logged

theory

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3603
  • Respect: +6121
    • View Profile
    • Dominion Strategy
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2012, 08:46:40 am »
+2

Having a Kindle really makes you read a lot more.  I used to read tons, then stopped, but then picked up again after I got a Kindle.
Logged

Lekkit

  • 2011 Swedish Champion
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1253
  • Shuffle iT Username: Lekkit
  • Respect: +674
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2012, 08:55:19 am »
0

Reading on a tablet works too.
Logged

yuma

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 695
  • Respect: +609
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2012, 10:34:33 am »
+2

Cool that you read Lolita! That's a great one.

I burned through all 5 Game of Thrones books and then Cloud Atlas between August and three weeks ago, so that's sort of an accomplishment.

Totally! I finally picked up the first book of Game of Thrones. Really fun read. Reminds me of the fantasy books I read when I was a teenager, but with more depth an much better writing.
Logged

yuma

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 695
  • Respect: +609
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2012, 10:36:02 am »
0

Having a Kindle really makes you read a lot more.  I used to read tons, then stopped, but then picked up again after I got a Kindle.

I have been considering getting a Kindle, but basically told myself that I wouldn't unless it was given to me as a gift. I don't know if it would decrease or increase my reading amounts.

Playing mafia has certainly decreased how much I have read--book wise that is. I am probably reading more in total due to mafia.
Logged

yuma

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 695
  • Respect: +609
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2012, 10:44:08 am »
0

I also read some crappers this year as well. Here are the books I would suggest to avoid.

Vilette (a sob story by the author of Jane Eyre. Here is a tip for publishers: if the writer has characters speak in a foreign language, put the translation at the bottom of the page, not in the back of the book. I got super tired of flipping back to the index every four paragraphs).
Princess of Mars (forget the predictable plot and annoyingly contrived character roles, the racial undertones of this novel was enough for me to want to throw it into the lake I was vacationing at).
Bleak House (I have never read a Charles Dickens novel that I enjoyed, but a someone told me that this one would be different. It wasn't. Never, ever again am I picking up Dickens).
Breakfast at Tiffany's Really surprised at how much I disliked this. I liked it more than the movie, but for all the rave reviews this book got I was left asking "so what?" at the end).
Children of Hurin (I thought I was a huge JRR Tolkein fan, but when it took me 3 weeks to get through 50 pages I knew that this book was a lost cause on me, boring!)
Logged

theory

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3603
  • Respect: +6121
    • View Profile
    • Dominion Strategy
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2012, 11:57:50 am »
+1

Having a Kindle really makes you read a lot more.  I used to read tons, then stopped, but then picked up again after I got a Kindle.

I have been considering getting a Kindle, but basically told myself that I wouldn't unless it was given to me as a gift. I don't know if it would decrease or increase my reading amounts.

Playing mafia has certainly decreased how much I have read--book wise that is. I am probably reading more in total due to mafia.

I totally recommend it.  Get the cheapest kind, the one with ads (the ads are visible only when you're not reading) and watch your time spent reading dramatically rise.

EDIT: Though I am considering getting the Paperwhite because the main drawback of the base version of the Kindle is that you can't read it in the dark.
Logged

greatexpectations

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1097
  • Respect: +1067
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2012, 01:23:06 pm »
0

Watership Down (how I never heard of this book as a kid I don't know... It is like Lord of the Rings with rabbits)

love it! that is one of my favorites. and well done on hitting 40+!

Bleak House (I have never read a Charles Dickens novel that I enjoyed, but a someone told me that this one would be different. It wasn't. Never, ever again am I picking up Dickens).

i think it takes a certain taste and mindset to get into dickens and some others of that era. if you ever decide to give dickens another go, i recommend referring to my user name.
Logged
momomoto: ...I looked at the tableau and went "Mountebank? That's for jerks."
rrenaud: Jerks win.

