The Books/Reading Thread

[EternalMetal]

Thanks man. I'd start with Blindsight, yes; and just know that while his other books are good, none of them quite live up to the insanity and intelligence that is Blindsight. The closest would be the second book of his Rifters trilogy, Maelstrom (in my opinion). I'm excited to see how Freeze-Frame stacks up.

Blindsight it is then, thanks for the info.

Never read the Wells, but I'm a big Le Guin fan. Haven't read any of her Earthsea books, but the Hainish novels are very good, even if you're not fully on board with political sf.

It isnt that I have a problem with politics in my sci-fi, I just thought Le Guin was just a bit insincere when painting capitalist greed with the broad stroke of a brush. From what I could tell, the goal of this book was to equally and fairly compare and contrast the pros and cons of capitalism and anarcho-communism. I just thought her message was a bit muddled when her bias against capitalism resonated throughout the book. Still, I do enjoy books that tick me off and challenge my viewpoints, so maybe this was also her intent. I havent hated and liked a book so much since I read the unedited version of Stranger in a Strange Land. After some thought, maybe ill give The Left Hand of Darkness a chance after all.

School reading/work load has prevented me from doong any pleasure reading in book form so far in graduate school. Im trying to commit to at least one book per month this year.

I feel you. Back in undergrad I dont think I read more than one or two books a year. Since then ive read countless sci-fi books and the entirety of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (even if close to half of those were on audiobook). I dont read non-fiction because real life sucks.

 

[Dak]

I feel you. Back in undergrad I dont think I read more than one or two books a year. Since then ive read countless sci-fi books and the entirety of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (even if close to half of those were on audiobook). I dont read non-fiction because real life sucks.

I didn't read non-fiction when my life sucked. I bought and read a ton of fantasy fiction from a few authors in my early 20s (which now gather dust on my shelves). Once I embraced the absurdity and impact of life and consciousness, I found non-fiction to be a lot more interesting. Now I have a hard time focusing on fiction because I feel like I'm spending time not-learning and most of it is just rehashing of archetypes with varied prose.

 

[Einherjar86]

It isnt that I have a problem with politics in my sci-fi, I just thought Le Guin was just a bit insincere when painting capitalist greed with the broad stroke of a brush. From what I could tell, the goal of this book was to equally and fairly compare and contrast the pros and cons of capitalism and anarcho-communism. I just thought her message was a bit muddled when her bias against capitalism resonated throughout the book. Still, I do enjoy books that tick me off and challenge my viewpoints, so maybe this was also her intent. I havent hated and liked a book so much since I read the unedited version of Stranger in a Strange Land. After some thought, maybe ill give The Left Hand of Darkness a chance after all.

Le Guin is of the opinion that sf is metaphor, and that its purpose is to run thought experiments. That being the case, I think she tends toward extremes in order to explore potential effects. She writes about this in the intro to The Left Hand of Darkness. Speaking of, Left Hand is my personal favorite of her books. She imagines sexuality itself as the most alien of qualities, and yet still so familiar. I wouldn't call it a political book, but it definitely wears its political concerns on its sleeve in that it's curious about the relationship between gender and sexuality. That said, I don't think it promotes any one political view of sexual identity. The most I can say about it is that it's just strange, which is what I love about it.

 

[EternalMetal]

I didn't read non-fiction when my life sucked. I bought and read a ton of fantasy fiction from a few authors in my early 20s (which now gather dust on my shelves). Once I embraced the absurdity and impact of life and consciousness, I found non-fiction to be a lot more interesting. Now I have a hard time focusing on fiction because I feel like I'm spending time not-learning and most of it is just rehashing of archetypes with varied prose.

I exaggerated a bit, I just meant that real life stories imo lack the grandiose sense of adventure and excitement that a good fictional story can offer (not necessarily that my life sucks or anything). Ive always been a big hard sci-fi fan and enjoy reading about theoretical 'larger than life' scenarios. Id agree to a certain extent that a lot of fiction is a bit sub-par and not very thought provoking (re-hashing is definitely a big issue), but there are still plenty of gems out there, and I still experience much joy when I find one. Non-fiction can be good too, but I tend not to enjoy it as much since I like a bit more than just good characterization.

