OS Book Club Pt II

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  • Fresh Tendrils
    Strike Hard and Fade Away
    • Jul 2002
    • 36131

    #1186
    Re: OS Book Club Pt II

    Not counting the past 4-5 months - I typically try and stay on top of at least the top 20 or so books on my To Read list. I generally have some list or idea of what I want to read in my head of about 5 books at any time.

    I've done a terrible job this year, though. Hard to look too far in the future right now. I have also done a terrible job on current stuff this year apart from two memoirs that I still have to read.

    Maybe a word document would be better. I don't know. I would need some kind of tagging system to find quotes for various things. When we were working in office I kept a monthly quote on my wall calendar that I would change to something I had read.

    And maybe its a product of me not keeping track, but not marking anything in the books it seems like I'm finding fewer quotes and passages that I would want to go back to anyway.



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    • Fresh Tendrils
      Strike Hard and Fade Away
      • Jul 2002
      • 36131

      #1187
      Re: OS Book Club Pt II

      The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

      I have been familiar with this story since I was a kid and teachers would put on the animated cartoon movie around Halloween as a treat. The things I remember most about the movie is the basic premise of the story - which is essentially a time-travel trip of a history lesson about how Halloween has evolved. Outside of that things are perfectly hazy.

      The book itself is very much about Halloween and its iterations throughout the years. Bradbury's tale is semi-glossed over similar to the movie, but he doesn't necessarily beat away from the humans killing other humans and scattering their broken cultures - and at times - even integrating aspects of those defeated cultures into the conquering's culture and traditions. At its core Halloween is very much about death and the core of Bradbury's tale is very much the same.

      Throughout the book there is a cloud hanging over the group of boys as they navigate time with Mr. Moundshroud as their guide. Its an unspoken anxiety. A fearful thought they are scared to speak into existence. The fear of death suddenly makes itself known to these boys who are still in the prime of their innocence. With their childhood still a long shadow in front of them - to think it could suddenly be cut short. A terrible thought. This thought builds a palpable tension throughout the book. Bradbury is on top of his game here. He seems to revel in the tension of growing out of innocence and the horror of growing up and forgetting. Relishing in the painful tinges of nostalgia.

      The book itself is a tight, concise read. The edition I read was larger print with a handful of illustrations included - basically it could be read in a night or two. In another author's hands I could see this story being overtly childish and whitewashed, but Bradbury strikes a fine balance between being a children's story and being a childhood story. Similar to Something Wicked This Way Comes in that regard. His poetic verse and knack for using the right word to strike that nostalgia pain is just as powerful here. Perhaps more so since the book is so concise and paces itself as constantly moving forward at the speed of adolescent boys full of energy and life in full-sprint.

      I still prefer Something Wicked This Way Comes, but I very much welcome the thought of reading both books or one or the other as a Halloween reading tradition.

      I have not yet started The Power Broker and have been going through a handful of Batman trades: The Court of Owls and The City of Owls by Scott Snyder and Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison.



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      • Fresh Tendrils
        Strike Hard and Fade Away
        • Jul 2002
        • 36131

        #1188
        Re: OS Book Club Pt II

        Every week I go to the post office by my office and then swing by the office to pick up any mail that's accumulated during the week. The only thing really left in my office is an empty bookcase, my filing cabinet, a table, and my desk table which now only has a docking station and telephone on it. The only thing left on the walls is a dry-erase wall calendar that has not been updated since March. I always forget the actual quote by the time I get home, but everytime I go in and read it I have to laugh. It just dawned on me that I most likely included it on my post about the book and I did.

        From Maya Angelou's Heart of a Woman:

        I had to trust life, since I was young enough to believe that life loved the person who dared to live it.
        What a crazy year this has been. I was glancing through some of the books I read at the beginning of the year and posted about in here. It feels like a lifetime ago already.

        We've been watching Lovecraft Country on HBO Max. It is both entirely different from the book, but also very much the same. All the themes are definitely there and the overall narrative is largely the same. Its been awhile since I actually read the book, but I think the show does a great job of meshing everything together for a wholly unique viewing experience. It certainly pulls in familiar influences, but the whole puzzle together is fascinating and feels fresh.