Dsell

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1290
  • He/Him
  • Respect: +932
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2012, 01:25:07 pm »
0

Bleak House (I have never read a Charles Dickens novel that I enjoyed, but a someone told me that this one would be different. It wasn't. Never, ever again am I picking up Dickens).

i think it takes a certain taste and mindset to get into dickens and some others of that era. if you ever decide to give dickens another go, i recommend referring to my user name.

Cannot agree with this more. Great Expectations is my favorite book and Dickens is my favorite author. I can totally understand why people wouldn't love his stuff but I have trouble seeing how people could hate him.
Logged
"Quiet you, you'll lynch Dsell when I'm good and ready" - Insomniac


Winner of Forum Survivor Season 2!

Ozle

  • Cartographer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3625
  • Sorry, this text is personal.
  • Respect: +3360
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #17 on: December 01, 2012, 01:29:55 pm »
+1

Ugh, Dickens. Boring and depressing.

Logged
Try the Ozle Google Map Challenge!
http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=7466.0

Sullying players Enjoyment of Innovation since 2013 Apparently!

yuma

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 695
  • Respect: +609
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #18 on: December 01, 2012, 04:26:05 pm »
+2

Watership Down (how I never heard of this book as a kid I don't know... It is like Lord of the Rings with rabbits)

love it! that is one of my favorites. and well done on hitting 40+!

Bleak House (I have never read a Charles Dickens novel that I enjoyed, but a someone told me that this one would be different. It wasn't. Never, ever again am I picking up Dickens).

i think it takes a certain taste and mindset to get into dickens and some others of that era. if you ever decide to give dickens another go, i recommend referring to my user name.

I do agree, but I would say that I am a fan of many of Dicken's contemporaries. I would consider Dostoevsky to be my favorite along with Tolstoy. I just read and enjoyed, but didn't love Vanity Fair by Thackery. Victor Hugo, Dumas (although I consider him to be the Dan Brown of the 1800s), Chaucer, Austen, Kipling and Stevenson are all favorites. So I don't know what it is about Dickens.

I will try Great Expectations at some point I suppose, but I am going to wait a while. Bleak House left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.
Logged

werothegreat

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8172
  • Shuffle iT Username: werothegreat
  • Let me tell you a secret...
  • Respect: +9625
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #19 on: December 01, 2012, 07:22:11 pm »
+1

Princess of Mars (forget the predictable plot and annoyingly contrived character roles, the racial undertones of this novel was enough for me to want to throw it into the lake I was vacationing at).

You are not allowed to hate Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The John Carter series is awesome, and ERB really is the father of science fantasy.  Wheel of Time?  Star Wars?  Avatar?  Eragon?  Never would have happened without John Carter.
Logged
Contrary to popular belief, I do not run the wiki all on my own.  There are plenty of other people who are actively editing.  Go bother them!

Check out this fantasy epic adventure novel I wrote, the Broken Globe!  http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Globe-Tyr-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B00LR1SZAS/

yuma

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 695
  • Respect: +609
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #20 on: December 01, 2012, 07:34:20 pm »
+1

Princess of Mars (forget the predictable plot and annoyingly contrived character roles, the racial undertones of this novel was enough for me to want to throw it into the lake I was vacationing at).

You are not allowed to hate Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The John Carter series is awesome, and ERB really is the father of science fantasy.  Wheel of Time?  Star Wars?  Avatar?  Eragon?  Never would have happened without John Carter.

perhaps... but the overt racism and dismissal of "lower races" was pretty disgusting. Yes, I know he was from a different time period but it wasn't anything I was interested in reading.

And haven't read any of the above. Star Wars is fun, Avatar creative... but I could live w/o them.
Logged

chwhite

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1065
  • Respect: +442
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #21 on: December 01, 2012, 10:10:06 pm »
0

I also read some crappers this year as well. Here are the books I would suggest to avoid.
Bleak House (I have never read a Charles Dickens novel that I enjoyed, but a someone told me that this one would be different. It wasn't. Never, ever again am I picking up Dickens).

I have also never been able to stomach Dickens.  Though to be fair the entire 19th century is pretty much not my cup of tea as far as literature goes, with the possible exception of some Russian stuff.