Plus, reading isnt always about learning, and ive gotten many good laughs out of something like a Pratchett Discworld novel or a Douglass Adams novel.

Le Guin is of the opinion that sf is metaphor, and that its purpose is to run thought experiments. That being the case, I think she tends toward extremes in order to explore potential effects. She writes about this in the intro to The Left Hand of Darkness. Speaking of, Left Hand is my personal favorite of her books. She imagines sexuality itself as the most alien of qualities, and yet still so familiar. I wouldn't call it a political book, but it definitely wears its political concerns on its sleeve in that it's curious about the relationship between gender and sexuality. That said, I don't think it promotes any one political view of sexual identity. The most I can say about it is that it's just strange, which is what I love about it.

Sounds like it is worth a read for me then. I really did enjoy critiquing her theoretical anarcho-communist utopia, but in contrast her capitalist society was rather austere in presentation (I guess we can just look at modern society and analyze it if we want instead). As for her gender/sexuality ideas, I can only imagine how outside my comfort zone that might be (which is a good thing imo).

 

[Dak]

I exaggerated a bit, I just meant that real life stories imo lack the grandiose sense of adventure and excitement that a good fictional story can offer (not necessarily that my life sucks or anything). Ive always been a big hard sci-fi fan and enjoy reading about theoretical 'larger than life' scenarios. Id agree to a certain extent that a lot of fiction is a bit sub-par and not very thought provoking (re-hashing is definitely a big issue), but there are still plenty of gems out there, and I still experience much joy when I find one. Non-fiction can be good too, but I tend not to enjoy it as much since I like a bit more than just good characterization.

Plus, reading isnt always about learning, and ive gotten many good laughs out of something like a Pratchett Discworld novel or a Douglass Adams novel.

Well I certainly had my fantasy authors I liked (not Pratchett), and I have some scifi I'd read if I had more free time (mostly the 40k Black Library). But I would push back on the lack of grandiose adventure in nonfiction. There's nothing more interesting than the lived experiences of real persons in extraordinary situations.

 

[EternalMetal]

Well I certainly had my fantasy authors I liked (not Pratchett), and I have some scifi I'd read if I had more free time (mostly the 40k Black Library). But I would push back on the lack of grandiose adventure in nonfiction. There's nothing more interesting than the lived experiences of real persons in extraordinary situations.

Ok, ill bite. What kind of books do you have in mind? Maybe my experience with non-fiction is just lackluster and I have yet to read some true quality journalism. It is just that ive always had an interest in science and technology, so im just extremely biased. Im not even that big of a fantasy (without sci-fi) reader, so my interests usually lie in believable technological futures or scientific theoretical worlds (like Mission of Gravity).

 

[Dak]

Ok, ill bite. What kind of books do you have in mind? Maybe my experience with non-fiction is just lackluster and I have yet to read some true quality journalism. It is just that ive always had an interest in science and technology, so im just extremely biased. Im not even that big of a fantasy (without sci-fi) reader, so my interests usually lie in believable technological futures or scientific theoretical worlds (like Mission of Gravity).

Well, an easy go to is biographical histories of war heroes or major figures in the history of global exploration. There are also more subtle biographies or histories of persons in the midst of or in the causal current of major scientific or sociological change/upheaval. The lived experiences, not simply the A+B or 1+2 discoveries.

 

[Einherjar86]

Good deals at the MLA conference. All the publishers usually offer nice discounts on the last day so they don't have to repack a bunch of books. All scholarly books, but ones I'm excited about:

 

[unknown]

The Modernist Corpse sounds interesting. I've been doing a two-week unit on Posthumanism in my classes and have had really interesting discussions with students.