        Not to mention my girl, Jurnee. The actor playing Atticus, Jonathan Majors, gives me Denzel Washington vibes in a lot of scenes. Anyway - definitely recommend it to any fans of the book or Lovecraft lore.



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        • Fresh Tendrils
          Strike Hard and Fade Away
          • Jul 2002
          • 36131

          #1189
          Re: OS Book Club Pt II

          I started The Power Broker and this will probably be the last book of 2020, because this thing is a brick and a half. The introduction is 20-25 pages and works as an overview of Robert Moses's career "in power" and his personality. Basically, the man influenced urban and suburban development across the country by what he managed to do in and around New York City.

          I'm thinking I might need a "lighter read" to accompany it, but I always have a hard time juggling multiple books and giving fair time to each.

          Instead, I've been going through some more Batman TPBs. I finished up The Death of the Family from Snyder and started Batman and Son by Grant Morrison. Both authors share similarities (a compelling grasp on Batman's history and mythos), but the end result is strikingly different. Morrison definitely writes with an almost tongue-in-check style as he boils down Batman to some ridiculous points. Snyder goes in the opposite direction with a more grounded, character driven Bats. Both are enjoyable, but I can see why some wouldn't go back to those grand-arcs from the late 90s and early 00s.



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          • DieHardYankee26
            BING BONG
            • Feb 2008
            • 10178

            #1190
            Re: OS Book Club Pt II

            Lost Stars by Claudia Gray


            This one had one major plus going in and one major minus: the plus was that it's a Star Wars book, the minus is that it's YA. Being in the SW universe I think is cheating a little bit, this took place over the span of the original trilogy up to the beginning of 7 and followed 2 kids (a boy and a girl) that grew up idolizing the Empire and believing it to be the good side, growing up as pilots, going through the academy, doing Star Wars stuff. I liked it a lot honestly. I can't ignore how much the setting makes the book, there's a part in the beginning when one of the kids dances with the princess and if that was Princess Barbara instead of Leia would I have cared? Hard to say, but I thought it was a pretty cool use of the license, telling the same story we all know from a different angle, it's cute. I would read the sequel.



            A Promised Land by Barack Obama


            Spoiler



            Getting into Leviathan Wakes next, mostly because I want to watch the Expanse but I have to read the books first.
            Originally posted by G Perico
            If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
            I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
            In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
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            • Fresh Tendrils
              Strike Hard and Fade Away
              • Jul 2002
              • 36131

              #1191
              Re: OS Book Club Pt II

              Did anybody get any books for Christmas or have any reading oriented resolutions for 2021?

              After ****ting the bed from May to pretty much the end of year I decided to set a weekly reading goal of 100 pages. Which is about ~15 pages a day. Should be doable. Of course The Power Broker would account for 1/4 of my yearly total whenever I finish this beast - so not sure if that's a low bar or not. It feels low, but according to Goodreads my page total for 2020 was only 3820.

              I only read 11 books, but looking back they were some heavy hitters:
              Spoiler


              I'm currently reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - which shouldn't take too long. Along with that I also got the Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin and some odds and ends type of things. I have a bunch from last year I never got to.

              I've decided in order to help parse down my interest in the voluminous genre that is sci fi and fantasy that any "young adult" series will need super high praise for me to pick it up. Too much of the same arch-types running around this genre and the young adult protagonist feels completely basic.

              With that said - does anyone have any recommendations for more mature sci fi/fantasy readings? I have the Song of Fire and Ice, Lord of the Rings, and a handful of others like The Witcher, but its hard finding something that doesn't feature a teenager on the cusp of "destiny."



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              • JohnnytheSkin
                All Star
                • Jul 2003
                • 5914

                #1192
                Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                Originally posted by Fresh Tendrils
                With that said - does anyone have any recommendations for more mature sci fi/fantasy readings? I have the Song of Fire and Ice, Lord of the Rings, and a handful of others like The Witcher, but its hard finding something that doesn't feature a teenager on the cusp of "destiny."
                Don't bother with Ice and Fire as it's unfinished, and the show **** the bed with the final few seasons as you'll want an ending. Lord of the Rings is classic due to how Tolkien created so many of the fantasy tropes and archetypes, but a recent reread was a slog. I loved all the Witcher books, and if the games piqued your interest you'd be well served. There are two books of short stories, one side story to read after (Season of Storms), and then a full five book narrative arc with all the mains from the series. CDPR did a masterful job translating the world.

