Books!

[nullPointer]

Earlier this year I asked about other books like Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and after bouncing around a bit I finally settled into a groove with Charles Bukowski. I'd read some of his poetry but I'd never read the novels. So over the summer I read:

Ham on Rye,
Factotum,
Post Office,
and Women

I had set out to find something similar in tone to McCarthy, but landed on something wholly different. Whereas McCarthy is a master of darkly ornate prose laden with symbolism and occasionally even surrealism, Bukowski is a brutally cynical realist. His prose is blunt, to the point, and doesn't have time for your bullshit. In some ways Bukowski's style owes a huge debt to the beat writers, but he'd probably aggressively resent the comparison. Frankly his drunk, disgusting, lecher spiel starts to wear thin after four straight novels of it, but there's no denying that he had an incredible talent for the written word, which is probably why you're reading his work in the first place.

[casterofdreams]

Read and enjoyed Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Good stuff. Highly recommended. Not as grim and message-laden as Forever War, but also not as well-written. More accessible and entertaining, however.

I recently heard of John Scalzi. I purchased Lock In recently on Audible and plan to listen soon.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I recently finished up Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. It was pretty great. Reminded me of both Roadside Picnic by Arcady and Boris Strugatsky and The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft (with just a hint of Shadow Tower by From Software!). It was significantly better than both of those, and I really enjoyed reading it. I am looking forward to its sequels, and I am also really looking forward to the movie adaptation, which I have read is more “inspired by” than a straight adaptation (and also is directed by Alex Garland, the director behind Ex Machina).

[REPO Man]

What happened y’all? We stop reading/listening to books all of a sudden during the Summer.

Two jobs, totalling the better part of 70-75 hours a week, with a side of averaging at least 3-5 hours of sleep per night, counting sleeping in two days a week.

Still haven't finished the book I started in April, which kinda fucks up my resolution to read 1 new book a month. Graphic novels and rereads don't count.

[casterofdreams]

What happened y’all? We stop reading/listening to books all of a sudden during the Summer.

Two jobs, totalling the better part of 70-75 hours a week, with a side of averaging at least 3-5 hours of sleep per night, counting sleeping in two days a week.

Still haven't finished the book I started in April, which kinda fucks up my resolution to read 1 new book a month. Graphic novels and rereads don't count.

I recommend listening to books. I too don’t have time to sit and read. So I started listening to books through paid and unpaid means.

[marurun]

Listening to books is great when you're doing something menial like driving or washing dishes, but I find I read a lot faster than I listen, so if I really want to absorb a book quickly, usually because I just love it, I'm going to sit down and read it.

[REPO Man]

I usually listen to music, creepypasta narrations and I sometimes play various videos, typically countdown videos (like the ones from That Creepy Reading and Tats) and lately mini-documentaries (like one on D&D during the Satanic Panic or a two-part one about the Amiga). I much prefer to actually read books. I'm counting eBooks, though some don't.

[Bernord]

I usually listen to music, creepypasta narrations and I sometimes play various videos, typically countdown videos (like the ones from That Creepy Reading and Tats) and lately mini-documentaries (like one on D&D during the Satanic Panic or a two-part one about the Amiga). I much prefer to actually read books. I'm counting eBooks, though some don't.

Yep, strangely some people do not accept ebooks as real reading. And i find it very difficult to find printed books for the topics i am reading (alchemy, philosophy, kabbalah etc.)
You need a really comfy chair to be able to read printed books though, when i tried, i always got a numb hand, or just overall uncomfortable XD and i don't like the lighting on the printed format, computer is self illuminated XD I get you

[casterofdreams]

Books are books. It doesn’t matter if it’s in physical form, an ebook, or audio.

The purposes are the same: to escape into a different world or learn something you didn’t know before.

As long as you enjoy it who gives a damn about those paper book elitist

[REPO Man]

It's just that I have an easier time reading a book over listening to an audiobook. I swear it makes sense to me.