Reading Books For Pleasure

[IrisAlthea]

Yes, there is a definite change, but it's very slow. I understand why it's a sore subject to many here and the conversation is still very polite and only focused on the successes. They were very dire times, we almost ceased to exist as an independent country and had to dig very deep and do things no one can be proud of in order to survive. But it also brought us together as a nation, the country was extremely divided until then.

I think the conversation here and in Sweden is very different in that regard. It wasn't an active war for you, so your perspective is different. People here still refuse to admit that we fought alongside the Nazis - not for Nazi reasons (although there were plenty of Nazi sympathizers here, won't deny that) but anyway. It's ridiculous. There is actually a word that's used to describe the kind of war relationship Finland had with Germany back then and it isn't used in any other context, ever. I mean, if that doesn't make your bells ring that maybe it's a madeup concept, I don't know what will. My 8th grade teacher did not like me pointing this out.

And don't get me started on how many people here think that Finland "won" the war. As in forced the Soviets to stop shooting and that's why we remained independent. The discussion about the war and the following decades is very clouded here, but it's slowly changing.

Oh absolutely, very different conversations. I think the fact that they are changing in both countries now has a lot to do with the generations that were more actively involved nit being here anymore, younger generations are inheriting old letters etc.

I was in the 9th I think when I asked about the reasoning about those train transports and neutrality and it turned out that there is in fact such a thing as a bad question. After the parent teacher conference my mother imparted the wisdom that not everything that goes on in my head needs to leave by the mouth and that beeing right doesn’t always help.

 

[twister947]

No wonder I'm confused...

 

[seela]

Oh absolutely, very different conversations. I think the fact that they are changing in both countries now has a lot to do with the generations that were more actively involved nit being here anymore, younger generations are inheriting old letters etc.

I was in the 9th I think when I asked about the reasoning about those train transports and neutrality and it turned out that there is in fact such a thing as a bad question. After the parent teacher conference my mother imparted the wisdom that not everything that goes on in my head needs to leave by the mouth and that beeing right doesn’t always help.

Yes, the older generations not being here is definitely a driving force in this.

And funny, I got the same speech from my dad after they were told about my a little too on the nose questions and comments in classes. He said that don't always have to open my mouth even if I know I'm right about something.

Sometimes I wonder how I didn't get beat up in school every day. I was even more of a know-it-all back then than I am now. In hindsight, just insufferable.

No wonder I'm confused...

What are you confused about?


In book news, I read The Flames by Olaf Stapledon. A short little book. Not one of his best work, not nearly on par with the mindblowingly good Last and First Men and Star Maker.

 

[twister947]

Your history. I know nothing.

 

[seela]

Your history. I know nothing.

I would be very surprised if you knew something. We're not exactly a significant country in the grand scheme of things.

And like Iris mentioned, she hasn't been taught much anything about Finnish history, and she lives right next door. So if they don't know, I don't see why Americans would know unless it's through a personal interest, of course.

I find history very interesting from the perspective of what's told and how and what's left out. Sweden and Finland were the same country for hundreds of years. In Sweden when talking about that time, I bet, the country is simply called Sweden. Here it's called Sweden-Finland (although I think that's changing too), even though there's no legit reason for that. Finland as a separate nation or state didn't exist, so it makes no sense to talk about Sweden-Finland. It's misleading, it was a very different situation than, say, Austria-Hungary.

It's a very fine example of using history to build a national identity, even if it's based on false facts.

 

[pantyboidoe]

The Commitments - Roddy Doyle

I am always looking for and trying to read contemporary fiction (to certain personal failings as the contemporary fiction that I enjoy most is rather narrow, but I do try to read everything). This (The Commitments) is just a wonderful read.

Have greatly enjoyed Sally Rooney & Claire Keegan among some others. Always up for other recommendations or leads on Irish writers.

 

[seela]

The Commitments - Roddy Doyle

I am always looking for and trying to read contemporary fiction (to certain personal failings as the contemporary fiction that I enjoy most is rather narrow, but I do try to read everything). This (The Commitments) is just a wonderful read.

Have greatly enjoyed Sally Rooney & Claire Keegan among some others. Always up for other recommendations or leads on Irish writers.

I looked up The Commitments and it looks interesting.

Is there a special reason why you enjoy Irish writers?

 

[pantyboidoe]

I looked up The Commitments and it looks interesting.