                That being said, my recommendation would be The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It's finished, the author has a few side books in the world, and has completed two of a planned sequel trilogy without the BS delays of GRRM and Patrick Rothfuss (why I haven't read Name of the Wind). It features three main point of view characters, is grim and dark, has some magic but nearly all of it is real and gritty, characters feel like actual people and grow realistically, and one is named Logen Ninefingers, one of the best names period.



                Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
                I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. - Douglas Adams

                Oh, sorry...I got distracted by the internet. - Scott Pilgrim

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                • Fresh Tendrils
                  Strike Hard and Fade Away
                  • Jul 2002
                  • 36131

                  #1193
                  Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                  Love Lord of the Rings even with all the extra detail and seemingly "useless" scenes. I've read the short stories for The Witcher and have the first (and possibly second) book from the series, but haven't started that before.

                  I read the first 3 (or 4) GoT books during the first and second season. They are great reads, for the most part, but I got frustrated with the show by the middle of the series and bailed. I'd be surprised if he ever finishes the series.



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                  • KSUowls
                    All Star
                    • Jul 2009
                    • 5891

                    #1194
                    Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                    As much as I love the lotr movies, I haven't been able to finish the first book. I'm a total binge reader. When I pick up a book I read it cover to cover almost without fail. It took me like 3 days to get though 150 pages of Fellowship, and I haven't gone back to it since. It crawls along at a snail's pace.

                    For Christmas I did pick up the first 4 books in the Horus Heresy within the Warhammer 40k universe. I'm a fan of sci fi and I've long wanted to get into those stories. Going to get into them soon.

                    Sent from my S10 using Operation Sports mobile app

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                    • dickey1331
                      Everyday is Faceurary!
                      • Sep 2009
                      • 14285

                      #1195
                      Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                      To me the Lord of the Rings books are overrated.

                      I really like the game of thrones books. Way better than the show but we will probably never get the end.


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                      • DieHardYankee26
                        BING BONG
                        • Feb 2008
                        • 10178

                        #1196
                        Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                        I feel like Tolkien is to fantasy what Shakespeare is to English in general, I hear people talk way more about the impact of the LOTR books than the quality. Like I know people like them (love them even) but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone say it’s their favorite book.

                        The Xenogenesis Trilogy by Octavia Butler is great. A stand-alone I have on my list that I’ve heard tons of praise for is Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin, I haven’t read it so I can’t speak to it personally but I haven’t seen a bad impression yet.
                        Originally posted by G Perico
                        If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
                        I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
                        In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
                        The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up

                        Comment

                        • Fresh Tendrils
                          Strike Hard and Fade Away
                          • Jul 2002
                          • 36131

                          #1197
                          Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                          The one book I wanted that I didn't get for Christmas was an Ursula K. Le Guin; A Wizard of Earthsea. It's the first of a six book series called the Earthsea cycle. The summary struck a chord with me for some reason.

                          Reading the summary for Left Hand of Darkness sounds great. Gotta add that.

                          I need to go back through my goodreads list, too. I know I have some fantasy series that are more akin to medieval historical fiction at this point.



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                          • Executor
                            Pro
                            • Aug 2012
                            • 549

                            #1198
                            Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                            The War against the Chtorr from David Gerrold is the absolute best sci-fi series I have ever read. Too bad we will never get an ending to that, though.

                            Peter F. Hamilton's The Reality Dysfunction is also a worthy read, though not nearly on a level of Gerrold.

