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By Tainari88
#15272248
I am reading a lot of books lately.

La Mujer del Reloj de Alvaro Arbina.

Mysterious Stranger by David Blaine

De Teotihuacan a los Aztecas Antologia
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By Godstud
#15272423
My next book, on my list, after the one I am reading(The Pillars of the Earth) is Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. I have been lax and not reading much, as of late. I need to get back in the habit.
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By MistyTiger
#15273473
I finished Tarnsman of Gor two days ago. Started on Outlaw of Gor, book 2. The overall plot reads like an adventure with some sci fi elements mixed in and Tarl was on a quest. Book 1 finishes on a cliff hanger. I want to see what happens next. I am also reading reader reviews. The longer reviews are interesting and insightful.

One reader says that after book 4 is when it gets bad. I'll see if I want to keep reading after book 2.

I did see how the women were put down in book 1. But I wasn't offended. I found it ridiculous and funny. Some reviews have called Norman a feminist who thinks that women want to be subservient and abused. Sometimes this is true when you see how some women are in relationships with abusive men. A part of them likes it so they stay in the relationship. And there's that song by Annie Lennox, sweet dreams. "Some of them want to abuse you/Some of them want to be abused." Some people are masochists.

My favorite aspect of the book so far were the tarns, the big scary birds that the warriors ride. Wow. I also liked the spider.
By late
#15273477
The Broken Ladder

It's a book about how high levels of income inequality messes with your head.

“Brilliant. . . . an important, fascinating read arguing that inequality creates a public health crisis in America. . . . Payne challenges a common perception that the real problem isn’t inequality but poverty, and he’s persuasive that societies are shaped not just by disadvantage at the bottom but also by inequality across the spectrum. . . . So much of the national conversation now is focused on President Trump, for understandable reasons. But I suspect that he is a symptom as well as a cause, and that to uncover the root of our national dysfunctions we must go deeper than politics, deeper than poverty, deeper than demagoguery, and confront the inequality that is America today.”
—Nicholas Kristof, New York Times

https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Ladder-Inequality-Affects-Think-ebook/dp/B01K1AU10M
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By AFAIK
#15273711
I'm rereading Ntsuo Kirino's books after enjoying them as a teenager many years ago. I'm impressed by how much I've forgotten and it's a real joy to rediscover plot points and characters I haven't thought of in so long. Out is definitely her best work followed by Grotesque and then Real World.
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By Godstud
#15303500
I just finished Death To The Emperor by Simon Scarrow. Nice historical fiction with two good Roman characters, who are Legionnaires(Cato and Macro).

I am now listening to the audiobook The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. It's a fantasy/comedy.

I am also on Book 6 of Red Rising series: Light Bringer by Pierce Brown (Science Fiction) It's a Big one!
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By Pewty
#15303506
Just finishing "Gulag" by Anne Applebaum.

I'm also currently going through as much of Iain M. Banks catalog as I can find at the library. Currently on "Inversions". Best so far was "Surface Detail".

Going to get into some Alastair Reynolds soon, too. Tried "Revelation Space" recently and liked that.
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By Godstud
#15304351
I read Shadow of the Conqueror - Shad M. Brook. Good book. I liked it, as it was nota typical fantasy novel.

I finished Light Bringer - by Pierce Brown. Great book! I read it in no time! best book of the series, I think. I can't wait for the next one.

Now I am onto Empire - Conn Iggulden, and have a few more books lined up by Raymond E. Feist and Simon Scarrow.
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By AFAIK
#15307558
I'm nearing the end of Rogue Elephant by Simon Denyer, which is about modern India's political and social developments from 2000-2014. I don't follow Indian politics closely so I can't judge its accuracy or fairness but it feels informative and readable to me. Any recommendations for a follow up? Preferably something published within the last year that would bring me up to date.

Before that I read The Forbidden Game in which Dan Washburn discusses the boon in golf course construction that took place in China despite an official ban on all new courses. It was interesting to view China's modernisation from a unique perspective even though I have no interest in golf.
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By Godstud
#15307562
Just finished Master of Furies, by Raymond E. Feist.

Now reading book 1 of the Emperor series, by Conn Iggulden: The Gates of Rome. Good historical fiction of Ancient Rome.
By skinster
#15307828
The last book I finished was on "the Houthis" by Caleb Maupin, about the Yemeni resistance called Ansar Allah. He put Houthis in the title of the book because of how so many in the West erroneously call Ansar Allah that. A good short history. I love Ansar Allah much.

AFAIK wrote:I'm nearing the end of Rogue Elephant by Simon Denyer, which is about modern India's political and social developments from 2000-2014. I don't follow Indian politics closely so I can't judge its accuracy or fairness but it feels informative and readable to me. Any recommendations for a follow up? Preferably something published within the last year that would bring me up to date.


I don't know his books but I know Vijay Prashad writes a bunch on India, he might be worth checking out. He's a socialist. I've seen some of his talks and interviews and he seems mostly good. Otherwise, Arundhati Roy might be good too. I've only read some of her stuff on Kashmir years ago, but apparently she's very popular generally.
By Truth To Power
#15327107
Pewty wrote:I'm also currently going through as much of Iain M. Banks catalog as I can find at the library. Currently on "Inversions". Best so far was "Surface Detail".

I like Banks a lot, and have half a dozen of his books on my shelf. The Culture series is often pretty dark, but also features a kind of best-case-scenario for our future relationship with superhuman artificial intelligence (SAI).
By Truth To Power
#15327108
MistyTiger wrote:I finished Tarnsman of Gor two days ago. Started on Outlaw of Gor, book 2.

Read a few of those about 50 years ago. Where on earth (sic) did you find them?
One reader says that after book 4 is when it gets bad.

If you don't think it's bad yet, you might be in for the long haul. I met a guy years ago whose gf had the whole series of 15-odd books, well dog-eared. Whoa.
My favorite aspect of the book so far were the tarns, the big scary birds that the warriors ride.

<Spoiler alert> Google "Houseplants of Gor" if you want to lose any respect for those books that you might have had.
By Truth To Power
#15327109
Just finished "Saving Capitalism" by Robert Reich. It's quite US-centric, and there's no real understanding of what is wrong with capitalism, but it had a lot of information about abusive American institutions and political corruption. Lots of wishful thinking and band-aid solutions.
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By Pewty
#15327157
Truth To Power wrote:I like Banks a lot, and have half a dozen of his books on my shelf. The Culture series is often pretty dark, but also features a kind of best-case-scenario for our future relationship with superhuman artificial intelligence (SAI).


I enjoy reading Alastair Reynolds right now, as well. Just finished Chasm City, which I recommend.

I picked up a copy of Reamde, by Neal Stephenson, thinking it was science fiction. It's not, (unless my understanding of role playing computer games is way off), but it's a great read.
Last edited by Pewty on 14 Oct 2024 22:31, edited 1 time in total.
By Truth To Power
#15327166
late wrote:The Broken Ladder

It's a book about how high levels of income inequality messes with your head.

The ladder metaphor gets it completely wrong. A ladder is a tool whereby people go up and down by their own efforts. What we have in modern capitalist economies is an escalator that bears the rich and privileged upward with no effort or contribution on their part, powered by a treadmill that working people toil their lives away on, getting nowhere, just to avoid falling off the back.
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