Is there a special reason why you enjoy Irish writers?

i study the Irish language (and can speak it rather poorly) + it's my favorite place to visit in the world. And i think they have a beautiful voice and based on my visits they have some of the best storytellers i've ever met. Sally Rooney is by far one of my favorite contemporary writers and every book that i've read of hers i have felt a deep connection to and it just seems to fit to a time in place that i am always trying to write to, myself.

 

[FurryFury]

To Be Where You Are (Mitford Years #14) by Jan Karon 4/5

What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories by Laura Shapiro 3/5

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix 1/5

The Incarnations by Susan Barker 2/5

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Strong #1) by Kwame Mbalia 2/5

Where Is Joe Merchant? by Jimmy Buffett 4/5

 

[FurryFury]

I love Queer Eye and JVN but I've not read the book yet.

Loved Poisonwood Bible.

Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness.

I was given this book by someone and I can see why. The thought behind the gesture is nice, but I just couldn’t get into this. I didn’t know JVN, never seen a single episode of the Queer Eye, so I really went in as a blank canvas without knowing what to expect. But meh. I didn’t enjoy this one. I guess the story is nice, love yourself, you can overcome obstacles etc. But not really my book.

Next I’m gonna finish Andromeda Nebula by Ivan Yefremov that I put on hold for the JVN book and then start The Poisonwood Bible mentioned by Iris. Except that I’ll read it in Swedish because the Swedish translation was available in the library and the English and Finnish weren’t.

 

[FurryFury]

I've read everything by Octavia Butler I could. I've read Kindred in regular and graphic novel format.

Loved Ove too.

Will look up Less.

Longish story, but I tried to stop reading books written by white guys (which I am) as a way to expand my perspectives. Some of the best books I’ve read recently:
Homegoing - by Yaa Gyasi...two sisters separated at young age in west Africa during the slave trading years. One is enslaved and one has a child with a British officer...the long winding story covers the divergent family paths.

Kindred - Octavia Butler (one of the only really notable Black woman science fiction writers)...Black woman time travels back to slavery era...very heavy but amazing.

The Ibis Trilogy - Amitav Ghosh...three volume story set during the Opium wars era...covers Britain, India, China, Hong Kong, etc. Fabulous story telling set in an important historical time I didn’t know much about.

The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett...book about twins who separate and end up in vastly different worlds...both are Black, but one passes herself off as white...really great dive into race...

These are all pretty heavy. I’m also in a book club in which the participants ONLY want lighter books but with excellent writing. We’ve read A Man Called Ove, and Less. Both are really good and interesting perspectives. The first about a widow growing old. The second about a gay man having a bit of a midlife crisis. Easy reads, but excellent writing.

 

[IrisAlthea]

The Commitments - Roddy Doyle

I am always looking for and trying to read contemporary fiction (to certain personal failings as the contemporary fiction that I enjoy most is rather narrow, but I do try to read everything). This (The Commitments) is just a wonderful read.

Have greatly enjoyed Sally Rooney & Claire Keegan among some others. Always up for other recommendations or leads on Irish writers.

I like Dervala McTiernan a lot.

Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, is well worth reading too.

The private wound by Nicholas Blake is from the late 60’s but it is a great story set in Ireland about a love triangle (or perhaps even proto-poly?) and narrow minds in a small village.

I love Queer Eye and JVN but I've not read the book yet.

Loved Poisonwood Bible.

I’ve been trying to read Unsheltered by Kingsolver, but the topic of suicide is a bit too much right now, so I’m putting it aside for a while.
Started reading The Address by Fiona Davis. It’s about two women in different times connected by the Dakota building in NYC. So far I like the historic parts best.

I've read everything by Octavia Butler I could. I've read Kindred in regular and graphic novel format.

Loved Ove too.

Will look up Less.

I have The parable of the sower by Butler but haven’t read it yet. Have you read it and if so, what did you think about it?

 

[Bramblethorn]

Those would be some hefty hippos, I think.

I recently read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
It’s about a Southern Baptist Missionary family who leave the US in the late 50s for the Belgian Congo. The go without the full blessing of their organization and stay after the independence without any support.

I really liked it so I got Unsheltered by the same author. I do like it but I’m having trouble focusing on it right now, so I’ve put it aside for a while.

There are quite a lot of hippos, and they do eat a lot of people in two short books, so I guess it's possible.

Almost finished "Taste of Marrow", the sequel to "River of Teeth", and the logistic bits that didn't make any sense in Book 1 still don't make sense. But otherwise fun. I'm reading it to a couple of friends, about forty pages a week, so they have to wait until Wednesday to find out how it ends. Will the star-crossed lovers be reunited? Will the professional killer get her daughter back? ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Seanan McGuire, Across the Green Grass Fields, from the Home For Wayward Children series.