Finished Borne by Jeff Vandermeer a few days ago, It was good and interesting, but I preferred the Southern Reach trilogy. They have very different feels to them. The Southern Reach trilogy is permeated by a feeling of dread, and is definitely a hallmark in 21st century weird fiction. Borne is different, and is definitely Vandermeer's most eco-critical novel. The themes of tinkering with nature, unregulated industry, and non-human rights are all very interesting, but the plot and characters weren't overly compelling enough. It was still good, but I wasn't blown away by it

 

[Einherjar86]

Good to know about Borne, thanks.

That's cool that you're introducing your students to posthumanism. Any particular texts you find useful? I've taught excerpts from Hayles's How We Became Posthuman and Haraway's "Cyborg Manifesto." I've considered assigning excerpts from Wolfe's What is Posthumanism?, but it's a dense book and, unfortunately, not very well-written. As far as fiction goes, I usually go with short science fiction, something by Dick or Gibson.

(I realize this should probably be in the education thread, we can move it if necessary.)

 

[unknown]

That's cool that you're introducing your students to posthumanism. Any particular texts you find useful? I've taught excerpts from Hayles's How We Became Posthuman and Haraway's "Cyborg Manifesto." I've considered assigning excerpts from Wolfe's What is Posthumanism?, but it's a dense book and, unfortunately, not very well-written. As far as fiction goes, I usually go with short science fiction, something by Dick or Gibson.

I use a paper by Joseph Lee entitled, "Cochlear Implantation, Enhancements, Transhumanism, and Posthumanism: Some Human Questions" published in 2014. It's a really good introduction to posthumanism because it basically looks at the discussions being held within the Deaf community regarding people with Cochlear implants, and Lee basically uses those discussions to look at what future conversations we will have to have about enhancing humans. Basically, as a hearing-person, if I were to be deaf and somebody told me, "Hey, Koger. We have this technology that can get you your sense of hearing", I'd like to think I would say, "Hell yeah! Sign me up!" But that's because I'm looking at this from a hearing-able person. Similarly, a posthuman may look at a Human who is unaltered as inferior and question why that individual would deny being enhanced. Then you get into even more ethical/Gattaca grey areas about the role of parents (if a parents denies enhancing their child, would they be an unfit parent? Would this only be available to the wealthy?).

A couple of the campuses I teach at don't allow literature (especially novels) in their composition classes

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

 

[no country for old wainds]

<3

 

[CiG]

NEED.

 

[Einherjar86]

I'd like to read all of Erikson's series someday, but holy fucking shit is it long (still not as long as the mammoth Wheel of Time--which honestly gets pretty bad around the third book, or so I thought).

I'm looking forward to the final book in R. Scott Bakker's series, The Unholy Consult. It's shaping up to be an epic conclusion.

 

[no country for old wainds]

have you read any of them? i think everyone with an interest in fantasy should at least read to the end of the third one, that's the point at which you can be 100% sure whether it's worth continuing or not.

everyone should read bakker too for that matter. those two are the kings of modern fantasy, i haven't found anything else that compares.

 

[Slayed Necros]

I'm currently about halfway through House of Chains. Probably the most I've enjoyed the series so far, which is saying a lot. I'm ultra slack with reading these days though.

 

[Doomguy]

 

[Vegard Pompey]

I read up to Memories of Ice in my teens but I stopped because I felt my English skills weren't up to par with Erikson's prose. Kinda wish I'd just kept going though because it seems like such a great series. I'm trying to get back into it now but it's been so long I've forgotten everything. In the middle of a GotM reread and it's a bit of a slog tbh

I wish I could travel back in time to when the series was still being published so I could slowly digest the books and discuss them with the rest of the fanbase while waiting for the next one instead of having 10,000 pages to binge before I can participate in any conversation about the series.

 

[no country for old wainds]

GotM was written intermittently over a span of 15 years before he'd really committed to being a writer, and it's easily the most amateurish book in the series methinks. 2 through 6 is the stuff i love the most, with 5 probably being the peak.