I've never read Lolita, but Pale Fire is probably my all-time favorite novel and I keep telling myself I'll pick up more Nabokov someday.
Logged
To discard or not to discard?  That is the question.

werothegreat

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8172
  • Shuffle iT Username: werothegreat
  • Let me tell you a secret...
  • Respect: +9625
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #22 on: December 01, 2012, 10:10:21 pm »
+1

Princess of Mars (forget the predictable plot and annoyingly contrived character roles, the racial undertones of this novel was enough for me to want to throw it into the lake I was vacationing at).

You are not allowed to hate Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The John Carter series is awesome, and ERB really is the father of science fantasy.  Wheel of Time?  Star Wars?  Avatar?  Eragon?  Never would have happened without John Carter.

perhaps... but the overt racism and dismissal of "lower races" was pretty disgusting. Yes, I know he was from a different time period but it wasn't anything I was interested in reading.

And haven't read any of the above. Star Wars is fun, Avatar creative... but I could live w/o them.

My reading saw it as more of a descriptive thing than as a preferred way to do things.  Mr. Burroughs created a society that operated in a certain way, and threw a character into it.  Would you say that A Song of Ice and Fire is sexist because everyone in it treats women badly?
Logged
Contrary to popular belief, I do not run the wiki all on my own.  There are plenty of other people who are actively editing.  Go bother them!

Check out this fantasy epic adventure novel I wrote, the Broken Globe!  http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Globe-Tyr-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B00LR1SZAS/

eHalcyon

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8689
  • Respect: +9187
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #23 on: December 01, 2012, 10:12:49 pm »
+2

Which Avatar are we talking about here?

Avatar: The Last Airbender is the best (movie notwithstanding).  Avatar the big 3D blockbuster was very pretty, but not creative.



As for Eragon, I enjoyed the novels but I don't think they were actually any good.  I consider them a guilty pleasure.  Twilight for guys.  I like them, but I also recognize them as super generic fantasy that really follows all the usual tropes.
Logged

yuma

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 695
  • Respect: +609
    • View Profile
Re: My Post to Boast a Bit
« Reply #24 on: December 01, 2012, 10:38:50 pm »
+1

Princess of Mars (forget the predictable plot and annoyingly contrived character roles, the racial undertones of this novel was enough for me to want to throw it into the lake I was vacationing at).

You are not allowed to hate Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The John Carter series is awesome, and ERB really is the father of science fantasy.  Wheel of Time?  Star Wars?  Avatar?  Eragon?  Never would have happened without John Carter.

perhaps... but the overt racism and dismissal of "lower races" was pretty disgusting. Yes, I know he was from a different time period but it wasn't anything I was interested in reading.

And haven't read any of the above. Star Wars is fun, Avatar creative... but I could live w/o them.

My reading saw it as more of a descriptive thing than as a preferred way to do things.  Mr. Burroughs created a society that operated in a certain way, and threw a character into it.  Would you say that A Song of Ice and Fire is sexist because everyone in it treats women badly?

I have never read A Song of Ice and Fire so can't comment on that.

I think my problem with John Carter is really the very beginning of the book. There he is chased by American Natives and attacked. He escapes and falls asleep and ends up on Mars. And the Martian world that he goes into reflects the stereotypes and and racist views of white Europeans toward Native Americans at that time--and still held today. The Green Men are tribal, they have no value of family, loyalty nor a desire for education or civilization. But a white man--who by the way can do no wrong, even when he slaughters hundreds of Green Men while there--comes and attempts to teach them the true way of existing. He teaches them how to fight properly, of loyalty, of family values, of everything that the Green Men--and the Natives that chased him at the beginning of the book--lack. He is the Savior. Without him they would have been left to a squalled and horrible society, but now that he is there everything will be better. Because he is the supreme white man and is better than they are.

Maybe I read too much into it. I don't think the Burroughs intended for that to be the point. I think he was just trying to write a story that was exciting and interesting--and at times it was--but all I could see when I read it was the above and frankly found it repugnant.
Logged
Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5  All
 

Page created in 0.059 seconds with 21 queries.