McGuire understands that kelpies that want to eat your heart are scary, but not as terrifying as the cruelty of regular human children. This is book 6 in the series, and it's one of those "if you haven't been following the series you can start from here!" books - which makes sense from a professional perspective, but I'd like a bit more of the continuity from previous books.

Natalie Zina Walschots, Hench.

I'd heard the premise (small-time henchwoman for a B-list supervillain gets badly injured by a careless superhero, and uses a spreadsheet to wreak revenge). Oof. I'd expected something fairly light-heared, but this is seriously angry and downright brutal in places. Stayed up way too late finishing it.

 

[twister947]

Still Life with Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen

This gave me more pleasure than anything I've read in a good while. She is excellent...I wanted it to go on forever.

 

[Curious51228]

I looked up The Commitments and it looks interesting.

Is there a special reason why you enjoy Irish writers?

I'd second the "Commitments" as a great book. It's actually part of a trilogy, "The Barrytown Trilogy", and the other two books, "The Snapper" and "The Van" are also really good. My favorite of the three is "The Van", but it's because it's set during the World Cup and I'm a soccer fan.

I just started the new book by Yaa Gyasi, "Transcendent Kingdom", and so far it's outstanding. I think I mentioned before that her first book, "Homegoing" is really, really spectacular.

 

[Kitschshaman]

'The Fur, Fish, Flea and Beagle Club', by R M Byrd

 

[FurryFury]

The Davis book sounds good.

I liked Parable of the Sower but it's not an easy read at all.

I like Dervala McTiernan a lot.

Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, is well worth reading too.

The private wound by Nicholas Blake is from the late 60’s but it is a great story set in Ireland about a love triangle (or perhaps even proto-poly?) and narrow minds in a small village.



I’ve been trying to read Unsheltered by Kingsolver, but the topic of suicide is a bit too much right now, so I’m putting it aside for a while.
Started reading The Address by Fiona Davis. It’s about two women in different times connected by the Dakota building in NYC. So far I like the historic parts best.


I have The parable of the sower by Butler but haven’t read it yet. Have you read it and if so, what did you think about it?

 

[FurryFury]

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang 4/5

Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen 4/5

Goldilocks by Laura Lam 4/5

When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal 4/5

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk 4/5

500 Miles from You (Scottish Bookshop #3) by Jenny Colgan 4/5

 

[twister947]

'The Fur, Fish, Flea and Beagle Club', by R M Byrd

The title hooked me...I hear echoes of Huckleberry Finn.

 

[Curious51228]

'The Fur, Fish, Flea and Beagle Club', by R M Byrd

Looks great. Will put it on my list…I really like Southern fiction. I grew up down south but live far away from there now.

If anyone else is into Southern or Appalachian fiction or wants to read about the region, another amazing author I’d suggest is Donald Ray Pollock. Amazing author who wrote his first novel in his 50s after working a blue collar job for several decades. His three novels are all amazing. The first two: “Knockemstiff” and “The Devil All the Time” are what I’d call hillbilly noir…dark and some violence set in the Appalachian region of America (where I grew up) in current times. The third, “The Heavenly Table” is quite different and set in the post Civil War South. The last one has some amazing characters that will stick in your mind forever.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Charles Stross, Dead Lies Dreaming, book 10 in the Laundry Archives series.

This one was a bit fucked up, even by the standards of the series. It began with a bunch of elves crucifying Santa outside Hamleys and just got weirder and darker from there.

 

[Payne_Hall]

Charles Stross, Dead Lies Dreaming, book 10 in the Laundry Archives series.

This one was a bit fucked up, even by the standards of the series. It began with a bunch of elves crucifying Santa outside Hamleys and just got weirder and darker from there.

Was this a Futurama episode?

 

[Bramblethorn]

Was this a Futurama episode?

No, UK 2015 in an alternate timeline where Nyarlathotep becomes Prime Minister on a "lesser evil" platform.

 

[Dreamliner]

I have been watching the Aliens series on Netflix. That has sparked my book requests to the local library, a mix of ebooks and hardcopy. It has been fascinating. A wide range of authors, perhaps the most interesting was the research on hieroglyphics, reading what they say.

The "link" across centuries and empires across continents.

Caveat, a friend runs a lab at Stanford, he states adamantly, aliens are here amongst us.