                            On the fantasy side, the Noble Dead saga from Barb and JC Hendee is fun (especially first six books), too. Not a monumental, Tolkien-like read for sure, but fun nonetheless.
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                            "Greater than I, lesser than I, what does it matter to my functioning?"
                            (Steve Perry: Shadows of the Empire)

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                            • Fresh Tendrils
                              Strike Hard and Fade Away
                              • Jul 2002
                              • 36131

                              #1199
                              Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                              Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

                              I was surprised this had come out so recently (September 2020) because I honestly did a piss-poor job of keeping up with any new release last year especially new books. In a short amount of time it's developed a little bit of hype. I have not read Clarke's highly lauded Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell so I basically went in with little expectation apart from the abstract comparison of similarities to Madeline Miller's Circe which was a superb read.

                              Apart from the style of writing - both books are presented as journals or memoir of sorts - there's really not much similar to Circe. The themes explored are certainly similar (self identity and awareness, repetitious design, a trapped world, etc), but overall this is a book that is more than capable of standing on it's own. Acting as a journal for Piranesi (or so the character in the book is called) as he travels throughout his never-ending labyrinth of vestibules and towers filled with statues and tidal seas. There is evidence of previous life and one other person inhabits the labyrinth along with Piranesi - The Other.

                              The book quickly pulls you into the labyrinth enticing the reader with fantastic imagery and a heaping sense of mysticism that is always lightly lapping at the border of the pages like the tides surrounding the labyrinth. Piranesi navigates through each corridor and vestibule with descriptive grace that makes for some truly mesmerizing passages that were easy to read four or five times before moving on. Once Piranesi has properly introduced the reader to his world the narrative truly begins.

                              Without revealing too much of the actual narrative I'll instead focus on the themes that hit with the biggest impact while I was reading. Themes revolving around depression and anxiety are abundant. The labyrinth itself with its never-ending walls and statues is a perfect representation of these mental fatigues and illnesses. Having been through some rough spells last year this book felt like the perfect way to tie up 2020 and put it on the shelf. There's a sense of lunacy just beneath the surface throughout and its easy to waffle between whether this narrator can be truly trusted or not. Piranesi himself isn't sure. He shows vivid self-awareness throughout, but when going back to some of his earlier journals he has triggering moments of doubt and forgetfulness which ultimately results in him questioning his own identity and sanity. Its certainly capable of being the journal of a madman with a crippling mental illness, but then again it also asks "who the **** isn't mentally unstable at times?"

                              The narrative was fascinating throughout and played out without giving away its own plan. By the end its created a world not necessarily to escape to, but a world that acts as a mirror helping one to escape their own mental weariness.

                              I highly recommend this one.

                              Spoiler



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                              • Fresh Tendrils
                                Strike Hard and Fade Away
                                • Jul 2002
                                • 36131

                                #1200
                                Re: OS Book Club Pt II

                                I finished up Ursula K. Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness over the weekend. Considering it came out in 1969 its core themes and overall premise regarding gender fluidity would still seem ahead of its time if released today. A very solid read and I'll post more detailed thoughts later.

                                I have been using index cards to mark passages I want to revisit. After completing the book my goal is go back through, write down the bookmarked passages on the index card, and then either keep them in the inner jacket or somewhere close to the bookshelf. I feel like this is a better system than simply bookmarking them with post-it notes and writing them down after reading provides a nice review and refresher.

                                My goal was to finish that this weekend and start Du Bois' Black Reconstruction in America: 1860 - 1880 so I could read the bulk of it during February for Black History Month. Du Bois expresses his points and thoughts so effortlessly its amazing to read a historical text that reads so easily, keeping the interest forefront, and urging you to discover more. I've only read the first chapter (The Black Worker) and I'm already astounded. Du Bois has already stringed together slavery as an oppression of not only a whole race of people, but also as an oppression and repression of labor itself. Its amazing to me that I've never connected the dots before, but looking back none of my history classes or texts attempted to make the connection - much less make it so damn clear. I would share more thoughts, but that would probably verge on the political side of things regarding enslaved and cheap labor throughout American history as propped up stilts that held and continues to hold our economy up.

                                Anyway - part of my time reading the chapter was also spent researching modern/current companies that benefitted indirectly and/or directly from the slavery. Its quite centering, really, to realize that we're not far removed from this terrible period of insidious industry. Aetna, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase were a few of the names that kept popping up.

                                Through all of this my To Read list for the year is starting to take shape:

                                Spoiler



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